For a moment Tock stopped, she stopped walking, stopped breathing, stopped thinking and her own heart stopped beating, for a moment she was completely paralyzed by fear, Howfur did she ken aboot me 'n' Jaune? Stoap 'n' think dammit! Peter knew aboot mah marriage sae o' course, she wid know! Now git a grip fur ye'r playing right intae her hands! She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths through the nose then out the mouth and repeated until she was able to recompose herself, "Salem?" she asked as she started walking around the yard to try and mask her nervousness, "A'm sorry bit ah hae na idea who yer, ah wis hired by a guy cried Hazel 'n' ah don't remember ever talking tae ye or agreeing tae dae anythin' fur ye." As she spoke her crew kept a cautious vigil for any tricks that Peter or anyone else might try to pull while also making sure that their backs were constantly against the wall of the house, an act which protected them from being attacked from behind. This created palpable tension in the air as both parties eyed each other looking for even the smallest hint of treachery and in that regard, there was something off that Tock noticed despite being on edge, Whaur is th' rest o' his crew?

Salem began softly laughing, why? Tock didn't know but even worse than not knowing was the strange almost motherly way she sounded and it sent a shiver down the pirate's spine, "I don't fault you for the confusion, in fact, I'll consider it a sign of your professionalism. But I can assure you that Hazel was acting on my behalf, his request was my request and likewise, the payment you received was taken from my coffers to hire talented individuals such as yourself. Just say the word and I'll have him contact you to confirm everything I just said."

The answer helped calm her down just a little bit, "That will nae be necessary sin we've already completed that job 'n' therefore na langer wirk fur him." Or ye, she thought to herself as she considered what her best options were going forward, We cannae risk anythin' juist yit bit mibbie we kin... hauld yer horses a moment, whit's that sound? She wasn't the only one who had noticed the oddly familiar noise in the distance getting closer and before long everyone was splitting their attention between each other and searching for the source. They soon spotted what appeared to be Bullhead in the distance heading in their general direction which was a bit strange but not really anything that warranted any real concern on its own however Tock did notice something off about it, That's nae th' direction o' th' Bullhead station… they're comin' fae Beacon! Bit how come wid a Bullhead fae Beacon pass thro' 'ere at this time unless... It mist be Yang! Now we juist git tae keep Peter 'n' his cronies 'ere 'til we kin catch th' hail gang! With renewed confidence she returned to the phone call, "Bit if ye really are his boss then ah suppose ah owe ye some cheers fur yer generosity, th' money has gone a lang wey tae pay fur our living expenses while our extended bade 'ere at Vale." She looked over to Peter and saw him warily looking up at the sky as he pulled out his scroll and typed something on it. Shit, he's already suspicious, tis aff tae be solid tae keep him 'ere.

Ignorant of what was going on Salem continued her sales pitch, "I'm happy to hear that you're satisfied with the payment and that you've been enjoying your stay in Vale, though I admit that your marriage wasn't something that I ever expected but to each their own. Either way as a sign of good faith I would like to offer you a gift to properly wish you the best."

"Weel, ah appreciate th' thought bit aren't ye running a bawherr late fur soemthing lik' that?"

"Oh but I insist," something about her voice was making a chill run down Tock's spine. On the surface, it was a kind and soft voice but at the same time, it felt so calculated and uncanny, like she was merely listening to an imitation of a human voice. "I'm going to give you something that so very few people actually have," the woman paused for seemingly no other reason than to build tension through the silence, "My wedding gift to you is a choice."

For a second Tock couldn't believe what she had just heard and who could blame her, it was so ridiculous that if anyone else had said it she would have assumed it was just a bad joke. However this wasn't a situation to be made light off and the woman's voice sounded so utterly sincere, "A choice?" she eventually said not really asking but rather just trying to make sense of it, "Really that's yer gift? Yer offering tae me something that a' body in this world already haes?"

There was a brief silence before the woman started to chuckle, it had an odd familiar quality to it that reminded Tock of the way her mother would sometimes laugh whenever she said or did something silly as a child. Except this was void of all warmth and kindness, it was hard to understand and almost impossible to explain but everything about this Salem woman just felt fundamentally wrong. "My dear, everyone likes to think that their decisions matter but someone like you and your crew should know better than that, for example, you could have chosen not to take that job and you could have also chosen to simply walk away after you found Maria. But the only thing either decision would have accomplished is that someone else would have done it resulting in the exact same outcome which means your choice didn't change anything at all, making it irrelevant and immaterial."

