Chapter 8

Wild Card

XXXXX

Servius was burning up inside. He had met Barca, he had faced Barca, and he had failed miserably. He had barely been able to lay a hand on the man, and the rest of the fight had been Barca pummeling idly, no doubt something the man had seen as an idle amusement. Frustration boiled through him. It had been three days since their attempted assassination of Barca, and he still couldn't bear to think about it. "You're supposed to be better than this," he said to no one in particular. "You were trusted with a mission. How could you fail like this?"

"Serv?"

"He was there. He was right there! And you couldn't even scratch him! He was the sole reason you were sent there!"

"Serv?"

"It's pathetic. Utterly pathetic. How can-"

"SERV!" Servius's line of thought was broken. Tullus was standing up at the personal fire the two of them had set up in their corner of the joint White Fang/Legion camp. "Tea's ready." Sure enough, two steaming cups of tea were sitting on a blanket right next to the campfire. "Come on, it's not easy to pour that with one hand. Drink it before it gets cold, you look like you need it."

Servius felt appreciation for what Tullus was doing, but his bad mood remained dominant. "I'm not in the mood right now Tullus. I'll make myself some later."

"Serv," Tullus said slowly. "Sit down."

"I said I'll make some-"

"Sit," Tullus repeated, his voice stern. Glaring at the older legionary, he did as he was told, sitting cross-legged. "Drink," he said, sitting down and handing Servius one of the cups before picking up his own. He didn't lift it to his lips though, keeping a firm eye on Servius. Slowly, Servius tipped back his cup and drank the tea. He had to admit, the warmth the drink spread throughout his body was comforting and relaxing. After a pair of large gulps, he lowered the cup.

"Anyone can claim they are a warrior after victory," Tullus said. "It's easy. No one can deny it when they have a blade soaked with blood. But defeat is the true test of character. It's when the true challenge occurs, and you ask yourself. Will this setback break me? Or will I rise above it, stronger than ever? Twice I was part of the army that marched on Hoover Dam, and twice I broke against those walls, forced to flee in disgrace. I was able to rise again. You will too. And we will both grow from it."

"I know," Servius said, looking down at his tea. "But Caesar does not tolerate failure." It felt like his insides were being twisted. First, he failed to protect the portal from Barca, then he failed to kill the man. If Caesar thought he was worthless as a warrior, there would be no reason to keep him alive. He would have no value to the Legion.

"Caesar doesn't tolerate incompetent failure. He didn't execute every last soldier that failed him at Hoover Dam, only he whose name we do not speak. Decimation is ordered when a unit of men has truly displeased Caesar, and decimation was not ordered at either Battle of Hoover Dam. Warriors of the Legion are expected to follow orders and battle like true legionaries. You did both. As bitter a draft as this is to swallow, sometimes you will taste defeat, no matter how hard you fight. So long as you held nothing back, acted with skill, and were not insubordinate, there was nothing else that you could have done."

Tullus smiled. A warm, comforting smile. Servius was fairly certain he was the only one who had seen it. "You are only a recruit. You charged Barca head on. You landed a blow on him. Do you know how few legionaries, veterans like me at that, can make that claim? Barely any. Don't be angry at yourself that you do not fight like the Legate. You have already done far better than most legionaries your age. You are a calf that has already grown horns."

Servius paused, looking into his tea. "I never asked you something, and I should have. Did you see Barca? At Hoover Dam?" He had asked Tullus a hundred questions about Hoover Dam, and just as many about Barca, but never the two together. Part of him had always assumed that Tullus had not so much as seen Barca. Because he had come back from that battle alive. "Did you try and fail to kill him too?"

"He wasn't Barca back then, he was effectively an NCR mercenary," Tullus replied, scowling as he did. "Not a sworn hostis publicus yet, but a high-value target, on par with NCR colonels. But I did see him. When we came up from below and were ambushed by the Brotherhood of Steel, he was among their ranks. I think I shot once or twice in his direction, but my attention was more focused on the Paladins." He gave a gloomy smile. "If I had taken the time to aim properly, ignored the Paladins, we would never have had to deal with Barca in Remnant. Learn from your hardships Serv, don't let them define you."

Servius put down his tea, walked around the fire, and hugged Tullus, who eagerly returned the favor. The sound of snapping twigs caused them to break apart, both of them glancing in the direction of the sound. Servius's stomach turned. Marie F. was walking through the woods in their general direction. Thankfully, she didn't seem to have noticed them yet. She was looking down at her Pip-Boy, muttering furiously to herself. "Oh yeah, just head off and leave the job half finished, that's a real great idea there. Yeah, you thought you were happy with how it ended, but then you realized how goddamn inconclusive it was. Even if he was winning you should've stayed and seen it through to the end. You could've turned it around, you don't know!"

"Can we...help you?" Tullus asked slowly.

Marie F. turned to look in their direction. Her face was heavily covered in bandages where Barca had burned her. She let out a sigh of frustration. "Not unless you want to go traipsing all the way back to the village and get James back there for round two." Her hands tightened into fists. "God, it was going so perfectly. Back and forth, blow for blow, getting hits in because you had to work for it and not because of an overwhelming skill gap. And it got cut short. Horseshit."

"Didn't you spend some time with the captives?" Servius asked before he could stop himself. "You never struck me as the type of person who enjoys a challenge. So many of your targets have been soft."

Tullus shot him a warning look, but Marie F. looked more annoyed than offended. "I like a soft target in the same way I enjoy some junk food from time to time," she said. "You still need to treat yourself to proper food, and when you do you realize there's no comparison. I mean come on, you fought James. For about five seconds. Combine that with the whole insecure about your micro-dick thing and need to please daddy Caesar thing, you know, the reasons you fought him in the first place. Would it be nearly as satisfying if you had just fought some random nobody?"

"Excuse me?" Servius said, getting to his feet, his temper flaring up. "What are you implying?"

"See, imply means I'm dancing around the bush. I directly stated that the Legion as a whole has some overcompensation issues," Marie F. said dryly. "I mean, a bunch of teenage boys raping, killing, and dying because a dried up old prick told them that girls are icky. What other conclusions can you draw from that? In fact, let's cut through the horseshit and get to the meat of the matter. Did you even have a reason for going out there and fighting James? Was it because you wanted a challenge or was it because daddy Caesar told you to?" Something snapped inside of Servius. She didn't even use the correct pronunciation of Caesar's name.

Losing control of his temper, Servius through a punch. He prepared for her to block or dodge the attack, but to his surprise nothing stood between him in her face, his blow striking home on the bandages. Marie F. howled in pain as she clutched at her face, staggering back. "THE MED-X HASN'T KICKED IN YET, ASSHOLE!" He took up a fighting stance, ready for her counter-attack. It never came. Instead, she continued to clutch at the wound, hissing in pain. "Dick move man. Serious dick move." Reaching into a pouch, she produced another vial of Med-X and injected it into her arm. "God, I'm not gonna be able to remember my own name at this rate. Anyway, where were we?"

Despite everything, Servius felt perplexed. "You said that you would treasure that scar."

"Yeah, the scar, not how much it fucking hurt to get it! I don't go out thinking, 'oh geez, I hope I get burned today!' James gave me a good fight and a victory doesn't mean anything other than cheap, short term satisfaction if you don't have to work for it. The scar is proof that I had to work for it. That's all."

"You speak of earning victory, yet you lack the will to bear the burden of your wounds," Servius said scathingly. "You let chems bear them for you. Because you're too weak to bear the pain on your own."

Marie F. waved her hand dismissively. It infuriated Servius. Had he been speaking to another Legionary, they would have been furious with him, he would have been insulting them to their core. Marie F. could barely summon the urge to care. "Not everyone buys into that Legion machismo shit. Toughing it out doesn't actually prove anything other that you may be a closet masochist. Anyway, we're getting off topic. I asked you a question. Did you even have a reason for going out there and fighting James aside from that you were told to?"

Anger flared up inside Servius. But only a fraction of it was directed at the woman in front of him. The rest of it went back to Barca. He had been right there in front of Servius. Servius had had a chance to make him pay for everything he had done, and yet Barca had run. "Wait, hold the phone." Before he could blink, Marie F.'s face was an inch away from his own, her eyes boring into his. "You do. Holy shit, you do. You hate the guy. God damn." And then she did something that completely caught Servius off guard. She bowed her head. "I sincerely apologize for what I said," she said, sounding like she meant everything she said.

"W-what?" Servius asked, his anger dying as quickly as it had sprouted. Taking a step back, he glanced back at Tullus. The older legionary had risen to his feet but now looked as dumbstruck as he felt.

"I tried to gauge you and I was wrong. I apologize for that." She lifted her head up, a genuine smile on her face. "Just ask me one question. Do you want to defeat him, prove that you're better than him? Or do you want to kill him?" There was a long, tense silence between the two of them. Servius wasn't even sure if he wanted to answer the woman. She was a sworn ally of the Legion, she was an Amicus, but everything about her felt wrong. Her casual disrespect for the Legion and its ideals, actions that would have had any self-respecting legionary disembowel himself if he had been caught performing him, and a general aura of instability. But the question caused his thoughts to drift back to Barca. His fists tightened.

