Running on little to no sleep, sigh.

Note:

I have my stupid awards ceremony and speech coming up again soon (3rd October) and need to take a week off around it to prepare. I really thought the business would be closed before getting to it, but it appears not ffs.

As such, there will be no updates from Monday 1st to Sunday 6th October. Both to let me get some prep down before, and to have a chance to unwind after it's over. Thankfully this is the last time I'll ever have to do it.

Cover Art: Aristeo Storm

Chapter 48

Qrow wasn't sure what to expect when he turned up at Mountain Glenn and sat down at the diner across from the research facility's main entrance. Under Ozpin, he'd met with numerous shady individuals and informants, but that had almost always been as the one receiving information. They had been loyal to Ozpin and reporting to Qrow, and he'd just been the middleman.

This was one of the first times he'd been the one left in the dark. It made him realise just how much he'd taken Ozpin's leadership for granted. Raven had accused him of being Ozpin's slave, carrying out his will in an unquestioning manner, and Qrow could see why she'd think that. It wasn't always unquestioning, however. He always wondered in his own head what the overall goal was and why he'd been sent somewhere; he just trusted Ozpin enough to not need answers to get the job done.

And if Ozpin had ever ordered him to do something he disagreed with, he'd sure as hell have demanded the full story before ever considering it. Oz hadn't, though. The man had never sent them on a job they didn't in some way see the sense in. Go rescue this person, go deal with these Grimm, go investigate this person suspected of working with Salem.

He really hadn't needed an explanation of why he was doing any of those things.

Raven apparently had – and she'd seen or found something that set her off. Naturally, his bitch of a sister had never told him, hypocritically expecting him to follow her with the same "unquestioning slavish devotion" she accused him of having for Ozpin. If she'd just fucking explained herself then he could have at least understood why she did what she did. Not that it mattered now he was in the past, of course, but he still wanted answers to that little mystery.

The chair opposite him scraped out and a man in a black suit took a seat. "The birds are flying high tonight," he said.

"Are they?" asked Qrow. "Wait, is this some password bullshit? Because your boy Vincent didn't tell me about that."

The man wasn't the same as the last one. Go figure. He had a horse-like face and one of those smarter-than-thou looks on it, like he was always dismissing everyone around him as a brainless buffoon. Qrow hated him on principle. His blonde hair was short and meticulously gelled back. He looked like a prick.

"How remarkably unprofessional of my colleague," he sneered. "No matter. You may call me Vincent."

"Fuck's sake, not this," Qrow complained. "I get the giving fake names bullshit but at least give me a different one."

"We'd rather you have less ability to differentiate us in your head."

"Yeah, because that isn't a suspicious thing to say."

"We're suspicious people," said Horse – the name Qrow decided to give him in his head. "There's little point trying to be otherwise. You're obviously not going to let your guard down around us, nor should you. Let's get down to business."

"Food first. I'm starved."

Horse scowled. "Why didn't you eat?"

"I'm a student. You think I have money to burn?"

"We know you have money, Mr Branwen. You receive a stipend from Nicholas Schnee and also have quite the funds left over from part-time work creating and maintaining weapons for older students in Signal."

That was news not so rare that they couldn't have picked it up from gossip. It didn't prove anything about their reach.

"And even your monthly donations to the orphanage in Mistral that cared for you haven't put a dent in it."

Never fucking mind, then. They could apparently see right into his bank account. Great. Not even Raven knew about those donations – not because he thought she'd be unhappy with them (she wouldn't be) but because he knew she'd get competitive and think she had to donate as much as him. It'd be yet another reason for her to think she had to catch up with him, when he wanted her enjoying Beacon like a normal person.

If they can see people's bank accounts then that probably rules out criminals, funnily enough. They'd be draining the banks dry if they had that kind of access. Rival companies or some shady group looking more likely.

And, thankfully, Salem was looking a whole lot less likely, too.

