Chapter 25

Farran quickly called everyone into the dining room, large printouts of the pictures Velvet sent him pinned to the walls. He allowed everyone to sit down either in chairs or on the table before he spoke.

"Alright, Velvet just sent this to me. One of them is in a building in Rhea, which is on the outskirts of the capital city of Atlas."

"That looks like one of my family's production facilities," Weiss said, getting up from Neptune's lap and approaching one of the pictures, "Oh my God… it is."

"It would make sense to hide one of them there; those faunus workers are still probably pissed and think 'Hey, we'll help the White Fang by hiding a few people for them'," Jaune said.

"Not all of them would do that," Blake said in a matter of fact tone, earning an apologetic look from Jaune.

"I see your point Jaune. Blake, I believe he meant that some may have those kind of thoughts," Farran said, calming down the faunus as he turned to the heiress, "Weiss, can you get me a better, more detailed map?" Farran asked, getting a nod as a response from her, "Okay, from what I can tell someone, I think Pyrrha is being held in this building," he said as he pointed to a square on the white map, making everyone look up intently at Farran.

"What makes you think that building and that its Pyrrha?" Ren asked before Jaune could.

"I'm basing it off Blake and Sun's intel. Concerning her location, that building is away from the main group of buildings, meaning they could hide her and not have that many people question what was happening. I think, not trying to insult anyone here, that some workers may be in on it, which is what Jaune suggested."

"Wouldn't be shocked," Sun said as he sat back in his chair while rubbing Blake's hand.

"So how do we get her?" Nora asked.

"The terrain seems to be flat with a few small hills. I'm gonna perch myself here," he said, circling an up arrow on the map, "I'll use it as a sniper position. Then, two teams will go in, one from the top and one from the bottom. We pancake them, locate whoever is being held there, then pull out. Questions?" he asked. Everyone shook their heads in response as he nodded his head slowly.

"I'll get that map immediately," Weiss said, walking away to her room as everyone else got up to get their gear on.

"You sure its Pyrrha?" Jaune asked as he approached Farran.

"No, we'll have to wait and see, but I have that feeling," Farran answered as he walked up to his room to grab his sword. He pulled on a black trench coat with red sleeves and hood, put his sheath on his back while pulling the straps around his chest. He buckled his magnum holster and walked out, waiting at the bottom of the steps. Weiss approached him and handed him a topographical map, pointing out the important parts of the facility.

"So, does your family own the town?"

"No, we just provide a lot of jobs even though we mainly use faunus's with the processing factory. When the Schnee's started the company, they made an agreement with the four kingdoms to put a processing factory in each kingdom to create jobs and generate income. Each was placed wherever the kingdom wanted and Atlas wanted this one next to Rhea. By having it so close, the product could immediately head to stores, cutting out the middle man."

"Ingenious," Farran said as he looked over the map.

"Oh my GOD!" he heard someone yell from the living room. He and Weiss quickly ran and saw Ren pointing at the TV in the living room. On the screen was Roman Torchwick standing behind Velvet and Yatsuhashi, who were both tied up.

"Got it Farran," Velvet said as she hung up and quickly sent the photos to the unmarked Scroll. They were delivered and Velvet breathed a sigh of relief as she sat on her bed.

"Alright, that's one, even though we don't know who it is. How are we going to discover where the other is?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"I don't know, but I do know that we should be sent out soon, meaning we should be able to get more information quickly," she said as they both heard a knock on the door. Yatsuhashi opened the door to a guard.

"What are you two doing in here?"

"Well, it's our room and we were just relaxing," Yatsuhashi said in a threatening tone as the soldier looked at him.

"Hmph, I heard you talking to someone else: hand the Scroll over," she said to Velvet, holding his hand out.

"Sorry," she said as she handed it to him, "I was just telling a friend to watch over my parents. They don't know I'm here."

