Chapter 92: No Good Deed

In which Ruby cashes in an old favor.

Since Vytal, the world had been a shitshow.

Ozpin had died, leaving no instructions for the next step. Qrow was supposed to have had them, but he was either a traitor or a deserter. Either way, James was blinder than a bat Faunus as he struggled to navigate the murky waters of actually being in charge for once.

He'd like to think that he did well, given the circumstances. However, he simply couldn't think that – he could neither afford to nor was he able to convince himself to. There was always some window for error, some flaw that, if exposed, would lead to the figurative or literal fall of Atlas. Whether it was an uncleared chef preparing a meal for Fria, the guards outside the Vault missing their shift by 1 minute and 12 seconds, or Penny fucking Polendina – the best of the best – going AWOL, there was no waking moment without trouble for the general of Atlas.

And now this! Apparently, a minor Grimm incursion at a lost outpost from the Great War was enough to warrant his attention. He had half a mind to chastise the commander of the small base, Lt. Colonel Poppy, for not handling it himself. The man had been quite adamant that the situation needed his personal attention. He'd been too tongue-tied to elaborate further.

The outpost had little more than a thousand men and women serving there at the moment, making it one of the smaller colonies beyond the city walls. James briefly recalled hearing of it in a history lesson back in his early days as a cadet at Atlas Academy. Other than that, it was of little cultural or strategic significance. In fact, the sole reason it was not among the many other facilities of the same size and makeup that had been decommissioned was because the troops there were supposed to be advanced fighters to clear out Grimm. And now, instead of shoring up holes in the maiden and relic's security, he was flying out all this way to do their job for them. Ludicrous!

His airship touched down on the outskirts of the facilities, as the landing pads were too large for his flagship to touch down on. James could hear the alarms blaring inside and made to liven up his pace. Yes, it was the job of those within to deal with situations that arose, and yes, failing to do so was incompetence, but if James allowed the sons and daughters of Atlas within to be slaughtered simply because he was disappointed in their performance, he'd be worse than the Grimm.

His outlook changed as he got closer. By the time he reached the walls of the outpost, James, Winter, and the guard they had brought with them were running, weapons drawn. A simple black fin was the source of his newfound haste: the crest of a massive Grimm.

Idiot, he cursed himself. Fool! Atlas' finest were calling for his aid and he'd nearly refused out of arrogance! Why on Remnant would he assume that a desperate plea for help was incompetence?! In hindsight, he was the knave, not Poppy.

The large front doors hissed open, and James finally caught a glimpse of the sizable Grimm assailing the soldiers. It was at least four stories tall, bipedal but with winged forelimbs. Its mouth and head were reptilian, as was its torso and tail, though it appeared to possess gills. Unknown if they were vestigial or active; if so, possibly indicative of…

James hadn't even been aware that he was using his semblance until his instincts forcibly shut it off. Mettle could keep his fear down and his mind sharp, but it came with a heavy price. Now certainly was a good time to use it, but in moderation. Too much, and he'd begin to overanalyze the situation and forget important things like his utter commitment to obeying Atlesian law. Or his general sense of self-preservation. O̶r̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶u̶m̶a̶n̶i̶t̶y̶.̶

James merged the two revolvers of Due Process, forming a heavy cannon. The laser sight focused on the Grimm, but it suddenly leapt into the air off its hind legs, flapping its wings upwards into the morning sky. Mettle reminded him not to watch in awe of the retreating Grimm's enormous size and downright bizarre behavior, but to survey the area for other threats. Sweeping his weapon left and right, he observed no more Grimm in the vicinity.

He did, however, see a humanoid figure. They were cloaked in a blood red hood that draped down to their feet, covering their entire body and preventing him from identifying them as man, woman, human, or Faunus. All he could ascertain was their diminutive stature and slim form.

Regardless, no soldier within ten thousand miles of James' rigid adherence to protocol would be caught dead out of uniform, especially during a Grimm incursion onto Atlesian soil. This was either a civilian…or an enemy.

"You, there! Identify yourself!"

The troops, still dazed by the sudden departure of the dragon, noticed the figure their general was questioning and aimed their rifles.

"General Ironwood."

The voice was vaguely familiar, but he refused to lower his weapon.

"This is an Atlesian military facility with restricted access!" shouted Specialist Schnee. "State your name and business!"

"Ruby Rose. Beacon." The hood shifted as the head beneath it tilted upwards just a touch. "Do you remember me, General Ironwood?"

