That same day, the morning sun peered in through the window of a red-painted hotel room. The carpets were dark red and the floor appeared to have numerous articles of clothing scattered about. To the right of the window was a nightstand, alarm clock reading 10:30am and a lamp. Further to the right was a bed with a red comforter set, pink pillows and two people lying underneath it. Closer to the window, being embraced by the woman behind him, was Wungeng, Vacuan White Fang leader. Closer to the door, and wrapping her arms around Wungeng, was Aoi Morris, Mistralian specialist. Nearby the bed was a long table against the wall, with a trident and rake lying side by side along with two White Fang masks.
Wungeng was the first to wake. As he came to his surroundings, he realized the specialist was holding him in her arms.
Seems Aoi really cares about me. She held onto me the entire time. But alas, good things must come to an end.
He got up from the bed, with Aoi waking up soon thereafter. Her violet eyes blinked as came to her senses.
"Good morning, my sweet siren."
The siren's nautilus necklace remained around her neck as she sat up, smiling at his words. "Always a sweet talker it seems."
Wungeng sighed. "I suppose we should reclothe ourselves and get ready to face the day."
Aoi chuckled. "Reclothe? Is that even a real word?"
"It is now."
The vice-filled Vacuan started searching for his clothes as the specialist stood up.
I'm surprised he wanted to have sex on our first rendezvous. Aoi thought. But it was fun. Can't deny that.
The Mistralian specialist tossed the sheet off, the blue scales among her legs revealed as she stood up and looked around. Wungeng pulled a pair of red boxers and his ripped jeans up.
She knelt down to retrieve her underwear, pulling up her sea blue panties. Following that, she knelt down and retrieved her black clam-shell top, clipping it in the back and rotating it forward.
The pig tailed faunus retrieved his red button up shirt, but did not bother buttoning it up. He soon found a dark blue skirt and handed it to her. "I think this is yours."
"Oh thanks."
A rhythm of three knocks on the door was heard.
"Should we answer?" Aoi asked in a hushed tone.
"Maybe they'll go away." Wungeng whispered.
Another set of knocks was heard.
"Master Wungeng?" Mata's voice called from the other side of the door. "Are you awake?"
He groaned, "Yes."
"Can I come in?"
Aoi pulled up her skirt as Wungeng looked at her. The fish scaled faunus nodded in approval as she put on dark blue sandals, a teal blue pedicure shown on her toes before fading under the skirt as she stood up.
Wungeng opened the door, finding Mata all dressed in his White Fang uniform and everything. "What do you want?"
The sheep horned faunus scratched his head. "Well, I hate to be a bother, but you were supposed to show up for our morning training session thirty minutes a-go..." He noticed and softly gasped as Aoi retrieved her mask and put it on. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you had, uh, company. I suppose training can wait until later."
The Vacuan leader sighed. "Just... give me thirty minutes or so to have breakfast and I'll be right down."
"Understood, Sensei."
At this, Mata left the two alone, and Aoi asked, "You're really going to train him? I thought you didn't want to help the rookie."
He frowned at the wall. "I don't, but Athena will get on my case if I don't do something to aid her cause. I suppose I better tell my chef to make me something quick and easy."
"You have a personal chef?"
The pig-tailed faunus looked at her like she had two heads. "Of course I do."
The fish-scaled faunus raised an eyebrow. "When did you get a personal chef?"
"Shortly after Miss Khan's death. It wasn't easy finding one with great expertise and also wouldn't rat us out to the authorities, but thankfully, he doesn't care about who he works for. Only that he gets paid."
"Think you could introduce me to him?"
The deserter shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
The two grabbed their weapons and went outside, down the left hall and knocked on the first door on the left.
"Coming!" a man's voice chimed from afar.
The resident opened the door. He had tanned skin, chocolate brown hair in short curls and a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. He wore a chef's uniform with a brown apron and a white chef's hat to complete the look. He had a stern look bordering on anger and apathy.
They entered the room, and as Wungeng closed the door, Aoi looked at him closely. She asked, "He's... human?"
"He may be human," Wungeng confirmed. "but he doesn't care who he works for. Aoi Morris, meet my personal chef, Coriander Spice. Coriander, meet Aoi."
"It seems my master has company." Coriander spoke. "Female by the tone of her voice. I'm surprised to see you bringing company to my quarters."
The specialist looked at his sunglasses. "Those sunglasses... are they... hiding his blindness?"
Coriander nodded. "Clever girl."
