"Turns out, people love violence. They just need an acceptable target." - Hawk
Soldiers in black uniforms swarmed around the rundown house. Even from outside, the heavy chemical odor betrayed this place as a drug lab. Not that the inhabitants cared much to keep it hidden, it was an open secret and one of the first points on Glaston's list of high profile criminal targets.
The men took up positions around it in an 'L' shape to avoid crossfire. They raised their guns and fired a salvo through the wooden walls. After they were finished, a group led by none other than Zero stormed the front door.
Violet lifted the Mordred at the wooden door and pressed the trigger. Sparks flew as the scythe blade tore through the fragile lock. A man beside him kicked it open and a second one threw a grenade inside.
A moment of silence, and a deafening bang. Zero and his Knights rushed ub, finding the interior, run-down, messy, and filled with many broken beakers and cups. Several bodies already littered the floor, only three seemed to have survived the initial onslaught. Zero sprinted towards a woman with a white coat, swinging his scythe down and tearing through her shoulder all the way to the heart.
Another two people, more ruffian types, drew their pistols at him. He used the body he'd downed to shield himself until his men cut them down. A burst of gunfire from an adjacent room sent his knights for cover and wounding one. A deranged-looking man entered the room, charging Zero with a giant axe.
Zero held the Mordred down, blade pointing upwards when he activated its explosive function, it flew up to parry an axe strike, knocking the weapon away. With the scythe high up, he turned the blade around and swung down, his blade sticking into the bicep of the assailant.
The previous shooter entered as well, a shorter woman with pink hair. She changed her target to him, managing a few more shots before running out of ammo. She discarded her gun, before also charging Zero with a bladed weapon at incredible speed. It was only due to his experience fighting Ruby that he managed to deflect the strike with the pointed back end of the Mordred.
He kicked the first assailant away, already a half-dead thing, before being interrupted by the woman who struck again. He held her at bay with an explosively propelled swing, cleanly slicing the downed man's throat on the return trip. She, however, was only temporarily deterred. Another jab came in no time and his deflection missed its mark, leaving his aura to take the hit.
Thankfully, his soldiers got their bearings and pummeled the woman with automatic gunfire. Still, she held on with her aura, and as more Black Knights entered she jumped out of an already shattered window. Those waiting outside shot at her but to no avail. He had bigger priorities than to chase her, but he still counted this as a victory.
He stepped outside, thinking again of catching the escaped thug's trail, but discarding the thought quickly. She may be an aura user, but she's just one woman. He ordered some of the people away to secondary targets, private individuals who were known to be notoriously criminal.
Two of his men exited the building, one limping forward from a bullet to the thigh, being taken by a medic to safety. The other carried one of the wounded thugs, who seemed to be bleeding from a shot to the gut. The knight looked at Zero, gesturing towards a nearby lamp post.
He nodded, "Just hurry up. We don't have all night."
One of the men produced a rope, which he tied around the thug's chest, just below the arms. The end of the rope was thrown onto the post, going over it and back down. Several people now joined in the task, pulling the rope and hanging the criminal from the lamp post and tying the end of it to a burnt-out car. They left quite the striking image, such displays of terror were a crucial part of the plan. The people demanded justice, and he will make them all witness it in the grandest way possible. Punishment must be highly visible to have a deterrent effect.
He took a moment to look out at the rest of the settlement, finding the intermittent gunfire in the silent night strangely comforting. An extended burst of fire in the east. Another one from the south, likely Azul's men taking on the loanshark mafia. He plans to make another grand display of their boss' corpse.
He radioed Glaston, "This is Zero, Objective Alpha cleared. I've got one wounded soldier coming your way. How's everything else going?"
"The mission is proceeding within expected boundaries. Blake's new squad is having trouble as the Jackal gang has scattered shortly after contact, so we've had to send in Hawk and his reserves to track them."
"Very well. I've sent half the squad to objective Bravo and I'm moving with the rest to objective Charlie as we speak. Also, there was a tough aura user that escaped us. I'd like you to commit a short, pink-haired woman to our list of targets."
"Copy that. Take care."
