Author's Notes: Hey guys, so after so long, here is chapter 13 which I consider the end of volume 1 considering, chronologically in my head, this chapter takes place a little bit before the end of volume 1 of RWBY. After this chapter, I will be taking a bit of a hiatus while I compile more chapters to release at a later date. For now, enjoy chapter 13!

What It Takes

Chapter 13: Family

The sound of metal on metal rang out in the sparring room as sparks flew from their clashing weapons. Basil held his trident horizontally, keeping Celestia's katana at bay. They struggled in their clash until Basil pushed the katana back, allowing him to distance himself from her. Celestia charged in, slashing her katana straight across his stomach. Basil stepped back, barely dodging the tip of her blade and slammed the end of his trident into her side. Celestia was knocked back to the edge of the matt, her pink hair getting into her face. Quickly adjusting her hair, Celestia started circling her opponent, looking for an opening. Basil watched her as he readied his trident to defend. She was wearing her normal white tank top, dark blue shorts and black combat boots, while Basil wore his green t-shirt, black cargo shorts and black sneakers. Neither of them wore their jackets, as it would be too hot to wear them during sparring. Celestia continued to circle as Basil followed her every movement.

She's good, thought Basil as he watched her circle; it's hard to keep up with her swift strikes and movements.

Basil gripped his trident tighter as Celestia started to circle in the opposite direction, like a predator circling her prey.

I can't tell where she plans on striking, Basil determined to himself, I'll have to rely on instinct alone.

Basil prepared his semblance as Celestia charged in. She slashed straight at Basil's chest, as Basil's aura started to glow green. Using his semblance, Basil dodged out of the way of the blade and countered. But Celestia was ready for that, and quickly she blocked the strike, placing her blade in between the prongs of his trident. Celestia placed her left foot forward and slashed upward, causing Basil to start to lose his balance. She then followed up with a flurry of slashes and stabs, causing Basil to have to clumsily block and parry each blow as he backpedaled away from her. Seeing her opening, Celestia delivered one more powerful strike against him, causing his trident to fly out of his hand and him to fall straight onto his back. Basil tried to get up but was immediately greeted with a sword to his throat.

He looked up to meet Celestia's steel blue eyes. Her hair fell into place nearly perfectly, only a few strands out of place against her fair white skin. Her skin slightly glistened from the sweat from their spar, making her seem to glow. Her dog ears slightly twitching in a way that Basil always thought was cute. A slight heat rose up in his face as Celestia smiled at him and lowered her sword.

"Looks like I win," She determined, her smile widening.

"Y-yea," Basil replied looking away with a smile while rubbing the back of his head, "looks like it."

He got up quickly and grabbed his trident off the floor of the gym. Switching them back to pistols, he placed them onto his belt as he followed Celestia to their water bottles.

Basil grabbed his and took a big thirsty gulp from it.

"So," Celestia addressed Basil, "ready for some hand to hand combat?"

"Yea," Basil agreed. They had decided to spar with each other that day, because Aurelia was studying for another one of her finals and Porphyrios was taking his first final today.

We have to be prepared for Glynda's combat final next week, Basil pondered, plus spending time with Celestia has been fun these last few weeks.

After the day Basil found out his brother had died, he had grown closer to Celestia. Awkward conversations had ended between the two now that Basil had accepted her, despite his previous impressions of the Faunus. In fact, their companionship had grown more than with any of their other friends. They had conversations all the time, over dinner, while trying to study, and they even whispered in class, much to Porphyrios' disapproval. Even Aurelia had lightened up to Basil, happy to see them getting along rather than Basil's usual attitude.

I can't believe I've never actually sparred against her, Basil pondered curiously, then again usually it's Porphyrios sparring with me, or Re.

Both of them placed their weapons to the side and walked over to the mat, preparing stances opposite of each other. They started to circle each other, trying to gauge their opponent's first move.

Celestia moved first and delivered a side kick to Basil's chest. He swiftly moved to block the kick as her heel collided into his left forearm. Celestia then quickly stepped forward and delivered a roundhouse kick to Basil's side. Unable to block it, Basil tumbled to his left and stopped himself in a crouching position. Standing up, Basil grabbed Celestia's foot out of the air as she tried to deliver another side kick to his face. Throwing her foot to the side, Basil delivered his own side kick to Celestia's stomach, causing the already off balance Faunus to fall over. However, Celestia used her momentum from Basil's kick to deftly back roll onto her feet.

"That all you got?" she taunted with a smirk.

