Awakening the Dragon

Chapter 2 – Escalation


The both of them had been sitting around doing nothing for half an hour. Yang had slouched back with her hands behind her head on a bench near the hotel. "Let's do something! We should gather some information, or something. Anything beats waiting around for things to happen. I say we make them happen!" She wasn't exactly sure how they were supposed to help out since they usually did the fighting, not the heavy planning stuff; especially not this sort of planning. Capturing or assassinating a governor? Things were getting serious again. It felt kind of odd going through something this big again, though it honestly wasn't that big compared to what they faced before.

"Got any ideas on where we even begin?" Ruby asked.

"I guess we just ask around first. We're supposed to be doing this because of the governor's plans to attack Vacuo and the climate he's creating right? Why don't we try and gauge peoples' opinions on the governor and see how they feel about all this?" Yang said.

"Ugh, sounds boring, but okay," Ruby said.

Yang chuckled. "Oh, believe me, I know. But, what can we do about it?" They both got up and walked around for a bit, walking passed rows and rows of buildings essentially people watching. She saw two women who were walking toward a building labeled Antiques & Sundries from Across the Sea. It was rather big for an antique shop. At least the ones she was familiar with. "Hey," She said, hoping to get their attention. They stopped and turned around.

"Can we help you?" one of them said with a nasally voice who covered the lower half of her face with a red fan.

"I just wanted to get your opinion on the new governor. What do you think of the coup? And the guy himself?" Yang asked.

"Dreadful, just dreadful! What are we? Savages?" The other one said, putting her pink-sleeved hand to her face.

"You know how Atlas is! This is how they do things. Besides, it's not like it matters. The governor needs the support of the rich, so it's not like we're in any danger," the one with the fan said to the other one.

"So, you don't mind the coup?" Ruby asked.

"Oh heavens no. We try and steer clear from politics. Besides, as far as I've heard, the council wasn't exactly righteous and free of corruption." The woman let her hand drop to the side of her pink, flowery kimono.

"Indeed. They probably deserved it to be honest. I'd say we give the governor a chance. I was personally never fond of having a council to begin with. I remember the stories my father used to tell me about the Emperor of Mistral back during and before the Great War—stories told from his father and his before him! Mistral never worked well with a democracy, I'd say," The woman started fanning her face.

"Careful, wouldn't want to speak the truth so loudly. People might disagree!" They started chuckling and walked off.

"Really? They're just leaving?" Ruby said.

"Well that was strange." She didn't know what to think about what she just heard, nor did she really care. It's not like she ever payed strong attention to these sorts of things. However, it did bother her how nonchalant they were about the whole issue. The governor needs the support of the rich…she recalled those words and latched onto them. It was something at least. Perhaps it was something to go on. "Come on, let's ask around some more."

They walked up toward two guys who were dressed in business attire, both of them drinking some sort of wine. They noticed Yang and Ruby approaching. "Can we help you, ladies?" the both of them put on wide grins for some reason.

"Yeah, just wanted to know how you guys felt about this whole coup thing," Yang said.

"Who's asking?" the man on the left asked with a fat grin.

"No one, just two curious huntresses. You know how these things go. People getting stressed out tends to attract grimm. Just doing our duty," Yang replied.

"Ah! I see. Well then! I will say that I don't approve. Not that I approved of the council before with how ineffectual they've been. Allowing the old White Fang to do as they please, the attack on Haven years back, the thugs in the Lower City… They've just had this habit of letting things happen and I say good riddance! It's sad that it happened through violence, but…" He took a sip of his wine. "What are we going to do about it?" the man on the left said.

"Indeed. Politics is just so trite these days. I mean, do we even need the government? Last I checked, the private sector has provided Mistral with everything it could ever need!" the man on the right said.

Yang just looked at them, stoic.

"Ha! You said it brother! Hopefully the new governor sees it the way we do and leaves us be!"

"Here here!" the both of them cheered with their wine glasses.

"Well, thanks you two," Yang said. Both her and Ruby walked off.

They continued to walk around and ask more people about their opinions on the new regime, the coup, the general vibe of the rich, their expectations. Most of them had the same opinions as the two women and guys from before. They were not remotely worried. They were all convinced that the governor needed them, that it was typical Atlas behavior, and that they were probably better off without what they all saw as an ineffectual council. Not one of them seemed to care about the uprisings, although a few did mention the poor as troublemakers and that it was to be expected.

She didn't bother to ask about the White Fang. Although she wanted to, she knew their answers would probably piss her off. As they continued to ask around they heard a scuffle coming from nearby. They both looked over and noticed a few armored soldiers along with a black-haired woman with a long braid going down her back, wearing an ornate harvest gold, black, and dark blue dress that seemed altered to be suited for combat. There was fire dust clearly sewed throughout her clothes.

"The New Dawn," Ruby said.

"How can you tell?" Yang asked.

"I recognize the armor. I don't know the woman, though," She responded.

The woman walked up to a small group of people and struck one of them. "I do believe I told you to keep this area clean! The parade is in a week and not only is it not spotless, but you haven't filled the orders yet! How are we supposed to supply the troops with food if you can't even listen?" She yelled.

"Hey!" Yang yelled. The both of them walked up to them. Don't make a scene, just get information. She could have had the both of them hide and spy, but she didn't want to do it that way. She wanted to get up front and personal. She just had to make sure she didn't get too aggressive.

The soldiers readied their weapons as the two of them approached. The blue-eyed woman raised her right arm, signaling them to relax. "And who are you? And why are you interrupting?"

"No one. Just wanted to see if everything's alright," Yang said.

"It's none of your concern. I suggest you mind your own business," the woman angrily replied.

"Look, people have a right to be here and they have a right to ask simple questions." Yang folded her arms.

The woman gauged her and let out a big grin. "I'm sorry. Where are my manners. My name is Anastasia Vest and I am a Commanding Officer of the Governor's personal guard. I am here fulfilling a task needed for the parade. I assure you there is nothing to be concerned about."

Commanding Officer? Well that was easy. So, she's a talker. "Hey, no problem, just wanted to make sure everything was fine. Give the governor my regards," Yang said as she waved, smiled, and walked off—Ruby walking beside her.

As they moved out of earshot, Ruby turned around to face the officer and then back around. "I've heard that woman's name before."

"Wait, really? From where?" Yang asked.

"I've gotta call Cinder," She responded.

"Wait, what? Why?" Cinder? Why Cinder? She assumed that Cinder was the person who told Ruby about the officer. Were they connected somehow? She only even thought of such a thing because of their personalities. But if there was something to that…

Ruby had taken out her scroll and called a number that was on a slip of paper. "Hey, Cinder? Yeah, I think I just met that Anastasia woman you told me about."