He took another moment to bask in the muzzle flashes and cracks of gunfire, the bleeding thug screaming in pain as he swung from a lamp post. Many would deride him as unnecessarily cruel, but he was fine with that. Such were the sights and sounds of his righteous crusade. How could anyone look upon this place and scorn his justice?
Zero tread in the open night of the Vale ghetto, bloodied scythe unfolded. He was flanked by several uniformed Black Knights brandishing assault rifles. All who laid eyes upon them immediately ran. He was certainly glad they were seen as terrifying, though he wished they sometimes showed some appreciation as well. Still, it was better to be feared than loved.
Six of his men remained to join him on their final target of the night. It was a familiar one, a well-preserved building with a blank facade and no windows. Almost 4 months ago he went to that gambling ring to fleece some proud aristocrat out of his honestly stolen money. He nearly got himself in major trouble that day. Had he not used his semblance to diffuse the situation, blood would have been spilled. Not that he cared much for the scum that congregated there, but it would have drawn attention to his civilian identity.
Now, however, he could deliver it the retribution he promised. Several people were already fleeing the scene, customers by the looks of it, and there was a commotion inside. Were they evacuating their assets? Preparing a defense? He didn't care to let them finish either. His people stuck to the outside walls as he busted the door open and they threw several grenades inside.
A series of bangs later, they charged into the dust cloud that was once the gambling house to find a handful of disoriented henchmen on the ground floor, six by his count, and… Roman Torchwick on the balcony?
That's impossible, Violet thought, I killed him. His death was confirmed on the news. And yet here he was standing, smirking to himself and pointing that damned cane of his at him.
He had but a moment to jump out of the way of his explosive shot. Zero's men fired at the henchmen, killing one, and they retaliated in kind. As for Roman, he was gunning for Violet exclusively. He saw him prepare another shot, and he barely made it behind a pillar in time, which suffered a grievous blow to its integrity.
He could see two of his men have already gone down. He knew this was a serious mess, but he couldn't just let Torchwick of all people go. He called on the radio, "This is Zero, I need urgent reinforcements at the casino."
He didn't get to hear the response as yet another explosion struck at the side of the pillar, the flying rocks damaging his aura and knocking the radio out of his hands. He figured it would take time for him to load another shot, so he took the moment to charge out instead of waiting for more.
The henchmen barely noticed him in the dust and flashes of fighting, and by the time they did, he was close enough to slash one across the neck before jumping up, using the explosive propulsion of his weapon to guide him even higher and straight at Roman's scowling form. Torchwick parried a strike with his cane and dodged the next by dropping down onto the ground floor where the Black Knights were firing back, downing 3 more criminals in the confusion, and causing the last of them to flee.
Roman looked annoyed as he leveled his cane at the entrance and fired, knocking 2 more Knights out of action.
Zero went after him, swinging his scythe again and again, though failing to land a single hit. Torchwick seemed to dodge his strikes effortlessly, it was nothing like the last time they fought. Violet had two of his soldiers still in action, trying and failing to hit him as Roman positioned himself in such a way that they could not get a clear shot at him without risking hitting Zero.
The endless swinging of the heavy scythe was getting to him, and he was slowing down. Seeing the opportunity, Roman jumped back and aimed his cane at him again. Violet leapt to the side, giving his Knights a clean shot at Torchwick. The bullets landed on him, only for his image to shatter like glass. In the confusion, the figure launched its shot at another pillar, shattering it and causing the entrance part of the building to collapse, the fate of his men left unknown.
Zero wasted no time in recovering, striking at the dissolving mess of glass shards, the figure jumped away to reveal the short-haired woman from earlier tonight. She aimed the cane at him again, but this time his scythe was fast enough, damaging the barrel and knocking it aside.
The woman grew furious at this, drawing her weapon, a folded parasol with a blade at the end. It was her on the attack now, with Zero desperately swinging his scythe to keep her at bay. He was already exhausted, but she seemed to only be speeding up now that she was in her element. He attempted to turn things around by attacking instead of defending, but the attempted strike left him overextended. The girl got past his weapon before unleashing a series of stabs into him, his aura flashing to save him.
He stepped away, bringing his weapon into a horizontal swing, but she launched herself off the blade, using it to jump and deliver a decisive kick to his helmet. He was momentarily disoriented, panic taking over him again. This was like the Penny girl all over again, he thought. No matter, it was all or nothing, he could use his semblance now that they were alone.
