Chapter 6

They had made it out of Vale and into the wilderness beyond. The only path that remained was a dirt trail that was rarely used anymore. If they just followed it they would arrive at Eastport in a few days. It was not necessarily the quickest way. It meandered around, connecting scattered villages. Those villages would be important to their journey though. On the way they could hopefully pick up some supplies, maybe even earn some cash, and perhaps find the occasional bed to sleep in. The first night, however, would be spent beneath the stars.

"I'll take first watch." Pyrrha volunteered as she and the others finished setting up camp. It was not much of a camp, just a fire in the middle with sleeping bags laid out on ground that was relatively flat and had been cleared of debris. Someone would need to be awake at all times to make sure the group was not ambushed by Grimm, or worse.

"Maybe you should go later in the night when it's tougher to stay up." Yang suggested. "I trust you to stay awake more than I trust myself."

"I meant I would take watch all night." Pyrrha clarified.

"There's no way you're staying up all night." Yang said. "We all need to rest. We'll take it in shifts."

"Yang's right." Weiss said. "We'll all need to be sharp. I'll take the first shift. Nora's the best morning person so she'll have third. You can have the middle."

"If you insist." Pyrrha relented.

"After all the walking we did today I don't think I'll have any trouble getting to sleep." Ruby said with a yawn. "Right Nora?" No response. Ruby turned around to see Nora already asleep.

"I'm not sure it will be quite so easy for me." Blake said. "I have some rough memories." The look on Ren's face said he shared her concern.

"Come on guys, it's fine." Ruby said. "The past is the past. You shouldn't dwell on it. We're all among friends now." If only it were so simple. Horrors etched into the mind were not so easily dispelled.

The flight to Atlas was delayed and Taiyang did not arrive until morning. He was frantic. Every minute he lost would make it harder and harder find his daughters. He asked around among the staff when he arrived, but none of them remembered the group. Maybe they had arrived during the previous shift. Unfortunately, that left him with nothing to go on. On the plus side, he knew the identity of the person in Atlas most likely to know something.

Taiyang immediately made his way to the Schnee estate. If anyone knew anything, it would be Winter Schnee. Taiyang knew Weiss had been in contact with her via Qrow. He was stopped at the gate by a tough-looking Atlesian soldier. "Name and business." The soldier demanded.

Taiyang sighed. He hated dealing with the military and the Atlesian military in particular. "Taiyang Xiao-Long." He said. "I'm here to speak to Winter."

The soldier flicked through his scroll. "You're not on the list." He said.

"What is this?" Taiyang said. "A nightclub? It's an emergency."

"No one gets in unless they're on the list." The soldier said. He moved a hand toward his sidearm.

Taiyang held up his hands and took a step back. He was not here for a confrontation. "Look, I'm the father of Weiss' teammates." He explained.

"Oh, you're a mourner." The soldier said. "That's different. You sure took your time getting here."

Just then a man carrying a package walked up. The soldier waved him past without a word. Wait a second. Taiyang knew him. He was a friend of Qrow. "So can I go in?" Taiyang asked.

"Go ahead." The soldiers said. "Stay on the path and don't try anything. We'll be watching."

Taiyang rushed up the path, catching up to the courier. "Hey, Qrow's friend." He called.

The man turned around. "Oh, you're uh...Taiyang was it?" The courier said.

"The same." Taiyang said. He caught up and the pair began walking toward the mansion. "What are you doing here?"

"Qrow needed me to deliver a package." The courier replied. "Now that I think about it, I think we were on the same flight over here. What brings you to Atlas?"

"Let's just say it has something to do with Qrow." Taiyang answered.

"From the look in your eyes I'd say it's not good." The courier said. "Just don't take it out on me."

"Don't worry about that." Taiyang said. "What's in the box?"

"No idea." The courier admitted. "I'm just supposed to give it to Winter." Taiyang had a feeling he knew. The pair arrived at the door and the courier knocked. A servant answered then ran off to fetch Winter.

Winter arrived a few minutes later, presentable enough but not looking her best. Apparently she was not expecting her second guest. The courier handed her the package and ran off. "And you are?" Winter asked of Taiyang.

"Taiyang Xiao-Long." He said.

"Xiao-Long...ah, you must be Yang and Ruby's father." Winter said. "They must be terribly broken up about Weiss."

"Cut the crap." Taiyang snapped. "She's alive and we both know it. She's been living at my damn house."

"Mr. Xiao-Long, please keep your voice down." Winter admonished, feigning indignation. "Come with me, we'll discuss this in private." She whispered. She led him to her room and locked the door behind him. "What do you want?"

"I want to find my daughters." Taiyang replied.

