Hello everyone and how are you? I hope you are all doing fine.

Chapter 105 is here. As always, I hope you will enjoy it.

Thanks again (I am trying to make my intro a little more minimalistic) for following/favoring/ reading the story. You are all awesome!

See you all next week in chapter 106. Until then, be well and have fun!

22nd March, 86

Team BLWS stood a few meters away from the nearest barricade, using the corner of an evacuated building to hide from the patrol until they decided to move in. The morning sun had already risen, but at such a close proximity the swirling dome blocked most of the warm sunlight.

Blake wore a set of leather purple trousers with black ankle-high boots. On top she wore a white, long sleeved shirt with purple highlights. As always, she used a black belt to hang her weapons on her waist.

A pair of black gloves covered her hands and her hair was tied in a ponytail. In her back hang a small backpack full of operation supplies.

Weiss had chosen a thigh-high blue skirt with knee-high white boots. A white blouse with blue and red, dust-infused embroidery of her new huntress emblem and a thin light blue jeans jacket covered her top.

Her hair was tied in a tight bun with the help of a blue butterfly-shaped hair clasp. Ornamental vambraces and kneecaps covered her forearms and knees. A backpack and Kendrick's scarf hung from her shoulders.

Velvet wore black knee-high boots with brown pants and a dark green top. Her hair was let down to fall on her back and she had her camera hanging from her neck. A side bag hung from her left shoulder.

Pouched utility belts were strapped on her thighs, waist and right arm. A compass and a city map were in her arms and a flashlight was visible from her waist belt.

Yang's outfit was mostly the same as Lakkard; yellow sleeveless blouse and black pants with pouches, the same leather brown jacket, brown leather knee-high boots, brown belt and an orange scarf.

The only changes on her were the return of her black cowboy hat and a brown backpack that she had tossed over her shoulder- as well as the black eye sigil in her palm she was currently showing at the two faunus.

"It doesn't bulge at all" Blake said after a few moments of checking the horrible carving. "It stopped a while ago" Yang used a couple bandages to tie up her palm "in fact it feels better than it did yesterday."

"Weird" Velvet commented "shouldn't you have it checked out?" she asked Weiss who had just finished applying drops to her artificial eye. "I took her to the lab and ran a few quick tests; they showed nothing-"

"I am sorry" Blake's flat, emotionless voice chilled everyone's blood as the black-haired girl drew her sword and in an unprecedented manner pointed it at Weiss' throat.

"What the fu-" "Shut up, Yang" the faunus cut her off, eyes focused on the surprised expression on the ex-heiress' face. "Weiss; I want you to take out one anti-Grimm capsule and sink your finger inside it please."

Weiss didn't answer. Instead, she nodded and calmly took out one of her vials, the blue milky liquid inside it moving like swamp water. Yang cracked her fingers "Blake; remove your sword. I am not joking."

"Neither do I" she replied. "How do I know you are still you? Weiss will put her finger inside the liquid and then you shall do so as well. Then Velvet will do it and finally me. Am I understood?" she raised her voice.

There was no reply but Yang's complains. Weiss opened the vial and did what Blake asked. Then she passed it over to Yang and then to Velvet, the cat girl being the last to prove there was no Grimm among them.

"Sorry for that; really" with a trembling voice and a rasped breath the black-haired girl stowed her sword away. Her fellow faunus nodded "do not fret- it was something we had to make sure; it was a good call."

"Sorry about the complains too" Yang scratched her neck in a very Ruby manner "you didn't have to pull out a sword, so I got a little too caught up in the moment" she stared at her partner, apologizing sheepishly.

"Still" she sniffed "I can't believe I -" Weiss fist bumped her leader's shoulder, making her stifle a gasp of surprise. Cyan eyes glared at the faunus, making her feel like a storm was coming - one she deserved.

"Are you stupid or what?" the pale huntress asked her. "I-" "You took an important decision for the sake of the team, Blake. You did what you thought had to be done; never let me hear you apologize for doing the right thing. It makes you seem smaller than you truly are."

And, all of a sudden, the tension left. Velvet smirked. Yang grinned and Weiss' warm smile returned at her lips "the times where I would feel insulted by that have long passed, Belladonna. I expected you to know at least this" she exclaimed, making the girl open her eyes in shock.

