100,000 words and only about 2/3 of the way through...I thought this wouldn't be more than 80k when I first started it.

Chapter 16: Amicus Curiae

The needle pricked Blake's thumb for the umpteenth time. She sighed, repositioned her hands, and tried again. It was a mistake she was making over and over, but with how distracting the ballooning silence between Ren and Nora was, she couldn't help it. At least after the first time she'd had enough presence of mind to use her aura to turn the painful mistake into a minor irritation.

She spared a second to measure how much was left: a few inches. She was almost done embroidering the fine details on the cape. At that point she could make some excuse to get out of this place—maybe fake a message from one of her teammates that they wanted help at the venue. It was a completely plausible excuse given that the concert was in a mere two days.

After the next series of split stitches, she chanced a look up at Ren and Nora. The two were seated on the other end of the team JNOR dorm but had put as much space between them as the room allowed. Nora had part of Ren's costume in her hands that she was sewing together. Ren was doing the same for another part. They were moving almost in unison, something that Blake knew better than to comment on.

She dropped her gaze back to her work. Another couple of minutes—

"That looks really good, Blake," said Nora.

"Thanks. Yours does too."

Nora held up her garment with pursed lips. "Ren, what do you think?"

"I think it looks fine," he said tightly. "We should focus so we can finish the rest in time."

Frowning, Nora lowered her work back to her lap. The stifling silence returned in force. Blake pricked her thumb again, pursed her lips, and put extra care into her next stitch.

"Where'd you learn to do that?"

Nora's innocent question had Blake begging for someone to barge through the door and sweep her out of this room. No such savior came. "I picked it up when I was younger."

"Oh. Your mom taught you?"

Another glance at the door, which just made the lull before her answer way too obvious. "I learned it from Adam."

Nora mercifully let that conversation die a painful death, but the silence that followed was even worse than the ones before it because now it was Blake's fault. Why did she have to bring up Adam? She should've just lied.

The door banged open. "Hey!" Yang said on the other side. "Does anyone want to—"

"Yes," said Blake.

"—go to the…venue…okay, cool." Yang looked to Nora and Ren while Blake set her things aside and ducked into the hallway. "Do you two…?"

"No."

Ren's flat refusal had Yang retreating with uncharacteristic meekness. She shut the door with a quiet click. "Were they like that the whole time?" she whispered.

"If you hadn't come when you did, I was going to make a run for it. Is anyone else going to the venue?"

"Yep."

They met up with Jaune and their escort at the Academy's main entrance. Weiss was probably at training and Ruby was either already at the venue or back with Pietro and Ironwood. Blake didn't understand how she had the energy to keep alternating between the two, much less how she did it so frequently. Even Yang couldn't keep track of her sister's whereabouts until Ruby crashed into her bunk at the end of the day.

"How's your costume going?" Jaune asked as they piled into the car.

"Good. I'm pretty much done, actually."

"And Ren's?"

"I think he's close too."

"And Ren and Nora?" asked Yang dryly.

Blake's expression said it all. Jaune slumped. The car slid into motion.

"I keep trying to get them to talk but it just ends in another argument," he mumbled. "I don't even understand how it starts half the time. Ren will say something that sounds pretty normal or Nora will say something like she usually does, but then it just…explodes. I don't know what to do."

"I'm not sure there's anything you can do," said Yang as she patted his shoulder sympathetically. "'In matters of the heart, only the heart knows best.'"

Blake frowned.

"What?" Jaune glanced between them. Yang grinned wide and, now knowing the blonde had done it intentionally, Blake buried her face in her hands.

"It's a line from an incredible romance novel series," Yang said over Blake's muffled protests. "Someone kept leaving it lying around back at Beacon and it just so happened that a few times I got a little curious. The characters, the world. So engaging. All of their interactions—steamy."

Blake's ears were burning. "Don't say it."

"Wait," Jaune said slowly, "you don't mean—"

"Ninjas of Love," declared Yang. "A masterpiece."

"I cannot believe you actually read them," Blake groaned into her hands.

"Only pieces. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to torment you with that. Anyway, I don't think you're going to make a difference, Jaune. This is something they have to figure out themselves, or, like, approach you about on their own. Trust me: no one in a relationship appreciates unsolicited advice."

Jaune nodded like Yang was dispensing the sagest of wisdom while Blake wondered just how many relationships Yang had gotten advice on.

"I guess I'll just hope that they know I'm here for them," he said. "I should've just followed Ozpin's example."

Blake furrowed her brows. "Ozpin got involved?"

"Nope. And that's exactly what I should've done."

"No one's going to blame you for trying," Yang said. "Well. They might. But you had good intentions, at least."

That didn't appear all that comforting to Jaune, but he just sighed, shrugged, and reached for a different topic.

