Downfall

"Downfall" is the sixty-fifth episode of RWBY and the thirteenth episode of Volume 5. It premiered for Rooster Teeth FIRST members on January 13th, 2018 and was released for non-FIRST registered users of the Rooster Teeth site on January 16th, 2018, and will be made public on January 20th, 2018.

Summary
Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long fight against Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. While Jaune Arc continues to heal Weiss Schnee, Nora Valkyrie suspects that Jaune unlocked his Semblance, which allows him to heal people. However, Jaune says that he’s not actually healing Weiss, just amplifying her Aura, not worrying about his own due to having a large amount of it. Nora then goes to fight Hazel Rainart when she sees Lie Ren get defeated by him. Thanks to her Semblance, Nora manages to overpower Hazel, sending him flying outside of the grand hall where Adam Taurus and the White Fang observe.

Blake Belladonna then arrives with her parents, Sun Wukong, Ilia Amitola, an army of Menagerie Faunus, as well as the local Mistral police force. Adam tries to blow up Haven Academy, but Ilia had disarmed the bombs beforehand. Realizing the situation is no longer in his favor, Adam angrily orders his followers to kill them all, and the battle between both Faunus groups begins. Hazel is dragged back into the hall by a Lancer summoned by a fully recovered Weiss. Team RWBY then has a brief reunion before they go back to battle. Ruby orders Yang to head into the vault, while Weiss fights off Emerald and Mercury. Ruby and Blake share a nod before the latter heads back outside to battle the White Fang.

Down in the vault, Cinder Fall is surprised to learn that Raven Branwen was the real Spring Maiden the whole time, and the two engage each other in a destructive duel. As the battle reaches its climax, a dying Vernal manages to distract Cinder, resulting in Raven defeating her. Cinder is sent flying over the edge and is frozen by Raven’s Maiden powers, with her body plummeting into the dark abyss below the vault. Raven thanks Vernal one last time as the latter dies, and Raven proceeds to open the chamber containing the Relic of Knowledge. Before she can enter, however, Yang appears to confront her mother.

Trivia

 * The title of the episode could be a pun on Cinder's defeat.