Being a Friday afternoon, Beacon Academy was decently quiet. While classes weren't in session, there was always something to do. If you were a proactive student, you'd probably be in your dorms working on weekend homework. If sparring was your thing, the training halls would be up your alley. Heading into Downtown Vale for some relaxing shopping, dining, or partying wasn't a bad plan either.

But for Ruby Rose, the best activity was one spent with her team. Today, that was gonna be a nice walk through Beacon. Followed by some board games. Maybe some video games. Maybe a movie night or two for good measure.

Of course, there was some rebellion. Weiss stomped her heels into the ground. "Ugh. Ruby, you know Professor Oobleck has high project standards! We should start now so we ca—"

"Nope!" Ruby replied over her shoulder. She spun around to face her friends. "Come on team! We've got to have at least one day where we're all together!"

Yang shrugged. "If we're all together, we should be at a club right now! Partying until we can't remember our own names!"

"I dunno, I was hoping to get some reading done." replied Blake.

Ruby groaned. "Come on! It'll be fun." She carried on leading them past the amphitheater, admiring the statues and architecture. "Don't you guys just lo—"

"Students! Clear the way!"

Team RWBY spun around, finding a medical team running right at them. Dashing out of the way, Weiss was almost clipped by the side of the stretcher bed they carried with them. "Hey!" she yelled at the paramedics. The group recovered to their feet. "What could possibly be so urgent?" she remarked.

"I bet Pyrrha kicked Cardin's ass again." Yang said, a slight smug expression on her face.

Blake spoke up. "That doesn't make sense though"—she turned back towards the school grounds, pointing towards the training centres—"The sparring rooms are on the other si—"

"Look!" Ruby yelled, pointing towards the sky. Her teammates looked towards her direction. Coming in hot was a very damaged bullhead. Nevermore feathers were scarring every section of the aircraft. The cockpit's windows were dotted with breakages. Smoke was coming out of its engines. "Gods…what happened?" she thought. Most odd of all, some sort of mechanized unit was strapped to its bottom. It definitely wasn't a Paladin. Not only was the frame wrong, Atlas had just gotten to the prototype stage, unless Torchwick was bluffing when they tore his stolen model to shreds.

Coming down, the bullhead suddenly detached the mech from itself, the latter crashing into the ground with tremendous force. Meanwhile, the aircraft collided with the landing pad, sparks flying as it slid across the surface. Immediately, the side door swung open. An Atlas soldier slowly climbed out, frantically yelling at the inbound paramedics. Once they had arrived, a pair of troopers carried two bloody figures down to the stretchers. Once transferred, the paramedics immediately began rushing back to the main complex, likely towards the medical ward.

"Move move move!" one of the medics yelled. Observing the wounded, Ruby noticed they weren't typical Atlas grunts. The first soldier's armor was colored green, gold, and yellow, unlike the stark white of an Atlas infantryman. If that wasn't enough, Ruby noted the armor, especially the helmet, resembled nothing in the Atlas military. She knew. Her scroll had one of their equipment documentaries bookmarked in case she got bored.

As for the other injured person, Ruby noticed she wa—

"Winter!" Weiss cried out, running towards the approaching stretcher. She ran to the medic seemingly in charge. "What happened to this soldier?!" Ruby was amazed. She hadn't seen Weiss react so vividly before. Of course she knew her teammate cared for her and the rest of RWBY, but this was...different.

The medic stopped. Ordering his team he said, "I'll meet you at the trauma center." Nodding, the other medics pushed on past the amphitheater. The medic had clearly seen better days. His face looked like someone who hadn't seen their bed in eons. His brown hair looked unkempt, quickly brushed off to his right side. "You're the SDC heiress, Weiss Schnee right?"

Weiss nodded. As if on the verge of crying, she said, "That's Specialist Winter Sch—"

"I don't care." the medic simply stated, crossing his arms.

"What?!" exclaimed Weiss. "How dare yo—"

"Wealth, fame, race", he interrupted, lifting a finger for each trait. "I couldn't care less who you are. Your sister is in good hands, but you'll get the medical report once it's released, same as everyone else. Now excuse me, I have to do my job." He quickly dashed away, leaving Weiss speechless, though not without her face about to implode with rage.

Ruby spoke up. "Weiss, who was that...on the stretcher?"

