RWBY: Light Extinguished

Chapter 20

oxoxoxo

Vlad stared open mouthed at the man he once called a companion, a comrade, a brother in arms and a friend. For months he had thought Erwin Frundsberg to be dead, killed by those animals on that fateful night all those months ago. In shock, Vlad dropped his halberd and simply stared at the boy he thought long dead. "You're... alive..." Vlad muttered, taking a shaky step forward.

Erwin holstered his kukri-revolver and looked to his former companion with a look of shame, something that didn't go unnoticed by Fantine. "Yes, Vlad. I survived. I thought you were dead."

Vlad took another step towards the general, but before another word could be said, the halberdier reared back and slammed his fist into Erwin's jaw, throwing the general to the floor. "IS that all you can say to me?" He roared in rage. "I watched our entire camp go up in flames! I saw your sword plunged into the damn ground! Everyone was dead, YOUR MEN, all of them were killed!" Vlad seized Erwin off the ground by the collar of his blue coat and slammed him up against the wall. "How did you survive? Tell me!" He spat.

"Calm yourself!" Fantine hissed. "This is no time for fighting, so put him down, Vlad. Now."

With one last growl, Vlad roughly tossed Erwin back to the ground, the general landing hard on his back. Erwin rose to his feet and dusted himself off before turning to the phantom. "Thank you."

"Vlad does have a point, however," Fantine continued. "You've been missing, presumed dead for months. What happened to you?"

Erwin looked down at his feet. "When the White Fang hit our camp, I was still asleep, only waking up to the sound of gunfire and explosions. By the time I woke up and got my weapons, then camp was already in flames. I tried to rally the soldiers, but I couldn't get them together in time and watched the last of my men get gunned down. They surrounded me and demanded my surrender." Erwin hesitated and seemed to flinch at the memory. Fantine was quick to pick up on this and frowned in suspicion for a second before hiding his thoughts. Erwin continued his story. "They took my gun and left my sword at the camp's ruins before dragging me off. However, all the noise they made attracted the wrong kind of attention, and they were attacked by a horde of Inferri. In the confusion, I managed to grab my weapon and escape." He turned to Vlad in shame. "I thought you were dead along with the rest of the men."

Vlad snarled at Erwin, but held his tongue on any insults he might have wanted to hurl at him. The halberdier folded his arms. "And what, you've been here ever since?"

Erwin nodded sombrely. "I didn't know where to go from here, I've been living off small game and sleeping on a cot I managed to salvage from the camp's remains. That's been my life since the night attack."

Fantine placed a hand on the young general's shoulder. "Well, that life ends soon. If my students made it back to Vale, they should be back with reinforcements soon enough. When they get here, I'll take you off this island with me."

Erwin looked up to Fantine, the barest flicker of hope in his eyes. "You think they'll take me?"

"I'll make sure of it." Fantine said. Looking out the door, the sun had set completely over the Abyss, the light of the shattered moon being the last light over this dying island. "It's almost night and we've been walking all day, I don't suppose you have any spare cots?"

Erwin nodded and walked over to the door, producing a lighter from his coat pocket and lighting the second torch by the door. With two light sources, the general pushed on the ancient door with all his might, the entrance shutting with a groan of the hinges. With the door shut, Erwin placed a massive wooden beam across the door, sealing the entrance. "Have to keep the Inferri out somehow. He muttered. "Doesn't keep the noise out though, be warned." With those words, Erwin turned on his heel and walked deeper into the mausoleum. "Come on," He said, gesturing into the interior. "I managed to salvage a few cots from the camp just in case mine broke."

Fantine nodded, he and Vlad following Erwin into the ancient building as darkness settled in over the island. It would be a long night, and morning would bring them no safety. Outside the mausoleum, in a treetop nearby, a pair of living eyes spotted the two humans entering. The scout pulled out his scroll and placed a call. "Commander, I've spotted the enemy."

"Good work." Came the voice of Caroline over the scroll. "Report back to the Firebase, we'll make our attack at dawn."

"Yes ma'am." The scout responded.

oxoxoxo

Derek Blanch sat at his desk in the firebase, a broad smirk splitting his face as he listened in on Caroline's call from her scout. He chortled to himself. "Looks like my old friend Fantine wasn't slippery enough to escape this time." He said to himself. "How tragic, it seems I'll have to resort to my backup plan."

Bartholomew, who stood in his usual place at Blanch's side, looked at his employer in confusion. "And just what might the backup plan be?" He asked.

