Friday afternoon, and we've got CG.

There is an important AN after the reviews, so go check that out.

Enjoy.

[Chapter 38]

I groaned, slowly coming back to the world of the living.

The last thing I can remember was throttling that overgrown lizard with the full might of an Atlesian battleship moving at top speed… A desperate play – one that had little to no real chance of success – but it was the only play I had left.

Slowly, the world started to come back to me. First thing was the sound of crackling fires. Fire that could only be the result of our crash through the spire in the center of Beacon. It seemed to be all around me, not coming from any one particular direction… Am I still in the ship? Or was it so dramatically destroyed that I'm out, exposed to the world and the elements?

I resolved to try and answer even that basic question. With what felt like an impossible amount of effort, I slowly cracked my eyes open. Even though the sun had long since passed, leaving only the broken moon hanging above, it felt like a blinding light being shined right into my eyes.

I groaned, though pushed through. My eyes slowly reacclimated to the sudden burst of light, and the world around me started falling into focus.

I was, in fact, no longer on the command deck of the once proud Atlas warship. I could see the remains of said ship half sticking out of the ground about a hundred meters behind me. The once proud airship now was nothing more than a pile of white and gray slag and scrap dug deep into the courtyard of Beacon Academy.

Outside the ship, I was surrounded not by metal scraps from the impact, but stone and concrete that had come from the tower we had taken down in the impact as well. The dragon was yet nowhere to be seen. Potentially killed, due to Grimm fading once slain, or having managed to survive and slither away to lick its wounds, if the Grimm even did that.

Every movement I made had my body screaming out in pain. Even the simple act of breathing sent shocks of pain running through my chest. Despite that, though, I wasn't going to simply sit idle. I grit my teeth and tried to pull myself up from the seated position I was currently in.

My muscles revolted in agony – pain rippling through every part of my body as I tried to force the tired, worn, and beaten muscle to work. I hissed in pain, keeping my jaw clenched tight as I cowed my body into submission.

After what felt like minutes of pain and torture to rise to my feet, I accomplished that simple goal.

I didn't need to try and test if I had any Aura left. I was lucky to have even survived the crash at all – a great part of that I don't doubt was in thanks to the limited Aura supply I had remaining before the crash.

The next goal I had was simple – I had to find my friends. Even if they were dead… I couldn't live with myself not knowing what happened to them. A quick survey of the area around me didn't reveal the telltale dichromatic nature of Neo, nor the beacon like orange hair of Roman.

All I found were the corpses of those I had left in my wake.

I closed my eyes and let out a quiet sigh. I couldn't just sit here and look over the dead. I couldn't let the memories and thoughts that they'd bring up wash over me. Not when I still had work to do.

I felt at my hip for the telltale and comforting grip of Crocea Mors. A grip that wasn't present. It was then that I remembered – Ironwood threw the sword across the deck. A sword that could be just about anywhere in this mass of wreckage by now.

I felt for my grenades, finding that the bandolier of Dust explosives, too, had abandoned me sometime during the crash. The leather strap likely caught and tore on a stray piece of metal that had come in the wreckage of the ship.

I felt for and found both of my daggers still firmly in their sheathes behind my back, tightly attached to my belt.

I deployed both of the shotgun gauntlets I was armed with as well. The weapons seemed to work fine, though to say that I was well stocked with ammunition would be a lie. I had about three shells left in each.

In reality, it didn't matter much how well armed I was. I had no Aura, and was more than a little wounded after the crash. Anyone who tried to attack me would more than likely be able to end me before I even knew what was happening.

I closed my eyes, letting out a shaky breath. I felt a little more secure on my feet than I had moments before. Sure enough that I wouldn't topple over as soon as I tried to take a few steps forward.

I slowly started to push my way out of the small patch of non-burning grass I had landed in. Even with my feeling somewhat confident in my ability to support myself and walk, I found that I was stumbling from piece of rubble to piece of rubble, using the broken stone and concrete as a sort of crutch to take as much weight as possible off my legs.

