Infiltration, Confrontation and Creation

Hello everyone and welcome, at last, to the latest chapter of Team WA Vol. 2! Feels like it's taken me a good while to get back to this one, but hopefully what you'll find here was worth the wait. Also, a minor announcement or rather a question for those of you familiar with my Re:zero fanfic 'A New Crusade'. You see, I was recently suggested the idea of making short stories for it in the fashion of the Re:zero IF stories which, for those of you who don't know, follow different paths from the canon. Just leave your thoughts on the matter in your reviews for this story or in 'A New Crusade' or PM me if you wish. Now, you've waited long enough and we got no guest review questions this week, so onto the story!

Daytime: Atlas Academy

It was a risky plan, in fact in many ways it was downright crazy. Like any plan there were probably a hundred different ways it could go wrong. But it was also the most unexpected move they could make right now, and with everyone else moving into position to do their part, or having already begun executing their portion of the plan, it was her turn to do what needed to be done. So as soon as the Manta they'd pulled out of one of the Schnee hangars got close enough, Penny leapt out and lit her jet boots to fly towards her destination.

Naturally she'd been told to come alone and that any attempt at the rest of her friends landing on the grounds of Atlas academy would be met with lethal force and the payload would be set off as soon as it reached Mantle. And so the android girl flew around to the entrance of the academy, landing at the bottom of the steps right behind Winter and Ironwood, the only two currently waiting to greet her. "I didn't think you'd actually come alone," said Ironwood as he held up a rectangular laser cannon which was using his revolvers as the handles. Winter also had her sword out, eyes peeled for any potential threats that might be lurking around.

But when nothing happened after a few moments, they lowered their weapons and Ironwood handed Winter a pair of magnetic bola cuffs to put on Penny. "I honestly expected at least some form of resistance from your friends," added the General as he reaimed his new weapon while Winter approached Penny.

"I don't want anyone else to die just because of our disagreement," said Penny as Winter secured her hands with the cuffs, "If it prevents any more tragedy, I must open the vault." The Older Schnee sister stepped back and drew her sword again as Ironwood sighed before lowering his cannon.

"You've done the right thing," he assured as he walked over and put his new mechanical hand on her shoulder.

"I have," said Penny while flashing an uncharacteristic smirk. Suddenly, her form was distorted and shifted to that of a dark-skinned girl with green hair and a white jacket. Also revealed was an entire manta with teams ORNJ and WA standing at the ready. "Feels weird," said Emerald. She proceeded to slam her foot into Ironwood's chin while backflipping away in the same motion.

The surprised General didn't have time to react as he was knocked back, losing his new weapon and consequently his revolvers in the process as Emerald caught the laser cannon before casting an illusion to make herself invisible. Wayne and Aegis wasted no time in charging forward with the opening they'd been given with the latter attacking first using an electrified glass mace. Ironwood avoided the first two swings before catching an overhead strike with both of his mechanical hands. Wayne didn't let him get any chance to recover for a counterattack by slashing at his midsection, forcing him to let go and back up, avoiding Wayne's sickles but not his follow up kick which sent him stumbling backwards.

Jaune and Oscar moved in next with the knight using several diagonal cuts which Ironwood again avoided before catching the blond's wrist and retaliating with a powerful right cross which Jaune blocked with his shield before activating it's hardlight dust to push them both apart. Oscar took his opening then and scored a couple of hits on the disoriented General before he struck back with a powerful uppercut which lifted Oscar into the air before punching him away with a left jab. Ren and Wayne didn't give him time to catch his bearings as they both wrapped one of their respective weapons around Ironwood's legs and yanked him down. They then proceeded to yank the General towards them with Ren firing a few shots from his other weapon.

