Chapter 2: Reluctant Relaxation Part 1

There is no knowledge that is not power. The bittersweet pain among men is to possess knowledge that has no power because that is paradoxical.

It was late in the afternoon the next day, and Noir sat alone in Beacon Academy's library, bent over one of the many reading tables within, with no less than four massive textbooks open in front of him, a burgundy leather-bound notebook in his left hand, and a black ink pen in the other, his eyes darting back and forth as he intently read from the books in front of him at an unbelievable speed. Every now and then he would click his pen and jot down something in his notebook and then continue reading, pausing only to take a long swig from a small black thermos that he kept on his belt. He was studying harder than anyone could have guessed he could, whilst once again stealing some time alone someplace quiet where no one would break his concentration, and he'd been at it for over an hour.

Unlike most of the times when he disappeared from the company of Teams RWBY and JNPR, this particular occasion wasn't out of the ordinary, and it was one of the only occasions when no one would attempt to drag him away from his books to make him be around other people. This was because, every weekday, Noir would be in the Beacon Library for a two-hour study session that covered all his class subjects except for sparring, which, of course, could not be done in a library, let alone Beacon's library. Noir was dedicated to his academics, and was working constantly to pass his classes, every ounce of his concentration focused on the four massive tomes in front of him.

Unfortunately for Noir, this time, his concentration wasn't nearly as focused as he normally would have preferred, and his mind was continuing to constantly wander despite his best efforts to stay focused. It wasn't the first time that he had found it hard to focus, there had been multiple occasions like this during his first semester at Beacon where his focus had slipped during his study sessions. Today, however, it was particularly bad, and as he tried harder and harder to remain focused, his mind was turning towards his most unwanted memories, buried within the darkest corners in the depths of his subconscious, and his mind was echoing with agonized cries from the past...

"Noir! Get us out of here!" came the desperate cry, the girl from whence it came yelling at the top of her voice, a look of panicked fear clouding her beautiful features as she beheld a sea of black shadows surrounding her.

"Sherry, stay put, I'll be right there!" Noir called to her as he tried to cut his way through the sea of blackness that separated them. "Midas, Check, where are you guys?! I need you guys over here NOW!"

"Noir, there are too many...there's far too many...no...no...NO!" Sherry's voice grew more and more panicked as the ring of blackness infused with occasional points of red contracted around her.

"Just hold on, Sherry! Check, get your ass over here, where the hell are you?!"

"NOIR!"

"Noir?"

A nearby voice snapped Noir back to reality, and he looked around almost frantically before spotting the speaker. It was Topaz Kogamo, a fellow student at Beacon and a faunus like himself, with some of the physical features of a cat. Topaz was dark-skinned, in stark contrast with Noir's deathly pale complexion, and had short black and teal hair with a pair of matching cat ears protruding from his hair. He was garbed in a simple navy blue shirt with a pair of black close-fitting pants and a pair of shoes that looked like a cross between gym shoes and boots. A leather choker adorned his neck and he had two wrist bands, one of each wrist. His eyes were two different colors, one blue, the other black. A teal-furred tail with black spots along its length sprouted out of his black pants and a pair of dual pistols, which could convert into bladed tonfa, were in his belt. In the silence of the library he'd sneaked right up on Noir without him noticing, the second person to do so in less than 24 hours. Noir couldn't help but mentally sigh in frustration. I'm not sure I'm liking THIS trend...how are people sneaking up on me so much?

"Noir? You alright?" Topaz inquired, his mismatched eyes showing concern for his fellow faunus.

Noir shook himself a little to clear his head before turning back to his notes, trying to regain his calm demeanor. "I'm fine, Topaz, why?"

Topaz skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Dude. You're a lot paler than normal, and I didn't even think that was possible. You look like you just saw a ghost."

If you only knew, Topaz. Noir kept his calm. and looked up at Topaz unblinkingly, his red eyes looking into Topaz's mismatched ones with betraying any emotion.

Topaz sighed a little exasperated. "Noir, bro, I may not know you that well, and you may be unreadable most of the time, but even I know when someone's lying to me."