I navigated my way slowly through the rubble, keeping an eye out for anything familiar. Anything that might give me a sign or tell me that either of my two friends were alive somewhere in this mess.

What I found instead was the slumped form of Cinder Fall.

Not too far off, clutching at her stomach which had a blade stabbed through it was someone I had only met briefly. Pyrrha. Blood was seeping from the stab wound rather quickly, and beyond that she looked like she had been held over a fire for more than a few minutes. Her skin was charred and burnt in some places. Her hair was singed at the ends and covered in blood.

Cinder, on the other hand, also wasn't looking to be in all that good of shape. While she didn't look like she'd spent time on a roasting spit, she'd clearly taken some heavy blows in the fight that must've ensued before I arrived. She looked beaten and bruised – one eye looked as though it had been slashed or stabbed, and a few other slash wounds covered her body. She had an arm that was bent at an incredibly odd angle, and didn't seem capable of standing.

However, she did look up right when I came stumbling into the scene. She smiled. "Jaune… Excellent timing…" She muttered out, sounding as though she were in extreme pain. She inclined her head towards Pyrrha's slumped form, feebly clutching at the sword in her abdomen. "Do me a favor… Finish her off and help me up…" She commanded, attempting to sound as though she were in command of the situation.

It was only then that Pyrrha looked up at me. There was a brief moment of recognition before she resigned herself to her fate. Assuming that I would do as Cinder asked, ending her life.

I let my gaze trail over to Cinder once more. I drew one of the two daggers I had sheathed behind my back and stumbled my way over towards Cinder. I crouched down in front of her, doing my best to ignore the screams of pain that were coming from my legs.

She met my gaze, offering up as much of a challenging look as she could muster. "What are you doing… Kill her and help me…" She rasped out, trying to sound rather intimidating.

I glanced down at the knife in hand, looking back to her. "You want to know something, Cinder?" I managed out, my voice barely above a whisper. "I quit."

I reached up with the dagger in hand, bringing it down towards her neck.

Before I was able to make impact, though, I felt a sweeping kick land in my gut, sending me flying back into the same piece of rubble that Pyrrha was leaned up against. The knife I had been holding came tumbling out of my hand, well out of reach.

The impact from the kick, and then slamming back into the stone had my head spinning and my whole-body writhing in pain. I could no longer see straight, with most everything coming up as a blur that was shifting far more than normal.

I didn't need to be able to make out much in terms of details to know who my assailant was.

Mercury Black. At some point during the battle, Cinder or Emerald must've freed him from his confinement in Beacon infirmary, and now here he was. He looked as cocksure as ever, standing next to Cinder.

"My luck just gets better… and better…" Cinder rasped out, sounding somewhat relieved to my ear. "Now, kill them both." She ordered.

Mercury laughed, nodding his head. "With pleasure."

He approached the two of us, frowning thoughtfully as he looked between us, having some sort of internal debate. "Now, which of you to kill first… Hmm, I wonder." He said out loud, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully.

Without warning, he delivered a solid kick straight to Pyrrha's temple with his heel. I heard a sickening crack that I knew all too well as the girl collapsed into a heap over the blade that impaled her. He grinned impishly down at me. "Well, here we are yet again. The mighty Virtuoso, come back to fight me yet again." He delivered a kick right into my side, making me double over in pain, groaning. "What, nothing to say? Not even to your dear old pal Mercury?"

He paused for a brief moment, crouching down, taking a fistful of my hair and yanking it up so that I was looking him dead in the eye. His gaze was flaming, showing the anger that lurked after what I had done to him. "Where's your savior now?" He asked, throwing a punch into my gut. "Huh? Where's your huntsman bodyguard at?" He threw another punch. "I don't see him anywhere, do you?" He threw me back, my head slamming into the concrete behind me.

I groaned, the whole world spinning again. Mercury just spat down into my face as he came to be standing at his full height. "Fucking pathetic."

