Ruby couldn't focus, lying on her stomach, studying to make up for two years of missed school.
A Hardlight candle sat on a stack of books to illuminate her work.
She took one last sip of the coffee Weiss had prepared an hour ago and placed the empty mug on a plate at her side.
'Damn it!' she thought as her eyes scanned the same sentence for the third time. Sitting up, she reached behind her pillow. Her hand grasped The secondary weapon and sat up fully. She took out the magazine and made sure the chamber was empty, then began to inspect the gun.
It had changed mildly since Alan had given it to her. The grip and glow sights were changed to a red colour, and a flashlight was added. Nothing too drastic she thought.
Pulling the slide back and letting go, smiling at the sound it made.
The sheet she repurposed as a curtain was pulled aside, looking over to see Blake's Amber Eyes staring at her from the darkness.
"If you aren't going to study, then go to bed," she whispered.
"Sorry," Ruby apologized. Eyes falling to the handgun, she had a thought as her eyes scanned the UT and USA stamped into the slide.
With recent discoveries about the Troopers she wanted an answer to a question that had crossed her mind, "I need to do something real quick," she whispered.
Blake complied and moved aside, letting the young team leader by. Jumping down, she landed from the makeshift bunk beds they had constructed and dashed to the dorm room's entrance. Exiting the room.
Walking to the right of the JNPR's room and toward the Trooper's dorm. She stood in front of the door, and she knocked lightly. Ruby wanted to ask Alan about the manufacturer's markings on her handgun. Knowing he was most likely awake at this hour.
After a minute, she knocked again. The door opened, and a tired-looking Amin answered.
"What ya want?" he asked
"is uh..." she hesitated. Amin expecting the hesitation assumed what she was going to ask.
"Corporals still out," To prove the fact presented, Amin showed an empty bed.
"You're sure he hasn't hurt himself climbing a tree?" She asked after a moment.
"huh," he turned to gaze at the window.
Another pause, and another Idea, "I need to use Alan's Toolkit," she asked while presenting the pistol.
"Don't you have your own?" he asked turning to her again.
"I left Mine on Patch," She lied once more.
"Alright," he moved aside and walked to the window. Leaving the door open she stepped inside. "It's in his Alice Gear, Left side pouches," he informed. Ruby remembered they had to share almost all equipment. Even now that hasn't changed much.
As she approached the gear at the end of Alan's bed, she heard Amin Open the window. She glanced back at the Private and saw him leaning out, Looking for something she had no idea of.
refocusing on the Alice webbing, she looked for the left side. Eventually finding the correct side, she opened a pouch.
What she saw gave her pause; It was entirely filled with Dog Tags, the chains cut short and tied to save space. She could barely see the many names but the ones she could make out were 'Norman, Dominique, 37020, A+,' and a bunch of Dates she couldn't decipher, Taking the Tags she saw a Cross on the adjacent tag.
The window was closed then Amin walked to his bed and fell onto it. Immediately the Trooper started to snore.
She looked over to see he had indeed fallen asleep basically instantly.
Ruby grabbed a few other Tags and saw they were similar, some held a Crescent, some a variant of the Cross and one Had a 3 and a Backwards C attached.
She shook her head, placed the tags back and searched for anything else. Upon finding the toolkit, her eyes caught something on a shelf nearby; A map case.
"jackpot," she whispered to herself. hearing the Private shuffle she turned to look and saw him put his pillow on his head to block any noise. "whoops,"
She took the case and sat against the bed, holding out her gun. Turning the flashlight on low she began to look through the scribbles, And then she realized she couldn't read any of these notes.
As she skimmed the pages she noticed new writing on some of the pages. one page in particular held legible training notes in Alan's handwriting. The map part of it was empty, so she closed the case and sighed. Noticing A name tag, the word Zasakwe was written under another name, Woodrow. behind that she saw many erased 'Woodrows' All blended into one.
This didn't really help her theory, But she realized the Dog Tags proved something with the Alien dates. Yawning she stared at the wall.
'I should get some rest,'. After replacing the map case she got up and turned the flashlight off. beginning her way back to her own bed.
Closing the Troopers door and walking back to her room she waved a goodnight to Blake who was still awake and reading one of her many books.
She wondered what Alan was doing, Hoping he wasn't doing anything stupid, dangerous or Dangerously stupid.
