-Fred-104-

The three Spartans and the doctor arrived back at the house, and saw a yellow motorcycle parked just outside, and both Linda and John tensed up, reaching for weapons, wondering who was at the house.

Fred placed a hand on each of their shoulders, saying "relax, it's princess hothead's,"

From the slight head tilt from each of them, Fred knew they were staring at him quizzically, so he continued, "you know, Yellow Bombshell? Exact opposite of ice queen? Shotgun bracelets? Ruby's sister?"

At the last two, both Spartans visibly relaxed and Fred shook his head, "you guys are hopeless."

Linda sighed, "Her name is Yang. Fred, you're the hopeless one."

John chimed in immediately after, "do you actually remember any of their names?"

Fred walked up to the door, saying, "of course I do, there's ice queen, little red riding hood, angsty catgirl, princess hothead, the loud redhead, the dead redhead, John number 2, and stereotypical quiet kid."

Linda walked into the house, saying exasperatedly, "oh my god, why do I even try?"

Honeydew had been following behind quietly, raised a singular eyebrow at Fred before heading inside, mumbling to herself, "I can't tell if those two sound like siblings or an old married couple,"

Fred heard a sharp exhale, then John muted himself, which meant he was laughing uproariously. When John finally composed himself, the two Spartans walked in the house, with John saying, "I suddenly see why you brought her along,"

-John-117-

John quickly explained the current situation to Fred, and sent him some helmet cam footage to review later as they entered the kitchen where Nora and Yang were arm wrestling, then the contest ended when yang simply popped her arm off and started cackling at Nora's horrified expression.

Fred suddenly was almost knocked over from a bear hug for the second time that day as Ruby hit him in the side at full speed and latched on,yelling, "Fred! You're back!"

Fred looked down at his new passenger, "oh hey kiddo, what—"

Ruby inturrupted him with a finger wag, "nope, you don't get to call me kiddo, cuz I'm older than you!"

Fred tilted his head in confusion, "but, you're like 11?"

Ruby's face went red, "no I'm 15, and you're only 14," she blew a raspberry.

Oscar furrowed his brow, then cleared his throat, "Ozpin wants me to ask how old you guys were when you started training," gesturing to the Spartans, before returning to his resting bewildered face.

Fred looked up at Oz, "about age 6. Why do you ask?"

The room went silent.

After an uncomfortable afternoon of everyone coming up to the Spartans and mumbling something along the lines of, "I'm sorry you had to go through that." John was in the improvised workshop, while Linda was telling the story to Fred.

The uncomfortableness permeated the entire house and everyone seemed to be pretty much avoiding the Spartans, except Ruby of course, she came right up to John and sat next to him as he was running armor checks, saying, "ya know, Fred's revelation suddenly makes a lot of things make sense, you guys not knowing what a weekend is, or most of civilian life anyway, being uncomfortable around everyone but yourselves, all that fun stuff."

John didn't stop working, he knew Ruby would know he was paying attention, she had picked up on quite a few of the spartan quirks and signs, and he responded, "yeah pretty much."

Out of the corner of his eye, John saw Ruby's concerned face, "I know this is probably a question you aren't allowed to answer… but… are there more of you?"

John sighed, "I'm pretty sure I shouldn't tell you, but you've done nothing but trust us, so I.." he paused, "There are, and also, there were," he stopped again, taking a breath, "There were 75 to start, and now, we're down to 30."

Ruby's expression somehow covered both shock and concern, and John simply took a deep, shuddering, sigh, and went back to his work.

Ruby's voice suddenly sounded very small, "I'm gonna...go…get Linda and send her in," she quietly squeezed out the door as John slowly sank into a sitting position on the couch.

A few minutes later a very concerned Linda walked in, and she quickly walked over when she saw what John assumed was a dead look in his eyes.

She sat down next to him and set a hand on his knee, whispering, "It wasn't your fault, that was the one mission that we were all on our own, but you prepared us for it, you've always been the best leader we could ask for." Some tension seemed to release deep inside him, and he slowly relaxed, letting his head fall on Linda's shoulder, and his eyes drift closed.

