Another week passed for the aspiring hunters; Weiss knew that progress must be slow and steady, but she could not stop herself from worrying with each passing day. Their stay in Atlas would soon find its end, too.
Blake and Ren, being their sneakiest allies, took over scouting out the flying city's depths. They were exceedingly careful like Weiss demanded of them. Though they remained undetected however, caution was paid with time.
Between assisting the people of Atlas and Mantle below as per their assignment, they slowly got an idea of the complex. What they learned was promising: security remained tight, but the personnel was lax. Nobody had even attempted breaking into these areas in decades, which left the soldiers on duty less vigilant and diligent than they should be. Cameras were often left unsupervised, the recordings never truly studied. Supposedly mandatory ID checks at the entrance were waived to save time, any atlesean soldier simply waved through despite half their faces being covered by helmets.
That last bit gave her an idea; probably the best one she would have, considering that they were getting low on time.
"What we need," Weiss began their final meeting, "is to inject a small team to open the doors for us. We need to go in fast and leave before anyone knows we were there. Preferably while also shutting down the cameras so they can not figure out who went in."
She was not happy with her conclusion, but it was the best she had. Once they got inside, they had all the codes to get past barriers and barricades.
Her co-conspirators were mulling it over, though Weiss could tell they did not like it much more than she did.
Blake was the first to speak up, brow furrowed in thought: "That's a tall order, you know? There's alarms on every emergency exit. I don't even know if turning off the cameras will work."
"It should," she answered her friend, "at least from the command panel. We have the codes, but they will be changed soon. I am uncertain who we should send, though," Weiss admitted. She left a pause at that point, glancing from Blake to Ren. They knew better than her if it was possible. "That is, assuming you two can organise Atlesean military uniforms for this."
Blake scowled in response and shook her head, only for Penny to raise her hand with notable cheer. "I can do that," she volunteered, much to the others' surprise. "I have access to the barracks, so I can just grab two or three and pass them outside. With how tightly Atlas was built, we just need Blake on the next building to grab them."
Others quickly warmed up to this idea. With the 'how' covered however, Coco brought them back to the other pertinent question: "It can't be Velvet or Yatsu. They're too distinct. Same for you, Yang, or Pyrrha, hair's too long to fit under the helmet."
Weiss nodded along with the assessment; nobody seemed to disagree. Blake sighed a moment later, though. "I don't think my ears would do well under one of these," she said with a motion for her head, which made sense.
"Now don't be a pussy about it," Selina teased with a grin. Blake glowered and Weiss rolled her eyes, even as Yang laughed about the pun.
"Well," Weiss quipped, "thank you for volunteering, then."
The other faunus woman turned her way, raised one finger as if to argue, then lowered it. "Know what?" she said with a shrug. "Fair. My build is pretty average without the ears visible. Maybe I can pass as a guy for extra safety?"
"That won't work unless you can make a deeper voice," Fox interjected. Selina considered this and heaved a sigh; it was a decent idea, but apparently not suitable for her.
Which was when Nora chimed in: "But Ren can do high voices, so if you don't talk and he plays the woman, you can still sell it!"
Attention swerved to Ren, who was bewildered but did not contradict his partner. Coco smirked at that and clapped her hands."Guess now we have two volunteers. Think we need more?"
After some discussion, they decided this was enough and got to work.
Penny's run to the nearest barracks went off just fine; the building was secure, but nobody expected her of all people to be part of the opposition. They did not really keep up security inside, only outside; Blake was too good to be spotted that easily, though. Weiss carefully paid little thought to the reminder of her friend's actual affiliation.
Once their 'acquisition' was complete, the group met in a small apartement belonging to Weiss that lay close to the vault complex's entrance. She laid out the plan one last time while their infiltrators prepared: "Alright. Selina and Ren get in. First they use the codes to shut down the cameras from the control panel. Then they open the doors for us and we proceed to the vault."
Some nods followed; it was a basic plan with few moving pieces, which made it easier to follow but not simple to complete. Then Penny raised her hand.
"Quick question: why do we even need to go in? Selina has one of those Charms, she can just go there on her own. Nobody goes to the vault itself, that should be safe."
Weiss immediately made to argue the risks, but stopped to consider the point. Selina could open the vault on her lonesome. Obscurity certainly made for a better shield than a few more students in an actual assault. Not to mention the improved odds of maintaining anonymity.
"You make a good point," she admitted in the end. "I am mostly worried about the case something goes wrong. If it is just the two of them, there is little they can do to evade capture. All of us together could at least stage a fighting retreat or push through to the vault."