"I'm just getting started," Basil retorted.

They continued sparring for another hour or so, dodging and blocking kicks and punches. They rolled this way and that, each trying to gain the upper hand in the fight. Eventually, they both stopped, breathing heavily after their long workout.

"Draw?" Basil called out to Celestia, "It's dinner time and I'm hungry."

Celestia grinned at him, "Yea, let's go eat."

They both went over, gathered their gear up and left the gym.

The door clicked open and Basil walked into his team's dorm room. He was closely followed by the rest of his team after a satisfying dinner. They were all discussing the upcoming finals for the year.

"I certainly hope Port's final is easy," spoke Celestia, "he barely taught us anything this year!"

"I know right!?" responded Aurelia, "All he did was tell us about his stupid stories from when he was younger!"

"I thought his stories were interesting," commented Basil throwing himself onto his bed, "they each had a different moral to them."

"Are you serious?" yelled Aurelia, "The morals were always vague, if there even was one!"

"Mmm…" agreed Porphyrios scratching his beard, "They weren't exactly the most informative."

"But they were enjoyable, at least," Basil defended with a slight smirk.

"Not really," Celestia said, "most of them were probably not even true."

Aurelia turned toward Porphyrios, "So how was Oobleck's final?" she asked the stoic boy.

"Fine," stated Porphyrios, "easy A."

"Probably 'cause you spent every waking hour studying for it," Basil remarked, "seriously, you're like a robot when it comes to school."

Porphyrios shrugged, "Better to be over prepared than underprepared."

They continued to talk about exams for a few minutes, listing off their thoughts and how much they should study, when Basil felt his scroll go off in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw the new e-mail icon highlighted. He tapped the icon.

SLAM!

They all jumped slightly as Re burst into the room.

"Hahaha! Finally that history exam is done!" he yelled into the room.

He ran up to Porphyrios, his hand raised in the air.

"Come on Porph, high five!"

"It's one exam," replied Porphyrios his arms crossed, "It hardly calls for celebration. You should be focusing on the rest of your exams."

"Oh come on, Porph," complained Re, lowering his hand. "It's always cause for celebration, especially when it's a history exam!"

Porphyrios shrugged, "I don't see why; it wasn't that bad."

Re turned to Basil with a smile, "Come on Basil. Back me up here."

Re's smile fell when he saw Basil's pale expression. The rest of the room turned to Basil.

"What's wrong Basil?" Celestia spoke with concern.

Basil looked up from his scroll, his eyes watering slightly, "Cinereus…he's alive..."

They all stood in shocked silence as they all took in what Basil had just said.

"What?" asked Celesia incredulously.

Basil looked at his friends, "My brother is alive."

"But…you said he was dead," Aurelia stated perplexed by this new found knowledge.

"He was," Basil replied still stunned, "he was presumed dead at the site, but he must have escaped somehow because he just messaged me from his scroll."

"Wait," Porphyrios held up a hand in a stopping motion as he spoke, "how do we know it's your brother and not just someone impersonating him? After all, if it was the White Fang who attacked them, it's only logical they would go after you next."

Basil turned to Porphyrios, "That's true, and I would assume that if it weren't for the fact that he sent a video message."

Basil turned the screen and played the video.

On the screen there was a boy with white skin and grey eyes. He had an oval shaped face and a diagonal scar over his left eye. His hair was black, nearly blending into the background of the place he was in.

"They have me," the boy spoke in a quiet, panicked voice," they have me in a warehouse in Vale. You have to find me quick before it's too late."

A clunking sound could be heard somewhere off screen and the boy turned towards it for a minute before turning back.

"Basil," he said, his voice even more panicked now. Basil clenched the scroll in anticipation and fear.

"Please, you have to find me. I'm in warehouse seven. Please come quickly."

The video ended there and a silence filled the room. Everyone just stared at the screen, unable to form words.

"Well that settles it."

Everyone jumped in surprise as Re broke the silence. They had forgotten he was there.

"You guys get ready while I grab my team; let's go save Basil's brother," he declared.

"Hold up Re," Porphyrios interjected before Re could run off. "We don't even know where this warehouse seven is. Besides how do we know this isn't some form of trap?"

Basil looked up from his scroll, his face very serious, "What do you mean Porphyrios?"

Porphyrios looked at Basil, "I mean, we have no idea where this message came from, how do we know it isn't being used to lure us into a trap?"