Before the fall of Beacon and the hacking attempt on the CCT, Salem had never shown any interest or success at interfering with technology. Obviously, he knew that was in the process of changing right now, and that she'd have her methods in, say, twenty or so years' time.

But that wasn't now. If Salem could access the banks, she could crash the economy by deleting the data. It was impossible to understate the sheer chaos that would be caused by someone wiping bank data. Even if they had backups, just a day or two of people not being able to access their money or pay bills would send Vale into freefall.

"Nice job showing off," Qrow said. "Anyway, I'd like a double cheeseburger, fries, onion rings and a hot chocolate fudge cake."

Horse rolled his eyes. "How remarkably unhealthy."

"Bitch, I burn thousands of calories every day through training. I could eat twice this and not put on a pound. Now go put your money to use, Horse, and get me my—"

"How did you know my codename?"

Qrow spluttered. Horse had a furious look on his face but there was also a glimmer of panic as well. Qrow was more surprised than anything. "Wait, that's your name? Horse is your actual name?"

Realising that Qrow was as surprised as he, and that it had been a lucky guess, Horse relaxed and settled back down. He also cursed himself, probably for having overreacted and given away more than he expected.

"Our organisation uses animal-themed codenames," he said. "I was given Horse in recognition of my endurance, stamina, and regal bearing."

Yeah, thought Qrow, looking unfairly at the man's droopy face. I bet that's why they gave you that name…

"And this organisation is?"

"Not strictly important to this conversation. Know that our primary focus is on the protection of Vale and, more recently, the protection of Mountain Glenn as well. The new city was never intended to be under our purview, but our responsibilities have been expanded since its construction."

Horse might have been trying to keep it vague, but he was giving away more than he realised – and specifically because no one would expect a kid Qrow's age to catch the little details. After all, a kid wouldn't catch that the casual mention of their responsibilities having been expanded meant that someone was doing the expanding, nor would a kid notice the quiet frustration in Horse's voice and place it as the all-too-familiar sensation of a salaryman complaining about unfair expectations at work.

It was the sound of a person overworked and underpaid who had just been given a promotion by their boss that came with no wage increase, no new office, but a whole host of new work to get done. And even calling it a "responsibility" suggested a more long-term approach than a company rivalry.

"You work for Vale, then?" Qrow asked, pointedly.

"That isn't important to this conversation."

No reaction in the face. Horse must have realised he was telling too much and decided to back off. He even called over a waitress to pass on Qrow's orders, all to mentally reset so he wouldn't slip more.

It might have been a little too early to be sure, but Qrow felt he could bank on them not being a force interested in Mountain Glenn's fall – though that didn't mean he wasn't part of some self-fulfilling prophecy. It'd be just his bad luck to accidentally cause the fall of Mountain Glenn by helping this group infiltrate the research facility and cause a problem themselves.

Then again, history shows that'll happen with or without me here. At least if I'm the one doing it, I can make sure nothing bad happens.

The food came quickly – reheated crap that it was – and Qrow dug in while Horse sipped some tea and grimaced at the plebian taste. His words. The man was content to wait for Qrow to finish, which he did with speed.

"Ah, that was good. Food always tastes better when you're not the one paying for it."

Horse smirked at some hidden joke. "Is that so? I'll keep that in mind. To business, then. I believe my colleagues have given you the barest bones of what it is we want done."

"You want someone you can deny involvement with to sneak into there and find out what they're up to."

"To put it simply, yes. We can work our own way in if needs must, but it could cause something of a diplomatic incident."

Could it now? How very telling. Diplomatic issues were only a concern if you were involved in one of the factions. Atlas couldn't really blame Vale if criminals broke into their complex, not enough to cause a "diplomatic incident" anyway. That was only really a concern if the ones breaking in were from Vale. Specifically, from the Valean government.

"You a government attack dog, Horse?"

The man paused, cup to his lips. "I'm not sure where you got that idea from," he said, coldly. "But enough with the pointless guessing games. You have an interest in that facility. We do as well. This makes us natural allies. You will be provided information, communication and equipment. We will select a time and place for you to break in and assist every step of the way in doing so."

