Chapter 11: Closing In On Calamity

Who am I?

Why am I doing this?

Two questions that echoed in two minds.

Remnant, or Rouge, as he'd found his true name to be, had spent the remainder of his evening with Ruby, talking to her. Not about interests necessarily, he had too much kept secret to talk about his personal interests or personal plans. But he listened to hers. For hours, he'd listened to her talk. Taking in every word. Learning about her, how her Uncle had inspired her to be a huntress and had even trained her at Signal Academy. How Ozpin had found her defending an old shopkeeper from Torchwick's thugs, and how he'd allowed her to attend Beacon two years early. Her story was fascinating to him. She was clearly no stranger to the monsters that infested their world. Nor was she a novice when it came to fighting them. She'd taken on hordes of beowolves by herself, defeated Ursai in droves, and had, with her teammates, taken on Nevermores, Deathstalkers, and King Taijitus, and emerged victorious each time. It had even been her team along with Team JNPR, Team CFVY, and even Noir, who had driven back the Grimm Invasion weeks prior. The more he had listened, the more he had realized that he liked her. Not like her as one would like normal friend, it was more than that. Far more than that. For the life of him, Rouge couldn't say what it was that he was feeling towards Ruby, but it wasn't friendly, and nor was it anything on the opposite end of that spectrum. It grew stronger every day, and the more it did, the more Rouge found himself in a constant internal conflict, much like the one he was in prior to what was essentially their first date. He had no idea how to handle it, and was thus doing whatever he could to contain it.

He had returned to the dorm that night in a quiet state, not saying a word to Cinder, Emerald, or Mercury, or even responding to any of their inquiries to his borderline silence. He hadn't made any effort to speak to anyone. For any reason. It was so odd to see him this way, especially for Cinder, who'd always been used to the wise-cracking, morbidly humorous Remnant. It was beyond unnerving, then, to see him not talking. With his entire identity being thrown into doubt by the mere revelation of his name, Rouge/Remnant was beginning to change from within. Just how he would change, he had no idea, and it messed with him.

He knew in his gut that he couldn't afford to lose his focus now. They were already in far too deep, Cinder and her Team just didn't know it yet. They may not have been competing in the Vytal finals, but they were still embroiled deep in a plot that none of them knew the full extent of. A plot in which Rouge's role was suddenly thrown into sharp, crystal clear perspective, and it was hanging over him now like a pendulum. A pendulum that at any moment felt like it was about to drop on his head. 'Inevitability' was now the key word in everything. Every moment from here on in counted. He could not afford to waste a second.

Yet, through it all, the facade remained and had to be maintained. He could not break character, he could not break mindset, he could not break focus. At any point whatsoever. The mission was too important, and the objective his first priority. Meaning or no meaning, that was simply a fact. Orders were orders at the end of the day. Rouge had his, and he had no choice but to follow them regardless of his wishes or personal dilemmas. It messed with him, to be in this situation. Then again, it would mess with anyone.

On the other side of Beacon, Noir Harceleur was facing his own personal dilemma. He was no longer confident in his reasons for competing in the Vytal Tournament. With every victory came a price, and it was a heavy one that weighed on his mind. Noir had chosen to compete alone, and because of this, public perception was mixed. Some saw him as an object of admiration, someone to be revered for his skill and prowess. Some viewed him as a show-off, some angst-ridden teenager only looking to show off by competing alone, over confident and egomaniacal. Still others wrote him off as an attention-seeking kid, trying to prove himself to a world that didn't care.

Noir continuously told himself that they were all wrong. He was in this to represent Beacon, as the final member of Team CMSN, to make his teammates and mentors proud, and to honor the memories of Midas Turo and Sherry Vulpa, near-siblings to him whom he'd lost to tragedy. He'd been telling himself this repeatedly, reassuring himself again and again that this was why, that there was no other reason. And yet, if it truly was the case, why did he feel like every victory he attained was a step away from that purpose? Why did he feel like every time he actually won, it felt more like he was honoring himself instead of his fallen brethren? With this in mind, Noir was, understandably, in a personal dilemma that was thoroughly messing with him. And he couldn't afford to let it distract him, for there were other things he had to focus on as well.

Noir hadn't been idle between his fights. Now that he was a member of Ozpin's personal circle, he had been conducting thorough research in his spare time, researching levels of crime in Vale, supposed sightings of the assassin Diabolus, Grimm activity. And the more research he conducted, the more bothered he felt. Vale had calmed down almost completely in the intervening weeks since the Grimm Invasion. Crime hadn't just dropped, it had stopped as though switched off. Hei Xiong was keeping to himself in Vale's underground, the White Fang had all but disappeared. Vale was quiet, too quiet. Every ounce of info he could glean from what Ozpin's counsel had told him along with his own personal observations that this was far too quiet for a city to be mere weeks removed from a large-scale Grimm attack upon Vale itself.