"That's fine. We just don't want to be tracked. Come on, its dinner time," she said as she turned and walked away with Yatsuhashi and Velvet on her heels. They walked down into the cafeteria of the ship and looked around at the other young recruits. They got their food and sat down next to one another along with two other recruits, sharing light conversation with them.

"So, why did you join human?" one asked Yatsuhashi.

"I'm tired of her being treated like shit," he said as he took a bite of steak as Velvet smiled at her teammate.

"Good to see we finally have some humans coming to the cause," the other said to his friend, "Maybe now people will take us seriously."

"Man I hope," the friend said, finishing his drink, getting up and walking away. His friend looked at the two Hunters, said goodbye and left, running after his friend.

"They seemed nice," Velvet said as she bit into a roll, "Wonder why they left in a hurry."

"Because of us," she heard behind her as she felt a rifle press against the back of her head. She gasped as she slowly raised her hands, with Yatsuhashi copying her motion as they were told to stand up. The two guards pressed their guns to the Hunter's backs and directed them out of the cafeteria and onto the bridge, were Roman Torchwick stood, his back to them as he looked out the windows.

"Ah, you two. I knew you two were here only because I knew Farran would try something like this… Shame, he gets predictable at times," he said as he turned around to them. The two looked at him with determination, not conveying any other emotions even though there hearts were racing.

"Well, Cinder's gone and I got a ship full of soldiers with their CO coming back in oh, about," he said as he looked down at his wrist when the door was opened by Adam Taurus, "Oh! There he is. You have some bad kids to deal with."

"I see," he said as he walked over and stood in front of the two Hunters shaking his head, "Farran will pay for this dearly."

Farran noticed the multiple gashes on both Hunters while also noting the bullet hole in Yatsuhashi's left leg. Everyone else had joined them and were watching as Jaune kept trying to change the channel, however each showed the same image.

"Ecru, track their location now," he said to his partner, who quickly left and came back into the room with a laptop. Roman stepped forward with a grin and shaking head as he looked into the camera.

"Ladies and gentleman of Remnant, I am Roman Torchwick, known thief extraordinaire. As you all know, nearly a week ago, two Huntress's were horribly kidnapped from there homes. Well, we have them but the more important thing is that the Hunter in charge of their rescue sent in two more to try and find them. What a shame, and now that Hunter will learn what happens when you do such a thing," he said as he stepped back and motioned with his hands for two guards to step forward. They stood beside the two Hunters, who were kneeling on the ground, and cocked their pistols as Adam Taurus stood in front of the camera.

"The White Fang lives on to fight the scourge of humanity in different ways. Whether it be fighting you all head on or even sending a message to every single Hunter. Don't cross us again," he said as he stepped to the side. Velvet looked up at the camera and smiled as tears fell down her cheeks. The soldier next to her turned and fired, sending a bullet through her head as Yatsuhashi screamed, which quickly ended as a bullet ripped through his head. The two bodies slumped back as Weiss and Nora yelped in shock at the shots.

"I hope you've learned your lesson," Roman said into the camera as the feed cut out to two news anchors, who looked shocked while they sat at their table. Jaune cut the TV off as Farran covered his mouth with his hand and back away slowly to lean against the wall. Ecru looked on in pure horror, tears going down his cheeks as the room fell silent. Blake and Yang placed their faces in their hands, Ren held Nora tightly, Ecru wrapped an arm around Yang while Sun and Neptune shook their heads as Jaune patted Weiss's hand.

Farran quickly snatched Ecru's laptop, spotted were Velvet's Scroll was and threw it on the table as he stormed out. Ecru quickly followed him with Sun tagging along as they got in the Phantom and drove off while Sun called the police. Farran stopped the car in front of the ship and leapt out with the other two as they ran up the steps to the deck. They looked around and noticed that the ship looked abandoned as they ran around, looking around, stumbling over objects left behind hurriedly until Sun opened a door deep inside the ship.

