Chapter 14: The Eagle's Eye
"You sure this is the right place?" Yang asked as her and Forest walked in the forest just south of Vacuo.
"If I'm following the coordinates that Jarvis left us correctly, which I am, then it should be right … here." Forest said as she pointed to a large lake with The Hotel in the middle of it.
"Oh … I thought it would be bigger." Yang stated.
"Anyways let's get inside." Forest said as she began to walk.
"Well so much for small talk." Yang said as she began to follow.
"Well if you have any questions feel free to ask." Forest said annoyed.
"So what's your story?" Yang asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean how do you know Anton and Jarvis?" Forest was just silent. She didn't like speaking about the past. She preferred to live in the now than to recollect. So she didn't answer. "I mean I understand your sister and Anton used to be close but-" Before Yang could continue she found herself being tripped and had a loaded crossbow pointed at her face.
"Bring it up again and I won't hesitate to stick one between the eyes." Forest stated pulling Sharp away and walked on.
"Ok yesh, sorry to kill the mood. But come on lighten up." Yang complained.
"You want talk fine, Yes my sister and him were close but that was a long time ago and now he's with your sister. Yes I'm happy for him, but a word to the wise I'd keep an eye on him. My adopted father Jarvis can barely do that." Forest finished as she stopped at the bridge.
"So Jarvis is your adopted Father?" Yang asked also stopping.
"Do you always ask so many questions?" Forest asked as she just walked across the bridge.
"Hey I'm just trying to keep a light mood." Yang exclaimed as Forest stopped suddenly.
"Yeah well mood done … wait!" Forest said. Yang stopped next to Forest but threw her hands up in annoyance.
"Why wait the door is right there why don't we-"
"No shh, listen." There was no noise, no sound of anyone running, jumping, swimming, or anything. Forest and Yang began to walk slowly to the door with weapons ready. Yang knocked and they waited, still not hearing signs that anyone was home until the door open to none other than Judah himself.
"Well, what in the world are two pretty young women doing here at a time like this?" he asked tilting his hat to see them better.
"We're here on business, we were sent in spite of Anton not being available." Forest said. Judah gave a suspicious look.
"So you know the kid I asked for, well I'm going to need proof that you actually know him." Judah said. He clearly is playing but there is a hint of seriousness in his voice.
"Anton Sonreef, age seventeen, wears a green hooded coat, needs a major shave, has a thing for flirting with every girl, fighting style single sword combat, owns a tamed Nevermore, and finally works best alone unless has no other choice, did I leave anything out, no, good what information do you have for us?" Forest didn't hesitate as she walked in surprising both Judah and Yang.
"Well I'd be damned." Judah said. Yang also entered and stood next to Forest.
"Are you always this paranoid? God you're worse than Weiss." Yang mentioned.
"So the information that I have for you Shade and Goldilocks is that I recently discovered that The White Fang have been using the underground tunnels here at the hotel as not only a base but a way of transportation as well. We had to evacuate the hotel because of it. All that's left is me, the owner, the owner's daughter, and her boyfriend." Judah explained.
"Can you show us where exactly?" Forest asked. Judah just walked to a wall as it opened and motioned them to follow.
"Names Judah by the way. Judah Cortez" Judah stated as he winked at Yang. Yang just smiled and winked back as she and forest followed.
"Yang. Yang Xio Longing for you, hot stuff." Judah just chuckled and wrapped an arm around Yang's shoulders.
"Well Goldilocks, maybe you and should get a drink after this?" Judah suggested as they continued to walk. Forest rolled her eye in annoyance seeing these two flirt.
"Well if you insist but please take me to dinner first." Yang stated.
"How about we skip the dinner and go straight for the desert, I'll buy." Judah offered.
"Some other time hot stuff, for now lead the way." Yang said. Judah winked and continued to lead through the maze of darkness until it go to dark for any of them to see.
"Anyone got a torch?" Forest asked? Judah began feeling around on the wall before his head hit something attached to the wall.
"Found one, got a lighter?" he asked
"Yeah where are you?" Forest asked.
"Well I'm right behind you." Yang stated. Judah began feeling his way around again. He stopped when he felt long thick hair. "Who's that?"
"Calm down it's just me, Right next to Yang." Forest pulled out a sparkling bolt from her quiver, after scraping it against the wall it lit and she held it on the torch. After a few seconds of waiting it lit the whole room revealing three corridors.
"Great now which way?" Yang asked. Judah, in answer, pointed at the third corridor and saw a flickering light.
"Follow the flickering light up ahead." Judah stated as he began to walk towards it. Yang and Forest looked at each other and shrugged as they began to follow. They walked until they were stopped by a disconnected stairway that entered to a giant cave under the hotel. They could hear the banging of rocks and the walking of people everywhere. Judah pointed towards the bottom of the cave where they all saw members of the White Fang hard at work mining what looked like giant deposits of gems. Overlooking all the work was a woman in a red dress and black hair.
"Is that?"