The venue was as slick and polished as every other building on its block. Its greatest distinguishing feature was its height: rather than soaring to the skies, it stayed at a modest few stories while shipping lanes shimmered through the gap it left between the skyscrapers on either side.

Inside, however, the theater struck a far different note. Cool steel and shining glass gave way to warm wood, plush carpets, and velvet furniture. Strategic cloth panels on the walls and ceiling, many disguised as tasteful art pieces, dampened the echo of the front doors closing and muted the conversations happening around the small lobby. The hushed environment they created immediately lent to the theater's air of comfortable intimacy.

Next to the counter that sat between the entrance doors, a familiar figure in a red cape talked excitedly to a group of volunteers. One of the volunteers said something—Blake only caught "by then"—but that was enough to have Ruby grinning ear to ear. She thanked them and spun on her heel, so pleased with herself that she nearly ran into Yang before realizing there were people in her path.

"Oh, hey guys! I was just talking with them about the full costume rehearsal tomorrow morning."

"Will everything be ready?" Blake asked.

"Nope, but we'll be doing another one in the afternoon and they said the last of the lights and background rigs should be tested and good to go by then. Are you here to help?"

Yang flexed an arm with a grin. "Naturally."

The stage crew that had been leaning hard on her aura-boosted strength to deal with heavy equipment and awkward sets waved from the other end of the main counter. Yang winked at them. Jaune, another welcome hand, waved back.

Before they could make a move to join the volunteer crew, however, the lobby fell silent. Though its construction encouraged quiet, outright silence was another matter. Hearing the doors sliding shut, Blake turned to look back the way they'd come.

Weiss stood just past the threshold, clearly taken aback by all the eyes on her.

"Weiss!" Ruby called with an excited wave. Her enthusiasm broke the tension and the background hum of conversation started up once more. "I thought you were rehearsing at the Academy today," Ruby continued once Weiss joined them.

Though Atlas Academy heavily favored instruction focused on slaying Grimm and protecting the kingdom, it did have a handful of arts classes and just enough small practice rooms that Weiss had been able to reserve one for her rehearsals.

"I'm resting my voice," she said. "It's very common to do before concerts, don't worry. I figured I may as well stop by here and see if there was something I could assist with, though now I'm realizing I should have just contacted the rest of you and saved an escort a trip."

"You can do your summons without Dust, right?" asked Jaune.

"Yes, why?"

"Well, I know of a forest that could use some raising, and that would make it way easier."

Yang grinned. "Jaune, you're a genius."

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, which was turning a bit red. "I just don't want to get accidentally crushed by a set again."

"Ah, right. Sorry about that, by the way. Again."

"It's okay. I got the splinters out eventually."

Blake spared a second to be grateful she wasn't at risk of being pinned under a giant wooden cutout of a house or a tree. Compared to that, a simple fall from the rafters while she helped install railings on a handful of support beams was much easier to deal with.

"Excuse me. Team RWBY, right?"

A woman with brown skin in a white button-up blouse paired with a beret and skirt as blue as her eyes approached them. Her deep blue hair nearly covered one eye as it swept into a braid coming forward over her left shoulder. She spared a second to wipe her black-gloved hands off on the towel hanging from the hefty tool belt hooked around her waist, then held out her right one for Weiss to take.

"Nice to see you all again. I don't know if you all remember me, but I was one of Penny's teammates back at the Vytal Festival."

Weiss furrowed her brows as she took the offered hand. "Wait…Ciel? It was Ciel, right?"

Ciel's eyebrows shot up. "I'm surprised you remember. Yes, it's Ciel. Ciel Soleil."

"I don't think I've seen you during training or around the Academy," Blake noted while they all took turns shaking hands. "Have you been on a mission?"

Ciel sobered. "No. Actually, I…I switched tracks."

"You switched?" Yang asked. "Like, out of being a huntress? Why? You did so well in your matches!"

"Of course you remember the fights," Weiss sighed.

Ciel, meanwhile, only grew graver. "Seeing someone you were supposed to protect—someone you were learning to care about—in pieces in a crate at your feet, rattling around for the hours and hours it takes to get home…" She took a deep, shuddering breath. "It makes you reevaluate some things. I transferred to engineering as soon as I was off mandatory leave and that's where I've been ever since."

"Oh," Ruby said.

The silence ballooned until Ciel abruptly clapped her hands together, startling them all. "I didn't come over here to make everyone remember that event. I just wanted to reintroduce myself and let you know that I'm helping out with some of the rigs today. If you've got ideas or questions, let me know, and I'll find a way to get it done."

"Wait, wait," Ruby said, realization widening her eyes, "Pietro's new assistant—that's you, isn't it?"

