It hadn't been long enough that she could have gotten out of the medical wing, so Ironwood ordered that entire section of the academy locked down. Once he'd gotten confirmation that all the blast doors were sealed, he called Ruby to check if her group had made it in. They had, and two of them were headed towards Jinn to act as her guards. Neo was a known ally to their enemies, and the last thing they wanted was for Jinn to fall into the hands of Salem's servants. There was, of course, the concern that two of them wouldn't be enough to defend against Neo, but they would be able to slow her down long enough for everyone else to converge on them and join the fight. Someone like Neo was dangerous, but even she couldn't beat Team RWBY with General Ironwood's help.
He'd done the math from the reports of her battles with Yang and Ruby. Neo outmatched both of them, but quick thinking had taken her out of the fight against Ruby. Yang was thoroughly defeated, but had been saved when none other than Raven, her mother, showed up. Apparently that had caused Neo to retreat immediately, which was a good sign. That meant Neo could be scared off by overwhelming force. Ideally, he'd have Raven deal with her, but he neither knew he could trust Raven nor knew where she was at the moment. The area had already been locked down. If Raven was outside, she wasn't accessible. He would have to do for the time being.
He came to another junction in his chase. Looking down both paths, he saw some Atlas soldiers. He shouted in their direction. "Soldiers! Has anyone joined you since I ordered the lockdown?" He wasn't worried about the two taller men in the group, or the taller of the two women. But the shorter woman in their group was about the right size to be Neo in disguise.
It was the smaller woman who answered, though. "We all came right through that door the moment it started closing." She pointed at the blast door right behind them.
"Good. Hold this position. We have an intruder with the ability to change their appearance and create illusions. She hasn't exhibited the ability to speak, but don't count on that." He backpedaled away from them and rushed down the other path, shouting back as he went. "Report in the moment you spot her! Engage as a last resort!" Everything pointed to the standard Atlesian military training being insufficient for battling Neo, so he wanted them to prioritize survival over victory.
Since everything was locked down, he didn't have to worry about any of the doors to any of the rooms. They were all sealed and could be checked one by one once the lockdown was lifted. First, the halls had to be cleared. It would be a long process, but it would be worth it since Salem had left one of her pawns unprotected and isolated. He had no illusions that there weren't any others in Atlas or Mantle, but none of them were right here. Whatever damage Neo was looking to cause here, he couldn't allow it.
He stopped at a door that was hanging open. Someone had been through here, but the question was whether Neo had broken in to hide or gone in before the lockdown and had to break out. The door was mangled in a way that was frankly hard to believe such a small woman was capable of. Still, caution was in order. Even more so if she possessed this kind of strength. It occurred to him that this looked more like the work of Cinder Fall, which made him even more cautious. Pointing his weapon towards the open doorway, he moved around it, keeping his eyes on the dark room. He couldn't see anything from out here, so he would need to move in, but the lights were out.
He opened his scroll with one hand, keeping his weapon trained on the door. "This is General Ironwood. I'm in the medical wing at the academy, just outside room... M-47. The door's been broken down and the lights are off in the room. What's the situation?"
It was a few seconds before he got a response. "Sir, the lights are functioning just fine from what I can see. Hold on... yeah, I have camera feed from inside the room. Lights are on and the door is closed."
The broken door, hanging off to the side, was an illusion. Neo didn't have the ability to make people see things quite like that. This was more of Emerald Sustrai's territory, unless Neo was actually a part of the illusion. That was only possible if... He pointed his gun at the door, which immediately moved to defend itself. That was a clever trick, but he'd most likely figured it out faster than she expected.
The first shot he tried to put into the door was deflected by a parasol breaking out of the illusory disguise. The image of the door shattered, as did the open doorway, and Neo jumped out and rolled away from him. She drew a blade from the handle of the parasol and, knocking his gun aside with her parasol, stabbed her blade towards his heart. He blocked the attack with his other arm, stopping the blade cold with the sound of ringing metal. Neo looked surprised, suddenly realizing that she was dealing with a man whose left arm was robotic. More than that was, but the arm was what she had just found.