She slowly turned to and whispered into her new lover's ear. "Does he realize who he's working for?"
"I heard that." He counted on his fingers. "And yes, I do know that my employer is a pig tailed faunus, leader of Vacuo's branch of the White Fang, and has a massive appetite."
Her jaw dropped, but she lifted her hand up and forced it shut.
"He may be blind, but he has trained his other senses to help him navigate the environment around him." Wungeng elaborated.
"And he really doesn't care? At all?" Aoi asked.
"Look, I'm just lucky to find work. Do you know how hard it is to find work when you're blind? No restaurant in Atlas proper would hire me. And the ones in Mantle who briefly had me as part of their crew either gave me the sack or saw their business crash and burn. I've heard of faunus who abandon their morals to work for human-only businesses, so why can't I do the same as a human? Honestly, I've seen more humanity in faunus than I have in humans. And I can't even see! And while I failed spectacularly in restaurants in Mantle, my own brother, Chili Spice, has mocked me for my failures and given me no sympathy at all, despite the fact that I was blinded from a freak accident decades ago! I left Atlas seven years ago because! Of! Him!" He breathed in, trying to calm himself. "But you didn't come here for a summary of my life story. You came for food. At least, I presume that's why you're here." He breathed again. "So, what will it be?"
"Something quick and easy. Do you have anything already being made by chance?"
"You're in luck. I have a timer for chocolate orange muffins that should be going off in a few minutes. I also have syrniki patties that are ready to be fried up."
"Ooo, syrniki! That sounds lovely!" Wungeng cheered. "I think I'll have two syrniki cakes with sweet accompaniments, and one muffin."
"That sounds delightful. Can you make that for me as well?" Aoi requested.
Coriander nodded. "That can be arranged. I suppose you both can take a seat at the dining table and talk amongst yourselves while I commence with frying."
Heeding his advice, the two sat down at a small square table for two, with glasses of water already set in place.
"Is he always this angry?" Aoi whispered.
"I heard that." Coriander flipped over two of the three syrniki in the pan. "I'm standing right here."
She blinked twice. "Well, you weren't kidding when you said his senses are highly trained."
"Well, in some ways he had no other choice." Wungeng said. "When you lose one sense, you have to make up for it somehow."
"Cursed Chili..." Coriander grumbled. "I can only wonder how well he treats his wife, and if the way he treats his daughter Cinnamon is anything to go by, probably not well."
Aoi looked confused. "His... daughter?"
"Cinnamon Spice. Third year student at Atlas Academy despite most of her family being against her. From what I heard from the rumor mill in a Wind Path tavern, she was the leader of what was once team CIMN (Cinnamon), but her team fell apart towards the end of her first year. How I don't know and don't really care." Coriander answered. "Either way, patties are done."
The angry chef placed two syrniki cakes on each plate. He then went to the fridge to retrieve a container of assorted berries, putting some on each plate as a hand-dial timer went off.
"Right on cue."
Pressing a button on the top of the timer, he opened the oven, the aroma of fresh orange and chocolate filling the room. He grabbed some heat proof towels and set the tray down. He completed each plate with a muffin and gave them their plates as Aoi held her glass of water.
"Bon appetit, maestro and maestra."
She set her glass down and the two began eating. She took a bite out of her muffin.
"Mhm! This is really good. On par with my mom's cooking."
Wungeng nodded after swallowing a bite of his syrniki. "I concur. Excellent work as always, Mr. Spice."
The chef smiled. "Thank you, Master Wungeng."
Meanwhile, Mata found himself alone in the training room. He looked around to make sure no one was there, and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Hello. Ram to Belle."
"Belle speaking." Blake answered. "What's happening in the wild pack?"
"Well, the pig seems to be getting it on with the fish, but there's bigger fish to fry."
"Really? That seems... a little hard to believe. I can only wonder how the bright orb will respond to this."
"In more important news, Tawny the cat has returned and I've heard reports of boom drums by the truckload being bought."
A soft gasp was heard from her. "Oh no..."
"I'm... afraid there's more." Mata continued. "They're also trying to take the drums apart and put them back together again."
"You mean like reverse-engineering?"
"Precisely."
There was a moment of silence before she said, "This can't bode well." She sighed. "Where are you right now?"
"The training room, I was supposed to learn from the pig, but he's still being a..."
"Mata, are you still in here?" Wungeng asked as he entered the room.
"I gotta go." the ram faunus whispered.
He hung up.
The Vacuan leader did not look happy. "Who was that?"
