Author's Headnote: So now I'm back to the usual uploading time... so... ya...

RWBY: Festival of Blood: Calm Before the Storm

April 27, 3 days until Haven Academy is attacked.


Ruby Rose:

- Aura Status: 89%

- Thirst: Thirsty

- Semblance: Parasitic Petal Burst

- Weapons: Crescent Rose, Slice of Life, Penny, Umbral Shroud

- Licensing: Legally Dead

- Party Relations:

- Ilia Amolita: Letting Ruby stay at Blake's room for now

End of Main Character Status report.


City of Mistral, April 27, Wednesday, 11:00 PM, Lower-Mid City Hotel Room

Ruby spent most of her time training how to use her new equipment... specifically Umbral shroud. It's effective as a weapon. Though, it would lack the qualities Blake would use it for. But Blake's usage is irrelevant here. This weapon is used specifically to get Blake out of there.

The skeleton key has five charges. Which should be enough to get Ruby in and out without noticing. Ilia is tasked with setting up the explosives, Ruby will trigger the detonator as soon as she escapes or is close to being caught. Hopefully, the former. The later she detonates the bomb, the better. Since its purpose is to be a diversion. The gloves and boots are made from flexible materials. They are tight, yet comfortable. The gloves are functional enough to be used while keeping her fingerprints from going everywhere... though, she's a vampire... do vampires leave fingerprints? Eh, better safe than sorry. The boots are also enhanced so she doesn't make as much noise when she's walking. They're made primarily for stealth, so comfort is not a priority, rather function.

In the time, Ruby snuck into the Capital building and acquired blueprints of the Yakuza headquarters from what she's read about it. They pretty much have this building set up ahead of time, prepared for any unexpected arrivals. The windows are all painted shut, so she'll have to get in through the roof. In which getting in the building would be rather difficult as there's only roof opening, and it can only be opened from the inside. By that, she means there is no door handle, knob, etc. On the outside part of the door. There is, however... a small vent area, she could sneak in via. Bird mode. Now getting out is the tricky part, thankfully she has the bombs for creating a diversion.

The rooms in the blueprints are all unlabeled. So... which means Ruby would have to guess where Blake is... and she'll have to use the Skeleton Key carefully, since it only has five charges. She didn't make it unlimited use because she knows that she'd inevitably give into the temptations.

There's also the concern for security cameras... which is why after Ilia sets the charges, she's gonna have to sneak into Haven Academy and steal the Dust Capacitor there to cause a Blackout like the one in Vale. What she is planning is a large set of crimes, to break into the headquarters of a criminal organization, just to Rescue Blake. Because charging in weapons blazing is outright suicide. She'll have to take the subtle path. Ruby's not good at stealth, so she'll have to be extra prepared.

She's already tested Umbral shroud, and it works as intended. In Blade mode, it functions as a Wakizashi, though, it can't fire bullets in this form, the trigger does still replicate recoil that is directed toward the blade, allowing potent swings. In gun mode, it looks similar to Gambrol shroud, though it only has a single magazine, and the grapple splits the blade into three ribbons. The gunfire is very quiet, which is illegal, but optimal for a stealth operation.

She's unsure what she'll do with Umbral shroud afterwards, likely remove the silencer bit to clear her moral conscience. But she's briefed her plan to Ilia. She's also sent Ilia to head to the Headquarters disguised as a mook to learn more about their plans so she can make the plan precise, she has no room for mistakes. And as far as Ilia is concerned, she's a good infiltrator.


Character Change: Ruby Rose - Ilia Amolita

Moon Dragon Headquarters, April 27, Wednesday, 11:00 PM, First Floor Corridor

Ilia managed to sneak in through the back, mostly because of her faunas traits, she's able to blend into the background of just about anything. She's also said to remain calm. Lindsay has a listening device planted on Ilia so she can pick up what the elites would be saying.

What they need is their plans on April thirtieth. So, Lindsay will know how well guarded the place is when she breaks in. Ilia is camoflauged to match the scenery in the area, she doesn't have her weapon on her... since she really can't fit it anywhere on her. Which means she'll have to stick to plain old sneaking.

Ilia is on the first floor. It is obviously being guarded by mooks. Though, some parts of the building are grimm-like. She's not sure what's with them. There are also security cameras in the area. Thankfully, they can't detect Ilia. Though, sneaking in through the first floor would most likely not be part of Lindsay's plan.

There are six floors total. Given Mistral's layout, anything more would be intersecting the middle city. But six floors are all they need for this.

The first floor is obviously the entrance and the guest meeting area, so she'll have to find a way upstairs. However, it appears the stairways are guarded. By two mooks. Alternatively, she could find where Blake is and rescue her herself. But Lindsay said that's too much of a risk.

