Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 77 – The Fast Approaching Storm
Woz was currently leaning against a pillar, hidden in the shadows behind it as he was in the foyer of a manor with a large party occurring behind him. He held his book close as he heard cars pulling up from outside despite the loud noise of the guests. That was until time paused all around him as he began to speak up.
"As it is written in this book, recent graduate Sougo Tokiwa embarks on a path which will lead him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O," Woz narrated, "He has joined Miss Rose back on her trip to Remnant and together they arrive in Atlas. Upon meeting with General Ironwood, they seek to complete the Amity Project which will allow us to restore global communications. However issue after issue has continued to pile up and tonight's banquet, in which the General must defend his positions of power, will be one of the many sparks that starts the greatest battle Remnant has ever seen…"
Time began to resume as he glanced from his hiding spot, seeing Whitley walking towards the front door.
"But before that occurs, some investigation is in order… and my allies seem to have just arrived," Woz smiled before going back to hiding.
Remnant – Atlas, Schnee Manor
It was the night of the banquet, four cars parking in front of the Schnee Manor as Ironwood and his entourage exited the vehicles.
"Suppose we should smile for the cameras?" Ironwood asked.
"Sir, with all due respect, you'd have to pay me," Winter responded dryly before making her way towards the front door of the manor, Ironwood giving an amused smile as he followed after her alongside the others.
Weiss herself took a deep breath, deciding to take the lead with Ironwood and Winter since this was her home after all. Once everyone was gathered Ironwood rang the doorbell. To Weiss' surprise however, it was Whitley who had opened the door.
"Where's Klein?" Weiss asked.
"What an interesting way to say 'Hello, dear brother, how have you been'?" Whitley responded in a sarcastic manner before crossing his arms, "I'm afraid you won't find him here. He was let go. I can't imagine why."
Weiss gave a light gasp at this, remembering how Klein had assisted in her escape. She could only assume that her father had found out and fired him as a result.
"General, exactly how large do you think our dining room table is?" Whitley asked after doing a headcount of everyone before him.
"I happen to know it's enormous," Ironwood replied, "But most of my guests will be on standby in case the council requests additional eye witnesses. Until then I'm sure they'll be happily celebrating your father's victory."
Whitley could only give a sarcastic grin alongside a smug chuckle, turning and leading them into the foyer. The foyer was filled with various guests, all formally dressed with waiters holding glasses of wine and hors d'oeuvres roaming around as well.
"For those of you joining us in the dining room, please follow me," Whitley gestured towards a nearby door before leading Ironwood, Winter, Penny and Clover away.
"Wish us luck," Clover said.
"I mean, they already invited you, didn't they?" Qrow remarked.
"Care for a drink, sir?" A Faunus waiter held up a tray of wine glasses.
"Uh… No, n-no thanks," Qrow held a hand up, inwardly glad that the waiter chose to move on, he looked over at his niece and her team, "I think I'll just stick to patrolling the grounds."
"Words out of my mouth," Marrow agreed as he went to walk off with Qrow.
"Right," Harriet said before she went over to address Team RWBY, "Well, don't wander off, don't break anything, and be ready in case the General calls on you."
Ruby and her friends stayed silent as they watched the remainder of the Ace-Ops walk off.
Yang noticed Woz behind one of the pillars and cleared her throat, pointing briefly to the pillar as her team all huddled up.
"Counterpoint," Yang said, "How about we do wander off, consider breaking things, and then all that other stuff."
"I'll be in touch," Weiss said, glancing over at Woz and giving a wink before heading for the staircase in order to begin her investigation. Once she was in the halls, she and Woz would meet up and he'd be able to help her get through without much issue. That was until she saw her brother descending the stairs, slowing to a crawl as a result.
"Dear sister, I was hoping we could use this time to catch up," Whitley spoke up.
Weiss figured she needed to get him off her back, "Oh-"
"I have to know," Whitley said, his smug voice dripping with a condescending tone, "Why did you go through so much trouble to leave home, only to come crawling back?"
Ruby couldn't help but give a light groan as she saw this, "Oh no…"
"So… time for Plan Woz?" Oscar asked as he had a small plate of hors d'oeuvres.
"Let's make our way over there," Ruby suggested to her friends as they all slowly but surely began to move towards the pillar that Woz was at.
"Greetings Miss Rose," Woz said as he peaked from behind the pillar and moved slightly, allowing the group to talk to him as he stayed out of sight, "It seems as though we have an issue. Shall I…"
"Does it involve putting everyone to sleep?" Ruby asked.
"And if it does?" Woz asked.
"Yeah I'd rather everyone not get suspicious of blanking out and then suddenly coming to," Ruby admitted, "You're to only accompany her after she leaves his sights, okay?"
"Very well…" Woz sighed.
"Well maybe it won't take that long?" Yang suggested.
"We can only hope," Blake sighed.
"General Ironwood, please… have a seat," Jacques said as he gestured to sit down.
Ironwood and his three guests were now currently in the dining room, Jacques at the head of the room with a man and woman of the Atlas Council sitting nearby on his right and left sides respectively. Of course they weren't the only ones in the room as Robyn was standing near a window while staring outside.
"Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla," Ironwood greeted as he took a seat at the other end of the table, Penny and Winter sitting on Ironwood's right while Clover sat on his left.
"Councilwoman Hill would have had a nice ring to it," Robyn said as she turned to take a seat at the middle of the table, "Though I suppose I should just be grateful I got invited to the table."
"Miss Hill," Jacques gave a chuckle, "That vigor of yours is precisely why we're grateful to have you with us tonight."
"What is she doing here?" Ironwood asked in a tense voice.
"What we're all doing here, James, addressing the concerns of our Kingdom," Jacques said, "Which means we have much to discuss."
