Winter sighs as she was growing tired. The sun was starting to set and she had ordered some food for her sister and her friends.

"Winter? Aren't you going to eat?" Weiss asked.

"I"m fine, Weiss. I'm just a little tired." She said, sighing.

"Why don't you take a break for a few minutes?" Blake asked, knowing there were times he had to take a few naps during her time with the White Fang.

"As much as I would like that, I can't," Winter said.

It wasn't because she was sleepy. She pulled off all-nighters before, but she was more along the lines of worry. From what she heard and was told, Ruby was for more than she seem. She might be younger than everyone, but she clearly wasn't over her head. Not to mention, she almost died. The Death Parasites were mysterious creatures and much smarter than they appear. One even took up Ruby's appearance. She was starting to think this mission was a lost cause. It was clear that there were no survivors, and most of the research was gone. But Ironwood wouldn't budge. He said that there was still something that was worth saving and he wasn't calling the mission off until Ruby finished her mission.

Winter leads back in the chair before a plate of food was placed in front of her.

"Come on, even you got to eat," Yang said, crossing her arms.

Winter sighs and nods at them. Truthfully, she was glad they stay here with her. It would have been boring waiting to hear from Ruby with nothing to do. She was suddenly surprised when Weiss hugged her. Weiss knew her sister. She might act big and tough, but she was still a human bringing. Winter let a smile appear on her face before hugging her back.

"Thanks, Weiss." She whispers.

The Schee sisters broke the hung before Blake look at the screen and paled.

"Blake? What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Yang asked.

Blake just pointed. Everyone looked at the screen before they paled too. Winter quickly taps on the screen and found what was happening.

"Someone is trying to blow up the Factaily!" She shouted.

"WHAT?!" The rest of team RWBY shouted.


Ruby rushed to the navigation room and contact Beacon.

"Winter! We got a problem!" She shouted over the alarm.

"Yes, we see it too! The emergency in Sector 3 (PYR) is that the area could meltdown soon. It seems the Main Boiler's cooling unit is malfunctioning. This could easily destroy the entire research station, as it would likely trigger the auto-destruct explosives." Winter said, clearly sounding worried.

"WHAT?!" Ruby shouted, knowing that wasn't good.

"There's no time to plan an escape route for you. You have to hurry!" Winter said.

"How long do I have?" Ruby asked.

"About six minutes!" Winter said.

Ruby could almost feel her blood drain from that.

"Hurry to Sector 3 and access the Control Room to the side of the Main Boiler room. Most of the systems in PYR are down because of this. Again, we know who to blame. The Death Rose must have hacked into the system control file." Winter said.

"IS THAT THING TRYING TO KILL EVERYONE?!" Ruby shouted, shocked.

"I'm on it!" She said, rushing toward the elevator.

Luckily, the elevator to sector 3 was still working. Ruby didn't bother with the navigation room this time. She saw the timer on her helmet and knew she had to hurry.

"5 minutes until Main Boiler Unit explode." said a female voice.

"Oh, Oum! I need to hurry!" Ruby said, running down the hall.

Some of the parasites tried to get her way, but Ruby was having none of it. She froze the Parasites and rush past them. She enter a heated room and Ruby could feel the heat through her suit.

"Wow, it's hot enough to melt an iceberg!" Ruby said before seeing that her time was down to four.

"Maybe more than that." She added before running down the hall again.

Some parasites took up new forms to try and slow her down, but Ruby didn't have time to deal with them. She quickly froze them before climbing up the wall. She ran down another heated hall, freezing any parasites that got in her way. There were a few times she could use her speed booster, but only for short bursts. When she finally found the down that leads to the Main Boiler Room, there was a giant eye in her way.

"Move it! I got to stop the boiler from exploding!" Ruby shouted at it, seeing she had three minutes left.

She dodge the shots it made before shooting the real eye. Once it was gone, Ruby ran in, not noticing she absorb the red parasite as she did. She drops down to the main floor before looking up. To her surprise, a scientist was working on the control unit panel.

"HEY!" Ruby shouted, rushing up to him.

"What are you doing?! We need to stop the boiler from..."

Ruby stops as the scientist turns to her. She was shocked to see that his eyes were fully black with black tears running down his face. Ruby knew this wasn't a scientist but a Death Parasite! She pull out her Crescent Rose and readied herself. The scientist screams before grabbing his head. Ruby watched as the scientist suddenly turned into a Parasite, and her timer hit the two-minute mark.

"Carp! I need to hurry!" Ruby shouted, not caring she just swore.

