Here we are at Chapter 64. Time for the big party, along with a few surprises along the way before the big event of volume 7. I do not own RWBY or Transformers. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 64. Enjoy.

Chapter 64: A Party or a Pit?

After everyone hears about Jacques Schnee inviting them all to some party, it doesn't take long for them to meet with each other to go over the plan.

"What is that accursed snake planning this time?" Dreadwing has to keep his anger contained, barely.

"Well, on the news, he said that he just wants to find a way for all of us to work together," Ruby notes.

"And we all know that is a load of bolts. It's no secret that General Ironwood's Dust embargo has been hurting his business; that's why he wanted this council seat in the first place. He's just going to be using his position and the council to kick the General out so he can take over," Megatron sees through Jacques' terrible lie.

"But, didn't we want General Ironwood to start talking with these people? To work together to protect everyone?" Jaune points out.

"Yeah, but the problem here is that we'll be doing it on Jacques Schnee's terms, not Ironwood's. And while he may have been that way in the past, today's Ironwood has never appeared to be the type that likes taking orders from someone else when he believes he has a better plan," Predaking crosses his arms.

Dreadwing looks at Weiss, "Milady, you've seemed troubled. By more than what we are currently discussing. Is something troubling you?"

Weiss sighs, "There's a lot of things that are troubling about this, Dreadwing. There's no possible way my father could've won, not with his terrible reputation. Something is wrong about all of this,"

"If that's the case..." Megatron gets everyone's attention, "Then we may have to consider the possibility... That Jacques Schnee is working with Salem,"

The idea scares the group, but the more they think about it, the more it seems like a possibility.

"Weiss, you don't think your dad would be that bad, would he?" Yang appears worried.

Weiss stares at the invitation card, "I think my father would do whatever it takes to win and get what he wants... no matter how many lives are ruined because of it,"

"Then perhaps we should too," Ruby says, getting her attention. "You know your father better than anyone, better than us. This party is at his mansion; your home turf,"

Megatron nods, "Ruby is right. Jacques will be dealing with Ironwood and the council, and the rest of his guests. While Ironwood is dealing with him, we do some digging in that mansion. The rest of us would have trouble in that regard, but that's not the case with you. You may no longer be heiress, but you are still Weiss Schnee. The servants of your family wouldn't question you if you wanted to explore your old home after being away for so long. The rest of us can keep the others distracted, should the need arise, long enough for you to find out the truth behind Jacques winning the election, and whatever else he might be scheming," he explains the plan.

"She won't be going alone. I will remain by her side no matter what," Dreadwing declares, making Weiss blush a bit, but smile all the same.

Ruby nods, "Alright, then we have our plan. Let's find out what Jacques is up to... and put a stop to it before it's too late,"

…

Later that night, the party is underway at the Schnee Manor, with cars pulling in out front, bringing the rich and the powerful of Atlas. Soon enough, a few vehicles pull in, bring in General Ironwood, Winter, the Ace Ops, Qrow, and Megatron and his friends. Soundwave and Megatron look around at the festivities before them. The scene reminds them all too well of how things were back on Cybertron; when their people and home was slowly falling apart due to the corruption spreading throughout their world.

Soundwave clenches his fists, which Megatron notices, "I understand your anger, old friend, but we must not be so careless. Let our actions here change things, just as we did back home. Only this time, for the better,"

Soundwave and Laserbeak nod to Megatron before they walk forth along with the rest of the group. To keep people from staring at them, Laserbeak hops back and clamps his claws on Soundwave's armor on his back, then folds his wings over his shoulders and tucks his head in, making him look almost like a poncho on his shoulders. Of course, it's not as easy since he's no longer in a full cybertronian body. When they reach the door, Whitley Schnee is the one to greet them.

"Good evening, General. Oh, and hello to you as well, dear Sister," Whitley greets them, though the subtle mocking tone is all too apparent to see.

Weiss glances around, "Where's Klein?"

