('VNN breaking news' appears on the screen and then quickly shrinks into the corner allowing the viewers to see Lisa Lavender standing next to the barricaded doors of The Night Beetle and many other cameras and reporters).
'We are standing in front of The Night Beetle, headquarters of Seido Industries, where just moments ago a bullhead of unknown origin shot the top floors of the hotel. None of the employees or guests have come out and-'.
(The doors open and members of security are leading the guests and workers on a single line while also checking a list of names. Reporters and cameras are trying to question the people walking but are then stopped by more members of security).
'Did you see who shot the hotel?'.
'Do you know what could have caused the attacks?'.
'Will you sue the hotel for psychological damages?'.
(From the doors emerge Hotaru, Ryu, and Kollector in slightly worn-down clothes).
'Leave them alone. I am the one you want!'
(All cameras and reporters then run to surround Hotaru. Before they get a chance to ask anything, however, Hotaru immediately begins to talk).
'I want to make these next statements available for the safety of all Remnant: The people who attacked us ARE part of the same organization that kidnapped me. They were sent to finish the job before the SSS became fully functional. I also want to make it clear that every police department and military force in every kingdom has received the identities and descriptions of the four people behind the attack. I also want to assure the world that we are not stepping back; we will find them, and we will bring them to justice just like every other criminal. Finally: I want to set a bounty of five hundred thousand lien for information on these terrorists; a million to anyone who brings one of them alive and five million for all four. That would be all'.
(As Hotaru and his companions enter the hotel once again, the camera points at Lisa who is getting a message on her earpiece).
'Ok… we can now confirm that the identities of the terrorists as well as visuals on their appearances…'.
(In the screen appear three drawings showing Cinder's team).
'Three of the perpetrators have been identified as Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black and Cinder Fall. But most worrying of all is the fourth one, revealed by an anonymous source through a security video'.
(A black and white security video then shows Dr. Watts opening the warehouse's door for his bullhead. After the vehicle leaves, the warehouse explodes and the video stops).
'This man has been confirmed as Dr. Arthur Watts. A disgraced scientist from Atlas presumed dead for years.
(The camera then cuts back to Lisa).
'We ask for every citizen to remain calm and help authorities capture these people. For VNN, this is-'.
"Enough!" Salem, the queen of Grimm yelled as she slammed and cracked the meeting table in which all her followers sat. A scroll she was presented with to see the aftermath of the failed 'negotiations' with Seido industries was then removed by one of her seers. Watts, Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder held their heads down; knowing they had failed their assignment. Hazel, the giant tanned man remained perfectly still, but Tyrian, the psychopathic scorpion faunus laughed manically while expecting Cinder and Watts' punishment.
Salem then stood up and floated towards Cinder's group and Watts. Once she was behind both adults, she spoke without looking at them. "Do you think there is anything that can excuse your monumental disaster?" No one even dared to raise their eyes. "Not only did you fail to make them cooperate, Cinder. You also exposed our existence to him and revealed yourselves to the world". Watts sighed in relief, but Salem immediately got net to him and continued. "Don't you dare think you are without guilt, Arthur! That camera was not placed there by Cinder; or was it!?". The man shook his head. "Good… now… EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!" she yelled with such intensity that some of the empty chairs got thrown away.
It was now that Salem noticed that Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury were silent out of respect for her. They raised their heads and their eyes showed a mixture of anger and fear. Salem was confused for a moment before Mercury began to scream. "You never told us of the… the things that lived there!".
Everyone else at the table was genuinely shocked by Mercury's outburst; and just as Salem was ready to end the boy's life, Emerald interfered on her behalf. "Mercury! How was she supposed to know those… things… were there?".
"She has lived for thousands of years! Are you telling me she never saw any of those things walking over Remnant at some point in time!?".
Salem's anger was replaced by confusion. She genuinely didn't know what they were talking about. "Enough!" she ordered once again successfully making Emerald and Mercury stop. She then looked at Cinder before crossing her arms.
Cinder understood what Salem wanted. She took a deep breath and started her explanation. "We were received by three people. Hotaru was the only human… as far as we know. But the other two… one was a blue humanoid beast with six arms and orange eyes, the other was a dragon faunus". Salem considered what Cinder said. Never in her life had she ever heard of a dragon faunus, and she never met any 'six-armed-monster' in her life. She kept listening, however, when Cinder seemed scared of what she saw next. "As Hotaru was escaping… he then said that my wish of meeting Onaga would be granted… but that thing that came for us…".
Salem then saw Emerald holding her shoulders and Mercury rubbing his temporary leg. It was him who then continued. "It was a giant… dragon and human monster. The body structure of a human; but with horns, tail, wings, claws, and everything!".
