Blake: Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion…

"Grif's sister?!" Simmons, Yang and Blake all exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yeah, isn't that cool?" Sister said cheerfully.

"As much as I don't want to admit it, I think we have to fear the worst. Either the ship was destroyed with its cargo, or the Dust did exactly what it was made to do. If that's the case, then we have no way of finding the ship. I'm sorry, Winter…"

Winter Schnee's face frowned on the screen in front of Ironwood. "General, please, let me search every stretch of land and sea from here to Vale."

"You would be burning resources we don't have," Ironwood replied.

"Yes, General," Winter solemnly nodded.

"So, Pyrrha, you're from Argus?"

"Indeed," Pyrrha nodded. "I trained at Sanctum, then transferred to Beacon once I was done with combat school."

"You can talk to me, Weiss. To any of us. We're part of a team, remember?" Ruby said concerningly.

"A team stranded somewhere we don't belong," Weiss replied. "Hence why I'm trying to prioritize finding a way home before these quote unquote 'soldiers' drive me insane, or even get us killed."

"That's not fair. They're not warriors like us," Ruby defended.

"You and I know there's more wrong with them than their combat skill," Weiss frowned.

"Simmons and I were trying to harness the Cosmic Dust by constructing things similar to our weapons so we could try to trigger it like our weapons, but we're trying to travel somewhere. I was going about it wrong! Church, could we use your teleporter?"

"Use it for what exactly?" Church asked hesitantly.

"Get down!" Ruby exclaimed. Everyone dove down and hit the deck just before the energy blasted out in a massive wave and their vision was overtaken by white, and a harsh ringing filled all their ears.

"C'mon, get up. We have company," Church said. Yang helped her sister to her feet, then took in the sight around them. Surrounding Blue Base was a horde of Grimm.

"Sir! We just detected a large burst of energy a few miles outside of Argus's borders!"

"Tell Schnee to head to Argus and enlist JNPR's aid. I can't afford to split our troops up further right now."

"Report when you reach the rendezvous point. Good luck, Specialist Castle."

RvBvRWBY: Incurison
Chapter 15: Two Fronts

Jaune's eyes slowly opened as consciousness came to him, waking up as he laid on the couch in Terra and Saphron's living room. He saw everyone else was already up and moving, getting ready for the day. Terra was missing, having likely already gone to work, but Saphron was feeding baby Adrien in a chair near Jaune in the living room, Nora was still half asleep at the dining table, and the smells in the kitchen told him Ren was the one cooking. Before he could question where Pyrrha was, she stepped over to him, still dressed in pajamas with a smile on her face.

"Good morning," She said.

"Morning…" Jaune yawned before sitting up and stretching his arm out. After he sat up, Pyrrha sat down next to him with two cups of coffee in her hands. She holds one out to Jaune, who takes it gratefully. "I'm surprised everyone's already up. Especially Nora. How come you didn't wake me?"

"I told them to let you sleep. I'm sorry if we woke you," Pyrrha apologized.

"Nah, it's alright. What kind of leader am I if I'm lounging around while my team are the ones up and around?" Jaune said before sipping his coffee. Pyrrha smiled wider before sipping from her own mug.

"Ren, how long until the pancakes are done…?" Nora groggily whined.

"They'll be done soon, just be patient," Jaune could hear Ren reply.

"I'll honestly miss this," Pyrrha said.

"Miss what?" Jaune asked.

"This. The peace. The normality. We are huntsmen and huntresses, but our whole lives don't revolve around fighting Grimm. We are still people. It's nice to have this among everything else," Pyrrha said.

"I mean, we still can. It's not like we'll always be on a mission," Jaune said. Pyrrha, though, still seemed unsure of herself. "What's wrong?" he asked concerningly.

"I-" Pyrrha started before a rhythmic knock came at the door.

"I got it," Saphron said. She set Aiden's bottle aside and cradled him in one arm as she moved to open the door. Once it swung open, a woman in an Atlesian Military uniform and a rapier at her side stood in the doorway, with hands behind her back in a regimented fashion. "Oh! Can I... help you, officer?"

"You are Saphron Cotta-Arc?" The woman asked.

"I am," Saphron nodded.

"I'm Specialist Winter Schnee. I apologize for the intrusion, but I was hoping to speak with your brother and his team," Winter said.

"Winter?" Jaune said as he and Pyrrha approached the door. "You're Weiss's sister, right?"

Winter nodded. "Indeed I am. And I'm afraid Weiss, as well as her teammates, are in trouble."

"What's happened?" Pyrrha asked.

"Gather your teammates. I have quite a bit to explain," Winter said.

