I'm still a fair bit behind, but I'm gaining ground bit by bit. Within a couple weeks, I hope to be back to a chapter ahead.

Chapter Forty-One: Team Hostages

"Absolutely not," Blake said, scowling hard enough at Cardin to set his clothes on fire.

Cardin, for his part, returned an amiable smile and composed his voice with as much docility as he could muster. Ruby glanced at both of them, visibly torn on whether or not she should step in, while Yang lay back on her pillow, staring up at the bed above hers, seemingly lost in thought. Cardin's teammates waited in the hall with Jaune's dad.

"It's the only way we're going to get Weiss away from her escort without raising more questions than we can answer. If the White Fang kidnaps her, people are only going to wonder why there weren't more people guarding her."

"Do you expect me to fall for that? You're just trying to get me arrested."

"If I really wanted you behind bars, I'd have done it already."

"What, you expect me to believe your little story of a Grimm crawling into Weiss' brain? You lied to me over and over, and you expect me to believe you now? How stupid do you think I am?"

"I didn't lie about the hospital, did I?"

Blake's jaw clenched as she looked away. "How would we know? You could've had that girl lure us away."

"If I really wanted to get into some shady private meeting, I would've just come alone." He took a deep breath and tried to put a lid on his simmering anger. "Look. I'm only asking you because you're already involved, and out of everyone on campus, you're the only one I know isn't working for Cinder. Not to mention, this is your teammate in danger."

"If she wants to go back to Atlas, I'm not stopping her, and I know this is some kind of trap."

Cardin shrugged. "Fine. Guess I'll find some other Faunus to help me."

Blake snorted. "Good luck. Not like there's any Faunus at Beacon who'd help an asshole like you."

The window slid open, and Sun clambered inside. "Pretending to be White Fang sounds like fun. I'm in."

The monkey Faunus held out his hand for Cardin to shake. Suppressing his revulsion, Cardin clasped it firmly. "How long were you listening in on us?"

"I swung by around the part when Blake started shouting about not going around pretending to be White Fang. Why, what are we doing?"

"Great," Cardin said, discreetly wiping his hand on his pants. "You'll find out on the way. With that settled, all we need are some masks and robes." He gave Blake an icy smile. "You wouldn't happen to have some to spare, would you? It'd be great if we had enough for everyone, but two should get the job done."

Blake pulled a chest out from under her bed. When she opens it, copies of scandalous literature, like Ninjas of Love and The Kinky Kata tumble out. She set piles of books aside and slid her fingers around the edge of the false bottom. Underneath, Cardin caught the glow of Dust crystals before she snapped it shut.

"Here," she said, holding a stack of fake Grimm masks and a pile of clothing. "Will this be enough?"

Cardin sifted through the stack. She had half a dozen of varying patterns of red streaks, one with a long gash down the right side, another with a large chip at the top. She kept one for herself, a stark gray mask that appeared white in direct light, but it blended into the slightest shadow.

There were also four sets of White Fang uniforms, including one with red trim and glossier fabric. They came with adjustable straps to fit many sizes, but he could stretch out the shoulder enough to fit him. A couple had mended tears clumsily sewn over with black thread. Sun took one, and though the fabric was taut against his skin, he flexed his arms with ease. With the mask over his face, he could've fit in at any rally.

"Let's go," she said stiffly, making for the door.

Sun picked up one of the books and read the back cover. "I like your taste. Mind if I read some?"

Blake reddened and snatched the book away from him. While she was distracted, Cardin brought out the case and looked inside, with Ruby, and Yang gathering around to get a peek. Ruby went straight into a state of exuberance, gushing over the miniature arsenal Blake kept under her bed.

"Ooh, are these flashbangs filled with Lightning or Fire Dust? And is that a taser? What propellant does the grappling hook use?"

"Where did you get all this?" Cardin asked, holding up a phial of Gravity Dust. "This must've cost a fortune."

Blake blushed and looked away. "It was part of shadowing the Huntsman."

Cardin gave her a skeptical look. "And he let you keep it all?"

Blake grumbled. "Fine, it's through Ozpin. Happy?"

"Can you get more?" Cardin asked.

"Well, yes, but–"

"What about a van? Something without a plate, no distinguishing features."

