Note: Fucking Christ, this chapter took way too goddamn long to write. Sorry for the delay, it had to be rewritten like a bajillion times because it sucked and then I had to run it past my discord like three times and it kept sucking and then someone tried to assassinate a president this weekend so that was distracting but anyway, the chapter is done now, arc kicks off tomorrow. Officially beginning the next chapter: The Vault of Sin.

"Ruby… are you absolutely sure?"

"No, but I don't have any better ideas."

"We could not get involved."

"And let Ironwood destroy the world? Not happening."

"Well… damn."

"The others aren't going to like this, Ruby."

"I know."

"They are going to freak the fuck out."

"I know, I know."

"Think we can convince them otherwise?"

"…"

"I'm sorry… we?" Velvet asked, stunned. "As in all of us?"

Ruby bowed her head as if embarrassed by what she was about to do. "Yes. However—"

Velvet's eyes seemed to pop out of her head. Ruby was confronted by all of the stares. Velvet and Jaune were particularly fearful, the weight of Team RWBY's plan crashing onto them like a sledgehammer. Pyrrha straightened up, called to attention, her mind racing. Fox's head rolled on his shoulders and his blank eyes turned away as if he was stunned by the audacity of it all. Yatsu and Ren, always more patient, did not react yet.

Coco burst out laughing. No one else found the situation funny.

"Hold up. We have to go back a second," she said, amused by the absurdity of it all. "So there is a magical artifact just hanging out in the middle of the wilderness somewhere, so powerful it can literally destroy entire civilizations. It's located inside of a top-secret, ultra-classified Vault, which according to Ironwood, no one has ever managed to escape from alive. And your plan is to actively go inside the place no one has ever survived, probably breaking all sorts of laws doing so, with us as active accomplices, all to rescue this girl who the rest of us met like four months ago? Am I comprehending that correctly?"

The four members of Team RWBY exchanged uncomfortable glances. Eventually, Ruby nodded. "Basically, yes."

Velvet and Jaune screamed in shock.

"What?"

"That's nuts!"

Both began to stammer nervously, descending into panic. Fox ran his fingers through his hair, massaging his brain to calm himself down. Yatsu tried to calm Velvet down, though she was a teeth-chattering, frantic mess. Ren's only reaction was to shake his head solemnly. He noticed Nora out of the corner of his eye, her body trembling. He first assumed it was out of fear, though he quickly dismissed the thought.

Coco just laughed again. "Okay, we, like, just got back from vacation. Do you guys stay on school grounds for more than a day at a time? Do you even know what classes you are taking anymore? I swear to god, you four barely qualify as students anymore."

"We're being serious, Coco," Weiss said sternly.

"No, you aren't," Coco said bluntly. "If you were being serious, you wouldn't suggest doing the stupidest thing I've ever heard of."

"Ruby, you can't just throw that at us," Velvet protested. "We need to talk about this. This is a very dangerous idea. You can't just make that decision for us."

"We aren't making the decision for anybody," Ruby clarified. "We can't force anyone to go. We understand the gravity of what we are asking you to do. But Penny is in danger, and maybe the whole world is, too. All we ask is that you hear us out—"

"The w-world?" Velvet said, taken aback by fear. Before Ruby could expand, Coco shook her head.

"Nope. No chance in hell," Coco said authoritatively. "Like, I'm sorry if that sounds rude, but there's not really a pleasant way to spin no one has ever escaped alive."

Ruby pursed her lips. Okay, that wasn't wrong, but—

"We have finals coming up in a few weeks," Jaune stuttered. "We can't be going around on missions."

"You're going to die if you do this," Velvet reasoned. "Don't do something this stupid. Please." The others couldn't tell how much of her concern was genuine compassion, and how much was a ploy for self-survival. Some had more charitable interpretations than others.

"I'm going to second that part," said Fox. "I know this woman is your friend and all, but this seems like a really terrible idea."

"Everyone, please calm down," Ruby said, trying to keep her composure. "We hear all of your concerns, and we promise we understand them. But we talked about this, and we don't have many options."

"And don't you think maybe you should have run those options by us?" Coco asked accusingly.

"That's what we're trying to do, but you keep talking over us!" Ruby suddenly shouted. Her frustrations boiled over, and the room suddenly became quiet.

The simple fact of the matter was: the others were unequipped to handle such a scenario. They of course were familiar with Team RWBY's rebellious, often illegal exploits. How could they not be when their constant flaunting of regulations and precautions resulted in them being the most famous Huntresses of a generation? But actually encountering this scenario up close—worse, being complicit in it—was completely different. It was obvious to Pyrrha, Ren, Jaune, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsu that this idea was bad. It was bad on its face.