The Parasite opens its 'eye' before firing three beams at once at her. Ruby dodges them before shooting her Cresent Rose at it. However, the shot did nothing as the Parasite tries to ram her, hoping to stab her with its spikes. Ruby jumps over the Parasite before firing a blast from her gauntlet. It also did nothing as the Parasite turns and shot her in the air. Ruby was sent flying into a wall before falling to the ground. She could feel something in her trying to get out, but she shook her head and stood up. Ruby notices it open its "eye' again and remembers how she defended that last one like it.

She quickly dodges the shot before firing a blast at the 'eye' before it closed. Ruby heard something similar to a scream and knew she was right. She stood up and saw the Parasite rushing at her. She dodges before seeing she was down to a minute.

"Come on! I rather not died again! Thank you very much!" Ruby shouted, shooting at the 'eye' again.

The Parasite had a hard time keeping its shell on before it broke. Ruby jumps up and absorbs the parasite. She felt a new upgrade enter her, but she had no time to see what it was. She ran toward the control pad and tried to figure out how to turn on the cooling unit.

"30 seconds until malfaction." The voice said.

Ruby didn't have time, she was about to try every button before she felt something telling her what to push.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 ,3, 2..."

The countdown stops as Ruby hits the last key. The area started to lose the red color as the alarm stopped.

"Cooling Unit activated." The voice said.

Ruby sighed before falling backward. She lays on the ground, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Thank, Oum! Thank you!" Ruby said, smiling under her helmet.

Ruby finally notices the upgrade to her Cresent Rose and looked it up.

"GROUND DUST ADDED TO CRESENT ROSE. IT COMBINES WITH THE ELECTRIC DUST TO SHOOT THREE SHOTS IN A WIDE-ANGLE."

Ruby remains on the ground for a short time, letting her beating heart slow down. Almost dying was not fun and she didn't want to go through that again. However, she was confused about one thing. She wasn't fully sure, but she could almost swear she felt someone was telling her how to turn on the Cooling Unit.

However, it felt as if that person wasn't with her at the moment. But Ruby couldn't shake that it wasn't gone. She stood back up and decided to head back to the Navigation Room. Now that she doesn't have to worry about the Factily blowing up, she decides to take her time and try out her new upgrade.


Back at Beacon,

"She did it." Winter sighs in releif.

Yang released her breath and she place her hand over her heart.

"Thank, Oum." She said.

Even Blake was starting to tear up a bit. Weiss almost fainted but was able to keep herself from doing so.

"Cutting it a bit close, Ruby!" Weiss said, crossing her arms.

Winter knew she had to wait until Ruby filed her report, but she was cheering on the inside. She was happy that Ruby was able to stop the countdown.

"Cutting what close?"

Everyone turns and saw Ironwood standing at the door. The rest of Team RWBY stood off to the side, through Blake had to stop her partner from lashing out at him.

"It appears that the Parasites were trying to overload the boiler unit. Miss Rose was able to stop it before it could explode." Winter told him.

Ironwood was surprised for a second before recomposing himself.

"I see. That's fortunate." He said, nodding.

"Sir? If I may? I think we need to call this mission off." Winter said.

Ironwood sighs and looks at Winter.

"Winter, I told you..." He started.

"Is the mission worth over a young girl's life?!" Winter said, stopping him.

Winter stood up and sighs.

"Sir, I know I'm loyal to you, but even I can't stand the idea of a young person, who's not even a huntress, risking her life over a lost cause. The Facility is lost. There are no survivors. If this keeps up then we're be known as the military that sends young ones to dangerous missions." She said.

Ironwood sighs. Truthfully, he was against sending Ruby there from the beginning. But there was no other choice. Ruby was the only survivor from the Death Parasites and the Grimm DNA had aided her in that. He, too, wanted to call this mission off, but he had his orders.

"I'm sorry. But I can't." He said before turning to Team RWBY.

"I'm deeply sorry about everything. If I could, I would have called Miss Rose back the minute it became too much for her. But, I'm afraid her mission isn't over yet." He said to them.

Yang didn't believe him and both Weiss and Blake had to hold her back.

"But, I assure you, Miss Rose will return to us. That I promise." He said before leaving.

Winter sighs as she sat back down. This was getting to be too much. She could see that Ironwood really wanted to call Ruby back, but was unable to act because of the orders he was given. She leads back before She felt a hand on hers. She looks up to see Weiss and smiles.

"I promise I'll make sure she stays safe." She said, making Weiss smile back.


And Done! Talk about a close one! Ruby was able to stop the countdown and it appears that her Grimm DNA is aiding her a lot more than she thinks. And it turns out Ironwood didn't want to send Ruby on the mission, but due to what happened to her and her Grimm DNA, she was the only one for the job. Now, the next chapter will be a bit longer. As I remember, in the game, you save some creatures known as Etecoons and Dachoras. I'm thinking of trying to come up with something different, though I wouldn't mind the help from you guys/girls. Still need a name for Ruby's gauntlet. I'm coming up blank on my end.