"So more points of failure but less catastrophic consequences," Yatsuhashi summarised thoughtfully, "or a greater risk to those who go with less points of failure. Damned if we do, damned if we don't."
There were several lost looks thrown around at that. Weiss could understand them; she worried for her friends' safety. If all went well, great. But if someone supported the riskier option and things went wrong...
"How about someone puts on the Crown," Nora said then. "Maybe it'll tell us something?"
Weiss felt like cursing herself for forgetting they even had that. A magical Relic that knew the future and nobody even thought of using it before.
Velvet slowly drew it from her waist, where it had sat snugly for the entirety of their stay.
"I feel weird putting it on," she admitted hesitantly, but did it anyway after some encouragement from her team. First Velvet closed her eyes to concentrate, but in the end she shook her head. "Nothing's happening."
And as if it waited for these exact words, the Crown of Choice began to gleam. Velvet flinched and sat still for a moment, blinking owlishly.
"What did you see?" Blake asked into the expectant silence.
Unfortunately, the hare faunus shrugged. "Um, something happened. But I didn't see anything useful." Velvet frowned and recounted her short vision: "It was weird. Like I stood somewhere else entirely. It was dark and there was a pale woman bleeding orange. That's all I saw."
Nora groaned in disappointment. "Aww, no special future sight to help."
"Well," Coco mused, "he did say it's random, I guess these Relic things weren't really meant to be tools. But it was a good idea."
Pyrrha nodded. "Indeed it was. Well done, Nora."
Her fellow redhead beamed over the praise.
Then someone cleared their throat behind them. The group turned almost as one to behold two soldiers, weapons ready. One stepped forward and spoke in a clear, almost melodic female voice: "You were found plotting against the state. Please surrender yourselves and the Relic."
The other one's fanged grin gave it all away. That and something else Weiss completely forgot about. She stared hard at Selina's failing disguise, wondering if that could be solved. Ren would manage with how pale he was, but the other one's olive skin really could not pass muster.
"Coco, get out the cosmetics. We need to make some adjustments."
Selina's grin vanished. She looked down at herself and seemed to reach the same conclusion. Some others were berating themselves for having missed such an important detail. Selina herself just seemed despondent, though.
"I hate you," she told Weiss without any heat.
"Noted."
After that, she and Coco quickly applied enough powder to make what was visible of Selina's face atlesean pale. It was a rushed job, but they needed little finesse for this.
Selina herself absolutely hated it, but bore with the make-up for their mission's sake. She grumbled and resisted the urge to rub her face, at least until it was time to leave the house. After that she carefully kept her back straight and walked side by side with Ren.
Her heart beat so heavily she feared others may hear it, but the guards at the gate paid them no mind beyond a simple nod. She slowly input the code that was constantly repeated in her head; Selina memorised this one, though she also had the entire lot on paper.
Each tap felt an age long. She just waited for an alarm to sound and thousands of soldiers to attack them, but nothing happened. The panel turned green and the door opened. They were in.
Marching along, she allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief. This went better than expected, she thought, only for her eyes to fall on a sign at the wall. That was in Atlesean. Which she did not speak beyond a few words. Ren did not speak it either, she knew that.
"Well, shit," was all Selina could say to that. Ren's head twitched her way and she motioned for the sign, then the other ones around. He nodded almost imperceptibly and she heard a faint sigh, but neither of them really stopped walking. Down the corridor they knew led to the vault, side by side. They were already in, the only way out was through.
Even then, Selina was ever more sure this had been the better idea; even though it was a last-minute change, as few of them should be in here for as little time as possible. Dozens of guards milled around, half-heartedly patrolling or chatting with each other. At least the Atleseans were as taciturn inside as they were outside; no one passing them by did more than offer a nod or a word in greeting. No officers were around, either.
Selina did her best soldier impression, returning nods where they were given to her and otherwise trying not to stand out. Weiss explained some basics of social engineering, of how people rarely question something that looked like it fit into place; that confidence in whatever one said made for an easier sell. It almost sounded like magic to Selina and it was nerve-wracking, but the uniform hid her usual tells. She had no weapon on hand beyond the paltry sidearm, which did not count; its calibre was too small to hurt anything but the weakest of Grimm. This was a weapon to use on humans and she hated it.
Yet their disguises worked. Somehow. Even while completely stumped that they made it past soldier after soldier without needing to speak a single word or even stop, Selina was happy that things did not go bad. They had to run for the hills if discovered, hoping the disguises saved them from being identified.