Everyone stood there watching Porphyrios as he continued, "It's clear from the video that some group has captured him. The only group that has shown hostility towards Basil's family is the White Fang, meaning that they are probably the ones holding him captive. If the White Fang is being this hostile towards their family then they are going to want Basil as well. Therefore, they could easily be trying to use Basil's brother as bait to capture Basil as well, meaning that if we all go to save him, we could all be captured by them."

Basil stood up and glared at Porphyrios, "So what are you saying Porphyrios?" Basil spoke, venom evident in his voice as he continued to stare down Porphyrios.

Porphyrios face remained expressionless as he stared at Basil's face, "I'm saying that we should be cautious, and take a few days to plan."

"We don't have a few days," Basil's voice rising as he argued, "you saw the video! We don't have a lot of time as it is. We have to go now!"

"Basil, think about this," Porphyrios retorted his deep voice also rising, "If your brother is being held by the White Fang, we need to be extremely cautious."

"There's no time to be cautious," Basil yelled, "Cinereus needs our help now! We can't wait any longer!"

"I'm trying to protect my team, you included," Porphyrios reasoned, "it's clear that they want you, and they are using Cinereus to get to you. Why else would he contact you? The White Fang is using him so they can capture you and then ransom you and him to your parents, or worse. We have to be prepared to take them on so we don't get captured."

"Well you guys do all the planning you want," Basil declared walking over to the closet and grabbing his black bomber jacket and putting it over his green shirt, "I'm going to save my brother." He then grabbed his blue bracers from the closet and clasped them on his forearms.

"Basil you can't-" Celestia started but Basil cut her off:

"You can't stop me," he said as he grabbed his trident and turned toward the door.

He stopped suddenly as he was greeted by Team Sunrise, all dressed and ready to go. Namra wore her short, frayed, brown cloak over her brown tunic with a tan scarf around her neck. She had on black baggy pants and tan sneakers and, as always, her black blindfold. Her two short swords were strapped to her back and the chains hung down near her legs. Re wore his red hoodie and blue jeans along with brown sneakers and yellow fingerless gloves. His scimitars were sheathed at his black belt, ready to fight. Wai wore his dark, blue leather jacket, black jeans and blue combat gloves and boots along with his gauntlets, which were equipped to his arms. Sylvia wore her white sweater, blue jeans and silver combat boots. Her falchion was sheathed on her right side and her dust canisters were equipped on her belt along with her side quiver. She was the first to speak.

"So," she began, "I heard we're going to rescue Basil's brother."

"Not today," growled Porphyrios, "we need time to make a plan to infiltrate."

"Well from what Re said, it sounds like we don't have time;" replied Sylvia, "so unless you'd prefer to stay here and quiver in fear, I'd suggest you grab your gear."

"Quiver in fear?" cried Porphyrios in rage, "I'm trying to keep my team safe!"

"Well the best way to do that would be to join them," Sylvia stated plainly, "because it looks like they're going anyway. So grab your gear and do your job."

Porphyrios stood there in silence as the other leader reprimanded him. He watched as both Aurelia and Celestia grabbed their weapons and combat gear, getting ready for the mission ahead. He sighed:

"Fine, but that still leaves the fact that we have no clue where this warehouse is."

"I believe I can help with that," Wai spoke, "In my time at Sanctum I worked with a lot of technology. It was one of my main ways of making mischief at my school. I can trace the video message back to its source."

"And you're certain you can do this?" inquired Porphyrios.

"He can." Re spoke up, "As a prank, Wai was able to send an email to Cardin Wincester from Professor Oobleck saying that he needed to do extra work for his class. Cardin eventually found out it was false, but they were never able to trace it back to us."

"Glad to see that you're putting that skill to good use," Sylvia responded sarcastically.

"Look, the point is, Wai can get us to the location of warehouse seven," Re concluded.

"We should do this quickly," Namra interjected, "the public airships to downtown Vale stop running at 9:30. Any later and we'll need permission from the headmaster."

"Well then," Porphyrios stated, grabbing his gear. He then turned to Basil:

"Let's go get your brother back."

The airship dropped them off in downtown Vale. It was cold out as the sun finished setting and the stars came out into the night sky. The shattered moon illuminated the path as the two teams headed to the determined location of warehouse seven.

"It should be right here," Wai declared quietly as he pointed to a steel gray building.

The building had two small windows and a set of huge sliding doors in the front. It was an old building and looked like it hadn't seen any use for a while.

"Are you sure?" inquired Porphyrios.

"Yes," Wai nodded, "the signal I traced from his brother's last communication originated from here. So, Basil's brother should be inside."