Blanch chuckled and stood up from his desk. "Well, I'm afraid the first part is the termination of your contract as my bodyguard." The mercenary looked like he was about to argue, but Blanch held up his hand. "You will still receive your full payment, plus a bonus that I have graciously included." He explained as he led Bartholomew out of his office and into the halls of the Firebase. "In fact, I'll give you that bonus right now."

"Now you're speaking my language." Bartholomew replied with a grin from under his hood. "So, what does the rest of the plan entail?"

Blanch smirked. "I'll explain the details as soon as I give you your bonus, however, I will recommend you to a certain contact of mine, a Miss Cinder Fall. I've been, shall we say, aiding her in her plan. When I discovered her work with the White Fang, I reached out to her and told her of this place. She seemed rather enthralled by it, another weapon in her arsenal." He chuckled and shook his head.

"Any idea what I'd be doing for her?" Bartholomew asked.

"Oh, I'm sure she has plans for you." Blanch replied with a dismissive wave of the hand. "She even has an old friend of yours in on her plans. Does the name "Torchwick" mean anything to you?"

"That little punk?" The mercenary muttered. "Can't believe he ever did anything with himself."

"You're not worried about how I know your little student?"

"Okay, first, he was never much of a student, he picked my pocket and I tracked him down and taught him to do it properly after a beating or two. Second, I've learned not to question you or what you say so long as you pay me."

"That is an attitude I much appreciate." Derek said, opening a door to the airfield. "Now," He said, checking his watch. "I do believe your bonus should be arriving any second now."

Bartholomew was about to demand an answer, when his question was drowned out by the sound of massive engines and roaring wind. The mercenary looked up to the source of the sound. It was a massive Atlesian battleship. The ship touched down and Bartholomew took a step back. "What is this?" He demanded. "Are you turning me in? After all I did for you?"

Blanch chuckled and walked slowly towards the ship. "I'd never dream of it, my friend." He said. "On the contrary, this is your bonus for helping me. This ship is yours for the taking, your men will serve on it with you along with the legion of Atlesian Knights in the hold. All yours."

Bartholomew stepped up to join his employer and looked up to his payment in awe. He had been promised rewards for his work for Blanch and had received his payment one iteration at a time. However, this was something he never expected. After the Primo Victoria went down, he had been sailing the skies in a small Serenity model ship, and in the chaos of those students attacking the base, that had been stolen. Now he had an all new ship, even better than the first, but one thing was still missing. "All she needs is a name." He mused.

"I hate to overreach," Derek said, gesturing to a group of mercenaries on the airfield. "But I went ahead and gave her a name myself. She's named after what we intend to bring about, our final goal in this plan."

The mercenaries brought forward a large spotlight and shone it on the airship, illuminating the name emblazoned across the port bow in massive gold lettering. The Golden Age.

Bartholomew grinned and held out a hand for Derek to shake. "She's beautiful."

"Enjoy her." Blanch replied, accepting the handshake. "She's all yours, and she's a key step in my plan."

The mercenary smirked under his hood. "If your plan involves me getting to fly this beauty, I'm all in."

Derek gave a cruel grin. "Perfect. Come aboard and I'll explain my plan."

oxoxoxo

Mary Ebonwood swept up the ransacked remains of her inn's bar. The Grimm invasion during the Breach had caused a mass panic, with some of the creatures even breaking in and attacking. Mary and her customers had all survived, but the attack was still stunning and had resulted in considerable damage. Luckily, she didn't have to clean it alone, her son Thatch and his teammate Alison had arrived early in the day to help clean up, as did the older brother of Nyx Lupin, the girl who was quickly becoming her favourite customer. Mary looked across the bar to where Noctus and Thatch were righting an overturned table and smiled. It was always nice to see one's children getting on well with others. The innkeeper couldn't help but chuckle as Nyx leapt on her brother's back, laughing as though she hadn't a care in the world. Noctus, clearly not bothered by his sister on his back, merely rolled his eyes and kept on with his work, though Thatch did laugh at him briefly.

After righting what remained of the intact tables in the bar, Thatch and Noctus, still with his sister on his back, approached Mary, Alison doing the same after sweeping up the glass form the broken window out front. "I can't thank you lot enough." Mary said, looking at each of the young hunters in turn. "Don't think I could have done this on my own."

Thatch shrugged. "It was nothing. Besides, you raised me since I was a kid, and I can't imagine that was easy." Alison giggled at her teammate's words, knowing full well he was probably a wild child.

