"Thank you Winter, I knew I could count on you."

"Sir?" Her confusion was understandable; he rarely ever called her by her first name deliberately while on a job, preferring to keep it professional with Specialist Schnee. But for times like these, where everything seemed hopeless, James wanted her to know he genuinely appreciated her work.

"Keep watch over the subway. Let no Grimm cross your path."

"Understood."

"Good. I'll rendezvous with you once I take care of business on my end. General James Ironwood, out."

Cutting off the final call, he prepared himself for the last approach. Many of his men had abandoned the Schnee Manor when the invasion lit up the sky in shadows, redirected under his order to see the people to safety. This, as a consequence, meant he was heading in totally alone; something he was sure Watts was snorting at. While singular, this did not make him any less dangerous.

Arthur Watts may have written the baseline of Atlas code, but he had not been the one to master it; that honor belongs solely to Pietro Polendina, who had been kind enough to form a plan for tracking Watts down in the first place.

And now here they were: the war general and master of tactics facing off against a technomancer in a game of cat and mouse. James had no doubt the cameras set up all throughout the manor were now under Watts's control, ready to catalog his every move, but Arthur was a self-important sort. While it may seem like a pointless runaround, with Watts being able to move freely and avoid him, James knew that's not what would happen.

"Ah, welcome." The voice echoed loudly over a speaker upon James's first step through the massive double doors that acted as the entrance to this miniature castle dedicated to ego. "What a pleasant gift you've brought me. It has been so long since we've heard from one other, hasn't it, James?"

"Personally, I'm under the mindset that it hasn't been long enough." He called back, strolling casually towards the stairs, only to stop in front of them. "Imagine my shock when I heard your name echoed from Robyn's lips. I'll be honest, I didn't know you were still alive until she brought it up."

"Hmm, yes. I do suppose my demise was... more than just assumed."

"That has me curious." Setting one foot on the stairs, Ironwood began a steady climb, never once breaking stride in either voice or motion. "How did you survive at all? Last I recall, you were very much deep in your work, and I remember seeing you take that explosion front on."

"Perhaps the same method which has you missing a step in three... two... one." Stumbling in place, James caught himself on the railing, and upon a glance down, he saw his foot sticking through the floor. It was the final step leading to the split which led into the next two sets of stairs, but from looking at how his boot passed through the platform, he could safely say Watts had been busy. Some chuckling cried out, followed by a volatile snort. "Ah~ Juvenile perhaps, but I must admit, it is rather amusing to see you stumble through some well placed sleight of hand."

"Not so much sleight of hand as it is just basic parlor tricks." James, now knowing he couldn't trust everything he saw, readjusted his mindset. If Arthur was using holograms to misdirect him, then he'd need to go forward based off of previous information about the layout of the abode. But coming in already expecting to have to chase Watts down later on, James prepared himself beforehand and installed a map into the singular contact he wore in his right eye, which he could bring up through a remote control installed into his right glove. "Genuinely intelligent performances require skill, whereas your holograms equate to nothing more than setting in place a few tarps and mirrors. Hardly noteworthy, don't you think?"

"That's the difference between you and I, James: I ensure my victory is guaranteed before I enter into an encounter. You, on the other hand, merely rush in head first with your barbaric guns and toys, hoping the overwhelming firepower can deal with the problems instead. Case in point, and as you've probably already guessed, I can see your every move. I know exactly where you are at all times, and on the flipside, you have no idea where-"

"You're in his office." James cut him off, smirking a little as the egotistical rant cut off. He'd say no more; preferring that Watts believe himself and his systems compromised. Really, it was more a psychological kink which gave Ironwood his answer. Watts could be anywhere, yes, but as a man sporting a head too big for his shoulders, the sneaky maggot would want to toss some irony into their encounter.

Normally, James himself would be in the office casting commands and overlooking the situation, and so naturally, Watts would want to reverse the roles in some metaphorical display of usurping dominance. The man could have his symbolism if he so wished, but if holograms were all he'd prepared, then this would be far too simple an affair... Which was exactly why James enabled the scrambler he'd taken, again, installed in his glove.

"Hmm?" Watts caught on quickly, and just as fast he verbalized his discovery. "You've disappeared from my radar, and yet I see you just fine on cams. My my, desperate already. You know, it would have been more to your benefit if you were to escape visuals before dealing your hand.