She wanted to say something. She had to say something. She wanted to let them know that raising her sword at Weiss made her almost faint in internal agony. That it hurt her much more than it did for them.

But, when faced with so much understanding; when the person she had been threatening a few minutes ago supported her with such fierce and powerful determination, Blake couldn't properly voice her thoughts.

"We are all here for you, Blakey" Yang finally walked at her "and having you as leader doesn't change anything at all. Except maybe that you could use some more tact in such cases for example" the blonde added.

"Ok, I accept everything and thank you, but listening to you preaching to anyone about tact is the biggest insult to my intellect" the sheer and immense absurdity snapped her back to her usual self.

Good. We have barely started and I already made a scene. Really nice and smooth there, Blake.

"Any way" Velvet asked, standing a little further from them "are we going to inform Ruby about Yang's condition?" Blake took a deep breath to clear her mind before she replied to the brunette huntress.

"No. Ruby has her mission with RRSN and we have our own" she firmly stated and then turned to her best friend. "Normally I wouldn't think of asking this, but we are out of time; can you endure until we are back?"

The blonde sent a quick glance at Velvet and Weiss who both stood still in anticipation of her answer. "I am fine. If it doesn't do anything really weird, I can deal with it. As I said, it doesn't even hurt now" she replied.

"Didn't you say that it hurt as we drove to the lab?" Weiss raised a thin eyebrow in suspicion. "It did, yes. But since we left it to come here, it feels much better. I am not lying!" she raised her arms defensively.

"Did you use anesthetics on it?" Velvet asked. "No" Weiss replied "as a matter of fact, I didn't use anything. It could be a coincidence of course, but-" she stopped her reply and turned her gaze past the team.

In the distance, the swirling dome filled her vision. The pulsing eldritch pillar still sent wicked green surges of energy to its top. "Did you come up with something?" Blake asked her.

"I don't want to make assumptions, but I promise I will tell as soon as I have enough evidence; is that ok?" she replied to her leader.

Blake nodded "I trust you" and then turned to Yang and Velvet "I trust all of you. Let's go; we have already spent enough time and Glynda is not one to wait forever."

-o—

The same time as BLWS was getting started half of team RRSN stood in front of New Vale Cemetery greeting the other half who, to no one's surprise had managed to get caught up in morning patrols and had just arrived almost half an hour late.

Ruby had a pair of black jeans with similar colored combat boots. Silver highlights adorned them, matching the belt she had around her waist. A red shirt and a black vest with floral red patterns covered her top.

Thorn and Crescent Rose were as usual hanging from her side and back. A worn-out brown backpack was strapped on her shoulders and, for the very first time since the war had ended, her old red cloak engulfed her body.

Tall and proud as always, Lumia stood opposite of her in a pair of dark-colored trousers and dark brown boots. She had a cypress shirt with a black tie on top and her hair was tied in a massive, long ponytail.

Brown belts were strapped on her left hip and waist. She had a side bag on her right shoulder and her sword strapped on her back. A pendant with her emblem- the head of a green stag over a black gem- hung from her neck. Armor plates covered her knees, shoulders and elbows.

Nora's braids waved in the air as she adjusted the goggles she had on top of her head. Her axe and hammer were stowed in her back forming an X-pattern. She had no backpack, only a small operations waist bag.

She wore a white blouse with a pink heart on its chest and a white-pink pair of trousers with brown boots. A brown utility belt full of ammo was diagonally tied in her chest and fingerless gloves covered her hands.

Behind his wife, Ren slowly walked in a button-up green shirt with pink lilies. A pair of beige traditional Mistrali trousers and light brown boots completed his outfit along with Stormflower hanging from a waist belt.

His hair was neatly combed to form a thin black ponytail falling down on his backpack. A silver compass was in his hand, along with a small tote bag full of- snacks? "She missed her breakfast" he explained as he saw the curious gazes Ruby and Lumia sent towards him.

"I dig the cloak; it brings back so many memories" the ginger head took two large cookies from the bag and offered them to the girls. She then reached in and threw a toast in her mouth, wolfing it like a starved kid.

