Chapter Three: Ace Operatives

Upon being debriefed by Ironwood and escorted to their rooms by Penny, Teams RWBY and JNR were quickly swept up into the busy life of adjunct Atlesian military operatives. A restful night's sleep had led to days of being brought up to speed on the state of the Kingdom of Atlas, as well as situations down in Mantle. Ironwood had been friendly and helpful throughout, taking the group in as if they were his own students. The General appointed the Ace Operatives to be a chaperone of sorts to the young aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses, which gave the teens a chance to get to know the elite soldiers.

Heading up the team was Clover Ebi, the fair skinned man with brown hair, light green eyes, and the fishing pole weapon. Generally good natured and friendly, he welcomed the young recruits and appeared to enjoy training them, displaying the caring leadership that distinguished why Ironwood had chosen him to lead the Ace Ops.

Harriet Bree was the pixie cut, chocolate skinned lieutenant of the group, second in command behind Clover and with a competitive streak a mile wide. The other woman was Elm Ederne, who always went barefoot and wielded a massive hammer that went well with her boisterous yet hearty manner.

The Faunus man introduced himself as Marrow Amin, and while he definitely displayed a fair amount of plucky charm, he tended to interact primarily with Blake and kept a wide berth of Weiss until the Faunus girl made an effort to introduce them. Though clearly still reserved, Marrow managed cordiality, which Weiss returned warmly.

The fifth and final member of the Ace Ops was the quietly sober Vine Zeki, whose lanky appearance and pale shade bore an unsettling likeness to a group of Apathy Team RWBY had encountered in Mistral. However, despite his unusual appearance, Vine always managed to be charmingly down to earth, a fact which led the others to jokingly suggest that he and Ren were perfect for each other.

The Ace Operatives managed to quickly organize the disoriented and overwhelmed children, and after a day or two of R&R, the kids were ready to be put to work and begin helping with the Amity Communications Tower project. Early one morning, Clover called in Ruby, Jaune, and Qrow to lay out the plans for their first mission.

"Alright, gather round. Our mission today is to secure the launch site for the Amity Communications Tower." Clover had displayed before him a series of charts, maps, and information about the target area. "The designated area is an abandoned Dust mine. Since its closure, the Grimm have moved in. The good news is, all that untouched Dust is still down there too. Science team says they'll need it for the first phase of their launch.

"Atlas military Huntsmen are already hard at work clearing out the surrounding tundra. But Recon has identified a powerful Geist that's managed to evade destruction and take several lives." A feed of the military disposing of minor Grimm outside the mine popped up, as did an image of the Geist. The creature was massive, reminiscent of one that Ruby and Jaune had fought with Nora and Ren months earlier in their trek across Anima. "After we increased our numbers, the Geist was smart enough to retreat into the mine itself, meaning it's old and extremely dangerous. This is our target."

A new graphic appeared, a three dimensional rendering of the mine within the mountain, displaying an array of offshooting tunnels. "The mine was a labyrinth back in the day," Clover went on. "There's all sorts of tunnels and chambers the Geist can move between, so if we're gonna kill this thing, we'll have to split up and corner it."

The Ace Operative turned to the threesome. "General Ironwood says you've seen your fair share of combat. I trust that man with my life, so tomorrow, I'll be trusting you all too."

Ruby and Jaune happily agreed. Qrow offered a curt nod.


A few hours later, a military escort flew over the Atlesian tundra, trails of smoke left from the tips of the wings as they knifed through the air. The abandoned SDC mine awaited below as the doors to one Manta opened to reveal a new and improved team RWBY. Each of the girls had gotten a new outfit, more fitting to the colder climate of Atlas than their Mistral wear. Ruby's was the least changed of the group, changing out her billowing white undershirt for a tighter pair of grey longsleeves and some new tights, as well as a new hairstyle that let her crimson-tipped locks flow free and wild about her head.

Weiss had traded in her combat skirt and pale blue dress for a deeper blue, customized uniform that was reminiscent of her sister Winter's. Her heels had been replaced by a pair of knee-high boots, and she had done her long, white ponytail up in an elaborate braid.

Blake was even further changed than Weiss. She had replaced her white coat that she had lost in Argus with a new one from the Atlesian military, complemented by form-fitting, dark navy pants. Her hair, however, was the most drastic change, as she had cut off much of the length that she'd had since Beacon Academy to fall softly above her shoulders where it had once run down her back.

