Rise of the Iron Wolves: Terramind

by Dragon Emperor0

In the world of Remnant, there exists an order of Hunters and Huntresses called the Order Of The Iron Wolves, who specialize in the old ways of fighting Grimm. Now at beacon academy one such Hunter, a Wolf Faunus named Wolfgang Amadeus Prowl, Comes to Beacon to fulfill a destiny he's been long dreading. What will happen while he's there? (NOW REWRITTEN!)

114. Vol 7 Ch 22: Best Case Scenario

Vol: 7 Chapter 22: Best Case Scenario

Jingo Jungle (Saga of Tanya the Evil)

English Lyrics: AmaLee (LeeandLie)

I will lock on love

I will lock on love

(The title Rise of the Iron Wolves: Terramind appears before switching to an image where Cabal soldiers are seen storming across a battlefield as the image slowly transforms to Penny floating in the air as the camera zooms in on her left eye)

Don't go away

There's nowhere else to run

I know that's what we want

I know it's a war we want

(Penny gives the camera a stern look as the camera focuses on her while she sings the next two lines)

So raise your guns

Come on, let's have some fun

I know that's what we want

I know it's a war we want

(Penny stands in front of Wolfgang's grave with Team RWBY, all five of them saluting as Penny sings the last two lines again)

Coming up … Coming up

The eyes that only see prey

An instinct to act on

The bloodlust and it's just

Not enough … Not enough

But that's the chain of command

And now we know we must not hide

(A darkened shot of the Hellas Basin Schnee tech lab appears with a very faint and almost transparent figure of Penny, Weiss and Winter appear in the base standing there and walking towards the screen while their designs change from Vol. 1 to current. Then show's the image of of Penny's old robot body, one of Winters old dolls and a portrait of the Schnee family before the three destroy them)

We honor the JINGOS (oh oh oh)

And the beast we unleash

To indulge in our desires

We are in the JUNGLE (oh oh oh)

With our claws – a killing spree

With our fangs – Can you keep up with me? (Ohh)

(The next images are of Deus, Ironwood and Sky, before changing to Penny and team RWBY standing in front of Rasputin, and then to a shadow shot of what looks like a Knight in robes, a girl in a dress and a giant worm. It then transitions to Penny, Winter, and Weiss's eyes switching rapidly and looking at the screen.)

I will lock on love

I will lock on love

(Bullets fly before the final shot is of Penny, Weiss and Winter standing with their backs to the camera as they stood in the melting snow of the Hellas Basin, before the image burned away.)

-Ironwood's office-

"Well… I'd say our current situation is the best case scenario, wouldn't you say general?" Ruby asked as the kids all sat in Ironwood's office. "I mean given what Tyrian was about to do, it could've been a lot worse." She added.

"I concur. Speaking of which, was it necessary to have him sent to the Immortal Rage?" The man asked.

"Sky and Autumn are long overdue for revenge, the way I see it." Ruby shrugged. "But not before interrogating him." She added.

"How is that being done, exactly?" Winter asked.

"Well…" The silver eyed girl trailed off as she explained how interrogation was done by Rubedo.

-Immortal Rage detention sector-

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tyrian screamed in pain as Rubedo worked her magic, having been given the order to not be gentle as she tried to extract information from the scorpion faunus. The man already had numerous cuts all over his body and was moderately bleeding.

"Now, are you going to talk, little bug?" The woman hissed as she dug her stiletto into the man's face, her pregnant belly no longer being distended due to her having given birth to her and Shan's spawn already.

"I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK! JUST NO MORE!" He replied pathetically. Removing her heel, she stepped away.

"Then tell me." The dominant mother purred, the chains that held her breasts back jingling as the two mountains of flesh jiggled with her every move.

-Back in Ironwood's office-

"Oh." Winter shivered as Ruby finished explaining.

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded with her own shiver. "She's a great mother figure, but damn if she isn't scary." She added.

"Can confirm." Yang nodded.

"At least we'll have information on who Tyrian is working with soon." The General sighed.

"Yeah. So, are we going to finally tell Robyn about Amity? I mean it's nearly finished and we need all the help we can get to get it up in time." Jaune asked in a serious tone.

"I'm considering it. With the way things are going, it might actually be safe to do so." The man replied.

"Well at least we won't have to keep all these secrets." Pyrrha nodded.

"Now if only we could figure out a way for things to keep working out in Mantle…" Nora sighed.