Blake glanced around the room, at the crowd of curious and expectant faces around her. With a resigned sigh, she said, "Give me a minute."

"Oh, and can you get your boyfriend? We might need him to patch us up if something goes wrong."

Blake glowered at his choice of words, but she didn't say anything more as she slammed the door behind her. Cardin rifled through her stash, marveling at the neatly stacked collection of stealth gear she had amassed, some of which would certainly raise eyebrows if he tipped off Goodwitch. He took a set of wireless radios, a handful of flashbangs, a vial of Ice Dust, the grappling hooks, both her tasers, an opaque glass bottle with a clean rag and warnings against accidental inhalation, and a long, sharp knife, with a sturdy tip meant to punch through metal. He put on one of the radios and passed the other to Sun.

A text came on his Scroll, from Blake, telling him to meet her at the docks. As Cardin and his allies filed out of the room, Yang put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, mind letting me tag along? I want to make sure Ruby doesn't get in any trouble."

"You're under house arrest," Cardin reminded her. "If you were spotted, our cover would be blown."

"I bet I could fit in one of those suits, even if I am a bit bigger than Blake." She stretched, making her chest stand out.

Cardin rolled his eyes at her and said, "That hair of yours won't fit under a hoodie. Get a haircut, or you're not coming."

Yang gaped at him. Sun stepped in, saying, "You know, I bet that if we glued some feathers in her hair, we could pretend she's a canary Faunus."

The glare Yang sent at Sun made him back away a pace.

"I guess you're right," Yang said, looking down at the floor. "Just make sure Ruby doesn't get hurt, alright?"

Cardin hesitated before nodding and heading after his teammates. At the door, he stopped next to Jaune's father, who stood guard outside Yang's room.

"You heard all that?"

"Kinda hard not to," Nicholas said, ruffling his hair. "I wish I hadn't."

"If anyone asks, we were never here."

When the Huntsman nodded, looking grimly at him, Cardin thanked him and hurried out of the building. He glanced nervously as he went, wondering how many people would see him leaving. If Cinder or her spies spotted him leaving with a large group of students, she might guess everything. He shuddered as the implications sunk in.

Blake had a Bullhead ready to take off, with Jaune and his teammates waiting in another. Nora and Ren had brought their own masks, along with white robes and black cowls that would've looked at home at a White Fang rally, and a set of nondescript assault rifles. Before Cardin could scold them for standing out, they both draped gray cloaks over themselves, hiding the offending articles of clothing. Pyrrha had left Miló and Akoúo̱ behind, and Jaune still didn't have a replacement for Croeca Mors.

"Why are they tagging along?" Cardin asked Blake.

"They were there when I explained it to him. No way am I getting Nora to change her mind."

Cardin eyed the new arrivals skeptically. "The more the merrier, I guess, but where did Nora get that stuff?"

Blake gave him a flat look that suggested he was better off not asking.

"Right," he said, speaking softly enough to not be overheard by the pilots, "If anyone doesn't want to be a part of the kidnap Weiss to keep a brain-snatching Grimm from taking over the SDC plan, now would be a good time to leave."

Sun shouted "What, we're really kidnapping Weiss?" at the same time Jaune stammered, "A Grimm? In her brain?"

"No time, just get in the Bullheads."

To their credit, they loaded up and had the pilots take off without another word. Before hopping in one, he went to the other and had a quick word with the pilot, telling him not to say anything of their coming and going until they spoke with Ozpin. He gave the other pilot the same message and sat next to Sky and Russell. Ruby hopped in shortly after, while Blake and JNPR had the other Bullhead. Sun went towards Blake's bullhead, but a sharp look from Blake, along with her hand on Jaune's lap, sent the Faunus to Cardin's ride.

"So, why the disguises?" Ruby asked, gesturing to the pile in Cardin's lap. "Aren't we going to get arrested?"

"Winter's going to bring out the 'White Fang members' in body bags. If there's some blood splashed around, no one's going to check and make sure they're dead. The hostages will be escorted back to Beacon by Winter's Specialists, and Weiss will be brought to the Defender 'for extra protection'. The whole point of going in as White Fang is to give Winter the pretense she needs to take custody of Weiss while keeping our involvement a secret."

