Under the watchful eye of the shattered moon, the once bold shadowy flower flew. From high above she could jot every branch and building along the craggy cliffs, and yet she chose merely to move. Being out of the earth was nice, and the air was pleasantly cool tonight night, however none of that really took precedence over the job at hand.

Coming to a stop atop a crusty withered spire, who's bell lay just below her feet and the tiles, Ruby perched along the edge, grasping firmly the needle stabbed upwards as she observed the land below. While the ships had all been blocked up, and travel was near impossible with the way of things, Monolith assured her that one of them was offloading precious silks and gems. Why a creature of death's rebellion needed niceties would remain unanswered for now; Ruby found herself committed to it regardless.

It took little effort for her to agree, mainly because she wanted everything done and over with. By this point, Salem's little war had most likely only begun its encroachment across the land, bit by bit poisoning the world in tides of death. And yet, the Grimm were slow to follow through with their march, and if Salem was currently as far behind as Ruby believed she was, then they still had a month or so before any real danger presented itself. Ozma was already dead, that much was guaranteed, and while the queen of Grimm was rash and vengeful in this time period, she wasn't adverse to mourning.

The deaths of her children would stall her for now.

There!

Deep down below, along the filthy streets of stone, Ruby spied the shimmering of men. Three or so scurried swiftly, dressed in darkened clothes as to blend with the night. From above she moved, pursuing them in silence as they twisted and turned, watching them duck and weave between various differing paths and alleyways. Doing her best, Ruby remained close to as many surfaces and crevices as possible, on the off chance one decided to take in the midnight moon. They'd be blinded by the light, so much so they'd miss the obstruction often pressed against the brick and planks of the architecture.

The half hour trip took them closer to the docks, but not quite all the way there. Yes, many ships remained still, closely bunched together and no different than a tangle of wires, but it wasn't only the docks themselves who housed these travelers. With so many ships clogging the usual landing, others who arrived late to see the mess had resorted to casting anchor upside the streets. The entire city was caged in so to speak, leaving the once grand view of the canyon landscapes cluttered with aircraft.

In such a claustrophobic space, Ruby dropped from up high through the flurry of a tranquil floral storm, reforming along the roads ducked behind a small cart. Light had abandoned the streets, save the candles glowing faintly behind closed windows, allowing only brief flickers of orange to peek through the wooden blinds. Along with the moon, the lantern in one of her target's hands was more than enough light for her, and Ruby watched curiously as they waved it upwards.

A board extended.

The nearest ship appeared to have taken their signal, and once the platform finished scraping the streets and settled, the three men trekked up inside. Now, Ruby could have waited for them to come back with whatever cargo they had, but then she'd only have a single box. Following them would indeed lead her to wherever they were storing it all, and she would follow them eventually, but Monolith singled out this particular meeting for a reason.

A grand payment laid aboard, delivered to the captain of the vessel personally: a payment Ruby was personally tasked with 'liberating'.

"You'll have a quarter of an hour to find the stash. Afterwards, the men will begin moving the silks and cloth. We need to follow their delivery, but we also need the money, so we can't afford to botch this. I'd rather we not stir up a mess, but if you're running low on time, I'll have three of my guys on the path ready to stalk and deal with our 'couriers'. They won't be taking chances though, so expect to hear fighting if you fail."

If she failed. Snorting to herself, Ruby began to wonder if the creature remembered who exactly she was talking to. In a way it was kind of pleasing to know it took her seriously, but also disappointing to realize that none of the other 'rebels' had enough skill to carry out the task without a fight.

It was a simple plan really: first she steals the money delivered to the captain selling the silks. This would cause accusations on whether the silks were even paid for, causing arguments which would stall some sort of important event later on: Monolith's word. Next she would tail the men as they moved all the cloth, and steal the cargo out once they were finished: filling the boxes emptied with contents from other crates in the very same warehouse to avoid immediate signs of obvious theft. This would bring up the question as to whether the men involved were stealing away the silks, leading to more disruption along the chain of command: again, by her 'leader's' word.

