Chapter 17

The CCT tower was as tall as always and Weiss couldn't help but smile. It was a feat of Human engineering, intelligence and all made by Atlas. It was the pinnacle of what her country could provide for the world.

It was an inspiration to all those from Atlas. But it didn't seem to be held in such esteem elsewhere. Ruby had even forgotten what it was called! To think such a marvel of Human ingenuity was being treated like some common object! At least Pyrrha seemed to understand the importance of it.

Weiss shook her head. What had she done to deserve such an idiot as a partner? Weiss watched as Pyrrha and Ruby talked and joked and laughed together. She couldn't help but smile.

Maybe Ruby was an idiot, but she was a good Huntress and was growing into an even better leader. She saw it now. Weiss didn't need to be the leader, because she didn't need to prove her worth to her team. They already knew it.

Weiss refocused on her mission, making sure to not bump into anyone as they passed through the crowd. It was a busy day apparently. With more transfer students arriving the whole school was bustling with activity.

Suddenly Ruby disappeared in a burst of petals with a yell of "Penny!" Weiss and Pyrrha shared a look before trying to push through the crowd to find their friend.

They saw Ruby talking with Penny some distance away. Weiss cringed at the sight of the orange-haired girl. The last time she had seen her had been… less than flattering.

Besides, the other girl was strange. She didn't talk quite right and she must have hidden some kind of armour beneath her clothing. It wouldn't have felt like running into a metal wall otherwise.

"Should we talk to them or…" Pyrrha whispered a little confused.

"Ruby will be fine. If she wants to run off she can. She knows where to meet us." Weiss turned and continued on to the tower. Pyrrha hesitated for a moment before following.

They entered the foyer of the tower and walked around to the elevators. As she called on down Weiss heard other people in the room begin to whisper. All of them talking about the 'Invincible Girl'. She wished they'd shut up. It shouldn't be a topic of gossip that Pyrrha Nikos went to the CCT.

It annoyed her.

The elevator finally arrived and the pair were the only ones to get on. After the doors closed Weiss let out a sigh. Pyrrha just held a polite smile. The same kind she had used when Weiss had approached her before Initiation. Has she always been hiding like that? Why didn't I notice back then? I've done the same countless times and yet I couldn't see when someone else was doing it?

Weiss was annoyed, but more at herself now. She could have been good friends with Pyrrha if she had just realised how similar they were.

They both hated the attention heaped upon them. Weiss took a deep breath.

"Pyrrha… I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Pyrrha looked surprised. "Why?! What for?" she asked with honest confusion

"Before initiation, I didn't see how much my words hurt you. I'm sorry for that. I never meant to capitalize upon your fame for my own gain I just…"

"Wanted to work with someone skilled. It's okay. I wasn't holding it against you. I'm sorry for not getting that across!" Pyrrha almost looked panicked. Weiss couldn't help but smile and let out a small laugh.

"I suppose we are even then. Friends?" She held out some hand to the taller woman who smiled and shook it.

"Of course."

The elevator stopped at their floor and that pair went their separate ways, each taking a booth. Weiss took in another deep breath and put on a polite smile.

She'd need it.

"I love what you've done with the place, Junior!" Yang said as she sat down at the bar. Jaune fidgeted nervously beside her. Junior gave the boy a look and scoffed. Yang smiled as Junior gave her his undecided attention.

"Look I told you before, I don't know that woman." He was nervous. He didn't want another fight. His bruises from the last one had only just healed.

"Not here for that. Just need info on the White Fang. I'm sure you can manage that right? You are an information broker aren't you?"

"I am. But what's a kid like you want with the Fang?"

"Think of it as a school project." He scanned her face for a moment before he relented.

"I don't have much. A few months ago their MO changed. They became more focused more on stealing Dust. Didn't even matter if they hit the SDC or not. From what I know they had a change in leadership."

"Who's in charge now?"

"I don't know. Someone who's younger is all I know for sure. They seem to be much more ruthless as well. They haven't cared if anyone gets hurt. The last leader was pretty bad, but much more subtle than this one."