"Well, isn't that a weird way of saying 'hello, dear brother. How lovely to see you again'. I'm afraid you won't find him here. He's been let go... I cannot imagine why though," Whitley smirks at her. Dreadwing takes one step forward, causing Whitley to take a step back in fear before Weiss stops him. "I remember saying that you were no longer permitted to be here, ruffian. General, would you please tell your soldier to leave?"

"I'm afraid he's not taking orders from me anymore. Rather, he listens to Miss Schnee here. So, you'll have to take it up with her, though, I doubt you'll want to make a scene at such a nice party like last time," Ironwood defends Dreadwing, which is a little surprising for him.

Groaning a bit because he knows they can't do anything about it, Whitley relents, "Very well. Please, come inside," he walks in, with the rest of the group following behind him. He then looks back at the large group. "General, just how big do you think our dining hall is?"

"I happen to know that it's enormous, but it'll just be me and a few of my associates joining in the dining hall. The rest will be here on standby or as extra security for the party. We wouldn't want anything to happen during your father's celebration after all, now would we?" Ironwood plays it off.

Whitley rolls his eyes, "Very well. For those of you joining us in the dining hall, allow me to show you the way," and he walks down to the left of the main hall.

Ironwood, Winter, Clover, and Penny follow him. However, Megatron ends up joining the group.

"Are you sure you should be going with us?" Ironwood asks, but makes no attempt to stop him.

"Thought you might like some back up. Don't worry, I won't harm the council members... well, except for Jacques Schnee if he tries to pull something," Megatron then looks at Penny's back. "And Penny needs a friend by her side right now. Jacques will be sure to go after her here. I won't have a friend face this alone," his words make Ironwood smile a bit.

With that done, the rest of the Ace Ops decide to patrol the grounds along with Qrow since they're not exactly fond of this kind of party, and Qrow is trying to stay away from the drinks. Meanwhile, the rest of the group look around. Of course, a few eyes are on them, particularly Predaking. Well, that's to be expected since one: he's a dragon Faunus, and two: he's really tall and masculine. Kind of hard not to miss.

"Excuse me sir," Predaking turns when one of the Faunus waiters approaches him, "Would you care for a beverage?" he offers a drink.

Predaking keeps his cool and waves it off, "No thanks. I am fine,"

The Faunus leans in to whisper to him, "There are some of us Faunus here who know who you are... And thank you. That's coming from all of us here. Please, do better than the old White Fang did with helping our people," he gives him a meaningful look.

Predaking and Blake look a little surprised, but smile and nod, "You have my word,"

The group then decide to enact their plan, "Alright, we'll be in touch," Weiss motions to her ear.

She and Dreadwing are about to walk to the stairs, when Whitley gets in their way," Hello, dear sister. I was hoping we could take this time to chat... alone preferably," he glances at Dreadwing.

"Dreadwing stays with me, Whitley. And you're not changing that," Weiss holds her ground, and holds Dreadwing back from breaking the kid.

Whitley's eyes then turn to Soundwave, "...Is that the one you mentioned before? The one who left your home's council?" he asks.

"And if he is?" Dreadwing clenches his fists, while Soundwave takes notice of him being the topic of their conversation now.

Whitley walks right up to Soundwave, "So... you're the one this ruffian mentioned," Soundwave makes no comment, but glances at Dreadwing for a moment. "Look at you, someone who used to be the height of true power and yet you gave it all up all for some idiotic ideal as wanting to support those lower than yourself instead of keeping the power you had and embracing such a barbaric means such as combat. And what's more is that you refuse to speak for such a pathetic reason as wanting to help those beneath you." Soundwave remained still, not letting it affect him, though Ruby, who was standing next to him, felt a change in the air around him. Meanwhile, Laserbeak was getting angry but got the signal to keep in disguise while Whitely spoke. "For one who seem to want to fight for others, you appear to have lost all that truly matters. Maybe you should've just bowed your head and agreed with whatever your council had planned for the future of your people, then maybe you could have stayed in true power,"
The former TIC of the Decepticons kept still and did not react, but Whitley would not shut up. "Besides, those you seem to have thrown your life away for must have been truly disposable, similar to the animals of this world, if they're not here now. Some guardian," Whitley smirks.