Ironwood proved surprisingly agile, though, and slammed his left arm on the ground to send himself slightly into the air, kicking both weapons with his feet and unwrapping the cable/wire before landing and charging forward at Ren. The martial artist managed to block his first couple of punches before throwing out a kick which Ironwood blocked with a low strike before punching Ren in the chest and sending him stumbling away. Wayne entered the fight again with his blades set to lightning dust, attempting to slash the General with a few horizontal and diagonal strikes.

Ironwood dodged the first few before countering with some punches of his own which Wayne blocked or dodged before catching the Headmaster's right arm and jabbing his other weapon into it. His opponent grunted in pain from the electric shock he was receiving before yanking his mechanical limb out of Wayne's grasp with his incredible strength and puching him in the gut with his other fist, sending him on his back. But before he could advance on the Older Ursario brother, the sound of lightning drew his attention as he looked over, and his eyes widened.

The hammer girl, Nora, was in the air and getting lightning sent to her weapon, by one of Winter's glyphs! He wasn't able to shake off his surprise in time before the high-powered hammer slammed into his face, knocking him several feet away, though he managed to roll and remain upright. Or so he thought until Aegis struck again with his electrified mace. The General blocked the first couple of blows with his arms, almost regretting it due to the electricity potentially damaging his cybernetics before taking a blow to his side. His reaction to that was to slam a fist into Aegis's face as he was about to strike again, staggering him, but only slightly.

The half-bear Faunus looked up, his eyes red with the rage mode but with a smile on his face as the General followed his eyes to see Winter and Oscar charging at him on top of a summoned Manticore. He was just able to plant his feet in time to stop the charging manifestation, sliding back only a few feet. But it still gave Winter an opening to leap up and assault his back with some shards of ice before creating a black gravity glyph which sent Oscar flying towards him at high speed. He struck quickly, hitting him with one of Ozpin's favored techniques, a series of aura powered jabs that hit in rapid succession all around his midsection before ending it with an extra powerful one to his stomach.

It was enough to make his aura flare dangerously as Ozpin's current vessel attempted a vertical strike. But Ironwood was ready this time and managed to catch it, a look of fury on his face as he glanced down at Oscar before raising his fist. But his arm was stopped at the last second by an electrified glass hook as Aegis pulled back with all of his strength. This left him open for a decisive strike by Winter as she sped in and hit him with a powerful slash fueled by lightning dust.

The Headmaster yelled in pain as he felt his aura break, the pain intense enough that he dropped to his knees as Aegis released his arm. And even though it hadn't been a long fight, the General felt overwhelming fatigue as he tried desperately to keep his eyes open. But the younger Ursario brother had a solution to that problem as he walked around in front of him, and swiftly kicked him in the dick. Fresh pain exploded as the General gasped out an octave or two higher than normal before quickly succumbing to unconsciousness and collapsing to the ground.

"That's for threatening my family, dickweed," spat Aegis as his eyes went back to their regular color.

"Ouch," said Jaune as he and the others gathered together, "even if he did have it coming, that was pretty brutal."

"But it'll work to keep him down for now," said Winter as she sheathed her sword and walked forward where Emerald reappeared. She quickly undid the cuffs and took Ironwood's weapons before speaking up again. "Now move to phase two!" The group did as instructed as they all hurried towards the academy entrance. 'So far so good,' thought Wayne as he recalled how they came up with the plan in the first place.

Less Than an Hour ago: Inside the Schnee Mansion

"We've been so worried about keeping the vault sealed, we never even considered using what's inside," said Jaune from his seat at the large table, not being able to help voicing his own realization after hearing Ruby's moment of inspiration. Though some of that was tempered by his hand on Penny's shoulder, keeping her aura boosted whenever the virus threatened to take hold again.

"Maybe we could use the staff of creation to save Penny," suggested Ruby, "and get everyone in Mantle and Atlas to safety."

"Yeah, you know how I hate being 'that guy' and all," said Wayne, "but if I recall, Ozpin said Atlas would fall the moment the staff is used to create something else. Is there any sort of way around that?"

