It turns out that White Fang headquarters was in a cave next to the waterfall. The organization operated out of the large intricate cave system that had been carved out many years ago, almost immediately after Ghira stepped down. Sienna had moved White Fang operations out here to run things in peace. From what Ash told us, there were several thousand personnel operating in this base of operations.
The base was powered by both lightning Dust and hydroelectric means to supplement that Dust to provide heating and light inside the base. The internal water tunnels also provided fresh water, with one tunnel leading out to the waterfall, leading to relatively comfortable and stable sustainability for the headquarters of this organization.
I was really not expecting the base to be in a cave, especially with how royal the throne room seemed to be. Apparently, the base was very big, with lots of large rooms for as many Faunus as possible. The base was so extensive that a copy of a map for the place was issued to every single Faunus who knew its location.
Luckily, there was one such map located folded up neatly in Ash's clothes, which outlined the cave entrance and the door passcode. Roman agreed to keep an eye on Ash, using some tape from my supply pack to keep her silent and restrained against the rocks. Not like Ash would ever dare to try anything with Roman wielding a walking cane that was also a grenade launcher anyway. Plus, she was busy being too embarrassed for - one: still being naked, and two - for what horrible and unspeakable things Emerald made her watch involving Dave and Ash.
We found the entrance of the cave, which was big and spacious, as well as completely lacking in anything White Fang. Not a single guard, not a single gun, not even a flag or anything. Then again, White Fang headquarters was probably meant to be incredibly secret. Thinking back to when Adam brought Hazel before Sienna Khan, I remembered that she was enraged at Adam bringing a human to their location, which did indicate secrecy.
As we entered the cave, I looked around. "Hey...Emerald," I said. "You've been to Salem's palace, right?"
"Yeah?" Emerald said quietly.
"...what's Hazel like?" I asked. Emerald looked at me in surprise, before that surprise turned into annoyance, presumably remembering my "see all know all" status. Sighing, she looked down.
"Hazel's...a nice guy. But you already know that," she said.
"I do. But I don't see him a lot. Only in combat. What's he like in the palace?" I asked as I kept an eye and ear out for anything in the cave. "Do you talk often?"
"Not too often," Emerald said as she looked back, before turning ahead again. "But he's one of the nicer people in the castle. Unlike Tyrian or Watts. Lemme guess, you know their backstories too?"
"Watts was left unappreciated because his project wasn't given priority. Kinda petty, but I do kinda get what it's like to be used and thrown aside. Not like Salem or Cinder does any different," I sad. I winced and turned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Tyrian?" Emerald asked, cutting off my apology.
"Callows was a serial killer all over Anima," I said. "Not much else is known. Salem recruited him when his prison convoy was attacked by Grimm."
"Huh," Emerald said as she chuckled. "He never talked about that. Only ranted on and on about how his goddess saved him from a lifetime of torture. Guess that explains everything now." She fell silent as we continued to walk. It was a very dark cave, likely ideal for Faunus who rely on night vision. Which is why I felt a bit more comfortable when Emerald grabbed my arm, holding it close. "And...what about Cinder?"
"Hmm?" I asked, turning to Emerald. With things being so dark, I could barely make out the outline of her body, as well as her red eyes.
"If you know everyone's backstories or reasons for joining Salem...do you know Cinder's?" Emerald asked. I sighed and looked back ahead.
"I guess she wouldn't tell just anyone. Cinder was...abused growing up. She was poor and bullied by everyone in an orphanage in Mistral," I said. "She spent every day being beaten down, forced to work day in and day out. She was adopted by some mom and two daughters who owned a hotel in Atlas, only to fall into that same cycle," I said. "They abused her even worse, electrocuted her with some Dust collar, forced her to service the entire establishment just so they wouldn't have to pay workers. It was a racist family too, they refused service to Faunus."
Emerald looked deep in thought. "Is that why she always wants power?" she asked.
