Chapter 5: Assertion of Authority

Ruby Rose yawned sleepily as she laid her head on the cafeteria table, her silver eyes half-closed as sleepiness lingered in her body and brain. Weiss Schnee sat next to her, filing her nails as Blake Belladonna sat on Ruby's other side, her nose in a book as always, none of them speaking, perhaps due to the early hour or perhaps due to lingering fatigue in all of them. Yang Xiao Long sat across from Ruby, and of the four members of Team RWBY, she seemed to be the only one of them who didn't seem to have any lingering fatigue from the night before, and of the four of them, she had been awake the longest as well as active the entire time. However, as normal as this was, Yang didn't seem as vibrant as she normally was, and it wasn't difficult to tell why. The previous night had been hectic to say the least, and it had been late at night before Noir Harceleur had caught up to her after his talk with Royal Bivera.

Noir himself sat by himself in a completely different part of the cafeteria, eating two different salads, one a fruit salad and the other a tofu salad. He had only taken a few bites however, and he was absently picking at each of them whenever he deviated from one to the other, not feeling particularly hungry that morning, his mind rather clouded due to a lack of proper rest from the previous day. It took a lot to tire the bat faunus, and indeed, he felt that for once he could use some proper sleep. Sadly, he knew that this particular day wouldn't allow for it, and so he was pushing himself to stay fully awake, a cup of coffee at his right hand, herbal tea at the other, with a fruit salad on his left and a tofu salad on his right. His red eyes had dark shadows under them, and his pale white skin had a slight greyish tinge to it, but he wasn't phased by his fatigue and lack of rest, determined to stay on his feet for as long as he could, and he had a reason for doing so.

The Vytal Festival Tournament wasn't far away, and Noir was determined to be prepared for it by any means necessary. He had done some digging around for details on the tournament, and he had found that the tournament would have three different combat scenarios: Standard One-on-One combat, which Noir was more than ready for, Team Vs Team battles, which Noir himself felt he needed to be more prepared for than he already was, and two-on-two battles of two members from each victorious team. It was for this particular reason that Noir had taken on Hei Xiong's henchmen single-handedly the previous night, and also why he had chosen to stand up to the Malachite twins by himself when they had come looking to fight him, when normally he would have simply ignored them and waited for them to make the first move, as them attacking first would have given him a reason to fight them, and without a reason, what point was there in action? Noir had felt that being ready for any combat scenario was a legitimate enough reason to fight off the Malachite twins and had thus chosen to stand and attack. And, as Noir remembered with a grimace, that had been when Check Cremissi had interfered. It was quite a pity, really, for Noir had barely even worked up a sweat fighting off Junior's henchmen, who had really dispatched themselves, and all he had done was dodge them, a simple enough maneuver for anyone with the reflexes to do so, as well as the awareness of one's surroundings to notice the blows coming even from behind. Noir had opened his second pair of ear canals during the fight, and his hyper-sensitive hearing had given him lightning quick agility, being able to echolocate the men charging him, an ability unique to him as a bat faunus.

All this and more was on Noir's mind, and because all this was on his mind, he was pushing himself to stay as awake and active as possible, especially with sparring scheduled later that day. Noir was determined to perform at his very best that day, and so he found himself in his current situation, trying to put as much nutrition and energy in his body as possible. He renewed his efforts to consume his salads as well as down his coffee and tea.

From across the cafeteria, Yang looked over at the bat, sitting in isolation and eating at his food with the air of one forcing himself to stay active as though his life depended upon it, not looking at anyone else in the cafeteria, and not even reading anything as he normally would, as the bat was as much a bookworm as the cat faunus sitting across from Yang at Team RWBY's table. If the absence of a book wasn't enough to tell Yang something was on Noir's mind, the grayish tinge to his skin, the shadows under his eyes, and his generally flat expression all certainly were. Yang knew in her gut that if Noir, a notoriously nocturnal individual with a penchant for often going days on end without sleep, was feeling tired and actually showing physical signs of said fatigue, then something was definitely off with him. Yang continued to watch Noir as he finally finished his fruit salad before proceeding to continue eating his tofu salad, and it clicked in Yang's mind that maybe some meat would be more helpful for the bat to wake up more. Without hesitating, Yang got up from her seat and grabbed her tray, moving over to the food line and piling bacon, sausage and some ham onto it before moving in Noir's direction.