"Trust me, boss, This guy looked like a killer," The shorter Faunus spoke. The two higher-ranking White Fang members strode down the hallway.
"Plenty of people have that look to them, Reggie" the Chainsaw wielding Lieutenant dismissed
"Shit, sir. This Guy, Tall, Built, and had that Look old Linus had." Reggie said as they stopped behind a set of double doors.
"We've been on this continent for less than a year and we are left with sixteen of the thirty we originally had," The Lieutenant spoke, Anger etched into his voice.
"We came here unprepared, Damn Our first mission we ran into those trainee huntsmen,"
The Lieutenant sighed, "Ten dead, three arrested and one missing presumed dead," He held a hand up to his face. "Adam said we need to begin recruiting Locally, so this is the Test batch we will recruit personally," he said and motioned to the doors. "At least we won't have to rely on that Junior asshole for Manpower,"
"Four new guys, just bear in mind that file I told you about," Reggie mentioned.
The Lieutenant nodded and thought about an Individual the file mentioned. Despite the Danger they possessed, It also provided a great opportunity to prove the rookies' loyalty.
The Door opened and They walked into the main part of the warehouse. Walking down a set of stairs they revealed themselves to four rookies standing in a circle.
The Lieutenant glanced at his Shorter Comrade.
"you gave him Pierre's mask?" he whispered, The mask in question was similar to the others, Differing in the eyes. Instead of the two slits on each eye, they were instead a single cutout with a kind of glass that made the Faunus's eyes shine. he heard his response from the shorter man's Semblance.
"Not like he's here to complain, Plus look at him with that glow," The Lieutenant moved on from him and took in all of the potential recruits
All of the Potential recruits wore the masks they were given. A woman, her Faunus heritage was a set of Ram horns. A younger male, arms were a pair of Scaled forearms with spikes and Claws on his fingertips. The tallest, The mask Amplified his Eyes, revealing him as some kind of Feline. Then the Last. A young woman with a fluffy tail that ran off her back. All of them wore clothes that covered their faces or heads.
He regarded the Last one with a tilt of the head, She took notice and stilled.
"Hello, I'm sure you're aware of what you're here for," He started. "In case you aren't, Let me remind you." He moved off to the side and leaned on the Wooden box. "You have been mistreated by Humans, are looking for Justice for a lost loved one, Fighting for your right to live among the humans or are simply looking for violence,"
"On this night, you can show your dedication to Our cause" he took the Chainsaw off his back and Pointed it at the anxious woman, "She is here on behalf of the Vale Police Department" He revved the Chainsaw. "Detective Aspen didn't have the foresight to bring back up." As he finished his speech he noticed the Tallest move back to observe.
"Prove to Me your dedication to Destroying the Humans, Putting them in their place."
She walked back and pulled out an odd black cylinder and it extended into a Baton. At this, Two of the recruits made their moves.
One charged and Slashed at the Infiltrator with his Claws. She blocked the slash with her baton and responded with a punch that immediately knocked the boy out. Rolling to a stop at their feet.
"We need the manpower, so we can train him," Reggie proposed to the Lieutenant.
The Ram Faunus did something more practical, pulling out a knife and lowering herself into a fighting stance. She Moved forward and attempted to stab the Detective, The Lawwoman used the baton to block it and sent her leg out to kick out the recruit's legs.
The Ram Faunus fell and used it to her advantage, She sent a high Kick to the officer's side.
As the fight dragged on the two White Fang Members Glanced at the Tall one standing off to the side with his arms crossed. The glowing eyes on his mask glanced back.
Reggie motioned for him to Help the Ram, But he only shrugged in response.
The two women had stood back up at some point. The Cop spun and sent a Backkick into the Ram, Sending her into a Crate. She then turned her attention to the one who hadn't done anything yet.
A flash of Movement The Baton-wielding woman wound up her arm to hit The Tall Faunus's side. Mid swing the Recruit grabbed her baton hand. Stopping her assault and raising her off the ground. She tried to punch him in the face, Only for Him to extend his arm out, moving her out of reach.
He turned back to the Two higher-ranking Faunus, He was about to say something when.
"Big Bastard!" She yelled and sent her steel-toed boot into the man's Crotch.