"You did? Black hair, blue eyes, bitchy attitude?" Cinder said, from the other side.

Is she really one to talk? Yang thought. She folded her arms.

"Yeah, that's the one," Ruby said.

"Tell me where you are," Cinder said.

"We're in the upper parts of Mistral. The rich section." Ruby looked around, clearly trying to find some sort of landmark. "We're near this restaurant called "Grand Gourmet Cuisine"."

"Sit tight, I'll meet you there," Cinder said.

"Okay…hoooow long are you going to take?" Ruby asked.

"A little while. You can wait, don't be a baby," Cinder said. She hung up.

Yup, definitely something there. "Well, guess we wait for Cinder then." Yang walked over to a bench by an elaborate fountain that had several golden lion and dragon statues spewing out water. She sat down and crossed her right leg over the other and folded her arms.

They waited. While they waited, Yang took out her scroll and called her mother. "Hey, mom. What are you doing right now?"

"About to spy on the governor again. See if I can find anything out about his abilities, his guards, anything that we can use, why?" Mom replied.

"We met a woman named Anastasia Vest who claims to be the Commanding Officer of the governor's personal guard. She has black hair and blue eyes, wears a battle dress colored gold, black, and blue laced with fire dust. Thought you should know," Yang said.

"Got it," She said. "You'll be with Winter and I during the assault, you do know that right?"

"I kinda figured. Sure you even need the help?" Yang said.

"Can't be too careful. I've no doubt either one of us could take down the governor by himself, but if he has guards, and if what Winter said about Alexis is true, then the last thing we should be doing is sending a maiden in without having a good plan of attack."

"Makes sense. I should also let you know that Cinder is coming to meet with us. Apparently, she knows Anastasia somehow," Yang said.

"Great," Mom said sarcastically. "Look, I gotta go, the governor just arrived. Let me know if you learn anything else about Vest. And don't trust Cinder. She may have betrayed Salem, but that doesn't automatically make her an ally."

"Of course. No problem," The both of them hung up. She just sat there. Tapping her foot, arms crossed once more. She was anxious for a fight. A good one. The week couldn't pass fast enough. She tried to find something to keep her occupied while they waited. A thought popped in her head. She turned to Ruby who sat beside her. "Hey, what does Morgan think of all this?"

Ruby shrugged. "She doesn't care. She's primarily concerned about the dragon and armored guy who attacked Uncle Qrow and I a while ago."

"Wait, dragon and armored guy?"

"Yeah, I kinda didn't have time to tell anyone about it, and apparently neither did Qrow since it was just before Raven portaled us out of there. The dragon was made entirely of dust and could switch dust types! Don't know much about the guy riding it. I tried to use my eyes, but they failed. He said something, like I don't know...maybe he did something to my power."

"A dragon made of dust? That sounds awesome! First time I've heard of it. Though your eyes failing bit sounds a little worrying. Tell me more."

"Well, Morgan said I should try to use my eyes. When I did, the light was different. There was a darkness to it that wasn't there before. The dragon was clearly effected, then the man said, "not this time" and it…failed? The dragon healed itself, then well. That's pretty much it."

A darkness to her light? She assumed Morgan had something to do with that. Did the guy cancel it out somehow? That was quite worrying. "Hey, why don't you ask Oscar about it. See if he still has any of Ozpin's old memories that might tell us something."

"You know what?" Ruby took out her scroll and called Oscar, putting him on speaker. "Hey, Oscar! I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" Oscar said.

"Qrow and I were attacked by a dragon made of dust. The light from my eyes seemed to have a new power to it. There was a darkness to it and it was able to hurt the dust dragon, but the man riding it somehow canceled it out, I think. Do you have any memories that might tell us something?" She asked.

"A dragon made of dust? When was this?"

"Right before Qrow and I returned through Raven's portal. The night he went to find me."

"And it could use the dust?"

"Yeah, it shifted color whenever it changed its attacks. Like, it was entirely made of fire dust, and then it would change its entire body to wind dust, and then lightning dust."

"I don't think so. As for your eyes, that's news to me. To outright cancel your power? Are you sure that's what he did?"

"I can't be certain, though what he said made it seem like he canceled them out."

"That's…concerning, Ruby. I'll try to look into it, though not sure where to begin. How are you feeling by the way? Any trouble with Morgan?"

"No, not really. She meant what she said. We're bffs now!"

"Bffs? Really?" Oscar said, incredulous.

"Well I mean, she is literally me. It's not like I hate myself or anything," Ruby said.

"True. Anyways, I should get going. Plans to make," Oscar said.

"Sure thing! Also, Cinder might help us out," Ruby said.

"Wait, what?" Oscar said, before getting the chance to hang up.

"She knows one of the governor's commanding officers personally. She's coming to see us right now. We're just sitting around waiting for her," Ruby said.

"I see. Well then. I trust your instincts. Just keep me informed, alright?" Oscar responded.

"Sure thing!" Oscar hung up after receiving her reply.

"Are you bffs?" Yang asked.

"Well, yeah I guess. Can you be bffs with yourself?"

"Don't you two have like, fundamental differences or something? I mean, what she did…"

"Yeah, I know." Ruby lowered her head. "She's my darkside. But she's still me. You said it yourself. We both want the same thing and if we work together…"

Yang smiled. She put her arm around her sister and pulled her in. "Fully grown, yet still so adorable!"

"Hey, quit it!"

They waited for a few more minutes before Cinder arrived. They saw her right in front of the restaurant, although Anastasia and the soldiers had already moved on. She was traveling with Emerald and Mercury as always. She turned to her right and noticed them and walked over.

"Took you long enough," Yang said.

"Waiting. The one thing that'll end up killing you, I take it?" Cinder said.

"Oh ho! You have no idea," Yang said.

"Where's Anastasia?" Cinder asked.

"She moved on already. She was shaking someone down for not filling some food orders or something. She reminded me a lot of you," Yang said.

Cinder's expression changed. She frowned, and her eyes narrowed. There was an anger in her eyes she never really ever saw in Cinder before. Guess I hit a nerve. "Sorry about that. Who is she anyway?"

Cinder paused and sighed. "She's my stepsister. Please don't compare me to her again."

"Alright, alright." That sounded more like a threat than a request, she thought.

"Wait, you have a stepsister?" Emerald cut in.

Cinder turned her head to face her. "Yeah. She's not exactly one I love talking about. I assumed she died a long time ago, so I never brought her up. Then I found myself going through Watts' old stuff back at Salem's and found a file on her."

"So, I guess that means you oppose the New Dawn?" Ruby asked.

Cinder turned back to face Ruby. "Don't know much about them, but if they took her in, then yes, I do. Do you two have a plan?"

