The elevator came to a soft halt three levels above the ground floor, the group stepping out as Mister Schnee and the researcher lead the others through a corridor to a footbridge leading to a separate building. On the other end was a security checkpoint flanked by two armed security guards. The men allowed their boss to pass with his company as they passed through bulletproof-glass doors marked with "Authorized Personnel Only" stickers. "What you are all about to see is highly classified among the Schnee Dust Company." Doctor Rojas announced. "I'm certain Mister Schnee has informed you about the confidentiality agreement."

"Confa-what now?" Yang asked.

"It was in those documents you all signed last night." Weiss whispered.

"I thought that was so we couldn't sue if we got hurt during this." Ruby said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"It was in the finer print of that document, Miss Rose." Winter explained. "I assumed you all looked it over before signing."

"Okay, look." Doctor Rojas spoke up. "You all swear you won't talk about anything you see inside, right?" he asked the Huntresses in front of him, all of which nodded as he clapped his hands together. "Perfect! Let's get to it!"

The room he lead them through after passing through the foyer behind the glass doors was a large laboratory bustling with activity. Technicians were busy working on computers, projects being prepared on workstation tables, and many more sharing notes on findings and test results in front of machines some of the group thought they only had seen in science-fiction movies. On the other end of the room, which rivaled RWBY's school dining hall back at Beacon, was a set of doors marked with yellow and black-lined tape with warning signs plastered below the windows near the tops of them. Through that, they were led into a huge sort of indoor testing range, which made the indoor arena Professor Goodwitch used in her combat classes look tiny. The testing area was protected by forcefield barriers, with a single set of armor-plated doors being the only way inside from where the group was now. Through the barriers, the girls could get a good look at the first experimental prototype they were slated to be put up against. It seemed to be a newer version of the Paladin mech suits, but with longer legs and a large set of autocannons and rocket launchers attached to where the hands of its predecessor should be. It was squatted into its standby position, a hatch open on the back for the technician, decked out in safety gear ranging from a full-head helmet and padded armor.

"Soooo...what's that?" Ruby asked, trying to make conversation.

"I'm glad you asked, Miss Rose!" Doctor Rojas said enthusiastically. "That there is a prototypical new variant of the Paladin-class battlesuit we've been testing as of late. Designated the Vanguard-310 class."

"We've looked over a file of your field experience provided by Beacon. You've all come across and fought our model-290's before from the suits gathered by the White Fang. This variant has similar weapon systems as its predecessor, although the hands have been replaced for heavy weaponry for maximum firepower." Winter explained, bringing the group over to a table that showed a holographic display of the bot RWBY would be going up against in their first test. "Two-inch thick armor plating, twenty millimeter autocannon, and five anti-armor rocket pods are only a fraction of the abilities you'll be going up against, ladies."

"Piece of cake." Yang grinned, cracking her knuckles ad a volume that made the test pilot audibly gulp.

"I admire your confidence, Miss Xiao Long." Silbern commented. "You girls may begin when ready."

With a nod, Team RWBY marched over to the door to the inside of the testing arena, the door being held open by Doctor Rojas as he ushered them inside. As they entered, Blake and Weiss checking their weapons to make sure they were primed and fully loaded. Just before Weiss entered, the heiress brought a hand across her left eye, a phantom pain vaguely stinging her face. It suddenly faded as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Next to her stood her team leader, weapon folded in her other hand as she looked on with a hint of worry at the heiress.

"Weiss? Is everything okay?" Ruby asked as they walked in and took positions next to Blake and Yang.

"Well, Ruby, if you must know, we're in for more than you might think." Weiss answered.

"Oh c'mon, Weiss. How tough can one robot be? We took on dozens before." Yang shrugged as the test pilot climbed into the mech.

"I've been in a test before, Yang." Weiss deadpanned as the robot rose to its feet, standing a good twenty-feet tall as its cannons immediately took perfect aim at the girls. "The last one is the reason one of my eyes is scarred."

The girls didn't even have time to exchange a look before the autocannon began to spit a hailstorm of lead in their direction, sending all four girls scattering to try and dodge the shots. As its targets scattered, the armored battle suit turned to keep its gun trained on Ruby, who was using her semblance to the best of her ability to make sure the bullets only bit through the petals she left behind. While it was distracted, the target's older sister and a raven-haired ninja tried taking popshots with their weapons from behind, the shotgun blasts and pistol rounds harmlessly rebounding off what appeared to be an invisible shield of some sort.