While Qrow took on all the risk. Not for the first time, he wished he could transform into a bird again. Not for the first time, he cursed himself for relying on it so much that he kept needing it.

Time to grow up and stop relying on gimmicks.

"Do I have any guarantees you won't betray me?"

"Do we have any you won't betray us?" Horse quipped. "Even the little information you could tell about us under interrogation would be inconvenient. You may not know who we are but Atlas might be able to make some guesses. It's in our best interests for you to come out of this without being captured."

They were known to Atlas, then. Worked for Vale, were known by Atlas, and didn't want Atlas thinking they were behind this – hence why they had to use him, because doing this themselves might work, but would apparently be so obvious that Atlas would contact Vale and demand to know what the fuck the city was up to.

Oh yeah. They were government alright. Heh. I always did hear the tax office was brutal to those not paying their dues. Didn't think it would be this cloak and dagger. In the end, it didn't matter. He needed to help with Mountain Glenn and these people… well, they might be shifty – and rude – but if they were working for Vale's government then they wanted to protect the city.

And it also meant his warning through Ozpin was being taken seriously by someone at least. It'd be pretty hypocritical for Qrow to refuse to work with them and then complain that no one had done anything with his advance warning.

"I'm game. What happens now?"

Horse nodded. "Our group is prepared to give you some small amount of training. Time is of the essence, but we can't have you going in blind." He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a tiny card to slip into his scroll. "This will patch you into some limited communications. An agent of ours is prepared to meet with you in the Emerald Forest between Beacon and Vale and run you through some infiltration training. You're to take it seriously."

Qrow rolled his eyes. He wanted to say he wasn't a fucking idiot, but Horse saw him as a seventeen-year-old boy, so it wasn't entirely unreasonable for the guy to think he'd not take such training seriously. There were plenty his age who wouldn't.

Taking it, he said, "I assume one of your people will get in touch with me when it's time?"

"We shall." Horse took out a wad of lien to pay for the meal. "Enjoy your day, Mr Branwen. We shall be in touch with you before long."

/-/

If Qrow thought he'd be coming back to a chill dorm, he was mistaken – though it wasn't his team causing the drama today. Raven was there, as was a spare set of clothes and a uniform on a clothes hanger ready for during the week. Port and Peach just looked to Qrow when he came in, letting him silently know this was his problem to deal with.

"Okay," he said. "What's up?"

Raven looked at him. "I live here now."

"You do not. What's wrong?"

"I want off my team. Swap places with me. I'll take this one."

"Motion denied. You can spend the night if you really need to—"

"I need to," Raven said, slumping on his bed and wriggling under the covers until she was cocooned in his blankets with only her head poking out. "Is it okay if I stay over for the next four years, too?"

Nessa giggled.

"No," Qrow said. "Seriously, Ray. Taiyang isn't that bad—"

"Taiyang? Who cares about him? I'm sick and tired of sharing a room with Summer and Willow!"

Those two were the issue? He couldn't say he'd seen it coming, especially since 99% of complaints out of her mouth were usually down to Taiyang and his constant flirting. The guy had always seemed a lot suaver in Qrow's memories, but maybe that was more that they'd all been idiot teenagers at the time. Having zero experience with girls or flirting, anything Taiyang said came across a masterstroke. It was kind of amusing to come back with a lifetime's experience and realise Tai was a bumbling idiot.

But he couldn't remember…

No, wait, he could remember issues between Raven and Summer. Quite a lot, actually, especially early on when Raven hadn't accepted her leadership – not an issue here. Still, it was easy to look back and assume all had been sunshine and rainbows when it really hadn't been. Four years was a long time for four people to live together in a small room, and tensions would inevitably flair. Raven and Taiyang had broken up more times than anyone cared to count, and even Tai and Qrow had declared one another enemies for life on more than one occasion.

"What's the issue this time?" he asked, sitting down on the bed. "And can I have some of my blankets back?"

