Hey, so, I'm doing better, which shows because of a few things: 1. this should be a well edited chapter (or maybe my old 21-year old eyes are failing me) 2. I'm up to chapter 14 on this story and 3. fun fact: Uprising (the third of the trilogy) was supposed to be my last story but I've got one more idea cooking... one that I really like. Anyway, hope you guys are having an amazing Labor Day weekend and I hope you guys do enjoy this chapter. Please do review so I can get some good tips and if you really enjoy it, please also fav and follow. I always deeply appreciate it. Thanks Guys!

Chapter 7

Aero had changed his shirt and was now jogging back down the stairs, his equipment rattling against each other as he moved past everyone.

"Aero-"

"Let's go Sebastian," Aero said, walking to the front door but being stopped with a hand on his shoulder by Weiss.

"Yes?"

"We're coming with."

"Oh no you're not," Aero said but was stopped by another hand, this time Scarlet's on his other shoulder.

"Dude, you're hurt and that place is probably fortified. Let us."

"I'm not letting you guys get-"

"We got involved when we stopped you from killing that guy," Ruby said, stepping forward and showing concern. Aero looked at them and shook his head.

"Aero, you're hurt. Magnis did a number on you. You're not 100%. Ruby's right, we're all involved now. Besides, they're your, well our, friends," Sebastian said with a smile, looking at everyone who returned it. Aero nodded his head slowly.

"Okay, you got the plans?" he asked Sebastian, who nodded, "Good. Weiss, do you have an airship we can use?"

"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?" she asked, walking away.

"Good point," Aero said as they followed her to the backyard. In front of the nicely sized pool was a helipad, on top of which rested a newly minted Bullhead that everyone clamored into. Weiss set the ship to autopilot and put in the location that Sebastian relayed to her then the two returned to everyone, allowing Sebastian to lay the plans down, everyone encircling them.

"Okay, three story building that was abandoned a couple of years ago. Lila is on the third floor, back room. It is apparently filled with a good amount of bodyguards and fellow assassins. Here's what I'm thinking: Yang, Blake, Sun will take the first floor; Ruby, Scarlet and Weiss will take the second. Aero will slip by and make his way to Lila, where he'll wait, you guys breach and then get her out. Questions?" he asked.

"You sure you want Aero alone on the third floor?" Yang asked.

"You guys need experience fighting assassins. He can handle himself," he said, patting Aero's arm, who had them crossed.

"We have four hours, by the time we get there the sun will start to rise pending any bad weather. I'll stay here and if you guys need any information, just yell my name," Sebastian said, handing the Hunters and Huntress's headsets similar to Aero's, "Let's just relax. It'll be okay Aero," Sebastian said, patting his shoulders. Aero nodded and walked past everyone, taking a seat in the co-pilot seat and staring out at the passing clouds and shattered moon hanging in the sky.

"Can I join you?" he heard behind him, snapping him to attention, turning around to see Weiss.

"Weiss… of course," he said, motioning to the pilot's chair. She sat down and looked at him, waiting for him to turn to her.

"I know what you're going through."

"Really?"

"Not like that smartass. I know you're blaming yourself."

"Well, it's kinda easy-"

"You're right, it is," Weiss said, Aero looking at her curiously, "I've done it a lot my whole life. I blamed myself for how my family treated faunus', I blamed myself when I wasn't made leader of team RWBY back at Beacon, for not being perfect, for a fight I lost in a tournament… I've blamed myself a whole lot. And you're going through it too and you shouldn't. Things just happen in certain ways Aero."

"Life's unfair."

"Exactly. We'll find a way to save Lila. But you like this won't help, you'll get hurt easily. Don't dwell on it Aero; you may blame yourself, but no one on my team or their significant others blame you. Hell, we should thank you for bringing us together for a month, we've had a great time being together again like back at Beacon," she said with a smile that Aero returned.

"Thank you Weiss."

"Anytime Aero. You want me to stay up here with you?"

"You know what? I think I would love that," Aero said, the two chatting to one another and getting to know one another better as the ship flew on.

"Who the hell are you three?" a guard armed with an assault rifle said to Yang, Blake and Sun. The three walked up to him, who was in a ready stance, his hands firmly gripping his rifle as Weiss, Ruby, Scarlet and Aero made their way in the waning darkness to the building.

"We're supposed to meet up with some friends," Yang replied.

"For what?"

"Uh… to smoke?" Blake said, the guard looking at her.