"Nora has got a point. The Hive are making the process of keeping the progress we've made a Herculean task." Ren nodded.

"I thought this would come up." James said as he looked at them. "You are correct. Keeping the progress we've made so far thanks to Sky's efforts is instrumentally difficult due to the Hive. So, in response, I'm sending Penny and Team RWBY to the Hellas Basin to destroy the spawning ground there." He declared.

"As well as reclaim Rasputin's primary bunker and the main research facility of the Schnee Science and Research Corporation." Winter added. "Something I will be personally overseeing." The mention of this other Schnee company seemed to confuse the others. Including Weiss.

"Wait, there's a Science and Research version of our company?" The former heiress asked.

"Yes. It was created during the end of the Dark Age and the beginning of the Golden Age of the Arts before the Great War… By our great grandfather, Merlot Schnee." The eldest daughter of the family said.

"Why haven't we heard of him before?" Ren wondered.

"His work was often classified and he was also rather reclusive, so barely anything was known about him or his life's work. Additionally, after his wife left with their son he made sure that they would never interfere with his work ever again. So he kept everything secret, and never reconnected with his family until every project was decommissioned and the corporation was shut down." Ironwood explained.

"Part of it had to do with him being suspected on experimenting with Grimm, Viral, Aura, robotics, human/Dust infusion, Artificial Semblances and several other unethical projects." Clover added. "In addition to his advancements in weaponry, Rasputin chief among them."

"We're not gonna like what's unearthed from this place, are we?" Blake asked with a shudder.

"Most likely not." Ironwood said. "For now though, Blake, you will go with Sky and Yang to meet with the Council and Robyn to fill them in. Weiss and Ruby go to get Penny ready for your first mission to the Hellas Basin."

"And what will you do?" Qrow asked.

"Oscar and I will be heading to the Vault. There's a plan B I'd like to discuss with him in the privacy of that area." The man said, getting a nod from the farm boy.

"Right." The boy nodded.

(Later)

-With Ruby and Weiss-

"Is she doing okay?" Ruby asked. "Coping with becoming a human, I mean."

"She seems to be okay for the most part. Though from what I've heard, she's still getting used to the concept of using bathrooms." Weiss replied with that last part being in a mutter.

Pietro chuckled before turning to the monitor. "When Tyrian attacked, our sensors picked up someone attempting to use Penny's work footage to match his movements. If we hadn't stopped him when we did, I'm not sure what would have happened."

"Things would be a lot worse." Ruby said.

"And if we're dealing with the same enemy from Beacon, hacking into Mantle's systems would be simple. Fortunately Atlas is the exact opposite." Pietro noted.

"And how would someone get access to that network?" Weiss asked as Penny got her gear ready.

"Well there are a select few who would have access. Ironwood, the council, security and people who work the heating grid and sewers." Pietro noted.

"The heating grid is in partnership with the Schnee Dust company…" Weiss noted idly, her expression turning thoughtful.

"What're you thinking?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but something isn't right." The whitette replied.

"Understatement of the century." Maria scoffed. The group was silent for a minute as Penny walked into the room before Ruby spoke again.

"Hey, if you guys created an artificial aura, why is it that Penny is the only one of her kind?" She asked.

"Yeah, according to the Ironwood, Atlas has been trying to perfect Exo Science like the Penny project for years. Even before Atlas was created, if the stories of my Great Grandfather are to be believed." Weiss added.

"Well… It's not really artificial." Pietro said as he glared his aura, which was missing a few pieces in his leg areas. This made the girls gasp in shock along with Maria.

"You… Gave her some of yours?" Ruby breathed with wide eyes.

"Yes. And each time I rebuilt her, it took a little more." The man said as he looked at his daughter. "Now, though… Now that she's real, and alive, I feel like I'm young again." He smiled. Penny looked at her father with wide eyes before she hugged him.

"You should feel that way. You've got more father material in those disabled kneecaps of yours than Jacques Schnee does in his whole body." Maria remarked, causing them to laugh.

"We'll know who was nearly responsible soon. That's a promise." Ruby said with a smirk.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile with Yang and Blake, the two were with Councilman Sleet and Councilwoman Camilla as well as the newly elected Councilwoman Hill.

"Now before we begin, I want you all to know that what we are about to tell you is the whole truth." Blake told the three. Robyn, true to form, was more than a little skeptical of this statement.