"If you want to know, you'd have to talk to Oscar, Ironwood, or Winter," Yang said.

She scoffed. "Of course, it'd be them. Alright." She motioned at Emerald and Mercury. "We talk to Oscar, then. Where can we find him?"

"I'll give you his number. I don't know where he is right now, but I already told him about you." Ruby handed over her scroll with Oscar's number on screen. Cinder copied it down in hers and handed back her scroll.

"We'll be in touch," Cinder said. The three of them walked off, seemingly heading in the direction of the governor's building.

Yang sighed. She couldn't think of anything else. "So, what do we do now?"

"Why don't we go looking around for guard placements or something?" Ruby replied.

Yang thought for a moment. What were the others doing? "We could contact Jaune. See if him, Ren, and Nora made any progress and need help or something."

"Sure! It'd be great to catch up with them if nothing else," Ruby said.

She knew she should be taking this more seriously, but she couldn't help but feel like it was a waste of time. Still, it would probably be best for her to keep herself busy, and what other way than to help out? She hoped that they would stumble upon something terrible, something to signify the threat the New Dawn poses and not just politically. She recalled Winter's words about how Alexis was heavily involved in the projects which created Penny and the Aura Transfer Device. Was there a way for them to explore that? Surely Alexis would be planning something with information like that.

She had no clue, but as Ruby contacted Jaune and they went over to where they were, he told them they did find something to go on. They had received word from Sun who had received word from Blake who had received word from Qrow about what was supposed to go down in a week's time and he relayed information about a large military base west of where they were. Deep at the bottom of the cliffs native to Mistral.

"Hey, I think we should check out the military base west of here. The one Sun told us about," Yang said.

"Should we? Isn't that a little beyond the scope of our mission?" Ren replied.

"No, she's right. We haven't been getting much leads and most of the soldiers we came across were well out in the open. They trust us as full-fledged huntsman and huntresses to freely do our part. We're not rookies anymore so we won't be reckless. I say we head there, scout out the base and then leave. No altercations," Jaune said.

Not like we couldn't take them, but yeah sure, alerting the whole organization would be pretty bad for the plan, Yang thought.

"Count me in," Nora said, excited. Ren simply sighed, smiled, and shrugged.

"So how do we get there without being seen?" Ruby asked.

"We'll have to hitch a ride to the nearest town or outpost, then walk the rest of the way. We could always ask Yang's mom to be on standby for a quick port out," Jaune said.

Ren took out his scroll and began messing with it. She assumed he was looking for such a spot.

"I'll go ahead and ask her," Yang replied. She took out her scroll and called Mom. No response. She must have still been spying. She left her a message, detailing their plan. "Guess we'll have to wait for her to respond. She was spying on the governor last I checked in."

"Alright, then we wait for a reply. If Raven can provide us with an escape, then we go through with this. Get in, get all the information we can, try to avoid any fights, then get out," Jaune said.

"Aye, aye, boss," Nora said, saluting.

With that, they twiddled their thumbs, so to speak, as they awaited a reply from her mom. She would be lying if she said she didn't hope for a fight to break out. There was a part of her that knew that she was being arrogant. She wasn't invincible, and she knew it, but still. She also knew it wasn't about that. She was tired sitting around all the time. She wanted to feel the thrill again. To feel her blood rushing in the heat of a good fight, against an opponent that wouldn't try to underhandedly attack those she loved. Just a straight up brawl, and what better way to do that than against a hostile group of soldiers?

About an hour passed before she got a reply from Mom. The message simply said to be careful and that she'll be on standby. "Alright, we're good," Yang said.

"Alright then. Let's get going. Ren, have you found a place near the base?" Jaune asked.

"There's a small town nearby. Dust mining town. They do have an airship port, it's small though, so we might not be able to get a ride right away," Ren replied.

"It'll have to do. Let's head on over then," Jaune said.

They took a taxi over to the airship port at the back of Haven Academy as they figured that would be their best bet. The huntsmen and huntresses there wouldn't mind an airship being flown to a small town that would most likely have been troubled by grimm. They weren't wrong. Ghira acknowledged their presence and waved them goodbye as they walked to the airship landing itself. The five of them were a little large for a scouting group, but if nothing else, it would ensure that if things did get rough, they'd have no problem getting out.

The airship dropped them off outside of the mining town which was built right next to the mining shaft itself which was protruding out from the cliffside. Even from there, they could see the large military installation off in the distance, also seemingly built into the side of the cliff. She could tell, even from where she was, that the base was of Atlesian design. Night had fallen, and they could see the search lights periodically scanning the perimeter outside of the base, but that's all she could make out. They'd have to get closer before they would be able to make out any further details.

They didn't spend much in the mining town except to wait for Jaune to tell some of the miners that they came just to investigate and clear out some nearby grimm, while visiting the scenery. He tried to be nonspecific just in case the miners got suspicious. Ren appreciated the effort as it would ease any flak the miners got if they were discovered. It shouldn't get them into trouble if they mentioned that a small group of huntsmen and huntresses were out on a small-time mission and to also relax to see the view the cliffs had to offer.

As soon as that business was done, they all made their way toward the base but in a non-direct way. They tried zigzagging here and there, just to make sure that anyone watching them leave wouldn't see them walking straight toward the base as they were still in view. Once they were sure that they were out of visual range of the town, they moved straight toward the base, trying to stay under the cover of the rocks, hills, and shrubbery—anything they could use to mask their presence. The searchlights were certainly a danger and so were the small airships hovering around the vicinity.

They stopped from cover to cover with Jaune signaling for them to move when it was safe. As they got closer and closer to the base, she could see just how large the base was. It was definitely deep into the cliffside and there were elevators rising up from the ground signifying that the base went underground as well. Of course, the base also had defenses in place all along the top of the enormous structure itself. Whatever was in here, whatever they were doing must have been important. In the back of her mind she thought that this might have been an Atlesian base and not a New Dawn one, but her concerns were put to rest as they got close enough to where they could hear voices over the intercom and chatter among the guards, she could see their armor and the symbol of the New Dawn placed on banners along the walls of the building. The symbol itself was a white sun atop a gold background.

Their group was too large now though, they needed to split up as they tried to find a way inside. They all huddled up behind a large rock placed not far from where they were. "So, what now? We split up on our way inside? Then meet back up?" Yang said

"Was just about to suggest that," Jaune said. He stood up a bit to get a view of the base over the rock then crouched down again. "Yang, Ren, you too go together to the left, see what you can find. Ruby and Nora to the right with me. We'll see if we can find another way in that isn't straight through the front."

"Got it. We could also take disguises if we need to. Knock out some guards, take their clothing, that sort of thing," Nora said.

