"Okay," Sun said softly to himself as he meandered slowly through the dark hallway. "What the hell am I even looking for?"

Sun focused through the sound of the commotion out in the main room to try to zero in on which floorboards were noisy. The faunus made a mental note of where not to step as he went, especially after a particularly loud creak echoed out within the hall. The hairs on Sun's tail stood on end and he checked over his shoulder to see if he was being followed, even though he knew he was in no danger.

As he turned back around, a sudden flash from an adjacent hallway caught Sun's attention and he rapidly advanced toward the source. Another flash went off just as he rounded the corner, temporarily blinding him and causing him to raise his hands in front of his face as he blinked. For a moment, all he could see was a field of white pocked with green and purple fuzzy dots.

"Sorry!" Weiss offered in a hushed voice as she reached up to rest a hand on Sun's cheek in apology. "I've gotten every camera I've seen. What are you doing?"

"Heading to the basement," Sun whispered back as he gave Weiss a quick pat on the shoulder. "May said their dust generator goes out every now and again, and I told her I could probably fix it. We've got a legit cover story, now. I do know what to look for to fix one of those… or to sabotage it later tonight."

"That's… surprisingly apt," Weiss replied as she pulled back her hand. "Get down there. I'll start poking my head into rooms and claim ignorance if I'm caught. I'll take a few more pictures and make note of anything interesting I see."

"Alright, but be careful," Sun warned. "I've already noticed a problem- there's a staircase down, and a staircase up. I think they might live above the bar after hours."

"All the more reason to get as much as we can done now," Weiss insisted. "I don't want you and Ilia breaking in later while you're already exhausted if we can avoid it. Get moving. I'll risk it and head upstairs. Claim I thought the bar was on the upper level."

"We'll do what we can," Sun agreed. "See you soon."

Sun parted without another word, heading for the staircase to the basement. He could hear Weiss' heels clicking on the steps leading upstairs, and for whatever reason, he found himself more worried about her than himself. The descent into the underground was dark and cold, though Sun was able to see well enough to navigate without bumping into any walls. After a short walk downstairs, he found himself in a wide, damp space with large kegs on storage racks, various boxes, and what appeared to be a walk-in freezer. Everything beneath the establishment seemed entirely normal, save for a heavy metal door with several locks running up one side and two crossed chains in front of it.

"…well, that's not suspicious at all," Sun mused as he approached the metal door. A heavy knock upon the reinforced steel returned nothing but a dull clunk and a gentle rattle of chains. "Huh…"

The sound of footsteps at the top of the basement stairs caused Sun to immediately back away from the door and move toward the furnace up against the nearby wall. He knelt low and began moving his hands, doing his best to appear busy in the dark just in case someone came down.

"Hey, any luck?" May called from the top of the stairs.

"Not yet!" Sun called back over his shoulder. "Can't see the problem just yet, but I've gotta take off a panel to get at the guts. Gimme another five or so?"

Sun couldn't make out the string of curses that May uttered, but he did hear her footsteps trailing away from the staircase and back toward the main room. It was enough for Sun to stand and begin hurriedly checking for anything else suspicious. It didn't take him long to notice an arrangement of odd shapes atop several boxes and crates, while others were left bare. Upon creeping closer to the containers, Sun began to make out the vaguely flowy shapes in front of him. Slowly and carefully, he reached out and plucked a single item from atop one of the crates.

It was a flower, and seemingly fresh.

Unsatisfied, Sun lifted the lid of the crate to find nothing beneath it but empty space. He replaced the top and moved to the next, again lifting the lid to find nothing beneath the flowers. For his third, he chose a box bereft of flora and pulled back the flaps to find an arrangement of supplies stacked neatly within the container.

"…huh," Sun mused as he rolled the stem of the flower between his fingers and pulled out his scroll.

Bring the lights up. I've got a potential lead, but I can't really see detail too well in the dark.

Sun had to wait less than a minute for power to be restored, and a cursory glance at his hand told him that the flower was a light blue with darker blue tips upon the petals. He took a quick photo of the plant before resting it back atop its crate and making sure everything was as he had found it. Out of curiosity, he lifted a few more lids lacking plant life and found each to be filled with medical supplies, ammunition, weaponry, or some combination of the three. Satisfied that he had sufficient evidence to start something in motion, he made his way back to the staircase and began his ascent back to the tavern.

Thanks. Things just got a little more interesting… but I think we may be in for several hours of a boring shift.

Sun's scroll vibrated in response almost immediately.

Honestly, after everything we've been dealing with lately? I'll welcome a few hours of boredom.

The shattered moon had finally crested the nearby mountains, painting the snow-covered crags with an eerie glow. Seemingly endless patches of brilliant white snow shimmered in the darkness, throwing off Blake's night vision as she continued to chug along across the powdered ground. Falling flakes made the task of seeing up ahead even more difficult until she caught sight of a wrought iron gate covered in snow and swinging gently in the breeze. Without a second thought, she eased off the throttle and allowed the snowmobile to coast to a gentle stop.