Tock was not sure what to expect when she woke up today but it most certainly wasn't this, Whit's this philosophical bullshit? Efter everything she did tae reach me, this is whit she wanted say tae me?! It was absurd and frankly frustrating but she recognized an opportunity when she saw one, Pish Peter aff 'n' he'll be tae distracted tae notice oor mates o' Beacon closing in. "That's juist yin specific example 'n' juist fur someone else wid hae dane it doesn't suddenly mean that mah choice didnae maiter," she looked over to Peter and saw that he was taking an interest in her conversation but was still on guard. So she glanced over at her crew and faked a cough before signaling them by scratching a scar located on the left side of her face, Mason then grabbed Cecco's and Turley's shoulders and pretended to whisper something into their ears which immediately caught Peter's attention. For a moment it looked like he would get up and confront them but he somehow managed to restrain himself, That's fine we'll juist hae tae huv a go a bit harder.

Meanwhile, Salem gave her response unaware of what they were trying to do, "That is a beautiful sentiment Dear but as a bounty hunter, you understand better than most people that at the end of the day the only thing that matters is the final result. The prey is either caught or it escapes and poor Miss Calavera was never going to escape meaning your choice had no effect on the outcome and if it didn't matter, was there really a choice?"

Tock mulled over Salem's argument for a bit since it helped buy time, Ah chose tae let her live which is something th' others wouldn't hae dane meaning mah choices dae matter! Bit Salem doesn't need tae know that, "Ah will concede tae ye that point, sae tell me whit's th' choice ye'r giving' me?" As she talked she walked over to where her crew was and stood directly in front of them. Mason and Cecco then followed her lead and also positioned themselves so that Turley was now behind them and completely hidden from Peter's sight.

That would prove to be the push they need to make him act, "Okay, what the hell do you think you're doing!?" He got up from his seat and angrily walked up to them with his hand resting on the golden hilt of a sword and for a moment it looked like he might attack them. They could tell from the look in his eyes, the way that his fingers were twitching along with a million other tells that he wanted to fight them but, something or someone was holding him back, "Don't fuck with me or you'll regret it!" It was an empty threat and they knew it but more importantly, they saw it for what it was, an opportunity.

If they could push him over that edge then he would forget everything else allowing Yang and her to close in without being spotted, so while she had his full attention Tock spoke into the scroll loud enough for him to hear, "Kin ye gimme a second?" She then looked at him the same way an adult might look at some stranger's bratty tantrum-throwing child before speaking with an impatient irritated and authoritative tone, "A'm oan th' phane wi' our between our mutual Bosss dae ye think ye kin behave fur juist a little bit?"

His face turned red with a rage born from a combination of many different factors piling on top of each other just one right after another and made worse through his already limited patience, "You listen here you bitch, the only reason you're still alive right now is because-," the man stopped himself, turned away for a moment and began venting by uttering a string of inaudible obscenities until finally taking a deep breath and turning back to face them. "I just don't want any nasty surprises, alright? I've been upfront with you all so the least you can do is return the favor."

Tock had bitten down on her tongue to keep herself from going on a rant about how upfront Peter and his damned Lost Boys really had been, Ye stalked me 'n' Jaune! Ye robbed him tae huv a go 'n' trick me intae thinking ye hud kidnapped him 'n' then ye actually tried tae kidnap him! There was a sudden sharp pang of pain accompanied by a warm feeling in her mouth followed by a metallic taste that caught her attention, Mist hae bitten mah tongue, calm doon ye heard 'n' saw th' bullhead, Yang will be 'ere soon 'n' then we kin tak' them down. "Ye know whit Pete, ye'r right, Mason, whit urr ye daein' back there?"

"I'm trying to take a piss, captain!" he answered as Turely and Cecco laughed which only further enraged Peter.

"Ye see, thare is hee haw wrong 'ere sae if that's enough fur ye ah will git back tae mah call now." With a dismissive wave and a mocking smile, she was about to return to her call when Peter curled up his fist and took an aggressive step towards her.

"Get your head in the game!" From seemingly out of nowhere the Faunus from earlier suddenly appeared hovering between him and a surprised Tock who was staring at the woman whose body was glowing with a yellow Aura as her wings beat so quickly that they had become a blur.

"Belle!? What are you doing, giving away your Semblance like that!?" He muttered as all his frustrations were being directed towards his second in command who in response grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him closer.

"It doesn't matter!" She all but screamed at him. "So what if they know? It doesn't help them stop us in any way and besides if this works out it won't matter. Please Peter we're so close, don't fuck it all up just because they insulted you. Let it go and then we can go free."

"But… but, they."

"Peter… we've already lost Slightly, the Twins, and even Curly. We cannot afford any more mistakes, so calm down and for once in your life be patient," she then gently led her leader back to the other side of the yard and sat him back down.

Tock and her crew just glared at the pair and muttered silent curses at Belle for interfering at the last moment however, they still got under Peter's skin so it was not a total failure. Ye reap whit ye sow ye son o' a bitch, she thought to herself as she lifted the scroll back to her ear. However, before she continued the conservation she looked back at her team and scratched a different scar on her face to send them another message without letting anyone outside of her crew know what she was planning, "Sorry aboot that, where wur we?"

