Chapter 19: First Mission
Not a few days after arriving in Atlas and being arrested, the entire team (minus Oscar) were being deployed on their first mission with the Ace Ops. Now a few of the older Huntsmen, namely Marrow and Vine, had voiced...concerns with Dbroha specifically. It seems being the youngest member of the group was again making people underestimate him. Regardless, Ironwood assured them this was a test to gage the boy's abilities to determine the level of training he would receive at the academy after, given he likely wouldn't be allowed on any other missions, much to Dbroha's disappointment. To further rub salt in his wounds, Clover assigned him to work with him and Qrow on the mission, which placated the other Ace Ops, but made the boy feel like he was being babysat. Still, he knew better than to argue and risk being left out of the mission. Maybe he could prove to Clover he was fully capable of standing toe to toe with his sisters on the field.
listened closely as the lead Ace Op debriefed them in the main hub of the command center, providing a holographic map for everyone to study.
"All right, gather round. The mission today is to secure the launch site for the Amity Communications tower. The designated area is an abandoned Dust mine. Since it's closure, the Grimm have moved in. Good news is that all that untouched Dust is down there too. Scientists said they'll need it for the first phase of the launch. Atlas military Huntsmen are already hard at work clearing out the surrounding Tundra. Recon has also identified a powerful Geist that's managed to evade destruction... and take several lives. After we increased our numbers, the Geist was smart enough to retreat into the mine itself."
"So it's old?" Dbroha asked, remembering Weiss's lessons about the Grimm from way back at Beacon.
Clover nodded. "Correct. That means it's extremely dangerous. This is our target." The map then changed to a schematic of mine itself. "The mine was elaborate back in the day. There's all sorts of tunnels and chambers the Geist can move to, so if we want to kill this thing, we'll have to split up and corner it. General Ironwood said you've seen your fair share of combat. I trust that man with my life, which means today, I'm trusting you all too."
Everyone nodded as Pietro walked in to lead them to the lab. Before they left, Clover called out.
"Dbroha."
The boy looked back as the older male approached him.
"I hope you understand that the hesitation to take you on this mission has nothing to do with our confidence in your abilities. We know what you're capable of, but you're still too young for us to be comfortable to deploy for this level of combat."
Dbroha looked down. "Yes sir."
Clover half chuckled. "We've all been where you are, eager to prove yourself. You'll get your chance, so today, go all out so it comes sooner."
The dragon paused a bit at the encouragement, before smiling and nodding. Clover dismissed him and he flew to catch up with the rest of the group, arriving right as Pietro led them into the lab.
"Apologies for the mess and for holding out to your weapons for so long. The upgrades you requested were, um, well...they were more than I anticipated." The older gentlemen led them to a set of lockers with one box in each of them. "Your new weapons and armor should be as requested, but I also took the liberty of reviewing your combat footage from the Vital Festival tournament and there are some additional enhancements I would like to suggest. Oh! But for now, these should serve you well enough."
The kids eagerly took their box to look at their new gear. Dbroha's gauntlets not only had had the scratches and cracks buffed out, but the blades and switch mechanisms had also been replaced. The old one had been damaged during his fight with Adam, almost shattering like Gambol Shroud, so the new ones had been made with a lighter, but more durable metal, and the gears had been replaced so the switch between the different modes would be a lot faster. There was now an extra chamber for Dust on each gauntlet and a new mechanism meant for locking them together was also added, a new attack that had been suggested by Ruby. Dbroha equipped them and threw a few punches to get a feel for them. They were even better balanced, though he would have to adjust a bit to the lighter weight.
"Oh, Dbroha." Pietro said, approaching him with another container. "I didn't have any footage of your combat skills, but Penny and your sisters did fill me in on your combat style. You can call these prototypes for you to try out."
"Thanks Pietro." Dbroha said, opening the box to find a pair of identical, cylindrical devices that had the Atlas white mechanics to them, and a more simple, long piece of armor with sharp spines.
"You seem to use your wings and tail when you're fighting." The Scientists explained. "Those guards use hard light Dust shields to protect the membranes of your wings and that tail weight will give your strikes a bit more of a kick to them."
Dbroha slipped on the armored pieces, testing the weight. It felt odd having something covering his dragon parts. He had always thought his scales were all the protection he needed.
"How do I activate the shields?"
"Strike the devices together."
The boy followed the instructions, tapping his wings together. The devices whirled to life as ethereal, hexagonal patterned light covered his wings. It was surprisingly light and Pietro threw a pen at them, which harmlessly bounced off the shield. Dbroha was impressed and moved on to test the tail weight. It didn't have any fancy mechanics, but when Dbroha swung his red dragon tail at the locker, it left a sizable dent and he didn't even feel it.
"Woah! These are awesome, Pietro! Eh-," He suddenly felt embarrassed at the damage he caused. "Sorry."
The elderly man waved him off. "Oh don't be. I've been meaning to get these dreary things replaced anyways."
Dbroha chuckled before heading over to the rest of the group to check out their upgrades. Noticeably, he had to push his hair out of his face several times.
"We should probably cut your hair a bit, Dbroha." Blake laughed a bit, seeing his struggle.
"No!" Yang protested. "I like his long hair! It looks good on him!"
"Yeah, makes him look more wild!" Nora added.
Weiss shook her head. "Well he can't just have it flopping in his eyes the whole time, it could be dangerous!"
"Oh idea!" Yang said eagerly as she pulled out her old purple sash.
She gathered up her brother's hair and tied it up into a little tuff of a ponytail.
"There! Problem solved."
Dbroha looked in the mirror, moving his head around to admire his new look. At least his hair was out of his face. Ruby seemed to like it as she hugged him.
"Aw! Look how cute he looks!"
"I am not cute!" Dbroha pouted.
"Pouting only makes them think it more." Jaune warned as the girls cooed at him.
(Timeskip)
Dbroha readied himself as the launch doors opened.
"Let's make this happen, people." Clover ordered as the doors opened.
The boy, Clover, and Qrow leapt out and dove to the entrance below. It was time like this Dbroha was grateful for his naturally built in landing strategies. He masterfully maneuvered through the air before gilding beside Qrow and Clover who slid along the icy slopes towards the bottom. Qrow, who was decked out in a new outfit like everyone else, nodded to Dbroha as Clover checked in.
"This is Alpha Squad. LZ's clear, proceeding on foot. You've all got fancy new scrolls, so don't forget to use those. Keep your eyes and ears open. I want an update if you encounter the target. Alpha out."
