Chapter 10

A Race Against Time

Once again, before you begin reading, I'd like to dedicate a moment of silence to Monty Oum on this anniversary of his death. Also to dedicate this chapter, this fic, and all other fics I'm writing, will continue to write, and will write in the future. Because without Monty, I never would've even worked up the nerve to put ANY of this onto virtual paper.

So take a moment of silence everybody. For the man that brought RWBY into the world, inspired so many people, and made the world just a little bit brighter.

(Long Silence)

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Winter Schnee oOoOoOoOo

"Well?" Winter hissed out in irritation. "What did you find out? It better be something good."

The man had the nerve to roll his eyes at her. "Jeez, not even a thank you? Seriously, you really need to work on that attitude."

She was sorely tempted to draw her sword out and make him take this seriously. In fact, her hand was already moving to the handle and getting ready to pull it out, it would be so satisfying to make this man treat this like it wasn't a joke.

She flinched slightly when another hand placed itself on her own, stopping her from drawing her weapon. She turned to see Joshua, giving her a look of something resembling pity. "Don't," he said. "Trust me, it's not worth the smacking you'll get if you try it."

Her hand was still close to her weapon, so close that all she had to do was draw it, but his words still stopped her. As much as she wanted to refute him, to say that she could beat the arrogant bastard around, she had to admit he had a point. Ryou really was out of her league, and picking pointless fights now of all times would just make this whole situation more complicated.

….But, dammit! She really wanted to teach that tall prick a lesson about manners.

Taking a deep breath, she let it out and forced herself to relax, slowly removing her hand from its place by her sword. "Fine. But could we please move on to the matter at hand?"

Seeing she'd calmed down, Joshua turned back to Ryou. "Yeah, could we?"

The arrogant man actually seemed a little disappointed that she hadn't made more of a scene. In fact, his expression gave the distinct impression that he was actually pouting. Did he really just do that to try and get her to make a scene?

With a muttered "fine", he began to explain. "About that Beck guy; you were right. He's somewhere her in town. Apparently, he wanted to be here when it all happened. Looks like he's got some plans of his own"

Joshua's eyes narrowed. "What kinda plans, exactly?"

Ryou grinned. "He isn't happy with not being the guy in charge. He wasn't actually out to kill the Ice Queen, he wanted to catch her and use her for an extra chip. The little icicle is one thing, but her big sis? Bringing her in would suddenly make him pretty big in their little cell. Maybe big enough to turn himself into the top dog."

She rolled her own eyes this time. "Trouble in paradise? That's why they came after me?"

He nodded. "Yep. It's also why he was the one to send that little message to lure you out here."

Her foot stomped the floor slightly at the revelation. "I knew there was something wrong with that message."

Joshua nodded beside her. "Now it's starting to make more sense. That's why the guy on the phone didn't know about the ambush or the message over your Scroll, he was never a part of that plan." He turned to Ryou. "Did you find out where Beck is hiding? He might know where Weiss is."

Ryou's expression twisted slightly, telling them right away that they wouldn't like the answer. "Yeah, about that….they didn't actually know where he was. Dude was so paranoid that he just told them a place to meet up after calling in, they don't know where he's actually hiding right now."

'Well,' Winter thought, 'that's just perfect.'

Taking a moment to digest the information, the Scroll decided that was the perfect moment to call. Looks like things were just getting better and better.

oOoOoOoOo Andrew Hamilton oOoOoOoOo

Andrew walked down the hall to Joshua's room with a content smile and a noticeable spring in his step. Who could blame him? He went out to search for clues and was lucky enough to stumble upon something at his first area of choice, catching someone with some very useful information. Maybe even useful enough to bring this to a close nice and quick.

Getting ready to knock on the door, his knuckles stopped half way before bringing them down as it opened, revealing Ryou with a finger placed over his lips for silence.

Getting the message, Andrew entered the room quick and quiet, hearing Joshua talking over the phone.

"Yeah, we'll get you the shipment info, but it might take some time for Winter to actually get it. How long are willing to wait?"

Doing his best to avoid making any sudden noise, Andrew took his own seat in the chair near the table. One of their advantages was that the other party didn't know anyone else was involved, and that wasn't something they could afford to lose right now. Granted, he didn't need to move too quietly, given just how loud the kidnapper seemed to be shouting into the phone.

