Sitting on the ground with her arms covering the back of her head and her knees tucked into her chest, Cheyenne's body trembled in fear. Hearing the explosion first, she quickly closed her eyes with a soft whimper. Tears swelling up as she braced herself. She pushed everything she could into her aura to protect herself.

She then felt the shockwave from the blast. Her breath hitching as her heart began to beat hard enough she could feel it in her ears. Tensing up even more, her back arched as she hid her head between both her shoulders. Feeling several pieces of rubble hitting her back, she slowly opened her eyes. Her brow furrowed slightly as she looked out of the corner of her eye. Watching as several ice shards flew past her, she began to take deep breaths as she saw a piece of ice brush across her upper arm. The fabric of her wolf hood being instantly cut while the shard simply bounced off the green hoodie underneath.

"Wha..." She breathed out as her ears began to ring. She stared with wide eyes for a moment before closing them once again and hiding her face between her legs. She let out a small groan as the ringing grew louder. After a few seconds, her body began to ease up. Her breathing slowed down ever so slightly as the ringing began to dull. Inhaling heavily, she lifted her head up slightly only to flinch as she was grabbed. Feeling herself changing positions twice, she stumbled a bit on her own before being placed onto her knees.

Catching her breath, she glanced up at her friends staring back at her. "I..." She breathed in and out before leaning back back with a heavy exhale. Raising both her hands, she stared at them with wide eyes. "Your hoodie... really is indestructible..." She mumbled under her breath.

Sitting back in relief, Kagami quietly sighed while slouching forward. "Oh thank Oum..." She rolled her head back before closing her eyes for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she reached out to gently pat her friend on the knee. "Don't do that again."

"Oh so you're the only one who can almost die?" Kris quietly joked with a smirk. Sliding her weapons away, she gently nodded towards the Faunus. "I... am glad you're okay though."

Glancing between all of her friends, Elise softly sighed before stepping up and crouching down. "I think I can speak for everyone when I think we've had enough for tonight. We might have gotten in a little too much trouble tonight. I think it's time to call it a night and talk about everything in the morning. All agreed?"

"Yeah..." Nodding, the leader of team MACE stood up. She then held out her hand for Cheyenne. "Come on. Let's go take some time to calm down. You look..."

"I know." She partially smiled up at her while grabbing her hand. "I know..." She took a deep breath and nodded as she was pulled up.

Waiting for the group of girls to return, Baren sat on the floor of the old run down building that they called their momentary home. In front of her there was a small white cup with green tea next to several other similar cups and a teapot. Steam rolling off the hot liquid. Inhaling slowly, she held it close in her left hand before taking a small sip from it. Her eyes closing as the warmth soothed and calmed her nerves. Hearing the door open, she looked up. "You're later than I expected."

"Things got complicated..." Kagami quietly mumbled before sighing. Undoing the strap of her sword, she gently placed it against the wall.

"You mean Cheyenne got blown up." Kris rolled her eyes before collapsing onto the couch. The furniture gave in under her weight as pieces of wood cracked. Taking a deep breath, she let out a long and heavy groan before rolling off it and onto the floor. "Whatever! I'll lay here!" She announced.

Completely ignoring her, the old warrior raised an eyebrow while glancing at the Faunus. "You did now, did you?"

"Well, yes but no." Cheyenne glanced at her arms. Her eyes trailing over the green hoodie underneath her leather padding. "I was caught in an explosion but I got lucky. Since I sorta stole Kagami's hoodie."

Chuckling softly, Elise set her weapons aside before laying on the floor. "I mean, to be fair, I also took it before you." She yawned before stretching her arms out above her head. "Who knows, maybe Kris will take it next for some reason."

"Am I ever going to get my hoodie back?" Kagami eyed her friends before sitting down beside her mentor. "It has been passed down in my family for generations. And not to mention mine." She reached out to grab a cup before pouring herself some tea.

Both brunettes locked eyes for a moment before softly laughing at each other.

Flashing a half smile, Baren looked over towards the girl beside her. "I know it's been a rough night, but what's your next plan? It seems as if things are getting out of control. You need to finish what you started."

"I... don't fully know yet." The jadette looked away for a moment before taking a deep breath. Bringing the cup close to her lips, she took a very small sip before staring at her reflection in it. "Going after Rey just feels like we're going in an endless circle. We can't find him and he's too stubborn right now to find us. I learned something strange about his semblance though..."

"Like what?" Cheyenne asked while stepping over towards the broken couch. Kneeling down beside it, she slowly shifted her body around to sit on the floor and then leaned back against it.

"It's called Performance. And not just about how good his voice is." She tilted her head a bit while thinking. "I think that's why Azure was beaten by him. He got under her nerves and that was her downfall. Actors have to play their part well when on stage."

"I guess that would make sense..." Elise nodded a bit. "Considering when we first met him and he made all of us sing and startled us by doing such... I mean, I don't think I sing that bad." She sat up before pointing over. "Well, I dunno about Kris." She flashed a smirk at the redhead.

