Weighing All the Risks

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Team WA Vol. 2! We got one last chapter of cool down here before things really pick up again, so it's gonna be a little shorter, but hopefully you'll still like what's here. And as per the usual, a shoutout to all my readers who've stuck with this story and given your input thus far, it's helped make the story even better than even I expected. And, since it seems we have no guest review questions this week, we can dive right on in!

Morning: The Schnee Mansion

'You have one hour to respond.' Those words from General Ironwood resonated all over Atlas and Mantle. If there had been any doubt before as to his current mental state, it was gone now. The Headmaster of Atlas Academy and highest general of the Atlesian military, was so obsessed with his single-minded quest to get the staff of creation and use it to elevate Atlas, that he'd literally shot down a solution that would've saved Mantle and allowed him to focus on the problem at hand. In his mind, Mantle was an obstacle standing in the way now, and he'd remove it by any means necessary.

Unfortunately, him going crazy didn't mean he'd become completely stupid despite all evidence to the contrary. He still had the forces of Atlas under his command including the Ace Ops as well as the massive security network that would allow him to see and counter any form of frontal assault while also complicating a number of other approaches. Which was why the group was now in the main dining room, discussing their limited options. "Okay, Ironwood wants Penny, or Mantle is done for," summed up Yang who was sitting on the edge of the table while Aegis sat in a chair next to her. Ruby sat at the head of the table while Blake was on her left hand side with Emerald choosing to stand close by.

Weiss was too busy trying to figure out what to do, making sitting down impossible as she paced back and forth while Wayne was leaning against the wall next to a giant portrait of Nicolas Schnee. His features were currently hidden behind his scroll as he continued to type one message after another on it, though anyone paying attention could see the occasional shaking from his hands that denoted his own nervousness about the situation. "So, any ideas on how we can stop him," asked Yang.

"Qrow and Robyn are still in his custody," said Blake as her ears drooped while she pulled her knees to her chest, "and May said Atlas security drones are watching the crater, meaning they're trapped too."

"I don't think that first part is entirely accurate," said Wayne as he flipped off his scroll before pocketing it and pushing off the wall, "if Qrow and Robyn were still in his custody then he would've just threatened them instead of a whole city. If there's one thing he knows he can count on, it's the fact that Penny would be willing to give her life be it for a city or for a single friend. Since he's threatening all of Mantle, it probably means they've escaped, or at least that's my theory on the situation."

"But we probably don't have time to wait and see if they're in a position to stop the bomb," said Oscar, who'd been listening to the conversation behind him while gazing out the window in contemplation, "and even if they do manage to delay it, Salem won't stay gone for much longer."

"So then, it's an impossible situation," said Ruby with her hands on her head, the strain and exhaustion of the last couple of days weighing heavily on her.

"So there we have it," said Emerald, "If Miss Hero with all the answers doesn't have one, then we got ours."

"Oh just shut up if that's all you have to say," Weiss bit back irritably as Yang hopped off the table with her fists clenched.

"Look if you're not going to suggest anything helpful then you can just leave alre-," growled Yang before being stopped short.

"Enough!" Exclaimed Wayne as he stepped between the two, "the situation is far from impossible, but arguing about it will only waste time."

"Wayne's right," said Oscar, "Emerald's not with Salem anymore and Ozpin is back. So please, let's just give each other a chance." The atmosphere in the room calmed down a bit as Oscar resumed speaking. "All this doubt, worry and distrust isn't getting us anywhere."

"THEN NOTHING'S CHANGED!" Yelled Ruby suddenly as she slammed her hands on the table, "We're in the exact same place we were yesterday, still arguing over what to do while the kingdom waits to die!" Yang attempted to put a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder, only for the red-hooded girl to push away from the table and run out of the room. Yang was quick to follow after her with Aegis on her heels after a quick nod from Wayne.

"Alright, I'll admit it," said Emerald after a moment of staring after the departing trio, "that was probably my bad."

"Just keep it under wraps next time," said Wayne, "even if it wasn't a kingdom dooming scenario, that's not the best approach to take for planning."

"I'd honestly like to hear her throw in a helpful suggestion," said Weiss, "after all, sneaking into places she isn't wanted is kind of-."

"Weiss," said Oscar, "can we please focus. I think Wayne might actually have a suggestion we want to hear." The ex-heiress looked mildly surprised as she turned to her boyfriend.

