Author's Note: Enjoy.

Ironwood led her through the ship, navigating the corridors with a practiced ease. She was grateful for his guidance, as she was unsure if she would have been able to find her way through the ship alone. Before long, they stood outside an armory and Pyrrha once again found herself amazed at how much they managed to fit on the comparatively smaller ship. She almost longed to see what a proper one would be like, knowing from her past life the sheer firepower that they could bring to bear.

"There are a few people I plan to involve in our Campaign," Ironwood spoke as he walked through the armoury door, the guard posted inside saluting as he walked past. "But most are in Atlas at the moment. We had to act quickly when Qrow and Winter stopped reporting, and I took only those who were ready."

Pyrrha nodded her head along in understanding, even if the General was looking ahead of her. The mission to save Qrow and Winter had been rushed on their end, and it only made sense that it was the same for Ironwood and his men. It had been a stroke of luck that Taiyang had been available to help her in the first place, and she didn't dare think of what might have happened had he not been there.

"It will take time for them to get here, until then, we will be working with limited manpower." Ironwood walked through the armory quickly, moving in the direction of a door in the back further guarded by two soldiers who made him provide identification before entering despite the fact that they surely knew who he was. "That being said, we will have to manage with what we have."

"I just don't know what you want from me." Pyrrha shrugged softly. "I'll help in any way I can but… even with the Fall Maiden powers I couldn't beat Hazel or Tyrian."

"I don't want you with us for your combat abilities." Ironwood stopped and turned to look at her, setting a hand down on her shoulder. "And despite how poorly you think you did, try to remember who is and isn't alive. You're not a Huntress yet, but when you are, I have no doubt you'll be more than capable of beating anyone Salem throws at you."

Pyrrha smiled softly, but was unable to meet the General's eyes; she hadn't ever been very good at accepting praise. "Then why am I here?"

"You currently know more about our enemy than anyone else." He explained. "Your knowledge of the future will be invaluable in making our next move." He smiled softly. "I won't ask you to stay on the sidelines if you want to get back into the fight. Just know that you will always have Atlas right behind you."

Turning back around he stepped through the door and they entered a smaller room with a table in the center and lockers lining the walls, Ironwood stopping at the entrance to allow her a moment to look around. She spotted the holographic projector on the table and assumed this was a planning room. Around the table stood three individuals, two of whom Pyrrha easily recognized, but the third still looked familiar.

Winter was gesturing at something on the projection, asking Qrow a question that caused him to shake his head. She couldn't hear his response from so far away, but she easily recognized the look of Winter rolling her eyes.

The third man noticed them first, looking up from the projection and offering a soft smile. "Sir, I'm glad to see you brought company."

"Miss Nikos, this is Specialist Clover Ebi." Ironwood stepped forward, gesturing for Pyrrha to step forward. "He was that operative that found you and Callows in Mistral."

Pyrrha finally remembered, the actual end of that fight having felt more like a distant nightmare as the venom had been wreaking havoc on her body and mind. She hadn't seen him during her stay in the ship's medical bay, and the thought hadn't occurred to her to find and thank him. Something she was grateful to be able to rectify.

"Thank you, for saving me." Pyrrha bowed her head slightly. "I would have died had you not arrived when you did."

"I would have preferred to have gotten there sooner." Clover nodded and smiled back at her. "But at least everyone made it out."

"And we got to kill one of Salem's cronies." Qrow added. "Or, Ice Queen did at least."

Winter glared at him from the corner of her eye before smirking softly. "Yes well, unlike you, I didn't feel the need for a nap at the time."

Ironwood coughed, cutting Qrows response off before he could speak. "Killing Tyrian Callows was a victory, but I'm sad to say we don't have time to celebrate." Tapping something into a console connected to the table, a map of Remnant was displayed before them. "With Leo gone, Mistral is in a… difficult position, but they will survive. We need to start planning for the future."

"Vale is supposed to be the target, right?" Clover adjusted the map to show the Kingdom of Vale before he looked towards Pyrrha. She spared a glance at Ironwood for a moment, waiting for him to nod before explaining. She didn't know how much he had told them, Winter at least seemed to know most of it when they were out the night before, but she wasn't sure about Clover.

"The Vytal Festival was the main attack, but the Maiden powers were the target." Pyrrha said, and when her words didn't elicit any kind of shock or suspicion she assumed the General had told them everything she had told him. "There were also a few other incidents beforehand though, the largest one being the Breach."

"I've already sent teams to search Mountain Glenn." Ironwood gestured to that portion of the map. "If they still plan on using that as their staging area, then we'll be able to stop them before they can launch their attack." He typed away at the console again, the map disappearing and being replaced by a photo of a man almost everyone in Vale recognized, a face the world would soon come to recognize as far more than a mere thief. "Roman Torchwick has a role to play in Salem's plans, while we know for certain he was involved in their acquisition of so much Dust, as well as the Breach, I think there was more to it."

"They seemed to have planned every step." Winter hummed. "It wouldn't be beyond belief that his capture was simply another part of that plan."

"That might be a little bit paranoid but…" Qrow sighed. "Knowing what we do now, I can't say I disagree."

