-Semblance of Brotherhood-

Chapter 13: Self-Worth

Qrow hadn't gone into this bout expecting much. Oh, sure, he'd heard from Oz about how the crazy bastard one-on-one'd a Deathstalker till he dropped, but that didn't mean shit. Not when their most lethal enemies were some of the best Huntsman on Remnant. No, what he wanted to see was whether or not Silva Taro could fight dirty. Skill was an important component, of course, but even a perfect fighter could be torn to shreds if they fell for the right trick.

If he really wanted to get involved with Oz's crusade, Silva had to be able to swallow his pride and fight like a cornered animal. There would be times where just being good wouldn't be enough. Where the only thing that mattered was how low he'd be willing to stoop to stay alive.

So far... he ain't doing too well.

The kid was just laying there, even though Qrow knew he wasn't unconscious. Was he already giving up?

"Hey, kid." No response.

"Shithead!" This time he flinched, but for some reason he still didn't say anything. "Ah, fuck's sake, did I knock somethin' loose in that head of yours?"

"Just..." There he was, finally. Qrow let out a sigh, but then he picked up on how different the boy's voice sounded. Almost broken.

"Just leave me alone..." Oh, shit.

"Uhh, you alright, man?" He wasn't the best at consoling kids. Well, at least this was another guy. Yang and Ruby could be so hard to talk to in these kinds of moments. "Look, if I kicked you too hard just now, it's my bad. I guess after I heard about your Initiation, I assumed you were-" Before he could finish the sentence, there was a violent bang as Silva slammed his fist into the mat.

"Stop it." His voice was firmer, now. "It's got nothing to do with you, just piss off and leave me be."

Nothing to do with me? Then what the hell's up with him? Eh, whatever.

"Fine, we'll call a mulligan on this. Whenever you get your shit straight, come find me." With that, Qrow decided to wash his hands of it. The kid seemed like he was already working through whatever the hell that was. He'd be just fine.

If not, he isn't cut out for this.

Returning Harbinger to it's compact form, he sheathed the blade and walked towards the exit. As he passed through the threshold, however, a very familiar shade of yellow caught the corner of his gaze. He stopped, sighing internally, then turned to face his niece with his usual, laid back grin.

"Hey, kiddo. How ya been?" She should have been in class. Her eyes gave away the fact that she knew that, wide in both guilt and surprise.

Then again, it's not like I was any better.

"O-oh, I was just, ah... getting some water?" Yang tried to play it off, but he definitely was convinced.

"If you think I'm gonna give you hell for skipping, don't worry. You're grown enough to make your own choices. Just don't make it a habit, got that?" He chided, causing her to sputter for a moment before hanging her head.

"Yes, Uncle Qrow... Sorry."

"Ah, for cryin' out loud. Relax, firecracker. It's good to see you." He laid a hand on her shoulder in reassurance. Finally, she seemed to mellow back out, launching into his chest and bear-hugging him fiercely.

"You're finally back!" He couldn't help but chuckle. That was the more like it.

With Yang...

Yang wasn't dumb. When Silva's name was called over the intercom, she instantly connected that to the similar happening from yesterday. Add to that the fact that Blake had been super awkward and dodgy this morning, talking about old 'co-workers' n' shit. She'd never taken her partner for a liar, but even Ruby was better with fibs. Of course, she'd gone right along with the story, giving her thoughts and what-not.

Somethin's definitely up with those two.

If it was good or bad, she couldn't say. Regardless, it was gossip. Her damned lifeblood.

Hence her surprise when, instead of catching Silva in the middle of some juicy, dramatic act, she peered her head around the doorway of the sparring area to find he and UNCLE QROW going at it like no tomorrow.

Ew. That phrasing's gross.

And then, after her uncle landed a textbook high kick to his opponent's temple, Silva just... fell. Definitely not a knockout, his eyes were still open and responsive, but it was like that one hit had completely killed her classmate's drive.

