ARROWFELL, PART I - CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR
**(WARNING! CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE PLOT OF THE VIDEO GAME: RWBY ARROWFELL)**
A couple weeks have since passed since the rest of the guys have received their licenses, while I remain on probation still. I've been tagging along on missions with my team, exterminating grimm left and right, escorting groups stragglers from one town to the next, and even playing street guard to help children cross the street. It's definitely a quantity over quality thing with JNPR- do as many as you can, help as many as you can. No matter how small. Team RWBY on the other hand have been extremely busy with more exciting stuff... we've barely even seen them lately.
"It all started at this town right off the border of Mantle. I think it was called E...shin.."
Yang lifted her finger, running them along the cards in her other hand, debating on which one to lay down on the table.
"Essen."
She quickly corrected her sister in a monotoned voice.
"ESSEN! Yeah, that's it!"
Ruby groaned as she leaned closer, meticulously inspecting the cards in her hand. It's been a long time since we had free time like this, just lounging around in the break room with nothing to do seems so much more of a blessing now that we've been swamped with missions all over Solitas.
"So what's really going on?"
I ask as I slouch back on top of the coffee desk. Blake came close next to me and leaned on my leg and sighed.
"We don't know honestly. We came to Essen just to exterminate grimm, then all of sudden we ran into these orbs that attracts them. Ran into this other team. We're told they were the girls responsible for making said orbs, but not really, then turns out it was some crime boss that we eventually chased throughout town, but not really... Yada yada yada. My brain hurts. Ugh. I'm so exhausted."
I ran my hand all over her head, lightly scratching it.
"Here. Have some coffee then."
Weiss suddenly walked out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee in her hand, handing the other one to Blake who gladly took it off of her. Weiss took a sip of her coffee and took a deep breath, and spoke while she watched Yang, Ren, Jaune and Ruby play their card game.
"We've just been chasing lead after lead after lead, only to come up to a dead end every single time."
She complained enough that it tickled Ren's curiosity for him to ask... though apparently not enough to take his gaze off his hand.
"What do you mean? Like the leads aren't connected at all or-"
Yang all of a sudden cut him off.
"Something like that yeah. Take this last thing we did for example, chasing a mobster named Amoncio Glass."
There it is again, Glass.
"What about him?"
I ask, to which Weiss quickly responded.
"He's a shady individual that constantly deals with the underground mafia. He's so dirty that not even my father wants to do business with him- and that's saying something."
Blake waited for Weiss to pause then continued.
"Glass was apparently the source of the orbs that was attracting the grimm. Turns out, he was just involved in its manufacturing... a middleman if you would. I mean, it's something, but nothing at the same time."
Just then, something clicked in Yang's head that made her turn her head towards me.
"Oh yeah, Ez, weren't you looking at Amoncio Glass' profile waaay back? What's that about?"
Honestly, I don't know myself. Hathaway's been extremely catious lately.
"Beats me. I was really hoping Glass would help me link up with the Nest."
All of a sudden, Blake's ears perked up. She brushed her face against my thighs as she turned to face me.
"How did you find out they're here anyways? I mean, you told me back in Argus, but you haven't told me anything concrete that lead you to believe that they're here."
Crap. I was supposed to keep that part secret.
"Actually..."
Everyone's jaws dropped as I explained to them what happened inside the jail they kept me back in. The room fell silent momentarily till the beeping of Jaune and Ruby's scroll knocked everyone out of their trance. Jaune looked up at me with a serious face, as he braced himself to tell me the news he just read.
"Well... this might be our chance to dig in a little more, Ezra."
Before I could ask, Ruby stood up with her scroll still in hand.
"The General needs team RWBY to report to his office... also, Amoncio Glass was just released on bail. We couldn't prove that he produced those orbs so we set him free."
What? Wait, actually, Jaune might be right. This might be our chance, but before JNPR could come up with a game plan, I had to do one more thing as Team RWBY left for their meeting. I quickly jumped off the table and ran behind them as Ruby and her team bolted out of the break room.
"BLAKE! Wait."
Blake stuttered her step and absent-mindedly twirled around, as she stopped herself from running down the hallway.
"Y-yeah?"
I raise my hand up, and awkwardly lowered it, all the while chuckling as I scratch the back of my head.