"I was about to give you a choice, you can either continue to work for me and I can promise you that the benefits you'll receive just for joining are going to be more than worth it or you can refuse and I'll leave you alone," she said it as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

Tock couldn't believe her ears, "Ye'll leave us alone?" It was a promise so ridiculous that she had to bite down just to avoid laughing at the absurdity or snarling at the woman but, holding it in only made her feelings stronger until she couldn't hold it in anymore, "Ye'r going tae promise me something lik' that efter ye hired a group o' thugs juist tae track me down! Thugs wha went efter Jaune wha kin ah remind ye is someone that haes nothing tae dae wi' anythin' gaun oan 'ere! 'N' dinnae think fur a goddamn moment that a've forgotten how ye'v used us tae tak' oot a Huntress juist fur huvin silver eyes!"

She then felt a hand on her shoulder, when she turned around she found Turley looking right at her for a hard moment before slowly looking away. Following his gaze, she saw that he was guiding her over to Cecco who was tapping his hammer seemingly out of boredom but listening to the rhythm revealed a pattern and more importantly a message, "Y. Here. soon. Stall. Cops. OTW." With a quick wave of her hand, she let them both know that she had received and understood the message before going back to her call, C'moan juist a bawherr longer…

Most employers would have been upset by her outburst and many of them would have tried in vain to hide it but the woman on the phone was different. She remained fully in control of herself during every part of the conversation, never once dropping that kind almost motherly tone that sent a chill up Toc's spine, "And I apologize for what Peter has done, he was eager to please but his methods did cross a line so in a show of goodwill I will tell you about the Lost Boys in hiding."

"Whit!?" Tock all but shouted out of shock, the news that there were some men in hiding didn't bother her at all as it was just plain common sense. Rather what had caught her off guard was how Salem had said it so casually as though it was no big deal, She's trying tae trick me, thir's na wey she cuid ken aboot that... Unless we're bein' gawked.

Without being asked Salem explained herself almost as though she could sense the pirate's concerns, "A show of goodwill requires sacrifices otherwise it is empty and worthless," she said it as though this was the simplest thing in the world, "There is a third member of Peter's group on the roof awaiting a signal to throw some molotovs at you and will almost certainly follow it up by attacking you, he is armed with several knives. Also, there is a fourth hiding in the master bedroom and seems to be monitoring the police radio, he is armed with an old blunderbuss though I doubt he can use it very well. Neither has spotted your friends from Beacon though that is something that could change."

15, that was the number of times in her life that Tock felt what could only be called true fear and thanks to a woman that she had never met, the number was now 16, She haes bin peepin' us sin th' beginning! Her first impulse was to begin frantically looking around in a desperate attempt to spot the spy but that could only end in failure and Peter realizing that something was wrong. Calm down! o' coorse, she wid be peepin' ye, how come th' hell wouldn't she? Th' real question is does Peter know? Ah doubt that's th' case sin how come wid he be acting lik' this.

"You seemed to be a bit fluttered, are you alright?"

"Sae whit dae yi'll want wi' me 'n' mah crew, whit urr ye trying tae accomplish?"

"I want to kill the slivered-eyed warrior hidden in Beacon, I want Ruby Rose dead," an almost gleeful and sadistic tone crept into Salem's voice or maybe it was something that was always there just hidden beneath the surface, like a predator.

Tock finally understood that she had been speaking with a bloodthirsty monster whose appetite would not be satiated and whose thoughts were beyond comprehension. We're going tae become enemies na matter whit sae ah micht as weel stairt th' fight, bit foremaist tae warn mah boys o' th' rat hiding oan th' roof.

Peter watched from his seat as Tock turned around and just stared at her crew, "What is that animal doing?"

Belle on the other hand wasn't too concerned, "It doesn't matter, just stick to the plan." Together they watched as the wannabe pirates turned around to face them with their intentions written plainly on their face.

Peter then jumped out of his seat and reached for his sword as Belle pulled out her scroll and prepared to send a message, "Dammit, what the hell do you think you're doing!?" She didn't answer him with words instead, she ended her call with Salem, pocketed the scroll, drew her swords, and charged right at them. "DO IT NOW!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as Belle grabbed and began to blanket him in her Aura as her wing began to rapidly flap.

Without a word needing to be spoken, Mason and Turley raised their rifles to try and stop whatever she was about to do by either breaking her concentration or her Aura. However Tock tackled them both to the floor before they were able to fire a single shot, then a wave of fire suddenly broke out around them

"Thir's a bas oan th' roof wi' molotovs 'n' anither ben wi' a shotgun!" Tock shouted as before jumping up and using a little Aura to quickly pull both men away from danger, "Cecco tae th' neist yaird!"