I mean, he is getting his ass kicked, but this just seems off.

She'd never seen Silva get thrashed so badly. He'd always come off as this unshakable perfectionist when he fought, it was weird to see him not only on the ropes, but showing it. Even when Phyrra would get the better of him in Combat Class, he never looked even a little shaken up by it. He just took the loss, came back the next time, and usually won the rematch.

Since when has he ever sulked!?

After that, the two exchanged some words she couldn't hear, before her uncle started heading in her direction. She'd panicked, looked all around for somewhere should could hide, but Uncle Qrow had rounded the corner before she even got close.

The ensuing reunion was great. If a little embarrassing.

Once she'd gotten in a classic Xiao-Long hug, Qrow explained that he, of fucking course, had places to be. She promised to get back to class, snickering to herself as her uncle turned a corner down the hall when she pulled her crossed fingers from behind her back.

Heh, get shit on, geezer!

With that triumph, she jogged over to the arena where Silva was... still on the ground?

Alright, this is getting kinda pathetic.

"Hey, broodster!" She called out to him as she vaulted to border for ring, earning silence for her trouble. Not cool. With a growl, she prodded the bastard's back with her shoe. "I'm tryna talk to you, asshole! Why're you actin' like a bitch!?" That seemed to get his attention, at least. He rolled off of his side onto his back, staring emptily up at the lights overhead.

"Not the time, Xiao-Long. Just leave me alone." So that's how he wanted to play? Fine by her.

"Hell no. You're acting like a fuckin' toddler, just 'cause my uncle knocked you around? Grow up!" She leaned down as she berated him, glaring right into his emo-ass face. "Jeez, and here I thought broody-moody was just a joke." Finally, he actually reacted. His brow knitted together and his eyes locked onto hers with a level of anger he'd only ever shown with Weiss.

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Fuck do you think? So you lost. Boo-hoo. Get over it!" His face scrunched tight in response, "What? You gonna just lay there and take it like a baby!?" To her frustration, he just snapped his head to the side. "Dude, I don't know what's up with this funk you're in, but I don't like it!"

"You think I care what you like or don't like?" He scoffed, "You should know better. I barely even know you. So-"

*SMACK!*

Her hand moved almost of its own accord, but damn did it feel good.

"Oum's sake, Silva, are you fucking braindead!? Did Forever Fall not mean shit to you!?" She yelled, but what he did next sent her temper right over the edge.

Yang had seen Silva make use of his Semblance dozens, maybe even hundreds of times. He was so adept at using it that it was basically an extra limb, but that didn't mean he didn't have to think before using it. So, when she noticed the normal, faint outline of his own shadow start to darken, she was well aware of what he was trying to do.

Oh hell no.

Even as half of his body began to sink into the floor, she reached down and grabbed a fistful of his shirt before ripping him back out again. Silva's eyes snapped wide, flailing helplessly as she lifted him, one-handed, into the air. He tried to kick at her, to punch and grasp in hopes of wrenching himself free, but it was all surprisingly weak. Without that nifty sword, he was actually kinda average. Sure, he definitely had some knowledge of joint manipulation and submission holds, but she was strong enough to shrug all that technique off. The result? He couldn't do shit. Seemed to realize it, too, because after a few seconds he stopped trying, an absolutely murderous look etched into his face.

"Let. Me. Go." He all but snarled, but Yang wasn't impressed.

"How about you stop being such an edge-lord and just talk to me? In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to help you!"

"You call this helping!?"

"Never heard of tough love?" For whatever reason, that looked like it actually got to him. Those icy, furious orbs mellowed a good bit, then he averted his gaze, staring into the floor to her right. In just those few words, he'd gone from being on the verge of blind rage to almost pensive. To Yang, the change was both abrupt and downright bizarre.