Failing in any portion of the execution would result in either a raise in the number of public guards in response to high-profile thefts from an outside party, or one of the diversions or so not happening: making whatever initial plan Monolith had harder to move along with.

Once more, Ruby dispersed, soon taking hold of the moldings along the ship next to the entrance the three men wandered through. The inside was lit up, and while Ruby was sure she could time her dash in such a way as to enter without being seen by any potential guards, she opted to instead climb along towards the stern. Most airships in this period had many exits and openings, and it just so happened there was usually one underneath the back end. Without the worry of water flooding in, these vessels had plenty of trap-doors and such to either act defensively, or as alternative ways to transport cargo: a prime example being the large extension along the bottom of nearly all merchant ships, allowing it to lower its underside in a similar sense to a lift.

The captain's quarters were no different.

Captains themselves were tricky fellows, and when personalizing their ships, these sky-sailors tended to come with a heavy level of paranoia; especially when in charge of larger crews. This mattered because crews would oftentimes contain a few 'sticky-fingered' fellows, and unsuspecting captains would find their drawers and chests a little lighter than before; loyalty was rare in this particular age, and Ruby had been happy when her own captain, Alcove, had scrounge up a crew who'd yet to show any signs of trouble. Trap doors were useful for moving cargo, yes, but they were also good at hiding away the more valuable personal items, like say...

A heavy payment.

Along the stern and just a little below, Ruby spied the balcony; a small overview for the captain to enjoy the outside air without the prying and noise of others. A little door was all that separated the outside and in, and Ruby came to a standstill just before it. Placing her ear against the wood, she listened carefully, hearing no noise within. Should the captain be inside, she'd incapacitate him and lay him at his desk; with any luck he'd assume he'd drifted off, and that everything before was a dream.

For good measure though, Ruby raised her hood to obscure her face; best to avoid any chances of identification.

Could she have slipped underneath the door with her semblance? Potentially, but she'd be blind while doing it, and that was far too risky for her: taking down potential targets quietly was essential, and a sudden storm of rose petals in the middle of your cabin probably wasn't the most inconspicuous of things. Quietly she creaked open the door, pausing to listen for any reaction, and upon receiving none, she cracked it a little more. Quickly she was able to create enough space to squeeze through, and found the lodging empty.

Clicking the door shut again, she took in the fairly illustrious space, far too prettied up for her personal tastes. She stood before a table, laid with silverware and a foreign bouquet. A velvet navy-blue rug covered the floor, accented in gold along the edges against the walls, which were covered in charts and paintings of a sort. To the right was a desk, and the left was separated by a small wall, which stretched over some distance creating a little hallway to the door on the other end of the room. Ruby assumed a bed laid beyond that particular door, and filed it away in her mind, whereas the door down the middle hallway probably led out into the main hallway.

Just like the prissy to separate their quarters from everyone else.

That vase though, the one containing the flowers, caught her eye. No stern sailor of this era, especially the greedy men often posted on merchant ships, would dare drop their brooding façade to appreciate something so delicate as a flower, and so Ruby stepped forth, pulling them out and tipping the vase.

Out came the water, dampening the tablecloth... and nothing else.

Huh? Perplexed for a second, Ruby starred. She'd been certain a key or something would have been hidden inside. I… guess not.

And so she went to place it down again, when she noticed how it tilted on the table. Perking a brow, which then twisted her entire face aloof, she tried to straighten the vase, but it wouldn't listen. She didn't have time for this, really she didn't, and so she chose to give up. The captain would assume someone broke in and stole his money, rummaging around searching for what he knew was there, thus proving in his mind that the thief was someone who knew of the purchase of his goods: to his knowledge only his crew and the buyers held that information, growing the distrust between both parties.

Not exactly what Monolith had in mind, but it would do; distrust would still reign, albeit based on active theft rather than a lack of payment.

