"Again, I'm sorry for waking you guys…"

"Don't mention it," Ren's groggy voice answered through the scroll's receiver. "Nora and I should get up, anyway. It's almost 11. Are you certain this is what you want?"

"Yeah. I'm certain," Ruby answered, happy that her friends couldn't see her facial expression over the call. "With Raven and Dad here, the lakeside crew should be able to handle anything. Go and meet up with Torchwick at the mall. If we really need backup, we'll call in the professors. I'll be fine."

"Ruby, you don't have to put the weight of all of this on your shoulders," Nora chimed in. "And I want to talk to you about some stuff, today."

"I…" Ruby began before hesitating. She looked over to the dormant fire pit and the people sitting around it. Raven and Oscar hadn't taken their eyes off each other since the boy had emerged from his tent. It was difficult to tell which of the two had a more hostile expression on their face. "…can't. Not right now. We're dealing with a lot over here. I'll call later tonight?"

"Please do," Ren insisted. "We're… getting worried. You're starting to remind us of J-"

"Look, I gotta go," Ruby interrupted as she stood up from her makeshift seat of a log sitting a good twenty feet from the fire pit. "We need to head out and secure the resort as soon as possible. Talk to you soon."

Ruby didn't quite hear what Ren tried to tell her as she closed the device and stood up to smooth out her combat skirt. After slipping the scroll into one of her many pockets, she made her way over to the fire pit to find Coco looking over Raven and Oscar with an uneasy look upon her face.

"So… is this going to go on for the entire trip?"

"It just might," Raven said icily. "What kind of lies did he sell you, kid? Assuming you're even in control."

"He isn't," Oscar answered, his voice sounding unusually dignified and calm. "I thought you might want to speak to me, given the situation."

Raven drew in a long, tense breath through her nose as she stared at the young boy, unblinking.

"…I've got nothing else to say. Not right now, anyway."

"Good," Ruby interjected in a forceful tone. "We don't have time for arguments, and honestly- I'm getting tired of it. Whatever Ozpin isn't telling us… he's not going to tell us. Fighting each other is just wasting time. We've got a clear target, so let's get moving, people."

"I'm with her," Cardin agreed with a smirk as he leaned up against a nearby tree.

"…Ruby?" Taiyang asked as he emerged from a large tent with Fox, looking concerned. "Everything alright…?"

"I didn't get much sleep," Ruby grumbled as she rubbed at her forehead. "Haven't been able to for a while now. We need to just… get going. We can't afford to be too late, and if we have to talk about everything going on, we can do it on the way. I'll ride with Dad."

"I don't think any of us would argue against that," Fox replied with a nod. "I'll drive the other vehicle."

Coco rolled her eyes, well aware of the exact sort of impish grin Fox was wearing without needing to look.

"I'll drive. Go with your family, Ruby. We'll stick close behind you. We should be able to make it to the resort before sund-"

A piercing, unnatural cry from far overhead interrupted Coco mid-sentence. The noise was shrill and echoed throughout the forest, chased in short order by the sound of heavy wings pushing about massive amounts of air. The unmistakable shadow of a nevermore passed over the campground, temporarily blocking out the sun and inciting everyone present to draw their weapons in preparation for a divebomb. Just as quickly as the massive, twisted parody of a bird had arrived, it disappeared over the tree line, heading off to parts unknown.

"Lucky…" Ruby proclaimed in a low voice.

"Not lucky," Oscar replied sternly as he stood up, clutching his cane. The boy's face was pale and his eyes were set upon the path of the grimm beast. "That was headed in the direction of the resort. We need to leave now."

To her knowledge, Blake had never had a full-on panic attack before. She wasn't aware of what the symptoms were, or how one could be triggered. All she knew for sure was that her entire body suddenly felt heavy, her breathing had become erratic, and her brain seemed unable to process what she was hearing as her head swam with nightmare scenarios. As she stood before one of the ticket booths at the Mistral train station, everything else in Remnant seemed to fade away as though the rest of the world was just a mirage. All that mattered was what she had just been told, and how unbelievable it all was.

"What do you mean the Argus Limited never returned?" Blake asked. She could feel her throat beginning to close and her fingertips going numb. Her reflection in the glass looked several shades too pale, and quite suddenly, she felt ready to faint. "When did that happen? What's going on?"

"Ma'am, I only know the answer to one of those questions," the clerk replied as his features twisted into a grimace. The man looked to be in his mid-20s, dressed professionally in a red suit and with his dark hair slicked back. Despite his apparent youth, he looked exhausted, as though he had been dealing with similar questions for entirely too long. "The Argus Limited departed on its usual route two days ago. Since then, it hasn't come back to the station, and we've received no word on where it is or what's holding it up. Any attempts to contact the crew have been unsuccessful."

"Okay, well at least it didn't derail with Sun on it," Neptune reassured as he gently laid a hand atop Blake's shoulder. "He's okay. This is too recent. I'm sure he's already in Atlas. We can start checking if his scroll is in range soon…"

"Unlikely," the clerk warned. "Our failure to make contact with the Argus Limited extends to Argus itself, as well. Every attempt within the past week or so has resulted in some sort of garbage signal sending out military reports that we shouldn't be receiving. It's like the signal is being jammed, rerouted, and covered up by useless information."

