Chapter Sixteen: Scouting


"Well there we have it. We send as many troops to the southeast to find out exactly what's going on and eradicate any force that stands in their way," Ironwood commanded. Ruby had just informed them that the White Fang had forces stationed there.

"Why must your answer to everything be a triumphant display of military bravado. You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring di-" Glynda tried to say before being cut off by Ozpin.

"Glynda," he scolded. Above them laughing could be heard.

"What the hell is-?" Ironwood exclaimed.

"Me," Phoenix stated as he jumped down from one of the gears above them.

"How long have you been here?" Ironwood demanded to know.

"The whole time," both Phoenix and Ozpin answered. "Honestly I don't know why you're surprised," Phoenix continued, earning a glare from the general. "Don't tell me you're still sore about me blowing up that base. I already told you about my mother, and I made sure there were no casualties. Anyway, sending in an entire army will alert them that we're on to them. There's no way they're dumb enough to have all their forces in one location."

"So you're saying we do nothing!" Ironwood yelled.

"He's saying we scout out the area, find out what's going on," Ozpin replied.

"And I'm the perfect candidate for the job. Most of the students are leaving on missions so no one will ask any questions if I'm gone."


"Alright Jenkins, you drop me off at the designated location, then return to Beacon. Keep your radio on and be ready for pickup. Might also need you to deliver some prisoners to the general," Phoenix ordered as they flew towards Mountain Glen, a failed city now overrun with Grimm. "Alright, slow down, I see the drop point."

"Got it boss," the pilot cheerfully replied. Once they were over the building Phoenix had chosen he jumped out of the ship with a couple of large bags, inside of which was various different types of equipment and ammo cartridges.

"Not used to operating in daylight," Phoenix thought as he looked around the brightly lit ruins. "This should be amusing."

"Didn't think it'd take that long to get setup," Phoenix grumbled as he looked around temporary base he'd set up. By the ledge of the building there was a telescope that had inferred and night vision. There was also a radio set up so he could tap into White Fang communications once he found the signal, and a tent designed to cloak heat signatures. There were also various different specialized pieces of equipment lying around. "Who'd have thought a tent could be so damn hard to set up. Now to find some White Fang."

"Why does the boss have us on patrol anyway? It's not like anyone else is around here," a voice in the distance said.

"Shut up and do your job," another voice ordered.

"Looks like I found them."


After finding an isolated scout and "persuading" him to hand over his communicator, Phoenix was ready to put his plan into action. He set up a mini speaker in the middle of a building. The building was still under construction. The lower parts were fully constructed, complete with different rooms and hallways. The middle was only partly finished, parts of walls missing and wooden planks. The uppermost area was completely clear, except for some wooden boards and large partially constructed columns. He also set up a signal jammer to keep the White Fang from calling in reinforcements, hidden cameras throughout the building and synced to his mask so he could supervise the entire area, and multiple traps. He then initiated phase two of the plan. He used the "borrowed" communicator to tell the some of the scouts that there were some Atlas military forces at his location to lure them to him. As the patrol went by he activated the speaker, imitating an Atlesian soldier.

"Sir, we've set up the jammers and have forces surrounding their patrol. They won't engage until we give the order."

"Good, very good," he said using a slightly older voice. Just as he predicted, they moved into the building to eliminate the "troops" before they could order the attack.

Once they found the speaker, Phoenix said over it in his vigilante voice, "I can't believe you actually fell for that!" He had to suppress his laughter as he saw them look around, some in anger, some in fear. As some of the scouts tried to escape, he detonated the explosives at the entrances. The detonation had trapped all sixteen of the scouts inside. "Don't worry, the Grimm can't get in, but just to be safe I'll keep this quiet," Phoenix said over the mic.

"Find this bastard and string him up by his entrails!" one of the Fang ordered.

Phoenix perched himself on top of one of the columns, waiting for one of them to go to the top level. When one finally arrived he wasn't alone. He was with someone else, thinking that if they stayed together they were safe. They were wrong. Once they were within his range, Phoenix jumped down in front of them, slamming their heads together and knocking them out before they could scream. Elsewhere in the building an explosion could be heard. "Looks like they found the mines," he thought to himself. He checked the cameras to see how many members had been taken out by the mines (two), how many had gone to check out the explosion (four), and to check by the stairs he was near to ensure there was no one who'd see him. After confirming he was clear he moved downstairs. Just as he got to cover behind a partially constructed wall an enemy came by. Using one of the cameras to find the perfect moment to strike, Phoenix pulled him over the wall and slammed his head into the floor. Nearby, the floor was made entirely of wooden boards which he could easily break through. Checking below them using inferred mode on his mask, he saw three thugs nearby each other. "Perfect," Phoenix thought as he crashed through the boards, dropping a smoke bomb as he fell. Once the smoke cleared, all three were down. "Eight down, ten to go," he muttered to himself.

"Jenkins, I've got some trash that needs picking up at my current location," Phoenix said as he looked over the sixteen thugs he'd captured, all tied up using rope he'd brought with him for this situation. One of the thugs who had a build similar to Phoenix was missing his uniform. As he Phoenix looked at it he groaned.


"Little too big but I suppose it'll do."

Once he got back to his base, Phoenix started to change into his new clothes. Just as he finished getting undressed he saw a dog run up to him from around the corner. "What the hell?" he exclaimed, but before he could do anything else someone else came around the corner. "Ruby?"


I got a couple requests for another combat scene like the one in chapter six, so here it is. Sorry I didn't give detailed takedowns for all of the thugs. Also, Phoenix has gotten himself into an awkward situation with Ruby. If you have any tips for future chapters or how I can improve let me know, and thanks for reading!