But Team RWBY also made a habit of defying deadly odds, and if their claims were true, there were grander stakes than they could comprehend. In some way, they were the experts in dumb, dangerous decisions. Would it not be foolish to defer to their wisdom?

However, it was Pyrrha who was able to speak the most reason for their concerns. The prodigal Huntress stepped into the center of the room, trying to slow her rapid breaths. She was always the most willing to take her challenges head-on—at least when they weren't related to her love life. More importantly, the other members of Team RWBY respected her abilities. Perhaps she could break through Team RWBY's foolishness where the others had failed. She smiled, trying to be the kind yet forceful woman her mother raised her to be. Her wavering lips betrayed her terror.

"Ruby. Ladies," she said calmly. "Obviously, we all want Penny to be safe. This isn't an issue of cowardice. You are talking about an issue of violating international law and breaking into highly classified government property. Even if we are successful in rescuing Penny, we are talking about a bare minimum of expulsion, arrest, and incarceration. That's assuming we survive, and Coco is correct in saying that we likely wouldn't. We agreed to help you however we could against Ironwood, but I don't see how going on a suicide mission helps anyone."

There was no immediate response. Ruby sighed. Her temper fizzled. Okay, so the worst happened. They were all fervently against the plan. And Ruby couldn't act that surprised. Maybe going on crazy missions every month numbed them to danger. She felt the others hadn't grasped the importance of their responsibilities. They weren't just students anymore! This was a mission far bigger than them, and it was up to her to convince them.

But Yang was the one who took charge, stepping out of her corner of the room to sit at eye level with Coco. She addressed her new friends directly. "Look, everyone, I get this sounds bad at first. Believe me, when Ruby first proposed it, we all freaked out too. It's easy to be scared by this, and we'd be lying if we said it wouldn't be a challenge. But in the last few months, the one thing I've learned is that we need to have faith in one another. Ruby hasn't let us down as a leader yet, and I think her plan is going to succeed."

Yang flashed her sister a warm smile, and Ruby felt the confidence stir within her once more. It wasn't enough to ease all the tension, but Yang's strength was able to quell doubts for the moment at least. Ren spoke up next, cautiously optimistic.

"You have a plan?"

Yang smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "Well… it's more like the theoretical outline of a plan."

Coco scoffed. "That sounds like a fancy way of saying you don't have a plan."

"Hey, we're trying," Blake quipped.

"How did you even come up with a 'theoretical outline' this quickly? Didn't you get the call like fifteen minutes ago? How developed could this really be?"

"We work fast." Blake's smirk was as sharp as a dagger. Ruby clapped her hands, drawing her attention back to the center of the room.

"Okay, listen. Here's our perspective: Ironwood is one of the most powerful men on the planet. We have backed him into a corner, and he seems to be acting out in desperation. If this Holy Grail is as powerful as he thinks it is… if he gets his hands on that, we are talking a catastrophic, world-changing threat."

The claim was initially rejected as fear-mongering, but Weiss spoke grimly about their prospects. "When he spoke to Winter last night, he rejected her money. If he thinks that the resources of the Schnee Dust Company are going to be worthless, it suggests that the Holy Grail will give him significant amounts of power. More than we are able to negotiate out of. Rosaline used the power to allegedly destroy the Anti-Fable. What would Ironwood destroy if he had that power?"

"That's one of our major worries," Yang confessed. "Our safety—all of our safety—depends on our leverage over Ironwood. If he circumvents that, we're… well…"

"Fucked," said Blake. "We're fucked."

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "Ironwood didn't want us getting involved for a reason. If we don't stop him, we might be playing right into his hands."

Coco shook her head, willfully disbelieving Team RWBY's theories. Her defenses had been whittled away, but she still had strong doubts. "Okay, but like… that won't actually happen. I mean, what do you think Ironwood will actually do with this Holy Grail thing? Take over the world?"

"We don't know. Maybe," Yang stated. She noticed Pyrrha and Jaune exchange worried glances. Fox seemed to shift uncomfortably. Those fears about finals seemed oh so insignificant now…

"Come. Be realistic. He won't. People would stop him. He knows he can't do that. It makes no sense. I mean…" Coco groaned. Everyone was so sullen. It was driving her crazy. How could everyone be taking these apocalyptic ideas so seriously? Better question: how could Team RWBY be suggesting taking this insane action without any objections? Actually, she had even better questions than that. "So what? Ironwood has just been sitting on this world-changing, ultra-powerful artifact for I guess forever, and he's gonna decide to use it now? Why now? If he could use this thing before, why didn't he? If he wants it so bad, why send in one Huntress when he could send in, like, the whole army to get it for him?"