I could just barely catch a glimpse of him as he wound up a kick. The kick that would end my life, more than likely.

I closed my eyes and braced for the impact; almost morbidly curious what death felt like.

The impact never came.

Instead, there was a loud clang of metal against metal.

"Oh, you can not be fucking serious right now." I heard Mercury growl out.

"What, back for more of what I gave you last time?" The all too familiar drone of Qrow responded.

I opened my eyes, and there he was, stood just off to the side with Mercury's ankle caught in the hook of his scythe.

Mercury snarled. "Why don't you try again? I might like it this time." He said, using his boot's caught position on Qrow's scythe to heave the Huntsman forward. Qrow lost balance for just a brief moment and stumbled. An action that Mercury capitalized on, leaping up into the air and using his free foot to try and deliver a solid kick to Qrow's head.

Qrow recovered quickly from his stumble and ducked into a roll, avoiding the kick altogether and coming to stand and face his opponent once again. Without taking his eyes off Mercury, he spoke to me. "This is twice I've saved your hide from this loser, kid. You owe me. Again."

I grunted in response, unable to form words.

Qrow surged forward, his scythe hanging behind him. Mercury dodged off to one side, avoiding Qrow's charge. Despite that, though, Qrow's attack still landed. While the weapon looked oversized and unwieldy to me, Qrow maneuvered it as though it were a featherweight and had been doing so all his life.

That caught Mercury by surprise as Qrow used the blade to his advantage, heaving the boy forward and into his range while digging into his opponent's Aura reserves.

Mercury, however, wasn't going to stand by and not retaliate. As soon as he was pulled in front of Qrow, he used the flat of Qrow's weapon to his advantage, springing up into the air yet again. This further unbalanced Qrow's hold on the weapon and Mercury abused that. In one swift motion, he brought one leg around, landing the sole of his boot against Qrow's chest. A shotgun blast followed, and Mercury disengaged from his opponent.

Qrow ground his teeth together. "Maybe this will be more fun." He said, a wry smile crossing his lips. Qrow used the space that Mercury had created between them to shift his scythe back into a longsword.

Mercury charged yet again, this time sliding down to the ground for a kick at Qrow's ankles. This led absolutely nowhere as Qrow deftly avoided the oncoming attack, demonstrating his superior speed in comparison to Mercury.

Without hesitation, Qrow brought his blade around, delivering a nice slash across Mercury's back. The boy growled, stumbling forward and spinning to face Qrow once again.

Qrow didn't let up on the assault, coming in close to Mercury's guard. Mercury grinned and returned the favor, stepping into Qrow's guard. Before he was able to deliver a blow to Qrow, the huntsman spat into the younger boy's eyes, briefly stunning and blinding him. Qrow capitalized on that, bringing a knee up into Mercury's crotch.

Mercury, for all his training and pain tolerance groaned and stumbled back. Qrow pressed the advantage farther. He swept his blade down at Mercury's right knee. The blade dug into the thick metal plating, but wasn't enough to cut all the way through it.

Mercury recovered and growled lowly at the huntsman. He dodged backwards, ripping Qrow's blade out of the metal plating on his leg. Instead of taking the offensive again, Mercury fell into a defensive stance, letting Qrow come to him.

Qrow noted this, and rather than charging the boy, he flipped his blade down, revealing a double-barreled shotgun that was part of his blade. He fired off both the shells. The two shells impacted Mercury's chest, sending jolts of electricity through his body and rippling over his Aura.

Mercury grunted, though pushed through the pain and charged at Qrow once again. He went for another aerial kick, this one landing solidly on the side of Qrow's head. Qrow stumbled backwards at that, gritting his teeth.

While the battle had been raging, I managed to deploy the shotgun gauntlet on my left hand. The one that was loaded with explosive rounds. I took aim as best I could, trying to get it to focus on Mercury, but with the world still spinning, that was quite difficult.