Marie F. chuckled. "I see. That's very interesting. I'll keep that in mind when we finally meet him again...oh. Excuse me, I think the Med-X is finally starting to hit. I've got to go crash somewhere. I picked up some fancy Mistral mineral water when we were in the town and I promised myself I would try it out before I black out." And with that, she turned and walked away, her mood noticeably improved.

"Wait a minute," Servius said, unwilling to let the conversation end on such a baffling note.

"Hm?" she said, stopping and turning on the spot. "What's up?" It was unreal how casual and relaxed she was looking right now. The corner of her bandages were starting to stain red, and while he could see her wince in pain, it was doing nothing to affect the relaxed mood she had adopted. "You wanna double team him next time? Eh...I don't know man. He and I were fairly even when we fought. You jumping in would make things unbalanced in our favor. And that'd be kinda boring. And trust me, whatever your beef with him is, you'd be setting yourself up for disappointment if you got him as part of a team kill. You'll feel much better if you take him out yourself, take my word for it Tell you what. If you're feeling up to it, I'll let you have the first crack at him."

"No, that's not it," he said, not wanting to admit how much he agreed with her on how Barca should be killed. If by some miracle he was the one to kill him, he wanted it to be just him. To let it be known that it was true Legion will that had overcome him. "Your attitude towards me. What changed?"

She grinned at him. "What can I say? I like it when people say they're going to get something done and then bust their ass trying to do it. Even if they fall short or don't say it out loud, there's something just so genuine about it." She moved to brush her hair out of her eyes, it apparently having been knocked loose when Servius had punched her. "There was a doctor I met once, Victor Presper. Old Vicky was like that, and boy did he move heaven and earth to get where he wanted to be. Gotta say. Life really gets interesting when two wills clash and we see who gives first."

She moved her hair back, only to stop halfway. She pulled the locke of bright blonde hair back and pulled out a single strand of hair. It wasn't gold in the bright sunlight, it was more silver. Marie F. looked at it for a moment before she gave a detecting sigh, practically deflating right before Servius. "God damn it," she muttered. Without another word, she turned and walked away, slouching as she went.

Servius watched her go for a while, utterly lost. "What just happened?" he asked. Tullus made a choked, grunting noise as a response.

"Why do you fight alongside her?" A Faunus, the one called Ilia, appeared near their campfire. Her skin had been green and brown before, blending into the foliage, but it reverted back to her normal colors as she spoke. Her mask was off, revealing her freckle dotted face. She was surprisingly young, even younger than Servius. "Why do you fight with a monster like that?"

Servius took in the girl before she answered. He didn't know how he felt about Ilia. Truth be told, he didn't know how he felt about the White Fang as a whole. They claimed to be freedom fighters, but their leader felt like little more than a spoiled brat at times. He was Rumford if Rumford actually had charisma. Still, they had allied themselves with the Legion, a wise choice if there ever was one. And he certainly understood Ilia's reservations about Marie F. "For the same reason you do," he said at last. "Because I am ordered to. I do not enjoy it. She disgusts me to my core if I am honest. But she is an ally in a time when we are starved for them."

"You're that desperate. I see," the girl said. Slowly, she approached their campfire, looking back and forth between the two of them. When neither of them tried to stop her, she sat down. "I can appreciate that. Even though we're fighting for the freedom of our people, the majority of Faunus refuse to back our cause in meaningful ways. Most of them sit on the sidelines, idly murmuring support, but nothing else. But some even want to grovel before the Humans who treated us like animals." Her skin turned fiery red, her freckles and hair turning yellow as she grit her teeth in anger. "Humans like you!"

Servius opened his mouth, but before he could express his outrage, Tullus cut him off. "The only Humans you have met up until this point in your life are profligates," he said calmly. "Stupid, ignorant children, concerned with short-sighted self-interest. The Legion has no patience for them. There are no divisions within the Legion. All work together for a common goal, a society that provides unity and stability for all of the lands under its banner. The Humans who have wronged you stand by the tribalism that the Legion has outgrown. This is why we have chosen to ally with you." He produced a third cup, placed it on the ground, and poured more tea into it. "Besides, word around camp is that we are not the first Humans your leader has allied with." He handed Ilia the fresh cup of tea.

Ilia stared at the cup before taking it but chose to put it down instead of drinking it. "We were forced at sword point into our last alliance," Ilia said scornfully. "That woman and her lackeys walked into our camp and killed our fighters to make a point. Adam turned her away before that. It wasn't an alliance, it was another form of servitude! They were using us as pawns in their own fight!"

"And yet, your relationship with us couldn't be any more different," Tullus said, picking up his own cup and taking a long sip. "We have not asked you to fight the NCR or Barca. We handled those problems ourselves. But we have been happily assisting you in your fight for freedom. Showing you Legion tactics and strategies of war. Tell me. Have the profligates you hate ever been more scared of you than they are now? When they know that you will burn towns and crucify your enemies?"

"...No. They haven't," Ilia said, sounding as if every word was pulling teeth.

"The Legion does not abandon its allies," Tullus said, finishing off his tea. "Your enemies are our enemies. Their ways are incompatible with the stability that the Legion seeks."

"Really?" Ilia asked bitterly. "That man who was with you up until the last fight, Rumford, he didn't strike me as the unity type. I remember a few choice remarks about what he said. In fact, I also remember him killing quite a few Faunus when his Semblance activated. How is that taking care of your allies!?"

"If I had things my way, Rumford's throat would've been slit by this point," Servius said, forcing himself into the conversation. "He nearly killed legionaries with that power of his in addition to Faunus. Tullus and I were under strict orders to kill him should he ever attempt anything like that, orders I fully intended to carry out before I was interrupted by Barca." He glared at Ilia. "If you are angry at us because of Rumford, I'll happily kill him should the chance ever arise. But just remember that, at best, we tolerated him. With any luck, Barca has killed him already. Not much of a loss." Servius wanted badly to shout at the girl to not compare him to Barca, but he could see Tullus giving him a very stern look out of the corner of his eyes. A look that said, "she's an Amicus, don't say anything stupid."

"There's another problem there, he's a security threat," Ilia said, sounded as if she was grasping for reasons to stay made. "What secure information is he aware of?"

"Barely anything," Tullus said. "He's aware of the continent that we'll be heading towards, and that's more of a Legion operation than a White Fang one, meaning the security leak is more on our end. Part of our arrangement with Adam was that we would supply him with weapons, soldiers, and advisors if he helped us track down some coordinates that are of interest to us. Aside from that, Rumford may be familiar with whom Vulpes was reaching out to form further alliances with. Half of whom were dead ends and the other half our enemies will be unable to reach. All in all, very limited information. Assuming Rumford is still alive." Tullus voice grew very dark. "And he knows what fate will await him if he compromises the Legion."

Ilia's anger was still noticeable, but when she spoke again, it no longer felt directed towards either Servius or Tullus. "What fate would that be?"

"It's fluid, Caesar has no tolerance for traitors," Tullus said. "He may share the same fate as his first Legate, the one who failed him. Covered in pitch and set on fire before being cast into a canyon." Servius could only pray. "Though there are other fates that he has reserved for those who have displeased him. Many of them would be difficult to perform here, seeing as we lack both dogs and horses. I imagine Vulpes would be put in charge of handling it."

"No tolerance for traitors...I see," Ilia said. "I can understand that. The White Fang doesn't have many traitors. But the ones it does have…" her voice trailed off for a second as her hands dug into the ground, tearing up dirt. "Adam has promised he'll make them pay." Servius wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but he could've sworn that he saw a momentary flash of regret on the girl's face. But it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

"Oh?" Tullus sounded curious now. "And what fate does Adam have planned for them? Public displays?"

Ilia noticeably recoiled, something that deeply confused Servius. What exactly had that earlier moment of regret been about? Did this girl want to punish traitors or not? "No. They don't deserve the time it would take," Ilia said. "They'll be killed in the comfort of their homes for everyone to see. They'll be laid bare as traitors and the Faunus will know where their loyalties lied. And who their real protectors are."

Tullus gave a firm nod. "I see. It sounds as if you have a firm understanding on how to deal with traitors. The Legion would do the same if a turncoat had fled to enemy territory that we could not take. It would not be our first course of action, but the White Fang lacks the territory and manpower of the Legion, so it is only natural." He held up his cup of tea in a respectful manner. "You do well with the resources you have at hand." Tullus then took a sip, before his face curled in disgust. "Egh. It shouldn't have gone cold that fast."

Ilia seemed taken aback by the compliments, but nodded. "Well. Except for one. Adam wants her taken alive. He has plans for her." Ilia sounded as if saying every last word was torture, and she looked at her knees as she spoke. Servius didn't know exactly what the leader of the White Fang had planned for this traitor, but the fact that it was a she gave him a good deal of ideas. He tried not to think about it. Sadly, he had a good feeling this woman would suffer a similar fate if the Legion took her instead of the Fang.

