Chapter 35…

So far, Sage was not enjoying his time in the ventilation ducts…

Unsurprisingly, they were cramped, dank, freezing cold and a constant stream of air blew right into his face and wolf ears, which was maddeningly annoying after a while.

For once in his life though Sage was grateful for his smaller build and stature. Squeezing through the vents was difficult, but it would have been impossible for a larger person to achieve. Despite this, he was really starting to feel quite cramped.

That and dragging his backpack behind him was honestly getting quite tedious.

Sage grumbled to himself as he reached a junction, three separate paths reaching off into the darkness. The faunus maneuvered his gloved hand down to his pocket and messily wrestled out the blueprint of the building's ventilation system. One quick check of the paper later and he was on his way down the right path, crumpling the paper back into his pocket as he moved.

This was such a shit idea… Sage really wished that Penny's arm hadn't been revealed as a fake. It would have saved him a lot of trouble… and bouts of claustrophobia.

Sage's powerful faunus approached the nearest vent cover, he realized in an instant from its markings that it was the one he was looking for. Squeezing his backpack onto his chest and rolling onto his back, Sage fumbled out a screwdriver kit and got to work on the bolts. The vent came loose after a few moments and the metal panel was pushed haphazardly to the side.

Sage zipped up his backpack and craned his head to peer into the hole. It seemed to go down and from the angle he was lying at Sage couldn't see the bottom; he could however feel the rush of air.

"Here goes nothing…" Sage grumbled as he kept a tight grip on his bag. With a deft maneuver he wormed his body through the hole, finding himself in a vertical air shaft.

Sage pressed his hands and feet against the shaft to support himself while he checked the fall distance…

… was that particular industrial fan supposed to be there?

'Shit' Sage thought to himself as he gazed down in horror, his palms beginning to sweat under the coarse fabric of his gloves.

Perhaps eight feet below him was a whirring fan, protecting the vent that Sage had to punch through to reach the ground level. The razor sharp blades chopped and sliced with intense speed as it sent air up into the shaft.

There was no way he could time it… and his aura would take a beating if he tried to brute force it. What if he got stuck? Sage wasn't planning to get brutally slashed apart until he eventually died.

So that left him with one option… disable the fan.

Sage took his left hand off the wall, teetering dangerously and pressing his feet harder into the metal to maintain his balance. His left hand moved shakily to his back where his backpack had been haphazardly slung.

Sage could feel his right hand slipping as he clumsily undid the zipper and reached inside blindly. He felt something suitably hard and round and withdrew it, the object revealed to be a smoke grenade. It wasn't the perfect tool for the situation… but the situation was dire enough as it was.

The faunus boy scanned the fan for a weak point, his balance worsening by the second. There was a small indent in the wall to make space for the diameter of the fan… maybe in there?

There were no other glaring faults….

Focusing his semblance for what felt like the first time in forever, Sage clumsily chucked the grenade at the wall. It bounced off at the correct angle and burrowed into the indent. The closet fan blade made contact and the entire mechanism came to a screeching halt; the motor whirred, sputtering and whining as it tried to force out the obstruction.

Sage wasn't going to waste a golden opportunity…

The faunus boy let gravity take a hold of him as he released his grip and rocketed towards the stuck fan. He angled himself to fall in between the blades and his aura flared up as he punched through the metal grate below.

Sage landed in a painful crash on top of a janitors cart, scattering chemicals and cleaning tools everywhere. His blue eyes narrowed and watched as the fan above finally dislodged the obstruction and began to spin freely again.

"What a shit fucking plan," Sage cursed under his breath as he rose to a sitting position and dusted off his black jacket. He made sure his backpack and its contents were still intact before creeping towards the opaque door of the janitorial closet he was in.

The faunus boy reached into his pack and withdrew two of the many devices within. One of them was the wire camera and screen, he stuck the latter part under the door to have a look around. The other device was a wall microphone, he set the suction cup against the door frame and pressed his wolf ear against it.

Sage peered down at the camera screen as he heard the stomp of footsteps. The grainy feed picked up an image of armored feet stomping down the hallway and out of sight… most likely a security patrol.

After waiting a few more minutes for another patrol to pass by, Sage was confident that he found a pattern in the guard rotations. The faunus boy slipped his gear away and quietly exited the room, drawing the floor plans from his pocket and unfolding them so he could navigate.

Yet again, Sage was actually glad for his small stature and weight. He crept past guards and security booths with practiced ease as he navigated the sterile hallways of the R&D labs.

Sage ducked behind a wall as two soldiers walked by… the door he needed to get to was at the end of the hallway.