And yet, his helmet refused to open up. He cursed everything under the sun for letting the mask get damaged as the girl charged yet again, her parasol aimed at his throat. He spun the Mordred yet again with an explosion, though this time he let go of it, causing it to crash into her and knocking her to the ground.
He took the moment to take off his helmet, though before he could utilize his semblance a burst of gunfire interrupted him. He looked to the side as several Black Knights rushed in, guns blazing. The woman now took massive amounts of gunfire, the aura flare almost blinding him. She unfolded her parasol, which seemed to be bullet-resistant, before escaping out of a window.
A few of the Knights scrambled out, but Zero stopped them, "It's no use. Check the rubble for survivors."
The knights looked at him, their expressions concealed by the shaded visors, "Zero! We came as soon as Glaston heard your call. I- I didn't expect you to be so… youthful."
He realized he did indeed take off his helmet, "It was damaged in the fighting, I trust you will keep this to yourselves." It was a weak explanation, but he gave them a harsh look and they all nodded. He put his helmet back on and picked up his scythe.
The soldiers looked through the rubble, finding three comrades that were injured to varying degrees. They were taken to the headquarters which had a field hospital set up. He followed alongside them, intending to meet with Glaston.
"Well, aside from your unfortunate incident everything else went more or less smoothly," Glaston said, "We plan to continue patrolling the streets throughout the night. Those we haven't captured by morning will either flee or be reported by the people."
"And what of our civil support teams?"
"They're ready for action, all that's left is for you to make your announcement."
"Yes, I'll get on that soon. Before that, though, I want an audience with the White Fang ambassador." He fiddled with his helmet's retractable visor, "I'll also need Blake with me."
"Oh yes, about that. We've managed to establish his identity as Fennec Albain, apparently an important member of the Fang from Menagerie. What do you need him for?"
Violet didn't care much about the revelation. He was going to get that out of the man anyway, "Our announcement will cause us to be seen as more of a threat. I wish to assuage their fears before it happens, and I want to be careful to not cross any red lines of theirs."
"Again with the Fang appeasement. I thought we were finally about to cast that off."
"And we are. In fact, we will do it very soon. I merely wish to keep them placated during the final stretch. After the situation is stabilized here they're next on the chopping block."
"My, you've made quite the mess tonight." the White Fang representative spoke. His voice was confident, but Violet could tell he was on edge, "And judging from the state of your clothes you got a taste of it as well."
"I admit I indulge on occasion, it helps keep my senses sharp."
"Hmm… I imagine today's actions are the cause of this meeting. Tell me, what exactly were you hoping to achieve here?"
"Justice," Blake said. She was seated between them in the interrogation room.
"Of course. Keeping your promises is very important, miss Belladonna."
She tightened her hands in response but otherwise didn't say anything. She heard the quiet hissing sound of Violet's helmet opening and instinctively averted her eyes.
"Tell us the truth," Violet's voice boomed. "Are you the one known as Fennec Albain?"
"Yes, that would be me," the ambassador responded, the hostile hint in his voice disappearing.
"I want you to explain to me the Fangs's command structure and the strength of their forces to the best of your knowledge."
"Our command structure was majorly disrupted two weeks ago, and restoring it has been difficult due to interference of members loyal to Sienna Khan. But Adam Taurus is nominally in charge of things, and he's micromanaging smaller elements almost by himself."
Blake took out several papers and was furiously scrambling to take notes on all Fennec said while Violet looked on dispassionately.
"As for their numerical strength, they have some five to six hundred trained members in and around Vale. There are also many sympathizers who provide shelter to our agents, but we don't have accurate records of their numbers."
"The Fang possessed an Atlesian paladin. How did they acquire it, and do they have any more of them?"
"We purchased three of them from a contact in Atlas. I don't know any further details apart from the fact that one of them is hidden in northern Forever Fall, and the other is at Mount Glenn."
"Interesting. How well are they protected?"
"The Fang's method on such things has been security through obscurity. The escort would likely be small and well hidden, though Mount Glenn now has more men due to the stockpiles of dust there."
