Yeah, I know this chapter seems strange but it should become clear pretty quickly what is going on and that this is indeed connected to the story. I am not sure how you will like it but I wanted to do something different, staying original and all that.

UPDATED: Differently from the chapters, I changed until now this one does not have large parts completely rewritten. It has, however, a lot of small parts changed and a few errors fixed.

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''You know, I am still not feeling comfortable with doing it.''

Aurus sighed, he really thought they were finished talking about that.

''How often do I need to tell you again Orthos? We don't have a choice. I do not enjoy doing this anymore then you do, neither do Alexander or Morgan but what would you have us do? Wait another few months?''

''I mean, can't we?''

Apparently, he had not made himself clear enough.

''Oh for fuck's sake. No, we cannot, you heard it yourself from the 'esteemed Leader' didn't you? By then we would probably be standing in fucking Mistral beating down civilians for daring to exist or more likely in front of a shooting squad.''

Orthos just rubbed the back of his head.

''I guess you have a point there. Still, couldn't we do something different, like kill Ironwood?''

Not for the first time, Aurus wondered how the hell he had managed to not kill his partner in his sleep yet.

''Let him Aurus, you know how he is when he gets nervous.''

He turned his head towards Alexander.

''You can talk easily. I'd switch partners with you any day.''

Suddenly a pair of arms slung themselves around Alexander from behind and Morgans face appeared. Alexanders face froze in shock.

''Sorry to disappoint but I am more than happy with my partner.''

Alexander didn't seem to share her sentiment at this very moment however.

''By the brothers Morgan, why did you sneak up like that, my heart almost stopped.''

But she just waved it off casually.

''Take it as training, if I was a Grim you would be dead by now.''

But Alexander just snorted.

''I genuinely doubt it.''

Aurus had no problems believing him, he had once seen a Grim bite out his teeth on Alexanders arms. He had not even thought this to be possible. Orthos took this moment to clink himself into their little banter.

''That is nice to hear and all that but I would much prefer to hear what you have found out Morgan.''

She just rolled her eyes.

''Have it your way party pooper. Our Information was right, there is indeed an old escape tunnel left from the time of the great war.''

''Yeah, which doesn't scream trap at all.''

Of course, Orthos would feel the need to complain, he had a point though.

''As much as I hate to agree with him he is right. Are you absolutely sure about that information?''

The mirth disappeared from her eyes and she answered his gaze with a determined one of her own.

''Yes, as I said, I heard it from one of the guards. He said that he only found it by accident and that it was shown on none of their plans. I know that it was the truth, or was my semblance ever wrong before?''

It wasn't and that was a godsend. Having a living lie detector was sometimes more useful than any strange flashy superpower... sometimes. That the guard was telling the truth however did not mean that the information was necessarily right.

''You normally do not put secret escape routes on your plans.''

But she waved it off.

''He said that the took a look at it, there is no way it is still operational.''

''And why is that?''

A small smirk appeared on her face, he gulped and shared a look with Alexander. The look promised information he was sure he didn't want to hear.

''Because it's in such a bad condition that the whole thing is basically a death trap.''

He could hear slow clapping, Orthos voice was practically dripping sarcasm.

''A brilliant strategy. Let's sneak through the deathtrap to get into a heavily guarded mansion to kill the 'princess of Atlas' by heroicly murdering her while she is unable to fight and hope to the brothers that we will get away before her husband or Ironwood catch wind of it and gut us like pigs. Truly, the people will sing stories about us. ''

Morgan gave him a look.

''So, does that mean you are on board?''

''... are you gonna care if I say no?''

She clapped her hands together.

''Great, nice to see that we have your support.''

''I hate you.''

''Awww, I love you too.''

He figured that he should stop the two of them before they went entirely off track.

''Putting aside Orthos... 'professional' description I need to know, can we make it through or not?''

Once again all humor vanished from her face and she gave a short nod.

''Yes, it might be a deathtrap but it won't stop us, we just need to be careful.''