His uncle's contact was supposed to meet him there…

The one real obstacle that gave Sage pause was the security camera in the corner of the hallway he had to pass. Thankfully, it had a single lens and kept panning back and forth to catch a glimpse of the end of the hallway it was watching.

Sage dashed into its blindspot the moment he had a chance. He reached up and arm and snipped its power cord with a pair of pliers, rendering the camera blind and deaf.

Thank god it wasn't one of the cameras with the half-spherical lenses… or Sage's day would have been a lot harder.

The door where the contact was supposed to be was right in front of him now, Sage pushed the barrier gently and entered the dark room. His powerful faunus eyes could make out the shapes of different machines, mostly Atlesian droids in varying states of repair. The room itself was quite large, with work tables stretching off into the darkness.

"Hello?" Sage called softly, padding forwards into the room. He fumbled around in the dark as he grabbed a flashlight from his bag. His eyes gave him natural low-light vision, but his biology was still limited.

As soon as Sage flicked on the light he felt the sharp tip of a blade pressing into his exposed neck.

"So… are you here for the stuff?" Asked a female voice.

Sage held up his hands to show they were empty and slowly spun to find the speaker.

The speaker was a shorter girl, with pale skin and a messily cut bob of vibrant green hair; she regarded him with curious eyes that were the colour of moss. The stranger was dressed like a lab technician, a bright white coat worn over a thick wool jumper and black skirt.

None of that really mattered though… not when he was being held at sword-point. The girl's weapon had the appearance of a rapier but had a thicker circumference near the hilt. The metal running up the green coloured weapon was segmented in multiple places, although Sage had no idea what for.

"Yes…?" Sage spoke slowly.

The wolf faunus yelped when the girl swung her sword down. The segmented metal unfurled into a lighting fast whip that struck the tiled floor with a slam before straightening back out into a sword again.

A whip sword?

"What was that for?" Sage hissed, his teeth bared and ears pressed down.

"Sorry," the stranger apologized in a surprisingly meek tone. "Couldn't help it…"

"I mean… it was cool…?"

"Thanks…"

There was uncomfortable silence for a moment.

"So…" Sage spoke slowly. "Are you my contact?"

"Depends… are you the client?"

"Well… yeah…"

The green haired girl reached into her coat pocket and withdrew a small plastic keycard, plopping it gently into Sage's hand.

"Thanks," Sage stared down at the small piece of plastic. "Was it hard to grab?"

"Yeah…" The girl's moss coloured eyes flicked down for a moment. "It took me weeks to snatch it… Doctor Polendina always keeps a close eye on his identification."

"Well thanks," Sage slipped the card into his pocket as he walked to the door. He opened it a crack and peered out into the vacant hallways before turning back. "Was this worthwhile for you?"

"Hey… tuition is expensive," the strange girl shrugged. "A girl has to make money somehow…"

"Right…" Sage clicked his tongue. "Take care of yourself… I didn't catch your name?"

"It's probably best that you didn't…"

"Right…"

And with that final word Sage exited the room and shut the door gently behind him.

Liz grumbled to herself as she hopped up on a nearby workbench and took a seat. She fished her scroll out of her coat pocket and unfurled the glowing device, using her finger to navigate to the messaging app.

Liz turned her glowing faunus eyes to glare at the door as she tapped out a super quick message.

"Those dumb spy movies always make it look cooler than it actually is…" Liz scoffed as her fingers tapped away.

The young woman peered back down at the glowing blue screen to observe the message before sending it.

"He's on his way with the card, get your spots."

Meanwhile…

Sage ducked under a desk to avoid a guard patrol, feeling the plastic keycard shift around in his pocket. The tiny thing would grant him access to the storage room where the crown was supposedly kept.

The key word was "supposedly"...

With a few more twists and turns through the pristine hallways Sage soon found himself standing at the correct door, the symbols "A4" emblazoned above the door frame.

Sage stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath and adjusting his clothes so he wouldn't look sloppy. In a deft motion he drew the keycard from his pocket and slid it against the ID pad. As the doors began to hiss and open he reached up and removed his earpiece, slipping his only communication with the pilot into the muffled pocket of his pants.

Sage closed his eyes as the doors opened and kept them closed as he took a step forwards into the room; he could hear the automated doors sliding shut behind him.

Sage opened his eyes… to find two sets of blue eyes staring back at him.

"So," Sage spoke awkwardly as he stared into the cobalt eyes of General Ironwood. "I was right to assume that you would move the crown to a new location…"

The General was seated on a small table, idly tapping a tactical hard case against his thigh. To his right stood a prim and proper looking officer with white hair, her hand clenched tightly on the hilt of a sheathed saber.

