Risk

Subway...

The entrance to one of Atlas's underground subways is being circled by Grimm. The inside of the subway, where the people of Atlas overhear General James Ironwood's voice from the broadcast.

"If anyone tries anything other than what I've ordered, Mantle is gone." Ironwood said, over the speakers.

Mantle...

On the billboard of a tall building, circled by Grimm, Ironwood's message to Penny Polendina is being played.

"You have one hour to respond." Ironwood said, on screen.

Inside a mine in Mantle, many people, including Fiona's Uncle, are listening and reacting to the speech with shock and fear.

"I hope you live up to the title I gave you." Ironwood said, on screen.

Fiona, who was listening to the broadcast on her scroll, drops it and begins to cry. Joanna and May embrace her to try and comfort her.

Atlas Academy…

Ironwood and Winter are walking down a corridor. Two guards emerge from one of the side paths and, upon noticing Ironwood, salutes them while doing their best not to look Ironwood in the eye. Their reaction is noticed by Winter, who chose not to comment.

Somewhere else in the base, the Ace-Ops are seen talking with each other.

"Of course he's not going to do it." Elm said.

"So what, he's bluffing? with the whole city?" Marrow asked.

"It may finally push the kids to see reason." Vine said.

"Who cares?" Harriet asked.

A door opens behind them to allow Ironwood and Winter access to the room. The Ace-Ops line up and stand at attention.

"Good, you're here. I need a squad of drones in standby to drop the payload." Ironwood said.

Winter's eyes widened in surprise, "Sir, what for?"

"I believe I was clear in the broadcast. If they give me a reason, I'm gonna remove Mantle from the equation." Ironwood said, as the Ace-Ops look in shock as he continues. "This is how we save Atlas."

Ironwood begins to walk away from the group.

"You call this saving Atlas? Doing Salem's job for her?" Marrow asked.

Ironwood stops but does not turn around.

Marrow walks towards Ironwood, distraught, "I believed in you! I thought we could work towards something better. But now you're throwing it all away."

Harriet grabs him by the shoulder and moves him in order to stand between Marrow and Ironwood.

"If you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to do it for you." Harriet said.

"If this is what gets the children to cooperate, then it's worth it." Vine said.

"I don't like this either, but the top priority is…" Elm said.

Marrow walks past Harriet to get closer to Ironwood.

"Do you even believe what you're saying anymore?" Marrow asked, turning to look at the Ace-Ops. "Do any of you believe in anything? I used to wear this rank with pride. Now I see it for what it really is: a collar."

Marrow walks past the the Ace-Ops and away from Ironwood, His eyes widen when he hears a gun cock before he is punched in the face by Winter.

Ironwood pulls back his gun as Winter restrains Marrow.

"You want a collar? Fine." Winter said, picking up and holding on to Marrow. As the Ace-Ops look on in shock. "I'll throw this traitor in the brig. Where he belongs."

Ironwood nods and allows Winter to take marrow away while he holsters his gun. He walks past the rest of the Ace-Ops, who get out of his way and stand at attention.

Scenes Manor...

At the Schnee manor, Team RWBY, Jared, Emerald, and Oscar are in the meeting room. Weiss is pacing around the room, Jared is eating some chocolate chip cookies at the table to distract himself, Emerald is leaning against a wall and Oscar is looking through the window. Everyone else is sitting at the table with Jared.

"Okay, Ironwood wants Penny, otherwise Mantle is done for. So, how do we stop him?" Yang asked, letting out a sigh.

"This, I don't know. I'm literally reliving my days against the 456." Jared said, stuffing another chocolate chip cookie in his mouth. "When I was dealing with the 456, they wanted one tenth of all children that lived on Earth in 2009. The human race was already in shambles after the 2009 Dalek Invasion of Earth. Me and Torchwood couldn't give the children to the 456 as drugs."

"So, you're back where you started for this." Blake said, looking at Jared. "Qrow and Robyn are still in his custody, and May said that the Atlas security drones are watching the crater, so they're trapped too."

"And Salem isn't going to stay gone for much longer." Oscar said.

"So then, it's impossible." Ruby said.