Clover turned off the com and nodded to the two other males who followed him in. The internet of the mine was coated in ice, snow, and streaks of colorful Dust. Dbroha followed behind and kept an eye out for the Grimm.
"You okay, Dbroha?" Clover asked. "Your sisters mentioned you had a problem with cold."
"I'm fine." The boy insisted. "Pietro had my armor effused with fire Dust, that plus my Aura and fire breathing will keep me warm."
"Don't worry about him." Qrow insisted. "He's tougher than he looks."
"I'll take your word for it."
"Gotta say, I'm still not really used to working with other Huntsmen in the field." Qrow admitted.
"But you were on a team before, weren't you?"
Qrow sighed. "Long time ago. I just found that working alone tends to be for the best."
"Well I think that's a shame." Clover shot back.
Suddenly, Qrow slipped on some ice and before Dbroha could react, Clover was already pulling him to his feet. The two males gave each other looks before Clover turned on the com again.
"Alpha here. Gimme an update."
"The connecting ice tunnels seem clear." Dbroha heard Vine say. "We should be approaching the actual mine any minute now."
"Bravo checking in." Harriet sounded off. "Hit a bit of a snag. There's been a cave-in in the main entrance. Not sure if it's recent or was caused by the original accident. Either way, we'll have to do a little problem solving."
"Understood, let us know if you need anything." Clover said.
"Original accident?" Dbroha asked.
Clover turned to him. "SDC Mine. Explosion caused a cave-in and many workers were killed. After that, the mine was abandoned."
"No wonder the Grimm are attached to this place." Dbroha huffed.
"Well it's our job to get rid of them."
The males all continued further into the tunnel when Harriet came back on, a bit frantic.
"This is Bravo, we found the target, but it fled deeper into the mine. Engaging Centinels."
"Let's pick up the pace." Clover ordered.
The trio ran deeper into the tunnel. At one point, Dbroha heard something hissing nearby.
"It's here!" He called out.
Qrow immediately morphed Harbinger into its shotgun mode as the Geist swooped past them. Him and Dbroha took shots, but when it retreated further in, Dbroha flew after it.
"Dbroha!" Qrow yelled as Clover got back on coms.
"This is Alpha, we've engaged the target! All squads head towards our position."
The boy kept on top of the Grimm, slashing and diving at the creature. The Grimm couldn't hit him, but the ethereal nature of the creature made it difficult to land a blow across the mask.
"Dbroha, give me a clean strike!" Clover ordered as he pulled out his fishing rod.
The boy swooped past the monster, making it turn its head for Clover to hook on to. However, it barely missed as the Grimm dove into a mound of ice, immediately animating it. It summoned chunks of ice and stone to form a new. Dbroha growled, blasting fire directly in its face. Clover rushed into to help. Dbroha then locked his gauntlets together, charging shot, before blasting the creature, making it stagger, leaving it open for him and Clover to charge.
"Wait, stop!" Qrow called out.
From the corner of his eye, Dbroha saw a pillar about to crash down on them. He grabbed Clover and jumped back, narrowly avoiding being buried. As the dust settled, they got up and surveyed the hole. The Geist was gone.
"Darn it." Clover huffed. "Target escape. Last seen headed east." He then nodded to his two partners. "Thanks for the call out, and good reaction time, Dbroha. That could have been bad."
Qrow sighed. "I wouldn't thank me. My Semblance brings misfortune. Sometimes I can't keep it under control."
"Qrow." Dbroha frowned.
The older male was putting in the effort to improve himself, everyone could see it, but his insecurities stemming from his past and especially his Semblance were weighing him down. He had even refused to give Dbroha a charm in fear of what his Semblance would manifest from it.
Clover noted the tense atmosphere. "Is that so? Well, hey, don't beat yourself up about it." The op then hook his fishing line around another beam and yanked it down, covering the hold and making a path for them. "My Semblance is good fortune. Lucky you, huh?"
He then walked off checking in with the other teams, leaving the other two bewildered.
"Charlie, Bravo, you should be able to cut off the target in the heart of the mine. Qrow, Dbroha, and I wont be far behind."
"So do your Semblances cancel out, or is it like an RNG thing?"
"You've been playing way too many video games with Ruby, Dbroha."
(Timeskip)
By the time they reached the meetup point, the other teams were already combating the Geist, who had also added Dust to its body. Clover had already warned him and Qrow that the room was lined with Dust which could activate and blow them all up, so fire breathing was definitely off the table. The Ace Ops were working on removing the Dust crystals from Geist's body. Marrow accidentally sent one their way, allowing Clover to nonchalantly catch it.
He chuckled. "What would you guys do without me?"
He tossed the crystal Qrow before diving off the ledge to join the fray. The Ace Ops moved as unit, splitting the Geist's focus and constantly keeping it moving. Dbroha was amazed by how in sync they were and how easily they were overwhelming the Geist. Elm opened up a shot for Clover after taking out the other arm. The leader ran at the Grimm, bounced off its leg, and hooked his fishing rod onto the mask of the creature, yanking it out of the body. Harriet charged in, uppercutting the Geist to death in one strike. As the main body fell apart, the Ace Ops scattered, gathering the falling Dust crystals before they could hit the ground. One went flying in an arc.
"Harriet!" Clover order.
Hare bolted at it, but it seemed she wouldn't make it time. As Ruby rushed in with her Semblance, Dbroha saw another crystal fall from the roof, likely dislodged by the shaking of the falling debris. Everyone was focused on the crystal Ruby and Harriet were trying to catch, so without thinking, he activated Ruby's charm, flying in blur and narrowly catching the crystal before it could hit one of the boulders, which Ruby happened to slide into. He landed on top of the boulder and leaned over to smile at his sister, showing off the crystal.
"Nice catch, Ruby."
She laughed. "Not bad yourself."
Harriet walked over to them and helped Ruby to her feet as Dbroha hopped off the ledge.
"Thought you said your Semblance was like mine."
Ruby scratched her head. "It is?"
"I've seen other speed Semblances before, but that was different. I think there's more going on than you think."
"Wait until she sees what she can do with her eyes." Dbroha heard Yang joked.
He snorted, which got Harriet's attention. She shot him a half impressed look.
"And you, mister, that was some nice hustle. That Semblance of yours seems pretty useful."