He lowered to the floor, crouching down. The lieutenant felt the power of an Aura charging up and noticed a dark red hue travel through his arm, and into his hand.
Detective Aspen now standing properly attempted to remove the Large man's grip from her weapon but he still held on. He lowered her hand and she saw him look up and charge up a punch. The glow of an Aura gave her pause.
"oh shit," The Ram Faunus said barely out of the Crate.
"hm," Reggie's eyebrow raised as he realized he should have asked if any of them had their Aura unlocked.
"..." The Lietenant stayed quiet.
"oh-" His fist was sent forward.
Alan washed the Blood from his hands, He hadn't realized how Powerful an Aura Assisted punch would be. He'd lost control and killed someone who didn't need to die but his mission was accomplished. Of the four White Fang in the Building, One was unconscious and the Leader of this branch congratulated him.
He heard the Ram Faunus behind him dry heaving into the toilet. She couldn't stomach the sight of what had happened to the Policewoman.
Alan finished washing the last of the grey matter from his hands and sighed. looking up from the sink into the mirror, he saw himself wearing the White Fang mask, and his hoodie was splattered. Drying blood dotted his face and the Mask.
"You wanna know the worst part of that was?" he began, Turning to the woman. "I felt nothing after I Realized I killed her," He saw her shiver at his words. Alan turned back to the mirror and stared at the Mask. He Thought about how he felt nothing after what he had done, It Genuinely scared him. She wasn't a bad guy. She was doing her job. Alan wondered what her plan was, And how she planned on escaping when she was outnumbered like that.
He washed his face and decided he was clean enough. Realizing he could use what he said to his advantage, Playing the part.
Alan walked out of the restroom and through the hallway. Entering the Main part of the warehouse he was greeted with two grunts Cleaning his mess. One holding a box of red crystals and the other wrapping the headless corpse in a discarded mat.
He noticed the Lizard faunus had woken up and was holding a frozen bag of peas to his bruised cheek. Squeamishly staring at the spray of gore on the floor. A Puddle of Dark red Blood and other bits spread across the warehouse.
Remembering when he entered the warehouse with these two, the boy had said he'd seen some things and was prepared for anything to prove himself. The Ram mentioned she lost someone close to her recently. Alan and the Cop had stayed quiet.
Alan leaned against a crate next to the boy. Eventually, their third recruit walked out.
"That was Terrible," She stated.
"hm," Alan gave his response.
"You're a horrible person," she commented.
"hm,"
"Is all you can say 'hm' after doing that?" she waved to the horrific scene before them.
"Done worse," he replied.
"Ugh," she made her disgust with him obvious and looked away from the scene.
After an awkward minute or two, The White Fang leaders walked out and motioned for the three to follow. They complied. The two Cleaning Grunts had placed the Dust Crystals around and were ready to ignite them.
When they walked out of the warehouse the Lieutenant started to speak.
"We need to burn this warehouse to cover our tracks" Stopping in the unkempt street everyone else followed "Here's the address to our next hideout, Meet us there within a week or come with us. That is where you will get your uniform and first Objective," he said holding up a scroll. This caused the two at his side to do the same. Alan pulled out the Burner scroll he was given for this mission, he received a location and tapped the little 'save' that appeared.
The leaders resumed their walk.
After that Alan stayed in the street, the Ram walked in another direction and the Lizard boy followed the lieutenant.
He began walking in the same direction as the Ram, After an uncomfortable bit of walking in the same direction she turned and held a hand to the knife at her belt.
"Just trying to get home lady," He said, Walking past the cautious woman.
once they got to an intersection she stopped and while turning away,
"I want justice for my Brother, And if working with you means I See him avenged, then so be it."
"hm,"
Without a word she continued walking, Thankfully walking down a different street. Leaving Alan alone with his thoughts.
The Trooper began his way to the agricultural district, only stopping when he smelled smoke. Turning around he saw the pillar of black smoke rising from the meeting place.
Alan Thought about how he could have done better, Leaving his Aura up would have helped, It was stupid of him to let his guard down in that situation.
"Fuck I'm Retarded" he started, "Mother fuckin Idiot, Stupid fuckin-" The whole way, Garnering stares from the few people wandering the streets at this hour. Everyone left him alone due to the mask and blood.
Glynda Goodwitch sat in the driver's seat of her Car. It had been an hour since Alan had taken off.