A single swing of Cecco's hammer tore right through the flimsy wooden fence allowing them to escape into the next yard but the man wasn't done just yet. With his captain behind him still dragging the rest of the crew behind her, he ran ahead into the yard and up to the house before flooding his arms, back and hammer with Aura intent on tearing the empty house a new entryway.

*BANG*

The ground in front of Cecco erupted as buckshot slammed into the earth and halting his charge, "Thir's a guy back thare wi' a blunderbuss!" Tock said as she dropped off Mason and Turley who began to straighten themselves.

"How do you know all this?" Asked Turley.

"Ah will explain efter juist gies some cover fire!" With needing to be told twice, Mason and Turley both got into position and opened fire but without being able to see their opponents they were just wasting ammo that could be used on the fleeing Peter.

Meanwhile, Cecco brought his Aura up and tore a hole in the wall of the house thus avoiding any traps that could have been there, "Captain!" It was only one word but it was enough to send everyone running inside as he went on ahead to break through the next wall allowing everyone into the streets and giving them an actual chance to catch up with their Prey.

*BANG*

The shotgun blast went wide hitting nothing but the street, Salem wasn't joking whin she said that he coudnae handle that gun bit, tis ainlie a maiter o' time afore he gets jammy, "Dingy it 'n' juist keep gaun, burn some Aura wi' ye hae tae!" All at once the bounty hunters followed Tock's order and bolted down the street and hopefully out of range of the Lost Boys.

"We got a tail!" Cecco shouted as he looked over his shoulder and saw someone on the rooftops chasing them, I don't see a blunderbuss so it's probably the one who threw the molotov.

"Forgoat him, juist focus oan Peter!"

"There they are!" Mason shouted pointing at the sky before slowing down and using his rifle to open fire at the still flying still fleeing figure of Belle and Peter. He had managed to hit them, he couldn't tell but in response, they flew low enough to hide behind some of the houses, "Dammit, where are they running too?"

Turley pulled up a map on his scroll as they continued the chase, "There is nowhere they can run too except…," he double-checked the map to make sure he understood it correctly, "They're headed to the site of The Breach!"

"Urr ye sure?" Tock asked as she looked over his shoulder to glimpse the map, "The breach wis sealed 'n' even if thay cuid git in, whit wid thay dae next?"

"Well as long as that girl has enough Aura then she should be able to avoid any Grimm by flying over them, after that it's a straight shot to Mount Glenn."

"They fools! Dae thay honestly think thay rammy thro' a' they Grimm?"

"We've got incoming!" Cecco shouted while pointing at the man on the roof who held several knives in one hand, a handgun in the other, and was getting ready to unleash both at them.

"Dammit, we cannae afford tae be stalled noo!"

It was at this point that something extremely odd and at the same time rather fortunate had occurred. From seemingly nowhere a catgirl dressed in what appeared to be some sort of catsuit and wielding a strange-looking katana landed in front of the man on the roof and began attacking him. To understand where it is that she had come from and how she arrived when she did, it is necessary to go back in time and to see events from a different perspective.

The doors of the Bullhead opened showing Yang, Weiss, and Blake that they were hovering over an empty street, "Are you sure that this is where you want to get off?" asked the Pilot as the Huntresses were preparing to depart.

Before answering Yang used her scroll to check the address that Tock had sent her, "Yeah this is the place, did you call the police?"

"Of course, though it will take them a little bit of time before they arrive."

"That's fine, just be ready in case we need to be picked up in a hurry." She then leaped out of the plane with Weiss and Blake following close behind into a neighborhood that was unfamiliar to any of them. A neighborhood that seemed to be devoid of all life but also had a very real possibility of a Lost Boy on guard duty who could spot them and warn the others, giving them all a chance to escape.

"I don't get it," Weiss whispered after a minute of running, "A private home inside the Capital costs a small fortune," She looked at the houses and noted the dilapidated state of each one. "These were huge investments, things they bought intending to pass down to their children and their grandchildren but, they just left them behind never looking back."

"The Breach," Blake morbidly answered, reminding them all of their greatest failure.

"It wasn't our fault," Yang spoke in a barely audible whisper, "It wasn't our fault," this time she said it loud enough for her teammates to hear, "The only thing we are guilty of was being in over our heads but we can't blame ourselves for what happened especially when we did everything we could and more!" She stopped running and turned around to face them and for a moment her eyes flickered between lavender and red, "This is our chance to settle the score with the bastards responsible," She then turned around and continued running down the street leaving behind her teammates to catch up.

Blake in particular began to rely on the lessons she learned in the White Fang to search the neighborhood for any potential hiding spots and she found many, I need more information. "Yang! Are they meeting indoors or outdoors?"

Yang checked her scroll, "Outdoors in the backyard!"