"I'm afraid not," replied Oscar, "the staff can't infinitely create one thing after another. Typically, when one creation is made, the one preceding it is destroyed. Fortunately, the city has enough natural gravity dust that it won't plummet immediately when the staff is used. Though even if it is falling slowly, no one is going to want to be around when it does impact against Mantle."

"So we can use the staff to evacuate everyone from Mantle and Atlas," said Weiss, "we just need to figure out how to keep Penny from terminating the moment the vault is open."

"Maybe we can use the staff to teleport everyone to a new location," suggested Jaune, "in this case a whole other kingdom would probably be a good idea."

"It's not like a magic wand we can just wave to make all our problems go away," said Oscar, "like the lamp and all the other relics it has its own rules and limitations. And it'd be best if we told you about, him."

"Who?" Questioned Yang as she leaned forward from her spot at the table.

"This staff also has a spirit inside of it, like Jinn?" Added Aegis as Oscar's eyes shined, signaling his switch to Ozpin.

"That's correct Aegis," replied Ozpin, "though where Jinn's function was answering questions, the spirit inside the staff is one of creation, and a bit of a character. He can build you anything but the catch is, you have to explain to him how. To put it simply, he needs blueprints like any craftsman or at least some sort of reference. It'll help if we have real world examples to show him."

"I've already gone through the layouts for the SDC evacuation," said Whitley, "maybe I can help with those?" Weiss gave her brother a smile upon hearing the suggestion.

"There's still James and his bomb to consider," said Ozpin.

"Oh I've got a plan for that," said Weiss with a hand on her hip, "well more like two or three."

"Jen and Tobias are already on their way up to Atlas," said Wayne, "the plan with May's semblance worked like a charm, and thanks to the call Winter gave us we know the bomb hasn't even left Atlas yet. So they'll rendezvous with our friends on the inside while we pick a team to take out Ironwood."

"And that's what we'll call phase one," said Weiss, "once all the threats are neutralized."

"We'll move on to phase two," said Ruby, picking up for Weiss, "getting Penny to the vault with some of us backing her up."

"I actually blew a hole through the bottom of Atlas," said Oscar, switching back for a moment, "with all the destruction and mayhem happening right now, I highly doubt they've had time to make repairs."

"Well then the next thing we need to know is where we're all heading too," said Aegis as he cracked his knuckles, "and by the way, I call dibs on being part of the Ironwood beatdown team." The group nodded in agreement at this as they went over the next part of the plan.

A Few Minutes Earlier: Atlas Hangar

Several white, rectangular ships with wings that jutted out in an 'x' shape sat lined up in one of the many hangars of Atlas Academy. Currently, the area had been cleared out save for the numerous androids who were both transporting and guarding the large, cylindrical bomb. They were readying to load it onto the nearest ship, which already had its ramp down, when something unexpected happened. A bullet and a crossbow bolt took out two of the androids who were carrying the front part of the bomb.

This brought their march to a halt as the other two carriers struggled to move the bomb while the guards raised their rifles towards the direction of the threat. Many of them were cut down or shot as Qrow and Robyn leapt down onto the scene with the scythe wielder spinning and shifting his weapon between sword and scythe mode, neatly bisecting any android who got too close. His movements also worked to deflect any shots at Robyn Hill's back as she fired one bolt after another, bullseyeing several androids while occasionally raising her eagle-shaped armbow to block any incoming fire directed at her front. It made for quite a spectacle, but even with all their speed and skill the two of them weren't fast enough to stop one of the androids from sending out an alert.

"Company's gonna be coming soon," said Robyn as she headshotted another android.

"Yeah it is," replied Qrow as he cut down two more androids, "and I can't wait for them to show up." It was a sentiment Robyn didn't share as the Ace Ops, minus Marrow, entered the room with their weapons drawn as they caught sight of the huntsman and Happy Huntress leader. But Qrow smirked despite their arrival as he noted something entering the hangar, rather quickly. Just as the Ace Ops began their charge, a manta came flying into the hangar with its landing gear out, but it had too much momentum and surged forward as it's feet impacted and sparked against the floor.