-Linda-058-

The next morning Linda had a spring in her step as she walked into the living room, seeing Fred and Ruby looking at a scroll, with Fred snickering and Ruby holding her hands up by her chin and a look of pure adoration on her face, "Oh my Ohm! They are so cute!" she squealed.

Linda walked over to them, "what are you two watching? Puppies?"

Fred had a smug look that didn't give off a reassuring air as he turned the scroll around for her to see.

It was a video of her and John asleep on the couch, with John's head on her shoulder, and her head resting on his, with John's snores blowing her longish hair up and down in an almost comical fashion.

Linda's face went hot with embarrassment, "how long does this go for?"

Fred responded smugly, "all night, John brought you back to your bunk about 6 am, then went to finish the armor maintenance he didn't get to last night."

Linda wasn't sure what to do with herself, when Fred turned to Ruby, "Alright you owe me now,"

The girl harrumphed and handed over a bill, which prompted Linda to ask hotly, "what was that for?"

Fred drily explained, "we bet on your reaction, Ruby said you'd get all flustered and excited, I said you'd be angry and your face would turn the same color as your hair."

Linda contained herself and simply raised an eyebrow, doing her best not to encourage Fred, before turning around and walking to the kitchen.

Dr. Honeydew stood next to the coffeemaker looking like she had just rolled out of bed, taking a sip of her morning black coffee and saying, "Just ignore him, he's jealous…... It is absolutely adorable though."

Linda hung her head and conceded the point.

That day, around noon, Oz gathered everyone together, and after Fred explained that Honeydew could be trusted, he explained his plan, "Salem clearly has control over Lionheart, and I'm sure she had him send out all the huntsmen, drawing them away from the city. She wouldn't make a move so bold without something to follow it up with."

Fred inturrupted him, "With all due respect sir, I think that weird machination seems pretty subtle."

Ozpin continued, "It would be, if it were anyone but the Grimm Queen, but this could only mean that she has a plan to get into the heart of the city and get to the artifact stored deep below the academy. Which in turn, could mean she has access to the spring maiden."

He paused, gesturing around the room, "with all the talents assembled in this room, I think we may have a chance."

Ozpin then went on to explain the finer details of the plan of action, saying, "I know everyone is happy to be back together, but we have to split into three teams. I'll be assigning team leaders (temporarily of course), then explaining each of your roles, and you can each pick your team members accordingly. Our overall plan is to draw Salem's agents into the main hall of the school, where the entrance of the vault is contained, then attempt to stop them there. That's team 1, which will be led by John, spartan John that is,"

Ruby and Jaune both looked a little upset, but held their tounges

Ozpin continued, "team 2 will descend into the vault and serve as a final line of defense, this will be led by Linda. I advise you take a team that can stay hidden, smaller the better."

Linda nodded and Ozpin continued, "Team 3 will be outside the building, and once the initial group of Salem's minions enter, they will stop us from being interrupted, whether that be by something like law enforcement, or reinforcements. We also will need a way to call team 3 to reinforce team 1 inside. This team will be led by Fred."

Jaune and Fred said, "I recommended…" at the same time, with the blonde knight saying, "a private scroll network," and the spartan saying, "explosives,"

They turned and looked at each other and nodded, "Both, both is good," they said in unison.

Ozpin nodded, "we will figure out more details when we get to the site and start setting up. But we need to pick members, we shall start with Linda,"

Linda spoke quietly, as if she were afraid of her idea being shut down, "I think it would actually be best if I could go alone. I operate well that way."

A couple faces looked ready to object, but Ozpin simply agreed, saying, "Understandable, but I ask that you at least pick one or two people to be ready to reinforce you if the need arises."

Linda felt a little disappointed, and she wasn't sure if it was because she didn't get to use her arguments she had been preparing or the fact that Kelly wasn't here, as her speed would make her an almost perfect candidate for flexible reinforcements to anyone on the battlefield.

