Snow continues to fall from the night sky over Mantle, collecting on roads, sidewalks and rooftops. Pietro Polendina and Maria Calavera stand outside Pietro's clinic with the door open, allowing civilians to take shelter inside.
"What's going on? Is the heat off in Atlas too?" A woman asked.
"They wouldn't just turn the heat off...Would they?" A man asked
Pietro and Maria look at each other before looking up at the City of Atlas, the underside of which is still lit up cyan and purple.
Inside the dining room of the Schnee Manor, the Atlas councilmen continue to talk to Ironwood.
"General, since the day you were appointed Headmaster, there have been Atlesians who are skeptical of one man holding two Council seats" The Councilwoman Camilla said.
"Yes, which is exactly why we have checks and balances" Ironwood said.
"We're supposed to, but lately you've been running roughshod all over them, making unilateral decisions without us" Coucilman Sleet said.
Ironwood looked at him "Councilman, I never intended-".
Sleet cut him of "What people intend and what they do aren't always the same, General".
A butler walks into the room, stops at Jacques' side, and whispers to him Hm? What? For how long?" The butler whispers again. Jacques' eyes widen "My authorization? Check it again!".
The butler hurries out of the room, and Councilman Sleet looks at Jacques "Councilman Schnee?".
Jacques tenses. As he speaks, he adjusts his tie and gestures awkwardly "Um... Yes, I, uh… agree with everything, everything that was, uh, just said. No, uh, no further questions".
He quiets down, collecting himself, and Sleet, Camilla and Robyn Hill stare at him for a moment. Robyn then turns to Ironwood "I'm not quite done yet. You're afraid of something, General. Aren't you?".
"I think that's pretty obvious, Miss Hill. I'm trying to prevent Atlas from becoming another Beacon, another Haven" Ironwood said.
"Yet, you don't trust your own Council to help you? Operating in secret? These are the actions of somebody who's hiding something" While Robyn speaks, Jacques does not appear to be paying close attention. Instead, he clasps his hands in front of his face, then puts his left hand to his face.
Ironwood narrowed his eyes "I'm not hiding anything".
"Let's put it to the test then" Robyn stands up, and Jacques lowers his hand from his face and watches as she approaches Ironwood "You're all aware of my Semblance. Let's settle it here and now, General Ironwood" She stands next to Ironwood and holds her hand out to him. He looks at her hand, then at the councilmen "Here and now".
He looks at her hand again, but before he can do anything, the double doors on the other end of the room noisily swing open.
"Wait!" Everyone looks toward the door, and Robyn gains a slightly annoyed expression. Weiss is standing in the doorway, holding the doors open, Khione and Hector stand on either side of her
Weiss continues "You've got the wrong man on trial" She walks into the room and stops next to Jacques "I know who's been framing Ironwood, who rigged the election. And my father does, too. He's been working with him".
Jacques looks nervous, and Weiss sets the Scroll that her mother gave her on the table and taps the screen, causing it to project a hologram screen into the air. The screen depicts a paused video of Jacques and Watts in Jacques' office.
"Is that... Arthur Watts?" Camilla asked in shock.
Sleet stands up "That's impossible! Dr. Watts died in the Paladin Incident years ago".
Jacques was getting more nervous "Wha- W-w-what is this?".
Ironwood got a dangerous look as he stands up "Play it".
Weiss taps the play button on the Scroll, and the floating screen begins playing the video. As it plays, Jacques becomes more and more nervous, fidgeting with his hands and then his mustache, sweat quickly appearing on his brow.
"That bastard is costing me more money every day with this embargo. I'd lay off every employee in Mantle if I wasn't trying to get their damn votes for this Council seat!" Jacques said in the video
Watts: "What if I said you could have your cake and eat it, too?".
Jacques: "What did you have in mind?".
Watts: "James Ironwood never recognized my genius. After everything I gave him, he still disgraced me. I simply wish to return the favor".
Sleet watches the video in stunned silence and sits back down. Ironwood begins walking across the room toward Jacques.
Jacques: "What's in it for me?"
Watts: "A seat on the council. All I need is your login credentials for the Atlas network".
Winter narrows her eyes and subtly shakes her head disapprovingly and Khione growls in disgust.
Watts: "You promise to make Ironwood's life a waking nightmare, and I will guarantee you victory at the polls by giving the voters down in Mantle a little… "digital push", if you will".
Robyn watches with widened eyes, then grips a nearby chair and narrows her eyes angrily.
Jacques: "I always knew you were a good scientist, Arthur... but I never knew you were such a good salesman".
Ironwood comes to a stop near Weiss. "Enough".
"That, that is- I-" Jacques quickly stands and moves next to his chair, putting his hands up stammering "I can explain that. That… isn't real".
"Jacques, take your seat" Steel ordered angrily.