This course of action didn't go unnoticed by the rest of Team RWBY, each of whom sat up in their seats, watching Yang as she traversed the dining area of the cafeteria, move into the food line and start piling her tray with bacon, sausages, and ham before moving in the opposite direction of their table, moving towards the one table that had only one occupant sitting at it.

"What...is she doing?" Weiss, raising an eyebrow, inquired as she watched, setting her nail file aside as her icy blue eyes followed Yang's movements.

"It...looks like she's getting more food?" Ruby answered, stating the most obvious aspect of things as she always did though she knew that there was more to it than that.

"Wouldn't she coming back in this direction if that were the case? Because she's headed towards Noir's table," Blake observed calmly as she watched this, her yellow eyes narrowed as she watched the blonde's movements.

"Why would she want to talk to him, though? Especially after how last night went down!" Weiss was legitimately confused as to why Yang, who had acted aggravated and irritated at Noir's behavior the previous night when she had finally returned to the RWBY dorm, would now be taking a boatload of food towards the source of that aggravation.

"Maybe she just wants to settle the issue? I mean, I know I'd want to settle the problem as soon as possible!" Ruby suggested, optimistic as ever as she tried to make the situation seem less suspicious than how the others saw it.

"Yang's usual method of settling an issue doesn't involve talking...usually." Blake put in flatly, and even Weiss and Ruby had to agree with this, and all three girls watched carefully to see how the situation would play out, as it seemed their best course of action by that point.

Meanwhile, Yang had reached Noir's table, and she sat across from him as she placed her tray piled with meat in front of her and she smiled a little as Noir, at first, didn't acknowledge her presence, focusing on his tofu salad, which by this point was almost done. Yang, knowing Noir wasn't going to speak first, preempted him by greeting him as she sat down.

"Hey," Yang said as she sat down, and Noir at this greeting, looked up at Yang, and a slight smile appeared on his face, something that didn't go unnoticed by the rest of Team RWBY.

"Good morning, Yang. I honestly didn't expect you to be over on my side of the world after last night," Noir returned the greeting with one of his own, and the subtle joke was so unexpected for Yang that she couldn't help but giggle at it; humor wasn't something Noir used very often, and to suddenly hear it out of the blue had caught even Yang, the Pun Queen, off guard. The rest of Team RWBY watched wide eyed as Yang giggled, something they had never seen her do in response to what was apparently a greeting.

"Well," Yang said as she recovered from her giggle fit, "you honestly looked like you could use a bit more to eat than all those fruits and veggies you've been downing all morning, want some?" Yang pushed the tray forward on the table, and the moment Noir saw what was on it he turned a surprising shade of green. He looked like he was about to be sick.

"Um...n-no thanks, Yang, I, uh...Don't eat meat." Noir said it calmly enough, but it was clear that the huge pile of meat on Yang's tray was making him more and more sick looking the closer it was to him, something that legitimately confused Yang.

"You...don't eat meat? Like, ever?" Yang asked before it suddenly clicked in her mind: this would explain why Noir was constantly eating fruit, particularly mangos, apples, pears, and oranges. Noir was a fruit bat.

"No, I never even touch it." Noir shook his head rapidly as Yang slid the tray of meat away from him, looking at him with a confused expression, as this opened up a question that bugged Yang hard.

"But...wait, if you don't eat meat, how are you able to cut Grimm down without any second thoughts or even flinch? Like, seriously, you had blood all over you after the Grimm attack!" Yang asked him, her lilac eyes wide as Noir looked at her with an almost amused look.

"Fighting monsters of Darkness and eating meat are very different things, Yang. I can tolerate the loss of blood when I am fighting for the survival of my comrades and my home," was Noir's answer, and Yang had to admit he had a point. But she then noticed that he hadn't mentioned anything about fighting for his own survival.

"What about your own survival, Noir? Wouldn't you fight for that, too?" Yang asked this in a much quieter voice than before, as this was something that bothered her greatly. She had already seen Blake show a lack of concern for her own health when she had been spending hours and days on end not sleeping and working relentlessly to figure out what Torchwick had been up to. To see a similar lack of concern for oneself coming from Noir visibly bothered Yang.

Noir looked up, his red eyes meeting Yang's lilac ones as he spoke in a voice just as soft and in a flat tone, "My own survival is of little concern to me. I put the lives of others before my own, and that, to me, is worth fighting for. If I die, then I die. Everyone has a time." The calm and flat tone with which Noir said this bothered Yang immensely, and as much sense as it made, to have so little concern for his own life that he threw himself in harm's way for others, not caring if he died or not, was, even to Yang, the biggest thrill seeker at Beacon, simply baffling. Even Yang, who had dived headfirst into multiple near-death situations, had some concern for her own safety, as it was pointless to experience such thrills if she didn't live to tell about it.

