"Lookin' good. You're pretty convincing, now," Coco said with a smirk as she walked up to the winged grimm from behind.

The huntress slapped an enthusiastic hand across the beast's rear, only to nearly stumble over into the snow as her digits passed harmlessly through the illusion. She barely saved her balance by taking a few steps forward, biting her lip as she did so.

"Oh, that is not good. If a grimm tries to touch you, your cover's totally blown…"

"…so I have to move like a beast and avoid contact with any of the others," Qrow asked as he turned around, thankful that none of his comrades could actually see him on all fours down in the snow. "This is going to be an absolute shitshow…"

"We knew that from the inception," Taiyang said flatly. "Still… it's better than running in guns blazing, and it's better than huddling up in a sleeping bag and pretending any of us can get some rest. This is our best option."

Coco stole a glance at Neopolitan, who merely gave her a shrug and shake of the head in response.

"…this sucks. Everything sucks," Coco griped as she pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "Let's say you manage to un-sabotage whatever's at the top of the tower. What then? Just… sneak away and hope nobody goes to check it out?"

"I'll fly like hell and try to lose any grimm after me," Qrow answered as his gryphon form stood up onto its hind legs and folded the front ones across its chest. "At that point, I'll thin the herd and then get back to you all once it's safe. We really only need to get signal going for a few minutes to make a call. Anything else is just a bonus."

"Not the worst plan," Taiyang considered. "But if we do have to go in and pull you out… we're going to have to scatter, afterward. There's a non-zero chance that whoever's commanding all of those grimm will send a sizable amount after us if they realize what's going on."

"Yeah, about that," Qrow cut in, his tone shifting to one of deadly seriousness. "There's a good chance I can get whatever signal jammer they've got set up to fail just by being near it, given my semblance. There's also a good chance that it's going to cause more than just that to go wrong. If I have a swarm on me… don't risk it. I'll fight my way out, or… not. If I lead them back to you, it's gonna be bad for everyone, including Blake, Neptune, and Daisuke. We can't rile the grimm in Argus and have them patrolling the area."

"…so you're going into the lion's den, and you want us to leave you there if it wakes up," Coco replied. "That goes against everything I stand for."

"Get used to it," Qrow warned as he knelt down and put his hands back into the snow. "This is war, not some training exercise or bounty mission. Hate to break it to you, kid, but in case you haven't realized by now… not everybody's coming home from this."

"I know that," Coco seethed. "I almost watched my best friend die earlier today. He still might not make it."

"Easy, both of you," Taiyang offered as he laid a hand on Coco's shoulder. "We'll try to find a vantage point somewhere on the rocks."

All three of the other hunters felt a vibration in their pockets as Neopolitan held up her scroll and waved it gently from side to side. Each of them took out their devices to read the message in tandem, though they had very different reactions.

I'm going in with Qrow. I'll be invisible and shank any stragglers to thin the herd. With any luck, they'll be too busy trying to find me to realize what he's doing. You two stay here and get the contact info for Blake's group. Keep an eye on the signal and be ready to call the second it goes live.

"Solid, so long as you keep your distance," Qrow reminded. "I like this better, particularly the part about calling Blake immediately. If there's anything we need for whatever our next move is, it's backup."

"Best case scenario… Raven made it through, and she'll come pull us to Atlas shortly," Taiyang said hopefully as he watched Qrow send over Blake's number. "But until then… best to assume we're an army of four, soon to be seven. I hope."

Coco rubbed her hands together, growing more frustrated by the minute as the conversation went on. With a full-body shiver, she let out a noise of frustration and turned away from the rest of the group.

"Fine. Fine. You two go, I'll hang back with Taiyang and worry… but only because it's what's best for everyone. I hate this. I really, really fucking hate this."

"We all do," Qrow reassured as Neopolitan walked up to his side. "Now, we've got a job to do. I'd say wish us luck, but… well. Why waste the words?"

"You don't need it," Coco muttered as she waved a dismissive hand before resting them both on her hips. "You're STRQ. Those grimm have no idea what's coming for them."

Qrow's body shifted into avian form, his gryphon illusion holding perfectly around him. Neopolitan seemingly melted away against the background of falling snow, her footprints the only sign that she had ever been there to begin with. As the imposter grimm and veiled girl took off, Coco finally turned back around and headed back to sit on a log by the fire. Taiyang joined her wordlessly, more than content to just stare at the flames as they waited. He knew that in time, Coco would speak up anyway, and he was proven right within minutes.

"…tell me about STRQ?" Coco asked. "What was it really like back then?"

"Well…" Taiyang began, warming his hands before the flames. "In our first year, we made Team RWBY look like professionals…"

Jaune entered his shared suite in a frantic state, his shoulders tense and mind racing. He began to pace around behind the couch as Corsac stepped into the room behind him. The older faunus elected to simply stand near the door as it slid closed, watching his friend's movements. Nearly a minute later, Jaune walked around the side of the couch and deposited himself atop it, bracing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands beneath his chin as he stared off into space.

