By the time Hotaru arrived at the doors to the room, the man was already ahead of him and turning to the west hall. He immediately followed the other man while Kollector screamed "My lord!" behind him. But Hotaru did not listen. He then arrived at the indoor balcony facing the vestibule at the entrance. He looked left and right, but there was no trace of his suspect. When he turned around to retrace his steps until he heard the echo of running shoes and turned just in time to see the black pants heading to the east wing. Hotaru went down the stairs as fast as he could and managed to see the man entering the wet area of the club. He then slammed the door open and found himself in a maze of lockers and partially naked men. Some of the guests looked at him with surprise and were voicing their discontent but Hotaru quickly shushed them. The silence was immediate, and he then kept walking down the corridors until he heard the steps once again and a door being slammed open somewhere on the right. He found the door and rammed through it. He looked around and then found the man running up a spiral staircase already on the third floor. Hotaru followed, and if his understandings of the club's structure were correct, the man would be trapped in the game room, the entertainment room, or the smoking room.

A stair trip later, he arrived at the hall and opened the smoking room, finding it empty; the smell was undetectable from the outside as well, so this door had not been opened for a while. He then opened the door to the game room and found four men playing billiards. "Have you seen another man enter this room!?" he asked them immediately. They all just shook their heads. After closing the game room, he moved towards the final door. Deciding not to warn the man of his presence, he opened the door as slowly as possible.

Once inside he was able to see the entire room had no windows. There were two small theaters, four booths for smaller groups to watch movies or play videogames, and big chairs for reading. All those doors were open, and no trace of the man could be found.

"Do you need any help, sir?" Hotaru heard the voice of a young man from behind him. He quickly turned around and found a pale boy with blue eyes and white hair wearing a white shirt, blue vest, and deep blue pants sitting in one of the chairs with a book in hand.

The physical traits of the boy seemed familiar to Hotaru; but right now, he had something more important to worry about. "Did you see another man enter this room just before me?".

The boy, in turn, raised an eyebrow before answering. "No sir. It's just you and me in here".

'How did that leech manage to escape…?' Hotaru thought to himself facing away from the boy again.

"You are Hotaru Taakoizu, right? The head of Seido Industries?" the boy asked closing his book and standing.

Hotaru turned to face the boy once again and addressed him with as little annoyance in his voice as he could now. "I am… and you are?".

"Whitley Schnee. My pleasure" He said with a smile and an extended hand.

This genuinely surprised Hotaru, considering how the other Schnees reacted to his presence. He shook the boy's hand, nonetheless. "Mine as well".

Almost as if the boy were a mind reader, he continued his conversation. "Don't worry, I hold no grudge against you. Not like I would have ever had anything to do with it anyway". The older man looked at him with even more curiosity. "It's funny, actually. I would have given anything for father to name his heir. But now I realize that it is not worth the trouble. Winter is gone, my mother gave up a long time ago, father never really cared about me, the servants only stick around for a paycheck… and Weiss… will also be gone forever to be a huntress... but I accept that reality; there is nothing to do about it now". When he was done, Whitley's scroll rang. He answered it and just gave a quick "ok" before hanging up. "Father passed out, looks like the night is over for him... and everyone else. All I can say is congratulations. But don't get too attached to this life of yours, there is always a long time after it" he said with what could only be described as a genuine smile.

As the boy left, Hotaru felt confused by the boy's reaction. He knew the bitterness of loneliness could lead to catastrophic results, especially at a young age. But Whitley seemed to just roll with his fate. 'What could have changed him?' Hotaru wondered for a short time; but a few moments later, Kollector arrived at the room with his bag in hand.

"Lord Hotaru! The meeting will start soon, what happened?".

Kollector's question brought him out of his thoughts. "A major problem. That's what it was. We need to move fast…". Hotaru looked around and decided to settle with one of the screening rooms. "There. That place will do, let's go".

Once inside, they made sure there were no security cameras and that the doors would be locked and secure. Once they were sure of being alone, Kollector took out a zaphyre, accessed a special function, and after a loading bar and a cloud of static, they were finally greeted with the face of a red robot.

Once both men were ready, they got in front of the screen and Hotaru addressed the robot. "Grandmaster Sektor, I am pleased to inform you that the scarab performed adequately. Also, I hope you have received my most recent batch of 'volunteers'".

"Indeed, commander. But that'll have to wait; the emperor is ready to join us!". Seconds later, Sektor's screen was reduced and the silhouette of a giant man with wings and horns appeared on the screen. That was wrong. The former palace of the Senate was more than equipped with light sources that were always on. "My emperor did anything happens?".