"I have." He answered, meeting her eyes again. "Tough love is how I got this, if my brother's definition holds any water." She didn't need him to point at the ragged scar which ran diagonally across his neck and lips, but that didn't mean she understood, either. If anything, it just pissed her off more that he would call something like that love.

"What the... no, you dumbass! How do you even-!? Agh, fuck it!" With an angry huff, she dropped him and waited to see if he was going to run. Instead, he pushed himself to his feet with a look of utter confusion on his face.

"Then what's the difference?" He posed that question like it made any sense. "You attack me to try and change my mood. He did, essentially, the same thing, so what's the difference?" Dear Oum, this guy was either legitimately stupid in some way, or he was the most socially broken person she'd ever met.

"The difference is that I'm not trying to kill you!"

"So the determining factor is intent?" Jeez, he made it sound so damn mechanical! "I guess that makes sense. It's just..." He paused for a moment, palming his scar and seemingly trying to find the right words. "I've started thinking about things differently, after Forever Fall. Before that, I'd always hated him for doing this to me. But now, I don't know, I guess I can see it from his perspective better. He didn't want me to leave, at the core of it all. We wanted to stick together, but he was changing and I couldn't handle it. He thought that meant I hated him, and he couldn't handle that. Neither of us could stay reasonable, we both got childish, and he just so happened to snap first."

...

Uhhh...

She'd never felt so out of her depth. He was barely even talking to her at this point, it was more like he was talking to himself through her.

"That's... pretty heavy. You think he feels bad about it?" Silva looked at her like she'd grown four heads.

"Not in the slightest. My brother doesn't regret, he simply moves forward. He was always stronger than me in that sense, I imagine he's practically forgotten about me by now." He explained, but it still seemed so wrong.

"Doesn't that bother you at all?" He pondered the question for a few seconds, before shifting his footing in a way that Yang took as a sign of discomfort.

"Somewhat, I suppose. Frankly, it pains me more to think about how he'd feel if he was thinking about me. He did this in a fit of rage, at the end of the day. It's not like he was planning to try and kill me. Things just... well, they went the worst way possible." He said it so somberly, Yang couldn't help but think he might actually be on the verge of crying. What got to her more than that, though, was the fact that he didn't even seem to realize it.

How long has he been like this? Or is he just now starting do it?

He was so damn weird, she couldn't tell. One second he would be super open and insightful, the next he'd just shut off like a switch.

"Thank you." Finally, he seemed to actually be talking to her again. "I'm sorry for dumping this on you, I just... needed to talk myself through it." She just waved off the thanks.

"Nah, don't sweat it. We've all got a little shit somewhere on our plate. But." Yang pulled her voice down to be as forceful as she could make it, "You try dipping out on that 'let me go' bullshit again, I'll knock some teeth out." To keep the mood from turning sour again, because Oum forbid the dude pick up on some subtle sarcasm, she knocked her knuckles together as she put up a guard.

"So? Wanna box?" To her surprise, he actually drooped into a stance himself.

"Sure. I need to shape up my hand-to-hand anyway." Already turning his loss against her uncle into a new goal?

"Now you sound like the Silva I know." Even though, after the last few minutes, Yang really wasn't sure if she knew him all that well anymore.

Later, with Silva...

Ugh, I feel like shit.

By the time Yang had gotten sick of knocking him around the ring, lunch was already in full swing. You wouldn't have been able to tell, though. Only a single table was actually filled, with several other survivors off by themselves, just existing. The fact that most of the upperclassmen were out on missions only emphasized the desolate mood.

"Mutt!" Cardin's voice called from Silva's left as he crossed from the hall into the cafeteria, a hand already landing on his shoulder in welcome. "How'd it go? Anything we should know?" Had he just been waiting the whole time? Silva didn't bother to think it over.

"No. Some Atlesian big-wigs are here to start getting security up to snuff for the Vytal Festival and, well, you know how I connect to that."

"Goootcha. They gonna leave you alone?"