"I needed something to pump me up" Ruby, cookie crumbles all over her mouth, raised her fist in an attempt to show her determination "I got tired of brooding and weeping- I felt I had to do something drastic."

"You still look good in it" Ren smiled at her and Ruby grinned. "Yeah, it feels more 'Ruby' than usual" Nora added. "How can Ruby feel more 'Ruby' than usual?" Lumia asked in visible confusion. Nora only smiled.

"In any case, shouldn't we be going? The sun is almost up and we don't have all the time in the world" the black-haired girl asked their leader, who nodded before leading them inside through the open iron gates.

Due to the latest events, the whole area had been restricted- RRSN had received special permission from the SHU to enter it. As a result, their eyes came across a desolated guard house with a torn metal door.

Wood splinters and bloody footprints spread around and a bloody trail led further inside. Crushed radios and destroyed weapon parts could be seen nearby on the path.

Nora stared at the massive tree canopy that hovered above them. She had visited this place on many occasions, but never remembered it to be that bone-chilling; it was hauntingly silent and the air was so heavy.

They grabbed their weapons and started following the trail. Despite the rising sun, the thick trees blocked all morning light, casting shadows at every corner that played with their senses.

A feeling of lingering dread rushed at them. Tombstones and trunks transformed into hiding places for monsters from beyond that lurked at the edge of their eyes, waiting for the perfect chance to grab their prey and snatch it away from the everyday world before feasting on them.

"I can't believe Velvet walked this path at night, all alone" the ginger's voice said. "The girl has some serious guts" Lumia whispered back. Even at Ren's soothing presence they could all feel a chill running their spine.

Ruby walked a couple meters in front of them, following the exact same path her fellow brunette had taken two nights ago. The only difference was that they had no intention of entering the thicket like Velvet had.

The sound of mud splashing all over their boots was soon disrupted by Ruby's voice "as we said, we stick together under any means necessary. If we have to separate for any reason, we split in pairs. No one and for no reason goes off alone under any circumstances, got it?" she asked.

Three nods of approval answered her question. "We should also keep an eye for almost everything" Lumia added "if Avyssos is strong enough to recreate a hospital and a desert with magic, I am expecting a lot of dreadful things to be waiting for us down there" she explained.

"We have the vials Weiss gave us, as some sort of last resort, at least" Ren commented. Ruby rubbed her neck. Her wounds were still aching but the further inside the cemetery they went, the lighter the pain was.

She had thought about it for a while. She had also discussed it with her partner at some point during their flight.

"You think they antagonize each other then?" Weiss asked her. "Yes. If what Cherry said and what the girls experienced is true, the Eldergrimm seem to be fiercely territorial- they could even be clashing against each other at times" Ruby replied.

"This is why I think they have some sort of aversion to each other. How to put it- my wounds hurt me less when we were inside Alginos' tomb or while we fought 009 than any other time. It can't be a coincidence."

Weiss had agreed but in the end they both consented that it was, just like anything else they knew about those things, a theory. They severely lacked the time to try and prove it true, so they let it be for now.

Once more, our enemies are so ahead we have no choice but to follow their rhythm the silver-eyed girl thought. It is like facing Salem all over again- we barely have time to come up with a decent plan like this.

She sent a quick glance behind to her current teammates and let out a small sigh. I hope the others are doing as fine as we do. And I also hope Blake is not causing more trouble for her own self than she should.

"Here it is!" Nora's chipper voice cut off Ruby's thought process. The girl was currently pointing at a small manhole on the path, covered in mud, charred earth and grime- the very same one they intended to use.

Team RRSN stood over the small metal hatch while making a last check of their supplies. Ruby glared at the iron disk as if it were the enemy. It is time to pay you back for everything, you disgusting monster!

Lumia and Nora knelt and grabbed the hatch, opening it with a little bit of effort. A sickening stench of death and decay hit their nostrils as they gazed over the dark passage to the land below- where Avyssos waited.

Ruby opened her flashlight and saw a wet, slimy ladder was on the wall. "Let's go; time to hunt a Grimm" she said before she started climbing down the path to Vale's underworld.