"Got it!" With the scope now narrowed down considerably, she was able to focus on locations where someone could hide, observe and access the backyard with ease, and in one such spot, she saw someone. Specifically, she saw what appeared to be a girl who was facing away from her revealing what appeared to be insectile wings which proved rather distracting. Blake then looked away to call her teammates, "Guys! There's someone here!" but when she turned back, the girl was gone.

Yang was the first to arrive and peered into the direction Blake was pointing but naturally saw nothing, "What am I looking for?"

"There was a girl right there only a second ago!"

Yang suddenly stepped close and in a hushed tone asked, "Did she see you!"

"What!?"

Yang took another step closer and whispered so low that no one except Blake could hear her, "There is a winged Faunus in the Lost Boys, so I need to know if she saw you because she might warn Peter!"

"She had her back turned towards me so I doubt it but... "

"But what?"

"I turned away to call you both over but when I looked back, she vanished."

Weiss then arrived and asked the obvious question, "What happened?" However, instead of answering her, Yang went right to her scroll and began furiously typing out a message to Tock's crew leaving the Heiress understandably upset but Blake was able to fill her in as they continued walking.

"How is it possible that she didn't see you?" Weiss wondered to herself.

"I'm more concerned about how she disappeared," added Blake.

"What if something happened that made her leave so quickly that she couldn't have seen you at all! But what?" Weiss began considering all of the possibilities but only one stuck out and it wasn't a pleasant one, so the two sped up until they caught up to Yang who was nervously looking at her scroll but not typing anything.

"Do they know about us?" asked Blake.

"I don't think so but we need to hurry, I think that something is happe-!"

*BANG*

Something had gone wrong and the realization made them all freeze for just a moment, then their training kicked in and they broke out into a full dash. Thankfully they knew exactly where they were going thanks to the address that Tock had sent them but even if they didn't have it, the sight of smoke beginning to rise from a backyard made for an unmissable beacon. But that smoke also meant that whatever was happening over there had spun out of control and they could only hope that they would make it in time to make a difference.

"Look above the house!" Weiss cried as she pointed at a figure in the air and went in the opposite direction, "It must be the Faunus and she seems to be carrying something!"

"On it!" Shouted Yang as Ember Celica transformed into its weapon form before realizing that the distance, smoke, and her movement meant that any shot she took would be a coin flip at best, I need to get closer! She then pointed her gauntlets towards the ground and began to squeeze the trigger when suddenly the wall of the house exploded and from within the rubble emerged Tock and her crew who then began to chase after the flying figure without paying any mind to Team WBY.

Many people would have probably been offended over being ignored like that especially when it was by a group that they had come to help. However they understood that Tock was having a very upsetting day and was simply under a lot of pressure, she didn't mean to be rude but she just didn't have the time to focus on anyone else except the fleeing target. This was a problem as a creepy man with a collection of knives and a gun did not take too kindly to being ignored and was now running after Tock intending to be exceptionally unhelpful.

"Throw me."

"What!?" Yang and Weiss asked Blake in unison.

Undeterred she pointed at the commotion that was getting further and further away with every passing moment, "Yang you have the strength to get me there, and Weiss, you have the glyphs to guide me. Toss me over to that creep on the roof and then use your abilities to catch up with Tock."

Nibs from the top of a roof looked down at the ragtag group of wannabe pirates just beneath him who were rather rudely ignoring him to focus on his boss instead, Big mistake! In one hand he was carrying a fistful of his favorite knives and in the other, he held a gun, Not my style but effective, and pondered about whether to skewer the croc bitch his knives, or just use the gun. The answer was both but that still left the question of which one to use first, one option was far more fun but the other was safer and there were others he could toy with. However before he could reach a decision something extremely odd happened, namely some sort of ninja catgirl appeared from seemingly nowhere and swung her sword at him before he could fully comprehend what was happening.

Then came the uncomfortable feeling of a blade hitting his chest and snapping him back into reality and he immediately took stock of his situation, it wasn't good. But he wasn't out of the fight just yet however a few more hits like that would soon fix that, I need to put some distance, he raised his pistol but the girl just closed in and swung her cleaver-like sword at his arm and forced him to abandon that idea, With a reaction speed like that she's probably a student at one of the academies but what is she doing here? Were we set up?

*BANG*

Someone shot him in the back and his Aura took a nosedive, while it managed to prevent real damage it couldn't stop the sensation of being hit, and few things hurt as much as a heavy piece of burning hot lead slamming into you. Even worse was the shock that overtook his mind and left him wide open to the charging Huntress who with one swing knocked the gun out of his hand, another swing made him drop the knives, and one last swing put his Aura on the verge of breaking.

"Blake! We're going on ahead!" Shouted a feminine voice from below.

"Will you be alright?" asked a different but also feminine voice.