Linda shook her head to clear her thoughts and said, "I'll take Ruby and Yang for speed and power across the board,"

The sisters high fived, clearly taking the selection as a massive compliment.

Ozpin turned to Fred, and the spartan looked at Dr. Honeydew, saying, "Jade can you drive?" She smiled and nodded.

Fred looked back at Ozpin, "I'll take the doc and Nora,"

Ozpin's face darkened with disappointment, (it was hard to take seriously with Oscar's face though), as he said, "I suppose from that expression you have some brutally simplistic plan cooked up?"

Jade interjected, "Don't forget probably stupid and reckless too,"

Fred nodded his assent, "yeah, that too."

Linda rolled her eyes and turned her attention to John, who said, "I assume everyone who's left is my team?"

Ozpin took a sip from his coffee that Linda didn't remember him getting and said, "That would be correct, now we must get moving as fast as possible. I will confront Lionhart with Qrow while you get set up, he has the key to getting to the vault and we will need it to get Linda in position. We will be staying at the school until after the assault, however it turns out, so be prepared for that."

Ozpin and Qrow walked out of the room, and as soon as they walked out the door, John stomped an armored foot on the floor, "ATTENTION" he boomed.

Linda and Fred snapped to attention immediately, but the rest of RWBY and JNPR just startled and looked confused.

Ruby seemed to take the hint and stood up straight, saluting. The rest of the huntsmen and huntresses sloppily followed suit.

"We will be moving out in 1 hour, be ready," John ordered, "Everyone is responsible for their own things, bring no more than one duffel and backpack for personal items, with another duffel for arms and armor."

He pointed at JNR, "You three are packing food and any necessary items for preparation, Ruby and co, you're on bedding and general survival. Fred, you're loading, and Linda you get ammo."

Linda and Fred broke off, heading to their assigned tasks, and as they were exiting the meeting area, they heard, "Well what are you waiting for? Get moving!"

Mendez would be proud, thought Linda.

-Qrow-

Oz knocked on the door, and it swung open quickly on greased hinges. A very surprised and nervous Lionhart was sitting at the desk, and he sputtered, "Ozpi— but how? You can't possible be back this soo—"

Oz cut him off by sharply tapping his cane on the floor, "I am aware of your treachery, but there is still a chance for you to do the right thing."

Lionhart shook his head, "there's nothing we can do against her, she'll kill us all if she can!"

Ozpin's tone stayed perfectly level, "that is why we must not give her the chance. I need your timepiece for a short time, then we can go over your decision and its repercussions."

Lionhart started to open his mouth to protest, but Qrow saw Oz's grip shift ever so slightly on the hilt of his cane, and the protest died on the Lion man's lips.

The timepiece was given, and they were on their way back to the main hall where the others were prepping.

-John-117-

Fred had loaded the chain gun in the truck and had taken Jade and Nora out to practice with the vehicle they would potentially be driving into combat. John guessed that the doctor was already familiar as he could see her out in the large lot in front of the academy doing donuts.

Linda was already down below, and he had helped her survey and set up. There was a bridge down the center of the chamber and a massive door set in some strange metal/stone, with a gargantuan, twisting tree with glowing yellow blossoms framing it. John has helped Linda climb to the rocky walls of the chamber and find a small outcropping hidden from view to stay on, while also setting up a cable on the underside of the bridge that, in conjunction with her mag boots, would allow her to walk upside down beneath the bridge and ambush Salem's agents from below.

After he had set up the sniper, John had returned to the main room to wait and watch.

-Linda-058-

About a week into her wait in the vault, Linda's cameras picked up something, it was a small bit of white, right by her hideout. Naturally, Linda vaulted over the small rock separating her from the anomaly, rifle drawn, only to see a leg (from the knee joint down) of what appeared to be an atlesian knight, just sitting there on the floor.