Ruby Rose…to James' great surprise, he actually did remember her. The young girl had testified the night of the CCT attack, pointing them in Cinder Fall's direction. Wasn't she also a survivor of the failed play to seize the relic of choice the night Ozpin had died? The one caused by the White Fang?

Yes, it was her. He now fully recognized the voice, and the trademark hood was further confirmation, though her face was still concealed. James holstered Due Process and waved for the soldiers around him to follow suit with their own weapons.

"Miss Rose, need I remind you that huntress or not, you still don't have the clearance to enter this area? Might I inquire as to the nature of your…visit?"

She was technically not allowed on the premises, but being a huntress opened up a lot of doors that civilians lacked access to. Furthermore, she was a Beacon huntress, and Vale was currently recognized as Atlas' closest ally. As such, he wasn't mad that she was here, but he was curious as to why this young girl was this far out in the snowy wastes, an ocean away from her home country.

"You once said I would be welcome in Atlas. Is that still true?"

James would never forget the events that had transpired the night of their brief encounter. Her duel with the Fall maiden may very well have been the sole factor in keeping the CCT standing, and with it, the chance for a unified Remnant.

"Atlas and I honor our debts. Welcome to the kingdom, Miss Rose. If you're in need of accommodations, Atlas Academy would be happy to host you for–"

James paused when the young huntress produced some sort of object from her cloak. Was that…an old fashioned Vacuoan oil lamp?

"Jinn!"

General Ironwood slammed his fists into his desk with such great force that the wood cracked, splitting the finely crafted furniture in two. Ruby cringed and backed up, knowing that the anger was not directed at her, but at…well, everything.

It had been tough enough for her, learning that the guys she'd been fighting all along were technically good guys. She could only imagine what Mr. Ironwood was going through. His entire life, or at least the better half of it, had been devoted to serving Ozpin. To have the rug pulled out from under him in such a brutal way must have been horrifying. If there had been any other way, she would've taken it, but Jaune, may he rest in peace, had shown her that reasoning and explanations were nothing compared to cold hard evidence. That was probably doubly true for a strict, disciplined general like James Ironwood.

When she was sure that he was firmly on Team Don't End the World, Ruby finally took off her hood. It had shocked the general, as well as Weiss' bully of a mom and the hundred-ish soldier dudes and dudettes , but Jinn had given them some context for why the Queen of the Grimm was on their side and should not be exterminated. She'd also called in Penny, who proudly saluted the selfsame general who'd overseen her construction and deployment as a huntress. It might've been sweet if it weren't for the fact that Ironwood looked like he was on the verge of collapse.

Fortunately, he'd muttered something about his semblance, then stood up to his full height and politely asked her to put the hood back on. Mr. Ironwood and Mrs. Schnee had sneakily ferried her back to his personal office in Atlas without incident before he'd randomly decided he didn't like his desk.

"Miss Rose."

"Uh, yeah?"

"My semblance, Mettle, allows me to power through stressful situations and keep a clear mind. I am about to turn it off."

"O-Okay."

"Please prepare yourself for an outburst unbecoming of a person in a command position such as my own."

Ruby was about to stutter her agreement again when the general grabbed his computer monitor and smashed it onto the floor. Then, lifting up the shattered remains of the device, he hurled it straight into the window. The reinforced glass did not break.

"Specialist Schnee."

The white haired woman stepped forward, carefully drew her swords, and proceeded to hack the machine apart.

"GAAAAAAH!"

Ruby felt a teensy weensy bit self-conscious as the two of them continued to reduce the lamps, chairs, and other household items within the office to smithereens. She looked to Penny for support, but the robot simply smiled as though nothing were out of the ordinary with their behavior. Were all Atlesians like this? If so, she'd been lucky to have Weiss, the only normal one of them all, on her team.

When the last textbook had finally been torn to bite-sized shreds, General Ironwood and Weiss' mom dusted themselves off and took a moment to catch their breath.

"Forgive us," said Winter. "It is rather…unsettling to learn that the cumulative work of your life and that of your comrades has amounted nothing more than pushing the apocalypse closer. We are not normally so unhinged."

"No worries."

"Damn Ozpin. Damn him!"

Schnee cringed. "General…"

"And he had the gall to…never mind. When the time comes, I will have the opportunity to pay him back for his deception. For now, let us focus on the task at hand. Please, if you would, inform us of the situation."

Ruby inhaled and spoke. "I have the relic of knowledge, but it's useless for another 73 years until the era resets. Penny has the relic of choice, but apparently the consequences of using that relic were so severe that even Salem chose to shelve it – it nearly drove Ozpin and Salem insane when they tried. Kraken held onto the relic of destruction when he flew away, just so that they wouldn't all be in the same place if you decided not to help us."