And they did. Ren was already dressed in his huntsman outfit, but Jaune and Pyrrha changed as well. Nora still sat in her pajamas, still sleepy and groggy through the entire process. Winter had also asked Saphron to leave the room, and Saphron complied, heading upstairs with Adrian in her arms. As Ren finally served breakfast, he also gave Winter a mug of coffee.

"Thank you," Winter said gratefully before sipping. Jaune saw now there were slight bags under her eyes. She seemed stressed and tired. Whatever she was going to tell them, it definitely wasn't good.

"So, what's going on with Team RWBY?" Jaune asked.

Winter finished sipping her coffee, then set the mug aside. "Before I answer, you must understand that some of what I'm about to tell you is extremely confidential. But General Ironwood wants you four to understand exactly what you could be dealing with. Needless to say, your discretion from this point forward would be much appreciated."

"Our lips are sealed," Pyrrha assured.

Winter looked at the young huntsmen, then took a deep breath before taking a small round metal device from her jacket and placing it on the table. She clicked a button on the side, and a hologram of Dust flickered to life between her and Team JNPR. "This is Project X-636, codenamed: Cosmic Dust. After the Battle of Beacon, General Ironwood personally ordered Atlas's greatest military minds to find a way to tap into the multiverse without creating something as dangerous or destructive as the super collider that collapsed Mount Glenn. And so they created Remnant's first ever form of artificial Dust, theoretically capable of opening rifts between worlds."

"How does that relate to Team RWBY?" Ren asked.

Winter turned off the hologram. "Team RWBY signed on to protect a shipment of Cosmic Dust made in a small refinement facility south of Sanus, which was put on a ship moving from Vale to here in Argus, where it would then be taken back to Atlas. However, before it even made it past the Emerald Forest, the ship fell off our scopes. Our working assumption is that something went wrong with the Dust, and they were transported elsewhere."

"They've gone missing?!" Nora exclaimed.

Winter reluctantly nodded. "And then, we picked up a large burst of energy akin to the Dust within a few miles of Argus. Our forces are all otherwise preoccupied, but the General caught word your team was here already on leave while Beacon is out of session. I'm here to ask if you'll accompany myself and one other specialist to investigate the disturbance. It could be related to Team RWBY's disappearance, but we're not sure. And if it involves something more dangerous, we have to be prepared. I know you would prefer to enjoy what's left of your break, but-"

"We're in," Jaune interrupted her.

"What?"

"We're huntsmen. Plus, this is our friends we're talking about. Of course we're willing to help," Jaune said. Pyrrha smiled proudly at her leader, but also half-frowned. This is something she was afraid of…

Winter smiled a little almost as if in relief. "I can see why my sister is so fond of you all. Then we should be going."

Ruby, Church, Yang, Weiss, Simmons and Caboose all stood back-to-back as the Grimm encircled the base, glaring at them with hungry gazes and drooling maws.

"Would one of you mind explaining to me how a hundred of these things just showed up here?" Church questioned angrily but quietly, trying not to set off the horde.

"I… don't know…" Weiss admitted.

Simmons suggested, "Maybe the portal worked, but instead of creating a stable rift, opened a short-lived wormhole on the other side that brought Grimm straight from Remnant. Which, hey, means we had the right idea! If we could just figure out how to establish better parameters for destinations and energy control-"

"Hey, Red, how about more on how we get out of this and less about how you got us into this?" Church said.

"Hey, you're the one who asked, jackass!" Simmons snapped back.

"About a simple reason why, not the cliffnotes for what to change the experiment with!"

"Guys! Stop fighting!" Ruby exclaimed. Suddenly, the Grimm all began to howl and snarl, growing more feral as the arguing continued.

"We need a plan here!" Simmons exclaimed.

"Kill the Grimm and protect the Dust," Yang said, gesturing to both the crystal connected to the teleporter and the bag on her younger sister's back still full of Cosmic Dust crystals.

"That's a goal, not a plan! We need to make it across the canyon and regroup with Sarge and the others!"

"If we group up like that, we'll be fish in a barrel!" Church said.

"Quiet, you dolts!" Weiss snapped.

Then the howling began. Ursa, Beowolves, and Sabyr alike roared and began to run for the Blue outpost. "Son of a bitch!" Church cursed.

The first atop the base were Sabyrs. Their speed let them charge ahead of all the other Grimm, and launch themselves atop the base with ease. As one leapt up, Ruby cleaved through it with ease, but it didn't stop with just it. A full pack was encircling and climbing the base, scrambling up with their razor claws. As one of the Sabyr's peaked it's head over the edge, Church aimed and shot for its head, but missed the shot entirely. "Oh, come on!" He fired the other three rounds in his mag and missed them all. "Now that's just bullshit!" The Sabyr snarled and leapt for Church. The blade of Myrtenaster impaled its skull, killing it before it hit the ground.