Weiss stood silent for a long moment. She took a breath to compose herself, wiping her eyes as she did. "That's Winter...my sister."

"She's a huntress, isn't she?" Ruby asked, a hint of worry on her face. She chose her words carefully, for she understood. Anytime Yang went into battle, Ruby carried the same worry that Weiss was showing now.

"Yes," Weiss said, pausing before resuming. "but she's Atlas Spec Ops, not a freelancer."

"And a damn good one."

Team RWBY looked towards the source of those words, which came from an approaching Atlas soldier, the same one who was frantically yelling at the medics. The two troopers, who carried Winter and the other soldier down from the bullhead, were at his sides.

"Who are you?" Blake questioned.

The soldier removed his helmet, revealing a grizzled face beneath. Graying hair and battle-scarred face displayed this man as a career soldier. "Connor Graystone. Sergeant, Atlas Military." He pointed at Weiss. "I know you have questions. But I'm not capable, or allowed to tell you."

Weiss's face expressed her growing frustration. Graystone continued. "All I can say is, your sister did the best she could." Another bullhead approached for landing. The sergeant motioned at his soldiers, who ran towards the new craft. "Look, I gotta go. Once Specialist Schnee is out of surgery, I'm sure she'll tell you what she can." And with that, he joined his troopers, running towards the bullhead. Riptide aboard, the bullhead attached itself to the fallen mech, carrying it into the skies as it climbed into the skies.

After a long period of quiet, Yang broke the silence. "What now?"

Weiss spoke first. "I'm going to the medical center."

"Then we're going with you." Ruby interjected. Her team looked at her, as if expected more of a response. "Look, we're a team. We're supposed to support each other, even in the hard times. This is one of those moments." Hearing that, Weiss's face lightened up, no longer having a look of frustration, replaced by one of calm. Ruby noticed her teammate's improved look, capitalizing on the opportunity. "So who's with me?!" she yelled.

"I'm in." Blake calmly said.

"Me too." Yang followed.

"Then it's settled!" Ruby said with a smile.

Weiss settled for a half smile. "Thank you, really." she said to her team. She began walking back to the school grounds, Yang and Blake following.

Ruby stayed for a moment, pondering the recent events. While the focus had been on Winter, something about that other soldier seemed important. She just couldn't tell what it was. "Whatever." she thought. Right now, being there for Weiss was most important. She ran to catch up to her team.

Three days later...

Cooper lay down in his bunk. The recycled air's stale scent made it hard to sleep, so he settled for just shutting his eyes. Even exhaustion wasn't enough to force him to pass out.

"Coop!"

Cooper sprung straight up from his bunk. Unfortunately, he forgot to remember that his bunk was a slit bunk. He slammed his head on the bunk roof, much to the laughter of the other Militia soldiers around.

"Coop!"

"Yeah Mickey?" Cooper groaned. He was not in the mood for chatter. He wasn't before he had hit his head, and he definitely wasn't after doing so.

"So you think that farmer's daughter was pretty cute?"

"What?"

"Remember when we defended that ranch on Marooner from pirates? I swear after we was done, I could tell by the farmer's face he knew I was the one for his girl. I be thinkin' about it, but then I was like, but what if she cheat on me while I's deployed…"

"Oh god this again." Cooper thought. "Mickey, do me a favor and shut the hell up."

"Screw you man." Mickey shot back.

After a moment of silence, Cooper layed back down into his bed. He just wanted to "sleep". After what seemed like an eternity, he finally got close. Cooper could feel he was getting tired. Goodbye cruel wor—

"So do you know where we're going?"

"Motherfucker." Cooper didn't bother facing Mickey this time. "Fuck me Mickey, shut up! Shut. The. Fuck. Up. Now."

"Fine…" he muttered in reply, "fuckin' asshole."

Cooper ignored him, taking a deep breath before he blissfully passed out.

