RWBY: Grey Chapter 16

Blake watched as Yuri stalked down the stairs. His hands were clenched in anger, and she felt a wave of memories clash on the back of her mind.

"Hey! Blake! I need you for a week or so." Adam's voice was clear, even over the bustle of the large room. "Oh, what's up?" She replied. He handed her a small white file, which she opened, revealing a slew of photos, the most relevant of which were five faces. Her eyes poured over the information; schedules, contacts, family members, even sexual preferences. "What's all this?" She wondered aloud.

"Your newest assignment, they're not targets, we just need you to keep an eye on them." He explained. "So... you aren't gonna kill them? Good... he seems pretty young." She said, pointing to one of the photos. "Ahh... he specifically, is incredibly important, alright? You need to be on him at all times, even if he breaks off from the rest of them." Adam instructed. She nodded, looking back down at the photo, attempting to burn the face into her mind. Decent looking, even with a mask covering most of his face, with calm yellow eyes that seemed intimidating even in the photo. The most striking feature was his ash colored hair. She slipped the photo into her pocket, nodded to Adam, then left.

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She wiped the trails of raindrops from her forehead, the wet, muggy air condensing heavily on every surface available. She had found a suitable vantage point on a walkway a few dozen feet above the street. Her primary target had come into view some time ago, and he had taken a kneeling position on the furthest street corner to the left. Seeing him in person was even intimidating than the photo she had seen, despite him still wearing his mask. His eyes, despite having a soft, kind look, weren't even the least bit timid, and his gaze had scanned over her position more than once, prompting her to lower herself beneath the short wall she had been leaning on.

The rest of the group that she had been assigned to arrive, three girls and one boy. They all seemed to be about two or three years older than her, at first glance. Regardless, it seemed as though they were focused completely on the main target. His words, although faint, were those of a commander, softly issuing orders, but he was undoubtedly the one who was truly in control. They spoke and laughed about thwarted plots and apprehended criminals. Blake couldn't help but see them as good people. They didn't seem evil at all, and she found no real reason as to why she should be trailing them.

Even with seemingly nothing to worry about from them, she continued to track them around the ins and outs of the Menagerie. She had been at it for just under a month, and had learned so much about them. They referred to each other by an initial, the leader was K, followed by the other four: M, A, N, and L. Not once did they state another of their group's full name, and they seemed satisfied with their system, if not incredibly efficient. Blake had put away her Scroll, and begun making her way back to Adam.

Bang!

She felt a body slam straight into her, and toppled over helplessly onto the ground. She turned to see her assailant, and was greeted with a surprise. It's... K. The young man was looking at her worriedly. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I really need to be more careful." He said, offering her his hand. She took it, using it to pull herself back onto her feet. "I'm- I'm- I'm fine." She managed to force out in reply. "Good." He smiled. His eyes drifted from hers to her bow, and he frowned. "You know... I bet your ears are pretty cute, it's a shame you wear that bow." He winked.

Stunned, she couldn't reply, and before she could recompose herself, he had already disappeared. She brushed herself off, turning to see if she could catch a glimpse of him, but to no avail. Looking up to the sky, she let out a solitary laugh, then made her way back to Adam. At that moment, she felt like everything was fine, that K and his friends were safe... and that Adam would let them be.

...I was wrong...

A few weeks after her encounter, she arrived at a temporary base that Adam had directed her to. Upon her arrival, she quickly realized that something had happened. No one was present, the entire group who were supposed to have greeted her were absent. Confused, she began to search, looking for some indication as to the location of her comrades.

...It was like...

But, no matter how much she searched, there was nothing... no people, no signs of life, no food... no shelters... nothing... then it hit her.

...It was like Adam had wanted to get me out of the way... like he had wanted me to be too preoccupied with the mission I had been given to see the underlying reasons for sending me out... I figured it all out... but it was too late...

I was... too late...

Everything... changed... the moment I returned to the Menagerie.

He was there.

Standing alone, above their bodies.

The tears pouring from his eyes through the mask told me everything.

Even as he realized I was there, he didn't move, not for a while.

He just held L's hand, sobbing.

Eventually though, he stood up and moved over to me.

He passed me, but I'll never forget his words as he walked by.

Even under the muffled sobs, he growled.

"You tore my family from my arms... so I'll tear your heart from your chest."

"But you... you aren't worth my wrath. Scum like you, who think they are absolved of the sin, because you didn't touch them... you are the worst... and one day... I'll make you in particular...pay."

He said, as he passed me. His fingers brushed against my cheek, and he turned my face to him.