"What the-" Yang gasped when she realized their shots were doing no damage.

"It's got some sort of shielding mechanism!" Blake called before realizing the mech pilot became bored trying to hit the reaper of the team he was up against, and turned his sights on Yang and Blake. Noticing the rocket pods were beginning to glow red and hum menacingly, Blake preemptively dashed forward under its line of fire as three rockets blasted out towards her and the brawler. Two missed as Blake used her afterimages to avoid the blasts, Yang catching the third and tossing it aside, where it exploded against the wall barriers and startled the observing engineers on the other side. Just as she got up close, ready to jump and try to cut down the launchers before they could fire again, the mech lifted a leg and brought it down with enough force to kick Blake back a few feet. While she was sprawled on the ground, the wind knocked out of her, another rocket fired off, aimed directly at the swordswoman, only for it to explode on a glyph that appeared in front of her at the last possible second.

As Blake rose back to one knee, Weiss took her place as she set four more glyphs parallel to the floor, giving Ruby, who was now in position behind the mech, and Yang, standing next to the other two, stepping stones as they both dashed forward, stepping off each one and landing two strong hits from both sisters that brought the mechanical monstrosity to one knee of its own. While it was down, a revitalized Blake and Weiss dashed forward, slashing at the forward canopy before it rose back to its feet. Just before they could back away, the arm holding the autocannon suddenly surged outward, trying to swat the two girls away. Before it could, Yang was suddenly there to catch it.

"Yang?" Weiss asked over the sudden gunfire as the autocannon started spinning up again, throwing a torrent of hot lead Yang was barely protecting herself from as her Aura continued to be shredded.

"Just get back!" Yang growled, her eyes starting to glow orange. As the other two girls backed off to join their leader on the outskirts of its range. Just before her defense broke, the blonde brought a fist back, delivering a haymaker that shattered the cannon into smithereens. As the now one-armed robot suit staggered back, an idea formed in Weiss' head. The force of the strikes from Ruby and Yang's double team attack a minute ago had weakened one of the hydraulic struts on the legs, leaving it exposed just enough for a certain crimson scythe to cut the rest of the way through.

"Ruby!" Weiss pointed out as she set up another line of glyphs appeared in front of the robot, each of them of the propulsion glyph.

"I see it! Thanks!" Ruby smiled as she cocked Crescent Rose, rocketing off as she fired off a shot behind her and rocketed down the line of glyphs, picking up speed just in time as the blade met the niche on the metal legs, cutting through the damage one and propelling straight through the second. Ruby skidded to a stop a few feet behind it, just as the behemoth fell apart from its legs. As it fell, a klaxon sounded, the pilot staggering out of the now broken piece of machinery through the hatch on the back as Silbern and Doctor Rojas entered through the same door the girls did, followed with some technicians to inspect the damage and a medic to tend to Yang, who had fallen from exhaustion after breaking the cannon arm off.

"I must say, that was quite the display of teamwork you girls used." Silbern nodded, looking over the damage done to the prototype.

"This should definitely give us the data we need for improving the final product." Rojas agreed, looking over the CEO's shoulder.

"Glad we were able to help, but is my sister going to be okay?" Ruby asked, looking over to Yang, who had just been helped into a upright sitting position by the medic.

"I think she just overexerted herself. Standing in front of a gatling gun isn't exactly the smartest thing to do." Blake spoke up.

"Ah, c'mon! You all know I've done worse and lived through it!" Yang called over from her spot.

"I'm inclined to believe that, Miss Xiao Long." Silbern chuckled. "Even so, we should take a recess from the floor to set up for the next test. You may relax in one of the ready rooms outside. It shouldn't take longer than thirty minutes."

"We'll find a way to kill some time then, I guess." Ruby shrugged as the group of technicians got to work removing the debris, bullet casings, and cleaning the arena to prepare for the next prototype test. As they were set with their tasks, the girls followed Silbern and Doctor Rojas out to the foyer past the authorized personnel checkpoint, where Winter was in the middle of a phone call on her Scroll before turning to notice the group returning.