Yang had simply had some adjustments made to her leather jacket, to give it a fur lining and a yellow stripe down each arm, and was also donning a new pair of sunglasses with orange lenses.

Each of them wore an earpiece through which came a crackle, followed by the voice of Clover. "Let's make it happen, people." Ruby cast a glance to her teammates, who gave her a nod in turn, before she leaped from the aircraft with her Semblance and spiraled into free fall with a carefree laugh. Whipping Crescent Rose from her back, she placed her feet on the blade and began her usual landing strategy, pogosticking her way down with brief pulls of the trigger.

A little ways ahead of her, Weiss was hopping through the sky from glyph to glyph, casting a Summon before her that brought forth the armored arm of the Arma Gigas. The white knight thrust its sword forward for Weiss to slide down the blade to the ground.

Blake had had Gambol Shroud's blade repaired by Pietro and his technicians, and with the brand new weapon, she hurled it forward to wrap around a pipe and used her ribbon as a rope to sling herself to the ground.

Last but not least, Yang took her ever straightforward approach and waited til the last second before firing forward with her gauntlets to stop herself. She slid to a stop next to the other three girls, each completing their landing within seconds of each other.

Shortly thereafter, Harriet and Marrow both followed suit, having jumped from the same aircraft as them. The elder Hunstmen formed up, Marrow catching his weapon, a boomeranging blade that doubled as an assault rifle as he did so.

Everyone looked above as the second Manta of the escort shot overhead, heading for the second landing zone. Within the aircraft, Elm looked out eagerly as the door slid open and let in the cold air from outside. Turning to Vine, Jaune, Ren, and Nora, she shouted merrily, "This is my favorite part!" before falling out backward from the Manta. Vine followed after her, as did the JNR trio. Nora and Ren fell downward quickly, leaving Jaune to glide after them. With a button push, he deployed his new upgrades to Crocea Mors and two hardlight Dust extensions protruded from the edges of his shield to serve as glider wings. When he neared the ground, he collapsed the wings and bounced off of his shield with a Dust-enhanced boost, then landed with his weapon drawn next to Ren and Nora.

Team RWBY hadn't been the only ones to change up their outfits to fit the climate. Jaune had left behind his Pumpkin Pete's hoodie in favor of a solid black, long-sleeved tee and had modified his armor with Atlesian resources to be stronger and more resilient. He had also followed Blake's lead in cutting his hair, ridding himself of locks that had grown far more scraggly than when Weiss had first described them that way in favor of a shorter, spikier hairdo.

Ren had tied his hair into a ponytail that trailed down his back, trimmed the longer parts of his green coat in exchange for warmer pants, and now wore his father's dagger on his right shoulder. Nora had gotten a new, sleeveless pink coat; elbow-length white sleeves that ended in black, fingerless gloves; and had cut her hair to the length it had been while she was at Beacon.

Upon seeing the trio's smooth landing, Elm gave a sporting laugh. "Perhaps you kids won't get yourselves killed after all!" She turned to begin heading into the mine, not noticing the disappointment of Jaune and Nora at her comment. Vine, however, noticed their chagrin and offered, "She meant that as a compliment."

The third and final Manta dropped its payload of Qrow and Clover at the third entry point. The kids weren't alone in wardrobe changes, Qrow having traded in his gray dress shirt for a darker gray collared shirt and a brown vest. Clover lifted a hand to his earpiece. "This is alpha squad, LZ's clear. Proceeding on foot. You've all got fancy new Scrolls, so don't forget to use them. Keep your eyes and ears open. I want an update if you encounter the target. Alpha out."

Blake examined the new Scroll Clover had mentioned. It was far sleeker than ordinary civilian tech, with a fold-out holographic screen that displayed nearby teammates' names, pictures, and Aura levels. Suddenly feeling eyes on her, Blake looked up to see Yang staring at her. With a slight sound of embarrassment, Yang said, "Sorry, just not used to the new hair yet."

Blake blushed self-consciously and ran a hand through her shorter raven locks, her ears curling downward as she asked, "Is it… bad?"

"No! No! It's good—great even!" Yang hastily replied.

Marrow groaned at the sight. "Man, I did not sign up to be a babysitter!" he complained to Harriet.