"Not unless we have to. Don't want to raise our chances of alerting the base if they find the bodies," Ren said.

"Alright, let's do this. Keep in touch and let each other know if we find anything," Jaune said.

They all nodded and moved to their places. Ren moved behind Yang as she sauntered over to the left side. As she moved she noted that guard placements were less active there, though the spotlights and patrols moved to that area periodically. They inched closer and closer to the left edge of the base, getting closer to one of the elevators that went deep into the ground. It seemed to be less of an elevator and more of a way for them to mine…dust? Well, she knew now that this was partly a dust mining operation at least. There was another one of these shafts over on the right side, so she figured Jaune and the others would notice the same thing.

The both of them stopped and moved, stopped and moved—all to the rhythm of the spotlights and guard patrols. There was a deep indentation on the left edge of the base around the corner; it was hard to see, but perhaps that meant there was a way inside that way. She stopped and turned to Ren. "Let's check out the west edge over there. If we find nothing, wanna see what's down the shaft?"

"It's probably a way in if nothing else. We should contact the others before we jump down, though," Ren replied.

"Got it." They inched closer and closer now. It didn't look like there was a way in through the indentation. It seemed to be an aesthetic choice, so they'd have to contact the others. The good thing was that the indentation provided cover from the security of the place, so they moved to it anyway; they now had a safe place to make the call. As they reached the indentation, Ren pulled out his scroll and messaged Jaune, telling them of their plan. As he got the reply, she noted the message. It seemed that the others had the same idea. Going through the front was not an option and there didn't seem to be another way in. The both of them nodded to each other then looked over at the shaft and began inching closer to it, keeping to the rhythm of the searchlights, making sure only to move when they were in the clear.

As they reached the shaft, they looked at each other and nodded again. They waited for the elevator to reach the bottom and when it did, Ren jumped down with Yang following immediately after. The shaft was wide with plenty of room for the two of them to maneuver. Once they hit the bottom they were ready to attack but were surprised to find that most of the work here had been automated. It was definitely a dust mine and it extended all the way in the direction of the base, proving that it went underground. She looked over and found that Ren had messaged Jaune again, probably to confirm what they found.

They moved down the tunnel until they found a doorway guarded by two armored soldiers with guns. They hid behind the corner. "So, what now? Take them down quickly and take their gear?" Yang said.

"Don't see a choice, so yeah?" Ren shrugged.

They looked over at the guards again and then rushed the two of them, knocking them both unconscious in an instant. They dragged the bodies over to where they first landed and tried to hide them in the shadows of the shaft itself, near some gravity dust whose hue they hoped would help keep them hidden. They wasted no time in putting on the armor of the soldiers. She was surprised to find it was quite loose fitting. It stunk, but it fit. They must have been stationed there for hours.

They walked back to the door that had been guarded and opened it with the key that was in one of the pockets of the uniform, although it took her a bit to find it. When it opened, they found themselves in the dust processing part of the facility. There were guards posted throughout. They looked to the ones by a door on the other side of where they were and walked over. Once there, Ren approached the door, with her following.

"Just going on break, everything's clear, as usual," Ren said.

"Yeah, not like anything's gonna happen, but hey? Not much we can do about it, eh?" the guard on the left said.

"I hear that," Ren said as the both of them walked through the door.

Now they were in what seemed to be just a hallway which led to another door over on the other end. Ren messaged Jaune again, telling them where they were and in turn, asking where they were. Jaune replied that they had already made it further in and had found a map indicating a laboratory on the northwest side of the facility, indicating that the two of them were closer to it than they were.

"Well, it looks like we know where we're headed," Ren noted.

They walked over in the direction Jaune indicated. As they traveled from corridor to corridor, nodding to whomever walked by, they eventually reached an open area which seemed to be a break room of some sort. They walked over to a map placed on the wall and noticed they were very close to the laboratory, which was just two doors north to where they were. Although, the map said that guards were not allowed entry. As they walked toward the laboratory, to a spot where they were clear from anyone else, they stopped.

"See if we can find a ventilation system of some sort; maybe we can go through one of those," Yang whispered.

"You two!" someone said. A woman who wore more intricate armor than everyone else walked up to them. It seemed to be laced with dust, for her it was fire dust. "What are you doing?"

Ren instantly turned to face the woman and stood at attention. "Well you see ma'am, we were on break and then we ended up dawdling a bit. You know how these things are; standing guard, nothing ever happening, we apologize. We'll get back to our duty immediately," Ren said.

"Uh huh," She folded her arms. "Very well. Just don't go near the lab, understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Ren saluted, and so did Yang.

The armored woman walked off. "Damn Ren, that was smooth," Yang said.

"Thanks," Ren said.

"Are you always so quick and sharp like that with Nora?"

"Thaaaat's private."

"Aww come on, don't be stingy."

"I'm going to be stingy, sorry," He shrugged.

They walked around and checked the walls. They ended up backtracking all the way back to where the processing part was and eventually found a vent there. When no one was looking, they opened it and crawled inside of it. Now they backtracked yet again, but through the small vents, hoping it would take them north since they were more westward than they were before as the vent was located on the far end of the processing section.

They crawled and crawled, taking care to be weary of crawling over one of the sections where they could see into the rooms below so as to not be seen by anyone who just so happened to have been looking up. As they inched closer to what they hoped was the laboratory, they ended up having to crawl in separate directions, taking turns here and there. She worried that it wouldn't actually lead them there, that they would end up somewhere else and that the only way in was forcefully; as much as she wanted to fight, she didn't want to put the mission at risk. A few minutes more of crawling and checking up on the others, they eventually reached another one of the vents. Ren crawled over it to the other side, giving them both a view down below as they had noted the nature of the room which seemed to be scientific.

"Think this is it?" Yang whispered.

"Let's wait and see. Someone's coming," Ren replied with his own whisper.

"Research on the Dust-tuned is going well," one of the men said, a scientist in the typical lab coat.

"Yes, although not as much as Alexis prefers," another man said.

Ren took out his scroll and began recording.

"Well, regardless, it's progress. Soon these engines will be mass-produced, and we'll be able to use them ourselves or sell them on the black market," the third man said.

"And what of the governor?" the first man said.

"What about him?" the third man said.

"Don't you think it's strange? Where did he come from? Do we even know who he is?" the first man said.

There was a pause. "Owain Helios. No records, no history of any kind. Not registered on any of the academies or militaries—we can thank our spies for that. The man is like a ghost, a phantom," the second man said.

"Really? Nothing? This is the first time I'm hearing of this? Why do we trust him then? Why does Alexis trust him? I swear, that man has a bad habit of trusting the wrong people," the first man said.