…

The sound of a slowly repeating pulse awakened Cooper. Suddenly, the mother of all migraines came upon him. "Fuck...did Barker give me his moonshine?" he thought. Cooper tried to open his eyes, but something felt like it was keeping them from opening. He felt drugged… "Shit." He slowly recalled the past events. "Okay, we were…attacked. Bandits…I think." His headache was keeping him from remembering much more. "So…where am I?" Gathering all the strength he could, Cooper forced his eyes open. Observing the world around him, he realized he was in some sort of hospital room. It definitely wasn't the regular "slaughterhouses" of the Militia. Bed was too comfy, and the medical equipment was extremely advanced. Judging by the equipment, Cooper guessed he was probably in IMC possession. He assumed that the recent past events had all been some weird coma dream. Looking down, he noticed a trauma patch applied to his chest. "Must've been a bad wound…"

Cooper further scanned the room. A wall-mounted TV hung from the wall in front of him. "Since when did the IMC treat its prisoners like humans again?" he wondered. Looking next to it, Cooper saw a digital clock, the time reading 2:33 AMD. "AMD?" he wondered in surprise. While the Militia had scores of different time systems, the IMC still used AM and PM when telling time. "Whatever, it was probably just a different system."

Noticing daylight coming in, Cooper slowly turned his head to the right. Looking through the window, Cooper couldn't see past the blinding sunlight. It had been a long time since he wore glasses, but he guessed his eyes had been dilated. Quickly looking away, he turned his head in the opposite direction. That's when he noticed a door . Peering through, he could make out the shadow of a figure, with some sort of rod casting a shadow. Looking closer, Cooper realized what it was: the outline of a gun. "Yep," he muttered silently, "I'm in IMC hands." With his position revealed, Cooper's mind shifted to one idea: escape.

The first step was assessing his own force. Cooper slowly shifted his arms and legs, thankfully still having full control. He moved his fingers, clenching them into fists, then extending them like a high-five. "Still got full movement, which means I can knock this guard out." It was just a matter of getting the guy's attention. Cooper figured pounding on the wall would be enough for the guy to notice. Stretching out to the wall behind him, Cooper clenched his hand, striking the wall once with the side of his fist. Cooper waited, but there was no response. He struck it a second time. Still nothing. "This asshat deaf?" Cooper questioned. Frustrated, he pounded the wall, hard enough that Cooper became worried it would leave an impact site.

Thankfully, there was no hole. And better yet, Cooper watched the shadow changed, signaling movement. He rushed to feign sleep, quickly shutting his eyes, though leaving them just wide enough that he could see. To anyone else, Cooper was still in a coma. Soon he heard the door open, his heart beginning to beat faster and harder. He heard footsteps approaching. Soon his peripheral vision could see the guard, who was looking over him. As he got closer, Cooper slowed his breath.

"Huh, probably just something dropping upstairs." the guard said with a shrug. He began to turn around towards the door. Cooper seized the chance. He suddenly leapt out of the bed, grabbing the guard by the neck with his right arm. His body roared in pain, but Cooper knew it was now or never. His enemy struggled, trying to pull Cooper's arm off him. Suddenly, the man began to reach for his side, managing to grab the grip of a pistol. Cooper answered with a quick strike to the guard's side, which his chestplate didn't cover. The weapon dropped to the ground. Desperate, the man tried to yell for help, but the strike had literally knocked the air out of him, so all that came out was a tired wheeze. "Go down already!" Cooper quietly yelled, tightening his grip on the target's neck. Eventually, the guard began to grow sluggish and weak in his resistance, finally going limp after a few seconds. His rifle clattered to the ground, thankfully not going off. Laying down the man, Cooper immediately dashed to the door, letting its window blinds fall down.

Despite his body's wish for rest, Cooper knew there wasn't much time. Quickly getting to work, he removed the soldier's helmet, revealing a very young looking boy under it. By Cooper's guesstimate, he couldn't have been any older than twenty-two. His black hair was cut down to a buzz cut, though it was starting to grow out. "Probably a shiny fresh from basic." Cooper reckoned. Placing the helmet down, he moved onto the chest piece, then to the boots. Taking off the man's black shirt, he placed it on himself. It was a little loose, but he could just tuck it into his pants. Stripping the man's pants, Cooper slid them on as well. Attaching the armor, Cooper felt reminded of his not-so-distant days as a grunt. In contrast though, the armor was surprisingly light. He just hoped it provided some good protection. Looking at the helmet, Cooper realized the helmet provided vision through a mounted camera system. The heads up display was quite similar to his pilot's helmet. Once he picked up the rifle, it synchronized to his display.