"Yeah, well, the rest of us babysit you all the time," Harriet jibed at him, leaving him to cross his arms indignantly as she approached their entrance point to the mine.

Ahead of them, Weiss was examining an abandoned piece of technology. She brushed off the layer of snow that had covered it to reveal the SDC logo. At the sight, she frowned and let out a small groan, as if the mere sight reminded her of her unpleasant upbringing, but quickly shrugged it off as she and the other three followed after Harriet and Marrow.

Ruby rubbed her forearms desperately for warmth, teeth chattering. Each word came out with a puff of steam as she said, "Oh, it's freezing out here!"

Weiss agreed. "Without heating or a projected Aura, the cold of Solitas can kill you in a matter of hours."

"I suddenly don't feel as bad about leaving Oscar behind," Blake said, her own cheeks slightly ruddy from the nipping chill.

Beside her, Yang shifted uncomfortably, hands on her hips. "Can we… talk about that again?" she said.

Ruby cast a cautious gaze toward Harriet and Marrow ahead of them, but the duo of Ace Ops seemed preoccupied surveying the terrain of rusty shipping containers and long-dormant Dust processing tech. "What about it?"

Her sister gave her a look. "We're really not gonna tell Ironwood about what happened to Oz? What we learned about Jinn? About Salem?"

"We are!" Ruby replied quickly. She stopped, gave a short sigh. "We will. But you saw how things looked when we flew into Atlas." The lockdown and the General's overall state of anxiety and slight paranoia had not been promising factors upon their arrival. Add to that that the last encounter they'd had with a Headmaster had been being betrayed to Raven Branwen and Cinder Fall by Lionheart in Mistral, and Ruby was still not sure that alerting the General of their dire news immediately was the best course of action. It didn't mean she was comfortable with the decision, but right now, it seemed like the best option.

Blake seemed to agree with her. "The General's heart seems to be in the right place, but that doesn't mean we should trust him yet."

"We need to play along for a while before we make any major decisions," Weiss concurred.

"Okay," Yang said after a short moment. She turned to Ruby, her eyebrows cocked with a new question. "How did Oscar feel about that?"

Ruby averted her gaze for a moment, her mind replaying her conversation with Oscar that morning…

It had been after Pietro had ushered them into his laboratory to show them their new outfits and the upgrades he'd made to their weapons. Ruby had been inspecting her newly improved Crescent Rose when Oscar tentatively appeared in the doorway. "Hey, Ruby?"

She looked over to him. "Oscar! Good to see you! I was meaning to give you something." Her hand went to her belt and unclipped the Relic of Knowledge, hanging where it had ever since Ironwood had returned it to her. She walked over to Oscar with it and held it out to him. He looked to the lamp in surprise. "Uh, probably shouldn't keep running around with an ancient Relic on a keychain," she explained. "Y'know?"

Oscar glanced up at her. "But—"

"I know you'll keep it safe in Atlas," she reassured him.

However, he looked to her with a different question in his hazel-green eyes. "Ruby… hiding things from Ironwood… doesn't that feel like what Ozpin did to us?"

The question reverberated in the young Huntress's head as she looked back to her sister. "I understand why you're worried. Believe me, I can barely go a minute without double guessing whether it's the right decision or not. But for now, it seems like the best path to take. So until another one shows itself, this is how I want to go forward."

Yang looked at her for a long moment before she sighed. "Okay. I'll follow your lead." She frowned. "But I don't like this, Ruby."

Ruby matched her sister's expression. "Neither do I."


The interior of the mine looked like something from another world. Hollowed out caves made for long corridors of ice that glowed an ethereal blue. The stone floor was covered in a fine layer of snow and ice, and small streaks of glowing color graced the surface of the walls and ceiling where a hint of the Dust vein showed itself.

Qrow and Clover took in the pulsating reds, greens, and yellows of the Dust, proceeding with caution and with a wary eye for any sign of Grimm. "Gotta say," Qrow admitted to the Ace Operative, "still not used to working with other Huntsmen in the field."

"But you were on a team before, weren't you?" Clover asked.

Qrow gave a sigh, thinking back to the glory days of Team STRQ, before Raven had left for the tribe. "Long time ago. I just found working alone tends to be for the best."

"Well, I think that's a shame," Clover replied.