"What do you mean find them?" Winter said. "What makes you think I'd know where they are?"

"They ran off with your sister and their friends." Taiyang explained. "I know Weiss has been in contact with you. I also know you've got connections to the Atlesian military. Either way, you should know where they're headed."

"I haven't been told anything." Winter said. "And I've been on leave since Weiss faked her death. You should probably ask Qrow."

"I would if I could." Taiyang said. "He's gone too. He set this damn thing up. He's pulling the strings just like that bastard Ozpin. I will not let him get my daughters killed."

"Well, as much as I'd like to help, I don't know anything." Winter said.

"Watch the tape." Taiyang suggested. "Maybe Weiss will let slip."

"She won't." Winter said. "She never told me where she was staying or anything other than that she was 'with friends.' She's not going to make a basic error like that."

"Then ask the general." Taiyang said. "He's part of Qrow's cabal. I'm sure you know that even if you're not. My daughters left a note. They said they were going after the people who caused the incident at Beacon. I can't let them. There's no way they can handle this."

Winter was alarmed. The people responsible for the Vytal Festival incident were indeed formidable. She did not know all the details, but her close contact with Ironwood made it clear that they were a global threat capable of ending civilization. Now her sister was going to try to fight them. Ozpin could not stop them. The Atlesian military could not stop them. Weiss was only going to get herself killed. "I'll set up a meeting with General Ironwood at once." Winter said. "He'll know. Hopefully we can get there before it's too late."

At dawn it was time to move on. The group tore down their camp and set off down the trail. They reached a village mid morning but were turned away. The influx of refugees had already stretched the village's resources to the breaking point and even having a group of capable warriors who could help out was not something they wanted. Luckily the next village was not far off. They reached it by evening. This time they were allowed within its walls, but there would be no freebies. If they were going to have supplies or a place to stay, they were going to earn it. Earning a room was easy. All they had to do for that was take turns on watch atop the walls or manning the guns used to defend against airborne Grimm. In return for a combined 10 man-hours of service, they were given a small room with one bed for the night. It was cramped and uncomfortable, but it was better than sleeping outside.

Earning supplies would be a more demanding task and it would have to wait for the next day. A farming community nearby had gone silent. It was small, only three houses and the associated fields perched atop a plateau with steep sides. The village counted on the farms to provide food, but the delivery scheduled for two days previous had never arrived. It was the most important one of all, the last before winter cut off all fresh produce. The village had emergency stores and could probably make it without the additional food, but it would be touch-and-go and the necessary rationing would be both unpopular and uncomfortable. Combined with everything that had recently gone on in the kingdom, it might even cause the sort of unrest that attracted Grimm. Previously the village had not had the manpower required to investigate, but the newly arrived group would be perfect for the job. They would depart at dawn the following day.

"General." Winter said with a salute.

General Ironwood was going over something with a short, plump scientist. He turned away from their work. "Ah, Winter." Ironwood said. They saluted each other. "I didn't think you were scheduled to return for another few weeks."

"I'm not, but there's an emergency." Winter explained. "Qrow convinced my sister and some of her friends to go after the people who destroyed Beacon. We need to stop them but I don't know where they're headed. You do."

"This is all news to me." Ironwood said. "I thought your sister was dead."

"Qrow helped her fake her death to get our father off her trail." Winter said.

"That sounds like something he would do." Ironwood sighed. "Why is Mr. Xiao-Long here? This facility houses classified technology. He should not have been allowed inside."

"He's here as my guest." Winter replied. "His daughters are with Weiss. He informed me of their plans."

"So you want to know where they're going?" Ironwood asked. "That's easy. I can take you." He turned to the scientist. "Is it ready?"

"No, of course it's not ready." The scientist replied.

"You have twelve hours." Ironwood said. "Then I'm leaving with it, whether it's ready or not. It seems events have forced my hand." He returned his attention to Winter and Taiyang. "I'll have a ship prepped for departure tomorrow morning. Until then you are both to remain in Winter's quarters. You will not leave until you are escorted to my ship. That's a direct order."

"Tomorrow might be too late." Taiyang said. "Please, just tell us where they're going. I'll go by myself if I must."

"I'm afraid I can't do that for security reasons." Ironwood said. "We cannot go until we are properly prepared. It's too dangerous. While the arrangements are being made I'll look into travel records and passenger manifests to confirm their destination. We will save them. It's the least I can do for both of you."

"Thank you General." Winter said. She saluted again. Taiyang was intent on arguing more but Winter dragged him off. They were taken to her quarters by soldiers to ensure Taiyang did not see anything he was not supposed to.

"Are you really going to stop them?" The scientist asked once Winter and Taiyang were gone.