Vine and Elm reacted quickly with the former generating two large aura hands while Elm planted her feet with her semblance and braced herself as the two caught the ship and slowed its large bulk to a halt. Harriet was the only one to dodge out of the way of the ship, her eyes and body sparking with the electrical energy of her semblance as she kept her focus on Qrow. But she didn't get far as the windshield of the Manta suddenly erupted in blue flame before exploding outward, causing the two closer Ace Ops to back up as they covered their heads to avoid some of the flaming fragments. Harriet herself almost stumbled from the blast, but caught herself and used her speed to dodge around the flaming glass shards.

What she didn't see coming, though, was the figure among the flaming shards as he kicked her in the face while drawing his revolver-like weapons, sending the speedster rolling a couple of feet away as he circled around to get between them, Qrow and Robyn. "Harriet," said Vine as he and Elm moved to assist their teammate, only for another figure to leap out and slam the ground behind them with both fists, causing an explosion which knocked them off their feet. Vine nimbly flipped around to face the new threat while Elm rolled forward and turned before coming up and firing one of the rockets from her launcher. The Bear Faunus woman smirked and threw a high powered wind punch, causing the rocket to veer upwards and explode midair.

"Glad you two could make it," said Qrow as he took up a position next to Tobias, "I was starting to wonder if you'd missed your flight."

"Flight was on time," quipped Tobias as he faced Vine, Qrow faced Harriet and Jen faced Elm. Robyn Hill busied herself clearing the room of the remaining androids. "But the air traffic on the way up was murder." Qrow simply smirked as the fight commenced with him switching to his scythe and twirling it around his body to ward off Harriet's initial charge and punches. At the same time, Tobias opened fire at Vine who flipped and rolled to avoid his bullets before countering with two large aura hands that he swung like whips.

The gunwielder spun and hopped over the initial attacks before diving inbetween both hands while returning fire. Vine pulled out his shuriken weapon and deflected the incoming projectiles while raising himself in the air with aura legs. He reached out with another aura arm but Tobias anticipated the attack, switching his weapons to tomahawk mode before jumping up, turning sideways and spinning like a top. He ignited his blades as he went, turning into a spinning disc that traveled right up Vine's aura arm, forcing him to end both that and his aura legs as he dropped down to avoid the attack aimed at his head. Tobias didn't give him any time to breath, charging the monk member of the Ace Ops the moment his feet touched the ground.

Vine, having no time to use his semblance in that split second, parried his weapon strikes with his own weapon before creating a blade lock. It was difficult to hold given that he was using one arm against both of Tobias's, but he only needed a moment as he formed more aura around his right hand to strike at his opponent. At the same time, however, Tobias clicked his teeth, creating a spark which caused his own weapon to erupt in blue flame. The sudden pain caused Vine to lose focus as his aura arm disappeared and created an opening for his huntsman opponent to kick him in the midsection.

Vine rolled back from the blow and came up with another aura arm, grabbing ahold of the gunman and squeezing. Tobias grunted in pain from the sudden attack, but it didn't hold long as his whole body erupted in blue flame, dissipating the aura hand holding him as he resumed his fighting stance. "I can see why the General holds you and your wife in such high esteem," complimented Vine as he also took his fighting stance, "you're not someone to be taken lightly."

"You're too kind," replied Tobias as he spun one of his tomahawks for a moment, "at least that's what I'd like to say, but the fact that you're still willing to follow a clearly insane man's orders makes me wonder how kind you actually are."

"Everything we do is-," Vine started to say before he was cut off.

"For the good of Atlas," finished Tobias as he reaffirmed his grip on both of his weapons, "now if only you'd actually meant it. Too late now though." Vine frowned at his statement before the two engaged each other again. At about the same time, Jen was having her own battle of fists and words with Elm.

