Atlas was at war.
There had been no official declaration as of yet but the announcement was as certain as the sun was to rise. The population was demanding it. It was one thing for a handful of their troops to be killed in a far away land on a peacekeeping mission; those casualties had some rattling their sabres but in a country of millions the number directly affected was small.
A direct assault on the very heart of their capital city was entirely different. Everyone had voted the Council into power and now they had been slaughtered in an indefensible attack. The oldest among them still remembered and the youngest were taught of the treachery that had ended the Atlesian monarchy.
The last time there had been an unprovoked strike on the Atlesian homeland it had signalled the start of the Great War and had led to an Atlesian counter invasion that had sundered the largest Empire in history. There were many who were now calling for similar action.
They were even willing to take it into their own hands. Though no one had yet claimed responsibility for the attack on Tintagel Castle it was obvious who had carried it out. Mobs had gathered in the streets of the cities all over Atlas, dragging White Fang sympathisers out of their homes, and meting out vigilante punishment. In the capital entire Faunus tenements had been burned to the ground in the first few hours of outrage.
The mobs were met with a harsh response. With the Council presumed dead Arian Schnee had made use of emergency legislation and assumed control of the city of Atlas. His first mandate had been the immediate deployment of thousands of troops onto the streets and the declaration of a city wide curfew.
When daylight dawned smoke was competing with the snow over the most populated city on the planet but the civil unrest had been halted. Those who'd had their homes destroyed were relocated and given protective details. The soldiers remained on the streets to ensure the disorder could not be allowed to flourish again.
Though Arian's sheer force of will had succeeded in pulling a blanket of tranquillity over the capital, it was a temporary one. The rage felt by the people had not been diminished in a single night and tens of thousands had gathered in public areas the following day watched closely by troops and the police decked out in riot gear.
Most who could chose to work from home following the bombing. Many establishments simply shut down for the day. For Yang and Blake staying in hadn't been an option. In the days since their drunken copulation Blake had shown Yang just how many people were relying on her.
Seeing how many people were suffering had not improved the probability of her eyes returning to their normal colour. She was still angry with herself for being too self-absorbed to notice their plight. And of course there was the frustration she felt towards Blake for trying to struggle through it all by herself.
Her life had improved significantly since that fateful evening. In the mornings before the sun had fully risen she would spend time with Ruby in the gym. Her sister did seem to be happier and was always talking about what she had planned for the day. After a quick breakfast she'd head out with Blake to help the refugees and then she'd spend the evening in her friend's company. Quite often they didn't talk, Blake would curl up in a chair with a book and she'd watch something quietly. But just knowing that there was someone there who cared about her was enough to banish most of her self-destructive thoughts. Most but not all, the lure of alcohol was still strong within her, but so far she'd kept her promise. The prospect of a relationship with Blake kept her grounded.
The days spent knowing she was doing good helped as well. It was to her shame that she hadn't spent much time with any Faunus before meeting Blake. On Patch they had been even more of a minority than they were in Vale, there had been a couple at Signal but not many. Though the cost of training to become a huntress was partially subsidised, it was still far too high for those whose families worked menial jobs. The few who had attended had been recipients of bursaries based on their skills.
The Faunus she'd met here were, simply put, incredible. They'd been through so much and yet they still managed to greet her with a smile. It was with those smiles in mind that she and Blake had braved the unease of the city on a knife's edge.
Blake had been doubly sure to wear her bow and to keep her hood up in the hostile atmosphere. The city reeked with tension. People were furious with the attack on their sovereignty, an attack both she and Blake had spent much time puzzling over.
It didn't make sense from any tactical perspective. The White Fang must still have been consolidating their hold on Vale and even if they had, they didn't have anywhere close to the resources to engage in a protracted war with the most powerful military force on the planet. A military force that had not made any move to launch a retaliatory strike.
They'd come to the conclusion that either once again the White Fang had knowledge that no one else shared and this was just their opening move or it had been carried out by a splinter group. Perhaps they were expecting the entirety of the Faunus population on Atlas to rise up under their banner.
Whatever it was, unless there was another move coming it seemed to have backfired. The tension in the streets was evidence enough of what the general population wanted to do to the White Fang, wipe them out as their ancestors eight decades ago had wiped out the Final Empire.
It didn't shame her to admit that she'd actually been scared on the streets. Though she'd been armed, it was obvious that those gathering under the watchful eyes of the soldiers were tinder that would need only the slightest spark to be set ablaze.
Against almost any one person she'd fancy her luck. Against a few hundred? Even her Semblance wouldn't save her. It would be all too easy to be absorbed by the crowds and then only the slightest accident could have revealed Blake's heritage.