"Of course not." Ironwood answered. "As much as I may take issue with the man, Qrow is now in charge. I'm going to do whatever I can to help his group."

"And what will you do about those two?" The scientist asked.

"They will simply be left in the dark." Ironwood replied.

"Why do you need her though?" The scientist asked. "You know she's not ready. Not yet."

"I still believe all the things I said about her before Beacon." Ironwood said. "She's our best shot at success. I wish there was more time, I really do, but we must move now. If we don't it will be too late."

After following a narrow path, the group arrived below the plateau. There was no way up. That was their biggest security measure against Grimm. It was sheer cliffs all around. The farmers moved cargo and people by a winch attached to a platform, but the platform was up and there was no way to operate it from below. That was their biggest security measure against people. The only way to get up there to investigate would be to climb. It was not a particularly long climb, but it would be a challenging one.

"I guess we can assume that the shipment wasn't intercepted enroute." Weiss said. She waited at the bottom while Ren scaled the cliff. Once at the top he would lower the platform to bring up the others. "The platform is still up and we didn't see any evidence on the way."

"It's strange." Pyrrha said. "If they were the victims of some sort of attack in the settlement, you would expect a distress call of some kind."

"Yeah, even at a place with natural defenses like this they still always have someone on watch just in case." Yang added. "Whatever happened must have happened fast."

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions." Ruby said. "They might just be having trouble with their communications gear. Scroll reception sucks out here. If they had to fix it, it could have delayed their shipment."

"I don't know." Blake said. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Ren scrambled to the top of the plateau and out of view. A few seconds later he peeked his head over the edge and the platform began slowly descending. When it reached the bottom, the rest of the group stepped aboard and Ren started reeling them in. When they reached the top there was not much to see. A few boxes labeled 'produce' were stacked in a cart near the winch. It was obviously part of the shipment, but not all of it. There were no people around. The houses and storage buildings were still standing and the fields appeared to be in decent shape. That probably ruled out a Grimm attack.

"I guess we should check the houses." Pyrrha suggested. Like the others, she was worried about what they would find. It was disturbingly quiet. The only sounds came from the wind and the noises they made themselves as they walked toward the structures. Pyrrha hoped there would be survivors but she knew that was highly unlikely.

Ren stood beside the door to the first house. Yang positioned herself to punch it in while the others stacked up on either side. They were prepared for a hostile welcome. Just before Yang punched the door, Ren turned the knob. It was unlocked. Yang pushed the door and it swung open with a creak. Yang lunged inside, prepared for a sudden attack. None came. The house had been ransacked. The group spread out, looking through the various rooms. Many valuables had been left behind, food too, but there were no weapons to be found. There was also no sign of the occupants or any evidence to tell them what had happened.

It was time to check out the second house. There were a few broken windows and it was similarly ransacked. Still, there was nothing to go on. The third house was much like the first two, at least it appeared so. The group went inside and began searching. Yang emerged from a room looking a little ill and closed the door behind her. "I think I know what happened." Yang said. Weiss walked over, prepared to go inside and see for herself. "You probably don't want to do that." Yang warned.

"What's in there?" Weiss asked.

"A corpse." Yang said. "Adult male. I think. He's been mutilated. It didn't look like something Grimm would do. It was too...precise."

Blake arrived and pushed past Weiss and Yang. She did not care about Yang's warnings and forced her way into the room. She returned a few moments later. She looked worried. "White Fang." Blake said. "It has all the hallmarks of their torture."

"But why?" Weiss asked. "Why attack a tiny settlement in the middle of nowhere and not even steal stuff? Why torture some guy like that?"

"It's clear they were looking for something." Blake replied. "I suspect he talked long before they stopped torturing him. That's the thing about the White Fang. Torture isn't just a means to an end, it's an end in itself."

"So what about everyone else?" Ruby asked. She knew the answer but did not want to hear it.

"They'll be dead." Blake confirmed. "I'm sure we'll find their bodies around here somewhere. Hopefully they were just executed."

"Do you think we'll find any answers?" Ren asked.

"Maybe." Blake shrugged. "The White Fang aren't know for covering up their crimes, but it could still be hard to figure out exactly what they were after."

"How many people lived here?" Ruby asked, on the edge of tears.

"Eleven." Pyrrha said. "That's the number from the briefing at least."

"So we're looking for ten more bodies." Yang sighed. "I hope the rest are in better shape."

There was only one more structure left, a large barn used for storage. The group approached the doors afraid of the horrors that might wait inside. Yang and Ren pushed the double-doors open. It was not as horrible as it could have been, but it was bad. Two bodies, a man and a woman, were hanging from ropes tied to the rafters. They were not hanging by their necks but by their feet, and their bodies displayed dozens of stab wounds along with some signs of blunt trauma.