Taking the moment as an opportunity, he swiped the blade away with his arm and leaned into a stomp kick. She blocked with her parasol, but his kick knocked it down into the floor. When he brought his gun back to aim at her, she tried bringing the parasol back up, only for him to catch it with his metal hand and tear it out of her grasp. He saw her eyes flash white, and she jumped back. That was a mistake on her part, as he'd taken her shield. Her thin blade was not going to be much help deflecting bullets, and she was now too far away to attack him.
He squeezed the trigger, watching as the image of Neo shattered into tiny pieces. The real Neo, only a few feet away, appeared suddenly. He fired another shot at her, shattering another image and causing the real Neo to appear again. She was jumping back and forth, leaving fakes behind to take the hit as she put more distance between them. From the left side of the hall to the right side and then back again, until about the fifth jump he fired two shots at the image, the first shattering it and the second going right through as he turned his aim to the other side of the hall. Neo left her image behind and invisibly leapt across to the other side of the hall, right in the path of the second shot.
The shot hit home, and Ironwood launched forward after her as she staggered back. Neo's Aura was stripped away in one shot, and the general barreled into her, knocking her against the wall and pinning her with his metal arm. He heard the clanging sound of her weapon falling to the floor. She was now weaponless, and had no Aura left to fuel her Semblance. He had all but won, but it still needed to be solidified. Putting away his gun, her grabbed her by the arm and threw her down to the ground, knocking her out. Or at least she looked knocked out. The fight was over, for now, at least from the looks of it. He brought up his commlink.
"Intruder apprehended. I need MPs to take her to the detention center."
"Copy that, sir. I'm on my way." That was Harriet's voice. She wasn't exactly an MP, but she would do in a pinch.
He turned Neo over so she was face down and put her hands behind her back. He didn't have cuffs, so he clamped his robotic hand closed around her wrists to hold her in place. She wouldn't be going anywhere at least until her Aura replenished. He had no illusions that the fight couldn't have gone very differently. He'd caught her off guard and forced her to flee, trapping her in an enclosed space and cornered her. On a more even playing field, without the home advantage he had, he wasn't so sure he'd be able to win. So in a way, he had to thank her for bringing herself to him, where the Atlesian security protocols made it relatively easy for him to apprehend one of the many thorns in his side.
Harriet appeared at the end of the hall and rushed to his side. "Sir, nice work!" She took out a pair of cuffs and put them on Neo. "I'll take care of it from here, General."
"Good." He saw Yang and Blake running up behind Harriet. "Where are Ruby and Weiss?"
"They went to protect Jinn." Yang answered. She stopped and looked down at Neo. "Wow... you don't know how long I've been wanting to see her locked up."
"See to it." Ironwood nodded to her, bringing up his commlink. "This is General Ironwood. Intruder is being escorted to the detention center. Clear the area."
"Understood. Clearing medical wing in progress, General."
He took out his scroll and called Jinn. "Are Ruby and Weiss with you?"
"I... yes, they just arrived."
"Good, have them escort you to my office. Ironwood out." This episode had made it clear to him that if he wanted to talk to Jinn about these classified subjects, specifically where to find the next Relic, he would have to do so privately. He also needed to make sure to remind everyone to keep talk of the Relics off of the airwaves, even secure channels. He didn't want to be too paranoid, but if Neo was this far inside Atlas, it couldn't hurt to be more careful. Paranoia might be justified, if there are a lot of people out to get you.
