So now the Phantoms are starting in on finding out more about Adam. This is leading up to the mission in Mountain Glenn. Hope you like the changes I made. Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, the Persona series, Five Nights at Freddy's, or Devil May Cry.
Volume 3-3: Outmaneuvering
The four teams were getting restless as Port rambled on about some other daring do he'd pulled off. "So Pyrrha," Jaune said, "After we're done with our job, wanna go see that new Spruce Willis movie? I got two tickets." Pyrrha smiled. "That sounds nice. Is it the older stuff where he did comedy, or is it his more recent action flicks?" "Actually, this one's more in-between," Jaune clarified, "I thought you'd appreciate it more if there was less action, but not completely devoid of it." Pyrrha nodded and smiled. "Yeah." "Those two hooked up quick," Weiss noted. "Now if only their teammates would just hook up and get it over with," Ruby chimed in.
"And that's when I was able to capture the Beowolf," Port finished. "It's too bad Grimm in captivity tend to die easily," Penny noted, "If they don't break out and either kill their captors or get killed trying." Port nodded. "A sad but true fact, Miss Polendina. As many of you are aware, when Grimm are killed their bodies completely disintegrate, leaving nothing left. For a Huntsman like me who hunts for sport, this is especially frustrating, and I've had to make do with replicas of the beasts I've slain. But more importantly, it denies us the opportunity to learn more about them. What little we do know comes from distant observation and notes taken during combat." The bell for the end of class went off. "Well, we'll discuss more on this concept next time."
The group set themselves up in the rec room. "Where's Team CRDL?," Penny asked, "Weren't they helping as well?" "Yeah," Jaune said, "By running interference in case someone else sees we're gone so late." "So what's the plan?," Nava said. "Blake will be taking the Faunus in our group to infiltrate a White Fang rally that's being held in the city," Ruby said. "We can't go?," Nora asked. "Do you realize how difficult it is to disguise oneself as a Faunus?," Weiss pointed out, "What are you going to do? Say you're a cow Faunus?" Nora had a sheepish look on her face. "Maybe..."
Ruby sighed. "You and Ren, along with Ebony, Yang, Jaune, and Pyrrha, will be heading for Junior's. Roman has a contact there that might know more about why Cinder is working with the White Fang. The rest of us will be heading for the CCT to make contact with Jacques. We need to get a clear understanding of what sort of damage all these Dust robberies have made." "Sweet," Susie said, "Looks like we're ready. So let's do this!" "Yeah!," came Sun's voice. The group turned to see him right outside the window. "How did you get up here?," Imp asked.
"Oh, I do this all the time," Sun said. "Hang outside other people dorms?," Ebony asked. Sun made a grimace. "What? No! I mean climb trees. That's how I got up here. I happened to overhear you guys down below and thought I'd lend a hand." "Is Neptune with you too?," Gabriel asked. "Well, yeah," Sun said. Team RWBY looked out the window to see Neptune standing on a narrow ledge on the wall. "What's up?" "How did you get up here?," Weiss asked. "I have my ways," Neptune said, "But seriously, can I come in? It is really high up here." Once Neptune was inside, Ruby nodded. "Okay, Sun will go with Blake's group. Neptune, you can go with Yang's."
"I'm cool with that," Ebony said with a wink. "Cool," Neptune said, "So what are we doing?" "We're trying to get information on Adam Taurus," Yang explained. "The leader of the Vale branch of the White Fang, right?," Neptune said, "Sun filled me in. I heard Jeremy kicked his butt." "He almost got me at the end," Jeremy admitted, "He's got this dangerous Semblance that can absorb damage in his sword and send it back ten-fold. Luckily, my own Semblance hits a wide area, so I was still able to damage him." "Meaning by the time Adam was able to get it off," Blake said, "He was so worn out that Jeremy was able to dodge it and knock him out." 'And ever since my nightmares have ceased,' she thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Mercury was walking through the halls, trying to clear his head. Suddenly, he felt himself bump into someone, who gave a feminine cry as they both tumbled. He rubbed his head and noticed a brown-haired young woman, a rabbit Faunus judging from the ears. She was scrambling to grab some papers. "Here," Mercury said, "Let me help with that." "Sure," the girl said, "Sorry for bumping into you." They reached for the same paper, only to brush against each other. The girl pulled away. "Oh, sorry!" They finally gathered them all up, and Mercury noticed the papers were all photographs.