I waited for a moment when the two weren't engaged in melee, taking aim at Mercury and firing off a shell. The recoil alone was enough to get me to yelp in pain. While something I can manage with my Aura, without and with everything in as much pain as it is, it makes it damn near unbearable.

Regardless, the shell impacted Mercury's lower back.

Qrow took the advantage again, charging Mercury. The boy reacted a moment too late as Qrow brought his blade around, cutting right into the same slot in Mercury's leg he had before. The force behind the cut was enough, and it cut straight through Mercury's leg.

The boy collapsed down to the ground, suddenly off balance and unable to easily fight back.

Qrow wasn't going to let him have an easy time of it, either. He brought the tip of his longsword down, driving it into Mercury's stomach until his Aura broke. Rather than ending his life there, Qrow bashed the side of Mercury's head with his heel, knocking the boy out once again.

Qrow was breathing heavily, glaring down at his opponent. "Two for two, you little shit." He grumbled out, looking back over to me. Lying next to me in an ever-growing pool of blood was the corpse of Pyrrha. Qrow frowned and shook his head, crouching down to close the girl's eyes at the least.

He turned his attention then to Cinder. The woman was glaring up at Qrow who had managed to defeat her companion.

"Think this is end of the line, missy." He said, eyes hardened into a glare as he approached her.

Cinder didn't respond, still just glaring up at him in return. Even in defeat, she was spiteful and wouldn't give Qrow the satisfaction.

Qrow just huffed. "Have it your way, then." He muttered, bringing his blade down to cut her head clean off.

There was a shimmer before the image of Cinder Fall faded, revealing nothing but empty space where she had once been.

"What the hell…" Qrow questioned, looking down at the spot where Cinder should be.

He turned back to look at me, almost as though he expected me to have either vanished, or to know the answer to the question that was inevitably burning in his head.

Unlike Cinder, though, I hadn't shimmered away into nothingness. I was still sat there, world spinning and feeling damn near unable to move at all.

Qrow sighed, stowing his weapon. He came over to me and knelt down to help me up to my feet. "Come on, kid… Let's get you out of here."

I groaned in pain as he helped me up to my feet. Though, I was thankful that he was there to let me rest my weight against. I wasn't all too sure that I'd be able to walk easily without him taking my weight on.

"How… How'd you know…?" I asked, hoping that he'd get the point of the question I was trying to get out.

He just chuckled. "How stupid do you think I am? I nab you the Ice Queen's military keycard, and you just go off and make copies to sell?" He shook his head. "It wasn't hard to piece together what you were doing. When I saw the ship crash itself into the dragon, I figured I might as well come see if your hide needed saving again." He paused briefly, glancing over to me. "You're welcome, by the way."

I grunted in agreement, trying more than anything else to just ignore the pain that I was in. "Have you seen…" I rasped out, not quite able to finish my question.

He assumed that he knew where I was going. "I haven't. Then again, I only just got here in time to keep your sorry ass from getting killed."

I pursed my lips. "Gotta find them."

Qrow sighed. "Listen, kid. You're in no shape to go off searching for people. You need medical attention pronto. I can get you into Beacon infirmary, and guarantee your safe release once you're patched up." He offered.

I shook my head. "No." I looked over to him, meeting the man's crimson gaze. "We have to." I said with as much finality as I could muster.

He thought for a moment, frowning and shaking his head. "I can't talk you out of this, can I?" I shook my head in response. He just sighed once again. "Alright, fine. We'll go look for your friends."

I managed a smile. "Thanks, Qrow."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Thank me later when you're not dead and can walk on your own." He said, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.

And thus, the two of us went out on a hunt for Roman and Neo who were hopefully alive and somewhere in this scattered rubble.

It didn't take long of Qrow helping me hobble along before we found the familiar form of Roman. The master criminal looked to be unconscious, but alive.

As the two of us got closer, I could confirm that he was, in fact, alive. It seemed that the crash wasn't kind to him, but allowed him to live regardless. There were more than a few gashes and cuts on his body from where shorn metal plating had cut him, or glass of some nature. It was hard to say, but at the least he was still breathing, even if it was rather shallowly.