"You'll get it by tomorrow, got it?! I'm getting REALLY TIRED OF THIS SHIT!"

"Fine, fine, we'll get you the info you want. Anything else?"

Taking his seat, Andrew waited until the conversation ended and Joshua hung up, arranging for another call to be in thirty minutes instead of the previous ten. "I take it things are getting more tense between you and your new friend."

The Player let out a sigh. "Yeah, he's getting bolder. Please tell me you got something, I don't know how much longer we can string him along like this."

The newest member of their little Player trio let out a sigh of relief as Andrew nodded in affirmation. "Yes, actually. In fact, I actually found Beck in my first search."

Ryou seemed to choke on air as Winter and Joshua looked at him in shock. It wasn't hard to see why, considering he'd just walked in and told them he'd found someone crucial to finding Weiss, anyone would be more than a little shocked. Winter broke the silence first.

"You found him? What did he tell you?" She rose from her seat and marched over to him, her face an expression of forceful authority. "Did he know where Weiss is being kept? Tell me!"

He held up his hands in a warding gesture. "Calm down. Yes, I found out where Weiss is being kept." He turned to Joshua. "You were also right about her still being here. She's being kept in an abandoned mining area, it's the headquarters for the White Fang cell in this region. I even have the coordinates."

He barely even finished before Winter headed for the door. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Not yet."

She stopped in her tracks, tension filling her body at what she'd just heard. Turning back around with a glare, she stared down Joshua's hard face in challenge. "Why not!? We know where they are now, we can go over there and get my sister back, so why should WE NOT GO RIGHT NOW?!"

"BECAUSE RUSHING IN WILL JUST GET HER KILLED!"

oOoOoOoOo Joshua Bridger oOoOoOoOo

He was panting now, from the force of his own shout ripping from his throat. The room had fallen quiet as he'd yelled out, everyone seeming to freeze in place. Andrew was still seated and looking at him like he might try and strike out at somebody, Winter was frozen in place like a standing ice statue, and even Ryou was quiet and looking at him with a little surprise at his intense shout.

He couldn't find it in him to be surprised about their reactions. None of them had ever seen him really shout like that before, he honestly went to great lengths to keep himself calm, which made it all the more notable when he really let his voice loose.

Like he just did right now.

He took a deep breath, trying to get his temper back under control. Getting angry now wouldn't just be bad, it would be potentially disastrous. Things were already very delicate, he didn't need to potentially throw things into whack all because of his own growing frustrations, frustrations that Winter's bullheadedness seemed to only be making worse.

After taking a moment to reign himself back in, he decided he could speak again. "You and I still need to stay here and keep the negotiations going. Ryou and Andrew can go after Weiss, but we need to work out a plan. If we go rushing in without thinking of a way in and another way out, these guys might get desperate enough to think they'll have nothing left to lose and kill your sister. Understand? Above all, we need them to still think we're still playing along, that means keeping these negotiations going. If we don't keep the negotiations going, they'll get suspicious and change their tactics up. They might even move Weiss somewhere else and all of this will mean nothing!"

He didn't even realize he's started standing up during his explanation, only realizing it when he collapsed back into the couch. Still, even sitting down, his eyes didn't leave Winter. He needed to make his point in this, if she wandered off now then all of this will be for nothing, and that was something he couldn't allow. "Get it?"

She flinched slightly, averting her eyes. "I get it."

The moment was ruined when Andrew cleared his throat, wordlessly demanding their attention. He didn't miss the smile on the blond man's face. "Now who say's things need to be that hard? You didn't let me finish telling you what I learned."

'What he learned? What was he…..'

Then it was Joshua's turn to go wide eyed. "You know who's been calling us?"

He'd never been happier to see someone smiling. "The man's name is Michael. And I know where he's staying while he calls."

oOoOoOoOo Michael oOoOoOoOo

In an abandoned area along the border of Silberlicht, far enough away from the hustle and bustle to be all but unknown to most, was an old tenement. Not much to look at, even practically falling apart from the years of being left to rot. But, at least for certain purposes, it could still be useful. Like when somebody needed to keep hidden.