"Indeed," Ironwood agreed, "I was hoping we could start by-"
"Are we safe with her here, by the way?" Jacques asked as he looked over at Penny who shrunk at his comment, "I do recall some confusion regarding her involvement with that horrific massacre."
"As the official report stated, that footage was doctored," Ironwood answered strenly, "Penny is completely under my control."
"Which is concerning, I think," Jacques said as his words made Penny shrink further into her seat.
"Concerning?" Ironwood asked.
"Let's talk about exactly what it is you control," Jacques said.
Team RWBY, JNR, Oscar and Woz were all watching in concern as several minutes had passed and Whitley had yet to leave Weiss alone. Everyone was trying to figure out what exactly to do when it came to getting rid of Whitley temporarily without alerting everyone to their plan. Of course it looked like Jaune had a plan.
"What was that earlier about breaking things?" Jaune asked as next to him was Ren and Nora who held a tray, bouncing as she was ready to cause some chaos.
"You know what…" Ruby trailed, she really didn't want Woz's cover immediately blown so she gave a thumbs-up, "Go for it."
It didn't take long for Team JNR to commence their plan which was all of them spreading out into the party. Jaune began sneaking around and directing Nora to the various hors d'oeuvres that would cause the biggest mess. Ren was acting naturally meanwhile, as he had obtained what one would consider a reasonable amount hors d'oeuvres. Nora meanwhile was enacting her part which was pilling as many hors d'oeuvres onto her tray as possible. It had managed to get to the point where she now had a tower of hors d'oeuvres while also having a soup at the top.
Jaune saw that Nora had enough and once she looked over to him for confirmation, he gave her a thumbs-up. She looked over towards Ren who was on the opposite end, the two having managed to position themselves to where if they passed by each other they'd pass near Whitley and Weiss.
Weiss meanwhile was groaning inwardly, wishing for some kind of miracle to be saved from her brother's rambling. .
Her wish would be granted as both Ren and Nora passed behind her, purposely bumping shoulders as Nora pretended to lose her balance as she spun around dramatically.
"Oh no, look out!" Nora called out as she pretended to lose grip on the tower of hors d'oeuvres, it flying through the air as it began to fall directly towards Whitley. Whitley heard the call out and his eyes widened.
Of course, there was one small snag in the plan as a woman had gotten a glass of wine as she went to go wander around for some food at the same time. This wouldn't be an issue but her path was directly between Whitely and the food. As a result, she ended up getting hit instead with stew and other sauces from the food covering her as a result.
The woman screamed, hopping around in distress and as a result spilling her wine all over Whitley whose hair and top of his shirt was now soaked.
Weiss could only clasp her hands to her mouth as she tried her hardest to keep from laughing at what had happened to her brother.
"If you'll excuse me," Whitely wiped some of the wine from his face and walked away to get clean.
Jaune, Ren and Nora smiled at the success of their plan, Ruby was laughing while Yang and Blake were smirking.
"Guess it's go time," Oscar gave a smile as he looked back towards Woz, only to see the vassal was already gone, "Yep, as fast as usual."
Weiss took this chance to quickly ascend the staircase, realizing that she needed to be quick in case her brother got nosey.
"The fact of the matter is, you've operated with a fair amount of autonomy for the past few years, James," Sleet stated as the dinner meeting continued, "But what we need now is for you to work with us."
Ironwood cleared his throat, "Sir, I have-"
"It's obvious that no kingdom intends to declare war on Atlas," Camilla added, "We had no involvement in the incident at Haven, we have proof our drones weren't acting on orders at Beacon. At this point, the closure of Atlas borders is only serving to hurt our relations with the rest of the world."
"I…" Ironwood started to speak.
"The rest of the world? It's hurting us," Robyn interrupted, "The people of Atlas are suffering and they want to know why."
"Quite right, Ms. Hill," Jacques agreed as all the attention was on him now, "And I'm afraid there's more than just your choices that have brought harm to our citizens as of late. Have your forces found any additional evidence as to who is slaughtering innocent civilians down in Mantle?"
"That is an ongoing investigation," Clover spoke up to defend Ironwood, "The details of which are classified, I'm afraid."
"I'm afraid of the ever-growing list of classified information you seem to be keeping," Jacques said as he continued to steer the conversation into his lane, "Not only is there apparently strange rumors of armored heroes and monsters running around that you won't answer, but there's also something you've been holding onto longer. I asked our fellow councilmen here to shed some light on your Amity Colosseum project and, as it turns out, they know about as much as I do."
"Even you don't know?" Robyn turned in surprise towards the Council, she knew from Sougo and Blake that Ironwood was keeping it close to the chest. But not even telling the council… was he that afraid of the big threat native to Remnant?
"The Amity Project will help with all of the issues you've presented," Ironwood insisted, "But you have to understand that discretion is a top priority at this time.
"Are you saying you don't trust us?" Jacques asked.
Winter was currently tapping the table the whole time, getting more frustrated as the conversation grew on. Was this because they were insulting the man she looked up to, the fact that she was partially agreeing with them? Or just the fact that it was her father's manipulative wording that was reminding her of why she left to begin with. It didn't matter really at that moment since she couldn't take it anymore.
"You can't just buy trust like everything else, you have to earn it!" Winter called out as she stood up.
There was silence for a few moments and Robyn couldn't help but smirk at seeing Winter act like this.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Jacques said, giving a small smile as his eldest daughter had inadvertently given him a way to keep the pressure up, "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, and 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?"
Winter was horrified at this turn of events, "That's not what-"
"Winter," Ironwood interrupted, he knew her heart was in the right place but he needed her quiet, "That's enough."
"Excuse me," Winter said, gripping her fists tightly before quickly exiting the room, passing a female butler with black hair and green eyes who was currently carrying a wine tray with two hands.
"I still don't know how you can even do this."
"I just have my ways."