He cheekily held up his charm bracelet, Ruby's charm now fading out. "You've literally not seen the half of it."
His sisters and their friends laughed knowingly as Elm placed him and Ruby on her shoulders and began parading them around. Eventually, the group cleared out. The younger kids exited first as the Huntsmen emerge from the mine with a heroic atmosphere, causing the kids to look on in awe (Ruby, Jaune, and Nora especially). Jaune ran up to Clover, gushing.
"You guys were incredible! Oh, the way you took down the Geist without needing to plan your tactics out, you just knew exactly what to do."
Clover put his hands on his waist. "Well, Ace Ops are hand-picked to perfectly complement one another, so we can focus on our assets and leave our liabilities behind."
Marrow marched past them proudly, before saluting . "Some of us are all asset, zero liability."
Elm scoffed, getting the dog Faunus's attention.
"Wha-yeah? Think I've got some liabilities, Elm?"
"I think a wagging tail is one." Dbroha joked, causing Elm, Harriet, Clover to laugh.
Elm slapped him hard on the back. "I like this one, but I would've said brains first."
"You did ask." Vine said as Marrow pouted in embarrassment.
Nora quickly pushed past Dbroha, who was now trying to get the ache out of his back, and waved to Elm, looking at the older woman's hammer.
"Hi, do you need a new best friend? Our pair name can be THUNDER THIGHS!"
Ren quickly picked up Nora and walked away, with a confused Elm looking onward.
"You get used to it." Dbroha assured her as Ruby ran up to Harriet.
"Perfect complementary teamwork. Oh yeah, I want to have my friends' backs just like that."
"Friends?" Harriet repeated.
Elm laughed. "Ha Ha, this isn't the schoolyard, kid."
The rest of the team joined Ruby.
"But, I mean, when you go through so much with someone it kind of changes things, doesn't it?" Yang asked.
"We get along well enough, sure." Harriet answered. "I count on them to keep me alive, they do the same, but that's the job. We don't confuse the two."
The dragon shook his head. "I don't think that could ever work for me."
"You're a kid, you've still got a lot of growing to do before being a Huntsman." Elm assured him.
Dbroha held up his bracelet. "Well, my Semblance is entirely bond based, so I don't think your viewpoint could really work for my fighting style."
"Huh." Elm said as she walked off, not having an answer.
Dbroha joined his sisters, who all looked a bit disappointed by Harriet's words. Luckily, Clover interjected.
"Speaking of the job..." Dbroha looked past him and saw Ironwood there. "Duty ever beckons. You all hang back a second."
The Ace Ops walked over to Ironwood as Ruby looked down. Dbroha nudged her.
"You know, just because it works for them doesn't mean you have to do it. Everyone's got their own style, right?"
Ruby perked up and ruffled his hair before turning back to the rest of the team.
"What do you guys want to do when we get back to Atlas? Sightseeing? Oh, what should we visit first?"
Blake yawned as she walked past Ruby. "How about our beds?"
"Oh come on, guys! This is a great time to go exploring. We haven't done that in so long."
"Ruby, we just explored a whole continent on foot before flying to this one." Weiss shot back.
"Well, yeah, but it was only the boring parts."
Yang gave her a look. "We almost died."
"Multiple times." Dbroha added.
Ruby scoffed as they walked past her. Dbroha yawned, feeling tired now that everyone else was mentioning it.
"Hey, heads up." Qrow said as Ironwood looked their way.
"Can I get the team leaders over here? There's something I'd like to discuss with you. You too, Qrow."
As Jaune, Ruby, and Qrow approached the general, Dbroha innocently put his arms over his head, trying to hear what they were saying before Blake scooped.
"Oh no you don't, mister. You've started to develop a bad habit of eavesdropping."
The boy grumbled. "It's not my fault I have good hearing!"
Weiss crossed her arms. "Perhaps, but you can help being in range of other people's conversations."
"Err...I guess."
The girls took Dbroha out of range to make sure he wasn't listening in. Fortunately, the arrival of a ship cut the conversation short. Unfortunately, who was on that ship. The group gathered at the landing point and Dbroha saw the SDC logo on bay doors as they opened. A smarmy looking, white haired man stepped out, barking at Ironwood as he approached. Dbroha recognized him as Jacques Schnee, Weiss's father. He had briefly met the man during the evacuation of Vale and it was an immediate hatred, only compounded by what Weiss had told them about his treatment of her during the time they had been separated.
"So let me get this straight, James. In addition to this nonsensical embargo of yours crippling my business, you've also decided you have the authority to commandeer private property? When the Council hears about this, you will never-,"
Ironwood cut him off. "Actually, I've already informed them. As this is now the site of a classified military operation, it didn't even require a vote."
"Didn't require a vote!?"
"You might want to brush up on Council law before you lose this upcoming election, Jacques. Now, I've allowed you to land here once as a courtesy, the next time, it won't be a friendly reception."
"Lately, you seem to forget who your friends really are. I'm going to get that Council seat, James, and maybe then, you'll-," It was only then that Jacques noticed Weiss was there and froze mid-sentence. Dbroha held her hand and glared at the male until he finally started to yell at Ironwood again. "You...you roped my missing daughter into these schemes of yours, too? How long has she been back in Atlas? Did Winter know about this?"
"It was my decision to come here." Weiss growled, walking up to Jacques. "Just like it was my decision to leave. Or have you forgotten all about that?"
"If you think I'm one to forget anything, girl, then you've misjudged the man your father is."
"Believe me, I know exactly the kind of man you are."
Dbroha smirked as Jacques became angry.
"How dare you speak to me that way?! I have half a mind to-,"
"Half a mind to what, Jacques?" Ironwood challenged.
Dbroha stepped up to Weiss's side, showing his teeth. "Yeah, what exactly, old man?"
Jacque growled and composed himself. "You know, your mother was devastated when you left. Didn't leave her room for days. You know how she gets when she's upset."
Dbroha felt Weiss beginning to deflate as Jacques looked a bit more smug. He took his sister hand and growled at the older man.
"I'm pretty sure she was just upset she was stuck alone with a creep like you."
Weiss blinked down at her brother in surprise, but felt a sense of relief wash over her. Jacques in contrast glared at the dragon, who feinted a charge, causing him to flinch. Dbroha smirked, satisfied Jacques now understood who was supposed to be afraid. The white hair man just turned back to the general.
"I knew one day you would overextend your reach. I didn't come here to beg for an abandoned mine. I came here to thank you, for personally handing me the noose to hang you. You'll regret this."
