Note: So as pointed out to me, this is technically the 200th chapter of the overall story. I don't have much to say, since I just did the 1,000,000 word milestone note thing. So, thank you for all your support. Reminder to join the discord. Link here: 3FdZCcZefc. The next arc starts after next chapter. Enjoy.

General Ironwood had retired to his quarters for the night. Though less opulent than his office, they were a significant upgrade over the meager dorms provided to the student body. He had a small bookshelf by his bedside where he kept some of his regular reading material, and his bare feet tracked along moose skin as he crawled into bed. Dressed only in his skivvies, his aging body was a minefield of scarred memories. Every night, before bed, he would look at himself in the mirror and see how the years had worn him down. He would observe with encroaching disappointment his faded abs, see the belly fat slowly accumulating like a tumor, and feel his shoulders fall more and more each day under the weight of time. On this day, however, bolstered by a string of successes, he had managed to avoid his nightly ritual of shame. He sat in his bed and engaged in some late-night reading, his room only illuminated by a small but powerful bulb he kept clipped to the headboard.

Tonight's book: Aluminum Man by Charles Manson Gray.

"…and thus, the common argument proposed by dreamgazers is fallacious." Chapter 4, Page 36. "The 'sanctity of the flesh' cannot be interpreted literally. It is through sacrifice inherent that we prove value to the Aspects, and to mistake their decree for bodily purity as a rejection of the progression of technology in fact endangers the very concept of purity itself. It is in the cleansing of the physical form that we remove ourselves from the temptation of sin. The separation of pleasure from the physical processes is not sacrilege, but a transcendent goal, one we should all aspire to…"

Ironwood's Scroll buzzed on his nightstand. He grunted, frustrated at the late interruption, and rested the book open on his lap. He checked the number, hoping he could dismiss the call until the morning. He learned quickly that he could not. He answered—audio only.

"Miss Schnee. You're calling rather late," he muttered in the dark.

"Good evening, James. Do you have a few moments to talk?" Winter's voice was as stern and rigid as ever, barely affected by the late hour.

"I will never get used to you calling me that," Ironwood sighed.

"You should. I'm going to keep doing it."

"What do you want, Winter? Have you finally come to exploit me for everything I have? Jacques at least had the courtesy to wait for normal business hours."

"Not exactly. I already have most of what I want from you, James. You have been extraordinarily cooperative."

"I don't really have a choice, do I? You are holding me by the neck. Even with your stock tanking, you've managed to secure a strong position over me. I wonder if you treat your Faunus allies with the same sense of cruelty?"

Winter huffed over the phone. "I see you've heard the reports."

"Of you gallivanting with the White Fang? Coordinating Faunus relief efforts? You were an excellent soldier, Winter. I never took you as a zookeeper."

"These months have made strange bedfellows of many of us. Between you and Sienna Khan, I personally don't know who is more insufferable."

"I don't suppose you call her for late-night chats, do you?"

"No. I suppose I don't."

"Well, that settles it then," Ironwood smirked to himself. "But you didn't call me to complain about your life."

"I did not."

"Then spit it out already," Ironwood said bluntly. "I was in the middle of something."

Winter groaned. "I'll get right to the point then. What did you do to Penny Polendina?"

Ironwood's eyes lit up. It was only a matter of time…

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Let's not play games, James. I know that you are responsible for Penny's disappearance, just as you know that Team RWBY is putting me up to this."

"Well, I doubted that you suddenly developed an interest in Private Polendina on your own. Of course, if Team RWBY wanted to accuse me of any foul behavior, they could have done so without using you as an intermediary. They confronted Ozpin without the need for a human shield. I wonder why they felt the need to use you for me?"

"Because they know that you don't respect them," Winter explained. "They've outsmarted you and Ozpin at every turn, but you aren't afraid of them. You are, however, afraid of me."

Ironwood chuckled darkly. "I didn't know you had a sense of humor, Winter."

"I don't."

"Well, if you are serious, then you can relay this message to Team RWBY," Ironwood said carefully. "Penny Polendina is not any of their concern, and they are not entitled to information about her."

