Weiss and Blake headed to the library after they were done with their studies. They had agreed to dedicate time to searching, but just to whatever time they found between homework and dinner. It was their compromise, and Weiss was ready to prove she was ready to pace herself for the long run. After a good night's sleep she could feel her own stupidity.
They set themselves up at the console, but didn't have much to go off of. It seemed Orange Clockwork was indeed disbanded. Weiss decided that Torchwick would have to develop a similar organization in its place, and searched the various markets for any irregularities. Without anything to actually go off of, it could take months of cross-checking before they found something that way. It was all she had though.
After an hour of meticulous combing, the pair were joined by none other than Professor Ozpin. "Hello, ladies. Hard at work?"
"Professor!" Weiss was surprised by his appearance. "What are you doing here?"
"Just checking in. How goes the search?" He asked with a perceptive smile.
The girls looked between each other. If Ozpin already knew, there was no point trying to lie. But… "How did you know?" Weiss voiced the question they both had.
"Not much goes on in my school without my notice." Ozpin answered them. "You two were on site during a bombing, and later a warehouse was caused significant property damage. I had thought Velvet was helping you search?"
"She's… trying to work through some information she learned firsthand… it's kind of disturbing, especially to her." Blake told him.
"Something to do with Ms. Rose?" the headmaster deduced.
"Apparently, Velvet saw Ruby… shift personalities, or something, and then speak with the alternate personality like a voice only she could hear." Weiss explained.
"I see…" Ozpin's grip tightened on his cane. The question he found himself with was which personality is dominant? Reaper, or this new one? Or is it between Reaper and Ruby? He was going to have to talk to Velvet to be sure. "Ms. Belladonna, something else seems to be troubling you."
"Well… I don't know… the people we ran into at the bombing seemed to be fighting against Torchwick." Blake told him.
"But there's more to it than that." The headmaster was as observant as ever.
"It was in the way he talked about me…" Blake explained further. "And then there was the bomb. It looked exactly like… I've only ever seen one person make and use a bomb like that. But he's locked deep in Atlas somewhere. Or, he's supposed to be…"
Ozpin knew straightaway who she was talking about. "Well, it seems I have a conversation with Ironwood in my future. I'll let you know how it goes…" Ozpin left the girls.
Weiss didn't catch on to the mysterious individual as quickly as the headmaster had. After Ozpin left she turned on her girlfriend with a questioning gaze. "Blake, why haven't you said anything? Who's supposed to be locked deep in Atlas?"
"Adam Taurus!" Nightshade shouted as Reaper, with Ember in control, rushed toward him. Brutal Thorn's blade dug into the wall a few inches beside him.
What did he say!? Reaper shouted from Ember's usual spot in their shared mind.
"What did you say…?" Ember repeated.
"Adam Taurus! He got out of Atlas. Wanted to revive the Fang, but once he heard Torchwick was in town, wanted revenge first. He blames him for the Fang falling apart, for the attack on the school two years ago turning to shit." Nightshade spoke all of this quickly, wanting to save his own skin. This job wasn't worth it if people like this were after him.
Images flashed from Reaper, flooding Ember as well. Images of a happy blonde, full of life. Images that were interrupted by white masks and red horns. Then all that was left was the blood… With a scream, Reaper pulled Brutal Thorn's trigger, sending the blade towards Nightshade's neck. Ember just managed to stop it from killing him, the blade resting on his neck. Blood trickled from where is barely broke his skin.
Fuck! I'm sorry.
It's fine, I understand. I only took control again and kept us from killing him so we could ask him more questions.
The next thing Ember said wasn't exactly a question, but her especially extra-vicious tone made it clear she expected answers. "Tell. Us. Everything."
It was fun watching a monkey play canary. Nightshade was desperate to keep his life, and spilled everything he knew. With all this information, Reaper was sure she could find a way through. His headquarters actually weren't too far from here, in fact. Ember pulled Brutal Thorn from the wall and used the back end of the blade to knock him out. The force may have snapped his neck, actually, but the scythe girl didn't stick around to check.
A few blocks over, Reaper took position on a rooftop overseeing the target building. Through Brutal Thorn's scope, she could see the lay of the land, including security forces.
Ahhh it's kinda good to be back in here. Fighting's fun, but having a body is exhausting. You definitely don't have to worry about me taking over permanently.