"What are you doing?" Neptune asked.

"Stopping," Blake answered as Daisuke pulled up beside them on a snowmobile of his own. "You were supposed to be the one to force me to stop, you know."

"Oh. Right," Neptune answered sheepishly. "I figured we'd get another hour or two of riding done, but… now's as good a time as any. I get the feeling we're in for the fight of our lives tomorrow…"

"Well, that, and the fact that this may be our best shot at getting some relaxation or sleep," Daisuke suggested as he pulled up his goggles and rested them upon his forehead. "Looks promising. Odd that a place like this would be so isolated, unless we got lucky enough to find a hotel in the middle of nowhere…"

"Uh… what looks promising?" Neptune asked, doing his best to peer through the snow and semidarkness.

In response, Blake pulled her snowmobile forward at a slow pace and allowed the light on the front of the vehicle to creep across the white powder. It wasn't long before they reached the gate and the buildings beyond became visible even to Neptune. He looked upward and squinted, doing his best to make out the loopy writing upon the top of the gate.

"Brunswick Farms, huh? Sounds… homey?"

"Sounds like it might be warm," Blake said hopefully. "Come on, l-"

Blake didn't hear the first gunshot as a swirling rush of viridian wind manifested in front of her, knocking back the potentially deadly projectile. A red laser momentarily blinded her as a second shot was taken, only for Daisuke to run ahead of her snowmobile while brandishing his fan. With a flick of his wrist, he collapsed the massive instrument into a three-barreled shotgun and returned fire to some unknown figure while strafing toward a well oriented between the buildings.

"Get to cover!"

Blake leapt off the vehicle and drew Gambol Shroud, leaving behind a clone of rock in the driver's seat. The double's head was blown clean off as Neptune slipped from the side of the snowmobile and fired off a series of grenades into the night, momentarily lighting up the area. It was just enough for him to see three figures standing atop the rooftop of the nearby barn, each training their weapons on a different person.

"Rooftop!" Blake called as she slid through the snow to take cover behind a shed and shifted her weapon into firearm mode. "Dai, get up there!"

Another gust of visible wind appeared near the well, rocketing the lizard-tailed faunus up and to the top of the barn as he continued to rain down suppressing fire. Blake took the opportunity to slip around the corner of the shed, sprinting and kicking up snow with Neptune in tow as she made a break for the nearby farmhouse. Several lights were on within the windows, and a rotund figure stood in the doorway brandishing what appeared to be a heavy gun.

"Uh, Blake!?" Neptune called as a piercing whine grew ever louder. "That's a minigun! We're about to get shredded!"

"Break left and get that moonlight going!" Blake ordered as she, too moved left. A spray of bullets flew forward from the rotating barrels of the assailant's gun, and Blake shifted forth another clone before appearing several feet to the right to draw the stream of fire toward herself. "I've got this!"

Blake sent forth a flurry of dust-amplified bullets, letting fiery projectiles rip through the night and toward the doorway. A shield rose from the top of the minigun and deflected the projectiles, scattering embers into the snow as a body fell from the rooftop of the adjacent barn. Just as Blake shifted sideways again to redirect the firing pattern, the burly figure descended the porch staircase and began to move out into the snow, her dress dragging within the fine powder.

"Y'all'ave really done it, now!" an authoritative feminine voice called out. "Comin' out here to Brunswick like ya own the place, in times like these! You'll be sorry y-"

The woman's statement was interrupted by a blindingly bright laser searing through the night air and clipping several trees along its path. A burning swath was cut through the snow just in front of the woman, slicing off the front of her heavy weapon and causing her to drop it down into the snow just as Neptune landed, his skin still glowing from the effort.

"You were saying?" the boy asked with a smile as Blake approached, Gambol Shroud pointed directly at the woman's head. "We don't want any trouble."

Another flurry of gunshots rang out from atop the barn before a yell signaled that another goon had been dispatched. The leader of the gang had her hands up in surrender by the time Daisuke gently floated down to stand between Neptune and Blake. Her eyes were blazing with indignant fury as she looked at the two teens.

"You don't want any trouble?" the woman asked. "Then y'all should know well enough t-…" The woman trailed off as she finally seemed to notice Daisuke, her eyes following the curve of his heavy tail within the snow. With a haughty sniff, she narrowed her eyes and shifted her expression into a sneer. "Daisuke Aki? The White Fang've got no business out here. This is my territory."

"I wasn't aware that your home base was this far out from Mistral," the faunus snapped. "Tell the rest of your men to stand down, and let's talk. There's something bigger going on here than our two clans."

The woman heaved a sigh and lowered her hands while raising her voice.

"Stand down, everyone! I'll hear 'em out."

"You don't have a choice," Blake reminded as she kept her weapon trained on the woman's face. "Who is this?"

It was Daisuke's turn to sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

"They call her Lil' Miss Malachite… and she may well be our best shot at rescuing Argus."

Author's Note:

On tonight's episode of Characters Everyone Forgot Existed:

-RD