A/N: We're back.

Chapter 12

Atlas and Bargains

For all his strength and stone cold persona, General Ironwood's eyes had narrowed at the group dangerously, though the reason why, Ruby couldn't say for sure. Though it likely had to do with the bombs they had dropped the past half an hour.

How would anyone react to knowing that some sort of mystical, superpowered beings suddenly appeared one day and wrecked one of your cities in a fortnight? Without any warning, or any real way of tracking them?

"Qrow, can you confirm this?"

Ruby's uncle nodded, his arms crossed and tired eyes focused on the screen before them.

Ironwood sighed, running a gloved hand over his face, "Winter, set a perimeter. Constant rotations, and deploy every Knight at your disposal. Barricade the roads and get ahold of the Mistral Council, see if they can provide Huntsman to sweep the countryside for these… Servants and any Grim forming up. We can be sure the Grim are mounting an assault after this disaster."

"General." Winter Schnee nodded.

His eyes turned back to the group, "the rest of you. I appreciate you informing me of this. These Servants, and Cinder, obviously pose a direct threat to Atlas, one that I cannot take lightly."

Ruby gave the man a smile but he continued speaking, "I figured Ozpin would've wanted to inform me himself. Where is he?"

Silver eyes widened the smallest of fractions and she glanced at Jaune. The blond spoke up in response, "he's… not really here. But also he kind of is. It's complicated."

The General's eyes narrowed and flickered to Qrow.

The man shrugged.

With an audible sigh the General nodded, "very well. Winter, ensure these students and Qrow are given an escort to Atlas. I wish to discuss recent events in person, as well as test our Allied Servants in the field. We need to know what it is we're up against."

Winter gave a salute, and before any could give another word in the General once more continued, "good. I'll see you all in a few hours. Hopefully nothing else happens in that time frame."

"Thank you General," Ruby managed and the man nodded once, then the screen went black.

She let out a slow breath, "well, that went well!"

"Yes," Winter was the forest to reply, "and as unbelievable as your story sounds, the General trusts your word, as surprising as that is." Blue eyes flickered to the hunched form of her Uncle and Ruby felt her lips tug downward at the implication.

The Operative stepped to the door and pushed them open, "Clark. Bates. Find us a Bullhead."

The elder Schnee sibling spared her and her friends a suspicious glare as two soldiers gave a salute.

"We're going to Atlas."

Ruby couldn't help but fidget. Her hands opened and closed. Her eyes flickered from the window to her lap, to Jaune, to her sister, then back to the windows. Her leg shook and her foot lightly tapped against the metal floor.

They'd been on the bullhead for a few hours now.

Mostly everyone had slept at first, but once the turbulence from the higher winds near Atlas began they had all, begrudgingly, woken up.

She bit the inside of her cheek and looked over to her Uncle. He was passed out in his seat across from her, his head leaned against the metal wall behind him as the gentle rumble of the bullhead's engine lulled him to sleep. Bandages were still on his arms, and she knew a larger one was over his chest. Remnants of his fight with a Servant.

But he was alive. She let out a relieved sigh.

Jaune shifted in his seat next to her, and she spared a glance as he swiped through his scroll. She saw blond hair and bright eyes.

His sister.

She placed a hand on his arm, and gave him a warm smile.

For a moment he didn't respond, but his grip on his scroll tightened and he nodded even though he kept his eyes away from her.

She let him go and turned to the window next to her.

Snow and mountains.

They were close now.

It was a fortunate thing the General had listened to them. What had been surprising however was how he had almost instantly ordered Winter Schnee to get them on a bullhead and to Atlas as soon as possible.

Hopefully it was a good sign and they weren't going to be put into an insane asylum the moment they landed. She could already imagine the headline, 'Vale hunters turned crazy conspiracy theorists! Read on page 7!'

A snort slipped past her lips.

'Master, it appears Atlas is far more… afraid than we thought.'

She tilted her head with a confused frown then, used the mental link to reply.

What do you mean?

'At least fifty flying ships all in formation.'

The blockade…

'I assume this was common knowledge amongst your allies?'