"Now I'm sure it was the White Fang." Blake said. She walked up to one of the corpses and cut it down. She examined the wounds. "Probably beaten first. Then stabbed. They probably bled out over a long period of time. I bet whoever did this was watching too. Probably laughing as they begged for their lives, or maybe as they begged to be finished off."

"I still don't understand." Weiss said. "Why this? Why here?"

"Maybe we'll find out when we locate the rest of the bodies." Blake said. "We're still short by eight."

"I think we should just go back and inform the village." Ruby said. The scenes of carnage were too much for her and she just wanted to leave.

"You can go." Blake said. "I'll stay. I have to know."

"Know what?" Ruby asked.

Blake looked at her. "I think you know the answer." Blake said.

"If you're staying, I'm staying." Weiss said. "You shouldn't have to be alone with...all this."

"None of us are leaving." Yang said. "The people that did this might still be nearby. The bodies have hardly begun to rot. It's too risky to split up until we know it's clear."

"I found something." Pyrrha said. She pointed to a smear of blood on the ground. The trail led out the back door of the building and into the fields. "Looks like someone was dragged, alive judging by the amount of blood."

The blood trail led into the fields. It began to trail off but the direction pointed the group over a slight rise. They topped it and found the remaining bodies. Just on the other side of the hill was a shallow trench. Lined up inside were eight bodies, each with a single bullet wound to the head. "Looks like they were lined up and shot." Blake said. "All things considered, they got off easy."

"But whose blood were we following?" Pyrrha asked. "None of these victims would have bled like that."

"What's this?" Nora said. She pointed to a small concrete structure about a meter square, just barely sticking up out of the dirt. The others walked over. It looked like a hatch of some kind.

"It looks like a Grimm shelter." Ren said. "If all else fails, run and hide."

Pyrrha crouched down beside it. "It looks like there's some blood on it." She said, pointing to a crimson streak. "I'd guess our bleeder is down there." She opened the hatch, revealing a ladder that descended into darkness.

"Looks like my semblance will come in handy." Yang said. "Somebody activate me."

"Your hair looks kind of greasy." Ruby said.

"It is not!" Yang shouted. Her eyes flashed red and her hair burst into flames. "I can't believe you would say that." She grabbed hold of the ladder and climbed down. "Found the switch!" She called back up, her voice echoing off the walls as she flicked on the lights. "Oh my…"

"Yang, what is it?" Pyrrha called down after her.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Yang said. She came rushing up the ladder. "It's worse than the first one."

"I'd better have a look." Blake said.

"You shouldn't." Yang warned. "You really shouldn't. I don't know what you saw when you were with the White Fang but...don't, just don't."

"I have to." Blake said as she grabbed the ladder and slid down.

"She shouldn't be alone." Weiss said. She slid down next. The rest waited at the surface, trying to comfort Yang as she sat there with a thousand yard stare.

"This is Adam's work alright." Blake said. She seemed entirely unfazed.

Weiss stared in horror. The corpse of a Faunus man sat tied to a chair. It had been subject to untold horrors, left barely recognizable. Behind him, on the wall of the bunker, the word 'traitor' was written in blood. Weiss vomited and rushed back up the ladder.

Blake followed a few seconds later. "Adam and his men did this." Blake reported. "I'm sure of it."

"Do you think they're still nearby?" Ren asked.

"I doubt it." Blake replied. "He's not one to stay at the scene of a crime for long. He'll have a camp in the area, but it'll likely be a few miles away so he can't be easily tracked back to it."

"What happened here?" Weiss asked. She was shaking. "What was all that?"

"If I had to guess I'd say this settlement was hiding a former member of the White Fang, a runaway like myself." Blake explained. "Adam tracked him here, tortured the others to find out exactly where he was hiding, then executed the rest. He would have then dragged the guy out of the bunker, shown him everything he had done to his friends, then tortured him to death too."

"We should report back." Pyrrha suggested. "There's nothing left for us to do here."

"Yes, please." Ruby said. Even having not seen the worst of it, she was sickened. The others were just as ready to leave.

"It's strange." Blake said as the group started back. "Adam never would have attempted something like this. This is brutal, even by his standards. He usually leaves survivors, the better to spread the fear. I guess the world really is falling apart."

"Blake...if Qrow hadn't saved us…" Weiss started, still shaking.

"Yes, he would have done the same to us." Blake cut her off. "He probably would have done worse. Now do you see why I was prepared to kill us both?"

"Yes, but what I can't understand is how you even hesitated." Weiss said.

"Like I said before, because I love you." Blake said. "Even to spare you that, killing you would just...it would be too much."