"That you were…" Ironwood mused back with the barest hint of a smile. "In a way…" He tapped the hard case against his thigh again and set it down on the table with a clunk.

"Is that?" Sage spoke softly, a solitary finger reaching up to point at the case.

"It is," Ironwood confirmed with a grim nod.

Sage gave Ironwood a flat look. "It's almost as if we should have done this from the beginning… and you shouldn't have shot down my suggestion…"

"Perhaps…" Ironwood rose to his full imposing height and opened up the case to reveal its contents. A slight golden glow seemed to emanate from the container as the crown was finally revealed.

It looked like something out of a fairy tale picture book, seemingly made of gold and designed with angular arches and sharp tips. The headpiece was studded with mysterious looking jewels…

Sage honestly didn't know what the big deal was… so it was an expensive artifact? So what?

"All these cloak and dagger tactics and it still ended up the way I said it would," Sage grumbled as he held out his gloved hand. Ironwood shut the case and handed it over to Sage, who let it dangle from his fingers. "This whole situation is just confusing…"

"That it is," Ironwood offered a rare smile as he leaned against the desk again. "For a little while I was worried that the message you left your team was serious…"

"I was desperate and terrified," Sage blinked. "But I was always on your side, even if I found your methods infuriating. My uncle isn't one to be easily trusted…"

Ironwood nodded grimly as his face darkened. "He has his methods and I have mine. Listen, I have embedded a tracking device into the lining of that suitcase… how will you be escaping?"

"There's a bullhead waiting near a window in the labs," Sage explained. "I'll break the glass and hop onto the escape ship."

"Do you know where you're going?"

"No… I've never been to the drop off site before. But if you can track the case through the storm you should see where I end up."

"I'll send the cavalry…"

Sage held up his hand. "My uncle told me he would be exchanging Asher with me after I give him the crown… I need time to make the exchange."

"Then?"

"After that you're free to storm in… but I need a few minutes," Sage offered. "Is there something I can use for a signal?"

Ironwood scratched his chin for a moment before turning to address the white haired officer. "Specialist Schnee please relinquish your radio to Sage…"

The white haired specialist unclipped a small radio from her belt and stepped forwards to offer it to Sage, who tucked it into his pocket. "So I'll radio you guys when it's time?"

"Precisely…"

"And if it can't break through the storm's interference?"

"Doubtful, Atlas radios are specifically designed to work around that problem," Ironwood shook his head. "Are you all ready to go?"

Sage took a moment to release a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Yeah…"

"Good," Ironwood stood up and led Sage to the door. His gloved hand hovered against the keypad for a moment as he turned to observe the faunus boy. "Listen closely… I don't care what you have to do. Under no circumstance is your uncle allowed to put his greasy claws on that artifact, understood? Fling it into a snowbank if you have to…"

"Got it," Sage gulped.

"Good," Ironwood turned away to open the door with the keypad. "Enjoy the reunion and then stick to your plan…"

"Wh-?" Sage was cut off when the doors slid open and a gloved hand slapped him roughly across the face, hard enough for his aura to fizzle up.

His team leader was standing in the doorframe, her amber eyes alight with fury. A mountain, no, a man was standing behind her, his construction jacket draped over his shoulders and his dark skinned arms crossed on his chest.

"Oh hey," Sage stuttered nervously. "You're here…"

"You asshole!" Mauve seethed, a sharp nail poking into his chest. Sage yelped and was forced to step backwards repeatedly as Mauve approached, her sharp fingernail burrowing into him. It got to the point where he was pressed against the table Ironwood had been leaning on…

"I didn't mean a word of the text!" Sage gasped out, avoiding the glare that Rust was probably wearing. "I just didn't want you guys coming after me! I didn't want you involved in this!"

"Shut up!" Mauve barked, making Sage fall silent. "I don't give a shit about any of that… you needed help… why didn't you come to us?"

"What?" Sage stuttered out, taking a moment to re-examine the situation. Rust was not wearing the scowl Sage had anticipated, he actually looked quite concerned. Mauve was… was Mauve actually crying?

"Mauve," Sage spoke softly, pressing his hand gently against her shoulder to push him away. "Are you… okay?"

"Okay?" Mauve snarled, her eyes lighting up again. "What kind of question is that? You ran off in the middle of the night to play two-bit gangster with your asshole of an uncle, we got the shit kicked out of us by said asshole, Asher got kidnapped… and now you're asking if I'm alright?"

"Okay that's enough!" Rust wormed his way in-between his teammates, gently separating them with his burly hands. "Sage is out of the loop… no need to hound him…"

Sage sighed in relief as Rust planted his hands on his shoulders and stared down at him. "Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Scared?"