"I- uh, we... WE'RE cool right? Us, I mean."
Blake softly smiled, placing her hands over her chest. She quickly hopped forward and wrapped her arms around my waist, burrying her head in my chest.
"Yeah, we are. I mean I'm sorry, it's just A LOT. I just needed some time to breath and be away- think for a moment. I'll be honest, I haven't really processed everything completely, especially about US, but I don't NOT like you."
This whole thing about the Nest, Salem, Ironwood's plans has really been making my head spin like crazy, but not as much as this. Nothing feels worse than feeling like being on an island when it comes to someone you care about. There's still some stuff hanging over her head, but at least now, I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that she's at least a bit more lively compared to the last time we've been talking.
"Great! ...great. Uhm, how have you been? Your missions I mean- actually! No, my fault I know y'all are busy and I'm keeping you."
Blake only smiled and tightened her grip on me amidst my uncertainty.
"No, no, don't worry. You're more important. I'm doing okay, nothing too strenuous so far... just a lot of confusion. Like with Lieutenant Colonel Harper."
Ah, the Lieutenant Colonel. The young woman with short black hair... the one with the light brown complexion. Always wondered if her parents ever named her Olive because of her olive colored eyes, but I'm wondering off, what I really wanna know is...
"What about her?"
Blake pulled back for a second, scratching her chin while she thought of how to explain to me clearly what she found was 'off' about her. Leads me to believe whatever she's about to say has no basis, but rather, just a gut feeling sort of thing.
"It's just the way she talks and the way she explains things- it almost feels like she knows too much. With the information she's giving us, it really felt like they should have captured the culprit long ago, especially if the Ace-Ops were also assigned to this mission."
I see.
"How so?"
I ask.
"Cause I feel like we're getting somewhere, but nowhere at the same time."
Like trying to solve a puzzle but without all the right pieces. I definitely know what she means by that. I did this same dance before with Cinder, when I was trying to piece together what she was planning for Beacon. I had everything lined up, only to realize I was missing something right at the end, leading to that tragedy that happened in Vale.
"Alright, Blake. I don't wanna keep you any longer... I'll see what I can do on my end."
With that, Blake nodded and gave me a kiss on the cheek as she made her way out to follow her team. Now comes the issue at hand, I have to speak to Jaune about Harper. I swiftly made my way back to the break room, where, just as luck would have it, Special Operative Schnee was already standing there, ready to brief my team for the next mission.
"You know Mr. Snow, if you want to gain our trust, you ought to be more punctual."
She sternly raised her chest as she glared at me.
"Sorry... I just had a- stuff going on. Anyways, mission? What do you got?"
I ignored her hostile attitude, and proceeded to calmly make my way next to Nora, but Winter wasn't done harrassing me.
"I was about to brief it, but we were all held back because of your tardiness. As I was saying..."
Winter went on and on about the importance of professionalism, none of which applied to me since I don't even have a license, but she decided to lecture me all the same before finally moving on to her mission brief. It was another patrol mission across the border, coincidentally near the spot where Glass was captured.
Amoncio Glass- out on bail. Huh. Dammit, I can't keep quiet about that any longer.
"What about Glass?"
Winter bit her lip for a second, then glared at me.
"Classified."
I slouch back on the chair and balanced myself on its back legs.
"Why?"
Without missing a beat, Winter snarked back.
"You're not a huntsman. You're a wanted criminal on probation, remember?"
I mean, it's a fair point, so I just shrugged my shoulder. ,Not about to let that her comment slide, Nora stood up, but thankfully Jaune was a tad bit quicker and patient than her.
"I MEAN we could always stop by and ask him questions after our patrol? It is technically our personal time after right?"
He grinned awkwardly at her, forcing Winter to close her eyes and shake her head.
"Absolutely not. Glass is on bail, not free of suspicions. If a couple of huntsman and huntress walked in there, along with a wanted criminal, we'd lose whatever lead we have on him."
Then Nora interjected.
"OOOOH! OOOH! What if! Whaaaat ifff... a pack of stray grimm managed to sneak in and we chase it inside the building where Amoncio Glass just so happens to be sleeping!?"
Winter did not like that suggestion very much.
"WHAT!?"
Not at all.
"You kids won't back down on this won't you?"