That made Soundwave clench his fists and he takes a step forward, stunning his friends when they see that he actually seems angry for once. Whitley feels a change in the air around him, and finds himself taking a step back.

"YOU... Don't know... HIDDEN HERE... as if you're special...NO ONE... is... DISPOSABLE... I... FIGHT FOR OTHERS... to... HELP OTHERS...FOR...them.. FIGHT... instead of... LOWER...YOURSELF...to... THROWN YOUR LIFE... for... PATHETIC REASON AS... you think... TRUE POWER... is... how you live... or your caste... alone. The only...ANIMAL... I see... before me... is you... Alone... in a hollow palace that you inherited instead of making for yourself. If you truly see this as the height of your so-called power..." Soundwave speaks, a mix of his visor, and his own voice while taking a step closer and closer to the new heir of the SDC as he looked like he was going to draw his blades on Whitley. As he gets right in his face, Whitley's face became that of scared little girl until Soundwave is so close that Whitley could see his reflection on the visor. "Then you truly are... PITIFUL..." Soundwave's voice sounds cold and heartless that time.

That shakes Whitely to his core so much that he is actually breaking a sweat, "If... y-you'll excuse me..." Whitley mutters fearfully before he leaves to find a clean shirt and wash himself while possibly needing to change his trousers too.

The rest of the group stand in shock at the spectacle, "Whoa..." Yang mutters.

Dreadwing crosses his arms with a knowing smirk, "Watch out for the quiet ones... They're the ones that speak the loudest when they really want to,"

With Whitley out of the way, Weiss and Dreadwing head up the stairs to find some dirt on Jacques while the rest keep an eye on things at the party.

Ruby, looking concerned for the silent-con, reaches over, placing her hands around his.

"Soundwave? Are you... okay?" Ruby asks slowly.

Soundwave remained silent looking ahead before facing her, "...Okay..." his visor goes off.

However, Ruby is not convinced and keeps her hands wrapped around his and stands closer next to him for support. Meanwhile, in the dining hall, Ironwood sits at one end of a very long table with Winter, Penny sitting at his flanks while Clover and Megatron stand behind him. Jacques Schnee sits at the other end of the table, along with two other members of the Atlas council. What's more, Robyn Hill is also in attendance, standing off to the side in front of one of several windows. Though, she gives a subtle glance to Megatron when she sees that he's joining the talks here.

"Councilman Sleet. Councilwoman Camilla," Ironwood greets the two council members.

"Councilwoman Hill would've had a nice ring to it," Robyn mutters as she takes her seat.

Jacques looks at Megatron, "General if I may, who is... this?" he gestures to the gladiator.

"He can introduce himself," Ironwood replies.

"I am... Megatron. Huntsman of Remnant. I come from a village far away from the kingdoms," Megatron introduces himself, but only with a slight nod of his head.

He has no interest in bowing to those who remind him of the former corrupt council that he once stood against before the war. The other council members glance at each other from his strange name.

"Then, in that instance, why don't you run along and... enjoy the rest of the party. This is private matter between members of the Atlas Council," Jacques had to hold himself back from saying something in front of the other council members.

However, Megatron doesn't have that issue, "I may not be from Atlas, but I am a huntsman of Remnant, and thus it is my duty to protect this world and those that call it home. My friends would say the same. So, I'd say that this concerns me enough,"

"Then, can I assume that you're here to keep an eye on... her? Are we sure we're safe with her here?" Jacques aims at Penny, making her worry.

Megatron holds a supportive hand on her shoulder, "Penny is innocent. And allow me to make myself clear: I will not tolerate any kind of attacks aimed at her. So, I believe it best if we moved on... For your sake," he narrows his eyes at the council members, unnerving them a bit.