But still, nobody questioned their legitimacy. She and Ren passed not one but two checkpoints; the guards were reading magazines, glancing up momentarily as they approached. Then they just waved the pair through.
This was almost too easy now. It put Selina on edge again; how could this be the world's most advanced military force? She understood that they would never expect to be infiltrated right now and like this, but still.
Despite her suspicions of a trap, nothing happened. They kept on walking until finally reaching a long corridor opening into a wide hall. It was only fifteen minutes or so, but it felt like hours.
No one was there beside them. Large ventilation shafts opened to the left and right, reaching into untold depths. Selina curiously peered down the nearest one, but could not see its bottom. More importantly, a giant panel of steel stood out in the back; it looked like a boarded doorway, gleaming faintly in the sterile light.
"Here we are," she quipped quietly. Ren just gave a nod and opened a nearby panel in the wall. The hidden console's screen flared active, after which he entered the access codes Velvet pulled from Ironwood's head.
Selina waited until her teammate disarmed the alarms, then approached what must be the vault. She knew from Ruby telling Yang that it would take a few minutes for the thing to open, but they were not discovered yet. Despite it all, Selina tensed up a little more with every step she took until the wall towered over her.
She reached out and touched her fingers to its surface, only to feel something warm flow from her chest. Down her arms and onto her fingers it went, where actual sunlight sprouted out of her gloves. It seeped into the door that began to shine brighter than before. Nothing else happened.
Selina sighed. She was tense like a bowstring, yet somehow they made it this far without being discovered. Ren joined her in front of the vault, expression as hidden as hers. Selina huffed at her friend.
"Feels unreal, doesn't it?"
He nodded. "Atlas grew complacent, so we are here. But yes, it is still hard to believe even after everything we saw."
"Ayup. Right there with you. Real magic, insane."
"Yes."
They fell back into a tense though companionable silence. The glow of Selina's dissolved Charm slowly trickled along, clearly intent to cover the entire structure. The pair gradually relaxed and Selina shot a text to Weiss: 'Waiting for the stupid thing to open up'.
She barely remembered to use code in time. Weiss clearly did not need to rewrite her response, seeing how fast it came: 'You better hurry, we are waiting for you'
Well, that was one way to say she was worried. Selina let out a little huff and showed Ren, whose lips twitched up ever so faintly.
After a nerve-wracking five minutes, the door finally dissolved to reveal a disc of steel in an endless expanse. In its center hovered an elaborate metal staff. Selina pumped her fist at the sight and ran inside to grab the thing.
Just as her fingers touched it, everything stopped. The air suddenly felt still and a blue cloud escaped the staff. Selina clutched it protectively, only to gasp when the cloud formed into a person. A man, easily larger than any human or faunus.
"Ah, finally!" the specter greeted her with a cocky grin. "I-"
"Sorry," Selina interrupted with a look over her shoulder, "but can it wait? We're kinda doing a heist right now." She really hoped the magic person would not be mad, but there was no time right now.
He had stopped when she cut in, clearly annoyed. After following Selina's gaze to where Ren was peering into the vault, he heaved a sigh and shook his head. "Truly? Well, not that I mind. Say when you're ready to hear my wisdom."
So saying, he returned into the staff.
Selina whispered a quick "Thank you" and darted back outside; she felt the flat stare Ren levelled at her more than she saw it, shrugging helplessly. "I guess I got used to supernatural stuff happening. Or just Lumina."
It was the best she could tell him for why she was not in awe of the blue guy.
From there they started to walk back, the staff strapped to Selina's back. Everything really worked better than expected.
They made it a few dozen metres out of the room before they heard the stomping of far too many boots coming their way. Nobody should come here, it could only mean one thing.
"Shit! Back!"
Ren wordlessly followed her order and they quickly outpaced the shouting Atleseans; upon returning to the vault room, Selina looked around wildly for a way to escape or hide. Something, anything to make use of. But there was only the open vault... and the air vents.
She did not like their chances of making it through there, but the only other way out was the one they just retreated from. Selina listened to the approaching soldiers for a moment, gritting her teeth. Nothing to it.
"Ready to do something insane?"
He did not even answer, just moved up to her side. They exchanged smiles, a little wry and equally hopeful not to get themselves killed.
When Selina jumped into the vent, Ren followed without hesitation.
The walls were smooth and gave no purchase, but the approaching soldiers quickly faded from their hearing; they were replaced by the clicks and clacks of her gloves and armour on steel. Her aura took small hits but held steady, even as gravity tugged her ever deeper into the shaft.
Several terrifying seconds were spent in utter darkness; not even faunus nightvision could aid her without any light at all. Selina had no way to stabilise beyond her own balance.