Before Qrow could retort, his foot caught on a patch of ice the snow had hidden and sent him forward with a cry. Before he could faceplant, though, Clover's hand shot forward and grabbed him by the elbow, pulling him back upright to his feet. The soldier gave Qrow a pointed grin, to which the Huntsman frowned, before going to his communicator, a chuckle in his voice. "Alpha here. Gimme an update."

From the second team's position, Vine responded, "The connecting ice tunnels seem clear. We should be approaching the actual mine any minute now."

Behind him and Elm, the JNR trio followed close behind. Nora was visibly excited to be on the mission. "This is so exciting!" she exclaimed. "It feels like we're an actual Huntsman team." She looked sideways toward Ren, admiring the way that his new clothes showed off his slim, toned physique. "I, um… like what you did with your outfit, Ren," she said nervously, twiddling her fingers.

Ren didn't look at her. He sounded slightly uncomfortable as he replied, "We should probably stay focused on the mission."

Nora stopped walking, her smile drooping as he continued on ahead. "Oh. Okay," she replied, slightly crestfallen at his demeanor.

Beside her Jaune offered, "I like your outfit too!" Nora merely "Hmphed!" at him and followed after Ren.

"Bravo checking in," came Harriet over the comms. "Hit a bit of a snag. There's been a cave in at the main entrance. Not sure if it's recent or was caused by the original accident." Before Team RWBY and the Ace Ops, a large pile of boulders obstructed the entrance to the mine, blocking off the railway tracks that had been designed for Dust carts at their feet.

At Harriet's words, Blake's ears twitched, as suddenly she realized something. There had been a familiarity about this facility from the moment they had landed, but she hadn't felt it click until now.

As Harriet and Clover continued conversing over comms, Yang noticed her teammate's expression as she scanned the cavern. "You okay?" she asked.

Blake shivered, and not from the cold. "I just realized where we are. This mine was closed after an explosion." She didn't say more, but she could remember seeing the reports as a kid in Menagerie when it happened. Better still was her memory of a late night in Forever Fall, talking with Ilia on the roof of a White Fang facility. About the day Ilia had lost her parents in this mine.

From the side, Weiss piped up. "I remember this disaster." Blake and Yang both turned to look at her. The former heiress wore a face of shame and regret as she continued, "Or rather, I remember how furious it made my father." She sighed and walked toward Blake. "I wish I could take back the years of pain my family has caused the Faunus, and all of my complacency in it." She crossed her arms self-consciously over her chest and looked to the floor. Blake stepped toward her, however, and placed a reassuring and forgiving hand on her shoulder to let her know it was alright.

Marrow had caught the back half of the conversation and cut in, "This society is set up for Faunus to be at the bottom, and humans are willing participants. They benefit from doing nothing to help us, but there are still those who actively abuse." He let the statement hang in the air for a moment before going on, "Anyway, I didn't come over here looking to solve systemic societal issues. Harriet found a gap in the rubble we think one of you could fit through," he looked at Blake, "ideally someone with a knack for seeing in the dark?"

Blake had been distracted, gazing at a crate with the SDC label for a long moment, seeing not on the side of a gray container, but scarred into flesh beneath blazing red hair. She snapped back to reality at Marrow's voice, "O-oh, of course," and moved forward toward the cave in, but not without Yang noticing her hesitation.

Harriet directed Blake to the whole, and once the Faunus girl had wriggled through to the other side, she drew her weapon in its pistol form and scanned the darkened area with her enhanced vision. Marrow asked via comms, "Alright, Blake, take a look around. Is there any Dust in the immediate area?"

Blake surveyed what lay before her. "Minecarts… eh, debris. No Dust, though."

"Great. Then it should be safe to blast our way through."

"Okay. Heading baaaaah!" Blake cut off in a surprised cry as the Geist Grimm suddenly leaped from the shadows with a shriek, slashing at her with its taloned hands. Blake left behind a shadow to take the hit and backflipped away, quickly opening fire on the Grimm.

From the other side of the wall, the others heard her shots. Harriet groaned, "Dammit. Blake, stand back!" and engaged her weapons, a pair of cybernetically enhancing gloves that unfolded from behind her and traced up the full length of her arms. With a cry, she punched forward and blasted a hole in the rock, then rushed through the other side to assist Blake with Marrow and the girls on her heels.