Linda had no idea what this meant, but as she was watching, a piece of a knee joint appeared out of nowhere, already attached to the leg.

Linda sat back and watched for almost a day as pieces of the robot appeared out of nowhere. As the final piece of the head appeared, Linda's finger tightened on the trigger, and lights popped on as the knight exploded into motion.

Linda almost shot it then and there, but she had seen that it didn't have any weapons, so she waited. It appeared she had made the right decision when the motion turned out to be a wave that seemed strangely girly, and the knight said in a cheery voice that matched the wave, "Hello! I'm Pharia! Who are you?"

Linda didn't move her rifle, "how did you teleport in here? And why?"

The robot brought its finger up to its chin in an exaggerated "I'm thinking" motion and said, "Very carefully, I wouldn't want to alert one of the Architects, so I just moved myself one piece at a time to this chamber. I would have done it all at once, but this room was so well protected and watched that I couldn't."

Now Linda was just more confused, but the robot continued, "I only came here because it is so obviously important, and maybe someone at an important place could help me find out who I am."

Linda still had very little idea what this robot was talking about, but it seemed friendly enough, and she relaxed her grip on her rifle somewhat. The robot's shoulders dropped in an almost human gesture of relief and said, "whew, I was thinking that you were going to shoot me, even though I was doing all the right things that the videos told me would help me make friends,"

Linda suddenly turned back to the robot, having remembered something from one of the courses Deja had taught, A.I. theory, and how the first thing a smart AI does is reach out for any sources of information to help them understand the world.

"What is the first thing you remember? And what videos are you talking about?" Linda asked suspiciously.

The robot responded cheerily, "free-floating below some destroyed building pretty far underground, then I went up and found this body and repaired it, and after that I combed through the wreckage of said building and found a storage device containing a lot of videos that the girl who was making the videos called vlogs,"

Linda's eyes went wide, "who was the girl in the videos?" She asked.

The robot said quickly, "Ruby Rose!" and a flurry of thoughts went through the Spartan's head, this all but confirms the theory, it's an AI. So that's what Ruby was doing with the camera. Oh God, an AI with a foundation built entirely on a bunch of vlogs made by...Ruby.

Linda laughed at the craziness of it all and activated TEAMCOM, "John, a robot just teleported itself down here, and I think it's a smart AI in an Atlesian Knight body. And it's entire foundation is built on vlogs made by Ruby."

The red haired spartan broke off and asked Pharia a question, "How long have you been watching these Vlogs?"

The AI spoke, "Oh I finished them all in a few days, but then I spent a month analyzing every frame so I can understand it perfectly!" The AI sounded extremely proud of itself.

Linda raised her eyebrows, "OoooK then, John this is seriously confusing me, can I bring it up?"

John replied back, "Not yet, Salem's agents appear to have just arrived, prepare yourself and keep the AI safe,"

TEAMCOM cut off and Linda turned to the AI, attaching a large clip to a ring on the knight's waist meant for attaching a cable.

Before the AI could ask what it was or what it was for, Linda said, "stay behind me whenever you can, and do EXACTLY as I say."

The AI nodded, having no clue what was going on.

-John-117-

The team was in position, Ren and Weiss were flanking the door in the hard corners, Ruby was up on the stairs, rifle ready, and he, Yang, Jaune, Oz, and Qrow were standing in front of the statue that led to the vault. A group of six strode through the door, dragging the body of Lionheart behind them. A massive man, the one who was dragging the headmaster, threw the limp form across the room, where it skidded to a stop at John's feet.

The headmaster was obviously dead, as a massive cut had been made across his neck, and varying degrees of horror came from the group. For the first time, Cinder spoke, "Sorry but the big kitty got put down, he wasn't listening anymore." She pulled out Lionheart's pocket watch and began admiring her appearance, "at least he had enough time to leave me a few things before he… Oh you know."

John could see the younger members of his team start to move, and he held up a fist to halt them.