"That way, no one gets to take her to Atlas." Ruby smiled and fidgeted with her hands. "Good. It's so late in the year, I don't know how we'd adjust to a new member."

"You still might have to," Cardin said grimly. "The Defender doesn't have brain surgeons, and we can't take her to a hospital."

"Why not?" Ruby asked. Cardin gave her a level look, and she colored. "Oh, that's why."

"Yeah." He studied her face, her eyes, a striking silver color unheard of despite the variety of pigments. "I have an idea, but I'll need to confirm it with Ozpin first."

Ruby looked uneasily at Cardin and his teammates as silence settled between them. After a moment, she asked, "So, did my uncle Qrow save you?"

"Wait, he's your uncle? Do you have his number?"

Ruby held up her Scroll. "I already tried. Goodwitch too. They all have their Scrolls off."

"We'll just have to wait until they're done," Russell said. "So, which one of us will be playing White Fang?"

Cardin passed Blake's suits and masks to Sky and Russell. Ruby looked away, blushing, as the guys stripped to their underwear and put on the White Fang outfits. He handed each of them a taser and gave Sun the flashbangs.

"Don't use your regular weapons or Semblances," Cardin warned them. "We don't need anyone tracing this back to us."

"What if the police show up?" Sun asked. "This isn't Atlas, but I'm willing to bet they'll shoot to kill."

"Don't kill any of them but drive them back. Shouldn't be too hard, they don't have Aura."

Sun chuckled. "Right up my alley then."

Cardin refrained from asking exactly what experience the Faunus had with police. He seemed too indifferent towards the White Fang clothes and mask to be a former member.

"What about the rest of us?" Ruby asked. "We don't have enough White Fang uniforms."

"We'll be hostages. We can use the grappling hooks to make bindings. Try to look frightened if anyone is looking."

Sun drew himself up with a feral grin, made even more menacing by his mask. "And if any of you spineless humans act up, I'll kick you in the ribs. How's that?"

"It might help if you actually kicked us around a bit for the cameras. Really sell the whole White Fang schtick. Just try not to hit the nose."

Cardin felt at the implant, which was still loose on his face. With a growl, he realized he was going to have to get it fixed, again. As he breathed in, he could feel air getting past the implant, tickling the open passage through his skull. Trying not to imagine what kind of dust and bacteria could be settling on his brain, Cardin pressed the implant back in place. He held it down for a few seconds before letting go. The implant felt loose, but for the moment, the adhesive held. Maybe Junior knew a doctor that wouldn't leave him at Cinder's doorstep.

The loose implant brought back memories of the abandoned house, the chair and straps, the tentacle reaching for him, and the visions it brought. His head spun, and all the second, he was back on the Bullhead flying to Duke Orgen's manor, his teammates wearing masks of fake smiles and kind words, thinking of suitcases packed with lien cards.

A hand on his arm jolted him back to reality. Russell was looking at him with a concerned expression. "Hey man, you weren't looking so good. Is something wrong?"

Cardin brushed the hand away. His heart was galloping in his chest, and his breathing came in hoarse gasps. He clenched his hands and made his body relax. "It's fine. Just got lost in thought."

When their Bullhead touched down, Blake's group pulled around the street with a rusting blue van.

"It's a clunker, but I think this should do," she said coldly. "Don't think we can fit everyone."

"We won't have to. We're splitting into two teams. The White Fang team will pursue Weiss' car."

"Which one is it?" Ren asked.

"Good question." Cardin called Klein.

"We're ready. How's everything on your end?"

"I managed to get us stuck in a maze of one-way streets. I can buy you another five minutes."

"Good. What kind of car are you in?"

"A limo in Schnee colors, can't miss it. We're just west of the airdocks, right off Main Street."

"Thanks. We're on our way." He hung up and pointed at the students in White Fang uniforms. "Blake, Sun, Ren, Nora, Russell, and Sky, you're the White Fang team. Head up main street, find the limo with Schnee colors on the off-streets, and snatch her out of there. Avoid using Aura and don't kill anyone. Russell's in charge." He handed Russell a wireless radio. "The rest of us, we're the hostages. We'll pick out somewhere the other team can retreat to until Winter shows up."