"I have to go. I'll keep you updated." Weiss overheard before her elder sister quickly hung up and turned to greet the new arrivals. "I apologize for missing the remainder of the test. An urgent phone call came up."

"Understandable, Winter. Besides, you didn't miss much." Silbern spoke with a lack of enthusiasm in his voice before turning to the hired Huntresses. "Miss Rose, you and your team can retire to the cafeteria for the time being. I need some time to discuss something with my daughter."

"Of course, sir." Ruby nodded as her team began to walk back to the elevators, only for an arm in front of Weiss stopping her from following the other three.

"You'll need to be here for this, Weiss." Silbern said, his voice with a hint of sternness in it.

Looking for confirmation to her leader to see what her reactions were, Weiss found Ruby giving her a soft smile to reassure her it was alright. "It's fine, Weiss. We'll meet you at the cafeteria once you're done." the brunette nodded. "See ya later!"

With that, the majority of Team RWBY left the Schnee family to their own devices, the youngest turning to face her sister and father with a slightly unnerved feeling coming over her. "So, Father-" she began.

"You will speak only when needed to from here on out, Weiss." Silbern interrupted coldly, catching his younger daughter off guard, but she did not respond. "While your team did well facing Project: Vanguard, you seemed to give the weakest performance."

"But...we defeated it!" Weiss tried to reason.

"You had, however, you lacked to use any style of your semblance except the basics." the older man explained. "If I knew you weren't going to improve past the basics of your semblance practice, I would've kept you here for your training at Mantle Academy. At least your Uncle Niklaus knows what he's teaching in Aura Manipulation classes." That shook Weiss to the core. How dare he refer to Professor Goodwitch's teachings as such a travesty. With a sigh, the criticism continued. "Have you even made any progress with your training?" Silbern asked.

"I've nearly perfected time dialation-" Weiss started, before a snort from her father cut her off again.

"Time Dialation? Even more basic than creating platforms!" Silbern criticized more. "Winter here perfected it long before she started attending Siren Academy! At least tell me you've started summoning. Then, you'd be on par with her at the very least." His brow furrowed more at the sight of her turning away from his gaze, indicating the answer he would be given was a no. "Not even summoning, hmm?" he asked rhetorically.

"You know I've tried!" Weiss fought back. "Everytime I've tried to summon even a dwarf Nevermore, the sequence fails!"

"Trying instead of doing doesn't seem to produce the results I expect from my own daughter." Silbern glared. "Your grades and ranking at Beacon may show you've done well in your first year there, but to me, you're still failing to live up to your potential. Now, return to your teammates. I need to discuss matters with your sister." he ordered.

Bowing her head in disgrace, Weiss left, wiping the tears off her sleeve once she was out of sight of her father and sister. What she wasn't expecting was to find her team looking worriedly at her as they waited for a vacant elevator to stop at their floor.

"Weiss? Are you...crying?" Blake asked, she and the rest of the second-year group completely shocked at this occurrence that nobody had ever expected from the Ice Queen of Beacon.

"Everything's fine, Blake." Weiss obviously lied as the elevator doors slid open, allowing the four teenage girls to enter the lift.

"The smeared mascara says otherwise." Yang pointed out, noting a smear of makeup on the heiress' face she herself discovered in the polished reflection of the closing elevator doors.

"I SAID I'M-" she snapped before catching the taken aback look by the brawler, also feeling the same empathetic palm on her shoulder from Ruby, who looked over to her friend with concerned silver orbs. "I-I'm sorry...Look, I'll explain what happened later. Can we just focus on the rest of the day? Please?"

With a nod and an understanding smirk, Ruby complied. "Sure, Weiss, but I'm holding you to that promise when we're done here today." the reaper nodded.

"Speaking of the mission, where the hell's Marron?" Yang asked.

"She still hasn't returned the message I sent her before we went into the testing labs." Ruby answered, checking her Scroll as the elevator came to a rest at the ground floor of the headquarters, leaving the group to wonder where their chaperoning Huntress had gone off to.