"I can't exactly let my sister be playing around in a ruined inn." Noctus explained, reaching around and pulling Nyx off his back, depositing the little wolf on the ground where she promptly pouted in childish rage. Noctus chuckled and tousled her hair. "Thank you for watching out for her during the Breach, Mary."

Mary gave a dismissive wave. "She wasn't any trouble." She said, walking towards the remarkably intact counter of the bar. The bartender walked around behind the counter and reached under it. "You know, I keep this here in case of a robbery, never thought I'd have to use it though." She said, producing a large, pump action shotgun from behind the bar.

Nyx tugged on Noctus' pant leg to get her brother's attention, the dark haired wolf looking down into the bright, excited eyes of her sister. "You should have seen it, Noctus, this big Beowulf smashed through the window and roared really loudly," Nyx said, breathless with enthusiasm. "But Mary jumped up from behind the counter with that big gun and said 'get out of my bar!'" The young wolf tried to mimic Mary's accent in her story, making the bartender blush.

Noctus chuckled and picked up his sister in his arms. "And just what happened then, little wolf."

"She picked up the gun and shot the Beowolf! BOOM!" Nyx declared, throwing her arms in the air in excitement. "And he flew right out the window again! It was SO COOL!"

Thatch smirked at the young wolf's antics before turning to his mother. "Never pictured you as the huntress type, mum. Maybe it should be you going to Beacon."

"Ah, be quiet son, we all know I'm just not cut out for that life." Mary said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "That's your life, not mine." She looked over the three students and gave them a bright smile. "That's all your lives. And after what you did yesterday, I am proud of all of you." The bartender may not have had the connections of her former boss Aedan Flint, but word of mouth did travel fast, and it wasn't long before she heard of the battle against the ghouls at the outskirts of the city. She knew of the heroism of all of the hunters who fought against those creatures, as well as the soldiers who finished them off. "After everything you've done, I think the three of you and your teams deserve a reward. The rest of your teams might not be here, but I hope the three of you will allow me to make you a home cooked meal. What do you say?"

Noctus was the first to reply, placing his sister on the ground and making his way to the front of the group. "I'm sorry, did someone say food? If so, I'm in, let's go."

The faunus was about to make for the kitchen, when Mary stopped him with a palm to the chest. "Not so fast, wolf boy, I haven't even started cooking yet. I'll call you when I'm done, until then, hold your horses." The innkeeper turned to Thatch and Alison. "What about the two of you? Are you interested?"

Alison's face lit up slightly, unused to people paying her or her actions too much attention. "I'm not sure, I couldn't just-"

"Oh, come on lass." Mary cut her off. "You helped save the city from a bunch of monsters, I think you can accept a small token of gratitude."

Alison frowned and looked up to Thatch. The renegade smiled at her. "Mum is a mean cook, I think we can take this one little reward."

Alison sighed in resignation and turned back to Mary. "Alright, I guess we can take a meal."

Mary smiled at the artist. "There we are. Now, let me go prepare something."

oxoxoxo

Ben Aparte pushed open the door to the Last Stop and strode in. Maria had decided that someone should go and check in on their new teammates and Ben had happily volunteered, deciding that not only did she deserve a break after leading the operation in the Abyss, but also that as the previous "new guy" on the team, he would be in the best position to relate to the new recruits. The thought of those new recruits was admittedly slightly unsettling to him with his soldier's mindset. The first was a masked vigilante who would take to the streets at night to dole out vigilante justice with an axe. As far as Ben knew, he hadn't killed anyone, but who was to say he wouldn't start? And the second was even worse in his eyes, a former White Fang assassin who had confirmed kills under her belt and had actually fought against them the night before she joined the team. Part of him still didn't completely trust her, but if Maria had allowed her to join the team, he would make an effort to do so.

"Mornin' lad." A voice said, bringing Ben out of his thoughts. The giant looked up to see it had been Aedan Flint, the bartender. "You're here early."

"Yeah." Ben replied. "Maria wanted someone to check on the new teammates, I volunteered for it."

"Good man, Ben." Aedan said. "Come on back, I'll let you in."

Ben nodded and followed Aedan into the stockroom. "Hey, mind if I ask you something?" The soldier asked as he pulled out the moonshine bottle that hid the elevator call switch.

Aedan shrugged his burly shoulders. "Ask away."

"How did you get involved with a vigilante?" Ben asked. "You're a barman, how does someone like you suddenly end up adopting a vigilante and having his lair under his bar?"