Upon seeing the Geist, the group opened fired, but the wraithlike form twisted in the air and avoided the shots before turning and fleeing deeper into the mine. Blake and Yang began to rush after it, Yang shouting, "Don't let it get away!" However, before their pursuit got very far, they were interrupted by a new arrival as something burrowed up from out of the ground. It was a Grimm with a long, segmented body, wriggling legs, and cleaver-like mandibles that clenched and unclenched hungrily. A Centinel. With an unnerving hissing sound, the centipede-like Grimm lunged forward at the girls, but Yang reacted quickly with a punch and a blast from Ember Celica.

The Centinel's head snapped back from the blow, the hissing turning to hoarse, pained shrieks as it spewed a greenish liquid from its mouth area. Wounded, the creature retreated into the ground, only for a legion of its brothers to come to its aid, burrowing out from all directions from the walls, ceiling, and floors to completely surround the group of Huntsmen.

Yang blanched. "That's disgusting." The girls cocked their weapons and leaped forward into the fray, slashing and shooting with all they had. As Ruby zipped ahead and slammed into one of the centipedes with her Semblance, Weiss and Blake took out a duo of the creatures with slashes from their weapons. Marrow and Harriet were facing off with some of the Centinels that had appeared behind them.

Yang fired a pair of shots that disintegrated two Grimm on the ceiling before noticing another pair in front of her. With a click, she thumbed a button and activated her new weapon upgrade, battering the two Centinels with a flurry of blows before leaping clear. With each blow, a sticky grenade latched onto the Grimm's bodies, and with another push of the button, they detonated and turned the monsters into clouds of ash.

Ruby was utilizing her own upgrade as well. She slashed forward with her scythe and cut through a Grimm in the middle, sending the upper half of its body into the air. With a cock of a lever along the handle, Crescent Rose's head twisted 180 degrees for Ruby to slash upwards and slice neatly through the Centinel. Another cock brought the blade facedown again, where Ruby dug it into the ice as a sniper stand to take shots at more creatures down the corridor.

Marrow came to her aide, vaulting over her and taking down two Grimm with well-placed bursts of fire before he hit the ground and tucked into a roll. His weapon transformed into its boomerang blade form as he hurled it forward to ricochet off the wall and cut another Grimm down. The blade returned to his hand for a final, finishing blow before two more Centinels approached him, spiraling around each other as they crawled for him with clicking mandibles.

Marrow didn't move, smirking slightly as he displayed his Semblance. With a snap of his fingers in their direction, the Ace Op commanded, "Stay." The Grimm slowed to a halt before him, frozen. Harriet was at his side to finish them off, slamming them both to the floor with her bionic knuckles.

As the Grimm disintegrated, Harriet went to her comms. "This is Bravo! We found the target but it fled deeper into the mine! Engaging Centinels!"

Elm and Vine heard the broadcast in their tunnel and turned to JNR. "Let's pick up the pace!" Elm ordered. Before them, the hallway slanted downward, the slope slippery with ice. The two elder Huntsmen began to slide down, followed by Ren, Nora and Jaune. As they slid, three Centinels burrowed out the walls at the base of the ramp.

"Contact!" Vine hollered, using his own Semblance to stretch out his limbs and stick to the walls, stopping himself in place. Elm's Semblance was similar, holding her feet in place so that she too could stop. The younger three zipped past them on the ice, taking the enemy head on. Jaune dug his sword in behind him to decelerate and slammed his shield into the ground, sending out a Dust blast that propelled the Centinels away.

Ren leaped high and used StormFlower's modifications, firing his blades forward by ultrastrong cables to latch onto one of the centipedes before reeling himself in and peppering the beast with point blank fire. While its screeches died in his ears, the second one reared up behind him to attack, but Nora brought the head of Magnhild down atop it. A pull of her trigger blasted apart the creature's skull while simultaneously flipping her hammer in the air to come down neatly on the last one's head, both fading quickly into smoke.

Vine and Elm disengaged their Semblances and slid the rest of the way down. Vine took in their handywork. "A very… headfirst approach," he commented neutrally. Elm, however, favored them with an impressed grin and a thumbs up.

The Atlesians walked ahead while Jaune easily replied, "Yeah, well that's just… kinda our style." However, when the Ace Ops were ahead of them, the three uttered a collective sigh of relief.


Team RWBY, Harriet, and Marrow had nearly mopped up the last of the Grimm, with only one remaining to try and slither away. "One left!" Weiss cried, poised to strike before Harriet raced by her in a blur.