"It really is impossible, Little Red." Jared said, offering a chocolate chip cookie for Ruby to immediately eat. "Believe me, I didn't want to deal with this again."

"See? If Miss Hero and Mister Hero with all the answers doesn't have an answer, then we have ours." Emerald said.

"Shut up." Weiss said, angrily.

"Okay, then why don't you just leave?!" Yang exclaimed, approaching Emerald.

Emerald backs away in fear.

"Can we please just give each other a chance? Emerald's not with Salem anymore, and Ozpin is back." Oscar said.

Ruby and Jared grumbles into the table as the two are eating the chocolate cookies together while everyone else goes quiet.

"All of this doubt and worry and distrust, it isn't getting us anywhere." Oscar said.

"Then nothing has changed!" Ruby said, slamming her hands on the table. "We're in the exact same spot we were yesterday. Arguing what to do while the kingdom waits to die."

"And we're at the point where I was when I broke off with you guys! Mantle is being used as the same leverage as ten percent as Earth's children. Ironwood is acting like the British government!" Jared said, grabbing Ruby's hand. "The 456 and Salem are practically identical in the end despite different motives! I don't know what to do."

Yang lays both of her hands on Ruby and Jared's shoulders to try and comfort them.

"Now I know exactly how you felt 4-5 years ago, Earth time." Ruby said, letting out tears.

"This is the one thing I tried to avoid, Ruby!" Jared said, squeezing Ruby's hand. "Getting wrapped up in this again."

Ruby and Jared shrugs Yang's hands off and the two run out of the room.

"I can't take this anymore!" Jared said, his voice nearby.

Yang hesitates for a second, then runs after Ruby and Jared.

Weiss' bedroom…

Jaune attempts to heal Nora's scars with his Semblance.

Ren is sitting on the edge of the bed, "I'm...glad you're alright"

Nora does not respond. Eventually Jaune stops using his Semblance with a sigh.

"Ah, sorry. No matter how much I boost you, they won't go away." Jaune said.

"Don't apologize. I got hurt doing what I always do, just another ditsy move from Nora." Nora said, getting up into a sitting position.

"Th-that's not true." Ren said, standing up.

"How would you know? We were supposed to be a team, but that didn't matter to you. When things went wrong you pushed us away. You shove people out so you don't have to feel things that are hard!" Nora said, gasping for breath before attempting to calm herself down.

Ren looks away before replying.

"You're right. I should be apologizing, to both of you. W-when we lost Oscar and things got difficult, I said terrible things." Ren said, sitting back on the bead. "I've been so...angry, at myself. For not being as good as the Ace Ops, for what happened at Robyn's rally, for losing the lamp. I thought if I just focused on working harder, getting stronger, that we...I, wouldn't fail. But, my biggest failing was as a teammate and as a partner."

Jaune looks between Ren and Nora several times before getting up in a rush.

"Ah ha! Ha ha! Uh...All water under the bridge, buddy! Ha ha! I'm uh...Gonna go see if Klein needs any help with Penny." Jaune said, exiting the room in a rush and shuts the door loudly.

"Ren, I just wish, I mean, why didn't you say anything? So we failed as a team, but we succeed as a team too." Nora said.

"I was the one holding us back. Not Jaune, not you. Me." Ren said.

"Well, you're wrong. All I do is make dumb jokes and smash things with a hammer."

"What? That's not true." Ren said, moving closer to Nora.

Nora sighs while leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

"You put everything you have into what you do. You support everyone around you, you help without worrying about how it might hurt. And that's what I love about…" Ren said, as Nora's eyes open in shock. "That's why I... I love you."

Nora takes a deep breath and looks away from Ren. Neither of them say anything for a while.

"When my mom ran from the Grimm and left me behind, you found me. We became Ren and Nora. But I realized on this mission apart, I don't know who 'Just Nora' is. And if I'm ever going to find out, then I have to do it alone." Nora said, looking at Ren. "Because I've always loved you, Lie Ren, and that pretty head on your shoulders seems like it's doing a lot better." Ren chuckles at the last remark. "But I still got to get mine sorted out before I can be the partner you need. Is that...okay?"