The rest of Team RWBY stepped forward to join Weiss and Dbroha. Blake took Weiss's other hand and gave her a reassuring nod as Jacques looked back at them.
"So these are the little friends you threw everything away for?"
"Not friends." Weiss corrected. "Family."
Jacques looked like he wanted to say something else, but Dbroha snarled at him, making him retreat back to his ship. After the ship took off, Weiss breathed a sigh of relief as Ruby patted her back gently and the boy watched the ship leave.
"General, can I have permission to set that guy on fire next time I see him?"
"Please don't tempt me, Dbroha."
A truck then approached as Winter emerged, checking to make sure the ship was gone.
"Oh now you show up, Winter." Weiss joked. "You just missed Father."
Winter approached them, a little embarrassed.
"I wouldn't say I missed hi-,"
Penny suddenly appeared then, sending them all flying.
"Surprise!" She then noticed them being knocked over. "Uh, did we not start yet?"
Winter sighed. "Ugh, apparently we haven't."
Dbroha pushed Ruby up as he rolled onto his feet.
"Start what?"
Ironwood led them to the arena, which was ominously dark. Dbroha felt a familiarity wash over him as he glanced around. He remembered cheering his sisters on from the stands, enjoying seeing his friends battle out in friendly matches...it was only 2 years ago, but now it seemed like a lifetime ago. The general broke through his thoughts.
"It goes without saying that this arena holds significance to all of us. It's only fitting that we should be able to reconvene here, now, when the world needs to be brought together more than ever. The road you traveled from our first meeting hasn't been easy. You fought for your school and your friends at Beacon. You fought for the world and the innocent at Haven Academy and beyond. You faced down terrors people can't even fathom. That's not the behavior of students, it's the behavior of Huntsmen and Huntresses."
He nodded to Penny, who was bouncing with excitement. She walked towards them, stopping at each person to tap a device in her hands. Their schools rumbled and Dbroha saw their student licenses change.
"Wait, what is this?" Ren asked.
"You are being granted your Huntsmen licenses, today." Winter answered.
Ironwood nodded. "I know this is coming a little ahead of schedule, but Brothers know you deserve it. I only regret that I couldn't do something a little more ceremonious for the occasion."
Ruby looked at her school in disbelief. "I...we...we're honored, General Ironwood. You really didn't have to-,"
"Please." He interrupted. "With the threat of Salem still out there and tensions rising in our kingdom, I could certainly use more trustworthy fighters by my side. I should be so lucky to have all of you. And Dbroha, while you've proven to have just as much skill and discipline as the others-,"
"Yeah, yeah." Dbroha cut him off. "Can't have a 10 year old, licensed Huntsman. I get it."
The general chuckled. "While that's true, Clover did say he was impressed by your performance today. While you may be young now, your license may not be as far away as you may think. I expect you to prove that in your training going forward."
"Yes sir."
He then turned back to the rest of the group, who were still in shock and not saying anything.
"It's okay. It's a big moment, and what better way than to celebrate here? When this tower is ready and communications are back up and running, we'll tell the world about Salem and face down whatever come at us after that, together." He then sighed awkwardly. "That's just about all the pomp I have in me. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to running this operation. Um...well then, enjoy the cake."
He and Winter then walked off.
"Your speech outros are improving, sir!" Penny assured.
Yang glanced down at her scroll. "After everything we've been through, I almost forgot this is what I wanted in the first place."
"When Beacon fell, I didn't even think this would even be possible." Blake admitted.
"It almost feels trivial now." Weiss added.
Qrow chuckled. "Geez, guys, lighten up a little. Enjoy yourselves for a change. You've earned it."
"Finally!" Nora yelled. "Someone said it! Let's kill some cake, huh? Because I can eat two slices before Ren even eats one. Who says I can't? Who says it, huh?"
"Nora." Ren said. "Nobody is arguing with you about this."
"Bet I can eat more." Dbroha snarked.
"You're on, Dalty!"
Penny sliced up the cake and Dbroha and Nora entered an intense eating competition which Dbroha surprisingly managed to snatch a narrow victory. He was a growing boy with wings after all. Everyone laughed and took pictures, forgetting about their worries for just a moment. He also noticed Ruby and Qrow talking, but decided against listening in because he could feel Blake's gaze in him. Luckily, Yang called Ruby down to see the mission board Penny had brought out. Ruby immediately zoomed towards it and gasped.
"Oh my gosh, is that a mission board? It's an app now!? Can we ride a Megoliath?! Stop an underground crime ring!? Do I get to go," She put her hood up. "Undercover?"
She shook Penny as she tried to answer. "Maaaybeee!"
Dbroha laughed as the Ace Ops stepped in.
"Hey, you guys smell that?" Marrow asked while sniffing and approaching the board. "Smells like fresh meat."
"That's odd, I don't smell meat." Vine said, missing the joke.
Ren proved to be his equal. "Neither do I."
Dbroha facepalmed as Marrow sighed. "Ugh, you know what? Never mind."
"Let me get this straight." Elm stepped up. "You've only been official for an hour now, and you're already looking for Huntsmen work?"
"To be fair, we've been official for a whole...57 minutes." Weiss attempted to argue.
"I'd like to remind you all the real mission here is ensuring the successful launch of the communications tower." Vine noted.
"True." Ren agreed. "But we can also keep training and improving by helping where we can."
"At least you guys get to do stuff." Dbroha shot back. "I'm stuck training while you get to go on missions!"
"Don't worry, Dbroha, Ironwood has asked every Ace Op to oversee your training along with himself." Elm assured him. "You'll have your hands just as full as the rest of them!"
"Yay."
"Still, the enthusiasm of youths!"
Marrow nodded. "Well, it's hard to argue with that. Okay, let me show you how it works." He walked up to the board and began scrolling. "Ooh, here's an important one. Who wants to volunteer?"
"Yes! All right!" Everyone cheered, holding up their hands.
"We need someone to escort children to pre-primary school down in Mantle. There's not actually any danger, but the parents fret and that attracts Grimm." Everyone groaned and dropped their hands, save for Jaune. "Perfect, thanks...ugh, Juan...Jwan...Jim?"
"Jaune." Dbroha corrected the dog.
"Thank you."
The blonde shrugged. "Wow, my first Huntsman mission."