"I do, actually," said Wayne, "it's something of a long shot, but I feel I should remind you a very capable huntsman and huntress are down there in Mantle right now. And from what Aegis told me about his and JNR's infiltration of Monstra, the bomb Ironwood plans to use is likely the one that was originally intended for it. So with some help from May's semblance, my Mother and Father could sneak out of the crater, grab the Atlesian ship we stashed and head on up towards Atlas. Ironwood's likely to use drones for the delivery of the bomb to the city in order to decrease the possibility of Atlas personnel dying. So, if they can intercept the payload in midflight before it reaches Mantle, Ironwood will have lost his leverage."

"That's, not a terrible plan," admitted Blake, "though it is still working off the assumption that Ironwood doesn't have Qrow and Robyn."

"And if it goes wrong, well," Oscar didn't need to finish his statement.

"I know," said Wayne with a heavy sigh as he put his hands on the table, leaning against it as some of his composure broke, "but if they do nothing then it'll be worse. Mom and Dad know the risks just like they always have, that's why they suggested it to me in the first place. They said they'd probably even kick May out of the ship before getting too high in the air. So even if it all does go wrong and Ironwood detonates the bomb with them still there, only two lives will be…lost. But it won't go wrong, it'll work because Mom and Dad have always pulled through, always managed to survive, always managed to make it work. If they do this, they won't fail…they can't….because if they do I'll."

Wayne brought a hand to his face, covering his eyes as he fought back his own tears. Weiss was quick to wrap him in a comforting hug, resting her head on his shoulder. "We can find another way," said Weiss, "one where no one has to sacrifice themselves."

"We might find another way," said Wayne, "but there's no longer a guarantee that no one will have to sacrifice themselves. I just…I've always been able to rely on my family when there was no one else who could be relied on. There's so much Mom and Dad can still teach us….and I don't know what I or Aegis will do if we lose them."

"You'll start by putting that out of your mind," said Weiss, "we've all met your parents and they are some of the toughest, most skilled fighters out there. And while they know what might happen, I'm certain they'll make it work. But if we really want to help them now, we can come up with a plan that doesn't risk that bomb going off at all."

"Of course, you're right," said Wayne as he covered one of her hands with his, "we still have some time so there's a chance we can-." His statement was interrupted by a loud crash.

A Few Minutes Earlier

Aegis had recently been working on a list of people he absolutely hated right now. Obviously he hated Salem who was responsible for all of this madness in the first place, he hated Tyrian and Watts for the parts they'd played in hurting his friends and pitting Atlas against Mantle, and he currently hated Ironwood to an extreme degree for causing Ruby to finally break down like this, among other serious crimes. Now here he stood, hanging back behind Yang a bit as they stepped into the main entrance hall to find Ruby, still sobbing slightly on the stairs with her head against one of the railling's pillars.

And now that he thought about it, Aegis wasn't entirely fond of himself right now because he didn't quite know where to begin with trying to cheer her up. Fortunately, Yang was a step ahead of him as she started off with something simple: the fact that one of the massive suits of armor that served for decoration had been toppled over onto something. "You know that giant Hound thing kicked us around like we were a bunch of toys," said Yang, "But Blake says you and the Schnees managed to take it down. I guess even after all this time you're still having to one up your big sis, huh?"

"Did she tell you what was underneath it," questioned Ruby weakly.

"Yeah," said Aegis, "something terrible."

"Then you know what that means," said Ruby, not quite speaking to the both of them, "don't you Yang?" The blond brawler let out a sigh before replying.

"I don't think you need to worry about that right-," Yang started to say, but Ruby continued her original thought anyway.

"What happened to that person, is what happened to Mom," said Ruby. That was the straw that broke the camel's back as tears welled up in Yang's eyes. Then she broke down as she brought her hands to her face, almost collapsing to her knees in the process if Aegis hadn't caught her. The Half-Bear Faunus said nothing, choosing instead to allow his girlfriend to let out her pent up emotions as Ruby continued. "I knew the moment I saw its eyes, the reason that Salem stopped killing people with silver eyes like Maria, why she's always wanted me alive. It was because when she met Mom, she learned she could do something new."

"Ruby," said Aegis, "is now really the best time-?"

"We shouldn't lie to ourselves," said the silver-eyed girl with a bit more force in her voice than before, "I wasted our time getting Amity up in hopes that help would come, but it didn't. Even with Wayne helping up there, Amity's signal didn't last. I was being childish and led half the team on a fruitless mission."