He tried to not think of the implications of that either. So many legionaries, particularly Rumford, would say that women were weak and terrible fighters. Yet, that clearly wasn't true. A girl, younger than even Servius, had taken him, Tullus, and Ancus all on single-handedly. Not just that, she had been an unstoppable juggernaut that they had not been able to even scratch. The boy she had fancied had clearly been an inferior fighter to herj. Beyond that, Servius had already seen first hand how deadly a woman could be in combat. He forced himself not to think about the multi-armed monster. Yet so many legionaries thought them weak. Why?

He could understand keeping them off the battlefield, the Legion needed its next generation of warriors, but that was out of necessity more than innate inferiority. It had to be a misunderstanding. Caesar would never declare something like that, obviously, someone had misinterpreted his words and Caesar would clarify it as soon as possible. He, in his wisdom, had simply seen that the future of the Legion could not be spent in costly battles, a wise choice. As capable as these women may be, they would be better off bearing children. Anyone could fight, only women could bear children, it was simply an allocation of talents. In fact, with abilities like that, these women would bear extremely strong legionaries. It was like Tullus had said. It wasn't pleasant, but it was needed.

All of this made sense, and yet he thought of what would come if the Legion was successful here. What would happen to the women that weren't slain? To the girl that Ilia spoke of? To Ilia herself? He swallowed. He told himself that it was for the good of the species. It was needed. Profligates are stupid, selfish people that only think about themselves. They only had to do this because they couldn't manage resources and form a stable society. They just consumed and squabbled among each other. They were like children.

He didn't feel any better.

His train of thought was broken by Tullus taking another sip of his tea. "For the love of Minerva, Serv? Is your tea cold?" Blinking, Servius looked down at the cup in his hands and took a sip. It was still quite warm. He shook his head as he looked at Tullus. Then he spotted it.

"Your hand!" Tullus stared for a second before he lifted his cup over his head and looked at his hand. His jaw dropped. Tiny fragments of icegh covered his right hand and were slowly starting to appear on the cup. He dropped it in shock, where it cracked. But instead of spilling everywhere, the tea was now a partially frozen slush. All eyes in the area darted back and forth between the broken up and Tullus's hands, silencing dominating the three of them.

"I don't feel it at all," Tullus said, turning his hand over as he looked at it. "I still feel warm."

"Semblances often don't hurt their user, it's only natural," Ilia said, looking at the hand with excitement in her eyes. For a moment, her freckles flashed a pleasant bright yellow before fading away. "Can you do it anywhere else?" Tullus responded by forming a fist and gritting his teeth in concentration. The ice hardening around his hand continued to spiderweb all over it, but it came to a stop at his wrist. The veteran legionary's face tensed until it turned red, but there was no further progress.

"No," he said, letting out a gasp as he let his hand slack, the thin bits of ice starting to melt away. "Maybe if I had my other hand still it would work there. But as it stands I-oh Mars!" He had begun to idly lift up his blade as he talked. Said blade was glowing bright red with its own heat. It was slowly fading away, but there was little doubt as to what had caused it. Servius smiled. He needed to unlock his own Semblance as soon as possible, he wasn't being left behind. But for the moment, he was simply happy for Tullus.

At that moment, a horn sounded throughout the camp. "We're moving," Tullus said, picking up a nearby bucket of water and dousing the fire before kicking dirt onto the smoldering remains. "Let's go." Servius and Tullus gathered up their needed supplies, folded them into packs, and heaved them onto their backs.

Ilia blinked. "You know you could store most of that in the trucks," she said.

"Legionaries carry their weapons and tools on their backs," Servius said proudly. Ilia was right in that it would be easy to simply let their vehicles carry their supplies. The legionaries, however, were under strict orders to not let the creature comforts of Remnant let them grow soft. Orders that Servius was happy to obey. The three of them moved back towards the center of camp, passing quite a few other campfires where legionaries were packing up their equipment.

As they neared the center, angry shouts reached their ears. Adam's voice. "Oh no," Ilia whispered.

"We can't leave now!" Adam roared. "We've drawn blood from the Humans, but we didn't beat them! If we retreat now it'll be as good as saying that they beat us! We need to stay in Vale and finish what we started." He was standing with his giant of a lieutenant behind him, facing Vulpes, Ancus, and Caesar's Signifer, the last of whom was standing a fair ways behind the other two.

"Your bravery is commendable Adam, as is your dedication," Vulpes said. "But the most important thing in regards to warfare is to deny your enemy what they want. Atlas and Vale desire a prolonged fight, to save face after we bloodied them and they were unable to exact vengeance for it. We will not be giving them a chance to redeem themselves. Our operation in Atlas will benefit us both, and while I cannot force you to come with us, I urge you to. It will give us the strength to truly crush them underneath our boots. The decisions between you are a minor victory and a total victory. The White Fang and you, in particular, deserve a total victory."

Adam paused. He looked oddly satisfied with himself for a moment, but the look was forced off of his face as he continued to speak. "The White Fang does deserve a total victory over the Humans. And it will be here, where we have started it. You're asking us to abandon everything we've set out to do. I'm starting to wonder if you aren't just running scared. First, you let us do all of the fighting, then you waste your time and men on a nobody. This Walker you're so scared of?" He gripped his sword. "Couldn't even touch me when I fought him. He's just another Human."

"Underestimate Barca at your own peril." It took Servius a moment to realize who had spoken. The Signifer, not looking at Adam, had taken a step forward and produced a paper scroll from a pouch. "He is the greatest threat the Legion has ever known. Like a wound, he will grow and fester if not put out, swallowing us all whole."

Vulpes nodded. "A Signifier is forbidden to speak unless he speaks the words of Caesar. Barca has already complicated our operations here. Half of our purpose in Atlas will be to undo the damage that he has done. Only then can we achieve our true goals and give our enemies the fate that they deserve. I promise you glory beyond your wildest imagination Adam, but I need your help."

Adam seemed to be losing his temper, however. "I have unfinished business here!" he roared, taking a step forward. Ancus positioned himself between Vulpes and the boy, hand on his hammer, which in turn caused Adam's lieutenant to grab his sword's hilt. "I'm not going to crawl sniveling into the shadows like some people!" Servius's felt a surging pang of hatred towards the boy right now. The hypocrite lived in the shadows and he was accusing the Legion of cowardice? He made to move forward, only for a firm hand on the shoulder to hold him back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tullus staring at him, shaking his head.

"He isn't talking about you," Ilia said. Her voice was a mixture of anger and sadness.

"I assure you, Adam, we are not hiding," Vulpes said. "In fact, what we will be asking of you will be some of the most difficult tasks the White Fang has ever faced. And it will grant us the tools to wreak havoc on whomever we please." Vulpes's lip curled. "For example. The Schnee Dust Company. If we succeed, an attack on them will not only be possible, it will be trivial. We shan't even need to travel far."

The words "Schnee Dust Company" were alien to Servius, but the second Vulpes said them, every nearby Faunus stiffened. Even Adam's lieutenant looked at his superior, unclear on how to act. Adam, for his part, seemed to be losing resolve in his arguing. "We had a Schnee back there!" he said, pointing and shouting, though not with nearly the same ferocity that he had had a minute ago. "She's still back there!"

"The exile of the family," Vulpes said. "You can't take revenge on a family by destroying their discarded waste. It means nothing to them. You must destroy what they consider valuable. Adam. Help me take everything they care about away from them. You and your people are the lynchpin to all of this." He held out his hand to Adam, smiling warmly. After a brief pause, Adam reluctantly reached out and took it. "Excellent. You will not regret this."

"The second we are done in Atlas, we come back here and finish what we started," Adam said forcefully.

"Oh, absolutely," Vulpes said. "I intend to see Barca nailed to a cross before the month is out. Whoever has wronged you, I will happily have them hanging next to him, And your iron will shall be what makes it a reality." Adam had been scowling up until this point. Now it was replaced with a small smirk. "We move out in twenty minutes!" Vulpes said, looking around the camp. "Ensure that we aren't followed!" With that, he held out his arm, indicating for Adam to lead the way. The boy did so, Vulpes following behind him with the Signifer. Ancus and the lieutenant stayed where they were for a moment, staring at each other.

"Don't forget who's running the show here," the giant Faunus growled, jerking his sword.

"Do not forget that we are your allies, not your servants," Ancus said firmly. "It would be quite unwise to mistake a legionary for a submissive. Particularly one much more battle tested than yourself." There was no venom in Ancus's voice, but the threat was very clear all the same. The lieutenant snorted as he walked away, Ancus doing the same.

As the leaders of the Legion and the White Fang scattered, Servius couldn't help but wonder why the sudden change in tactics had occurred. What was waiting for them in Atlas?