Once he was back in his office, and Jinn was on her way, Ironwood sat down to rest for a few moments. He was a very capable fighter, and anyone fighting against him would be at an automatic disadvantage due to his sheer skill and experience, but he was not as young as he used to be, nor as whole as he once was. It was an exertion that his body just couldn't take as much of anymore. His Aura was still strong, stronger than it had ever been, as like skill and experience it only grew with time. But the body beneath it, the flesh, was growing old. He still had plenty of strength, but his stamina was slowly becoming less and less. He still had some good years ahead, but his best years were behind him. He was pretty sure they had been left behind at Beacon when it fell.
His ruminations were interrupted by the door opening. Jinn walked in, backed by Ruby and Weiss. They waited by the door, and Ironwood quietly locked the room down. Jinn waited until it was done before speaking. "General, you look tired."
He was tired. A general couldn't show his weariness in front of those under him, though. Then again, she knew if he was tired. But no, being tired was not the same as admitting he had to take a break. He couldn't, not while Salem was still out there. Not while there were Relics in the world that she might find and use against them. He would love to take time to rest and come back to this when he was ready, but the world wouldn't wait for him to be ready. Salem would be coming for Atlas in time, and when she did, he would need everything he could get to fight back. The Cradle, and the Flute, they were a good start, but they were not quite the sort of Relic he needed. They weren't the kind of thing that would turn the tide against the enemy.
"Jinn..." Ironwood started, then paused to think about what exactly he wanted. "I need the next Relic to be one that we can use against Salem... without causing damages to our own side. It doesn't need to be a weapon, but frankly, getting Salem into the Cradle would cost lives, and then trapping her in it would cost another one. If it comes to it, and that's what we must do, we'll do it, but I want a better option."
"I... see. Yes sir." She took a deep breath, and was silent for a time. She had to consider her options, and find an answer that would satisfy Ironwood. This didn't leave many good options. It actually didn't leave any, but she had to give him one. "You intend to send out another expedition to retrieve the Relic... at all costs?"
"Yes." He nodded. If it took lives being lost in the wilderness to prevent a battle for survival in the city, he would take it. A near total loss for the Atlas military was acceptable, if it meant saving everyone who couldn't fight. That was the duty of a soldier, and the duty of a Huntsman, and he would pay the price if he needed to. "What do you have for me?"
She sighed, looking down at the floor uncomfortably. "There is a Relic called the Voice of Confusion. It is... very old. And dangerous. If we don't handle it right, it could kill everyone, but if we take the proper precautions then we can ensure the only person it harms is Salem. Is... is that acceptable?"
He didn't like the sound of the risk involved, but it sounded about as risky as any explosive or gun. Use it wrong at your own peril, but use it right and you are a force to be reckoned with. He could put up with that level of risk, if it meant a weapon to aim at Salem without sacrificing someone to do it, and the possibility of no bystanders being harmed was a bonus at this point. Yes, that would do. "I'd hoped for something less hazardous, but if this is the best you have for me, then it will have to do for now."
"So we're going for the Voice..." She seemed concerned, but he was sure he'd made it clear she should tell him about her concerns, so he waited. She was forthcoming with the problem, only taking a few seconds to figure out how to put it into words. "Sir, this one is different. I chose the Voice because it would, ultimately, be the quickest one for us to retrieve, and the most fitting to your request parameters. But there are risks involved that are indirectly related to the Relic in this case."
"Go on." He had figured they got off easy with the Cradle's tests. It wouldn't always be so easy. This Voice, whatever it was, would no doubt be better protected.
"Well, sir, the Voice is in a temple." Just like the Cradle, and in a way, just like the Staff of Creation and the others like it. That was to be expected, he assumed. She dashed those thoughts. "In the center of a city. It is currently worshipped as a deity."
A city? That was interesting, but also concerning. If it was in a temple where it was regularly worshipped, taking it was suddenly a lot harder, especially if the worshippers tried to resist them taking it. He thought that over, trying to decide if it was worth angering a religious order. It was regrettable, but his conclusion was the same as before. "What city?"
She winced, aware of what they were about to do. "It's not one you would be familiar with. The city is called Bathys. It's... at the bottom of the ocean."