"Well… yeah…" Sage admitted.

Rust grinned. "Ready to make things right?"

Sage smiled back. "Yes…"

"Good," Rust slapped his shoulder good naturedly. "We'll have plenty to talk about once we get Asher back…"

"Oh there will be a lot of talking," Mauve growled, her amber eyes peeking around Rust's massive form. "You count on it…"

Sage felt himself wither a little inside as he avoided Mauve's glare. "I really didn't want you guys involved-"

"Well, too bad," Mauve snapped, moving around Rust but keeping her distance. "This is a personal vendetta now…" Mauve turned her head to show Sage her messily cut hair. "Your uncle took my partner away and humiliated us… were getting back at him!"

"I'm sorry he did that," Sage swallowed as he observed Mauve's new haircut. "Were going to finish this…"

"Hopefully sometime this morning!" Ironwood called from the door. He made a show of tapping his watch, instantly reminding Sage of his team's time under the command of Commander Flaxen. "You need to get going…"

"Right!" Sage sputtered brushing past his teammates and heading for the door, he heard them file up behind him. He shot Ironwood a brief nod as he exited the storage room, the hardcase with the crown still clenched in his hands.

The faunus boy didn't even make it a few feet out the door before his attention was drawn elsewhere. Leaning against the wall of the hallway was a green haired girl who he was only recently familiar with.

"So you're Sage?" The green haired girl asked with a tilt of her head, her eyes sparkling. "Good to finally meet you! I'm Liz."

The stranger now known as Liz stuck out a pale hand that Sage quickly shook. "Good to meet you too?"

"Liz is the fourth member of Crimson's team," Rust explained behind him. "We uh… needed a person to play as an insider."

"You guys knew the plan?" Sage blinked.

"Well," Rust shrugged sheepishly. "Ironwood caught the actual insiders… and Mauve volunteered herself to interrogate them…"

Sage fixed Mauve was an unbelieving look. The lynx girl had a deadpan expression as she raised her hand and splayed her fingers, allowing a bolt of electricity to run between them. "Zap…"

"Right," Sage sputtered, turning back to Liz. "Well thanks… sorry you had to get involved in all this…"

"I heard a little from the hall," Liz spoke back, squeezing her pointer finger and thumb together in a gesture. "Quite the pickle you guys are in…"

"One you should forget all about…" Sage grinned.

"Don't have to tell me twice…" The green haired girl muttered, shooting the members of MARS one last smile as she broke off to enter the storage site where Ironwood still was.

Sage walked to the extraction room, remembering the name of the specific lab and swinging open the door. He fished his earpiece from his pocket and slipped it into his ear, but made sure it was still muted.

"Listen you two," Sage muttered, turning back to face his teammates. "I'm sure you heard from outside..."

"Wait until the prisoner exchange is made and then send the signal," Mauve nodded, still glowering. "We'll be on one of the incoming transports so don't keep us waiting. Bring Asher back in one piece!"

"I will," Sage nodded. "Goo-"

"Wait! Almost forgot!" Rust spoke quickly, hoisting up his jacket and reaching into the pockets. He withdrew to familiar pieces of equipment, one was Sage's shield gauntlet and the other was his submachine gun, complete with a few magazines of ammunition.

Sage's eyes lit up as he accepted his favored weapons. He tucked his gun into his jacket and slid the shield gauntlet onto his arm, pulling the sleeve of his jacket up to conceal it.

In that instant… when he was tugging on the straps of the gauntlet and making sure it was secure… Sage felt right for the first time in a while.

"What about my launcher?" Sage questioned, peeking around Rust to see if he was hiding it.

"You can't really hide it…" Rust muttered. "Don't worry… I'll be bringing it with me alongside Ruination and I'll give it to you once things get hot."

"Sounds good," Sage smiled. "Be careful you two…"

The faunus boy reached into his backpack and withdrew the high frequency device. He chucked it against the floor and it ricocheted onto the designated window, suctioning to the glass. Mauve and Sage wilted in discomfort as the device let out a high frequency blast. The window shattered into millions of fragments and an ice cold wind whipped into the room.

"You two get out of sight!" Roared Sage over the wind. "He waited for them to heed his warning and then unmuted his earpiece, yelling to the pilot that he was ready for a pickup."

With great efficiency and speed the pilot maneuvered the bullhead down to the window and slid the bay door open to reveal its interior. Sage didn't hesitate as he sprinted to the window and leapt across the gap, the hardcase clenched tightly in his hand.

The faunus boy took a seat on the floor of the aircraft and looked back into the lab as the doors began to close.