"You weren't being childish," said Yang as she left Aegis's embrace to kneel in front of Ruby, "you were being optimistic. And no, blind optimism isn't great, but no optimism means we've lost already. We can't get anywhere without hope, or without taking risks."

"I risked several of us, including Penny, getting caught by Atlas," said Ruby, "and then Wayne, Penny, Maria and Pietro risked themselves and it still didn't work."

"And me, Yang and the rest of us got our asses kicked by a nasty new Grimm who wound up kidnapping Oscar," Aegis pointed out, "at least you managed to fully accomplish what you originally set out to do."

"And they're not called sure things in the first place," said Yang with a sigh, "they're called risks because they might not pay off. But not everything's gone wrong. You got your message out, we got Oscar back, you guys killed that Hound, Oscar blew up the whale, and a whole lot of other things we didn't plan for managed to go right." Yang and Aegis moved and sat down on the steps next to Ruby then. "Mom also took a risk the day she left to confront Salem, and I don't think it turned out quite the way she wanted it to. But she's still my hero and she always will be."

The two embraced Ruby then, who seemed resistant at first before relaxing into their hold. It was a calming moment where they tried to forget the weight on their shoulders for a little bit. Though the sound of something crashing did an even better job of that. The group looked up the stairs then as Jaune came running down them while uttering a single word: "Hurry!"

The two huntresses and huntsman didn't waste time with any questions as they followed after the blond knight out into the courtyard of the mansion. They quickly discovered the cause of the disturbance upon seeing Penny's body laying on the ground, though she didn't remain so for long as she stood back up, her eyes glowing red from whatever command she'd been given after having a virus implanted into her systems. "I cannot delay any longer," said Penny, more robotically than normal as she stepped forward with her jets lighting up on the back of her feet.

"Penny you can't," said Ruby as she speed forward with her semblance, stopping in front of the android to hold her back, "you know what will happen if you do!"

"My…My orders are…..," Penny stuttered out as she suddenly started moving stiffly, her eyes going back and forth from their usual green to red and back again, "to open the vault….no, I do not want," she grabbed her head while grimacing in pain, attempting to fight back against the foreign programming within her, "Ruby, you have to stop me!"

"We got ya," said Aegis as he and Ruby both grabbed ahold of the Winter Maiden.

"I must open the vault," said Penny as her eyes went completely red again, "and self terminate." Her struggles ceased then as she looked up and ignited her jets at full capacity, taking off with enough thrust to carry both Ruby and Aegis. By this point, the others had made their way out of the mansion to see what was going on, and reacted accordingly. Wayne was quick to attach his wires to his Crescent Fangs and toss them, amazingly wrapping them around Penny's legs without hitting Aegis or Ruby as Blake followed suit by throwing and wrapping Gambol Shroud's ribbon around her friend's right arm. Ren added to this by firing both cables from his Storm Flowers, wrapping them around Penny's left arm as the Huntsmen and Huntresses all grabbed onto the restraints and worked to keep Penny from flying away.

Weiss quickly eased the burden on them by projecting a black gravity glyph beneath the Android's feet, pulling her back down to the ground as Aegis activated his rage mode to push her down even further with Ruby's help. "We got her," said Weiss as she continued to focus on her glyph.

"We got her," repeated Nora, "but what do we do now?" It was a good question, one they weren't able to answer quickly enough as the green flames of the Winter Maiden shot from Penny's eyes. A powerful wind swirled around their friend then as she used her magic to increase the power in her boots while also keeping everyone else at bay with the swirling wind around her. The only ones able to remain close to her right now were Aegis and Ruby, who were holding on as much for dear life as they were to keep Penny down as the android began lifting off the ground once more.

"I must," said Penny as she continued to slowly ascend into the air, "open the vault, and self terminate!" 'I feel like this would be a bad time to mention she had enough thrust to move Amity with her maiden powers,' thought Wayne as he considered running his semblance through his wires. He didn't want to hurt her, but if she got away now then they'd never see her again and Ironwood would get the staff. His line of thought was interrupted, however, by two chain sickles shooting out and grabbing onto Penny's shoulders, slowing her ascent.

"Do something, please," grunted Emerald as she pulled with everything she had to keep the android from leaving. Jaune took his cue and moved over to Weiss, using his semblance to boost the power of her glyph. It was strong enough now that it pulled the Winter Maiden all the way down, causing her windstorm to cease as the girl feel to her knees.

"Penny, please," begged Ruby, "tell me how we can help you?!"