"Anything else?"

"Well, it does seem like they've been slowing down on hitting Dust inside the city. There's been scattered reports of several of their bases being hit." He gave her a questioning look but she shrugged. He didn't need to know it was them.

"That about it?"

"Yup. Now about payment…"

"You want money? Info?" She raised a brow.

"No, I want you and your friends to never come here again. Got it?"

"Fine fine. Thanks, Junior, pleasure doing business. Let's go Jaune."

"Right. Uh, thank you, Mr Junior…" Jaune gave a nervous wave as they stood up. Junior just gave him a bored look. Yang rolled her eyes and walked out of the club. The suited guards quickly moved out of the way, in the hope of avoiding her ire.

It felt nice to be treated so carefully by a gang.

"So that was a thing." Jaune said once they had left the club. She tossed him a spare helmet and jumped onto The Bumblebee.

"That's one way of saying it was a waste of time. We didn't really get anything we didn't know." She put her helmet on and waited as Jaune fumbled for a bit before he sat behind her.

"I guess. Let's meet up with the others." Jaune gulped and held on tight. Yang smiled and started her bike.

They were off moments later.

Adam stared into his scroll. His own face stared back, hidden once more under the bone-white mask of the White Fang. He felt strange. It was a mix of nostalgia, shame, disgust and a whole host of other emotions that he couldn't name. But the most overwhelming sensation was nausea. This mask was every protest, every crime… every kill. He could barely stand the sight of it.

He took a few deep breaths and stepped back onto the street where Ren was waiting, a mask sat on his face as well. They'd decided to make him a cat Faunus. Yang had found the contact lenses he wore. It wouldn't be enough to pass a proper inspection, but for a cursory glance it would more than do.

Adam could sell the rest.

The pair walked calmly to the warehouse. They walked into another alleyway, where a man was welcoming the prospective members into the building. Adam took off his beanie to show his horns and the man waved them through.

Adam put his beanie back on and walked in, Ren right behind him. Nora was waiting a couple blocks back. The closest they could get her the risk of being seen. The others would meet her there once they had finished their own jobs.

The warehouse was packed full with Faunus. Half of the room wore the signature jackets while the rest were left with only a mask. They joined the civilian side and faced the stage placed at the back.

What's with that covering? What would they even bring to a rally that would require that? Weapons? Dust? Maybe they just want to show something off to wow the prospects. Something didn't feel right. Adam scanned the room, noting the armed guards and the massive form of a lieutenant, one Adam knew well.

Some of the recruits used to call him Banesaw, but he always said to just call him Lieutenant. Wonder what he's doing here.

Adam clutched his weapon tight. It was surprising they hadn't said anything about it, but maybe they were happy. A Huntsman joining would have been a huge boost to their forces.

Still I should keep it hidden. It's as distinctive as my hair after all. He kept the sword under his coat, in his best attempt to hide it.

There's a lot of people here. More than I thought would come. Things must have been getting worse for Faunus in the city. Perhaps it had to do with the arrival of Atlas? It wasn't like they were truly in control, but perhaps some of their anti-Faunus ideas migrated with them..

The lights dimmed and a spotlight shone onto the stage. The crowd went quiet. The Lieutenant spoke up. "Thank you all for coming! Today we have a very special guest. An ally of ours who is the key to attaining exactly what we've been fighting for!" He stepped back, ceding the space to the guest.

And Roman Torchwick walked into the spotlight.

The crowd erupted into jeers and anger.

Roman laughed and held up a hand. The crowd quieted. "Thank you, thank you!" He spoke with a condescending attitude. "Please hold your applause!"

A woman shouted out, asking why a human was here. He just smiled through the jeers. "A good question! Look I'll be the first to admit that we humans are really just the worst! But you and I have a common enemy!" He held his hands out. "The people in charge, pulling the strings and telling us what to do! Military, government, even schools are in on it!"

The crowd cheered. Adam gulped. The tide was turning. "The rotten humans in charge are the ones responsible for your lot in life! They're all pests that need to be exterminated!" The crowd cheered again, Roman's smile took on a cruel edge.

