Fun fact right quick: the title of last week's chapter comes from the song Melted by Akdong Musician, which I used mainly for when Farran yelled at Ecru, great song and awesome K-Pop duo.

Chapter 26

Farran breathed in the cool night air as he crawled up a small hill. He reached the peak of the hill and looked straight ahead at a five story building that was being used for workers of the Dust processing factory in Atlas, specifically in the city of Rhea. He pulled out binoculars and looked at all the windows of the building until he spotted what he was looking for on the fourth floor: Pyrrha Arc, looking beaten and sitting on a chair as a guard stood behind her. Farran set a briefcase he had carried with him down and popped the lid open, revealing a multitude of gun parts.

Farran swiftly pulled out each piece and assembled the sniper rifle he used in the war just a month ago. While he would've preferred to have used his own rifle, he didn't know if it could hit a target that was 200 yards away, thus why he called in a favor to Ozpin to get his war rifle. He aimed down the scope, lining it up on the White Fang soldier's head as his radio came to life.

"In position?" Ecru asked over it.

"10-4, and it's Pyrrha. ETA?"

"Three minutes. How bad is it inside?"

"Give me a minute," Farran said as he peered through his binoculars again, switching over to a thermal view as he looked the building over slowly. He noted a multitude of guards all throughout the building.

"Target is on the fourth floor with four guards: 15 guards on the fifth and about 40 throughout the bottom three levels."

"Copy," Ecru said as Farran lined the shot back up. He breathed slowly as his mind traced back over the events of the past day: just 20 hours ago they were honoring Velvet and Yatsuhashi's lives and here they were now. While everyone was grieving, they knew at the same time that Pyrrha needed to be rescued and resolved to get it done right away. Farran snapped back to Ecru and team JNPR landing on the roof while the rest of team RWBY, Sun and Neptune landed on the ground, jumping from a hovering Bullhead to hide their approach.

"Easy guys, remember to keep quiet, we have no idea what they're capable of," Farran said. The plan was simple: take down the multitudes of guards quietly, get Pyrrha, see if they had any info on Ruby then extract out.

Ecru breathed slowly as he opened the roof access door slowly, spotting two guards that Jaune took care of quietly with Ren. They moved through the rest of the fifth floor with ease, knocking out guards or silencing them before they could raise an alarm. Blake was moving through guards on the first floor with Sun easily, knocking them out and using her clones to distract them as Sun hit them from behind. Yang was using her brute strength to slam unsuspecting guards into walls, something Farran shook his head at as a few guards noticed but were quickly taken down by Weiss. She scolded her teammate as she and Neptune headed up and moved through the guards on the third floor.

"Guys, I think they know," Farran said as he watched the soldier behind Pyrrha cock his gun and push it against the back of her head. She didn't move and kept looking straight ahead, a single tear running down her left cheek as Ecru planted a blasting charge on the door to the room.

"Blake, Sun, Yang, use the windows to surprise them; Weiss, Neptune, rendezvous with Ecru's squad."

"Aren't we going to be in the way?" Sun asked as he leapt up to the window ledge with Blake and Yang in tow.

"No because we move on my mark," Farran said as he calmed his body down and cocked his sniper.

"What mark?" Weiss asked as Farran counted down from ten over the radio.

"3… 2… 1…" he said as he exhaled slowly and pulled the trigger of his sniper rifle, sending a single bullet into the White Fang soldier's head as Ecru detonated the breaching charge. Blake, Sun and Yang jumped through the window, which easily shattered because of the bullet and took out two guards while Ecru and Neptune clobbered the last guard. Jaune entered and looked Pyrrha over, who looked up at him with tears in her eyes as she started to cry uncontrollably.

"Get the hell out of there now guys!" Farran said as he spotted a few more soldiers heading into the building, shooting one in the leg as two charged at him while shooting. He pulled out his sword, blocked a few shots and easily cut them down as Jaune cut Pyrrha's restraints, picked her up and jumped out of the window with everyone else.