Ren, who was just leaning against the wall with his eyes closed smiled and shook his head.
"Not one bit."
Winter placed her hand on her forehead, before finally caving in.
"Fine. But do not do anything reckless. I repeat. DO. NOT. DO. ANYTHING. RECKLESS."
Sheesh.
"Okay, okay we get the memo." Nora playfully rolled her eyes. "Nothing reckless. Totally not us."
That's a lie. Of the two teams, we're definitely the more reckless one, but now's not really the time to argue. You can never tell how long it'll take with Nora.
"Amoncio Glass - suspected of the manufacturing and distribution of illegal weapons, drugs, and the mysterious grimm attracting orbs floating around town. The weapons and drugs, Glass has alibi for. Not surprising based on the connections he has. The problem lies within the orbs. Since we have no idea at the moment how the machine works, we really can't prove that Glass is actually connected to the whole case."
Winter paused for a second to pull out his portfolio on the holographic screen in front of us.
"Correction. There is a connection, just not solid enough for us to incarcerate him long term- hence the bail. You're mission will be to investigate from afar. Watch his movements, watch who he talks to, and find solid evidence to create a link between him and the mysterious orbs. Do not engage him. Are we clear?"
Jaune looked at everyone, and hesitated. I can tell from his looks what he's thinking: 'we're going to ignore that last part.' But just to get Winter off our backs, we nodded and pretended to agree. We all know why we wanted Glass- well, why I wanted Glass: To figure out who's killing the mafia, hurting all these people, and who's the mole inside the Atlas Military. With that, the four of us made our way towards the edge of Mantle and waited till nightfall at the location Winter sent us.
[Ezra: This Ezra checking in, radio check over BZZT]
[Ren: Ren. Hear you loud and clear BZZT]
[Jaune and Nora: We hear you BZZT]
I found an abandoned construction crane overlooking the buildings where Glass stays in, and perched myself up there. With my OWL eyes, I can see practically everything, even in the darkness. Ren decided to do his recon on foot, covertly jumping from one alleyway to the next, moving through the shadows. Jaune and Nora on the other hand, found a room close by so they can see when Amoncio makes any sort of move.
[Ezra: BZZT Guys, I appreciate y'all for sticking up to me, and agreeing to do this]
[Nora: Aww, don't worry about it. You're doing this for family right? If they're important to you then they are to us.]
[Ren: Agreed]
The fact that they can even say that as freely as have... it's heartwarming, but now's not the time to be sentimental. Not when...
[Ezra: Heads up, got a vehicle in coming.]
Out of the corner of the alleyway Ren was kneeling, came a limousine. Its black paint perfectly blended into the dimly lit streets, as it slowly stopped and parked right in front of the crumbling building Jaune and Nora were hiding.
[Ren: What's our next move?]
Ren poses the question to the group, but really, he was asking me.
[Ezra: Once we've confirmed that's Glass, we'll move in. Jaune and Nora will ambush any guards protecting Glass]
[Jaune: Copy that.]
[Nora: Too easy.]
You can just feel the enthusiasm in Nora's voice. It's quite easy to tell that she's been bored this whole time.
[Ren: Flank from your position and make sure they don't overwhelm Jaune and Nora.]
Calmly, Ren replied.
[Ren: Copy. BZZT. What about you?]
Before I could even answer, I was already gliding down from my spot, softly landing on top of the building the car was parked right in front of.
[Ezra: Eliminating back up... okay, get ready.]
All you can hear from the radio was silence, but you could almost feel the tension in our breaths, as we eagerly anticipate who's coming out of the limousine. Suddenly, the door swung open and out came a middle aged man. A bit chubby for his suit, but somehow still managed to look classy in it. His brown hair was slicked back, perfectly complimenting his moustache. One good look at his copper eyes, and I can almost tell the shady crap he's been up to recently.
[Ezra: Team, that's him. Amoncio Glass. Everybody get ready. On my signal... NOW!]
As soon as I blurted out the signal, Jaune and Nora popped out of the window from across the street, with Nora instantly slamming Magnhild on the hood of the car, ensuring Glass couldn't use it no more. Jaune on the other hand tucked his body in behind his shield and slammed himself against one of the guards, knocking him unconscious. The two quickly dispatched the other guards protecting Glass, while Ren cut off the Amoncio's escape route.