Good, because I found your little corner of our mind cramped as all hell.
Hey! It's comfy back here! Perfect for me, anyway.
Reaper took mental notes of everything and folded Brutal Thorn. It did not look good. Security was tighter than the Council of Vale. Maybe Neo could help her sneak in, but without knowing the layout it could be risky. Adam spent enough time with Neo while they were still working together to be aware of her illusions, and it would be something he would watch out for if he was fighting Torchwick. Spend too much time searching and he could notice something isn't right.
Reaper began formulating a plan on her way back under. By the time she entered her house, she was confident in a particular course of action. Neo was waiting in the kitchen, and noted Reaper's sour disposition. Working quickly, the voiceless girl made the two-voiced girl her drink. "Definitely need one of those right now…" Reaper took a generous gulp.
She could feel it begin to relax her tensions. Reaper noticed she was starting to look forward to having one or two of these a night to relax, especially after a day like today. Not that she was becoming dependent on it, but it was delicious and it certainly helped her unwind. It wasn't like she was getting herself wasted every night or anything. She opened her eyes and saw Neo trying to figure out what to do with herself.
The multi-colored girl wouldn't admit it, but she had been like that all day. She had woken up and Reaper was already gone. Not just out of the room, but apparently all the way up in Vale. It had been the first time in a long while the two were separated like that, but Neo figured out that maybe Reaper wanted some time alone. So she took care of some gang-related responsibilities she had been putting off but soon found herself back in Reaper's house, just kind of waiting. Whatever the scythe master preferred, Neo definitely would much rather stay by Reaper's side.
"So I found our monkey, Maxwell. Or Nightshade, he calls himself Nightshade." Reaper began. Neo nodded to show she was listening. "He was our bomber, but someone else was pointing him our way. Adam Taurus." Neo was shocked. She thought he was still locked up in Atlas somewhere. "Apparently everyone thinks that." Reaper told her, expertly reading her body language. She spent so much time with the girl (against her will sometimes) that it was about time she picked up on Neo's unique language.
"Look, Neo, I've got the Intel, and I have a plan…" Reaper continued. "But you're not going to like it."
I don't like it either.
"Shut it, Ember. You got a better one?"
…
"Didn't think so."
The clockwork in Ozpin's office ticked away, marking the passing seconds as the headmaster awaited a return on his call to Ironwood. The news of Adam's possible freedom was deeply troubling. If he was indeed attacking Torchwick, it may draw Reaper to him. If Winter, Emerald and Mercury were anything to go off of, the bull-headed faunus may have bit off more than he could chew. Finally Ironwood called back.
"Hello, Ozpin. I assume this isn't a social call." Ironwood recalled how their last conversation ended.
"Indeed." Ozpin responded. "I was hoping to ask you about Adam Taurus."
"What about him?" James asked.
The headmaster kept a smirk from his face. The general did his best to remain stoic, but the huntsman could see the trouble pass through his eyes. "I think you know, James."
Ironwood sighed. "We didn't even notice until a few days ago. The man in Taurus's cell wasn't Adam. A clever make up job on a murdered security guard."
"I see. There are possible signs of him in Vale." Ozpin informed him.
"We know. We've been tracking him. We should close in on his operation any day now. You don't have to worry about him. Focus on finding Reaper. She may need help." The general cut the line. He was still upset Ozpin had let the entire Palette Mafia go to try and save one girl who may be beyond saving. The way Ozpin saw it, one way or another, the Palette Mafia was harmless now. Taking them down would have only let Torchwick take his place regardless.
He sighed and stood. If Weiss and Blake were intent on continuing their investigation (and if he knew anything about team RWBY, it was 'good luck holding them back') then this information could only be of help. He had told them would let them know anyway. He later found Blake with Velvet, wandering the halls.
"I still don't know exactly what to tell him… how do you let someone down easily?" Blake vented.
"I don't know. I've only ever been in one relationship." Velvet told her.
"Well, it's harder than it looks." Blake told her.
"Don't tell me you really do still have feelings for him?"
"Of course not. I love Weiss, and I'm not going to leave her. But they were real once… and Sun felt that… it's going to devastate him, and I can't stop that."
