March 1, 2022

A single-person police car pulled over another driver on a rural road outside of Kuo Kuana. The officer that stepped out was a woman about 25 years old with light brown skin, gray eyes, and brown hair. As she got out, she made clear to not slam her car door shut so the driver of the other car wouldn't know she was coming. She then wiped her right hand on the back of the car to ensure her fingerprints and DNA were on the car just in case something happened.

The driver lowered his window and said to the officer in Fanusian, "Hello, officer."

"Hello," she replied back. "Sir, do you know why I pulled you over?"

"I was speeding," the driver calmly admitted. "Wasn't I?"

"I'm afraid so," she replied. "I clocked you doing 55 miles per hour in a 35 zone." She then looked around her surroundings. "Can you give me your license and registration?"

"Yes," the driver replied as he grabbed his wallet from his pocket. "My license is in there."

The officer took it and opened it to find the license. As soon as she looked at it, she noticed it did not look right. "Do you have the registration?"

"Right here," the driver said as he handed her the registration of the car.

"Thank you," she replied. "I'll go run this in the computer." She then turned and walked away back to her patrol car as the driver sat and waited. Asshe got back in her car, she radioed in Valeanian, "6-15 to Dispatch."

"Go ahead," a dispatcher replied.

"I have a license," she began. "But it has some discrepancies. Can you check if there's a John Matterhorn in the database? The ID number is 234-882-192. I found nothing out of the ordinary about the registration aside from the fact that it's not in his name. Can you also check the name Matthew Edelstein?"

"Received," dispatch replied. "At 17:12."

The girl then sat in the patrol car and waited. She said to herself in Mantillian, "Ilia, c'รจ qualcosa di sbagliato in questa cosa. Dovresti saperlo subito."

Then, dispatch radioed back to Ilia, "Dispatch to 6-15."

"Go ahead."

"We do not have a John Matterhorn on file, they replied, making the blood in Ilia turn cold as her skin became light blue in worry. "It appears the license is fake. However, we do have a Matthew Edelstein on file. He is wanted for several violent felony charges related to firearms and other weapons."

Ilia, now deeply concerned, immediately radioed back, "10-85 two more vehicle patrol units to my location for a felony stop ASAP!" She then got out of the car and calmed herself down as she decided to pretend everything was fine so the other driver would not get suspicious.

Matthew said to Ilia as she approached, "So, how did it go?"

"You checked out fine," Ilia replied, lying to him. She then noticed he placed his hand on his lap near his belt. "Sir, why do you have your hand there? Do you mind keeping it free for me to see?"

"Why?" Now, Matthew was getting non-compliant. "Am I doing anything wrong?" He shot Ilia a death glare.

"It's for my safety and your's," she replied. "Do it."

Suddenly, Matthew changed languages to Valeanian. "You should have stayed in the car, traitor."

"Traitor?" Ilia was beginning to turn red with anger. "I am no such thing."

Matt then tried forcing open the door of the car, being pushed back by Ilia as she tried to prevent him from getting out. Then, after about 10 seconds, Matt drew a gun from his waistband and aimed at Ilia, forcing her to back off. "How is that?!"

Ilia screamed at him as she drew her own gun, "PUT THE GUN DOWN NOW!"

"You should have fled when you had the chance," Matt replied to her as he got out of the car, gun not pointed at her but at the ground. "ATTACK!"

Then, suddenly, a man emerged from the bushes nearby, armed with a pistol, and fired in Ilia's direction, forcing her to flee to the back of her patrol car as a bullet barely missed her head. "Fucking hell!" As she took cover, she radioed, "6-15 to dispatch, shots fired! SHOTS FIRED! 10-13! 10-13! Go to a Level One Mobilization!" She then popped back up quickly and returned fire in the direction of Matt and the other man, striking Matt and sending him to the ground after firing 6 rounds. "EAT FUCKING LEAD!"

As another police car approached the scene, Ilia sat back down as the other man began to reload his pistol. She then aimed at him and squeezed the trigger of her pistol twice. Immediately, both rounds hit him, splattering blood all over the ground and Matt's car and causing him to fall to the ground.

