Now resuming The Apoptosis Project...

In the weeks following the Red Claw's attack on Port Cyrreine, the city fell into what could only be described as a state of unrest. The attack itself spawned headlines for days following, but stories began to develop faster than the press could keep up. The first night of Summer, a gunman opened fire on the edge of the Eastern Docks district, killing two and injuring two more. The weapon matched the serial number of one stolen from Nautilus months prior. A car bomb detonated next to a warehouse, damaging several buildings and injuring a handful of bystanders. Police found three red claw marks painted on the concrete below the vehicle's blackened shell. Two more murders took place a week or so later, only a handful of days apart. Both bodies were found early morning in front of the victim's workplace, laid out deliberately with closed eyes and arms folded on their chest as if they slept in the pool of blood encircling them.

Port Cyrreine. The clean, peaceful, haven nestled between Sentinel Academy and Frontline Biomedical's Empyrean Tower, suddenly felt a little less safe.

Whether he wanted to escape the city for a bit, or wanted to capitalize on his single yearly vacation, Headmaster Skye was adamant on the family's usual trip to Vacuo.

At least, it seemed like he was until the morning of. Caspian and Lazula sat at opposite ends of the airship cabin in silence. The ship's windows were a poor substitute for the plush pillows the two had been dragged from far too early. As Caspian and Lazula waited for their father to arrive, the Sun began to break through dawn. It rose further still, until it became morning. Growing tired of the view of his home's well-groomed hedges and terraced gardens, Caspian looked over his list of luggage one last time. A change of clothes for each day, check. Toothbrush, toothpaste, check. Swim trunks-

Wait.

He placed them front and center on top of his bed where he'd remember them, to make a point of packing them last for easy access. The only thing is, he couldn't remember if he actually followed through on his plan. His suitcase was in back of the airship, behind a locked hatch and under the rest of his family's bags. Far more trouble than the trek back inside.

The grand mahogany door was silent on its hinges as Caspian re-entered the Skye Manor. At the end of the foyer, a lavish hall furnished with a mashup of cozy traditional and contemporary styles that somehow worked together, Headmaster Skye stood silhouetted against the wall of windows overlooking the bay. Caspian couldn't hear what he spoke into his Holoband, but didn't pay it much mind, and continued to the stairs at his right. Probably a work call, Caspian figured. Getting as much responsibility out of the way as he could before vacation. Smart.

"Good thing I double checked," Caspian muttered to himself, tucking the swim trunks he laid out specifically to remember under his arm. When the hallway opened back into the mezzanine overlooking the foyer and living room, his father still looked out the window. From where Caspian stood above the scene, he could see the shadow of a furrowed brow.

Curiosity got the best of him. Quietly, he stepped toward the edge.

"This isn't good, Douglas. Eve, Operation Ark- the whole thing is in jeopardy."

Arrived at a good time, apparently. Curiosity budded to a tension in Caspian's chest, and his heart began to race with the excitement of listening in on something he definitely wasn't supposed to hear.

"What are all the losses? EMP gun, external-use BCS analyzer, what else?"

"I see..."

"Thank you. Keep me updated. I'll keep my Holo on me."

Caspian had heard enough, and it sounded like the conversation was nearing its end. He slipped down the stairs on the balls of his feet, keeping an eye over his shoulder as he neared the exit. All was clear until he twisted the doorknob and pushed gently, preparing to wiggle his way out of the smallest crack in the door.

The latch echoed throughout the hall. His father swiveled around, the morning light catching the green in his eye.

Caspian turned back around to face his father, closing the door behind him as if he had just walked in.

"Mom's wondering if you're ready."

Headmaster Skye's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. Work call. I'm coming."

"What was it about?" Caspian pried, his subtle grab for context masquerading as innocent curiosity.

"Uncle Doug won't be coming this year, unfortunately." Headmaster Skye snapped the once-rigid edge of his Holoband to his wrist. "He... took on an unexpected project."

"Aw... is Snow coming at least?"

The Headmaster nodded. "Holly's dropping her off at the airport. She'll meet us with the rest of your friends."

The quick hop over to the airport, fifteen minutes in good weather, was quiet. Caspian admired the city's skyline as the ship lowered over the bay, nearing their first destination.

Something wasn't right.

A swarm of red and blue filled the lot to one side, three Tuna-Class ships circling above the scene. The strips of light on the edge of their bodies mirrored the ground beneath.

"Ground to Ray-C719. We do not grant permission to land," a voice advised through the dashboard.

Caspian perked up with curiosity, looking up from the flashing lights to his father, who left his seat with a sour grumble. He grabbed the radio from next to the pilot, leaning on the dash and looking out the front window.

"Ground control. This is Headmaster Skye of Sentinel, requesting special permission to land."

"Permission not granted. All flights into Port Cyrreine International are diverted due to police activity. Area is currently not secure."

With a sigh equal parts irritated and defeated, Headmaster Skye lowered the radio, and turned to the family's pilot. "You should be able to find an airship pad in the shipyards to the East. I'll put in a special request to land."