"So," Sky asked, pointing at the mask on his face, "What if Weiss freaks out and doesn't come with us, since, you know, the masks?"

He held out the vial of liquid at Blake. Recognizing it at once, she carefully tucked it in her pocket and glowered at him. He also passed her the knife, which she slipped around her belt.

"Don't show yourselves to her. We can't risk someone seeing you and reporting it. Just grab her and go."

Team White Fang loaded up in the van, while Team Hostages went on foot, chatting idly and avoiding the eyes of the crowded streets. They drifted towards the docks, towards the row after row of warehouses, until they found a string of run-down buildings with boarded-up doors and do not enter signs. Cardin had the group skirt around the edge of the block, just out of sight of the cameras perched under the rooftops.

"Pyrrha, do you think you can take out those cameras?" Cardin asked, pointing at a building from the shadows of an alley.

Pyrrha held out her hand. The camera twisted backwards and bent until the lens was flush against the wall. She repeated the process with each camera he pointed out and a few he couldn't see.

"That's the last of them," Pyrrha said, lowering her hand. "It's hard to tell with all this metal around, but I think I also got the alarm system."

"Wow, you can do all that?" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha blushed and looked away. "Yeah, well, it's no big deal."

"I'm pretty sure your Semblance is busted," Dove said. "Atlas would be literally defenseless if you shut off all their Knights and Paladins."

Her expression soured, but before the conversation could continue, Cardin directed them to the nearest of the warehouses. They checked each one before picking the second to last, a building with only one point of entry, which had a sliding set of heavy metal doors. Inside, there were row after row of steel shelves, some of which still held loops of metal cable on wooden dowels or crates of clamps.

"So, is there anything else your magic metal senses are picking up on?" Cardin asked.

"There's a water line running right below the building," Pyrrha said. "It's pretty close to the surface. I think I can feel the water running through it."

Cardin felt at the Dust phial in his pocket. Through the glass, he could feel it chilling his fingers. "Might be useful later. For now, push the shelves up against the walls, and save the heaviest two. We'll use them to barricade the door once the others arrive."

While Pyrrha went to work, Cardin explored the rest of the building with the others. There was a small table with a ring of dusty plastic chairs around them. The legs on two of them had rusted to the point that they snapped at the slightest pressure, but six more remained. Cardin kicked the table aside and gathered up the chairs.

"What, are we playing musical chairs?" Jaune asked nervously. "I don't think we have a radio, but we could ask Nora."

Ruby leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I think those are the hostage chairs."

Cardin took out the grappling hooks and studied the cord, but he went back to a shelf Pyrrha hadn't touched yet, coming back with a length of steel cable.

"No way," Dove grunted, "I don't want to know what rope burn from that stuff would feel like."

"It won't have to be that tight," Cardin said, "And it's not like the grappling hook cord would be much better. Plus, Pyrrha can actually wrench this stuff off us if necessary."

"Fine, but can I at least have my Scroll?"

Cardin shook his head and Dove reluctantly stashed his Scroll in his pocket. Cardin brought the table back and had everyone put their Scrolls on there, saying they'd be the first thing any self-respecting kidnapper would take off them, having learned that first-hand just that afternoon.

Once Pyrrha was done with the shelves, he had them all sit down and had Pyrrha wind the cord around them. She fastened it in place with one of the clamps, so they all sat with their backs to each other, held to the chair by thick loops around their chests.

"Ugh, my nose itches," Jaune said, struggling to bend over far enough to reach his hand. "Mind untying me for a minute?"

"Yeah, because if someone saw the bindings loosen so you could scratch your nose, no one would think that was weird."

"Cardin," Pyrrha asked, "Wouldn't people think it was strange we were just sitting here tied up? There's no guard or anything."

"We could say they left us tied up."

"When everyone knows I can move metal? I don't think that would fly."

"Not to mention," Jaune added, "It's a little weird since Weiss isn't here yet."

Cardin sighed and tried to rub his temples, only for his hands to come up far short. "Fine. We'll wait until they get back."

The clamp snapped open, and the cord fell limply to their legs. Cardin stretched his arms, and judging by the sighs around him, he wasn't the only one.