"Those," Yang sighed, "are good questions we don't have the answers to."

"Okay, then here's the big one: what if it's all a bluff?" Coco suggested. "What if there is no Holy Grail? What if this is, I don't know, some elaborate trap? I mean, you mysteriously get a message luring you to a place that'll kill you? What if this is all a big game?"

Ruby stepped forward, her voice and intent firm. "Ironwood doesn't play games. We understand your concerns, Coco. All of you, we get it. We're not going to pretend like we fully understand Ironwood's motivations either. However, we don't think this is a set-up. He sacrificed Penny, an incredibly valuable Atlasian asset, for what? To see us dead and a Relic that can't help him? He doesn't seem like the type of person to take a significant gamble unless he knows there is a strong payoff. If he is tampering with the Vault and involving Penny, there has to be something valuable for him there."

"That's why we need to get involved," Blake said firmly. "I don't trust a single goddamn thing Ironwood is doing. If he's putting his grubby fucking fingers on that Vault, I'm not turning my back on it. Blind eyes only allow evil to show itself without shame."

Pyrrha suddenly raised her hand. "I'm sorry. These are all fine reasons for wanting to get involved. But I noticed you haven't mentioned what your plan is yet."

Ruby sighed. And now for the big reveal. "Well, we wanted you to understand the stakes, so you would understand why we are proposing what we are about to…"

"Which is?" Coco asked expectantly.

Ruby squeaked out the plan barely louder than a whisper, as if speaking it would bring a curse upon the dorm. "We're going to work with Ozpin."

And the screams resumed.

"What?" Coco shouted in rage.

"Are you fucking crazy?" asked Fox.

"Ozpin…" Velvet muttered.

"No. I can't do that," Pyrrha said determinedly.

"That's also a very bad idea," Ren reminded them.

"And dangerous," said Yatsu.

"You might as well throw us off of the Hyrda…" Jaune sighed.

"Everyone, everyone. Calm," Yang said, using her arms to push down the volume of the outrage. "It's not like that. Calm. Calm, everyone. Calm."

"Pretty hard thing to be calm about," Coco stated. "That bastard spied on our rooms."

"He lied to us," said Fox.

"He tried to arrest you."

"And kill you."

"And now you want to work with him?"

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend," Ruby reminded them. "And right now, our biggest enemy is General Ironwood."

Weiss took over, her poise able to draw the attention of the others. "If you recall, Ironwood is actively working behind Ozpin's back. The implication of that is fierce. Either one of two things must be true. Ironwood is afraid of Ozpin discovering his failure in utilizing Penny, or he is afraid Ozpin will discover that he intends to use the Holy Grail. In either case, the fact Ozpin isn't involved means he is against this plan and might be amenable to stopping it."

"Ozpin is also the only person in the world who can help us survive… and avoid arrest," Ruby claimed. "If there is data available on the Vault, he can provide it to us. The Vault's layout, traps… any tools to help us stay safe. He can also give us clearance to access the grounds and provide us with transport in and out. Nothing we'd do would be illegal. We would go in completely prepared and protected."

"Assuming you get him to work with you," Pyrrha stated.

"That's why it's a theoretical plan," Yang noted. "We'd have to go and argue our case to him. Hopefully, he'll be happy just using us to stop Ironwood."

"And if he's not?" Coco asked damningly. "If he starts asking for concessions?"

Team RWBY fell silent, but only briefly. Ruby spoke with assurance. "Then we'll make sure nothing happens to you. We promise."

There was no response. The shock was still resonating through them. Though Team RWBY tried their best to instill hope, they had only managed to increase the sense of impending doom. They were trapped between a rock and a hard place, and more than a few of them wished they could be back on the beach, where the worst of their troubles was a little team infighting and picking which quality wine they could waste together. Working with Ozpin, or letting Ironwood try to take over the world. What kind of bullshit dilemma was that? Sensing their hesitancy, Ruby tried one final approach.