"Dust stockpiles?" The story of the White Fang dust robberies felt like a lifetime ago, "What are the Fang's plans in the shot to medium term?"
"I don't know much, though Adam was confident that whatever he was working on at Mount Glenn would be very important."
"Alright. And what is Adam's attitude towards the Black Knights?"
"They're useful, but they're too ambitious for their own good. Adam wishes to wait for law enforcement to inflict a significant defeat to them, before presenting an ultimatum to integrate the Knights."
"That's good enough, I suppose. Now, I want you to list all known White Fang locations of interest, as well as everything you remember about them, including…"
The meeting dragged on and on, with Fennec dictating words and Blake scrambling to write it all down. After the man went through the exhaustive list, Violet proceeded to ask many more minor questions on details of doctrine and even Blake tried to get some information on the goings on in Menagerie. However, her questioning was interrupted by Violet pointing at his watch hand, "Wrap it up."
"It's already been an hour?" She asked incredulously.
"Almost, the exact limit isn't that reliable, so get the papers off the desk, he wouldn't want to see that."
"Yes, of course." She collected the papers before handing them to Zero and sighing in exhaustion, "This is almost as bad as Beacon exams. I thought this was supposed to be an escape from that drudgery."
"Well, let's hope your transcription is enough for a passing grade," he chuckled before hiding the papers in a suitcase. They returned to their normal behavior before Violet decided to let his semblance dissipate. Fennec immediately burst into a coughing fit.
"Are you alright?" Violet asked.
"Ah… yeah. Just tired… and thirsty."
"That's alright, I just wanted to inform you that we will be… more in the open as of tonight. It's due to a policy of taking over the law enforcement duties in the ghetto areas."
"Oh?" His excitement could be seen through his mask, "Wouldn't that all but guarantee a major battle ahead?"
"We believe a major battle will begin either way. I'm merely choosing the time and place."
"That's… commendable. I will be sure to inform Adam of your cooperation," he stood up to leave, "I trust we will be talking more soon," he smirked.
As the door closed, Violet began, "Call a meeting of all senior members. I want all of this data cross-referenced with what we got from the SDC. It will take us some time to plan an appropriate operation for taking them on, not to mention how we're still stockpiling resources. In the meantime, I need you and Hawk to travel to Forever Fall and retrieve the Paladin there."
Violet was hanging out at the entrance of a training arena, waiting for his team to arrive. With Blake, Hawk, and a squadron of handpicked troops off to Forever Fall in a bullhead, and with Glaston handling things perfectly well on his own, he managed to get something he hasn't had in quite a while. Free time. He decided that he might as well make due on his promise to his team and meet for some training instead of sleeping in like usual.
Violet spotted them coming from around the corner, "Glad to see you could make it."
"You had to drag us out to the middle of Vale?" Asked Ren, "Beacon's facilities not good enough for you?"
"Well…" Pyrrha began, "I don't know about you, but I plan to compete in the Vytal tournament and these facilities give privacy to their customers, unlike Beacon."
"I didn't think you'd care that much for deception," Nora said, "You seem to be the sort that prefers to settle things cleanly."
"All war is deception," Violet said.
"Precisely," Pyrrha said, "Even in an honorable duel, people make feints. And I keep my semblance secret, only using it in subtle ways. And if I'm to train to use it for practical purposes as a huntress, I should do it privately."
"Fair enough."
They made their way inside, with Violet paying for one of the arenas himself, despite the team's protests. Once there, they set about training according to a program devised mostly by Pyrrha.
They practiced combining their fighting styles in a series of 2v2 matches. As Ren & Nora, and Violet & Pyrrha were quite compatible, they were skipped in favor of other pairings. In any case, Violet liked the idea as they would be practicing combat against humans, and so he applied himself in full.
The first round was Violet and Ren against Nora and Pyrrha. The two of them had very different styles, Violet usually liked to head in immediately and finish the fight before it started with overwhelming violence, while Ren preferred to kite his enemies and use ranged attacks before closing in for the kill when presented with a vulnerability. Still, they managed to agree on a basic plan in no time, aiming to take out Nora with a quick attack before pulling back and fighting against Pyrrha in a battle of attrition.