"Putting it off isn't going to make it any better." Velvet warned. Blake knew that. She just really wished she could find a magical second option.
Ozpin smiled and turned the corner. "Young love. Unfortunately, I do not have a class for it. Even I don't understand the mysteries of the heart." He nodded to the girls. "Ms. Belladonna. Ms. Scarlatina."
"Professor Ozpin!" Blake turned eight shades of red, not knowing how much of the conversation the headmaster overheard.
"Where is Ms. Schnee?" he asked the girls.
"Weiss is in the library, trying to find anything that points to Adam." Blake told him.
"I see. She's working alone today?"
"I dragged Blake along for a day off." Velvet explained. "My team is going on a fourth year mission tomorrow, and we don't know how long we'll be gone."
Ozpin nodded. "Well, Ms. Belladonna, I just came from a call with the general."
"About Adam?"
"Yes. It seems he has escaped. Atlas hasn't said anything yet because they are confident they will recapture him soon." Ozpin explained. "You should go inform Ms. Schnee. There is something I wanted to talk to Ms. Scarlatina about." Blake nodded and took off.
Velvet had a feeling she knew what Ozpin wanted to talk about. "This is about what I saw in the warehouse, isn't it?"
"I would like to hear it in detail so that I may draw conclusions."
"Well… when she first showed up, she talked to Neopolitan… well, lectured her, really, about going out of her way to kill me. Except it didn't sound like Ruby speaking, exactly." Velvet began.
"Like someone else was speaking through her?" Ozpin asked.
"No, like she was purposefully altering her voice to disguise it," the rabbit girl clarified, "Changing the cadence, like an accent. It was still her voice, but it wasn't Ruby's voice."
"Two personas… did one of them seem more like the Ruby you remember?"
Velvet shook her head. "I didn't get to see the other personality long, but I get the feeling they were more similar than a normal split personality. It could be that the heavy amount of aura and dual semblances weighed Ruby's mind and broke it into two similar halves. Or it may be another product of the Aura-Link itself, a twisted version of Yang that held on to her aura as it was transferred."
"Either way, this can all be traced back to that event." Ozpin lamented. He made a promise to watch over Ruby. With every passing day, he was more and more concerned it really was too late.
Late that night Blake settled down for sleep. Weiss achieved rest far earlier, but something kept Blake up. Something prickling her faunus senses, just at the edge. Adam's evident return was making her more than a little paranoid, and she couldn't help but keep one eye on the door. Which proved useful as she heard a knock around midnight. She got up slowly and pulled out Gambol Shroud from under the bed.
Poised to strike, she opened the door to reveal… nothing. She looked down the hall one way, and saw more nothing. She turned her head down the other end of the hall and saw a shadow slip around the corner. Her eyes narrowed and she followed the shadow. She turned the corner and saw the shadow again as it slipped down another hall and out of sight.
They continued this game of cat and mouse (Yang would be so proud) all the way up to the roof. It was then that Blake could properly see who had gotten her to follow them. She remembered the long black cape from the warehouse a few nights ago. Neopolitan was standing next to Reaper, with a very unhappy look on her face.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the huntress asked them. It was far to open to try and arrest them on her own, with Neo's teleporting and Reaper's speed. They took the precautions but they were here for a reason, and Blake doubted her following them was an accident.
"We need your help, Blake." Reaper told her.
The cat girl was taken aback. "What makes you think I'm willing to help you?"
"Because Adam is in Vale," Reaper explained. "And I know where."
Blake was shocked once more. Could it really be that easy? "Where?"
"That information comes at a price." Reaper had the whole thing figured out. "Agree to help us, and we'll take you there. Believe it or not, I don't want to kill misguided faunus any more than you do. But time is short. He may already know that I know by now."
Blake's ear twitched, and the cat girl suppressed a smile. "All right. I'll help you. Just let me go change out of my yakuta."
"We have clothes for you. Sorry, but you're not going to say anything to Weiss. Come on." Blake changed while managing not to completely remove her yakuta until she was done. Then, the 'plan' necessitated the confiscation of Gambol Shroud. Blake would have rather kept it, but she was going to get her chance to confront Adam again. Reaper was no idiot; she knew Blake would spend the entire time thinking of ways to bring her in too. As long as she planned for every outcome, she would be fine.