"…Ruby doesn't seem right."

"I would not know," Corsac said calmly as he approached and sat beside Jaune. "Though I would argue perhaps she is simply being honest, rather than acting strangely. High stress tends to bring out true colors."

"So, what, Ruby's kind of a jerk?" Jaune asked as he gave the other man a frustrated look. "We all need sleep, and none of us are going to get it. She just stood up to Salem face-to-face. I can't imagine what she's feeling right now, but… I don't think it's even that. I just have a really, really bad feeling about everything that's about to happen, especially cutting off the election. Maybe I'm overthinking things."

"It is a necessary evil," Corsac reasoned. "We can only hope that the people see Robyn's transgressions as greater in time, and that the immediate threat of Salem looming overhead preoccupies them in the interim."

"Yeah, I guess," Jaune replied with a deflated sigh as he let his head sink back into the cushions. "Are you stressed right now? You seem just as calm and collected as ever."

"That is… hard to answer," Corsac admitted. "I can feel the pressure, yes, but ever since your efforts to bring me back around and give me something to fight for, I've felt… different. As though this is a second life, and I am disconnected from the animal I became after Fennec's death. I know that investing myself in all of the problems at hand could drive me back to that state, and so, I simply let them roll off me and instead focus my efforts on those in our group who would benefit from doing what you did for me. Still… it isn't an act. I feel calmer now than when the stakes were lower, though I can assure you, these are my true colors."

Jaune furrowed his brows as he turned his head to look over at his friend.

"I think I get what you're saying, but… where does the hand holding fit into all that, then?"

It took Corsac a moment to realize what exactly Jaune was referring to before it suddenly clicked. His bushy tail flicked to one side as he offered a hand atop the cushions. Jaune stared down at the open palm before slowly sliding his atop it.

"…it seemed to comfort you," Corsac explained. "And it has the same effect on me."

"Yeah," Jaune said with an awkward smile. "It helps, honestly. You just caught me by surprise. I wasn't sure if it was anything… else."

Corsac paused to consider the young huntsman, as though looking him over with fresh eyes.

"I would not do such a thing when you are already spoken for," the faunus reassured. "Though… if things were different, I would not be opposed."

"Oh," was all Jaune could think to say. He didn't pull back his hand, seemingly giving the notion some thought. "I'm not exactly 'spoken for', actually. Yang and I are… it's complicated."

The beginning of Jaune's explanation was cut off by the sound of a heavy impact against the wall just outside of the door, causing him to jump in his seat.

"…I suspect that to be her now," Corsac mused as he turned his attention to the opening door.

Yang did indeed emerge into the suite looking predictably furious, both her natural and artificial hands balled into fists at her sides.

"We've got a problem," the blonde proclaimed as she stomped toward the couch and threw herself into the cushions next to Corsac. "Ruby might be about to do something very, very stupid."

Jaune and Corsac exchanged a look.

"…and you are not trying to stop her because…?" Corsac began.

"I can't catch her, and she knows it," Yang spat. "If I was to chase her down, she could escape in a heartbeat with her Semblance. We just had a big argument about what to do with the lamp. She wants to use it to find Mom… as if I don't, but I know we can't. Besides, if I keep pushing her to back off, it might just make things worse. I don't want one of us to say something we might regret."

"You don't think Ruby would actually be that selfish, right?" Jaune asked. "She knows we need that thing… even if we don't use it now, we'll need it for something soon."

"I don't know," Yang admitted. "I really don't know. Something's different. Something about her time back at Beacon and away from us… whatever happened over there, it's changed her, and I don't like it. I think she might be on her way to Sun, down in the infirmary."

"I'll go," Jaune volunteered as he stood up. "I've seen her get like this before, when we were Team RNJR for a bit. Maybe I can talk some sense into her, or at least get her to see where we're coming from."

"Should I come with you?" Corsac asked.

"No, it's… I think it'd be better for me to do this alone, assuming I can catch up to her," Jaune replied. "Stay with Yang."

"Please," Yang added as she moved sideways to rest her head on the faunus' shoulder. "I need to bitch to somebody right now so I don't put another dent in the wall."

"Very well," Corsac agreed. "Good luck, Jaune. We have faith in you."

"Gonna need it," Jaune said with a wave as he made his way out into the hall.

"Shit sucks," Yang proclaimed as she slid off of Corsac's shoulder and down into his lap, looking up at the faunus. "Am I running away from my problems by sending Jaune?"

"No, you're distancing yourself from a problem you cannot solve for the benefit of the group," Corsac answered. "Is there anything specific I can do to help you? We have a long night ahead of us."

"Just… talk, I guess," Yang suggested. "Let's keep each other distracted. Can't really get anything done as it is without causing a whole new mess of problems."

"Very well," Corsac acknowledged with a nod. "Talk we shall."

Author's Note:

Next week- back to Sun, and maybe a little something else.

-RD