"Guys," he tried to yell, barely audible, walking forward and looking at the two bodies. Ecru and Farran quickly showed up and stopped at the door as Sun crumbled next to the bodies and shook his head. Farran walked forward and kneeled next to Yatsuhashi's body, closing his eyes as Ecru closed Velvet's eyes while tears went down his cheeks. Soon enough the three Hunters were joined by medical personnel and police who escorted them away and asked them a couple of questions. They were allowed to leave and shortly returned to the mansion.

"I... I honestly don't know what to say… the heist will be postponed and I'll see about another shipment… We're going to help set… set up the funerals," Farran said, addressing everyone in the living room. They nodded slowly, their faces showing different stages of grief.

Two days later everyone stood in a graveyard with other Hunters at Velvet and Yatsuhashi's funeral, which was accompanied by a small wind and a bright sky. The priest finished his sermon, allowing everyone to lay roses on the caskets and say their goodbyes. Farran stood between the two caskets, looking down while wearing a black suit, lost in his own thoughts. Someone approached him and handed him a letter, which he opened and read over slowly as Ecru walked up to him.

"What is it?"

"The Council is launching an inquiry into their deaths."

"They're gonna grill you hard man," Ecru said, patting Farran's shoulder, who nodded slowly as he slipped the letter into an inner pocket of his jacket, "You okay?"

"No, I'm not Ecru. You?"

"Hell no," he said as he spotted Coco and Fox approaching the two. Farran stepped forward and stopped in front of the two, Coco's face betraying so much sadness as she held on to her teammates arm.

"Coco, Fox, I… words cannot describe how sorry I am about the events that transpired. Had I known the White Fang would do so such an unfathomable thing, I never would've-" he said until he was stopped by a hard smack across his cheek from Coco, who hit him again on his other cheek with her open palm. Fox held her arms as tears went down her face and sobbed loudly. The young man looked at Farran with his blank eyes and shook his head slowly.

"It would not be wise for you to not cross our paths... for a long while Farran," he said quietly, which Farran nodded at as Fox lead Coco away. Ecru patted his shoulder from behind as Farran walked away to the Phantom with his faunus partner. The two arrived last at the mansion, spotting everyone gathered in the lobby wearing black dresses and suits.

"I'll be in my room," he said quietly, walking past everyone and to his room as they all watched. He walked in and walked upstairs to his desk, which was strewn with notes and other items. He looked at all of them and pushed it all off suddenly and with anger and screamed at the top of his lungs. He pounded the desk multiples times, tears running down his face as he sat in the chair and leaned forward on the desk, his hands covering his eyes. He heard his door open and someone run up the small amount of steps.

"Farran, the hell? Are you okay?" Ecru asked as he walked forward slowly. Farran shook his head slowly in response as Ecru placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey man, it'll… it'll be okay."

"No it won't Ecru!" he yelled, getting up and standing mere inches from his friend's face, "It is never okay! I fucked up! AGAIN! I COST PEOPLE THEIR LIVES!"

"Calm down man!" Ecru yelled back as he gripped his shoulders but Farran shook them off.

"I WONT! I AM TIRED OF GETTING PEOPLE HURT OR KILLED! I'M TIRED OF NOT FULLFILLING PROMISES!" he yelled in his teammates face, causing Ecru to take a few steps back and look in confusion.

"What promises?"

"I… I promised to protect everyone… I promised to myself to protect team FTRE… TO PROTECT RUBY!" he yelled as he turned his back to his friend and gripped the desk. Ecru looked at his best friend, who was shaking uncontrollably, "I-I promised… to protect T-Tyrian… V-Velvet… Everyone… I-I'm tired of p-people d-dying… and its m-my fault…"

"Its not Farran-"

"Just please… l-leave me Ecru," he said slowly and quietly over his shoulder. Ecru nodded his head slowly, turned around and walked back downstairs to Yang.

"He okay?" Yang asked as Ecru took her hand and kissed it slowly.

"He's completely distraught… I feel the same way, I never got to say goodbye."