He gave her a nod back.

''All right then, let's go''

He could see Orthos snap his head around.

''You mean now!?''

''... What were you thinking we were doing here?''

''I thought were just scouting out stuff, you know, not throwing ourselves headfirst at it as fast as we can.''

''Okay, be my guest, I heard that the Salvation is due to return later this evening, wanna wait for Atlas 'great conquerer' to be there as well, along with his right-hand man and those monsters that he calls his personal guard I might add?''

This seemed to convince Orthos, Alexander, however, seemed far less scared of that prospect. ''I could take him.''

This time Aurus that facepalmed, he simply couldn't believe his team. Did they even realize how much danger they were about to throw himself into?

As if he had been reading his thoughts Alexander closed the distance between them and put his hand reassuring on Aurus shoulder. ''Don't worry, you know that we can do it, I mean, when have we ever failed?''

Aurus raised his eyebrow. ''Well, there was that time when...''

But it did not seem as if Alexander actually wanted an answer. ''Exactly, never. Today will be no different. Honestly, I am more concerned about what will come afterward?''

''You mean getting out again?''

But Alexander just shook his head.

''No, after that. I mean, even if we can get the princess, that won't stop Ironwood or her husband and they will sure as hell be out for our blood.''

''Yes but it will be a start. People will see that it is possible to fight back, that there are people not taking things lying down. It will shake things up, give hope to the oppressed and shake the morale of those dogs.''

But looking at his comrade's faces he could see the doubt that lay in Orthos eyes.

''You don't think so? Because every way I look at it we look like the bad guys. There are some things that are just not done.''

Orthos let out a small sight.

''Look, I am not saying we ain't doing what needs to be done, I am aware how desperately we need some big success. An opportunity like that won't come again for a long time. I am just not all that sure if the people will agree with us there. Look at them, some impressive looking guy throws around some patriotic lines and they all eat it up. They will simply portray us as some terrible terrorists and the people will not even question them. And honestly, in this case I could not even blame them.''

But Alexander just let out a boisterous laugh. ''No one has ever said that being a hero was easy. You will see, in time they will realize the truth.''

Orthos just shook his head. ''That's what I am scared off.''

Suddenly Morgan joined the talk again. ''All this boasting is nice and all but if we want to get anything done we should really start now, as Aurus put it so nicely, we really do not have all day.''

Orthos and Alexander both looked like they did not quite agree with her but one sharp look of him made them back away, the time for joking was over.

''You are right, we are moving out, Morgan, show us the way, Orthos keep an eye out for guards.''

''Sure thing.''

''You got it, boss.''

And with that, they set out on their mission.

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''Damn, talk about having too much money.''

He had to agree with Orthos. Who the hell had a private library bigger than some people's whole homes? But that aside he still had to-

''The same kind of people who would have a secret escape tunnel in a library?''

Again, he had to agree with Alexander as well but that didn't change that he had to-

''You think we could grab some of this stuff on our way back?''

His eyebrow started twitching violently.

''You guys do remember that keeping up my semblance requires a lot of concentration, right?''

But Orthos just waved him off. ''Don't worry, just ignore us.''

''Oh, I am about to, believe me, I am sure the cameras will enjoy seeing your ugly mug. Now be quiet, I can make us invisible, not unhearable.''

All three of them made a zipping motion across their mouths. Sadly, the silence did not make it easier to navigate the halls of the mansion itself. He had a rough idea of where to go but nothing more. What worried him even more, was that they had not even seen a single guard yet. Surely the Schnee wasn't careless enough to station all defenses outside the manor? The whole thing just smelled of a trap.

The moment they turned around the next corner he instantly cursed himself for his thoughts. At the other end of the long hallway they were in, there stood a giant ethereal knight. He quickly signaled his team to stay quiet, after all, it couldn't possibly know there were here, right?

''Attention Intruders, I welcome you to this home of mine.''