"Really? Like hell. You need to – UNF!" he yelled as Yang punched and discharged a shot, sending him rocketing into the building, knocking the doors off its hinges and into a back wall, leaving an indentation.

"Oops," Yang said as the three made their way inside and fought guards while their friends made their way into the second floor via a window. They surprised a few guards and easily took them down as Aero made his way to the third floor, shooting one and stabbing another with a hidden blade then running to the room and waiting. He leaned on the door, his assault rifle in his hands, ready to go as the rest of the team made their way to him.

"Damn," Sun said, looking at the two dead guards.

"My handiwork. Sebastian, where is she located?"

"It looks as though she is actually across from the door you're in front of. She has five guards with her, two next to her with the others standing around, weapons ready."

"Got it. Yang, blast through that wall with Scarlet and Sun. Ruby, get low and get ready to shoot. Blake, as soon as I kick the door you go in with Weiss and me. Got it?" he asked, no one answering as they moved into position. He counted down, leaned against the door and kicked it in with the back of his heel, turning with the door as an explosion ripped right next to him. Two guards were sent to the back wall, another downed by Ruby as Aero shot the two next to Lila in the head. Lila shrieked at the sudden turn of events then looked up at Aero with shock as tears came to her face. He looked at her and hugged her as Blake cut the rope tying her hands behind the chair she sat in, allowing her to hug him back tightly until Aero stared at her.

"Lila, I'm really happy to see you okay but I need you to breathe in and out slowly because this is gonna hurt," he said, letting go then holding her left hand and turning it around. Lila looked confused then looked scared as he took a short blade out.

"Oh… t-the tracker," she said, Aero nodding his head as he looked at her. She looked at him and felt two hands on her shoulders from Yang and Blake as he dug the blade in, her eyes going wide and a scream escaping her lips as he popped the tracker out. The two held her shoulders and calmed her down as he ripped his right sleeve off and wrapped it around her hand. The two let go and he patted her shoulder as she shook at the pain, moving her left hand to ease the pain until the radio buzzed to life.

"Aero, I see three figures leaving the building. You may wanna chase after them."

"I thought you guys got everyone?" Aero said, turning to everyone.

"We thought so too," Ruby said, just as confused as everyone.

"It's Vincent, he snuck out the back when he heard the commotion downstairs. My bow," she said, holding her hand out and given her bow by Blake that was resting on the ground, "Let's go hunting Aero," she said, the assassin nodding.

"Gladly. Head back to the ship, we'll handle this," he said as they ran out the room. They leapt out the windows and looked around, spotting the three figures and chasing after them, leaving the group behind. Aero pulled out his pistols and got a few shots off, hitting one of the guards as Lila ran ahead, stopped suddenly, drew an arrow back with her right hand and fired, hitting Vincent square in the thigh. He yelled in pain and stumbled to the ground as the last guard turned and fired, scattering the two. He continued to fire, trying to hit Lila only to go down thanks to three bullets from Aero. The two moved in on the handler, who was trying to pull the arrow out. He wore a yellow shirt, jeans and casual shoes, his brown eyes looking up at the two in pure horror.

"P-please Lila, I'm s-sorry, it's just-" before he could finish Lila got down and stabbed him in the neck with her hidden blade.

"You're not sorry," she said, staring into his eyes as his life drained away. His breathing stopped quickly as Lila stood back up, tears in her eyes, "Bastard."

"I'm so sorry Lila," Aero said, gripping her shoulder as the Bullhead pulled over to them.

"I-I know, but it's okay. One less for the Guild. Your friends s-seem nice," she said, the two sharing a laugh as the side doors opened.

A week later Lila had been enjoying the manor, taking in everything and getting to know everyone, much like how Aero did just a month ago, even going on a shopping trip with the half-sisters disguised as a bodyguard. When she was out and about, she wore a short green wig, dark green slacks and a green shirt with white straps, carrying her hidden blades as her weapons. Aero was in the training room early in the morning, punching and kicking a sandbag, his moves getting more intense until he yelled with his final three hits. He breathed hard, rotating his right shoulder and wincing, a little bit of pain still residing in the sewn shoulder.

"Wow, that's one way to express anger," he heard behind him, turning to see Weiss standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, one way," he said, grabbing a towel and running it along his forehead, happy to see Weiss, "What are you up to?"

"Looking for you actually. The heads of the other branches of my family's company are holding a meeting today. I have to go; while I'm no longer part of the company, I still need to show face when Winter isn't busy, but sadly she is, so that means it's you and I," Weiss said.