Her partner had not been armed when they were in the city. Though their provisional hunter's licenses had allowed them to carry weapons in Atlas, that privilege had been suspended in the unrest. Gambol Shroud was far more conspicuous than Ember Celica which could be concealed under coat sleeves. Her partner agitation at being disarmed had shown in her demeanour.
Several times they had reached an edge of a square thronged with people only for Blake to turn them around to find another way. The trip to the Faunus sectors had taken five hours where it would normally take twenty minutes on the subway. A trip that had been made in vain.
The Faunus sectors had been put under a complete lockdown. No one was allowed in or out. Yang understood it was for their safety as much as anything, but it was still annoying. They'd tried multiple different entries but though the soldiers were always courteous when they explained what they were doing, they wouldn't budge on their orders. Short of leaping over rooftops ̶ ̶ which likely would have led to one of both of them being shot at ̶ ̶ there had been absolutely no way in and they'd had to make the return journey to the hotel in bad, frustrated spirits after a long, cold day.
It had been much more difficult getting back. The fall of the sun had provided the spark for the saucepan to boil over. They'd had to dodge roving bands of mostly youths as they made good use of the chaos to break the law. Dozens of shops were looted and a few were burned to the ground, not because they were owned by White Fang sympathisers but just because someone wanted some fun.
Short of firing on them, the military could do little more than try to limit their movement, and it was up to the beleaguered police to try and stop them. Seeing two girls alone several of the groups of rioters had pegged them as targets.
Most of the time they'd just run from them. Though the rioters howled in exhilaration as they began to give chase, they had no chance of keeping up with two huntresses and soon dropped off. A few times they'd been cornered in an alley and the light level had been poor enough for them not to notice the colour of her eyes. They did notice the sounds of Ember Celica unfolding though, only once had she been forced to use them.
That time they hadn't been chased by bored youths but by those who seemed to be part of the criminal fraternity looking to make the most of the opportunity the unrest had given them. When she'd drawn her weapon the leader had gone for his, she hadn't given him the chance to even finish drawing it.
She'd fired a slew of buckshot at his knees and leapt in prepared to hammer a blow to his jaw only to find him on the floor in agony. Her opening salvo that had been meant to throw him off balance had instead torn through his Aura and into his flesh. His now apprehensive cronies had backed off and allowed them onto the street, but their leader had sworn through the pain that he would remember their faces.
It had taken them hours more to make it back to the district with the hotel. Of course the more prosperous areas had a much higher concentration of troops and a distinct lack of rioters. The street leading to the hotel had been entirely blockaded by both the Atlesian military and soldiers wearing the emblem of the SDC.
Despite them both having their room key cards, it had taken them a significant amount of time to actually get through the cordon. They'd both been dressed for a hard day of work outside and she suspected the soldiers thought the cards were stolen. They might have been out there all night ̶ ̶ especially as the mobile network had been switched off to stop the rioters coordinating ̶ ̶ if not for the arrival of a soldier wearing the familiar all black body armour and full faced helm who had waved them through.
They'd spent most of the night in the Penthouse with Ruby watching the Atlesian skyline light up with fires as more buildings were put to the torch. Weiss had been there as well, but she'd been receiving a constant stream of phone calls ̶ ̶ apparently the loss of the network hadn't affected her ̶ ̶ and spent most of it in the room she'd picked to be her office. At about one in the morning she'd left, flying to the Eiszapfen.
There had not been a third night of riots. Having attempted to appeal to the common sense of the general populace, Arian Schnee instead decided to appeal to their sense of self-preservation. Dozens of dawn raids by soldiers without markings on their body armour had taken place.
Those they arrested were ones who had been stupid enough to post irrefutable evidence of their crimes online, videos of themselves starting fires, kicking a Faunus while they were down, or trying to organise the unrest.
They were rushed through the military courts with the bare minimum legal counsel, found guilty, and executed all before midday. That was enough to quell all but the most ardent rioters and the few who persisted found that the soldiers on the streets were now less hesitant about the application of force.
The general population very quickly found out what the nobles had known for decades, Arian Schnee was not a man to be tested.
The bombing and the riots had left everyone on edge which is likely why their reception was so frosty. The moment they'd stepped from the taxi onto the road leading to the main military base thirty miles outside of the capital a dozen guns had been trained on them.
What normally would have been an incredibly boring guard detail had instead turned into a job that every soldier was taking with deadly seriousness. Most days the taxi would have been able to drive them right up to the gates, but with the possible threat of car bombs, concrete blockades had been set up across the road.
"Okay… don't make any sudden movements." Yang muttered to Blake out of the corner of her mouth, grinning nervously as she took in their welcoming party.
One or two rifles wasn't much of a problem for two huntresses, an entire squad of them, not mentioning the machine gun nests on either side of the road, were. If they'd been here with any hostile intent, they'd do well to cross the fifty feet to the gate. Of course only an idiot would try and go through the front.