"What exactly are you getting at?" Robyn questioned.

"Amity Colosseum is currently being repurposed into becoming a new communications tower." Yang told her. "And we all know how much of a good thing that would be for us." She added.

"If my intuition is correct, Amity Tower, if I'm correct on that front, is going to be a satellite that the Grimm can't reach. Am I wrong?" Sleet inquired.

"You're correct." Blake nodded. "Currently it is exactly five days away from being completed." She added. Robyn, meanwhile, thought back to what Sky said to her back when she was investigating that convoy.

'So this is what he meant.' She thought in realization.

"And how goes trying to keep Mantle's repairs up?" Camilla asked.

"Slowly, the interference from the Hive is proving to make the job of getting Mantle up to snuff and keeping it there to be… Difficult, to put it lightly." The cat Faunus sighed.

"Even with the Immortal Rage and our forces, it isn't easy." Yang added. "Sky's finding it increasingly annoying." She added.

"Can't say I blame him." Robyn said. "Those buggers are really high in number. Is something being done about them?" She asked.

"Yes. The two of us along with the rest of our team and Penny are heading into the Hellas Basin to destroy the spawning ground there." Blake nodded.

"As well as rouse Rasputin from his sleep." Yang added. This caused the older two councilmen to look at each other in concern.

"Are you certain that is the best course of action? Rasputin has always proven to be rather… Fickle." Camilla stated.

"It's either that, or let him get destroyed by Xol." Yang stated.

"Or get controlled by someone even worse." Blake added.

"Like who?" Robyn questioned.

"The one we're fighting against, the creator of the Grimm Knights and leader of the Grimm. Salem." The two told her.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile in a remote location, Cinder sat on Watt's computer desk as he worked, a smirk on the human side of her face. "You know. I might know a way to get Tyrian back rather quickly." She told him.

"Oh? And how's that?" The man asked in annoyance as he tinkered with the Manipulator's synaptic amplifiers.

"There's a little place on the Immortal Rage that I found when I escaped. I made sure to commit it to memory in the event I had to sneak aboard again." She explained. "I'll simply break him out that way."

"You'd need help." The doctor said offhandedly as she handed him a screwdriver.

"That won't be a problem." The corruption incarnate said as she snapped her fingers and a figure started walking towards them. "Dr. Arthur Watts, I'd like you to meet my friend and new business partner." She said as she leapt down and walked over to the figure and leaned her head back on his chest. It was then that it was revealed to be Lobo Black. "Lobo Black, the Knight of Ur." She purred.

"So… Let's talk business." The ravenous man smirked.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile in the Winter Vault Oscar, Ironwood and Sky walked up to the Vault, where the Oversoul was currently still keeping the city afloat. "I thought bringing you down here might help jog some memories." The general stated. "After all it was your idea to use the staff to keep Atlas afloat." He continued before looking at Sky. "And yours to swap it with the oversoul."

"I know. I'm still proud that it worked out." The Knight of Yul said with a proud look.

"So what was the plan B you mentioned?" Oscar asked.

"I was thinking that in the event Salem were to come here, We could use the oversoul as bait to lure her into the Vault, close and lock it behind her, and then send Atlas into deep space, taking her with it." The man said.

"After evacuating it, of course." Sky added.

"Right, right." Ironwood chuckled.

"It still feels unreal, knowing that a part of me helped create all this." Oscar said in wonder.

"Don't worry. Pretty soon it'll feel natural." The General told him.

"Right." Oscar sighed.

"We… Didn't always seem eye to eye, but… I wish I could ask Ozpin how he felt about all this." Ironwood sighed.

"I feel the same way. I wish I could ask Wolfang what he thought about this too." Sky nodded.

"I know how I feel about all of this." Oscar said. "This path you're going down, where you have all the answers and do what you think is right no matter the cost. It's not going to lead anywhere good." He told the man.

"Are you certain of that?" Ironwood asked before walking away. "We have to stop Salem. Nothing matters more." He told the boy. Sky frowned slightly at his words.

'I don't like the feeling I'm getting from those words.' He thought warily.

"Some things matter more, like keeping our humanity." Sky told him.

"Maybe so. By the way, Sky, how goes the hunt for Xur?" Ironwood asked. Here, the King sighed.

"Sadly, it ended in failure. My team had him cornered, but then the Emissary of the Nine appeared and thrashed them around before taking him away." He explained. "I've also been warned to not look for the Nine again or things will be different. And I've also been told that when the time is right, they'll come to us." He continued.