"You need better aim!" Weiss commented.

"Hey, my aim is fine, it's this damn rifle!" Church exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm sure," Weiss scoffed.

"Is now the time?!"

"There's never a good moment with you lot, would you rather me pick another bad one?" Weiss replied as she kept swiping away Sabyr. Church quickly reloaded as the Huntress were able to keep the Grimm at bay. That's when the Sabyrs stopped and Ursa joined the charge, pulling themselves up top next.

"I think the fish in a barrel thing is happening anyway," Yang said. An Ursa made it up top and swiped its massive paw at her. She blocked it with her left arm, then used her right to blast a Dust round through its knee. The Ursa dropped down, then Yang followed by doing the same to the Ursa's wrist, then threw a right hook that connected with its jaw and fired, obliterating the hinge of its jaw which then hung free from just the other side. She followed up with a roundhouse kick that pushed the Ursa's body over the edge of the base, which then fell and crushed another Ursa before evaporating. "We need a way out of here!" She glanced over her shoulder to yell at Ruby, but as she turned back forward, another Sabyr leapt up over the edge of the base and pounced on her, pinning her to the ground and biting at her ferociously. Yang pushed back against the feline monster, but any attempt to force it off led to it clawing closer. She was pushing back when assault rifle rounds tore through the Sabyr's torso and a blue armored boot kicked it off.

"Bad kitty!" Caboose exclaimed. He then reached his hand down towards Yang. She smiled and took it, letting Caboose pull her up.

"Looks like Ruby knows how to pick 'em after all," She said.

"I'll take suggestions on that 'way out of here' plan!" Church exclaimed.

"We need a clear way through the horde!" Simmons said. "But we can't all make it through!"

Ruby glanced over and saw Sheila sitting in the open, ignored by the Grimm. "I got it! Church, Simmons, if you get in Sheila, you'll be armed and protected and be able to drive right through the horde while the rest of us can fight the Grimm!" Ruby suggested.

"Sounds good to me!" Church agreed. "C'mon, Tomato Can." He then ran for Sheila.

"Hey, don't call me Tomato Can!" Simmons exclaimed as he followed.

"I'll make sure they don't die getting there," Yang told her sister before leaping off with them.

"What are we going to do?" Caboose asked.

"Weiss, think you can go check on Doc? Make sure that he, Tucker and the baby are safe?" Ruby asked. Weiss nodded, then after slashing through two climbing Ursa, leapt off, then sprinted inside Blue Base. "C'mon, Caboose. We're gonna fight some monsters!"

"Does that mean I can still be the powerful intelligent wizard?" Caboose asked.

Ruby laughed a little before looking forward at the oncoming Grimm. "You bet."

"Morphumax, away!" Caboose cried out as he charged forward, firing his rifle. Ruby ran alongside him and leapt high, then falling back toward the ground right towards an Ursa. She swung Crescent Rose downward, bisecting the bear Grimm instantly.

Weiss entered Blue Base to find Doc, Tucker and the baby all hiding inside, out of sight of the Grimm Horde outside. "Looks like you and your monstrous infant made it inside," She said to Tucker.

"You kidding me? Soon as those things showed up again, I took Junior here and booked it. I don't wanna fight those things again. I'm a lover, not a fighter," Tucker said.

Weiss groaned. "Does that have to be your response to everything? It's gotten very old."

"What can I say, I'm a lover, not a talker."

"Then please, just stop talking," Weiss said.

"What's going on? Why are there more of those things around?" Doc asked.

"The teleporter worked, just not quite how we intended," Weiss answered. "Now, if you all aren't hurt, I need to get back out there and fight these Grimm."

"Then who's gonna protect us?!" Tucker questioned.

"You are armed soldiers! Defend yourselves!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Are you crazy?! I've fought these guys already. I don't feel like getting eaten alive," Tucker said.

"Plus, I'm not armed. I'm a pacifist by nature, so I don't carry a firearm with me," Doc added.

"You won't fight even with your life at risk?!" Weiss screamed in disbelief. Suddenly, the base itself shook, with the lights flickering on and off, before suddenly the doors slammed shut and they were locked inside. "What's happening now?!"

"The base must've gone into lockdown. I think whatever you did to the teleporter is draining too much power from the base," Doc suggested.

"Impossible. The Dust connected to the teleporter is an energy source!"

"It's one energy source. The teleporter would still be connected to the base's power circuit. If the teleporter is overloaded, that will shoot feedback back into the base."

"So what you're saying is that we're trapped in here?" Tucker asked.