"But then, what if you do die, and people are still in need of your help? Do you think people are just gonna stop needing it just because you died helping them?" Yang countered, finding herself almost aggravated by Noir's sheer selflessness, something that was odd for her to be aggravated about considering that Noir was expressing a moral compass and a sense of protection for people other than himself, a mark of a huntsman, and yet, for him to have so little concern for himself just seemed...idiotically selfless.

Noir, in response to this counter argument, once again looked Yang right in the eyes, his own vivid red orbs seeming to stare right into her soul as she gazed unblinkingly right back at him. As Yang maintained this eye-to-eye contact, she began to notice something about Noir's gaze. It looked almost guarded, as though walls of steel had been erected behind his eyes to hide what was within them, a gaze that refused to show what was behind it, and yet seemed to pierce into what was behind Yang's own eyes. It was a gaze that was shielded with swords, as though daring someone to attempt to force entry into it. It was the gaze of one who held his innermost thoughts and emotions in, and allowed no one to see what drove him.

It was the gaze of a survivor.

"Yang..." Noir began, pausing for a moment to breathe in deeply, letting it out in a soft sigh, "you do make a valid point. If I were to die, people may still need my help, and I would be unable to help them because, well, I'd be dead. And it's for that reason that I made a promise long ago not to die under any circumstances. A promise that I have kept to this day, and will continue to keep regardless of what comes my way. I'm a man of my word."

Yang stared at Noir for a moment as she processed what he just said to her, and then smiled at him, standing up and moving to the other side of the table and sitting down next to him, a move that didn't go unnoticed by Weiss, Ruby, and Blake. She put her left hand on Noir's right shoulder and shook him a little bit.

"Noir, you're a good person. I think out of all the people here at Beacon, I have more respect for you than most of the others." She smiled softly and then shocked both Noir and the rest of Team RWBY by leaning forward and kissing Noir gently on the cheek, causing the dark faunus to turn deep red, his red eyes widening in surprise as he looked at her. Yang smiled at him and then winked. "But maybe you should take it easy for a bit, and take some time to rest. You seriously look like you need it. Besides," Yang winked at him a second time, "today and tomorrow are our last two days of training before the Vytal festival tournament starts. You should probably take that into account and make the most of them."

Noir simply sat there for a few moments, still processing what just happened as he felt the place where Yang kissed him heat up as though burning, and he slowly reached up and lightly touched it as Yang got up, patting him on the back as she walked back over to her team.

Ruby, Weiss and Blake meanwhile were as baffled as Noir, looking at one another in shock.

"Did...she just kiss him...?" Blake almost numbly asked.

"Ew...gross..." Ruby shuddered a bit at the thought of the PDA.

"I...never thought I'd say this...but I think she likes him..." Weiss was more stunned than the other two and could only state the most obvious fact of the situation.

The other two silently agreed with her. Yang, one of the most independent females at Beacon, the last person any of them would expect to feel attraction towards, well, anyone, seemed, against all odds, attracted to Beacon's brooding, silent bat.

Noir, still processing what happened, slowly smiled and stood up, seeming, for the first time in the last 72 hours, completely relaxed as he walked out of the cafeteria, heading for the dorms to get some much needed rest.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Down in Vale, an airship landed in front of the old warehouse by Vale's docks, where Erebos Kraid had set up his headquarters. The place was now full of people, all of them hard at work on various tasks that were anything from unloading crates of burn dust to installing weapons on the many other airships within. Each and every person within was a member of the White Fang, and standing outside the warehouse awaiting the ship's arrival was none other than the leader of White Fang himself, Adam Taurus, tall, lean, masked, his red hair in its usual wind-swept style and his weapons, Wilt and Blush, clutched in his right hand. Though his eyes were hidden by his mask, which, in stark contrast to the rest of the masks worn by White Fang members, was decorated with tribal markings eerily similar to those found on Grimm Masks, it was quite clear that he was not pleased at the arrival of the ship in front of him, and indeed, he had some seriousness business with the ship's passenger.