Ren looks at her with his semblance. He sees white petals slowly falling off her, and gives her a small smile, and brushes her cheek as she starts to cry.

"It's definitely okay." Ren said, removing his hand from Nora's cheek and taps her nose. "Boop."

Nora gives a small giggle, and the two rest their foreheads together.

Atlas base...

Qrow and Robyn are in a locker room, looking for their weapons. Qrow finds his sword and pulls it out.

"You got those halfway cameras on a loop?" Qrow asked.

Robyn doesn't respond, her eyes on a screen showing Ironwood's speech and Mantle.

"He's...really gonna do it." Robyn said.

Qrow approaches and gives Robyn her weapon.

"Not if we stop him first." Qrow said.

Robyn grabs her weapon but looks away, unsure about what Qrow said.

The two stealth around the base, being careful to avoid being noticed by a couple guards taking the elevator. They make their way to one and Qrow tries to call it in, but is stopped by Raven, who grabs his arm.

"There might be a better way." Robyn said.

Qrow shakes the hand off and glares at Robyn,

"I'm telling you there isn't." Qrow said.

"Well, this isn't just about you. It's about everyone." Robyn said.

"I'm going straight up to the academy and I am ending this."

"Or we fail and people get killed."

"He deserves this!"

Robyn panics and covers his mouth with her hand. She looks around to make sure no one heard them before letting go.

"Listen, I get it. You are hurting. You've been hurting for a long time. But let's stop pretending that what you're trying to do here is for anyone but yourself." Robyn said, letting out a sigh.

Qrow continues to glare but doesn't say anything in return.

"Clover was a lot of things. You respected him, but I gotta tell ya, I think you're the better Huntsman. Not because you're the one who walked away, but, because you're the one fighting for what was right." Robyn said, and Qrow's glare softens and he looks away. "Don't go telling me that's changed."

They hear the elevator next to them ding, signaling someone's arrival. Qrow and Robyn ready their weapons, but when the door opens, they lower their weapons slightly with looks of surprise.

Schnee Manor...

Yang finds Ruby and Jared on the stairs next to the entrance, with the silver eyed girl hugging one of the stone poles and the fanboy singing a song softly.

"You were the one who set this light of smile

it was a dark and hopeless place. It was your shiny eyes that caught me. Filled with hope, THIS STORY STARTS NOW. Notice the fear inside me bouncing up? That's when I tune my heart beat down. I will shine, I will smile, my wish will come true, the first page of my history." Jared said, picking up the bottle of Mountain Dew he has on his lap as he began to drink it.

Yang slowly makes her way to the fallen suit of armor.

"You know, that giant hound kicked us around like we were nothing. But Blake said the both of you and Schnees managed to take it down." Yang said, looking at Ruby. "Still having to one-up your big sis, huh?"

"Did she tell you what it was? Underneath?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah." Yang said, looking away.

"You know what that means then."

"I wouldn't worry about that…" Yang said, letting out a sigh.

"Yang. This is how I feel about the Daleks and the Cybermen!" Jared said, looking up at Yang. "Humans are able to be placed inside a Dalek armor. And they're also able to be upgraded as Cybermen!"

"That's what happened to Mom." Ruby said, and Yang tries to hold back tears, but grasps her head and crouches when they start to fall off her face. "When I saw its eyes, I knew. And Jared knew, that's why he went off to Earth to spend a year with the Ponds. Salem used to kill people with silver eyes, like Maria. But she's always wanted me alive." Yang composes herself enough to look at her younger sister. "But why would that change unless, when she met Mom, she learned she could do something new."

"Ruby." Yang said, getting herself back up with a smile.

"We shouldn't lie to ourselves. I've wasted our time getting Amity up, thinking help would come, but it didn't, and Amity fell." Ruby said, letting go of the stone pole and looks up at Yang and Jared.

Yang approaches Ruby and Jared while rubbing her eyes.

"I was being childish." Ruby said, looking away.

"There is no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes. Ruby, we were being grown up. Me, when I was against the 456. And you with this." Jared said, sipping on his Mountain Dew.