Jacques regains his composure, "Very well. We have other concerns to speak about,"

"Concerns about what?" Ironwood asks.

"Concerns about you and how much you control James. And concerns about the safety of our kingdom," Jacques cups his hands together, hiding his smirk behind them.

"The fact remains, James, that you have operated with a fair amount of autonomy for the past few years. But what we need now is for you to work WITH us," Councilman Sleet says.

"General, it's obvious that none of the other kingdoms intend to declare war on Atlas. We had nothing to do with the incident at Haven, and we have proof that the drones at Beacon weren't acting under our orders. At this point, the closure of Atlas borders are only serving to hurt our relations with the rest of the world," Councilwoman Camilla adds.

"The rest of the world? It's hurting us! The people of Atlas and Mantle are suffering and they want to know why," Robyn adds, forcing Ironwood further into a corner.

Megatron crosses his arms, "Well, at least one of you sitting on the other side of this table care about everyone,"

"What does that mean, young man?" Councilwoman Camilla asks.

"Back in my village, we too had a council that would make the ultimate decisions for us. However, over time, they became corrupt. Inequality became more and more apparent as the cycles rolled by, but no change ended in sight. I was a slave, forced to work in the Dust mines of our home, until I said enough. I became a gladiator, rose to the top, and then worked to end that corrupt system, so that all of my people would be treated as equals. I made mistakes along the way, many mistakes, but in the beginning, I wanted to end the corruption. I wanted to help my people. All of them. You all speak about the good of your kingdom, but let me ask you, does that include Mantle, or just Atlas?" Megatron eyes everyone one of them.

"W-well, of course it involves every-," Jacques gets shut down by Megatron.

"I highly doubt that. We all know that Ironwood's dust embargo has crippled your business. Not to mention, you shut down your businesses in Mantle shortly before the election. You took away the resources people in Mantle needed to survive, Jacques. And then there's the rest of you. Mantle has been in the pits for a long time, and yet, even before all of these recent events, you've done nothing to help them. So, what makes you think you can decide what's best for them?" Megatron waits for his answer, but they don't respond. Robyn watches him with eyes in slight awe. It reminds her of how much she's been fighting for Mantle. "My point exactly. You've just sat idle while the rest of us have been fighting everyday to help people. Me, Ironwood, Winter, and Penny,"

"Speaking of which, you have not found any new evidence about who has been killing people in Mantle?" Jacques stares at Penny when he asks this.

"That investigation is ongoing, and the information regarding it is classified," Clover says.

"I'm afraid of the ever-growing list of classified information you seem to be keeping. I asked our fellow councilman here to shed some light on your Amnity Coliseum project and they know just about as much as I do," Jacques argues.

"The Amity project will help with all of the issues you have presented. But, you must understand the importance of discretion in this regard," Ironwood retorts.

"Are you saying you don't trust us?" Jacques asks.

Suddenly, Winter slams her fist onto the table and stands up, "You can't just buy trust like everything else, you have to earn it," Winter exclaims.

However, Jacques just smirks, "I couldn't have said it better myself," he says, making Winter gasp as she realizes she inadvertently helped him. "General, if I may be blunt, you have spent what little trust this council had left in you. The hacker who turned Atlas drones against us was never captured, whoever's been murdering your critics is still at large. How are we supposed to give you our trust when you've given us nothing as of late?" Jacques asks.

"That's not-," Winter begins.

"Winter. That's enough," Ironwood orders her.

Winter stops herself, "Excuse me," she says and takes her leave before she does something again, while Megatron and Penny watch her leave.

Penny then goes to check on her while Megatron remains with the others. Meanwhile, Weiss and Dreadwing make it to her father's study without anyone noticing, except for a servant or two who stay out of her way due to who Weiss is. Once inside, they close the door.

"Hello darling," they hear behind them and look back to see an older woman standing by her father's desk.

"Hello... Mother," Weiss greets her mother, Willow Schnee.

Dreadwing stares at Willow, "This female is Milady's mother?"