She gave a nod even as her reply was in her own head.

We knew that was the case, it's why we were headed to Argus in the first place. We needed a military escort to get anywhere close to Atlas.

Her servant gave a hum through their mental link then replied, 'while the defenses are powerful, and numerous, we must be cautious. Our enemies are not machines of metal, but flesh. They can slip by easily enough if they wish. Not including the threat posed by the King of Hero's armory.'

Armory? What do you mean? Does he have anti ship weapons?

Honestly, such a thing wouldn't surprise her at this point. In half an hour after all, the Golden Servant had all but laid waste to Argus with his weaponry. Granted it hadn't been a complete and utter evisceration of the city, but it had shown how hopelessly outgunned even the best of them was against him.

But before her Servant could reply to her question, the plane jerked once again from turbulence and Jaune's voice perked up from her left, "guys look!"

She blinked, mentally tabling her servant's conversation for a later date, and followed Jaune's instructions as he pointed out the nearest window with his face almost plastered against it. She followed his lead and tried to push her face against the window enough to see outside.

Unfortunately the angle wasn't right and she could barely see the edges of the city of Mantle, along with the snow and mountains directly below them.

Her heart flipped once and she quickly shuffled out of her seat and rushed to the cockpit of the bullhead.

Her footsteps were loud enough against the metal floor to draw a tentative glance from Winter Schnee, who was piloting the bullhead with one of the soldiers directly under her command.

"You should take your seat." The Specialist said before she turned away from Ruby, "though I can't blame you for wanting to see Atlas in person. It's not a sight one sees everyday."

Ruby couldn't reply as her mouth dropped and her silver eyes grew wide.

From the cockpit the view was indescribable.

The sun was setting and a grand orange-yellow glow fanned out from the horizon as dark purples and blues crawled into the sky from behind them.

Yet that was the backdrop.

In the middle of the sky, where massive steel cables dropped down towards the surface and the sprawling city below, sat a flying city.

She always knew Atlas had been a flying city, but to actually see rather than hear about it, was a truly awe inspiring experience.

White, shining buildings glistened in the fading sunlight, bullheads flew too and fro from the city's ports sticking off the side, and dozens of Atlesian Battleships sat just outside the cities perimeters.

She tamed the quick panic that surged in her gut, and looked at Winter.

"Why the blockade?"

Winter spared her an impassive glance before she replied, "General Ironwood's entire goal is to protect the people of Atlas, and after what happened at Beacon, his stance is far from unwarranted."

Ruby nodded in understanding, "what about Mantle?" She looked toward the tops of the buildings of the city sitting below Atlas.

Winter gave no physical reaction and once more replied with cold calculation, "Mantle is a part of Atlas. The Blockade may not look like it, but it hovers just over Mantle's perimeter. Nothing is getting into Mantle or Atlas."

Ruby nodded again and returned her attention to Atlas.

In another life, Ruby Rose would be a champion of the people of Mantle. In that life, her actions would cause a direct domino effect that would cause the fall of the strongest kingdom on Remnant as well as the deaths of dozens if not hundreds of people.

But here, she smiled as their bullhead slipped past the first ship of the blockade and the radio crackled to life.

She tuned out Winter's response to the air traffic controller, and instead reached out with her mental link to Assassin.

How's the view from outside?

'Tolerable. However, I sense no other servants aside from Saber and Rider. For now, we should be safe.'

Great! Keep an eye out.

'Tch. I will do what is necessary.'

Her servant severed the connection before she could reply and her smile faltered as their bullhead slipped past the final Battleship in the blockade and entered the inner confines Atlesian airspace next to the floating city.

She turned away as the view turned from sunsets and floating cities to white buildings and green grass.

Everyone in the back of the bullhead, aside from Qrow, was looking out the windows in awe. Nora was chattering away to Ren, Neptune and Sun were betting on something, Yang kept pestering Blake and pointing out the windows, Jane and Oscar were discussing something as they stared out the window with goofy grins, and Weiss…

Ruby frowned as her eyes landed on the heiress, who was instead determined to burn a hole into the floor of the bullhead with the sheer intensity of her glare.