He just had to tempt fate, hadn't he? A quick look revealed that his comrades were just as shocked as upon hearing the voice of their target coming from a speaker.

''I know you are there, hiding is no use.''

She was just bluffing, she was probably broadcasting across the whole manor. They were still invisible to the human eye, there was no way she would know where exactly they were.

''This is your only chance, surrender yourself and face judgment or be put to death like the criminals you are right here and now.''

Yeah sure, as if any of them would do that. He trusted in his semblance, he knew there was no way they could have been spotted, they would need a... Grimm for that. Staring straight at the ethereal form of the Knight that still stood on the other end of the hallway his eyes widened in panic.

''RUN, NOW!''

But it was already too late. If seeing the knight had already been a shock to Aurus and his team then what now stood behind them almost caused them to faint.

''No goddamn fucking way. How is that even possible?''

Orthos words hit the nail right on the head. Standing behind them was Adam Taurus, the fallen leader of the white fang. Glowing in the same ethereal light his face was twisted in a hateful grimace, part of him bound to the one that had slain him until she was well would meet her end.

''I see that you have made your choice. I do not know why you are here but I have an assumption. Let me assure you, your cowardly act never had any chance of succeeding. Now die knowing that all your efforts were futile.

But they weren't trained hunters for nothing.

''Take down that apparition of Taurus and let's get out of here.''

The moment he had finished speaking Orthos dropped a smoke grenade to shield them from view. Knowing that the smoke would not offer much protection against the type of enemy they were facing, they quickly burst out of it and tried to overwhelm the enemy before them.

Orthos opened the fight by unloading his revolver into the target. At least that had been the plan, had the figure not moved out of the way, dodging a punch from Alexander at the same time, his gauntlet instead hitting the Wall and taking out a good chunk of it.

Luckily he had already brought up his shotgun and with a quick aim, he shot upon their enemy the moment he had landed. He could she Morgan thrust her spear at the man that had just drawn his sword to block the shotgun blast Aurus had just shot at him. Aurus didn't have the time to follow up on his attack however and, shifting his Shotgun into Axe form, he quickly turned around and blocked the strike from the Knight that had already reached them.

Knowing that he would likely not win a contest of strength with his enemy he quickly rolled away only to see dust bullets slam into the knight's chest, the small explosions sending him stumbling back a bit. He shot his partner a quick thanks before jumping towards the knight and trying to take advantage of the moment they had gained.

Sadly the knight had managed to regain it's bearing once again and blocked his strike. Behind him he could hear the roar of Alexanders flamethrower, hopefully engulfing Taurus. He prayed to the brothers that flames would actually hurt those things. Having no time to let his attention waver however he quickly focused on his opponent again who had just been struck by Morgans spear. Using the created opening he switched his axe back to its shotgun form and fired at the knight. To his immense relief, they actually hit their target. He once again switched his weapon and got ready for another attack when he noticed the Knight retreating a few steps.

His head quickly snapped around towards the rest of his team. But they seemed to have driven their opponent back as well. Taking the opportunity, he nodded to Morgan and made way to join their teammates in breaking past Taurus and back to the secret tunnel. He was halfway there when he realized their mistake, they had failed to take into account the wall that Alexander had destroyed. Looking out of it he could make out the faint blue light of a spider droids main canon.

''SHIT! GET AWAY FROM THE HO-''

Before he could finish his warning a giant energy blast impacted right in their midst. He was ripped off his feet and thrown against the opposite wall, his orientation completely lost. He had to quickly get up again before their enemies could...

''I admire your efforts at least but you never had a chance from the start, now perish!''

''Arrrrgh!''

Quickly giving his head a shake to get rid of his remaining dizziness he searched for the source of the scream and froze. Before him, not three meters away lay Alexander, his upper half that is. Apparently Morgan had noticed the same, because she carelessly threw herself at the knight, it's blade still covered in Alexanders blood, her spear aimed at its head.

''I WILL DESTROY YOU!''