"I wouldn't say so much 'trapped' as 'stuck'. Power will come back soon. I think…" Doc said.

"That doesn't make me feel better."

"Look on the bright side, no Grimm in here."

"And I need to get out there, help my team!" Weiss frowned and furrowed her brow.

"They're all good fighters. I'm sure they're fine," Doc assured her.

Grif, Sister and Blake looked down at the unconscious Sarge crumpled on the floor of Red Base, still unconscious from when Yang struck him upside the head. He had been out for a while now, to the point of it being concerning.

"You think he's dead?" Grif asked.

"He's not dead," Blake said.

"Maybe he's in a coma," Sister suggested.

"I doubt that heavily," Blake said.

"When was the last time you've seen someone knocked unconscious for this long?" Grif asked the Faunus.

"Uhhh…." Blake glanced again at the out cold Red CO. "I'm sure he's fine."

Suddenly, the ground below them shook violently, as if the planet itself was quaking from its very core. "What's going on?!" Sister exclaimed.

"I'm not sure. You two take care of Sarge while I go find out," Blake ordered. She slid Gambol Shroud out of its sheath and transformed it into its pistol mode before moving for the exit. Once she came to the exit hall, though, the massive furred body of an Ursa blocked her way, consuming all the space and light in the hall as it wandered inside, like a dark presence consuming all in its wake. She slid to a stop and quickly fired off four rounds, two piercing the Ursa's fur while the other two bounced off its armor. The monster roared and swiped at her, but she quickly ducked down to avoid the blow, then quickly shifted her weapon back to its blade form before driving it through the neck of the Ursa from below. The Grimm let out a guttural snarl before toppling over. Blake took a small breath only for a Sabyr to tackle her before the Ursa had even begun to disintegrate. It slammed Blake flat onto the ground and sent her weapon across the room. It went straight for her throat next, attempting to tear out her jugular.

Blake was able to hold back its snapping jaw momentarily. She attempted to reach for Gambol Shroud with one hand, but without her full strength, the Sabyr drew its massive tusk-like teeth closer. She cursed under her breath, then saw the free end of the ribbon wrapped around Gambol Shroud loosely splayed closer to her. She tried to reach out for it, but again, giving up resistance to the Sabyr only let it push closer. The Sabyr forced its way forward and chomped down on Blake's neck, her aura the only defense keeping the lethal fangs from piercing her skin. She let out a pained yell and tried using all her body strength to push it back, but the Grimm's jaws had the strength of steel. It wouldn't give. She gritted her teeth tightly as she then let go of the monster, letting it gnaw on her neck as she was able to grab the edge of her ribbon and yank the weapon back towards her. Once Gambol Shroud was in hand, she drove it through the Sabyr's own neck. The Sabyr's jaw went slack, and the creature disintegrated right on top of her.

Blake rubbed her now sore neck, which was slightly bruised despite her aura, and started to push herself back up when she heard snarling again. She snapped her vision towards the exit doorway again to see three more Sabyr glaring her way from outside. The trio rushed for her. She shifted her weapon back to its firearm form and spent her magazine killing two of them. The third avoided her bullets, though, and got close enough to leap right for her like its predecessor. Blake began to change Gambol Shroud Blake to sword form when a loud Bang! echoed behind her, and suddenly the Grimm's torso was obliterated, turning it into black and red gibs before evaporating.

Blake turned to see Sarge with his still-smoking shotgun in hand. He cocked in a new shell before putting his hand out to Blake. She gladly took it, and Sarge pulled her to her feet. "Thanks," She said.

"Glad to know I woke up just before the hellhounds showed up ," Sarge said. "What in Sam Hell is goin' on out there?"

"That's what I was going to figure out. Everyone else is at Blue Base," Blake replied.

"Well, as much as I hate to say it, then you and I are going to help the Blues," Sarge said. "Grif , Sister, lock down the base and stand your ground. Don't let any of these things inside behind us!"

"Sarge, you should stay here with them. We don't know how many are out there, and you don't have an aura like us. It's suicide!" Blake protested.

"Then today is a good day to die," Sarge replied confidently as he tightened his grip on his shotgun then walked out the door. Blake shook her head but followed him out.

"Sheila, open the canopy!" Church exclaimed as he, Simmons and Yang ran towards the tank.

"A 'please' wouldn't hurt your tiny organic body, would it?" Sheila replied nonchalantly.

"Seriously, Sheila! In case you didn't notice, there's an army of monsters around!" Church cried as Grimm began to move from Blue Base over to them.

"I didn't hear the magic word," Sheila said tauntingly.

"Are you fucking serious?!"

"Well, that language isn't going to get you anywhere."