Ironwood continued his silence for now. It was better to let Watts believe he had the upper hand. And, if the man was just as paranoid as he was back when under Atlas employ, then leaving him without a response would get the blood of frustration flowing within his thoughts, and as a result, Arthur would begin assuming things were going wrong; far worse than anything James had on hand and ready, but that paranoia would incite mistakes in both judgment and action. Sadly, he knew such a thing from personal experience.

"Sir... Sir, can you read me?"

"Winter? He whispered under his breath, barely letting his lips part low, as to hopefully refrain from allowing whatever speakers were hidden nearby to pick up his words.

"It's me sir." There was noise behind her: constant drabble of people bickering and whining. She was still in the tunnels, which was good, but there seemed to be some commotion going down. Why was she calling him instead of dealing with that?

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing yet. Raven's yelling commands, and some of the people are protesting loudly, but none are making any moves for her, and she's just laughing in the face of those complaints." James faintly opened his mouth, about to start his careful trek up the stairs on the left while prying for more details when Winter quickly cut him off. "Don't take that flight." He paused, body going rigid. "Turn around and head up the other side: he is in father's room. You can cut through the kitchen if you take the right wing."

"How can you see me?" He asked, twisting around to follow her instructions, even if he knew his indecisiveness looked even more suspicious to Arthur.

"Apparently, mother has cameras of her own set up all throughout the house, which she only brought up now when she checked them just to see if any Grimm had made it to the house."

"Her own?" He started up the steps. "As in, not connected to the main security system?"

"Precisely." Winter confirmed, and James paused once he got to the top. "Now head north like you would have if you'd gone the other way. You'll come out into the main hallway of the upper right wing. That woman V killed went straight through here, rounding up the stairs on the end and pulling back before meeting mother halfway. You, on the other hand, should take the first door on the left."

He obeyed, again, however before he stepped in, he posed a question to Winter.

"Why is there a shortcut through the kitchen?"

"Father likes to request food at odd times, and with how frequent his gatherings are, paired with the fact they can be hosted anywhere in the manor, he had connections installed to allow the servants to get refreshments out anywhere and at any time. The kitchen isn't the only workstation to have this, but it does have the most offshoots, currently containing four exits on this level alone, and a spiral staircase that leads both up to the top floor, as well as the ground floor. You, of course, will be aiming for the former."

That certainly sounded like Jacques alright.

"Just one more question."

"Yes?"

"How easily can you weaponize your kitchen?"

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Watts had a trick set up for me already on the stairs. It was small, and very much designed only to get a laugh, but I've no doubt the rest of the mansion is not only armored up, but far less harmless than the grade school prank he just pulled."

Winter went quiet again, before coming back with a cautious voice.

"Stick to the middle, and avoid the outer walls. We have top of the line ovens, refrigerators, and many more tools used to allow our chefs to craft the closest thing to perfection. While not dangerous on their own, any faults in the wiring could result in a small explosion."

"So the whole room can be wired into a series of bombs."

"Not quite." Winter was quick to clarify. "The only real danger would be the ovens. The fridges are next to the sinks and a few standard counters. Along with that, they haven't enough Dust in them to do too much damage even if they popped."

"I see." James peeked inside, mildly annoyed he didn't spend more time in the kitchens back at the academy. He recognised a few appliances easily enough, but then there were devices he wasn't so sure about. It didn't help that everything could have also been covered with Watt's holograms.

"Which side has the fewest potential dangers? A direct path through the middle puts me at risk of facing all explosives at once, whereas at least on one side, I can choose what hits me, while hopefully avoiding the other end." If he couldn't reliably avoid all of them, then he could at least mitigate the damage.

"Left." She said, and Ironwood grumbled under his breath as he stepped in.

"The side farthest away from the stairs." And he could damn well see them too. Biting down his irritation, Ironwood crept in, careful to keep his body loose should he need to leap out of the way.

Two sinks... One refrigerator... An oven. He was slow to approach but quick to pass that one, scowling as he did so. Who needs a kitchen this long? Sure, the academy kitchen was massive, but they were catering to a whole school of students, as well as some of the army too. The Schnees were just a single family; this was practically overkill. And worst of all, Watts was watching him. All it would take was the man seeing him draw too close to an explosive element and 'boom,' down he would go like a hunter's game. If only he'd packed something capable of disabling the cameras...

Actually.

"Winter." Stopping his stride, Ironwood carefully looked around the room, all the while mumbling his inquiry. "You can see me, yes."

"I've still got a visual."

"Good. And you said Willow set these up?"

"I did."

"Does she know where the original security feed was hung up?" He hadn't considered it initially, but if Willow had secretly set up her own elaborate network of cameras, then she would have needed to know the blind spots of the main ones to avoid being caught in the initial act. If she did, then he could potentially have her guide him towards the eyes Arthur was watching him through.

