The big LAD was just rolling up to the military hangar on the edge of the city of Mantle. Once it was inside the hangar, the doors would close and the extra personnel would leave. The only people present for the unloading of the Relic would be those who were already aware of it, and those few who Qrow had selected to be there. Blake had been given the option to spend time catching up with her mother and Ilia, an opportunity which she had decided to take. The other students were all still in their schooling, and the ones who had come from Haven were getting a tour of Atlas Academy courtesy of Penny. The only people Qrow had with him waiting for the LAD to stop and unload its passengers were Robyn Hill, who he had promised this opportunity to, Yang Xiao Long, who was eager to see her sister again after a week apart, Raven Branwen, who he couldn't convince to go elsewhere, Oscar Pine, who was speaking for Ozpin, and Piper Braun, who Qrow hadn't wanted to allow into the hangar, but something made him feel like it was alright.

The large land vehicle stopped, and its back ramp began to open up. By the time it was down, the Ace Ops had assembled inside the main hold and were standing in front of what Qrow assumed had to be either the Relic or the thing that the Relic was inside. He couldn't actually get a good look at it because they were blocking the view. It was probably the right choice, considering the company he was keeping. Yang and Oscar would be fine, but the other three were of serious concern. Robyn and Raven especially. They had no information on Piper, so there was no real reason to suspect anything negative about her.

Ruby appeared at the door into the main hold and, seeing Qrow and Yang, shouted and waved to them. "Hey Sis! Uncle Qrow! We're back!" She jumped over the railing and landed on the deck of the hold, then bolted around the Ace Ops and to her family. She glomped Yang in a big hug. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course we did!" Yang laughed. She caught herself, though, and put her hands on Ruby's shoulders, pushing her back. "Okay, that's enough." She nodded towards someone standing on the other side of Qrow.

Ruby looked over to see Raven. "Uh... oh." She looked to Qrow questioningly. "What's she doing here?"

"It's okay. I take full responsibility for her so long as she's here." Qrow stepped in between them. "In fact, I take full responsibility for all three of them." He motioned to the other two as well.

Ruby looked over Robyn and Piper, then turned back to Qrow. "Yeah, okay. I'm not worried about those two. But I don't think Weiss is going to be very happy to see Raven again."

While they had all been focusing on Raven, the others inside the LAD were coming out and down the ramp. Weiss overheard a bit of the conversation and saw Raven. She sighed. "Well I wouldn't say I'm overjoyed, but there should be a good explanation."

Ironwood stopped at the bottom of the ramp, with the Ace Ops maintaining their position in front of the Cradle. He looked over the people Qrow had brought with him. "I'm sure there is." He looked at Qrow. "I did say that I trust your judgment."

"Yes, you did." Qrow nodded, taking a deep breath. "James, I explained to Robyn what you're doing with the Dust and Amity." He held up a hand to stop any protests. "I didn't tell her everything, just enough so that she knows to stop interfering with your plan. I'd like you to consider bringing her all the way into the fold." Seeing the look of concern growing on Ironwood's face, Qrow pressed the matter. "When you didn't have anyone else, you brought in the Ace Ops, Winter, and Penny. You did that because you knew you were short on allies. Well, all things considered, I think allies are still in short supply."

Ironwood frowned. "I wouldn't have made that decision, and I don't know that it's a good idea, but..." He looked at Robyn, considering his options. She glared back at him defiantly. For a moment, he was about to reject the idea and have someone escort her from the hangar, but something struck his mind. That image of the Atlas sitting on an angle, slowly flooding. The more people he had on his side, the better he could avoid that horrible outcome. He just had to prevent that from happening. He let out a long sigh and shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe you're right." He addressed Robyn directly. "I don't know if I'll say yes just yet, but I'm not saying no. You know what the plan is for Amity. When Amity is ready, I plan to transmit the full truth to the entire world, so you'll find out either way."

Raven reacted with alarm suddenly. "Wait, you- You can't be serious. You're just going to tell everyone on Remnant all at once?"

"Yes." Ironwood stopped himself and looked back up the ramp to where the Ace Ops were standing with the Relic. "At least, everything you're aware of. But we have some new information that I'm going to keep a bit closer to the chest." Just as he said that, Pelka appeared at the top of the ramp with Jinn. Ironwood turned back to Qrow. "We should get out of the way. The Ace Ops have a package to deliver."

"Let's go to your office then." Qrow led the way. Once the entourage was gone from the hangar, the Ace Ops carried the Cradle away to safety.

Entering Ironwood's office for the second time in one day, Robyn felt she was about to get the answers she wanted. The way it was being talked up, however, made her wonder if she would regret learning Ironwood's secrets. She hung back by the door as the rest of the group filed in. Ironwood sat down at his desk and went through the process of reasserting control of Atlas. Qrow suddenly looked like a huge weight was off his shoulders. Ruby and Weiss took their place with Yang, excited to learn that Raven's appearance meant a direct connection to Ruby and Yang's father and Haven Academy. Ironwood and Qrow were quietly discussing a few of the things that had happened in the general's absence. Oscar was talking to Jinn quietly as well, not that Robyn really knew who either of them were.

This left Robyn standing near the door with Raven, Piper, and Pelka. She vaguely knew what the deal was with the other two, but this was an opportunity to learn information she didn't have. She turned to Pelka, arms crossed over her chest. "I haven't seen you before. I'm Robyn Hill. You?"