-o—

Their walk towards the barricade was, short yet filled with a lot of admiring and awestruck gazes, both from the military patrols and the SHU younger members who stood by to sneak a peek at the four girls.

Always the consummate professional, Weiss returned their greetings with a well-practiced smile of her own, making a few of them blush and turn away mumbling. In all seriousness, is this a huntress' parade?

"For the love of Dust!" a booming, stern voice from behind the crowd of admirers replied to Blake's internal thoughts. Glynda took a couple steps forward, her narrowed eyes indicating her great displeasure.

"You are huntsmen and soldiers of Vale; not love-struck students! Go back to your work and leave those girls alone to do theirs!" nothing else was needed- the crowd dispersed as quickly as it formed at her request.

"Thanks for that Professor" Blake let out a relieved sigh next to a much grinning Yang. "I didn't do it for you, particularly. Those are our young recruits and they must learn how to work before it is too late for them."

"Yeah, yeah got it" Yang chuckled, forcing Weiss and Velvet to roll their eyes. Glynda sent her a much not-amused glare "is your team ready, Miss Belladonna?" she asked her, going straight to the point as always.

"Yes, Madam" Blake replied "thank you for letting us do this." Glynda scowled and pointed at the tall, reinforced wooden and metal barricade that stood behind them as she led them towards it.

"In case you have forgotten, I have no authority to stop you anymore now that you are no members of the SHU. I could only arrest you if I wanted, yes, but I think there is benefit for all of us if you succeed."

A few older SHU members saluted their commander from above the wall. Glynda ordered them to open the small gate that stood in front of them and they quickly complied. She then turned at team BLWS.

"Laws aside, I trust you to come back alive" her voice softened, just a tiny little bit- enough for the four girls to smile at her. "We will do our best" Blake promised "thank you, Glynda" she added as she walked by.

They left Goodwitch behind and entered the gate. Behind it was a small room with another door- a separation room that acted as a twin barrier to perform aura tests to those who came from the dome, if anyone did.

"Gotta say, I am surprised they added this to a hastily-made wall that looks like it came out of Mad Rob movies" Yang joked as they waited a couple minutes for the other gate to unlock.

"It is a 500m run across the Shadow Border to the dome" Blake chose to ignore her partner for now "we go in together and stay together at all costs. If we have to split, we do so in pairs; Weiss and Yang are one and Velvet will be with me. Is that fine?" she asked and they approved.

The second gate opened and Blake rushed forward, her team in tow. A vast expanse of land, full of debris, craters and explosion marks greeted them, result of the SHU's bombardments in order to create a safe zone.

Beyond it, the shadow dome stood as proud and mighty as ever. Green sickening light greeted the huntresses, visible even among the swirling dark mist that blocked their vision and darkened the sky.

The four girls jogged in rhythm, allowing Blake to be the first one who reached the mysterious hemisphere. As soon as they did, they stopped to take a breath- except for Weiss who tried to check out the mist.

"Be careful, will you?" Yang asked in worry as the pale girl took out a small needle and tried to poke the barrier. To her surprise, she found no resistance at all. "This thing is gaseous- there is no solid wall here."

"It could be further in" Blake tried to see if her vision could help her discern anything. "I see nothing but the same green pillar we have all grown tired of; if it is there to begin with" Velvet commented.

Yang stared at her palm. Had the lines grown thinner or was it just her? She rubbed it a little; it didn't even hurt now. Is this thing toying with my mind or something? She cracked her fingers and neck to calm down.

"Ok, are we going in or not?" she asked her partner. "We will. I will go in first and you follow at once, ok?" the girl announced. Lavender eyes narrowed and Yang patted Blake's shoulder to stop her trembling.

"Want me to go in first?" "No" the faunus smiled softly "but thank you for asking" she drew her weapon and the others followed suit. "I will say this once more; if anything happens prioritize your partner first and the others second" she repeated it as if chanting a good luck charm.

"Ok" the blonde pumped her fists "let's do this!" The other three girls exchanged a look and then Blake stared at the wooden barricade that calmly stood at the edge of the Shadow Border, protecting Vale.

Here's to seeing you soon the black-haired beauty wished before team BLWS turned around and one after another stepped inside the dome.