The moment I've seen them secure glass. I broke the sunroof on top of the building, surprising the group of armed guards ready to pop out of the door.
"DANCE! SHIRAYUKI!"
A strand of white mist began to swirl around my arm, starting from my shoulder, making its way quickly to the tip of the hilt I have in my hand, forming a white blade. The flustered guards looked up and began to blindly fire at me, but I've since learned a new trick courtesy of Swan.
"Eight Movement: Shrouded Whisk!"
I swung Shirayuki in front of me, cloaking me in mist. As the bullets began to pass through, they instantly slow down as if they were passing through water.
"Control the mist, increase the humidity level. Use the heat of the bullets and the cold air of my semblance to reproduce water... that's it. Keep firing!"
A sort of cloud barrier. I still don't know how Eliza manages to create a paper thin barrier, but props to her for giving me the idea to form this one. And now...
"Ninth Movement: Curtain Call!"
I spread the mist as far as I can, quickly turning them into small shards of ice glass. I tuck my body in and rolled forward, increasing the speed of my descent with the ice shards falling as fast as I was. With no escape in sight, the armed guards could do nothing but stand and watch as their bodies where bombarded with a rain of icicles that instantly broke their auras as I gracefully land on the floor.
"Well that was so cool!"
Nora came barging as soon as I knocked the guards out. Behind her was Jaune and Ren, who was struggling to keep the squirming Glass out of control.
"How dare you touch me! Do you know who I am!?"
Once we've got Amoncio under control, we handcuffed all of his henchmen and locked them away deep in the building basement while we dragged Amoncio in the middle of the first floor soon after. Jaune, Ren, and Nora all crowded around him with their arms crossed, while I decided to enjoy the view from a higher floor.
"How are the orbs attracting grimm!? Answer us!"
Jaune yelled at Glass, but he only stared at him dumbfounded till he finally burst out laughing.
"GAHAHAHAHA!"
Nora clenched her fist and leaned in.
"What's so funny!?"
She demanded.
"If the Atlas Military can't get anything out of me, what makes you think I'll crack from the likes of you children?"
He mocked as he continued to laugh at the three of them.
"Just tell us what we want. We'll find out eventually, and we'll link you to all these crimes and you'll be locked behind a jail cell forever. But if you cooperate, maybe you'll get a lighter sentence."
Ren kept his usual calm and low voice, but I've been around him long enough to know that he's also losing his cool. I get the feeling it's time for me to step in. I push the button on the side of my ear, causing my hood to pop out my OWL mask. I swiftly jump down from the rafters and land vigorously in front of Glass, surprising not only him but my team as well.
"OWL..."
I can see the fear in his eyes as soon as he laid eyes on me.
"W-when- whaa- so it's true. The OWL is back in Atlas... and you're working for the military?"
I stood motionless as I give him a soul piercing gaze. One of the new features Doctor Polendina added to my mask was the ability to change the color of my lenses, and I can tell that the blood red color that I set it to is clearly working, based on how bad Amoncio Glass' lips are shaking.
"I'm the one asking questions Glass. Who's responsible for the idea of making those orbs?"
Glass shook his head, fear running through his body.
"I- I don't know! I swear! They were using code names the whole time!"
Unsatisfied, I flexed my hand out, causing the talons to pop out of my gauntlet, gently rubbing them against Amoncio's cheek. Withot even saying another word, Glass began to talk out of fear.
"Fine, fine! I don't actually manufacture them! I don't even know how it works! The orbs were stolen, but I didn't steal them, I promise. I got them from a distributor- the one that's been using codenames!"
I knew it, those orbs seems a bit too advanced to be invented by a mafia boss like Glass. Which really only leaves me with one other option: The Atlas Military, and it seem Jaune came to that same conclusion on his own.
"If he's not making it, then the only people that would have technology that advance would be... us."
Jaune's face began to sour, which made me want to ease his worries a little bit.
"Don't worry, I didn't see anything sketchy like that in the Doc's database."
But something that I said, caused Nora to sigh.
"You hacked Pietro's files!?"
Oops. Well there's no point in keeping it a secret now.
"I used Yang's license to fabricate an access card for me to hack their systems. Don't worry, the military isn't that stupid. I'm pretty sure they know I'm in the system."