"Just... someone interested in joining the White Fang. They have been considering joining for quite some time."
He shrugged. "Suppose it would be good to get more recruits. In other words, let's get into our lesson. Today's lesson is over evasive maneuvers. You shall put your weapons aside, and attempt to dodge Lightning's Avalanche."
Mata secretly thought to himself, Oh... oh boy. I'm just glad no one's overheard any of my conversations with Ms. Belladonna yet. Blake? Commander Blake? I'm not even sure how to address her. Either way, I know this job is important, but man am I terrified. One slip up, and I am a dead, dead man.
Meanwhile, the man with two souls found himself on a damp dirt path. Said path was quickly turning to mud as the rain poured down. The mud stained his shoes. He sighed. He was used to getting dirty, but was not used to having rain constantly pouring on his head.
With a backpack slung over his shoulders and a shovel in his hand, the former farm boy trudged on.
"Note to self- next time you leave your house for an important quest, take an umbrella." Oscar said to himself.
Note from self- you don't say? Ozpin responded.
"I don't think you responding back counts here."
How much farther is it to this train station? We've been out here for days.
"I thought the train station was only a day away. Did I miscalculate or something? No, wait. There it is."
After many days of walking, Oscar had reached the nearby train station. He went up to the door, only to find a sign reading;
Office currently closed due to unforeseen circumstances
If you need a ticket, use the digital kiosk to your right. (Accepts cash and card)
"Kiosk? What kiosk?"
That kiosk.
Oscar looked to his right, and found it tucked behind a wall, which would hide it from those on the left side of the building.
"Right in plain sight."
He walked to the kiosk, set his shovel against the wall and got out his aunt's credit card, reading the name and expiration date; Alyssa Pine, ex. 12/84
Upon examining the card, suddenly Oscar's bottom lip quivered and his fingers shook.
I still can't believe I stole this from my aunt... I feel terrible, why did I do this? Oscar asked himself.
Maybe I shouldn't have had him do this... Ozpin thought.
"Huh?"
Look, I know I convinced you to do this, but believe me. You're not a bad person.
"Are you sure?"
Positive. I can name at least a hundred worse people out there, and that would only be scratching the surface.
Oscar chuckled. "Wow, that says a lot. Hopefully she at least forgives me." The successor breathed in and then studied the screen. "Let's see... How do I do this?"
He taped some buttons and inserted the card.
"What's this? Please enter your pin number? Oh great. What could that be?"
Maybe her brother's birthday?
The farm boy entered the number; 1347. Only for the machine to beep in disapproval.
"Invalid pin? Drat. Now what?"
Is there a bypass pin option anywhere? Click it.
Oscar followed his instruction, and it was accepted. It soon spewed out a ticket and a receipt.
"One ticket to Mistral."
Now all we have to do is wait. And perhaps take a picture of your ticket in the unlikely instance that you lose it.
"Uh..."
You don't know how to take a picture?
"No, I only ever used my Scroll for phone calls and video chat, and even before the tower went down it wasn't very often."
Well, perhaps I can show you.
"How?"
Mind if I take over?
"Huh?"
His eyes flashed gold for a moment, and a brief green glow manifested around him, but his body felt dizzy as Ozpin took over.
Okay, what is this? Oscar spoke.
Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you; while our souls are merging I have the ability to temporarily take over your body and allow me to use it as if it were my own. Ozpin explained. Hopefully, I won't have to do this too often.
Anyway, you just go to your camera, you'll see the screen temporarily go black and then it'll show a square frame. That's everything within the camera lens. Press that button there and it'll take a picture.
He took a picture of the ticket before pocketing it.
Now you try. Ozpin instructed.
"Wait, what?"
The glow appeared, coming and going as quick as the first time as Oscar held control again. His head felt a bit dizzy as he came to his senses.
One more thing, it can be disorienting and/or exhausting if I'm in control of your body.
"Well, this isn't strange at all," Oscar said, giggling nervously.
He took his Scroll and took a picture of his shovel before retrieving it.
Congratulations. You've taken your first real photo.
"You really think photography is going to help us?"
That skill might come in handy in the future.
He clicked the image, zooming in on the letters. Then he put his Scroll away.
"I hope my friends in Zephyros are alright..."
Within thirty minutes, a train stopped at the station. There were very few people getting off, and Oscar was the first to get on. He took a seat aboard, handed his ticket to the vendor. Once it got punched, he put the shovel and backpack under and on a set of chairs, respectively. After that, he made his way to the dining cart.