Elm then launched Marrow out of the way (making him scream) and tapped the board. "Next! A massive Sabyr is loose in the Mantle sewers! We need two brave warriors to flush it out!"
Everyone immediately jumped on that, leaving Jaune feeling cheated. Harriet then appeared, grabbing Dbroha by the collar and dragging him away.
"As for you, little guy, you're with me. Let's see how fast you can really go."
"Yes ma'am!"
Chapter 20: Calm Before the Storm
Harriet ran poor Dbroha into the ground. His entire day had revolved around flight and speed training. She had him flying through an obstacle field at top speeds while being weighed down by weights and made him start over when he slowed down. It had been hours, and that was on top of getting up early for the mission. Harriet, despite her tyrant-like behavior as a mentor, was impressed Dbroha was still going after all that. As it was starting to get late, she decided to be a little merciful.
A little.
Dbroha could go back to his room, if he managed to not break his Aura for 5 minutes in a sparring match with her. Needless to say, it was easier said than done. The training ring was flattened, making it easy for Harriet to run around in, so Dbroha stuck to flying just to keep up with her blazing speed. However, that wasn't enough to keep himself. There was a Dust barrier to prevent him from flying too high and Harriet was bouncing off the walls to strike him.
"Come on!" She taunted as she bounced off Dbroha wing shields, knocking him to the floor. "You can do better than this!"
Dbroha rose to his feet as Harriet charged. He activated Blake's charm, barely managing to escape Harriet's attack before switching to Ruby's to get a leg up on the Ace Op. Harriet was caught off guard by Dbroha's sudden burst of speed. Dbroha struck her a few times with his gauntlets before she grabbed his arm and kneed him in the gut. Dbroha gasped, but rolled away as she went for a follow up axe kick. On all fours, and activating Weiss's charm, he arched his back and breathed fire, enough to blind Harriet momentarily, before leaping through the flames with Yang's charm and slamming his fist into the floor. The resulting fissures knocked Harriet to her back, but she spun back to her feet and prepared to charge again. Luckily for Dbroha, the timer finally went off. The second the alarm sounded, he fell to his knees, his Aura and panting.
"Thank the brothers."
Hare chuckled. "All right, not bad kid. You were a bit sloppy, but that last move was pretty good. Though if this were a real fight, I would've pummeled you. Maybe don't rely on a Semblance that eats up your Aura when you're already running low."
"Got it." He moaned, still trying to catch his breath.
Hare rolled her eyes and walked over to yank him to his feet. He nodded a thanks, but was still out of breath. She then got a better look at his bracelet.
"You know, I thought that bracelet of yours was a bit kiddish and a bit of liability for the Grimm, but I guess it is pretty useful considering how many powers that Semblance of yours is."
"Yeah." Dbroha huffed. "It represents all the people I have a connection with, all the people I draw power from. I had trouble actually using my Semblance at first, but when I started focusing on a specific charm, a specific person, it came naturally."
"So, you use it as a conduit for your Semblance."
"Conduit?"
"It's how you channel your Semblance. Focus it."
"Oh, yeah, I guess."
"Have you ever tried using your Semblance without it?"
"N-no..." He admitted while rubbing the bracelet.
The thought of being separated from the piece of jewelry was difficult to process. It held all the good memories he had of Beacon, and it was the last thing had to remember Pyrrha by. Harriet, of course, didn't understand the sentimental value of it and crossed her arms.
"You should consider it. If someone managed to take away that bracelet, a fight could turn deadly without your Semblance."
"...I guess."
"Anyways, a deal's a deal. Go to bed. You'll be up early tomorrow for more training."
"Yes ma'am."
Parting ways, Dbroha dragged himself to the dorm, barely managing to make it there before collapsing in the door, snoring before he even hit the ground. He woke up the next morning, tucked in with Noodle and Weiss, to the sound of Penny.
"Salutations! Good morning Team RWBY, Dbroha, and Noodle!"
The girls all shot up, but Dbroha grumbled and hid his head under the pillow.
"5 more minutes."
"Ugh, Penny." Yang groaned. "What time is it even?"
"Time to be Huntresses, of course!"
Ruby was the only one cheering as the other girls moaned and Dbroha pushed the pillow harder against his head.
"Well I'm not old enough to be a Huntsman, so if Harriet wants to torture me again, she can come drag my tail out of bed!"
"No worries, Dbroha, you're scheduled to train with the General and Oscar later this morning, so you can continue to sleep. An official will stop by to escort you."
"Yay..."
"Lucky." Blake moaned enviously.
(Timeskip)
Dbroha woke up at a more reasonable hour. The girls were long gone, so he was able to get ready at his leisure. While he was playing on his new Scroll that had been given to him by Pietro (an entire debate on whether or not he should have been given a Scroll was brought up, and eventually the argument of him needing one in case something bad happens won out.), there was a knock on the door. Opening up, he saw a familiar face.
"Dbroha Rose Xiao Long?"
"Oh, yeah! Um...Ciel, right?"
The navy blue haired girl nodded. "Yes, Ciel Soleil. I have been asked to escort you to your lesson with the General."
"Oh, thanks."
"Please follow me."
The walk was a bit quiet, and Dbroha fidgeted a bit, not knowing what to say. He and Ciel had only had one conversation during the Vytal Festival, and that was using the term loosely.
"So...how have you been?"
The older female blinked. "Excuse me?"
He put his arms behind his head. "You know, what have you been up to since I last saw you?"
Ciel looked down at her checklist. "I have since graduated from Atlas Academy. My duties have been in organizing the former students into units so they can more efficiently serve in the military, as well as performing tasks for the General and the top scientists."
"Oh that sounds...interesting."
"I am proud to serve the Kingdom by any means."
"Well, at least you probably get to see Penny more now."
She blinked. "Oh, the Defender of Mantle and I don't cross paths often."
Dbroha stopped. "Wait, I thought you were teammates though."
"We were assigned together for the Vytal Festival along with two other students so Penny could test her abilities. We hadn't interacted before then."
"Oh, well didn't you...I don't know, enjoy the time you spent with Penny?"
Ciel thought for a moment. "I suppose it was pleasant and refreshing. The Defender of Mantle is a very different character from most from Atlas Academy."
"That's an understatement." Dbroha whispered before continuing the conversation. "So, I never actually saw you fight before. What weapons do you use?"
"I mostly rely on long range weapons. I mostly work as a strategist and analyzer in the field."
"I guess that's why you were paired up with Penny, so you could study her progress."