"I've got it!" Ruby shouted, taking aim. However, before she could attack, Harriet zipped past and took the Centinel out with a single punch through its core, the body fading to smoke around her hand. At the sight, Ruby approached Harriet with eyes sparkling with amazement. "Woah! Your Semblance makes you super fast, just like me!"

"Very cool!" Hare replied. She held up her thumb and forefinger, her competitive streak showing as she went on, "Though, based on your reaction time, I'd say, I'm a little faster."

Before she could go on, Clover's voice came over comms. "This is Alpha! We've engaged the target!"

In Clover's tunnel, he and Qrow had been walking when the Geist had suddenly flitted around the corner out of nowhere, prompting the two men to give chase. Qrow was taking shots at it with his weapon while Clover went on, "All squads, head toward our position." The Grimm was agile, evading each of Qrow's attacks and floating further down the corridor. Clover unfurled his fishing pole weapon and cast forth, the hook just barely missing the Geist to clatter to the ground.

The Grimm didn't miss the opening and dashed into an icy pile of rubble. Its possession taking shape, the Geist summoned other bits of debris from the walls around it, taking in chunks of ice and metal to form a frosted Petra Gigas. Qrow ducked a larger piece of ice as Clover rushed in, trying vainly to cast for the mask of the creature with his rod.

However, as Qrow watched, a hunk of ice into which a support beam was drilled began to weaken and fail. "Wait, stop!" he cried to Clover. The other man turned to him in confusion before the bolts gave way and the support beam fell with a loud clank, throwing up a cloud of dust. When it cleared, the Petra Gigas was nowhere to be seen, a large pit gaping as evidence that it had fled deeper into the mine after the ground gave way under its weight. The steel beam lay a few feet in front of Clover; had Qrow not warned him to stay where he was, it would have crushed him with a few more steps.

Clover peered over the edge but saw no sign of the Geist. "Darn it." He activated the comms channel, retracting his weapon as he said, "Target escaped. Last seen heading east." To Qrow, he said, "Thanks for the callout. That could've been bad." He kicked a pebble into the hole, listening as it echoed against the sides.

Qrow sighed, and replied in a low voice, "I wouldn't thank me. My Semblance brings misfortune. Sometimes I can't keep it under control."

"That so?" He looked to see Clover grinning at him, a twinkle in his green eyes. He checked his Scroll for something, then glanced back at what remained of the metal beam in the wall. "Well, hey, don't beat yourself up about it." He extended his weapon once more and cast for the beam, looping the hook around until it caught on the line. With a heaving tug, Clover pulled down the rest of the beam, taking a large portion of the wall with it to cover over the hole. He turned back to Qrow with a wink. "My Semblance is good fortune. Lucky you, huh?"

Qrow stared at him for a moment, taken aback by the news. Clover turned to continue deeper into the mine, saying over the radio, "Charlie, Bravo, you should be able to cut off the target at the heart of the mine. Qrow and I won't be far behind." Slowly, Qrow moved to follow after Clover, a question niggling the back of his mind.

Good fortune. Hmm. Wonder what that would be like?


Elm and Vine led Nora, Ren, and Jaune deeper into the mine until they came upon a large, cavernous room that they took to be the main mining hub from when the quarry had still been active. A droplet of sweat dripped down Jaune's face to the ground, landing with a sizzle as heat from Dust beneath their feet turned it to steam. The room was mostly empty in the middle, but old machinery and walkways were strewn about the perimeter. The Dust had become more prominent the deeper they had traversed, and in this room, everywhere they looked seemed to have a kaleidoscopic sparkle from the energy crystals.

At another entrance on the ground level, Team RWBY, Marrow, and Harriet entered below the first arrivals. "Guys!" Ruby called to them in greeting.

Vine went to his earpiece. "Everyone use caution." His eyes scanned the glittering lights of energy that streaked the walls and ceiling. "This room is highly active with Dust energy. Triggering it could ruin the launch site."

"And vaporize us!" Marrow added indignantly. "How is that always second with you?"

Nora stepped forward, gazing around. The room seemed empty of any Grimm. "I thought the target was supposed to be in here?" However, a rumble from above drew her attention with a gasp. Everyone followed the noise to see a large collection of metal beams and ice boulders trembling at the very top of the room. The main boulder swivelled to reveal the red streaks and white mask of the Geist Grimm. The Geist dropped down from its perch on the ceiling, crushing through a bridge that ran across the middle of the room like it was nothing as it landed and gazed formidably down at its opponents on the ground.