"Is this thing for real?!" Simmons exclaimed.

"Oh, forget this!" Yang yelled in frustration before leaping onto the back of the tank. "Open the canopy, or I'll rip out your power core!"

"Cool it, you moody top-heavy blonde bimbo," Sheila snapped.

"Excuse me?!" Yang shrieked.

Simmons turned around to see the Grimm closing in, and let out a frightened whine. "Guys!"

"I'll turn you into scrap, you rusty hunk of junk!" Yang yelled, her golden hair giving off a sun-like glow.

"Hey, remember that we need her? Seriously, Sheila, open the damn canopy!" Church ordered.

"I don't like your attitude, mister," Sheila replied. Simmons saw the Grimm get closer, then quickly scrambled on top of the tank. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Sheila questioned. Simmons dropped into the manual machine gun turret in front of the tank's canopy and spun it around to face the Grimm, then pulled the trigger to unleash a rapid storm of bullets into them. The turret's power tore through the monsters with relative ease. At the very least, it was enough to keep the Grimm at bay for now.

"Sheila, what the hell is going on with you?!" Church exclaimed.

"It has to be something wrong with me, doesn't it?"

"Why are you so emotional all of a sudden?! Don't you get the urgency here?!"

"Oh, so I'm emotional now?" Sheila questioned.

"Now is not the time for this!"

"Oh, to hell with this!" Yang cursed. She leapt to the back of the tank and tore off the back panel with her bare hands. "Open up before I take you offline!"

"Fine," Sheila said reluctantly before the canopy for the main seat inside opened. Church quickly scrambled inside and shut the canopy back down. Yang swung around and stood atop Sheila's hull next to Simmons' turret.

"Bring us back to Ruby and Caboose!" Yang said.

"On it," Church replied before handling the controls and sending them forward.

Winter's ship landed in an open clearing among the stretching chilly forests a few miles away from Argus. Once the ramp lowered, Winter and Team JNPR filed out onto the half-frozen blades of grass.

"I forgot how cold it gets outside of the city," Pyrrha shivered.

"The cold could be the least of our worries. We're not far from where the energy signature was detected," Winter said.

"Well then, lead the way!" Jaune said with a positive smile.

"Hold on. We're still waiting for one more to join us."

"Who else could we be waiting on?" Nora asked. It was then the group could hear the roaring engines of another Atlesian shuttle coming in from above. It lowered down next to their ship in the clearing, and as the engines powered down and its ramp hit the dirt, a single soldier stepped down. Dressed in a white Atlesian uniform coat and leggings over a white armored vest, wearing armor pieces on his forearms, elbows and shins, with twin pistols holstered at his sides and a rifle on his back, and a black painted skull designed on his torso, Specialist Frank Castle approached Winter.

"Specialist Schnee," He greeted.

"Specialist Castle," Winter reciprocated with a nod. "I must say I was surprised when the General assigned you with us, considering your other active duty."

"Penny is being watched. Ironwood is taking things seriously with this Dust. Of course, if he had been the whole time, he wouldn't have put kids in charge of a transfer in the first place."

"Team RWBY was fully capable. Now it's up to us to find them," Winter said.

"And I assume you think they're fully capable too?" Castle raised an eyebrow, gesturing to Team JNPR behind her.

"After Beacon, I'd be surprised if they weren't," Winter scowled.

"We can handle ourselves just fine," Ren assured him.

"And after Beacon, 'just fine' isn't enough anymore." Castle then took his rifle off his back and began walking away from the landing site. "C'mon. Let's get this over with."

"I'm starting to think it's better we never talked to him back at Beacon," Jaune said.

"I've been told he means well," Winter said cautiously.

"He has a funny way of showing it," Nora remarked. The other five then began to follow Castle into the trees.

"He does help take care of Penny, and she seems happy, so he can't be all bad, right?" Jaune said.

"I'd like to believe that," Winter said. "He and I have only interacted once previously, during my visit to Beacon during the Tournament. When I met him then, he seemed… almost haunted, and dark. He was closed off from the entire world. I'm getting that same feeling now."

"If he's closed off, then we can't judge him. We don't really know him, so it's not our place to assume things about him," Pyrrha said.

"Well, this isn't a get-to-know-you mission, so I wouldn't suggest making the attempt. I'd rather not invite more chaos into this than we have to."

The group fell silent, Winter's suggestion seeming to address to herself as well, and JNPR got the message. However, as they walked, Jaune glanced over at Winter. Back at Saphron's, he noted the bags under Winter's eyes, her sense of urgency. She wasn't wearing her stress on her sleeve, she had actually been hiding it quite well. But once Jaune noticed one thing, he began to spot the others more easily. It wasn't hard to figure out the reason for her distress.