The bartender smirked at Ben's question before letting out a hearty laugh. "Lad," He said in between chuckles "I'm no normal barman. Sure, I own this bar, and it's perfectly legal in every sense of the word, but before that, I had a... rather different job."

"Can I ask what that was?" Ben asked.

Aedan shrugged again. "Well, it's just us here so I suppose it doesn't hurt. Before coming to Vale, I was Atlas Special Forces. Espionage, assassinations, the works. Now, I use those skills to help Rick as the Axman."

"Wait, if you were Atlas Special Forces, why did you leave?" Ben inquired.

Aedan just smirked. "That, lad, is a story for another time. Anyway, you have an elevator to catch, I'll meet you down there soon enough, just have to clean up the bar a bit."

With that, Aedan turned and walked back out to the bar, leaving Ben to step into the elevator and press the button to take him down to the Axman's lair. With the elevator descending, Ben could only wonder just how the two of them were getting on without Maria there. They hadn't exactly been the best of friends before EMAD met them, and even during their last meeting Rick had knocked Micca out with the blunt side of his axe before dragging her down to his lair. Sure, he had her put on medical dust after that, but it was still... a less than pleasant way to get her to the lair. Ben let out a sigh of annoyance. He'd probably find them either arguing or not speaking at all. He'd likely have to sort that out before he could get them settled on their roles on the team.

These thoughts on his mind, Ben marched up to the elevator door as the signal went off, telling him he had arrived at the lair. He took a deep breath as the doors opened and he stepped into the large room, only to have a pair of axes clash mere feet in front of him, the shock sending him stumbling back and making him reach for his sword.

That was when he realized just what had happened, as Rick and Micca leapt back from their clash, landing on opposite ends of the lair, axes brandished. Both wore exercise gear, with Micca wearing a pair of black sweat pants and a white tank top while Rick wore the same outfit, but with a black tank top. Ben let out a sigh as he looked between the two of them. "Really, you two?"

Rick shrugged. "She said she was the better axe fighter."

Micca scoffed. "It's true."

"And who won our last fight?"

"Uh, Maria was the one who knocked me out, not you."

"Well, I could have!"

"You wish!"

Ben rolled his eyes as the two axe fighters continued to argue. "This is childish." He muttered, pulling out his scroll. When Rick and Micca joined EMAD, their aura meters were linked to EMAD's scrolls, letting them monitor their aura levels. Ben quickly checked the aura levels of both fighters and saw that they were both just outside the red. Ben looked up from his scroll at the two fighters. "Just how long have the two of you been at this?"

Rick thought to himself for a moment. "What time is it now?"

Ben looked to his scroll's clock. "Ten thirty, why?"

"Well, we started this sparring match at seven, so... three and a half hours then."

Ben smacked his face. "Alright, I'm joining in." He said, stepping into the center of the lair and drawing his sword. "You two against me, let's go."

Micca and Rick exchanged a look. "But, you just got here." Micca pointed out.

"Yeah, and we've been sparring for hours now."

"Exactly," Ben replied. "The two of you have already had your warm-up and have already gotten into the battle mindset. I'm still half asleep. So, you bring me down, and you can continue your spar for the next hour or so until one of you finally runs out of aura, but if I win, then we start this team meeting properly. Sound like a plan?"

Rick and Micca locked eyes from across the room and exchanged a nod before the Axman looked back up to Ben. "Alright, big guy, you're on!" He said before letting out a war cry and charging. Rick leapt into the air, axe raised and aimed for Ben's head, but before he could reach his target, he suddenly halted in mid air.

Rick looked up to see his hands, still holding his axe, were currently clutched in Ben's gargantuan grip, the soldier's other hand holding his sword to Micca's throat. The vigilante looked up to Ben's face, the giant soldier glowering at him with a deadpan expression. Attempting to lighten the situation and possibly spare himself some pain, Rick gave a wide smile and chuckled innocently.

Ben, however, was having none of it and, using his superhuman strength, he reared back and hurled Rick bodily into Micca, the momentum throwing both of them into the wall of the lair. A quick check of his scroll confirmed that both Rick and Micca had entered the red zone. "Well," He said, sheathing his sword and pocketing his scroll "Now that we're done with that, shall we get on to the real business?"

Rick groaned as he worked to disentangle himself from the tangled pile of limbs he and Micca had landed in. "You cheated." He muttered.

"We never set any rules about what I did." Ben offhandedly said.

"He's got a point, lad." A new voice said, drawing all attention to the door to the lair. Aedan leaned on the door to the elevator, his ginger beard framing a wide smile. "He just said the two of you against him, never that he had to use his weapon."