The clicking of the clock on the wall of the courtroom office where they held those preparing to go to trial between the prison van ride there and their time in the courtroom was starting to interest Mercury. With the near deafening silence in his new solitary confinement cell back at the prison, even the tick-tock of the wall clock above the door was music to the silver-haired kickboxer's ears. That's when a new sound came: the opening of the locked door in front of the table he sat at. Instead of the bailiff or his guards entering, somebody he'd never seen before walked in almost like the interrogators from when he was first taken into custody. She looked him down with a glare of disgust, like she was annoyed she had to come to him for whatever it was she was here for. "You look nothing like a reporter here to interview me." Mercury dryly joked.

"Shut it." Marron growled, intriguing the convicted killer.

"You're not a cop or my dad, so telling me what to do isn't a strong first impression, Blondie." Mercury sneered. "What are you even here for anyway?

"I'm here because of the other man who should be on trial with you today." Marron answered.

Now gaining his attention, Mercury sat up and leaned forward. "Who, Chains?" he asked. "So you're after him or something?"

"Along with the whole of Atlas' military." Marron nodded. "What I want to know is why him? Why did your boss free him and not you?"

"Cinder did that?" Mercury asked, furrowing his brow.

Marron mirrored his reaction. From the look on his face, it was clear he wasn't playing dumb. "So you weren't part of whatever this plan is?" the Arc sister asked.

"If I knew the plan for Vale was a bust and that we'd all be captured, I'd give you an answer." Mercury shrugged. "But guess what? That wasn't the case."

"Then give me your best guess why"d they want Chad Aens, a rogue Huntsman and White Fang lieutenant, over Cinder's right hand hitman." Marron ordered.

Mercury smirked at the end of the Huntress' statement "So that's it, huh?" he asked. "You're an old friend of his?"

"Answer the question." Marron growled.

"Not until you answer mine." Mercury asked.

Knowing he wasn't going to talk unless she gave in, Marron rolled her blue eyes and gave him what he wanted. "He was my team leader back at Beacon. After we graduated, he fell off the grid following the supposed murder of his family in Little Menagerie during the break-up of a protest by the police. After Vale, we knew he joined the White Fang and made a name for himself in it under the alias 'Chains', and now he's running free and just murdered three innocent people." Marron answered.

"I heard about it." Mercury answered, prompting Marron to stop looking down at the table during her recounting and back to the criminal. "The guards were talking about it. Somebody firebombed a Schnee store and carved up the employees inside or something like that earlier, right?" His answer was given to him in the form of a nod. "That sounds like a message to me, but for something Cinder would orchestrate, it's both too loud and too quick."

"What do you mean?" Marron asked.

"The original plan to breach Vale with a train crash and let Grimm pour in failed. That alone took over two years for us to pull of from establishing our foothold in Vale to enlisting Roman Torchwick and the White Fang's help. After that, it was hijacking Dust, armaments, mechs and other assets to take on the military and secure Vale long enough for us to get the Alpha Grimm and bring it under Cinder's control. Whoever the people who freed Chains are that let this happen did it within a week of getting him on their side. That's too fast, even for Cinder." Mercury explained.

"Why are you telling me this?" Marron asked.

"Because I've got nothing else to lose, and to show you I have no idea what's going on." Mercury answered. "If this was Cinder's plan, she would've let Emerald and I in on it a long time ago."

"Then give me your best guess on who's plan it is." the huntress suggested.

"There could only be one other person..." the kickboxer thought. "I only know this from accidentally overhearing it, but Cinder reported to someone over her. You may have taken the queen off the board, but the game's still going until you corner the king."

"Who's the king, then? And quit being so cryptic!" Marron demanded.

Mercury leaned in closer to accentuate his response. "Tell me, Blondie. What do you know about Doctor October Fall?"


And we'll end it there for now.

Once again guys, I apologize for the wait between chapters. College and real life have been kicking my ass lately, and I've edited a few parts after yesterday's new episode. The detail they gave us on the hereditary nature of the Schnee family's semblance prompted me to add in that part between Weiss and Silbern. As of now we have a few questions that need answering. What does Mercury know about Cinder's secret syndicate and this Doctor October Fall? What's in store for Team RWBY next? And how will the White Fang strike next? Not all these answers will come at once, but you may get one next time. Until then, I'll see you lads and lasses around!