"As do I," was his emotionless reply.

Topaz actually shook his head at Noir's stubbornness. "Dude! Seriously! You're working way too hard for your own good, and coming from me, that's kinda saying something. But it's not just that, it's the fact that you're not talking to anyone, and I mean anyone. I mean, Royal told me you won't even talk to Professor Goodwitch, and you talk to her about, like, everything! What's your deal, man?"

Noir didn't immediately reply and turned back to his studies. "I need to be ready for our exams, and I need to have all my studies covered."

"And reading dystopian fiction on the roof of the dorms while eating a bowl of mangos qualifies as studying?"

Noir raises an eyebrow. "Been talking to Team RWBY, have you?"

"How would you guess that?"

"They're the only ones who have ever found me on the roof, let alone spoken to me when they found me up there."

"Your point being?"

"Who told you?"

Topaz raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'who told me'?"

"I mean, who told you about my late night habits, because I didn't, and Teams RWBY and JNPR are the only others who know. Well, maybe not all of JNPR, but I'm sure at least half of them know." Noir said all of this as calmly and flatly as he always did, though now he was starting to sound a little amused by the exchange.

Topaz smirked, also amused by their exchange. "Fine, if you must know, Ruby told me. And I'm not the only one she's told."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Royal knows, Yang knows, Blake knows, Weiss knows..." Topaz immediately stopped talking at the look on Noir's face. "Sorry..."

"Think nothing of it." He said it calmly enough but there was a cold edge to his tone now as he started packing his things. Topaz, despite being deeply unnerved by Noir's cold edge, actually sighed out loud in exasperation.

"What is with you, man?! Seriously! You're fine talking about everyone else, but one mention of Weiss Schnee, suddenly you're all cold and giving off that 'get the fuck away from me' vibe, and, frankly, it's annoying as hell! Why can't you just give her a chance?"

Noir, in a sudden break of composure, actually snarled his reply. "Because she wouldn't do the same for me." And with that he zipped up his duffle and started for the exit. But Topaz wasn't done yet.

"Oh for Christ's sake, Noir, you don't know that! For all you know, she could be the nicest person you've ever met! And yet every time she even looks at you, you act like a preacher yelling 'Begone, Satan!' and turn your back to her! Why, Noir? Give me one good reason why!"

Noir's duffle fell to the floor with a loud thud as he abruptly turned around to face Topaz, his fierce gaze more cold than anything Topaz had ever seen him make. "You want to know why, Topaz?"

"Hell yes, I wanna know!"

"Do you?!"

"I do!"

Noir gave Topaz a piercing gaze, his blood red eyes narrowed almost into slits as he stared down the cat boy. When he spoke, he spoke with a voice of determinedly forced calm.

"How could you not know, Topaz?"

"Huh?" He hadn't expected this as Noir's reply. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, my semblance is bursts of speed, not telepathy..."

Noir turned fully around to face his fellow faunus. "How could you, a fellow faunus, not know why I dislike the Heiress to the largest producer of energy propellant in the world, a company and family notorious for distrusting and disliking our kind, and even using our kind as labor forces?!" By the end of his question, Noir was almost shouting. "How could you possibly ask me a question, like that?!"

Topaz angrily pointed at Noir. "Weiss isn't like that, and you know it!"

"Do I?!"

"YES!" Topaz was legitimately yelling at him now. "She has a faunus as a teammate, she regularly talks to me and Velvet Scarlatina, she's fought alongside all three of us, and you know what? I don't have an issue with her, and neither do Blake nor Velvet! So why do you, Noir?"

Noir had fallen silent, his expression blank and unreadable, and Noir slowly turned away, saying something that left Topaz completely stumped.

"Two immovable objects can not coexist, Topaz. Eventually, one will crumble." And with that, Noir picked up his bag and strode out the library, leaving Topaz standing there, blinking as he tried to grasp what Noir just said.

Is he saying that he and Weiss are so set in their ways that they can't coexist? What the hell kind of philosophical bullshit is that?!