"Ugh..." Rick groaned as he stood up from where he and Micca had fallen. "Thanks for taking my side, Aedan..." He muttered.

Micca hauled herself to her feet, using her axe as a crutch as she stood up. "What brings you down here, Mister Flint?" She asked, approaching Aedan, walking over to stand alongside Ben.

"Lass, you can call me Aedan," The bartender replied with a smile. "And I'm here because I have some information and maybe a mission for the three of you."

Rick slung his axe over his shoulder and smirked. "I like the sound of that, what have you got?"

"Well, as you know, one tends to find out quite a bit from running a bar like mine." Aedan explained. "People come in to drink, and once they have a drink, they become a bit more chatty and tend to talk about their, shall we say, exploits, legal or otherwise depending on how strong the drinks they've had were. Helps too when your servers are trained in espionage and intelligence gathering, but sometimes that's just not enough, so I have a few contacts out in the city, including one man who knows just about everything going on in Vale at all times."

"Seems like a dangerous man." Ben remarked. "Are you sure we can trust him?"

"Aye, lad, we can trust him. Been working with him for years now, even back when I worked with Atlas Special Forces. He calls himself Masque and he has informants in just about every gang and organization in the city. Hell, I'm sure at least some of my own staff are on his payroll. Through his network of informants throughout the city, he knows just about everything that's going on at all times."

Micca raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you wouldn't just tell us this if it didn't have a purpose."

"Catch on quickly, don't you lass." Aedan said with a grim expression and a nod.

"Has he gone rogue?" Rick asked. "Do you want us to track him down and set him straight?"

"Nay, lad, not a chance. Masque is far to reliable an informant to lose, and to my knowledge he hasn't been giving my information out to any... unsavoury characters."

"Then why bring him up?" Ben asked, folding his arms and frowning.

"Because just this morning he called me." Aedan explained. "Strange, because it's always been me contacting him for information, he's never just called out of the blue. Seemed shaken over the call and what he said next made me realize why. Apparently, White Fang might have tracked him down, and he's worried they might be planning to take him out."

"So what does he want from us?" Asked Rick, the Axman scratching his chin in intrigue. Ben took note of this, noting that as soon as the mission briefing began, Rick seemed to become a much more serious person. He'd keep that in mind for future operations.

"Masque told me he knew about the Axman, said he wanted the Axman to smuggle him out of his base of operations and help him relocate. Offered two rewards for our compliance in helping him, the first being his services as our personal informant. I think you can imagine just how much of a benefit that is to our efforts in Vale, with his connections we could know everything going on in the city."

"What was the second?" Ben asked.

Aedan frowned and walked past the young warriors, taking a seat behind the lair's massive computer. The barman reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flash drive. He plugged it into the computer and a video began to play. "He told me about a new gang that has just formed in Vale."

The video was surprisingly high quality and showed a massive crowd, all of whom were dressed in black hooded robes as they chanted and screamed unintelligibly at an illuminated stage with matching black curtains. A massive man stepped onto the stage, dressed in the same night black robes the crowd wore. "Welcome!" He roared, the crowd cheering boisterously in response to his call. "Welcome, my human brethren!" He declared. "You all know why we're here tonight. Why we've come together on this evening, as our wounds have just begun to heal and our anger has begun to boil. We are here for one reason and one reason alone..." The man declared, pacing across the stage as he spoke. The crowd became nearly silent as they waited with bated breath to hear what he would say. "Tonight, my human brothers and sisters, tonight marks the beginning of the death of the White Fang!" He screamed. As the crowd erupted in cheers, a massive banner descended from behind the speaker. The banner was simple, but the message it conveyed was as clear as day. It was a plain white background with the massive image of a fang that had been snapped in half emblazoned on it in jet black.

Ben had a feeling things were going to get worse, but still could not stop himself from asking what seemed like a simple question. "Okay, it's a group against the White Fang, I'll bet they're not the only one out there. What's wrong with this one?"

Aedan didn't even look away from the video as he replied. "Keep watching, lad."