"Dust, and loads of it, with that much dust they could rule the world." Judah said. Judah noticed one member running and running fast towards the woman. "We need to get closer." Forest being one step ahead loaded Sharp with a round silver cylinder she aimed at the wall across and fired. The bolt stuck the wall with a black carbon cable. Then she aimed at her feet and stuck the other bolt in the stairs completing the zip line. All three of them climbed across the line to the other end. The member stopped running to catch a breath as Yang, Judah, and Forest landed on the floor behind him. Luckily he was too tired to notice them sneak behind a pile of mined Dust. The member got up and ran again this time reaching the woman.
"Cinder, Ma'am, We found it and awaiting orders." The woman, now Cinder, gave him a look before answering.
"Bring it here; I want to see it firsthand." She said. Then three more members showed up, one hand a small golden box with an eye symbolized on the top of it. They handed it to her and she examined it as if she was looking at the first piece of chocolate she'd seen in forever. "Perfect, now onto phase three." She began to walk away as Judah, Yang, and Forest snuck up the four members. Judah smacked one behind the head, while Yang smaked two heads together leaving Forest to trip the last and hold Sharp in his face.
"Tell us what that was and we'll let you go." Forest demanded.
"I don't know." He said. Forest kicked his face.
"Real answer now."
"ok, ok it's called the Eagle's Eye, a gem of great power."
"Why would The White Fang need such an object?" Yang asked.
"It wasn't for us, it's for her, Cinder, and she has some plan to reshape Remnant." The member said
"Mind telling us anything else?" Judah asked.
"That's all I know I swear." That was the wrong answer, because Forest knocked him out cold after he said that.
"Any chance of us getting her before she leaves?" Just after Forest asked that they heard a train horn go off as the said train sped past their corridor of the cave.
"That's a negative Ghost Rider." Judah said.
"So what now?" Yang asked.
"HEY WE GOT INTRUDERS!" They heard just as they saw members of the White Fang charge at them.
"You're kidding right?" Yang said as she readied her gauntlets. Forest readied her crossbow, loading it with a green canister. Judah however was scrounging around in his leather jacket.
"Everyone ready?" Forest asked as the wave of enemies came closer.
"Almost." Judah said as he pulled out a green cylinder.
"Well hurry!" Yang yelled. Forest fired a bolt in the middle of the wave, it let out a green gas. It didn't seem to do anything until Yang fired a few random shots from her Shotgun Gaunlets, which caused the gas to have a small explosion.
"Forest fire those bolts on the roof of the cave." Not bothering to question Forest did as Judah asked and fired a bunch of those bolts on the roof, thinking it would have any better effect, as Judah extended the cylinder and held it over his shoulder pointing it up where the gas was disputed while Yang continued to fire. Soon some of the White Fang members got close enough for Yang to start punching away. She punched, kicked, and even danced with the wave of Faunus. Judah then pressed a black rectangular button on the cylinder sending a small rocket flying towards the gas. Once it hit the roof and exploded it started a chain reaction exploding the entire roof of the cave sending rocks and boulders falling.
"RUN!" Judah yelled as he ran for the broken stairs. Yang and Forest followed him leaving the White Fang to run in the opposite direction. The cave was still collapsing when the got to the broken stair and didn't really have time to react so they ran and didn't stop. Yang used her gauntlets to send herself flying into the air to jump of massive holes in the stairs, Forest used Sharp's grappling bots to clear the stairs, all leaving Judah to run on the walls, jump over boulders, and occasionally explode something only to just barely clear the entrance as rocks and debris blocked it now as he jumped onto the floor of the hotel.
"Well that was fun. Talk about a break up." Yang said. Forest just rolled her eyes annoyed by the bad pun.
"Well at least we found something … then lost it." Forest said.
"It's better than nothing at all." Judah said getting off the floor. "I'll report the tunnels are now closed to the owners, I'm sure they'll be happy to open again."
"We'll report to Anton and our employer about what exactly happened." Forest said as she turned to the spinning door to exit.
"Don't forget you and I have dinner." Yang reminded Judah.
"How does Tuesday next week sound?" Judah asked.
"It's a date." Yang said as she skipped out with Forest.
Outside Yang and Forest were walking away from the hotel and headed north back to Vacuo.
"So …" Yang started, trying to have a decent conversation.
"Yang?" Forest, clearly didn't want small talk with the sound in her voice.
"Yeah?" Forest sighed giving in finally.
"How do you flirt with guys?" Yang gave forest a look that said 'oh my gosh no wonder'.
"Is that why you're so easily annoyed?" Yang teased as she would with Ruby.
"Shut up." Forest commented, embarrassed that she didn't know how to talk to guys.
"tell you what, I'll give you tips on the way." Forest looked at Yang with hope and glitter in her eyes.
"Really?" Yang wrapped an arm around the innocent girl with a smile.
"Sure, stick with me kid and you'll have every guy wanting your attention." She winked and the girls walked on with their conversation. Somethings were still unclear to Forest, what was The Eagle's Eye, why was it important. Just what did that member mean by 'Reshape Remnant'? Both questions would have to be answered later. Forest just hopped that everyone else had some of these answers.