The girls' eyes were all wide with shock. They had become statues. The first thought aired was that it was a joke. But Victor's gaze didn't lie. He wasn't kidding. He had just requested the murder of a person to Weiss Schnee.

"No," Weiss replied. "No. You can forget about it. I don't kill. I'm not that kind of person. No. No, I won't kill anyone. I can do everything but that."

Victor sighed.

"You have no choice, princess," he said grimly. "And then I bet that, after meeting him in person, you will definitely want to kill him."

"Didn't you hear what she said?!" Yang protested furiously.

"Perhaps you don't understand that what we're doing is for the good of the people. For the sake of those people who are suffering. They are suffering because of your friend's family right now, while we're talking. It's not a personal matter, it's a political matter ... it's the revolution that requires the death of that man."

"But who is he?" Oscar asked.

"Henry J. Tremaine," Janus Agosto replied. "Owner of the Tremaine Mines, one of the mines affiliated with the Schnee family. This is the biggest asshole ever born. One of those who should've been killed while still in the baby cot."

Janus's hateful comment was not easy for the girls of team RWBY to digest.

"Even if your cause were just, that wouldn't change the fact that I'm not a killer" Weiss said.

Blake stepped forward.

"I'll do it."

"Blake!" Yang exclaimed in shock.

"Don't worry Yang, I know what I'm doing." She turned to Victor. "Unlike Weiss, I've already killed a man. I know how to do it."

"You're brave, but they will never let you in. Not even if you were Weiss's girlfriend," Victor commented.

"How can you tell?"

"Because they're not 'cheap racists', they are radicalized," Janus explained. "They are one of those who shoot faunus when they see them around. It's in their blood."

"They are the ones who mark faunus as if they were cattle," Victor added.

In Blake's head the image of the brand, on Adam's face, exploded; her mentor, the man who had dedicated his entire life to fighting against humans … he had a mark on the eye. A terrible scar that was the cause of his insurrection. The girl's body went through shivers of terror. She touched her face instinctively, she could almost feel the pain a person might feel to be subjected to such abuse.

"Forget it," Janus suggested to the girl. "It's not worth it."

"No ..." Blake said. "I can't abandon a friend of mine ... I won't let her kill that man. There must be a way to get me in with Weiss-"

"There is a way" interrupted Vidi.

"Tell me what to do."

"Isn't it obvious? You must end up in the mine."

Vidi's response was a bolt from the blue.

"No!" Yang protested vigorously. "No! I refuse to let Blake go to a fucking mine!"

"I agree with her," Janus commented turning to Vidi. "Entering that mine is like ending up in hell. Better to leave it alone."

"I only gave the solution, it's she who has to decide" Vidi clarified.

"Then we'll give her time to do it," Victor concluded. "You have two days, Blake, to make a decision. Just know that we have no expectations of you. Whatever you decide to do, whatever you suffer… it will be your responsibility… not ours. I want it to be clear to you."

"Yes. I know," Blake replied.

That night, Blake Belladonna couldn't sleep. Her dreams were haunted by the most deformed fears. The girl needed to breathe outdoors, she needed to freshen up her mind and rationally think about what to do.

One part of her was ready to sacrifice herself for Weiss's sake, but another part of her wanted to give up and hide under a bed.

Above the roof of the house, Blake, looked at the stars in search of peace; however, she was politely interrupted by Janus Agosto. He sat down next to her and said:

"You're the bravest girl I have ever met… or the dumbest. I would never want to go back in there. I'd rather die, I'd rather be eaten alive than working in that mine."

"I know."

"No, you don't know. You don't know what it's like to dig into the rock for fourteen hours a day with chains on your legs and throat. You have no idea what torture it is. Believe me, Blake, nobody wants to live that life. I'm only alive because I was one of those two hundred miners that Victor saved. I would have died ... if it hadn't been for him."

"Two hundred miners?" Blake asked.

"Yes. Two hundred."

The girl looked around. There were more than two hundred, perhaps even more than seven hundred homes in Shadeshift.

"And who are the other houses for?"