"Wow," Celestia whispered in awe, "where'd you learn to do that?"

"One of my teachers at Sanctum was really good with technology," replied Wai, "we were pretty good friends so he taught me what he knew."

"Come on Celestia, help me open the doors," Basil requested.

Celestia and Basil moved forward, grabbed the crack where the two doors met, and pulled. The door creaked and scraped as the two students opened the entrance to the warehouse wide enough for them to squeeze through.

"That wasn't quiet," Sylvia pointed out to the two of them.

"Sylvia," Re stated, "it's an old metal door, it's not gonna be quiet."

"Let's go," Porphyrios responded gruffly as he went through the opening, his tail lightly clanking against the door.

The rest of the students all entered the old warehouse. It was dark inside except for the moonlight creeping in from the windows and the open door.

"See anything?" murmured Basil to Celestia and Porphyrios.

"Instead of asking them, why don't you ask me?"

The group was suddenly blinded as the lights of the warehouse were turned on. After a few seconds of blinding white light, the group saw what was in the warehouse.

Above on the center rafter was a man in a bowler hat and a black suit and tie. He was tall and muscular with white skin and close cropped black hair. He was smiling, but the smile never reached his cold, gray eyes. In front of them was a different scene. A man and a woman stood next to a chair containing a dark mass. The man was huge, standing much taller than the suited man and much more heavily built. He had brown bear ears and a heavily scarred face with brown skin and hair. He wore a long, black trench coat, black baggy jeans and brown boots. He had a sledgehammer slung over his shoulder as if it was a toy. The girl was much smaller in comparison, with olive skin, short brown hair and hazel eyes. She wore a camo green tank top with black shorts and an ammo belt that she wore diagonally across her waist. Her shoes were black and green and her lips were adorned with pink lip gloss.

The dark mass in the chair stirred, revealing a young boy. He had medium length black hair, gray eyes, and white skin with a scar over his left eye. He wore a black cloak with a dark grey t-shirt, black leather shoes and black leather gloves. He had a gag in his mouth and was tied to the chair, but around his neck Basil saw a necklace with half of a yin-yang symbol.

"Cinereus!" Basil cried and started to move forward. The giant Faunus slammed his hammer down on the ground. The result of the impact caused an echoing metal sound around the warehouse and a small shake of the ground.

After recovering from the sound and shaking, Basil drew his pistols as everyone else drew their weapons as well. The man in the rafters laughed. It echoed slightly in the warehouse, a cold laugh, an evil laugh.

"Please," he stated his voice just as cold as his laugh, "don't embarrass yourselves."

"Let my brother go!" Basil cried.

"Your brother?" the man inquired, "So that's who he contacted with his scroll. And here I was expecting the entire police force."

He gestured to the group with his hand, "Instead, I get eight incompetent hunters."

He moved his hand to his face, "Oh excuse me, hunters-in-training. Tell me, what did you think you were going to do when you got here? Did you think it was going to be some daring, heroic rescue to become well-known at the academy?"

"No," Celestia shouted, "we're here to help a friend get his brother back!"

"Hmmph," the man put his hands behind his back in a military style stance, "of course, because that's what friends do right? Friends will always stand by each other's side, that is, until a time comes when it's too much for them. And believe me, that time will come for you as well. Your friendships will break in due time, with enough pressure."

The man shook his head, "but I've said enough already. How's about you lower your weapons and make this as painless as possible?"

All eight of the students tightened their grip on their weapons and the man laughed again.

"Well you leave me no choice…Olivia?"

The young woman smiled and walked over to the chair, pulled out her sub-machine gun and pointed it at the boy's head.

"Don't!" cried Basil and he put his pistols on the ground. Turning toward the others, he motioned for them to do the same. The group hesitated and then, one by one put their weapons down. As Re put his down, he whispered into Sylvia's ear. Sylvia nodded slightly so as not to attract attention. But the man in the suit was too focused on Basil to care about the rest of the group.

"Take them," he commanded.