"That's probably a good idea." Blake started off seemingly confident that they both weren't going to get filled with holes.
In truth Yang knew her nerves were probably baseless, none of the soldier's trigger fingers would be quite that itchy. Unlike the conscripts who had ruined the plan to defend their wall back in Vale, these were clearly career soldiers who would not fire without a definite threat. Two teenage girls walking towards them likely didn't constitute one, especially as they were both unarmed as requested. Her nerves were more a symptom of just how tense Atlas had been in the last few days.
The soldier that greeted them ran their credentials through his computer, gave them visitor badges, and instructed them to closely follow the green line painted on the concrete to the administrative building before waving them through.
Beyond the razor wire fence the base was eerily quiet. The facility itself was enormous, capable of housing thousands of the citizens of Atlas that were conscripted every year. Normally the air would have been filled with the shouts of drill sergeants, the grunting of their charges, the pounding of boots as units jogged or marched past, and the crack of gunfire from the range, the absence of the expected sounds was obvious.
Almost all the troops who had been stationed here had been deployed on active patrols in the city. If not for the non-combat personnel who were essential to keep a base of this size functioning, there would have been almost no one else in sight.
By some quirk of design the administrative building was a significant distance from the gate and the two of them followed the line under their feet in near silence looking around. Though the barracks were close to deserted, sparks flared out of the vehicle repair shops. There were dozens of armoured vehicles parked in rows, many bearing superficial signs that they had been the target of the rioters' ire.
In the distance past them, near the runway ants were crawling all over an aircraft parked in a huge hanger. In the air dreadnoughts seemed large, seeing them with people to scale made them look obscene. Atlas hadn't recovered from the loss of the Deliverance and likely wouldn't for years, but from the frantic activity in the hangar, it appeared they were determined not to lose another capital ship.
Gradually the different coloured lines on the floor peeled away until only their own remained. The only reason the receptionist didn't do a double take when she met Yang's crimson eyes was because they were hidden by a pair of dark glasses. She'd gotten tired of being on the receiving end of a surprised stare every time she met someone. Her hopes had been that they would have faded as she stopped drinking and spent time with Ruby and Blake, but then the White Fang had struck again and her rage had boiled to the surface once more. She was honestly at a loss as to when the world would allow her to feel normal.
She and Blake were directed to a spartan waiting room and Blake started leafing through a magazine that was only a few years out of date. Yang just sat, if what she'd heard about the military was correct she suspected they'd have to get used to killing time.
The bombing of the Council chamber of Tintagel Castle had killed almost a hundred people and the footage of the blast would was truly shocking, even to someone who had witnessed so much in Vale. One of few good news stories around was that Ozpin, someone who had been in the main chamber and whose name had been among the dead, had been pulled out of the rubble several hours later, singed, but very much alive.
Most thought it was a miracle and he'd gotten ridiculously lucky, Yang wasn't so sure. Having witnessed him fight, she had some idea as to the strength of his Aura and that hypothesis boiled down to it was likely orders of magnitude greater than any of theirs. It was entirely possible that his Aura had absorbed most of the blast that had levelled a building and once freed he'd walked away from it almost entirely unharmed. Once again she was forced to confront the question of just what he and the pyromancer were.
With the attack on their sovereign territory the Atlesian Supreme Court had thrown out the case raised against the legality of Ozpin's actions during Vale and allowed him to reclaim control of those he'd conscripted. Consequently they were now here, following the order to attend like good little soldiers, for someone who'd wanted to explore the world as a free spirit it was particularly galling. The door opened and her brooding was interrupted by a rather familiar voice.
"Now this is a surprise. Who'd have expected to find you two here?" Coco said; time spent in her hometown had caused her to slip back into her natural accent.
Yang jumped up, her mood lifting at the sight of girl framed in the doorway. Coco didn't number among her closest friends ̶ ̶ that honour was reserved for the other members of team RWBY ̶ ̶ but she was a good one.
One she hadn't seen or heard from in weeks. Too many of her friends had been scattered around the various cities of Atlas, either at the whims of bureaucracy or they were staying with relatives. It was part of what had driven her to despair.
Coco looked like she was coping much better. The usual confidence poured out of her in waves as she strutted into the room. It wasn't surprising to find her immaculately attired, Yang was unable to recall a single time Coco hadn't looked like she'd just stepped off a catwalk.
The only difference this time was that her clothes seemed to be more martial in nature than usual. She was wearing black leather, though black artfully trimmed with gold. Her jacket flowed almost seamlessly into her gloves which had metal ovals protecting her knuckles. Her waist was cinched tightly by a dark corset and contrast was provided by the brown shirt showing underneath. Her pants were skin tight, also black trimmed with gold along with her thigh high boots. Topped by a brown scarf, dog tags, and a beret. Short of the marks of rank she could very well have been mistaken for an officer.
