Blake was alone in manning the cannons the next morning. The report about the ground beneath the walls weakening had just been sent to headmistress Goodwitch who functioned as the commanding officer for all huntsmen and huntresses. It would take a while before it would reach the council and even then, there isn't a guarantee that they would actually follow through with it. The sight of defenders on the walls evacuating might instill some negativity which would draw in more Grimm. As such, for temporary measures, Ruby was also among the defenders that would engage against the horde, leaving the faunus alone with her own thoughts.

As much as she wouldn't admit it, Blake really was one of the weaker direct-fighters in team RWBY. She was only getting ahead through experience but much of it was guerilla tactics that comprised mainly of hit-and-runs. Weiss Schnee had the advantage over her due to the versatility with her Glyphs. Ruby and Yang were capable and could easily best her in a straight fight. In a contest of stealth, however, she had no equal among her peers.

They were more sparing with their ammunition and rate of fire this time, leaving those down below with more Grimm to fight. It was still manageable but with the knowledge of the horde weakening the ground below them, Blake couldn't help but feel rather jumpy. Each passing moment meant increased likelihood of the walls collapsing. While she was certain that the huntsmen and huntresses might be fine, the same cannot be said about the civilian volunteers.

Alone, Blake had to handle the cannon. From the carrying of the heavy balls and the firing. Thankfully, they still fired in volleys which gave her more time, though it certainly affected the overall effectiveness of their current strategy.

The Grimm Horde continued to descend upon them. There were more of them now as those that filled the trenches have yet to fully dissipate. It didn't help that some of the spikes that had been placed there are now broken. Their numbers were comparable to yesterday. Surely, they were doing quite the number on their population by now. It had to be if nothing else. Unless…

"What about the other kingdoms?" Blake thought out loud. "They must have heard as well, right?"

No one answered as Blake fired another shot. Could all the other kingdoms be dealing with their own Grimm? Or was it only a select few? Was it Salem's plan to concentrate enough of the horde to wipe Vale of the map while the other kingdoms were being bunkered down to prevent them from aiding. Blake had yet to check the news on the other kingdoms which, now that she thought about it, she probably should have checked first; the CCT had been restored when Salem made her declaration after all.

Judging the amount of daylight, there was still hours before nightfall. Looking around her, she could see traces of exhaustion painting the faces of their volunteers. Huntsmen and huntresses were faring better but the sluggish movements behind them was enough that there was some kind of delay in their ability to follow commands and there was already a delay given their communication methods of just shouting them out.

Down below, larger numbers of Grimm were inching closer to the walls. The increase in melee fighters proved to be the right choice as otherwise, they would certainly have reached them already. However, Blake's eyes were more focused on the ground beneath them. It was impossible to tell if the rumblings of the earth were caused by the battles above ground or the sabotage being caused from below. Her feet were tapping furiously which didn't help.

The skies soon turned orange and Blake had been most thankful for that. Once again, the Grimm horde had been repelled though those below were certainly exhausted with some even injured. Unlike yesterday, there wasn't much celebration going on except for a select few. There were others who already wondering if there was going to be more of that tomorrow.

She could make out Taiyang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen testing the ground beneath them. She did not miss one of them stumbling at the uneven ground. Their body movements seem to say that they were shouting out warning to the others, presumably about the Grimm coming from below. Blake could guess as to why such Grimm were undetected in the trenches; they were either much deeper or disguised their movements with the dying Grimm.

Blake soon made her descent. She stumbled herself and her anxieties were playing up. Was the weight of these walls beginning to be too much for the ground that was left? Whatever it was, it was slow-coming. Probably intentional. Even with the natural barriers that Vale provided, there were still going to be species of the Grimm that would be especially adept at overcoming such obstacles.

Someone was shouting and pointing. Blake couldn't hear them, being too far away even for her ears to pick up. Following the direction of everyone else, she could see that there was another mass group of individuals. Rather than the monotonous black, this new group were of varying colors.

"Vacuo," Blake said. "How did she get to them?"

It had to be. Vacuo is one of the kingdoms on the same continent as Vale. Located on the west side of the continent, they were arriving in great numbers that could only be described as an exodus. Whatever it was that had happened in that kingdom, it did not end well for them.

The refugees from that desert kingdom arrived by nightfall; they had rushed their way here. Blake never had a chance to see what it was that brought them here but she could at least guess as to their kingdom's fate. The injured and weak that they had brought with them was sign enough for that.

"…there is a queen?" one of them asked. Blake struggled to overhear amidst all the chatter. "They all came before the broadcast…"

Blake's shoulder slumped. A preemptive strike, then. As to how long ago that was, Blake didn't know. All she was certain was that it would have taken months if they all arrived here on foot and that's assuming that they ran all the way here. The natural barriers that Vale had was simply a convenient deterrent.