Qrow knelt down once again to let me get closer to my mentor. He stood up and took up a post a few feet away, keeping watch over the two of us and the surrounding area, just in case of Grimm, likely.

I shook Roman as best I could. "Come on… Wake up, Roman… Wake up, damnit." I muttered as I continued to shake him slightly.

After a few moments the master criminal groaned, trying to shoo me away. I shook him again, and after another moment, his eyes cracked open. He looked up at me for a moment, seeming to not quite piece things together. After it clicked in his head, though he offered me a weak smile. "Definitely the last time I let you be the getaway driver…" He mumbled out.

I laughed slightly, ignoring the pain that lanced through my chest. "Good to see you're okay, Roman."

He nodded, slowly sitting up. "Yeah. You too, kid." He let his gaze track to Qrow who was waiting some distance away. "What's his deal?"

"Don't worry about it. Qrow is a friend." I responded, glancing back over my shoulder to wave the huntsman in question over.

Qrow looked between the two of us. "Well, that's one of two found." He turned his attention onto Roman. "You good to walk?"

Roman frowned, slowly pulling himself up to his feet, though hissing in pain as he tried to put any weight on his right arm. "Yeah… We should be fine here." He said, leaning against a nearby bit of rubble for support.

Qrow nodded, helping me back up to my feet once again. "Last one is your little girlfriend, right?"

I hummed in response.

The three of us continued to hobble our way through the wreckage and fire ridden field that the ship had crashed the Dragon into. I paused, lost in thought for a brief moment before glancing over to Qrow. "Say, Qrow? Did you see the Dragon?"

He rolled his eyes in response. "You'd have to be blind not to see it. Even then, I'm not sure that'd be an excuse."

"Not my point." I muttered. "When we crashed the ship into it. Did you see if we killed it or not?"

Qrow hummed, nodding slowly. "That you did. Fuckin' creature howled into the night once it got impaled on the nose of the ship. Crashing it down into Remnant just sealed the thing's demise." He paused for a brief moment. "Good on you for pulling that off, too."

I nodded in response. It wasn't good – it was a shit idea and a last-ditch effort. One that thankfully worked, but had no real right to.

Roman eventually tapped me on the shoulder, pointing off in the direction of the ship. Just barely, I could make out the telltale signs of pink that stood out defiantly against the backdrop. It was Neo. That was the only person it could be, especially seeing as Atlas doesn't believe in color other than white and gray.

The three of slowly picked our way through the rubble towards the ship. Towards the only sign we had that Neo was present at all.

When we arrived, I felt my heart stop. Time seemed to freeze in place, almost like I had activated my semblance again.

There she was. Or, rather, what remained of her. Neo, the bright, dichromatic assassin with a mean streak a mile wide and twice as deep. The little terror that had even the likes of Junior cowed under her thumb, was without a doubt dead.

While Roman and I had rolled somewhat lucky on the whole ordeal of not getting crushed or burnt by the fallout of the ship ramming into the dragon, a tower, and then the dirt, Neo's dice weren't so kind. Where Roman and I only had to contend with broken bones, and near inoperable muscles, Neo had to contend with a large piece of metal that had sheared off the ship and impaled her through the chest.

She laid there, unmoving and soaking in a pool of blood, unable to cry out or find help. Only able to sit in agony as she slowly bled out, unable to change her fate.

Roman fell down onto his knees at her side, blood soaking into his already ripped, shredded and torn pants. He was muttering something to her that I couldn't hear as he looked down at what had happened to her.

He stayed that way for a moment, as though he were waiting for an answer. When she didn't give him one, he just shook his head and squeezed her limp hand in his own.

The master criminal rose to his feet, wiping away any signs of tears that might have shown in his eyes.

This is the price you had to pay. You won, but at this cost. The cold voice of The Virtuoso echoed in my head.

Qrow helped me over and let me down. "I'll give you a minute." He said, taking a step away.