"Yeah, I used to think it was because she was just greedy. Now I think she was desperate," I said, putting in my thoughts. "Scared of being overpowered and thrown back into a cycle of abuse. She works for Salem because she doesn't want to go against her. Even if she backstabs her later."
"Wait, what?" Emerald asked. "Cinder switches sides?"
"No. Sort of? She still wants to murder the rest of us but she tricks Salem, gathering more and more power so she can defeat Salem and truly be the most powerful being on Remnant," I said, shaking my head. Before Emerald could ask any more questions, I heard a noise. A very small whirring noise. "We're here."
Emerald masked us while I amplified her aura, just enough to affect more than two or three people at once. However, there wasn't any Faunus for us to run into. At the end of the cave was a large wall with an iron door.
"Should be easy enough," Emerald said. "Got the passcode?"
"Yep. All ten digits," I said. Walking to the door, I typed it in and opened the door, revealing a large lit hallway using large ornate candles. It was mostly angry, with a few uniformed White Faunus personnel walking around. It was quiet, with very few noises in general.
"We need uniforms," I whispered, and I began leading the way once I'd opened the map. "Laundry room isn't too far."
"I can keep up my semblance, we won't need disguises," Emerald said. "Let's just find Reese and leave. Should be a quick search and rescue."
"It's been hours since she was taken here," I said. "She's probably awake. Or the Faunus will be talking about her. Let's just keep an ear out."
We walked around the base, keeping away from any big groups of Faunus and checking rooms that were empty. It was about an hour of searching and avoiding large crowded areas such as the barracks, the recreational areas, mess halls, etcetera. We eventually made our way down to the prisons, slipping down the stairway deeper underground.
When we reached the bottom, we got a good look at the prison. It was a large hallway with several doors on each side, iron doors with barred windows. The walls were rough and jagged, not at all properly carved from the rock as the upper floors. At the very end of the hallway of cells was a wooden door.
Inside one open door was a small uncomfortable cot and a hole in the rock for a toilet. The conditions looked very rough, probably akin to maltreatment.
"Yeesh," I mumbled, and Emerald deactivated her semblance. "Let's search. One on each side."
We got to work, the both of us knocking on each door and waiting for some reply. Surprisingly, every cell on my side was empty, every closed room either having no reply or just being open due to being empty. "This ain't right," I mumbled as I looked over the doors again. "Anything?"
"No. They're all empty," Emerald said. "Where could she be..."
"You don't think she's dead already?" I asked.
"No, the base would be much louder if that were the case. Celebrating and whatnot for the death of an oppressor. Yes, lots are that fanatical," Emerald remarked.
Before I could respond to that morbid thought, the creaking of a wooden door was heard. Emerald and I turned to see a White Fang grunt exiting the hallway, looking just like any other masked and hooded generic goon I fought at the docks and at Beacon. Before he could scream, Emerald grappled him with Thief's Respite, pulling him towards me. I smashed my metal fist into his face, shattering the mask and knocking him down, leaving him groaning on the floor.
"Nice," Emerald said before she sat on the White Fang grunt. "Where's the human that was captured?"
"Hah, planning a rescue?" the injured Faunus said, coughing as he looked up at us. "You won't succeed. You'll all die here if you try to rescue her. Her execution will be seen by many, and will serve as a beacon of hope that our oppressors can be defeated!"
"So it won't hurt to tell us," I said. "Where?"
"They'll be in the throne room," the grunt said smugly. "Good luck getting there in time." Emerald shrugged and knocked him out before getting up.
"I feel like the throne room should've been obvious from the start," Emerald remarked as she searched the goon. She pulled out a pair of sunglasses - Reese's sunglasses from her new outfit.
"And it'll be packed with goons," I said as I pulled out my scroll and began to swipe. "We could use a distraction."
I rang Torchwick, who picked up immediately. "What do you brats want, I'm bored."
"I need you to start shooting the mountain," I said. "Start blasting near the waterfall. But not the caves."
"Wait, what?" the thief said. "You aren't pulling my leg, are you?"
"Nope. Blow some shit up," I said before hanging up. "Let's get going." Emerald and I ran up the stairs towards the throne room, which was at the very center of the base.