"Raiden happened. He got too close to learning the truth.; but he was dealt with. Our main powerline was damaged in the altercation. Report".

"I am glad to inform you that the Branwen tribe has been dealt with. All, but one, were killed during the attack or in its aftermath, and no trace of their existence will be ever found".

Onaga was still skeptical of his second in command though. "Proof?".

Hotaru then moved aside and allowed Kollector to take center stage. From his bag, the naknada then pulled a burnt white mask and a burnt red bandana. "The mask, sir, was her symbol. And this burnt rag was all that could be recovered from her fiery grave". Kollector then allowed images to appear on the screen. "The camp was burnt down entirely; and whatever remained was transported to disposal units under the disguise of waste from our company. Botanical sorcerers from Seido have already treated the ground and vegetation is expected to grow back in a week". The images then showed Shay in his new appearance. "Shay D. Mann, the only survivor, was given a new identity and he is under constant vigilance".

Onaga seemed pleased with his report but noticed that there was concern on Hotaru's face. "There is more to report, right commander?".

"Yes, sir. Two things, unfortunately. I've come to learn about new developments that completely alter our understanding of this world".

Onaga and Sektor were both surprised by Hotaru's statement. "Explain" commanded Onaga.

Kollector then showed them a video file of Raven fighting Hotaru. Before either Sektor or Onaga could question the video's relevance, Hotaru explained. "Her elemental powers are not associated with what we understand as a semblance. They are far more powerful and were referred to as 'the powers of a maiden' by Raven Branwen during our encounter. Not only that, but she also revealed they were of magical origin, rebutting our understanding that magic was nonexistent in this world. Furthermore, she suggested that headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy was in some kind of conflict with a person referred to as 'The Witch'".

"And what is your take on all of these developments".

"Since the end of our mission, Kollector found references of the 'Spring Maiden' as part of this universe's folklore. That could open an entirely different interpretation of how this world works. Which gods could be real, the nature of Grimm, even something as a semblance could present itself as a problem down the road".

Concern was noticeable in both men. Sektor then intervened once again. "What about the second problem?".

Hotaru took a deep breath but answered immediately. "Our greatest fear has materialized. The saxophone player at the hotel was here tonight as well. And I strongly believe that man is, indeed, Quan Chi".

Onaga growled before addressing all present. "After all these years… he is now hiding here…". He now seemed deep in thought. It took a while before he spoke again to Sektor. "What is your report on the reprogramming algorithm?".

"The new version has managed to work on 89% of the subspecies. Our main concern remains the hormonal shifts of the test subjects".

"And what about your apprentice's mission?".

"She will have the information we require soon, my lord".

"Good. This supposed war of Ozpin concerns me, Hotaru. Start the infiltration phase!".

All three of Onaga's lieutenants felt shocked by that statement. Sektor being the first to express his concern. "My lord, the algorithm is not-".

"We understand nothing of this secret conflict. We don't know the extent of it or even the identity of one of the fighting sides. We must secure the one we know of".

"But to speed up the coding process we would require most of the AI available. Security would fall at least sixty percent!".

"A chance I am willing to take! And for this to work as well, your apprentice must better have that information soon. Nikos is key for the success of this plan, especially because we are now working faster!". The robot bowed and Onaga addressed Hotaru once again. "We must gain the trust of Ozpin and the other headmasters; I have a feeling they all have a role to play in this. Get in contact with them before my arrival".

Hotaru and Kollector bowed as well. "It shall be done, my lord".

"Now… to the matter of Raiden's allies".

Sektor decided to address the issue first. "Outside of Kuai Liang and the Shirai-Ryu dog, there have been no other sightings. They could be using portals to move around as we do".

"Then we should be able to know where they are by following the flow of magic!" Kollector pondered.

"Negative. If they know of our presence here, then they would also be using protective spells to hide their energy signals. Furthermore, Special Forces was successful in reverse engineering portal technology according to inside sources".

"Keep security at the main entrances of every cover business we use. Tell the syndicates to provide their own security for a while. That would be all, gentlemen. I'll be back in Vale as soon as Hotaru and Kollector arrive there as well".

With that said, all screens closed and the Zaphyre returned to normal. Hotaru and Kollector then proceeded to return to the party with a new objective in mind.

Soon after they arrived at the dance hall, councilman Grey approached them once again but with annoyance on his face. "Hope you have a good excuse for leaving me talking myself just now!?".