Ciel nodded. "I interned with him over the last break, but I didn't think I'd get a chance to do it again. Then about a week ago I got a call, so I've been assisting him and Miss Calavera in the labs during my free periods at his request." She bit her lip, confusion sliding into her voice. "I'm not really sure what he means by me 'having the personal touch that's needed,' but it's flattering to have someone as distinguished as him requesting my help."

"Well, we're all looking forward to working with you," Jaune said.

She nodded and excused herself. If she was working on rigs, then Blake was probably going to run into her while finishing up the process of bringing the production up to code. The idea of putting in railings up in the rafters had been odd to Blake when Bruno first brought it up, but as he'd pointed out, they couldn't very well have Oscar and Jaune running around the rafters without any safety measures at all. Even if their aura would protect them, it wouldn't protect the venue from lawsuits or the people they landed on.

The drill slipped on the last nail. Blake pulled it away and tugged on the railing to confirm that there was no give. Satisfied, she hauled herself back up to the platform proper. Uncrossing her ankles, which had been anchoring her around the beam while she hung over empty space to access where the nails had to be drilled in, she stood and stretched. Her core ached, a side effect of doing this for nearly an hour straight, but she told herself it was just more training.

"Was that the last one?" Ciel called from a beam about twenty feet away. She was performing a maneuver much like Blake's, though she had a clever little sling to take some of the strain off her midsection.

"All done," Blake confirmed. "Do you need a hand?"

"I'm almost done myself—I can handle it from here. They could probably use your help with something down below."

Blake waved acknowledgement and, as Ciel went back to screwing in the last of the railings, waited for a spot on the stage many feet below to clear of people. When that moment came, she neatly flipped over the railing. Air rushed past her ears for a split second as the ceiling and floor exchanged places. She unfolded, bracing for impact, and then landed with a completely unnecessary flourish. Her right leg ached from taking more of the strain than normal, and straightening up from the awkward pose took more effort than she cared to admit, but it was worth it to practice the move she would need to do perfectly in two days.

A few people offered applause. Blake blushed a bit but waved thanks before jogging over to where Weiss was directing her massive knight to help lift up heavy equipment and set pieces.

"That looked good," Weiss offered.

"It feels ridiculous."

"Trust me, when you're in full costume, it will not look even the slightest bit ridiculous." From next to a big cabin cutout lovingly—and quickly—painted to look three-dimensional, Jaune gestured for Weiss to move it a bit higher and to the right. She sighed. "I swear, I've helped them set this on the wheels twice now, but every time something goes wrong."

"Sorry about that."

Qrow strolled up behind them with both hands in his pockets.

"You're sorry? For what?"

"Uncle Qrow!"

He waved back to Ruby, who was working with some of the crew to practice moving sets quickly with her semblance, and then refocused on them. "Can't blame me for stopping to take in the work you kids have put in here. It's impressive; you should be proud."

"Thanks," Weiss said, somewhat taken aback. Beyond her, her knight gently eased the cabin down. Yang was on one end helping to guide the wood into the indent at the center while another three people held the individual supports on the back end. For a second, the specialized cart held it—and then one of the wheels broke off to a chorus of groans.

Qrow winced. "Blake, a word? Shouldn't take long."

"Sure."

She followed him out into the seats. Away from the stage, the same strategic muffling as the lobby ensured that their voices wouldn't travel. Qrow leaned against the side of a seat with his arms crossed. "Heard anything else from Adam lately?"

Her poker face didn't crack but it was a near thing. She'd shared Adam's message with Qrow and Clover, but she'd left out the fact that he was intending to contact her again along with the actual method of contact. She didn't want any faunus students getting in trouble because of a trap for Adam. When Adam contacted her again, she'd decide at that point what her next steps would be.

Unless Qrow had somehow heard about her leaving something out of her explanation.

"Nothing new," she said. Not technically a lie. "Has something happened?"

He pursed his lips. "Maybe." Heaving a sigh, he tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. "I guess I was hoping he'd offered up another clue about what he was doing. Should've known better."

"I haven't heard anything," she said, then tacked on, "sorry." She knew it wasn't her fault, but she did bear some of the responsibility.

He brought his hand up to the bridge of his nose. "Right, yeah."

"What happened?"

"Someone dropped some bodies in Mantle. Witness reports are conflicting. A couple people described someone kind of like him, but they were on something. Not reliable. Plus the Happy Huntresses claimed they saw him on the other side of town around that time, not that that's panned out into anything either. Feels like I've hit my head against every dead end in this kingdom."

With his eyes closed, Blake was free to catalogue their dark circles and the stubble left unattended on the lower half of his face. Unlike the disheveled state of his clothes, the five o'clock shadow didn't suit him at all.

"Are you okay?" she tried.