However, the Petra Gigas had made a new addition to its body, the hint of purple flashes strewn across its limbs and torso. Ruby's eyes widened in shock. "It added Dust to its body? How are we supposed to—!" But Harriet was already moving, speeding past Ruby toward the beast with Marrow close behind.

Elm leaped down from the overlooking perch and sprinted for one of the legs of the giant. "Elm!" Vine called to her, stretching out his limbs with a golden glow to wrap around the leg. With his other hand he took hold of a nearby metal beam, flexing his arms with a grunt to immobilize the leg for the moment.

It wouldn't hold for long, but it was all the time Elm needed. Racing forward, she wrapped her arms around the icy foot and dug in her heels with her Semblance. "Vine!" she cried. Vine released his hold and leaped high over the Petra Gigas to a nearby catwalk, flipping onto it neatly with his arms before stretching out to grab the beast's right arm.

With the tension of Elm at the left foot and Vine on the right arm, the metal and ice armor of the creature's body was stretched out, exposing the vulnerable Grimm flesh within from the tensino. "Marrow!" Vine called to the Faunus Operative. Marrow needed no further instruction, rearing back with his boomerang blade before hurling it at the opening to slice clean through the arm.

His eyes went wide as the arm, and the Dust crystal contained within, went flying. If that Dust hit the ground with enough force, it could react and blow the mine sky high. "Harriet!" he hollered. The speedster had already assumed a sprinter's position, and with a quick zip across the room she bounced off a metal walkway and easily caught the crystal before it could hit the ground.

Teams RWBY and JNR hadn't even moved yet, watching wide-eyed as the professional Huntsmen went to work on the beast. Marrow's blade cut through the air, as well as the other arm of the Geist with a glancing, but not quite finishing, blow. However, the next crystal went flying at a wide angle, away from any of the Ace Ops to recover in time. "Crap!" Marrow cried.

Everyone's eyes traced the Dust as it hurtled disastrously toward the ground, before it was intercepted by a waiting arm. With a smirk and a slight chuckle, Clover stepped forward, having emerged from a nearby tunnel with Qrow onto one of the upper levels. "What would you guys do without me?" he murmured, before turning to toss the crystal to Qrow so that he could enter the fray. With a salute to the other man, the soldier backflipped off the platform to help his team.

Harriet was taking advantage of the creature's size and lumbering nature, keeping herself out from beneath its crushing blows with her speed while Vine flipped around with his extendable appendages. He delivered a sound bow to the Geist's body, knocking it backward into one of the walkways with a crash. Slowly, it recovered as Harriet whistled tauntingly from across the room. By the time the beast's remaining arm had slammed down, she was already gone to harass it in another location. Elm took the opportunity and slammed down onto the limb with her hammer, momentarily embedding it in the floor. As the beast struggled to extricate the arm, its armor once again stretched to reveal the weakened flesh beneath, which Marrow sliced through like butter.

The now-armless creature staggered backward as Clover rushed in, deploying his fishing rod as he leaped up and kicked off the Petra Gigas' knee. With a stroke of his four-leaf-clover charm, he cast forward, the hook of his weapon wrapping around the Geist's facemask and catching on the line. As the kids looked on in awe at the display, Clover gave a warcry and a mighty tug that completely pulled the Geist out of its rocky avatar. From between the massive legs, Harriet came rushing forward with a launching uppercut that killed the Grimm before it even realized it had been dispossessed of the ice.

However, without the Geist to hold the giant together, the boulders and beams began to quickly fall apart, along with the Dust within them. Each of the Ace Ops quickly went to work, Vine using his extendable appendages to snag two crystals out of the air. Elm ducked into a roll and hugged another close to her chest as Marrow flipped backward to one of the catwalks with a fourth in his hands.

Clover used his pole to sling himself around the former torso of the Grimm and recover another purple crystal. However, as he came to a landing, his sharp eyes caught the sight of the last crystal, hurtling across the room to the floor. "Harriet!" he cried.