Though Caspian's family left home earlier than he cared to be awake, the delay of a few hours and resulting traffic around the airport meant they arrived just before noon. Rowan, Ichigo, Snow, Lilly, and Laurel had all met up at the front gate with their luggage and their parents, with no choice but to wait together for the Skyes to join them.

"Finally, guys! Thought Summer'd be over by the time you showed up!" Rowan teased, stepping forward to clap Caspian on the back.

"I thought so too," Caspian grumbled. "It should not take an hour to move a mile. How'd you guys get here so fast?

"Well, we all got here earlier than anyone has any business being awake, and the sirens only started after," Rowan explained. "...So, we've just kind of been sitting here."

"There were so many of them..." Lilly added, her greeting to Lazula apparently having been the extent of their conversation. "I hope everything's alright."

"There were a lot of them," Ichigo agreed. "It makes me curious. Very curious."

"You'll have plenty of time to catch up on the flight," Caspian's father reminded in the most patient tone he could manage. "We've lost enough time already, so we should get moving."

Five pairs of seats lined up along both windowed walls in the first-class cabin; parents on one side, kids on the other. Lilly and Lazula sat together, no surprise. But the pair seemed strangely distant. Lazula crumpled against the window, empty gaze paying Lilly no mind. Beside her, Lilly's wistful eyes focused on nothing in particular. Or, maybe Caspian was imagining it all. He had a habit of overthinking things.

"Murder!"

"What?"

Ichigo turned to face Caspian and Snow, flipping around his laptop to show an unpublished article-in-progress. "There was a murder next to the airport this morning! That must be what all the police activity was about!"

"Authorities believe the most recent attack is linked to two previous murders in the city," Caspian read. "It says the body was found just outside a cargo warehouse, laying like someone had set it there on purpose."

"The time of morning appears to line up with the time we were headed to the airport," Snow commented.

Caspian sighed. "Grimm, Red Claw, and now we've got a serial killer. What is happening to this city?"

At the front of the cabin, Caspian caught Lilly's concerned gaze. The faunus looked from Caspian's group to the uninterested Lazula, then down, with a sigh of her own.

From the moment Caspian lost the tip of the city behind his window, all he saw beneath the ship was an expanse of blue. From the airship's height, the rough ripples and waves flattened into a glossy sheet that mirrored the sky above. Beautiful, and worth a few pictures. But not enough to entertain him for several hours. Luckily, he brought a gaming system along. When his patience wore thin- due to the game, certainly, and not his lack of skill- he played cards with Snow. After a few rounds, Caspian noticed an intrepid brown edge on the horizon. The coast of Vacuo, it must be. In his excitement, he whipped out his Holoband to check the time.

Just after five. Still an entire hour before landing.

He unstrapped the Holoband from his wrist and pulled it rigid, before securing it to Rowan's seat in front of him. He poked around his contacts until Cattleya's name and picture came up, and he placed a call.

One ring, two. Then three. At least it seemed like he had service miles into the ocean.

She didn't answer.

With a frown he returned the device to his wrist. Must be busy, he figured. And Mistral is on the other side of the world. Makes sense that a call might have trouble going through.

As soon as the airship settled on the stable ground of Lago Del Sol, Caspian peeled himself from his seat and stretched the legs that had long since fallen asleep. The park was always a bit nostalgic, as Caspian and the rest had been visiting every year since they could walk. The area held a special place in their parents' hearts as well. They had flown over from Vale after the Fall of Beacon, with Mrs. Skye on the run from her own parents, Laurel's father presumed dead, and their school overrun by the Creatures of Grimm. They took refuge in the desert before eventually returning to Mistral, where the rest of their tale played out. It was probably their initial unceremonious and haphazard landing of a stolen airship on the campground that spurred the place to invest in airship parking.

The lone river through the cracked earth backed up behind a dam miles away, flowing backward into several smaller lakes. Next to one of these was Lago del Sol Resort, an oasis in the otherwise unforgiving Vacuo desert. To each side of the park, jagged walls of brown stone hundreds of feet tall broke about halfway down into steep hills of loose stone and scrub. They looked like something from a postcard, and no matter how many times Caspian would return, he never quite got over the view.

The campsites were clustered on one shore, a wide hill crisscrossed by a path that likely hadn't been paved since Caspian's parents were children. The main road in was slightly newer, and separated the campground from a few attractions -the minigolf course being a particular favorite- before sloping gently down to a main promenade with a gift shop, docks, and a beach. It then continued around a small bay until it reached a playground and second beach, better shaded by the old-growth oaks that somehow survived the Summer heat.

By the time they arrived and set up their respective campsites, one for adults and the other for their kids, twilight had fallen and a silent agreement had washed over the group that all the excitement was postponed to the next day. Not that anyone was too disappointed. After waking up at the crack of dawn and the stressful delay, Caspian was sure he wasn't the only one ready to curl up in his sleeping bag. But still, there was one more matter to sort out before he could rest his mind.