Ben frowned. He didn't like where the video was going. His spirits were dropped even more when three more figures stepped onto the stage. Two of them were garbed in the same black robes that the crowd wore, but between them was another, a young boy with brown hair and a matching pair of dog's ears. The boy looked like he had been beaten severely. One of his eyes was blackened and he was bleeding from his scalp. His mouth was taped shut so he couldn't speak, and his hands were bound behind his back. "As the animal bites down, there must be those who will rein the beasts in." The speaker made a grandiose gesture to the massive banner hanging behind him. "We, my brothers and sisters, we are those who will restrain the beasts. We will thin the herd until it poses no threat. We, my brothers and sisters, we are the ones who will declaw the animals, we will break the White Fang! We are the Fangbreakers!" The crowd roared in applause as the leader approached the bound faunus boy. "This insolent beast has ties to the organization. His brothers were both terrorists, and who are we to believe that the pup would not follow the pack!" The boy made an attempt to speak, desperately making any noise he could, his pleas silenced by the covering over his mouth. "To thin out the herd, we must start somewhere, my brothers and sisters." The leader quietly said as the crowd grew silent. From within his robes, the speaker produced a gleaming dagger.

Ben was about to demand that Aedan stop the video, but before he could speak, the barman had already pressed the stop button on the computer. He stood up and turned to face the group once again. "That was one of seven meetings that took place all across Vale. From what I hear, the other six were of the same form."

Micca could barely speak after the display of brutality she had just seen. "So many of them were cheering when they saw that boy get dragged onstage." She whispered. "Who were those people?"

Aedan sighed. "They call themselves the Fangbreakers." He explained. "Used to be they were a group who gathered to protest the actions of the White Fang, particularly the more violent ones. They were a fairly peaceful group, sticking to debates and speaking to members of the council about the White Fang, but aside from those members who were genuinely hateful of the faunus they were non violent. That is, until last yesterday."

"The Breach and Impact." Rick surmised.

"Aye." Aedan confirmed. "That brought out the worst in them, made the ones who already hated the faunus into full blown murderers and those who were non violent into willing accomplices."

Micca covered her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. "Why would they do this?" She said in between muffled sobs.

Ben put a hand on the snake girl's shoulder. "From what I've seen, if there's one thing I know it's that after hardship, people can turn to extreme measures. Trust me, I've seen it before."

"And after an attack like that with all evidence pointing to the White Fang, it would only be a matter of time before a group like this was formed." Rick concluded.

"Aye, you're both right." Aedan agreed. "But what concerns me is the speed of its formation. Less than a day after the Grimm attack, and already executing civilians." The bartender let out a sigh of resignation. "That's not what's important now, though. Once we find Masque, he's agreed to help us take them down in any way possible."

"So we have our goal." Ben summarized. "We save Masque and he helps us take down the Fangbreakers. So, what's the plan of attack?"

"Hold on, lad." Aedan said, holding up a hand to Ben. "Masque wants to gather additional information before we help him relocate. He said he'll contact me again when he wants the relocation."

"And what do we do until then?" Rick asked, obviously disappointed.

"He's right," Micca agreed "There are faunus out there being murdered and we're just supposed to sit here and wait for more of them to die?"

"I have to agree with her." Ben said. "The longer we wait, the more faunus will be killed. We should take the fight to the Fangbreakers now."

"It's not that easy, lad." Aedan explained with a sigh. "As soon as I saw what they did, I sent one of my servers to investigate the locations of these meetings to see if the Fangbreakers were still there. They were all empty. "I've got my contacts on the street watching out for any Fangbreaker activity, especially in faunus neighbourhoods, but until I hear back from them, the best you can do is keep training to be ready for them."

Ben hesitated. He knew it was wrong to argue this point, but in the back of his mind, he knew Aedan was right. They could break down the meeting room doors and go in guns blazing, but there was no one there. They could try to search for the members individually, but the hoods they wore concealed their identities, making them a lot harder to find. Arguably, the best thing they could do was to be ready for their next move and catch them when they made it. "Very well." He growled, nodding grimly. "We'll be ready for them when they strike next."

oxoxoxo

General Ironwood stood on the bridge of his dreadnaught as he watched the repair crews rebuilding The Rubicon. Next to him stood his lieutenant, Julia Gaia, both of them watching silently as they both knew what would happen as soon as the ship was repaired. It would take a few days, but as soon as the vessel was airborne, it was heading to the most dangerous island on Remnant. Julia fidgeted in anticipation, something she rarely did. Part of her knew that what she was about to do was necessary, after all, the Inferri were a massive threat to all life on the planet. She knew exactly what could happen if they managed to escape the island and make it into the rest of the world. They needed to be wiped out.