"You're really worried about Weiss, aren't you?" Jaune asked her.

Winter hesitated to answer at first. Had it been anyone else, she would've told them to mind themselves. But these weren't her soldiers, these were Weiss's friends. She sighed and gravel nodded. "I know she can handle herself. She's a Schnee, after all. But…we're dealing with something we couldn't possibly hope to understand. After Beacon, we have the right to be cautious, even afraid, of what lies beyond Remnant."

"True, but we can't pretend all our enemies were from Earth," Ren said. "Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, Torchwick? They're all from Remnant. It was their plans that led to Beacon. There are plenty of problems of our own to solve."

"Yes, but… the General can't help but wonder if their plan would've worked without the likes of Taskmaster. How would things have gone had our 'visitors' not arrived? That's why the General is so intent on being prepared for whatever else is out there. I have a feeling that's why he also chose Team RWBY for the mission; they would understand the importance of it all more than anyone, as well as the risk."

"I imagine it's little comfort to you, though," Pyrrah said.

"I trust General Ironwood with my life. I know his goal is a safe Remnant. He didn't mean for this to happen. But no, that doesn't stop me from worrying about my sister."

"I can't imagine what Ruby and Yang's dad is thinking right now," Jaune said.

"I'm sure Ben is helping him," Nora said.

As the group continued forward, they found Castle stopped, gripping his rifle tightly. "Specialist Castle, what is it?" Winter asked.

"These are supposed to be Grimm infested woods," Castle replied. "But I haven't seen a damn thing moving besides us. Haven't even heard anything."

"So, where did all of the Grimm go?" Pyrrha questioned. Suddenly, the ground shook below them, and they saw flashes of light further on through the trees. The six of them then sprinted onward, until they came to a new clearing, where in the center was a flashing beacon of energy, sparking out sporadically, as if unstable.

"I think we found the source of that energy," Nora noted.

"What do we do?" Jaune asked Winter.

"We call it in," Winter answered. "The General will have us quarantine the zone to-" Winter was cut off by a howling back in the woods. The Huntsmen all drew their weapons and grouped up, looking around them alertly. The red eyes of Grimm began to surround them, peering out from the trees.

"I thought you said there weren't any Grimm!" Nora exclaimed.

"I said I hadn't seen any!" Castle frowned.

"They must be attracted to the energy! They were drawn here!" Winter said, splitting her blade apart into two swords.

"That doesn't answer where the ones who were here went!" Jaune exclaimed.

"One thing at a time!" Castle said before shooting a Beowolf just as it came out of the brush. More Grimm followed, charging at the group who were already beginning to be boxed in by the monsters.

Ruby cleaved through three creatures of Grimm with a single horizontal swipe with Crescent Rose, sending their upper halves flying upwards as their lower parts fell to the dirt. She then twirled the blade backwards behind her, impaling a Beowolf attempting to snatch her up from behind. She pulled her weapon back, letting the Grimm topple over and disintegrate, then glanced over to see Caboose keeping a few other monsters at bay with his rifle. As his attention was taken though, a Sabyr was prowling closer behind the Blue soldier. She quickly changed her weapon to its sniper configuration and, just as the Sabyr leapt into the air to pounce on Caboose, obliterated its skull with a single precise shot. The body fell to the ground and Ruby quickly shot each Grimm Caboose was fighting as well, temporarily giving them a breather.

"You alright, Caboose?" Ruby asked.

"I… am getting… very sleepy…" Caboose panted heavily.

"This is pretty draining…" Ruby admitted, trying to catch her own breath. "I think… we're making progress though." The snarls and growls of more incoming Grimm got their attention, and Ruby quickly went back-to-back, with Caboose, looking around as the next pack was closing in. Ruby raised her rifle, but Caboose was uneasy.

"I-I don't know about this anymore…" Caboose quivered.

"Don't be afraid, Caboose. That only makes them stronger."

"Th-They're really scary… and keep on coming…"

Ruby glanced behind her at Caboose. She kept forgetting that none of the soldiers, despite being so, were up to par with her own skills. Caboose also had a naive, almost childish mind and, despite his brute strength akin to Yang's, is just as kind as Ruby herself but not a fighter. She had pulled him out here with her, but didn't think of what would happen if he had started to falter. "I'm sorry, Caboose. I should've planned ahead…" She looked down to the dirt at her feet, feeling sorry for herself. Caboose glanced at her as well, but before another word was said, the earth shook as a smaller group of Grimm exploded in flame, and Sheila rode in piloted by Church, with Simmons operating the turret and Yang hanging on by a handle on the tank's hull.

