Chapter 2

Doubt had set in a couple of miles back. Doubt in herself, in her resolve and in the fairness of this world she wanted so desperately to change. These doubts clouded all of her thoughts as Blake pushed on through the cold and exhaustion, her activity making her immune to the majority of its bite. Yes, she doubted. But Blake Belladonna had not survived all that life had thrown at her to simply give up now. Not when so much depended on her. Not now.

For what seemed like the millionth time, Blake renewed her resolve and pushed on, every step getting her closer to saving the others. She would not let them down.

This new found resolve was suddenly bolstered as Blake made out what looked like building in the distance. Her pace increased once again. She silently pleaded that this not be some delusion and continued on.

The fight had been fun Yang reflected, settling the last of the spare chairs at one of the bar room's tables. It had been the first taste of excitement she had felt in a while and she had to admit that the heiress knew how to use her toothpick. Unfortunately the cleanup of the fight drained all of the adrenaline from Yang and she was back to reflecting on her situation.

Vale had been such a fun town when she and Ruby had arrived. There were bars, gatherings and criminals to be dealt with. It had been too much fun in many ways though and the two of them had spent the better part of a year cleaning it up for the sake of its residents. When they asked them both to stay, Ruby had accepted right away, clearly not sharing Yang's doubts. She couldn't abandon her sister though and had forced those doubts back. Yang had hoped that the normality of the town would help her spirit settle.

It had done the opposite, making her crave the old adventures they had been a part of when the two of them made their way west. Ruby and Yang had fought Grimm they had never even heard of. They had helped to broker peace between settlements and native Faunus who refused integration. Hell, they'd even discovered Dust deposits, adding prospectors to their resume. But now…..

Now she and Ruby spent their days watching over a self-sufficient town that no longer had need of them. A purpose. That's what Yang really wanted; adventures always gave her a purpose. Well, that and the adrenaline she craved.

Yang was doing a last survey of the room before going to bed, making sure that everything had been fixed or replaced. Her back was to the entrance as she did this but she heard the saloon doors swing open.

"We're closed for the night. Sorry" was she said before turning. What greeted was the strangest thing on this already unusual day. A cat Faunus, no more than eighteen years old stood just past the doors. She looked like death, her entire body seemingly moments away from collapse but seemed to be attempting to speak.

Yang wasn't wrong as she made the observation though, for just as she opened her mouth to ask if she was ok, the girl collapsed and formed a heap on the bar room floor.

Rushing to her, Yang knelt down beside her and lifted her head.

"Hey! Wake up, what happened? Are you ok?" She rushed out the words, knowing the answer to her last question. "Shit." Yang snapped and she lifted the Faunus into her, noticing that she was surprisingly light and carried her to the nearest room.

"I'll be right back." She said to the unconscious girl, not really knowing why. Yang rushed downstairs and jumped over the bar in her haste. She grabbed a pitcher of water that she always kept there and ran with it back to girl. She was clearly dehydrated and Yang figured working on that would be step one.

Yang pulled the girl up so that she was sitting on the bed and leaning on the back post. The exhausted Faunus stirred as she did this and Yang took advantage of her semi-conscious state to tilt a glass of water on her clearly parched lips. She didn't choke as the water trickled into her mouth and Yang took that as a positive sign. She continued this for several minutes until the glass was empty.

Yang wasn't sure what to do now. The girl was back to a sleeping position and seemed to be fine for the moment. She would need to let Ruby know about this but that could wait until the morning. Plus, she didn't want have the poor girl wake up without anybody there, she had clearly been through enough already. Without anything else to do until she did wake up, Yang took the time to actually look at new guest.

The fact that she was a cat Faunus had been obvious at a glance due to her ears. Which I will not rub, Yang chastised herself as the thought floated through her head. But other characteristics popped out on closer examination: the slight tilt on the corner of her eyes and the eyes themselves. Yang had only gotten a small look when she had stirred but their striking amber color had jumped out at her. They really were beautiful.

Yang took note of her long, black hair next. A regular black cat she thought to herself, hopefully you're not bad luck. Wait, was that racist? Nah. Yang sat back now, ready to wait for the morning with this and similar other thoughts in mind.