"I'm telling you he's fine Glynda" Ozpin tried to calm her nerves.
"Making a young man like him do Our dirty work doesn't sit well with me," at her words Ozpin sighed.
"Who else could we have sent?"
"maybe, we could have-" she jolted as the passenger door was opened. the large figure of Alan sat down and leaned into the seat.
Glynda took a moment to calm herself and she noticed his clothes.
"Lynx, What happened?" she asked.
"Mission accomplished,"
"Ah Alan, Tell us how it went," Ozpin asked, forgetting the previous conversation.
"uh, Things got dangerous, Took care of the problem, I am now a member." Alan presented the Burner Scroll and Glynda held hers up. Saving the location sent.
"Good work Alan, Now Glynda, Bring him home and we can all head in for the night." Alan leaned into the seat and Tried to get some sleep. But it never came. Deciding to Reflect on the life he took.
Later
Ozpin rubbed the bridge of his nose at Alan's verbal report. The Corporal Reported he had Killed a member of the Vale Police Department, And the White Fang had burned down a warehouse.
"Oz, He's a little barbaric, but he got the job done." Ironwood Commented. The General having stayed up later than usual to bear witness to the Operations Outcome.
"I know, but..." He paused. Eyes glancing at a security camera feed showing Alan walking back to his dorm. "Never mind, I have to do something about the missing detective."
"Or, you could let the Government handle that case, They have no indication It was Alan, and The Corporal isn't registered in the Vale's database anymore." Ironwood's proposal made sense, But he couldn't help but feel for the Family of the Detective.
Ozpin used his desk to find the Detectives file and started to read aloud.
"Detective Tremula Aspen, thirty-five, A mother of two" Ozpin read. She was an only mother and didn't have any immediate family in Vale. Having moved to Vale from Menagerie
"A tragedy, But think of the people we will save if Alan could find out about any planned attacks." Reminded Ironwood.
"Your rights James," He agreed,
"I'll speak to you later, I have to be awake in a few hours." With that, the Call ended. Leaving Ozpin illuminated by the glow of his desk.
The Corporal tried to open the door to his room, but it didn't budge. Alan sighed, Knocked, and waited.
He had tied his hoodie inside out into a makeshift bag to carry the Burner Scroll and Mask. his current problem was the fact he left his Personal Scroll inside the Dorm
After a minute Alan knocked again. Again, there was no response.
"God Damn it."
Alan stared up at the tree near his dorm window.
It didn't have any branches near the bottom and he saw he had to climb from the wall.
Earlier he had jumped from a lower branch. He really counted on Amin waking up to let him back inside.
"Okay, that's great," He moved forward and took a step into a crack in the brick wall.
He began to ascend, slowly. He is Reminded of climbing through ruined apartments and factory buildings.
The window opened and Alan climbed inside. The object he thought was a part of the wall tilted and Alan held on for dear life.
Amin awoke to a thumping noise and a clatter. He turned from facing the wall and saw an open window. Eyes moving to the floor he saw Alan and a tipped-over dresser. The curtain that once covered the window now draped over the Corporal.
Grabbing the scroll from under his pillow he checked the time.
"4:11 AM, Good morning sir," Amin commented, sitting up.
"Good morning." Alan Greeted him back, After that it fell into silence.
"You have fun?" He tried to reignite the conversation,
"No," Alan stated, finally shifting from lying on the floor.
"wanna talk about it?" He asked as Alan sat up and scooched backwards toward his bed.
"maybe," Alan added indecisively.
"Yes or No Alan?" Alan looked up out into the sky, seeing the first signs of daylight peaking up from the summer light.
"Yes,"
"so how did your confidential thing go?" Amin Questioned.
"I killed a cop," Alan answered, the way he delivered it made Amin question Alan's condition, A little more down than usual.
"Seriously?"
"yeah, but this time was different," Alan said, Remembering the fact he'd killed possibly hundreds of people, Soldiers, Civilians, and Bandits, Old or young, Men or Women. It didn't affect him like this one. "I didn't feel anything this time, Even after Doing those meditations Ben taught us, and that makes me feel like shit," he sighed and put his hand to his face. For every person he killed, He Reflected on every. last. one.
"Alan, buddy, you might need to see a therapist or some shit," Amin suggested. The two Troopers fell into silence.