"How did you even get up here?" Questioned Elm as she blocked a couple of punches with the handle of her hammer before retaliating with the middle section, knocking Jen away.

"Did you not see the ship we flew in on," said Jen as she rolled back up to her feet before charging forward. Elm quickly activated the rocket boost on her hammer and swung the bludgeoning weapon horizontally at the charging Faunus. Jen's answer to this was to roll, slam her fists on the ground and create a small explosion to catapult herself over the hammer. Being in midswing, Elm didn't have time to dodge or raise an arm to block as Jen slammed both of her booted feet into her face, causing her to stagger and almost fall back from the force.

"I was talking about getting past the drones," said Elm as she felt her nose while regaining her footing, "we were watching the whole crater."

"That's the thing about you Atlesians," said Jen as her eyes turned to the red of the rage mode, "you think your tech is infallible. But even it has its faults!" She and Elm rushed each other then as the hammer collided with both gauntlets, creating a shockwave which would've sent the taller Ace Ops back if she hadn't planted her feet with her semblance. As for Jen, she continued her assault as melee weapon met gauntlet again and again, shaking their section of the room with each impact until the bear Faunus finally grabbed a hold of the weapon's handle and tried to push her over.

Naturally, Elm pushed back, the two coming to a stalemate as Jen's rage induced strength allowed her to keep in place despite her opponent's semblance creating a literal foothold. It lasted for several moments until they both roared and slammed their heads into each other, sending a resounding crack through the air as they both staggered back while holding their heads. "Ah, are you sure you're not a bull Faunus?" Questioned Elm as she rubbed her head.

"I could ask you the same thing," said Jen as she shook her own head a bit, "you're certainly as stubborn as one."

"You should talk," said Elm, "why is it so hard for you all just to let us do the right thing?"

"Cutting and running when you have the ability to save people isn't the right thing," countered Jen, "any true huntress would know that."

"Like a small town brawler would know what it takes to save an entire city!" Exclaimed Elm as she charged this time and swung her hammer horizontally at Jen's waist. The huntress leapt over her weapon, landing and rolling to a kneeling position before raising both her hands to block Elm's return strike to the right side of her head. The Ace Op attempted to yank the head of her hammer towards the back of Jen's skull, but she countered with an explosion from both gauntlets which pushed the weapon away and knocked Elm off balance.

Jen capitalized on this opening and rushed forward while Elm countered again with the handle of her hammer, using her semblance to plant her feet. But Jen anticipated the move this time and instead grabbed the handle with her lead hand, using it as a fulcrum to slide between Elm's legs and slam her dust powered fist into the larger woman's knee. Even with her aura taking most of the damage, it still hurt enough to break Elm's concentration as her semblance stopped and she lost her balance again. Jen grabbed her leg with both arms then and pulled with all of her might, actually picking the Ace Op member up off the floor and propelling her into a spin.

"I'm trying to save two whole cities you militant moron!" Roared Jen as she threw the woman several feet away. Elm rolled for a few feet before managing to get back up to a half-kneeling position, her teeth gritted in frustration at the turn of events. Vine followed shortly after as he flipped down next to her in order to avoid an entire section of the floor which had been set on fire. Harriet was last as she was forced to use her semblance to maneuver around both Qrow's gunfire and the flames Tobias lit before she landed with the rest of her team.

"Are you both alright?" Asked Vine as he and his team regrouped a bit. At the same time, the blue flames faded to reveal Jen, Tobias and Qrow also ready for the next round.

"I'm fine," growled Harriet, "we just need to hit 'em with a good formation and they'll fall apart."

"Then let us use one they're less familiar with," suggested Vine, receiving a nod from his teammates. As they were about to charge again, however, a familiar voice stopped the fight entirely.

"STAY!" Exclaimed Marrow, having just walked in the door with his finger pointed at the three Ace Ops members. Time stopped around them as they all ground to a halt, unable to move thanks to the dog Faunus's semblance.