"Bullhead Medic 0-3, where the hell are you?!" Farran yelled. Two Bullheads suddenly flew overhead 40 feet from the ground and quickly landed. He picked his sniper rifle back up and aimed at the building as everyone ran by him, making sure they weren't being followed as Ecru and team JNPR got into the medical Bullhead while everyone else clamored into the other one. Both took off quickly as medical personnel looked over Pyrrha, who clung to Jaune and buried her head in his chest, tears rolling down all of team JNPR's faces and Ecru's as he looked over her wounds and shook his head.

"Ecru, any intel?" Farran's voice rang over the radio.

"None man, sorry," Ecru said as he started to help the medics.

Multiple scars had shown where her body had healed wounds, such as the one Cinder had done to her and Ruby on the video sent to them. She had a hard time moving her right arm and right knee and her eyes and cheeks looked swollen from multiple beatings. She held onto Jaune tightly, who cooed into her ear as his tears fell into her amber hair.

"You're going home Pyrrha," Jaune said quietly as he rubbed her shoulders while Nora tried to cheer her up with her trademark energy.

"What's the damage?" Ecru asked his partner as he approached Pyrrha's room. Farran was standing outside and looking into the room through a window a day after her rescue.

"Multiple layers of tissue damage throughout her body, a knee that needs a brace to heal properly and an arm that is gonna take a while to heal."

"Hell is she ever going to fight again?" Ecru asked in a sad tone.

"Give her body a week and a half and it'll be back to where it was. If there's one good thing about Hunters, especially her-"

"She can take a helluva beating but keep going. Good point," Ecru said as Farran nodded his head, watching Jaune and Pyrrha talk to one another.

"I need to talk to her."

"Dude, you know now is not the best time. "

"And everyday we don't find Ruby, she could be like that or a lot worse and I'm not going to let that happen," Farran said with a hint of anger. Ecru watched him enter the room from the window, hoping Pyrrha would give Farran something to calm him down.

"How you feeling Pyrrha?" Farran asked, rubbing her right arm as he stood to the right of the bed with Jaune to her left.

"I can't describe it Farran… happy, angry, sad, in pain, achy…" she said as he patted her arm.

"I understand. Pyrrha… I know this is going to be hard to answer… but I need you to remember anything about Ruby while you two were captured, mainly if you know where she is," he asked, earning a glare from Jaune that Farran returned as she turned her head to Jaune slowly.

"Jaune, its okay: you would be asking the same question if things were different," she said, patting his hand as she turned back to Farran, "Honestly I don't remember much, only the beatings they gave me. Though, I remember getting on an airship to come to Atlas but that's it."

"Anything happen during the trip?"

"All I remember is a light slowly enveloping my closed eyes… like a large door raising slowly," she said as Farran nodded, thanked her, patted her hand again and Jaune's shoulder before leaving the room and turning to Ecru.

"I need to borrow your girlfriend."

"Why am I not shocked."

"So, why bring me along this time?"

"I don't feel like going through a table again," Farran said as he and Yang walked into the club, which had no one in it except Junior and a few of his men.

"So you don't want your question to be tabled?" she said with a sly grin, earning a groan from Farran as they walked toward Junior., who crouched to grab something behind the counter.

"Why not just ask Weiss?"

"Her family would grow suspicious as would her company and I don't want her to get on bad terms with them," Farran replied as he waited at the bar with Yang until Junior popped back up and sighed.

"Oh God what now?" he asked as he polished a glass, "And why bring her?"

"Aw, you didn't miss me?" Yang said with a grin as Farran took out a card of lien.

"One question, 50,000 lien. Deal?" he asked as he set it down on the bar counter.

"Shoot."

"When's the next shipment of Dust moving through Vale?"

"Two days at around 3. You should be able to catch it before it gets to the processing center in the mountains using one of the highways."

"Perfect, thank you Junior," Farran said as the information broker nodded and looked at Yang, who looked at him and smiled.

"I'll be around," she said as the two Hunters left while Junior shook his head.

Farran loaded the assault rifle then pulled a black ski mask over his head, which Blake, Ecru and Sun copied. Each was wearing heavy black armor around their entire bodies as they waited in the Bullhead, which was following a semi-truck over a high-way about 100 feet above it.