He found an empty booth and started to look over the menu. Among the train-goers was an old woman with dark skin and long silver hair. Nearby was a stick with a skull on top and she goggle-like prosthetic eyes.
A waiter was shown walking down the aisle with a plate of food, bringing it to the semi-blind woman. On the plate were two sunny-side up eggs, two slices of bacon and biscuits.
"Here you are."
The woman sniffed the aroma of her breakfast and smiled. "Reminds me of my mother's cooking."
"Happy I could bring back some childhood memories, Ms..."
"Calavera. Maria Calavera." she answered.
She courtly nodded. "Thank you."
"Is there anything else you need?
"I'm fine. You may go."
The server left.
Oscar looked at her plate. "What is that wonderful smell?"
I believe you are smelling what is known as bacon.
"Bacon?"
You've never heard of it before?
"I faintly remember what it is, but..."
Oh right. Meat can be expensive, and due to your aunt being dirt poor, you've been on a vegetarian-vegan diet for the last three and a half years.
"I don't even remember what it tastes like at this point. That probably sounds sad, doesn't it?"
Some might say so.
That same server came up to Oscar's table. "Good morning, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine."
He looked around with some concern. "Where are your parents?" Oscar stared into the window, sadly giving him an answer. The waiter soon realized his mistake. "Oh my. I'm sorry I asked. Is there... anyone with you?"
"Not really. It's just me, myself and I." he joked.
The waiter gave a look of concern. "What's a kid like you going here all by yourself?"
"Well, I'm on my way to... Haven Academy. Important business with the headmaster." he answered truthfully.
"Good luck with that. The academy's been closed for months. Do you know what you would like?"
Oscar raised an eyebrow. "Not yet."
"It's alright. I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you."
The waiter departed to another table farther back.
Did I hear that correctly? Did he say Haven Academy is closed? Ozpin wondered.
"I think he did."
A few passengers looked at him weirdly.
You know Oscar, you can respond to me mentally. Ozpin advised him. That way you don't sound like a crazy person.
He buried his face in his menu, hoping the others would stop staring at him.
Like, mind to mind communication?
I believe the term you are looking for is telepathy, but yes. And in unrelated news, why would Leonardo close the academy? It makes no sense!
Should we confront him? When we get to Mistral? Oscar suggested.
Ozpin sighed. I'm not sure. I've got a bad feeling about this.
Oscar looked at his menu, and saw the same breakfast combo that Maria ordered earlier.
Well, why not? I'm already far out of my comfort zone.
"You still need a few minutes to decide?" the waiter asked.
"No, I believe I'm ready. I would like breakfast combo number 4, eggs sunny side up please."
"Excellent choice, I'll have that right in for you."
"Thank you."
After placing his order, he looked out the window, and thought about the task ahead.
Do you... really think we can do this? Oscar asked.
I can only hope so.
Soon enough, his breakfast arrived. Oscar took a piece of bacon with his hand and bit into it.
"Mmm." After chewing and swallowing, he said to himself, "This is really good."
Well, that's one thing that seems to be going right today. Ozpin said.
Doesn't finding and getting on a train count as well? Oscar questioned.
I suppose so, but we mustn't let our guards down too much. We have a long way to go.
Yang had been on the road for the last few weeks. She had seen what was left of Vale, passed by the ruins of Sumire, and made a brief stop in Cachee to rest and get more dust-fuel for her motorcycle, and now she was miles past the kingdom border.
She was surprised that she hadn't encountered any opposition. No Grimm, no bandits or rogue criminals. Against her better judgement, she began to question her good luck. She had been in pain for the last several months, in near total darkness in her mind. Why was it, that just now, things were looking up?
Then she remembered, Oh dang it. I'm nearly out of food. I should restock at the next city. Wait. Where is the next settlement?
The blonde brawler back again did not know, nor did she know why she had a bad feeling arise in her stomach. Her first problem was soon answered; she saw a big city in the distance. Upon seeing the city, she saw a massive wooden gate around the perimeter. At the nearest entrance were two guards.
Huh. That's odd. Why are there guards here?
Yang slowed her motorcycle down to enter the city. The two guards, these ones female, used their spears to block the entrance.
"Halt! State your name and business." the first guard ordered.
She parked her motorcycle. "Yang Xiao Long. I'm just here to get food." she answered, really annoyed.
The second guard mused aloud to herself. "Yang Xiao Long. Why does that name sound so familiar?" She widened her eyes, realizing that... "Wait a second! You're a member of team RWBY, friend to team JNPR! You're an enemy!"
