The Clock Strikes 10...

Ironwood impatiently tapped his fingers on his desk while his knee jittered from the stress. His hair was now unkempt and ragged as only had a few hours he had to juggle around the frontlines before relegating himself to the homefront where he managed dissent.

'Where are they… the Ace-Ops reported me of that thing's capture…'

He asked himself that yet to be fair, it had only been a few minutes since their report had been passed that Hanns was under their possession. The day was already to a boiling point as more and more people are willing to become unruly and some of the troops started disobeying orders in favor of fighting the Grimm like they were supposed to.

Ironwood checked the panel again, relentlessly checking over and over even though nothing had clearly changed for the past minutes. It was driving him crazy, more so when his semblance was dead set on what he thought was the priority.

The General had good reason to try and curb Hanns' influence. Once it had gotten out that the SDC had the CEO fall and a new one was going to be selected by the board. It would be obvious Weiss would inherit the company. Then, he knew what was happening - Hanns was going for the SDC.

No matter what was going to happen next, Ironwood was confident that Hanns would go for Atlas and the rest of the other nations. Hanns had already shown he was willing to infiltrate and take control of the Command Center by exploiting the requirement of vents in an enclosed building that was connected to his Academy down to the ventilation system.

A knock came on the door to his office, an almost perfect amount of pauses in between that some may question as being odd. Ironwood stood from his seat and opened the door after quickly combing his hair back to at least a presentable look.

The door swung wide for Penny to show up, she was like any other student. Of course, under the guise of Ironwood's plan to use her as a weapon and keep to Pietro's wishes of trying to make her live her life as a normal person.

Ironwood didn't understand why a marvel of technology shouldn't be used as a weapon. Then again, he was the type of person to use any kind of advantage if it meant to him that Atlas would have a better chance of living.

She starts robotically announcing everything that has happened by now due to her protocols. "Greetings General, you called for me. I had left my classes at exactly 3:24 PM and the rest of my schedule-"

"Yes, yes." He interrupts which made Penny a bit down, she was excited to tell him about the various mundane work she genuinely appreciated. "Enough about your day, do you have a guard with the individual I am asking for? No one else has the right to see her, you are just there to confirm her presence. Remember don't speak your name while she is in there."

She nods before letting another person in. "Yes. She is in stable condition and it seems like she has had not any contact with any other life form. The trackers and other safety measures I have put on short notice have not been triggered or detected another presence."

"Good…good."

Ironwood still had a visible tick on his forehead but he had calmed down a bit by his standards. All that was left of him was to further secure his own place in the military. He may lose the common soldiery and his support from the people but there were still people he could use.

No one would dare to oppose him in his own playing area, the school was his grounds and everyone from the freshmen to the seniors would not risk lifting a finger against him. He had a stranglehold until someone else could show how much of a rotten structure Atlas really was, only a single kick in the front door and the entirety of Ironwood's built-up influence would fall.

The desk suddenly blared to life, a display that showed someone calling for him. It was only for emergencies so he stopped talking to Penny and briskly walked and sat down to accept the call.

"Sir! The students are in uproar and there's a metal box and a group of uniformed people here! We can't tell who they are under their masks except for one, Weiss Schnee! They say they're going to list out their demands and see you hang from a lamppost!"

"Penny, emergency. Contact Specialist Schnee and make her arrive post-haste."

"General, wouldn't that compromise the organization of command and risk the stability of the frontlines within Mantle? I calculate a 13.72% chance that this decision will lead to total collapse, a 54.98% chance that this command will lead to an uprising, and a-"

"Time is of the essence Penny, I thought I programmed you to listen to my commands. Know who your true creator is, not Pietro but the Atlas Military. I greenlit your creation because I wanted the best results to combat that machine with a soul. Do not test me like this again."

"Y-Yes… General."

~

Moments ago…

'Man, why do I feel like sneezing suddenly? I am cold in this damn frozen hellscape, especially since my entire body is metal but I don't even have a nose!' Hanns was being air carried through the main Academy for a while now and he was reaching the main entrance Torchwick yelled out from the bottom.

"Lunchbox! Red says the wind speeds are too finicky right now if she keeps going to higher altitudes! You might get blown off or take the entire Reichscopter with you! We have to abandon going directly to the office!"