"Alright, you know the drill: we land on top, knock the guards and driver out, plant the tracker and wait. Got it?" he asked as everyone nodded their heads in response. They waited until the Bullhead suddenly lowered, its left hangar door opening, allowing the four disguised Hunters to land hard on top of the trailer, causing the semi to slam on its brakes and hold up traffic. They lurched forward but quickly corrected themselves as Farran ran forward, jumped, grabbed the top of the driver side door and slammed his boots through the window, crashing them into the drivers face. He was knocked unconscious as his friend pulled a pistol out and aimed only to be pulled through the passenger window by Ecru, who elbowed his temple to knock him out.

Blake and Sun shot open the lock to the trailer and were immediately met by five armed guards, who opened fire as Farran planted a small tracker on the underside of the driver seat. He heard the gunshots and ran to the back to witness Blake hit one with the butt of her rifle, shot another in the shoulder and kicked one in the groin. Sun whipped around with a roundhouse kick to a guard's helmet, knocking it off as he punched the man hard, knocking him into a trailer door, allowing Sun to shoot the last guard in the shin. The man cried in pain until Farran knocked him out, quickly bandaging him and the other wounded guard as they moved them and the drivers to the side of the road. Cars behind them had already cleared of civilians as Farran noted a truck coming up and cocked his rifle.

"That's them," he said as he aimed and shot out the front right tire, causing it to spin around as nine White Fang soldiers got out. They exchanged fire with one another, bullets whizzing by that reminded Farran of the war as he got out from behind a car and unloaded his clip. As he reloaded, a soldier took aim and fired, blood exploding from Farran's chest as Ecru looked over in horror. He screamed in anger and stood up, shooting and being shot as blood poured from his chest and arm until he collapsed. Blake and Sun turned and ran, each taking two shots in the back, their armor exploding in red as the soldiers quickly moved up, piled into the semi and sped away. The four hunters laid on the ground until Farran opened his eyes and looked around slowly.

"Well that went better than expected," Farran said, sitting up as he removed his ballistic jacket and mask.

"Yeah, good idea with the red food dye," Ecru said as he peeled his armor off slowly, pulling out his Scroll to call for an ambulance.

"So, now we wait?" Blake asked.

"You guys do, I need to answer to the Council."

Farran sat in a chair behind a desk in a small chamber, looking over the files he had brought with him in a black business suit, white undershirt and grey tie. Whenever the Council of Hunters wanted to question a Hunter, said Hunter had two days to properly prepare themselves with evidence, files, etc. The truck was at a motel, more than likely having certain parts, such as the license plate, trailer number and cab all being replaced so it could move easier through Vale. He sighed to himself as five elderly members, dressed in white robes, entered the well-lit circular chamber, their spaces being highlighted along with his by overhead lights that clashed with the slightly yellow walls.

"You know why you're here Farran Empyrean?" one asked as Farran nodded his head slowly.

"You guys are investigating Velvet Scarlatina and Yatsuhashi Daichi's murder."

"Indeed we are."

"You want to know if I improperly used them and/or overstepped my powers," Farran said, eyeing each of the members who nodded their heads slowly.

"We have to launch these inquiries when such things happen and you know that. You may be a Crusader, but you still have to answer to us," the one in the center said as Farran nodded his head, "Now, if we find you guilty of anything, you will be stripped of your rank of Crusader and much worse, do I make myself clear?"

"Of course," Farran said as the member to the far right leaned forward.

"Why bring them in?"

"I had no choice; the White Fang knew me and Ecru Killian and had these photos of Sun Wukong and Blake Belladonna," he said, pulling out security photos of the two and handed them to a security guard, who handed them to the Council members, "This is also taking into the fact that Blake worked with the White Fang in the past and with one of their higher ranking soldiers, Adam Taurus, who is know the leader of the organization. I knew no other faunus's and turned to the only one I did know."

"Did you tell them what could happen?" one asked as she looked over the photos.

"… No… Mainly because I did not think the White Fang were capable of pulling such actions, a grave misstep on my part that I take full responsibility for," Farran said as he looked down.

"What was the plan?"