"For those who will come later. The other miners who will be saved."

"But was the settlement already like this when Victor brought you here?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"No. Nothing. It was just a curiosity."

Blake was already getting suspicious. There was something wrong but she didn't want to question Janus, also because she wasn't in the mood to start a fight.

"Look," he began, "if you decide to work in that mine, I'd like to give you some advice."

"For example?"

"Keep your head down. Don't protest. Don't rebel. They will beat you, they will hurt you if you say something against them." He paused. "Watch out for Anrod Freiheit. He's one of the worst."

"How can I recognize him?"

"It's not hard to notice: he's the asshole with the long mustache and always neatly trimmed blond hair. He is one of those you would like to kick in the ass day and night."

"Then I'll be careful."

Before leaving, Janus advised her:

"Please think carefully. Once you're in there you will pray to die."

She nodded. He left.

Blake was alone for a few minutes reflecting on Janus's words, but she didn't have time to reflect since Weiss had already reached her and began with these words:

"You don't have to, Blake."

She turned. Weiss's eyes were genuinely shattered.

"I have to do. I can't let you kill a man."

"And I can't let you sacrifice yourself for me."

"Weiss ... you don't have to become a killer. But I ... I already am."

"Blake, you're not a killer. You're a good person who was forced to kill a man," Weiss reassured.

"You're wrong," Blake said grimly. "I didn't have to kill Adam." She stopped.

"It's not true-"

"Yes, it is," she interrupted abruptly. "During the battle against Adam, I was scared, really terrified of that man and his destructive power. But when I saw him in trouble ... when I saw him helpless and fragile ... something clicked inside me, something that changed me." She turned to Weiss and confessed: "I lost my fear, in that instant, and I wanted to kill the man who had tormented me for so long. I did it because I wanted to do it. I did it because I wanted to end his life with my hands." Finally she concluded: "I did it ... because I had the power to do it."

"Blake ..." Weiss didn't know what to tell her. She didn't know whether to console or blame her.

"I'm a killer, while you are still sinless. Let me be the one to stain myself with this crime."

"But the price you will pay will be very high!" Weiss exclaimed, who desperately wanted to persuade her friend.

"I know. And it's a price I'm willing to pay for you."

The two girls exchanged a hug.

"I won't let them hurt you," Weiss said.

"Thanks, Weiss. Thank you for being my friend."

As the sun rose, Victor, Vidi and Vici left Shadeshift to face some raiders who had entered Shadow Heralds territory. Janus gave team RWBY more freedom and gave them the chance to roam freely around the village.

Ruby, Weiss and Oscar decided to leave Yang and Blake alone so that the two could discuss in private.

It was Yang who started:

"What drives you to do such madness?"

"Wouldn't you do it for me?" she asked.

"You already know the answer, but that doesn't mean I've to accept your choice."

"I know. I realize it's difficult ... but I don't want Weiss to kill that man."

Yang, after a long sigh, commented: "Adam again ... you still think about what we did."

"You don't?"

"This is not important."

"Yang, you really don't think about it?"

"I've moved on and you should too. You can't always think about the past obsessively, otherwise it will destroy you and you will always be afraid to make a choice." She paused. "I don't want to live like this, Blake, and I don't want you to live like this either."

"So what do you think we should do?"

"Go away," Yang replied gravely. "We have to leave this village."

"To go where? We are unable to survive in the desert and no one will help us reach the City of Vacuo. Our only hope is the Shadow Heralds."

"I'm sorry, Blake, but I don't agree. I'd rather die than let you go to a mine to work like a slave." She sighed. "And then ... how do you plan to kill that man?"

"I don't know. I'll find a way," Blake replied uncertainly.

"Yeah ... a way," Yang repeated skeptically.

At that moment she heard a siren sound. The towns of Shadeshift began to stir and team RWBY gathered ready for the worst. Janus Agosto met the girls and informed them of the situation:

"The Wild Fangs have come up with a new toy. According to Victor's information it's on his way to the village."

"Can we help somehow?" Ruby asked in alarm.

