Though it had been some since Blake had seen a typical Mistrali home, the central farmhouse of Brunswick Farms felt immediately familiar to her. Family photos were hung upon the walls, and the walls were done up in an inoffensive beige, each plank of wood blending neatly into the next. A carpeted staircase reached upward to a second floor, where the faunus assumed that Lil' Miss Malachite's personal living quarters might be. Various decorations of sculptures, vases, and a large library rounded out the décor of the lower floor, save for the room that Blake was following Daisuke into. There, nothing fit the aesthetic of a typical homestead.

Where there should have been a dining room table, there was instead a long, rectangular war table covered with a giant map of Anima. Several locations were marked off with red 'X's, while others were circled in green. Light blue stamps of spiderwebs were placed over strategic locations, while other territories were outlined in black. A few towns had a crudely drawn curved tooth over them in White. Blake recognized those names immediately. Finally, across the ocean and along the shore of Solitas were a few scattered points that seemed unremarkable, each marked with a blue petal. Several of the petals had dotted lines drawn between them and the spiderwebs.

"…so, who are you?" Blake asked, keeping her tone as neutral as she could while she took a seat along the side of the table. She paused as Daisuke and Neptune took up chairs on either side of her, while Lil' Miss Malachite deposited herself at the head of the table. Within seconds, several goons occupied the other seats, each glaring at one of the two faunus. "And what are you doing in this farm?"

A harsh snap echoed throughout the room as Lil' Miss Malachite withdrew a blue and purple fan and flicked it open. The large woman began to flutter the instrument back and forth before her face, looking indignant.

"And here I'd think you of all people would know, Blake Belladonna," the woman spat as she narrowed her eyes. "Oh, don't look so surprised- ex-Fang or no, I'd think you would keep one of your four ears to the ground for people who might be interested in some of your territory out here in Anima. Did you really think you could just cut ties with your clan and get away clean? That's not how these sorts of organizations work, sweetie."

"…they do when I'm the one cutting ties," Blake said confidently as she kept a brave face. Her feline ears flattened backward against her skull, and she returned the other woman's glare. "Adam Taurus is dead because of my friends and I, and the White Fang is under new leadership. Answer my questions. We don't have time for games."

"Games?" Lil' Miss Malachite repeated, sounding inauthentically shocked. "Why, I would never… not with someone I respect, anyway. I know Adam Taurus is dead- a certain little fish made that very clear when she announced to all of Mistral that she was taking the mantle of High Leader. If you're back to running with the White Fang, then the two of us h-"

"Cinnamon is no longer High Leader," Daisuke interrupted. The man pulled down his black mask, showing off his boyish features as he addressed his adversary. "That title has been passed to Kali Belladonna, and we've been rebranded as the Black Claw."

The subtle shifting noise of the handheld fan stopped immediately. Right afterward, a second, harsher clack resounded through the room as Lil' Miss Malachite snapped the fan closed.

"…is that so…" the woman said, her spirits lifting as her face twisted into a devious smirk.

"Yeah," Neptune jumped in. "Kali's remaking the Fang and readying for… for something big that has nothing to do with the faunus or territory disputes in Anima, if that's what you're worried about. Haven't you noticed an increased presence of grimm in the area?"

"I most certainly have," Lil' Miss Malachite answered as she pointed her folded fan lazily in Neptune's direction. "And who might this fine young specimen be?"

"Unimportant," Blake replied, cutting Neptune off before he could speak again. "You first, and then you can learn his name. Daisuke said yours earlier, but I've never heard of you. Why not? What is all this?"

"The name's Lil' Miss Malachite, leader of the Dragline gang," the woman answered with an amused drawl. "As to why you haven't heard of us, that's because you haven't been payin' attention. We're a pretty big deal out here in Anima, usually spoken of in whispers. I'd expect better of a primetime Fang agent."

"They gained a foothold in Anima within the last year," Daisuke explained as he exchanged a look with Blake. "Underground dust smuggling operations, reconnaissance, selling information, things like that. They got their start by pilfering an old White Fang camp out in the countryside that got hit hard by grimm shortly after you left. The existence and rise of the Draglines was on a need-to-know basis for several months, since Adam was too proud to even admit that we had taken such a hit. Cin and I were some of the people responsible for investigating their activities and stopping their spread, but…"

"But you failed," Lil' Miss Malachite finished for him with a satisfied smirk.

"I found you tonight, didn't I?" Daisuke returned. "And I seem to have the upper hand at the moment. I was merely taking my time and being thorough… before I stumbled into you by total chance. It still counts."

"I'm sure it does," Lil' Miss Malachite acknowledged with a roll of her eyes. Afterward, they found their way back to Blake, and she shook her head with a sigh. "Your friend and I have had some… let's call them back-and-forths for the past year or so. Small victories on both sides of the board, though ultimately, I've come out on top."

"Until now," Blake reminded. "But luckily for you… we need you."

"You need me?" Lil' Miss Malachite asked. "Honey, you don't even know me."