"They'll regret it if they don't." Silva considered himself a fairly patient person, but there were lines, damn it. He could only stomach so much in one semester, after all. First Adam, then Torchwick, then mass murder, then a hopeless siege of Grimm, and now tonight he had to deal with Fall? Yeah, one could say he was a bit off-balance.

"Sheesh, man, dial it back a bit. You're acting like they tried to put a collar on you or something." Line. Silva's brow drew tight and went out of his way to not break his partner's jaw.

"S-shit! My bad, my bad! I mean... they... didn't, did they?"

"No, Winchester. In fact, I won't be here for the weekend. Ozpin is asking for my help with... things." He lifted his chin to clue Cardin in. The boy nodded slowly, before glancing over his shoulder.

"What about those two? You still filling them in tonight?"

"Of course. Actually... bring them to the rooftop after they've eaten."

"Huh? Why now?"

"Because I'd rather do it now, obviously?"

Later...

"YOU'RE A FUCKING WHAT!?" A fist crashed into Silva's jaw, and he let his Aura fall away before the impact. Blood flew from his lips as he crumpled under the enhanced strength Russel was freely driving into him. As his back hit the gravel, his teammate leapt onto him and straddled his chest, wailing on the Faunus' face in a bared-teeth fury. Of course, all blows after the first stopped at Silva's Aura, he wasn't in the mood to just be a punching bag.

"Russ, bro, chill!" Sky growled, quickly bear-hugging his partner and lifting him away with a huff. "C'mon, buddy, let's take two and walk for a sec."

"LIKE HELL!" He tore back around to face Silva, just barely stopped from rushing the boy when Cardin stepped in.

"Russel. I get it. You've got every reason in Remnant to be pissed, bu-"

"DON'T!" He barked, "DON'T STAND THERE AND ACT LIKE YOU FUCKING GET IT WHEN YOU DON'T!" His voice was starting to sound strained; he was roaring so violently. A pained look flashed across his face, before turning away, clutching his throat and coughing for a few seconds.

"F-fuck..." He heaved, his breathing ragged. Turning to glare at Silva, he rasped, "You. Me. Here. Tonight."

Can't say I wasn't expecting that, but... why does he seem so intense about this? Don't tell me...

If so, things had just gotten far too complicated for Silva's liking.

"Who?" He asked, hardly expecting much of an answer. "Not that I expect this to mean much, but nothing I say or do will ever, ever make up for the blood I, and my ilk, have spilled. Hate me if you need to, I deserve every bit of it and more." Pushing himself to his feet, Silva turned to his partner.

"This was a bad idea. Take the rest of the day off, after Forever Fall I'm sure Goodwitch will understand." He was already half-submerged in shadows when Cardin grabbed his shoulder.

"Hold up. Where are you going?"

"Out. I need to get away from this school for a few hours. Follow me, and I'll know."

"Just gonna bail?" Silva sighed deeply, before looking over his shoulder at Cardin.

"You know what I said about only telling what you three need to know? This is something I don't want you anywhere near. I'll be back, and depending on how it goes, I might fill you all in. Now let go if you don't want to take a trip to Vale."

"Gotcha. I gotta assume you're about to go do some dumb shit?"

"Coin toss, really. Could be completely fine, or I'm about to walk into a Beowolf den."

"Ugh, why couldn't you just say 'no, no, I'll be fine'"

"Cardin." He paused mid-eyeroll, eyeing the Faunus seriously, before releasing his grip.

"I'll try and smooth things out on our end. Don't fuck around and get yourself killed or anything, got it?"

"Got it."

And with that, he melted into Cardin's shadow, careening in the direction of Vale.

Later, in Vale...

I should've just kept my fucking mouth shut.

Pacing down the streets of Vale, Silva couldn't find it in him to look anywhere other than the sidewalk in front of him.

Now I get why Blake is so damn touchy about her Team. If Schnee knew, it'd be a complete shitshow.

A vibration in his pocket quieted his thoughts for a moment, as he reached in and fished out his Scroll.