"About time you got here," commented Robyn as she finished off the last android.

"I was busy making sure the way was clear for the kids," said Marrow, grunting slightly from the strain of his semblance. He'd finally decided he was done following orders that were only making things worse, something Winter had taken notice of before keeping him from getting shot by the General. At the very least, he owed her this much. "Now could you please hurry up and cuff them."

"Since you asked so nicely," replied Qrow as he and Robyn got to work doing just that. Then, the city began shaking.

Now: Atlas Communications Room

"It seems like they got the staff out of the vault," noted Aegis as he and everyone else felt the room shake. They'd managed to make their way into one of the main communication hubs of the Academy, a room filled with holographic screens and a large, circular console in the center.

"If the city is moving, then we need to hurry," said Oscar/Ozpin as Jaune stood bent over the main console in an attempt to open up the main channel. The next phase of the plan would involve them getting word out to all of Atlas and Mantle. Something that was turning out to be a bit harder than they hoped.

"I know I know, I'm working on it," said Jaune as he pulled up one function after another on the holographic screen.

"Remind me again why we let the dork knight work the computer?" Questioned Emerald as she and Wayne stood off to the side.

"You'd rather Nora tried working it," Wayne asked back as he glanced at the former thief with a raised eyebrow.

"Fair point," admitted Emerald, "I just never realized how much you guys needed computer expertise."

"You're welcome to give it a shot," Wayne pointed out, "the sooner we get a message out the better."

"I think he's about got it," noted Emerald as Jaune managed to find the camera function. Wayne nodded his head before deciding to bring up another matter.

"So are you gonna ask or what?" Questioned The Elder Ursario, catching Emerald off-guard to a slight degree.

"Ask about what?" Emerald replied with a confused look on her face.

"Your eyes have been darting around like you're trying to think of something to say," Wayne observed, "just go ahead and say it."

"Alright," said Emerald with a sigh, "you and Weiss Schnee, the ice queen, are a thing?"

"That such a surprise," said Wayne with a smirk, "you've probably noticed she's changed a bit since you last saw her."

"I mean yeah," said Emerald, "it's just that, the most intimate thing I saw you two do while I was at Beacon was part of some evil plan of hers to make another guy jealous. Now you're hugging and kissing and doing, whatever couples do when faced with world-threatening situations."

"That bit at the dance was a long time ago," said Wayne with a quick laugh, "or at least it seems like a long time ago. A lot can happen in about a year or so."

"From the looks of it," said Emerald, "guess I have a lot of catching up to do when we get the chance."

"One thing at a ti-what just happened?" Asked Wayne as he noticed all the screens had suddenly switched to the 'technical difficulty' mode.

"The entire CCT just went dead," said Ren as he looked from one screen to another.

"Kingdom wide communication is also down," said Nora as she held up her scroll, showing the same message, "but how?"

"Watts," surmised Wayne as he checked his own scroll, "guess Cinder didn't take him far after breaking him out." Winter had warned them about his recent jailbreak. And now it seemed they were making their move.

"That still leaves the question on what we do now," said Ozpin/Oscar.

"This might sound weird coming from me," said Aegis, "but I vote patience, at least for the moment."

"Patience?" Said Emerald as more of a question, "aren't you the one who usually wants to rush into things headfirst alongside Yang?"

"Yeah I know I know," said Aegis as he waved his hand dismissively, "but Yang and the others are actually who I'm counting on."

"Could you elaborate?" Asked Ren, deciding to be optimistic for the moment.

"Well I understood like, five percent of the whole interdimensional door idea," said Aegis, "but there are supposed to be doors popping up everywhere, right? So the moment they start showing up, we just hop in and get the word out."

"That, could actually work," said Ozpin/Oscar, "we know from the shaking of the kingdom that they've already solved the problem with Penny, so any minute now they should be creating the passage to Vacuo." As if on cue, a large glowing, oval-shaped doorway appeared. It's gold and blue coloring made it look more like a portal to another world which, in this case, was relatively accurate.