Jaune and Nora groaned, while Ren just sighed and tried to ignore the issue.
"Did you see anything related to the orbs while you were in though?"
He asks.
"No. Not even a trace of deletion from their system files. The only way they hide something as eccentric as those orbs is to lock it behind a very thick firewall- which I didn't see any, OR if you compile all that data and move it to a different physical server. That could work."
Jaune nodded, even though it was obvious he was having trouble keeping up with linggo.
"Alright, where and how many data servers are there?"
He asks.
"They have three of those in total. One is the server all our files are in, the second was already hacked by me three years ago and is currently secured by Doctor Polendina. If there were any files under about the orbs in that server, we would have known by now."
Ren, curious, crossed his arms in front of him and urged me to continue.
"And the third?"
I tap the button on my cowl, folding it back into my hood as I turn to face him.
"Compromised. That server no longer exists because I blew it up... three years ago. No way you can access any of the data there."
Then Nora cut me off.
"And yet, the orbs are here meaning-"
Ren jumped in to finish what Nora started.
"There's a fourth one."
Interesting. I have heard of a fourth military facility. I thought it was abandoned though.
"Fort Arrowfell. A military depot right in the middle of the Solitas Tundra. Abandoned. It was strategically placed there because the environment made it almost impossible to do anything long term unless you're inside. Made it easy to secure stuff, but also made it hard to maintain- in other words..."
Finally, it clicked in Jaune's head.
"The perfect place to hide all that information about the orbs. Holy cow, so those orbs are Atleasian. They're... ours."
So this is it. What the Nest meant when they said that the Military is corrupt.
"Hold on."
Ren raised his voice just a tad bit to reason with us.
"It's best not to just jump into conclusions. It may be ours, it may be not. We have to make sure. Let's ask... G-Glass?"
The stuttering in his voice caused the rest of us to turn our heads, and to our surprise, Amoncio Glass sat motionless on the ground, his hands still bound behind him.
"Ezra, you're semblance..."
Nora gasped while she watched the tiny bits of snowflakes ooze out of Glass' pores, as he slowly froze to death. I quickly raised my hands up close to my face, only to be shocked even more by the absence of the mist around me.
"N-no, you have it all wrong that's not me. It's-"
Suddenly, an all too familiar voice echoed from the darkness.
"It's mine."
All we could hear was the sound of her high heels clanging against the tile floor, as Swan eerily popped out of the shadows with her cloak drapped all over her body. If it wasn't for the glow of the moon above us, one could barely see the black feathered masquerade mask she was wearing on her face.
"Eliza..."
I somberly whispered, but Eliza didn't talk right away.
"Ezra. I'm not here for you. I'm here for him."
We all refused to take our eyes off of her, as we all slowly raised our weapons. All of us know how dangerous Swan is, and the moment we saw Glass covered in snowflakes, we knew there was no saving him.
"Mission accomplished then. Why are you still here?"
Jaune asks angrily, but Eliza was unfazed.
"You're getting a bit too close to... all of this. Back off."
A warning?
"So this is your doing then?"
I ask, but Eliza only chuckled softly.
"Well, not particularly no. We didn't set anything on fire... just provided the right people with the right tools to start one."
Guilty all the same.
"Eliza Snow. Codename: Swan. You're under arrest!"
Eliza sighed and revealed her left arm, covered in cybernetics.
"I really am in no mood to do this right now, but if I have to..."
Before she could speak another word, the four of us lunged towards her. Almost instantly, Eliza hopped backwards into the darkness, removing her silhouette from our eyes and from out of the shadows all you could hear was...
"ROAR! RAIJIN!"
In an instant, the room began to glow, like somebody had turned on the light, as a lightning bolt shot towards us. Jaune's quick thinking forced his body to raise his shield, blocking the incoming strike, launching him towards us. Even with the three of us trying to catch him, Eliza's attack hit him with such force that it almost lifted all three of us off our feet.
"SINCE WHEN HAS SHE BEEN ABLE TO USE LIGHTNING!"
Nora dramatically yelled at us.
"If I can use water and fire, you can bet she can do the same. We are siblings after all."
Nora raised Magnhild up and furrowed her brows.
"Well it's a good thing I can absorb lightning-"
Jaune coughed and raised his shield in front of Nora, cutting her off.