"Nice look," Yang said after she'd finished her inspection.
"Thanks. It's my mission in life to impart even a modicum of fashion sense on these southern brutes."
Everyone knew there was an intense rivalry between all the cities of Atlas. What had once been very deadly conflicts had evolved into battles of social standings. Mostly the insults were good natured but it would have been amusing to see the aftermath of Coco calling Weiss an unfashionable brute.
The two of them hugged, an embrace that escalated in force after Coco, who was never one to back down from a challenger, responded in kind to Yang's usual bear hug. When they broke apart their cheeks were slightly flushed and they gave each other grudging nods of respect before turning to the others in the room.
As she usually did Velvet had snuck into the room under the cover of both Coco's metaphorical and physical shadow. The two Faunus had been conversing quietly before being interrupted by the embrace that was very nearly a wrestling match. Both were looking towards their more boisterous partners with an expression that spoke of world weary sufferance.
Rather than try and struggle through an explanation of the need to try and establish physical dominance, Yang instead approached Velvet with sorrow in her heart. She couldn't imagine just how hard everything had been for someone who was unable to hide her Faunus roots, Velvet needed to know that there were people who still cared about her. Brown eyes widened as the rabbit Faunus realised what Yang had in store for her and squeaked as the air was squeezed from her lungs.
"So how have you two been?" Blake asked when she'd pried Velvet from Yang's clutches.
"As well as can be expected. It's been pretty hectic to be honest." Coco answered.
"Have you been in Dione?" Yang guessed based on her limited knowledge of all where the major Atlesian families had their holdings.
"Yeah we just landed. I guess you two have been staying in Atlas with Weiss. From what I've seen it's been crazy here for the last few days."
"Weren't there any riots in Dione?"
"There were some right after the bombing, but most of the protests were peaceful. We don't have the number of bored and disenchanted low paid workers that Atlas has. The riots weren't about the bombing they were about having fun and sticking it to the man. The idiots. The one man you don't want to stick it to is Arian Schnee, I'm surprised only a few dozen died."
Yang had heard similar sentiments a couple of times since arriving in Atlas. The few things Weiss had revealed about her father had given the impression that he was an awful parent, but Weiss' words hadn't conveyed the very real fear many seemed to feel for him.
"Is he really that bad?" Yang voiced her train of thought.
Coco made to answer before hesitating, perhaps aware that she was talking about their friend's father. "I take it you've never met him?" Yang shook her head. "That much is obvious otherwise you wouldn't need to ask. Look I'm not going to lie, he is. You'd have to go a long way to find someone who's had dealings with him and has a single good word to say about him. He's incredibly intelligent and utterly ruthless; you saw how he stopped the riots.
"No one likes him. At one point or another he's insulted pretty much every family in Atlas, if he died people would be lining up to spit on his grave. There's always talk of standing up to him, but that's all it is, talk, and it will remain that way for one reason, fear. I'm scared of him, I'm not ashamed to admit that. My parents are scared of him, and so is anyone with half a brain. Do you know why? How he introduced himself to the world?"
Yang shook her head and Coco went on.
"His father was struck down with an illness when he was about twenty. Several Houses, House Osten chief among them, thought that was an ideal time to move into the SDCs markets and perhaps remove the Schnees once and for all. Back then they didn't hold a monopoly on Dust. Have you ever wondered why there is no competition for the world's most valuable resource? It doesn't make sense does it? Free markets and all that. Well it's solely because of Arian.
"They saw a young, naïve man more interested in women than business and they thought him vulnerable, they were so wrong. He was not being taught the trade by his father, he was being restrained. With the chains off he showed everyone just who he really was.
"The first thing he did was crash the global Dust market. He was losing millions every day, but so was everyone else, and the SDC were in a better financial position than most. It wasn't sustainable but it didn't have to be, he just had to outlast the competition. Few would ever dream of such a strategy, and even less would actually consider utilising it. Arian didn't care about the money or the tens of thousands who lost their jobs. It's what makes him so dangerous. All he cares about is his reputation, people just don't compare.
"That was enough for the majority of the Houses to bail, but House Osten hung in there so Arian escalated the situation. Almost every single Osten mine suffered a crippling accident in the space of a couple of weeks. A cave in, a Dust explosion, a Grimm attack. Thousands died. Everyone knew who was responsible, but no one could prove a thing and in the end no one wanted to. The Ostens were the SDCs only real competition, with them crippled anyone who questioned Arian would have to do so without Dust. All of House Ostens allies distanced themselves and started to sign contracts with the SDC. House Osten went up against an untried boy and he broke them."