Noir was so focused on the floor in front of him that as he strode out of the library he nearly walked head-on into Yang Xiao Long, who was standing outside the Library as though waiting for him, her arms crossing her chest. At the sight of her, Noir was, for a moment, taken completely off guard and turned a deep shade of red for a moment before regaining his composure and straightening up. Such was how it always went when he ran into Yang unexpectedly, for though he would never admit it out loud, he had nursed a soft spot for the blonde over the last several months, and though he'd come close to revealing the truth on several occasions, everyone, Yang included, remained, to Noir's relief, blissfully ignorant.

"That didn't sound like it went too well. Mind telling me what all the yelling was about?" Yang inquired.

Noir, who stood five inches taller than her, looked her in the eyes for a moment and then turned away from her. "I really would prefer not to discuss it right now." As he tried to walk by her however, he felt her grip his arm hard.

"You never discuss anything, Noir, at any time with anyone, and honestly, it's looking like it's starting to mess with you." Yang's expression was one of mingled exasperation and concern. "I mean, seriously, even Blake is finding this bad for you."

"She's certainly one to talk." Noir replied bluntly.

"That's beside the point, Batman. My point is, no one's gonna help you if you don't let them."

"What if they can't help?"

"How would you know that if you don't let someone try?"

Noir fell silent at this. Yang had put the nail to the head, and here Noir was forced to admit his biggest problem, and he had to admit, Yang had a knack for getting people to talk when she needed them to.

"I don't like asking for help, Yang."

"Why's that?"

Noir sighed and turned towards her. "I...honestly don't know. I've just never really felt the need to ask anyone for help on anything."

Yang smiled at him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Well, I think the first step is to admit you need help, and I can see clearly you need help. Tell you what, Noir. Take a day off. In fact, take today and tomorrow off! Get your mind out the books and just relax for a while! I mean, damn, you look like you haven't seen the sun in decades!"

"Um...my skin is this color naturally, Yang..."

Yang's lilac eyes widened at this. "Oooooh, buddy, we need to get you outdoors, pronto!"

"I really don't think- WHOA!" Noir's protest was cut off as Yang, now gripping his wrist, started dragging him to the door eagerly.

"Shut up, Batman, you're gonna take time to relax whether you want to or not."

Noir sighed and let her drag him along. "There's never any arguing with you, is there."

"Nope!"

Noir rolled his eyes as Yang dragged him along, and moments later they were outside. Noir blinked rapidly as the sunlight his his faunus eyes, eyes capable of seeing perfectly in pitch dark, and as sharp as an eagle's in broad daylight, and yet still forced to adjust with sudden changes. Noir finally managed to pull his hand out of Yang's iron grip as he rubbed his eyes to help them adjust, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Yang herself.

"Are you sure you're not a vampire or something, cos you react to light like one," she quipped with a grin, earning herself a raised eyebrow from Noir.

"Vampires only exist in books and movies, Yang, surely you of all people know that," he said bluntly, his eyes fully adjusted as he straightened up. In daylight Yang was even more stunning, and Noir once more had to fight back a blush as he saw her in the light.

"Ugh, you sound like Blake." Yang rolled her eyes as she shook her head, giving Noir an amused grin. "And I thought she was the blunt and brooding one."

Noir actually chuckled at this. "Blake is a lot of things, but blunt? I don't think so, she seems more enigmatic than Lie Ren sometimes." Yang couldn't help but laugh at his.

"I'm her partner, Batman, I think I know my own partner a little more than you do." Yang was actually enjoying this conversation with Noir. Noir fascinated her, simply put, and talking to him was always interesting to say the least. He never failed to make her smile, despite it being 100% unintentional. He spoke his mind, and doing so was...she couldn't find a word for it, but it was something.

"Perhaps. I just happen to know a sensitive and secretive individual who's liable to snap at any given second when I see one." Noir was also grinning now. He himself was enjoying the conversation as well, something he didn't do very often, if at all. In fact, Noir was more likely to end a conversation than enjoy it, or even partake in it at all for that matter. Noir was actually enjoying this banter with Yang, someone so generically his opposite in nature and bearing that it was unthinkable to think of them interacting at all.