"On the contrary. Working with Salem has brought immense benefits to our research. On the grimm, on dust, and now the maidens," the third man said.

Yang and Ren looked at each other.

"That doesn't answer my question as to why we trust the governor, why Alexis trusts the governor," the first man said.

"It doesn't matter if we trust him, or if Alexis trusts him, and I think our dear commander knows that," the second man said. He stepped forward and paused. "You weren't there when the governor murdered the council. Alexis went there with Commander Vest to negotiate a deal, to try and open another facility, but Owain…" the man turned around. "He was the one who decided—all on his own—to murder the council. Alexis didn't speak up against it. He simply let it happen, and the governor treated the whole ordeal as if it was taking out the trash. The man's a monster I tell you. There was something off about him when I first met him. Something…wrong. And I don't intend to find out what that is."

"So, what? We trust a monster?" the first man said.

"We do our research. The governor has yet to intervene and he doesn't seem the least bit interested in any of this. Why he became governor is beyond me," the second man said. "Besides, most of our orders, most of Alexis' orders come from a man named Albus, although I don't know who that is."

"I've heard the name spoken by the commanders several times. Even from the mouth of the governor and the governor seems the most familiar with this Albus. I've heard the New Dawn has received new benefactors recently, a few years ago in fact, not long after that whole ordeal with team RWBY. I just assumed Albus was one of them," the third man said.

"I assume the governor is another, then? Benefactors. Plural," the first man said.

"Most likely," the second man said.

"Anyways," the third man said. "We should get these performance reports to Alexis. He'll be interested to hear how our new troops are acclimating to their new equipment."

Yang and Ren began moving back now, back from out of the vents to where they originally were. On the way, Ren had contacted Jaune and sent him the recording he made of the conversation between the three scientists. "I think we got what we came for. We shouldn't linger. We should reconvene with Jaune and the others and call Mom," Ren whispered.

"Got it," Yang said. The both of them returned to the dust processing room. As they exited the vents the alarm went off. The lights in the room repeatedly flickered red. The both of them rushed behind a large cylindrical tank and took cover. "Did we get caught?" Yang said.

"I don't think it was us," Ren said.

No one noticed them as all the personnel in the room stormed off toward the rest of the facility, chaotically forcing themselves in messing lines through each of the doorways, all armed and ready. "Jaune and the others must have been spotted," Yang said. She wasn't worried though. But it did raise the stakes a bit and getting caught kind of defeated the purpose of sneaking. "What do we do? Meet up with them now and fight or wait for them outside?"

A voice over the intercom spoke, "All personnel are to secure all facilities. We are under attack!" The room violently shook.

"I don't think it was them," Ren yelled. "I think we're about to find out why this base was so well guarded!"

"I thought it was standard military procedure!" Yang yelled amidst the alarm, shaking, and explosions clearly come from outside.

"They were scouting the area outside. I figured it was just like you said, but now I get the feeling it's more than that! Come on!"

Ren bolted away as she followed. The both of them rushed from out of the room toward the inside of the base. She pulled out her scroll, intending to send a message to Ruby, asking her where they were. She noticed Ren doing the same, having pulled out his scroll. They had already sent a message however, asking if they were the ones that got caught, confirming Ren's suspicions. They entered the break room and noticed three guards huddled together and walked up to them. "Hey," Yang shouted.

"Yang?" Jaune asked.

"Good, was hoping it was you guys," Yang said.

"What happened? Who tripped the alarm?" Nora asked.

"I don't think it was us," Ren said. "I think someone else is attacking."

"We need to get out of here. We can use the chaos to slip out undetected. Let's find some cover! Yang call your mom and tell her we're ready," Jaune said.

"Got it," Yang said. She called Mom and was glad to get a quick response. "Hey, Mom! We're ready, port us out!"

They all rushed over to the side of a wall that had been carved from the cliffside, which gave them some cover as they checked their surroundings for any guards. An instant later, a familiar portal opened, and they all jumped through, having arrived at the hotel room they all met earlier.

"Whew! Close one," Nora said.

They all took off their disguises piece by piece.

"Did you guys find anything?" Mom asked.

"Oh yeah!" Yang said.

"The base was attacked, although we weren't able to figure out by who. I managed to snatch a recording of a conversation between three scientists working with the New Dawn," Ren said as he tossed his scroll over to Mom.

She caught it and played it over in the corner. They stood there waiting for it to finish. When it did, she threw the scroll back to Ren. "Send me the file so I can send it to everyone else. Good work! Although I think you should have stuck around a bit more to figure out who might have attacked."

"True, but we didn't want to blow our cover as none of the guards seemed to be huntsman or huntresses. Either way, who are our potential suspects here? The White Fang?" Jaune said.

"Makes some sense. Sun did inform us about the base, although I didn't think they'd be attacking it. We could ask them," Nora said as she looked at Yang.

"Guess I'll call Blake and ask," Yang said. She pulled out her scroll and dialed Blake's number. No answer. She must have been busy with another meeting. She tried calling Sun's number instead. This time there was an answer. She put the scroll on speaker. "Hey, Sun. Did you guys attack the base you told us about earlier?"

"No," Sun said. "Why? Was it attacked? Because if it was, it wasn't us."

"Are you sure?" She said.

"Yeah. It could have been Atlas. Not everyone there agrees with the New Dawn, right?"

"He's right. Ironwood is on our side and not Alexis'. He could have had something to do with the attack," Mom said.

"We could call him then. See what's up," Yang said.

"Please do," Sun said. "Cause if it ain't Atlas, then I'm worried that it might have been the Black Claw, and I get the feeling we'd be taking the blame."

"That's right! Blake told us about them. We were there in the meeting. It's possible the Black Claw already decided to act," Yang said.

"I'll message Winter, see if she can pass the message to Ironwood and get back to us," Mom said. She took out her own scroll and sent the gist of what was going on to Winter, scouting mission and all.

There was a quick reply in the form of a call. "Winter," Mom said.

"I can affirm that it was not us who attacked the base, although I can't think of who would. We're not at war yet," Winter said, on speaker.

"This isn't good," Ren said.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.

"Tensions are high and now a military base was attacked. If this gets out of hand, this could spark the war we've all been afraid of," Ren said.

"He's right," Winter said. "I don't know who attacked them, but we'd better find out who immediately, so we can put a lid on this mess before it gets out of hand."

Sun was still on the line. "Did you get all that, Sun?" Yang said.

"Yup! I'll pass it all along to Blake. Better not be the Black Claw…I'll talk to you later, Yang," Sun said.

"Alright, check ya later," Yang said as she hung up and put away her scroll.

"The Black Claw?" Winter asked.