"Precisely."
Dbroha twitched his tail nervously as he struggled to keep their talk going. "Well, I can breathe fire but I mostly fight up close."
Ciel fiddled with her watch, which then projected a video of his training session with Harriet. "Yes, you favor a mixed martial arts style of fighting adjusted to include your dragon abilities. It is also notable that you take heavy inspiration from your older sister' fighting style as they are very similar."
He rubbed his head. "Yeah, Yang was the first to teach me to fight, so I got used to fighting without weapons really quickly."
Ciel killed the video. "Indeed. It is also worth noting Ms Xiao Long's fighting style is the most suitable to adapt to your dragon features." She then pulled up a holographic note taker. "Now, while we are on the subject, the General has ask me to narrow down a training regimen for you. Exactly what is the extent of your abilities as a Faunus outside of your flight, fire breathing, and scales?"
"Oh, um, well I have really good hearing, sight, and sense of smell if that's what you're talking about."
"Good. Have you ever considered honing those skills for tracking?"
"Oh, I guess not."
She wrote it down. "Consider a Search and Rescue training regiment. Go on."
"Well, I have the ability to see souls, so it's pretty hard for people to lie to me if that helps."
"Interrogation methods also suggested. Anything else?"
"Well..." He hesitated on the last one. "There is one more ability. It's more of a defense mechanism and I can't really control it. It's pretty dangerous though."
"Explain."
"Well, I have to be really angry for it to work. I blackout and fly into a rage. I'm pretty strong while it's happening, but I can also attack other people if I can't recognize them."
Ciel tapped her fingers to her chin before nodding. "Trainee's stress level should be monitored for safety purposes." She put away her notes. "Thank you, Dbroha. This should greatly help in creating a training regiment for you in the future."
"Glad I could help."
She stopped at a door and opened it, revealing the walkway to the training area.
"The General and Mr Pine should be right ahead." She smiled. "I...enjoyed our discussion."
He smiled. "Thanks Ciel. I hope I see you around."
They both nodded goodbye and Dbroha headed inside. He saw Ironwood and Oscar discussing something and moved over to them.
"Dbroha." Ironwood greeted him. "I'm glad you could join us."
"Glad to be here, sir."
"So what exactly is he joining us for?" Oscar asked.
The general led them into the training room.
"You may not hear Ozpin anymore, Oscar, but that doesn't mean we can't try to jog him loose."
The doors closed behind them as the farm boy shrugged.
"What did you have in mind?"
Ironwood turned to them in a fighting stance, but smiling. Both boys looked at each other for a second, before smiling and nodding, drawing their weapons. They charged the general, bouncing off one another. Ironwood was a formidable opponent, but he underestimated their teamwork initially, which got him smacked in the face a few times. He corrected himself, and did give the boys a sound thrashing, but Dbroha still much preferred it to Harriet's brand of torture. After their spare, Dbroha helped a tired Oscar to his feet.
"Anything?" Ironwood asked.
Oscar shook his head. "Nothing."
"Well, we are just getting started." He then turned to Dbroha. "That was some fine footwork, young man. However, a much studier fighting stance would help you not skid when taking a hit. Make sure to anchor yourself."
"Oh, sorry. I'm more used to dodging and countering than taking a hit."
"While that's all well and good, a more efficient style will help you better distribute damage." Ironwood insisted.
nodded a bit hesitantly, but quietly disagreed considering he wasn't exactly in the same weight class as the General.
The next few days followed a routine: Dbroha would walk up without his sisters there, he'd train with either the Ace Ops (Marrow on his first day teased Dbroha about sleeping with his sisters still. Dbroha shut him up with jokes about how loud his night terrors were and nearly setting the older Faunus's tail on fire), Ironwood and Oscar, or tracking lessons with Ciel. On rare occasions, he would even get to train with his sisters or Team JNR.
At one point, they, Oscar, and Dbroha spared with Team FNKI who was also joined by Ciel. Jaune got blasted through one of the barriers by Flynt's Semblance, but stayed on his feet thanks to his shield. Nora raced past, bashing through barriers to chase down Neon, who teased the red head.
"Are you supposed to be fast?"
The cat Faunus skated past Ren and Dbroha, who were in a shooting match with Ciel, who was on top of one of the barriers, and Ivori, who blocked their shots with his whip.
"Wow, your boyfriend and the kid are actually holding their own!"
The two boys stepped out to fire, but Neon came racing up behind them. Dbroha moved out of the way, only for Ren to get hit in the back by Neon, who smirked, still baiting Nora.
"Where's all that energy when he's around you?"
She took off with an angry Nora in hot pursuit as Ciel fired on them. Ren managed to bait Ivori into using his whip, having it wrap around Storm Flower so Dbroha had a clear shot to Ciel. He flew over to her, using his Semblance to dodge her shots and got in close. He punched her arm, swung under her while grabbing her weapon, and quickly disarmed her before hitting her away with a tail whip. His new tail weight had a feature added to it, courtesy of Pietro: Dust traps in the spines. Tapping his tail to the floor, the Gravity Dust trap activated, pinning Ciel. He grinned before diving off the barrier to see where else he could help. Eventually, he and the team boxed in Neon after finishing off her other teammates, so Nora could land a brutal finishing blow. Neon, despite the black eye, took it all in stride.
"Wow! That was amazing!" She skated between all of them. "You guys have really improved since the Vytal Tournament. And those two cute boys had a few surprises for us, too."
She winked at them, and while Oscar blushed and stuttered, Dbroha had a huge lopsided grin. Flynt tipped his hat to the youngest in the room. "Those were some nice moves, kid. I always knew you had fire in you, though I didn't think literally."
"Thanks Flynt."
Jaune chuckled. "Well, you really had us on our toes. Thought you had us there for a second. Whew!"
"Oh c'mon, it was way more than a second!" Neon teased.
"You guys busy?" Flynt asked. "Wanna grab some lunch?"
"Do we?" Nora said eagerly. "I could eat a sandwich the size of Kobalt!"
Their scrolls suddenly buzzed as Jaune sighed.
"Ah man. We'd love to, but..."
"Duty calls." Ren finished.
Ciel then stepped up with a schedule. "And Dbroha, we have a Search and Rescue training session in the mock mines near the labs. Professor Polendina will be waiting for us. The General wants to have the progress of your tracking skills assessed before you accompany Ms. Rose tomorrow for the supply mission."
"Coming." He moaned.