His lieutenant was nearly already moving, sprinting almost too fast to be seen across the room as she bobbed and weaved among strewn and falling wreckage to beeline for the crystal. However, right before she could catch it, a red blur zipped past her and intercepted the Dust. Harriet tucked and rolled to come up on her feet and watched with wide eyes as the red blur resolved itself into Ruby Rose, surrounded by a cloud of falling rose petals and cradling the Dust in her arms with a small chuckle as she landed on her rear and slid to a stop against the wall.

Gently, Ruby set the crystal down beside her and took Harriet's offered hand to be helped to her feet. The Atlesian looked at her with a grin and a quirked brow. "Thought you said your Semblance was like mine?"

Ruby's own brow furrowed in confusion at the words. "It… is?" she replied, scratching her head.

Harriet disagreed. "I've seen other speed Semblances before, but that was different. Maybe there's more going on than you think?"

Weiss, Blake, and Yang watched from the side. Yang grinned. "Wait until she sees what she can do with her eyes." Blake chuckled.

Clover put his weapon away as Qrow leaped down from the catwalk to join the group, watching as a triumphant Elm hoisted Ruby up onto her shoulders. Qrow glanced at the other man. "Luck catch, huh?" he said, indicating Ruby.

Clover smiled. "Hm, no. I'd chalk that one up to talent," he complimented, both of them smiling as the kids and Ace Ops came together to celebrate the victory with excited chattering and high fives. Clover brought a hand up to his earpiece, feeling satisfied. "Atlas Control, this is Clover. Mission accomplished."


Mantle's Underbelly, Atlas

"Yeah, thanks for the lift!" Forest shouted sarcastically at the departing Atlesian airship. His day had been a rough one, what with the arrest and all, and honestly, he was counting himself lucky to have been let off with a warning. Muttering about Atlas corruption, he began to trudge into a nearby alleyway, heading for a Happy Huntress meetup site. However, his encounter on the bus with the Schnee girl was sticking with him. Though he was still dubious about her apparent disdain for her hometown and all the perks that came with it, he could shake the memory of her face, the sincerity in her voice when she'd scorned the elites of Atlas.

Regardless, it was good information to have. Miss Hill would likely be interested to learn that the former heiress to the Schnee Dust Company had returned to Atlas, and had been taken with her friends to talk to Ironwood, no less. It was something that probably needed to be reported to the others.

Forest was stirred from his thoughts by a noise from behind him, or what he'd thought had been a noise. Turning around, he scanned the alley for any sight of someone, but there was no one to be seen. Taking a breath and chalking it up to high-strung nerves, he turned to continue making his way down the alley only to jump back with a surprised yelp at the sight of someone standing in his way.

The man before him was slightly lean, but his open white coat displayed a scarred, bare chest of toughly defined muscle. The man smirked at him evilly, a twinkle in his yellow eyes and his hands neatly clasped before him. Something about the glimmer in those yellow eyes made Forest uneasy. "Who're you?" he ventured, still shrinking back against the dumpster.

The man stepped forward, his voice light, but still holding a malevolent edge. "Me? Oh, well, I'm… someone just like you." In the pale light of the alley's overhead bulb, the man's yellow eyes turned purple. His hissing voice made him sound slightly snakelike as he continued, "Someone who… wants to mix things up around here." The man began to chuckle unsettlingly, and it was only when the sound of shifting gears reached Forest's ears that he looked down and saw the tail.

His eyes went wide with alarm at the wicked metal stinger. The man was a Faunus, and a dangerous scorpion one at that. Forest looked up, a plea for mercy forming on his lips, but all that came out was a frightened yelp that turned to a scream as the tail whipped forward toward him. He felt a stab below his right lung, followed by a pain like burning acid up the right side of his body, then the left, before his ears began to buzz and he fell to his knees.

Gasping, Forest rolled onto his back, squinting for a moment against the light before his vision started to go dark. A blessed numbness swept over his limbs, extinguishing the fire and replacing it with an icy soothingness that made his eyelids droop. The last thing he saw before the darkness claimed him was the Faunus man kneeling down over his face, a wicked grin sprouting across his lips as he held a finger to his lips and made a shushing sound. Then, sound and sight failed him and he plunged forth into oblivion.

Author's Note: So, Tyrian is a creepy sonofagun. Anyway, I'm back, like I promised, with Chapter Three of Volume Seven of RWBY: The Complete Saga! And as my boy Torchwick would say, it feels good to be back! Keep your eyes open for the next chapter, coming soon! Love you all, and remember, He is Risen! - Jek