"Ezra's right, we don't know what element she'll be using next. She might be baiting you to leave yourself open like that. Don't fall for it."
He's right.
"We'll approach this together."
Jaune resolved himself enough to stand up with a stoic look on his face. Once more we followed his lead and faced our backs at one another, allowing us to watch for an attack at every angle. Our body tensed up as we hear the faint noise of her heels circling us from the shadows, anticipating when she'll strike, till suddenly...
"SCREAM! Banshee!"
Out of the shadows popped a ball of black mist, obstructing our view. I pull out my golden shield from my back and pointed it towards the mist as Eliza burst out of it, slashing Banshee at us.
"Nice Ezra!"
Before we could reposition, Eliza rolled on the ground and pointed her left arm at us with her index finger stretched out like a pistol.
"Roar! Raijin!"
Electricity began engulf her arm, swiveling around it till it reached the tip of her finger, firing it like a bullet.
"Oh no you don't!"
Nora jumped in and absorbed the lightning strike with her body, then quickly pummeled the ground beneath us, rattling the floor and caused Eliza to loose balance. Seeing this, Ren launched his grappling hooks behind Swan and catapulted himself towards her, kicking her in her gut.
"GAH!"
Ignoring the pain, Eliza backflipped off the wall and sprung back up, waving Banshee at us and sending a barrage of black icicles our way. I quickly pull out Milo and engulfed it in flames, swinging it wildly to thaw out the incoming icicles. Jaune and Ren sprinted towards her, attacking her from both sides, as she expertly parried and block their coordinated attacks.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Nora jumped as high as she could and swung her hammer down, forcing Eliza to jump backwards, where I was waiting.
"Gotcha!"
But as I swung my blade at her, Eliza's body shattered in tiny bits of black mist.
"When did she-"
Before I could figure out when she swapped her body with an ice clone, the floor beneath me began to violently shake, as a pillar of black ice protruted from the soil. If it wasn't for my armor, I would have lost an arm.
"Right here!"
The ice pillar shattered instantly, revealing a grinning Swan that launched herself towards me as I was falling back on the ground. Eliza cocked her hand back and slashed towards me with Banshee, but once again, Jaune was quick on his feet and blocked it with his shield.
"How annoying."
Eliza whispered.
But before our team could counter, a stream of bright light began to flash all around the building and on top of us. Before any of us could make sense of what was going on, a loud voice from a megaphone blasted our ears off.
[HALT! THIS IS THE ATLAS MILITARY! SUSPECT SWAN AND HER ACCOMPLICES! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST! RESIST AND WE WILL USE BRUTAL FORCE!]
"Wait!? Accomplices! We're licensed huntsmen and huntresses!"
Nora complained, but that didn't matter, nor did it stop the hail of bullets that came our way.
"What the hell!? They're shooting at us!? They didn't even give us time to surrender!"
Jaune yelled as the five of us ran with our tails between our legs. I slid down on the floor and took cover behind one of the fallen pillars where Swan coincidentally also found herself in.
"Eliza!"
As the barrage of bullets continued to rain down on us, all Eliza could do was stare back, raising her finger at something behind us. I hesitated for a second, but curiosity got the best of me. When I turned my head, I saw a small opening between the concrete that leads to the outside. A ray of hope- a way out...
But why would she let us go. Why would sh... gone. She's not here anymore.
"EZRA!"
Nora yelled as she urged me to follow the rest of the team through the hole Eliza spotted for us, but unfortunately for us, one of the soldiers caught us slittering out of there, and we soon found ourselves being chased on foot by our own people. We made our way through every alleyway we can, cutting corners and trying our best to lose them to no avail, till a frail old voice beckoned us to turn left towards the dumpsters.
"Over here."
She whispered. With adrenaline running through our veins, we ran fast as we could towards the dumpster, ducking down and hiding behind it as the soldiers ran past us, along the opposite direction.
As I gather my breath, I look up to see an old lady wearing a familiar purple kimono fluttering against the cold wind. She held in her hand a wooden cane, and wore a red scarf over her jaw. She had her black and gray hair pulled back into bun, locked together with a crimson hairpin. With her voice still shaking, she greeted me.
"Hello, Ezra."
I took a deep breath and nodded with a smile on my face.
"Been a while, grandma."