Ruby then tossed the flowers over the table, setting the vase on its side so it looked like it was just knocked over. It was here she saw why it had trouble standing in the first place.

You're kidding me, right? stuck to the bottom of the vase, and slightly pressed into the indent around the bottom face, was a very obvious and very small key. Ruby noticed how it was twisted weird - most likely from her picking it up and tipping it beforehand - and sticking out on an angle, looking to have caught in such a way that it couldn't flatten out again, which explained why the vase didn't sit well. So I was right... kind of.

Not bothering to question it, she took the little thing, but decided to leave the vase looking like it was tipped. Ruby then made for what she believed was the bedroom, being proven right once again as a small comfy bed sat innocently squished within, covered in large, overly puffy blankets. A drawer and stand were opposed to each other, leaving little room to slip into bed.

Predictable. As expected, the good sir captain spent most of the space making the more visible parts of his cabin look nice, giving little attention to that which was hidden away. With this outlook, one wannabe thief might assume nothing was inside, which was precisely what was needed to hide anything of value. Now then, if captain-obvious was twitchy enough to hide a key in a vase - under it in this case, but that hardly mattered - then what was the next apparent, and probably slightly weird, hiding spot?

Falling to her knees, she crawled under the bed, feeling each and every floorboard for any loose contenders. All she needed was a button or lever, or in some cases a simple loose board. Most of the time these were nuanced, courtesy of the owner's own paranoia. In an era where anything - and she meant anything - could be sold, it heavily paid off to embrace that level of secrecy.

Turning to the side only to bump her head on a box ended up causing her to wonder if she was overthinking things a little.

A little scurry here, shuffling her arms around to get a better grip, she turned the container and found the lock plastered on its face. It was a match, and she was ready to pop the top. Unfortunately the bed was too low, and so she'd crawl back out and sit on said bed. Inside was a single bag, heavy and made of some exotic form of leather; she couldn't be bothered to try and guess what. The clinking of metals and more proved it was the payment she so desired.

"What's this?!"

Crap! She'd taken too long, and now it seemed the captain was back.

"Men! MEN!"

"Sir!" Another voice came, followed by more footsteps.

"Who's been in my cabin!"

"Nobody sir."

"Lies!" At this point Ruby closed the lid as quietly as she could, placing it back beneath the bed and creeping over to the partially ajar door. With the moneybag secured in her hands, she peeked. Spying beyond she caught sight of a limber man just as he'd slapped another more built one. "I pay you all to keep things in order, not muck around in areas outside of your duties."

"With all due respect, none of us have access to your quarters." This voice was older sounding, and came from just out of view. Ruby couldn't see who spoke, but she spied both men turning away, supposedly facing the speaker. "The key for such is yours, and yours alone."

"Be that as it may, why would I not assume one of your ilk capable of liberating it from my person?" The bratty boy scowled, then again, he seemed a fair bit too withered to be called 'boy', however Ruby immediately hunkered down on his childish attitude, and so a boy he was to her. "Let us all speak truthfully here: I've no respect from any of you. You all follow me for the coin I toss, and nothing more."

"You're right, we're only here for the pay, but consider this, lad." The voice paused, and Ruby saw the 'captain' suddenly cast a look back at the door to the balcony, as if it were pointed out. "If we truly wanted to jabber into your lodging without you knowing, why would we risk stealing the key? That door there is mighty fine. Tell me: does its lock share the same key as your front door?"

"It has no lock period. Nothing but the outside lies beyond."

"Many a good sailor can waltz on in then." There was a hum. "Every man worth his salt treats every finger as another hook to cast, so leaving such an entrance unprotected is a mistake of your own. Now then, consider this: we're all stranded here until the money begins to flow again. Whatever's going on up at the top of this kingdom has everyone in a fit: sales must be made or the trip is a waste, and they're taking their sweet time paying. Turning against you now would end with us stranded in this blasted kingdom. We're very clearly outsiders in this land, and no matter the money, we can't very well use it if we're on the run. Who are the guards going to put their trust in if word of theft gets out? The dodgy ragged man with too much coin to his name, or the fanciful lad swearing in terms they can barely recognise?"