"Took her long enough." He grumbled, answering the call and pressing it to his ear.

"Y'know, I'd say it's nice to meet you, but honestly?" Several things registered in his head upon hearing that voice. First, that wasn't Cinder. Second, that wasn't Roman. Third, he could actually hear the other end of the call, about a dozen yards above him.

"You look kinda boring, man."

"I haven't exactly had the best day. So, do I get to know if there's a scope on my head right now?"

"Naah, you're good, I'm just keepin' my distance. Trust m-"

"I don't think I will."

"Fine, sheesh. Anyway, Boss-Lady wants you to follow us. Head up here when you get a-" An instant later he was behind the two of them. One, the caller, was a tall boy, around his age, with dull, metallic grey hair and no apparent weapon on him. The other was a girl, same age-range, with green hair and shockingly crimson eyes.

Time for a first impression, I guess.

He allowed the chilling embrace of his Semblance to wash over them, even as they panicked at his vanishing, and he noticed their frames tighten at the sensation.

"I'm assuming by 'Boss-Lady', you mean Fall?"

The first to turn around was the girl, and once she did, something felt... off.

Her partner wasn't breathing. He could hear it.

Something's wron-

A heavy force impacted the side of his head, cold steel reverberating against his skull and sending him stumbling messily about, vision blurry, only to collapse.

Darkness followed.

?

When reality came back into focus, he was sat in a metal chair, not bound, strangely. His vision adjusted quickly to the dim lighting, spotting his captors leaned against the wall to his left, both looking quite pleased with themselves.

"Oh, shit." The boy noticed him, then looked up at the catwalks above. "Hey, Boss! He's up!"

"Is he now?" The voice of Cinder Fall was an easy one to recognize, even only having heard it once. He followed the lackey's gaze, landing on an ominously glowing pair of smoldering orbs. They regarded him for a moment, before blinking. "My apologies for the circumstances, but you've hardly earned my trust." He smirked at the ego in that comment.

"I bet you just love people trying earn something from you, up there on your little pedestal." He could see her scowl plainly, even from his chair.

"And here I thought you understood manners."

"I give what I get, that's all. If you want manners, maybe don't knock me out and drag me here like a kidnapping victim?" He shot back, earning a chuckle from Roman as he walked out from behind Silva's chair.

"Aren't we getting a little off-track here, people?"

"Quiet, Torchwick. But, I suppose you've made a point." Cinder then descended the stairs of the catwalk, heels clicking to a stop against the concrete floor of the warehouse. "To the point, then." Suddenly her hands were encompassed by blazing infernos, one of which raised to take aim at Silva. "You get a single chance. What is your game here, Taro?"

"Game? What are you on about?"

"You think me a fool, boy? You think I'd written off the deaths of every other kingpin in this Kingdom as mere happenstance? Just before my arrival in Vale, no less?" It was her turn to smirk. "As a manipulator, I must say your skill is quite amateur. Now, again, what are you after?"

Let's see... one, two, three, probably four if Roman has to jump in to save face. That 'Neopolitan' girl might be lurking around, too. That's five properly trained Huntsmen, and...

He palmed his side, and let out a nervous breath.

I'm unarmed. Even if her Semblance didn't counter mine, this would be a shitty situation. I'd need to kill her first, break morale, but I can't know how adaptable her Semblance is. Could coat her entire body in flames the second I get too close. Maybe I just run? Teleport before she can stop me? Or...

He doubted it would work, but it was at least something.

The truth, then.

"It's as simple as it seems. I wanted to figure out who you were. Heard your name getting tossed around my camp before Adam gave me the boot. After that, well, what else did I have to do with myself? Decided to follow some leads, and here we are." Some of the truth, anyway.

"Not the wisest venture, if you ask me."

"Eh, I'm not exactly in the worst position right now. Could've just offed me from the start, right?"

