Authors Note: After rereading this chapter, I decided to merge this and what would've been Chapter 18 together. I apologize for any inconvenience!

It had taken some persuading, but Weiss had agreed to hold off on her questions until Blake was confident they could speak without being overheard. She held back only because she saw the fear in Blakes eyes as they met before it was buried underneath her mask. She had the same uneasy feeling as yesterday, lurking in the pits of her stomach. She knew something wasn't quite right, an idea only reinforced by Blakes seemingly erratic behaviour. Trying to hide her absence with clothes? Wandering around in the middle of the night? Weiss's mind raced with questions that she so desperately wanted to ask, but she bit her tongue and followed her teammate upwards, taking stairs two at a time to keep pace.

Eventually they arrived at the highest accessible point of the Academy, a ring of pillars supporting the central spire above the namesake Beacon. Blake leant slightly with her back to the wall, grateful that she had successfully avoided detection. Her heart hadn't stopped pounding since she unlocked the door and only now, up here with someone she trusted was she finally starting to calm down. She seized the initiative, answering Weiss's first question before she had the chance to speak.

"I satisfied my own curiosity." She began strongly, but her voice lowered to match her head as she continued. "I partially wish that I hadn't."

"What's that supposed to mean? What are you even doing at this time of the morning?" Weiss's barrage of questions slammed against Blakes working mind, still trying to make sense of everything. The heiress's posture was impatient, she was not pleased about the situation. Her arms were folded and her legs perfectly aligned, boots fractionally submerged in one of the many puddles of rainwater that scattered the surface. Blake felt a few drops fall on her skin and knew that the storm had finally passed. Clouds still blanketed the sky, but they weren't threatening as they had been earlier. She sighed, wary of her words.

"I wanted to know why there was no real reasoning behind our mission." She watched Weiss's expression change and knew that she was about to open her mouth. Blake quickly continued, aware of the other girls impatience. "That letter, and therefore Professor Ozpin, said that there had only been reports of something. There were no descriptions, no sightings, no anything. Something as big as that will stick in memories, but there was nothing. I found out myself why that was."

Weiss's eyes narrowed slightly, her tone taking a more suspicious note.

"And?"

"And, he had known about it for months. Dozens of people had seen it, but it had killed nearly every single one of them. The few that returned were forced to keep quiet, otherwise they would be expelled. He knew that they valued their position here above that knowledge, so he scared them into silence." Blake kept her voice flat, observing her teammates face morph into one of shock. There was no going back now, Weiss knew the truth too.

"So..." She began, holding her head by her hand. "Ozpin knew that it was killer, but he still sent us? Why would he do that?" There was a distinct quiver in her voice this time, Blake could hear it between her attempts at staying calm. She straightened up, keeping her expression blank.

"You know why." Blake replied simply, it was the only possible reason she could see. Weiss stuttered at first, struggling to accept the information.

"W-well maybe that's not true. Maybe he thought we could take care of it? Maybe he saw something in us that he didn't in anyone else?" She was gesturing with her arms, and Blake could see the growing anxiety circling around her like a cloak.

"Do you really believe that?" She asked, loosely folding her arms to reassure herself that she was in control of the situation.

"It has to be! He wouldn't do something like that, he's not that kind of person!" Her voice was getting louder, and Blake motioned for her to quieten down. She practically hissed, worry lacing her voice. "How do you know?"

"I looked at the file." She shrugged, believing it was a natural thing to do. She felt a pang of guilt as Weiss's eyes grew wider and she calmed a little, mouthing something to herself. Blake nearly flinched at the speed of her response.

"You stole it?! Are you completely insane? Wha-how did you even get to it in the first place? Did you break in to his office? Is that why you shoved those clothes in your bed, so nobody would notice you were gone?" She flung her arms in disbelief, her eyes wide. Blake gave a small nod, painfully aware of what she had done. She didn't regret it by any means, but a part of her wished that she had left it alone.

"I read as much as I could before he came back." She decided against letting her teammate know about the close encounter, preferring her to know only as much as she had to.

"And you didn't think to take it with you?" Weiss replied, again raising her voice without realising. Blake shook her head slowly, maintaining her passive facade.

"He would've known that someone had been there. I'm the only one of us that could successfully attempt something like that, and he's not stupid. I'm the first and only suspect. I don't need the file. I remember what it said." She watched with slight discomfort at the heiresses unease, feeling her own heart beginning to speed up. She waited for the next question, knowing better to say something when nothing needed to be said.

"We...we have to tell Yang and Ruby. We can't keep this from them, they have a right to know just as much as we do." Her heart was starting to speak for her, something that Blake admired her for. Underneath the cold exterior there really was something worth having. Even so, she disagreed with Weiss's suggestion.

"In their state? No. That would only make things worse. Do you want to put this on them the way they are now?" Weiss frowned, somewhat embarrassed by her own impulsiveness.

"Of course I don't, but we have to do something!" It vanished in an instant, being replaced by her usual hostility, albeit restrained.

"I have an idea of what to do, but I'm not going to share it with you. I'd rather you keep this to yourself, but I know that some way or another you'll let it slip." The snow-haired girls expression darkened, insulted at the implication. Blake continued regardless. "This is important. I don't know exactly what this means, but it doesn't seem good. You have to keep this between you and me, at least until I figure out everything I need to know." She was about to carry on, but her words were cut short.

"This isn't just about you. This is about all of us. We're all a part of this, and we deserve to know. I'm not going to sit idly by when I know something like this is happening." Blake kept quiet, silently admiring the determination in her words. She may be cold and hostile, but she knew her priorities.