"Yeah, they're an anti-White Fang group. Their leader has been predicting and countering all of the White Fang's moves lately and the White Fang was just thinking of denouncing the New Dawn not long before the attack on the base happened," Yang said.

"So, Sun thinks this might have been a ploy to pin the blame on the White Fang then?" Winter asked.

"The Black Claw has been the White Fang's biggest enemy these days, according to Blake," Ruby said. "Based on what she told us it would make sense for it to be them."

"If it is the Black Claw and they do intend on blaming this attack on the White Fang, then we can expect evidence of White Fang-marked military tech to have been present at the attack," Winter said.

"Should we go back to the base? See if we can get a look at a distance with binoculars or something?" Nora said.

"Might not need to. Considering how these things go, I'd expect a news report about the attack not too long from now," Mom said. "We should pay attention to the media for a while."

"In the meantime, I'll inform Ironwood of what happened," Winter said.

"I'm going to send you the file of a recording of a few scientists that might help you guys out," Mom said.

"Alright, I'll take a look at it. Anything else?"

"I think that covers everything," Ren said. "We just wait now to see if our suspicions are correct."

"If it was the Black Claw, then we should expect retaliation from the New Dawn. You might want to head over to Blake to see if she needs help. We might need a few huntsman and huntresses there to keep the peace to prevent this escalating to all-out war; last thing we need is for the Mistral Military to get involved." Mom said.

"Good idea," Jaune said.

"You guys coming with?" Yang asked.

"We'll catch up with you later. I think the three of us are going to go wait around town once this whole thing blows up on the news, see if we can gauge how people react," Jaune replied.

"We'll be over in Upper Mistral if you need anything," Ren said. "Oh! Almost forgot." He fiddled with his scroll. "There, sent you all the recording."

"Thanks," Ruby said.

"What about you, Mom? What'll you do?" Yang asked.

"Back to recon for me," Mom said.

"Alright. We'll, we'll be off now," Yang said.


They arrived back at the White Fang headquarters and were allowed in by the guards once they recognized Yang and Ruby. They walked inside and asked for Blake; they were told she was currently in her personal office in the building meeting with other members. They walked to the aforementioned office and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Blake's voice was muffled by the door.

"It's us," Yang said.

"Oh! Come in!"

Yang opened the door. Inside was Blake standing behind her desk, along with Sun, Ilia, and Adam. She gazed at Adam a bit longer than normal, memories not completely settled, but she didn't linger too long. She hoped he didn't notice. She didn't exactly look forward to an awkward conversation. "Did Sun inform you guys yet?"

"Yup. We're just waiting on the news," Sun said.

"You guys came to the same conclusion then?" Yang asked.

"Yeah," Ilia said. "What did you guys find at the base anyway?"

"Nothing too spectacular. Seemed standard operation for a military base, except the lab was off-limits and something about dust engines. My mom doesn't have your number, so we should probably give you the file as well," Yang said.

Ruby took out her scroll.

"Dust engines? That seems pretty…mundane, actually," Blake said.

"Yeah," Adam replied. "Probably code for something else they're not supposed to talk about openly."

"Yeah, they mentioned "Dust-tuned", doesn't sound like they're talking about your typical engines," Yang concurred.

"Sent it," Ruby said.

Blake took out her scroll and played the recording the whole way through. Once it ended, they absorbed the information, sitting on it for a few minutes.

"Not much to go on based on that, but still, it's something," Sun said.

"It seems the governor has even the New Dawn worried," Adam said.

"And they have supporters, powerful ones. They said one of them was the governor. Which makes him higher up on the totem pole than the current leader, right?" Ilia said.

"And another one named Albus. No idea who that could be, but I would assume a friend of the governor," Adam said.

"So, Owain and Albus. Two people we need more information on, people we need to watch out for. There might be more, but it's something. I'll have you three keep ears and eyes out for anything on them," Blake said.

"Aye aye, boss ma'am," Sun said.

"We should probably turn on the news," Ruby said. Who had checked her scroll after having sent the recording.

They all looked at her and then Blake shifted; she picked up a remote and turned on the television up on the upper left corner of the office. Video footage was playing in the background with a faunus journalist sitting at a desk. The headline read White Fang attacks New Dawn Base. Have they declared War?

"As you can see based on the video footage, a number of White Fang personnel have launched a massive attack on a military installation controlled by the New Dawn, the current ruling political party of Mistral. We have no word from Blake Belladonna, the current High Leader of the White Fang, and she has yet to comment on the incident," the journalist said.

"Wait, what? They haven't even contacted me," Blake said. She sat down and sighed, rubbing her temples. "The headline is terrible."

"They're really calling the New Dawn a political party? They're a group of mercs," Sun yelled.

"She's a faunus," Adam said.

"Meaning?" Blake asked.

"What if she's been bought by the Black Claw? The footage confirms this was a set up by them. You didn't order the attack, and considering the blatant bias, we have to consider they have plants in the media," Adam said.

Blake sighed again, rubbing her temples ever more vigorously. She slammed her fist on her desk. "Damn you, Nero! It's such an obvious tactic too, yet the people of Mistral have no reason to believe it was a set up."

"You'd think with all the good we did these last few years, they'd give us the benefit of the doubt," Sun said.

"Not necessarily. The New Dawn engaged in a coup. It wouldn't be far-fetched for people to assume the White Fang might have done this due to patriotism or in defense of the prior administration. I mean, we have been working in Mistral almost exclusively," Ilia said.

"She's right," Blake said. "Like it or not, this was an effective ploy, and now we have to deal with the fallout. I was expecting him to denounce the New Dawn before us, but to openly attack them and blame it on us? He's pushing it, really pushing it."

Yang folded her arms. Nero. There's that name again. The name started to bother even her. Considering he seemed to have been a huge thorn in Blake's side, it's no wonder the name would start to bother her. Was he really that much of a problem? After everything they've overcome, was a small-time thug really this much of a threat? She looked over to Adam. Maybe I could break the ice a little, she thought. "Hey, Adam."

He turned to her. "Yeah?"

"When you tried to take down Nero, how strong was he?"

"Strong. Well. Problematic," He said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"He…his semblance allowed him to somehow pass through my attacks. It's like he's intangible. He moved through the walls and through the ground. None of my attacks—even my own semblance did anything. They just passed right through him."

"That's…annoying," Yang said.

"You're telling me! The bastard has been a pain in our ass for over a year now and we can't seem to do a damn thing about him! His ability to predict and counter us extends to his underlings since he leads them, so whenever we try and weaken him indirectly, we're met with pushback." He started pacing. "It's gotten to the point where we're unable to afford meeting them head-on anymore."

"Adam…" Blake said. Her brow furrowed. "You know what? No more! Nero wants to play these games? Then so will I!"