"None of got the proper chance to baby," she said as she opened the front door to Ozpin, who had been knocking on it gently.

"Is Farran here?"

"Upstairs," she said quietly as she returned to Ecru while Ozpin walked upstairs, "Talk to me Ecru."

"I just… I miss her so much already Yang."

"We all do Ecru," she said as he sat down on the stairs. Yang sat next to him and rubbed his arm as Ozpin came back downstairs to the two of them.

"Are you okay Mr. Killian?" he asked.

"I will be Oz… it just…"

"I know Ecru," Ozpin said, placing a hand on Ecru's shoulder as he turned to Yang, "And you Ms. Xiao Long?"

"I'm fine," she said as Ozpin squinted at her.

"Be honest."

"I just… What if they… w-with Ruby," she began as tears formed in her eyes. Ecru looked at her and hugged her tightly as tears went down her cheeks, caressing her cheeks to remove the tears as Ozpin squeezed her shoulder.

"I don't think Farran will allow that to happen."

"We won't allow that to happen," Ecru said, looking at Yang then Ozpin, who nodded his head, "Don't worry sweetie, it'll be okay. We'll get Ruby," he said as Yang started to calm down and nod her head slowly.

"S-sorry-"

"Don't apologize Yang, it's okay," he said with a small smile that she copied as he looked up at Ozpin, "Care to join us? We're having coffee and celebrating their lives."

"I shall," Ozpin said with a smile. The three got up and entered the kitchen, chatting with everyone who told stories of different encounters with team CFVY and of Velvet and Yatsuhashi. Hours went by as everyone resolved to finish the mission to find Pyrrha and Ruby and to finish it in their friend's memory. A small storm was passing through as Ozpin left.

"Nora, can you see if Farran will come down?" Ecru asked the Huntress. She nodded and walked upstairs, knocking on his door lightly.

"Farran? Can I come in?" she asked as she opened the door slowly. She entered his room and walked upstairs to find the Crusader leaned over his desk. She walked up to him slowly and noticed that he was asleep. She quickly went back, grabbed a blanket off his bed and threw it around him while he slept. She spotted in his hands two framed photos: one of him and Ruby during a night on the town and the other of team FTRE. She took that one and realized the back was loose on the frame, allowing her to take the photo out and look at the back. She left his room quietly, walked downstairs and into the living room to Ecru and Yang, who were still in their funeral attire as they watched the news.

"Ecru, he's asleep, but he was holding this," she said as she handed him the picture. He held the picture in his hand as a smile graced his lips.

"I remember this."

"Ah come on! One picture!" Ecru said to Farran, who looked at the faunus and shook his head.

"Oh fine."

"There it is! Alright guys, gather around!" he said as he held his Scroll above them. Rayne wrapped an arm around Farran's waist, which he copied as he wrapped an arm around Ecru's shoulder. Tyrian and Ecru wrapped their arms around one another as they all looked up and smiled.

"To our new team!" Tyrian yelled, earning cheers from his teammates as Ecru took the picture.

"Perfect! I'll print these out so everyone can have one, sound good?" he asked, earning approval from everyone as they continued to celebrate their team formation at Beacon.

Ecru looked over the picture fondly with Yang until he turned it around and looked at the back. He saw, in small writing 'Promise to protect them, they're family now'. He sat back as Nora left while Yang looked over it and rubbed his hand. He looked straight ahead at the wall, ignoring the TV as the silhouette of rain dripped down the wall slowly because of the light of the moon.

Told you it was going to get dark. So, I know the question is why would I kill them off (even if it was obvious, which I tried to hide but just gave up on)? To me, I can't kill main characters especially if they aren't my own. My OC's? I most certainly can, but I just can't bring myself to kill a main character of any show because I really like them and things like that. Thus, Velvet and Yatsuhashi bit the bullet literally. Also, the chapter of this comes from a k-pop duo that you need to listen to, I'll tell you who next week! I'll see you guys next week on Monday, it's time to get their friends back!