The room went silent for a moment before Salem spoke again. "Mercury is right. I have walked this world for eons, and I have seen many kinds of creatures. But none of the descriptions you are giving…".
The room was then filled with uncontrolled laughter. Everyone then looked at Tyrian, the source of said laughter, with a scroll in hand. "Little liars… you should have raised them better Cinder. Lying in front of the goddess? UNFORGIVABLE!". He screamed while slamming the table with his open hands and his stinger.
That accusation did manage to make Cinder lose her composure. "I know what we saw, you maniac! Besides, the bullhead's camera-".
Tyrian laughed once again and then slipped the scroll across the table towards Cinder. It had said video from the bullhead, but to her surprise, there was no giant dragon-human. It only showed debris falling from the walls close to the doorframe and both Kollector and Ryu arriving on the room.
Salem's anger was once again growing; and just as her eyesight met with Cinder's, an unexpected source jumped on her defense. "That's impossible!" Dr. Watts yelled, standing up from his chair and slamming his fist on the table. "We know what we saw; and that was not it!".
Silence took over the room once again and everyone - but Watts - was shocked at the development. The fact that he, Arthur Watts, sided with Cinder was enough to convince Salem that they might be telling the truth. She was aware of the constant rivalries between her subjects, but those had never gotten to the point where her plans were ruined by them, so she allowed those to happen.
The silence was then once again broken by Mercury. "Look!". He yelled, pointing at the screen. He then zoomed-in and showed everyone the blue monster. It was a little blurry, but there were, indeed, things on his back that could be described as arms.
Salem then turned around and began to walk out of the room while holding her chin. "My Goddess?" Tyrian asked with genuine concern.
"Hazel! Tyrian! You are not to go to Vale under any circumstances. Watts! Tell Lionheart to not schedule another meeting with them. Tell him he is to reject any accusation of collaborating with us. Cinder!" she then looked at her and her followers. "Tell me everything that happened. With details".
"That ish jussst… bull!" Cardin yelled at the screen showing news of all ports in Vale closing while holding a bottle of rum, way past a drunken state. "How'm I goin' back?".
To celebrate the fact that he got a 60% score in his latest history test (his highest score yet that did not require tutoring) Elsa invited him to drink and skip his last classes. He always thought he had a strong liver, but he now knew he was ages away from being as good as Elsa. The older girl, in turn, arrived with two newly opened bottles of strong beer. "Were you hoping to return so soon? I'm no expert, but this…" she said while pointing at him and his drunken state "will definitely raise some eyebrows".
"Nnnnnaaaaaaaah… don't worry… I wassss gonna wait fur da night… but this!?" he said while pointing at the screen. "Thisss… means the portsss are closssed 'till tomorrow…". He took a sip from his bottle and continued. "But now… BITCHWITCH… is gonna grill me… for skippin'! And Jaune… that… cheating basstard… bet he is eatin' her to passsss". He then went quiet while being in deep thought; he then screamed with clear anger on his voice. "FUCK! I would also like to eat that milf!".
Elsa sat next to him with an unamused look and her head resting on her hand. "Dude; I'm right here. And what is that about cheating".
Cardin then opened his eyes as hard as he could before looking at her. He then looked to both sides as if to make sure no one else was listening. He then told her to get close with his finger and whispered in her ear. "Don't… tell anyone… or I'll know… but Jaune… he faked his transcripts".
Elsa was now well beyond surprised. "Noooooo…".
"Yeeeeesssssh" he said playfully. "Heard it myssshelf. Made him do… all sssortsh of shhhhit! Then the Ursha thing happened… and I shaid I'd be quiet… so… shhhhhhh".
"Wow…" Elsa said looking at the screen now. "That actually explains a lot!". She then stood up to get something for him to eat.
"Yeeeeah… and… if I had told… GOODBITCH 'bout it… he would have been... GONE months ago… he would have missed… das fight with… Kuai Liang and hisss… TREE BUDIESSSS!".
The last sentence made her drop a bottle of ketchup, but Cardin was way too drunk to care. "What did you say?".
"Kuai Liang and his troop of tree huggers… man, I hate those nerdsss… you know them?".
"… No…" Elsa said. "But I believe this is the first time you've brought them up…".
"Uuuugh… you have no idea!".
"You know Cardin, I would love to hear how bad they are… along with your team".
The Ram Room had served its purpose. The dining room would be ready to operate by the next night. The Hotel would be working as if nothing happened and guests would love it. But Everyone who knew their true intentions were beyond enraged at this moment.
Onaga's suite had a window on the floor that lead directly to the restaurant, but from bellow, it only reflected the bigger tables. The room itself had just a single bed, a closet, a drawer with a normal TV screen, and the now-infamous white table with a camera on it.