She made her way over and sat in the open seat next to her partner.

"Weiss?" She placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder and was rewarded with a sigh.

Weiss closed her eyes as she replied, "I just got away, and now…"

"Hey, it's okay! We're all here with you!" Ruby smiled, bright and big.

Pale fingers curled into fists and Weiss blew out a heated breath, "thanks, but I'm nervous. What's my Dad going to say? My brother? Mom…"

"Weiss…" Ruby paled and bit her cheek. What was she to say?

Without thinking, they had forced their own teammate to return to the place she had tried for months to leave behind. The place that carried all her demons, and here they were diving headfirst into the fire without having even asked her how she felt.

Weiss shook her head, and gave Ruby a weak smile, "it's fine Ruby. Thank you for asking." The words were forced, but held a semblance of warmth in them.

Enough that Ruby could only give a sad smile as reply before pulling Weiss into a hug.

"What are you doing you dolt!" Weiss growled, and though she didn't return the embrace, she didn't resist either.

"I'm sorry…." Ruby pulled back and cupped her hands together in her lap, "I… I forgot to ask how you felt. But with the servant's and Argus … I…"

A hand on Ruby's, and Weiss spoke up with a somber smile, "honestly you dolt, it's fine." Then Weiss gave an amused snort, "if I'm honest, I forgot too. We've been so busy just trying to stay alive the past few days I just… forgot where we were going… and what that meant for me."

The Heiress shook her head, "but it's fine. We're in this together right?"

Ruby grinned and pumped her fist up, "yup! Team Rwby forever!"

"TEAM RWBY!" Yang roared over the whine of the engines as Blake shrieked something unintelligible after her.

Ruby giggled and raised an eyebrow at Weiss.

The Heiress shook her head with an amused smile.

She raised her fist.

" Go Team Rwby."

Arturia Pendragon was unsure what to think as their vehicle slowed to a stop, then when the whirring of gears sounded and the back of the flying machine opened up she found herself materializing for the simple fact she wanted to be present for the meeting of this country's military leadership.

The King and Knight in her needed her to.

Her Master flinched at her sudden appearance, but to his credit he didn't scream or faint. He simply flinched, then sighed, "Saber, please don't scare me like that…"

She was tempted to give him an amused grin, but instead kept her face passive as she nodded, "my apologies, Master."

Jaune nodded, "ah it's fine. You'd have to meet the General anyway so it works out." He gave her a heart warming smile, one so full of life and light, that she was vaguely reminded of times long past.

Before the King of Knights.

She cleared her mind as her Master and his entourage started down the ramp and onto a large platform while the soldiers and woman that had escorted them stayed behind.

Dozens of other flying machines sat throughout the platform, and two were even beginning to power up.

She raised an eyebrow at the twenty or so armed soldiers standing between their vehicle and the rest of the platform, five in particular dressed in peculiar attire that deigned special recognition, but her eyes were mostly drawn to the imposing man in the center.

A beard, broad shoulders and a firm, straight stance with his head held high, and his hands tucked behind his back.

The General.

"Heya Jimmy," the man named Qrow stepped forward from their group, his back hunched as he approached the General, "still as paranoid as ever huh?" The man gestured to the soldiers around them.

The General, to his credit, didn't react to the man's bait, and instead gave a steady reply, "welcome to Atlas students and Qrow."

"Warm welcome alright." Qrow huffed, "I take it the blockade…?"

The General nodded at Qrow, an unspoken message between them, then his eyes landed on her, "I take it, you're one of the Servants?"

The clear tone and firm words immediately earned a few points of respect, and she gave a firm nod of her own, "I am, General."

Jaune then stepped forward, "she's my Servant sir. The Saber class I think." She nodded at him and he gave a confident grin to the General.

General Ironwood nodded back in thanks, his eyes only briefly studying her again before returning to the others.

"And the other two?"

In a flash of light one of the other two Servants appeared.