Weiss and Woz were both walking down the Schnee Manor's halls at a steady pace. Along the walls were various butlers and servers who had dozed off and were leaning against the walls asleep. Weiss was tense while Woz was fairly relaxed. Though he could understand why she was tense given the brief reunion she had with her father back when they were starting the Amity Project. Despite being nervous and having been out of the house for a long while, Weiss was still able to make her way to her father's study.
"This is our destination?" Woz asked.
"It is," Weiss said as she went to enter with Woz, giving a sigh of relief as she closed the door to make sure they weren't disturbed.
"Now then…" Woz turned to face the inside of the study only to pause.
"Hello darling."
Weiss was startled, turning in surprise as she saw someone she wasn't expecting to run into. She was staring face to face with her mother, Willow Schnee who was currently behind the desk, holding a bottle of vodka and a glass that had some of it inside.
"I… hello, mom," Weiss managed to get out.
"Shall I…?" Woz trailed.
"No," Weiss said before taking a deep breath, "Just let me…"
"Understood," Woz said, realizing that Weiss didn't want to take the easy way out of this.
Willow raised an eyebrow at Woz, "Who is he supposed to be? And why is he…"
"He's just a friend," Weiss interrupted, she knew this would complicate things but a brief meeting with her mother wouldn't hurt. At least she hoped it wouldn't.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come down for your party, I'm... afraid I'm not feeling well," Willow said as she walked around the desk and set the bottle on the desk.
"Um... it's okay, mom. Its fine," Weiss said as she could definitely feel the awkward air in the room.
"What are you doing i-in your father's office?" Willow spoke after a brief silence, "And why is a friend with-"
"He just wanted to look at the manor while I looked for something I left," Weiss spoke quickly, not wanting her mother to get the wrong idea.
"That's right, you... left," Willow said, only keying in on the last phrase before she looked at her daughter, "You left."
"I need to use father's computer," Weiss realized that this was going to get even more uncomfortable and had to risk being straightforward to end this meeting faster.
"Why?" Willow asked.
"Because I think he may have done something," Weiss admitted as she walked over, "Something wrong."
"I thought we all simply assumed that at this point," Willow said, as if it was obvious.
"Yes, well, some of us are trying to do something about it," Weiss answered.
Willow tensed at those words, instead of drinking out of her glass she took her vodka bottle and drank straight from that instead.
Woz couldn't help but feel uncomfortable watching Weiss looking away in an upset manner while gripping her arm. If there was one relief to be seen it was that Willow noticed this and stopped before setting the bottle on the desk.
"He started locking his home computer," Willow said before picking up a Scroll from the desk and scrolling through it, "But… he still has blind spots."
Weiss' eyes widened as she saw a live feed of the office, showing the current events happening in real time as she glanced at the corner from where the feed was coming from, "You put a camera in here?"
"I put them in every room of this house, for our safety, in case I ever needed to…" Willow explained but trailed off, despite everything there was something she needed to ask, "You haven't come back to stay, have you?"
"No," Weiss said firmly.
"Good," Willow could only smile as she let a tear drop from her eye. She wiped the tear away before handing Weiss the Scroll, taking the bottle with her as she began to walk towards the door, "A man came by. I'm afraid your father may be involved in something more dangerous than he realizes."
The Scroll had a video pulled up on it already, it was a recording of the conversation that Watts had with Jacques.
Woz quietly walked over and went to look at the Scroll, "Who is…"
"No matter what happens, Weiss..." Willow spoke up as she was now at the door, "Please don't forget about your brother."
"Whitley wants nothing to do with me," Weiss reminded.
"Of course not, you left him alone, with us," Willow said as she went to exit.
"That's no excuse for either yours or father's behavior," Weiss spoke firmly to her mom who stared at her in surprise before quickly leaving.
"Weiss," Woz spoke up slowly, forgoing his usual naming tick, "Will you be alright?"
"Yeah…" Weiss nodded as she went to compose herself, "Yeah, don't worry."
"Perhaps we should get to the bottom of who this is," Woz suggested as he pointed towards the Scroll.
"G-Good idea…" Weiss said before taking a deep breath, "Jeez… what would Sougo think of me right now? Getting all flustered because of something like this…"
"On the contrary, I'm sure my Overlord would compliment you on your bravery thus far," Woz reassured, "That being said…"
"Right," Weiss said as she held up the Scroll, "Who are you?"
Winter was currently leaning against the wall in a hallway away from the dining room, arms crossed.
"Are you okay?" Penny asked as she peaked out from behind the corner, having excused herself as well.
"I'll be fine," Winter said, "I just let my emotions get the better of me."
"What do you mean?" Penny asked as she approached.
"You wouldn't understand," Winter admitted.
"Oh… right," Penny said before looking down, realizing what her friend had meant.
"No, no," Winter said in a softer tone once she realized her words were misinterpreted, "This place just holds a lot of memories for me, specifically. I thought I was in control, but… you heard me. I sounded like a petulant child."
"I thought you sounded fine," Penny admitted before placing a hand to her chest, "You were just speaking from your heart."
"And that is precisely the problem," Winter admitted, "I should have just stayed in line."
"I guess you're right, I don't understand," Penny said before turning and going to leave. She went to turn the corner and head back to the dining room, lost in her own thoughts as she walked through the hall. She paused however and could only to stare in surprise when she saw Robyn was waiting for her, "Miss Hill I…"
"Relax," Robyn waved it off, "Just wanted to get out of that stuffy room. Even if I enjoy him roasting your boss, Jacques is a bit insufferable. Kind of glad Ice Queen spoke up like that."
"Oh I see…" Penny said as she went to avoid eye contact while walking past, "I think I should head back…"
"Hey listen," Robyn said after Penny had passed her, "I have no reason to believe anything Ironwood says. But, given everything that's been happening… let's just say that I think you're fine."
"What?" Penny turned in surprise.
"I don't think you're the one who was involved in the massacre," Robyn said.
"You really don't think I did it?" Penny asked.