"Excellent call. Who exactly is Kraken?"

"The dragon."

Winter gasped, and Ironwood flinched imperceptibly.

"He obeys my commands. I've been practicing with my powers, and I can tell him what to do with just my brain. The other Grimm…they obey me when I speak and they're in the vicinity, but it doesn't last for more than an hour or two, less if I send them far away. I know it's weird – I'm a huntress, too – but for now, the Grimm are our allies. At least, they're probably going to be more closely allied to us than the others are."

Winter bit her lip. "We've handled the White Fang before, but if Ozpin now controls Haven's hunters as well…"

"It's also safe to assume that Beacon is compromised," said the general. "And with it the hunter population of Vale. Ozpin would not have died without leaving some manner of code or backdoor to grant himself access to his old office and the power it held."

"What about Vacuo?"

"I cannot say for sure. However, even if they do not side with the oncoming wave of huntsmen and huntresses, we cannot count on their support. Theodore chose not to be involved in the war against Salem, but he favored the side of humanity. Obviously – he was a headmaster of a hunter academy with no knowledge of the parasite called Ozma's true nature. Without the relic of knowledge to convince him of the necessity of our cause's success, he will not side against Ozpin."

"Great." Ruby rolled her eyes at the depressingly difficult task before her. "So that's 3 kingdoms plus Menagerie we need to convince."

Schnee looked at her oddly. "Convince?"

"Well, yeah. Jaune's dead, so the next Ozpin has probably gone to his allies. We can't just leave them in his command. He'll keep lying to them and telling them to do evil things!"

"Make no mistake, we agree on that," concurred Ironwood. "But…I think this situation is beyond the point of words. If Oz has gotten to your former allies, war will be inevitable."

"You don't understand. The top huntresses and huntsmen, the ones in charge, they're my friends. I haven't given up hope that I can change their hearts and–"

Winter scoffed at that.

Ruby exhaled angrily and threw her hands in the air. "So what, are we supposed to use our guns first and our brains second?"

"Conventional military strategy dictates that in the face of overwhelming odds against a potential enemy, a pre-emptive strike –"

"Darn strategy! All the books on strategy went out the window when I became Queen of the flippin' Grimm! None of this makes sense, so don't try and act like you can treat this like a normal problem. If there's even a chance we can talk our way out of this, we have to try that before we go and start a war."

A hand gently gripped her shoulder. "Friend Ruby…"

"Penny, do you really want to fight Weiss?"

"No, I do not. However, I believe the General might be correct in his assessment of the conviction of our enemy allies."

Ironwood placed both hands on his ruined desk. "I do not mean to suggest that we make no effort to parlay with your team. It's just…even if you'd came to me and told me the truth, I never would've believed it. The memories that spirit gave me were too real to do anything less than convince me, but she's done. There are no more questions. Ozpin will have spun up some narrative that I'm a traitor and you're a Grimm monstrosity." Ironwood slumped slightly. "And given my well-documented rigidity and temper, they will no doubt eat up every word of it. You look the part of a villain, even if you are as noble as any huntress to have ever lived. They'd never listen to either one of us, and we're both too important to lose. Me, as the general of Atlas, and you, as Queen of the…as Queen…Dust, it's difficult to even say it. No, I'm afraid I cannot sanction any negotiations."

That wasn't what Ruby had wanted to hear.

She coughed into her fist. "Oh. I'm sorry. We seemed to have had some sort of miscommunication."

"Certainly," said Winter.

"You aren't in the person who's calling the shots for me."

The room fell silent as Ironwood and Winter let the words sink in. Ruby couldn't help but notice Winter moving to rest a hand on her waist. Either the specialist was intentionally reaching for her sabers or doing so subconsciously. Ruby glared at her with her one good eye and let out a fraction of her intense magical powers. Shadow Hands reached out of the floor and relieved the elder Schnee of her weapons before she could lay a finger on them.

"I'm not here to seize control of your nation or fight you. I have no desire for power. All I want to do, all I've ever wanted to do, is what's right. The relics needed protecting, and Atlas was the safest place to bring them. But make no mistake…I am not the little huntress girl in over her head you met after a late night at the ball. I am Queen Ruby Rose, Lady of the Grimm, and the three relics I have brought with me belong to me and me alone."

Winter opened her mouth to snap at Ruby. Ruby froze a small volume of the blood in her cheeks, preventing her from doing so.