Michael was currently sitting in a folding chair, something you'd probably see on any typical person's lawn, drinking a beer and watching TV as the time went by.

He wasn't a very imposing or memorable guy, but that suited his current work just fine. Being easily distinguished from a crowd could be dangerous for someone in his current line of work, which made his distinct lack of any overt Faunus features all the more valuable. Slightly messy black hair and a lightly tanned skin tone, a lack of a tail or extra ears or even claws, he could easily be mistaken for an everyday human.

'Time's almost up.'

Just a few more minutes and he'd call that bastard again. He had to admit, the guy knew how to keep negotiations going, anyone else probably would've caved in right away and made things all the easier, but this guy knew what he was doing.

The damned brat they were keeping probably owed the guy his life and didn't even know it, Michael was pretty sure some of the more extreme guys probably would've just killed the kid and kept it a secret, ruining everything. If Winter's mysterious friend hadn't handled things the way he did, arranged a reason to keep the girl alive, someone may have very well killed her by now.

Hearing the timer on his Scroll go off, he brought it up and called again. 'Back to work.'

Hearing the ringing of the opposite Scroll, he plotted over any possible curve balls the guy might give him. He might've lost control during the first few calls, but he could tell the guy on the other end was running out of tricks. "Calling again? Wow, we're becoming such fast friends."

Of course, that didn't mean the bastard was being anything but annoying. If Michael had the chance, he'd be happy to rip the guys throat out with his bare hands. "Quit the bullshit. The answer is Blue, now let's get down to-" he was interrupted by a ringing sound coming from the other end of the line. "What was that?"

The negotiator didn't answer for a while, keeping silent before he spoke with an obvious smile in his tone. "Oh, nothing. It just means you're about to get your door kicked down."

'What!?'

That one word was all he could think before the door to his room literally flew in right over his head, barely missing his skull as it sailed by and shattered against the wall!

Scrambling into motion, he quickly reached for the panicswitch on the other Scroll he kept on hand, the one to alert the others to something like this happening…and it wasn't there!

"Looking for this?"

His head swiveled to the direction of the voice, his eyes widening in panic as he saw the tallest man he'd ever seen tossing the device up before catching it in his own palm. "Sorry, no calling your friends. That's ruin the fun."

'Ah, hell.'

oOoOoOoOo ? oOoOoOoOo

'Great, THIS shit again.'

Jaster was currently standing opposite of another Faunus, a large and rather hairy man with barely noticeable bear ears hidden in his thick mane. The two of them were being watched, for the second time that day, by some of the others around them.

They were currently engaged in another argument, with Kain doing his damn best to convince him to kill the damned girl they currently had hostage. The big guy had gotten antsy since the whole negotiation slant to the plan had gotten started, seeing it as a sign that things had gone south.

As much as Jaster didn't want to admit it, the Bear Faunus kinda had a point. Longer negotiation periods hadn't been a part of the plan, the wanted to keep in charge from the start and scare Winter Schnee into giving them what they wanted. This unexpected change was getting a lot of them nervous.

"Dammit, Kain! I told you we need to keep the girl kept alive, so stop pushing it!"

The bear Faunus was now practically growling at him. "Come on, Jaster! We're supposed to be the ones calling the shots for this crap, not that Ice Queen on the other side of the line! This plan has gone to shit, so let's kill the brat and -!"

Jaster stopped him with a punch to the face before he could finish, knocking the man to the ground. Dammit, things were all going to hell! This all seemed so much easier when they were planning everything out, so much simpler. "If we kill her they'll just come after us even harder. Kidnapping her is one thing, murdering her is something else entirely. They'll come down on us like a collapsing house of bricks, and I'm pretty sure none of us want that!"

'Damn it all, this is getting outta control.'

Picking himself up from the ground, Kain shot him a dirty look before walking off, trying to stave off the bleeding from his freshly broken nose. The Bear Faunus had been giving him problems since this whole debacle had started, advocating that they just kill the little Heiress from the start and move on. That guy had one hell of a grudge against the SDC.

He glared at the few Faunus that had taken a moment to watch the scene, silently telling them to get back to their posts.

Hell, if things didn't wrap up soon than everything was gonna fall apart. Michael had better call back soon, or he might lose control of the situation.