"That's not acceptable."

"But it is. If you recall, we had a very specific arrangement. You wanted to bring three teams of students under your protection. I was not to take any action against them, and in exchange, we could continue a constructive business relationship. Private Polendina was excluded from those terms, and as such, whatever consequences befall her, or wherever her current whereabouts may be, are outside the purview of our deal. I am under no obligation to inform you of what I do with her. Of course, this assumes I know where she is, which I do not. Neither Ozpin nor I know what happened to her."

Ironwood could practically hear Winter's sneer. "Do you genuinely expect me to believe that?"

"No, but I expect you to live with it," he stated plainly. "Why you believe you can suddenly change the terms of our agreement is beyond my understanding. There is no more to discuss related to Private Polendina. You'll have to inform Miss Rose that she has reached a dead end."

Winter hummed. If Ironwood expected her to hang up, he had another thing coming. "Well, she thought you might say something like that. Which is why we prepared an alternate strategy to make you talk."

Ironwood held back his smile. "And that is?"

"We'll pay you."

Ironwood was caught off-guard. "Pay me?"

"In Dust," Winter explained. "The SDC is still the world's largest Dust supplier, no matter what some might assume. The Atlasian military is always in need of a supply. I am willing to offer the government a new contract for Dust acquisition and refinement at a significantly reduced price. Say… twelve percent off the current deal?"

The General had to pause. Dust was one of the greatest expenses of the military. Though the offer sounded meager to a layperson, a twelve percent discount amounts to hundreds of billions of Lien over the next decade, enough to radically refocus and restructure existing development costs. It was a damn steal, one that he hadn't expected to be thrust into his lap so easily. There had to be a catch. There was always a catch.

"I thought you would attempt to blackmail me," he confessed.

"Ruby thought that blackmail is overdone. She figured this offer would be significantly more tempting."

"And reckless for you," Ironwood reasoned. "You'd be taking a huge hit to your company's finances. Can you afford that?"

"What my company needs now is stability," Winter explained. "By reupping our deal early, it would establish that the government has faith in my leadership, and would do well to soothe investors' worries about our long-term prospects. It's a good deal for both of us, as long as we are able to see past what's directly in front of us."

"All of this, just for some information regarding Private Polendina?"

"That's what the girls want. I can't explain it, and I don't care to. If Team RWBY is willing to throw away so much for some random child, that's on them. I care about what this does for my enterprise. So, how does the deal sound?"

Ironwood became quiet, considering the choices in front of him. He did not have unilateral power to agree to the deal by himself, but with his outsized influence, approving such a deal would not be an issue if he desired it. The repercussions were greater than he anticipated, and once again, he found that he underestimated Ruby Rose and her team of shrews. He was prepared to shrug off their threats outright, but this offer could progress his forces forward years in advance. The possibilities were tantalizing. The weaponry: intoxicating. All for the low price of a single soldier's whereabouts. It should have been an easy decision. Unfortunately, nothing good ever came easy.

"No."

Winter stuttered. "Excuse me?"

"As tempting as that sounds, I refuse," Ironwood stated clearly.

"Fine then. Fifteen percent."

"It's not a matter of money, but principle."

"You're going to let your stubbornness cost the government billions?"

"I'm doing as you suggest: thinking long-term." His words were concise and perhaps a little too planned out. "I want you to tell your girls the following. I don't want them anywhere near Penny. I specifically want them to be as far away from her business as possible. She is doing something far more important than they can understand with their limited minds, and absolutely no good can come from them interfering in her operations."

"So it's not stubbornness. It's pettiness," Winter said, dejected. "I expected more from you, James. When the Council hears what your grudges cost them, they're going to be furious."

"The Council means little to me, and so do your billions," Ironwood said. If Winter wasn't mistaken, she thought she heard smugness coming from him. "When Penny returns, I assure you… the money you offer will be as worthless as your missing leg. Goodnight, Winter."

"Wait—"

"Oh, and one more thing: don't ever call me James again."

Ironwood hung up the call as Winter's voice echoed through the speaker. He placed his Scroll face down on his nightstand, and picked up his novel, returning back to his pages. The smile would not leave his face. He was certain Winter would be an excellent messenger.

