F3: Hello and welcome to chapter 22 of Rina's story. Looks like something is going down but who will have the upper hand. RWBY is property of Rooster Teeth. Alice Rosetta-Tesla Mirai and Diana Mirai are owned by Decode9. With that said Let's Roll Out!

Volume 4-22 Green: Critical Decision (Part 2)

Robyns scroll alarmed buzzed letting her know it was time to wake up but she woke rather early so that she wouldn't wake up Rina considering she had something that needed to be taken care of. She was glad that it was a weekend as she didn't open during the weekend as she went toward her closest and grabbed her huntress gear and put it on.

After putting on her gear she walked out of her bedroom and into the kitchen and took out a paper and pen and wrote on it leaving it behind for Rina to find on the table and read it. She then walked down the stairs toward the bar and began heading toward the front door.

She knew it was rather early in the morning but that really didn't matter to her as she walked out of her bar and headed toward her destination and that was straight toward Atlas and she wanted to be prepared for anything that came at her.

After taking the airbus up to Atlas she began walking toward her destination but she was sure that she was careful especially if Hector was out their looking for her to attack her from any direction. It took about ten minutes to arrive at the Academy where much to her surprise Alice was actually waiting for her along with Cynthia standing next to her.

"I'm guessing you must be the Stealth Corps boss lady." Robyn said crossing her arms.

"Indeed I am. Though I think we don't have time for formalities. The colonel has called a meeting and you'll be joining us on this." Cynthia stated.

"Then we might as well not keep him waiting." Robyn said as the three of them headed inside. While Robyn was quiet familiar with the academies layout their were a few changes made in the past several years that were rather new to her. She followed the two of them into the councilers room where everyone was waiting for them. Sitting next to the colonel is a small wooden box with gold trimmings.

"Apologies for the delay." Alice replied as her and Cynthia took their seats while as Robyn simply leaned against the wall. Currently in the room was councilman Sleet, the councilwoman Camilla, along with former general Ironwood, and Jacque Schnee of all people.

"I take it Miss Tora will not be joining us." Alice replied.

"You know she's a busy woman. Handling a huntmans academy and being a mother as well. I'm sure that she-"

Sleet was cut off as a hologram projection turned as it projected into one of the empty seats and before long a hologram of Vanessa Tora appeared in the seat next to Ironwood her tiger tail swaying.

"Were you going to say something Councilman Sleet." Vanessa stated though her voice sounded rather sour.

"Ah Miss Tora. Glad for you to join us today on this gracious occasion." Bradly stated.

"I was in the middle of something when I recieved a notification that required my attention apparently. Now what is this about?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes let's get down to business. As you are aware the military is left without a general and without order the military will fall into chaos. So after much consideration I have come to a conclusion as to who should take command of our military. I would like to introduce you to that person today." Bradly stated as he then brought out his scroll and opened it.

"You can send her in." He stated before closing his scroll. A minute later Harriet came walking in much to everyone's surprise.

"You've requested me sir." Harriet replied.

"Ah yes Harriet. I take it Clover didn't come with you yes." Bradly replied.

Harriet shook her head "No sir. May I ask what this is all about?" Harriet asked.

Bradly gestured her to come over to the front of everyone to see her.

"Lieutenant Harriet Bree. For your services to our military and as a member of the Ace Operatives you have shown to have a clear and tactical mind. Along with care for your allies I hear by promote you." Bradly replied as he opened the box revealing it contents.

It was a silver badge the resembled that of the symbol of Atlas as he removed it from the box. He then handed the badge over to Harriet who accepted it as she held it in her hand.

However someone had to speak their mind about this whole thing that was happening.

"Bradly. Surely their is a better canidate that is more qualified to take up the position. Mr. Clover for one is surely more qualified being her superior in rank." Jacque replied voicing his concern.

"While it is true that some will argue this choice that I've made. However I believe that Clover is not a wise decision to make. I have observed him and the jobs that he has done. He's sloppy and rushes his jobs that he done leaving them partical completed. Also while he has great combat skills and battle tactics he relies far too much on his semblance. Someone we do not need to rely on his semblance." He stated.

"Which is way Harriet is a better choice for the position." Bradly replied but only Jacque scoffed at this.

Bradly turned back to Harriet who was still looking at the badge.

"I know this isn't what normally happens during a promotion but I hope you understand... general." Bradly replied calling her by her official title.

"Of course." Harriet replied as she pinned the badge to her jacket.

Robyn however cleared her throat getting everyone's attention.

"Apologies for the interruption but their is something that we need to discuss that is important." Robyn stated.

"Ah Miss Hill. So glad for you to join us at last. I thought you wouldn't come." Camilla stated before recieving a glare from the woman.

"Well I see this is an Atlas problem so if you don't mind I'll be taking my leave then." Vanessa stated.