He waved goodbye to his friends and fist bumped Flynt on the way out.
"Catch you later, little man. Tell us if you ever need someone to train with."
"You know it!"
Ciel led Dbroha to a portion of the Academy designed to simulate combat in a large maze. For their purposes, it was being used to train Dbroha to track moving targets using his focused hearing and smell, and restricting his ability to fly up to get a vantage point. Pietro had built a couple robots to help the students train for search and rescue and a few of them were even specialized for Faunus with excellent noses.
Dbroha stood at the entrance of the maze as Pietro and Ciel watched from the observation room.
"All right, Dbroha, you should know the drill by now." Pietro said through the com. "The maze has been restructured, so you can't memorize the layout. We'll be timing you, but don't let that distract you. Just concentrate on finding the robots."
"Yes sir."
The buzzer sounded and Dbroha ran into the maze, and once he was a little way's in, he stopped and concentrated. He listened and eventually pinpointed the sound of tapping on the metal floor. He followed the noise, allowing it to guide him through the structure, before finding the dog like a robot hopping along. He tapped it and it instinctively ran towards the exit of the maze.
"Excellent." Pietro praised. "Two more."
Dbroha found the next one just as quickly, though it was flailing on its back and he had to push it upright. The last one was always the trickiest. Pietro had made certain this one was silent and even padded its legs to avoid making noise, so Dbroha had to track it through smell alone. He tilted his head up and sniffed, trying to pick it up. It took a while, but eventually he picked up the faintest whiff of Strawberry ice cream (of course Pietro Could program the robots to give the scent of different desserts). He followed the trail into the maze, though he did lose it a few times. Admittedly, he wasn't as skilled at following his nose as he was his ears or eyes. Still, he was improving, and eventually he found the robot and tapped it. The maze fell as the exercise was completed.
"Excellent job today, Dbroha." Pietro said.
"Yes." Ciel agreed. "8 minutes and 15.4 seconds. A significant improvement to your previous times. Well done."
Dbroha and Ciel helped carry the robots back to Pietro's lab.
"Well I'd say James will be mighty impressed by your progress, Dbroha." Pietro assured the boy as they walked in. "You've been working hard."
"I have to." Dbroha said back. "Can't have the older kids leave me in the dust."
"You know, you shouldn't worry about having to keep up with them, son. You're too young to be worried about things like this."
"I just want to be strong enough to protect them, and to protect others."
"I agree." Ciel stated. "There is no harm in cultivating one's strength for the good of the many."
As she said this, the robot in her arms suddenly leapt out of her arms, running towards its charging station. The commotion got the other robots to bolt, which knocked a few papers and notebooks from Pietro's desks. Luckily, Dbroha caught a framed photo with his tail.
Pietro chuckled. "Maybe I should rethink that dog behavior program."
"No, don't!" Dbroha insisted. "It's cute!" He then looked at the photo he caught and saw a group of scientists with Pietro, all smiling save for one. "Hey Ciel, this woman here looks like you! Is she a relative of yours?"
Pietro stiffened as Ciel looked at the photo. Her expression was stoic as usually, but...now there was an unnatural-ness to it.
"Ah, yes. That would be my mother."
"I didn't know your mom was a scientist. Does she work with you, Pietro?"
"She did." Ciel answered curtly.
"Did?"
"She's deceased now."
Dbroha bit his tongue and nearly slapped himself. "Oh, Ciel I'm so-,"
"No need. It was years ago. Now, you'll be waking up at the same time as Ms Rose, so be sure to rest tomorrow. Clover will be monitoring your progress. Tomorrow."
"Yeah, got it."
"Well then, good evening gentlemen."
Ciel walked away, slightly faster than usually. Dbroha switched to soul vision, and despite her stoic demeanor, her soul could not hide the lingering sadness and pain. The dragon put his face in his hands and groaned.
"Me and my big mouth."
Pietro put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, my boy. You couldn't have known. I tempted fate by leaving that old photo out." He gazed sadly at it. "Can't help but be sentimental for those old times."
"So, I'm guessing you knew Ciel's mom pretty well."
"Indeed. She actually helped me design the initial concept for Penny. She was a brilliant woman, intuitive and very curious. Ciel takes a lot after her, even if she tries to hide her emotions."
"I'm guessing it's because of her mom?"
The scientist nodded. "Yup. There was an explosion years ago. Killed her mother and another scientist. It was a tragedy. Some days I wish I could go back and do things differently, maybe I could stop it."
"You can't change the past, you can only affect the present." Dbroha said, repeating Tai's knowledge.
Pietro smiled. "You're right. All I can do is continue the work. It's what they would've wanted. Now run along and get some rest for tomorrow."
Dbroha placed the frame back on the desk, but his eyes lingered on one of the figures in the photo, the only one not smiling.
He had a horrible tacky mustache.
(Timeskip)
"Not that I'm bored, but why can't we just use an airship to take these supplies to Amity?" Ruby asked as the truck headed towards the launch site for Amity tower.
Inside the delivery truck were herself, Dbroha, Penny, Clover, and Qrow, along with a robot driver.
"The components for Amity Tower's construction are far too heavy." Penny explained. "All that weight would require precious Dust we should be saving for the launch itself and the Grimm will come after."
Ruby sighed. "It just makes for long, very long, supply runs."
"At least the tundra is scenic."
"Totally." Ruby yawned as she began to drift away.
"Ruby!" Penny woke her up. "I just wanted to say how excited I am to be working with you in a professional capacity! As friends!"
Ruby beamed and chuckled. "Me too, Penny."
"Relationships are so interesting and varied!"
"Speaking of friends, have you been able to make any new ones? Since, you know...? Maybe Ciel...?"
Dbroha sat up, turned away from an attempted card game with the guys, turned to his sister and shook his head, warning her not to go there, before going back to the game.
"Now that I'm the official Protector of Mantle, I don't really have a team anymore. General Ironwood says I don't have time for friends."
Ruby blinked. "Oh, uh, how do you feel about that?"
Penny looked down. "I feel like I wish I could do both the things I need to do and the things I want to do. Is that normal?"
Ruby chuckled again. "That's about as normal as it gets, Penny."
"Everything going all right up there?" Qrow asked from the back.
"Just fine, Uncle Qrow."
In back, Dbroha was leaning over a box separating the front and back of the van as Clover set down his cards, smugly.
"I win again. Maybe we should call it quits?"