"Kill me," she answered simply after a moment, drawing a look of confusion from both Ruby and Aegis, "if you kill me now, I can make sure the power goes to you, Ruby." Everyone wanted to argue with such a demand for obvious reasons, but Penny cut off any attempts as her eyes started flashing red once again. "Please, you have too, I can't fight it!"

"Yes you can!" exclaimed Nora, "whatever's trying to make you do this is just a part of you, remember? If you were just a machine you'd never have been able to fight back at all, let alone this long!"

"That's right, her aura's not artificial," Ruby thought aloud before directing her attention to her friends, "JAUNE! Boost her aura!" The knight didn't need to be told twice as he hurried over and held out his hands, the white energy of his semblance enhancing the power of Penny's aura. As he did so, the red in her eyes receded little by little until she no longer seemed to be in pain at all. Aegis waited for another moment just to be sure, then released Penny upon seeing her smile and nod.

Whatever had been controlling her was quiet now, or at least for the moment, prompting Ruby to wrap her friend in an affectionate hug. The other members of team WA, JNR and RWBY unwound their weapons from the Winter Maiden's limbs as they all gathered around her. "Did I stop the virus?" Questioned Jaune with a bit of hope in his voice.

"No," said Penny after staring at her hands for a moment, "I can still feel it within me."

"But, you've got an aura Penny," Ruby pointed out, "that means you have a soul. That's who you really are inside, our friend, and not just a machine." She and Nora gave Penny a hug then as everyone looked on with mixtures of relief and happiness on their faces. It was then that Oscar walked up.

"Hey, nice of you to join us," said Aegis, "were you on the pot? You missed all the fun."

"I was running through what I knew about auras and machines with Ozpin," replied Oscar, "though it looks like you figured out what to do before I could get out here."

"Well she was right about that," said Emerald, who was now sitting on the ground after exerting herself to keep Penny from flying away, "but she was wrong about earlier. What I mean is I highly doubt you're in quite the same place as you started. I mean yeah, you guys have kind of been getting your asses kicked, admittedly some of that being my fault, but like, this is a war you're fighting. You're gonna take hits and well…..look I am just gonna be super pissed if you all finally decide to give up the moment I switch sides!"

Most everyone gave the green-haired girl confused looks, but Wayne and Oscar smiled before speaking up. "You are terrible at charisma, just so you know," quipped the Elder Ursario smirking despite his statement.

"But I do believe she said something about switching sides," Oscar pointed out with his own knowing smile on his face.

"Aww, I think she finally likes us," said Yang, getting a laugh out of Ruby and Nora while Blake playfully punched her arm. Everyone else soon got in on it.

"Whatever," said Emerald as Oscar approached and helped her up, "I don't practice rousing speeches in my free time."

"Most of us don't either," said Oscar before turning to everyone else, "though if you all wouldn't mind, Ozpin would really like to say a few words." The rest of the group quickly exchanged a few glances with each other before Ruby nodded. The customary and now familiar flash of orange entered Oscar's eyes then, indicating that he'd switched places with the other inhabitant of his body.

"I was recently reminded of an old fairy tale," said Ozpin through Oscar as he started walking forward with his cane in a gait his former students were quite familiar with, "a young girl flees the consequences of a choice to a magical place. But, because she never learned from her initial failure, she only succeeds in spreading it. Much like her, I failed all of you by not learning from one of my previous failures. I should have trusted you with the truth, instead of running the day you discovered it."

The group exchanged a few looks before Yang spoke up. "It's been, pretty rough," she said.

"But after everything that's happened here," continued Blake, "I think we understand. Trust really can be-."

"Trust is a risk," Weiss finished for her.

"And I hope it is a risk you're willing to take on with me again," said Ozpin.

"Well in all honesty it's not like you asked to be put into a reincarnation cycle against your psycho ex-wife," Aegis pointed out, "yet another brilliant move by light and dark there."

"I think what he means is yes, we're willing to trust you again," said Wayne as everyone else nodded in agreement. It was a touching moment, knowing they all could fully depend on each other again. But it didn't last as Penny gripped her chest again, a pained expression crossing her face.

"I can still feel the virus fighting to take control," said Penny, answering the question on everyone's mind.

"I can amp her aura for a little while," said Jaune, "but I can't do it forever even if we didn't have a time limit."

"And I doubt Ironwood would be willing to extend the time on his ultimatum," added Ren.