"You're under arrest!" they stated in unison.
Both of them got out handcuffs in an attempt to apprehend her.
Yang was confused, but that confusion quickly turned to anger as leapt from her bike and shot both Ember Celicas at the guards, soon leaving them both unconscious and one of them with a wound on her arm.
"Something's not right here." the sunny dragon spoke to herself. "They tried to arrest me without cause."
I know I should leave, but something tells me that something's really wrong. I need to get down to the bottom of this.
With the guards knocked out, she hopped back on her motorcycle and rode into the town. Being that she was now in the city, her bike speed was considerably slower than she was in the mountains. Cruising at around 10-20 miles per hour, she looked around the downtown area. It was surprisingly deserted. Where was everyone?
There aren't any wanted posters of me here. Nor did I do anything wrong.
Yang continued her search until she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
Huh? What's this?
She looked at the wall and saw a wanted poster... with a picture of her friend. She slowed down to read it and gasped as she saw who it was.
Wanted: Pyrrha Nikos
For the murder of Penny Polendina, treason and starting the Fall of Beacon
Reward; 50,000 Lien
Warning; Very dangerous, don't bring metal, is traveling with four other highly skilled warriors
Yang's blood turned cold. But soon it froze. She found herself about ten feet from the city park with a large crowd gathered before a large wooden stage.
She saw the name etched into a nearby sign of engraved stone; Prospect Garden
Parking her motorcycle on the nearby street, the blonde noticed two huntsmen on the left side of the stage and one on the right. All three men wore black suits, as though they were at a funeral. The only thing separating their outfits were their ties; a black necktie, a light blue necktie with navy blue stripes and a brown bow tie. Two of them were human, and the one with a brown bow tie had a horse tail of that same color.
Those guys look familiar... But why?
The firecracker stayed back to observe her surroundings; there were fire pits on both sides of the park, with stacks of torches nearby.
In front of the stage, Yang saw fourteen people, all gagged and tied up in one way or another to wooden posts. One of them was a middle-aged man with only his left arm remaining, restrained by having the ropes wrapped around his torso. Another one, an elderly man, had an eye-patch across the left side of his face. Another was a woman with brown skin and hair, blueish green eyes and a mostly blue outfit, looking sadly to her right. Yang didn't know her, but she was Cyrene, the second in command of the archers. A pre-teen girl was shown struggling against the ropes. Yang's blood turned even colder.
To the far left however, were three huntsmen restrained by ropes around their torsos and aura-canceling handcuffs. The blonde brawler blinked. She knew them anywhere- Surya, Apollo and Atum. But where was Orville?
Before she could contemplate the matter further, a woman in a wine red dress appeared before them on the right side of the stage. She had garnet red hair, eyes red like blood, pale skin and a slender figure. Around her arms were black opera length gloves. On each of her wrists were a pair of gold and garnet bracelets. On her left shoulder strap was a horse-shaped pin. She appeared to be fiddling with a ring on her right index finger under the glove, before adopting an angry glare and stepping up to the podium. Following her was a huntress in a black dress, presumably the missing link to the huntsman team.
Who is she? Yang wondered. The mayor? And who are...
"Citizens of Aquarian," she spoke into a microphone. "We are gathered here because a great failure has come upon us. Not only is it a failure in the task assigned, but a complete and willfully forgotten promise! I'm sure you all remember that I hired these people and many others to take upon the task of finding and bringing Pyrrha's severed head to us, don't you? If you don't, then let me remind you that they were supposed to kill her and all of her friends! But they didn't kill one of them! They abandoned their duty, and instead of killing them, they joined forces with the villainous quintet, working together to save the city of Aletheia. With the presence of Grimm, one would think that this alliance would only be temporary. But it wasn't.
"They chose to stay behind, rebuild a village that didn't need help, and let them go! And it is because of their failure and treachery, that two of our greatest fighters, Orville and Tyrian, are no longer with us. Many others met the same fate, ending up killed and/or missing one way or another. Thirty six lives lost in the chaos, and fourteen deaths of traitors to follow. The Scarlatti Trojan Alliance are traitors, and the fate that they will receive will be what they deserve. Under normal circumstances with the fall of Vale's CCT tower, I would have been completely in the dark about this heinous act. The reason I know this is because of my trusted ally, Uriel Aaron." She gestured to the huntsman in question, who was standing off to the side. "Member of what was once team NOVA of Haven Academy, all of which graduated twenty years ago. Uriel has been a trusted friend and ally for quite some time now, and is also the one who allowed me to see the light. He also went out of his way despite being very busy to capture these fiends and bring them to me with his wits, his strength and his semblance. But despite the friends that we have, we must never forget who our foes are. Let this execution serve as a reminder that those who desert the Trojan Alliance will be punished!"