Erebos Kraid himself disembarked from the ship, his own weapon, Kaji, sheathed at his side, glinting in the evening light in stark contrast to his black clothing, and his long, slicked black hair. Erebos towered over Adam noticeably, the latter being a mere 6'4'' in comparison to Kraid's staggering height of 6'11''. In addition to being taller, Kraid was more powerfully built as well, with broad shoulders and, even from under his suit, noticeably muscled arms. Despite the difference in height and build, however, Adam was not intimidated, and why would he be? His own lieutenant, Dust rest him, was built the same way, though admittedly not nearly as tall.

As Erebos disembarked from his ship, he immediately noticed that Taurus was not alone. Standing a few meters behind him were Remnant and Cinder, Remnant poker faced and nonchalant, whilst Cinder was noticeably uncomfortable in her company. It wasn't Taurus, she'd dealt with him before. Nor was it Remnant, whose presence she rather prefered to Kraid's, as Remnant, for all his formality and strict watching of her and her comrades, was still a teenager and displayed many corresponding behavioral traits at times. No, it was Kraid himself, and Adam's reason for being there, that truly bothered Cinder. She knew trouble lay ahead, and she knew that her father was not going to be pleased, not in the least. As if in answer to this notion, Erebos spoke to her and Remnant first.

"Cinder, Remnant," he began, his deep voice sounding slightly edgy, as though he was a little irritated, "I believe my orders to you were to remain at Beacon until further instructed. Therefore, why are you both here, of all places, in violation of those orders?" It was Remnant, much to Cinder's inward relief, who answered.

"Master. We are here because we received a transmission from him," he pointed at Adam, who simply stood there, glaring at Erebos sullenly, "stating that he wanted to speak to the three of us, including you, on a rather...important matter that could prove troublesome if not addressed." Erebos listened to Remnant's explanation nonchalantly, his mismatched eyes turning to the masked faunus as he did.

"Is that so, Taurus?" The towering man turned to face Adam fully, his features forming an almost bestial glare. "And what, prey, tell, is this issue that you find so troublesome? So troublesome that you call upon my servant and my daughter to get my attention with it." With this last statement Erebos smirked, and Adam's glare darkened. Adam Taurus was many things, but a coward was not one of them, and to have such an insult implied by the man before was infuriating to say the least. Holding back his retort, Adam stepped forward and spoke, and at the sound of his voice, many of the White Fang members present stopped what they were doing and turned towards the four of them.

"I am here, Kraid, because I am not cooperating with your agenda anymore." This blunt statement sent shockwaves through every person present, including Cinder, who turned deathly pale upon hearing it. Oh no...

The whole base went silent, every ear having heard Adam's statement, and every eye now on Erebos, who eyed Adam maliciously, his eyes narrowing almost into slits as he regarded the faunus in front of him, and when he spoke, his tone was now quite noticeably different, lower, darker, and with a strong hint of a snarl behind it.

"And why, prey, tell, would that be?" Cinder shivered at the sound of Erebos's voice, his anger palpable throughout the base, everyone there excepting Remnant and Adam shivering in fear. Kraid was not pleased, very much not pleased indeed.

"Because, Kraid, your agenda no longer is beneficial to White Fang's interests," Adam snarled back, starting to circle the dark man before him, who in turn also circled Adam, "and I am not going to follow the agenda of a man who holds no interest in White Fang's interests! Like your daughter said to me, either one of us benefits, or we all benefit, and now? Only you are benefitting from the work my organization is doing. And I will be damned if my kind serves the selfish interest of a human." Adam said this last word with disgust, showing his repulsion at serving humans in any way.

For several moments, Erebos didn't say a word, and then, to everyone's surprise, he began to chuckle, and it grew in volume until he was laughing out loud, his humorless mirth sending chills down Cinder's spine. For several moments Erebos laughed mirthlessly before looking Adam in the eyes and saying in a deep throated growl, "Is that a challenge, boy?"

Adam stood still, not quite sure how to respond. This was the last thing he'd expected from Erebos: laughter and mirth at his defiance. Amusement, even. The towering man in front of Adam was actually amused that Adam was defying him, and this left Adam speechless, for he'd been expecting Erebos to lash out.

"Well then," Erebos smirked at Adam, his teeth bared and displaying long canines filed into points, "I accept your challenge, worm, and I promise you, here and now, before this day ends, you will no longer be leading our kind." The word 'our' struck Adam to his core, and as he watched, Erebos removed his gloves, flinging them to the ground and revealing a pair of hands with sharp claws on the ends of each of his fingers, and pitch black tufts of fur around his wrists. The mark of a panther faunus. Erebos Kraid was, indeed, one of Adam's own kind.