The impromptu history lesson was giving Yang much to think over. She'd never been taught this at school, not that she'd paid attention during those classes. They'd mainly concentrated on the Kingdom of Vale before the Great War, Atlas was just too far away to cover in any sort of detail.
"What happened to them?" Yang asked.
"They died." Blake spoke in a chilling tone. "Even the children. Some got ill, some had accidents, others just disappeared. But anyone who bore the name Osten didn't see out the year."
Coco continued the story. "Arian sent a very clear message to what would happen to those who opposed him. He hasn't had to wipe out a house since then, but he's bankrupted several for the smallest insult. It's a black joke among us that if a Schnee comes for dinner, you don't count your silverware, you count your relatives. I've spoken to him once, a few sentences when I was a child, I was nervous beforehand, I was terrified after. His eyes are completely devoid of anything resembling humanity.
"So to answer your question: yes he is that bad. But now he's building an army and has complete control of the capital. The SDC was close to untouchable before, now it might actually be. People are scared of just what he's planning, just where he'd planning to stop, he already practically rules the world economically, it isn't that far a jump to him literally ruling it."
"Is that possible?" Yang couldn't comprehend the scale of what Coco was talking about.
Coco blew out her cheeks. "I don't know, it's just what I've been hearing after people have had a few drinks. No one knows the extent of the size of the security force the SDC will have when they're done. That's scary and that's discounting the SDCs Special Forces, you know the ones in black. All of us are capable of hiring a small force. Together we might be able to cause a stalemate, but gathering enough skilled hunters to match even what we saw in Vale would be far more problematic. Most of us don't train to fight anymore."
"Surely Weiss wouldn't…"
"Look Yang despite everything, who she is, I like Weiss. It's almost unbelievable that someone like her is Arian's daughter. But no matter what she's a Schnee. You're from Vale; you don't understand the importance that we place on our families here. I would put my family above almost anything else." Coco paused, glancing sideways as Velvet and the pair of them shared a smile. "Weiss would do the same, Winter wouldn't even hesitate. Even if Weiss didn't agree with her father's plans, what's she going to do? Arian holds the power. He's the one everyone's scared off, and not many would be surprised if Weiss had an accident."
Yang felt heat sear into her eyes. Once again any chance of them returning to their normal colour diminished. "He wouldn't."
"He might. Everyone knows that Winter is his heir, Weiss is a problem and there are very few ways around it. There's enough chaos at the moment that a solution might just present itself. If I were you I would make sure there's someone watching Weiss' back."
Surely despite everything she'd heard about Arian he wouldn't go so far as to arrange Weiss' death. Not when Weiss was brave and loyal and almost everything else that any sane person would want in a daughter. But was Arian sane? Coco certainly didn't seem to think so and she knew more of him than the rest of them.
Perhaps there was merit in her suggestion, but they couldn't stay with Weiss all the time and even if they somehow managed that, would they be able to protect her? Yang's mind flitted back to just how soundly she'd been beaten by Erashan; if he was sent to kill Weiss then even the two of them might not be enough. It was just one thing after another. As if worrying about everything else wasn't enough, now she had to worry about whether Weiss' father would kill her. As was so often the case the troubles of her past looked so inconsequential in comparison.
"Ms Adel, Belladonna, Scarlatina, and Xiao Long." A private about the same age as them addressed them from the doorway reading their names on a scroll. When they confirmed who they were he went on. "Right follow me."
He turned smartly on his heel and marched off, leaving the rest of them to hurry in his wake. Yang's stomach fluttered as she neared her fate, she had no idea why they'd been summoned but there was no doubt it wasn't good.
The private gestured them through a door into a rather large office. It was utilitarian as might be expected in a military base, all white walls and cheap furniture, the only splash of colour came from the Atlesian flag in the corner, but what drew her attention was the man seated at the desk.
Ozpin looked none the worse for his brush with death. With his fingers steepled before him he gazed at each one of them in turn over the tops of his glasses. When her turn came Yang didn't know just what he was looking for, but she sensed the weight of his presence. It was unlike any other persons' who she'd ever met.
"Please sit." His voice was sombre as he gestured to the four chairs arranged in front of him. "I'm pleased you were able to meet with me today."
Like they had a choice, irrationally Yang felt her anger simmering once more, the summons they'd received had not been an invite, it had been a demand.
"How have you all been?"
Her jaw clenched shut. How'd he think they'd been? It was such an insincere question. Perhaps he honestly cared about them, but instead of trying to help everyone who'd been in Vale, he'd spent all his time in Atlas trying to maintain his grip of the Valesh forces. Only when he'd achieved that did he care about them. It was obvious he didn't want the truth anyway; it was just a socially accepted nicety that he ask. They all muttered something along the lines of fine.