Weapon obtained:

BR-7 "Warhound" Battle Rifle

Rate of Fire: 300 rounds per minute

Caliber: 7.62 x 45mm SDC - 30/90

Despite the assurances having a weapon gave Cooper, it raised several more questions about his situation. The weapon alone was nothing like Cooper had seen before. "Grief, that's a pathetic ROF," Cooper thought, "well at least it packs a punch." Perhaps it was a downgraded "citizen" model, given to civilians and private security forces, instead of a proper military-grade killing machine.

Moving on, he grabbed the pistol which the man had reached for. As soon as his gloves touched the grip, his helmet relayed the data.

Weapon obtained:

P-9 "Standoff" Pistol

Caliber: 9 x 19mm SDC - 17/17

"His" equipment gathered, Cooper moved on to tucking the man away. Looking around, he noticed a convenient wall-closet to hide the guard. Opening it up, Cooper dragged the guard inside. Searching around the drawers, he found a roll of medical tape and a stethoscope. Using the latter, he tied the man's arms behind his back, binding his feet with the former. With the remainder of the tape available, Cooper applied some to the man's mouth. He wouldn't kill him, but he'd make sure he wouldn't warn others. Moving to the door, Cooper breathed deeply. He was a wolf among wolves in unknown territory. At least they didn't know he was active. He opened up the door, finding himself in a long white hallway. Closing the door behind him, Cooper slung the "Warhound" over his back, not wanting to attract suspicions with a carried weapon. Looking up at a sign reading Reception, Cooper turned left. The next course of action was finding out where his actual gear was. Then he'd find BT and get the hell out of here.

Sitting in the waiting room, the only noises cutting through the silence was the TV playing a news report, as well as the front desk employees making scroll calls. Yet none of those bothered Ruby. Textbook on her lap, a sudden wave of motivation had rushed through her; she'd use it to the fullest extent. She double-checked her completed work. Literature? Check! Global History? Just finished! Math? Yep, that was rough. Grimm Biology? Done and dusted! Combat Training? Totally wasted Jaune. Think that's it! Ruby closed her book, slipping it to her backpack. Satisfied at a job well done, she pulled out a chocolate chip cookie from her snack bag. Yet just as she was about to bite into it, her eyes noticed her friend across from her in absolute stillness. To Ruby, Weiss wasn't just zoned out, she was practically in a different world. Welp, time to bring you back to the land of the living! Ruby broke her cookie into halves, passing it over to Weiss.

It didn't take long for the scent of the treat to get her attention. "Thanks." replied Weiss, a slight smile of gratitude on her face.

"You looked dead. You alright?"

"What?" Weiss replied in shock. "I'm...l'm just tired." she continued, taking a bite from the cookie.

"Worried about Winter?" Ruby asked. Almost instantly, she felt she pressed too far. "Nevermind, sorry." she quickly added on.

To her surprise, Weiss didn't immediately scowl or frown at her. She just sighed deeply. "Yes."

"Look, I get where you are," Ruby calmly replied, leaning closer. "But you want to know something?" Weiss nodded. Ruby resumed. "Your sister is safe. She's here, in the care of proper medical teams. It's not a question of if she recovers, but when."

Weiss smiled at Ruby. "You always know how to look on the bright side…"

"To make a rainbow from rain, someone's gotta be the sunshine." Ruby fired back with a grin. In the moment of silence that followed, Ruby practiced her observation skills. For most of the crowd, they seemed harmless. Unless the old lady sitting by the wall pulled a rocket launcher from her purse. Or the baby playing with wooden blocks suddenly whipped out a knife. Of course, there were the Atlas guards stationed in the hospital. Two were standing by a patient room, which Ruby guessed was Winter's. Another was seeming to follow a patrol route, though he stopped at the front desk.

"...to the soldier brought in?" was all Ruby heard. That caught her attention. She focused her hearing, blocking out the noise of the TV and of the other people in the room.

The receptionist looked up to the soldier. "May I ask what this is about?"

The soldier seemed to be unsure of his answer. "Well...you see," he said, placing his hand on the back of his helmet, "I've been ordered to analyze the gear of the recovered soldier."

The receptionist put on a warm smile. "I'm sorry, I don't have a request in my files yet to transfer his personal effects, which these count as."

Even under his helmet, Ruby could tell the soldier seemed agitated. "Look, I need this done so my bosses don't break my ass in half. Could ja' help me out here?" he pleaded. Ruby didn't detect a familiar Remnant accent. His voice felt...alien.