And speaking of the Grimm. Their activities had also completely ceased, and this bothered Noir most of all. He knew from personal experience that Grimm never gave up on anything. They either attacked harder, or they waited. They would wait for centuries if they had to. Or millennia. Such was their nature. Noir had seen the herds of Goliaths around Vale's outer perimeter. He had seen them from the air, watching them pace the barriers around the city, needing neither food nor drink to keep them active. They were aware of what lay within Vale, and they knew not to attack. For they may take one Huntsmen, but more would come in retaliation, and what they lacked in strength, they made up for in will. So they waited. Patiently and yet restlessly. If they needed to, they would wait for thousands of years, longer even, for the right opportunity. Noir understood such patience, for he was the same way in a lot of respects. And with that patience, Grimm had, for thousands of years, been doing what many believed they couldn't do: evolve. Grimm Alphas were far more intelligent than most gave them credit for. And Noir knew in hie gut that as bad as the Alphas were, there were yet worse Grimm out there.

Noir shivered as he found his mind once more wandering, as it had in Beacon's Library...

The night is deathly cold. The trees around him are covered in ice and snow. But it is not the cold that grips him...it is anxiety. Heightened anxiety unlike anything he has felt in his life. Something is near, he feels it. He smells something deadly approaching. An intense hatred thousands of years old. Fear begins to grip his heart. Intense fear unlike anything he's felt in his life.

THUD.

The ground trembles from the impact of something striking it. The impact is distant, and yet he can feel the earth beneath him shaking.

THUD. Another tremor shakes the ground.

THUD. And another.

THUD. And another.

His fear intensifies, magnified tenfold with every impact, with every moment of anxious fear. The repeated blows to the earth reach a crescendo, and the earth becomes deathly silent. The air becomes more still than a statue. He stands perfectly still, crouched low to the ground, every fiber in his being tensed in fear and anxiety.

And then he hears it. A sound that would chill the bones of any man regardless of their strength of will or strength of mind. A sound from the very pit of Hel itself.

"AAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRR!"

Noir jolted back to reality, breathing heavily as though he'd just run a mile. He was in his dorm, sitting on his bed. It was early morning, and he'd been up the whole night in his dorm continuing to conduct research. He was only in his black undershirt and a pair of black pajama pants, and yet he was sweating profusely as though garbed in full-body armour. Noir slowly breathed in, and realized he was shaking. Not a shiver of discomfort or cold. The full-body shakes caused by terror. Pure terror that haunted the darkest recesses of his mind.

Breathing shakily, Noir placed his scroll aside and slowly stood up, walking slowly towards his dorm's bathroom. Entering it and turning on the light, Noir took a moment to look at himself in the mirror, his own red, piercing eyes looking back at him. Noir slowly hooked his fingers in the front hem of his is shirt and lifted it, until his torso was exposed.

His chest and abdominals were well toned, the result of long hours of hard, rigorous training, and yet he was still very lean as a result of a vegetarian diet. He had no hair on his chest whatsoever, his skin as deathly pale as the rest of him. Three massive knotted scars tarnished his pale skin, running from his right shoulder to his left hip, scars that made it appear as though he had long, thin metal rods underneath the surface of his skin. As he looked at them for several long moments, his left hand slowly traced them from shoulder to hip, shivering as his fingers traced this horrifying memento of a colossal battle. Yang, despite having had sex with Noir just two nights previously, had never made mention of the massive scars, either because her mind was on said sex or perhaps because she didn't really care, either way it didn't matter.

Noir sighed as he lowered his shirt back down, the earth-shattering roar still echoing in his mind. He would never forget the monster that dealt him the scars on his torso, and he wore them as a reminder to himself. Constant vigilance, he kept telling himself. Never let down your guard around those who would exploit it. Never allow them in, and never let them gain your trust. You never know who could betray you.

Like Check... Noir's fists clenched as he remembered what Check said the previous day, and regardless of his loyalty to his deceased friends, the words had cut far deeper than Check knew. Witnessing them die had shaken Noir to his core, and even now it continued to haunt him...

"Sherry, hold on!" He shouts, cradling the girl in his arms, her long, vividly red hair tarnished by the blood spilling from her body to the ground, her normally beautifully fair visage pale as death as she bleeds onto the young man holding her.

"Noir..." Her voice is weak, faint, and she struggles for words as she takes her last breaths. "...I'm sorry...I...failed..."

"No...no! NO!" He shouts at the top of his voice, ice-cold fear closing around his heart as he watches her die in his arms, the loss of blood too much for her.

"SHERRY!"

Noir choked back a sob as Sherry's death came back to him, his fists clenched hard as though doing so would hold back the grief. It had been more than a year since that day, and Noir could still see Sherry's sad, hopeless expression as her life drained from her eyes clear as day. Noir's grief was such that it nearly incapacitated him.

But more than grief and sadness was in Noir's heart. Noir felt guilt. Soul-crushing, mind-dominating guilt that wracked his being every time he remembered that day. He felt guilty for not taking charge when things went bad. He felt guilty for allowing Check, who had resented his own leadership from day one, to call the shots. He felt guilty for keeping quiet. He felt guilty for not saving Sherry or Midas when he could have.

But most of all, he felt guilty for holding back. For not letting his instincts guide him until Sherry and Midas's lives had been in the balance. For not doing everything he could have to stopped the Grimm that attacked them from the getgo. What Check didn't realize was that Noir actually did feel that his own self-restraint had cost Sherry and Midas their lives. He should have been more vocal about the strategy for the fight to come, more critical of Check's leadership, more assertive with his own ideas. But because he'd believed in working as a team player, he had held back, letting his leader be the leader. And because of that, in Noir's mind, Sherry had died in his arms. The closest thing to a sister he'd known, dead because he'd swallowed what little pride he had for the sake of the team. Check's insult the previous day had angered him, but it angered him because he feared that Check may have been right, and for all he knew, he very well could be.