That said, it was hard for her to be excited over what she was about to do. Her orders had been given, and she had never been one to disobey, but she still felt uncomfortable with the sheer magnitude of destruction she was about to cause. She would be destroying an entire island, razing everything that stood there to the ground. The original plan for the Abyss was to wipe out the Inferri threat and then bring settlers in to colonize the island and take advantage of the wealth of natural resources it held. Now, however, there would be no resources left to use. She would be annihilating everything. The island would be completely uninhabitable.

A voice from the door to the bridge broke the silence that reigned over it. "Preparing for battle, general?" Ironwood and Julia immediately turned to face the speaker, seeing that is was a black haired woman with green eyes and high cheekbones and an intimidating yet elegant face. She was tall and thin, wearing a long sleeved black dress and a floor length black feathered cape. She stood in the doorway with one hand on her hip, looking rather sceptical of the entire operation Ironwood was planning. "I hear you're sending your lieutenant to death's doors in a few days." Elaine Ravencroft said, walking onto the bridge and towards the generals.

"Ravencroft." Ironwood said, almost spitting the name as he said it. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The raven haired woman stopped mere inches in front of the general who didn't back down even slightly. "You know full well what brings me here, James." She said in an accusatory tone.

"Even if he does, I don't." Julia said, stepping forward and putting herself between her superior and the woman accosting him. "I suggest you start talking, lady. I'm not exactly patient with people who threaten my superior officer."

Elaine looked down to the slightly shorter woman in front of her and sighed in annoyance. "Then you know how I feel, as your general is going to have my leader killed."

Julia narrowed her eyes at the woman. "What?"

"Elaine," Ironwood interjected. "Fantine is dead. There's no way he survived alone on that hellhole of an island for over a day with both the White Fang and Inferri to contest with."

Ravencroft shook her head. "No, he's still alive. You seem to forget just how long Erik and the rest of our team survived there before you arrived with the rescue, James. If he can survive that long with us, one day will not kill him."

"It was just you four against mindless monsters that time, this time he has a terrorist group to contend with. And even if he is still alive, do you really think he can hold out until Julia is ready to leave?" Ironwood demanded. "I'm sorry for your loss, Elaine, but this has to be done."

"I agree." Elaine said, surprising both generals. "The Inferri are a menace to the world and have to be dealt with, and this is the simplest way to do so. However, I do still believe Erik is alive, and I intend to save him." She explained.

"And just how do you intend to get to The Abyss before we can get The Rubicon running again?" Julia asked.

Ravencroft smirked slightly. "I have my ways, and my transport should be arriving any minute now."

As though on cue, another voice spoke from the door to the bridge. "Sorry we're late." As one, the personnel on the bridge turned to the door once again. This time, someone new stood in the door. Someone James Ironwood had not seen in quite some time. She was shorter than Ravencroft, much closer to Julia's height, with slightly curled brown hair down past her shoulders, her hair framing a beautiful face of defined cheekbones and full lips with purple eyes completing the picture. She wore a long, floor length purple dress, and as she approached Ironwood and Julia, they could see it was backless and had a slit running up her left leg to her thigh. The sword she had sheathed at her hip was made all the more noticeable by her strut as she swayed her hips with every step she took. The picture would have been made complete by a coy smile or an exaggerated pout, but she bore neither on her face, merely a stoic expression. As the woman walked over to greet the group, she and Ravencroft shared a brief embrace. "Good to see you again, Elaine."

"And you as well." Ravencroft said as she ended the hug and turned to face Ironwood and Julia. "James, you remember my former teammate, Theodora Xander."

"How could I forget." Ironwood growled. "You four were one of the few units in the Grimm Incursion that I had no control over."

Theodora and Elaine exchanged a look. "He missed us, how cute." Theodora said. "And I'm sure he also missed our last member who should be calling right about..." The swordswoman paused for a moment, the sound of the ship being hailed breaking the silence. "Now." She finished.

Ironwood sighed, already knowing who was on the other side of that call. "Answer it." He ordered.

The bridge screen activated and an image was shown. It was another woman, this one reclining on what looked like the command seat of a ship. She had neck length but unkempt and messy brown hair that framed a battle hardened face with more than its fair share of scars, the most prominent of which was on her lower lip. She had bright red eyes and her face seemed to be set in a permanent cocky grin. She wore a green, military style trenchcoat that was frayed and torn in several places, as well as a pair of worn out black pants and combat boots. "Well well well, if it isn't Jimmy Ironwood. Miss me?"

"Samantha Patton." Ironwood muttered. "I'm guessing you brought your ship?"

"What, you mean the one I'm calling you from? No, it's still back in Atlas. Of course I brought it, I can't exactly save my fearless leader without it."