Simmons fired the turret at any Grimm within reach. That didn't stop them from rushing the vehicle, though. The Beowolves and Ursa were too big and too slow to make it past Simmons' or Church's tank weapons, the Sabyr's were a different story. Smaller, nimbler, quicker. Three made it past Simmons gunfire and scrambled on top of the hull. One even went straight for the Red soldier, but as it leapt for him, Yang swung around and kicked the Grimm feline away, hanging on by the tank's main cannon. She let go and primed a flame shell for the second as it clawed its way onto the vehicle.

"Time for some roasted Grimm!" She smirked before firing at the monster, though its jaw was simply blasted off and its body slid off the tank, no flames to be seen. "Come on, again?!" That's when the third pounced onto her began to gnash at her, but instead of toppling over, she braced herself and gripped the Grimm by it's torso, tore it off he body then tossed it right in front of the tank, just for the vehicle's treads to run it over, crunching the monster down with its weight.

Ruby let out a sigh of relief as the armored juggernaut of a war vehicle not only took all the attention of the Grimm, but was tearing right through them. Ruby heard other gunfire as well, and glanced toward Red Base to see Sarge and Blake fighting off their own group of Grimm. With that, the numbers of Grimm had almost completely dwindled, leaving only stragglers. Ruby then smiled, realizing that this battle was over.

Weiss drove Myrtenaster into the crevice between the locked down metal doors, but just as all of her previous attempts, whether with her strength, glyphs or Dust, nothing cracked through. It didn't help that the elemental properties of all her Dust seemed to up and disappear now. She let out a whiny frustrated groan.

"Just stop bothering, you're not getting it open. Just wait until they turn off that portal thing and we get power back," Tucker said.

"I stopped listening to you ten minutes ago," Weiss remarked.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you still responding to me?"

"I am growing to hate you more and more," Weiss scowled.

"Hey, hate the game, not the player."

"This isn't a game! I thought you would've learned that by now! This is a matter of life or death, and yet all you idiots continue to do is laze about and joke! It's maddening!"

"Hey, we've fought these things with you the entire time you've been here! Not to mention my own shit I gotta deal with!" Tucker snapped back. "For God's sake, I was pregnant yesterday!"

"Now now, guys, let's settle down. Violence and raised voices solve nothing. Besides, there's a child in the room," Doc said, getting between them.

"And you," Weiss wheeled onto Doc now, "The first thing that happened to me in this world is being kidnapped by you! Holding me prisoner, threatening my life!"

"Hey now, we both know that was O'Malley, not me," Doc said.

"Yes, the AI that just so happens to disappear right before all this happened. But what if he isn't gone? He could just be hiding inside that empty head of yours, waiting to come back out and slit our throats! You aren't an ally; you're a ticking time bomb."

"Ok, normally I'm all for the 'talk shit to Doc' game, but even I think you need to lay off," Tucker said.

"I don't have time to sit here arguing with you two! I need to get out of here and save the Dust before it's destroyed."

"The Dust? How about the entire canyon?!" Tucker exclaimed.

Suddenly, part of the door caved inwards, the metal screeching as it was smashed in. Weiss quickly aimed Myrtenaster towards the exit. With another collision, the doors were blown off, sent flying into the base and narrowly missing Weiss, though they collided with Tucker and Doc, pinning them under the metal. Weiss didn't falter, even upon recognizing her adversary.

The intelligent Grimm, the Hound, gave a dark chuckle sound, then opened its maw as it lunged forward.

The stragglers of Grimm were being picked off one by one, the tank making as quick work of the monsters as the Huntresses themselves.

"Man, this is actually pretty easy. Tank beats everything!" Simmons remarked.

"Only a few more left to clear out," Blake said as she sliced through a Beowolf.

Then the Grimm stopped fighting, pausing their feral assault as they all glanced towards Blue Base.

"Uh, what's going on?" Simmons asked.

"I… don't know…" Ruby answered. Then the Beowolf in front of her let out a whimper as it bowed its head down, as if cowering away from something.

"Are they… afraid?" Yang questioned.

"That's impossible. Grimm can't feel fear. Right?" Blake said. "What could they even be afraid of?"

"I might have an idea," Sarge said as he also looked at Blue Base. Sat atop its roof was the Hound, an unconscious Weiss held by her ponytail in its hand.

"Weiss!" Ruby cried. The Hound snarled, then let out a piercing howl that made everyone cover their ears from its harsh sound. The remaining Grimm screeched and thrashed around, until they all suddenly just dropped to the ground and disintegrated, killed without a finger laid on them. The Hound then tossed Weiss aside and went for the teleporter, still sparking white energy with the Cosmic Dust vial hooked up to it. Ruby's eyes rounded, and she closed the distance between her and the Hound in seconds with her semblance, trailing rose petals behind her as she blasted off.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed as her sister bolted off.