If this is what having friends is like than I think Yang has to seriously reexamine what she thinks I need, thought Ruby as she carried yet another bag of Weiss' up the stairs and into her spare bedroom. To be fair, Weiss had carried her share too but was now unpacking one of her many bags. Ruby entered as she was doing this and noticed what was in her bag.

"I have sheets and blankets you can use." She offered, attempting to play host, as Weiss pulled out the sheet set.

"Thanks but I always travel prepared." Weiss spoke while laying out her blanket on the bed. "I didn't bring a mattress though so I suppose this will have to do." She stared at the bed, strangely offended.

"Well then, I guess I'll see you in the morning…and stuff." Ruby was a little confused about what she was supposed to be doing. Should she ask Weiss why she was in Vale now, or wait? It was late so maybe she would be a little less grumpy at breakfast. Sure, that sounds like a thing. "Good night." Ruby turned and left the room.

As soon as Ruby left, Weiss let out a huge sigh. She was exhausted from her trip and hadn't actually slept in over twenty-four hours. The distraction at the tavern hadn't helped her either. All in all, all she wanted was a bath and some sleep. Please let them decent water for a bath in this town.

Weiss took one last look at her surroundings before doing an uncharacteristic flop onto the bed. It was about as comfortable as she had expected but was better than her conveyance over the past weeks. A little sleep and you can get to work tomorrow. He is testing you with this assignment and you are not going to disappoint him. Not to mention the potential lives that were at stake if she failed.

Pressure was nothing new to Weiss and she was too exhausted to let it affect her now anyway. The morning, she repeated, I'll get to work in the morning.

She rolled over and pinched the candle on the nightstand. Darkness engulfed the room and Weiss succumbed to sleep.

Blake was up in an instant, her heart pounding and breathing heavily. She looked around trying to find the threat but saw only a normal bedroom. Well a bedroom with a blonde girl in it. Blake was about to speak when she noticed that the girl was sleeping. How did she get here?

The last thing she remembered was running towards a building with light pouring out, presumably the house of this girl. She must have taken me in Blake realized, relaxing and waiting for her heartrate to return to normal. The pitcher of water was the next thing Blake noticed and her body's thirst immediately reaffirmed itself. Ignoring the glass, Blake grabbed the pitcher and started drinking. Water had never tasted so delicious and the contents were gone in moments.

Blake leaned back in the bed now, she had made it. She was alive. Now she had to figure out her next course of action and work from there. She looked back at the blonde, wondering if she would be an ally in this.

The darkness took her again soon after.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Roman Torchwick stood from the chair he had been occupying for the past hour as he heard the tell-tale heels make their way towards the office. Here we go, he thought, preparing himself for Cinder's superior attitude and demands for better results. She always wanted more, no matter how well a job went or how incredibly successful a business deal was, Cinder would always ask why it hadn't gone better. Honestly, learn to settle woman. He wiped his feelings from his face and presented a broad smile, spreading his arms as he greeted her.

"Cinder, my dear giver of orders, how are you?"

She walked past him and to the window, staring out side to the site below as she spoke "Emerald tells me you've been rather naughty with my workers." Her voice possessed a seductive timber that always seemed to Torchwick like a lion purring before a kill.

"Unavoidable incidents, the both of them." He stated "One was to teach a lesson and help you more in the long run with the others. The other would have never cooperated. It was for the good of the venture, as is everything I do."

Cinder seemed to ignore what he said as she continued "But despite all that, I feel that we have a sufficient workforce to proceed to phase two."

Torchwick's eyes narrowed, he had ideas but was never actually told about what phase two would involve.

"You've done an acceptable job of disrupting the Schnee operation from getting off the ground but they still have a field office at the site and will continue to throw assets at it to get it going."

Roman reeled at the insult of 'acceptable' but hid his feelings well. "So you want me to rile them up a bit? Get them off site so you can mine that dust too?"

Cinder laughed, a light, terrifying laugh. "I know you have suspicions about my plans but let me assure you that you are thinking too small." She turned to him now "The dust is only a means to an end Roman, once everything comes to fruition I will have all of Remnant on its knees."

Note: Thank you for reading once again, and any feedback you give. This chapter will likely be one of the shortest as I am aiming for about 2-3k words per chapter. This one is short because I wanted to try and set some things up and cover specific things together in Chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed this second part and continue checking back.