"He rejected it?" Ruby said. She was stunned, and her teammates huddled over her Scroll as Winter groaned, disappointed in herself.

"Saying it a fourth time doesn't magically change what happened."

"That doesn't make any sense," Ruby said, shaking her head. "Ironwood's primary interests are money and power, and getting power through money. This should've been a steal."

"And what did he mean by that last part?" Blake asked. "When Penny comes back, money will be worthless? Like, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"He didn't say, and I'm tired. You should all be going to bed as well," Winter reminded them. "You have classes in the morning, and you'll lose a lot of respect if you flunk out of school."

"You're right. I suppose," Weiss sighed. "Thank you for trying, Winter. We appreciate it."

"You better. Goodbye."

"Bye." Ruby hung up the call and slunk onto her mattress. Well… shit. That was the best angle she came up with, and Ironwood just spat in her face. What was she supposed to do now? She could run and tell Ozpin that the General was operating behind his back, but she suspected he suspected that already, and she doubted that would loosen Ironwood's lips. She could have Winter increase the offer until Ironwood could no longer refuse, but Winter already scoffed at the discount when she initially proposed it. Forcing her through even more hardships just seemed mean.

And she couldn't forget: as she was trying to pry open Ironwood's secrets, Penny was still out there somewhere. Her worries over her friend—no, still too strong of a term—ally had only deepened with Ironwood's mysterious suggestions. It was clear he had forced her into something against her will, something he believed could shake the foundations of power in Atlas. But what that was escaped her currently. At this rate, it might escape her until it was too late.

Yang stood up, stretching her arms over her head. "Well, I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted."

"Coco wear you down that much?" Blake asked.

"You know Coco," Yang yawned. "I think we sleep on this and come up with a new plan in the morning. What do you guys think?"

Yang was met with a series of tired shrugs. They had reached a dead end for the night. Regrouping was their best course of action. They were Team RWBY, after all. If some out-of-the-box, revolutionary plan existed, they'd stumble into it sooner or later. The four young Huntresses gathered themselves and readied to go to sleep. Blake ran out of toothpaste and stole some of Weiss's. She hated the taste of it.

Pyrrha Nikos set her alarm fifteen minutes earlier than usual for Snuggle Time with Jaune. Her body had grown accustomed to the change in schedule, and it was easily her favorite part of the day. She deserved to start every morning right with the man she was affectionate for.

Unfortunately, this morning, she was woken up before even that by a woman screaming in her ear.

"Pyrrha! Wakey wakey!"

Nora's grating voice could cut through the most peaceful of dreams, and Pyrrha was shaken further—literally—by Nora grabbing onto her shoulders. She rose like the dead, swatting Nora away and palming the crust out of her eyes.

"Nora, what are you doing? Don't touch me…"

"We have to meet Team RWBY now. It's an emergency!" Nora exclaimed. As Pyrrha came to her senses, she realized that Ren and Jaune were already awake. Had Nora's screams stirred them, or was she merely the last in line to be assaulted? Nora hadn't even dressed herself properly, still wearing the pink short short shorts and the overly large "Cake Queen" t-shirt she usually slept in. Her eyes were bugging out of her head, and it was possible she had just woken up as well.

It took several seconds for her words to register properly. "Team RWBY? What?"

"That's what they said!" Nora said with a hurried nod. "Check your Scroll."

Pyrrha did as compelled. True to Nora's word, the Team NYBF group chat had received a text some twenty minutes ago.

Everyone come to our door ASAP. Emergency Team Meeting NOW.

-Ruby

Dorm. Stupid autocorrect.

-Ruby

"What do they want?" Jaune asked groggily, his shaggy hair falling into his face.

"I don't know! But they said it's an emergency!" Nora shouted.

"Nora, please stop shouting," Ren said calmly.

"Sorry, Ren. Can't help it!" Nora shouted.