XXXXX

Blake tried to focus on Gambol Shroud in front of her, but it was a futile effort. It had been double checked and triple checked already. The chambers were all clean, the blade was sharpened, and the cable was free of frays. Anything that would keep her hands busy would be a welcome sight right now, but there was none to be found. She was in Beacon's workshop doing her daily weapon maintenance, though it was slowly starting to feel like a waste of time. Classes had been suspended for the immediate future, so she needed something to keep her hands busy.

Across from her, Yang finished shining Ember Celica, putting both gauntlets in front of her to admire the gleam. Stretching and yawning, she leaned back in her chair. "There's something you're not telling us, isn't there?"

Blake blinked. Yang had made the statement so idly that it took Blake a second to realize exactly what she was implying. "I-what?" she spluttered, her brain struggling to catch up with her mouth. "What are you-"

"Blake" Yang said, her voice stern. "We've been through this a couple of times already. The incident at the docks in our first semester comes to mind. And right now you're kind of reminding me of how you were acting when you were obsessed with Torchwick. When you were always trying to do something always, even if it got nothing done. And Blake? You made a promise about this."

"She's right. You did." Blake's blood ran cold. Turning around, she found herself face to face with both Ruby and Weiss, the former with her arms on her hips and the latter with her arms folded. "Something's been eating you up the last couple of days, and we're not letting it drop until we get an answer from you." The Schnee heiress's arms tightened even more as she stared directly at Blake with her piercing blue eyes. Ruby looked as if she was trying to do the same as Weiss, but wasn't pulling it off nearly as well. If anything, she looked more worried than strict.

That was what pushed Blake over the edge. It had been easier to not tell them before the White Fang had started attacking isolated towns. Bringing them unwanted attention from Adam would've been doing them an injustice. But now everyone was in danger, regardless of how close they were to her. Adam had someone, this Vulpes person, whispering in his ear, making him even worse than he already was. No, that's not right, Blake thought morbidly. Vulpes didn't make Adam a worse person. He just gave him better tools and made him more confident.

She looked around. No one else was in the room. "Ok. It's the boy who leads the local branch of the White Fang. The one with the red sword and mask that Weiss's sister said she fought in the debriefing. He -" she was cut off as the door slid open. James walked in, a large machine-gun hanging from a strap around him, while he carried two boxes with belts of ammunition hanging out in each hand. Letting out a grunt of exertion, he lifted all four boxes onto one of the countless tables before sliding the machine-gun off, along with a fifth box that was connected to it, ED-E floating into the room after him. Blake could feel her confidence shrink. This is a mistake. I can't do this.

She stood up. There would be time to explain everything to her team later, but she had to get out, she couldn't be here right now. She was on her feet, not even really remembering getting up, but there was a hand on her shoulder before she even had time to take a step. "Blake. What's wrong?" The attempted strictness had completely fallen away, replaced with pure worry. It took the edge off of Blake's panic, but only the edge. "I just-I can't," she said, glancing out of the corner of her eye at James. He had made to sit down to work on his gun but had stopped and was now looking in her direction.

"Is everything ok?" he asked, stepping away and moving towards them. "Do I need to give someone a call?"

"...Not him," Blake whispered, too softly. "Only you three." She couldn't. James was nice, but Blake barely knew him. She couldn't talk to him about Adam, it was too personal, too close to some of the most painful memories of her life. Yang, Weiss, and Ruby were one thing. He was too much of an unknown factor, he hadn't even been in her life for a whole week yet. "Please."

James looked rather confused, but apparently, he had put enough together. "Right, gotcha, personal stuff. I'll get out of your hair. Just do me a favor and keep an eye on my hardware, ok? I had to blow a few thousand lien to get custom built rounds that would fit that thing." He pointed at the machine-gun and the boxes of ammunition. "Three grand. God that hurt a lot, but I think I can use that thing." A flicker of concern crossed his face. "I'm sorry if I walked in at a bad time, I'll give you some space."

Blake let out a small sigh of relief as James turned and exited the room. She felt a small pang of guilt, but it was outmatched by the relief that was overwhelming her. Yang, however, looked as if she wasn't happy with the recent turn of events. "Blake," she said, her voice betraying some degree of disapproval. "You were about to tell us about the leader of the White Fang right?" Her anxiety spiking back up, Blake gave a shaky nod. "Wasn't that the same person that nearly disemboweled James the day he showed up? When he was saving civilians? Don't you think he deserves to know whatever it is you're about to tell-"

"No," Blake said, a little too quickly. "I'm not going to go out and tell everyone Adam has ever hurt. That's," she gave a painful pause, "a number I lost track of." She hadn't meant to word it like that, but Yang noticeably winced.

"If Blake doesn't feel comfortable doing that, I don't think that we should force her," Ruby said. "What she's doing can't be easy. Let's not make it harder." There was a firm squeeze on her shoulder, and she gave a small smile at both Ruby and Yang. It was at that moment that she realized she couldn't spot Weiss, only for the white-haired girl to emerge from a side door, a bottle of water in her hand.

"Drink slow sips," she said, undoing the cap and handing it to Blake. "It helped me when I was younger. And my father was-well," she paused. "Nevermind, this isn't about me right now." Slowly taking the bottle, Blake did as she had been told. The cold liquid felt wonderful sliding down her throat; everything was starting to feel a little more secure.

Lowering the bottle, she looked at Yang. The long-haired blonde still looked as if she wasn't fully on board with the idea, but didn't say any more. Instead, she gave a smile, a smile that looked a little forced to Blake, but one that was appreciated nevertheless. "Ok. So, you were saying?"

"Right," Blake said, swallowing. "The boy in the mask and with red hair. His name is Adam Taurus. I used to work closely with him. Very closely." She wondered if she should elaborate on what she meant by that. Except it became clear to her very quickly that she didn't need to. Yang's eyes widened, Weiss's hands shot over her mouth, and even Ruby was gapping at her. She was very glad that James had left the room.

"Why?" Yang asked. "What did you see in him?" Out of instinct, Blake flinched. Then she realized it had been a question filled with scorn like she had expected. It was concern. She felt touched.

"He had this presence to him," Blake said, "he made you feel like he could do anything, would do anything. It made you want to follow him, to do everything that he said. You felt like you were part of something bigger, that he was something bigger than you. I was...young. And angry. I saw a cruel world around me and the White Fang just wasn't doing enough. The old leader wanted to maintain pacifism while Selina Khan and Adam wanted to hit back against the people who had hurt us. I called the old leader a coward and fell in line with Adam." Someday she would have to face her father again. To apologize, admit that he had been right and that she had caused so much damage by following Adam. But that was for another day. Right now she just wanted to avoid her friends hating her the way her father no doubt hated her.

"But then people started dying on the missions he was leading. Innocent people, ones that were just in the way," she said. "He had always had an excuse. It was an accident, it couldn't be helped, it was us or them, why are you still bothering me about this?" Without realizing she was doing it, she slowly began to wrap her arms around herself. "It started to tear the image of the leader I thought I knew. I tried to talk to him about it, but every time he managed to turn it all back on me, I was the one who was doing something wrong by questioning him." She remembered how she had gone into those talks feeling outraged and angry, yet every time she left feeling shaken and ashamed. As if she had been reduced to a child who had been chastised for throwing a tantrum.

"And one day, it just got to be too much," she said. "There was one mission where he said he just didn't care about innocent people died. That's when I knew that the White Fang had stopped being about ending Faunus oppression and started being about just hurting as many people as possible. At least for him. And no one would stand up to him. And I couldn't. So I ran." She dug her nails into her bare arms, a mixture of shame and disgust flowing through her. "I did nothing to stop him. The man who's still killing innocent people."

A stunned silence followed her confession. Truth be told, that was the best reaction that she could've expected, not that she knew what she had expected. This entire conversation had been one that she knew she would have to have one day, but she had always kept it out of mind. Beacon had been a fresh start for her, and ever since she had connected with her team, she had been happy for the first time in a while. She didn't know if she thought the truth would ruin it or if they would view her differently, she had never stopped to think it through. And now it was here.

There was a grinding noise. Yang had gotten up, walked around the table, and was now standing in front of Blake. "Yang, I'm sorry. I should've-" Blake started, but she was cut off as Yang wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. The taller girl locked her arms vicelike around Blake, one of her hands rubbing the back of her head. Before she could get a word out, Ruby made a noise that Blake could never hope to identify and threw herself at the pair of them, trying futilely to get her arms around the both of them. Weiss brought up the rear, starting forward but then stopping when she realized what a tangled mess her three teammates had created. She gazed up and down, moving from side to side, before eventually settling on grabbing Blake's hand and squeezing it tightly.

"Thank you for telling us," Yang said softly, letting go of Blake. "You can always talk to us about this kind of stuff. We'll help take care of Adam. We'll probably run into him again sometime in the future, and you'll have the three of us backing you up."

"I don't want to drag you into this," Blake said at once. "I don't want him to hurt any of you. I just wanted to let you know-"

"Blake," Weiss said sternly. "My last name is Schnee. He and everyone under his command would consider killing me to be the crowning achievement of the career as terrorists. I don't think your presence, or lack thereof, is going to have a big impact on that front." Blake felt a little stupid. She had been so caught up in her bad memories of Adam that she had forgotten something that obvious.