His eyes were fierce and angry, but he didn't hurt me. I think that was when I broke down.

I had helped Adam cut out the most annoying thorn in his side, without even realizing it.

I had fed him the information on their habits and routines... it was me.

Without me, they'd still be alive.

I returned to Adam... distraught of course... but I didn't tell him that I knew what had happened.

Even still, that event sowed the seeds of my distrust...

A week or so after the incident, we began getting reports of our bases being brought down by a single person.

Our people were left maimed and broken, most unable to tell the tale of the assault.

No one ever saw his face... but I knew.

It was K.

He was taking revenge.

Whatever he was doing... eventually forced us out of the Menagerie in its entirety.

He truly tore our heart out. Our main base in the Menagerie was eliminated, and we were forced out.

I managed to escape from Adam after a few close calls, and soon I had completely forgotten about K.

I can't believe it... Yuri... I'm so sorry.

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Blake wiped her eyes, holding her gaze to Yuri's back. I wanted to forget everything... all of it... I'm surprised I didn't realize it until just now... I wonder why he hasn't said anything. "Yuri?" She said. He turned around, the same eye from two years ago staring right to her. "Yeah?" He asked. There's nothing. No rage, no hate. He can't have forgotten... so why? "Uh... what do you want us to do?" She asked. "I'm going to wade into whatever meeting room they have, then when Taurus gets out, I'm going to call to him. Once he realizes who I am, he won't hold back. You two, use that time to get into the back and scan any documents you find." He said.

Sun nodded, then waved Blake along. "We need to get to it, you go ahead, and we'll slip in when you give the signal... uh... what's gonna be the signal?" He asked. "I'll... Get one of them to scream... that'll be it." Yuri said. "Scream?" Sun asked. "Yeah, I'll uh... poke him in the back with my sword and tell him to scream." Yuri said. "I'm sure that'll get everyone's attention." He nodded. "Look, Adam Taurus being here changes a lot of what my original plan would have been... but it also gives us a few more options." He finished.

He stepped slowly down the staircase, his right hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of Hope. Near the end, the slant devolved into a two way hall. Yuri put up his finger, straining to listen closely. He pointed down the right hall. "You two go that way, I'll go this way, it seems the bulk of the group is down the left." He said. Blake and Sun began slowly moving down their hall, Yuri already near the end of his.

As Blake rounded the edge of the corner, she and Sun were greeted with a door-less opening to a small, unlit room. Upon inspection, it was filled with little more than a few chairs and an office desk. She made her way to it, running her fingers across the across the artificial surface. She stopped on a small piece of the edge that was slightly raised. She pressed down softly, and a small compartment near her fingers popped out from the side.

She pushed her hand into the opening, finding it empty save a small plastic chip in the very back. "It's a data chip... probably from a Scroll." She said as she pulled it out. "You think that's what Yuri was looking for?" Sun asked. She pressed the chip against her scroll, receiving a garbled error message from the device. "It's... encoded... pretty heavily, seeing as how my Scroll can't decipher a lot of it. But I am able to see two words... and they're probably pretty important." She said. "What words?" Sun asked. "Train... and... Atlas." She answered.

Before either could ponder exactly what the words were referring to, a scream pierced the stagnant air around them. She slipped the chip into her pocket and waved Sun down the hall. As they sprinted around the corner, they could hear the clashing of blades coming from the open door at the other end of the hall. As they reached the room, they enormous crowd of people was open at the center. They pushed their way to the center, and found their friend locked in combat with someone that they had not expected.

Their swords continued to slash against one another. Yuri was fervently pressing his strength against his attacker, a hooded figure wielding a katana of seemingly the same make as his. They continued their bout for another half a minute or so, before Yuri's opponent made an error, striking slightly higher than they like intended to. Nonetheless, he took the opportunity to duck under their strike and deliver a crushing blow with his empty hand to their stomach.

The strike lifted them several feet in the air, but they managed to keep themselves righted as they landed, sliding back a meter or so. The force blew off her hood, revealing her long, black hair and familiar face. It took Blake a few moments, but Yuri's comment confirmed her suspicions. "It's been a while... dear sister of mine." He said with a grimace. Her huffing attempts to regain a normal breathing pattern failing, she responded. "Ughhh... I have to admit... you've become quite impressive... sweet brother Drake... regardless... it's good to see you." She smiled. Yuri's hand slid to his face, slowly removing his mask. The smile spread on his lips both somehow excited and wistful.

"It's nice to see you too... my sweet Miana."