As if fate would have it, his Scroll picked that particular time to ring.

oOoOoOoOo Michael oOoOoOoOo

He heard his Scroll pick up from the other end. "Michael, that you?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, keeping his voice calm and level. Doing his best to sound normal even as his capturer held a hand around his throat, his eyes cold and glittering with a silent promise of death if he slipped up. A hand around the throat might not seem like such a big threat, but this guy's hand could reach around Michael's whole neck, not to mention he'd seen him pull out and crush a piece of cement barehanded to show what he could do. One word of warning to the others and he'd be dead. "It's me. Listen, I'm almost done. I've got them at the end of their rope, so just give me a little more time and we can get moving."

Jaster sighed in audible relief at that, looks like the others had been giving him some trouble. "Good. Does that mean you got the info we need?"

"No," he answered, "They'll still need a little time to get the info, but we should have it by tomorrow. Just sit tight and we'll walk outta this with all the shipment info."

"Tomorrow? Alright, I'll see what I can do to keep these guys calm. I tell ya, you couldn't have said this at a better time, some of these guys look like they were about to mutiny or something. Call later when everything's gone through."

Jaster hung up and Michael barely saw the blur before he blacked out.

oOoOoOoOo Joshua Bridger oOoOoOoOo

(One Hour Later)

"So," Joshua drawled out, looking over the area. "This is the place, huh?"

Andrew nodded, looking down at the same area. "Yes, it is. Beck was very clear about the area, probably worried about what might happen if he lied to me." The blond man's face twisted into a grin without even an ounce of humor. "Smart move. It certainly made this go by much quicker."

Ryou sighed. "We get it, you're the one who made this happen for us. You don't gotta keep reminding us." He turned to Joshua, "So, what now?"

He smiled, looking over the area. The place wasn't too impressive, just a reasonably sized main building of wood what looked like the typical plaster, positioned right by a mine entrance into the mountain. The place was in surprisingly good condition, but was otherwise unremarkable.

The problem was the windows and rather sizable empty area. They couldn't approach it right now, not without being seen, but he did have another way of doing reconnaissance.

Making a show of reaching into his coat, he materialized his Grimm Mask and quickly slipped it on. With his huge boost to his AP and two more Players around for insurance, he was a little more confident in using it safely.

The moment it came on, the world ahead of him seemed to come to life, allowing him to see so clearly against the growing evening darkness.

But that wasn't why he put it on, oh no, it was because now he could see the Aura's of everybody inside the building. His eyes flickered from one to the other, quickly taking count of them and noting their positions by any windows and means of entry. He also paid a little more attention to one in particular, a small Aura belonging to a young child. She was scared, terrified even, but not injured. Good.

Quickly reaching up, he pulled the Grimm Mask off and made another show of putting it back into his coat as he sent it back to his Inventory.

"What was that?"

He turned to Winter, shooting her a disarming smile. "Just doing a trick for some reconnaissance. There's twelve guys in there, with your sister held in a room under the floor and being watched by two guards."

The young woman's eyes widened briefly in surprise, her mouth opening as if to ask him how he knew before quickly shutting. Nodding her head in acceptance, she looked down at the area below, searching for avenues of attack. "Any suggestions?"

He stood up to his full height, giving her a nod of affirmation. "I've already got a plan in mind, but we'll need to wait until dark. That little phone call we arranged should've gotten their guard down, but we can't afford to just rush in." He looked up, seeing the sun set beyond the horizon, shadows stretching along the ground as night came. "Just a little longer and you'll have your sister back."

Her hand clenched on the handle of her weapon, shaking in anticipation. "I can hardly wait."

xXx

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I gave you all two chapters in one day. Sorry I haven't been able to frequently update this fic for the past week or so, I've kinda been kept busy. Besides trying to balance this with my other fics, I've also started my Electrician Training and needed to get the studying and classwork done, so I haven't had quite as much spare time. I also wanted to save these two updates as a tribute for the anniversary of Monty's death, so I decided to make and post them both on this very day, February 2nd.

Anyway, next chapter is the ending of the Kidnapping Arc, not the best name, but maybe I could think of a better one later. After that, I'm gonna be working a little on A Scorpion's Successor, my OC Naruto fic. If you want, feel free to check it out.

Please review and have a nice day!