The Faunus moved over to them, his hammer still over his shoulder. He motioned to grab Basil, when something else happened. Sylvia opened a dust container at her belt, formed a dagger with it and threw it at Olivia. The dagger hit the woman's hand, causing her to drop the gun. After that, it all happened at once. Basil and Celestia slammed their shoulders into the bear Faunus, knocking him back. Wai fired a grenade into the rafter that the suited man was standing on, hitting him directly in the chest and sending him off the rafter and to the ground. Re grabbed his scimitars and ran forward to Cinereus as the rest of them fought off the enemies. Sylvia knocked her bow and fired it at Olivia. She drew her other sub-machine gun, deflected the arrow and fired at Sylvia. Namra then moved in front and blocked the gun fire with her short swords. The bear Faunus got up and blocked Aurelia's ax before it hit him. Celestia then came up behind him and sliced at his side. The impact did nothing and he quickly used his sledgehammer to fling Aurelia into Celestia, sending them both to the ground. Sylvia and Namra continued their assault on Olivia while Re reached Cinereus.

"Don't worry kid," Re said reassuringly removing the kid's gag, "we're gonna get you out of here."

He moved around back to cut the boy lose when the boy turned his head and yelled:

"Look out!"

Re turned just in time to block two fists equipped with black brass knuckles with his swords. The man in the suit had him pinned against the chair. Struggling to push the man back, Re quickly kicked his feet up and out, hitting the man right in the chest. The man was pushed back enough for Re to be freed. Re then swung his blade at the man, who blocked it just in time with his fist. He then delivered a punch straight into Re's gut, causing him to keel over, the wind having been knocked out of him. The man in the suit then swung back and delivered a punch towards Re's head. But the blow never connected as Wai jumped in and blocked the strike with his gauntlets. Wai pushed the man back and fired a grenade, hitting him straight in the chest and sending him into the wall.

The bear Faunus swung his sledgehammer down upon Aurelia, when Porphyrios ran in front of her, blocking the hammer with the inside of his sickles. With the hammer bearing down on the both of them, Porphyrios pushed back as hard as he could, allowing him to disarm the opposing Faunus. Surprised by his strength, the bear Faunus stumbled back, causing him to be unbalanced. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Celestia slammed her sword across the giant's torso, the impact causing him to tumble and fall. Sylvia and Namra were keeping Olivia on her toes, but they were still completely even. Sylvia swung in with a vertical strike to Olivia's head, but Olivia easily intercepted the attack with her right kama. Namra then threw one of her chained short swords at her, grabbing her left arm and twisting it, causing her to drop her second weapon. Namra then threw her other blade at Olivia's torso, but she deftly kicked the sword out of the air. Using the blade on her weapon, Olivia parried Sylvia's blade and kicked her to the ground. Olivia then grabbed the chain and pulled Namra toward her and kicked her straight in the chest. Namra hit the ground and loosened her grip on the chain, allowing Olivia to free her arm and grab her disarmed weapon ready for round two.

Basil fiddled at the rope holding Cinereus to the chair, undoing the knots as quickly as possible, eventually freeing him.

Cinereus then pulled Basil into a big hug.

"Time for that later," Basil said, cutting the hug short, "let's get out of here."

Wai blocked another punch from the man in the suit with his gauntlet blade, as he received a follow up kick to the chest. Wai hunched over as Re rolled over him, shooting the man in the chest with his shotgun. The gray-eyed man was hit square in the chest and stumbled slightly backward. Regaining his composure, the man switched his brass knuckles to their pistol forms and aimed them at Re and Wai. However, before he could do anything, he was knocked off balance when Olivia was slammed into him, knocking them both to the ground. Sylvia then drew her bow and fired an arrow at the two. The man was quick and grabbed the arrow out of the air before it hit anything. The man chuckled slightly until the red arrow exploded in his hand. They were sent into the side wall and were joined there by the bear Faunus as he backed away from Celestia, Aurelia, and Porphyrios, his sledgehammer raised. Olivia and the gray eyed man stood up and eyed their opponents. Each student had their weapon drawn, aimed at the enemies in front of them. Once again the man in the suit chuckled to himself.

"You are all very brave," the man commended to the students, "I've never seen such fight in so many young students."

The man stopped chuckling and stared at the students in front of him, "But you're still completely out matched. Fortunately, for you, we're done here, so I'll bid you all good night."

And with that, the man grabbed his two companions as smoke appeared around them. Before any of the students knew what had happened, the three disappeared leaving disbursements of smoke behind them. The sound of engines could be heard outside as what sounded like an airship was ready to take off. The students rushed out into the night and looked up into the sky. They saw the airship as it was leaving, flying through the night sky.

Porphyrios turned to Aurelia, "Shoot it down," he commanded.