"Good. Now I know you must be wondering why you're all here and the truth is simple, you are huntresses. You may not have finished your studies at Beacon, but you embody everything a huntress should be. As hunters we have a solemn duty to stand against evil wherever we find it and at the moment that evil runs rampant in Vale.
"I don't need to tell you what crimes the White Fang committed. You all saw them with your own eyes and you must know we cannot allow them to go unanswered. And if those crimes were not enough, they have now shown that Vale was not the limit of their ambition. They have struck against your homeland as well," he looked pointedly towards Coco. "In time they will attempt to repeat every atrocity they carried out in Vale here as well. We must stop them before they have the chance."
One of her recurring nightmares was becoming real. She could guess what point he was building towards and it was the one she'd been dreading ever since finding out that the her commitments to the Valesh military had not ended with the evacuation.
"In time we will retake Vale but first we need to build up a force capable of doing so. The White Fang will continue to hound us unless we start disrupting their operations at the root. You are some of the best I have ever seen at Beacon and I have no doubt you are more than capable of doing what I am going to ask of you.
"In forty eight hours you will be deployed to Vale. You are the perfect team to do so. You are the two strongest Faunus to have attended Beacon for years."
Out of the periphery of her vision Yang caught Blake's head snapping up from where she'd been staring at her lap as Ozpin nonchalantly revealed her secret to the others. Blake glanced nervously at the other pair but Coco just shrugged as though she'd already known and Velvet smiled reassuringly.
"Blake you won't be able to hide it any longer and nor should you want to. The situation in Vale has changed. It is now the humans who are looked down upon, and everything we've done to the Faunus is now being gleefully reversed. As a Faunus you will have opportunities the other two do not have."
"Then why are you sending them at all?" Blake asked anger in her tone.
Ozpin's expression darkened behind his glasses. "For reasons that should be obvious. One, they are your partners and you will need people to rely on and two, there is an underground resistance and some members of it will be hesitant to trust any Faunus."
"What so you expect us to work undercover? Has it escaped your notice that we're hunters not spies? And we're not exactly incognito seeing as most of us fought in the tournament. Surely you must have better people for this," Blake argued.
"I am well aware of your limitations Ms Belladonna. To answer your question I do have better people who are already in Vale. But you are all intelligent and capable of improvising, I'm not asking you to take down the White Fang single handed. You will mainly be acting as support for those with a greater aptitude for subterfuge."
"Who?"
"They will make themselves known to you after you successfully infiltrate Vale. If you're captured in the attempt it's better that you know nothing. As for being recognisable, it's easy enough to change your appearance, I'm sure you will be able to work something out."
"But why us?" Blake stressed again.
Yang could sense the worry hidden just underneath the surface of Blake's tone and unlike anyone else in the room she knew it did not stem from the fear of going into a dangerous situation. The rest of them might be able to get away with changing their clothes, Blake wouldn't.
She was not going into the city just as a participant of the tournament, she was going into a city ruled by the organisation she used to belong to. How many members of the White Fang would be able to recognise her at a glance no matter what she did? The entire plan was dangerous for all of them, but it was absolutely deadly for Blake.
"We're just students." Blake gave Yang a grateful glance as she took her friend's side.
"You may have been students but can you honestly say you are anymore? And do you honestly believe that no one should fight back against the White Fang? I'd thought better of you both. If I don't send you someone else would have to go in your place, true hunters are meant to put the needs of others before their own."
It was so frustrating to not be able to tell him the reason why they were protesting so much, but she wouldn't reveal Blake's other secret. It was hers to tell. Vale was the last place Yang wanted to go, and though she understood that someone had to fight back against the White Fang, it couldn't be Blake.
"But ̶ ̶ "
Ozpin's voice grew much harder as he cut Blake off. "You seem to be under the misapprehension that I am asking you, I am not, I am ordering you. In ninety six hours you will be in Vale."
He and Blake stared hard at each other, and though Blake had glares that were capable of cutting through steel, they just bounced off the aura of authority that Ozpin exuded. He was no longer the slightly eccentric headmaster of Beacon instead he sounded like a general who expected to be obeyed. And the worst thing was he had the power to make them do anything he wanted.
When Blake finally lowered her eyes Ozpin looked at the other two. Though Velvet was slightly more pale than usual, to this point they had remained silent. When no more arguments emerged he passed out four dossiers.
Yang flicked through hers. It contained a recent map and photos of Vale and the area surrounding it, pictures of the apartment that had presumably been acquired for them, and profiles of some of the known White Fang members.
"We're going in through Mountain Glenn? I thought the White Fang destroyed the tunnels." Coco said.
"They were breached in a dozen locations but they should still be passable and will bring you out right beneath the industrial districts."