Glaring back at her, the young girl growled slightly before exhaling. "Whatever. I'm too tired from this." She grumbled before rolling her head back and closing her eyes with a sigh.

"So you have a plan to beat him then?" Baren glanced over. Setting her cup down, she began to refill it.

"I think I do." Kagami nodded slowly. "I'm pretty sure I do." She took another slow sip of tea. "I hope I do... but the problem is he just won't stick his nose out anywhere. And everything he had in the hideout we went into has all been completely cleared out. He's always using his lackeys to get things done."

"Hmm..." The old warrior thought to herself before picking up her cup again. "There's still more on your mind. I can sense it."

"Cin..." She spoke quietly while lowering her head.

Clenching her jaw, she tightened her grasp around the cup of tea. "What about him?"

Narrowing her eyes, the jadette took a deep breath. "We might be unable to track Rey down and Rey doesn't want to show us his face but... Cin won't mind tracking us, or well me down to show his face."

"What...?" Elise blinked a few times as her brow furrowed. "You mean using you as bait to lure that psycho out?"

"What is your plan when you confront him exactly?" Cheyenne asked with a mild look of concern.

"Whatever makes her feel better after everything he did to her, duh." Kris waved her hand slightly while keeping her eyes closed. "Though I don't think we need to worry too much. Kagami isn't really the revenge type. Unlike me anyway." She lightly shrugged.

"I'm not sure how much I like this idea." Baren mumbled a bit before sighing. "But if this is what you want to do, I'm not going to stop you."

"Don't worry." The jadette smiled slightly while motioning her head towards her team. "They'll have my back. Like they always do."

She nodded back before setting her empty cup down and standing up. "The four of you should get some rest then if this is your plan for tomorrow. I'm sure it's been a long night for all of you."

"It has been..." Cheyenne mumbled softly before slowly sliding down the side of the couch until she was laying on the floor. Her hands rested gently over her chest as she closed her eyes.

Watching the old warrior leave the room, Elise glanced over at her leader. She stared for a moment before taking a deep breath and getting up as well. "Kagami...?" She softly let out as she stepped over towards her and knelt down beside her.

"Hmm?" She tilted her head up while raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?" She lowered her cup of tea down into her lap. "What?"

"You..." She reached up to scratch the back of her neck before sighing. Shifting around a little, she sat with her legs crossed before smiling. "Do you need someone to drink tea with?"

Blinking a few times, the jadette smiled while relaxing her shoulders. "It would be nice if you're not too tired."

"Don't worry, I'm not. I mean, I am tired. Very tired. But I can stay awake. It's fine. Don't worry." She reassured her while grabbing a cup. "Plus, Baren makes really good tea." Her smile grew as she reached over and grabbed the teapot. "Better than mama's even."

Lightly scoffing, Kagami shook her head before bringing her warm cup of tea close. "Well, thanks then." She locked eyes with her friend for a moment before giving a nod as she took a sip.

Exhaling softly, Elise tilted her head with a soft smile. Her shoulders lowered a bit as she arched her back forward. Inhaling the steam coming from the hot tea in her grasp, she closed her eyes and took in the quietness of the room. This was all she really needed.

The following day after some well needed rest, the group of girls were back at it doing what they did best. Walking out of a small store in Mantle, Kagami held a single bag of groceries in her right hand while her left was resting in her pocket. She calmly made her way down the street before turning down a less populated side road. She took her time, only glancing at her scroll once throughout her walk. Taking a deep breath, she rolled her shoulders back to stretch them before heading down an alley into an empty lot.

Suddenly stopping, she lowered her head between her shoulders while closing her eyes. Clenching her jaw, her right hand tightly gripped the plastic bag she held. "You know... for a guy so good at stalking, you make things pretty obvious."

"Really?" Cin's disembodied voice echoed. "But you still don't know exactly where I am?"

Baring her teeth, she brought her head up to glance around with narrowed eyes. Her breathing grew uneasy as sweat began to build up on her neck. "I still know you're there though."

"Hmph." He let out a chuckle that seemed to move around on its own. "Well at least I'm not dumb enough to walk around by myself." From a shadow casted by a building, the former Atlas soldier stepped out. His blonde hair brushed back while the stubbles on his face were slightly longer than before. In his left hand, he held his open flask. Using it, he pointed towards her. "That's on you." He snarled.

Turning around to fully face him, Kagami took a deep breath while adjusting her grip on the bag of groceries. "You're a fool if you think I am alone. Not anymore."

Hearing several pairs of feet landing on the ground behind him, he raised an eyebrow while looking back. Smiling sadistically at the three other members of team MACE who held their weapons at the ready, he brought his flask up to take a quick swig from it. Scoffing, he turned back towards Kagami with a cocky smile. "Well if this is everyone, then let's get- hngh!"

Baring her teeth, the jadette swung the plastic bag forward with as much force as she could. As it struck his face, the plastic tore. Inside it, the bag of potatoes burst. The vegetables flew through the air and scattered as he stumbled back with a heavy groan. His flask clattered against the ground as the whisky inside it spilled out.