"I came to the same conclusion, everything they did was carefully planned out, so we'll need to be cautious. Seeing as how we have no leads on Cinder Fall, capturing Torchwick is currently our number one priority." Ironwood again altered the display, this time showing a map of the city itself. "Torchwick has been allowed to run free for too long, and now it's finally becoming an issue."

"Why hasn't Vale done anything about him yet?" Clover titled his head slightly. "I've seen his name on the news a couple of times, a couple police chases, but that's about it."

"He's always been careful to keep a relatively clean profile." Qrow explained. "No murders, nothing too big, just enough to get a reputation. Besides, he is Huntsman trained, most law enforcement couldn't deal with him even if they wanted to."

"Why didn't the Headmaster apprehend him then?" Winter asked. "Surely, knowing what was to come, he could have sent someone after him."

Qrow didn't answer, reaching for the place he usually would have kept his flask only to realize he had given it to her. Pyrrha spoke up hesitantly. "The Headmaster wasn't certain that he had been recruited yet, he thought it best not to push him to their side."

"A cautious approach." Ironwood's voice carried with it a hint of disappointment, but no surprise. "Ozpin might have thought he was doing the right thing, but letting Torchwick run free is no longer the right course. If we can capture him, we may be able to get a lead on Fall."

"That's great for now," Qrow shook his head softly. "But what about the goliath in the room? What's our long term plan for dealing with Salem?"

"That is a different matter." Ironwood sighed. "Ozpin has decided that a passive approach is best when dealing with her, I disagree. If she truly can't be killed, then time is on her side, and the longer we wait, the stronger she gets. Even if we can't kill her, we can remove her agents, and to do that we need to act."

"Focus on winning the battles?" Clover asked quietly. "Probably the best we're going to get."

Pyrrha looked towards Ironwood, hesitant to bring up what they had discussed. The idea of keeping secrets left a sour taste in her mouth, but she remained silent. She would ask him why he hadn't brought up the idea later and give him a chance to explain, if she didn't like his answer, then she would tell the others herself.

"Finding Torchwick won't be easy." Ironwood stood back from the map. "He's managed to evade capture for years, and he is far more familiar with Vale's underworld than any of us. He's dangerous, and above all else, he's smart. When we do eventually corner him, do not underestimate him."

"How do we plan on tracking him?" Winter had placed her hands back behind her back, cutting a professional appearance that contrasted with Qrow who was currently leaning one elbow on the table.

"The day before I left for Mistral." Pyrrha spoke up before Ironwood could, though he didn't seem bothered by the interruption. "I was out in the city when I realized I was being followed. The person realized I noticed and escaped before I could confront them, but I'm certain it was one of Torchwick's people."

"They were spying on you?" Qrow asked. "So they already knew about you before you even went to Mistral?"

Pyrrha nodded her head softly. "Most likely, yes."

"I wonder if that's how they knew to flee Haven." Winter pondered.

"It's possible." Clover nodded. "Though only if they have somebody in the school itself who could have seen her preparing to leave. Master criminal or not, you can't just sneak into an academy without at least pretending to be a student or faculty member."

"While Ozpin has made mistakes in the past, I doubt that he would ever employ someone he couldn't trust as a teacher at Beacon." Ironwood said. "More likely than not, it's a student who was paid to watch Pyrrha."

Despite being in a secure room no one from Beacon could have snuck into, Pyrrha couldn't help but feel vulnerable. Would a student really sell information about another student to criminals? Despite how highly she thought of her friends, she knew they were far from the standard at the school. Teams RWBY and JNPR, and even Team CFVY, were some of the best both in ability and character, the rest of the school was filled with students she hadn't spoken to.

"So they're spying on her, what are you planning to do with that info?" Qrow narrowed his eyes, watching Ironwood closely.

Bait, they wanted to use her as bait. They hadn't worded it like that of course, though even if they had she wouldn't have been offended. It was a good plan, despite Qrow's objections to it.

Torchwick had avoided capture for years and, despite her confidence in General Ironwood's ability, they didn't have a lot of time to work with. They knew that one of Torchwick's associates was watching her, one that he seemed to rely on as well, but that would only be useful if she was out to be noticed. She couldn't go out under an armed escort either, otherwise the spy would run.

Qrow still wasn't on board with the plan, and she could certainly understand why. If it had been Coco or Jaune acting as bait, she wouldn't have been happy about the plan either. Regardless of anybody's personal misgivings, they simply didn't have the time to waste coming up with another plan. With Mistral a bust, and there being no sign of Cinder, this was their final lead as to her whereabouts.

If everything went to plan they would be able to capture and question him before Cinder could make any moves to stop them. It was optimistic, but Pyrrha couldn't help but hope for the best.

She had been away for a few days, and in that time, she had no doubt that her stalker would have noticed, now it was just a matter of establishing that she was back. She had quickly agreed to being bait, but she had done so on one condition.

Pyrrha knocked on the door softly, waiting patiently for them to open it. A second later the door flew open, Coco already turning around and moving away from it. "You don't have to knock you know, your scroll can open it now that you're on our team network."