Caspian faced Rowan, Ichigo, and Snow at the campsite's table, once he could be sure his family was out of earshot and anyone else had retired to their tents for the night. "On this first night of July, I've called for a special meeting of the Knights of the Round Table," Caspian announced. "We meet under extraordinary circumstances, and..." he trailed off, having forgotten where he was going with his flamboyant introduction. "Well, let's just get started, I guess."

"We're not at the Round Table, though," Rowan pointed out. "It doesn't feel the same."

"Knights of the..." Caspian looked down, and patted the splintered wood between him and his friends. "...Picnic Table."

"Why did you call for a meeting?" Snow asked.

"Look, I think it's fair to say something is going on," Caspian asserted. "After the Red Claw's attack, four people got shot, then the car bomb, and now it looks like we've got a serial killer. I... I don't know how, but I'd really like a better idea of what's happening."

"It's a lot. All at once," Rowan replied.

"Yeah, but most of them tie back to the Red Claw. The car bomb was at least Red Claw inspired, and the police said the serial number of the gun matched one stolen by them. But the killer... I'm not sure."

"The gunman from the first attack was a human though, right?" Ichigo pointed out.

"I think you mentioned that," Caspian recalled. "Well, either it was a Red Claw attack, or they're selling off weapons for spare cash. I'm not sure which thought is scarier."

"Arms deals, huh?" Rowan reflected.

"The serial killer's my biggest worry right now. The Red Claw is too big to deal with all on our own. Plus, he attacked just this morning, so we know he's active and we know he's still in the city," Caspian decided. "If any of us had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, he could've killed us instead."

Snow's eyes narrowed. A split second after meeting with Caspian's, they darted away.

"Is something wrong?" Caspian prodded.

"This is... incredibly dangerous."

"I know. I'd say fighting Grimm and the Red Claw is worse, though."

"We took down Python!" Rowan reminded.

Caspian nodded. "It's nothing we can't handle."

"You don't understand. This is more dangerous than you realize. This is bigger than you realize."

Caspian leaned in after a short pause, lowering his voice. "Do you know something?"

Snow blinked, then averted her gaze again. "No. Only that it's a bad idea."

Caspian was unconvinced, but decided there were too many ears nearby to press the matter further. "Well, as always, we'll put it to a vote."

Rowan pumped a fist. "Hell yeah!"

"I'm all in," Ichigo added. He let out a small snort of laughter. "I'll find him in no time. Not easy to hide from me."

"Well, I told you guys I wanted to be a detective," Caspian reminded. "It's a yes for me too."

Snow boldly locked eyes with Caspian. "No."

"Still a three-to-one majority!" Rowan cheered. He practically bounced from his seat in excitement. "So when do we start?"

"We've recently added Moka to our group," Snow reminded. "Which means she is to be included in every group vote. In the event she votes no, that will bring us to a three-to-two split, which we unanimously agreed is grounds for either party to declare a recess. During which, I will explain to the best of my ability why this is such an exceptionally poor idea."

"Fiiine," Rowan groaned. His excitement faltered and he crossed his arms on the table. "Cas, you call her."

"Oh, the vote might have to wait then," Caspian said, bringing up his list of contacts and finding Moka's name despite his doubt. "I think I've been having trouble with service here."

The Holoband rung one time, two times, then a third.

"See, I don't think it will-"

Moka's hologram appeared above the table, her hastily-organized dormitory behind her, and her hair tied into a frizzy bun.

"Hello?"

"Oh, it worked."

"Hey guys! how's the lake?"

"We haven't done much yet. We got a late start," Caspian explained. "There was a murder at the airport this morning, and that's actually what we're calling about. They think it's the same guy who killed those other two. If we have a serial killer on our hands, I want to track him down before he kills again."

"Oh, I think I heard something about that on the news!" Moka recalled. "Yeah, I'm down!"

"That's four to one!" Rowan exclaimed.

"Oh, who's the one?"

Snow rigidly raised a hand. "It's me."

"What's up? Why don't you want to?"

"This is incredibly dangerous. We aren't prepared to find and confront a serial killer."

"We've fought the Red Claw before, and we've all fought Grimm!" Moka reasoned. "One guy is nothing!"

"Exactly!" Rowan cut in. "The operation is a go!"

"Hey, don't start without me!" Moka chimed in.

"Oh don't worry, we won't," Caspian assured. "We'll meet again once all of us are back, probably before I head to Mistral. We'll start then." His eyes flicked over to their parents' campsite. "One last thing. We should keep this a secret, at least from our parents. I doubt they'd appreciate us playing detective with a case like this."

"I refuse to cooperate."

All eyes turned to Snow.

"Isn't one of our rules that all members will contribute to a mission once it's voted on?" Rowan taunted. He gave a triumphant burst of laughter. "BAM! How are you likin' your precious rules now?"

Snow bowed her head, her sigh tinged with the most irritation Caspian had ever heard from her. "I will cooperate at the minimum level required of me. And ensure you don't get yourselves killed."