Ilia then rushed over to Matt and the other man as two police officers stepped out with their pistols drawn. As she approached, Matt attempted to get up and aim his gun at Ilia, but she fired one more shot right into his chest, putting an end to both threats. "6-15 to dispatch, both suspects are down at this time, start me the fire department for an ambulance!" By now, the adrenaline had begun to wear off as she kicked away the guns belonging to both men from their dead hands.

An officer said to her in Fanusian as he rushed over to assist, "Amitola, are you alright?! Were you hit?!"

She simply shook her head. "No... But... These two are probably dead." She then holstered her gun and began to check on the vitals of the very man who had led her into the trap, since she was now obligated to try to save his life if possible since he was no longer a threat. "I probably won't save him, but I gotta do it anyway."

March 5, 2022

Blake and Sun were visiting Velvet at her apartment, catching up on things and helping her. It had been raining all day, and the sky outside was dreary and dull. She said to the two as they all sat and drank coffee, "Yeah, so that's about it for what I've done since I graduated Beacon. No boyfriend, not much stability up in my bloody head, and overall, things are just dull."

"That's awful," Sun replied to her, saddened by the hard life Velvet had led since she graduated Beacon. "Do you still miss Yatsuhashi?"

"Every day," the rabbit faunus girl replied, nodding sadly. "I doubt he would want to take me back in, though, considering I was the one who buggered everything up." She then sighed and gave a fake smile. "Who would want me?"

"Come on," Blake assured her. "Don't think like that, Velvet. It's dangerous. I hated myself for many years, always thinking I was never good enough or that I didn't deserve happiness. It was terrible for me." She patted Velvet on the shoulder. "You need to stop letting the past affect your actions if you want to be happy with life."

"I know," she insisted. "I know, I know, but when I try to do that, the memories pop up and take me back to square one, and it fucking sucks, mate."

"Believe me when I say that me and Blake have been there before," Sun assured her, bringing up his own past. "We have seen things that still haunt us from our experiences as huntsman and huntress, including the Battle of Beacon. Every year, I still avoid some places on the anniversary of the battle."

"And I just avoid everything and stay locked up in this coop," the despondent Velvet replied. "I can't go outside on that day since I spend most of it crying in here. I reckon if I did, I'd have a meltdown in public."

Blake nodded, taking in what she had just said. "What happened really got to her," the catgirl thought to herself. "Worse than anything I've ever seen before."

Later that night, around 11:48 PM, Blake was awoken by the sound of the siren from the station. She quickly got up and slipped sandals on before checking to see if she still had socks on and then turning her pager on to see what the call was. As she raced out of the apartment and into the hallway, she heard through her pager that it was a reported structure fire in their first-due on the first floor of a small apartment building with possible entrapment. As Yang and George trailed her, the three ran down the stairs to the first floor before running out to the street and across the road to the other side where the firehouse was as several pedestrians watched the firehouse and the volunteers running from home. Yang moved a bit slower since she was 8 months pregnant. George hopped onto Bumblebee and raced off to his firehouse about 5-6 minutes away.

As they were only a block away, they both quickly arrived just as the siren wound down for the last time. Yang put her hip boots on and grabbed her helmet, mask, and coat before running to the driver's side of Engine 201 to see if they already had a driver. She saw that a paid firefighter had hopped up there and asked him, "You all set?! I can drive!"

"Got it," he replied as he hopped out of the driver's seat and grabbed his coat and helmet. He would have to use a spare mask from the back cab since Vigilant used different SCBAs than the paid fire stations. "I like going in better anyway."

"Same," Yang replied as she hopped up front, shoving her coat and helmet behind her seat. As she closed the door, Penny, Theresa, Denis and Ren ran into the station, and she yelled to them, "Hurry it up, you four!" As she did, Blake jumped in the back of the engine. Yang started up the engine as she said to 2nd Captain Llewelyn, "Did Weiss call the 99 yet?"

"Not yet," he replied. "I'm still probably gonna get masked up in here anyway, since it doesn't sound good." He then took his helmet off and began to put his mask on.

"Car 5 to Fire Alarm," Weiss then radioed.

"Car 5."

"Code 99! Code 99! Code 99! I got heavy smoke from the first floor and one person hanging from the second!" She was clearly slightly panicked, but was not letting it get to her.

"10-4," Fire Alarm replied. As they notified all units that a Code 99 had been sent out, the engine filled up with a full crew.

Dafydd turned around and yelled out, "MASK UP! WE GOT A 99 WITH ENTRAPMENT!" He then said to Yang, "Go, and floor it as much as you safely can!"