Noir shook himself, trying to break away from his morbid train of thought as he walked back over towards his bed, opening his dorm window to let in the light of the rising sun. The fresh morning air felt more refreshing than the cleanest shave or the warmest shower, and Noir closed his eyes as he breathed it in deeply. There were many scents that his hyper-sensitive smell was fond of, and morning air was certainly one of them. If he could make this moment last forever, he certainly would. It was one of the few moments in the world where for once, nothing bothered him.

At that moment, there was a knock on his door, startling him out of his brief reverie. Noir shook himself a little, the suddenness of the interruption having caused him to momentarily tense up. He hated interruptions of any kind, especially when he was in deep thought, as he had been for the last several hours. But then, perhaps with morning rolling in, it was about time for him to talk to someone. Noir walked over to the door and opened it, freezing up the moment he saw who was on the other side.

"Yang." He greeted the blonde as his heart rate spiked slightly. He hadn't expected to see her so soon after the incident, and, frankly, he was more than a tad nervous about how she'd be feeling in regards to it. Regardless, he managed to keep his cool. "You're up rather early...what brings you over?"

"Had a feeling you were awake." Yang said in a rather forcibly casual manner. "Can I come in?"

"Um...yeah, come on in." Noir stood back to let Yang enter the room. She was garbed in her usual outfit, minus her boots, half-skirt, jacket and gloves, and was barefoot. "My dorm is a little cluttered..." He quickly set about grabbing some things to put away; his armor pieces and various clothes were strewn out around the floor and other surfaces, very different from his usually tidy and organized manner of feng shui.

"I've seen worse. Like, way worse." Yang admitted as she watched him quickly get things out of the way, and she got a good look at Noir himself. He looked slightly paler than normal, with a slight grayish tint to his skin, and there were dark circles around his eyes. "Have...you been up all night?"

"Yeah. Ozpin gave me some things to research when I was in his office, so, I've been busy with that." Noir picked up his scroll and switched it to comm mode. "I never like to keep such things waiting. A benefit of being nocturnal is that I don't have to."

"Don't you have a match today?" Yang inquired, looking over at Noir's armor and picking up one of his arm guards, marvelling for a moment at how light it was.

"I might, depending on how the roulette wheel rolls." Noir replied as he took a moment to sit on the edge of his bed.

"And the thought of sleeping to rest up for it never once crossed your mind?" Yang raised an eyebrow. "Even Ozpin would want you to rest up before a match. Hell, my own Uncle gets onto me about how much rest I don't get."

"Well, I do tend to sleep only a couple hours every 36 or so. Just enough to rest up a little so I can-" Noir didn't finish.

"Wow, okay, that's like, super unhealthy on so many levels." Yang walked closer and looked Noir in the eyes. "I'm the adrenaline addict here, and even I don't pull that kinda shit. You could legit cause some major health problems if you keep that up."

Where have I heard that before. A sweatdrop rolled down Noir's neck as Yang tore into him and she sighed a bit as she turned away for a moment. It never failed to surprise her, but now that she thought on it, she ought to have expected it. Noir Harceleur was far more stubborn than she was, and that was saying something. She might be difficult, but Noir was just impossible sometimes. Yang knew she and Noir hadn't been dating that long, but it was already starting to feel like they'd been dating since forever, especially with what Noir said next.

"Yang, I appreciate your concern, I really do...this is how I've always done things, and I've always pulled through no matter how difficult it is." He stood as he said it calmly enough, but Yang caught that hint of frustration behind it, perhaps not aimed towards her, but she heard it, and that was enough.

"Have you?" Yang turned back towards Noir and looked him dead in the eyes, her own starting to tint with red. "I think your actions yesterday say otherwise, Noir." Noir's expression instantly went flat. So this was where this was going then, wasn't it. She was there to confront him. Knowing she wasn't done, he held his peace and waited. "I watched you go from struggling to contain yourself to beating the shit out of someone because he insulted your teammates, and frankly? You just left me hanging there. I tried to calm you down, but you practically ignored me, like I suddenly didn't matter. Coco calmed you down, not me. And she had to explain to me why you just took off like that. I get that their deaths haunt you, Noir..." Here, Noir spoke up.

"Do you?" Noir looked Yang in the eyes, and she could see that thinly veiled anger that he was trying to contain. Good, he needed to let it out for once, and the fact that she was angering him meant she was getting somewhere. "Do you really understand how it feels, Yang? Watching your two closest friends die, one of them in your own arms? You think that's easy to live with, knowing that you had every chance to save your closest friends, but didn't? Do you really understand how it feels to feel responsible for their deaths because you held yourself back for the sake of a team? Do you really think I can just ignore that?!"

"I'm not asking you to ignore it, Noir!" Yang's voice was raising, and her eyes were fully red now.

"Then what are you asking me, then?!" Noir's voice was raising as well, and Yang took a step towards him, their eye contact not wavering even for a moment.

"I'm asking you to let me help you!" Yang's words stung. Noir took a step back for a moment as he comprehended her words, and now her visit made more sense with this having been said. Yang's expression softened a bit and she placed a hand on Noir's cheek. "You don't have to deal with this alone, Noir. I may not have watched someone close to me die, but I have lost people dear to me." Noir's anger melted away as he saw the care in Yang's eyes, and the shared pain of loss. It had never once occurred to Noir that maybe, just maybe, Yang might have an idea of what he went through, and now that he saw it in Yang's eyes, he felt horrible.