Alan thought for a while, So long in fact the daylight began to show through the dark blue sky. a bit of orange on the horizon.
He just needed to keep moving forward, finding An objective to keep his mind from losing focus. Alan felt he would get better with time.
"I think I'll be fine," He said eventually.
Instead of a response, he received a snore. Glancing at Amin, he saw that the Private had moved to lay on his side and eventually fell asleep.
Alan stood and stepped up to Amin, grabbing his blanket he covered His teammate. Turning back to his own bed he decided to catch some sleep.
Ozpin Granted Alan the entire day off of classes to rest. Alan was going to use the opportunity. But first, he needed to take a Shit, Shower, and then he could Sleep.
Roman Torchwick Tapped his cigar into the ashtray, Letting the ashes fall. Waking up not too long ago, he had to plan with the White Fang on how they were going to recruit more to recover the losses they had taken throughout the year.
"As you suggested, recruiting three every week won't do," He started. raising the cigar to his lips he inhaled and let the smoke fill his lungs.
"Well, what do you suggest then Human" The Lieutenant didn't like him, for obvious reasons, But his Loyalty to the masked red-haired man displayed On the Projector screen kept him from attacking Roman. That and his Assistant, Sitting on the dilapidated sofa behind.
"A rally of sorts, one held next month, and the another the month after. By then, I'll have some shiny new toys to sway your animals to join" The Lieutenant growled at his words but eventually nodded accepting his idea.
Finally, the Leader of White Fang operations in the area spoke up "And what are these 'toys' you think will get more faunus to join?" The Bull asked.
"First Rally I can get you some new small arms, Hardlight Rifles, Bombs, Special Ammunition and the like," Roman pulled out his scroll and tapped the screen. "And with some muscle, For the Next we can Secure A serious Upgrade to your force, surely this will persuade some vengeful Strays to join" What Appeared on a projector showed A Mech. Everyone in the Room recognized it as some sort of Atlesian mech. A yet-to-be-revealed design.
On the bottom, it showed information. Arriving by Train travelling from East of Vale through the Mountains and then into Vale itself. It was for some Military Tech Reveal in the coming months. Inside the Train would have at least two.
"I guess your Employer gave you this information?" Adam asked Roman,
"Of course,"
"I'll provide you with the Men needed," The Lieutenant offered.
"I'll send some scouts to Plan the Ambush," Taurus said his Offer.
"Good, Very Good." With that, the Call was ended. The Lieutenant huffed and stormed out of the Room.
The Crime Duo was left alone.
"With those muts getting more crew I don't have to spend my personal Lien on Juniors Idiots." He felt a tap on his shoulder, Looking over he saw Neopolitan holding a scroll to his face.
He saw it was a video. Grabbing the Scroll he pressed play and watched a fight break out between some White Fang Rookies.
"Did you record this yourself?" He asked. Receiving a nod, he wondered why Neo was showing him this.
After the second Faunus was Pacified the Baton-wielding Woman went to attack the Massive Recruit who at that point sat observing. She was stopped and lifted into the air.
"what-" he was about to ask why when the Woman kicked the Recruit in the Groin, Making the orange-haired Criminal wince.
He Recovered and raised up a punch with his Aura, sending it into the Poor Woman in his grasp.
"huh," Roman commented, The Spray of Gore that resulted from the Attack painted the surrounding area. After Killing the Woman the Man flicked his hands and wiped them on his Gray Hoodie.
The Camera shifted, moving to show Neo holding the camera up to herself excitedly pointing at the Tall Faunus in the Background.
Torchwick lowered the Scroll to see Neo with the same face as displayed in the Video.
"What?" He asked, Receiving a series of sign language.
"He's not like a stray cat, you can't keep him," he deciphered her words as 'Can we keep it?'
She repeated, giving him a pout. Roman sighed.
"Fine, I'll see if we can get him to work for us." Roman gave the Scroll back and walked to the Window. Looking out onto the Warehouse floor he saw what few White Fang grunts they had and his few remaining Guys counting and storing crates of stolen Dust.
Neo elegantly hopped up and skipped out of the warehouse managers office.
He pondered his situation, Going from robbing banks, and stores to Working with Terrorists. All thanks to A woman who showed up one day and threatened him.
'What have you gotten yourself into?'