"And Team RWBY doesn't abandon anyone," Ruby said firmly. "We aren't going to just sit around and do nothing when it's Weiss, and the same goes for you." Breaking out of the hug, she gave Blake a stern poke in the shoulder. "And don't you forget that, missy!"

The hug fell apart at this point, mainly because Yang was laughing so hard. "Missy? Ruby, when I'm sixty and need you to babysit the grandkids, I think that's the point when you break out 'missy.' Saying it at your age just makes you sound like a grandma in a teenage girl's body." Ruby responded by sticking her tongue out. Yang laughed, Weiss rolled her eyes, and Blake let out a nervous chuckle. The feeling of unease that had spread over her hadn't gone away, but it felt lighter now. She had no idea what she would do if she had to actually confront Adam. But she knew that if she did it with her team it would be, at the very least, more manageable.

"Thank you. Thank you all," Blake said. The words didn't do the feelings inside her justice. An uncontrollable maelstrom of emotions was raging inside her and she was pretty sure she was just barely holding back the urge to cry. But the smile on her face was very real. "Can someone please go let James back in?" As a response, Ruby zoomed to the other end of the room in a blur of red and petals, stopping neatly in front of the door and pulling it wide open. She stuck her head out and said something Blake couldn't hear.

James walked back into the armory, moving a little too quickly for it to be natural. "Everything ok?" he asked, noting how Weiss and Yang were still clustered around Blake. "I know you don't want me to hear it, but I can still get someone you'd trust more. Ozpin maybe? Port?"

Blake smiled at him. "I think I'm ok," she said. "Thank you for caring." She didn't know James well enough to confide in him just yet, the numbers just weren't there. But she did like and respect the man, his heart was in the right place.

"Well, let me know if you change your mind," he said. "I got the scroll thing, you know. Hell, radio ED-E if you have to." The robot floated in after James, his radio flickering on as James spoke. At once, a whining, piercing note played off of him. "Oh for the love of f-ED-E! Kill it!" The noise stopped before half of Team RWBY had even had time to cover their ears. The noise had sounded like ED-E was malfunctioning and about to suffer a total system failure. "I swear, something's sending out a faulty radio signal around here. That's the fifth time in three days I've heard that damn thing," James said. "It's not a problem on ED-E's end, radio signals in general pick it up."

ED-E let out a long string of beeps. "- .-. ..- ... - / - . -..- / .. .-. -.. / .-.. . - / -.- - ..- / -.- -. - .- / .. ..-. / .. / .- .- ... / ... .- ...- .. -. -. / .- / ... .-. . .- -.- . .-. / ...- . .-. ... .. - -. / - ..-. / - ... . / ... ... .. - ... .-.-.-"

"Yeah, I know you would," James said. He let out an annoyed sound. "Well, at least this one isn't dragging me off to a drive-in that teleports me how many miles away."

All four of Blake's ears perked up. "What?" Her entire team looked as if she wanted to know the answer to that question too. Weiss had even gone so far as to cock her head.

"Oh boy, that's a story and a half," James said, moving back to where he had left his machine-gun. Opening one of the crates, he inspected the belt of ammunition inside before sliding it shut. "Ok. Gonna give you the really abridged version. A satellite crashed and I checked it out. I got teleported to an old Pre-War research facility and got caught up in a stupid, and I mean stupid, game of tug of war between six brains in jars. Seven if you count the fact my brain got removed at one point. And yelled at me. A couple of other parts of me got removed and replaced, but I got my brain back. Kind of need that jerk."

Blake's mouth opened, but no words came out. Her jaw just sagged there as she absorbed everything she had just heard. It wasn't just what James had said, it was how he had said it so nonchalantly. "You're making this up right?" Yang said in disbelief. "You're messing with us?"

"I don't think he is," Blake said, managing to find her voice. "When he was in the hospital, they found surgical scars all over his body. In places that match what he's saying."

"Yeah," James said. He sounded uncomfortable out of nowhere. "This place was where I found the portal that sent me here. They were working on cutting edge stuff." He paused. "Ok, I'm going to be blunt with you guys. I thought I was a lot more prepared to talk about that stuff than I actually was. Can we please change the subject?" Blake nodded at once. It was an easy decision to make. James had respected her privacy, she could respect his. Her team mirrored her reaction, Ruby going so far as to cross the room towards James in concern.

He waved her off as she got close. "I appreciate it but I'd rather focus on something more positive." A sly grin crossed his face. "Ruby? I take it you're the type of person who appreciates a meaty gun."

Ruby stopped flat in her tracks, a look of manic glee on her face, one that was quickly suppressed. Adopting a look of faux apathy, she folded her arms and examined her fingernails. "I have been known to enjoy the finer mechanics of firearms and the related ordinance."

"Ordnance," Weiss said with irritation. "I can assure you, Mr. Walker, she has no interest in legislation." Ruby went a little red in the face at this but chose to redirect attention onto James's weapon by staring at it.

"I was hoping to get a second set of eyes on this," he said. "I've never done anything like this before."

"Hm, looks all right," she said, lifting the cover up and inspecting the feedway. "I have to admit I've never seen a gun of this make before, but it does seem to be of good quality." She turned the gun. "I think. It's certainly on the old side and looks like it's had more than a few patch jobs. It should be all right though." She gave the rest of it a look over before pushing it to James. "There's a firing range down there, let's give it a spin!"

James smiled and moved to heave it up when there was a loud buzzing noise that Blake recognized as coming from a scroll. There was a sigh of annoyance as James reached into his pouch and pulled his scroll out. "How do you unlock this thing again-right, there. Ah.." He stuffed it back in. "Crap, gotta run. Ozpin and Ironwood are trying to work out a plan going forward and something's going on up in Ozpin's office right now. Winter said that she'll be here in-" the door to the armory was roughly pushed open and the Atlas specialist strode in. "-five seconds. Everything ok?"

"Things are proceeding, though roughly," Winter said calmly. Weiss gave a firm, if nervous, wave at her older sister. The ghost of a smile flickered on Winter's face and she responded with a brief nod before turning her attention back to James. "The legionary you apprehended has proven to be surprisingly easy to interrogate. Half of the sessions with him involved him screamingly endlessly at the interrogator, with him apparently unaware that he was saying more than he should. The difficulty we're facing is that he doesn't seem to have much high-quality intelligence, most likely he was considered a low-level operative. We were hoping to have you look over our findings and fill in the blanks."

Producing a datapad from within her coat, she handed it to James. "Also, we have performed a medical examination on the captive. There is evidence of drug abuse in his body, he had an empty syringe on him, along with signs of both stimulant and anabolic steroids in his system. We suspect that may have contributed to the general poor impulse control he has shown."

"If I had to make a guess there, sounds like this guy was fond of Psycho. Maybe Buffout, but that's less likely," James said, starting to read the report that Winter had given him. He flicked down. "Yup, that's a Psycho syringe. Honestly, I should've guessed this with the way he was acting. Either the Legion dropped the ball on enforcing their no chems policy, or they were getting desperate with who they were taking in."

"Ms. Schnee?" Ruby asked, stepping forward. "Is there anything we can do to help? I mean, the Legion is hurting people and Huntresses are supposed to stop stuff like this from happening. But we've been cooped up at Beacon for the last three days. There's gotta be something we can do."

"I appreciate your sentiments Ms. Rose, but we are in a period of consolidation and preparation," Winter said, not unkindly. "There is not much that can be done by you at this rate. Focus on keeping your team combat ready." Ruby was very obviously not satisfied with that answer, something Blake shared, but the younger girl nodded. Winter looked like she was about to say something when the sound of breaking glass echoed from outside the armory. "What?" Winter said sharply, spinning around. Loud voices were echoing from the direction of the door, along with an occasional heavy thumping sound. "Ruby, keep your team here. Mr. Walker, with me."

Blake was unable to get a single word in edgewise before Winter had darted out, James tossing his datapad onto a nearby table and hauling after her. She gripped Gambol Shroud just in case.

XXXXX

James rounded the corner, his hand going for his rifle. He didn't think that anyone would've been stupid enough to try and make a move here in the center of Beacon. Remnant was still unfamiliar to him, but Beacon had so many Huntsmen and Huntresses in training that an army would be needed to crack it. Even without the military personnel added by Atlas. So who was dumb enough to pick a fight here?

"He's drunk!" Well, that explained a lot. His hand loosened on his rifle. If he was quick, he could eject his shotgun's magazine and load beanbags. A much more appropriate response to a drunk who stumbled onto school property. The shotgun was half drawn when he saw the man who had caused the disturbance. Ragged and ratty were the first words that came to mind. There was an almost refined apathetic look to the man's clothes, stained and marked, with noticeable holes in his partially unbuttoned gray shirt, black pants, and red cape. His black hair was a mess, and his face was lined with scruffy bristles.