When we reached the top of the stairs back to the main level, we could hear a commotion on the far side of the base's main hallway, close to the center. That had to be the throne room. But when we arrived, we saw that there were dozens of White Fang troops crowded near the doors. And judging by how big the throne room is, there had to be a hundred or more packed inside.
And I could hear Adam's voice in there as well. "How do we get in?" I grumbled.
"Vents," Emerald said, poking my shoulder and pointing up at the ceiling. Looking up, there was a large grate above door level. Hoisting me up, Emerald lifted me just enough to reach up and push the grate in. It was a pretty large ventilation shaft, much like industrial sized ones. Once I'd crawled inside, I pulled Emerald up behind me using my neural Dust shaped like a rope.
We crawled for a minute, before the vent turned left towards the direction of the throne room. We could hear cheering and loud jeers reverberating from the throne room, as well as Adam talking some kind of motivational speech. When I reached the vent overlooking the throne room, I could see several White Fang goons, all masked up and cheering and waving pistols, rifles, and swords. Sienna Khan sat at the throne, surrounded by four of the White Fang Royal Guard, two on each side of her throne like in the series.
Before Sienna Khan was Adam Taurus, his weapon drawn as he goaded the crowds, and a familiar buff masked Faunus with a chainsaw on his back. The Lieutenant from the train was here, no doubt having survived the crash and escaped Vale while the Breach occurred.
Reese Chloris sat on her knees, facing Sienna Khan with Adam standing right behind her. Adam was already wearing his Volume 5-6 outfit as well, meaning the assassination of Sienna and Adam's coup of the White Fang had happened early. If that was the case, where was Hazel?
Reese couldn't see the high leader, as she had a large dirty white cloth tied around her eyes, as well as one stuffed in her mouth. Her hands were tied behind her, and she was completely at the mercy of the crazed bull Faunus. It took everything I had not to smash the vent open and fight Adam, seeing Reese shake horribly with Adam's blade pressed against her throat. Tears were streaming down her face from under the blindfold, and many of the Faunus jeered at the sight of a frightened human. Clenching my fist, I growled quietly. "Where the fuck is Roman?" I thought.
Adam raised her blade from Reese's neck, ready to strike her down before the sound of a loud explosion tore through the entire structure. Everyone fell silent, and Adam's blade lowered as he looked around.
I could hear the voices stop, before hearing a loud shout from Adam ordering them to commotion outside. When most of the voices left under a cacophony of voices and stampeding footsteps to leave the base, leaving a few goons with assault rifles, Adam, the lieutenant, Reese, Sienna's guards, and Sienna herself. "You see, Sienna, attacking Haven will be the right call," Adam said as he walked around Reese to get closer to the throne. "Our brothers and sisters lust for blood after everything they have gone through. Do you really think you can stop me from killing this girl, this human?"
Reese let out a sob, and Adam raised her head with the edge of his sword lifting it up by her chin. "After all, you first suggested using force to get humans to listen to our calls for equality," Adam continued. "If we don't set an example that leaves us to be respected-"
"You want us to be feared!" Sienna roared, silencing Adam. Neither Sienna nor I noticed how Adam's teeth gritted. "I refuse to start a war with the huntsmen academies! Murdering a student of Haven Academy will be grounds for a global hunt for the end of the White Fang! You are justifying the names of murderers and terrorists against us!"
"High Leader-" Adam tried again, but Sienna would not have it.
"The huntsmen academies have never done us wrong, Adam. They don't actively seek to destroy us. They accept Faunus in their ranks as students, and they do not abuse positions of supremacy against innocent Faunus. But attacking them will only lead to more targets on our backs!" Sienna explained. "And you take these orders from humans? Attacking the academies may be beneficial for them. But it will not benefit us in any way at all."
Sienna leaned forward, a guttural snarl in the throat of the Bengal Tiger faunus. "And you believed murdering a child would make me change my mind?" she said.
"You would have watched it happen," Adam shot back.