"I see." Ironwood nodded as the elevator started to lower, but as it did, an image of the black queen virus flashed in his mind as they stepped inside. The three stepped out and were soon met with Winter, Penny and Team RWBY, who were about to leave for their mission.

"Oh, hey guys." Yang greeted the three as they stepped out of the elevator and walked up to her shared boyfriend to give him a kiss. Blake also did the same, pecking him on the cheek.

"What's up with you guys?" Oscar asked before Winter handed Ironwood a wax sealed envelope.

"It seems that father has decided to show sportsmanship by accepting his loss at the polls." The woman told them. "By inviting us all to dinner at Schnee manor."

"Hm… Then let's humor him, shall we?" The General mused. "It says it'll be the night after Amity is scheduled to be launched, very prudent." The man nodded.

"It seems so." Winter nodded.

(Later)

"Well, we're approaching the Hellas Basin, and it looks like… wow, the ice is actually melting around it. That's odd." Ruby noted as their ship touched down.

"Yeah…" Yang nodded as they disembarked.

Meanwhile with Penny and Winter, the two were scoping out the main Rasputin bunker on a ledge. "They say in Atlas that soldiers aren't supposed to investigate their pasts. That's the rule." Ruby said through Penny's drone, Jiminie. "Thing is though, we've never been good with rules. Not when this much at stake."

Penny used her visor to scan the bunker see below the ice and saw dozens of frozen Grimm inside and Hive inside. "The Schnee Science and Research Corporation tech in that building allowed us to colonize even the most inhospitable places on Remnant during the Golden Age." Winter told them.

"We—They, wanted to create peace for humanity." Weiss added. "Which is ironic because they also created Rasputin. The single most powerful weapon in the solar system." She added as both women looked at the bunker in the distance.

"Whatever the case, it's all intombed here on Solitas. Along with something much more terrifying." Winter said as a Warsat crashed down and caused something to stir underneath the ice. The two jumped from the cliff they were on to the base of it and then started running toward the building.

The ice then burst open as Thralls suddenly clawed their way out, their bodies covered in ice. Penny deployed her swords and did a jumping cross kick before slicing them apart, landing in a crouch as Winter leapt over her and stabbed a Thrall behind her, landing on her feet as the ice suddenly rose up.

They turned to continue their way to the bunker, but the ice they were on suddenly tilted upwards, causing them to skid along it before Penny grabbed two of her swords to stop herself while Winter did the same with her swords.

As they climbed to the top of the new pillar of ice, something long and large rose up in front of them, casting a shadow over them as the two readied their weapons.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile with Team RWBY, they reached the landing zone that Winter designated for them. "We've touched down on the basin surface. Winter, Penny, what's your position? Are you safe?" Little Rose asked as they trudged on.

"For now, but there's a whole lot of 'not safe' between here and the Schnee Science and Research facility. Which is where we need to be." The specialist replied.

"What's going on over there?" Weiss asked.

"Warsats are crashing down. And according to dad that usually only means one thing." Penny told her.

"Rasputin? He's active already?" Yang asked in surprise.

"But that shouldn't be possible." Blake added.

"From what we've gathered? Nothing is impossible when Rasputin is involved." Winter told them as they entered a cave. As they did, though, frozen Hive and Grimm burst out from the ice.

The girls quickly sprang into action and started slaying the creatures as quickly as possible. "Wow they really are ugly." Ruby noted as spun around and sliced up several Thrall.

"I've never seen ones like these before." Weiss noted.

"As far as we know, these Hive only exist here." Winter chimed. As the group continued forward, they encountered Hive Knights that were actually sporting shields.

"Oh man, I hate it when bugs like these get smart." The red speedster groaned as Yang punched its shield to bits before punching its head off its shoulders. They then proceeded to another open cave where even more frozen Hive awaited them.

"Hold them off, there's a warsat I need to scan." Yang said as she ran up to the machine. "Okay Burn, go ahead. I'll keep you covered." She said as she went back to the fight.

"Got it." He nodded. He then went to work and started scanning the warsat while Yang kept the Hive at bay with everyone else. After a moment, he finished. "There's no reason for this warsat to fall out of orbit. Something pulled it down." He reported as the gang moved on.

"You think it was Rasputin?" The blonde asked as she punched a Wizard so hard in the face that it caved in.