"Blake?" Ilia said.

"I'm going to address the attack on the New Dawn base. I'm going to tell the truth. I won't accuse them, but I won't let him push us around anymore!"

"Is that a good idea, though?" Sun said.

"If Blake's the one to do it, yeah, it is. She's the reason why the White Fang became a trusted organization and not just toward faunus. If she makes the statement in person, I have no doubt people will rush to listen," Adam said.

That S.O.B really has come a long way, hasn't he? She almost felt an obligation to let bygones be bygones. I mean, why shouldn't she? He's no longer the enemy, he's repentant, and he's clearly been trying. Would the old her say that, though? Then again, it wasn't like she went gunning for him after what happened, it's not like she was blinded with rage and vengeance.

"Then it's settled. I'll address the media." Blake stood up and stormed out of the room. They all followed her. They were stopped by a few of the other high-ranking members of the White Fang.

"High Leader? You saw the news then? Please, let's not do anything hasty! We need to plan this out first," one of them said.

"It's not hasty." Blake turned to address everyone in the building. "Brothers and sisters! I won't let Nero push us around anymore. His influence has been eroding us ever so slowly, but no more! I'm going to address the media, denounce the attack, affirm that it wasn't us, and denounce the new regime—clearly and emphatically!"

There were cheers. Yang smiled, arms still folded. "Ahh, she's all grown up."

Ruby chuckled a little. The others were smiling too. Blake turned back around and walked away; they all continued to follow her. As she walked out of the building, she noticed that at the front of the building, near the gate where the security guards were—swaths of reporters were standing around, presumably waiting for a statement from her or a spokesperson. She walked up to them as they all rushed to her.

"Ms. Belladonna, what do you have to say about the White Fang attack on the New Dawn? Did you give the order?" One reporter said.

"Do you intend to go to war with the new regime?" Another one asked.

"What about your efforts for peace? Do you intend to shift the White Fang's current policy?" Yet another said, this time a faunus.

Blake took a deep breath. "The White Fang was not responsible for the attack! Whoever it was clearly intended to put the blame on us, but I can assure you that we were not responsible and if members of our organization did commit the attack, then they did so as rogue agents and I wholeheartedly condemn them and their actions. We have been and remain committed to peace and to mending the relationship between humans and faunus, and although that is still and will always be the case, I and the rest of the White Fang must also denounce the violent actions of the new regime. Bloodshed is not the answer to our problems nor will it ever be! Thank you and have a good day."

The voices roared, and a tidal wave of new questions poured over her as she stormed off back in their direction back toward the building. They all walked inside.

Yang could only feel proud of Blake and her short speech. No nonsense, forceful, and quick. If that didn't do it, then she didn't know what would. Nero probably saw that since there were cameras present. Wonder how pissed he's going to be.

"Well, there you have it. I feel good. You guys feel good?" Sun said.

"I'm a little more relaxed, yeah," Ilia said.

"We're not done yet," Blake said as she stopped in her tracks and turned around to face them. "Nero's not gonna take that sitting down. We need to be prepared for his response. I'm going to call back the members currently in Mistral while we prepare for the parade a few days from now. I've already assigned bodyguards to key members, and I'll need you three to stick with me while we wait for him to make his move."

Sun, Ilia, and Adam all nodded.

"Do you need any help from us?" Yang asked.

"Unless you're busy, yes. I want to contact Qrow to see if he's found anything especially now that I've given my response to the media. It should give us something to work with. When he does respond, I want you nearby as I want to send you off to counter anything the Black Claw does based on Qrow's information."

"Will do," Ruby said with a big smirk.

Blake contacted Qrow to come meet them in her office. They waited around for a few minutes before Qrow responded, affirming that he managed to get some information on Nero and that he'd stop by as soon as he could. So, they waited around some more. It took around an hour before they received another message from him telling them that he was on his way. Another thirty minutes passed before Qrow arrived, knocking on the door to her office.

"Come in!" Blake said.

The door opened and Qrow walked in. "I saw your speech on the news. Nice job." He shut the door behind him.

"So, what did you find on Nero?" Adam asked.

"Bits and pieces. Like how he knew I was shapeshifted," Qrow said.

"Wait, what?" Blake asked, rather shocked.

"Yeah. I was perched up on top of his little base—most likely a decoy base, mind you—and he was just sitting there, reading. As soon as one of the members of the Black Claw came in to meet him, he simply looked up at me and said "Do you mind? I'm busy," and literally sat there staring at me until I left."

"That's…surprising," Blake said.

"You don't say," Yang said. "How could he know that though?"

"It's possible he used to work with Salem. Come to think of it, if he did, it would explain why he knows so much about us, and now Qrow too. The White Fang used to work with her, and he must have been given that information," Adam said, as he turned to Blake. "Especially once you became a threat to her."

"So, what? He's mad that his master is dead or something? Out for vengeance?" Sun said.

"Possibly, although I'm not sure that's the case," Qrow said. They all looked at him. "I went to try and spy on him again, although this time I had to stay behind cover—even as a crow. Take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt though, since if he knew I was a crow, and he knew so much about you all, it's very likely he knew I'd find a way to spy on him regardless."

They all nodded.

"He's ignorant of a few things I don't think he'd be ignorant of if he were a high-ranking member of Salem's faction, a member that could be given such intimate details on us. He was ignorant of the maidens and certainly doesn't know who any of them are, and he's aware of the vaults though that seemed to be because another member previously informed him about them; there was no mention of the relics. He's somewhat fascinated with the huntsmen academies—as if he'd never heard of them, and he's waiting on the governor to make his move, though he didn't mention why, rather, that he'd act when the governor did," Qrow said.

"Could they be working together?" Ilia said.

"Possibly. Or perhaps he has a beef with the governor. He did attack one of the New Dawn's bases. He could have done other things to try and fight back against the White Fang, yet he chose to attack the New Dawn," Qrow said.

Blake looked like she was contemplating something. "I still don't understand what issue he has with the White Fang. And now this whole scuffle with the New Dawn…Thank you Qrow, was there anything else you found?"

"Mostly stuff about their organizational structure, which is typical. Similar to how you seem to run things: inner council, few trusted members not a part of the inner council, everyone else left to do the work of the organization," Qrow said.

"So, what now?" Ruby asked.

"Sun, Ilia, Adam? I need you to do a sweep of Lower Mistral, see if you can find any activity of the New Dawn or the Black Claw. If you don't find anything, see if you can help people out in some way," Blake said.

The three of them simply nodded and walked from out of the office.

"Can you three accompany me to this base?" Blake asked, addressing Yang, Ruby, and Qrow.

"The one I infiltrated?" Qrow asked.