"Forgive me for being overcome with shock for what you have planned!" Sienna snapped. "You used to be a righteous freedom fighter! You used to care about making our voice heard for the sake of improving our status and treatment. But ever since Blake abandoned you, you only sought more murder. More blood spilled, more humans dead for the sake of satisfying your bloodlust. Hundreds of our brothers and sisters died in the Vale Branch after you assisted those humans in their attack on Beacon and Vale. And thousands more of fellow Faunus, innocent Faunus who never had a place in our conflict, were killed in the crossfire!"
*creak*
Sienna fell silent. Adam fell silent. I gulped as I watched the vent grate move when I accidentally leaned on it. Maybe if I don't move now, they won't see me-
One goon saw me. She fired her assault rifle up at the grate, and I slammed her against the wall by sending a wave of Dust to blast the grate at her face, breaking the mask and knocking her out. I leapt out, landing on another goon before sending all my Dust flying at Adam.
Adam dodged, and his lieutenant carved through my wall in a split second, before Emerald fired down on Adam while leaping, Adam taking the shots before swinging at Emerald, who dodged in turn. I dealt with the various other White Fang goons, including the guards around Sienna.
"You," Adam growled before firing off his rifle/sword sheath at me, only for me to deflect the shots with ease.
Sienna Khan had jumped into action as well, throwing off her red cloak and drawing Cerberus Whip from next to her throne, the long Dust chain whip spinning. "Who are you?!" she demanded at once, ready to get an attack in once Adam provided her with an opening.
I immediately dodged Adam's red blade and backflipped over a spinning kick from the bull Faunus. "I'm Markus, and I wanna save your life!" I said, before dodging the swing from Sienna's chain. "Adam wants to take over the White Fang!"
"Do you honestly believe I'd entertain such a proposal?" Sienna snarled as she spun in the air, that chain of hers sweeping towards me. I caught it and quickly pulled on it, before Sienna jumped and flew towards me before kicking me in the gut, freeing her weapon and sending me crashing against the throne.
"Ignore him, High Leader. We'll deal with this traitor before continuing our execution," Adam said as he dashed towards me.
Reese had fallen over, lying on her side as she tried to wriggle her way away from the sounds of combat, Emerald dodging and landing blows on the much slower and larger target of a chainsaw wielding Faunus off near the door of the throne room. The entire base was still rumbling from the explosive shots Roman was constantly firing at the mountain, and I wondered if he would collapse the entire place on top of us.
I threw the chair at Adam, who slashed it apart before locking his blade against one of the spears I picked up from a downed Royal Guard. Sienna moved to flank, and I backstepped before the fire Dust Dart on the edge of her chain could skewer me from the side of the head. Rolling back, I threw Adam off of me and made a run for Sienna, who had made a jump at me from one of the many pillars in the room.
"Adam wants to work with Cinder and blow up Haven-" I said, slding under a spinning jump kick from Sienna, before continuing to talk. "-and he needs the whole White Fang for it!"
"Who's Cinder?" Sienna asked.
"High Leader-" Adam tried to say.
"He needs manpower," I said as Sienna spun her chain whip, only for me to spin her out and lock the whip around her waist, staying behind her all the while. "And you just denied it to him. So what do you think he's gonna do?"
"Adam isn't as stupid as you make him out to be-" Sienna said before a loud grunt was heard. The lieutenant was thrown against the pillars between Adam and Sienna, Emerald coming over to Reese.
"It's OK, I got you," Emerald said as she cut apart Reese's bindings and pulled off her blindfold, only for the sobbing Reese to tackle Emerald in a big hug. "Okay, okay, just...we need to go," she said, awkwardly patting her on the back. If one didn't know better, they;d likely assume that Emerald had never been truly hugged before.
"You supported Adam's violence ever since he killed that human in the convoy," I said, Sienna struggling to break free from both my grip and her weapon, but her struggles fell silent moments later. "He's killed under your watch and you only ever praised it. Do you honestly think he cares about whether the huntsmen academies will bring more war or not?"