"I know enough from what I can see here alone," Blake rebuked. "Ammunition, dust, that trap door in the corner that I'm assuming leads to an underground base beneath the farm. You're a woman of means and importance out here, and Anima is preparing for war in a way that you can't even imagine. If you're as good as it seems you are, and you have the kind of resources and access that a gang capable of going toe-to-toe with the White Fang should have… then we need you on board with us."

"Well, you're certainly used to buttering up your targets, aren't you?" Lil' Miss Malachite mocked. "Whether or not you're particularly good at it another story entirely. On board with what, exactly? So far, I haven't heard anything pressing other than grimm in the area. That's par for the course out here."

"Something more important than a gang war," Daisuke answered. "Any other day, I would've shot you after you'd been disarmed. The fact that I didn't should speak volumes, Lil' Miss. We believe that Argus is about to be under siege by a large enemy force. Have you heard anything of the like from your agents out in the field?"

The calm and confident look on Lil' Miss Malachite's face disappeared for only a moment before her fan snapped open once again and she leaned to the side to let it cover her expression. She used her other hand to beckon one of the gang members standing behind her chair to lean in, and the two began a whispered conversation that Blake couldn't quite make out.

"Hey," Neptune said softly as he leaned in toward Blake from the seat closest to Lil' Miss Malachite. "How much should we be telling her, exactly?"

"Everything," Daisuke answered as he leaned in from the other side. "Nothing about the situation will be secret for long once she makes herself known in Argus or Atlas. This isn't the time for secrets and games- you said it yourself, Blake. Desperate times."

"We can't just…" Neptune began, looking pale. "She's… a wanted criminal! Who knows what she'll do once she knows we're all about to become vulnerable? She could just take advantage of the situation and make the coming chaos in Argus even worse!"

"I, too, am a wanted criminal," Daisuke reminded.

"And so was I," Blake added.

Daisuke nodded and turned his attention back to Neptune.

"If we convince her that her territory is under serious threat, she'll move her ass and help us out. Trust me. She isn't going to want Argus to be cut off, and she seems surprised by all of this."

"Even so, this is not ideal…" Blake lamented.

"It's not," Neptune agreed. "But… at the end of the day, I trust you, Blake. You've got your head on straight, and you know what you're doing. Whatever you decide, I'm right there with you… even if I don't necessarily agree with it."

"Hey," Blake called, earning Lil' Miss Malachite's attention as the portly woman leaned back into her chair. The gang leader made a flicking motion with her fan, and her goon made a hasty retreat for the door of the room. "You're an information broker, aren't you? Big fan of juicy secrets?"

"I live for 'em," Lil' Miss Malachite informed. "If you want my cooperation for anything going on in Argus, I'm gonna need more than what you've told me so far. I'm getting bored, sweetie."

"Then I hope you're ready for what I'm about to tell you," Blake warned, "because once you know, there's no going back. There are only two ways things can end here tonight, and it's going to be your decision which path we go down."

"You have my undivided attention," Lil' Miss Malachite replied as she began to gently fan herself once again.

Blake gave Neptune one last look only to find his expression had changed to something entirely neutral. He gave her a small nod before looking away and fixation on the ammunition crates scattered about the room.

"…when I said Anima is about to be at war, I might have been underselling it," the faunus began. "Remnant is about to be at war, with a woman named Salem…"

"Here they come," Hazel said in a low voice as he peered out at the road through the tree line. A pair of headlights had come into view up ahead, cutting through the early evening darkness. "Neo. Get them to stop."

Neopolitan disappeared in a puff of pink smoke, leaving Mercury alone with the larger man. He leaned around Hazel to get a better look at the road, trying to judge the amount of time it would take for the vehicle to reach them.

"…so, am I ever allowed to know what the hell Salem wants you to ask the lamp, or are you saving it for a big, dramatic reveal?" Mercury asked, not bothering to speak quietly. "I've proven my loyalty over and over again. What's the big secret?"

"Why do you need to know?" Hazel asked, not bothering to look back at his colleague.

"Why do you need to keep it a secret?" Mercury countered.

Mercury watched as Hazel took a deep breath. The rush of air was audible over the sounds of nearby rustling leaves and labored enough to cause Mercury a bit of concern.

"…personal reasons," Hazel answered vaguely. "That lamp can answer anything you might want to know. If what Salem described to me is correct, it can not only give you the answer- it can show you. Make a scene play out right in front of you, from an objective viewpoint, to let you know exactly what it is that happened. You can't tell me that's not tempting as all hell. If there's any way at all that Salem could do without using the lamp… there are so many other things we could find out. Things I've wondered about for years."

"…yeah," Mercury agreed as he watched the vehicle roll to a stop, illuminating a fallen figure in the road. "Yeah, I can think of a few things I'd want to ask, myself…"

"You're not the only one. Maybe some answers are worth getting killed over. Maybe not. It's time."

Mercury hesitated for a moment as he watched Hazel take off through the trees. After a short internal debate, he followed.

Author's Note:

We're 173 chapters in- I'm beyond done trying to come up with chapter titles that aren't dumb as hell.

-RD