It didn't work. Weiss came charging forward on a line of glyphs, her rapier drawn. Cinder turned, while smoothly summoning a spear to her hands and threw it at the charging Schnee, Weiss attempted to block with an ice wall, but Cinder sent a fireball screaming ahead of the spear and evaporated a hole in the summoned cover.

The spear struck true and the group at the statue could see the white haired girl fly backwards from the impact, impaled through the gut. Jaune screamed, "WEISS!" And ran over.

Cinder chuckled mockingly, "Oh I'm sorry, I had no idea you were so invested, that means I've gotten two now."

A sudden realization seemed to course through Jaune and he charged at Cinder, screaming in rage and pain.

The fall maiden sidestepped his clumsy downswing and stuck a foot out to trip him. Then said as he tumbled to the floor, "Oh you're too funny, don't open your mouth again and ruin it though. Mercury, make sure he stays down."

The boy in gray walked over to Jaune as he scrabbled to his feet and kicked him in the face, sending him into the realm of unconsciousnesss while his body clattered to the floor next to Weiss.

John needed to act now, his unit was losing cohesion, and Yang seemed to read his thoughts, as she yelled, "Stop toying with them, if you want what's in the vault, why dont you come over here and open it?"

Cinder sighed, "Oh if you insist," and the group started over, with the big man leading in a run.

John waited until he was in the right spot and activated a detonator, sending the big man up into the air in an explosion of shrapnel.

The man landed with a heavy thump, but he simply stood up, despite the fact that hundreds of shards of dust were embedded in him from the shrapnel mine.

A crooked smile seemed to spread across his face, as the power of the dust visibly coursed through him, and John had just enough time to realize what went wrong before the man sprinted over at inhumane speeds and sent the entire group flying like a bunch of bowling pins.

John took the brunt of the impact and he growled in pain as he realized he was actually embedded in a wall. He had enough time to say to Linda over TEAMCOM, "Three heading down, two unidentified hostiles, plus the Fall Maiden, be prepared."

He got a response of, "Yes Sir," which was followed by a girly voice saying, "Alrighty radio man!"

John had heard 3 words from Ruby's unknown pet AI and he was already concerned.

He turned his attention back to the problem at hand and saw that Oz was similarly buried in the wall next to him, and the boy said, "The big guy, Hazel, his semblance is that he can block out pain, which is why he can inject dust into his body and use it to fight."

John pulled himself from the wall and readied his weapon, "Whether you feel it or not, you can't run without kneecaps,"

AN: Sorry for the long wait… again.

Anyway, I've managed to make it through the first quarter of the school year with gpa and sanity intact, we shall see how the rest of it goes.

I'm not sure which story I will update next, just whatever I get ideas for, but hopefully it will be quick.

I feel kinda bad not finishing the big fight scene, but I felt I had a good amount of content, and decided to just get it to you guys.

Also Tyrian's death leaves some absences in Salem's crew, so I need to make an OC or two for the villains, if you guys want to send me some ideas (I ask that they make sense in the RWBY universe) but ultimately it will be whatever I want to write, so no guarantees.

Review Responses:

PanzerJ: glad you enjoyed, and I'm just waiting for crossplay and schedules to work out so a friend and I can play the MCC campaigns on legendary. I've heard plenty of horror stories of Halo 2 on legendary, so I'm looking forward to that one.

Evinco: I have plans for the Brother Gods, but we're not quite there yet, just be patient.

Just-a-Crazy-Man: I'm glad you do

Red October 700: poor Ruby, also yeah, that really was an ex machina (great movie btw) and I feel kinda bad about it.

Something about Fred being a radio announcer just seemed hilarious to me.

Sorry but not much action this chapter, but that is coming next, I promise.

Just a reader: and I'm back again! Hopefully I can be more consistent in the future for you guys.

MystiYew: I thought about that too, but I decided to just go with it, artistic license if you will. I do try to make my stories as plausible as possible though (in universe of course)

Also I wouldn't exactly say Blue team is lost to the UNSC yet.