"Only because you're the exact same way." Yang shot back at him, her grin wider than ever now. "You can't really surprise anyone except by talking, or emoting." Yang relished Noir's reaction as he gave her an 'excuse me?' look that made her want to burst into hysterical laughter. "Me, I'm full of surprises. I'm spon-Yang-eous!"

Noir visibly cringed at the horrid pun, and he shot back with one of his own. "Well, aren't you on fire. Maybe they should be calling you torch instead of that flamboyant redhead who added 'wick' to the end of it." Noir smirked as Yang's lilac eyes widened at this. This was so unlike Noir to employ puns, bad or otherwise, or really humor in any sense, and this pun, a far more subtle one than hers, and a more clever one it seemed, got under Yang's skin. Only she made the puns, damnit!

"Oooooh, look out, we've got a badass over here." Yang shot back sarcastically. "If fire's what you're looking for, Count Blackula, maybe you should take off the trench coat so the sun roasts ya!" Noir just shook his head at this. He couldn't tell which pun was worse, the play on his name or the reference to vampires hating light of any kind, and he couldn't restrain himself from a comeback of his own.

"Oh, thy fiery wit doth set my heart ablaze, madam." Noir said it so bluntly and without missing a beat that Yang couldn't help herself, bursting into hysterical laughter that caused a few passersby to turn their heads in their direction.

"He's got the puns, he's got the puns!" Yang shouted amidst her hysterical laughter, and Noir winced slightly at the sheer volume coupled with Yang's close proximity. The blonde could be loud when she wanted to be, and in this instance, she definitely was.

"Yang, people are staring..." Noir said in a low voice, in a feeble attempt to lessen the wall of sound battering his hypersensitive ears.

"Don't care, man, Ima laugh as loud as I wanna!" Yang replied bombastically, and shot Noir a winning grin, at which Noir just rolled his eyes again.

"So, putting aside this...pun war, what exactly did you have in mind when you decided to drag me away from the library?" Noir inquired, having already resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't getting out of this.

"Technically, you were already out of the library, so, I didn't drag you out of it." Yang grinned at her own smart-alecky comment, earning yet another eye-roll from Noir. It was a wonder he didn't have 360 degree vision, what with all the eye rolling he was doing.

"Just...what are you planning on doing, Yang?" Noir inquired, looking down and shaking his head; a rather obvious attempt to hide his enormous smile. Yang couldn't help but smile as well, honestly enjoying her interaction with the 'big, bad, brooding, bat' that Noir was. It seemed that despite his outward lack of emotion, Noir deep down wasn't anything like he passed himself off to be. And Yang was planning on finding out just what Noir was underneath that dark brooding exterior.

"Well, I heard that they're already setting up the Vytal Fairgrounds, and I was wondering, maybe we could go check it out? See what they're setting up down there?" Yang looked at Noir a bit hopefully. She couldn't explain what it was, or why she was so adamant on taking Noir out, all she knew was that she wanted to, and she was going to go to any lengths she could to do so. Noir, after a moment, smiled a bit and looked Yang in the eyes.

"I think that'd be nice." Yang's heart leapt at his acceptance, and she found herself pausing for a moment. Did my heart just leap...? Why...? Yang shook it off after a moment of contemplation and grinned, reaching in her jacket and pulling out her aviators, flicking them open and donning them.

"Awesome! Come on, my ride's in the garage!" Yang turned and walked towards said garage, grabbing her keys from her belt, a keychain sporting her emblem dangling from the key ring as she spun it around her index finger. Noir watched her and followed, curious to see if they went to what he was sure they did. And sure enough, as they entered the garage, a bright yellow motorcycle with black racing stripes immediately came into view, and Yang made beeline right over to it, grinning back at Noir as she grabbed her helmet and donned it, mounting the bike and patting the back seat. Noir rolled his eyes as he got on the back of the bike, hesitantly placing his hands on Yang's waist as she fired up the engine. Yang, feeling his hands on her, looked back at him with a wide grin. "Touch me anywhere else, and you're walking there after I elbow you in the balls with Ember Celica."