"Yes. I want to pay it a visit. There's something I want to find out," Blake said.

"Little dangerous don't you think?" Qrow asked.

"We got three members of Team RWBY with us, we'll be fine!" Yang said, arms crossed.

"True, but…let's not let things get out of hand alright. Our primary concern is still the New Dawn and their mission to acquire the Relic of Destruction," Qrow said.

"We won't take long, and I assure you, I won't let this escalate," Blake said. "Although…" She got up and walked over to a large cabinet and pulled out a hooded cloak. "I'm going to need to hide my identity if I'm going to be walking out on the streets."

"Good idea," Yang said. "Well, let's get going then!"

They all walked out of the office. Blake left a few orders for the guards and sent a message via scroll to her inner council, most likely informing them of where she was going. They walked toward the exit and went toward Lower Mistral, riding down the streets on bikes, though Qrow flew.

Yang looked around and scanned the people as they rode. It seemed people were more on edge now than they were before. The air here was much more anxious than the air in Upper Mistral. Made sense. Even the rich openly admitted it. Whatever happened probably wouldn't affect them, but it would affect the people here. No wonder they were all on edge.

They reached the base Qrow had spoken of after a few minutes of riding—which had no guards posted in front or anywhere they could see. It looked like a repurposed warehouse. They got off their bikes and propped them up. Qrow transformed and walked over to two double doors and opened them as the three of them put up their guards, ready for an attack. Nothing. They walked inside, the lights were on, but no one seemed to be home.

They walked through the building. Blake suddenly stopped in her tracks. "I knew it. You were right Qrow. It was a decoy. No one is here."

"Yeah. It's also possible a lot of what I've heard was also meant to mislead us. Back at square one, eh?" Qrow said.

"Blake," A voice said.

They all put up their guards again.

"That voice!" Blake said.

They all looked to where the voice came from as a man cloaked in black, bits of white here and there, and a touch of gold, wearing a white mask—much like what the old White Fang used to wear—came strolling out.

"Nero!" Blake yelled.

Nero clapped. "Excellent speech. I would have said the same thing had our positions been reversed."

Yang blazed at him with a punch and phased through his head. "Damn!"

Nero ignored the assault. "Why do you insist on taking on the role of a leader?"

"What?" Blake asked.

"I'll admit. The speech was wonderful and an excellent response. One I expected, but still! Seeing it rather than simply knowing it would happen are two entirely different things. However, you are much more suited to the shadows than the limelight," Nero said.

"She can be wherever the hell she wants!" Yang yelled as she threw another punch at him as it still phased through.

"Even so," Nero said. "She's stunting her own abilities and growth this way. You should have had Ghira keep the position."

"Why are you telling me this, Nero? Why are you even here?" Blake asked.

"To raise the stakes!" He charged at Blake, a blade of darkness forming around his right forearm, extending over and passed his hand. He swung at her head as she ducked under it. Ruby jumped backward as Full Rose transformed into Rose Petals—firing a volley of dust shots at him. They phased through. Yang threw a flurry of punches and kicks at him, each one more explosive and overpowering than the last as each one of them phased through him. Yang stepped back as Qrow swung his scythe at him failing to get a hit.

Blake charged at him in return, pulling out Gambol Shroud, and began her own flurry of blows, each one supplemented by a clone of shadows, mimicking her attacks. A lot of the attacks phased through him as he dodged others—a combination of phasing and dodging. Blake bolted backward, leaving behind a clone of fire dust as it exploded. Nero stepped backward and extended his hand toward the clone the instant it exploded as it fizzled out.

He stood there. They all stood their ground, gauging him. "Not bad, Blake. Still so much room for improvement though," he said.

"What do you want? Why are you so obsessed with stopping the White Fang?" Blake yelled.

"I'm not interested in stopping the White Fang. I'm only interested in stopping you," He replied.

"What?" Blake said, surprised.

"One of four legendary huntresses… You, you are my target, Blake."

Yang cocked back her fist and thrusted it forward, firing off a shot from her gauntlet as it simply passed through him. "If that was the case, then you'd be after all of us! The entirety of Team RWBY, so cut the crap!"

He turned to her. "Indeed. I should be after you all, but I'm not going to pursue that line of attack. Blake is the only one I'm interested in."

"Why?" Blake asked.

"You'll have to figure that one out yourself." Nero turned around and walked toward the shadows—blade of darkness dissipating—to the spot he originally walked out of.

They didn't bother trying to stop him knowing full well their attacks would simply pass through.

"Is there nothing I can do to get you to stop?" Blake asked.

Nero stopped in his tracks. "Quit. Quit being the leader, quit being a huntress, and go back to the shadows."

Her expression became stern. "I can't do that."

"I know." He continued his walk into the darkness.

Yang ran to where he walked. He was gone. She walked back to where they were. "Vanished."

"That guy is gonna be a pain to deal with, you know that, right?" Qrow said to Blake.

"Yeah, I know. But now I definitely can't stop. I will stop him, and I will find out why he has such a grudge against me!"

"Do you think he's a remnant of the old White Fang? Maybe he disagrees with what you did, how you changed it, how you were the spark for it all," Yang said.

"Possibly," Blake said. "I'll ask Adam. I'll ask him and anyone else in the current organization who used to be a member of the old order, to see if they've ever met anyone with a phasing semblance."

"In the meantime, can we still rely on the White Fang to provide security during the parade in the event things get out of hand?" Qrow asked.

"Of course!" Blake said. "I'll have volunteers ready to go the night before the parade. They'll be in position throughout both Lower and Upper Mistral early in the morning, just in time for the festivities."

"Thanks," Qrow said. He took out his scroll and looked at it. "Catch you all later. Oscar wants me for something."

Qrow walked off.

"By the way, Blake," Yang said. "When we fought Nero, did you notice?"

"Notice what?" Blake asked.

"Nero didn't phase through all of your attacks. He dodged some of them too," She said. "He's not unbeatable. He dodged, because he could be hurt, that's why people dodge."

"You're right! I didn't make anything of it at the time. I don't think I even noticed, but you're right!" Blake said. She sighed. "Anyway, I should get back."

"Right," Yang said.

The three of them exited the building. As they walked out into the open, they all looked up, gazing at the storm clouds above which have begun to darken even more, lightning and thunder crackling more fiercely now than ever before.

"Bad storm coming. Parade might end up getting called off at this point," Blake said.

"Maybe. We haven't gotten any word from the others about a cancellation of plans, though," Ruby said.

"True," Blake said.

Yang looked up at the storm. The timing was impeccable at least. But where was the rain? The clouds have been there for almost a week now and it just got worse, but there wasn't ever any rain. The wind had picked up and the lightning got worse but that was it. What a strange storm.