"Don't worry! I'll catch up soon," The Blake shouted back before separating Gambol Shroud's cleaver sheath from the pistol grip revealing a short blade hidden inside the first; however, the oddest thing was how she then attached a black ribbon to both blades. She then looked right at Nips and prepared one last charge but first, she had something to say, "Surrender, the police are already on their way and they'll be here long before you can get away from me."

In response he just glared at her silently trying to figure out how she would use that weapon while weighing his options, I still have my Semblance and just enough Aura to use it once on the lowest setting but if she hits me once either with the sword or just shoots me with that gun… but maybe. Deciding to play along he put his hands behind his head and then got down on his knees, "I surrender." She gave him an odd look before carefully approaching him, Come on bitch just get a little closer, before long she was standing right behind him and prepared to tie his wrists together with the ribbon. Almost there… He then felt her hand touching his arm and with a gleeful smile spun around and grabbed her wrist, "Time to fry Kitty!" He activated his Semblance which sent several volts of electricity into her body, "You idiot! Now piss off and get out of my-," her body vanished into thin air, "What!?"

The last thing he felt was something hitting the back of his now unprotected head which was then followed by blissful unconsciousness. Blake stood over the unconscious man and used her ribbon to tie him up, Did he think I'd fall for something that obvious?

Catching up to Tock and company was not an easy task and wasn't because of the distance or the head start the bounty hunters and their quarry had, speed could overcome distance but speed itself was also the problem here. Peter was understandably fleeing as fast as his petite friend could carry him which meant Tock and crew had to run as hard as they could to catch up and both parties were shockingly quick which meant that the two Huntress had to go faster.

"Weiss, can you do a time dilation?"

"Not while we're running like this and even if I could, we would just lose them again when the backlash hits us."

"Shit!" she checked Ember Celica's ammo and did some mental calculations, I got enough shells to catch up but that doesn't leave me much for Peter and I'll have to leave Weiss behind and that's not happening. But what can we do? Then it hit her, there was something they could do that was insane but could work because back then it had worked, "Weiss! Do you remember the Nevermore from Initiation?"

"Yes I do but why would you… oh no, absolutely not!"

"Do you have a better idea?"

Weiss racked her brain to try and come up with anything else but in the end, she was forced to conclude that Yang was unfortunately right, "Fine but it will take a little time to prepare." She stopped in her tracks and began calling up her glyphs while eying her target.

"Um, you do realize we're in a rush so can speed things up a little princess?" asked Yang who was standing close by and admiring the work, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Shut up! I need to concentrate if I'm to pull this off besides there is something I do need you for…"

"Well, what is it?"

"I… need to," Thank the Brothers Winter isn't here, "To get the best results I need to see things from the... perspective we'll be making this shot."

A smile stretched across Yang's face just before she turned around and offered Weiss her back, "Climb aboard the yellow dragon express!"

"You're a dolt just like your sister," Weiss said with a roll of her eyes before getting onto Yang's back and then directing her to get into the launch position. This provided her with a clear idea of the arc they had to travel and allowed her to quickly and perhaps haphazardly get the work done in creating an ice ramp and a series of glyphs leading up to it.

"Are you done yet?"

Weiss quickly looked over her handiwork for one last time before muttering a sentence she would regret saying for the rest of her life, "Yeah, this should be adequate."

"We ur losing thaim!" Tock cried as she watched Peter and Belle fly further and further away from her, That bas tossed aside his entire crew juist tae slow us doon! It was so frustrating but she had to admit that his plan worked and now she just didn't see a way to stop Peter from reaching the train station, Even if Turley 'n' Mason opened fire, that boot wid juist scouk behind th' houses!

Peter on the other hand was having a delightful time, "BWAHAHA! Tock you scaly bitch! I'll be seeing you later and who I do I'll get you and your little husband too! BWhahah… huh!?" What the hell is that?

Tock gritted her teeth and decided to burn her Aura to close the distance despite knowing that doing so would lock her out of her Semblance then she noticed something odd, he wasn't looking at her anymore. He was looking at something behind her but more important was that look of confusion on his face, Is thare something behind us? Ah ken that Yang 'n' her mukkers ur back thare bit how come wid he care aboot thaim? She continued to watch as his face morphed into one of abject horror as he was suddenly shot down by a screaming yellow meteor that came out of nowhere and crashed into the ground forming a crater

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" shouted Cecco as the others nodded along in agreement, "IT WAS AWESOME!" the others continue to nod in agreement.

"YOU DOLT, YOU NEARLY KILLED ME" screamed a shrill feminine voice from within the crater.

"I resent that remark! You gave me the signal to go so I went, what's wrong?" responded a different but also unmistakably feminine voice from within the crater.