Hearing a ping, she pulled out her scroll, swiping to her messages. Eavesdropping could wait. Yang had left her a message saying, "B there n 10 min."

With a deep sigh, Ruby texted back. "That's what you said ten minutes ago!" She placed down her scroll on the coffee table in front of her. "Blake and Yang will be here in ten minutes with food." she said to Weiss.

"What is taking so long?" Weiss said, frustration in her voice. "It's been forever, and I'm starving. Next time, it'll be them putting up the tab."

Ruby chuckled. "Yang'll just extort me for the money—"

"Weiss?"

Looking up at the new voice, Ruby watched as Weiss leaped out of her seat. "Winter!" her teammate exclaimed, squeezing her sister like a King Taijitu. Winter let out a wheeze, causing Weiss to immediately drop the hug, pulling herself back. "Sorry! I'm just so happy to see you!"

Clutching her side with her hand, Winter took a moment to breathe. "Dear sister, what are you doing here?" she said, carrying a tone of directness. "Don't you have classes to attend to?"

"Classes ended. We figured it'd be best to check up on you. Unfortunately, your escorts haven't exactly been helpful in that…" Weiss replied, looking at two Atlas soldiers in the hallway.

"I see…" Winter said, her face only barely concealing her annoyance. "Hang on, we? What do you mean?"

Weiss motioned towards Ruby, who was still sitting down. "Winter, this is Ruby Rose, our team leader!"

Ruby immediately shot up with a salute. "Pleased to meet you Winter! Err...Specialist? Schnee?"

Ruby watched as Winter seemed to size her up, finally speaking up. "Winter will be fine, Miss Rose. My sister has written much about you in her letters."

Ruby grew nervous. "Well, I hope she spoke well of me?" Weiss immediately slugged her in the side. "Gah!" Ruby yelped. Dang...Weiss throws a nasty punch!

Winter continued. "How have you been?"

Ruby watched as Weiss broke into a flurry of words as she detailed her life at Beacon. "Oh, splendid! I'm actually at the very top ranking of our sparring class. The rest of my studies are going wonderfully too. I'm—"

"Silence!" Winter suddenly erupted. "I did not ask about your studies. I'm asking how you've been. Are you eating well? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"

"Yes, yes, and yes. As an example, here's Ruby!" Weiss replied, causing Ruby to blush. "But I've also made plenty more! Come on! I can show you around Beacon, maybe you'll meet some of them!"

"I suppose I have earned some downtime. I shall inspect your team quarters. Lead the way..." Winter continued.

"Follow me!" Weiss exclaimed with glee, walking towards the exit. Winter nodded as she followed her sister, flanked by a pair of Atlas soldiers.

Ruby looked back at the front desk. The receptionist was back to work on her computer, while that soldier had vanished into thin air. Grabbing her backpack, Ruby followed the group, unsure if the troopers would bar her from going near. She pulled out her scroll. "Weiss's sister is awake, meet us at the dorm?" Slipping it over her shoulder into her backpack, she carried on. Hopefully this day goes smoothly!

Walking through the halls, Cooper kept his guard up. That conversation with the secretary lady had almost gone bad. Plus, there were two other guards next to another room. He swore they were looking at him funny. He also couldn't help the feeling that someone else was actually watching him. The guards looking at him funny were probably just his nerves. But his gut told him someone else had taken up an eye on him.

But thankfully, Cooper at least knew where his gear was. He recalled the receptionist's words. Supply room, Closet B. While "his" IMC guard equipment offered some use for blending in, Cooper was sure it was wearing off. At the very least, the Aegis kit would guarantee he could kick ass with a familiar design.

Coming near the room though, he was greeted by an unfortunate sight. Standing still by the door was another guard. The sentry seemed to be bored, as he seemed to be slumping back on the wall. Shit. Alright, let's go for Plan A. "Soldier!" Cooper barked at the guard, who stumbled to his feet.

"Sir!" the guard returned with a salute.

"At ease," Cooper replied. "What's your name son?"

The guard dropped his salute. "Sir! This soldier's name is Rivers!"

"Rivers, this officer needs access to the supply room." Cooper replied, making sure to casually smile. "Command wants me to analyze the…recovered artifacts."