An utterly enormous weapon was hanging from his back, but he was making no move to use it. He was idly smacking around a robot with the Atlas sigil on it, James had seen quite a few of them marching around, until one backhand severed its head from the rest of its body. "Sir! Put your hands over your head and get on your knees! This is your last warning!" A trio of Atlas soldiers approached the man from the far side of the hallway, their rifles raised.

"Hey, relax," the man said, idly waiving to the soldiers as he turned their back on them. "I'm not gonna hurt anyone, I just got someone I want to talk to. And she's right here." He gave an exaggerated wave. "Hey, there ice queen. Would've gotten here sooner if I could, but I've been busy. Thought you weren't getting here until the festival."

"I was needed here to deal with the situation," Winter said coldly, her hands clasped so tightly behind her back her fingers looked like they were about to snap. "I assume that you have a good reason to be destroying Atlas military property, Branwen?"

"Wait a minute, you know this guy?" James interjected, caught off guard by this revelation. He certainly didn't look like the type of person that Winter would associate with. The way her nose was wrinkling in disgust only added to his suspicions. "He doesn't look like he's military."

"Yeah, well, I needed a line of work where I could bring myself to get out of bed in the morning," the man said, smirking wildly as he looked at James. "Being a walking parade ornament with a bloated sense of entitlement isn't something that would fit that well with me." James bit back a sigh. His eyes remained on the man's weapon. He wasn't making any sudden moves towards it, and as such he was more annoying than a threat. Still, James made sure that the man's hands didn't leave his sight.

"Do you remember when I said that Ozpin had someone tailing the White Fang?" Winter remarked. "That was him. Qrow Branwen, spelled with a q." James privately thought that Qrow's parents had been a bit pretentious. "There's no denying he's an exceptionally skilled Huntsman, with the combat skills of a master and a particular talent for intelligence gathering while staying under the radar." Her eyes narrowed. "It's a shame such a refined skillset is attached to such a chronically inebriated lout."

"You know, it's a bit rich that you're basically calling me uncouth after the way you people treated Ozpin," Qrow said. While overall his tone was playful, there was a noticeable bit of venom in it. "Stabbing him in the back like that, then you go around and call me a lout? Low ice queen, but then again I'm starting to get the feeling that Atlas military types just do whatever they please and just expect everyone else to fall in line."

James's mind raced back to everything he had been told about Ozpin. Then it hit him. Ironwood being given more control over security. Security oversight that had been taken away from Ozpin. The noticeable tension between Ironwood and Ozpin. And Qrow and Winter worked for both of those men. Oh fuck me, it's one of those situations. Why can't people ever leave their drama at the door when the Legion is running amuck?

"Matters of national security run on pragmatism and efficiency, not honor and good sportsmanship," Winter replied coldly. "Ozpin was given a duty to protect the city of Vale and Beacon Academy. Under his watch, a White Fang train smashed one of the outer walls and let a swarm of Grimm into the city. It was nothing short of a miracle that the death count was as low as it was. General Ironwood felt that Ozpin could have done more to prevent this incident, and the Vale Council agreed."

"And Atlas is doing such a better job," Qrow replied sarcastically. "How many towns have been hit? And with the last one, you went in yourself, didn't stop them, and got half of your men killed. This last town was the only one where a few dozen civilians didn't die. And who was the one who told you where you should evacuate?" He pointed to himself. "Oh, that's right, me. Because Ozpin ordered me to. Kind of seems like Ozpin knows a little more about what's better for Vale than your boss. Might be because Ironwood is a one trick pony who doesn't know what to do when he can't order an army to stomp a problem into mulch."

"I'm sorry," Winter said, and her voice was no longer cold, it was now quivering with anger. "What did you say?" Her hands had balled into fists, and in a direct response Qrow's eyes widened, shining with delight. That was when James had decided things had gone on long enough.

"Ok!" he said loudly, positioning himself between Winter and Qrow. "I get it. I was at the last village that was attacked. I know what the Legion does and what the White Fang does seems to be more or less the same. We are all on the same side here. Time we spend trying to rip each other's throats out is time we're wasting. We're all pent up, but we need to save our frustrations for the pricks out there. Get mad at them, not each other."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Qrow said, looking as if he had barely paid any attention to what James had just said. "Atlas must be getting really desperate if they're hiring mercenaries that cut off from society."

"As a matter of fact, he's one of Ozpin's," Winter said, still sounding furious. "James Walker. Teacher's aide. I wouldn't be so quick to criticize hiring choices if I were you. After all, I thought you were defending Ozpin here."

"Wait, wait, wait," Qrow said, holding his hands up. "This guy is Walker?" He pointed at James, earning a slow nod from the older man. "Oh, that works out then. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to him when I got here, give us a second ice queen." He looked at James. "Ozpin told me about you, but he left a couple of things out, so I wanted to clear them up. Ok? Ok. First question. Are you illiterate?"

There was a heavy silence. "I beg your pardon?" James said, forcing his voice to stay neutral.

"Are. You. Illiterate?" Qrow said, bitterness positively dripping from every word. "Because the funniest thing happened. Ozpin's been slipping me info when he can, and he told me that he gave you very specific instructions to not help Ironwood out. That Ironwood was charging in without thinking about it, again, and that he didn't want you enabling him when we needed a more nuanced approach. And yet, despite this, you were out there, doing what Ironwood said. So I'll ask you one last time and I'll use smaller words. Can you read?"

"James," ED-E beeped. "If he keeps talking to you like that I'm going to set his pubes on fire." The eyebot was slowly floating up to directly behind James's shoulder, his laser whirling rapidly.

"ED-E, no!" James said, frantically holding up an open palm. "Do not do anything to make things worse!" Reluctantly, the robot's laser became still.

"Huh, look at that," Qrow said, his foul mood giving way to genuine interest. "Hey, ice queen? What was his name, ED-E? How's it feel that ED-E here has more emotions than you and Ironwood do?" James could see Winter's teeth bared in anger and her hand drifting in the direction of her sword. Again, Qrow's eyes seemed to shine at this.

"Winter, I'm kind of getting the feeling that this guy wants a fight, for the love of Christ above, don't give the asshole what he wants," James said before turning his attention back to Qrow. "Look, I'm praying you're less of a prick when you're sober. Until then, let's get something straight. I don't care about whatever spat Ironwood and Ozpin are having and I'm not going to be the rope in a game of tug of war. Ozpin and Ironwood both asked me to do something. Ironwood's plan had me out there doing what I could to help, Ozpin asked me to sit on my hands and do nothing. It wasn't a hard decision to make. I'm not sure if Ozpin realized this before he hired me, but I'm not the type to sit on the sidelines."

"As you were right to," Winter said, her anger mixed in with a smidge of haughtiness.

He glanced at Winter. She was still in full Ozpin vs Ironwood mode and was under the impression he had taken her side. And he had. Kinda. It would be for the best if he cleared this up. "That being said, because I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. I listened to Ironwood because, at that moment, I thought he was right. That's it. If I find myself in a situation like that again, I'm going with whoever I think has the best plan. Not Ozpin because he's paying me or Ironwood because he's a general. If either of you don't like it, I apologize for that, but I'm sticking to my guns on that front. I didn't do the undying loyalty thing for a guy who called me a war hero and put a medal on my chest, I'm not doing it for either of those two."

Neither Qrow or Winter looked like they had expected him to take this stance. Neither of them looked particularly happy either. "You just keep pissing people off wherever you go. You have a gift," ED-E beeped in his ear. He wasn't wrong. Though the one upside to this was that Winter and Qrow were both so irritated with him that they seemed to have temporarily have forgotten about each other. If that could be called an upside.

"James? Is everything ok out-UNCLE QROW!" A blur of red shot past James's side and latched itself onto Qrow's stomach. Ruby wrapped her arms tight around Qrow, snuggling up to him. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming!? We could've used the good news!" There was a loud bang behind James and Yang soared overhead, her gauntlets blaring, before she landed neatly next to Ruby, grinning wildly and fist bumping Qrow.

James started in disbelief at the turn of events, looking hopelessly at Winter for some sort of explanation. She looked how he felt. "Uncle?" he said dumbly.

"Five caps says he wasn't allowed to be around them too much when they were kids. He looks like the type that would show up to a five-year-old's birthday party drunk and with a hooker," ED-E said. "And the hooker was the one who actually brought a present."

"I was told that he had relatives attending Beacon," Winter said hesitantly, approaching James's side, "I wasn't aware that his nieces were on my sister's team." She frowned. "I will not accept him saying anything inappropriate to or around Weiss, I hope to make that very clear to Ozpin." James nodded dumbly.

Qrow had undergone a complete change in attitude with the appearance of Yang and Ruby, his face becoming much softer and letting out genuine laughs as he returned Yang's fist bump and tussled Ruby's hair. "Easy girls, easy. We'll catch up later; I'm here on business. I promise we'll catch up later. Let me just talk to your teacher here. I just-Ruby, hands off of Harbinger! You have your own scythe!"