Meanwhile, Tock sported what was perhaps the widest grin of her life as she approached the crater without fear until she was standing on the edge with her crew right behind her. She then peaked down and called out to two girls standing on top of an unconscious Peter and Belle, "Sae whilk yin o' ye is Yang, a'm Tock 'n' tis crakin' tae finally catch up wi` ye."

Looking upwards Yang saw the crocodilian Faunus and her crew looking down at her and Weiss, "So I guess you're Tock? I'm Yang and this is Weiss and we have another member named Blake, you might have seen her when she got the drop on the guy chasing you," That's Jaune's wife!? She looks like she could snap him in half… that's pretty hot.

"Well, thanks for that! I'm Cecco and it's a pleasure to finally get to meet you guys even if one of you got left back there."

"Pleasure to meet you all," Weiss gave a little curtsey, completely ignorant of how she was standing on Peter's face. For one second the members of Tock's crew looked at each other and wondered what they should do before deciding with a shrug that it was only polite if they introduced themselves with a little bow to the young ladies who had helped them.

"I'm Turley and you have no idea how glad I am to see you."

"The name's Mason and pardon me but out of curiosity do you happen to know a Winter Schnee?"

"How do you know my sister?" Weiss was surprised and just a little suspicious of the man, she then saw a smile forming on his face that shiver up her spine.

"We used to date back during her academy days."

She stared at him in silence for what felt like a full minute before finally speaking, "Bullshit."

"I'll tell you what's Bullshit!" Shouted a voice from behind that none of them could recognize, "What's bullshit is how you guys completely forgot about me!"

Tock spun around to face the speaker and found to her disappointment a frail nerdy looking guy wearing a leather jacket that was too big for him and carrying a blunderbuss that looked like it would break his wrist if he tried shooting it, "Hauld yer horses aren't ye, um, th' guy wha…" She put away her weapon, activated her semblance, and began walking towards him.

"The name's Tootles I would have gotten you good if I… hadn't accidentally knocked myself out."

"Soonds lik' ye hud it raucle, how come dinnae ye tak' a nap?" She sent him stumbling into unconsciousness with a vicious right hook, "Noo wha wants tae git blootert?"

Unbeknownst to any of them, there had been a witness to the whole events that had unfolded here in the neighborhood. A Witness that had arrived well before any of them and had been ordered to report on everything that occurred but now that job was nearly over. She just needed to take one last photo of the group from her hiding place and then one more of the Lost Boys being arrested, she took the first photo and sent it to her boss before opening her parasol and happily skipping away unseen to take the second.

Cinder closed her scroll with a smug grin and made her way across the floor of her dorm room until she reached a drawer, opened it, and took out a bottle of wine that she with the help of Neo had smuggled inside under the gaze of Beacon's teaching staff. Was it necessary? No, however, she would argue that the benefits of always having a way to take the edge off of a stressful day of plotting the downfall of innocents, was objectively a must. However this time she wasn't going to drink to destress but rather to reward herself for a masterful plan carried out successfully while planting seeds for future victories. But she couldn't just throw on a robe and celebrate yet, she did make a promise after all.

"So I take it the plan worked?" Mercury asked, trying to hide his nervousness as Emerald hid behind him. They learned a long time ago that a happy Cinder wasn't the same as a friendly one and she hadn't been in a friendly mood for a long time but, they would take what they could get.

She took a sip of the wine before answering, "There were too many pieces on the board such as Tock and her crew who were getting dangerously involved with both RWBY and especially JNPR. I couldn't-," Mercury raised his hand to ask her a question. "Yes, what is it, Mercury?"

He then looked at her rather confused, "I didn't say anything, Ma'am why would you… Emerald!" He angrily turned to face his partner, "What the hell!?"

"Because this way, you'd get in trouble rather than me," she answered with a smirk as he jumped up to say something back but instead they both went silent, it was as though they were waiting for something and after a few seconds they both looked at Cinder as though they had expected her to do it.

She on the other hand just took another sip and looked back at them, "Are you done?" Neither said anything and instead just calmly sat down again much to her pleasure, "Ozpin and his allies are on the alert and without a scapegoat to take the heat off of us the plan will be all but impossible to pull off," She watched the expressions on their faces changed was the pieces began to fit together.

"Wait for a second," Mercury interrupted to her displeasure. "So, this entire plan is to make Ozpin and his little secret circle think that everything that had happened wasn't because of the Maiden in the Basement or the Relic located who knows where, but instead it was for some silver-eyed-naïve-wannabe-huntress-in-training?"

Even Emerald was showing doubts, "I know you mentioned Salem and even pretended to be her for a bit but… isn't this a little tame? The Dust robberies and the Breach all suggest that there was something huge coming."

"Don't forget Amber," Mercury reminded her.

"I'm sorry Ma'am but he's right! Ruby cannot be the conclusion, Ozpin would never believe it and no one would ever accept an answer like that!"