"We inspire each other, right? We tried to make childish decisions when it was overwhelming."

"The both of you were being optimistic." Yang said, balls her first as she crouches and grabs one of Ruby's hands and she grabbed one of Jared's. "Look, blind optimism isn't great, but no optimism means we already lost. We need hope. We need to take risks."

"But mine didn't work. And I based it off of Jared's." Ruby said, grabbing Jared's hand.

"I literally had Gwen Cooper call Lois Habiba, knowing it would compromise her when I was on the run with Torchwood." Jared said, as Ruby squeezed his hand.

"It still got a warning out. Ruby, Jared, they're not called sure things, they're called risks, and in case you didn't notice, my plan for Mantle that I adapted from the other half of your plan, Jared, the plan for the children, the one I used for Mantle didn't work either. But we got Oscar back, and did a lot more that was never in the plan." Yang said, sighing and she gets up.

Yang finally sits next to the other side of Ruby.

"Mom took a risk the day she left, and I don't think. I don't think it went the way she wanted it to." Yang said, hugging Ruby. "But she's still my hero."

Ruby leans into the hug, on the verge of crying.

"Y'know, I'm kind of glad that I'm with you guys." Jared said, happily. "Ruby, I love you."

"Huh?" Ruby asked.

"I love you…and all of you guys! So let's do this, together."

"Hmph. Bwahaha! That's just like you. You act like Ruby. And ripping off a scene in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It's all I could ask for. Let's give 'em hell!" Yang said, smirking.

"Ready, girls?" Jared asked, looking between Ruby and Yang.

"Ready." Ruby and Yang said, at the same time.

They are startled by the sound of glass breaking, followed by Jaune making a mad dash down the stairs.

"Hurry!" Jaune said.

Ruby, Yang, and Jared follow Jaune to the exit.

Outside Schnee Manor...

Penny is seen laying on the floor. She gets up, her eyes red.

"I can no longer be delayed." Penny said, as she begins to walk away.

Ruby uses her semblance to get in front of Penny and grab her by the arms, "Penny please!"

"What the hell? Time to do Infinity War then." Jared said, grabbing Penny's hands.

"I...I must...open the vault." Penny said, as she twitches uncomfortably and her eyes flashes between red and green. "I, I do not want...Ah!"

Emerald emerges from the entrance and looks on in shock as Oscar runs past her.

"Ruby, Jared, stop me!" Penny said.

"Penny!" Ruby said, grabbing Penny by the waist.

"I'm not gonna lose you!" Jared said, squeezing Penny's hands as best as he could.

"I must open the vault and self-terminate." Penny said, as her eyes settled on red.

Penny takes flight with Ruby and Jared still holding off.

"Guys! Help!" Jared said, looking at his friends. "We can't hold on!"

Penny is stopped from her flight byt Gambol Shroud wrapping around her right arm. Ren takes the moment to grab Penny's other hand with the hooks from Storm Flower. Blake, Yang Nora and Oscar grab the chords, and together they drag Penny to the ground, onto a Glyph made by Weiss.

"I've got her!" Weiss said.

"What do we do?" Nora asked.

Penny's eyes glow with the maidens power, as she summons a tempest around her. The wind causes Weiss to recoil, canceling the Glyph. Penny tries to lift herself up with the summoned wind.

"I must open the vault!" Penny said, and her eyes alternate from red to green. "And self-terminate."

Emerald joins in, using the chain sickles from Thief's Respite to grab Penny by the shoulders.

"Do something!" Emerald said.

Jaune lets go of Gambol Shroud and heads towards Weiss. He powers her up with his Semblance, allowing Weiss to make a stronger Glyph, grounding Penny once more.

"Penny please. Tell us how to help you." Ruby said, still holding onto Penny's waist.

"What do we have to do?" Jared asked, holding Penny's hands tightly.

Penny, narrows both her green eyes, "Kill me."

"What?" Jared asked.

Ruby and Jared's eyes widen in shock.

"Kill me. And I can make sure the power goes to you, Ruby." Penny said.

Ruby doesn't reply as everyone else looks in horror.