"I see you're not like most others." The captain turned back sporting a calmer, albeit still cross, look. "You think ahead. Yes, double crossing me will most certainly end poorly for you, especially with the acquaintances I've made here over the years. My safety and desires are prioritized, so trying to swim off with my earnings will eventually lead you back here to me. Tell me then, seeing as you're one of the few to consider the long of things: what do you believe is going on?"

"You said it yourself: the door is left unlocked. You do remember which side of the kingdom we're on, yes?"

"You suggest an outsider thief?"

"If none of us have entered, then I'm more or less guaranteeing it. After all, those were some fine wares you sold off; quite the big payment too, if you're grasping what I mean."

"Yes, it was. However such a transaction is known only to us and the buyer. No other souls know of our trade."

"Of course, and the men have just started off too."

What?! It was too soon; had she really been here for over fifteen minutes, or had the plan changed?

"What do you imply?" The captain hardened his eyes, and while Ruby was thinking of how to escape, the gruff voice replied.

"Perhaps our buyer wasn't exactly happy with that price."

The captain's eyes widened, and Ruby ducked away, having a feeling she knew what was coming. Only one idea came to mind, and so she enacted it.

"Are you suggesting a double cross?"

"Only one way to find out."

She heard the footfalls, the shifting of the door, and then the eventual expected gasp. The scurrying confirmed his dash, and she felt the faint shift of the blankets across the bed. From her immensely risky hiding place she couldn't exactly move without blowing her cover, and she hoped she wouldn't need to. Placing the empty box back on the bed was a risk, but with any luck they'd assume the 'thief' had just escaped. All she needed was for them to leave.

"To the heavens above! It's gone! We were too late!"

"Not so."

"Explain!"

"A proper crook wouldn't leave such blatant evidence behind, let alone an empty box. If I were a betting man, I'd say our rat was caught off guard by something, or rather, someone."

"What are you saying?"

The next few moments were that of silence, and she heard the slight shuffle of movements, and soon after, a whisper.

"Not under the bed." It came from the older sounding crewman.

"And not under my blankets either." The captain followed up. "Perhaps we'd missed them outside."

"Lad, if they aren't in here then it's safe to say they'd escaped, unless..."

"What do you see?"

"Nothing. I just remembered one of the times a few of the boys were monkeying around on the ceiling, but our crook ain't there either. I hate to say it, but I think we've been swindled."

"Nonsense. Recall the men."

"They're already moving the goods."

"All of them?"

"Afraid so."

"Damnit!" The captain slammed something back on the bed, Ruby could feel it. "This is enough! Hold down the ship while I'm gone."

"Where are you off too?" She could hear them leaving, which provided her with a tiny sense of relief.

"Our swell buyer has a few questions to answer too, and I'm going to see to it myself!"

The slamming of the door was the only thing she paid any attention to, taking it as her chance to flee. The captain wasn't wrong, she never hid under the blankets. Nope, she slipped herself under the sheets and between the wall, moving the bed out just barely so she could squeeze herself in. Luckily her assumption had been right: he was so caught up in the obvious hiding places as well as his own outrage that he hadn't bothered to actually move the bed and check it thoroughly. While she might have been free to scamper off now, the newest issue to pile on her mind slapped her upside the face.

They're already on the move!

She'd need to full-throttle it if she wanted to intercept the transport crew before they crossed paths with Monolith's 'failsafe'. Ruby attached the coin purse to her belt, and while a little heavy, it was secure enough she could move, and so she did, rushing back out the way she came and taking to the rooftops again.

.

.

Saw had to admit, it was pretty entertaining to watch as the three armed guards rushed down the hall, stopping and frightfully swearing while staring at the wall. There was some screaming, and then came the rain of gunfire. It did little other than chip the cement, and then...

Out came the bombs.