Assassin was on top of their flying machine, lazily leaning against one of protruding engines with his eyes barely glancing over to the assembled group. If she hadn't known any better, she would have assumed he was being dismissive of the General and his entourage, but years of experience told her otherwise. He was playing lookout. He didn't trust the General.

A smart move, but one Saber found herself disapproving of with the narrowing of her eyes.

The General had done nothing to warrant such blatant suspicion, and it was an insult to the man's honor to assume such.

"That's the Assassin Servant. He's with me." Ruby Rose, her Master's emotional confidant, stepped forward this time, even in front of her own Master, "he's nicer than he looks." She gave a heart warming smile even as the Assassin called out disagreement to his Master's words.

Saber huffed in amusement and followed the General's eyes as he looked around, "and the third?"

A third, and final flash of light.

Saber, despite her desire to be impartial in judgement till one character was truly tested, found herself frowning as each soldier of the Generals Contingent, including the five specially dressed ones, all turned and stared at the newest Servant to join their group.

Rider.

Ishtar, the Goddess of Fertility, Beauty, and War.

Objectively, even Saber could understand why the eyes of so many were drawn to the Woman. Not only was it her inherited divinity drawing them in, but her beauty outclassed every person present. It was otherworldly, but Saber cared not for such things.

She simply narrowed her eyes at the Goddess, wary of the power she had to sway mortal men and women.

The black haired woman gave a genuinely heart throbbing smile then giggled, "my, my, so many soldiers. Just for us? One would take that as an insult where I'm from."

The General, to Sabers surprise, simply blinked once at the woman, his eyes never roaming over Ishtar, and instead nodded once, "yes. At the end of the day you're foreign powers that we know nothing about, and the last incident that involved this group left Argus nearly destroyed."

An involuntary wave of guilt washed through the group, which she noticed thanks to the way her Master and Ruby Rose shared a mutually pained frown.

Ishtar however simply waved off the words, closing her eyes and tilting her head up, "I had nothing to do with that mess, so accusing me of making it is rather rude. An apology would be appreciated Tin man."

"Ishtar!" Her Blonde master cried out. Sun was his name, that much Saber knew.

The soldiers bristled at the comment, but the General simply raised an eyebrow.

"We meant no disrespect, Ishtar." His eyes flickered to Sun and he gave a gentle nod of thanks before continuing to address the deity, "simply that you understand our priorities."

"Oh?" Ishtar opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow as she strut towards the General with crossed arms.

Despite being shorter by a decent margin, the Servant displayed zero wariness, and instead looked up at the General with a devilish grin, "And what are your priorities, Handsome?"

The Generals didn't even flinch at her blatant flirting, and instead sighed.

"To ensure the safety and propensity of the people of Atlas."

For a single moment, Saber watched as Ishtar's eyes locked onto the general, her brow furrowing as her playful demeanor vanished.

Then, a genuine smile appeared on the Deities face. She stepped back and placed her hands on her hips, "call me impressed. A man worthy of his title then."

She pivoted on her heel and brushed her long back hair behind her as she walked back into the group, "I like this one, Master." The words were loud and Ishtar brushed a hand over her Master's shoulder before taking her place beside him.

Saber gave a soft chuff.

Then a gust of wind hit.

It was cold and biting. It did little to affect her, and she doubted even Ishtar with her,,, revealing attire, felt anything more than the mildest of annoyances at the cold.

But her Master and the others were not unaffected.

The group shivered or flinched at the winds, especially the girls in skirts she noticed, and only the one known as Wiess Schnee managed to hold herself together along with the soldiers and General.

The General gave a small huff of amusement and she was pleased to see his lips turn into a small smile.

"I assume none of you have ever been to Atlas before?"

"Only once," Her own Master replied as his teeth chattered as another gust of wind suddenly picked up.

The General nodded, "come. Let's find you all some suitable clothing for Atlas weather and then we can talk about the demonstration."

"Demonstration?" Ruby asked.

The man nodded.

"I want to see just what these Servants are capable of."

Atalanta frowned at her Master.

The man was mumbling to himself as he stared at the flickering flames of the fire before him.

When she had first met him, she had been slightly impressed by his drive and sheer tenacity to talk to her as an equal. Not many men did that back in her age.