Vale's gates opened for the refugees. The camp was immediately cramped as the mass of numbers clumped together in this area. If they hadn't noticed the disturbance in the ground before, they most certainly would have now. The rising heights of these people as they went further from the inner side of the walls was clear enough of that. The ground below could not support that much weight. It was a miracle at all that the ground hadn't just fully sunk or had that been one of Salem's plans? It was certainly building a sense of dread from what she could see of the others.

Some of the older huntsmen of Vacuo were being escorted by Vale's counterparts towards the cities. Most likely, they would be brought to headmistress Goodwitch and the council to plead for the case. If nothing else, that simply meant more people to defend the kingdom. Blake could imagine the tightness of resources in the coming days. Even if Vacuo brought their own rations, there was no doubt that it would run out faster than Ruby's semblance high on sugar.

The camps were being moved further in as a result of the noticeable decline in ground level, making the spaces here tighter. Movement was still possible but some have begun to be nervous when approaching the walls. Moving those weapons out would be the optimal choice, however, getting them out would take time. Time that the defenders most certainly do not have. Even if they did, that meant less cannons to fire against the Grimm which meant more of them would come close to the walls.

Black birds flew overhead. Blake checked her surroundings. Nope. None of those birds was Qrow Branwen. They were also close enough to tell that they were not Grimm. Wherever they are flying towards, Blake could understand if anyone wanted to join them.

From the corner of her eye, she saw her team leader likely practicing her silver-eyed powers. This would have been a good time to find any more of those silver-eyed warriors. However, such a task could only be done by their headmistress. Even then, it would also be difficult telling the difference between silver and the other shades of gray.

Blake made her to the river. She could use a wash up. When she arrived, she wasn't alone in that mindset. The only solace she had was that she didn't have to wait in line. After splashing her face, she looked out into the distance. She shook her head.

I will not run, she thought. Even if it was an option, I will not run. I will not leave them here. Unlike the White Fang, Blake swore that she will stay with her team.

Returning to said team, Blake came across the first settlers who have begun setting up camp here. With nowhere else to go, this would be where they would be staying. They could have gone to the other kingdoms but that would need a boat ride and she was certain that no docks would have enough ships to accommodate this many people. The huntsmen among them have already begun to mingle with Vale's own, perhaps sharing information or Grimm activity relating to their kingdom.

"…Atlas hasn't come at all," one of them said. "All the kingdoms are probably held down."

"What is this Salem planning?"

There were many others that it felt much closer to simply noise.

"You don't think…?"

"Dude, what's wrong with you?"

"…ake…"

"I'm just saying…"

"It's okay dear…"

"…scared…"

"Bla…"

"…never!"

"Blake!" One voice managed to grab her attention. Spinning once, Blake tried to find the source of the person calling her. It wasn't anyone from her team but she could at least conclude it to be masculine and that it had been familiar. Once more, she heard her name being called out.

Finding a familiar color in that blonde hair, Blake found the one who had called for her, Sun Wukong, the monkey faunus.

"Blake, you're here!" he said again.

"Sun?" she asked. "You're not in Mistral?"

"Headmaster Leo just let us all go home. Raised in Vacuo, obviously." He flashed her his usual smile. "And I see you're not using the bow anymore."

Blake's temporarily widened. Checking her head, she only just now realized that she hadn't been wearing her bow. How long had that been? Rather than panic however, she was just worried that the bow she used was lost. She did not for it was still there among her things.

Sensing that he did not make a mistake in pointing it out, Sun said, "so… how's the defense going?"

"You're asking me that?" she replied. "I should be asking you what happened with Vacuo."

At that, Sun slightly was down. Blake's ears drooped at the sight of him being in this state. She hadn't known him for too long but she was at least certain that he was someone who usually so jolly. Blake never saw him as someone who could get down.

"We never saw it coming," Sun said. "Did you know that the Grimm had a Queen?" He waited for her answer. "Yeah, you probably did. Thing is, we never got the announcement. Surprise attack and we'd scrambled all we could just to get as much as we can to safety."

"No Grimm on the way?"

"That's the worst part. We all could see them miles away. Don't need faunus vision for that. Imagine what we felt, always seeing those Grimm but not having them attack us? Can't even go out to meet them unless we want to put everyone else at risk."

Blake continued to listen to the story. By the sounds of it, Vacuo had been attacked long before Salem's announcement. Believable since it should have taken time before they would arrive here. It certainly means that the Grimm attacking Vale's walls must be from the entire continent of Sanus, assuming that Salem didn't somehow bring in the Grimm from the other kingdoms.

"Wished Atlas were here right now," he said. "Could use those Paladins."