They just need to find the leader and some ideals of their plans. She creates a distraction by tapping the wall nearby, and then heads up the stairs to the second floor of the building.


Moon Dragon Headquarters, April 27, Wednesday, 11:07 PM, Second Floor Corridor

She went up to the second floor. So far, it doesn't look that much different. Save that the security is much more impact. She can hear two of the mooks talking so she stays in position and let's them talk.

"Hey. Do you have any plans? Wife's busy on the thirtieth." one of the mooks said.

"Nah, I got assigned to a job there." the second mook said.

"What's it for?"

"Can't say, you know the boss doesn't like loose lips."

"Ya ya, fair point."

"If you wanna get involved, go speak to Taurus, he's leading the operation."

"That guy creeps me out."

"Ya, he creeps everyone out. Which is why we don't fail."

"What if you do?"

"Do you see anyone who failed his tasks?"

"No?"

"Exactly."

"Okay, maybe I'm not up to the task, then."

"Right. If you wanna spend your day off, go do it by yourself, then. If otherwise, go check up on Adam's office on the third floor, if he's not there, he'd be on the fourth floor, which neither of us are allowed to enter."

"That's specific, but okay."

Ilia's heard enough, it's time to enter the third floor. Perhaps she would figure out why Adam had left the White Fang in the first place. She again, taps the wall and heads up the stairs, keeping guards distracted and unaware that Ilia is there. Because she needs a distraction whenever she has to use the stairs. It's simple, but it's enough.


Moon Dragon Headquarters, April 27, Wednesday, 11:14 PM, Third Floor Corridor

Again, much the same, just with more security. And packed with security too. Whatever is here, they really don't want to be found. Which makes her more curious about Adam.

She looks around, the guards are all over the place. Which means she'll have to climb up the ceiling. Which is something she's able to do, but it just makes her uncomfortable because of how the ceilings are. Given how gravity works she actually has to make sure she concentrates, otherwise she'd fall and cause some commotion.

As she's crawling on the ceiling... using her chameleon skin (which does more than change colors), she can cling onto walls and ceilings. Among any other vertical and counter-horizontal surface. She begins to crawl toward where Adam's office is. Thankfully the rooms are labeled.

First one... official records... nah, that's not what she's looking for.

The next one is... surveillance room. That's likely where the cameras are. She heads into that room. There's likely something there that she can lead to Adam.


Moon Dragon Headquarters, April 27, Wednesday, 11:17 PM, Surveillance Room

The room was dark, with a lot of monitors and computers. Ilia has recognized the design. The technology here is Atlassian grade. And there are a lot of monitors that keep track of the first three floors. Though, for some reason... the upper floors require administrative access. Not sure why, though. Guess the camera security has different ranks. But nonetheless, she sits down and begins to browse the first three floors.

Let's see here... first floor, no, no, no, and no. None of those rooms have anything related to Blake. The second floor is obviously stuff related to the mooks. Barracks, armory, kitchen, etcetera, this place is not only a headquarters, but a military base. Wonder if those suits aren't just for show... she looks into it and yep... the suits are indeed, armored. Ilia finds this very curious. This stuff is all military grade, how does an organized crime synidcate get Atlas grade military tech? Oh, and she found the training rooms.

She checks the third floor. The third floor is filled with administration. Let's see here... storage, offices, ya... nothing usual here... wait, hold on. He sees Adam walking down from the fourth floor. He also sees another man... wait, that's the man Blake was talking to. Bald, suit, has a cane. It's him!

"Adam. How is the princess?" the man said.

"She's... struggling, but I made sure she's quiet." Adam stated.

"You will be needed on the front at the end of the month, nightfall. Whatever you wish to do with the princess, do it by then."

"I know, you've sent me a notice ahead of time. I've handpicked soldiers that will aid me."

"I'm impressed. However, you cannot be in two places at once, so I'll have Gretchen watch over her until you're done."

"What? Why her?"

"She's a trusted member of our family. She'll make sure the princess doesn't try anything. She will return to her normal tasks after you're done with the task that I've assigned you."

"I see... at the very least the arrangement is temporary. I quite like making her miserable."

"That's the spirit, Adam. On April thirtieth, you will be heading to Haven Academy; the White Fang will be there, too. Intercept them. Ensure that Haven Academy remains intact. What happens to your former comrades is up to you."

"I care nothing about them. They fight for a lost cause."

"You care not for your fellow faunas?"

"I initially believed that the faunas were superior. Though despite our advantages, we always ended up on the back wheel. I wondered why, but you gave me the answer."

"That, I did."

"I'll tell you what the punishment is... but I smell an uninvited guest."