Then there was light. She had no time to even recognise it came from below before she left the vent. Mantle approached far too quickly where she fell. Selina's eyes widened and she desperately tried to animate her aura; she never figured out the teleportation trick, now it would fail anyway. The cocktail of adrenaline and abject fear kept her unable to really focus.
All she could do was pool all her aura on her front, spread her arms wide, and press her tongue to the roof of her mouth. The adrenaline made each motion feel slow, the descent an age long. She could only hope.
When Selina hit the ground, she slammed into it like a meteor. Dust and stone flew, joined by a second load when Ren came down a few metres away. Sharp pebbles scratched her armour as she lay in a crater of her own making. Painful aftershocks ran through her body and kept her on the ground, all air driven from Selina's lungs. She barely managed to take little gasps.
Her aura broke right after impact. Everything hurt. But she was not dead.
Once the dust settled, Selina flopped herself over with a pained groan. "Ugh, you still alive?"
A pained grunt was Ren's only response. Silver linings and all. Selina smiled to herself at the thought.
After wallowing in pain a little longer, she sat up gingerly and patted herself down. The front armour was a bust, but somehow she made it through without broken bones. Just a lot of bruises.
So reassured, Selina pulled off her helmet and grabbed the tissues Weiss prepared to wipe off all the powder. Girl really thought of everything.
Which was when a voice called out to them in Atlesean.
Selina's head turned slowly to not aggravate her bruises, only for her to find a small girl staring at them. She was wrapped in a heavy coat, eyes wide. Another question was asked, still in Atlesean.
She slowly shook her head and answered in Valean common: "Sorry, I don't understand you."
Now with an audience, she merely winced in the process of getting to her feet. But once she stood, Selina quickly took off the armour. Some of it had come off anyway and the entire suit was dropped into the crater she made with her face.
Her Scroll chimed, miraculously intact. Selina fished it out, well aware that they were now being watched by an entire gaggle of children; she could not quite tell if it was their entrance, the armour, or the fact she only wore a tank top and shorts now. More than that did not fit under the armour and that would normally be fine. But with her aura shattered, the cold crept in and made her shudder.
Ren somehow fit slacks and his green vest underneath. Selina would grumble, but she was too busy being miserable to complain. "C'mon," she urged her friend. "We've gotta get going."
However, the first girl who found them was with them before they made more than three steps. She urgently grabbed Selina's arm while babbling something in Atlesean. Selina shook her head, helpless to admit it: "I don't understand."
An older boy joined them, pulling at Ren in much the same way. He scrambled to explain in broken Valean at the same time: "Too cold! Go inside!" He pointed to the rows and rows of slapdash huts and houses starting nearby, finally making sense to Selina. When he looked at her, she also noticed his iridescent compound eyes.
Soon enough the entire gaggle urged the two of them to come with them. Selina stiffly held onto the Staff of Creation. Some children ran ahead, but there was little she could do beside shivering; the cold was nasty even within reach of Mantle's warming grid.
"I think I hate it here," she muttered, too quiet for even Ren to hear. At the same time, Selina promised herself to never complain about Menagerie's heat again. Too hot was far easier to bear than too cold.
The kids that ran ahead returned with a small group of adults, probably their parents. They were clearly wary but relaxed upon seeing Selina; most of them were faunus just like her. She and Ren were ushered into a nearby house and found themselves holding cups of warm water. The elderly woman living there wrapped another blanket around Selina, cooing gently.
"You poor dears. What were you thinking, going out into the cold like that?"
"They're not from here," one of the men commented from the side, nodding to Selina. "Chocolate girl over there can't be native."
His flippant comment earned some laughs while she rolled her eyes. "Just 'cause you lot are too pale for the rest of Remnant doesn't mean I've gotta be. But yeah. Unless not knowing a lick of Atlesean wasn't a dead giveaway already."
He chuckled at that. "True, true."
After taking a hearty sip of the water, Selina threw the miner a smirk. "'sides, how often do you get to see a tropic beauty around these parts? Enjoy the sight?"
The lady bustling around her tutted, but everyone else laughed.
Socialising done for the moment and bundled up, Selina pulled out her Scroll again. She had no time to answer Weiss before, but her friend's messages became more worried by the minute. Selina wiggled her fingers and typed back: 'Long story, but we're in Mantle. Can someone come pick us up?'
Then, in a stroke of inspiration, she followed up with another message: 'This was the dumbest dare I ever took. Tell Yang to go fuck herself, making us jump.'