Pelka sized up the woman who had started talking to her out of the blue. She had been warned not to just give information away, since the nature of the mission was top secret, and she had no way of knowing who was okay to talk to. Even giving away her name might be a problem, so she called across the room to Ironwood. "General, am I allowed to talk to this woman?" Everyone stopped what they were doing, suddenly attentive to Pelka and Robyn, almost as if she was a child shouting at Robyn for being a creep. It wasn't that, or nearly close to that, but Robyn got the same anxious feeling that would have given her.

Ironwood thought silently for a moment, then activated the lockdown protocol for the room. Once it was properly sealed, he stood up with his hands on the desk. "Very well. Jinn, bring them up to speed."

Jinn saluted happily. "Yes sir." She turned to face the newcomers, Robyn, Raven, and Piper. "The Grimm have a master named Salem. Raven is aware of this already. Thousands of years ago, the gods of Light and Darkness left Remnant, shattering the moon. However, Salem was left behind. Since she was a danger to the God of Light's creations, he sent Ozpin to combat Salem's evil. Salem is indestructible, and Ozpin will always reincarnate, so their battle could conceivably be eternal. The God of Light left with Ozpin four Relics, items of great power that have the ability to defeat Salem. When the four Relics are brought together, the gods will return to Remnant to judge its people. If we are divided and continue to war with each other when this happens, we will all be destroyed. If we are united, however... well. Only good things happen then. The problem is that Salem continues to divide people and cause conflict. With her controlling the Grimm, it has been near impossible to unite people fully."

Raven coughed. "I didn't know all of that."

Robyn was completely stunned. Either this was all a terrible joke, or it was completely true. She had to probe that ridiculous set of claims. "You expect me to believe all of that?"

"I do." Qrow said, interjecting. "The four Relics each have a spirit residing inside them. Jinn here is the spirit of the Relic of Knowledge. She's taken Human form so she can help us more directly in our fight against Salem. You wanted to know the truth. This is it."

"There is magic in the world." Jinn continued. "The Relics possess great power. The power of the Relic of Knowledge, my power, allows me to answer basically any question about anything that is or was. I can't tell you the future, and I can't tell you what people are thinking. The other three Relics are the Staff of Creation, which is hidden here in Atlas, the Sword of Destruction, and the Crown of Choice."

Raven nodded towards Robyn. "That I can confirm. The Relics are real, and they are powerful."

"But they aren't the only ones." Jinn said, causing Raven to snap to attention. "There are other Relics, items of immense magical power, scattered throughout Remnant. Created by the gods and left behind, some for the purpose of fighting Salem, such as the Cradle of Deliverance, which we've just finished our mission to obtain. Some have existed in this world for far longer than Humanity's struggles with Salem, and some predate the gods of Light and Darkness themselves, created by their predecessors. One Relic, created by the God of Light in the time before Salem even came to be, sat in the wilderness for hundreds of thousands of years... completely untouched until recently." She looked pointedly at Piper. "The Flute of Serenity. Which you have."

Piper pulled the golden flute out of her pocket, holding it close to her chest. "This is one of those Relics?"

"Yes. How did you find it?"

Ironwood held up a hand. "Jinn, tell me what that Relic does."

Her attention drawn away from Piper and the Flute, Jinn explained calmly. "It's not dangerous. It makes people who are nearby feel more calm. It's good for soothing troubled minds. When it's played, it makes everyone who hears it happy."

"I found it in a pool at the beginning of a stream." Piper answered Jinn's question. "Without it, I would have died."

"Uh, okay." Jinn shook her head. "I wasn't asking... I knew that. I mean to ask how you knew to take it."

"I wanted it." She just shrugged. "I've had some on and off kleptomaniac streaks."

Weiss piped up. "You look really familiar. Forgive me for asking, but were you at Brunswick Farms?"

"Uh... yes?"

"I thought so. I remember seeing you in the photograph when we were there."

"You were there? And the Apathy didn't kill you."

"Oh, trust me, they almost did."

"Okay, hold on, stop the chatter." Raven waved her hands to get everyone's attention. She pointed at the instrument in Piper's hands. "That's a Relic?"

"A very old one, yes." Jinn answered. "Actually, because it was one of the first ones created by the God of Light, it isn't as powerful. He hadn't even perfected his craft at that time."

"Good enough for now." Ironwood sat back down. "I have some duties as Atlas Academy's headmaster that I need to catch up on, so you're all dismissed. I hope I don't have to spell out just how important it is for you all to keep this quiet. Salem doesn't know there are more Relics, and the longer it stays that way the better."

The lockdown ended, and everyone started leaving the room. Qrow stayed behind to talk to Ironwood a while longer. "Headmaster duties? I tried to keep up with those, but you should probably look over them."

"You did?" He didn't know why that surprised him. Qrow had spent a lot of his adult life as a teacher. He knew how to do a lot of what that entailed. "There was a year end test that I needed to grade. Did you do that?"

"I might have. Would RWBY have taken that test?"

"Yes. If they all passed, then I can officially make them Huntresses. Same for anyone else who passed."

"I didn't fail any of your students, James."

"Good, I wouldn't expect you to have to. It's a good year. They all deserve it, but none more than Ruby and her friends." If Qrow had dealt with the test already, then Ironwood didn't need to. All he had to look into was any top marks. "Did any of the students get an A+ on that test?"

"Actually, yes, why?"

"That's good. They're all good students, but I was wondering if any of them had what it takes to be truly exceptional. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to gather the students who got those top marks so I can personally congratulate them."

Qrow looked confused. "You want me to bring them to your office right now?"

"If you wouldn't mind. If they're that exceptional, the next stage of their training needs to begin as soon as possible."

"Uh... training for what?" Qrow was starting to worry just what he'd gotten those kids into.

Ironwood smiled knowingly. "Induction to the Ace Ops."