"So we stick to the plan," said Ren with a nod.

"And hopefully we can convince all of Atlas to jump into the freaky magic doors," said Nora, "that's gonna take awhile on foot."

"About that," said Emerald as she and the others approached said doors, "are we sure these things even work?"

"Well you could always examine them and see if they're illusions, right," Wayne suggested.

"It doesn't work that way," said Emerald with a sigh, "I can influence minds to see different things and recently I've been able to cast illusions within a short radius. I'm not an illusion det-AAAAAAGH!" She'd been facing Wayne the whole time when Aegis suddenly pushed her into the doorway itself and the sensation of being yanked forward at high speed met her before suddenly stopping as she collapsed to her knees on a large golden disk with two other doorways on either side and a long, yellow pathway leading down to what looked like a central station. Wayne and Aegis followed shortly after, laughing their asses off when they arrived.

"That," said Emerald as everyone else arrived, with Jaune looking like he was about to lose his lunch, "was a dick move."

"Oh come on it was just a bit of fun," said Wayne as soon as he was finished laughing, "consider it, an initiation if you'd like."

"And if the door had turned out not to work," said Emerald as Oscar helped her up.

"Ambrosius doesn't make things that don't work," said Ozpin/Oscar, "the only thing we would have to worry about is if the description we gave had issues we didn't think about addressing."

"I mean some railing would've been nice," noted Aegis as he took a quick peek at the likely incredibly long drop below, "but I guess we'll work around that."

"You make it sound like building this is something to sneeze at," Wayne pointed out as they got a better look around. They were surrounded by a giant dark space, but it was illuminated by countless other doorways similar to where they'd just exited from, all leading down to the central location that resembled a golden train station.

"Alright," said Jaune as he took a deep breath, "we can do this. Nora and I will work on getting people through the gates, Wayne and Aegis will work on spreading the word to the others and keeping an eye out for any problems. Everyone else, stick to your roles. Remember, whatever happens the evacuation is priority one."

"Are you sure you won't need more help?" Questioned Ren.

"Shade is armed to the teeth with Huntsman and Huntresses," said Nora, "but we're about to drop an entire kingdom's worth of negativity right on their doorstep. If anyone is gonna need help, it'll be them."

"Sounds like something we might be able to lend a hand in," said the voice of Tobias as he and Jen stepped through one of the other doorways, "and it's been forever since we've been to the desert."

"Mom, Dad!" Exclaimed Aegis as he and Wayne both ran to embrace their parents.

"It's good to see you're both alright," said Wayne as he and Aegis switched around to ensure they'd hugged both parents.

"We should be saying that to you," said Jen, "I heard you guys were taking on Ironwood. Guess he's down if you're all here."

"Way down," said Aegis with a smirk, "put this on my record: I kicked the most powerful man in Atlas right in the dick."

"Oh yeah, that's one part of him that hasn't been replaced yet," laughed Tobias before getting serious, "but now it's time to get to the real job. I take it you all are ready?" He was met with a series of nods.

"Me, Nora, Wayne and Aegis are gonna handle spreading the word and the evacuation," explained Jaune, "you help Ren and the others defend them once they get into Vacuo."

"Sounds good," said Jen as she brought her fist to her hand, "I need to get a little stress out." The group all nodded one more time before getting to their assigned tasks. It was a trickier start than they'd hoped, but they were finally underway to saving everyone. Too bad things can go wrong so quickly.

And so ends the easy part of their plan. Next comes the dreadful part as whatever can go wrong, starts going wrong. But until then, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter despite the wait, 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. And the same goes for the question about the Re:zero IF stories as well. Be sure to stop in next time as Wayne and Aegis begin their hunt for a certain, mustached hacker within the halls of Atlas Academy. 'Til then.