"Shut up and deal." Qrow shot back.
"Are either of you gonna teach me how to play?" Dbroha asked genuinely.
"Dbroha, please go hang out with your sister."
"Fine, I'm getting bored of seeing you get your butt kicked."
He moved closer to Ruby and Penny, but went back to his bad habit of listening in.
"Those kids of yours sure are one of a kind, huh?" Clover asked.
"They all are." Qrow insisted. "Been through a lot together."
"It's a good thing they had someone to look up to and get them through it. Not everyone is so lucky."
"I don't know about all that. Thanks, by the way, for looking out for 'em, you and your team."
"What good is saving the world without another generation waiting in the wings? Hopefully they'll leave Remnant better than we left it for them."
"Once upon a time, I'd have a drink to that."
"You shouldn't do that, you know."
"Don't worry, I gave that up."
"I meant deflect a compliment. Those kids would be where they are without you. You've had more of an effect on them than you realize."
Dbroha smiled, grateful to Clover. He'd be sure to get a gift for this sometime. The truck suddenly stopped and Dbroha shot up, seeing a small barrier in view and two women standing guard.
"Uh, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby called.
The males stood up.
"What's going on? Grimm?"
When they got to the window, Clover sighed.
"No, worse. You two with me, Penny and Dbroha, stay put and keep an eye on our six. We may need an element of surprise."
"Affirmative!" Penny said. "I will plan for six possible outcomes."
Everyone gave her looks, but said nothing. The three left the truck to confront the women guarding barrier. Dbroha leaned over the seat to get a better look. One woman was small with white hair and sheep ears. The other one was who he was worried about. She screamed 'don't mess with me'.
"So who are these guys?" He asked Penny.
"These are two members of the Happy Huntresses: Fiona Thyme and their leader, Robyn Hill."
The boy whistled. "So that's Robyn Hill. Well, she does seem like a leader to me."
"She and her huntresses have been causing problems for the military as of late." Penny clarified. "Despite Ms. Hill running for a seat on the Council."
"Well, considering what Mantle's been through, I don't blame them for being mad at the military. They don't know what we're doing."
Penny looked down. "I...suppose."
"Don't worry, I can tell they have good souls, so I think we'll be in for a fight."
Penny thought for a moment before smiling brightly. "All right! I will trust your judgement, Dbroha! Your soul gazing power is very effective after all!"
He felt a stab in his heart at her words. He placed his chin on the seat.
"Yeah...Penny? I...I need to tell you something."
"Is something wrong, Dbroha?"
"It's about the Vytal Festival. I need to apologize to you about what happened."
"What do you mean?"
"I could've stopped it. I...knew something was wrong with Cinder. When I first got my soul seeing power, I accidentally saw her soul...and it was this mass of darkness and greed and hatred and I freaked out. I was too scared to say anything, but if I had, maybe things would've been different. What happened to you...to Pyrrha...it may not have had to come to that."
There was a pause as Penny saw the guilty look on the boy's face. She didn't like it.
"Dbroha, you blame yourself for what happened to me?"
"I...I've been trying not to. Everyone says I can't blame myself, and I only recently stopped tearing myself apart for what happened to Pyrrha...but I just can't seem to stop the guilt entirely."
"It is unsurprising." Penny said softly, sitting next to him. "From what I've come to understand about humans in the aftermath of disaster, people tend to invent blame for tragedies, despite the reality being it was outside of anyone's control." She then held his shoulder. "Dbroha, I do not blame you for what happened to me, so you should not blame yourself either. The only ones to blame are Salem's force and our duty is to prevent her from doing something like the Fall of Beacon every again. Do you understand?"
Dbroha smiled sadly, wiping the single tear from his eye and hugging her.
"Yeah. Thanks, Penny. It means a lot coming from you."
She grinned and accepted the hug, but she suddenly stiffened. The boy pulled back.
"What's wrong?"
Penny stood up, arming herself.
"Two heat signatures are approaching us from behind."
Dbroha's red eyes widened as he switched to soul vision. Sure enough, he saw two people creeping up on them. He drew his gauntlets.
"I see them. I got your back, Penny."
Both of them flew out of the van, landing on top of it. Penny faced Robyn, swords drawn, while Dbroha covered her back and had his gauntlets trained on the unseen foes.
"Robyn Hill." Penny announced. "I would like to politely ask that you call off the Huntresses approaching the rear of the truck."
Dbroha held a stoney face. "You two can come out. I can see you both just fine."
Everyone turned, but saw nothing.
Robyn chuckled, a bit impressed. "All right. Joanna. May."
Two more women appeared. Clover motioned to them with a look that said 'really?', but Robyn ignored him in favor of Penny.
"The Protector of Mantle, huh?"
Penny faltered for a moment, but Dbroha grabbed her hand, giving her a confident nod. Penny took a breath and faced Robyn.
"Let us through. Please."
The other Huntresses readied their weapons and Dbroha prepped for a fight, but Robyn called them off and had Fiona open the barrier. The two on the truck nodded and landed to join the others into loading back into the truck.
"Robyn." Clover said. "Good luck in the election."
After a tense minute, they loaded in and drove off, only breathing a sigh of relief when they passed the barrier.
"That was a close one." Qrow said.
Clover nodded. "You're telling me."
"This isn't over." Dbroha whispered to Ruby and Penny. "Robyn is looking for answers."
Suddenly, their Scrolls began to beep. Everyone pulled their devices out to see a newscast from the Schnee manor. Dbroha huffed.
"This should be good."
Jacques stepped onto a podium and began to speak.
"If I'm elected Councilman, I've made it no secret I will be opposing General Ironwood and his senseless embargo that is crippling all of Atlas. It is my belief that these measures are not only reckless, but criminal. With no shipments allowed to enter or leave the Kingdom, I know many are suffering, and my family has been weathering the same storm as many of you. Effective immediately, I am forced to shutdown all nonessential SDC operations. If elected to office, I will make the changes necessary to fix what Ironwood has broken. I hope you ask yourselves before the vote, can you trust anyone else to stop Ironwood? Will Robyn Hill be able to get your jobs back?"
The feed cut as everyone stared in disbelief.
Qrow growled. "Bastard's holding Mantle hostage."
Clover huffed. "Seems he doesn't have faith to win the seat fairly."
"Clover..." Dbroha said worriedly as alerts about riots started to come in. "I think we should get back. Quickly!"
"Good plan. Let's pick up the pace!"