Team JNPR only put on whatever clothes were necessary to avoid public embarrassment. The Atlas Academy uniforms were cumbersome, and so they left their dorm in little more than their pajamas, walking with mild swiftness toward Team RWBY. The other students were still sleeping, and the sun hadn't begun shining yet, so there were few distractions except for their own imaginations. Pyrrha in particular was left mentally rambling. What could possibly justify summoning them now? Last she checked, Team RWBY was deep in their investigation related to Penny. Surely, that alone couldn't justify such a sudden gathering. Unless, of course, something horrible had happened, something which put them in grave, immediate danger. As her tiredness faded with each step, her anxiety grew. Team RWBY had promised them protection from Ironwood and Ozpin. It was a huge reason why she felt comfortable joining. What if those protections had shattered? She looked toward Jaune, shuffling along the Academy hallways in his onesie. What if he was in danger? She shuddered at the thought.

As they approached Team RWBY's dorm, they saw another party of four come from the opposite direction. Team CFVY had gotten the same message, and yet they were dressed as fashionably as ever. It was likely a directive from Coco. She wouldn't be caught dead walking the halls without looking fabulous. The CFVY leader outstretched her arms, smirking at her comrades.

"Hey, perfect timing," she chirped. "Y'all have any clue what this is about?"

"None," Ren stated as the two teams convened outside RWBY's dorm.

"It better be important," Fox said, shaking his head. "If they are gonna wake me up before classes, the world better be ending. Otherwise, I might punch someone."

"Please don't," Coco instructed.

"I might."

Pyrrha noticed Velvet huddled in the back, sheltered under Yatsu's arm. Her eyepatch was gone, but her gaze was heavy. "Velvet, we heard what happened. I'm so sorry."

"It's all right," Velvet tried to smile through her pain. "We're working on alternative medicines now. Hopefully, we can get going in the next few weeks."

Pyrrha nodded, though the struggle was palpable. She wasn't sure how she would react in Velvet's shoes. Probably a lot worse. Her sympathy for Velvet's condition was enough to overshadow any of the concerns they had while working together. While Pyrrha was never incredibly invested in the plight of the Faunus—she was so consumed in her personal growth that any systemic problem simply fell by the wayside—she recognized that what Velvet did was a form of monstrousness. It was not her place to challenge Velvet's position in Team NYBF… but if Blake or someone else decided to kick her out, she wasn't sure she would vote against it.

Thinking of Blake seemed to summon the former assassin. The door flew open and Blake stuck her head out. There wasn't an ounce of light in her expression.

"Good, you made it. Everyone, inside. Now."

The order was made with urgency, and JNPR and CFVY complied. They poured into Team RWBY's dorm and filled out the space, huddling in whatever empty corners they could. The rest of Team RWBY were dressed as normal. They seemed to have been awake for quite a while. Dour expressions were shared and Ruby paced between two of the beds, her Scroll held tightly in her grasp. Blake ferociously shut the door behind her. She wasn't in any better mood than the rest of them.

Ruby stopped dead in her tracks. Something weighed heavy on her mind as she turned toward the open room.

"Thank you everyone for coming on such short notice," she announced. "I appreciate all of you being here. This is really important, so getting us all here to discuss our plans is crucial."

Jaune raised his hand to ask questions, but Weiss shot him down. "Ruby will explain everything. Just… give her a moment, please."

"Thanks, Weiss," Ruby sighed. "Okay, here's the deal. As you probably know, our team has been investigating Penny's disappearance. Our working theory was that Ironwood was responsible for it and that Ozpin was being kept in the dark. We aren't sure what's causing disagreement among the headmasters, but it lines up with the evidence we've received. Last night, we attempted to negotiate with Ironwood to reveal where she was, but it didn't work. He did let it slip that he was responsible, but we couldn't get any more information out of him. We thought that was the end of it, and our plan this morning was to come up with another strategy to get the truth out. That was our plan, anyway."

Ruby fidgeted with her Scroll. She seemed almost scared to reveal the truth to them. For good reason: were these half-committed allies of her ready to truly share in this responsibility? She concluded she didn't have a choice, no matter how disastrous the consequences may be.