Everything in life has a price. It's not like the storybooks where the hero wins and they, along with all their friends, live happily ever after. It pointed out again. Sacrifices have to be made. Knowingly or not.

I closed my eyes and let out a long, shaky sigh as I felt tears come to my eyes. She didn't deserve this… She's dead because of me.

She didn't deserve it. The voice agreed. But she chose it. In this world, living as you do, death is an occupational hazard. Roman knows that. Junior knows that. Jack, Paul, Winston, and Jess all knew that. Neo knew it, too. She knew the risks and took the chance anyway.

I let the tears stream silently down my face. I knew that The Virtuoso was right. I know that death is just an occupational hazard. I knew that it could happen to any of us. We weren't special. We didn't get special treatment. Despite that, it didn't make the pill any easier to swallow.

It was more than just Neo, too. Not-Jerry, Jack, Junior, Roman, and everyone else. They all chose to follow me – to trust that I'd be able to navigate this hellscape. They've trusted me with their lives… So, is it not my fault that they've now died?

The Virtuoso didn't respond.

I felt a hand rest gently on my shoulder. I glanced back to see Roman looking down at me. "Come on, Jaune. We should go." He said somberly.

I didn't want to leave. It didn't feel right to just leave her here.

I knew he was right, though. We couldn't just stay here.

I nodded, looking back to Neo.

"I'm sorry." I muttered quietly, even though she couldn't hear me. I pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before letting Roman help me up to my feet.

I wiped the tears away, trying to put on a brave face despite how I felt.

Roman looked over to Qrow. "Think you can help us get out of here?"

Qrow inclined his head. "Probably. Though you both should get some medical attention."

"I'd rather do that somewhere I won't have the local population after my head." Roman commented.

Qrow arched a brow. "Isn't that impossible for you?"

"Somewhere I trust the people taking care of me, then."

Qrow shrugged. "I thought you weren't big on trust, but have it your way."

Roman narrowed his eyes, though Qrow ignored it. "I can get the both of you out by Bullhead. Without the CCT up to track them, they'd never know the difference of one being gone longer than normal."

I nodded. "Then do it."

"Right. I'll just commandeer one off the landing pad, fly it over to the crashed warship in the courtyard and then fly it out into Vale. Not suspicious at all." He said with more than a little sarcasm dripping from his words.

I glared at him. "Then what was the point of bringing up a Bullhead?"

He rolled his eyes. "Have some faith in me, will you? What happened to being buddy buddy?"

I shook my head. "I have faith, Qrow, I just don't…" I sighed. "If you can manage it, just do it. Please."

Qrow clapped his hands together. "Well, since you asked so nicely. I'll be back shortly." He said, taking off at a light jog through the courtyard.

Roman and I stumbled and hobbled our way away from the sickening reminder of what this victory had cost us. We weren't wandering with any real direction until we found the unconscious form of Mercury, missing a leg that had been left lying in the dirt a few feet away from the boy.

I looked over to Pyrrha, still hunched over the sword that had been driven through her gut. She got caught up in this – in something a whole lot bigger than she was. Just like me, she'd been wrapped up in this story, somehow. The difference being that I got to live in the end.

"She got away." I muttered, letting myself lean off of Roman and onto the rubble that I had been thrown against by Mercury.

"What do you mean?" He asked, inclining his head slightly.

"Cinder. We had her pinned and beat. Half dead, no Aura, nothing." I laughed bitterly, wincing as pain laced through my body. "And then, when Qrow went to end it, poof. Gone. Shimmered away into nothing."

Roman hummed, nodding slowly. "So, the mad queen lives to see another day." I nodded in return. He took a moment, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he slid down against the rubble that Cinder had been leaning against. "Well, at the very least we protected Vale… I doubt she got what she wanted if this invasion was her plan. An invasion that's hopefully been stopped dead in its tracks."

I drummed my fingers against my knee. "Maybe, but she's still out there… She was able to organize something like this once, who's to say she won't do it again?"