While this was happening, an idea popped up into James's head. Qrow respected Ozpin deeply, maybe he could use that. Pulling his scroll out, he flicked it on and began to type into it. It took him a few tries to remember where you accessed the message thing that he had used a few times before, but eventually, he found Ozpin's contact and hammered out a quick message. "Your friend Qrow ran into me near the armory. He's drunk and pissed." His thumb hammered the send button. Ten seconds later, he had a reply. "I'll be right there." He showed the scroll to Winter.

"That's one way to handle it," she said. She still sounded as if she wasn't in a particularly good mood.

"Winter, James, is everything ok?" Weiss and Blake had exited the armory now, blinking in confusion at the situation in front of him. James could only imagine how bizarre it looked. Ruby and Yang were crowding around a poorly dressed drunk, he and Winter watching, a broken robot lying on the ground, and a trio of soldiers pointing rifles at Qrow, who had been utterly forgotten and were slowly starting to realize it.

"For the moment," Winter said, signing to the soldiers. They lowered their rifles dejectedly. "It seems a family reunion deescalated matters."

"Family reunion?" Blake asked. "Oh, that must be Uncle Qrow then." She stared. "He's not what I imagined. I thought he taught at Signal. Do teachers at Signal all act like him?" James was slowly starting to suspect the ease at which he had been hired had not been due to the degree that Ozpin was impressed with him, but rather that standards for educators around here were a bit on the low side.

Eventually, Qrow managed to calm down his nieces and gently push them away. His warm look faltered as his attention turned back to James and Winter. "Qrow." James let out a sigh of relief. Ozpin had just turned the corner behind Qrow, Ironwood right behind him. Ozpin looked exhausted, while Ironwood was nothing short of livid. A smirk crossed Qrow's face as he noticed the later.

"Like I said girls, we'll catch up later. I think I'm in trouble," he said to both of his nieces. An irrational pang of hatred hit James.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, he's got an incredibly punchable face, doesn't he?" ED-E asked. James nodded stiffly. The thought was tempting, he had to admit. He wanted very badly to scream "Ozpin! Keep your dog on a tighter leash". He swallowed the words. He would scream them at a picture of Qrow later. Cooler heads were needed and he needed to be the bigger man, no matter how much it sucked.

"Ms. Rose, I'll have to ask you to take your team back to your dorm for the moment," Ozpin said. "Your uncle and I have very sensitive matters to discuss." Ruby gave a hesitant nod as she waved goodbye to her uncle.

"I'll see you soon!" With that, she led her teammates away. Ruby and Yang both looked concerned for Qrow, Weiss for Winter, while Blake looked as if she was still trying to wrap her head around the whole situation.

"One of you grab my gun my ammo please!" James yelled after them. Ruby flashed him a thumbs up before dashing into the armory with Yang.

The walk up to Ozpin's office was unbearably long and silent. It felt as if a bomb was dangling between the four of them and ED-E as they headed up, waiting to go off at any minute. When they finally entered Ozpin's office, where a blonde woman with glasses, a purple cape, and a white blouse was already inside, it finally exploded. "Are you out of your mind!?" Ironwood roared. "You do realize that if anyone else had destroyed an Atlesian combat android, it would've been an act of war? The only reason you aren't in shackles right now is the special attention given to you by Ozpin!"

"Seeing as how I'm not going to be arrested anytime soon, there's not a whole lot of point talking about it is there?" Qrow replied. Reaching down to his side, he unhooked a hip flask that he took a long swig from. The entire time, he didn't break eye contact with Ironwood. "But what would have a point is talking about how badly you screwed up. The little display of power you've got floating over our head with those ships was supposed to make everyone feel safe. Wonder how that's going down now that people know that you had the White Fang and these Legion people right in your hands and couldn't stop them from getting away."

He pointed at Ozpin, who had moved around his desk and taken a seat, his head in his hands. "He had a plan, Ironwood! The teachers and the students wouldn't have been funneled in nearly as easily, wouldn't have gotten pinned down by Grimm. We would have more than one prisoner if you didn't think the solution was just jamming as many people into the situation as possible. Is that why you were so quick to add the stray Ozpin picked up? Get the number just a little bit higher?"

"Qrow, did you get the part of the report that talked about Marie F.?" James interjected. "The deranged, cannibalistic maniac that seems to get off on wanton slaughter considering every cringe-worthy things she says? She was part of that ambush. In fact, she was the lynchpin, and she was a pretty good fighter to boot. If I had stayed at home and done nothing there's a 90% chance, one of the students would've been stuck fighting her instead of me. Only other people there were the soldiers, who wouldn't have stood a chance, and Winter, who had her hands filled. How would that have been a more ideal outcome?"

"Oh yeah, one crazy lady," Qrow said dismissively. James's anger flared, it was easy for him to dismiss Caesar's newest pet, he hadn't been trapped in a burning house with her. "Held off by someone who's had their Aura for a week? Yang could've wiped the floor with her, she wouldn't even have had to try. But she couldn't. She was stuck fighting off hordes of Grimm, and that's something Ironwood doesn't seem to get. The students were babysitting the soldiers, and they had to stick around to make sure they didn't get slaughtered. This wasn't a show of strength, it was a bloated mess that tripped over itself. And know EVERYONE knows it!" He opened his arms, pointing outside of the window. Several Atlas warships were floating outside in a formation. "Bet that'll keep people calm and the Grimm away!"

"Qrow," Ozpin said wearily, lifting his head up. "This isn't productive. I've made my issues with General Ironwood's approach quite clear. What's done is done, we need to focus more on going forward. We have a prisoner, we've gotten a few names out of him about potential allies the Legion is attempting to gather. One of them may sound familiar to a certain uncle. Roman Torchwick." James had no idea who Roman Torchwick was supposed to be, but it got the attention of everyone else in the room. Even Qrow's anger faded away for the moment. "It seems Caesar is more ambitious than we assumed," Ozpin said. "He's attempting to secure all the pawns on the board."

"How does he plan on recruiting Torchwick?" Ironwood asked. "He's secured on my personal flagship, he's been there ever since the attack on Vale. Are we sure this Rumford can be trusted? We've established he's an addict, his judgment could be compromised."

"I wish that was the case, James," Ozpin said. "But quite a few of the names given form too much of a pattern to be a coincidence. Selina Khan, Hei Xiong, though that one apparently isn't working, a mister S. Mann, those were all names that came up in addition to Torchwick. The hidden foe we've been fighting against? The one that infiltrated the CCT? The Legion is trying to take away all of their allies and get some additional ones that they might have gone for eventually."

The implication hit James like a ton of bricks. The person that Winter had said that both Vale and Atlas were looking for, the one behind all the recent hostile activity, and Caesar was recruiting from their ranks. The implications were highly unpleasant. "That's Caesar's way of doing things," he said. "Find cheap, expendable allies and wring all the use he can out of them."

"I'm not certain he's limiting himself to cheap allies," Ozpin said. "S. Mann isn't a particularly important person, he's a petty bandit and thug. The truly important thing is who he works for." He looked directly at Qrow as he said this. Qrow blinked in confusion. Then his eyes widened, a private epiphany having clearly struck him.

"No!" he shouted. "Ozpin, you know that would never happen! They won't take orders from outsiders like that! We know they haven't fallen in with the White Fang before now, what would change?"

"I suspect Caesar is planning on building up a power base to make the offer in a way that they would be unable to refuse," Ozpin said darkly. "The Legion has a survival of the fittest mindset. It's ironically fitting." James blinked. The blonde woman in the back had a scowl on her face, as did Ironwood. Winter looked like she was crunching numbers in her head. Therefore, it was safe to conclude that he was the only one who officially had no idea what anyone was talking about.

"Uh, yeah hi," he said. "I'm a little lost here. Can someone please fill in some blanks? Torchwick? Who? And who does this Mann guy work for?"

Ozpin and Qrow exchanged a quick glance. "Well, hope you don't mind if I feel the overwhelming urge to tell you everything," Qrow said. "I'll let you know all the important stuff, but there are some personal bits that aren't any of your business. There's a tribe of bandits in Mistral, nasty people. He works for their leader. Looks like Caesar wants them on his side." He made a "tch" sound. "Might as well bang his head on a brick wall for all the good it'll do him. Their leader is a hell of a lot more than your average fighter, and with an independent streak a mile long. She'd rip half of the White Fang apart on her own before and would never even think about joining."

"A Raider tribe. Fuck, that could be a problem," James said.

"I promise you, it won't be," Qrow said. "We should be a little more concerned about Torchwick. As for him, he's a career criminal who was working with the White Fang up until he was captured recently. Weird thing about that, he has no interest in Faunus equality and is a Human to the core. A Human fond of racial slurs. So someone was keeping the two working together and not killing each other."

James ground his teeth. "And we have no leads on them or Caesar."