"I'm sorry...I...I haven't been a very good boyfriend, have I." Noir said it with a slight amount of forced humor, and Yang smiled a little, pulling him into a tight hug.

"I think you're just still new to it, that's all." Yang smiled softly at Noir as he gently returned the hug. "I really care about you, Noir. I'm only being this hard on you 'cos I care. I'm not perfect either, and I won't say I am. But if this is going to work, then...I need you to be more open to me, Noir." Yang said it seriously, her gaze never wavering from his. "I know we kinda...rushed things, but I'm willing to work with it if you are. Which means if I'm going to be more open towards you, then you need to return the favor and be more open towards me. Talk to me. I'm right here."

"Thank you..." Noir nodded in understanding, and Yang's smile became warmer as she leaned up towards him, planting a kiss on his lips that he returned softly.

"Just...don't run off like that again, okay? You had me worried." Noir smiled and nodded in understanding as Yang then grinned and shoved him towards the bathroom. "Now wash up and get dressed, you're supposed to fight again today!"

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

In another part of Beacon, Remnant/Rouge sat on the roof of the guest dorms, watching the sun rise in complete silence, signs of sleep deprivation written all over him. This was odd in itself, considering how used to long nights he was, and had gone nearly 72 hours without a single second of sleep once. But now, the signs of it were written all over him: bags under his eyes, unkempt hair, a slight pallor, and a dull aching in his joints. He'd never felt this tired before, and it made him irritated and unwilling to do anything that didn't involve his job, especially with the Tournament beginning to near its end.

It never failed to bother him how excited people got over this event. An event where teenagers beat each other up on live T.V. across the world, as though it were the most normal thing in the world. To him, maybe, it would be normal. Conflict, death, and acts of violence were par for the course in his book, in fact he considered it an odd day when violence didn't break out somewhere, which made this tournament all the more confusing. It was organized competitive combat that was looked at as a sport, something to glorify, to follow fanatically, and to bet on in copious quantities. And these were people who abhorred the thought of death, the thought of mortality, and the reality that nothing is indestructible, nothing is impervious to the ravenous yet patient monstrosity that is Time. It was such a contradiction of human nature, to glorify such violence. And Rouge could not understand it, not one bit.

Rouge. The name continued to bounce around in the recesses of his subconscious, like a Gregorian chant with a copious amount of reverb and echo added to make it all the more agonizing with each repetition. Why did the name bother him so much, and why did it feel so...right? It felt like a piece of a puzzle that fit into place with ease, adding to an incomplete picture of who he was that, as he realized now, had been incomplete for a very long time. He was more than Erebos Kraid's pet assassin, as he now saw, and it was bothering him. How much more was he? How much memory was he missing, exactly? Was he missing memories? Or were secrets kept from him? What was going on? He kept trying to remember more aside from that name, but all he could remember past it was darkness and silence, blank space that felt empty and cold. Something was missing, and it was bothering him immensely, and increasingly with every day now. And to think, of all things that triggered that one little fragment, it was Ruby's kiss on his cheek.

Ruby... Something about the youngest student at Beacon Academy was continuing to nag at him. That feeling of warmth, of comfort, of...peace. What was it? Why did she intrigue him so? And why, with every passing hour he wasn't with her, did he feel more and more eager to see her? What was wrong with him, exactly? Was it wrong at all to feel like this? Every subsequent question drove him out of his mind, it was so laborious to consider them all. He'd always been so used to simpler approaches, simpler ways of viewing things, and simpler solutions to complex problems. But this? There wasn't a simple way to slice it or spin it. The complexity of this "problem", if it really was one, was such that only a complex solution could be presented in response.

"Didn't think I'd find you out here." Remnant started slightly and glanced behind him to see Cinder, clad in her usual red dress, minus those aggravating glass heels of hers, thank Dust, walking towards him across the rooftop, towards where he sat on the ledge.

"What, I can't enjoy an early morning of fresh air?" He replied rather callously, getting to his feet and turning to look at Cinder directly. "Geez, you look terrible."

"No thanks to your boss." Cinder said bitterly. Indeed, Cinder looked horribly under the weather even for her current situation. Her normally dazzlingly beautiful black hair was in an abnormally lazy style, simply running down her back in contrast to her normal over-one-shoulder look, and it looked flat and a tad unkempt. Her normally pale white complexion was duller looking, as though the vibrance had been drained from her, and even her glowing orange eyes looked dimmed in comparison to their usual piercing glow. Even her posture gave the impression that she was being weighed upon. Her previous confidence and even borderline condescension was completely gone, drained from her by the very presence of her father. The weeks following his arrival hadn't been kind to her in the least.

"It ain't my fault you got daddy issues from Hel, Cinder, don't take it out on me." Remnant replied with surprising calm, even boredom, as though he just wanted the conversation to be over with as quickly as possible.

"Ugh, look, I'm not here to take anything out on you, alright, I just..." Cinder looked uncharacteristically agitated, and she sighed for a moment before speaking once more. "You've been quiet since yesterday, and it's bothering me. It may not be bothering Mercury or Emerald, but it's bothering me profoundly."