Cinder silenced them both with just a smile, "I know he won't but that doesn't matter because he is not in charge of security anymore, General Ironwood is and that is what will make all the difference. He is a guest here in Vale and is not in a position to turn away a council that wants to calm everyone down before the festival. The memory of the Breach is still very fresh, and the news of the two attacks on that nameless settlement that will soon reach their ears pushing tensions to an all-time high. They will do anything to calm the public down and what better way than announcing that they have the villains in custody."

"But they don't have the villains, all they have is Peter and his losers," Mercury pointed out.

"Do you honestly think politicians care about the truth? All they care about is keeping their power and to do that they need to keep the citizens happy, Peter is a fool but a fine scapegoat."

"But that won't stop Ozpin or Ironwood from preparing in any way they can!" cried Emerald.

Cinder countered, "Tock and her group of 'Pirates,' were here in Vale to celebrate a job they had completed which I remind you was removing the eyes of Maria Clavaria. Now what's important here is that Maria survived and is coming to Beacon while being accompanied by Qrow who will be telling Ozpin exactly what happened."

And then everything clicked together in Emerald's head, "He'll learn that the attacker is not only in Vale but married to one of his students! By pretending to be Salem you made this whole situation into an indecipherable puzzle that he'll have to slave while the council pressures him to drop everything for the festival!"

"It's admittedly not the ideal situation," Cinder confessed. "However that's reality and reality doesn't care about anyone's 'Master Plan,' to succeed you must be flexible and willing to take risks otherwise you'll fail for certain and I do not fail."

"I'm sorry Oz, but I must refuse."

Ozpin rubbed his temples in frustration but couldn't bring himself to get mad at the man in front of him, "Taiyang please, this isn't the right time for Ruby to learn the truth about her eyes or about what is going on! When she is ready when the time's right I will tell her everything myself so please trust me!"

Tai looked back at the man who in the past had been his mentor, teacher, and at one point boss. He could still recall the day his team was called into Oz's office and he gave them the first of countless missions whose purpose they didn't understand at the time. What they would eventually learn proved to be too much for... He remembered that at one point he was so dedicated to the cause that he would have gladly flung himself into a volcano if Oz had suggested it, He wouldn't even have needed to explain why it was a good idea because I would've just assumed that he was right as usual… and that was a mistake. "The right moment to tell her was when she was old enough to understand that Summer had died, I refuse to delay this any longer."

Oz wanted to try and argue back but he couldn't find the words to do so and an odd feeling began to emerge from within himself, regret, doubt, sorrow, anger, conviction, and finally realization, Something big is coming and so far my policies have not only proven inadequate but they have even been taken advantage of! I need to do something different. "Very well Taiyang… come I'll take you to your daughter," he then began walking down the hallway as his former student followed closely behind, "How have things been since…"

"It's been hard ever since she died but I consider myself blessed and I have you to thank for that."

His answer surprised the old headmaster, "But then… what brought this about?"

"Even a small island like Patch gets the news, Yang called me to tell about the Breach and that when I knew that it had to be sooner rather than later," She even told me a few things that even you don't know about but, there's no reason for me to tell you that.

Ozpin was suspicious, you didn't live for as long as he had without learning a few useful skills like how to pick up on small details or recognize a pattern and he had become very good at both. He could tell that there was a detail being left but that was the easy part, the hard part was deciding what to do next, act rashly and he could lose an ally and friend while straining the other relationships he had, Taiyang has never given me cause for concern and I refuse to risk his friendship and the continued enrollment of his daughters on pure paranoia. "Well Yang isn't here at the moment but Ruby is currently in the forge with her friend Penny Polendina, I can lead you there but I'm sure you remember where it is. But before we part ways I want to tell you that having you here is a source of comfort and I do hope you stay for the Vytal Festival."

"Thank you, but I won't be able to stay that long, however, I will be there rooting for my girls at the festival! Mark my words, team RWBY is going to take it!"

Ozpin watched as Taiyang nearly ran through the hallways of Beacon in a manner very reminiscent of his days as a student, Summer made the right choice with you. Then the sudden vibration of his scroll brought him back to the present, normally he'd ignore it for a bit but normal circumstances were becoming a distant memory. So he opened up the device and found a message from his contact in the police station, a message that he reread several times out of disbelief.

"There is a man in the police station that keeps asking for you, he claims to be working for someone named Salem and that he wants to make a deal with you."

He called his most trusted Aid, "Glynda I'm sorry to do this but I need to leave the school in your care for today… yes I know it's sudden but this is urgent… There is a man at the station who claims to be an agent of Hers... I'm glad you understand and please tell James that I'll meet him at the station… thank you."

Author's Note: From here on out I will be trying to keep my chapters between 6.5k and 7.5k words in length, this change will allow me to make chapters faster and more focused.