"Got it, I'll go get dressed," Aero said, watching her walk away with a smile on his face. He quickly left the training room and headed upstairs to his room, taking a quick shower and changing into his new casual outfit. He wore a white suit jacket unbuttoned with a buttoned black dress shirt, matching black slacks and boots. On the inside of the suit jacket he wore his pistol holster, allowing him to carry both his pistols and on his right thigh hung his sword rod, leaving him prepared for any situation.

"You're not going to need your sword," she said, standing in his doorway. Aero didn't respond because he was staring at the heiress, his mouth slightly open. Her hair was flat against her back, her bangs covering her forehead and longer ones covering the corners of her eyes. Her ice blue eyes shined against her pale skin, small white earrings dangled from her ears, her lips lightly colored thanks to a pale red lipstick. Her body was accentuated with a tight white strapless dress, her cleavage covered with a black design, which ran to her knees and was complimented by white shoes with black heels.

"Aero?" she asked as he continued to stare at her, "Aero!"

"Ah what?" he said, shaking his head, "Sorry, you said no sword?"

"I did."

"I'm still bringing it. You should always over prepare," he said, Weiss groaning at him as he walked out and peeked into her room, "You should bring your sword."

"No."

"Let me hold it then."

"Aero-"

"Weiss," he said, cutting her off and laying a hand softly on her shoulder, "I don't know what the Guild is planning. This is your first meeting since you've let Seb and I stay here. It will ease my mind a lot, please. I'll hold onto it and gladly give it back to you here when nothing happens," he finished, nearly pleading with her. She looked at him, turned back to her room, grabbed Myrtenaster and handed it to the assassin, who put it through a belt loop. The two left the manor and walked to a waiting stretch limo, the door held open by the driver, and got in.

"Wow, so this is living in the lap of luxury," Aero said, sitting down against the right side while Weiss sat against the back. Aero had to remove her sword and carefully set it down next to him, something Weiss noticed.

"Told you we should've left it."

"Yeah yeah, I know," Aero said as Weiss grabbed a bottle of white wine from a cooler, opened it via an electric bottle opener and poured herself a glass.

"Would you like a glass?"

"I'll be honest, I've never had wine before, but sure," Aero said, shrugging his shoulders and taking a glass from Weiss, moving the liquid around. He sipped it and coughed immediately, Weiss laughing at his reaction.

"The hell? That has like no flavor."

"It's a sweet wine."

"Sweet wine my ass," he quickly snapped back, Weiss laughing harder at his reaction as the limo stopped in front of a luxury hotel. A doorman opened the door for Weiss and Aero to get out, who proceeded to walk through the lobby and to a large sitting area.

"Wait here, I should be out in three hours," she said to Aero, who nodded, put her sword on a table and laid down on a plush red couch, propping his feet up on the far arm rest and laying his head back. He stared at the cream colored ceiling, lost in his thoughts about everything that was happening and about Weiss.

The heiress entered the small boardroom and sat down with the representatives from the Atlas branch of her family's company. All the men and women in the room wore business style clothing and watched her enter as a man stood in front of a screen, a laptop to his right that he was typing on. He began by talking about sales figures and what her father wanted in the next quarter, the usual dribble that Weiss had come to ignore. She had decided that even though she was heiress she would not want to inherit the company, much like how her sister Winter had decided many years ago. Now her father had taken on a protege and was showing the young man the ropes at the family's large mansion in Atlas, while she was stuck here listening to quarterly reports. Her attention was elsewhere when her Scroll buzzed, which she heard in a little white, leather purse she had carried into the meeting. She pulled it out and looked quizzically at it for her sister had sent her a text.

You may get mad at this, but I did some digging on your new 'bodyguard'. Do tell me dear sister, how is it a faunus can be alive if he died seven years ago?

Weiss looked confused then opened the link sent by her sister, which opened to a local newspaper's website, specifically to the obituaries. She looked and gasped at the name she spotted on it.

"Ms. Schnee?" the man asked, the heiress looking up in embarrassment.

"Y-yes?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, is there a problem?"

"No, I'm sorry, just a text from a fellow Huntress. Just girl things, continue," she said with a fake smile, the man continuing on from where he left off. Weiss immediately texted Ruby.

I need you to do me a favor.

Anytime partner! What is it?

Do some research on Aero. My sister sent me something that's… disturbing.

What is it?

I'll send it to you. Get Yang and Blake to help as well.