Adam barely had time to process this before Erebos drew Kaji from its sheath, holding the wicked-looking saber out to his side, parallel to the ground, and taking an aggressive stance. The members of White Fang began to gather around them, forming a large circle around the fighters. Cinder began to grow uneasy, as out in the open there was a chance of this being noticed, but didn't move to speak or stop the confrontation. Remnant watched this nonchalantly, having expected this course of action on his master's part.

For several long, agonizing moments, nothing happened, the two faunus staring each other down. Adam, despite his unyielding resolve, felt very uneasy now, and his gut was telling him constantly to not follow through with this confrontation. But now he had no choice in the matter. Erebos had called his bluff, and now he had to face the consequences. Adam silently breathed in and out of his nose as he switched Blush and Wilt to his left hand, taking an aggressive stance of his own, his right hand on Wilt's hilt. There was a long pause, and for several moments, the very air seemed to freeze, waiting in anticipation of the clash about to take place.

Finally, Adam couldn't wait any longer, and with a feral snarl, he charged Erebos head-on, whipping out Wilt for a lighting fast strike. Wilt's blade clashed against Kaji's with a loud, resounding clang as Erebos blocked the strike with ease, smirking in amusement at Adam's futile effort. Adam only paused for a split second before firing an almost point-blank shot at Erebos's torso with Blush. Erebos spun in a circle at lightning-fast speed, deflecting the shot and in the same motion aiming a strike of his own at Adam's torso, which Adam only barely managed to block, or he would have been cleaved in half at the waist.

Adam's teeth gritted at the force of the strike against Wilt's blade. Dust! He's strong! The blocked strike released a shower of sparks as the blades scraped along one another, and Adam quickly sheathed Wilt and backed away several paces to gain distance. Erebos, patient as ever, didn't pursue him, his smirk wider than ever. All this happened in the span of a second, and the circle of faunus around the two combatants widened, affording more room as they tried to put a reasonable amount of distance between themselves and the fierce clash before them.

Adam set his teeth and charged once again, drawing Wilt once again and delivering several rapid-fire strikes from different directions at Erebos, circling him to find a vantage point. Every strike was blocked, Erebos keeping pace with Adam's strikes with complete ease, relaxed, rested and fresh. Erebos's stance barely changed as he moved, demonstrating a level of combat discipline few had ever attained, his breathing steady and calm, not an ounce of tension in his muscles. Adam, not letting up even for a second, began raining a complex series of strikes down on Erebos, using his blinding speed to his advantage as he struck at the towering faunus from all directions.

It was all to no avail. No matter where Adam struck, not a single blow landed, none of his strikes finding their mark. Even Blush's shots couldn't find the mark, Kaji's shining blade blocking even those with ease. Adam, realizing he was open for a moment, backed off, sheathing Wilt once again as he gained a little distance between them. Once again, Erebos didn't pursue him, and stayed where he was, his smirk as wide as ever, his sharp teeth bared. The monster of a faunus hadn't even broken a sweat.

Adam was starting to grow frustrated. I don't get it! Why is he just STANDING there?! He hasn't moved on the offensive a single time! And his strike earlier would have shattered my arm if not for my aura, so why is he- At that moment it dawned on him. Erebos was toying with him, allowing him to attack and strike with everything he had to let Adam know that no matter what he did, there was no way he would harm Erebos even once. Adam snarled, furious at Erebos's mockery. I will NOT be humiliated by this twisted wretch! Fueled by his rage, Adam charged once again, Wilt drawn before he even reached Erebos, starting to rain down a series of relentless blows a speed that the naked eye couldn't follow, and Erebos, though blocking the strikes with ease, was forced to take a step back to keep his baring. Adam, seeing Erebos step back, increased his strikes, raining down blow after blow after blow without even a second to spare. There! Seeing an opening, Adam ducked under Kaji's blade and unleashed an aura-enhanced horizontal slash that caught Erebos across his abdominal region.

"Aaagghhh!" Erebos snarled in pain as the slash found its mark, and Adam saw just how much Erebos had been toying with him as a dark stain began to spread across Kraid's torso; he hadn't even activated his aura to defend himself. Adam, further angered by Erebos's arrogance and mockery of his prowess, kicked Erebos right in the open wound, forcing him on one knee.