"Why?" He didn't particularly care what bothered Cinder, or her compatriots, or anyone, really, in regards to himself, but it was clear he wasn't avoiding this, so, might as well roll with it.

"Because you're never as quiet as you have been, you haven't been this quiet since..." Cinder paused for a moment, as though unsure of whether to continue or not.

"Since when?"

"...since I met you years ago." Cinder finished in a softer voice, and Remnant stiffened. He remembered that well. Before Cinder had gone off and done her own thing, she'd met Remnant when he was young, still Erebos's pupil, still training, and still...very quiet, now that he himself thought on it. He didn't speak to anyone then, not even in greeting. He'd been a silent and obedient assassin, training to become what he was now: the deadliest assassin in Erebos's employ, and his closest servant.

"And...what, you're getting all nostalgic over all that time you spent trying to make me talk, or some shit?" Remnant's nonchalant attitude was almost irritating for Cinder, but she was too tired to care at the moment.

"You may have Mercury and Emerald fooled, Remnant, but you can't fool me. I know something's up." Cinder said. She knew she was on very dangerous ground, but she wasn't backing down now. "I've known you long enough to know when something is off with you, and the fact that you've barely spoken a word since yesterday tells me plenty. Something's bothering you, isn't it."

"..." Remnant hated admitting anyone was right, but Cinder was right on the mark, and she knew it, which made it all the more aggravating. Why couldn't she just leave well enough alone? For him that question was rhetorical, for he knew exactly why. "You sound just like your-"

"Leave her out of it." Cinder suddenly sounded angry, and Remnant smirked a bit at her reaction.

"Touched a nerve, huh." Remnant smirked up at Cinder as she glared down at him, looking ready to smack him right across his face.

"Yes. You did." Cinder growled. She was not about to let him drag someone else into this discussion, least of all who he was about to mention, and it wasn't her father.

"Well, it's true, you know." Remnant's smirk dropped a bit as he turned away, walking back towards the ledge and watching the rising sun for a beat. Cinder's expression softened and she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What's bothering you?" The question was genuine, and Remnant, for a long moment, didn't answer her, simply looking at the sun rising in the east.

"..." Remnant took a moment to gather his thoughts. He knew he had to maintain the facade as a Haven student, but...at that moment he felt like he just wanted to be truthful for once. "I...am not sure exactly. I've always had my path clear in front of me, like a highway in front of a spotlight, but...right now, I'm not so sure anymore." Cinder's eyes widened for a moment, as though she couldn't believe what she was hearing from him. He sounded...emotional. Not like the fake, mocking approximations of emotion he put on for people, but actual, genuine emotion.

"W-why...?" Cinder found herself stuttering a bit, but managed to compose herself as Remnant looked back at her.

"It's...complicated, really." He admitted, sighing as he turned back towards her. "Cinder, I need to ask you something."

"Okay...what is it?" Cinder instantly got uneasy. This was very sudden, and whenever Remnant needed to ask something, it usually wasn't very good. The suddenness was par for the course with him, but all the same, she still was uneasy about it.

"...who are the Etilles?" The question caught Cinder off-guard, and she found herself legitimately confused by it, especially since he was the one who always knew who people were. It was odd and off-putting for him to ask who someone was.

"I...beg pardon?"

"I said, who are the Etilles?" He repeated more clearly. "I tried looking up the name in Beacon's library and nothing turned up, for some reason. It's been burned in my mind since yesterday, and I'm trying to find out more. So..." Remnant's gaze was almost piercing. "...who are the Etilles?"

"I don't know." Cinder answered truthfully.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Remnant sounded a little aggravated now, and Cinder took a step back.

"I mean I don't know, I've never heard that name before, why, is it important?"

"Then why is it echoing in my head like I've heard it a thousand times before?!" Remnant was growling now, and Cinder's heart almost leapt out of her mouth at his change in demeanor. It was nothing new for him to switch moods like he was spinning a Wheel of Mood Swings, but it still bothered her, especially now.

"Why would I know?! I'm not in your head, I've never heard it before, I swear!" Cinder's back was to the wall now as Remnant approached, and he looked Cinder dead in the eye with a gaze that looked very eerily like her father's, that piercing stare that made it feel like he was x-raying her. He was trying to determine if she was lying or not, and Cinder could do nothing but wait to see how convinced he was of her honesty.

"...fine." Remnant turned away and walked back towards the ledge a second time, sighing in aggravation and frustration. "I'll figure it out myself then. In the meantime, know something, Cinder." He pressed two buttons and his hoverboard came flying to him from out of their dorm window below them. "Erebos knows what you did, and why you're here, and he's watching you closely."

"I don't..." Cinder didn't understand what he was saying, but his glance back at her told her plenty, and the color drained from her face. "How could he...?!"

"He has his sources and ways of finding information." Remnant said flatly. "He knew what you were doing before you ever started it, and he's not happy about it, not even slightly." He took a moment to turn back towards Cinder, whose heart was once more covered in ice-cold fear. How did he know?

"I...you...he..." Cinder couldn't even form a coherent thought, and Remnant's glare was very narrow.

"Luckily for you, he doesn't know just how close you came to success, and he's being very lenient as a result." Remnant said flatly. "I, however, know exactly how close you came, and I can honestly say that I'm surprised you could hold yourself back, given that your target is right here in the Academy, below it that is."

"What?!" Cinder stared at him incredulously, angry and scared, and Remnant just shrugged.