Sienna looked back, eyes wide and angry. "How did you-"
"Ghira was too complacent, closed off to force. You enforced need ofr violence and it's now become Adam's lifestyle. Do you think he'll stop just because you said no?" I asked. "You know more than anyone how stubborn he is. If he can't get what he wants by asking, or by example, he'll take what he wants by force."
Sienna seemed deep in thought, before Adam dashed forward with an enraged roar, sword up in the air and ready to come down on both Sienna and me. I swung her against the wall and leapt back to avoid the blow, only to get a bullet to my aura. Adam followed up the shot with a kick and another swing. I slammed into the wall and Adam readied his sword to cut me down.
Only for Sienna's chain to knock it aside. "High Leader, what are you-" Adam demanded.
"Normally, I'd ignore such outrageous claims such as his," Sienna said as she spun her chain threateningly. "But he knows. He knows about events that he should be too young to recall. He knows exactly what you are like. And furthermore, your attempt on my life has only proven him right."
"Sienna-" Adam tried, only for Sienna to attack, Adam forced back on the defensive as she relentlessly spun and swung with her chain, deflecting blows or being forced to take them with his aura. "You have become too much of a liability. Not only starting a war we cannot win, but treason against the High Leader of the White Fang?" she said.
Adam finally got a blow in, a kick that forced some distance from the tiger Faunus. He chuckled darkly, before looking at me. "I guess you're capable of nothing more other than inerfering in one's business," he said. "Yes, it's true. I no longer believe in holding back our power as you believe. We can only acquire the justice we need through force. And you used to agree. But now you've become too much like Ghira to see that now."
"Adam," Sienna growled before seeing a formally unconsious White Fang grunt get up, raising a pistol in her direction.
"And everyone agrees with my beliefs. The White Fang doesn't need you anymore," Adam said, stalking forward. "They need me."
He never got to say more than that, once my Dust slammed into the backs of his legs, before pummeling him up into the ceiling, just as Sienna deflected a blow from the grunt who aimed at her. "Son of a bitch!" I yelled as I looked up at Adam stuck in the ceiling. I turned to see Reese and Emerald gone, and the sounds of voices getting closer. "We're trapped."
"Not yet," Sienna said before running to the side of the room, where there was a door. I'd forgotten that some of the White Fang troops had come through that door when the original coup started. Kicking open the door, she ran down the hall, with me hot on her tail. The sound of roaring water filled the air, and I realized that this hall led to the water tunnels.
Opening another door, Sienna jumped down into a large room, which had large hydrolelectric generators and catwalks over a large internal river. She leapt off the catwalk and into the water, with me being forced to follow after gunshots from behind nearly struck me. I didn't even get the chance to yell whatever people yelled before jumping into water.
I felt myself get swept downstream, the tunnel dark but roomy enough that I wasn't bashed against the rocky walls. However, it was hard to stay afloat since the water kept splashing and forming waves against the sides of the tunnels.
Before I knew it, I was sent flying out of the tunnels and back down the waterfall near the cave entrance where we first came in. I expected to land in deep waters, where I'd resurface and swim to shore.
Instead, I landed on very shallow waters, my aura shattering when I hit the rocks a few inches under the surface of the water. "Ow!" I cried as I rolled off the rocks into deeper waters. When I did surface properly, I saw the side of the mountain smoking, with the cave entrance blocked off and massive chunks of rocks missing. I'm pretty sure I landed on one.
I didn't get the chance to swim ashore when Sienna Khan dragged me to the dirt, throwing me aside and spinning her chain. "You are going to tell me how you know of our past," Sienna demanded threateningly.
The wet cat - she really looked like one - then froze at the sounds of clicks. She and I turned to see a smug Roman Torchwick aiming Melodic Cudgel, an indifferent Emerald Sustrai aiming Thief's Respite, and an enraged Reese Chloris aiming her hoverboard in dual wielding hand cannon form.
"How'd you get out?" I asked once I stood up and brushed myself off.