When he looks at her, he can see a resemblance. However, he also notices key differences. The main one being Willow's eyes. Those are the eyes of one bound in chains without any attempt to try and break free of them. The look of one who has practically given up in her situation. It's far different than the strong eyes that Weiss shows.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come down for the party. I'm afraid I'm not feeling well," Willow says as she walks around the desk and places a wine bottle on it, already half empty, along with a filled glass.

"Um, it's okay Mom. It's fine," Weiss replies.

Willow turns her attention to Dreadwing, "And who might you be?"

Dreadwing glances at Weiss, who simply nods, "...I am Dreadwing Seeker. Weiss Schnee's personal knight. Sworn to her and to her alone," he holds a hand on his chest and offers a slight bow.

Willow raises an eyebrow, "I see. So, may I ask why you are sneaking into your father's study?"

"Mom, I need to look for something in Father's computer," Weiss asks as she and Dreadwing walk to her.

"Why?" Willow asks.

"Because I think he's done something. Something really bad this time," Weiss says.

"I figured that was just the norm around her," Willow notes.

Dreadwing gets pissed at her nonchalant attitude, "Well, maybe if you had been there doing something about it, or at the very least, helping your daughter when she was being abused and betrayed by her father and her brother, then maybe things wouldn't be as bad as they are,"

"Dreadwing!" Weiss tries to stop him.

But Dreadwing doesn't hold back, "Lady Weiss is your daughter. I don't understand much about parents, but I do know about family. Even now, I am fighting so that I can free my brother from his curse; so that he may finally be free and become one with the Allspark. But, I am also fighting for Milady. What have you done for her?" he gets right in her face.

Willow looks displeased at that remark and looks like she's about to drink the bottle... but instead, holds back and gives off an expression of sadness and guilt.

"Well... You've definitely been kinder to Weiss than my husband ever was to me," Willow notes.

Her words surprise Dreadwing a bit and he backs off, but they also make Weiss blush at the subtle notion within them.

"He started locking his computer. I don't know how to get in," Willow notes.

Dreadwing looks at the computer, "Well, I can try and hack into it, but that is more Soundwave's territory than mine. It may take a little while,"

"I don't think that will be necessary," Willow pulls out her scroll. "Your father still has his blind spots," she shows a live feed of the office with them in it.

Weiss and Dreadwing surprised and look up into a corner of the ceiling, "You... hid a camera in here?" Weiss asks.

"I put a camera in every room of this house. For our safety. In case I ever needed to...," Willow says. and looks to her daughter. "You haven't come back to stay, have you?" she asks.

"...No," Weiss says with a determined look in her eye.

Willow shows a bitter smile as a tear falls down her face, "Good," she says and wipes the tear away. She hands her scroll to Weiss and leaves the wine behind for once. "A man came by to speak to your father. I'm afraid he may be involved in something more dangerous than he realizes," she says while Weiss and Dreadwing look at the scroll, showing an image of Jacques with Arthur Watts. "No matter what happens, Weiss, please don't forget about your brother," Willow pleads as she nears the door.

"You expect us to show mercy to that little scraplet after he betrayed Lady Weiss? I'm not so inclined to agree with you on that note," Dreadwing voices his displeaure.

"Well, maybe that's because he was left here alone... With only myself and his father," Willow looks back from the door, but then looks at her daughter one more time. "Weiss, while there are a few things about him I can't say I approve... I do think you made a good choice with Mr. Dreadwing to be your knight. You have my blessing," and then she leaves.

Weiss blushes a deep red from her mother's words, while Dreadwing just looks confused. Weiss shakes her head to focus on the task at hand as she and Dreadwing eye the scroll.

"...Who are you... and what are you after?" Weiss wonders as she hits the play button.

And that's the chapter. The party gets underway and already a lot of stuff went down. Next chapter may have a surprise or two in store for you guys. Will Ironwood be able to defend himself from Jacques before Megatron gets angry enough to kill him? What evidence will Weiss and Dreadwing find about her father? Until then, please Read and Review.