Now Adam was smirking as he stood back, relishing Erebos's pain. Erebos spat up a mouthful of blood, using Kaji's blade to support himself. Cinder stared wide-eyed in shock at what just happened. I can't believe it! He actually wounded him! Cinder allowed herself a moment to hope that, maybe, just maybe, Taurus would win this fight. But at that very moment, a sound emitted from Erebos that sent a cold chill down her spine.

A gurgling chuckle was coming from him, his smirk wider than ever as he slowly got to his feet, his posture slouched in an almost werewolf-like stance as his cackle increased in volume. Adam stepped back, his eyes widening behind his mask as Erebos looked right at him. His entire baring had changed. Erebos's eyes no longer held the calm, collected baring of a disciplined fighter, but now had the look of a feral beast driven by the raw desire to kill and destroy. Even as Adam looked on, Kraid's hair began to look wilder and unkempt, the band that kept it tied back snapping as it stiffened and thickened into a wild, thick mane. His claws extended to nearly half an inch long, and he held Kaji out in front of him. The wicked blade split down the middle, the two halves connected by the long chain that held the bottoms of the hilts together. He then pressed a button below the guard of the half he held, and the chain retracted on both ends, the hilts directly connecting on the bottoms and latching together, creating a deadly double-bladed weapon. Erebos then spoke, and his voice sent a chill through Adam's being.

"Now that's the spirit, boy! Care to keep it up?!" He stood to his full height, a dark suffocating aura emitting from his being that filled the area with a sense of dread. His previous sense of discipline was completely gone, his expression now a smirk of maniacal glee, his mouth wide open and his fangs bared. Cinder stepped back in horror, and now even Remnant looked uneasy, and Cinder, uncomprehending, grabbed his arm.

"What is this...what is he?!" Cinder was breathless, her heart stabbed with an icicle of fear, and when Remnant replied, his own confidence was all but gone.

"This...is why my master..a-always gets what he wants. This is his true nature...the true source of his power and the object of fear in his enemies..." Remnant actually shivered and turned away, his next statement causing Cinder to shiver visibly as well.

"He is the Shadow."

The monster before Adam let out his loudest cackle yet, and then charged Adam at a blinding speed that not even Adam could follow, Kaji's double bladed form a blurred vortex of metal as Adam attempted to block it. It was no use; with blinding speed, The Shadow was suddenly behind Adam faster than anyone could follow, and he landed a vicious kick right in the middle of Adam's back, sending the latter to the ground in one crushing blow. Adam, stunned, tried to get back to his feet, but as he raised Wilt to block the strike, the red-bladed sword was knocked from his hand as though it was a twig, and Blush followed suit within the same moment. Before Adam could react, The Shadow planted his foot in the middle of Adam's chest, pinning him to the ground and placing the tip of Kaji's blade mere millimeters from his throat.

"I should kill you right now, boy. What you did today was very unwise, and if you were anyone else, you would pay with your life. However, that would be too kind." The Shadow spoke in a deep baritone snarl that was nearly an octave lower than Erebos Kraid's, a guttural snarl that bespoke the raw desire to kill or be killed.

"So, instead, I claim your leadership for my own, and with it, your mask," he then reached down and ripped Adam's mask from his face, a wounded cry coming from the latter as the shield of his identity was torn from him, "along with your weapon." He then picked up Blush and Wilt, sheathing Wilt and holding the weapon out to Remnant, who, despite his obvious unease, walked forward and accepted to the offer with a bowed head. The Shadow then turned to the other members of White Fang, crushing Adam's mask in his hands as he gave his next order.

"Take this worm and lock him up with the other one." The White Fang members daren't disobey him, several of them rushing forward and picking him up, carrying him away to an unknown location. Among their ranks, one member, wearing a helmet shaped like the skull of a sabertooth tiger, slipped away unnoticed, walking into an alleyway, and pulling out his scroll. Certain he was out of earshot, he called someone on it, waiting for the person to answer. A female voice answered him.

"So? What happened?"

"Bad news. White Fang has fallen under new leadership, and you're not gonna like who's in charge."

"I doubt I was going to like it in the first place." was the wry reply. The masked faunus sighed and nodded grimly.

"Kraid took over, and he has them under his thumb now. I'm not sure how much longer I can remain undercover here." the woman on the other end was silent for several moments before inquiring.

"And Adam? What of Addie?" The masked faunus didn't reply for several moments, unsure before replying.