"I didn't want to barge in in case you were changing." Pyrrha entered, closing the door behind her.

"Fox can warn us you're coming if that's the case." Velvet nodded in Fox's direction. "Though maybe he wouldn't, just to see the chaos of you walking in while one of us is changing."

Fox sat up from his bed, opening his mouth to say something just as a pillow impacted his face.

"If that happens, you'll be doing my homework for a month." Coco's words forced him to silence, even as he tossed her pillow back to her. "So what was that all about? Going to see the General, I mean."

"About that." Pyrrha took a deep breath. "They want me to help them capture Roman Torchwick."

Coco looked surprised, her eyebrows raising above the rim of her sunglasses. "Ok, that must be flattering. I knew you were strong but… are you really that strong?"

"No." Pyrrha answered flatly. "They don't want me to fight him, they have far better fighters for that."

"Then how are you supposed to help?" Velvet asked.

"Well… about that." Pyrrha fidgeted as they all watched her. "You remember when we were out shopping before I left and I said I saw someone watching me?"

"No!" Coco yelled. "You've got to be kidding me."

"They want me to draw them out so we can capture them and use them to get to Torchwick." Pyrrha explained.

"Bait." Fox said, a disbelieving bluntness accompanying his words, a far cry from his usual witticisms. "They want to use you as bait."

Pyrrha nodded her head, seeing no use in trying to convince them otherwise.

Coco groaned. "You just got back from a mission where you were poisoned, beaten, and nearly died! Can't you take a few days off?!"

"Have you even recovered yet?" Velvet quietly asked.

"In truth, no." Pyrrha replied. She wasn't in any real danger thanks to the medical staff on the General's ship, but her body was still immensely sore. Not to mention that her ankle still hurt when she put too much force on it, or that she could still feel the phantom pain of having overused her powers. "But we aren't looking to start a fight."

"So they'll be going with you?"

Pyrrha shook her head once more. "If there are too many people, or at least, anyone that looks too suspicious, then it will be clear that something is up."

"So you're going alone?" Coco's voice was neutral, painfully so, and even those who didn't know her would have been able to see the danger in that question.

"Of course not." Pyrrha replied. "I was hoping… you all might help me."

The room fell silent.

"I-I don't want you all to feel forced." Pyrrha quickly added, desperate to make sure this was their choice. "If you don't want to then you don't have to."

As the silence stretched on, Pyrrha saw that their eyes were flicking in between each other, a few moments later and she realized they were talking using Fox's semblance. She felt hurt that they would need to talk without her knowing, but she didn't mention how she'd noticed. They felt like they needed to hide their words and she didn't want to pressure them. Not when it came to this.

"It's not much of a choice if you're going regardless of what we do." Velvet finally said, her face hesitant.

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha shook her head, gesturing with her hand in a vain attempt to make the idea go away. "Forget I asked."

"So you'll go alone?" Coco asked, her voice sounding almost accusatory.

"I'll find someone else, I don't want to force you." Pyrrha insisted. It wouldn't be easy, but she would have to make it work.

"Like who?" Velvet asked.

"I…"

"We're the only people you talk to." Coco stated. "Are you going to take Ruby and Yang?"

"No!" Pyrrha shouted. She was confident in their skills, more so than themselves in Ruby's case, but she didn't want to draw them into this. Not yet at least. That still left the issue of what Coco had said. She really didn't know very many people, so if not them then who?

"It's okay." Coco said. "We'll do it."

"I don't want to force you into anything. I'm not like…" Pyrrha closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to manipulate you."

"You don't have anything to apologize for." Coco sounded annoyed at the idea. "Look… is it manipulation? Yes." Pyrrha winced at the simple way she said that. "But only because you're our friend and we don't want anything bad to happen to you. If you're gonna be in danger, I'd rather be right there with you."

"We all would." Velvet added, smiling back at her.

"What's the plan?" Fox sent.

Pyrrha smiled softly, though the guilt didn't entirely subside. "Just about whatever you guys want to do. We just need to go out and draw a little bit of attention to ourselves, enough so that whoever is following me knows I'm back if they don't already."

"Shopping trip?" Coco smiled viciously, even as everyone else groaned.

Pyrrha pulled a small card from her pocket, flicking it out for Coco to hold. "Atlas is buying."

Officially, the card was linked to a special account meant for Government personnel on work related missions. It would cover all payments necessary for anything in an official capacity, and while this likely wasn't what the Atlesian government had in mind, it was still technically mission related, and that meant it would be covered. The General had assured her.

"Shopping trip it is." Coco had already made up her mind, and judging by the groans of her teammates, they knew it was too late. "When do we start?"

Pyrrha looked back towards their door. "How long do you need to get ready?"

Author's Note: I am not overly happy with this chapter, but I can't quite tell why. We'll see what you all think

I wanted to address one of last week's reviews questioning my choice to have Pyrrha take on the role she is taking. It's a fair concern if I intended for her to lead said operation or take on some super powerful position, but she's more of an advisor taking a more active role. She is not going to single handedly solve everything though, I do try to keep reasonably realistic.

I hope you enjoyed it, and as always let me know what you think.

Sincerely SE