"Then, we have to get her to the vault," said Nora, not needing to be told what the consequences of that might be. Oddly enough, it granted a sudden spark of inspiration to the leader of team RWBY.

"Guys," said Ruby, "I just realized, opening the vault and getting the staff, is a risk we haven't considered."

"Now this I can tell, is gonna be good," said Wayne as he stood up, "so let's get inside and get to planning this heist."

"Heist?" Said Weiss with a raised eyebrow.

"What, we're about to break into a secret vault to steal one of the oldest and most valuable artifacts on all of Remnant," said Wayne, "that's a heist if I've ever heard one. Oh and we're also probably pulling a small time coup de tat while we're at it."

"That's not actually….well it's not totally accurate but also….not inaccurate," said Weiss as she actually took a minute to think about it. The list of crazy things they've had to deal with lately was not getting shorter any time soon.

"Let's leave the semantics for now," said Ozpin as he led the way inside, "first, it'd be best to tell you all how exactly the staff of creation works." The group got up and followed after him, passing by Klein, Whitley and Willow Schnee on the way in, with the last of them putting a hand on Wayne's shoulder.

"I know you're short on time," she said, "but this'll just take a moment."

"I actually have been meaning to have a word with you," said Wayne as he turned to the one he now knew as Weiss's mother. She looked like a much older Winter with slightly more unruly hair that was done up in a ponytail which was currently hanging over her left shoulder. Her outfit was unsurprisingly high class with a white button-up shirt covered by a purplish blue vest that went all the way past her waist and was secured by a belt around her stomach. "I'm not very good at formal Atlesian greetings so I'll stick with what I know: Wayne Ursario, a pleasure to meet you at last Mrs. Schnee."

"You can just call me Willow," she replied as she shook his outstretched hand, "Weiss has told me much about you, Wayne, and from what I understand you've built up quite the track record in the last few months."

"No more than her or anyone else in our little group," replied Wayne, "though I feel I should apologize for defacing your mansion, and your son's hair."

"It took an hour to get it all out in case you're wondering," Whitley said, brushing a hand through his hair. Though there wasn't any malice behind his words.

"We were on the clock and you were, well, not in the best spot," said Wayne, "and again, sorry about that but it was the quickest method at the time."

"You don't need to worry about any of that right now," said Willow, "I only really wanted to pull you aside to say, thank you. You might not realize it, but my daughter's happier now than she's ever been thanks to you and your friends. She tried so hard at first to pretend she didn't like and respect you, one of the first boys to ever act like her Schnee heritage didn't set her apart from everyone else. And after seeing and hearing about everything you two have been through together, I can't think of anyone more suited to be with my daughter."

"That's very flattering of you to say," said Wayne as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I was just doing what I always do, trying to be a good friend. And I learned a lot fighting alongside Weiss too. Working with her and watching her become the incredible huntress she is now, I honestly feel lucky she even considered me. You raised a truly amazing daughter."

"She's always been a strong girl," said Willow as she put a hand on Wayne's shoulder, "and you've been a strong support for her. I know I don't have to ask you because I already know you'll do everything you can to protect her and make her happy. So instead I'll simply say once again, thank you, Wayne Ursario."

"I'm not sure if Weiss told you," said Wayne as he covered Willow's hand with his, "but I'm not the type to make a lot of promises. It's not because I don't think I can keep them, though, rather it's because the promises I do make, I fully intend to keep. So I'm promising you all now, I will do my absolute best to look after Weiss and make her happy."

"And that's all I can ask for," said Willow, "now you'd best get going, you've still got a plan to make with the others." Wayne nodded and turned to leave, but he felt one more comment was necessary before he did so.

"Oh and Whitley," he said, "I hope you'll accept an apology from me on behalf of my little brother, because you are not gonna get one out of him."

"One and a half is better than none at all I guess," said Whitley as he crossed his arms, "now get going, my sister is waiting in there with the others." Wayne nodded before heading off to the dining room. It was true they didn't have a lot of time, but now that they had a direction, they were able to draw up a plan pretty quickly. A surprise call from an unexpected source of help also helped them along greatly. By the time the hour was up, Ruby used her scroll to contact Ironwood.

The words she said were short and to the point: "She'll do it." What would come to follow afterwards, though, would be a bit more complicated than any of them would or could have expected.

And there we have it, the last chapter before things get crazy again. And while it was short, I hope you all still enjoyed it and as always, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes set their plan into motion and attempt to take down the most powerful man in Atlas! 'Til then.