"Let's just say yeah," Robyn said, not wanting to give away Sougo's involvement in easing her doubts regarding the whole thing, "You're alright in my book so don't worry too much about it."
"I…" Penny wasn't sure what to say, "Thank you."
"No problem," Robyn gave a wave before going to walk around for a bit.
Remnant – Mantle Streets
Watts was currently standing on a rooftop, his main carrying bag near his feet as he held an umbrella to keep from getting wet as rain fell hard on the city of Mantle. Watts held up his scroll and began to use the clearances he had to enter the Atlas Security Network. More specifically he was looking for the Heating System. Once he found it he tapped a few times before the Scroll gave a confirmation noise.
It wasn't long before the heating units all across Mantle began to power down, the orange glows fading away as the rain began to stop. Watts tossed his umbrella off the roof as without the massive heat source the rain began to turn to snow. Watts soon began to step back, hands behind his back as he planned to enjoy the show he just started.
The first few minutes of this were confusion at the sudden snowfall before the lack of heat suddenly kicked in. Everyone began scrambling to try and find somewhere warm to be as they started questioning what was going on.
At Pietro's Pharmacy, the Atlesian Scientist was currently looking at the Zi-O Ridewatch while trying to see of what material is was made of.
"Sorry if this is taking a bit," Pietro said, "Just want to make sure I don't use any molding materials that end up damaging it."
"Its fine," Sougo smiled.
Geiz and Tsukuyomi were leaning near the door when a man suddenly opened it, "Doctor Polendina!"
The two time traveling Riders suddenly shivered as they felt a strong gust of cold air come in from where the man had opened the door. The two slipped past the man to check out what was going on since something felt wrong about that gust of wind.
"O-Oh…" Pietro fumbled with the Ridewatch before catching it in his hands, "What seems to be the matter?"
"Jeez," Maria shivered a bit as she activated her Aura, "Who turned on the air-conditioning?"
"I-Is there any way I can stay here for now?" The man asked, "It's freezing outside!"
"What?" Pietro's eyes widened, "But that's impossible, the Heating Grid should be taking care of the cold air with little issue."
"There's a problem with that," Geiz said as he quickly walked back in, "It looks like the Heating Grid's offline."
"It's what?!" Pietro asked as he quickly tossed the Ridewatch back to Sougo, having his chair walk him outside as Sougo and Maria followed.
"Oh no…" Sougo trailed as he saw the darkened city of Mantle, "What happened?"
"I'm not sure," Tsukuyomi shook her head, "But we should try and get anyone nearby to take shelter in here."
"That's a good idea," Pietro suggested, "Think you Riders can round up everyone nearby who doesn't have a place to get to?"
"We'll try our best," Sougo said as he looked at his friends, the three giving nods before they began to hurry around the block to lead anyone in the cold into Pietro's Pharmacy.
Remnant – Atlas, Schnee Manor
Negotiations between the Council and Ironwood continued, the General and Clover remaining at their seats while Penny and Winter stood at the door near Ironwood.
"General, since the day you were appointed Headmaster, there have been Atlesians who are skeptical of one man holding two Council seats," Camilla reminded.
"Yes, which is exactly why we have checks and balances," Ironwood reminded.
"We're supposed to, but lately you've been running roughshod all over them, making unilateral decisions without us," Sleet spoke up in a frustrated voice.
Ironwood sighed, "Councilman, I never intended-"
"What people intend and what they do aren't always the same, General," Sleet replied.
As this was going on a butler went over to Jacques and whispered in his ear, Jacques gave a wide eyed look as he whispered back, the butler walking off to attend to some urgent business.
"Councilman Schnee?" Sleet asked.
"Um…" Jacques cleared his throat as he fidgeted with his tie, "Yes, I, uh… agree with everything, everything that was, uh, just said. No, uh, no further questions."
"I'm not quite done yet," Robyn admitted before looking over at Ironwood, she kept her tone neutral however deciding to see if she could get Ironwood to talk willingly, "You're afraid of something, General. Aren't you?
"I think that's pretty obvious, Miss Hill," Ironwood admitted in a tense matter, "I'm trying to prevent Atlas from becoming another Beacon, another Haven."
"Yet, you don't trust your own Council to help you? Operating in secret?" Robyn asked, "These are clearly the actions of somebody who's hiding something."
"I'm not hiding anything," Ironwood insisted.
"Let's put it to the test then," Robyn said as she stood up and walked towards Ironwood, holding out her hand, "You're all aware of my Semblance. Let's settle it here and now, General Ironwood."
"…" Ironwood remained silent.
"Here and now," Robyn repeated.
"…" Ironwood stared at Robyn's hand, soon realizing that he was backed into a corner.
That was until the doors behind Jacques opened, Weiss being the one who did so, "Wait! You've got the wrong man on trial!" She began walking towards the table to stand 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 could only stare nervously at his daughter before his eyes widened, Weiss putting the scroll she got from her mom, activating the projection function and showcasing a paused video of Jacques meeting with Arthur Watts.
"Is that... Arthur Watts?" Camilla asked in shock.
"That's impossible!" Sleet stood up, "Dr. Watts died in the Paladin Incident years ago."
"Wha- w-w-what is this?" Jacques questioned.
"Play it," Ironwood said as he stood, he wasn't sure if this was a miracle just for him, or really good timing. But he knew he had to capitalize on it.
Weiss gave a nod and tapped the video, it starting with Jacques speaking first.
"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!"
"What if I said you could have your cake and eat it, too?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"James Ironwood never recognized my genius. After everything I gave him, he still disgraced me. I simply wish to return the favor."
"What's in it for me?"
"A seat on the council, all I need is your login credentials for the Atlas network. 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…"
"I always knew you were a good scientist, Arthur... but I never knew you were such a good salesman."