"Probably… Hey, how come Rasputin, Toland and so many of Sky's Grimm don't follow the color name rule?" Ruby asked as they finished clearing the Hive in the cave.

"Rasputin's just a Terramind, so him not following the color naming rule makes sense." Weiss shrugged. "Plus he was created before the Great War."

"And Toland is from the first human age, so that's a no brainer." Blake added.

"And Sky's Grimm don't follow it because of what they are, and if they did, they'd take up every color out there." Yang continued.

"Oh." The silver eyed girl nodded in understanding. As they excited the cave, they saw their destination just ahead.

"I think we might want to consider calling in help from the Iron Wolves." Blake said as they ran.

"Not a good idea. Deus won't like us poking around here. He wants the past to stay buried. But we need to get in there to find out what's going on with Rasputin." Winter told them.

Before the girls could say anything in reply, an explosion occurred and the back of a creature was seen coiling around the bunker before it vanished.

"What was that?!" Snowflake asked in shock. They had no time to debate as dozens of Hive came out of hiding and attacked them.

"Okay this is seriously getting ridiculous! How long has Xol been breeding these damn things?!" Weiss yelled as she and Blake were back to back, striking down Hive that Weiss blew towards them with her glyphs that she infused with wind Dust.

"Too long for my taste!" Blake exclaimed as she shot several Acolytes in the head with fire Dust rounds. The girls kept running until they neared the facility, where a huge Ogre stood in the doorway, it was covered in what looked like a small glacier.

"Ugh. Why are Ogres so damn unpleasant to look at?" Yang blanched.

"I have no idea." The Schnee girl said.

"Load in solar rounds." Ruby told them. "Let's melt it." She added as everyone followed her lead. "Ready… Charge!" She yelled as they charged forward with their weapons ablaze.

The hulking Hive roared and tried to smash them, but they easily evaded and started peppering it with Solar Dust, causing some serious damage. It failed its arms around and tried to swat them, but they were too fast for it. Before long, the Orge couldn't stay on its feet and fell to the ground, dead.

"Ruby, girls, are all of you okay?!" Penny said in concern.

"We're fine. We just finished up out here." Little Rose replied.

"Where to next?" Ruby asked.

"We've found a Golden Age research facility buried inside the middle of a glacier. Where do you think?" Winter retorted. "Meet us at the entrance of the Schnee Science facility."

"... Did my sister throw shade at us just now?" Weiss asked incredulously as they kept moving.

"I think so." Yang nodded as they entered the building and looked around. However as they did, a giant Revenant Knight came charging towards them… Before it got sliced in half by a laser.

"Yay! You made it!" Penny chirped as she and Winter jumped down from their perch.

"Yeah, we did." Ruby nodded with a blush as Penny hugged her tightly.

"Well, there were a lot of them. But you did great!" The ginger haired girl said with a smile.

"Come on, let's see what else is out there." Winter told them as she walked past them, before smiling. "Besides hordes and hordes of frozen Hive, I mean." She added.

The girls all looked at each other in surprise. "Has she always been this sassy?" Blake asked her white haired teammate, who was currently watching her sister's hips sway as she walked.

"Uh… I don't quite recall." She replied slowly. 'So sexy!' She gasped mentally.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile on the Immortal Rage, after Tyrian spilled his guts to Rubedo, he was then taken to Sky and Autumn. The two stood there as the man was thrown at their feet, bound and chained as well as rather significantly injured.

"Well well well… If it isn't the bastard that fucked up our family." Sky said, his gaze cold. The man whimpered as he got up, his full aura finally recovering and his wounds disappearing.

"Oh, hello children." He growled, his tail flicking threateningly. "My lady certainly has quite a few bones to pick with you." He continued before glaring at Autumn. "Especially you, Cinder dear, in fact. She tasked me with cutting your and Emerald's little marriage, well… short." He finished before he started chuckling.

He was cut off, though, when Autumn bitch slapped him to the ground and grabbed his stinger tightly. "If you so much as blink at my pet, I will rip this stinger off and shove it up your ass the other way around!" The woman yelled fiercely.

"Oh, I'd love to see you try." The scorpion faunus said as he made his stinger change from purple to green, and then liquid got onto his chains and ate through them, allowing him to tackle Autumn to the ground. Before he could attack her, he was suddenly lifted into the air by Sky using his power. Tyrian looked into his eyes, and felt his skin crawl upon seeing the sheer wrath within.