"Again… you guys don't have to come if you don't want to. Honestly, it sounds insane just saying the plan out loud. But… Penny is in danger. Maybe that doesn't mean anything to you, but I… I can't stop thinking about it. I know you all think that we can't help her, but the truth is… we might be the only people in the world who can help her. No one else knows she's there. We don't know how much longer she can hold out. She's been a victim of Ironwood's abuse as much as the rest of us. He sent her to die in that Vault. I know that saving her is risky, and I know it's asking so much of you, but I don't think I would be able to live with myself if I just sat back and let her die. Everything we said is more than enough reason for you to have doubts. If you all don't want to come along, we'll do it ourselves. But we are asking you to at least consider helping us… for her sake."

Ruby didn't receive an answer, though she did feel the discomfort spreading around the room. She was guilt-tripping the fuck out of them, but she was also brutally honest. There was a lot of frustration going around. Frustration over being kept in the dark until now, frustrations about their luck, and the pressure put on them by their teammates. Worst of all—though none of them would admit it—the frustrating, awful truth that if they refused to help, if they lived their high life of luxurious vacations and special privileges, only to watch the less fortunate die under the same thumb they avoided, that they weren't sure if they could live with themselves either.

And then, after sitting patiently the entire conversation, far longer than anyone would ever expect her to, Nora suddenly spoke up.

"Can just one of us come along if we want to?"

Ruby stared at her in disbelief.

"Uh… I mean…"

Nora beamed proudly. "Awesome. I'm in!"

Ruby was nearly knocked off her feet as if a bullet just struck her in the chest. "What?"

Nora jumped to her feet, cheering excitedly. "Woohoo! Time to bash some Atlasian skulls!"

A chorus of nervous voices called out to her, some from RWBY and some from her teammates.

"Nora, seriously?"

"That's literally so sudden."

"Wait, we didn't say anything about bashing skulls."

Ren's voice broke through the noise. "Nora, Nora, Nora… you actually want to do this?"

"You don't?" Nora said in disbelief. "Ren, Jaune, Pyrrha baby. This is what we've been waiting for. It's what we've trained for. Stopping Ironwood's evil plot to take over the world by bursting into the bad guy's lair and defeating some evil fascists—what could be more Huntress than that?"

Lots of things, Ren wanted to say, though Nora didn't give him time to contemplate.

"And CFVY! Coco! You're really gonna let Ironwood walk all over us?" she asked. "He spied on our rooms, lied to our faces, and spit in our mouths! And now he wants to maybe probably take over the entire world with an ancient weapon! We need to stand up to him!"

"By… killing ourselves?" Coco asked incredulously. "Also, didn't I just say like half of that about Oz?"

"Yes!" Nora declared to both questions. She turned to Ruby, placing her hands on her hips and grinning with the unearned swagger of a woman who just decided to throw her life away for dangerous circumstances. "Ruby, you saved my bacon when I was going to get expelled. I mean, getting expelled was gonna be kind of your fault anyway, but nevertheless! You have helped me see the truth, and you gave me one of the best vacations of my life. If you need me to go diving into a strange Vault to rescue your psychopathic friend, I'll be right beside you."

Ruby smiled softly. She was impressed by the show of loyalty. That good, untainted spirit was in rare form these days. She hoped she didn't let it go to waste.

"Thank you, Nora. That means a lot."

Ren stood up, moving swiftly to Nora's side. He grabbed onto her hands, compassion brimming from his otherwise emotionless face. "Nora, are you sure about this?"

"More sure than anything I've ever been," Nora insisted. "I don't care how dangerous it is. I can't abandon my friends when they need help."

Ren closed his eyes. This woman had been his closest friend for as long as he could remember. He knew her well enough to know when arguing was futile. It sounded as if she made up her mind a long time ago. If that was true, there was only one option left for him.

"If you are going, then I'm going."

"Ren…" Nora smiled.

"I'm not letting you do this without me. Though I still have very serious questions about the mechanics of this plan," he admitted. He faced Ruby. "I will help in whatever way I can."

Ruby nodded. She exchanged quick glances with her team. Two down, six to go. It would be easier than one might expect. Once some fell, the rest would collapse like dominos.

"Nora, Ren, I have to strongly recommend against this," Pyrrha insisted to her teammates. "There are just too many risks."

"If we don't go, we'll just be playing into Ironwood's hands more. Remember how he played us before?" Nora pointed out. The point seemed to shake Pyrrha deeply. During her mission into the city, she was so sure of herself. She blindly followed Ozpin's judgments, and as a result, almost got Winter killed. Doubting Team RWBY had never ended well, and now, faced again with her own instincts, she was forced to confront their likelihood of success. What reasons did she have to stay?