Noir couldn't fight down a blush this time, and he flushed bright red as he caught her meaning, yet he still kept his voice determinedly flat. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"What, am I not hot enough for ya?" Yang smirked at the pun while Noir's blush intensified.

"I...uh..." Noir couldn't figure out a response to this; for the first time in his life he was struck dumb, and Yang couldn't help but laugh at him.

"I'm just messing with you, Noir, don't be so sensitive." Yang laughed as she revved Bumblebee's engine, and a moment later, she and Noir were zooming out of the garage and towards Vale, following a long road down the cliffs that, without the motorcycle would take an entire day to traverse, from the top to the bottom. Noir couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face as the wind whipped through his black hair, his trench coat flapping in the wind as Yang sped up. It was quite exhilarating, traveling at high speeds down the path, very different from flying. Here, all Noir had to do was let go of Yang and the bike, and he'd go flying off the back end, risking injury and even death by doing so. There was a thrill to such a danger, and Noir couldn't help but contemplate the fact that Yang felt this thrill every time she got on the bike to drive it. It was mind boggling for a cautious individual like Noir.

"Wooohoooo!" Yang whooped in exhilaration as they picked up speed, her long blonde mane of hair flying back in the wind, and her excitement was contagious, for Noir's smile widened, and he got an idea as they rounded the next bend, spotting a rock projection with a slight incline, one that would put them in the air if Yang ramped off of it, and Noir, seeing it, shouted over the roaring wind in Yang's ear.

"Ramp off that projection there, catch some air!" Yang's grin widened as she gunned towards it, increasing speed and momentum, and at top speed ramped off of it, catching air and gaining altitude. Noir, at the moment of ramping off the rock, spread his wings to their full span, catching the air underneath them and turning Bumblebee into a glider. Yang's heart almost leapt out of her chest as the motorcycle stayed in the air for several moments, Noir's grip on her waist and the bike tightening to keep from letting go of both. Yang's adrenaline spiked noticeably as she felt them glide down without losing any speed and whooped even louder than before, looking back at Noir with an exhilarated smile. Noir returned the smile as he nodded to her, the motorcycle nearing the ground. "Gun it!"

"Hell yeah!" Not needing to be told twice, Yang gunned Bumblebee's engine, the wheels spinning at top speed as the bike touched back down on the road, speeding back up as they finally reached the bottom of the cliff road, entering Vale's outer limits. "That...was...AWESOME!" Yang shouted, grinning back at Noir. Noir grinned right back, and held on tightly as Yang pulled up to the sight of the Vytal Fairgrounds. The sight was already being set up in preparation, with multiple vendors already stocked and ready for sales to the many tourists in Vale. Food vendors were firing up the ovens and stoves in preparation, ingredients being prepped, pots and pans and plates and bowls and silverware being washed as thoroughly as possible. The Fairgrounds were being set up fast, ready for the excitement of the festival. All this and more Noir took in as Yang slowed Bumblebee to a stop, shutting off the engine as Noir dismounted, looking around at the vendors being set up.

"Well, they certainly waste no time getting set up." Noir observed as vendor after vendor was erected, the sounds of hammers and power tools filling Noir's ears, allowing him to map out the entire area with his echolocation ability. "At this rate we'll have enough vendors for an outdoor mall."

"Yeah, no kidding." Yang agreed as she looked around with Noir, taking in the sight and sounds along with him. "Hell, it already looks like one as it is, might was well be a theme park or something!"

Noir grinned a bit, and he looked over at Yang with curiosity. "Will Team RWBY be entering the tournament?"

Yang grinned ear to ear. "Hell yeah, we wouldn't miss it for the world! What about you, you gonna enter?"

Noir's smile dropped slightly as she asked him this, and his reply was much closer to the monotonic tone Noir was better known for. "We'll see when the time comes." His change in demeanor didn't escape Yang's notice, and her brow furrowed a little as she saw Noir's smile drop a bit. It confused her, to say the least; what could possibly be so bad about entering the Vytal Tournament that would make his smile drop like that? Yang didn't know, and she wasn't about to ask. Then, she got an idea.