"Enough," Ironwood said, having walked all the way over to where Jacques was while the video played. Weiss pressed the button to stop it while everyone else was staring either in shock, disappointment, or anger.
"That, that is- I-I can explain that," Jacques quickly stood up as he began to stammer before waving his arms as if acting like what played was just an illusion, "That… isn't real."
"Jacques, take your seat," Sleet sternly spoke as he glared at the Schnee.
"Gah!" Jacques quickly went to make a getaway, planning on running out the doors that were behind his seat. A shimmering sound was heard as he opened the doors only to yelp as the Arma Gigas summon was standing and blocking his path. He looked over to his daughter, "Weiss…"
"Jacques Schnee, you're under arrest," Weiss held up her Huntress License as she gave a glare. There was a slight pause before she looked over her shoulder at Ironwood, "Can I do that?"
"In this case… yes," Ironwood said, walking over to Jacques and grabbing him by the arm, "Call your team. I want them here for this."
Remnant – Mantle Streets
Tsukuyomi was currently making sure as many people as possible were getting over towards Pietro's Pharmacy alongside Sougo, the two having paired up while Geiz went on his own.
"Come on, this way hurry!" Tsukuyomi called out.
"Don't push or shove," Sougo said, trying to make no one was trampling anybody.
"That looks like everyone that's nearby," Tsukuyomi said.
"We should probably head back," Sougo suggested.
BOOM!
Sougo and Tsukuyomi both paused when they heard an explosive force occur around the corner. The two quickly rushed over and peaked only to stare in shock at a makeshift bonfire alongside the crowd around it yelling.
"Uh… I don't think that's legal," Sougo trailed, "Should we try and call them over to Pietro's?"
"No…" Tsukuyomi shook her head, "They're angry and want to do things their own way. We'd be getting an unnecessary confrontation."
"My Overlord…"
Sougo and Tsukuyomi soon turned, watching a tornado of grey appear before them as Woz quickly walked over to them.
"Woz," Sougo said, "How'd it go?"
"We've found the culprit," Woz said before looking around, "However… from the looks of things it seems that man's still one step ahead of us."
"That man?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Arthur Watts," Woz explained, "A disgraced Atlesian Scientist who helped rig the election and set up the massacre that framed Miss Polendina. He was able to do so thanks to Jacques Schnee's credentials."
"Oh no…" Sougo suddenly put two and two together, "Then that means he's the one who shut off the Heating Grid."
"The decisive moment is likely here," Woz said as he kneeled and kept his head low, "What are your orders?"
"I…" Sougo trailed before hearing his Faizphone X ring, he answered it, "Ruby? Robyn?"
"It's Fiona," Fiona spoke up, "Robyn left it with me because she's up at that banquet. May and Joanna are with me, but things are bad down here."
"We're down here too trying to help out," Sougo said, "Remember that threat I was talking to Robyn about? They're making their move because they just shut down the Heating Grid."
"That isn't good…" May spoke up as she was nearby Fiona, "What do we do?"
"I think we try and calm people down as best we can while seeing if we can get them inside anywhere," Sougo suggested, "It won't be long before the Grimm show up."
"Got it, we'll keep in contact and try to reach Robyn," Fiona said before hanging up.
Woz looked up, "My Overlord?"
"Let's head back and see how Pietro's doing," Sougo suggested, "If he can still fit more people lets try and find anyone who isn't rioting and get them to safety."
"And when the Grimm show up?" Tsukuyomi asked before hearing the distant howls of the Grimm, "Which is going to be rather soon admittedly..."
"I think it's time that we stop holding back," Sougo admitted with a serious expression, "Even if it means revealing our full hand to Ironwood, we're going to need everything, Zi-O II, Revive, Trinity, and especially the Time Mazines."
"Understood," Woz said.
"Let's meet up with Geiz then," Tsukuyomi said before leading the two off.
Nearby were the Time Jackers, Swartz, Finis, Uhr and Ora. But the four weren't watching Team Zi-O, in fact the group weren't even aware the Riders were nearby. They were actually focused on the rioters, all of them simply staring down at what was going on.
"Jeez, take away their heat and they go crazy," Uhr said.
"I can see why," Ora shivered, "It's too damn cold."
"So what do you call this?" Swartz glanced at Finis.
"The final straw that breaks the camel's back," Finis said before looking down and spotting Watts in an alleyway watching the rioters, Tyrian meeting up with him, "I think it's time we make our final decisions and move onto the next phase."
"I think you took the words right out of my mouth," Swartz said as he began to grin.
Remnant – Atlas, Schnee Manor
It didn't take long for the remainder of Team RWBY to show up, them and Penny standing off to the side while the adults in the room all surrounded Jacques who was sitting in a chair pushed against the wall.
"I knew you'd stoop low to get what you wanted, Jacques," Ironwood said with a glare, "But this?"
Clover meanwhile received a message on communications, placing a finger to his ear as his eyes widened. He quietly excused himself though no one seemed to notice due to all the attention being on Jacques.
"This is all a great leap, James," Jacques said, trying to keep control of the conversation.
"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," Ironwood explained, "Watts designed Mantle's entire security network. He used that access to hack the surveillance system and frame someone else for the job. All while stealing an election."
Ruby placed a hand on Penny's shoulder to help comfort her as the others in the room glanced over towards her.
"And once you became a Councilman, your newly granted clearance gave him a backdoor into Atlas' secure network," Ironwood slammed his hands on the arms of the chair Jacques was sitting in as he got dangerously close, "But you probably hadn't even considered that, had you?"
"The people that died that night, their blood is on your hands," Robyn said.
"Jacques Schnee must be tried, not only for treason, but as an accessory to murder," Sleet demanded.
"These are outrageous accusations!" Jacques argued, "I only intended to win the election. I had nothing to do-"
"Only?!" Robyn yelled out as she grabbed the nearest chair, throwing it against the wall. Her action had caused the entire room to go silent as that managed to shut Jacques up for a while.