"He's alive, but I don't know for how long. He got beaten pretty badly."

"He's going to live. Eri needs him to help control the Fang."

"Adam's not in charge now. Erebos is. He removed Adam from leadership completely. And placed himself in his stead."

"Again...I highly doubt I was going to like any of this…." The woman was silent for a moment. "Can we get Adam out of there?"

The masked man shook his head. "I wish I had a better answer. Adam is going to be detained by White Fang's guards, and kept under constant watch, along with Neopolitan. I can't see how I can get him out without somehow getting him, myself, or both of us killed."

The woman sighed. "Dust…Then we should plan our next move. You should get out of there soon. You did well for the time you've been there."

The man didn't reply for a few moments, and then, "Alright, where can we meet?"

"The Vytal Festival."

The man thought it over for a minutes and then, "I was hoping for somewhere a bit less….exposed. Someone may recognise me there, you know full well who Kraid has positioned there."

"… Around the time of the festival. That one place I love so much."

The man nodded. "Alright, I'll be there. Anything on Beacon I need to know before we meet up?"

"Two headmasters gathered, several more huntsmen I believe are going to be here at the time of the festival. Not sure how many yet. Be careful."

"Got it."

"Oh. And one more thing."

"What is it…?"

"He's here…. your little brother." The man was silent for several long minutes before replying.

"A-alive…?!"

"More than alive. He looks… happy. Very happy."

"…...I'm on my way. I'll meet you there." He paused for a moment and then in a softer tone said, "Thank you…"

"Of course. Anything for my puma!" the woman said this in a playful, loving tone. The man chuckled a bit and nodded.

"I'll see you soon." He then hung up the call and pressed two buttons on his wrist, summoning a sleek, black motorcycle to his side, which he then mounted, smiling behind his face-hiding helmet. I'll see you soon, little brother. And without further ado, he drove off, more than happy to get away from the disaster that had transpired.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Beacon Academy's headmaster looked out from his office window, high, high up above the Vale skyline and overlooking his academy and home, pondering the events of the last several days. A Grimm invasion, a dangerous criminal behind bars, and now, somehow, all criminal activity in Vale had suddenly stopped. There hadn't been any sign of White Fang, according to the local law enforcement, a statement backed up by Ironwood's soldiers, both mechanical and human.

And now, in the midst of all this, Ironwood had disappeared.

Ironwood was not one to be out of touch, nor was he one to be absent without leave. He was both a general and the headmaster of Atlas Academy. He was a man of honor, and a man of impeccable honesty. Even though he was often rather...stubborn, to put it lightly, Ironwood was never one to completely reverse his position on something. On anything.

For this reason, Professor Ozpin found it very unnerving, even disturbing, that Ironwood had not returned from Mountain Glen. His soldiers that had accompanied him, and even his airship; none of them had returned. It is not like James to be absent from his own army, nor from his students. Something is amiss...but what?

Ozpin pondered these thoughts for several more moments and then something else occurred to him. Not only had the criminals gone silent, but the Grimm seemed to have gone still as well. Grimm activity had all but ceased in the aftermath of the invasion. This, even in comparison to Ironwood's absence, was very troubling indeed.

Ozpin knew in his gut that he had to take some form of action, but with the Vytal Festival right around the corner, he had to proceed cautiously. Too many people were in Vale, too many families and too many tourists. Panic had to be avoided at all costs, for even dormant Grimm would be brought clawing to Vale's door if a mass panic began. He knew what he had to do.

Standing, Ozpin called out, "Glynda." Glynda Goodwitch entered the office, nonchalant as ever, but one glance at Ozpin told her immediately things were serious.

"What is it, Professor Ozpin?"

"I want you to go to the CCT and contact Winter Schnee. It seems that we may need her here, very soon." Glynnda stiffened for a moment then nodded to show she understood, walking from the office as swiftly as possible. When his door swung shut, Ozpin sat at his desk and dialed a scroll number in. He only had to wait a few moments before a familiar, raspy, slightly slurred voice was heard.

"Ozpin...? What is it?"

"I need you to come to Beacon, Qrow. How soon can I expect you?"

"Tomorrow evening. No later. But don't be surprised if I'm late."

"I hope that you're not." And with that, Ozpin ended the call, turning back towards the Vale skyline as the sun set over the horizon.

It seemed that Vale's troubles were far from over. And if Ozpin's theory was right, then all of the kingdoms would soon be in for trouble as well.