"Hey, you know what, this place is boring right now, why don't we go somewhere a little more fun, eh?" Yang grinned as she moved closer to Noir, who didn't look at her immediately. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before returning her gaze and managing a smile of sorts.

"What place do you have in mind?"

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"And you're absolutely sure she didn't say why we're meeting her in the old hideout?"

Emerald Sustrai sighed, exasperated This was the fifth time she had been asked this in the last several hours. "For the last time, you were there, Mercury. You heard everything she said, I had the scroll on speaker for Christ's sake!"

"And you still don't find it at all weird that, of all places, we're meeting her in a place that we stopped using for HQ months ago, and you don't find it even a little odd that after 3 days of absence she's suddenly wanting to meet with us out of the blue and telling us there's a change in our plans?"

"Mercury, Cinder always has her reasons for everything she does. We may not always know the reason but there's a reason," Emerald replied calmly.

Mercury sighed, realizing there was no arguing with her. "You women confuse me to no end."

"Which is probably the reason you've never had a girlfriend."

"You're one to talk, you've never dated anyone either."

"At least I don't act like I understand something I don't. Besides, dating's a waste of time that neither of us have."

Mercury smirked knowingly. "Oh, yeah? What about that Noir guy?"

Emerald remained as outwardly calm as ever but deep down she was starting freak out. Mercury was onto her. "What about that Noir guy?"

"Oh, please, ever since you watched him fight Nikos, you've been zoning out for almost hours at a time. Do you like him or something?"

Emerald was thankful to have Cinder for a master, because she'd mastered her acting early on. "Don't be stupid, Mercury. Any more stupid anyway. I just think Cinder ought to know about him."

"Good luck with that..."

"Thanks."

"That was sarcastic."

"I know it was, now shut the fuck up, we're almost there."

The arguing duo fell silent as they approached the familiar warehouse, where Torchwick had been stationed before moving to the underground headquarters outside Southeast Vale. The place was derelict now, the massive crates of dust long gone, the airships within cold and covered in accumulated filth, and the entire hangar within silent. Their footsteps echoed as they walked through it, and as they walked a familiar face finally came into sight.

Cinder was approaching the two, walking as she normally did, but now something was different. Her posture wasn't as prim as it was, and her hair had a very downcast look to it. In addition, there were dark shadows under both of her eyes and her skin had a grayish tinge to it. She looked thoroughly miserable.

Emerald, at the sight of her, waved and began moving quicker towards her master. "Cinder! Where have you been, we've been so worried...about...a-about..." Emerald's pace slowed to a halt and her outburst of joy trailed off when she saw who was behind her.

Walking at a measured pace behind Cinder was a man, a man who towered over Cinder, standing six feet and eleven inches tall, clad in an all-black Armani suit that outlined his powerful build. His long black hair fell to the middle of his back, and was tied back in a slicked ponytail. Every stitch of his garb was completely black, from the suit to the shirt to his tie. At his side was a wicked-looking saber, made entirely of a shining silver metal, with tribal flame-like patterns engraved along its length, and a chain about 18 inches long hung from the pommel. His face was pale like Cinder's, with a completely clean shaven face marred only by a thin scar running down the left side of his face. His eyes were most ominous of all. One of them was orange like Cinder's, tinged with a slight amount of yellow, while the other, in stark contrast, was icy blue. He walked with a steady measured pace as he followed Cinder towards Emerald and Mercury. Though Emerald was able to keep silent, Mercury, as expected, simply couldn't hold his peace.

"Who the hell is that?!" Mercury demanded upon seeing the man. Cinder, despite her downcast appearance, gave him a cold glare.

"Quiet, Mercury. I called you two here to meet this man."

"But who the hell is he?! And why can't he speak for himself?"

The man chuckled at this, a deep rumble that sounded like a thunderclap. "I can speak perfectly well for myself, boy. I simply fail to see why I should tell you anything after such a...rude greeting."

"You're gonna get more than a rude greeting if you don't talk!"

"Mercury!" Cinder said sharply, but Mercury ignored her.