"Hmm... I do too."

"Faunas... female..."

"Chameleon... set the cameras to infrared, make sure our guest doesn't leave. She knows too much."

"I'll head to the camera room on this floor. What if she's made it to the fourth floor?"

"The seers would have dealt with her."

"Quite efficient for a support role."

"Ours has had some... adaptations."

"I see."

Adam and the man had parted ways, with the former heading toward the room where Ilia is. Ilia remained calm and began to find a way to escape. Without drawing attention. She started jamming the cameras, a skill she learned working with the white fang, she overpowered them to the point where the optics malfunctioned, but functions otherwise... so the mooks won't be the wiser, she then snuck out of the room.


Character Change: Ilia Amolita - Jaune Arc

Qrow's Villa, April 28, Thursday, 12:00 PM, Living Room

The entire group has gathered. Jaune was sitting at a lone chair, the rest of his team on one couch, SSSN on another. Yang was standing. Oscar was also standing. Raven is standing as well. Oscar's body is glowing right now, indicating Ozpin's control. They've gotten news that headmaster Lionheart has found where the Spring Maiden is... but... how? Raven checked the huntsmen, half of them are MIA, they rest are brutally crippled and were saved by Raven. So, they couldn't ge anywhere to scout it. So, the only way he'd know is if Emerald and Mercury told him... if that's the case, then he'd be working for Salem.

"So... you think the headmaster's in league with the enemy?" Raven asked.

"We can't exactly confirm their affiliations with Salem. And the fact that they worked for a vampire conflicts with this, given that Salem hates vampires." Ozpin stated.

"Why? Isn't Salem the grimm queen? And aren't vampires grimm?" Nora asked.

"Yes... but vampires are the result of her own magic being taken from her, she only bears half of her own magic, the other half was taken by the first vampire, who had split it between the four head vampires. One of which, had turned Ruby. And Jaune has met another."

"So that guy is even more powerful than I thought?" Jaune asked. He was scared of him before, but now? He's terrified. Given he has a fragment of antediluvian magic.

"Although they do have nearly half the raw power of a Maiden, they are far more experienced in their abilities, making them seem much more powerful." Ozpin stated.

"And this is why we comply with them. You'd have to be very lucky to beat one in a fight." Raven stated. "Though, I would still try to fight him anyway if unrestrained."

"Then I'm lucky our former headmaster showed up in time to calm you down." Jaune said, in relief.

"Well, he can't show up everywhere. I'm quite short-tempered."

"Yep, you're Yang's mom, all right."

"Don't remind me."

"What? Why not?"

"Makes me feel old."

"Raven, you're in your early seventies." Ozpin retorted.

"Don't remind me." Raven hissed.

"We're getting off-topic." Violet interrupted. "Even if Headmaster Lionheart is not working for Salem, there is evidence he is working against our interests. Mercury and Emerald were involved in the tragedy of Vale. There is no doubt the same can happen for Mistral if we don't do something."

"So... what do we do?" Jaune asked.

"We arrive at April thirtieth. The end of the month."

"Right, so we confront them there. And then deal with them."

"With the aid of the Moon Dragon Yakuza, we shouldn't have to worry about anything bad happening."

"What about afterwards."

"How about we save any future plans for whenever we get the relic or not."

"Right, that seems smart."

The group then further discusses plans on what to do on the thirtieth. There's not much that would need covering here. Just go in and confront headmaster, assuming there aren't any more twisted surprises. Jaune sighed as he prepares what's to happen once April ends and May begins.


Character Change: Jaune Arc - Weiss Schnee

City of Vale Ruins, April 29, Friday, 12:00 PM, Commercial District

Weiss had cleared out the sky dwellers first, so she isn't ambushed as she was clearing out the grimm. Afterwards, she cleared out the docks so people can get there safely, and then the rest of the industrial district. She continues to head toward the midtown areas. Where she clears out the grimm from there.

She's been at this since she arrived. Clearing out all the grimm in one day is an impossibility. One that Weiss is aware of... so, she's making sure every single part of the city is grimm free. Even going back to other parts of the city she cleared out to make sure no other grimm survived. She has to purge out the grimm entirely Vale before she can declare it safe to re-inhabit. Being that Glynda's gonna send in a main force at May to assist Weiss, she's opted in some sunglasses. Weiss would have to be more discreet about her maiden powers around others. The main force would be good for dealing with stragglers as Weiss is clearing out the other parts of the city.

She sighed. As a horde of grimm lunges at Weiss, followed by her slicing each and one of them in half with a single blow. She's gotten a lot stronger that simple grimm would basically be a cakewalk. And she's limiting her maiden powers today as a challenge. Mostly to make sure that Weiss hasn't gotten soft from the comatose. That, or she's concerned about using her newfound powers as a crutch. But either way, it seems Weiss has still got it.