Qrow snorted. "Well, you're half right. The White Fang's old master? We hit a dead there. The Legion and the White Fang though? I've tracked them as far as I could. Eventually, I had to back off before I got spotted or they suspected they were being tailed. They're leaving the country, or at least a lot of them are. Last I spotted they had been heading north for three days straight, right towards the coastline. No point in heading that way unless you plan on taking a boat. And there's only one place I can see them going. Atlas."

"Yes, we can confirm that Rumford said something similar," Ironwood said gravely. "That claim was too general to stand on its own when it came from him. Now though? We have to change our plan."

"You mean your plan, seeing as how you are going to be calling all the shots there," Qrow said dryly.

"I will most certainly be making all the calls in regards to Atlas as head of the Atlesian military," Ironwood retorted. "I will keep the majority of the forces I brought to Vale stay in Vale, however. We only know that one joint White Fang and Legion force is leaving the country, we don't know about the rest. Their leadership, however, appears to be with the departing force."

"James and I have been talking," Ozpin said. "And, as much as it pains me to say it, we've suggested that the Vytal Festival be delayed indefinitely until this crisis is solved. With enemies on two fronts, it's too much of a risk. The Council agreed with us and the announcement will be made momentarily. Classes will also be suspended until it is safe, with students heading home. Unless they wish to volunteer to help fight, something that we will permit. Most of the students who volunteered for the last move against the Legion met our expectations, I see no reason to turn them away. There will be two forces that we will form. One will stay here in Vale and attempt to root out local pockets, while another will move to Atlas to directly intercept the formation heading there. We need to secure both sides of the board. James? I'd like you to accompany the Atlas force. Your experience with the Legion will be needed, Vulpes will most likely be among those heading there."

James nodding, steeling his resolve. "Also, there's another reason I want you to go there." Reaching into a pocket, Ozpin produced a scroll. "I received a rather interesting message about someone from Atlas that would like to talk to you." He pressed the button.

The image of an elderly man in a robe with glasses appeared, a heavily tattooed woman standing behind him. "It's on? Ok. Hello Mr. Walker. I don't know if you remember me, my name is Tsung-Han, we met in Vale a few days ago. You mentioned that you were in a rather unique situation. I do some work with local charities here in Mantel, I'd like to give you all the help I can. I felt bad just leaving you with your problems unsolved, and I think I have some contacts that may be able to help you. So please, stop by when you get the chance. I left my contact information with your boss. Wave bye Róta!" The muscular woman did indeed wave.

"See you soon," she said. Her voice was surprisingly weak and raspy, and each word appeared to take her considerable effort.

"We need to take care of each other in times like this, let me do what I can," Han said, smiling widely before the recording ended.

"Somehow I don't think he'll have the tools I'll need to get home," James said, feeling skeptical. The gesture was warm and welcome, but local charities didn't have interdimensional portals. It wasn't the old man's fault, he didn't know the exact circumstances of James's situation. "I'll drop by if I'm in the area and tell him that I don't think there's much he can do."

"Mantle is actually one of the areas we suspect the Legion and White Fang are heading to," Ironwood said. "I was going to have some of our forces sent there, I can easily have you be part of that detachment."

"That will work," Ozpin said. His gaze jumped from James, to Qrow, to Ironwood, to Winter. He seemed relieved that tempers had at least gone from a boil to a simmer, and seemed determined to keep it that way. "Now, we need to work out the finer details on how we are going to deploy what I have. Ironwood and I are still working out a compromise, but-" he was cut off by a sharp rap on the door. All eyes in the room turned to face it. "Yes?"

The door creaked open. Pyrrha Nikos nervously peeked her head in. "Um, Professor Ozpin? You said you wanted to see me?"

"Oh. Oh that's right, we have to discuss that," Ozpin said. "I'm so sorry. James, Ms. Schnee, could you please step outside? I have an important appointment with Ms. Nikos that I utterly forgot about. The rest of us will need to be here for it. I'm sorry but this may take awhile."

"Wait, with Qrow?" ED-E beeped. "Shouldn't that be some kind of illegal?"

"What did he just say?" Qrow asked. He was wearing the expression of someone who suspected he was being insulted.

"He asked if you can give us a ballpark on the time," James lied.

"It'll be awhile. In fact, I don't feel right asking both of you to wait outside my office," Ozpin said. "Please. If you have any business you need to take care of, now would be a good time." James paused. Winter exchanged a glance with Ironwood, who gave her a stern nod. Reluctantly, she turned and left the office, James right behind her.

The pair of them moved down the stairs in silence, not speaking until they got to the bottom. "Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, but did we just get kicked out of a meeting but Qrow got to stay?" he said. He wasn't in a strong enough position to have stayed and made a fuss about getting the boot. That didn't change the fact that being thrown out like stung something fierce. It came with a firm feeling of injustice. There was no way that Pyrrha had anything to say that was unfit for his ears and yet somehow fit for Qrow's. "The drunken dickhole gets to stay but we don't?"

"I share your frustration," Winter said, the two of them exiting the tower. "Even if I'm not sure I agree with your choice in vocabulary. You and I fought alongside Ms. Nikos if anything I'd say we both understand her more than he does. He's never worked with her in those types of circumstances."

James nodded. As he did, his mind drifted back to that town. The burning building. The bodies. A town robbed of its safety and turned into a warzone. The smell had almost been enough to remind him of the-NO! NO! DO NOT THINK ABOUT THAT! James came to an abrupt halt, his heart hammering in his chest. His hand was over his mouth in a movement driven by pure reflex, bile piling up in his stomach. His heart was smashing against his ribs. Don't think about it. Do NOT think about it. It wasn't your fault, you had nothing to do with it. Do. Not. Think about it!

"Mr. Walker? James!" He took his hand away from his mouth. His hand trembling. Winter was at his side, looking horrified. "Are you well?"

"I-" he said, "I just-" he couldn't breathe. "I can't let something like that happen again." Winter's hand was at his side, unfastening his canteen.

"Here," she said, helping him to a nearby bench, putting the canteen in his hand and helping him raise it to his mouth. "Drink. Slowly." He did as he was told, taking tiny sips of the lukewarm water. Slowly, the seconds ticked by. His heart slowed, his breathing evened out, the horrible thoughts drifted away. He let out a deep gasp as he lowered the canteen, feeling as drained as if he had just run a decathlon. "Do you need anything?"

Part of James wanted badly to ask Winter if she could just help him home so he could have a glass of whiskey to calm his nerves, but something told him that would go badly. No point in making her think he was a drunkard like Qrow. "I think I'm good," he said, leaning back and looking up at the clear sigh, keeping his breaths deep and few. "I think." He couldn't let something like it happen again. He wasn't sure his mind would be able to handle it.

ED-E gently floated down, rubbing his chassis against James's bare face. "We're here buddy. You're gonna be ok Everything's going to be ok." James hoped he was right.

XXXXX

Cinder was angry. She had had a plan. A perfect plan. And it was all gone. Adam had ruined it. He doubtless hadn't even realized exactly what he had done, nor had his new puppetmaster. But everything was gone now. The scroll in her hand said it clearly. "Vytal Festival put on indefinite hold, security claims given reason." It took everything she had to not snap it in half.

She, Mercury, and Emerald were standing in a room of bodies, all of them Faunus. It had been the last White Fang holdout within the city of Vale itself. This had been a message to send to Adam, but the damage had been done. Her missing piece was out of her grasp now, when it had been so close. It was very unfortunate for the one who was still alive. Incidentally, he was the only one who was Human.

Backed into a corner, his eyes darted from left to right for an escape route. When he found none, his hand scrambled for the machete at his side. "GLORY TO CAESAR!" he bellowed, tilting his head up and pressing the blade against his throat. Cinder idly put her scroll away with one hand and gave an idle twitch of one of her fingers with the other. The Fall Maiden's power surged forth, and the blade of their cornered prey stopped existing, incinerated into dust. The man gawked at the naked hilt in his hand, not noticing Cinder drawing closer until she was right on top of him. Her hand closed around his neck, slamming him against the wall.

Both Mercury and Emerald were quiet behind her, both of them too afraid to look in her direction. Good. It should be that way. They had failed her by not stopping this earlier. Luckily for them, her anger had an even bigger target. But let them stew in their own fear for a while, it would be a good motivator. "Do not test my patience," she said, leaning forward, her face inches from the man she had pinned. "Where is Adam? Where is Caesar?"

XXXXX

Author's Note: A lot of people talk about what the essence of the Courier is, and there's no real consensus on it. I hope with this chapter I got what my personal take on him is. This chapter was mainly character development and setting up plot threads. Honestly not a lot to say here, this chapter mainly explains itself. I'll just say that the next major plot is where I have a LOT planned, the point where a lot of things end up bouncing off of each other. I'm excited and I hope you'll enjoy it!

I would like to thank my Patrons, SuperFeatherYoshi, xXNanamiXx, RaptorusMaximus, Davis Swinney, Mackenzie Buckle, Josue Garcia, Jonathan Eason, Ryan Van Schaack, and ChaosSpartan575 for their amazing support.