The dragon humanoid was walking through the room while Kollector and Hotaru kneeled, and the face of Sektor was on screen. He then addressed them with the same question they all had. "How did they get in?" he asked before growling and then looking at Sektor on the screen.
"The credentials were sent through local software. Dr. Watts is also a renowned computer scientist. A possibility exists that the headmaster's security was compromised. My recovery mission revealed that he got into our systems through a direct connection to our servers; he could have gotten a copy of them through it as he is the only one who you were meeting that way".
Onaga considered that possibility for a moment before looking at Hotaru and a clear discomfort on his face. "Commander, do you have any theories?".
Hotaru then stood up. "My lord. Not to discredit the grandmaster, but it makes no sense to me that they had our information for so long, and just now did they decide to use Lionheart's credentials".
This caught Onaga's attention. "Explain".
"They could have made fake clearances. I do not doubt that Dr. Watts is more than capable. They could have used any alias to do so, but they used a specific clearance that was not created until some days ago. My lord, I have a theory that Professor Lionheart is collaborating with Miss Fall and her associates".
Onaga did not say anything. He just looked at Sektor once again. "A probability exists. Though we are not in Professor Ozpin's inner circle to know the exact actions of Lionheart".
Onaga went back to walking back and forth with his claws behind his back. "This could play in our favor… our way to winning Ozpin's trust…".
Their conversation was then interrupted by Hotaru's scroll ringing. He then saw it was a text message from Maurice requesting his presence.
Hotaru and Ryu arrived at the door of the Dragon Room, and sure enough, there was the mouse faunus, waiting for them. "Maurice" Hotaru greeted.
"Mr. Taakoizu. Mr. Jin" Maurice said while bowing. "I have information that I feel needs to be revealed". Both men then looked at each other for a moment. When they looked back at Maurice, he then continued. "I think one of our employees leaked information. I am not sure if it was to the attackers, though".
Hotaru said nothing. He then just opened the door to his office. "Would you please come in, Maurice?".
As of now, Hotaru Taakoizu is the most approved public figure with an average of 72% on all kingdoms. In a hypothetical election for the Mistral Council, he would win well over three-quarters of the votes, and a candidate supported by the businessman for any council election on other kingdoms averages 67%. It seems like the frontal style resonates with the people of Remnant. For VNN, this is-.
(The feed stops).
Once again, all the conspirators, except Jaune, sat in the library. The news about the attack on The Night Beetle was heard by every living soul at school; and while almost all students felt emotions ranging between fear, rage, indignation, sadness, and more, only nine students felt hopeless.
With every passing day, Seido Industries only grew stronger, playing the world like a fiddle. While they all waited for Weiss' associate to send them good news, they watched an expansion on the reports from earlier. Sure enough, they were not expecting Hotaru to now be the world's most eligible bachelor; but soon enough, the message arrived.
Weiss then stood up, got to the board, opened the message, and read its content. "Dear miss Schnee, I have read and analyzed the financial reports you've sent me, and while I know you are right about these being forgeries… I do not have enough resources as it is right now to prove it…". She stopped to look at the faces of disbelief on everyone present before reading again. "I would be able to prove their guilt, but it would require further assistance to check the laundering techniques they used; a job which, alone, could take me well over a year. I know you do not want this to be known outside of your trust circle, and unfortunately, I do not have people of trust who could help me with this. I am sorry I have not been of more use, and I wish you the best of luck…".
Weiss then sat down with a turmoil of emotions inside of her.
"It was pointless…" Blake said as she massaged her head. "We almost got torn to shreds for nothing!".
Nora immediately tried to cheer her up. "Well, I wouldn't say that Blakey! In fact-".
"Oh, grow up, Nora. We have nothing!".
"Hey!" Ren then entered to defend Nora. "Don't talk to her like that, she is just trying to make you feel better".
"I'm sorry if you all can't see it, but I'm just telling it as it is!".
Nora then stood up and defended herself. "Listen here, if you want to be angry at anyone, it should be at Ruby and her little friend!".
"What!?" almost yelled both Ruby and Yang at the same time.
Nora then kept on arguing her position. "Ruby, Weiss' source was communicating constantly and gave us an answer sooner than Penny did. When was the last time you even saw her?".
Before Ruby could retort, Yang stepped in. "Hey, I saw what she could do, and if she says it'll take time, then it'll take time!".
"We are not worried about that; and you know it, Yang!" Ren said, surprising all at the table. "We have all seen Penny actively avoiding Ruby, Ciel even keeps her away; and we all know why she would do that!".
"Penny would never betray me!" Ruby finally yelled.
Before anything else could escalate, Neptune and Sun began to stand up and walk away. They were, however, stopped by Yang. "And where do you think you two are going!?".