"On it," Yang replied as she applied the gas pedal and Engine 201 sped out of the station.

"Engine 201 is responding with a full crew!" Dafydd didn't know how many were interior, but didn't care at this point. He then radioed to Weiss over a different frequency, "Engine 201 to Car 5, where would you like us?"

"Grab the hydrant one block down before Market Avenue," Weiss began with instructions. "And park just before the building so we can get a truck to the front. I need a ladder set up to the second floor as soon as you get here."

"10-4," Dafydd replied. "On it." He then turned to his crew. "I need a ladder set up to the second floor when we get there. We're gonna be making the last hydrant before Market Avenue!"

Blake, who had just put her helmet back on after masking up, replied, "On it! I'll get the ladder with Ren!" She then looked to Ren, who nodded in response.

About 6 and a half minutes after the call went out, Engine 201 pulled up. Blake and Ren immediately hopped out as the engine parked just short of the building and grabbed the ladder from a rack on the side of the engine, making sure the tubes on their masks didn't get caught on anything as other firefighters pulled two lines off the engine and advanced to the first floor entrance. As Ren held on with his back to the building, Blake raised the ladder to the second floor as she saw their victim: A man waving at them from a second floor window. Ren yelled, "You go up first!" He then hooked his tube into his regulator on his belt and began breathing pack air due to the heavy smoke outside.

Blake did the same before giving Ren a thumbs up and ascending the ladder as Ren footed it. As she climbed, she yelled out to the man, "Hold on! I got you!"

"Thank God," the victim exclaimed, his face blackened with soot. He reached his hands out as Blake grabbed a hold of him and began to pull him through the window. He said to her, "I don't know how much longer I could have lasted!" He then coughed.

As they descended, Blake continuing to carry him, she asked, "Is there anyone else in there you know of?!"

"I got no clue," he replied before he puked, his vomit barely missing Ren below as he quickly moved out of the way. "Agh, shit! Sorry!"

"You're fine," Blake reassured him. "That's a normal reaction to smoke inhalation." Then, they reached the ground as two firefighters rushed over with a stretcher. Blake and Ren gently lowered him into the stretcher, ignoring his vomit that they were stepping in. She said to them, "He must have inhaled a lot of smoke. He puked while I was bringing him down, and his face is blackened." As the firefighters whisked him away, Blake said to Ren, "Alright. Let's go up to the second floor and search."

Ren handed her an axe as he held a halligan bar and nodded, saying, "Let's." As crowds gathered to watch, the two of them ascended the ladder and quickly crawled through the window onto the smoke-filled second floor.

Blake radioed, "Firefighter Belladonna to Vigilant Command, myself and Firefighter Ren are conducting a search on the second floor in the apartment the victim was in. The victim has been rescued and is treated by EMS at this time."

"10-4," Weiss radioed back. "Vigilant Command to Incident Command, I got two more guys on the second floor assisting with the primary."

As Weiss and a paid chief talked back and forth, Blake and Ren searched the apartment, starting with the living room. Sticking to the wall with their right hands, they used the handle ends of their tools to extend their reach. Ren called out, "IS THERE ANYONE ELSE IN HERE?! CALL OUT IF YOU CAN HEAR US!" They could barely see due to the thick smoke inside.

"I got a door," Blake called out as she could feel a door to a bedroom. "It's locked! Ren, try to take it out with the halligan!"

"On it," Ren replied as he got up front and jammed the pick end of the halligan into the jam of the door. He then pushed down on the halligan to widen the gap and hopefully break the lock. When it wouldn't budge anymore, Ren kept the halligan in and grabbed a wooden door chock on his helmet to jam it into the gap before taking out and putting back in the pick end. This time, once he pushed down hard enough, it broke the lock and forced the door open. "Stay back here and watch me! I'll go in and search!"

"Got it," Blake replied as she watched Ren quickly comb through the bedroom. As he came to the bed, he stood up on his knees and reached over the bed with his halligan to see if anyone was on it. Within about two and a half minutes, the whole bedroom had been searched, and Ren crawled back to Blake. "Nothing?!"

"Nope," he replied. "Let's continue!" The two then continued on into the open kitchen after the living room, knocking down several chairs in the process as they kept searching. "Anyone here?!"