"Very well. Then by your leave Mrs. Tora." Bradly replied as the hologram of Vanessa vanished from the room.

"Now then what exactly is the situation Miss Hill that you came here today." Bradly stated.

"I'm pretty sure you all know what is going on. The Hex." Robyn replied which had every at attention.

"Two days ago one of my students was attacked by this Hex and has been placed in the hosptial because of it. Though that's not all from what I am assuming." Cynthia stated.

"Yes. A civilian by the name of Fiona Thyme has been kidnapped by the Hex. However that isn't all. He's all demanding a trade." Robyn replied.

"And what kind of trade is this?" Ironwood asked.

Robyn sighed before she spoke again "She wants Rina in exchange for Fiona." Robyn replied.

Most of the council were not sure how to take Robyns words however Jacque didn't seem to be much effected by this.

"Oh is that all." Jacque stated.

Though Alice wasn't having none of Jacques words "Mr. Schnee I understand your not particuarly fond of her but given the situation that a murderer wants to exchange someone he has captured for someone else. This is not what I would say a laughing matter." Alice replied.

"First of all we don't even know who this Hex person is and even if we do we're not sure where this person is." Sleet stated.

"His name is Hector Irving. He's the one that has been causing the murders." Robyn replied.

"How are you certain of this?" Camilla questioned.

"Because just yesterday he called me on my scroll telling me about what he did. He's not one to bluff." Robyn stated firmly.

"That does sound rather ominious for Hector to do. Are you sure that it isn't some kind of trap?" Alice questioned.

"Knowing him it probably is a trap which is why I came to you cause I know you all want to get rid of him just as much as I do. Let me help you do that." Robyn replied.

Bradly hummed at this but he turned to their newly appointed general for any response.

"Well General Bree. What is your call?" Bradly asked Harriet as she weighed her options of what she should do. Though she looked around the room more importantly toward Jacque and Ironwood. She already knows that Ironwood wasn't particulary pleased that she was named generald but he still remained stoic.

However she looked toward Jacque and she noticed very briefly a small tick coming his left eye almost like he was rather annoyed at this.

"You said he called you. Was their anything else that he said?" Harriet replied.

"He said that... I shouldn't try any tricks or that he'll kill her." Robyn said.

"Then... we don't try any tricks. Once we know that you have your friend than we take him out." Harriet replied.

"Are you sure that is a viable option? You're pretty much asking me to put one of my girls at risk you know." Robyn replied.

"I know it's not one of the best options but it's the best I can come up with at the moment." Harriet replied.

Jacque seemed to grin slightly at this before getting up to leave "Well then if that is all than I must take my leave. I have a company to run so if you'll excuse me." Jacque replied as he left the council room almost as if knowing that things will be much easier for him to get rid of the girl.

=RWBY=

Rina stretched as she awoke from her hammock as she got herself dressed even though it was a weekend it was best for her not to lay about all day. As she left her bedroom she noticed that Robyn wasn't in the kitchen but she did see that their was a note laying on the table for her to look at.

Rina grabbed the note and read it.

"Rina. I have to make a run to Atlas and take care of a few things just incase you see this note. I'll probably be back in a few hours and hopefully no longer. If you like make yourself some breakfast but try and not burn the place down. Robyn." The note stated.

"So she's gone to Atlas. But why though?" Rina asked herself but her stomach grumbling made her change course into fixing herself some breakfast. About fifteen minutes later she had succesfully fixed herself an egg and ham omlet and dug into her breakfast.

"It's rather strange for Robyn to be heading to Atlas. Do you think it would have to do when Ironwood visit." Pyrrha suggested.

"Probably. Not sure what it could be for." Lilith replied.

"I bet it has to do with Hector. Maybe that's what it could be about." Rina added.

"That would make sense." Taka stated.

"That makes me wonder what could happening up their." Rina replied with some worry.

After finishing up her meal and cleaning her plate she headed down to the bar almost like she was going to be heading out but there was a knock at the door as she noticed someone was at the door.

"Now who could that be at this hour?" Rina questioned as she went to the door. She peeked through the door viewing hole and noticed that it was someone that she met before. She unlocked it and opened the door.

"Meena what are you doing down here?" Rina asked seeing the fox faunus at the door.

"My apologies but I need to speak with Robyn. I need to tell her something." Meena replied.

"Sorry but she's up in Atlas right now dealing with other matters. Why? Is something the matter?" Rina asked.

"Well... it concerns you mostly." Meena replied making Rina wonder.

"Concerning me? Why would it concern me?" Rina asked again.

"Someone by the name of Hector has captured someone from Mantle and they are planning on using her as bait to lure Robyn out but I think he has something else on his mind. I'm not sure what." Meena replied.

"Are you certain of this?" Rina asked.