"Whatever it is you're doing, we're doing it together." Blake was going to decline, but something stopped her. The tenacity of Weiss's voice told her that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Blake let her shoulders drop in acceptance and turned for the door back down into the Academy, feeling the air of uncertainty blanket them in its cover. She was glad to have someone by her side, but she didn't want to drag anyone else into her objectives, or her consequences.

"Alright. We're going to do some research."

They made their way down in silence, Weiss following behind. She was gradually accepting the facts, but a small part of her insisted that there had to be some other explanation, there had to be. Maybe Blake only saw so much before she was interrupted, or maybe she misunderstood what was written. Weiss wanted to know the details for herself, but Blake was right. Only she would be able to get back in there without being caught, no-one else had the skills needed. Her mind drifted to Ruby, still lying on the bed blissfully unaware. The younger girl idolized Ozpin, and now they would have to tell her that he wasn't what they thought. She gritted her teeth, her mind racing.

Blake pushed open the doors with both hands and made a beeline for the counter, vaulting over it in one bound. She immediately knelt beside the door and set about unlocking it, much to Weiss's surprise. The heiress stood dumbstruck, finding it hard to register just how little Blake cared for rules and boundaries. She stood on the opposite side of the counter and hissed, her spoilt past resurfacing in the form of disbelief.

"What are you doing?! Don't you know how illegal this is?" The ice in her voice melted slightly as Blake turned, giving her one of the most indifferent stares she'd ever seen.

"I'm going to check the recent records, if one of the survivors was here, their history would be logged." Blake ignored the questions completely, turning back to the lock and teasing it left and right. Weiss blinked, unsure of what to say.

"By breaking in?!" She exclaimed, fighting the urge to shout.

"If you want to help, go find as many books on Grimm as you can. Otherwise, you're more than welcome to leave." She let a trickle of frustration seep into her voice, reminding her how much she preferred working alone. No questions, no arguments, just things getting done the way she wanted. She heard the reluctant footsteps fading away and gave a tiny sigh. At least Weiss was willing to do as she asked. Another satisfying click rung through the library as Blake pushed open the door, her eyes adjusting to the complete blackness inside.

Weiss muttered under her breath to herself, rapidly scanning the spines of the various books for anything Grimm related. She plucked the ones of interest from the shelf and held them under one arm, taking them back to a table a few at a time. At least what she was doing was inside legality, but she didn't want to think about what would happen if they were found out. She wanted to help, and she knew that she'd told Blake that they would do it together, but she never imagined the other girl would go to these lengths, let alone pick two locks in one night. Blake was somewhat of an enigma. Weiss never would've put lockpicking as one of her skills, but she seemed to be very proficient at it. She had never struck Weiss as the thief type, but all the signs were there. It made perfect sense.

She was lithe and quiet, and her hands were incredibly dexterous. She did an impressive job of hiding her emotions from others, something that unnerved Weiss once she actually started thinking about it. Just how much of the Blake she thought she knew was real? She shuddered at the thought. If this night had taught her anything, it was that appearances can be deceptive. First Ozpin, and now Blake? She shook her head, reminding herself not to dive in to wild theories. She didn't know for sure if Blake was telling the truth, it wouldn't surprise her to find that she'd lied for some reason. She highly doubted Blake was anything other than the quiet, antisocial girl that preferred to be left alone.

Weiss soothed herself with these thoughts, putting her fears at ease. She made quick work glancing over the hundreds of books lined on each shelf, and soon enough had a small mountain of research piled on top of eachother. She exhaled sharply, glad that the physical part had been done. Her attention turned back to the more serious, and more troubling matter at hand. The door that Blake was working on had been opened, and the other girl was nowhere to be seen. Weiss took a light breath and made her way over, climbing across the counter in a far more civilised manner. She squinted to see into the blackness, hearing paper rustling somewhere inside.

"Blake? Did you find anything?" She asked, standing at the doorway. Her eyes widened a little in shock as she took a large step back, Blake exiting the room with a small folder tucked under her arm. She vaulted the counter in the same way as before, placing the file on the table opposite the books and sitting on the bench. She pulled out her scroll and began tapping it, leaving Weiss holding the door ajar. Weiss blinked, coming back to her senses. Once again did she climb back over the counter, her curiosity getting the better of her once more. She seated herself to the left of Blake and began to read, noting the neatly arranged entries, almost every single title was one that she had already seen as she was collecting the books.

"What are you doing?" She asked, leaning over the table to get a better look at Blakes scroll.

"I'm searching for everything the Academy has on him." Blake pointed at the top of the paper without breaking concentration. Weiss followed her finger, a vague sense of familiarity in her eyes as she read.

"Cardin Winchester? The huge, strong leader of Cardinal? He's a survivor?" She leant in closer, interest taking a firm hold over her thoughts. Blake nodded, pulling up a login screen. She pushed a few buttons, smirking to herself as the staff server gave her access.

"It looks that way." She said, scrolling through massive amounts of text. Weiss narrowed her eyes, a sliver of doubt edging its way into her voice.

"But he has a team. He joined the same time we did." Blake raised her eyebrow, challenging the statement.

"Yes, he did. That doesn't mean they didn't see anything. You saw what they were like, they're all cowards. I imagine everyone else tried to fight it, and paid the price. Those four ran, went straight to Ozpin and he's had them under silence ever since. I'm willing to bet that if I checked the other three records they'd have much the same pattern as this one."

Weiss held her mouth still, in quiet awe of her teammates intellect. She was glad to have her by her side. Her thoughts were once more interrupted, with Blake instructing her to go through each book and relay anything relating to 'Umbra' to her.