"What else will he be able to do with the access Jacques' given him?" Camilla asked.
"With enough time… whatever he wants," Ironwood said with a frown.
It wasn't long before the Scrolls of those on the Council, including Jacques, began to light up and buzz. Jacques jumped a bit while the others went to see what the alert was.
"Wait… wait, what? What do you mean the heat has gone off?" Sleet questioned much to the shock to the others in the room.
"You have to believe me, I-I-I didn't know he was planning this," Jacques tried to speak up only to flinch when Winter came from his right side, slamming her hands down on the arms of his chair.
"You are going to shut your mouth and get the heating grid up and running again," Winter gave a glare.
"I… I've been informed that we can't get into the system," Jacques admitted, "It's… it's been blocked off."
"Without heat down there... people are going to die," Sleet said as Ironwood and Robyn turned away from the others.
"General Ironwood?" Ruby asked as she walked over, "How bad is it?"
"He's using Jacques' credentials. We can follow that activity on the network. If he's found his way into the Amity system…" Ironwood said as he began rapidly tapping through his Scroll as he began to pace around, he soon gave a sigh of relief, "No, the secret is safe, for now. But if he learns about Amity, she learns about Amity."
"Can you block his access?" Weiss asked.
"It's too late. He's already starting to lock us out," Ironwood admitted.
"Can we trace him somehow? Find out where he's hiding?" Blake asked.
"He's going to be mobile, we need his access point," Ironwood said, "We need to get him out in the open."
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Robyn spoke up before giving a small wave, before getting caught up in the moment, "Yep, still here everyone. 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?
"You know?" Ironwood asked in surprise.
"I'm very resourceful in snuffing out secrets," Robyn admitted quickly, silently cursing herself out as she realized she had slipped in her wording and went to roll with it, "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."
Ironwood gave a frown, ready to speak up when the doors suddenly opened to reveal Clover and Oscar.
"General, the Grimm are all over Mantle," Clover hurried over with Oscar in tow, "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 began to walk off to his own corner.
"Sir, we need ground support now," Clover said.
"What we need is to start evacuating Mantle," Robyn suggested, "If it's completely overrun, it's not going to be safe anywhere. Use the fleet to get-"
"If I move the fleet, then Atlas is vulnerable," Ironwood argued before placing a hand on a nearby wall and leaning forward, "I… I tried to keep the kingdom safe. And now we're losing everything."
"General?" Oscar asked as he walked over. "Earlier, you asked for my advice."
"I wanted Ozpin's advice," Ironwood said.
"And his advice probably would've been to keep your secrets," Oscar said, deciding to finally take action, "When we first got here, you already knew that wasn't the right course. You had a new plan."
"It's time to give up on that plan," Ironwood admitted as he straightened up, "It's all falling apart."
"The panic you were worried about? It's already happening," Oscar argued as he tried to push Ironwood in the right direction, "The secrets you're keeping? They're about to be in the open anyway. It's time. Tell the truth."
"You're not alone," Ruby spoke up, figuring that Oscar was trying to boost Ironwood's morale and realized that was the best option as of now. She began to walk over to show the support she offered, "We can do this together."
"Thank you," Ironwood couldn't help but give a smile and looked over at Oscar, "Oscar, I think it's time you get back to the Academy."
"I think you're right," Oscar said.
"Miss Hill, Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla," Ironwood turned to address the others, "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 as she held up her Scroll.
"What about Watts and Tyrian?" Yang asked.
"You leave them to me. Right now, you're needed down below," Ironwood said, "The minute you exit, make contact with Sougo and the others. No doubt they're likely down there fighting hard and could use an update."
"Alright everybody, it's time to do our jobs," Ruby spoke up before looking over at Penny in particular, "All of us."
Penny looked up in surprise before giving a small smile when she saw Ruby looking her way.
"What she said," Clover agreed as he began to lead the way, "Let's make it happen, Huntsmen."
Once Jacques had been caught, the party had started to be disbanded as waiters and butlers were all ordered to leave the premises alongside the party guests. Of course there was one waitress with green eyes who could only give a smirk as she stood off to the side, watching all the Huntsmen and Huntresses head off.
Ruby was following her team alongside the others towards the front door, Marrow holding it open as he directed everyone to their correct transports. Ruby walked towards the door, at least until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Huh," Ruby turned before seeing Oscar, "Hey, what's up?"
"I had thought that maybe… we should tell Ironwood about Remnant's side of things," Oscar admitted, "This is like… the decisive moment, the moment he's opening up. I think he should know what he's getting into in the long run."
"Are… you sure?" Ruby asked, while it did seem like a good moment she still couldn't shake the weird and foreboding feeling she had been feeling since the night of the election.
"You're really still skeptical?" Oscar asked in surprise.
"It's not that it's just… it's been a while since we lied, how do you think he'll take it?" Ruby asked, not wanting their plan to help Mantle blow up in their face if the General overreacted.
"I'll handle it the best way I can, trust me, but I think he's in a better place right now," Oscar tried to reassure her, knowing how big of a bombshell it was, "I won't say anything about Sougo or the others, just about Salem."
"You don't need to reassure me on the Sougo stuff," Ruby admitted, "It's just…"
"He's finally picking the truth over fear," Oscar insisted, "I think it's important that we give him the truth instead of worrying about how he'll react."
"Ruby, the transport's ready to leave!" Marrow called out to her from the door.
"Fine," Ruby said, figuring that they'd have to tell Ironwood eventually, especially with the severity of the situation and the question of what exactly Tyrian and Watts were trying to do, "I'll have faith and hope that he ends up taking it well."
"Don't worry about it," Oscar reassured, "I'll handle it perfectly."
"I'll hold you to that," Ruby smiled before heading for the door and rushing out.
"Finally," Marrow groaned as he walked after Ruby.