"You doing alright?" Dove asked. "You seem out of it today."

"Well, you tell me. No sooner than I make it out of Ironwood's ship after getting my ribs smashed in, I get kidnapped at the hospital, have some maniac try to shove a Grimm up my nose, which, by the way, was tailor-made for the purpose during my last doctor's visit, suffer through all my worst nightmares thanks to a different Grimm, nearly kill myself getting out of that chair, and now, I find out I have to stop Weiss from leaving the country or a Grimm will take over the SDC."

"Wait, the White Fang tried to what?" Jaune spluttered.

"The White Fang?" Ruby asked. "If they're behind it, then why are we pretending to be them?"

"I never even heard of a Grimm like that," Pyrrha put in. "What do you mean by suffer through your nightmares?"

"Literally!" Cardin shouted. "I had a really lovely one of you smashing my face in with your shield, shouting at me for making you lose."

Though he couldn't see Pyrrha's expression, he heard her chair creak as she stiffened.

"What else did you see?" Ruby asked.

Cardin craned his head to look at her. "Why do you want to know?"

She looked away from him and nervously rubbed her hands together. "Well, I mean, if it was something really horrible, talking about it might make you feel better. I know it might feel weird, talking about it, that people might think you're weird or they won't care, but when I finally started talking about mom, even when people ignored me or tried to make me stop, I felt better. So, you know, I'm willing to listen."

The memories crept up on him, lurking in the corner of his mind. As he tried to force them back, he caught flashes of panicked running, restraints, and the irrational, mind-consuming need to bring the roof crashing down on him. With a start, he realized his Semblance had flared up and made it stop.

"You want to know how to make anyone do what you ask?" Cardin asked, voice hoarse as his throat tightened up. "Find out what they fear most and use it. Blake feared people finding out about her past, her secret, and I showed her that I could have her arrested at any moment. Yang's afraid of her sister getting hurt. Threaten her, and Yang will do anything." His chest shook, and tears stung the edges of his eyes, but he kept his emotions on a tight leash. "If you think I'm telling you any of that, you're crazy."

Ruby looked at him with an unreadable expression and said, "I'm afraid that I won't be good enough to save someone, that there'll be someone who I could have saved if I was only a little better at being a Huntress or a leader. I'm afraid that my team's going to fall apart because I'm too young for this, that Blake's going to run off again, or Weiss will leave because she's tired of putting up with me, or – or Yang's going to get locked away and I'll never see her again." She had to blink tears away, but she gave Cardin a smile and said, "There. Now you know mine."

Before Cardin could respond, Jaune jumped in. "I'm also terrified that I'm not good enough, that I won't ever amount to anything. I'm afraid people will find out I wasn't supposed to get in and kick me out." With a shudder, he added, "I don't even want to think about what would happen if my mom came here. My dad was bad enough, but mom? Brothers no."

Pyrrha spoke more hesitantly, but she took up the sharing session. "I'm afraid that people will use me my whole life for my strength. I have such a powerful Semblance, I can defeat almost anyone without trying." She quickly glanced at Cardin before moving on. "I – I'm also afraid to talk about my feelings. If I had been honest with someone a lot sooner, I might've been a lot happier now, but instead, I have to watch that person be happy with someone else. Now, if I tried telling them, it would only make everything worse."

Dove shifted in his seat. "You already know mine," he said, eyeing the others warily.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Ruby said.

Against Cardin's expectations, that loosened Dove's tongue. "I'm worried Cardin's dad is going to ruin my family if I do something I'm not supposed to."

Cardin felt four pairs of eyes on him from around the circle of chairs. The very idea of divulging the visions the Seer had forced on him churned his stomach. Sweat rolled down his chin and soaked into his shirt. Looking to break the tension, Cardin spoke into the radio. "Well? Did you find her yet?"

The signal came back faint. "Finally!" Russell shouted through the static. "The range on these things is shit. You're in the docks?"

"Second to last of the boarded-up warehouses."

"Got it. We're coming in hot, tons of cops on our tail. They were waiting for us."

Cardin leapt from his chair, and the others did the same.

"Get everything ready," Cardin told Pyrrha as he called Winter. And to himself, he said, "Please let this work."