"Be thankful I don't like to rat people out." Remnant mounted his hoverboard. "Erebos would have already killed you if he knew how close you were to your original goal." And with that he flew off, leaving Cinder to ponder and process what Remnant had just said to her, and it wasn't looking good. If Remnant was telling the truth, that meant the only reason she was alive was because someone was looking out for her from afar.

There was only one person who could have told Erebos what she did, and she knew it wasn't Remnant, not by a long shot. Cinder's heart skipped a beat as she considered who it was looking out for her, and a tear came to her eye as she slowly lowered into a seated position, hugging her legs to herself for a moment and shaking visibly as emotion washed over her. She couldn't help it, regardless of how nonchalant she was normally. If this meant what she thought it did, then maybe, just maybe, there was some hope for her.

The only real question was, how long did she have before Erebos found out the truth.

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

In another part of Vale, down in the city itself, the inhabitants were starting to wake up, going about their normal lives and daily routines as the sun climbed up in the sky slowly. It was still very early, but people were already bustling and doing their morning routines, preparing for work, preparing their homes, children heading off to school, and visitors getting ready for their new day in Vale. The suburban neighborhoods were also waking up, and as apartment dwellers all went about their lives, a single individual on a black motorcycle entered the apartment district.

The young man had been out all the previous night, hunting for information and anything he could find to help in his investigation. His white helmet stood out against his black clothing, a helmet that resembled the skull of a sabertooth tiger, and traces of red paint still lingered on it from his time infiltrating the White Fang, despite his best efforts to remove the paint so as to not attract attention. Thankfully, no one had questioned the helmet despite the fact that it stood out against his mostly black clothing and black motorcycle, and now he was finally able to relax as he pulled up to an apartment building, one that was a tad isolated from the others, but nicer looking as well.

He parked the bike and locked its ignition system, making sure it was 100% secure before finally removing his helmet. His skin was pale white, so much so he looked almost vampiric, and his eyes were vivid red with slits for pupils. His hair was white as snow, not gray from age, but white as result of albinism. It was somewhat short, with bangs swept back in an almost windblown style, and his side locks, hanging down on either side of his face, gave him a distinct wildcat-like visage, and a necklace of lion's teeth was around his neck. Most of his clothing was black, save for a stark white utility vest over his long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of pistols were holstered on his thighs. He sighed for a moment, checking his pockets for something, and upon realizing whatever he was looking for wasn't there, immediately rushed to the apartment entrance.

"Room 2-17, Room 2-17...please be there..." He muttered to himself, waiting as he pressed the buzzer on the comm speaker, stepping back for a moment as his heart rate escalated for a moment. "Please be there..." After several seconds, a small beep was heard, indicating the line was live. Someone had pressed the call button.

"You're late." A female voice, the same voice he'd spoken to via scroll a couple weeks prior, said through the comm, and the young man sighed in relief. She was there.

"Traffic." He replied, smiling a little as he calmed down, relief enveloping him as he heard her voice. "I see you found it easily. I had to search for days just to rent this place out."

"Days? You're losing your touch, hun." The woman on the other end sounded amused as she pressed the unlock button, and the door buzzed loudly as it opened up. The young man smiled and entered, hurrying up to the second floor and standing outside apartment 2-17, knocking on the door.

"At least I still have it...I think..." He stumbled over his quip and hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and sighing bemusedly at the failed attempt. "I'm shitty at this, could you open the door? I think I left my key with you."

"You're shitty at this?" The woman stood just inside the door, leaning against the wall, sounding sarcastically incredulous. "Man, why did I decide to live with you? Leaving your keys..." She glanced towards the kitchen counter behind her. "...not three feet away from the door." She grinned to herself as she opened the door, revealing a tall, beautiful women with pale white skin, garbed in black leggings and a blue, loose-fitting tunic top that bared one shoulder (she wore no bra), and was barefoot. Her hair was silvery white, and was tied back in a loose braid, and a pair of cat ears poked out of her locks. Her eyes were purple, like small amethysts, and seemed to pop out of her features like his own. The young man rolled his eyes at her comment and grinned.

"Love you too, Silverstream." He said with only mild sarcasm, before entering the apartment and taking the woman in his arms, wrapping them around her waist and holding her very close to him. "I was hoping you'd find the place safely. Water's been reaching boiling point the last few days, you know?" She returned the hug softly before standing back with her hands on her hips.

"I get it. But if you're held back by traffic, one would hope you would send me a text or something, ya know? Communication's a two way streak." Her feline ears moved back slightly as a cat's would when being stern or firm on something. The young man looked down a bit.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." He took a moment to gaze into her purple eyes, his own feline orbs looking genuinely happy for once in a long time. "Still. At least we're here." He smoothly slid the door closed with his foot, and then took a moment to plant his lips on hers, savoring their closeness for the first time in what had felt like weeks. 'Silverstream' smiled as she gave in to the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down closer to her. He sustained the loving kiss for a long moment, savoring their closeness, and as it slowly parted he whispered to her. "I missed you, Silver Kitten." She giggled as he said this.

"That's still one of the most stupidest names I have ever heard, Albi. But I've missed you as well." She smiled at him affectionately as she said it, using her own nickname for him that made him chuckle a little as well.