"YOU DARE ATTACK MY SISTER?!" He thundered, a large spectral image of him being projected as it glared nuclear missiles at the object of his vengeance.

Tyrian, however, knew fear was what got him caught in the first place, and was far more scared of what Salem would say if he failed, so he shoved his fear down as far as he could and swung out of Sky's grip before charging at him.

"I'll kill you for my goddess!" He yelled in a fanatical tone.

"You'll die for her." The Grimm Knight growled as he readied his sword to strike him down… Before a very familiar chain hook swung around Tyrian's waist and grabbed him before pulling him backwards.

"What the hell?!" Autumn shouted before she spotted where the scorpion faunus was dragged to. "Sky, look!" She exclaimed as she pointed in the direction he went, which her brother followed.

Standing there was Lobo and Cinder, and the former used his crowbar to knock Tyrian unconscious. "Ta ta, other me." Cinder said, waving with her Grimm arm as the two disappeared in a cloud of fall leaves.

The two siblings stood there in silence. After a moment, Sky started growling before…

(Meanwhile)

Cinder and Lobo were nearly at the entrance they used. It was shockingly easy to sneak aboard the twenty-two kilometer warship. Right as they reached their extraction point…

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

They froze solid as the voice of a very murderous sounding Sky reached them.

"... I think we may have fucked up." Lobo said almost nervously after a moment.

"No time to think about that now. Come on!" Cinder said as they quickly left the ship before the Aura Grimm could find them.

(Elsewhere)

Back with Team RWBY, the group had just entered the Schnee Science and Research facility as Winter and Penny followed. "We finally made it." Winter said as she and Weiss walked in together.

"The main access codes seem to be encrypted." Weiss noted. "Good thing we know a few tricks though, huh?" She smiled as the two pulled out two metal electronic keys and placed them in the access port.

"Yes. At least tenacity runs in the family." Winter nodded as they turned the keys.

-Two weeks prior-

"You two are going to the Schnee Science and Research facility in the Hellas Basin?" Willow asked her daughters.

"Yes, and we'll need anything that can help us there." Weiss nodded.

"Your… Grandfather never really liked remembering that part of the family's history." The woman said as she went over to a picture of herself as a girl and Nicholas before taking it down and revealing that there was a safe behind it. "But, he did at least keep one thing in case he ever needed it." She added as she opened the safe.

"That being?" Winter asked. Their mother then took two things out and presented them to her daughters.

"These keys were given to me and your grandfather before your Great Grandfather passed. They're biometrically calibrated to only work in the hands of a member of the Schnee family." The woman told her. "I hope it helps."

"This should help immensely. Thank you." Weiss said before giving her mother a hug which the woman returned. Winter seemed hesitant at first, but was quickly pulled in as well.

-Present day-

"Access Code accepted. Records updated. Huntress Weiss Schnee and Special Operative Winter Schnee." The connoisseur AI said in a formal accent. "Welcome to the Schnee Science and Research facility. The fabled 'Cradle of Invention'." It continued. "You have now become an important part of a moment in history. Together, we will strive to reach beyond the stars. Remember, you are each a Schnee." It finished.

"Huh. Charming." Yang remarked.

"And… We're in business!" Weiss smiled as she let Penny take over.

"Okay girls it says that Rasputin's main core is being housed in a separate facility. We should check there." She told them. The team did so and as they did, Ruby saw a target and shot at it, and it dropped some sort of data disc.

"What's this?" She wondered as she picked it up. "Hey Little Rose, read this please." The drone did so before sending a projection. "THREE DAYS UNTIL DIVERGENCE. If I'm gone that means that something terrible has happened to me. I've wiped all traces of my research, but Willow has security scouring the facility for me. She wants to steal the weapon I've created, and at this point, it's impossible for me to take it off world. It's way too dangerous to let fall into the wrong hands, so my only choice is to hide it… The old storage caches in the Core Terminus and Olympus Descent are now linked to the Hephaestus Test Network. This item can be safely discarded." She read. "Hm… Maybe I should bring this to Penny. She might be able to make sense of it." She mused.

As they kept moving and reached some sort of large walkway where a bunker in the shape of a rhombus diamond was in the middle. "This facility is massive." Blake noted.

"I guess building big runs in the family." Weiss shrugged as they reached another terminal and the Connoisseur AI spoke again.