"Yes: don't leave Shadeshift. I say this for your own good. The others will take care of it."

In the vast ocean of sand, two solitary figures moved silently. A strong and sudden earthquake shook the golden dust, an imposing shadow overlooked the two nomads and the heavy noise of an engine caught their attention.

A colossus of steel and iron with a red complexion. A metal monster in the shape of a box with what looked like a head, inside which was the pilot. This giant, with two broad arms, emitted a weighty crash.

The pilot, who was handling the different levers, was called by another man:

"Brogan, they've spotted us!"

He turned and with an ecstatic smile exclaimed:

"Perfect! So Bertha will be able to kill some people!"

"Did you give it ... a name?"

"This is my girl!" he shouted happily. "How could I not give her a name? Every good father must give his daughter a name."

"Riiiight. I'm going to ... uhm ..."

"Check the gasoline. My little girl is very hungry and she tends to consume a lot of fuel," Brogan ordered.

"Yup. All right. Yes. I do that."

The man left, leaving Brogan alone. Brogan ran pre-emptive checks to make sure his machine's weapons were working.

"Saw?" He pressed a button and the giant circular saw in its right arm began to spin. "Perfect. Hammer?" He maneuvered a few levers to move its left arm with a club. "Excellent. You really are a good girl, Bertha. Really good-"

Brogan noticed that someone was in the way of his immense machine. Two hooded guys.

"Fuck heads… they think they can do what they want in my fucking desert. Kill them Bertha!"

The circular saw moved in the directions of the two nomads, who managed to dodge the attack easily. One of them revealed her face: it was Cinder Fall.

The woman showed her black prosthesis, which replaced what was once her Grimm's arm, and she brandished the bow she carried behind her. She ran to the car dodging the giant circular saw once more, this time with a leap forward.

Brogan, enraged, yelled:

"Who the fuck are you, assholes?! Some fucking superheroes? Oh, yeah?! Well Bertha doesn't give a fuck about superheroes!"

Cinder shot two arrows at the pilot; Brogan bent down with a frightened cry, like that of a child. He got up. He composed himself. And he exclaimed:

"Fuck you twice! No, better ..." he pressed another button "Bertha will fuck you ... with her GIANT MISSILES!"

Three missiles were fired from the belly of the machine. Cinder quickly fired three arrows. A gigantic explosion made Brogan think he had won but, when he realized the woman was still alive, he screamed:

"Immortality is bullshit!"

The giant hammer was about to hit Cinder Fall but was blocked by the other individual who was accompanying her.

"Who the fuck is this, now?!" Brogan exclaimed nervously.

The hood dropped and revealed the identity of Atlas' former General of the Armed Forces: James Ironwood. He, turning to Cinder, ordered:

"Defeat that man."

"And since when have I taken orders from you, Tin Soldier?" she asked him with an arrogant grin.

"Do as you please, then."

Ironwood climbed onto the giant robot's arm and ran for the head. He took out his Due Process and jumped to join the pilot. Brogan, seeing Ironwood coming on him, took out a gun and started firing without even taking aim. All the bullets missed the man.

Ironwood shot Brogan in the leg. Then he shot the control panel. Brogan limped to escape and Ironwood put the guns away.

"My Bertha!" Brogan screamed. "You killed my daughter, you motherfucker!"

"You will meet the same fate if you attack me again," he told him gravely.

"Fuck you!" Brogan yelled, throwing himself onto the sand from the top of the machine.

Brogan's colleague, who had gone into hiding, was immediately found by Cinder Fall but was allowed to flee along with the other.

The woman met Ironwood, who had just left the colossal machin, and she asked him mockingly:

"Was that your brother? You look alike."

"Very funny," he replied sarcastically. "My brother is further north, in a village called Shadeshift."

"How do you know?" she asked curiously.

"Let's say I've been keeping an eye on him for a while."

"Because …"

"For his safety."

"And what do you hope to achieve by meeting him?" The two resumed walking through the desert lands. She added: "Well, it's not like Vacuo has much to offer."