"It was a thought. Fortunately, I feel it would also be a waste of talent."

"So that's why? You wanna recruit me?"

"Your connections to that rag-tag group of terrorists make you a person of interest at Beacon. And, by extension, a useful mole." She explained, stowing the fireball in a show of peace.

Buttering me up, no doubt. Question is, do I really think I can pull off working both sides? It would make getting a full scope of the situation a lot easier. Plus, I can feed anything I learn to Ozpin so he can negate any info I have to give to her.

Ah, fuck it.

"Sounds good to me. Not like I've got any stake in Beacon." Her smile split into a pleased grin at that.

No way she's just going to roll with that, right?

"Then we're pleased to welcome you aboard, Taro."

Holy shit. This woman is actually letting me in, just like that. It was so hard not to burst into laughter. It was just... such a rookie move. She could have just slipped a fucking wiretap into his clothes and called it quits. She'd get just as much, if not more information, and there wouldn't be any chance of getting backstabbed like she was now. Here she was, calling him an amateur, when she clearly hadn't thought this whole idea through. She really did not need him on her side. Yet for some reason, she wanted him anyway.

"One thing, first." Her brow quirked in curiosity. "I want a rematch with whoever tried to bash my skull in."

"Hm. I don't see why not. Mercury, come reap what you've sown." She ordered, earning a sarcastic chuckle from the boy.

"You mean fuck him up some more? Fine by me." Now Silva's anticipation was swelling. Kid was really asking for it. Based on what he'd noticed prior to getting knocked out, the girl had to have some kind of illusion-based Semblance. She couldn't emulate subtle, non-visual details, but that hardly made her any less lethal. Silva finally stood from his chair, giving his neck a relieving crackle to either side and doing the same to his knuckles.

"So, where's my sword?" He asked, only for Roman to seemingly pull it from empty air and hand it to him.

Two illusionists? Yeah, I wouldn't have lasted a minute.

He took Regalis, quickly re-fastening it to his hip. Flicking the lock, he turned to face Mercury with and expectant glare. In return, he got an eye-roll.

Oh, this is gonna be great.

His foot sank into the dark floor, rising to meet Mercury's and shoving him up and off-balance. Pulling back, he burst into a sprint, tearing Regalis from its sheathe in a screech of steel. Its cold, icy glow blanketed the warehouse in a streak of light before it slammed into his target's knee. Sparks exploded from the contact, Silva noting the odd reaction just before Mercury managed to shift his stance, falling back onto his raised foot and slinging a kick into the Faunus' side. A gunshot rang out in time with the blow, and suddenly the force of it magnified, throwing him to the floor, Aura crackling.

Those sparks... the gunshot in the impact... reminds me of Yang. So he's a brawler? Just, legs instead of fists, I guess. He thought as he sank into the shadows, giving himself a second or two to put together a plan. When next he emerged, it was from above, falling from within the ceiling with Regalis braced in front of him like a spearhead. Mercury didn't look up until the very last moment, eyeing the glinting tip of the blade as he jerked his upper body out of the way. He snapped out a lightning-fast sidekick, knocking Regalis aside before chambering back his leg to unleash yet another kick, this time lining up with Silva's back.

In response, Silva was barely able to swing his blade around to stop the assault, loosing an arc of ice that consumed the offending leg and propelling him off to the side.

He landed in a low crouch, funneling Aura into his legs for a powerful leap that sent him rocket back at Mercury with blistering speed. Regalis tore across his hip, ice coating his free leg. Silva slammed his heels into the concrete, coming to a whiplash-inducing stop just a couple feet away before whirling around to deliver a third slash.

To his surprise, Mercury was, with a heavy grunt, able to shatter the ice encasing his raised leg, bringing it down in a ferocious axe-kick that caused the floor to explode into rubble, forcing Silva to lunge backward.