"Hey, at least I'm trying." He rested his forehead against hers. "You don't even have to, it's all natural." He simply stood there for a long moment, savoring it, Not wanting to break it. there were serious things to discuss, and he knew it, but he was hesitant to break the moment he was sharing with the woman in his arms. She noticed his hesitation almost immediately, and didn't hesitate to ask.

"What's wrong? What happened yesterday?" She looked very concerned, and he ears tilted forward to express such. Albi sighed, conceding that there was no delaying it now.

"Polendina was put down yesterday. Turns out, Kraid's pet devil is competing in the tournament." He slowly slid out of their embrace as he said it with a grimace. "And he's been given free reign it would seem. Thankfully, Specialist Schnee is keeping the whole "Experimental android" thing all hush-hush for now. As for last night?" His grimace became more pronounced as he divulged his next bit of information. "Ironwood's dead." Silver growled to herself before walking over to the kitchen preparing hot water on the burner for some hot tea.

"...So that's why...Makes sense that way..." She said in a somewhat detached manner. Talking about death wasn't easy for her, but it was necessary with the information she and Albi were gathering. Albi sighed and nodded as he leaned against the counter next to her.

"I found his body in Mountain Glen, where Torchwick's base was. With him were around 36 of his soldiers, human and mechanical. They were apparently ambushed by someone, and I can take a really good guess as to who." He knew this was rough for her, and it agitated her, but she would have been aggravated if he didn't tell her, as she said, communication went two ways. He knew it was necessary just as she did, but this didn't make the news any less grim.

"…Kraid is letting his pet have fun….What a good owner…." Silver said sarcastically as she waited for the water to boil.

"Indeed. And now, it would seem that this is the reason the Atlas Military's been antsy lately. Even the slackers are anxious now." He watched the pot for a bit as he stood in brief silence for a moment. "And if we're being honest who can blame them…." He shook himself a little. As he spoke, she turned off the tea kettle, which had finished in silence, and she poured the hot water into two cups.

"Well, they won't run frantic like chickens for too long…. Winter is now in charge of the Military here, and if I know her… She'll practically run things the same way James did…" Albi visibly cringed at the mentioning of Winter Schnee.

"She'll whip them into better shape than James ever could. That woman has a temper that makes me wonder exactly where the Ice Queen nomenclature came from." He said, shaking his head a bit. "Still, if anyone can get some info out of Candlewick, it's her." Silver, upon hearing Albi's insult name for Torchwick, sighed as she added teabags to the cups of hot water.

"…That's…." She sighed again, watching the water in the cups turn a dark shade of brown. At first Albi seemed confused, but a moment later it dawn on him what she meant.

"No..." He said as his eyes widened. Silver discarded the tea bags and picked one of the cups up, handing it to him.

"Sadly, yes. Torchwick was found dead in his cell…His throat…it…well, let's say that we could see how he would make his witty remarks." Albi shuddered at this.

"Dear dust, that's gruesome." He nodded in thanks for the tea and sipped from it a little, calming his nerves a bit. " Kraid's certainly not leaving any loose ends. Between Torchwick, taking over the Fang, capturing Neopolitan, Ironwood's elimination...he's being very thorough, though after his daughter's screw-up? I think we were expecting that." He sipped a little again. "Looks like he's cleaning house before launching his operation." Silver sipped her tea as Albi thought aloud, setting it down on their dining table.

"…More bad news. My inside intelligence may be no more." She stated, and Albi's eyes widened.

"Don't tell me he found her out. No one's that omnipotent, not even him." He almost dropped his teacup but managed to stay level as he said it. Silver shook her head in response.

"No he hasn't found out, not to our knowledge. No, she's wanting to leave on her own. For now, it's a possibility, but I believe it will become a reality. She has a lot of pride…"

"Well….Dust knows it's her right." Albi continued to sip his tea a little more. "Still, it's risky. The moment he realizes his leverage and biggest source of intel on Vale's inner workings is gone…" He looked at Silver grimly. "Things could get ugly."

"I agree. But we can only pray that it will bring a negative impact on Eri…" Silver said.

"It ought to, but we won't know for sure til it happens." Albi stood once more in momentary silence, contemplating the new info and processing it. After a long moment he placed his cup down on the table, before hesitantly asking. "So….any update from Beacon?" Silver picked up her tea and downed the rest of it, before gasping a little as it went down.

"Aaah, that's hot..." She fanned her mouth a little. Albi grinned widely to himself.

"Heh, when's the last time you said that without a double meaning…" He said, more to himself than anyone else but he knew she heard him.

"Who said I wasn't?" Silver replied coyly. Albi's eyebrow raised up, almost blending with his hairline.

"Oh, you naughty feline, you." He grinned widely and winked at her. "Just nonstop with you, eh?"

"Every day and every night." She replied with a sly smile, giving him a peck on the lips before resuming her previous train of thought. "Anyway, yes, I have news. So, now that I know that Eri's little demon from hell is in the tournament, I can confidently tell you that CinnyBun is under his command. Her as well as her misfit toys, EmEm and Merky-Erky."

"That makes sense. Kraid wouldn't want his daughter getting any ideas, and that Reaper of his is a sure-fire way to keep her in line." Albi shook his head as he contemplated Cinder's situation. "Sustrai and Black...they must be terrified right now. Sustrai especially." Silver suddenly grinned to herself at this statement. She'd been observing Emerald Sustrai closely, and her affection for a certain bat faunus hadn't escaped her attention. Albi, noticing her grin, raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Noooooothing~" She said in a playfully coy manner, and Albi rolled his eyes.