"No. I have claimed them in the name of Raven Branwen. Sleep with Port."

"I suppose I could make room—"

Nessa pointed angrily at him. "Stand up for yourself, Peter! Don't let her walk all over you!"

Qrow chuckled. "Raven and I will share a bed. It won't be the first time – shut up, Gretchen. You know what I meant." He rolled his eyes at her snort. "But what have Willow and Summer done that's driven you out? Since I doubt they've teamed up against you, I'm guessing this is them arguing over something."

"Something is right," Raven mumbled.

"What is it?"

"Everything! They argue and compete about everything! Summer isn't a good leader. Willow isn't a good teammate. Summer hogs the shower too long. Willow uses too much perfume. Summer lets Taiyang get away with too much flirting." Raven poked her head back out to say, "Willow is right about that one, but that's not the point. They find a reason to argue on anything they can! I've had to sit through them arguing over what colour bra is best to wear under a white shirt!"

"White," said Nessa.

"Black," said Qrow.

"What? But you can see it through—" Nessa sighed. "Oh, right. That's the point. Ugh. Gretchen, hit him." Gretchen launched a pillow at his head, and Qrow let it strike home to amuse them.

"I wish I could hit them to shut them up," Raven grumbled.

"Everyone shuts up if you hit them hard enough," Gretchen said.

"Mmmm. I knew there was a reason I liked you. Want to swap partners?"

"Nope."

"Tch. My brother that good a partner?"

"Nope," Gretchen repeated, with little regard for Qrow's ego. "But I think my heart would break if I had to be Taiyang's partner and watch him chase after you every day. Plus, you make your team sound worse than ours."

"Which is kind of nice," Nessa added. "It's good to know we're not the only team who have had problems."

"You can have Taiyang if you want him," Raven offered. "I don't know what girls see in him."

"The ass," Nessa and Gretchen said in perfect unison.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Aside from that."

"The abs, the face, the eyes, the—"

A knock came at the door. Moments later, Taiyang stuck his head in. Gretchen squeaked and dove under her covers while Nessa started listing off body parts unrelated to attraction to act like she hadn't been talking about him. "—and the elbow is connected to the arm, is connected to the— oh hey, it's you. What can we do for you?"

Taiyang laughed nervously. "Hey. Can I stay over for a night or two? Or approximately twelve hundred nights?"

Nessa leaned back. "That's four years."

"Wow. Yeah. Crazy how that wor— oh, Ray is here."

"Of course I'm here, chucklefuck," Raven seethed. "Where else would I go than to my brother's dorm? Fuck off. I claimed this dorm. Go find another."

"But I don't know anyone else," Taiyang whined.

"Then sleep in the hallway."

Taiyang look pitiful enough (and probably handsome enough in the opinions of half their team) to let in for the night, though Nessa made it clear they'd both have to find somewhere else to stay or deal with the issue rather than spend a second night with them. Or the next four years.

Naturally, Taiyang and Peter ended up bunking together while Qrow and Raven did the same on the opposite end of the dorm. He couldn't speak for Taiyang and Peter, but it wasn't that uncomfortable for him. Raven curled up behind him with her back to his, the two of them resting in a position that let them watch every approach. It had been all but necessary back in the tribe. Sometimes, she would roll over in the night and snuggle, but those events "never happened" as far as she was concerned.

As they turned in, distantly, they heard the sounds of Willow and Summer shouting about whose fault it was Taiyang and Raven had left the dorm. Was it something he should deal with? Technically, he was the reason they were on a team together, but, for once, he didn't think this was his fault. It was their job to get along with one another. If their future children could get over their differences and become best friends, so could they.

"Goodnight Ray," Taiyang said, from across the dorm.

"I hope a Grimm sneaks in and eats you," she replied. "No offence, Port."

"None tak—Wait, am I being eaten as well?"

"It's a Grimm. You think it's gonna stop at just him? Don't worry, I'll avenge you after."