There is a brief pause before Jacques frantically runs for the double doors behind him. He swings the doors open, and runs out, only to trip and fall with a thud as a cane casually swings in front of his feet
Jacques groans and stands back up to see Roman walk in front of him, casually twirling his cane.
"Y' know" Roman said, "They used to call me the criminal, but they didn't realize the hypocrisy in front of them" he then chuckled, "What is society coming to these days."
Khione hauls Jacques up and, forming a dagger out of ice from her hand, places it across his throat. "If only your father could see this. Be thankful he hasn't."
Jacques looked at his daughter "Weiss…".
"Jacques Schnee, you're under arrest" Weiss withdraws her Scroll and displays her Huntress license to him with a very serious expression. A few moments pass, and she looks over her shoulder at Ironwood "Can I do that?".
Back in the ballroom, Katrina is listening as Whitley talks about the final piece of armor in the room. Suddenly, Harriet walks up behind her. "We're needed."
Katrina turned to her sister, "Where?"
"Dining room. Looks like something interesting has come up."
Katrina nodded and turned to Whitley, "Sorry, this was very fun, but duty calls."
"Of course" Whitley said, "It was my pleasure."
Katrina nodded as she and Harriet went to the dining room.
In the dining room, Jacques is sitting in a chair on the side of the room, a black eye clear on his face, with Winter, Ironwood, the councilmen, Robyn, Jack and Clover standing around him. Team RWBY, Hector, Roman, Khione and Penny are standing together at the end of the room. Clover receives contact on his communicator and puts his fingers to it, listening.
"I knew you'd stoop low to get what you wanted, Jacques. But this?" Ironwood said is disgust. Clover glances at Ironwood and then walks out of the room, continuing to listen to his communicator.
"This is all a great leap, James" Jacques said.
"No, it's quite simple really, now that I know Arthur Watts is alive. Working with a madman like Tyrian Callows, it would be easy for someone like him to coordinate an unthinkably heinous act like the one in that warehouse. Watts designed Mantle's entire security network. He used that access to hack the surveillance system and frame someone else for the job" Everyone but Jacques looks at Penny, who looks away sadly. Ruby places her hand on Penny's shoulder. Ironwood looks at Jacques again "All while stealing an election" He moves closer to Jacques, who becomes nervous "And once you became a Councilman, your newly granted clearance gave him a..." He slams his hands onto the chair's arms "Backdoor into Atlas' secure network. But you probably hadn't even considered that, had you?".
"The people that died that night, their blood is on your hands" Robyn said in anger.
"Jacques Schnee must be tried, not only for treason, but as an accessory to murder" Sleet declared.
Khione leaned over to Robyn and whispered in her ear "I'm sure the Champions would LOVE to hear of this."
"They would" Robyn replied, "but not now. Not yet."
Jacques tried to defend himself "These are outrageous accusations! I only intended to win the election. I had nothing to do-".
"Only?!" Enraged, Robyn grabs the nearest chair and slams it into the wall, cracking it. Everyone was surprised by her outburst, but only Ironwood noticed that the speed and strength she threw it at weren't normal by human standards.
"What else will he be able to do with the access Jacques' given him?" Camilla asked.
"With enough time… whatever he wants" Ironwood said.
Jacques, Camilla, Sleet and Ironwood's Scrolls all buzz and ping, with Jacques' Scroll lighting up the pocket of his coat. The sudden noise and sensation causes Jacques to jump in fright. Ironwood, Camilla and Sleet withdraw their Scrolls. Camilla deploys her Scroll's screen, which displays an emergency alert, and Sleet answers a call on his.
"Wait… wait, what? What do you mean the heat has gone off?" Sleet demanded.
Weiss gasps and puts her hand to her lips. Blake looks worried, and Yang looks somewhat angry.
Hector glares at Jacuqes, "The hell did you do?"
"You have to believe me, I-I-I didn't know he was planning this" Jacques said.
Winter slams her hands down on the arm of Jacques' chair, and he flinches away from her "You are going to shut your mouth and get the heating grid up and running again".
"I… I've been informed that we can't get into the system. It's… it's been blocked off" Jacques said.
Ironwood has been staring at the alert on his Scroll's screen. He lowers his Scroll and turns away, while Robyn walks over to a window and places her hand on it, looking outside.
"Without heat down there... people are going to die" Sleet said.
"That won't be our only problem" Khione said, "with so much negativity down there…"
Penny and Ruby look at each other worriedly. Ironwood has his hand to his jaw, covering his lips. Ruby walks over to him "General Ironwood? How bad is it?".
Ironwood types something into his Scroll and then scrolls through things, one being a screen that displays a shape similar to the Amity Communications Tower "He's using Jacques' credentials. We can follow that activity on the network. If he's found his way into the Amity system… No, the secret is safe. For now. But if he learns about Amity, she learns about Amity".
"Can you block his access?" Weiss asks
Ironwood swipes through pages "It's too late. He's already starting to lock us out".