Aurelia nodded and switched her battle ax to rocket launcher form. She aimed the launcher at the airship and her eyes turned completely white as she activated her semblance. Her vision increased, allowing her to see every detail of the airship, allowing her to know exactly when and where to fire. Aurelia turned slightly to the left and fired. The rocket flew through the air towards the airship as Aurelia watched its progress. With her vision, she saw the side door of the airship open up as the man in the bowler hat appeared, his suit coat flapping in the wind. He aimed one of his pistols at the rocket, firing several shots until the rocket exploded, smoke and fire filling the air. She deactivated her semblance, her eyes returning to normal, staggering slightly.

"Did you hit it?" Porphyrios demanded.

Aurelia shook her head, "No, one of them came out and shot it out of the air."

Porphyrios growled in frustration, his tail swishing angrily.

Basil walked over and hugged Cinereus.

"I'm so glad you're alright," exclaimed Basil, holding his brother tightly.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, as the police finally responded sounds of gunfire and explosions.

"We should get back to the school," mentioned Sylvia, "That way we can inform Professor Ozpin about what happened here and he can take action."

Porphyrios nodded, "Good idea. Let's go."

Basil and Cinereus walked out of the doors of Beacon Academy the next day. The sun burned brightly above as they headed toward the airship that would take Cinereus back to their parents. They reached the airship and Basil gave Cinereus one last hug.

"You'll call once a week right?" Cinereus asked tentatively, still shaken up from being captured.

"Twice a week," Basil responded, "and several messages in between."

"Okay," Cinereus replied with a smile, "I'll see you this summer then."

"Yea, see you this summer."

And with that, Cinereus entered the airship, ready to go home.

"What?!"

Sylvia and Porphyrios were in Professor Ozpin's office with both Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch. They were informing the headmaster about what had happened the night before with Cinereus and the man in the black suit.

"As I said Porphyrios," Ozpin explained to the angry Faunus, "without sufficient information on them, I can't make a full investigation."

"But you're the headmaster," objected Porphyrios angrily, "You have to do something!"

"Professor Ozpin," interjected Sylvia calmly, "there must be some way you can investigate further into this matter."

"Unfortunately I cannot," replied Ozpin, "As I said before, I will inform the police of these events and they will determine a proper course of action, but right now I am preoccupied with other important issues that have arisen recently."

"If you had more information about what these people are up to, if they're even up to anything," stated Glynda, "then we may be able to help you. But as it stands, there is nothing more we can do."

Porphyrios slammed his hands down on Ozpin's desk, "So that's it?! Just turn it over to the police?! I thought being a huntsman meant protecting the people from evil like this!"

"I have much more pressing concerns at the moment."

"Are you saying this isn't important enough?" Porphyrios spat.

"The headmaster has told you his decision," interjected Glynda barring him from the desk with her riding crop, "Just because I haven't expelled you for going on this 'mission' yet doesn't mean I still can't. Now good day students..."

Porphyrios glared at Glynda as he turned and walked out of the room with Sylvia.

"He's right," Sylvia commented, "he needs more information about them in order for it to be a concern."

"They're a group of kidnappers and criminals," Porphyrios growled, "That should be enough information for him to take action."

Cole stood in his office. The map of locations was still on the table, a few more crossed out, showing their progress so far. He faced the rest of his team, Olivia, Roano, and Coralia.

"That could have gone badly," commented Coralia, "They might have gone to Ozpin and he might have sent out search parties to find us, or informed the police."

Roano grunted with a laugh, "If they did, I'd kill them all before they could set one foot in this place."

Coralia turned and glared at Roano, "That's not the point. Our position would be compromised and the entire base would be destroyed."

"They would also probably hunt us down!" Olivia said excitedly, "It would make our mission more exciting!"

"And difficult, which we don't need," Coralia pointed out, "which is why I'm saying it was a risky move."

"Believe me it was not," Cole stated bluntly, "If they deploy forces to hunt us down, our informant will tell us before it happens, trust me."

He folded his hands behind his back, "Besides, being known about isn't a problem; or do you forget about breaking Roano out of custody? Plenty of people saw us then, and it hasn't affected us one bit. Nobody knows who we are, and even if they did, there is no way they can find us here."

"But-"

"Coralia," Cole interrupted, "I've got it covered. I know what I'm doing."

His scroll vibrated on his desk. Cole pushed a button and a warped voice came online.

"They know nothing," the warped voice said, "all is going according to plan."

"Good," replied Cole, "continue monitoring them, let me know if anything important comes up."

"Acknowledged."

The call ended.

"Satisfied?" Cole asked Coralia.

"Yes," replied Coralia.

"Good. Now, it's time to proceed to phase two."