"I don't want to die for one man's crush!"

"Oh yeah, speaking of." Raven poked her head up. "Rather than chase pointlessly after me, you should sneak into Gretchen's bed. She actually likes you—" A shoe struck Raven in the face. "Gah!"

"BITCH!" howled Gretchen, sitting up in bed bright red and with a few embarrassed tears in her eyes. "FUCK YOU!"

Gretchen jumped out of bed, yanked on her dressing gown and stormed out the room.

"What?" asked Raven. "I was helping."

"Help less," Qrow grumbled, climbing away from her and heading to the door. "I'll make sure she's okay," he told the team. "Taiyang, forget you heard anything."

"Already forgotten."

Qrow caught up with Gretchen, the poor girl being embarrassed beyond words and also just generally upset. Her crush hadn't exactly been a secret, but it also hadn't been stated outright, so she always had the option to pretend to be normal around Taiyang and vice versa. Not that Taiyang hadn't known either, but he had the same excuse. Both could pretend not to know.

He didn't think telling her that would cheer her up. Gretchen wasn't even interested in trying with Taiyang, knowing he wouldn't return her feelings, but that didn't make it any less humiliating to have the guy she liked know she did. Now, she had to worry about pitying looks and awkwardness whenever they were in a room together.

"Sorry for my sister," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Raven doesn't even realise why the things she says might upset people sometimes. She genuinely thought she was helping you."

"That doesn't make it better."

"I know it doesn't. You coming back or…?"

"I'm going to sleep in their dorm," she replied. "And you're coming with me."

"I am?" He blinked, and then leaned back from her angry gaze. "I mean, I am. Of course I am. Ugh. But they're quite loud—"

"They don't be if you're there. Willow won't want to look childish by arguing in front of you."

Ah, that was a good point. Willow would instantly put on a mature air, and Summer would almost be forced to mimic it so as not to look stupid. Nothing quite like the threat of looking like a child to stop bickering teenagers.

Sure enough, Willow and Summer both froze when Qrow and Gretchen entered the dorm. They each had a pillow in hand as a weapon. Summer whipped hers behind her back, while Willow started fluffing her own as if that's what she'd been doing the whole time.

"What a pleasant surprise," she said. "What brings you here, Qrow?"

"Gee. I wonder." he deadpanned.

Thankfully, Gretchen saved him. "Raven outed my crush to Taiyang in front of him."

Both girls gasped, forgetting their rivalry in an instant to rush forward and commiserate the unhappy girl. They dragged her in, sat her down, and immediately started discussing how they could get back at Raven for being such a bitch. It may not have been the peace Team SWRT wanted, but it was the peace they would get. Raven deserved it for not thinking before she opened her mouth.

Moving over to Taiyang's bed – because Gretchen would probably be too embarrassed to take it – he climbed on in. He was back in team STRQ's old dorm, but once again with a different team configuration. It didn't feel quite so unsettling this time, since watching them bicker reminded him of old times. For now, at least, Willow and Summer had struck a silent truce around supporting Gretchen.

Qrow's scroll pinged. It was from Raven. "How did you shut them up?"

"I made an epic sacrifice," he typed back.

"I thank you for it."

Yeah, well, she wouldn't once she realised who he had sacrificed to achieve it. Before he could put it away, another text came from a source listed only as "VINCENT" in his contacts. Qrow was beginning to hate that name.

"Your training partner will be ready for you tomorrow night at six, at the following coordinates. Do not bring any weaponry or clothing that can be traced back to you. Equipment will be provided. Come alone or this shall be the last you hear from us. Regards, Vincent."

Qrow sent back a stupid emoji just to annoy them but got an immediate pingback telling him the number was not – and presumably never had been – in operation. Smarmy, mysterious pricks. Qrow much preferred working under Ozpin, but the old man had enough on his plate right now, and Qrow didn't want to rock that boat more than he already had.

Besides, he couldn't keep relying on Ozpin to make his decisions for him.

Next Chapter: 21st September

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