"She very well might." He looked over to me as the dull sound of a Bullhead's rotors started closing in. "And if she does, who better to handle it than us? We stopped her once, we can do it again."

I hummed, glancing up to see the Bullhead swinging down for a landing nearby.

It was a long fight. It was a hard one.

But, in the end, we came out on top.

It was time to let someone else fight. At least, for now.

[End]

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of Criminally Good.

I sincerely thank you all for checking out this story. What started as a haphazard idea I came up with one day on a whim turned into this. While I wouldn't call Criminally Good the best story, I can say that I'm proud of what it became. Thanks to each and every last one of you who read, reviewed, followed and favorited this story, I was given the motivation to keep on going here. What I thought was going to be a small story that didn't get much attention kinda blew up out of left field, and you guys all seemed to love it. So again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all for taking the time to get here. It means the world to me.

With that said, on to the reviews.

cbustrroyer - Eh, I never liked the idea of Atlas' firepower being able to destroy the Grimm dragon. It's a one of a kind thing we've never seen, so meh. So the dragon is wonky. I'd say it's around half-maiden power level. So like Cinder had half the maiden powers, she'd be able to duel the dragon and win if she played smart and well. I dunno, it's hard to gauge that without being given hard facts on it, I guess.

Dragon Lord Draco - Well, huh. I didn't know that. I just assumed it was a dragon and called it good. Never really bothered to look it up on the RWBY wiki. Well, Jaune did make it, but others didn't.

X3 - And you put the pieces together, somewhat. Cinder was in the tower. That's why she was so wounded, and same goes for why Pyrrha wasn't completely incinerated into a pile of ash. And I didn't put much detail into who it was that shot the moron, so if you want to picture it being Ciel, go for it.

Engineer - Jaune did take a big gamble, but one that paid off big time. He got lucky, really. As for Cinder, well, she got out thanks to our friend Emerald and her semblance. As for Ozzy, well, he's not in a good way. A lot of his support base is dead, and a load of blame is likely headed straight for him.

Dsarcas - Glad you enjoyed my man.

Reeseracer - Ah, yes. Edge of the seats means I'm doing my job well. Fantastic.

Azrael Saint - That it is, my friend. That it is.

Azetlor the Collector - The battleship ram indeed.

2 AM Guest - Hey man, I always like internet cookies. Cookies that are nonrefundable now that they've been given to me.

Dddd - One card left to play, indeed.

Dino Guy - Dead dragon indeed. Jaune's gambit worked, miraculously.

Agent of the Divine One - It has been a wild ride. One I quite enjoyed writing for y'all.

AtomicR4y - CG is now over. Well, mostly. See below for details on that.

Knight Galavant - I have the mass.

Glover - Curious indeed. More info on stuff like that below.

Two Headed Snake - It is a Warhammer thing to do. It's just a load of fun, really.

Cloud Link Zero - It would be amusing, but try as I might, I couldn't find a good way to fit it in well. I am super proud of what this story has become over the months that I've been writing it, as well as all of the support its gotten.

State of Pure Caffeine - Listen man. I saw the opportunity and I took it.

And that is all for reviews.

So, as I'm sure you're all aware, there are more than a few hanging plot threads that I just couldn't really squeeze in here, or just kinda forgot about because I'm a big dummy. So, that said, while this is the end of Criminally Good and the main thread as I planned it, I've got a number of hanging threads to handle. The woes of writing a story that grew beyond what I had planned.

There will be an epilogue chapter or two that come at a later date. I am not going to make them a top priority, but they'll be somewhere on the burners and will be posted once I'm happy with what I've got and how I've handled the hanging and loose threads that I ignored / forgot about.

And another thing. If you liked CG, or at the least liked my writing style, I'm starting up another story here in a week or two called Helljumper. It's grounded in RWBY's world, but takes a lot of influence from the Halo universe. If that sounds interesting to you, the prologue is up now.

Anyway.

Till next time, this is Valres signing off.