But now…

Her eyebrow creased.

She had seen how he acted in both combat and against that other girl. His entire plan, his entire desire had been vested on vengeance. He had not told her they would have been children involved.

They simply attacked and though the man she fought was skilled, it had been far less of a fight or more of a survival play on his end. She took joy in batting him away, he was too weak to truly pose a challenge and that meant he would die as all who were weak were destined to do, but those feelings were quickly squashed when she saw her Master willingly attack a child.

She narrowed her eyes.

Now he was whining like a child.

He had berated her, but like before with most other men, she simply stayed silent and ignored his pouting. He would get over it, and if he did not, then she would ensure he would never harm another child again.

She would-

Crack.

Her eyes went wide and she leapt off her perch in the tree.

Not a moment too soon as a massive boulder ripped through the entire tree and flew over head and into the distance.

She hit the ground and formed her bow with four arrows notched.

"Archer!" Her Master roared in question from somewhere behind her.

She saw movement and let her arrows loose.

Something roared, then heavy steps shook the earth.

She grit her teeth and then within a moment, a monstrous being, gray skinned with red eyes, who stood at least several feet over her and her Master, burst through the tree line and roared. A massive sword of stone was in its- his right hand and Atalanta cursed.

She immediately knew who this Servant was, and why his eyes were red.

Berserker. Hercules.

She cursed and instantly fired several more arrow at him.

Each one shattered harmlessly off the wall of muscle that was Hercules, and the man roared in fury before pressing one foot down, and with a crack, shoto towards her with speed comparable to that of the Saber class.

Atlanta cursed and threw herself back, narrowly dodging the sword that would have cleanly cut her in half, and then kicked off towards the nearest tree.

She landed atop another branch, "Mater, run if you wish to live!"

She couldn't afford to even look to see if he listened as she fired off three mreo arrows within a blink of an eye, then leapt to the next tree just as Hercules ripped it asunder.

Her ears flickered back and forth as another sound filled the air.

Swords clashing.

She cursed and ducked under a large boulder that ripped apart the top half of the tree she was on.

Her eyes grew wide as gray flesh filled her vision.

Crack.

She felt her arm snap as she tried to block the blow at the last second, and like a comet, she shot down, hit the ground at speeds no normal human could survive, and ripped a new crater into the forest floor.

Pain shot through her and she shuddered once before getting to her feet.

Hercules stood before her, huffing and steaming. But he wasn't attacking.

She raised her bow, and even with her broken arm notched another arrow.

"I would put the bow down."

A woman's voice.

She looked to where it came from and found a woman in red and black with a red sword standing over her master, who in turn was scowling with his hands held up and deep, agitated breaths escaping him.

A mask of white bone, like her Master's, covered the woman's face while long black hair flowed behind her.

"My Berserker can break your Servant like a twig, Adam Tarrus."

Her Masters breathing ceased and she knew his full attention was on the woman now.

Atlanta however kept her eyes on Hercules. The woman wasn't boasting. It was the simple truth. For all her skill and speed, Hercules was on another level. It would take nothing short of a Saber class or the King of Heroes, to stop him.

"Then why don't you?" Adam replied, his voice gruff and betraying his confusion.

The woman chuckled darkly.

Atlanta felt her chest tighten.

"I have a proposition instead. How would you like to get your revenge and win the Holy Grail?"

A/N

I know it took a while, and the chapter is more just setting up for the Atlas Arc of the story.

We get a bit of the main characters here, and some more outside development for Berserker and Atalanta. Oh no, who is Berserker's master? Oh no what will happen?! I'm sure some of you can guess, but we'll see. Remember, we still have the Alters in play too, and we're still missing one Servant who has yet to be introduced, and Karna who was introduced earlier.

Next time we get some more action and we'll get more from Neo and Gilgamesh.

Trying to get a competent and consistent schedule for all my fics going, and then write my own stuff on other days.

Thanks for yalls support and I hope you enjoyed it.

God bless and leave a review.

-Metal4k

Www. P a treon Metal4k