And potentially gun them down.

"Rotate ninety degrees to your right." The Schnee matriarch's tone was strong, to the point he almost couldn't recognise it from her normal way of speaking; at least, how he had come to know her through Jacques's continuous celebrations. He did as asked, and she kept going. "Good, now look up at the cupboards. Just to the right you should see a small black bulb sticking halfway out from the wall." He did, and just like that, he raised his gun. "Setting up mine in the kitchen was easy; Jacques was only ever concerned about some of the servants robbing the deep freeze just a little ahead, so he made sure the entire thing was visible to security, and almost nothing else."

While Willow poked fun at her husband's expense, James fired his shot, hearing the small break of glass. Before he could really register his success, a wave of heat knocked him to the ground. On the bright side, it was near the other end of the room like Winter had warned, but it was still enough to take out ten percent of his aura.

"So what was it, James?" Arthur's voice came smoothly again, albeit hiding hints of rage muffled under cloth. "Did the light twinkle just enough to catch your eye? Did you know Jacques would prioritize discretion over total coverage and hide his eyes in the shadows." The voice deepened next, and the illusion of control and nobility fell away to reveal a wrathful, indignant growl. "Or do you have some gadget revealing all my tricks?"

Ironwood ignored all three demands, picking himself up and dusting off his suit. Half of the wall ahead was blown away, leaving stained shattered brick and smoldering plastics and metal. Consequently, the explosion had also reached the stairs, which had taken a hit far too great to be caused by the bombs against the wall. Looking at it now, he theorized the scientist had rigged the stairs themselves to blow already; he certainly would cover every possible route like that, meaning he'd been here for quite a while.

Arthur must have arrived the second his men pulled out; it was the only way he'd have time to set all this up. Seeing his route reduced to nothing more than a smoldering set of metal and debris, with even bits of the floor above having caved in, he reached out to the Schnees again.

"Watts took out the stairs. I need another route."

"He took out our camera as well." Winter bemoaned, huffing before clearing her voice. "Is there any way you can perhaps leap up the hole?"

"He rigged the whole spiral to blow. There isn't even a hole, just a mess of tangled molten metal. I'm worried that even a small shift could have the floor above come down entirely."

"Right." Humming, she got back to him quickly. "On your side of the room there's a lift the servants sometimes use to send trays of goods up to the study above the kitchen. Normally, it's reserved for smaller things, or large collections of such which the servants may have trouble balancing up and down the stairs. They also use it when there's a large amount being requested and the stairs are packed full."

"For once, I think I'm actually thankful for your father's impatience." James examined the lift, pulling open the shoot and looking up. Currently, he'd wager it was down on the bottom floor, meaning the way up top should be in the clear. But just to be safe, he shot out the wires, and seeing them drop alone to the bottom, he climbed inside. A bit of a squeeze for sure, but that just made it easier to keep a grip on both walls, and after a bit of scaling he was at the top. Opening up the shoot, he dropped out onto the floor, just in time for Watts to begin anew.

"Coming up with the food, hmm? Yes, I do suppose that was the quickest way up. No time to waste, is there?" Ironwood examined his surroundings, making note of how many shelves were set up and blocking his view. "Not as great as the library I have been using for all these years we've spent apart, but I will hand it to Jacques, he at least took the time to decorate it."

"Where's the camera?" Mumbling low again, James waited again until Willow started up.

"Top right corner, and just beside our own. You'll probably take us out along with him, but the only thing to worry about in the study would be the corners, and even then you can simply kick one of the shelves over. They aren't bolted down, so they'll topple like dominos."

"Got it." Taking aim again, James was stopped by a jab from Watts.

"Ah ah ah~ I wouldn't do that if I were you." He would have questioned why not and ignored him, but his tone drowned out so slowly it was as if Watts was hoping to be ignored. Given a couple of seconds, the man couldn't help himself, and thus he began his favorite pastime: talking. "Seeing as you're so set on blinding my eyes, I've decided to quickly whip up a little present for you. Within each and every room I've prepared one or more bombs, however I cannot make good use of them in our game if you keep cutting off my sight. And so, for the sake of fairness, I've redirected all of their triggers to the cameras overlooking them. In case your brain can't quite decipher what I'm saying, I'll dumb it down. If you shoot out a camera, every single explosive and toy I have laid out in the corresponding room will activate. Sure, you might be able to take a few of them head on, but I can guarantee you won't survive the trip to me~"

"You two hear that?"