"At ease, Specialist," called Ironwood, oblivious to his subordinate's frantic rubbing of her jaw. His eyes were entirely focused on Ruby.

James studied the little girl.

Summer Rose's daughter. His brief interactions with her had been…strained. She'd been abrasive, quick to anger, and immeasurably arrogant. James was well aware that he possessed these same qualities, but he was a saint compared to the devil that was Summer Rose.

Then, as if at random, everything had changed. Raven Branwen deserted and left her team behind. To a military man, this action was the lowest of lows, and he'd experienced raw pity for Summer and her teammates at the time. Regardless of how he felt about her personally, no one deserved to be abandoned in such a ruthless manner. The loss changed Summer, or perhaps it was the burden of motherhood to two young girls. Either way, she'd truly shaped up and grew into one of the most legendary and revered huntresses in Remnant's history. He'd occasionally come into contact with her after the shift, and it showed. The woman had a strong sense of duty, and an even greater sense of justice. He would've been proud to have her wear Atlas' blue and white.

Ruby Rose was her daughter, through and through. Meeting her here and interacting with her as he was seemed to be like speaking to Summer from beyond the grave. Her courage, her refusal to back down – it all came from her mother.

He'd spent so much time obeying a man who'd led him astray. James had always had a difficulty placing trust in others, in equal part due to his innate paranoia about threats to his beloved motherland and the constantly looming threat of traitors and spies. When Ozpin had trusted him with the secrets of Salem, even admitting that he had no way to kill her but persevered in spite of it all, that level of blatant honesty had impressed James. He'd believed in earnest that Ozpin had Remnant's best interests at heart, and so he'd served him willingly.

It had been the wrong choice, and they'd come close to bringing two avatars of destruction back to the world. The knowledge shook him to his core, but Mettle was telling him not to dwell on the errors of the past at the expense of the chances in the present. For once, his damnable semblance's advice was useful.

She looked like a monster, sending chills into his very bones, but the spirit had shown that was a truer huntress and a braver person than most. He'd seen Ruby Rose's journey from Vale to Haven to the Grimm wastelands to Atlas. He'd watched her make the right call at every juncture of the way, no matter how alone she'd been. He'd felt her unimaginable pain as she jumped into the pools of darkness. And despite everything she'd been through, he'd shared her willingness to undergo it all again if it meant protecting the men and women of Remnant.

He knew for a fact that she had no goal but to save the world her mother had taught her to love.

James crossed his arms behind his back. "Miss Rose. Atlas and its military are at your disposal, to the end of realizing our shared goal of the world's defense."

"Thurr!" Specialist Schnee mumbled. "Hyuh caa' meyuhn–"

He raised a hand, silencing her. "I did not become a huntsman by turning my back on the world when it needed me, nor did I become a general by assuming that I alone held all the answers. Ozpin was right all along; nothing is more important than the defense of the relics from those who would use them for ill purposes. I simply failed to see that he himself was among that crowd. My pride is wounded, but perhaps this shall be a lesson for an old headmaster in choosing who I trust more carefully. And you are right as well in regard to our strategy. Things like bylaws and rules of engagement are moot now. We are facing the greatest military alliance the world has ever seen. If we attempt to win by numbers alone, we are guaranteed to lose, and I will not see Atlas destroyed. Not on my watch."

"I don't want to command your army…I don't think I even know how…"

"I'm not proposing you do. What I ask, Miss Rose, is that we work together to do whatever it takes to see Remnant through the gathering storm. If you need to negotiate, do so, for you are more familiar with our enemies than I. If you need to fight, let me know and I shall aid you to the best of my abilities. You cannot command an army, and I cannot claim to offer much beyond a military mindset. We need not have a single person in command, as Ozpin had his inner circle obeying him blindly. Our best chance of victory lies in pooling our unique strengths and working in tandem. Each of us should make the maximum use of our individual advantages towards a shared end goal. I acknowledge that I am not in charge, nor are you. We are allies."

Rose nodded, spat in her pale white hand, and stretched it towards James. "Deal."

Next Chapter: Ranks – In which ranks are pulled, closed, and expanded.

Omake

Ruby, riding Kraken: Dracarys.

Author's Notes

Everyone's back now. The most recent season of RWBY (assuming you're like me and mentally blocked out Volume 9) ended in Atlas, so that's where we go to finish off The Empty Seat.

And so we have our sides: Ruby, Penny, Ironwood, Winter, Atlas, and the Grimm for our good guys, and the rest of the entire world for our bad guys. Sounds fairly evenly matched to me.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!