"Oh," Roman said. "I blew up the cave entrance while these two greenies were getting out."
"You nearly buried us!" Emerald spat in return, with Roman waving a hand with a lazy "Yeah, yeah" as his reply.
"So this is it?" Sienna said, as the sound of rumbling reverberated, the White Fang trying to clear the entrance to get out. "Assassinated by a bunch of humans?"
"No. We need you alive to come with us," I said. "Long story short, I'm from the future and know every important character's backstory and future. You would've died if Emerald and I hadn't interfered."
"You were spotted," Emerald remarked.
"And now Adam has the White Fang. My White Fang," Sienna said, having glazed over the fact I said I was from the future. "That bastard."
"To be fair, it's your fault he's like that from what the animal here says," Roman said. Sienna growled at the thief, before taking a deep breath and looking away.
"Well, I won't come with you. This location is not the only stronghold the White Fang has. It is merely the largest," Sienna said. "I thank you for saving my life, but this is not your fight. And I won't be a part of whatever you're doing."
"It will be soon enough," I said. "We'll cross paths again, might as well get a head start."
A splash was heard, and the captive reptilian Faunus we had earlier stumbled from behind the rocks into the water. "Bastard humans, I'll flay the...skin..." she yelled, only for her anger to give way to a meek fear when she realized who was with us.
"Ashley," Sienna said calmly, despite the fact that she was soaking wet.
Ash bowed at once, falling on a knee to do so. "H-High Leader," she said, not remembering that she was butt naked right now.
"Not anymore," Sienna said, crossing her arms angrily. "Adam's taken over. I don't suppose you're loyal to him, are you?"
"N-no!" Ash cried, eyeing Cerberus Chain wrapped around Sienna's arm.
"Good. I need you to accompany me to the other hideouts and warn them of Adam's takeover. He'll get us all killed with what he wants our brothers and sisters to do," Sienna said, the sound of light rumbling from inside the cave being heard. "I shall find a way to fight back against the traitor."
"He's still gonna attack Haven under orders from the humans," I said. "In probably a good several months. He'll plant explosives all over the academy and blow it all apart, so if you wanna catch him, it'll be when he and his forces arrive."
"How do you...I won't question it any longer," Sienna sighed, clearly no longer focusing on her anger on Adam, instead seeming tired before looking to Ash. "Come. and get dressed."
Ash grabbed her clothes and began dressing herself all while trying to follow Sienna, who sprinted through the forest. We decided to do the same, taking our things and leaving before the White Fang could finish blasting through the cave and follow us.
After about a half hour of steady running, we were far enough away from the mountain to avoid detection. When we stopped, we were panting. "Good workout, eh?" Roman joked.
"Yeah, I was beginning to worry if my abs would be gone from lying in bed for weeks," I said before looking towards Reese. "Hey, are you-" I said. I never got to finish.
Reese tackled me in a hug, pressing me against the closest tree while she buried her head in my shoulder. "I thought I was gonna die..." she whimpered as she squeezed the life out of me.
I hugged her back. "Are you alright?" I whispered.
"I...I'm fine. They didn't do anything to me other than blindfold me. But..." Reese said, shuddering. She looked up at me with watery eyes. "I thought I was gonna die..."
"Shh," I quickly said. "It's my fault you got taken...I won't let that happen again."
"Thanks," Reese said, chuckling weakly before closing her eyes. "I feel...tired."
The fear and adrenaline had no doubt worn away at her, and I sighed as she slumped against me. Moving her so I can piggyback her, I looked over at Roman and Emerald, Roman on his scroll and Emerald yawning lazily. "Let's keep going?"
"To this...farm?" Roman asked. "What for?"
I grinned. "You'll see."
- a week later -
I knocked on the door to the small house. As we waited, I looked around. Reese was munching on a ration bar, while Emerald was washing up using a water pump close to the house. Roman leaned on a tree, smoking. He sure had plenty of cigars.
"Hello?"
I looked at the open door and smiled down at the freckled boy that had answered it. "Oscar Pine?" I said.