When Ruby reached the top of Blue Base, the Hound was just in front of the teleporter. It was gazing at the energy built up in the frame, then its beady red eyes turned to the Dust. Ruby followed its gaze, and when the Grimm finally noticed her presence, it lunged for the vial. In that split-second, Ruby only thought of one thing to do: she quickly fired her weapon right at the vial and its mechanism. As soon as the round connected, the teleporter blasted out a massive burst of energy that both blinded Ruby and sent her flying off her feet.

The very world was shaking as the explosion erupted. "What's happening?!" Church exclaimed.

"The Dust's energy container was breached! It's going critical!" Simmons answered. The energy all dispersed like a supernova, then just as such, flickered away. Ruby uncovered her eyes to see the mechanism obliterated, and the base scorched black. The teleporter itself was still together, but damaged, completely offline. Ruby also saw the Grimm, half of its body wafting smoke and letting out strained, almost painful heaving breaths. She furrowed her brow and took Crescent Rose in her hands. As the smoke cleared, she could also see a gaping hole in the side of its face. By all rights, it should've been dead. And by all rights, it would be easy to make it so. She leapt up into the air and primed Crescent Rose for a downward swipe-

-Then she was caught midair, the Grimm's fingers wrapping around the handle of her weapon and pushing back, stopping the attack dead. Ruby tried to pull her scythe away, but the monster's grip didn't loosen. The smoke billowing off the Grimm's body had completely cleared, and Ruby saw through the opening in its head. Peering at her from the pitch black abyss of its body was a pair of eyes, human eyes, one black with a red iris and the other scarred white. She could almost make out other facial features as well, but it was far too hidden to see.

The Grimm threw her over the side of Blue Base and howled before doing as it usually did, sprouting wings and escaping into the sky. Ruby was still stunned as Sarge got to her side first. "I got ya, youngin'," He said as he helped her to her feet. That's when the ground below them shifts, cracks in the dirt quickly forming. "Uh oh. That's not good…" The ground below them caved inwards, and the two red leaders fell through.

"Ruby!" Ruby heard her older sister exclaim before they were falling far out of earshot into whatever was below.

Winter expertly and swiftly cut through Grimm after Grimm, never spending more than a single second on a creature. And while she did so up close, Castle did the same with his rifle, dropping creature after creature with no more than a few rounds each, some with even a single bullet. Team JNPR wasn't to be upstaged though. As a full Huntsman team, their teamwork ensured the creatures of Grimm were easy prey. Under Jaune's lead, the skirmish was no trouble for them at all.

"Nora, we need air coverage!" Jaune directed. Nora smirked and sprinted towards her leader. He crouched down and braced with his shield. Nora leapt up and landed on Jaune's shield. Jaune shot her upwards, Nor amusing an extra boost by firing from her hammer to send her shooting into the sky. Pyrrha also used her semblance to push Nora even further up. Once Nora was far, far above the trees of the Argus Coast, she transformed her hammer, Magnhild, into its grenade launcher form and quickly shot shell after shell back towards the ground. When each hit the ground, an explosion accented by pink mist blew the Grimm apart bit by bit, dispersing the pack further. Once her descent began, she shifted weapon modes again to fire behind her, shooting herself back down. As she zoomed to ground level, she raised her hammer above her head and, upon reaching the ground, brought it down, smashing a Beowulf's head into the snowy soil.

"I'll say, you have some style, kid," Castle remarked.

"Wait, the other Grimm!" Pyrrha called out. The others glanced to see the Grimm were scattering and running back into the woods.

"Since when do the Grimm retreat from a fight? Get back here so we can kill you!" Nora exclaimed.

"I don't think it's us they're running from!" Winter said. The energy that had been present was starting to brighten and build up, as if about to disperse violently. "Everyone, take cover!" Jaune quickly dove for Nora and hid the both of them behind his shield, and Pyrrha did the same for Ren. Winter summoned a glyph underneath her and Castle's feet that created a large, thick barrier of ice between them and the energy. In one last brilliant flash of light, the energy burst out in a huge explosion that rocked the very ground beneath their feet. It was blinding, and fierce. But just as suddenly as it happened, it ended, and the energy or whatever it was that had been there, was gone. Team JNPR returned to their feet, and the two Atlesian Specialists came around Winter's ice wall.

Winter sighed and clenched her fists. "I'll make the report to General Ironwood."

"What exactly is there to report?" Jaune asked.

"That the mission… was a failure. And we're no closer to finding Team RWBY than when we started."