"No, I'm not having that. And I don't want to lose you, Penny." Jared said, sadly.

"Please...please!" Penny said, and her eyes twitched red. "I cannot fight it!"

"Yes you can! It's just a part of you, remember? If you were only a machine, you never could have fought back for this long." Nora said.

"She's right…she's right! Jaune! Boost her Aura!" Ruby said.

"It's artificial! It's still Pietro's Aura by essence! And it's a part of Penny's!" Jared said, excitedly. "It's human!"

Jaune runs from Weiss and begins using his Semblance on Penny. Her eyes continue to flash, but it starts to slow down and eventually disappears. Penny sits still, shocked, but eventually gives Jaune a nod.

The danger, having seemingly past, causes Ruby to hug Penny in relief. Everyone sees Oscar and Emerald approach her in relief, with Nora giving Penny another hug.

"Did...I stop the virus?" Jaune asked.

Penny looks at her hands, contemplating Jaune's words.

"No. It's still there." Penny said.

"But you've got an Aura, like Jared said, Penny, a soul. That's who you are, our friend, not a machine." Ruby said.

The group enjoy a moment of silence, being happy that they didn't lose Penny.

"Thank goddess!" Jared said, squeezing Penny's hand. "I wouldn't know what to do if we lose you again."

"I think you're wrong, by the way." Emerald said.

They all turn around to look at Emerald, who was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed.

"I highly doubt you're in the same place you started. I-I mean, yeah, y-you guys have been getting your asses kicked, some of that my fault, but like, you're at war. You're gonna take hits." Emerald said, looking away, trying to figure out what she was trying to say. "Look, I'm just going to be super pissed if you all finally decided to give up the moment I switch sides."

"Switched sides, huh?" Oscar asked, smiling.

Emerald opens her mouth to reply, but is unable to retort.

"Aww." Yang said.

"Emerald's a tsundere." Jared said, happily. "Who knew? I didn't."

The group begins to giggle at Emerald's look of embarrassment.

"Or like, whatever." Emerald said.

Oscar offers Emerald a hand, which she accepts, and lifts her up.

"If you all wouldn't mind, I really think Ozpin would like to say something." Oscar said.

Everyone silently looks at Ruby.

"What do you think, Little Red?" Jared asked.

"Go ahead." Ruby said.

Oscar focuses until his eyes flash gold, signaling Ozpin being in control of the body.

"I was recently reminded of an old fairy tale. A young girl flees the consequences of a choice, to a magical place. But, having never learned from her initial failure, she only succeeds in spreading it. I failed all of you. I should have trusted you with the truth and should never have run the day you discovered it." Ozpin said, through Oscar.

"It was rough, but…" Yang said.

"I think after everything that's happened here, we understand. Trust is.." Blake said.

"Trust is a risk." Weiss said.

"And I hope it's a risk you can take on me again." Ozpin said, through Oscar.

Ruby silently nods her head at Ozpin.

"If I can trust the Doctor, I suppose I can trust you, Oz." Jared said, standing up.

Penny frowns, clutching her chest in pain, "I can still feel it fighting me."

"I can't just keep amping her forever." Jaune said.

"And we can't keep Ironwood waiting." Ren said.

Penny clutches her head in pain.

"Guys, she has to go to the Vault." Nora said.

Everyone looks down in thought, except for Ruby who looks around at everyone.

"That's actually a risk we haven't considered." Ruby said.

"My god. That's a risk I totally forgot about! This is the equivalent of going to Thames House." Jared said, happily.

Atlas Vault...

Some time later, Ironwood is standing in the vault with his Scroll in his hand, in a phone call with Ruby.

"She'll do it." Ruby said, her voice through Ironwood's Scroll.

Atlas…

In an alley in the City of Atlas, Watts attaches a Scroll to some wires inside a damaged Atlesian Knight. Static-filled audio of Ironwood's voice can be heard.

"The academy entrance. Penny comes alone." Ironwood said, on the Scroll.

Watts looks up to see Neopolitan approaching. The latter spins her parasol and then points it at Cinder Fall who is standing behind Watts, and Cinder looks over her shoulder and smirks at Neo.