Oscar soon took a deep breath before turning and heading for the dining room hall where the others were. Despite insisting, he could still only hope the Ironwood would take the news well.
Remnant – Mantle
The situation was starting to spiral downhill for Sougo's plan of trying to get as many people to Pietro's office as possible. A lot of them had ended up rushing over to the bonfire when they had heard about it being lit. And of course when Atlesian Knights attempted to break up the gathering they were violently smashed apart by people who were fed up over Atlas' protection. Sougo had realized they'd have to start playing defensively, especially given what had happened next.
The Grimm Sirens began to sound off as the red lights began to bathe the city in color and some light again. Of course this Grimm attack was unlike anything ever seen before. It was currently a stampede of Megoliaths heading straight for the city, various smaller Grimm running between the stampeding giant Grimm. The Manta squadron that was stationed tried their best to stall the Megoliath herd by utilizing missiles.
Those could only do so much however as several Sabyrs ran towards the poorly defended hole in the wall. The standard Atlesian Soldiers were positioned on top, only a small blockade of Atlesian Knights at the base of the hole. The Sabyrs easily tore through the machines that were standing guard before rushing directly into the city.
There were a few people who were looting in order to try and start their own bonfire in order to get multiple heat sources running. They tried their best to ignore the sirens before they heard growling, all of them turning in horror as Sabyrs leapt up and pounced down at them. The Sabyrs however were frozen in mid-air with a glitch filled static forming over their bodies.
It wasn't long before energy blasts struck against the Grimm with Tsukuyomi running over.
"What are you doing?!" Tsukuyomi questioned as she ran over, "Get to safety now!"
The civilians could only give a nod as they quickly hurried off to find shelter of some sort, with several blasts of energy coming from the side and striking the frozen Grimm.
It wasn't long before Sougo, Geiz and Woz rushed over, the four joining Tsukuyomi as the time stop faded. The Grimm could only let out a small noise as they dissolved once time resumed.
"This isn't good," Geiz frowned before looking up and seeing a Giant Nevermore pass above in the low skies, "Okay scratch that, this is terrible."
"Where do you think the others are?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Likely still caught up on their side of our espionage plan," Woz said, "While they deal with their issues, let us fight in their stead."
"You took the words right out of my mouth," Geiz agreed.
"Then let's get going team," Sougo said before lining up with the others and readying their gear.
"HENSHIN!"
[RIDER/FUTURE TIME!]
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
[SUGOI! JIDAI! MIRAI! KAMEN RIDER WOZ! WOZ!]
[KAMEN~ RI~DER~ TSUKU~YOMI! TSU-KU-YO-MI!]
The four Kamen Riders stood together as they all brought out their respective weapons.
"Alright, we need to cover as much ground as possible," Zi-O held up the Faizphone X, "Split up but keep in touch. The minute something becomes too much we call each other, got it?"
The other three gave their own nods before quickly hurrying off in their own directions. Zi-O turned when he heard growling, watching as three Beowolves began to rush down the street towards him. The Rider thought quickly bringing out his sword and loading the Blade Ridewatch in as the Grimm approached rapidly. Once they were close enough he stabbed downwards, electricity sparking violently.
[BLADE GIRI GIRI SLASH!]
Zi-O stabbed against the ground, unleashing a wide electrical shock against the three charging Beowolves, managing to char and stun the Grimm as a result. Zi-O gave a yell as he quickly switched Ridewatches, going for the Gaim Ridewatch next.
"Hidden Blade…" Zi-O quickly held his sword as if he was sheathing at his side, "Orange Slice!"
[GAIM GIRI GIRI SLASH!]
In an instant, Zi-O had drawn out his sword while slashing forward, a horizontal orange slice of energy forming and bisecting the Grimm right at their stomachs. Zi-O gave a sigh as he watched the Beowolves dissolve, straightening up.
"Whoa that was cool!"
"Huh?" Zi-O turned in surprise to see a few teens come out from hiding nearby.
"Yeah that was seriously awesome," A teen said, "Way to go Helmet Dude!"
"It's Kamen Rider," Zi-O had to keep from falling at the 'Helmet Dude' remark, "And there's plenty of others where I came from."
"There are?" Another teen asked, "Sweet…"
"Leave protecting Mantle to us and the Huntsmen, we'll do the best job we can," Zi-O held his hand forward and gave a thumbs-up, "Just get to safety alright?"
"Right, you go get those Grimm, Kamen Rider!" The first teen said before quickly hurrying off with their friends.
Zi-O couldn't help but chuckle a bit before feeling his side vibrate, he quickly held up his scroll to his helmet, "Hello?"
"Ah good," Clover's voice came through, "Was worried you wouldn't answer. We know things are bad down there and are on route."
"Bad is an understatement," Zi-O admitted, "But I'm glad to hear you all are on your way."
"There's something important I need your team to do however," Clover said, "We Huntsmen and Huntresses will be prioritizing citizen safety over killing Grimm. Given how strong Team Zi-O is from all I've seen, can we count on you all to focus on the Grimm?"
"Don't worry, we'll make it so you all aren't overwhelmed," Zi-O said.
"Good, don't hold back alright?" Clover said, "We're counting on-"
A sudden roar could be heard as wherever Clover was seemed to have gotten hit by something.
"Uh, what is that?!" Jaune managed to call out loud enough for Zi-O to hear.
"A Teryx, now hang on!" Marrow called out.
"We've got some turbulence issues, we'll see you on the ground level," Clover said before hanging up.
"Alright," Zi-O took a deep breath before taking out his Faizphone X to inform the others, "I think we can do this."
A Teryx Grimm had ended up landing at the front of the Manta the Huntsmen and Huntresses were riding with Harriet attempting to fly wildly enough to get it to fall. Everyone had their own ways of keeping steady, though despite the attempt to shake the Teryx off, it didn't seem to work. The Teryx managed to get on top of the Manta before clawing into it, Blake and Yang yelping as they moved themselves slightly away from the wall they were sitting on to avoid getting hit by the claws that pierced through.