"You've been taking these?," he asked. "Yes," the girl said, "Photography's a hobby of mine. Oh, my name's Velvet Scarlatina." "Mercury Black," Mercury replied, "I'm in from Haven. Still getting used to Vale." "I might be able to help with that," Velvet offered, "In fact I know this great new coffee place that opened up." Mercury nodded. "Yeah, sounds good." He kept telling himself it was to get the lay of the land. But deep inside, he felt he couldn't lie like that. He didn't notice Emerald carefully watching him from a distance. 'These Phantom Thieves are good. Mercury would never have accepted that offer a few weeks ago.'
Nava whistled when he saw the Vale CCT tower. "And I thought the tower in Vacuo was big." "The one in Atlas is even bigger," Ruby said. "It's because Atlas is the Kingdom that created the CCT, so the four kingdoms could communicate with each other," Weiss noted, "Their gift to the world after the Great War." Ruby snickered. "Look at me! I'm the heiress of the Schnee family! I know facts! I'm rich!" "Cute," Weiss snarked, "Anyway, let's get inside." Before long, they were in contact with Jacques. 'Ah, Weiss. When I was told I was getting a call directly from the CCT, I wasn't sure who it was.'
"Unfortunately this isn't a social call, Father," Weiss said, "We have reason to believe someone is directing the White Fang in committing a number of Dust robberies for unknown purposes. Have there been any inconsistencies or robberies cataloged in the company records?" 'I couldn't say off the top of my head,' Jacques admitted, 'But I have been forced to raise Dust prices over the last month or so. A dangerous business move. The higher the price of a good, the fewer people that will buy it, which can rob a company of money in the long run. I'll have the company records sent over to your scroll for your perusal.'
"There's something else we need to know," Weiss said, "Did you at any point get visited by a strange person, possibly in some sort of costume?" Jacques stroked his chin. 'Come to think of it... Yes. It was a few years ago, right around the time Merlock was speaking with me about your future with Gabriel. The woman wore a jester's outfit with a mask that was half-frowning, half-smiling, like something out of the theater. I don't remember much from her visit, only that she said my pride would be perfect for corrupting Atlas.' The group looked at each other. "I see," Weiss said, "Did she ever give her name?" Jacques shook his head. 'No, I don't remember her doing so.'
As the group left, Nava sighed. "That was surprisingly simple." "He's probably ecstatic that I'm taking an interest in the company," Weiss pointed out, "I am supposed to take over eventually, after all." As the group headed for the rendezvous, they saw a demonstration of Atlas' newest technologies. She noticed a team of students nearby, including one with shorter red hair and light green eyes. "Who's that?," Ruby asked. "Ironwood's replacement for me, I'd assume," Penny noted, "After all, the council would want my disappearance covered up. By now I'd imagine even the records of my disappearance have been scrubbed clean."
That evening, Yang lead her team over the club. Jaune had his own motorcycle named Dauphin, while Ren had a motorbike named Mushu. Ebony also had her own motorcycle, named Duchess. Nora was riding with Ren, Pyrrha with Jaune, and Neptune with Ebony. Ebony had her twin weapons, a short Dust blade named Dinah, and a combination machine gun and shotgun called the Cheshire, designed to fire Dust spheres that exploded into small clouds of elemental chaos. "Is this the place?," Ren asked. "Yep," Yang asked, "I know the owner. He's well connected in the underground."
Inside, Junior was looking on proudly as his club was finally starting to get back on track. Nearby were the Malachite sisters, Melanie and Miltiades. Both of them had long black hair and light green eyes, but Melanie wore a white dress with a feather scarf and bladed heels, while Miltiades wore a red dress with black choker and clawed wristbands. Just then, two thugs burst into the club. "Hurry! Close the door, she's coming!" Junior looked confused. "Who's coming?" The thugs looked at each other, and one spoke. "You remember that girl from the other day?" Junior sighed in resignation as the door exploded, Yang walking in. "Guess who's back!?"