"But then, this morning, when I woke up… I saw I got a voicemail. And, well… listen to what it was…"

Ruby flicked through her Scroll, turned on the speaker, and held out the device for all to hear. The message played—and the room became filled with distorted, harsh static. The noise tuned in and out for several seconds, struggling to break through cleanly.

Then, a young woman's voice came through the darkness.

"R-R-Ruby… he—help…"

It cut out, only to quickly return.

"Can't hold… comp—mised…"

The others leaned in, shocked at what they were hearing. Ruby grimaced as the message continued.

"Iron—the Vault—sent to… Vault."

"95.72854. 112.33388."

"Hurry—please hu—"

The message ended with several seconds of static, and the room was left in stunned silence. Ruby put her Scroll away in silence. Her pained face said it all.

"That was Penny?" Velvet said with disbelief. "She just… called you?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "About an hour ago."

"What was she even trying to say?" asked Coco. "It sounds like she's in trouble."

"That's the complicated part," Ruby sighed. "We figured out that the numbers she gave us were a set of coordinates. Blake looked them up. They lead to a place called the Wicchlean Archipelago in eastern Solitus. It's basically a completely deserted strip of forest. At least, that's what its supposed to be. But apparently, there's something else waiting there."

"Yeah, hold on. Did he say Vault?" Nora asked. "Because that sounds very familiar."

"It should," Ruby reminded her. "You were there when he explained it."

"I'll be honest," Nora confessed. "That entire day was like… the wildest stuff I've ever seen. I barely processed half of what he was talking about."

"It's a holding facility," Ruby said, "for the Holy Grail."

The room became quiet. Some of them recognized the significance of that name. A few didn't. It was a topic rarely discussed among them for obvious reasons. The inherent complexity of its mythology and the stakes surrounding its protection were too serious to be brought up to a blossoming team on spring break. But its relevance had been forced back into the spotlight, and Ruby felt it necessary to give everyone a refresher.

"According to Arillystos legend, the Holy Grail, also known as the Infinite Chalice, was a powerful artifact of a family of gods. It could take anything that was thrown into it, and then return something of significantly greater value. If you put a single scrap of wood into it, would spit out an entire building. It was incredibly powerful, and it was used by the gods to build their family's civilization. It was eventually sacrificed to save the family of gods from destruction. That's the story, anyway. We don't know what actually happened. Most myths seem to be hodgepodges and exaggerations of actual events in Fable history. According to what Ironwood told us, the Holy Grail was used by Rosaline to defeat the Anti-Fable—the source of the Grimm that destroyed Fable civilization. We're not sure how. What we do know is that ever since then, it's been staying safe inside of the Vault. Supposedly, no one who has ever gone into it has come out alive."

Processing the entirety of the Mistran myth was too much for a single moment. Those in JNPR and CFVY unfamiliar with the details had to sit in silence, trying to follow along with the tangled collection of legend and Fable history. One among them, however, had just remembered her role in all of this and was more eager to ask the obvious questions.

"Okay, so a big powerful artifact is chilling in the middle of nowhere. But if that's the case," Nora asked, "then what is Penny doing there?"

Blake scoffed. "I mean, it's obvious, right? Ironwood sent her into the Vault to retrieve the Holy Grail for him."

"Mrs. Glass has been actively searching for the Holy Grail since she stole Atlasian records," Weiss explained. "It's our hypothesis, but if she was able to locate the whereabouts of the Vault, Ironwood might not feel comfortable keeping the Holy Grail contained within it. Something powerful enough to destroy the Anti-Fable in the hands of Glass is terrifying, so he sent someone he trusted to retrieve it for him."

"Okay," Nora said suspiciously, "but you literally just said that everyone who goes into the Vault doesn't come out alive. Why would he send Penny to her death?"

"We don't know," Ruby admitted. "But that does mean you probably aren't going to like what we need to talk about next."

"Which is?" Pyrrha asked worriedly. She was still trying to fully comprehend the scope of what Team RWBY was discussing, and now their faces had turned sunken and grim, heavy with burden. She feared what Team RWBY was about to propose. She was right to.

Ruby spoke. "We want to launch a rescue mission."