"Thank you, Samantha." Ravencroft said, cutting off the military woman. "Here is what I propose, James. Samantha has an entire crew aboard her ship ready to take to the Abyss. We take her ship, we can get there and destroy the island before you can even get your ship off the ground. We offer you this on the condition that you allow us to save Erik as we burn the island. Do we have a deal?"

Ironwood grit his teeth as he considered the pros and cons of the argument. On one hand, he knew full well Patton still had a perfectly functioning ship left over from the Grimm Incursion, Team FRST knew the Abyss well as they were the first to explore it during the war, and they were right, he could never get The Rubicon in the air before they got to the island. On the other hand, he would be surrendering complete control of the operation to a trio of wild cards that Ozpin might have trusted, but he never had. During the war, Team FRST was the one unit in the entire army that he had no control over at all. They obeyed only Ozpin, and aside form that made their own missions. Most of their missions were confidential even to him, but he knew that they were vital to the success of many operations. In the end, though he was hesitant to do so, he made his decision. "Very well, you may go. However, I do have one condition."

Ravencroft raised an eyebrow. "You're hardly in a position to make demands, James, but we will hear you out."

"You want to run this operation, fine, but I'm not letting you run it without Atlas supervision. Therefore, General Julia Gaia will be accompanying you."

Julia turned to the general at the sound of her name. "Sir?"

"I trust Julia more than any of the soldiers I brought with me, so she'll keep an eye on the three of you during this operation. I know you prefer to work without Atlas interfering, but-"

"Very well, we will take her with us." Ravencroft agreed.

"What she said." Patton agreed. "Now get your asses to my ship, on the double. Fearless leader won't last forever."

"Hold your horses, Samantha, we'll be there soon." Theodora said. She blew a kiss to the warmonger and smirked as she ended the call. "Come on you two, let's get to her ship and get going."

Ravencroft nodded and turned to the generals. "Gaia, grab your weapons and gear and meet us at Samantha's ship, it's the Cannae. You can't miss it." With that, she and Theodora turned on their heels and walked off the bridge, Ironwood glaring after them.

Julia couldn't help but notice her commanding officer's expression as the two women left. "Sir?"

"Keep an eye on those three." Ironwood said with a sigh of irritation. "Remember the mission."

Julia snapped a salute. "Yes sir!"

oxoxoxo

Erwin looked out one of the few windows of the mausoleum. It had been some time since the sun had risen over the Abyss, but he had decided to let Vlad and Fantine rest after their escape from the White Fang. The former general turned from the window with a heavy sigh. He had thought he would never see Vlad again, no, he had HOPED he would never see him again. But it seemed life had a cruel sense of humour as it dumped his former colleague right back in his lap. This would not end well for anyone, especially him.

"Having problems, general?" Erwin turned to the source of the voice to see Fantine approaching, the phantom looking remarkably clean for a man who had spent the past few days on a hostile island.

"Fantine." Erwin said with surprise. "I didn't expect you to be awake this early."

The professor nodded. "I am usually a night owl, but on missions I can awaken in the earliest hours of the day. Back to my question, however, is something the matter?"

Erwin sank to the floor and sat down, leaning on one of the stone walls of the mausoleum. "You could say that." He muttered. "It's Vlad."

Fantine cocked his head and folded his arms. "You lied to him yesterday, didn't you?"

Erwin's head shot up. "How did you-"

"Know that?" Fantine finished. "I'm an expert at reading people, and you are a terrible liar. I'm guessing you were telling the partial truth or perhaps simply hiding some details, as you were able to weave quite the story. Am I correct?"

"How did Vlad not notice?" Erwin mused.

"To Mister Paler, you were a brother. He would accept any story that meant you were still alive." Erik explained. "I, however, do not see you as such. After all, I never even met you. You will have to tell him, you know."

Erwin sighed again and stood up, dusting himself off as he did. "I know. I'm just hoping I can make it easy on us both."

"Then it's best you tell him as soon as possible. Perhaps the best time would be once we escape this hell."

Erwin nodded. He looked up to the phantom and opened his mouth to speak, when a massive force struck the walls of the fortress, the sound like thunder shaking the structure and knocking dust loose from the ceiling. "What was that?" He demanded.

"Humans in the mausoleum!" Yelled a voice from outside. "This is Commander Caroline Leon of the White Fang! My men and I have you completely surrounded, surrender and you will not be harmed! Resist, and we will knock down your walls and take you in by force!"