She could see the sadness in the monkey faunus. It was clear as a cloudless summer day that Vacuo was his home. To see it destroyed must have been a lot for him. Blake chastised herself silently for her thoughts went to her home in Menagerie. She imagined what she might have been had the Grimm descended on them as well. For a moment, she had worried that perhaps her home might have been affected by the Grimm as well.

"Come on." She took Sun's hand. "Let's get you settled."

Blake brought Sun with her through the crowds. He had been there for her all the way back in Beacon when she had first run away from her team. She could at least do this much. Thankfully, their temporary place of residence had yet to move since it was still far away from those walls though she was certain that it wouldn't be that way soon.

The difference of levels can be seen clear. If the lines that separated the part of the wall exposed and of that that had been below ground weren't clear enough, the unevenness of the lowered ground were proof enough of that. It was only slight but it had been noticeable enough. Blake supposed that it was luck on their part that the ground didn't collapse entirely and that the walls went down deep. Still, the Grimm horde had made that clear.

It was Yang who saw the two first. She waved at them furiously which made Blake roll her eyes. The amount of people here wasn't so plentiful that she couldn't make them out from the crowd. If anything, because of the added presence of team CRDL, their group appeared to be the largest among the clusters since the others mostly stuck to their own teams.

Speaking of teams, "hey," Blake said. "What about the rest of your team?"

"They'll be here," Sun replied. "We actually had our own spot but if you'd like—"

"We don't want to impose." Blake let go of his hand. "It probably would get a little crowded."

"I figured. Who are those guys, by the way?"

Blake gave him a quick rundown of their team compositions. It proved to be a neat distraction as Sun would occasionally give his comment on these things and that simply meant that he wasn't as down about the loss of his home and that was a win in her book. She carefully left out the detail about them knowing about Salem beforehand; she also kept out Relics, magic, and reincarnating wizards away from them.

I wonder, she thought. Didn't team JNPR get sent to Mistral for this reason? How much do they already know? It wasn't important, Blake ended her little tour guiding by introducing him to each of team CRDL's members.

Part of her was genuinely proud of Cardin in particular for not even noticing the monkey tail. She still could remember when he had pulled Velvet's ears and while he certainly wasn't the same as he used to be back then, that image still stuck to her mind. First impressions and all.

"So," Taiyang Xiao Long said. He had seen them approach and had been wary of him though it had more to do with the knowledge. "Anything that happened about Vacuo?"

Just like that, Blake's attempt at bringing the Sun that she knew, while admittedly little, back had resulted in failure. There was a reason for that obviously, they needed information but surely, they could have gotten it from someone older, right?

Sun recounted his tale as he saw it. Understandably, it wasn't the complete story, much closer to being boots on the ground than anything from the bird's eye view. His tale was akin to details that had occurred in Vacuo. Judging the expression on Yang's father, there was a different reason for that.

"No, sir," Sun replied to Taiyang's questions. "Never saw if the Grimm stuck around. Should they be looking for something?"

Taiyang shook his head. "No. I was just… testing a few things. Evil queen of the Grimm? What's next, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Sun nodded. "Must have been crazy right?"

Blake bit her lip. It didn't sit right with her that she had to keep this one a secret and for once, it wasn't just out of fear that someone might hate her for keeping it but rather because she had been told to, been given reason to do so, as well.

"Alright." Taiyang placed an arm on Sun's shoulder. "I'll be straight with you, Sun. Now that you're here, you'll be made to fight as well. Are you willing to do that?"

"Of course." Sun didn't even hesitate. "The Grimm took my home, sir. I ain't about to let that happen to Vale either. Not especially since Vale had been attacked first."

"Good." The older blonde nodded. "We'll see you on the battlefield tomorrow."

"There's more?" Cardin asked. "How are there still more?" Everyone on team CRDL shared those sentiments.

"We now know that the horde had come from Vacuo. It's best to assume that the waves Salem sent for us were only meant for us. We'll be expecting more of them from Vacuo if we had actually held them back here."

"But we will be getting help?"

"That, I can't say. For all we know, this may be the last kingdom on Remnant."

/-/

Weiss Schnee fell on one knee, gasping for air. Her time in Vale had made her accustomed to warmer climates and while she had adjusted to Atlas' cold again, it still doesn't mean that her teeth won't occasionally chatter, especially when the cooler winds touched her sweat.

Looking up above, the skies was still a torn curtain of black. Taking a deep breath, she stood back and wobbly found her balance. Atlas was doing what it can right now and while she herself may have somethings to say of being called to this like a soldier, she had similar sentiments as everyone else even if it may sound pretentious.

They needed to break free from this siege. For Weiss in particular, she needed to get back to Vale and she wouldn't be able to unless those black curtains are pulled back.

AN: Unrelated but finally started getting email notifications again.