"I heard him say it from his own mouth. Worse is Jacque Schnee is okay with this and he has it out for you big time apparently something to do with costing the SDC millions of lien." Meena stated.

"Those are just from the robberies I've done years ago. Anything else?" Rina said.

"Yes. He's also teamed himself up with those Patterson people." Meena added.

Rina only groaned "They are the ones that beat me up sometime ago. I'm just lucky to have gotten away from them. Why would Jacque team up with them if they don't have their company anymore?" Rina added.

"Apparently they hate you too and they were the ones that hired Hector in the first place." Meena explained.

"Great... guess can't have more than one enemy that hates me huh." Rina groaned.

"I really don't have a lot of time to stay out otherwise Jacque will wonder where I've been. I just came here to tell you." Meena replied.

"Thank you Meena. I'll forward this message to Robyn." Rina said as the fox faunus simply bowed in response.

"Take care of yourself... and be careful." Meena said before she walked away from the bar door and was eventually out of sight.

She closed the door as she had a lot to process now.

"Wow. Never thought that bastard Jacque could hate you so much." Lilith stated.

"Yeah... ugh... can't that man know how to leave someone alone." Rina stated annoyingly.

"When it's Jacque... he never leaves anyone alone." Pyrrha added almost talking from experiance.

"I need to distract myself with something." Rina said as she turned to look toward the piano that was on the stage waiting for her to come and play. Seeing nothing better to do she headed over to it and practiced till Robyn got back as she approached the piano and started to play remembering one of the melodies Weiss helped her with back at Beacon. She remembered it clearly as she let herself be taken away by the music.

It started out low before steadily rising to it's peak as the tempo picked up. She wasn't sure how long she was playing as time seemed to fly by her with each and every note she played. After she finished one melody she would immediately move to another one and repeat the process as she closed her eyes recalling every melody that she was taught by Weiss. It wasn't until the final note that she played finished the melody. She let out a breath satisifed with how she did.

"Nicely played." Pyrrha commented.

"Yeah... it's not bad I guess." Rina added.

"Not bad. Girl you've played for an hour straight you know." Lilith said which surprised Rina as she looked at the clock that was hanging up and Lilith was right she played for a full hour straight.

"Wow. Guess I didn't notice." Rina replied rubbing the back of her head.

"Still, those were excellently played melodies. I'm impressed." Taka stated.

"Thanks." Rina said taking the comment. Though now with her music done she still had plenty of time to kill until Robyn returned.

=RWBY=

Robyn was returning to Mantle after her meeting with the new general and the council though she wasn't sure if the idea that Harriet was doing was okay but she eventually agreed but she needed to speak with Rina and wondered if she would cooperate which she thought to what was said during the meeting.

[Moments Ago]

"You want to do what!?" Robyn shouted slamming her hands on the table after Harriet explained her plan.

"Please try and remain calm Mrs. Hill." Bradly stated trying to calm the angry huntress.

"I will not remain calm! First you say that you won't try any tricks and now you're saying something completely! You understand you're putting Rina in danger if you do this." Robyn growled.

"The reason why I said that at first was because Jacque was in the room. Something about him just felt off when he was in the room like he was expecting something else to happen." Harriet replied.

"What are you talking about?" Robyn asked.

"I believe Jacque is hiding something from us and he knows it too. For now we need to focus on the objective at hand. Hence what I said earlier was just to throw him off. With him out of the way this new plan would make up for it. Though in order for this work I need Rina to understand the situation which this is where you come in. I need you to convince her of the plan." Harriet replied.

"How sure are you that this plan of your's will work?" Robyn asked in a serious tone.

"It's better than having no plan at all. Instead of relying on the soliders we'll be needing a more stealthier approach which is more than likely the reason Cynthia was called here as well. Their are two members of the Stealth Corp that share a similar semblance. Miss Redeye and Redmoon correct." Harriet replied.

"Yes they both share the same semblance. Why'd you ask?" Cynthia asked.

"Because they'll be essential for this plan of my to work." Harriet replied before turning back to Robyn.

"But once again I need Rinas cooperation. Can you do that Robyn?" Harriet asked.

"I'll see what I can do." Robyn said as she turned to leave the meeting room not exactly please about what she had to do.

[Present]

So here she was walking through the streets of Mantle returning back to her home. She didn't want to consider the option of putting Rina, the person that she was caretaking in danger for the sake of rescuing her friend. Then again she'll probably have to explain that part to. Before she knew it she was back in front of her home and entered.

First off she looked around and noticed that Rina wasn't downstairs so she must be upstairs. She went upstairs to look for her. Robyn noticed that Rina did fix herself some breakfast in the morning as their was some dishes in the sink. Since she wasn't their she decided to check her room which could be the only place she could be.

Robyn approached her door and then knocked on it twice.