"Suuuuuuuure….." He shook his head for a moment. Silver always was a mischievous one, and damnit if he didn't love her for it. "Anything else?"

"Well…it's about the brooding, dark, moody, emo one…." Albi's forehead vein popped at this.

"He has a name, you know, but do go on."

"Oh that's right… well Flutter or if you prefer, Titter, was just initiated into the inner circle of Beacon, Ozpin's inner circle. With James gone, Winter has now taken his place in the inner circle, in that brotherhood of theirs." Albi's vein popped again at the nicknames being used but didn't comment on it this time, merely rolling his eyes again in response.

"Interesting…." He took a moment to think on this, processing the implications. "So...Ozpin's adding a student to his council...odd play, if you ask me…" He frowned somewhat. "What's got Ozpin interested in him?"

"Well, If I were Ozzie, I'd do the same thing." Silver crossed her arms. "He may be a moody baby, but he is well adept as his deduction skills. He may be an amazing fighter, but he is also very analytical and necessary to be on Team A's kickball team."

"Hmmm...wait." Something just occured to Albi that he hadn't thought of, and he glanced at Silver with a "wait a minute" expression she'd seen from him many a time. It meant that he knew something. "How exactly did you get that info, pray tell?" Silver bit her bottom lip a little before adopting a cutesy, innocent smile that she was rather notorious for.

"Welllllll, you know how I like to drink a lot?" She asked.

"It'd be a little hard not to, considering how often you drink on...get-together nights, but continue." Albi said with a wide, knowing grin. Silver pouted a little at this response.

"Rude." She quickly went back into cutesy mode. "Wellll, I might have accidentally, maybe purposefully run into an old friend….Boy. An old boyfriend turned friend and still friends, hahahaha." She laughed nervously.

"….you ran into Qrow." Albi said flatly.

"Well he is the only one that falls under the category of "old boyfriend turned friend and still friends and even drinking buddies". So yes, I ran into Qrow….On purpose. Maybe." Albi couldn't help but chuckle at this as he rolled his eyes again.

"Take a shot for every time you said "friend" and see if you're not out cold, yeesh….." Silver actually used her hands to count the number of times she said friend, going back over what she said and then grinning triumphantly as she held up seven fingers.

"Ha! Joke's on you! I pass out at eight! Only with very hard bourbon!"

"Semantics." Albi just gave her a knowing grin. "So you got him drunk and got him to spill the secrets. Nice move." His grin dropped a little after a moment as something occurred to him about Ozpin's newest council member. "So how did...ugh, "Flutter"..." He emphasized his dislike for the nickname by employing finger quotes when he said it, "...take the bombshell that's in Beacon's vault?"

"Thankfully, he doesn't know that little tid-bit." Silver grinned to herself at Albi's dislike of the name. Not even he could escape her habit of giving nicknames to everybody she met.

"Okay, good…" Albi sighed in relief before looking at Silver with an expression of concerned anxiety, as though he was desperate to know something specific. "Aside from that though….how's he doing? It's….kinda hard, not being able to be near Beacon too much." Silver smiled and pulled out her scroll, opening it and swiping through her photos. She then pulled one up and handed it to Albi, who took it and looked at it carefully.

The photo showed Noir Harceleur and Yang Xiao Long, sitting together on a bench near what looked like a vendor in the background at the Vytal Fairgrounds. Yang was laughing at something, her eyes were closed and her mouth was open in laughter, and Noir was smiling in a manner Albi hadn't seen in forever; he was happy. His arm was around Yang's waist as she laughed, and his eyes were open and focused on her. One could see the affection in his eyes, the level of care, and how much he truly enjoyed being with the girl next to him as he watched her laugh. Albi smiled as he looked over the picture.

"Seems like you two have something in common." Silver said slyly as Albi focused on the picture in front of him.

"And that is…?" He said slightly off-hand, still very focused on the picture in front of him. Silver leaned in and whispered to his ear.

"His girlfriend~~" She then pulled back for a moment. "Her name is Yang Xiao Long. Daughter of Taiyang Xiao Long and Raven Branwen…."

"Wow, no shit?" Albi's eyes widened at the names of Yang's parents as he took a good look at Yang herself. "She's certainly a loo- wait." Albi looked at Silver fully with an absolutely flabbergasted expression that made her want to die of laughter. "BRANWEN?!"

"Ha! That's right! Your brother is fucking Qrow's neice!" Silver burst into hysterical laughter for a moment, and Albi just stared at her. "And apparently Qrow provided the condom~" Silver then looked at Albi with an unmistakably suggestive expression. "You don't want to become an uncle before you become a father, now don't you?" Albi raised an eyebrow as he set the scroll aside.

"Oh, is that where you're going with that?" He asked in mock incredulity.

"Well…it's the truth, right? I mean…I'd like to be a Mother before an Aunt." Silver shrugged and playfully touched her belly. Albi broke into a mile-wide grin and removed his gun belt, moving towards Silver with his grin as wide as ever.

"Is that an invitation, Silverstream~?" He asked in a low suggestive tone as he stood mere inches from her, his body heat and his scent enveloping her.

"Take it however you want, I know I will~" Silver replied, and Albi just grinned even wider.