"Won't they be guarding the tunnels? And what about the Grimm?"
"We think it's unlikely. The White Fang completely vacated Mountain Glenn. They've no reason to post guards on the tunnels apart from to drive away any errant Grimm, but there are dozens of service hatches you will be able to break in through before the station. And as for the Grimm you might encounter some, but not in any significant numbers. You should be able to handle them."
"Think, might, should, this isn't exactly the most sold intel I've ever been given." Coco continued to read through the documents. "And as far as I can tell there's no back up plan, no way of signalling a pick up once we get near Mountain Glenn."
"I admit that it's not as complete as I would like but it's what we have. The White Fang still haven't reactivated Vale's CCT so getting information out of the city is difficult at best. You'll be able to improvise in whatever way you desire and you're a strong enough team to handle any unexpected circumstances."
"But we're not a team." Coco's tone took a slight hint of apology. "No offence, we all know just how good RWBY is, but you guys are first years. I can't see any hint of Fox or Yatsuhashi in here. Why are you splitting up CFVY? With all four of us we'd definitely be able to handle anything that arises."
"I did consider assigning those two to this mission, but their strengths are better used elsewhere. You four will be able to blend in, Fox and Yatsuhashi won't be able to, they stand out too much. You're forgetting getting into Vale is the easy part, it's what you have to do after that will be difficult."
"And just what are we going to be doing, I see lists of White Fang members. Do you expect us to assassinate them?" It was obvious just who had taken the mantle of leadership.
"In short yes." The curtness of the answer shocked everybody, even Coco. They were hunters not assassins. "You will disrupt White Fang operations in whatever way possible. If they are spending resources to fix something, you should break it. If they're building something you should tear it down. And if the opportunity presents itself you should kill any integral members of the White Fang. We are at war and everyone you kill is one who cannot kill another innocent."
They were all silent for a time. Yang didn't like this. It was one thing to kill someone in the middle of combat, she'd done it and though they occasionally showed themselves in her dreams, she understood those times it had been her or them. Purposefully and coldly planning someone's death was something that she didn't know if she had the stomach for.
Velvet surprised them all by softly speaking up, Yang had almost forgotten the quiet girl was there. "What about the woman? The one you fought, she's not in here."
Yang didn't quite manage to capture the kaleidoscope of emotions that flited over Ozpin's face but it ended with deadly neutrality. "If she's there it would be best if you stay away from her."
"Just who is she? What is she? How was she able to do what she did? And how were you able to stop her?" The stream of questions left Yang in a moment, but ever her fiery blood chilled when Ozpin glared at her.
"That is information that is not relevant to you in any way seeing as you will not be engaging her. I will tell you this though, she is one of the more powerful Dust users in the world. It is for your safety that I recommend avoiding her at all costs."
There was no way she was just a Dust user. It would have taken a truck of red Dust to fuel her fight with Ozpin, not just what they had on them, and that didn't explain just how both of them were able to withstand attacks that had levelled buildings.
"But if she's there we need to know something."
"You do. Stay away from her." Yang made to open her mouth again. "That line of enquiry is over," his tone was absolute. "Now is there anything else?"
With Yang still smarting from the rebuke to her perfectly reasonable question, Coco asked about several other aspects of their mission. Where they would be staying, what funds they would have available, just how they would contact the resistance when they were in place, and more, going over every minuscule detail that may affect them in some way, with Blake and Velvet chiming up every so often.
Now they had left the subject of the woman behind, Ozpin answered all her questions to the best of his knowledge, but Yang couldn't shake the feeling that the pyromancer was vital. Ozpin knew her somehow. Knew just who she was despite what he said. It was likely they would be forced to encounter her, but she also recognised it was beyond her to make him reveal any of it to them.
"The Bullhead will depart from here at nineteen hundred hours tomorrow, if that's everything, I wish you luck." Ozpin stood and held out his hand for all of them. "Remember the oaths you made when you started on the path to becoming a hunter, they are all the more important now. Honour the memory of those who died." After they'd all shaken he dismissed them.
Just before they reached the door Ozpin spoke for the last time. "Oh and Yang wish Ruby a happy birthday for me."
Yang was taken off guard. Through the entire meeting he had been solely in the persona of their commanding officer and yet here he was remembering the birthday of one of his old students. "I will."
Ruby's birthday was part of the reason she'd been so frustrated when she'd received the summons. Normally she would have spent the entire day with her sister doing whatever Ruby wanted and now it would likely be late before they managed to get back to Atlas. The dark corner of her mind informed her it might be the last of Ruby's birthdays she witnessed.
In the hall once they'd closed the door Coco turned on them. "Right let's go find a room and work out what we all need to do before we leave." For someone who had gotten used to Ruby's rather more passive leadership style Yang recognised it was going to take her a while to adjust.