"Loud and clear." Winter once more spoke through gritted teeth. "He's a madman. The manor wasn't built to withstand so many consecutive explosive blasts. You'd think with him being a scientist, Watts would realize that too many more of those will cause the building to drop; father's office included."

"He doesn't care." Ironwood said while leaping up and gripping onto a huge Alpha Ursa mantled above the fireplace. "Watts is just toying with us. He's holding up here just to lure me away, or perhaps hide any evidence on him Jacques may have. Either way, the destruction of your home is only a benefit in his eyes."

With how large the trophy was, James reasoned the holds keeping it up would be able to take his added weight. With Grimm fading away after death, keeping a genuine full body mantle of any size was impossible, meaning this fabrication was a deliberate choice by Jacques; seems he had a touch of the hunters' spirit in him after all - not that it meant anything in the long run, as Ironwood knew for sure the man hadn't so much as held a genuine weapon in his hands even once in his lifetime.

But like all things showy, Jacques Schnee just had to have it.

"Then why go through all the trouble rigging up our home just to face off against you? Winter posed the question right as James took a leap from his position and landed atop the first of the bookshelves. "Wouldn't he just be taking an unnecessary risk that way? Isn't his whole deal about perfection?

"Based on how he acts you'd think so." From up here, James could see over each of the shelves, but to avoid the risk of being blindsided by bombs even further he opted to leap across to the farthest one he could see, passing over several aisles and sending the one he started on careening back and smashing into the floor before the fireplace, crushing the coffee table and chairs situated before it.

Landing on the last one caused it to teeter, but leaning back helped to steady the shelf again. Breathing evenly now, Ironwood peered over to make sure the way below was clear before hopping down, all the while addressing Watts's issues again.

"But Watts is anything if not cocky. He puts his pride above all else, so when it comes to proving he's superior, he's more than willing to take risks." Laying his hand on the doorknob out, Ironwood froze, letting go and pressing his ear into the door, listening for oddities on the other side before continuing to explain. "But he's not stupid. He's got an escape plan ready for when I get there, and I'm sure he'll try to take it if he sees me closing in."

"Any ideas for dealing with that?" Winter questioned.

"I might have one, but I'll need more info from you both."

"Like what?"

James readied himself to open the door, taking the knob in his grip once again.

"I need to know if there are any other passages around the manor outside of the construction plans. Anything at all which might be blind to someone like Watts. We know he's unaware of the cameras you have, so if there are any extra rooms of hobbles leading to Jacques's office, I need to know about them."

Neither of the women had an answer, but as he passed out into the ballroom just beyond the study, Willow popped in with some not so nice news.

"My husband might know."

"Mother?" Winter questioned, shock tracing the edges of her practiced tone of control.

"I don't like it either, but with how paranoid he tends to be in regards to his secrets, he might have requested a way to get around the house unseen."

"What about Whitley?" Winter suggested. "Father spends all his time with him, wouldn't he be better off telling us?"

"Whitley's down with your sister currently."

"He's down with Weiss?!" Winter genuinely raised her voice this time. "Why?!"

"I don't know, but I know he's safe."

"How?!"

"Because I trust both him and your sister." Willow said without a moment's hesitation, and soon after, Winter calmed down.

"Alright, alright." Swallowing, Ironwood heard her voice taper off as she presumably left to find her father. Jacques wasn't going to like this, but they didn't have much of a choice. Either they took an unseen route, or they risked Watts booking it as they got close.

Soon enough, Jacques Schnee was on the other line, and he was not at all happy.

"WHAT IS THIS?!"

"Hello, Jacques." James offered, fighting the urge to scowl. "Thank you for joining us. Now, let's get down to business."

Author's note

…

An Ironwood chapter this time - bet you never expected that.

We have V ready to begin the interesting bit; we have Clover ready to take the crew he's watching over and confront Beck; we have JNPR ready to face off against the Grimm hordes; we have Raven with the people in the subway; and we have RWBY in the midst of herding people to safety. Logically, we only have Ironwood left to tackle Watts, and so this is how it had to go.

Next time we see them, I've no doubt Jacques will make an interesting addition to this little mission, but that'll be for later. Seeing as Ironwood hogged this whole chapter, the next one might give entirely to one of the others; we'll see.

Sorry if the chapter reads a little strange. Personally, I don't consider it all that bad, but I've been working on my original works again, so some of that style might bleed over into this story.

Anyway, I'm cutting it off here for now. Catch you all later.