She suddenly found a bunch of guns pointed at her. "They seem to define 'friendship' a little differently," Jaune noted as he walked in. "Stop, stop!," Junior called out, "Nobody shoot. This place just reopened and I don't need another melee." He walked over. "What are you doing here, Blondie?" "Well for starters," Yang said, "I never did get that Strawberry Sunrise." Junior sighed and invited the group to the bar. It should be noted that the average drinking age on Remnant is seventeen, due to the high amount of young men and women strong enough to become Huntsmen and Huntresses. Aura is surprisingly good at flushing out the liver, unless you drink to excess.
Yang explained the whole scenario to Junior. "Yeah, I hired those guys out to Roman," Junior said, "As a precaution I had them report back on what he was doing. But they never came back." "Weren't they arrested?," Nora asked in confusion, "I heard there were arrests after that interrupted robbery." "If that was the only problem I'd have bailed them out," Junior clarified, "But when I went to check on them, the police said they vanished from their cells. No evidence of an attempted break out, either. Not that my men would try something so stupid." Ebony narrowed her eyes. "Curiouser and curiouser..."
"Does Roman know anyone by the name of Master Black?," Yang asked. "Only Black that comes to mind is the notorious assassin Marcus Black," Junior replied, "But he's dead, and his son hasn't been seen for a while. The only other person in Roman's life is that girl Neopolitan. Girl follows him around like a little sister. Or a lover. I was never really sure." He offered a picture of a young girl with pink and brown hair with similar colored eyes. She was wearing a white jacket and black pants with pink boots. "This almost looks like the girl from the picture in Roman's Bastion," Jaune whispered.
Blake saw the three scratch marks that indicated the meeting spot for the White Fang. "Okay, this is it. We have to be inconspicuous while we're in here." "Out of curiosity," Gabriel said, "How many people from the docks incident are bound to be here?" "Not many," Blake admitted, "Probably only one or two. Why?" "Meaning there'd be almost no one here who would recognize us," Gabriel noted, "Or more specifically you." Blake's cat ears pressed against her head. "I know you're still a little afraid," Gabriel said, "But we don't have to act like spies. The White Fang will be looking for animal traits, or lack thereof, and nothing else. So long as we use the masks we shouldn't be recognized."
"So relax kitten," Jeremy said, "We just need to get in, get information on where Adam's Bastion might be and its keywords, and get out." Blake nodded. She handed out the masks she had obtained. "Why use these masks anyway?," Sun asked, "I mean, if the White Fang thinks they're in the right, why would they hide themselves?" "The masks are a symbol," Blake explained, "If humans were going to treat us as monsters, then we'd wear the faces of monsters. Though only the Vale branch, the one Adam is in charge of, wears them."
"Everyone remember your backstories?," Gabriel asked. He had given them pointers on what to say if they were questioned on why there at the rally. The group nodded. The recruiter noticed the group. "Greetings. Always nice to find some new blood. And you look like you can do some damage. We're a little low on manpower right now." He looked at Blake, and like Gabriel had suggested didn't recognize her. 'I guess I was worrying for nothing. It's not like I knew everyone in the White Fang.' "We get cats aplenty, but you look particularly focused. So why are you here?" "My family and I have been wandering without a home for years," Blake said, "No one would let us settle down anywhere."
"That's a shame," the recruiter said, "I hear things are pleasant in Menagerie, but the humans don't seem to realize there's not a lot of room there." He turned to Imp. "Don't find bat Faunus very often. What's your story?" "I was orphaned years ago in a Grimm attack," Imp said, "But my foster parents, a pair of humans, treated me as worse than a servant. I ran away as soon as I was strong enough." "Ouch," the recruiter said, "My sympathies." One by one he got the other, falsified, backstories. Sun had said he had seen too many other Faunus mistreated and wanted to do something about it.