It was to be expected, even the tallest building by altitude was going to be hard for Hanns to experience inside a tank that was being carried by a Reichscopter. He expected it but he had high hopes, so when Torchwick advised him to abandon the first plan - Hanns was already prepared for something like this.

"Alright! Land us in the middle of the courtyard! Take Yang and Blake with you to guard the Reichscopter while the rest of us head through the Academy. We still have the nerve gas running so we have a limited time to get in and get out before the Ace-Ops gets up."

The roaring rotor blades slow down as they descended into the masses of people gawking at the sudden intrusion of a foreign VTOL in the midst of all the conflict happening between the Grimm and the Atlesian military.

They chatter and spoke about the possibilities of it being friend or foe before Torchwick stepped out in his usual showiness and flaunting before he settled along with the rest of team RWBY and Neo with their masks on. Their uniforms were hard to not miss, although what made their eyes go wide was Weiss, the assumed heir of the SDC, stepping out without her mask and her face in full view.

No one expected such a different uniform style to the usual white and blandness of Atlesian architecture commonly associated with the Schnees - it emphasized their snobbiness and richer look. Though, the uniforms, the Reichscopter, and the tank roaming around were one for them to see and fear.

No longer was it a sight they could see as boring, it was another neutral color - black and greys were not usually associated with anything up until now.

That would change because today was the day Weiss would take on the new role of being the face of one of the public figures for the Wehrmacht. What grabbed their attention and would forever cement the designs that Torchwick made was the pressuring look of the entire crew followed by the aggressive-looking but oddly alluring machines that came with them.

Flanked by people with uniforms, boots tapped on the pavement as the students gave way to the mechanical beast chugging along the same entrance students use to frequent their stay in the Academy.

It was an ominous sight for an upcoming event that would reverberate through the ages. A day of reckoning for some but a revolution that would change the history of Remnant.

Hanns was being occupied by Weiss who had her uniform's white cap on to contrast and tell her apart from the similarly designed WW2 era German officer uniforms. They weren't the common soldiery and were equipped with aura, which made Torchwick do his fashion magic to create what Ruby had in mind while being influenced by Hanns' system.

Weiss stepped out of the tank as they got to the doors of the Academy, Hanns couldn't fit but if he used Overclock to shove himself in by cracking himself open and shimming his way through, it could work.

Weiss rested her hands behind her back in a formal way before steeling her expression and glaring at the nearby students. In reality, it was the scariest moment in her life. Taking control of herself and actually having the chance to speak her mind and not read a script out loud was her desire.

Though it may have come to off as more than just nervousness. "You!" She pointed to a person in the crowd. She didn't know who it was or who exactly she was picking out at random but she had to go through with it.

A random student with brown hair stuttered as they got ushered to Weiss who was still glaring. The combination of the frigid cold and the uniform made it scary for her. The only thing pushing them over to being downright terrifying was black but Hanns chose grey to better suit the image of not being too intimidating but also being recognizable.

Being an Atlesian meant Weiss was still beholden to the traditional values she was expected of and taught at a young age. Now, she had to throw all those away in order to follow Hanns' grand plan for Remnant and beyond.

"Tell me, where is your leader? Where is the one who dared take my birthright and spit on the name of my predecessor?" She asked with a heavy tone.

The girl in front quivered but sought to tell her anyway. A tank is in the vicinity and the sheer confidence of Hanns just sauntering over to enemy territory was enough to convince the students who were truly in control. "He's usually at his office on the topmost floor!"

Weiss paused, letting the students focus more on the silence before she continued to speak. "So, that is where that rat is. Do you all have no shame?! The lives of thousands soak the battlefield in crimson, bleeding all over the sacred soil of which where our city was built. Yet, here is the General himself, instead of commanding his troops and sacrificing himself for his nation and the people of Remnant, human or otherwise - he instead chose to cower inside the walls, sacrificing his duty over some selfish endeavor that has cost him nothing - but had affected others! Worse of the offender is all of you!"

She snarked out that last one, almost to a scream - more akin to a scolding by a parent. Unknown to her, something was pulling her mind to be an aggressive speaker. It was almost like a certain Austrian painter decided to give a lesson that she would not forget.