After spotting an open office that was more of a closet Yang called out to them. "You two go ahead, I just need a word with Blake about Ruby's present." It was a feeble excuse but it was the best she could come up with.
Coco raised an eyebrow but nodded the affirmative and Yang dragged Blake into the office before shutting the door. There were about thirty hours before she'd be heading back to Vale, she didn't want to do it, but there was no way she could allow Blake to go.
"Blake you can't go back, you'll be recognised."
Blake spoke in a tired voice. "Yang don't you think I know that? Most of the upper echelon will recognise me on sight but I don't have a choice."
"You could tell him."
"Tell him what?" Blake's anger was almost palpable in the small room. "That I was a member of the terrorist organisation who we're fighting against? That would end one of two ways. Either he'd have me arrested and likely executed or he'd force me to prove my loyalty by sending me to Vale! Either way, he'd always have that over my head. You saw in there what I've known all along, he might play at being the kind headmaster, but underneath he's as ruthless as anyone who's ever made anything of themselves in this crappy world. We're just pieces on a board to him."
"Fine we don't go. We run away." Yang knew she was clutching at straws but she couldn't face losing Blake.
"And go where? Desertion is a capital offence. I'd go from only having the White Fang wanting to kill me, to just about everyone on the planet! And you'd be standing on the block right next to me. Our lives would be ruined. You're forgetting running from problems is what I do and it doesn't solve anything. I've lived while being hunted Yang, it's horrible. We'd never be able to settle down anywhere. Never be able to achieve anything with our lives. And what about Ruby? You'd never be able to see her again lest she be charged with collusion, are you ready for that?"
An all too familiar feeling was running rampant inside of Yang, helplessness. Blake's logic had torn gaping holes in the only solutions that had come to her mind. She was trapped on a path deep down she knew would end with tears.
"Then what?" Yang shoved a finger under her sunglasses to wipe away the moisture at the corner of her eyes. "At least I'm trying Blake, what's your plan?"
"I don't know ok? I don't have one." Blake turned away from her and looked out the small window. "Look we don't have a choice. Not if you don't want both our lives to be completely ruined. As long as I'm careful I should able to avoid everyone I used to know and maybe we'll be able to find a reason to stay out of the city, taking down patrols or something."
"That's it? Just hope you don't get spotted."
"It's all we have, there's no way out of this. I know you're scared. You'd be an idiot not to be, so am I, but we'll figure something out. We have a couple more days before we actually get to Vale." Blake hung her head and her voice took on a tone on dejection. "I'm sorry once again I'm nothing but trouble."
Framed by the window Blake cut a despondent figure. Her natural poise had vanished as all her old decisions came back to haunt her once more. Normally when Blake got like this she went off alone, to whatever solitary location she could find, but this time Yang wouldn't let her.
In the past couple of weeks Blake had been her rock, now it was her turn. She still didn't have a solution. She still wanted to shout at whatever god had made the pair of them its plaything, and she was sure it was only going to get worse from here, but it would get worse for them together.
Yang wrapped her arms around Blake from the back but softly, not squeezing tightly like normal. She relaxed control of her Semblance slightly so heat wafted around them and rested her chin on Blake's shoulder speaking into her ear. "You're not trouble. You're my best friend. We'll find a way through this. You're right we have a few more days, we're both intelligent we'll be able to come up with something and if we don't, we'll just improvise. It's going to be ok Blake."
It was a lie. There was no way she could say that with any conviction and they both knew it, but it was a lie made of silk and velvet. It was more comforting than the truth and at that moment they both chose to believe it.
Blake reached up and squeezed Yang's hands. "Thank you."
They stayed entwined for a few more minutes not saying anything but shared strength flitted back and forth between them. They would get through this… somehow. Eventually Yang released her.
"I suppose we better go and find the other two and work out just what we need."
"Yeah I guess. We should probably call Weiss as well and tell her that we might be a little late, you know how much she's been fretting over Ruby's party."
That was a call that probably wouldn't be pleasant, Weiss wanted to make Ruby's first birthday since they met special. It was a sentiment the rest of them wholeheartedly agreed with and they'd all been helping her, but now Yang knew about their deployment. It was even more special now. It would be their last evening together for who knew how long.
A/N: So now we have an idea of what Yang and Blake are going to be doing. The story was always going to return to where it began, there are far too many loose ends that need tying up.
I'm glad that, seemingly from the feedback I got, everyone seemed to enjoy Ozpin's two chapters. His whole storyline is going a long way away from what RWBY fundamentally is and what I'm sure you thought you were reading when you first started Innocence, but I wanted to do a story larger in scope than just the four main characters.
Anyway thanks for reading and if you can leave a review. Your feedback is always appreciated.