Gabriel had spun a yarn about how his father's company had been burned to the ground by anti-Faunus protestors. Susie teared up and told a tale about how she was almost raped by a human when she was just a little girl. Jeremy explained that his band had never received proper funding due to having a Faunus for a lead guitarist. Fritz simply said he suffered from general prejudice and wanted it to stop before it got too serious. A varied amount of backstories, designed to deflect suspicion that they were secretly infiltrators. Blake had to admit, Gabriel was good. And it had worked. The recruiter bought the entire story and they were allowed inside.
At the front of a large stage, a White Fang lieutenant addressed the crowd. "Thank you all for coming. Unfortunately our guest speaker has disappeared on us. And while our branch leader would like to address you all personally, he is currently busy with a large-scale project outside the kingdom walls. Soon enough we'll be directed to strike the very heart of Faunus prejudice in the kingdom. And to do that, we've been given a nice little present." He directed that the curtain behind him be lowered, and Blake gasped when she saw an Atlesian Paladin.
"They likely have several of these," Blake noted, "How do we handle this?" "Not to worry," Gabriel said as he placed a hand in his jacket, "We've already prepared for something like this." He pressed something hidden in his jacket. Several minutes later, the rally was interrupted as Atlesian forces stormed the place. "This was planned," Gabriel explained, "Get the recruiter and make it look good. This is our chance." The group nodded. The seven of them hurried through the fleeing crowd, taking out Knights and fighting any soldiers that they happened upon. Finally, Imp was able to grab the recruiter and fly him out using her Semblance, creating a giant pair of bat wings that grew out of her back and acted independently from her arms.
The recruiter breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I have no idea how Atlas found us. Adam won't be happy we lost the Paladins. Those were supposed to be our ace in the hole. Still, I think he'll forgive us when he learns we found seven capable soldiers. With fighting skills like that, you might get assigned to the Mountain Glenn project." "Mountain Glenn?," Sun asked, "What's the White Fang doing out there? It's completely Grimm infested." "Unfortunately I don't know all the details," the recruiter admitted, "I will say that we've been moving large amounts of Dust there. Adam's been working the place like it was a military fortress." The group looked at each other.
"Mountain Glenn?," Ironwood asked in disbelief. "That's what the recruiter said," Ruby replied, "Gabriel even got a recording." "It would be a good place for criminal organizations to hide out," Glynda pointed out, "Only the most well-trained of Huntsmen would go out there." Ironwood nodded. He then turned to Ozpin. "I must admit, I underestimated the children you chose. Not only did we retrieve the stolen Paladins, but we have a possible lead on where our enemies are hiding." Ozpin grinned. "You asked me if I felt they were ready to fight a war. To be honest, my plan is to make sure there is no war to fight." Ruby smiled at the three of them. It was great to see them working together.
Tower (James Ironwood) Rank 3: Thanks to his plan with Gabriel, Ironwood has retrieved the military's stolen Paladins, alleviating some of his concerns.
Empress (Glynda Goodwitch) Rank 4: She is shown to be proud of how the students handled their investigation, and how it is affecting others.
Hierophant (Professor Ozpin) Rank 4: The recently successful investigation of the White Fang and those associated with them has vindicated his decision to rely on Huntsmen.
To clarify, Gabriel specifically planned out the falsified backstories to make them seem normal. There could be a number of reasons why someone would join a radical movement and Gabriel capitalized on that. Also, since Roman wasn't there to recognize Blake the operation went as smooth as butter.
A word on the motorcycles. They were designed to play on the allusions of each of the characters. With Jaune, the Dauphin is the official title of a French prince from 1500s. One such royal gave Joan of Arc permission to lead his armies since it fit with a prophecy and he was running out of options to keep his kingdom out of English hands. Mushu is a character from the Disney animated Mulan movie, brought to life by Eddie Murphy. The character was a dragon spirit who was trying to help Mulan to regain his position as family guardian. Duchess is one of the character from Alice in Wonderland, whose cook was obsessed with pepper and whose son sneezed all the time and eventually turned into a pig from all the snorting.
Just thought those would be nice touches. Anyway, we'll be getting the first part of the Bastion next chapter. Read and review.