Qrow chuckled, free hand reaching towards his coat's inner pocket before he paused. His fingers flexed and then the whole limb dropped like a marionette with its strings cut. He squeezed the bridge of his nose one last time and then let that hand drop too. "I've been better, but pretty much everyone here can say that. Keep me posted if he reaches out again."

"Of course."

Up this high, the wind pushed on him like a constant shove against half his body. Adam leaned into it and resisted the urge to check the burner scroll the Happy Huntresses had loaned him. The last message had come through a few minutes ago. He was early to this meetup, nothing more.

The massive screen taking up a full fifth of the skyscraper's length below him flipped to a different announcement. Its light dyed the other buildings grasping with pointed spires at Atlas's underbelly in muted shades of blue, white, and a murky red from some kind of emergency news scroll on the bottom. Probably a warning to stay indoors as much as possible until the violence was over with. Adam could already repeat the droning warnings word for word; he wasn't inclined to look at another billboard nearby and read them too.

A stronger gust rocked him slightly. He widened his stance and strengthened his aura a bit to blunt the edge of the wind cutting through his coat. His ears were burning from the cold.

The temptation to check the scroll he hadn't felt vibrate won over right as the roof access door behind him banged open. Fiona yelped in surprise and wrestled with the door to close it against the force of the wind.

"Took you long enough," Adam commented when she joined him by the railing.

"I just had to help make sure everything was in place," Fiona said.

Adam grunted. He would've done some of the work himself, but Robyn had laid out in no uncertain terms that he was, ironically enough, to remain out of sight. The Happy Huntresses had already done some work to deflect suspicion surrounding his earlier whereabouts and keep an even greater panic from breaking out, but that would be moot if he went and got himself spotted by someone who would recognize him as Carintol's target.

"So it's ready?" he said.

"It's already started. Here, you probably can't see it from this high up."

She handed him a pair of binoculars. Bringing them up to his eyes, he peered down at the abandoned lot a few blocks away where the Happy Huntresses had staged the ambush. He'd been able to see movement with the naked eye, but even with aura sharpening his vision, he hadn't been able to make out details. Besides, continuously enhancing his sight like that was uncomfortable at best and migraine-inducing at worst, never mind that his aura wasn't as responsive as usual of late.

There certainly were a lot of people buzzing around the site. No Atlesians yet, but they would've gotten the allegedly candid photo of him in the lot by now. It was only a matter of time.

"You got Carintol himself?" Adam asked, recognizing the shock of orange hair amid the crowd.

"We set up a gift he didn't want to refuse."

"That so."

He kept scanning the crowd, unable to stop a small hum of surprise when he spotted a few familiar faces from his visit to Carintol's office.

"What is it?" Fiona asked.

"I didn't think they'd live." The wounds had been fatal, although not immediately so. Just enough to let them suffer…and apparently not enough to finish them before medical attention arrived. A shame. Remembering who he was with, though, he tacked on, "They'll have the chance to suffer with the rest of them now."

"Right." Fiona wasn't buying it, but nor was she challenging him. He'd take it.

At the center of the hive of activity rested the crate of ammunition the Happy Huntresses had successfully dredged from the storage room thanks mainly to Fiona's semblance. Carintol took one look and then started shouting at his subordinates, more than a few of whom had stopped to examine some piles of scrap around the yard.

When they discovered the sabotaged surveillance drones haphazardly hidden under those piles, panic ensued—but it was far too late. A mixed force of mantas and bullheads swooped down from above, spotlights flaring to life and shining on the morons fleeing for cover below. At the exits they found not escape but armored cars screeching in to block their paths. Soldiers and robots poured onto the scene while emergency lights bathed everything in strobing red and blue. Adam was too far away to hear the roaring engines, sirens, or orders relayed through megaphones, but he could imagine the cacophony.

Between the contraband weapons, the destroyed Atlesian camera drones, the suspicious congregation of armed criminals with records past curfew, and the military's need to confirm with identity inspections that Adam wasn't hiding among the crowd, no criminal would be slipping through the cracks.

Adam picked out Carintol again. The man had run out of fury; all he had left was confused disbelief as a soldier wrestled him to the ground. Adam smirked. What a fool to miss the cage closing in around him.

"Not a bad ending, right?" asked Fiona.

It wasn't as satisfying as doing it himself, but it was satisfying nonetheless. He handed the binoculars back to her. "I have one more message for you to give to Blake."

She tilted her head at his tone. "Is this the last one?"

"We'll be seeing each other face-to-face. No need to use an intermediary after that."

Fiona brightened. "Oh, great! I'm glad. What's the message?"

He told her. And though Blake didn't know it, the noose caressed her neck.

Soon, he would pull it taut.

As a minor celebration of the 100k milestone, instead of a generic "please review" request, I'd love to hear about your favorite moment in the story so far and/or a moment in the future you're hyped for.