"It's open!" Rina called from behind it much to Robyns relief.

She opened the door and saw the Rina was on her hammock with a stetch book in her hands appearing to be drawing.

"Where did you get that?" Robyn asked curiously.

"Oh their was a small mart near the bar so I headed out and bought it their. Figures I might as well try something new while I'm here." Rina said as she continued to draw.

"Hey... can we talk a moment." Robyn said politly but she also sounded rather worried.

This made Rina get up from her hammock and put down her stetch pad and looked at Robyn.

"Okay what is this about?" Rina asked.

Robyn took in a breath almost like trying to figure out what to say to her like she was struggling to say something.

"Their's something that I need to tell you and I want to explain it all. I'm pretty sure you know about some of things that you overheard from Ironwood and me talking but their are other things that need to be said." Robyn added.

"Yeah I remember hearing something about you having a record and something about Hector. What else is their?" Rina asked.

"Before I was arrested I was part of a group known as The Happy Huntresses. We would rob, steal, and pretty much take anything we wanted from those that had everything and it worked out for quite a long time. That is till we came across... a small child." Robyn said.

"A child? Is this going somewhere?" Rina asked now almost confused.

"It is. She was just five years old with no parents around so we decided to take her in as the groups child. Though after about a year I was caught and arrested for multiple thiefts. Instead of sending me to prison I was to attend Atlas academy. Though after the four years their... I left the huntresses and started working here." Robyn said.

"So I'm guessing after all that time you've turn over a new leaf. Didn't settle well with them huh." Rina said as Robyn nodded.

"Yeah... I didn't want to risk being caught again and have me traced back to them. Not only that they'll be arrested but everyone down in the Pits would suffer. Just make things even tougher." She said.

"Alright but you still haven't explained why this involves that girl and more importantly me for that matter." Rina said.

This was it and Robyn knew what she needed to do.

"I recieved a call last night... it was from Hector. The girl I mentioned. .. he's got her captive and the only way that I can get her back is..." Robyn paused almost not wanting to mention the last part.

"Is what?" Rina asked.

Robyns throat felt dry trying to figure out if their was another solution to her problem and while their could be another solution she knows that it would result in gunfire which is something that she didn't want to risk.

"Is... a trade." Robyn said. Rina didn't know what she meant but she started thinking and the more she thought the more likely the reality of what she meant hit her like a freight train slamming it's brakes.

"Whoa. Hold on a minute! You can't mean... me!" Rina said her voice raised.

Robyn nodded softly now not even looking at her.

"Their has to be a motive to this. Prehaps it has to do with what Meena told us earlier today." Taka mentioned.

"I wouldn't be surprised that Jacque and Hector are working together. We need to pass on the message to Robyn." Lilith also mentioned.

"So that's what Meena meant." Rina muttered but enough for Robyn to hear.

"What who meant?" Robyn asked.

"While you were out in Atlas. Jacques maid Meena came by and wanted to send a message about Hector wanting to lure you out and using that girl you mentioned as bait. I bet this is what she was meaning." Rina said.

"I see. Smart move. Plus more than likely Jacque will deny anything about working with Hector and using Fiona as bait just to lure me into a trap to bring you along too." Robyn replied.

"Still now that we know what he's planning then maybe... we can capture him." Rina said with a grin.

"Wait 'we'. You know what I'm asking you to do right." Robyn said.

"Yeah I know. Not the first time I've risked my neck for someone. When I was twelve I busted my sister out of a gang hideout and all I came out of was a few bruised ribs." Rina replied.

"While I'm not particular thrilled about what you said. This girl means a lot to you. I'm guessing that was why you were acting strangely yesterday right." Rina said as Robyn nodded.

"And Ironwood approved of me wanting to help." She added.

"Funny thing. Apparently today they put someone else in charge of Ironwoods position. I think her name's Harriet Bree I think." Robyn replied which really shocked Rina.

"Well... didn't see that coming. But if I'm helping then I'm guessing their's a plan in place." Rina asked.

Robyn only shook her head "Not yet. She wanted to know if you'll cooperate with helping." She said.

"Yeah I'll cooperate." Rina said giving an approving nod.

"Alright then I'll let her know that you're on board and then we can discuss a plan of capturing Hector and hopefully bring him down before he hurts anymore people." Robyn said as she left the bedroom to make a call.

With Rina left to her thoughts she might as well come up with a backup plan herself incase things went south as she knows that all first plans don't survive first contact as began running scenerios in her head figuring out a possible way to capture him and make sure that Robyns friend remained safe and unharmed.

F3: And that ends chapter 22. Harriet has been promoted to General and already coming up with a plan to arrest Hector. How will it go and will everyone come out alive? Please make sure to leave behind a comment and don't forget to follow and/or favorite this story for updates. With that said this is Fireuser3 and I'm Out.