Uriel smiled and the crowd cheered.
Aw crap... This is not good.
Yang heard a soft cry from a little girl, and soon noticed at least three audience members who were terrified.
"But before we begin the bloodshed, I have a gift for you." The red lady turned to Uriel.
She snapped her fingers and one of the huntsman bodyguards to her left came up to her with what appeared to be a large sack of money and gave it to Uriel. He looked confused upon receiving it.
"What's this?"
"This is 50,000 Lien." she began. "It was supposed to be the reward for whoever brought back Pyrrha's severed head. However, since the Scarlatti Trojan Alliance has defected from the Trojan Alliance goal of killing Pyrrha Nikos, and because you did all the hard work of bringing them back here for judgement, I'm giving it to you. You deserve this."
"I appreciate your generosity, but I can't take all the credit." Uriel admitted. "Many of these traitors were caught with the help of my newfound ally, Hestia."
She nodded before gesturing to him. "I see. Still, the reward is yours. Save it, spend it, invest it, give some to your aide. Do whatever you wish with it."
"Thank you. I'll go deposit this in the bank and leave you to start the execution. If I'm lucky, I'll get back right as the fires start."
In a flash of white aura light, he disappeared. The audience gasped and murmured among themselves.
"Don't worry, he's still very much alive." She turned back to the former Scarlatti Trojan Alliance members with a wicked smirk. "But these traitors won't be for long."
At that moment, Apollo managed to get his bandana mouth-gag off, and screamed out, "Don't listen to her, she has lost her mind! Garnet Scarlatti, you must...!"
Before he could finish, Scarlatti kicked him in the shin, causing him to scream out in pain before she tightened the gag.
"Don't listen to a word he says." she told her audience. "I am perfectly sane, which is why they'll pay for their treachery!"
Most of the audience cheered, but Yang and the three other civilians she saw earlier were all terrified.
"Miss Scarlatti." The mayor turned to face the first huntsman standing there. "What are your orders? Are we to shoot them all?"
She frowned. "No." She gestured to the torches nearby. "Take the torches, light them and burn them to death. The traitors will either die from burning or they'll suffocate as their bodies are set ablaze."
The second one blinked. "All of them?"
"Yes. All of them." Scarlatti answered.
"Even the little adolescent girl?" the third huntsman asked.
"If she's old enough to join the group and fight against Pyrrha, then she's old enough to face the consequences of treachery." Scarlatti reasoned.
The huntress grimaced. "Very well then."
The two huntsmen and the huntsman and huntress turned to the left and right respectively, the first pair relatively calm while the second pair looked a bit sad as they exited the stage.
Yang looked at the soon-to-be executed victims. Fourteen lives were about to be lost.
This is bad. If I leave, they will certainly be killed. But if I stay, I'm almost certainly dead. Each huntsman and huntress picked up a torch, and Yang looked at the former Scarlatti Alliance. I have no direct reason to fight on their behalf, but if they're against Scarlatti who in turn is against Pyrrha and all her friends...
The torches were lit. Each huntsman had varying expressions on their faces. The first one was angry, the second had a poker face, the third one faltered between anger and sadness, and the fourth one, the huntress, almost seemed to be... crying?
I'm supposed to find Raven, get to Ruby and Qrow, and avoid fights as much as possible. She looked at the crowd, and then at the team of huntsmen and their huntress. Maybe they'll rebel against her?
Scarlatti instructed them, "Start with the left end, the middle left, the middle right and the right end. Continue inward until all pyres burn."
What am I saying? They won't. You need to make a decision. Yang nervously told herself. And fast!
The first huntsman went to Surya, the second went to the eye-patched man in the middle, the third one went to the one armed man and the huntress went to the girl. The huntress whispered something under her breath, possibly an apology to the girl, but Yang couldn't hear it. In short succession, the first four pyres were lit.
Fires started crackling and smoke soon emerged from Surya's pyre.
A faint gasp was heard amongst the noise. The first huntsman lit Apollo's pyre, and the woman in blue tied up not too far from him gasped. As the first huntsman lit Atum's pyre, the second huntsman lit the pyre of the one armed man.
Yang realized what she had to do... but how could she do it?