She received no response, but somehow Weiss's judging look transcended any need for communication.
"So," one woman in the small group with them started curiously, "what's that the children say about you falling from the sky?"
Having already found her chosen story, Selina sighed theatralically. "Dumbest dare I've ever taken. I'm just glad my aura actually took it all."
She rubbed her bruised front with a wince. For some reason however, the people around turned more attentive. They whispered between themselves for a bit, then two men up and left. Selina followed them with her eyes, then turned to the rest.
"What's that about?"
The elderly lady chuckled, idly rubbing her fox tail. "Well," she answered wrily, "we don't like Atlas much in these parts. Whatever you did to stick it to them, we won't tell. The boys are just making sure your old 'clothes' aren't there when anyone checks. Especially for a pair of hunters."
Right, the uniforms. Selina huffed to play over her embarassment. "Heh, never thought being a faunus would be to my advantage for once. And don't gimme that look, you wouldn't be half as friendly if I weren't."
"Well, perhaps. We do have to look out for our own more than anyone else."
"I get it, still weird."
Weird how things could turn out. She was rubbing shoulders with the upper crust of Atlas a mere few days ago, now she sat in the slums.
While Selina shook her head over this whole mess, Ren inclined his; he quietly nursed his drink so far. "Of course we're grateful regardless. Thank you."
"Oh it is no bother. And such a polite young man you are."
They transitioned into some idle conversation from there, mostly Selina sating her curiousity about life in Mantle. After a while she was notified that Blake and Velvet were ferrying down to fetch them, so she said her goodbyes and headed out; with her aura recovered, she could take the cold now. She weathered the many curious looks over her state of dress and clearly foreign skin tone with ease of practice.
Their reunion with their friends began with a big hug that had Selina hiss.
"Careful!" she growled at Velvet, who hopped back in surprise. Even partly healed bruises still hurt. "Do you have any idea how much it sucks to hit the ground at terminal velocity?"
"I'm surprised you even know what that means," Blake quipped, which earned her a one-fingered salute.
"And fuck you, too!"
They were both smiling, though. Glad to have done the impossible and gotten away with it. The two local faunus who accompanied Selina and Ren seemed amused by the exchange and bid them goodbye.
Blake brought a suitcase containing clothes and their IDs; the wayward pair quickly changed and the Staff was deposited into the case, then they boarded the next ferry up.
Up above, Atlas was on high alert. Soldiers patrolled about half the city. Selina quickly decided not to get too close to ground zero with the Staff on her person; thankfully, only outgoing ferries were checked. They had no trouble coming back in.
That was how everyone met up at the academy instead, this time in SNNL's dorm. Much to her surprise, Weiss greeted them with a hug; she did quickly retreated and dared anyone to say anything with a glare, but her worry shone through nonetheless. Selina could not help but grin, then she had to embrace Nora for similar reasons.
"Did you seriously jump off the city?" her fellow redhead gushed, more excited than worried. "Oh, I wanna do it too! Hey Ren, can we-" "No."
"Aww, but-" "No."
Nora pouted, but Ren did not budge this time. Their byplay eased the tension some and gave Selina a chance to open the suitcase; everyone got a chance to admire the Relic so unlike the Crown they already owned. Both of them glimmered faintly.
"So that's it," Coco mused. She sat down heavily on Selina's cot and rubbed her temple. "We did it. Yay us. Now that thing has to leave Atlas and quick."
Nobody had any objections. If they were found carrying this thing around, Ironwood would come for them. Selina nodded seriously and tried to come up with a plan of getting this out. None of them had a Semblance that would help there.
Someone else did, though.
She tapped Yang's shoulder to get her attention. "Ruby is pretty fast, right? Any chance she can drop by and pick it up?"
"I can call her and ask?" the blonde answered with a shrug. A few people nodded along, so she grabbed her Scroll and placed a quick call.
Barely a minute later, a stormy, red portal opened by Yang's side and Ruby Rose plopped out of it. She wore a goofy smile and spread her arms wide. "Tada!" she chirped, waving at the surprised group. "Hey Yang! Hey Penny! Hey everyone! Now gimme!"
She held out her hands and Selina handed her the suitcase; Ruby grinned.
"Great, see you next week!"
She hopped back through the portal, which then vanished. Twelve dumbfounded students were left behind. Selina looked between where the Relic vanished alongside their co-conspirator, then to everyone else. She had enough of this for one day.
"...well, that just happened? Anyone feel like getting wasted?"
Ten others agreed, even Weiss. Only Penny stayed silent because she could not get drunk to begin with. They dragged her along anyway.