Both teens looked at each other and then turned around slowly. Sun then decided to speak for both. "Look. I got a message that said every employee should be at the hotel early in the morning and I honestly don't feel like stepping in on this. So…".
"Oh no. It's alright" Weiss said sarcastically. "Go on and work for a known criminal, there is nothing wrong with that!".
Neptune then decided to step in. "Woah, woah, woah. Time out. We are out there putting our lives on the line against Seido. Not only that, but we are also the only ones showing results! So, I think we deserve a little more appreciation for it!".
"Oh, stop taking credit for all Sun actually does, your blue pansy!" Blake yelled at Neptune.
"ENOUGH!" Pyrrha finally screamed. They earned themselves a shushing from a near table, but they all just ordered them to be quiet. When the other students were gone, Pyrrha continued. "We should stop kidding ourselves. We were way over our heads. We are going to get nowhere; we are nowhere, and this was all a waste of time. Let's please not bother anymore. Good night everyone!".
As Pyrrha walked away, everyone felt perplexed at first, but Nora was the first to get out of it and ran to block Pyrrha's path. "Don't you dare tell us all of this was for nothing. We did this for you!". Pyrrha decided to just ignore her and then kept walking. "Oh, I know what is happening. Despite Yang apologizing, you are still mad about Jaune. You are so mad you kicked him out of this even though he and Yang have explained to you many times it was just a cover!" Pyrrha just kept walking. "You know what? Despite your strength, despite your abilities, you are just a coward!". That finally made the red-haired girl stop and turn around. No one, however, was expecting the slap that came.
The silence that followed felt eternal. And in that time lapse, Pyrrha was able to see the shock in some of the faces, the indignation on Ren's, and finally the betrayal on Nora's. Ren quickly stood up and went to check Nora's inflamed cheek. It then took a long time before Pyrrha spoke again. "I… I am…". The anger on Ren's eye stopped her from speaking any further, but it was now the same look on Nora that finally broke her. Pyrrha then left the library for good.
Everyone's shock began to go away soon after. Some were confused as to what to do next, others felt like not talking at all, but Yang knew what she had to do next. She stood up and followed Pyrrha.
'The invincible girl', she was always called. Yet now she felt more fragile than ever. She left the library and went to get a coffee from a machine next to the dorm entrance and thought of what she had just done. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when she heard another set of shoes walking towards her. Pyrrha looked up and saw Yang standing next to her with her arms crossed. Pyrrha then sighed. "Yang, can we please do this some other-".
"No, we can't!". she then interrupted her. "We are doing this now! We all have given our best trying to help you with this. We didn't do it because you paid or begged us, we did it because we wanted to help you! Ren and Blake got almost killed trying to get info, we almost got caught by Junior, Jaune was willing to go and find information from whatever source just to help you! Are we mad that things didn't go our way? Yes. But we are still willing to go forward. What really ticked us was you telling us it was for nothing!".
Yang's rant was over, and Pyrrha was left speechless. Yang just stood still for a long time, expecting Pyrrha to do something, but she never acted. Yang then let out a sigh and began to walk towards the dorm building. Pyrrha then spent another hour walking around and thinking about what Yang said and decided to head to bed once the curfew was growing closer.
She arrived at her dorm and found Ren and Nora getting ready for bed while Jaune was reading a book already in his sleeping clothes. They all looked at her but said nothing as they finished and went to sleep. Pyrrha then got ready herself and finally turned off the last light with an enormous feeling of guilt on her shoulders.
Pyrrha did not sleep at all that night. What Yang told her kept repeating itself on her mind all night long. They were doing this for her, and she did have to be thankful for it. But this was also getting out hand. The infighting had to stop right now. Then, she finally remembered she held the key to end it all.
When dawn arrived, she quickly changed without waking up everyone else and went to the bullhead platforms to catch the first one leaving to Vale. She knew that the best thing was to finally put an end to the deal Hotaru offered and face consequences as they came. With that purpose, she left the station and walked towards The Night Beetle. Everything would go back to normal soon.
The alarm at team JNPR's dorm went off an everyone woke up without speaking. That lasted for a total of five seconds before they noticed Pyrrha's bed empty and unmade. The fight was over if only to find Pyrrha; they knew the girl, and she would never leave her bed in that state.
They quickly dressed and ran around looking for her. In the bathrooms, at the cafeteria, on the gardens, in the classrooms, training rooms, but nothing came up.
By the time all other students started to wake up, they had returned to their dorm in defeat. They then saw the girls of RWBY waiting for them at their door with a mixture of confusion and sadness on their eyes. Before any of the members of Team JNPR could question them about what they were doing, Blake showed them something on her scroll: the headline of a sports-themed website.
'Pyrrha Nikos signs millionaire contract with Seido Industries'.