Ironwood could have them arrested for trespassing? RWBY's agreement through Winter protected them, and if they didn't rescue Penny, he could undermine it.

They could die? Penny had survived inside the Vault this long.

They had finals coming up? No one cared.

They didn't care about Penny? That wasn't an excuse not to help someone.

They owed Team RWBY for protecting them, for the vacation, for everything. That… she didn't have an argument against.

But there was that elephant in the room, that sinister force that forced the doubt to return to her mind. "Do you really think you can get what you want out of Ozpin?"

Pyrrha's words were laced with bitterness. Well-deserved and fierce bitterness. Ruby wasn't blind to the history between the headmaster and his beloved student. She selected her next words extremely carefully.

"He's not going to hurt you, Pyrrha," Ruby stated. "I swear on my mother's grave… you will be in control."

Pyrrha closed her eyes, taking in Ruby's words. Yang was shaken. She had never heard Ruby make a promise using their mother before…

"I still want to hear the plan first. And I want to be there for the negotiation with Ozpin," Pyrrha listed her terms. "But if you can really secure our safety, I will help you however I can. I owe you that much."

Ruby nodded, emotionless. "Thank you, Pyrrha. And yes, you'll be there. All of us who are going will be there as a united front."

"Sweet," Nora said, slamming her fist into her palm. "If he tries to pull one over on us, I'm gonna whack him."

"Please don't."

"No promises."

Jaune groaned audibly, and Pyrrha cast him a sideways glance. He knew what was coming next. His three teammates just agreed to the plan. That meant he had to come to. He, Semblanceless Jaune Arc, in a horrible death trap. All of his anxieties and fears bubbled to the surface, and he wished he could scream some sense into the others before they threw away their lives. That wasn't going to happen though, and goddammit… he couldn't just let them go without him. They were his best friends. He was afraid of what the Vault contained, but he wasn't a coward—not when they needed him to be strong.

"You good, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked worriedly.

"No," he confessed. "But I'll get there."

Unfortunately, Jaune wasn't the only one sowing doubt. Coco had suddenly decided that she had enough. She stood up straight as an arrow, stretched her arms over her head, and let out a very loud yawn.

"Well… have fun dying, ya crazy idiots."

She turned toward the door when Yang called to her.

"Coco, seriously?"

"Yes, seriously!" Coco said bluntly. "Negotiating with Ozpin for a chance to die? Nah. I'm good. Come on, Team CFVY."

Coco took a step toward the exit. Blake was guarding the doorway staring her down, though Coco just deflected her angry glare. If Team RWBY wanted to be mad at her for not going along with their plan, that was no skin off her back. She patiently waited for Blake to move out of the way, and though she could see the Faunus really didn't want her going anywhere, she had no choice but to acquiesce. But it was only while waiting for Blake to pull open the door did Coco realize how quiet the room had become. Literally too quiet.

Her teammates hadn't moved.

Coco whipped back around, staring at her teammates in disbelief.

"Guys. Come on," she ordered. They still did not move. They looked as if someone had given them a death sentence.

"I mean… you heard that stuff about Ironwood maybe going after our families, right?" Fox mentioned. "Like, what if he goes after my mom?"

"He… he won't… I mean…" Coco stammered.

"He already threw Penny to the wolves," Yatsu reasoned. "She was his best student. What is he going to do to us?"

"Nothing. Nothing!" Coco insisted, though she had nothing to justify her beliefs. Ironwood wasn't going to do something like that. He… he couldn't. He was a hardass, but not a tyrannical monster. They were going to be fine, as long as they didn't do something stupid. Right. Wouldn't someone reassure her that they were all going to be okay?

This was so dumb. They were all going to die. Was she the only sane person who saw that? They were going to get themselves killed chasing paranoia and ghosts, and no one else saw it but her. Saving Penny—a woman they literally didn't know at all who probably got herself into this mess. Word destroying power—completely unproven. Working with Ozpin—a fate maybe worse than death itself. And they were all seriously fine with this. She and Velvet were the only sane ones left.

Unless…

Coco looked to her teammate for support, but Velvet shook her head. She seemed almost like she was on the verge of tears. "I can't… I can't keep feeling guilty about not helping people, Coco."

Coco was left in pieces. Her arms slumped at her side. Abandoned by her own team. Maybe they weren't fully on board with Team RWBY's plan yet, but she could see the momentum turning, and she felt powerless. All of the eyes were now upon her, waiting for the last domino to fall. Coco's chest burned. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction.

Tired, aggravated, and alone, she pushed Blake aside and walked out of the room.