"For too long I've served Ozpin and now that I am no longer an ally of him, I no longer have a purpose. I no longer have a reason to fight."

"And why don't you stop fighting?"

"Because this is the only thing I know how to do. My life has always been linked to that of the army. I was born to fight and I want to die fighting." He paused briefly. "And you? Why are you here?"

"Because I've nowhere to go. I don't have a family, I don't have friends and I don't even have a home. So I'm here because I can't be anywhere else."

An armored vehicle cut Cinder and James's way. It was the Shadow Heralds vehicle. The woman was preparing to fight but Ironwood reassured her.

"Long time no see," said Victor getting out of the car "isn't it, little brother?"

When Cinder Fall saw Victor Ironwood she was slightly baffled by the resemblance to James, even though the former was slightly taller and had that metal jaw.

But, when she saw both Vidi and Vici come out, she felt like a shiver of fear. She couldn't explain why but there was something strange about those two girls. Their movements ... or perhaps their eyes ... there was something inhuman about them.

Victor hugged James.

"Glad to see you're okay, Jamie."

"Too much time has passed since the last time, Victor."

"Who is this?" he asked waving his hand to Cinder. "Your girlfriend?"

James and Cinder exchanged disgusted looks and the woman replied:

"I'd rather hang myself." She paused briefly. "My name is Cinder Fall and I'm here to harass your brother."

"An admirable profession," Victor commented laughing. "The girls with me are Vidi and Vici Longriver."

The two girls bowed slightly.

"So," Victor said, "since you've stopped that thing," he pointed to the giant machine behind them, "it seems fair to reward you by welcoming you to Shadeshift. Get on board. It will take a little while."

The vehicle set off for Shadeshift.

"So, how many years of difference are there between you and your brother?" Cinder asked Victor.

"Five years," he replied politely.

"And why do you live in Vacuo?"

"All thanks to my father," he exchanged a look with James. "Do you remember, Jamie? It was our father who exiled me from Atlas and Mantle on charges of sedition."

"How did he do it?" Cinder asked in shock.

"Our father was in the Council."

"And why did he banish you?"

"At twenty I led a revolt in Mantle."

"Really?!" Cinder exclaimed in amazement.

"Yes, yes. We attacked the soldiers and occupied a bank. Good old times." He paused. "Dear Peter, our father, could have had me arrested and left me to die in a prison… but he preferred to exile me. Frankly, I have no regrets."

"I suspected it," James muttered annoyed.

"Come on, Jamie! Don't sulk," he exclaimed laughing.

"I'm just sorry you never thought about going back home."

"This is my home, Jamie. Atlas, for me, is just the city of those with silky asses."

"You haven't changed a bit in all this time," Ironwood commented disappointed.

"Mm ... what about you then? What are you doing here? Didn't you follow the path that was traced for you by our father and that ass licker ... what was his name? Walser? Walter?"

"Walser," Ironwood corrected.

"Exactly, him. So?"

"Yeah, James," Cinder said turning to him and exhibiting a mocking grin "don't you have anything to say?"

"A lot of things have happened. Nothing important," James replied angrily.

"Sensitive topics, huh? I understand. Well here in the Red Desert we don't judge. We welcome saints and criminals with open arms."

"Especially the latter," Ironwood criticized.

"Because they are the funniest."

The vehicle arrived at Shadeshift.

"Look, Jamie, there are people here who know you. Your friends, they say."

James widened his eyes and, astonished by that statement, asked:

"Who?"

"Um ... four girls and a brat ... I don't remember their names."

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long and Oscar Pine," Vidi replied.

"Thanks, Vidi."

"My pleasure."

"So Jamie, do you know them?"

James and Cinder were both speechless. Neither of them had any idea how to react to that terrible news.

"Victor," James began gravely, "I have to tell you something."

"What is it about?"

"Those aren't my friends."

"I thought so," he exclaimed with a sigh. "You were right, Vidi, to suspect them."

"I won't tell you I told you ... but I told you."

"So what do we do?" Vici asked.

"Well let's find out who they really are. I love interrogations."