For a moment it seemed as if she would hit, then the knight suddenly disappeared before appearing again behind her impaling her, with his blade through her stomach. That couldn't be his team couldn't be- ORTHOS! Where was he? he still had to be alive. His hope was quickly dashed when he saw his partner unload his entire magazine at Taurus who just blocked every single of them before unleashing an energy wave that left no trace of Aurus' partner of 10 years.

''I feel like laughing, did you really think such a pathetic effort would be enough to end my life? Know your place!''

That was a joke right? They had been Huntsman for years, it couldn't be over so quick, could it? Yes, it truly was just one grand joke. You were supposed to laugh at those, weren't you?

And with that Aurus broke out into laughter, or was he crying, he honestly could not tell anymore. His pain was not to be a long one though, wasting no time the knight pulled out his blade from Morgans now limb body and swung it towards his neck.

What a stupid fucking joke.

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Jaune really hated his luck. He had just gotten home for the first time in two months only to learn that earlier that day there had been an attempt on Weisse's life. Luckily she didn't seem to have been hurt. Nonetheless, he wrapped her into a tight hug as soon as he saw her.

''Thank the brothers you are alright, I was so worried when I heard the news, Weiss.''

But Weiss just brushed her hair out of her eyes and put on a smug smile.

''Don't worry, I have put the problem... on Ice.''

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Behind her, Jaune could see two guards carry a blood-soaked body bag. Weiss just raised her eyebrow impatiently.

''What?''

''... too dark Weiss.''

All his response got him was a little pout.

''One day someone will laugh about my jokes.''

Yeah, out of fear maybe. This, of course, was yet another thought he would have to be stupid to actually voice.

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Well, as you can see this chapter was different. Why did I switch perspectives that hard? Simply, I had the feeling that I made everyone that opposed Atlas a bit to unpersonal? Not sure if it is the right way to describe it. Point is that I wanted to show the other side a bit more in focus. The other reason was simply wanting to have a chapter that is a bit more action packed so to speak. On that note, after this chapter these fairly unconnected side stories will stop in favor of a bunch of chapters that are a bit more directly connected (of course those already existing are kinda as well, all playing during different times of the same story(of course all in chronological order)) but I mean without so many time between them.

Now towards questions that may arrive.

Didn't they say that Weiss was helpless at the moment?

Sure, because like you maybe noticed from some of my earlier chapters, she is pregnant at the moment. Therefore their assumption would be sound... would it not be for her semblance.

Why the hell could Weiss summon Adam?

Simply, because like I described at the very start of my ff with the help of Ironwood they took down Adam, I simply decided that it was Weiss that landed the killing blow. It also makes for very good news, doesn't it? Heir heroicly takes revenge for her family. Anyways, the way winter describes their ability in canon makes me believe that this kill would fulfill the conditions they need to summon their slain foe.

Sure, Grimm do not need to see people to find them but why was the knight out anyways?

Simply, the tunnel was not as unknown as the guard they bribed thought. In fact, that was the very same one they used to get in Adam when they tricked him.

What exactly are those four's abilities and weapons?

Aurus can create a small area of invisibility, though he needs to concentrate on it, so it is of not much use in a fight. Aside from the fact that it would make the enemies that are in the range of the field invisible as well. He uses a big axe that can be transformed into a shotgun.

Orthos has heat vision. He uses a sniper rifle but if forced to fight in close quarters like in this fic he switched to revolver and knife. He also carries smoke grenades for obvious reasons.

Alexander is way stronger than a normal human (or Huntsman). He uses two gauntlets who have a flamethrower built into them.

Morgan is a living lie detector. She uses a long spear that can be taken apart and transform into a pair of swords (though she never got to use it in this fic and never will seeing how they were one-offs for the purpose of being killed off)

Well, that was it for this chapter, until next time.

And always remember citizens, Atlas protects.

If you have any other questions just ask and I will happily answer them.

As always every review is welcome.

The chapter has been beta read by Murphy Sl4w