Guessing these ones are the weaker ones. Because a goliath had shown up. And guessing by its path, its friends are here too. Getting rid of them is basically required. because they cause wanton destruction of urban areas, rural areas, etcetera. And it's not always because of a grimm's destructive urges, no. It's because of their size. Most of the damage they cause is actually accidental. Whilst smaller grimm are attracted to a small to moderate amount of negativity. It would take a whole city's population worth of negativity to attract a Goliath, they're quite passive otherwise.

Taking them down, however, would be tough, as they are quite hard to kill. As in, even the black parts of the grimm are hard as kevlar. Not leather, KEVLAR. And the white, hardened parts are even tougher. So, most weapons and dust are ineffective. They're usually taken down with artillery, or heavily armored atlassian forces. A simple huntsman can't fight a goliath alone, because they'd either get killed, or get exhausted... then killed. Their tusks are tough enough to pierce through them, though. However, the trouble is getting the tusks off. A simple rapier isn't enough to cut through it... she's gonna need something sharper.

She could try tripping one over and cause a part of the trunk to snap off... but these things are quite stable. The legs themselves are hard to damage. But she doesn't need to damage them... rather, she only needs to knock them over.

She ran out of time as a goliath is now within 20 feet distance from Weiss. She went toward one of the legs and pushed on it, causing the goliath to trip from its own strength. The goliath then falls backwards, getting impaled by another goliath's tusks, which causes that one to trip backwards getting impaled by yet another goliath's tusks... all until the last one... which is laying on its side, trying to get up. One would say: "go for the belly", but even the belly is tough. The sight, however, was oddly amusing. Now she has to find out how to kill the last one before it gets up and causes damage. Well... more damage than it already did. She's surprised that it actually worked too... she was honestly expecting it to trip down to the side, which would at most kill two goliaths.


Character Change: Weiss Schnee - Blake Belladonna

Moon Dragon Headquarters, Unknown Time, Dungeon

Blake's not sure how long she's been chained up here... but she can say she's been here for at least one week, she lost track how long... Mostly because she's been sleeping for most of it, hoping for someone to rescue her. But the chances for that are extremely low...

Though, everyone she has encountered has referred to her as 'the princess', which could be a play on the damsel in distress cliche, which would be very offending considering if she wasn't tied down... the other thing it could refer to is... well... sarcasm. Because if one thing is certain, they certainly don't treat royalty like this. It can also refer to her being the chief's daughter... in which would be the most literal term but being the 'princess of menagerie' doesn't mean a lot in remnant, so no one would note her on like that.

The reason why she isn't always asleep is because Adam always wakes her up and keeps her up regularly to ensure she doesn't get comfortable. Her internal clock's all confused. So... she doesn't know when to sleep or when to wake up... she has forgotten the date because of this... because she really can't even keep track of what day of the week it is because of how messed up her internal clock is.

She remains quiet out of fear, but one of these days... she may snap and when that happens, she's gonna be in for some trouble. She has a strong will, and she's not so easily broken... however, she values her own well-being first. So far, she isn't physically harmed. And the only mental damage is toward her internal clock... she isn't aware if it's day or night.

The door opens and Adam enters the dungeon and approaches next to Blake, along with a woman, tanned skin and yellow eyed. She wields a spear.

"Listen here, worm. This here, is Gretchen. She will be watching over you while I handle an assignment. Don't worry, it will be temporary. And she may not be so merciful as I have, so far... so you best be on your best behavior, even then she may make you suffer." Adam retorted.

"I can speak for myself, Fledgling." Gretchen retorted.

Adam growled in anger.

"You are a feisty little one, fledgling. And I see you haven't harmed the princess." Gretchen commented.

"I was keeping her in suspense..." Adam retorted.

"Oh, so playing mind games? Didn't think you'd do that. Even then, mental torture isn't as fun as the physical."

Blake looks horrified.

"What's the matter? You caught your own tongue?" Gretchen mocked.

"I told her that if she spoke, I would have dismembered part of her body." Adam stated.

"Hmmm... that's not quite fun, is it? What's good with a plaything if you don't let it fight back?"

"I don't want it to... I want it to obey."

"You're no fun, fledgling. Now go on... get ready for the operation. I'm gonna go have fun with her..." Gretchen stated.


Author's Footnote: Aaaaand now this is your last chance to partake in the poll. Remember, it's on my profile. And I know at least 40 people read this when I update, and only 8 people voted. So... go ahead, vote. Do it. Because if you don't, there is a three in five chance you may not like what happens to Blake. Anyways, see you next chapter.