"But you're in luck, because I'm the best exterminator around!" He snapped his fingers and the tarp fell, revealing a massive robot. The crowd applauded.

"That's not good…" Ren whispered.

"Shit…" Adam replied.

Roman continued. "This is the newest weapon in the arsenal of Atlas, the Paladin-290! Thanks to my employer the White Fang are going to get their hands on a few of them! Well, the serious members of course. Many have already moved to our operation in the southeast. You can stay here if you want." He leaned forward.

"But if you are ready to make a real change, then this is the kind of thing you'll be using!" The crowd went wild, cheering and celebrating the criminal.

"New recruits, step forward!" The Lieutenant called.

"Shit." Adam cursed.

"Sooooo bored!" Nora whined. She was lying on her back waiting. For what she wasn't sure. The others? Explosions? Fighting?

Who knew. She rolled onto her stomach and looked down the quiet road. She loudly sighed. I wonder how Ren's doing…

The sound of a bike engine shocked her to her feet, only for her to slump when it was just Yang and Jaune. Nora dropped back to the ground.

"I guess the fun hasn't started then?" Yang asked as she put her helmet on the seat of her bike. Nora sighed in response. "I'll take that as a yes."

Jaune looked on his scroll and nodded. "Pyrrha's almost here with Weiss. Apparently Ruby ran off with someone called Penny?"

"Oh, right, Penny. I almost forgot about her." Yang blinked. "Wonder what made Ruby run off with her."

"Why don't you ask her?" Nora asked.

"Huh? She isn't here so…" Yang was cut off by a burst of petals filling the air around them as Ruby appeared.

"Sorry I'm late! I found Penny!" Ruby exclaimed.

"So you just left Pyrrha and Weiss?" Yang asked.

"Well… yeah? They're fine! We haven't seen Penny since the big fight at the Docks! I wanted to make sure she was fine!"

"Did you tell them that?"

"Uhhh…"

"Exactly." Yang facepalmed.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure they didn't mind." Jaune tried to mediate before the sound of gunfire reached them.

"Great, guess things are going loud." Yang deadpanned.

"Yay!" Nora yelled.

Adam leapt through a window with Ren hot on his tail. This was more than we planned for! A few grunts maybe a Lieutenant but not this! Adam stood and ran and jumped to the next building.

Just in time as the wall nearby exploded outwards. The Paladin charged after them, Roman Torchwick was intent on killing them.

"Lead him somewhere quiet, we don't need people getting in the way!" Adam shouted. Ren nodded and changed course. The pair jumped from building to building. The mecha gave chase with ease, running just as fast as they could, even with their Aura enhanced speed.

It didn't take them long to find an empty lot to land in. It was close to a busy overpass but there wasn't anywhere better, it would have to do.

They turned to face their pursuer as Torchwick rounded the corner. The arms came up and transformed into cannons. Adam pushed in front and gripped his blade tight.

Laughter echoed around them as Nora dropped from above, her hammer slammed into its shoulder. Something cracked as pink smoke erupted from her hammer Nora landed on the ground nearby and waved.

Gunfire echoed as the others quickly arrived. Missing Pyrrha and Weiss however. That didn't matter much, they still outnumbered Torchwick.

"Hey kids, isn't it past your bedtime?" Torchwick's came from the machine, sounding slightly tinny and processed.

"You've used that joke before!" Ruby yelled back. She charged in and slashed at its legs. The Paladin dodged backwards and fired it's cannons into the ground and caused the ground to erupt. Rubble scattered everywhere and sent Ruby flying.

"Nora! Covering fire!" Jaune shouted as he rushed to help Ruby. Nora cackled, she let loose at Torchwick and completely decimated the area and created a pink smokescreen. Ren fired into the smoke, his low caliber bullets pinged off of the heavy armour plating with little more than cosmetic damage being done.

Jaune and Ruby ran back out of the smoke. Ruby called out. "Raging Fire!" He nodded to her and saw Yang do the same.