Weiss sent the link to Ruby and waited, the minutes dragging on, the talking being drowned by her own distressed thoughts as two hours passed. She was now questioning everything about Aero, something that made her somewhat saddened as he had seemed like a good friend to her. Suddenly the door was kicked down by the faunus, who stood in the doorway breathing heavily, blood on his white jacket as he looked around.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem Weiss," he said, waiting for her to get up then tossing her rapier to her. She grabbed the hilt and ran out to four dead members of the Assassin's Guild, each with deep gashes.

"How did we not hear this?"

"I took them out quietly. They didn't even notice me, they walked by and was about to knock when I stabbed one, threw one back and fought the other two. Killed them then finished the last one, they didn't have a chance to really fight back."

"Any more coming?"

"I think so," Aero said, moving to the lobby which was now clear of people, his pistols drawn as he took cover behind a pillar. Weiss stopped, ran back to the room to warn the board members then grabbed her Scroll, opening it to a text from Blake.

Weiss we've double checked everything Winter sent. All of this checks out… We had Yang drive out to a cemetery but we can't find a gravestone or grave for that matter. It's all... odd.

Weiss read the text then nodded to herself, being brought back to the current situation with gunshots from Aero, who downed a member. She ran back out and witnessed another swing his blade horizontally, Aero ducking then shooting him in the back of his knee then the back of the attackers head. Another rushed Weiss, who parried his blow and cut him across his back, stumbling his back until he slipped on a sheet of ice she created. She turned, forming a small wall of ice and shattered it, sending the large chunks of ice into multiple attackers. Aero moved back, whipped his rod out, which brought forth his blade, and caught a strike with it. He pushed back, kicked the female attacker in her stomach then brought the blade down onto her spine, severing it. He blocked another attack, put the attacker in a headlock and snapped his neck.

"Oh shit," he said, looking down at the dead body, Weiss walking over to him after taking down two more with her precise attacks.

"Oh no," she added, looking with Aero. The young man wore a mask that they both knew so well, "The White Fang are helping?"

"Guess so. I'll talk to Sebastian about it," Aero said, placing a hand on her shoulder, however she shrugged it off.

"Well, I guess I was right about your sword," he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, guess so," she said, her two pools of ice blue staring at him. Aero stared back, confused and watched her walk back to the room with the board members. Soon she returned and the two left, sitting in silence in the limo, Aero looking down and wondering what was going on and if he somehow did something wrong.

The next morning Aero was walking down the steps into the main foyer, looking at the morning sunlight stream through the windows that were high on the walls. He leaned against the banister, yesterday still bothering him as he heard footsteps behind him.

"Morning mate," Sebastian said, patting Aero on the shoulder, who nodded at him.

"Morning. Find out anything?"

"Apparently the White Fang have allied with the Guild because the Guild has promised to help them take down more human targets. Of course, it's also because of your interactions with Adam and your last mission for them didn't go so well and you're allied with their enemy, so."

"Fantastic, two enemies."

"Mm. By the way, the girls are out shopping, so it's you, me, Scarlet and Sun."

"Sounds like a fun day," Aero said, a small smile on his lips.

"Don't worry about her Aero, I'm sure it's not anything serious," Sebastian said, patting his friends shoulder, who nodded. Both turned and looked at the front door because of a knock.

"By the way, we need to switch rooms," Sebastian said as Aero walked to the door.

"Why?" Aero said, turning in front of the door to his friend.

"Because I never want to hear two faunus' fuck again. Oh man, dude… ugh, the sounds and animal noises... Ijust," Sebastian said, quivering, making a puking sound and shaking his head as Aero laughed.

"It wasn't that bad," Sun said at the top of the steps with a groggy Scarlet, making Aero laugh harder and shake his head.

"I'll consider it," he said, gripping the door handle. All of a sudden an explosion erupted from the door, launching the assassin back, bouncing off the floor and stopping at the base of the stairs. Sebastian was thrown back as well against the stairs, his vision blurred from the explosion as people strewn in, leaving Sun and Scarlet to look on in confusion. Aero looked up, blood trailing from a fresh cut on his cheek as a figure approached him, a shotgun in his hands, the end of the barrel hovering over Aero's head. He stood next to Aero's head, a sadistic grin on his face while he looked down at Aero. He wore a tan long-sleeve shirt, black boots and dark brown pants, his hazel eyes staring at Aero.

"Hello Aero."

"Saunin… the m-mad."

"What now?" Aero asked, standing up and looking at the carnage.

"I was thinking about that, because this could've been too easy for them," Scarlet replied, "I have a plan."

"Which is?"

"Well-"

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!" Weiss yelled.