When Roman had revealed the Lightning Dust, Saw knew exactly what he wanted to do. As far as things went, Neo kept them invisible to all outside forces, so the only thing seen on the camera was probably a lone cat. Weird, but ultimately nothing to write home about. Knowing that her illusions worked on photos and video gave him an idea. Using the Dust provided by Roman, they were able to take out the camera. Not only this, but the sudden introduction of electricity all at once had, for a second, flickered the lights throughout the whole building: anything sharing a link with that camera was hit by it - this was precisely why having raw Dust around tech was so frowned upon, as you never knew how it would react.

Saw knew though, and along with understanding the effects of pumping a whole crystal's worth of Lightning Dust into technology, he also knew how the White Fang would react.

And here they were, fighting against the illusionary monster Neo had projected across the particular wall of interest. It was a strange amalgamation of a Grimm, embedded into the wall and howling madly as it munched on what looked to be one of their own. None of it was real, and from within Neo's power they could see the faint intangibility visible only to those she'd wrapped up in her semblance: they were the only ones who could see the truth.

"How do you people even come up with this stuff?" Roman bent down, picking up his hat. One of the goons had taken out the big guns: a rocket launcher seemingly crossed with an oversized baseball bat. Saw couldn't remember who owned that particular weapon, or if it was owned by one of his old crew at all, but it sure packed a punch.

"Would you believe me if I mentioned we once tried mutating Grimm to multiply from a gas?"

"What kind of psychotic answer is that?!" Roman stopped, sucking in a heavy breath through his teeth, and spreading the space before him with his hands: eyes shut with irritation in some shoddy form of meditation. "Don't answer that, I have a feeling I don't want to know."

"Did we get it?" One of the deceived little minions questioned, and both Saw and Roman felt the essence of Neo's semblance wear off. Creating that little mirage took a hefty amount of her power, and while the explosion never hit them head on, the afterburn did shave off a portion of their auras, leaving the bite-sized woman stuttering on empty. She didn't look super tired, but it was clear she wouldn't be spinning shadows any time soon.

Cracking his knuckles, Saw decided to alleviate their curiosity.

"You sure did."

"Thanks man... wait, who said-"

He'd never once humored the idea that he'd one day be beating down his own men, but looking at it now, Saw realized why so many hunters and students appeared to treat it as a game: the masks were so damn punchable. Cracking the plastic felt nice, but what felt even better was knocking the guy out cold with a single blow; why yes, he was a little overly furious knowing these idiots betrayed him, and the other two opponents appeared to see that.

Their shock didn't last, as both Roman and Neo quickly took care of the pair. Both had a sense of elegance with how they killed their respective foes, with Roman pointing the end of his cane against his opponent's head and firing, somewhat splattering his brains all over the wall, whereas Neo offered a swift stab through the back of the neck, with the blade sticking out of the dying man's throat. Sliding the spike out, Neo sheathed it in her parasol once more, and with both deaths executed, Saw looked pitifully down at his own knocked out target.

I'm being outplayed at my own game.

Raising his boot, he crushed the neck of the unconscious guy below, letting the crunch resound throughout the empty hall. Roman let loose a minor series of itty bitty claps.

"And that's three for three, and not a single one had aura."

No, they didn't, but that wasn't anything new. Aura could only be unlocked under extreme training, stress, or by the hands of another user; the Fang possessed few of these, and even then, only those with large portions of experience and loyalty were permitted to have it unlocked - to reduce risk of dangerous traitors.

Not that such a sentiment ever stopped anyone.

"We should move." Saw began his trip towards and into the hole. "There's no doubt the noise has attracted at least someone."

"Right." Roman agreed, twirling his cane and following along. "Okay, so do what you want, but keep in mind not to senselessly destroy everything you see. There's something I need to collect."

"Yes yes, I know. A tool for the protector of Mantle." Roman hadn't shut up about it the whole trip before arrival. The lower city's defender being a robot didn't surprise him, but to hear she was actively being improved and made more dangerous was a little alarming. Once again, Atlas showed it would stop at nothing to extend their power.