Hotaru ignored and just kept walking forward for a while before talking to Grey with a neutral voice. "My apologies. I saw something that interested me. It was a pleasure, but now I have a more important business to attend". Hotaru was stopped however when Grey grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him to turn around.

Grey seemed ready to start a fight. But he just took a deep breath before talking in his cheerful voice once again. "Look. Maybe we started with the wrong foot. Maybe I was being too forward with my deal. Tell you what: I know a guy who can hook us up with some top-notch moon dust; he owes me. And if you want to mingle, he also has them as young as fifteen; boys, girls, faunus or not, your choice. Mr. Rott over there has a VIP room to use too!".

Kollector saw Hotaru breaking from a mile away. But was surprised when his boss laughed at what Grey said. "Oh, councilman. May we go somewhere more private?". He directed all three to a section under the stairs and next to where few people were gathered. Grey didn't have a chance to speak once more before Hotaru grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. "Listen to me, you worm. If it were not for the fact that your death would mean more trouble for me, I would gladly disembowel you in front of everyone in this room". He tightened his grip on Grey's neck and continued. "This is your final warning: We don't want anything to do with you, now or ever; so leave us. And if you think you can take our company out by what I just said, trust me; I have more dirt on you than you could possibly imagine!". Hotaru then heard a set of steps getting closer, so he dropped Grey who just gasped for air for a moment.

Soon after, May showed up. Most likely still following them and expecting to get some dirt on Hotaru. He and Kollector pretended that she wasn't there, and he then talked to Grey in a more friendly tone. "As I told you before Mr. Grey: Seido will not take sides in this election. We are here just for formalities; but thank you, nonetheless. We wish you good luck". He took the man's hand and shook it before leaving with Kollector. As they passed next to May, Hotaru saluted her with a small "Ma'am" before going up the stairs once again.

May was puzzled by what just happened; and when she turned around to face Grey, she could now see the pure panic in his eyes as well as the heavy breaths he was taking.

Upstairs, Hotaru and Kollector were getting ready to leave. As soon as they asked for their transportation to come and pick them up, however, Hotaru found general Ironwood admiring a statue. "An art enthusiast?" He asked the general.

"Not really. But Winter is still not done with our new students".

"Speaking of students, general. I just had a call from lord Onaga, and he told me of this idea to help the kingdoms. I was expecting you could tell me how possible or outlandish this idea could be".

Knowing Winter would still take some time to settle things with her new rival, he decided this short conversation could be a good pastime. "Sure, sounds interesting".

The conspirator's corner on the library was now the setting of a cold war of sorts. By the end of the day Jaune had given up in trying to get on Pyrrha's good side. If she wanted to distance herself like that because of a white lie, so be it.

Weiss, in the meantime, was standing next to the board and finally managed to get the attention of the blond and the redhead. "So… I got in touch with someone back in Atlas who can help us find someone to look for any inconsistencies in the financial reports. I trust my source with my life, and he tells me the other person has earned his full trust. So, I feel confident in vouching for both".

Before anyone could say anything, Jaune could be heard whispering. "Hope this one is one cover she is comfortable with". Everyone tensed up, but Pyrrha decided to take the high road and ignored his comment.

Weiss sighed and continued with the meeting. "Ok… how is the cracking of the new information we gathered?" she asked Blake; and only now did all notice her eye bags.

"It's useless!" she said before throwing the scroll on the table.

An optimistic Nora then took the device and tried to cheer her up. "How can you say that? Look at all the information in here". She opened many folders, and each had heavy files within.

Blake, however, seemed to see that comment from Nora coming. "Try opening one of those audio files". Nora did, and an incoherent set of sounds began to loudly play. She quickly closed the thing before anyone came to see what all the noise was. "Now try with one of the other files". Nora did; but the scroll did nothing. "None of the cracking algorithms of the White Fang works with those files".

Everyone remained quiet for a long moment. Neptune, however, kept pressing. "This whole thing could not have been for nothing. There must be something we can do!".

"If there is, I don't know where to start".

Sun then decided to intervene. "That is not true. The White Fang made those programs you used, right?". Blake nodded. "And they developed them when a new secure system was made, right?". She nodded again. "So we now need to find someone like one of those guys to help us!".

Blake sighed in frustration. "It's not that easy Sun! I no longer have contacts with the kind of Fang members; and even then, it would take that person weeks, or even months to get those files".

"But… it is possible, right?".