Adam and Yang rushed into the smoke and took up positions on either side of the mecha. Adam drew Wilt and focused for a second. Yang yelled a challenge at Torchwick, who responded by trying to strike her. Adam dashed forward, rolled under the mech's legs and blocked the fist with his blade. He grunted from the force behind it.

Yang jumped onto the arm and dashed up it, using it to as a base to leap at the central compartment. She let loose with her strongest strike but did little more than dent it. The waist of the mech suddenly rotated as one of its arms was swung round to hit Yang once more.

Adam jumped onto the arm he had just blocked arm and ran up its length. Torchwich saw the Faunus making his way up to him and thus refocuses his attention which allowed Yang to land safely. Adam sprinted up to its shoulder and lept over the head, slid down the other arm and then pushed off.

In midair, he sheathed his blade and concentrated. Under his beanie, his hair began to glow. He hit the ground and rolled, sprung up to his feet and unleashed his stored power with a roar.

Yang grunted as the wave of red and black energy washed over her. Golden fire exploded from her body as she absorbed the energy and added to it. Her hair glowed like fire itself. She smiled as she dashed in towards the mech.

Torchwick fired his cannons directly into her. Yang cried out as the ammunition tore into her Aura, but she kept going. Torchwick grunted as more grenades hit the Paladin, and obscured the area further.

Adam ran through the smoke to his new position behind the Paladin. He couldn't help the smile on his face. They'd been working on this attack for a while now after all.

Yang roared as she jumped up to smash into the machine's body. Hatches opened all over it and a second later missiles launched from all over its form. Yang fired her gauntlets below her, which got her some air and caused her to soar up and over the Paladin.

And land right next to Adam.

She gathered as much power as she could and slammed it into his waiting blade. Their Semblances were very similar. They took outside energy and converted it into their own. Their opponents' power became their own. So if they could then transfer it between each other?

He sheathed Wilt once again and grinned from the amount of energy stored up. The mech turned to face him, it's guns raised to fire as the missiles turned in the air to rain upon the partners.

And then they stopped in midair.

"Ice Flower!" Ruby's call was followed by lances of Frost slamming into the Paladin, forming into massive crystals that slowed it down.

Adam charged in one final time. Torchwick's Paladin was too slow to stop him now! Adam drew Wilt and colour faded from the world. Once more in the sea of red and black Adam lashed out, cutting the mech in twain.

Colour returned with the sound of metal crashing and tearing. Torchwick rolled across the ground. He barely had enough time to eject before Adam's attack.

Adam was joined by the rest within seconds. The eight of them marched up to the weakened thief.

Then a girl with brown and pink hair appeared. She smirked at them and waved her parasol like she was taunting them.

Yang roared as she charged in and sent her fist soaring straight into the girl. The force shattered her into thousands of tiny glass shards. Yang blinked in surprise.

The sound of a public Bullhead passed by as their foe escaped.

Adam clenched his fists. Damn it! We were so close! I'll kill that gi- He stopped himself and took a deep breath. They would catch them later.

"I guess our plans… fell apart?" Weiss joked.

"Weiss there's a time and a place for a joke." Yang responded.

"Was this not it?"

"It was, your joke just wasn't any good." Yang turned and walked away.

"I thought it was great!" Jaune announced.

"Oh, I got one!" Nora exclaimed. "That girl really... shattered our plans!"

Adam turned and followed Yang away from the battle. Maybe if I had passed it back to Yang we could have got him? No, unlike me she has to directly take the attack. She loses more Aura than I do when she absorbs the energy. Maybe I misjudged the timing?

It wasn't all a loss, however. They had gained a piece of valuable information.

We'll just have to say hello to Torchwick in the southeast.

A/N: And so the Paladin is destroyed and Torchwick escapes. I did consider him being caught here, but when he has Neo around it's not really possible. I had to spend some time thinking up team attack names using Adam. In the show, they use ship names, but all the ones with Adam that I found didn't work. Maybe I'll see some good ones later down the line.

I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time!