"Military reports?" Qrow asked. "What kind of reports are we talking?"

"I'm… not at liberty to say," the man answered with an apologetic bow. "Transmissions from Caroline Cordovin, detailing specific military activity within Argus. If you're still trying to get there, though, I should warn you- the messages we've been receiving are… aggressive. As of the past few days, since the train disappeared, she's been discouraging anyone from trying to reach Argus or Atlas. There have been threats of using 'necessary force' against any who disobey."

"Something's not right," Qrow said immediately as he began to pace, a hand on his chin.

"You know this Cordovin woman?" Daisuke asked. The lizard faunus was leaned up against a nearby column, looking entirely unbothered by the news. "Or is a lockdown of Argus unusual?"

"Both," Qrow replied. "Caroline Cordovin isn't exactly what I'd call pleasant, but she also isn't the type to make threats toward citizens trying to enter Argus. Either they're fighting something and don't want collateral damage, or these transmissions are bullshit. Maybe both."

"…we need to leave," Blake declared as she turned to Qrow and took a sobering breath. "We need to get to Argus now."

"Yeah, but how?" Neptune asked as he held his arms out to his sides. "It sounds like we're basically screwed."

"Well, I can scout ahead," Qrow offered. "Try to find the train. It can't have gone too far from the tracks, no matter what happened to it…"

"And that's all well and good, but what about us?" Blake asked. "Should I call Mom? See if we can just abandon subtlety and get an airship out here for speed?"

"Let's not give up on a sensible approach just yet," Daisuke suggested as he pushed off the pillar and approached. "I can contact some Fang in the area. Get us some ground transport to maintain low visibility."

"…potential problem," Neptune said as he raised a finger. In his other hand was his scroll, and his eyes were fixated upon the screen. "I'm getting no signal at all. The three of you are showing up out of range."

One by one, Blake, Qrow, Daisuke, and even the receptionist produced their scrolls and checked them over.

"Something's definitely not right," Blake confirmed as she navigated through her contacts. "Has it been like this all day?"

"No," the receptionist answered from within the booth. "I just made a call half an hour ago. This seems…"

"Intentional," Qrow finished. "Like a plan being carried out, and not by anyone on our side."

"So… now what? We take the truck as far out into the snow as we can go?" Neptune proposed.

"No. We wouldn't make it a mile," Qrow denied as he lifted his scroll and approached the receptionist. "We use what we have to get what we can. We need transport. Something. Anything. I know no other trains go out that way, but we need help. If we don't get it… then a lot of lives are at stake."

The receptionist watched as Qrow placed the device onto the counter, showing off a huntsman's license.

"Qrow Branwen, professional huntsman from Sanus. We need your help. Anything you can do, anything you can point us to in order to get to Argus. I can locate that train, talk Cordovin down, if that really is her, and find out what's going on with these transmissions… but I can't do it alone. Is there anyone we can talk to here?"

For a moment, the young man looked hesitant as he stared down at the picture and information displayed upon the scroll. After what appeared to be a brief internal struggle, he turned his attention to Qrow himself and moved to unlock the door to the booth. The hinge creaked open and he stepped aside, ushering the hunters inward and behind the desk.

"…I can take you to the man in charge. There's likely to be some paperwork and a holding pattern, but I could try to see if you can join a maintenance crew and get permission t-"

"No," Blake interrupted as she walked around in front of the man and began to stare him down. "We literally don't have time for delays. This is big. Bigger than we can explain, and we're the only ones who can stop it."

"Blake…" Neptune cautioned, only for Daisuke to place a heavy hand upon his shoulder.

"She's right," the elder faunus agreed as he moved to stand beside Blake, effectively blocking the receptionist from moving any farther into the office. "You seem like you have an idea that you're hesitant to offer… but everyone's got a price. Name it."

"I…" the man started, his forehead beginning to sweat. "A-a price…?"

"Lien," Qrow emphasized. "What do we have to pay you to get us something that can take us to Argus without all the paperwork?"

The man sucked in a breath, standing up a bit straighter as he tried to decide who to look at among the hunters.

"I… I suppose a pair of maintenance snowmobiles could go missing… for… for uh… maybe 5,000 lien…?"

"Done," Qrow answered without hesitation. "Now take us to the vehicles."

"I-I said maybe!" the clerk reminded. "It would take some doing, a-"

"So do it," Blake insisted as she opened another door at the far end of the office and proceeded into a maintenance hallway. "One day, you'll thank us. Maybe even get a little credit yourself for helping us along. We can't explain, so start thinking about how you're going to explain all of this to your boss."

"I'll figure it out," the man replied as he followed Blake. "Make a left at the intersection. We're not far from the vehicle bay."

"Even so… I think you should go on ahead," Daisuke said softly as he looked over at Qrow. "Find that train. We'll follow the tracks and meet you wherever it ended up."

"We'll split up once I see these vehicles," Qrow answered. "Steel yourselves. I get the feeling we're going headfirst into a trap."

"I don't think it's even a feeling at this point," Blake muttered. "More like a certainty…"

Author's Note:

Things are going to speed up from here.

Way up.

-RD