"Have them go in, get information on Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Arc then pull them out a day later while assaulting the ship to detain White Fang recruits and soldiers."

"How could you have underestimated the White Fang?" one asked with confusion.

"I just… I didn't think-"

"Well that's a problem," another said, speaking up and cutting Farran off, "You didn't think ahead, instead only thinking of getting the information instead of meticulously planning."

"Look," Farran said, standing up from his chair and eyeing the five members, "I get it, okay? My mistakes cost the lives of two well-liked Hunters who were also my acquaintances, something that will live with me long into my life. I understand that the Council may not agree or completely understand what I did, but I will say this in my defense: six years ago I lost a friend and a fellow Hunter because someone I trusted dearly betrayed me. Everyday I look at Ecru Killian I am reminded of that and know every time I look at him or any other Hunter I will be reminded of Velvet and Yatsuhashi. Yes, I miscalculated the White Fang; yes, I should've planned it out better; yes, I shoud've had a back up plan," he said, tears blurring his vision and his voice rising, "And I blame myself for convincing them to join us… but they did. I know they knew on the inside what could happen but went ahead with it because they care about their friends. You want to strip me of my rank of Crusader? Fine, be my guest. Want to say I'm no longer a Hunter? Go ahead. But don't pin their deaths on me, I am not a murderer; I messed up, yes, I will live with that for the rest of my life, but I did not put the bullets in their heads, the White Fang did."

Farran looked at the five members, turned and walked out of the room, pushing open large wooden doors and sitting on the windowsill across from the chamber, wiping his eyes as he looked at the scenery below him. The headquarters of the Council was in Atlas, in a tall white building in the heart of the capital city, flanked by hotels, businesses and government buildings. He sat there for an hour until he heard doors open and looked to his partner, who was wearing a suit, his ears perked toward Farran.

"You okay?" he asked, approaching his best friend and rubbing Farran's shoulder.

"I just felt like they were trying to pin their deaths solely on me," Farran said quietly as he watched cars drive by 30 feet below him.

"Yeah, not shocked," Ecru said as he sat across from his partner, "But, honestly Farran, I don't blame you and no one should. They were willing to do it for friends, something we all would've done and they sadly knew the worst consequences. For her sake don't blame yourself, please man," Ecru said, pleading with his teammate who nodded slowly.

"Yeah, try telling the Council that. Any news on the tracker?"

"It moved further into the mountains… and by further into I literally mean further into," Ecru said as he pulled out a picture of a 3D rendering of the mountain, showcasing the trackers location.

"That would explain what Pyrrha said about a large door… they must have built a whole base inside the mountain."

"Yeah, look at what money can do for you; your own secret evil base," Ecru said, earning a light chuckle from Farran.

"Well, after this, we go there immediately. Hopefully Ruby is down there along with a few more officers to throw into jail. We'll bring Penny along too, see if Santcum is done with her."

"Good idea, she can scan the mountain for an entrance, I'll call when you go back in. Also, preferably, I hope Adam and Rayne are there: two birds to kill with only one sword or axe," he said with a grin that Farran matched as a man came out from the chamber and tapped Farran's shoulder.

"They're ready to read the verdict sir," the young man said. Farran nodded, hugged Ecru and walked into the chamber, re-taking his seat as the elder man in the center stood up.

"Mr. Empyrean, your outburst and speech would've gotten any Hunter thrown out of here and their title of Huntsman stripped. However, given your track record and after going over everything you said and the files and pictures you brought as evidence, we hereby find you not at fault for the deaths of Velvet Scarlatina and Yatsuhashi Daichi, recognizing that they willingly gave up their lives for fellow Hunters," he said, sitting back down as Farran nodded his head, thanked the Council and walked out to Ecru, who looked at him with concern.

"And?"

"I'm not at fault," Farran said as Ecru nodded his head slowly and embraced his friend. The two stood like that for a little while until Farran looked at his partner.

"Let's go get Ruby."

I love the reaction these past couple of chapters have gotten, awesome that so many of you have liked what has been happening, appreciate it as always! Anyway, I hope you guys are ready... it's about to go down. See you guys on Friday... this is going to be a fight!