"Can we trace him somehow? Find out where he's hiding?" Blake asked.
"He's going to be mobile. We need his access point. We need to get him out in the open" Ironwood answered.
Roman stroked his chin. "I think I might have an idea for that."
"Okay, so let me get this straight" Everyone looks at Robyn. She holds up her hand and then does a finger gun gesture as she speaks "Yep, still here everyone" She resumes a serious expression and walks toward Ironwood "How do a disgraced scientist and disappeared serial killer find each other, General? Why would they target you? And why are you working so hard to hide the Amity Communications Tower from them?".
Ironwood looked surprised "You know?".
Robyn didn't seem like she would reveal how she knows and stands face to face with Ironwood "I used to think you were hiding something to protect yourself. But I can tell there's something much bigger going on here. Now I think it's to protect something else. Us… Atlas, maybe even all of Remnant. And you're afraid of what might happen if you tell the truth. We're facing something bigger than even you realize".
Robyn sneaks a questioning glance at Khione, who simply narrows her eyes and nods, confirming the question Robyn had asked with her glance. Robyn grew angry in her heart; it was only a matter of time before that witch returned.
Ironwood frowns. The double doors on the other end of the room swing open, with Clover and Oscar on the other side "General, the Grimm are all over Mantle" They hurry across the room to stand near Ironwood "The air fleet's doing everything they can, but they can't easily target Grimm in the city without risking casualties".
"This... this is what I was afraid would happen" Ironwood puts his hand to his jaw and walks away.
"Sir, we need ground support now" Clover said.
"What we need is to start evacuating Mantle. If it's completely overrun, it's not going to be safe anywhere. Use the fleet to get-" Robyn began but Ironwood cut her of
"If I move the fleet, then Atlas is vulnerable" He all but shouts "I… I tried to keep the kingdom safe. And now we're losing everything".
Ironwood places his right hand on the wall and leans on that arm, covering his face with his left hand. Oscar approaches him, resting his hand on the Relic of Knowledge "General? Earlier, you asked for my advice".
"I wanted Ozpin's advice" Ironwood reminded.
"And his advice probably would've been to keep your secrets. When we first got here, you already knew that wasn't the right course. You had a new plan" Oscar said.
"It's time to give up on that plan" Ironwood straightens up, lowering his hand from his face "It's all falling apart".
"The panic you were worried about? It's already happening. The secrets you're keeping? They're about to be in the open anyway. It's time" Ironwood turns and looks at Oscar "Tell the truth".
"You're not alone" Ironwood looks over to see that Ruby has approached him with an encouraging smile "We can do this together".
Ironwood nods and smiles "Thank you. Oscar, I think it's time you get back to the Academy".
"I think you're right" Oscar rests his hand on the Relic again.
While Ironwood speaks, Winter brings out her Scroll and starts using it, heading over to him "Miss Hill, Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla, there are some things you need to know about. Let's figure out how we can help Mantle… together".
"I've called a transport" Winter said.
"What about Watts and Tyrian?" Yang asked.
"You leave them to me and Roman. Right now, you're needed down below" Ironwood said.
Ruby steps toward the others and poses with her hands on her hips, while Winter watches, smiling "Alright everybody, it's time to do our jobs. All of us".
Hector deployed his arm blades "Time to kick some ass."
"What they said. Let's make it happen, Huntsmen" Clover heads out of the room with the Teams, Penny, Oscar and Winter following him.
In the hallway, group passes by a dark-haired waitress who had been serving the council earlier that night. As she watches them go, she narrows her dark green eyes and smirks.
Meanwhile, alarms begin blaring in Hayden's lab.
"What's going on?" Julius asked.
"Multiple Grimm are detected heading towards the city." Vega replied, "Plus, there's an argent energy signature appearing over Atlas."
"The Kahn Makyr." Hayden said, "She must've gotten wind of the fracture we made in the barrier. No doubt she is here to prevent us from finishing the job."
"We'll need to warn the others." Sandra said.
"Yes, we will" Novus said, loading his super shotgun, "right now, we have same Grimm to kill."
Julius drew his sword, "Let's go."
With that, Julius, Novus, and the three maidens ran out of the chamber.
In a hallway somewhere, the dark-haired waitress enters the passcode 1210 next to a door. The number pad beeps in confirmation, and the door slides open. She glances down the hall both ways and then enters, walking over to a glass wall with a view of the City of Atlas, where she stands with her hand on her hip. She hears a voice behind her, and a light turns on.
Huh. You're back early" Cinder is leaning against a wall. The waitress rolls her eyes, then turns to face Cinder, who takes a few steps forward "Tell me you found what we've been looking for".
The waitress strikes a sassy pose, bringing her index finger to her cheek in a feigned thinking gesture. As she does so, pink energy resembling clusters of glass shards moves up her body, dispelling the illusion and revealing her to be Neo. She smirks at Cinder.
Let me know what you think so far.