"Right, so anything small and scanner-like, don't break it."

Roman started to rummage around the room, all the while Saw oversaw the power supply. The generator was rather large, as in, about twice his height and four times as wide. From the looks of it, they'd unleashed their inner mad scientist and mutilated several generators into one, creating a behemoth of a beast. However much Dust it used might as well have been irrelevant, as from a basic glance alone, Saw could safely assume it was capable of powering more than just this shoddy prison base of theirs.

Why do they need so much power?

Pondering that idea would have to wait, because the grip on his throat was starting to cut his oxygen supply.

"Fancy seeing you here: you couldn't stay away, could you?" The claws bit down, flaring up his aura as they tried to break skin, only to fail. The explosion only blasted a quarter of his aura away, leaving most of it intact. Breaking that barrier didn't appear to be the plan though: his friend seemed to prefer ending his life by stealing his ability to breathe.

Choking and shifting, Saw tried to move, to do anything in an effort to restore his airway into proper working condition. Such ideas were foolish, as he could feel the tingle of the semblance poisoning his aura. Internally he swore; he should have known better. Once dubbed Snare by the main crew, this particular fucker's semblance allowed him to paralyze his opponent through physical contact. Ironically, it was similar to Saw's own semblance, but much less monstrous. In a way it was rather fitting, as regardless of the opponent's strength, one couldn't exactly put those muscles to use when they'd all but given up on them.

"Funny, she said someone from Atlas would come, and yet you throw yourself in with them."

S-she?! The grip got tighter now, and his chest began to spasm.

"I won't ask why you chose them, or even if you'll come back to us. All I ask is that you stay silent, forever-"

The cartoonish way Snare went flying after was downright laughable, and he would be doing just that had he not been taking in every scrap of available air he could. With his throat free, he had access to the precious life-giving gas oh so abundant across their planet, and as his senses returned, he struggled to his feet.

"Ooh~ She doesn't seem to like you." Roman walked over, clicking his tongue in a sassy manner, with Neo huffing as she stood ahead of them both: Saw jotted down in his mind to be watchful of Neo's kicks, as apparently she was good with her feet. "Bad impressions will be the death of you, believe me; our resident dairy connoisseur doesn't take nicely to those she finds irritating, and based on that smack alone..." Roman smirked, pulling Saw to his feet with a mild grunt. "I'd say she's made up her mind."

Snare snarled, something which Saw found a miniscule amount of enjoyment in. Unfortunately, Snare was the worst member of his old crew they could have ran into. So long as they never get touched by him they'd be relatively alright, but once caught, you were essentially downed, especially if he took out his weapon: a dagger with a rotating blade, which he used to drill through an opponent - a shredder of aura, able to cut it down to nothing over the course of ten consecutive seconds, and soon after drilling through both flesh and bone. A one-on-one fight was always just a countdown until he won, and while both Roman and Neo were good, so too was he. The only benefit they had was their numbers: three of them. He could only get a hold of two at a time, leaving at least one person free for attack.

Best case scenario: they'd take him down quickly before trouble made its way into the room. Worst case scenario: Saw would need to break his vow, and for the second time in his life make use of semblance. There was no honor in that power, and while it practically guaranteed victory, the nature of it alone left Saw often wondering a solitary question.

What did his semblance say about his soul?

Author's note

...

Oh no, more mystery bullshit. Okay, so luckily for you all, Saw's semblance won't take thirty chapters to come to life. You'll learn what it is, but whether he'll use it... we'll just have to wait and see.

We got a substantially longer future Ruby segment this time, mainly because she's been untouched for the past several chapters, and with her story being so closely linked to the events of the main crew, she kind of needs to either keep up, or outpace them. Sometimes though, even her exceptional speeds aren't enough, and we'll see in her next appearance whether she can pull it off and catch up to the men.

Anyway, next chapter we'll be returning to the main crew, so be ready for that.

Until next time.