"The Valkyrie Spear, Sleeper Simulant Shotgun, Hades Flame, Aurora Knives. The weapons of the future are being developed by the Terramind Rasputin today. Would you like to know more?" It asked.

"Meh. We can learn more later." Yang shrugged. Leaving the terminal for later, the group continued on until they entered another section of the facility where both Cabal and Hive were fighting in a free for all.

"Do we wanna get involved in this?" Blake asked.

"Let's just go around." Ruby told her as they went around the fight. "How's the security system looking?" She asked the two on her comms.

"Working on it. Hang in there." Penny told her as she kept working, and Winter came flying in on the back of a summoned Manticore as they ran in some cables.

Once they reached the main core area, they found it crawling with Hive. "We got a big problem!" Yang told the ginger on the other end.

"Come on, Rasputin! Give us something!" Penny almost pleaded. As if in response, a controlled blast sent several Hive, including an Ogre, flying.

"Penny… What was that?" Ruby asked, stunned by what happened.

"The Valkyrie. It's Rasputin's weapon! He's listening to us!" Penny gasped. The t Thralls before blowing them away. Blake used her clones to jump away and destroy a trio of Acolytes. Weiss made duplicates of the spears with her glyphs to destroy several Revenant Knights, and Yang started hurling spear after spear at two huge Wormborn Knights.

Once everything but the four girls was dead, they proceeded into the bunker. And to their surprise, the door was unlocked! "Penny, the door was unlocked. Did you—?" Winter asked.

"It wasn't me. Maybe he's inviting us inside?" The girl told them.

"And maybe this is where our questions turn into answers." Weiss added as Penny flew up to them a few minutes later.

"Let's hope so." Ruby said as another door opened… Revealing Deus to be waiting for them.

"Hello, Team RWBY." The man said.

"Oh Shhhhh...anks." Penny groaned in dismay, censoring herself.

"What do you think you're doing? Do you have any idea how dangerous this thing is?!" He grilled.

"What are you doing here with Rasputin?" Weiss questioned.

"This is a matter for the Iron Wolves, Weiss, not you. You don't belong here." The man said sternly to his soon to be daughters in law.

"I beg your pardon?!" Winter interjected.

"You belong in Atlas. To stand with your brothers and sisters for when Salem comes, but instead I find you here. Doing what you and Ironwood always do, what you were never supposed to do." The man snapped.

"We're doing what we believe to be right. We came here to protect the kingdoms. Isn't that what Hunters and Iron Wolves do?" Weiss questioned as she, Penny and Winter walked past him. "This is a war of many fronts, and there's more than one way to fight it, Deus." She told him. "At least that's what Wolfang always said.

"You think you can shield the entire world but you can't. There's got to be a better way." Winter added.

"And you think that Rasputin is the answer?" The man said, angered at Weiss's previous statement. "It's gone silent. It's a broken weapon, too dangerous to be left alone and too unpredictable to wield." He continued. It was at this point that Penny chimed in.

"That might be true, or he simply has nothing to say. Maybe, just maybe, we never bothered to try asking him what he wanted." She stated.

"I don't have time to go through this with you again, girls." The man said sternly. "You have no right—." He continued before Weiss shut him down.

"We have every right." She retorted.

"You don't understand the connection we share with Rasputin." Winter added.

"Here, let us show you." Penny said as she started mashing her way in, only to stop when a loud roar was heard from the exit, getting everyone's attention.

"OK. We should really figure out what's doing that." Ruby said as she held Crescent Rose tightly.

"Rasputin isn't the only active thing out here." Deus stated as he looked at the exit.

And once again, the plot thickens evermore…

Dragon Emperor0: For anyone wondering, we put the episode Cordially Invited at the end of the five day time frame for the express reason of allowing us enough of a timeline to play this arc quickly and efficiently while also progressing the canon story as well.

ThermalsniperN7: Yep. This gives us plenty of room to make things work out. Speaking of which… Sky and Autumn just got robbed of their revenge on top of the Immortal Rage being infiltrated. If they aren't homicidal after that, I'll be shocked.

Dragon Emperor0: If you guys are wondering why this is the case, it's because we still need Tyrian around for reasons to do with future events in the story. Killing him off now would derail the story considerably. Also, we're curious. Would you readers be interested in seeing a Winter x Weiss Bonus Chapter anytime soon? Let us know if you do.

ThermalsniperN7: Right. Anyway, see you guys next time.