Before the dust could settle, the boy came hurtling out in a full sprint. Leaping into the air, Mercury reared back a leg, only to suddenly throw himself into a spin, lashing out with the other foot and catching an opening in Silva's misled guard. He was barely able to shift his head, the steel boot grazing his cheek in flicker of Aura. His posture unstable, the only recourse that occurred to him was to cut as tight a spin as he could manage.

Too close. Can't get in a full swing.

Instead, he seemlessly slipped Regalis into a reverse-grip, driving the pommel right into Mercury's nose.

"Agh!" Aura didn't help much with pressure points like that, and the way he recoiled at the pain gave Silva all the room he needed. Regalis' blade may have been depleted from the previous uses, but he hardly needed Dust to line the end of the blade up with Mercury's solar plexus.

"Enough!" Cinder's voice was punctuated by a tremendous gout of flame, one that lit up the warehouse in a display that left Silva staring in shock. His sword froze just short of its mark.

That... that's a lot of fire for a Semblance.

Roman hadn't been overselling a thing. If he really wanted to go after this woman, his Semblance might as well not exist.

And I don't have a clue how skilled she is without hers.

It was too much of a risk, for now. All he could do was play ball and gather information.

Cinder, her eyes bright with what he assumed was her Semblance, lowered her arm to rest on her hip.

"Quite entertaining, boys. But, I'm afraid I can't afford either of you pushing daisies just yet." She met Silva's gaze with a narrowed brow.

"Run along, little wolf. Should I have need of you, Roman will get in touch." She turned to the man in question. "Speaking of, contact Taurus. We'll need a portion of his forces to intercept the next shipment."

Good to know.

He looked over to Mercury, who seemed surprisingly winded.

"You're good. If that was a real fight, I think you would have been even better." In return, Mercury scoffed.

"In real fight, you'd already be dead."

"And yet I'm barely sweating. You must have held back quite a bit." He shot back, earning a wry grin.

"Oh, I can't wait till she decides you're dead weight."

"Neither can I." With that, he fell into his own shadow.

Later...

The Bulkhead ride back to Beacon was slow, and boring. Then again, he supposed being the only passenger could drain the fun out of it.

Do I tell Ozpin now? Or should I give it a day or two? Let my 'loyalty' settle in for a bit? It'd be awfully convenient if their first Op after I join gets stung.

If only she'd slipped up and given out the time of the attack. Then, this would just be simple matter of setting things up in advance. Orchestrate a situation where he wouldn't be suspect. Intimidate someone into coming forward with the information, maybe?

No, no, Cinder keeps her plans within her most elite henchman. If the kickboxer is any indication, they won't crack.

...

Sell out Roman?

It was a good play. If he could get the mastermind behind bars, Silva could both ensure his survival, as well as get this information to Ozpin. All while maintaining his cover.

And stabbing him in the back.

Why did the notion put such a foul taste in his mouth? He, honestly, barely knew Roman. Sure, they'd had their escapades across Mistral, but it was hardly the life-and-death struggles he'd gone through with his comrades in the Fang.

He's just a...

Just a what? He palmed his forehead, shoulders sinking.

"You know me-"

"Lie, cheat, steal, survive. Yeah, I didn't forget who I'm talking to."

...

He's...

"S-Silva?" Blake's voice caught him so off-guard he jerked his head back only to bash it against the interior of the Bulkhead.

"Shit!" He cried, Aura doing little to save him from the immediate concussive pain. When he looked up, she seemed to be sputtering apologies. Unfortunately, the ringing in his ears drowned all of it out.

"It's fine! Just... give me a sec." The murmurs of her voice died out for a moment, long enough for his Aura to kick in and kill some of the pain.

"Okay, okay, that's better." The first thing he noticed when he looked her way again was how her face was glistening.

"Uh, you alright?"

A/N: And here we go. Black and White begins, and ooooohhhh booooyyy am I gonna have fun with this.

That's really all I've got this time around. Be sure to r/r if you feel like it, always love reading feedback! Buh-Bye!