"Not gonna talk? Fine!" Mercury charged the man head on, his boots activating as he aimed a powerful kick at the man's face. The man easily side-stepped Mercury's attack and, in the same motion, landed a kick of his own in the small of Mercury's back, sending him rolling across the floor. Dazed, Mercury picked himself up and shook himself off before charging again. This time the man caught Mercury's kick in his right hand and flipped Mercury to the ground, drawing his saber and putting the edge at Mercury's throat as he planted his foot in the middle of Mercury's chest.

"That was very unwise of you, boy." The man said it calmly enough but a small hint of anger was there as well, and his deep baritone rumble sent shivers through Emerald's body.

"Fortunately for you, however, you are needed alive, so I am not going to kill you just yet. I need all three of you alive."

Emerald looked at Cinder with wide eyes, silently begging her for an explanation, but Cinder merely shook her head. There was no negotiating with him.

"The three of you will continue to reside at Beacon in the weeks leading to the Vytal festival. You will be regularly updating me on the comings and goings on there, and until told otherwise you will not leave that post."

Cinder then spoke to Emerald and Mercury. "We will be continuing what we were doing before but now we're not looking for certain people to use for our original plan. Now we are looking for possible allies in his."

"Precisely. If you find anyone specific you will gather as much information on them as possible, and you will not tell me of this person until you have gotten enough information necessary." With that he released Mercury, who sat up clutching his chest slightly as he glared up at the man.

Emerald spoke up. "Why are we looking for people to join us?"

"That is not your concern at this time, and you will do well not to delve into subjects that are not for your eyes or ears, is that clear?" was the man's response.

Emerald opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when she saw the look on Cinder's face. Cinder was slowly shaking her head with a sad look in her eyes that Emerald had never seen before, and when the man looked in their direction, she immediately looked down, avoiding eye contact with the man. Emerald, not wanting to cause trouble for Cinder, changed her mind.

"Yes sir."

He seemed satisfied and turned to leave, signaling the end of their meeting, until Mercury spoke up, less hostile than before.

"Could you at least tell us who you are before we leave...?"

The man turned back towards them, a rather amused look on his face, and his deep voice had a slight growl to it when he spoke.

"My name is Erebos Kraid. And I am Cinder's father."

The trio stood in stunned silence as Erebos turned away from them and began walking at a measured pace in the opposite direction. Emerald was glad to be with Cinder again, but was now terrified for her life. In a single night the entire world she'd known had been turned upside down.

This, unfortunately, was only the beginning. And Erebos, despite already walking away, wasn't finished making his point just yet.

"Now, come. I have a terrorist organization to claim." And with that Erebos picked up his pace, headed towards the exit. As he passed Emerald, his dark aura made her shiver, and she cringed visibly as he eyed her maliciously, a deep-throat growl emitting from him. Emerald backed down, fighting back tears of pure fright as Cinder took her into her arms, trying to comfort the poor girl however she could.

Indeed, Cinder felt she herself could use the comfort as well.

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A large boulder was pushed aside, clearing the way for General James Ironwood and a battalion of Atlesian Soldiers, both human and mechanical, to push through. Since the Grimm invasion, the General had been doing some digging around. After learning what had happened from Doctor Oobleck and Team RWBY, Ironwood had promptly begun research on Mountain Glen, and it hadn't taken long to discover how much of Atlas's Military Tech had been stolen, from Atlesian Paladins to powerful explosives capable of destroying entire city blocks. Upon learning how much of his army's tech had been stolen, he had promptly assembled a battalion of soldiers to head out towards the former base of operations used by Torchwick, a base that Dr. Oobleck and Team RWBY had confirmed to be used by White Fang as well. Ironwood had wasted no time, and was looking to get to the bottom of this as soon as he possibly could. He couldn't afford not to, especially after the Grimm Invasion mere days prior. It was imperative that whatever this scheme of Torchwick's had been would not repeat itself.