"If I may sir…" the soldier nervously spoke. "I didn't have any registered requests today."

"Oh?!" Cooper said sarcastically. "Well guess what, what did I just ask?!" he yelled, pulling his own memories of hell at Militia basic training.

"To analyze the artifacts, sir!" By his tone, Cooper could tell Rivers knew he had dug himself a hole.

"Well then, get on with it!" he barked, slamming his fist into the wall behind Rivers, leaving a crack in the wall.

The panicked sentry rapidly rushed to open the door, rapidly entering a set of numbers into the lock's keypad. "Sorry sir! On the double!" After a few errors, Rivers finally succeeded, swinging the door open for Cooper.

Alright, dial it back now Cooper. "Beat it private, before I raise hell upon you. Dismissed." he sternly said.

"Thnak yoy sir!" Rivers rapidly said with a salute, fleeing down the hall.

"Well, that worked better than I hoped." Cooper muttered, entering the room. Despite the aid of some installed lights, the room was still quite dim. Though, with some accidents, Cooper eventually made it to Closet B. Among the other simple containers, the bright white colors of the closet contrasted with the dusty surfaces of everything else inside the room. Must've been recently installed. Breaking the flimsy combination lock off, he removed the simple chain system guarding the closet. All this money, and the IMC won't install a better security system? Finishing, he opened up the closet.

Looking inside, all his gear was stacked perfectly. Taking off the guard equipment , he placed it at the bottom of the closet. It certainly felt nice to put his proper pilot gear back on. Placing the Aegis rig onto his chestplate, the rig attached itself, wrapping around him.

User identified: Welcome back J. Cooper.

Warning: Suit Functions Damaged, Assessing Damage:

Unresponsive Systems—Stims, Cloak, Phase Shift.

Responsive Systems: Jump Thrusters, Holo-Pilot, Grapple Hook

Shit. What kind of fight was I in? Fortunately, his weapons were still present. He slid both of his pistols into their holsters. Moving to his R-201, Cooper inspected the weapon. The magazine was almost empty, so after ejecting it, he placed a fresh magazine into the weapon. Sidearms? Check. Rifle, check. Four full magazines, and one grenade. Still got my data and pulse kniv—

Suddenly, Cooper heard a horde of voices outside. "Who's inside the supply room Private?!" someone yelled.

"I dunno, I thought he was an officer!"

Crap. Throwing his pulse blade into the wall, the radar pings showed five soldiers stacking against the wall. They were going to breach.

In haste, Cooper tore through the closet, finally finding his remaining grenade. Strapping it against an opposite wall, Cooper hunkered down.

"Three!" someone yelled.

"Two!"

"On—"

The explosion of the grenade blocked out any voices, and the sound of the breaching charge blasting the door open. Thankfully, Cooper had his escape: a very large hole in the wall. Unfortunately, Cooper watched as lasers were pointed at him. The five soldiers rapidly tore through the room, clearing it with speed and aggression.

"Stand the fuck down!" one of the soldiers yelled.

Not today… Cooper activated his holo-pilot, causing it to fake deploying a grenade. Four operatives dashed for cover, while another jumped to cover the imitation. In the chaos, none of them noticed Cooper plunging out the hole.

Slipping away into the cover of bushes, it wasn't long before he heard sirens erupting, like the old air raid sirens used to warn of pirates. "Let the games begin…"

Sorry for the long wait! Life has been busy with school and personal life. I'm still very invested into writing this story, though I will have to learn to strike a balance to be more efficient with writing RotF. Something I'd like to do more is manage community interactions. For one, I'll start using my AN in the future to also answer a questions I've gotten. Here's the first two I'd like to address.

Q) Will Jack be attending Beacon in some fashion (Maybe as a teacher)?

A) Beacon will have a strong presence in the story. Any further details would likely be spoilers.

Q) Will there be a possible partner for Jack. Romantic relationship? Or is it just the story and more battleaction?

A) Not so likely. As with all RWBY fans, I have my stake in the shipping wars (Arkos all the way!). In the event I pair Cooper with a partner, it won't be with someone from the main cast. While there are multiple reasons, the age gap is one of the more major ones.

Don't hesitate to PM me with questions or suggestions! I'll answer them as the story goes on.

Cheers,

Wildcard Actual