"You stay unfeeling and indifferent to the rogue General's ideas! Where were you when Atlas was attacked? What do you hope to accomplish in this institution when something as simple as protecting Atlas was going to be hindered by a man out of touch with his own people?! What of the Council? What of the higher-ups that hold influence over you all? What of my own father?! The system that led Atlas for the coming years has shown its cracks!"

The audience began to lighten their hearts and deepen their listening. It was nothing ever heard of in Atlas. Just as the dissatisfaction in the Mantle grew, so did the consciousness over at the top of Atlas. It was nothing more than words but something in them stirred - not just from a spontaneous speech but a full-blown influence from some higher influence.

"You are the students of the future! The one that steers what should go on in this great country! Yet, again and again, we have been held down by the same forces that are supposed to do the best for us! The council is ineffective, the government abuses what it calls its own people and the military has no leadership to guide us! Tell me again! Who is your leader?! Ironwood? The infested Council! Or are we finally going to change? This happened once before no?! A country plagued with the inefficiencies of policies and leaders! The people that led us to the Great War are the same kind of leaders we still elect today! How can we change when we keep using the same bloated method that leads to these crises over and over? I am an Atlesian and so should you, but if that were ever to be a valid statement we need to uproot the entire nation and build upon it a new method that will work!"

The audience started with just a clap, then another, and then another. It was true, Atlas was a rotten society at the top. Aristocrats fawned over riches at the expense of Faunus who were their supposed people too. The continuous blunders that were hidden by the corporate speak of the leaders. The problems lead from one to another, especially in a place where their prosperity came at the expense of the hard workers in Mantle. Students of higher education knew their problems but were kept to a shut case. It was a problem that deep down everyone knew but was indoctrinated to never talk about. They were supposed to focus on the positives like a sheep but in the midst of rising discontent, everyone would be exposed to the realities of living under their age-old system of governance.

Whether it was Weiss who convinced them or something else affecting them, the students started to applaud and then roar in support as they saw a promising figure in front of them. This was a shining example of what Atlas was missing, not of a dull and subservient population but one that actively made it their goal to improve the lives of Atlesians and Remnant as a whole.

"Walls only shelter us for so long, like that General who calls himself a Hero - we don't need to keep ourselves in. Aren't we supposed to be the mightiest of them all? We show our strength to the nations when we should've used them against the Grimm! Showpieces have more value than what the General has been doing. He tried covering up another accident, and that happened back in the past in Vale. I myself was horrified but I once believed in him. Now that something as drastic as taking over the SDC and the Council not doing anything about it - it's time we see for ourselves what we could do instead of letting it in the hands of old rich men in chairs! There is only one thing we can do as we approach the darkest of our times, we march!"

Even Hanns was taken aback by Weiss suddenly turning into someone else while she ranted. 'Holy crap, Weiss is suddenly so intense!'

Being exposed to the realities of what being rich meant, what her father was truly doing, and how willing Ironwood is to further risk the lives of everyone. She knew Hanns had indirectly led to many of her own fellow countrymen's deaths but she pinned it all on Ironwood. It all led to him being the first to be aggressive and not cooperating even though Grimm was the true enemy - it had all been locked up inside Weiss but now she could finally let it all out.

Torchwick had already begun to record from a distance as soon as Weiss hopped into Hanns' Leopard I. It was going to be sent to the world and beyond. Many would see a youth dissatisfied and angry, even a single day of unrest was enough to blow open the gates that held the people's minds for so long. Negativity was ever increasing but so did hope - a hope that one day, someone would take control and lead them all to a better life.

"Down with the Council! Down with Ironwood! Hoist the flag of revolution!" A chant was created, one that would echo over and over as the day turned into an orange dawn. Enthralled by their overwhelming desire for true reform, the people started to storm the school demanding his resignation, some calling for Ironwood to fight to his death against the hordes of Grimm.

'Crap, I don't even think I need to do anything…' Hanns was genuinely surprised, a plan never survives contact with the enemy. For the first time in Hanns' life, he was glad this was true. He didn't even plan for this at all.