"If you have a super genius on coding lying around and an artificial intelligence that can crack the code as if it were a person's mind, or hell, a combination of both; then yes it would be possible".

The table went quiet once again. But slowly, everyone began to turn their heads towards Ruby who had a raised hand. "Do… you have… anything to add, Ruby?" asked Pyrrha.

"I… know of someone who… 'meets' those requirements". Everyone's faces immediately turned to smiles. Yang stood up and went to hug her sister.

"Alright! Yes, Ruby!".

"For the love of… No, Ruby!". Yang said while grabbing her hair in desperation. "Ruby, never mind the fact she is also based on Beacon, an Atlas student working directly under Ironwood!?" She whispered to her younger sister to not call the attention of her sister's trump card who was now opening the door to her temporary dormitory.

"Salutations friend Ruby and companions! You told me you had something fun to do today?" Penny happily exclaimed to Ruby, Yang, and Jaune.

Although Ruby's plan to keep Penny's identity a secret from the others was successful at first when everyone was just surprised that Ruby had arranged a meeting within minutes; Yang and Jaune, who had agreed to go with her for safety reasons, were now doubting Ruby's judgment as a whole.

In their defense, they didn't know Penny was a robot; they just knew her as Ruby's quirky and over-enthusiastic friend. The black-haired girl then gathered Jaune and Yang on a circle. "Trust me, guys. She is our best bet". She then turned around and faced Penny once again. "Hi Penny, how have you been? What are you guys up to?".

"I am great! Ciel and the others are briefing new Atlas students on a side project, but they asked me to remain behind and guard the dormitory!". The girl proclaimed with excitement.

"That is great… but… could I ask a favor?".

The red-haired girl then looked at Ruby with curiosity. "A… favor?".

"Yes… and… could it be a secret just between us?".

"But I am supposed to tell Ciel my activities". Penny said with concern.

"Yes… but we really need this, Penny. I am asking you as a friend" Ruby told her holding her hand.

"And… you promise nothing bad will come from this?". Ruby and Jaune nodded frantically. Penny's frown then turned into a smile, she threw her arms in the air and proudly proclaimed "I'll do it!".

"Great!" Ruby said with a smile. Jaune then pulled out the scroll from his pocket. "We need you to hack into this scroll".

Penny then took the device from Jaune and connected it to her computer and, unknown to everyone else, to her processor.

Yang, on her end, gathered all the other teens. "Ruby, I have a real hard time believing that THIS girl is some sort of computer genius. She seems too-".

"Done!" Penny said while turning around. Ruby and the others were still trying to understand what just happened. To Jaune and Yang it was still impossible that this over-excitable girl could crack such security in a matter of seconds. Ruby was surprised by the speed of that, of course, but she felt more pride at that moment. All three ran towards the computer and, sure enough, there were now text files upon text files where the previous mysterious unopenable files were.

Yang turned around and gave Penny a bone-crunching hug. "Sorry for ever doubting you. From now on, you and I are cool".

Penny just stared at her. "Why would our new relationship status be freezing?".

Before yang could explain, however. They were interrupted by Jaune. "Uh… Penny… what does this mean?". The blonde girl and the robot turned to face the screen. Jaune had opened one of the files and they were presented with a series of numbers, commands, and letters.

Penny looked with amazement at the screen. "They're algorithms…".

"Algo-what now?" Yang asked.

"Algorithms. A sequence of well-defined, computer-implementable instructions". Jaune answered. He then noticed all other girls looking at him with surprise. "What? Can't a guy know a few things about computer science?". Yang and Ruby raised an eyebrow. "…I read the definition in one of my comics… but anyway. An algorithm for what?".

Penny faced the screen once again and answered. "I don't know… this language is unlike any I know of… and they all seem to be part of a bigger program…".

Ruby then looked at her with worry. "But… can you still read it?".

"Could take me some time… but yeah, I can!". An alarm clock went off and everyone turned to look at it. "Oh no! Ciel's meeting is over. You guy have to go!". Penny told them as she then pushed all other teens out of her room.

Yang managed to turn and face her. "Relax, just tell her you are having a time with friends".

"I can't. It'll be maintenance time!".

"Maintenance for what!?" Jaune managed to ask.

"I… no time to explain! I'll tell you when everything is done! Bye!" she managed to tell them before slamming the door shut.

Ruby then faced her friend and sister with the smuggest grin she could make and crossing her arms on her chest. "Fine!" Yang exhaled. "You were right, and we were wrong. Happy now?".