And so he found himself with his men and droids, pushing their way through the subway tunnel that had led to Vale from Mountain Glen. Sections of the subway tunnel roof were completely caved in from the explosives, with gaping holes in the ceiling, through which Grimm had poured in, following the speeding train towards Vale. Now, however, it was eerily silent, and not a single Grimm could be seen, and this bothered Ironwood deeply. This tunnel ought to have been teeming with subterranean Grimm, as well as surface Grimm that had come through the holes in the tunnel ceiling, and yet it was eerily silent. Uneasy and highly on edge, Ironwood gestured to one of the Atlesian Knights.

"Scan for lifeforms, it's too quiet in here." The knight nodded the affirmative and began thoroughly scanning the area, with the other mechanical knights doing so as well. For several long minutes nothing happened, and after thoroughly scanning the area, the first knight shut his scanner off.

"No life forms in the area, general. Not even heat signatures." This was very bothersome to Ironwood, for now his gut was telling him that something was off, and now, he and his men were cautiously proceeding towards Torchwick's former base of operations, which was very much deserted.

"This doesn't feel right...for all intents and purposes this entire area should be swarmed with Grimm, it's a perfect area for it. Yet...there's nothing. All of you stay alert." Ironwood, keeping his back flat to the wall, moved towards a corner, the dark area dimly illuminated by the sunlight shining through the openings in the ceiling of the tunnel, but dimly, very dimly. "And switch to night vision, we don't want to attract suspicion." His soldiers nodded and switched their visors and visual sensors to night vision, with Ironwood donning a night vision visor of his own. The area was unnervingly still, not a single sign of life or movement, and the silence was practically deafening, one of the most eerie silences he had ever heard. It almost felt as though Ironwood and his men were being watched, and as he moved through the deserted base, he could feel eyes on him, and while it wasn't new to feel this, it still raised hairs on the back of Ironwood's nck. Someone, or something, was there in the deserted base with them, he could feel it in his gut. The suspense in the air was so intense it could be cut with a blunted knife.

BOOM! A gunblast shattered the silence out of nowhere, and burn dust round entered Ironwood's field of vision.

"GET DOWN!" Ironwood yelled, diving out of the way as the deadly projectile sailed past him and into the wall behind him, causing a rockslide that sent rock debris all around the area. As Ironwood rolled back to his feet, another deafening shot rang out, the fired round taking one of the human soldiers' head clean off, his limp body falling to the floor as a figure garbed entirely in black dropped from the ceiling, wielding a weapon seemingly made of some shiny metal, but the lighting was so dim and the figure moved so fast that he couldn't tell what weapon he was wielding. The figure fired multiple rounds in rapid succession, the human soldiers around the area dropping like flies as they tried to fire back at an adversary they couldn't see. Ironwood drew his pistol and, following the figure's movement as best he could, fired at it rapidly, trying to score a hit. The figure clutched its weapon in its right hand, and stopped for a moment, turning towards Ironwood.

In the small moment afforded, Ironwood saw a vivid white mask, marked in purple in several areas, a pair of glowing eyes peering from the eye holes. This was all Ironwood saw before the figure raised its left arm and pointed it directly at Ironwood. The arm seemed to contort for a moment, and then a massive orb of energy blasted right at Ironwood, seemingly from the figure's hand. Ironwood swore as the blast came directly towards him, and he dove out of the way as quickly as possible as the blast slammed into the wall behind him, the cave rumbling as the wall was destabilized. Ironwood had only a moment before the ceiling began to crack and crumble. The figure took one look at the ceiling and threw a handful of objects towards the base of one of the supporting stalagmites, and pressed a button on his wrist. Several explosions rocked the base of the cave as the support crumbled, the ceiling starting to cave in around Ironwood and his men. The figure disappeared seemingly into thin air as the ceiling crumbled, and Ironwood, driven to survive no matter what, flattened himself to the wall behind him, raising his right arm and stopping a massive chunk of the ceiling from crushing him.

Ironwood strained as more and more rubble began to pile on top of him, and as the cave crumbled, he cursed himself for allowing himself to be ambushed. Looking around him, it was clear that it would be some time before he could claw his way out.

As the light was blacked out, Ironwood found himself wondering who the mysterious figure had been.

And why they were in an abandoned base of a nefarious criminal.