~

Hanns, Ruby, Weiss, and Neo were the ones leading the charge, the signature uniforms breaking down the doors and hallways as they made their way up. Hanns tore through the Academy with ease now being able to do so because of the fervor the crowd had. Of course, they only followed a good distance away because if a confrontation ever happened then they could avoid getting involved by accident.

Then, something scary approached him. A war machine's worst nightmare was not what Hanns expected, giant world-ending Grimm? Maybe an entire army? No - it was something scarier.

Hanns arrived at what looked like an elevator that was definitely way too small for him to fit in. 'Damn… I guess I can never escape my one weakness. Indoors…'

Ironically, even though he was a gamer, what he feared as a tank was not the outdoors. It was the indoors that scared him, he couldn't fit inside a room. It was miraculous that Atlas had bigger hallways in their Academy - not that Hanns would even try to get inside in the first place. Though, because they had built Atlas Academy to be so tall, Hanns had no choice but to go the long way up. 'Only one way now…'

Weiss sensed the confusion Hanns had and decided to ask the people behind them. "Is this the only way up to his office?"

The crowd nodded. "It is. There's a reason why Ironwood's office is at the very top. I guess you could go by bullhead but if you plan to bring that machine with you then it's going to be hard."

"What do we do Hanns?" Weiss hushed her tone as she ducked into Hanns' commander's hatch.

Hanns was ready for this but he needed observers to move out just in case they were to see. There are cameras too, for sure, especially one like Ironwood. Hanns had a plan but he needed a running start.

"Make them leave, I'll show you guys something I've been trying to work on since my stay here with Penny in Mantle."

The others weren't sure what he meant but it was theorized that Ruby would have another heart attack. Considering the situation, it made her focus on the task. They ushered everyone away, warning that they would be caught in the crossfire. Weiss made a show of everyone leaving and spreading the word of their overthrowing of the Council and Ironwood from command.

As soon as the coast was clear, Hanns backed up and made everyone stand back. What he had in mind was dangerous and would test the limits of his Semblance. He stared at the elevator being open and breathed in, despite not having lungs.

"Alright, cowabunga it is."

His tracks gripped the solid floor below, and the metal sparked as he revved his engines to the max. His acceleration doubled as he willed in his mind for his Semblance to activate.

'Overclock!'

He entered the state of double attributes before crashing directly inside the elevator and tearing it into bits. That wasn't the end as he willed his different mechanical parts to split apart, even the engine was torn away but was kept relatively connected together.

'C'mon!'

His body jagged outwards and stuck into the metal surface of the exposed elevator shaft. He created 4 different legs, which were just his tracks he freely moved to split and straighten making him able to climb the sides of the walls.

'Aha! I knew I had the feeling right!'

His increased control may have seemed lackluster, but completely comprehending how much possibility it had, Hanns was all for it to learn everything he needed to fully exploit the ability.

The metal groans under the stress but he pushed forward, using every bit of focus he could muster to make sure the weight of his tank doesn't bring him down. He maneuvers the elevator shaft before arriving at the topmost floor and smashes the shut doors before entering the barren hall.

"Phew, that was close. Guys!" He screamed in his radio-sounding voice. "You can climb up now! The elevators are gone but you could climb here no problem right?"

The team said a collective yes before proceeding to the top. Ruby used her super speed and the recoil from her gun-scythe to go upwards, Neo skillfully navigated the edges that protruded from the elevator shaft, and Weiss used her glyphs as platforms.

"Hold on, that took a minute out of me so I'll have to stay still." Hanns used the time to wait and make Ruby do some forward scouting for the next free rooms.

A minute later and his energy came back to him, he drove along the hallway and smashed through arches that used to hold the doors that were now thoroughly flattened on the metal floor.

*Ping!*

'Huh?' Hanns was caught off guard by the sudden message.

[Event Active!]

[By Blood and Iron: 0/1]

[Description: The formation of a new Atlas is imminent, the results of this formation will vary greatly on the choices you make. A crossroads had presented itself, will you take the right path? "The great questions of the day are not to be decided by speeches and majority resolutions – but by blood and iron! Weak to be devoured by the strong." - Otto von Bismarck]

'That's…ominous…'