"I can't shake it!" Harriet called out in frustration.
As if things could only get worse, another Teryx had ended up swooping down, tearing through part of the Manta's right wing. Debris began to fly from it with smoke and fire erupting from the damaged part.
"I don't think we're staying airborne," Marrow said as he felt the ship destabilize due to the damaged wing.
"It's time to go," Qrow suggested.
"You have your team assignments, let's go," Clover said as he flicked his medal with his thumb before hitting the airship door. It opened up as the Teryx was right outside, roaring at Clover while he had his back to it. It wasn't long before the damaged wind broke off and slammed directly into the Teryx, knocking it away from the ship.
"Harriet, don't stay too long," Elm said as Jaune, Ren, Weiss, and Nora began to jump out of the ship one by one.
"Yeah, thanks for the tip," Harriet gave a sarcastic remark as Marrow, Yang and Blake jumped out next.
Elm walked over to Clover, the two clasping hands and giving a nod before she grabbed onto the ship and swung herself outwards.
Harriet went to activate her weapon, her exo-suit arms known as theFast Knuckles, deploying with ease. She got on the console and punched the window to shatter it before looking back at Ruby, "Try to keep up, kid."
Ruby couldn't help but smirk at this, "No need to tell me twice."
Harriet used her speed Semblance to jump out of the window before running along the top of the ship and leaping off. Ruby meanwhile used Petal Burst to launch outwards and follow after Harriet.
It didn't take long before the ship finally entered the lower airspace of Mantle, it getting dangerous close to the buildings. Qrow and Clover were the only ones left, Clover giving a salute before dropping out of the ship backwards.
"Show off," Qrow scoffed before leaping from the ship, flipping before free-falling.
Remnant – Atlas, Schnee Manor
Councilman Sleet and Councilwoman Camilla were both standing out in the hallway away from the dining room, the two discussing what Ironwood had just told them.
"She can control Grimm?" Sleet asked.
"Ironwood wouldn't lie about something like this," Camilla replied.
"Do you really think he can stop her?" Sleet asked.
"Jeez…" Robyn was nearby but standing away from the two, staring at the door to the dining hall, "I was expecting a bombshell Sougo… but not like this."
Inside the dining room were Ironwood and Oscar sitting down, the latter having explained what Jinn had told them in her vision.
"She… can't be killed. Jinn told you this?" Ironwood expressed as he stared at the table stunned.
"She showed us when we asked what Oz was hiding," Oscar explained.
"Why? Why would Oz keep this from us?" Ironwood asked in a near distraught manner, "From the people who trusted him?"
"He was worried you would lose hope," Oscar said before speaking up again, "We're sorry we kept it from you, too. We didn't know who to trust and we felt admitting the truth would be a bit too cruel given your current state at the time. I figured you should know now before you make any… sacrifices."
"…" Ironwood sat in silence.
"Sir…?" Oscar asked warily, "What are you gonna do?"
"I… " Ironwood spoke after a couple of seconds only to stop, composing himself, "All we can do for the moment is what we can to save Mantle. That's what's in front of us."
"He'd be proud of you," Oscar smiled, "You're bringing the hope that Atlas was meant to inspire. A city in the sky is held to a higher standard."
"You say that... like you were ther-" Ironwood was interrupted when his Scroll gave a beep. He read the message before pressing a button to confirm, "Our transports are here. We should move."
"Right," Oscar gave a nod before heading for the door.
"Oscar," Ironwood said as he turned to look at the young male, "No more surprise, all right? I'm not sure I could take it."
"You and me both," Oscar admitted with a smile before turning to quickly hurry off, hoping that nothing would happen on Sougo's side of things.
Remnant – Atlas Apartments
As the night went further, it didn't take long for Jacques to be fully detained under Atlas Custody, with several soldiers escorting him roughly off the premises as Willow and Whitley watched from different spots of the foyer.
Of course they weren't the only ones that had watched as the black haired waitress with green eyes finally took her leave after Jacques' full arrest. Skipping away and slowly but surely making her way to an Atlesian Apartment Complex. She walked over to the keypad and entered the code as the door slid open. She soon walked into the apartment after making sure no one saw her.
Entering the room she stared out as the entire back wall was a massive window that showed a breathtaking view of the City of Atlas. It wasn't long before the lights turned on however.
"Huh. You're back early," A voice said as leaning on the wall near the door was a woman dressed in black, an eye patch adorning her left eye while she had a black monstrous arm that was mostly covered up by a shoulder cape. The woman before the waitress was Cinder Fall, disgraced member of Salem's cabal, "Tell me you found what we've been looking for."
The waitress gave a sassy pose in response as shard-like pink energy shimmered and moved up her body, revealing that the waitress was really an illusion. The person who was actually spying on the banquet was Neopolitan, current partner to Cinder who merely gave a smirk at her words.
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"If anything happens on Atlas' side we'll be the first to know."
"This is… this is!"
"Let us see who our new King will be…"
"…It was bait."
"There are more players in this game than we realize."
Chapter 78: The Battle for Mantle
Author's Notes: I noticed the Justice League and RWBY Movie Crossover was mentioned and… I think it'll be neat. Not much to say on it other than that tbh which is why I didn't really comment. That being said, in regards to RWBY related remarks given Volume 9… don't expect many aside from maybe vague posting about it until the very end. The way I've set up uploads (and by that I mean going to upload after waking up) makes it to where I'll likely be putting out updates before the episode airs.
As for this chapter, it was pretty much just me putting Cordially Invited and As Above, So Below into a singular chapter. I decided to add a few different quirks here and there, but nothing too major. That being said, we're starting to reach the turning point of the Saga as we rapidly approach the end of my retelling of Volume 7.