As for Pyrrha, she was versatile and had plenty of experience, so she quickly adjusted to Nora's more aggressive style as they began the match with a charge, Nora's hammer swinging wildly to meet Violet's scythe. Ren closed in to whittle down her aura in close range, but he also had to contend with Pyrrha flanking him.
Quick blows came from Violet's and Nora's explosively propelled weapons, each meeting the other in a shower of sparks until Violet felt a tug on the Mordred, causing him to miss a parry and take a heavy hit. Pyrrha's semblance was working its magic, but Ren used the opportunity to sneak a burst of fire straight at Nora's back. The moment allowed Violet to sneak in a hit of his own. With Nora disoriented, the two of them pounced on her, shredding her aura in seconds. But before they could turn on Pyrrha, a fearsome javelin strike hit Violet in the back, knocking his aura down below the arena threshold. With only Ren and Pyrrha left, the battle was all but decided, though the former still put up a valiant effort.
After a rest to recover their auras, the second round began with Pyrrha and Ren facing Nora and Violet. Their styles were quite matching, though Violet thought they shouldn't allow themselves to become predictable. He figured that the two of them had enough raw strength to win, and they should avoid overly risky moves.
So they ended up starting the match by keeping a distance. Pyrrha's attempts to launch her weapons from far away didn't achieve the desired effect, and when Ren started shooting, Nora responded in kind with her grenade launcher. Pyrrha was forced to switch her weapon to rifle form, at which point Violet charged in, a series of devastating blows knocking Pyrrha off balance and inflicting several blows upon her aura. Ren went to her aid, but a grenade from Nora detonated next to him. By the time he recovered, she was already on him, and she swung at him with all her power, knocking him straight out of the arena.
Pyrrha resorted to trying to launch the weapons of her opponents out of their hands with her semblance, but they were ready for it and she only succeeded in flinging herself back instead. Nora and Violet went in, trying to hit Pyrrha, but she deftly evaded them. Every time a hit would come, she'd jump away, launch some kind of attack, and watch for the other member who'd inevitably try to flank her.
Even so, she was running out of strength faster than they were. She marked Violet as the main target due to his lower aura reserves. She sent several shots after him, aiming for center mass, but he deflected it with a timely shift to the portable form that provided enough shielding surface.
She then sent her magnetically propelled javelin and shield forward, only to be deflected again. She sent them again and again, looking for any opening as he scrambled to shield himself with his weapon. She managed a few hits here and there, his aura steadily dropping at her merciless onslaught, but Violet looked at the aura tracking board and saw her semblance use was dropping hers dangerously low as well. It wasn't long before he fell below the threshold, but by then Pyrrha was both drained of aura and exhausted, and Nora managed to eke out a victory with a well-timed grenade barrage and an explosive follow-up strike through the smoke.
They limped in exhaustion to a cafe within the building complex. They were drained as was, and it would take hours for their auras to recover after so much use.
"So…" Nora said, "It's the first time I've seen the invincible girl lose."
She took it in stride, "What can I say, I've been fighting against some especially talented people. And I suppose Ren didn't make for the ideal matchup in that situation, no offense."
"None taken," Ren said as he sipped a drink.
"In pre-academy fights one rarely lost on a single match, so even though I won every tournament I prepared for, I didn't strictly win every single fight. Still, I do hold the record for my age with a score of 108-2."
"Wow!" Nora exclaimed, "With those numbers I'm sure we would have no problem winning the Vytal festival!"
"You're set on that, huh?" Violet said. He didn't like to draw attention to his identity that much, and the extra workload would be burdensome.
"You… don't want to participate?"
"It's not that, I couldn't deny Pyrrha the chance to compete. It's just that it's doubtful we'll win, so manage your expectations."
"That's true," Pyrrha said, "Though by now physical advantages of age start to disappear, I'm not so sure of my chances against a top fourth year. Even more so in a team fight."
"It's understandable," Ren said, "Though we've got more pressing concerns. Namely, we have to prepare for the end of semester mission."
"Oh, please," Nora said, "It's fine. Most first year missions are child's play."
"That's assuming we're doing a first year mission," Violet smiled, "I was busy talking Oz into giving us a chance to take on harder missions."
"Oh?" Ren looked at him skeptically, "That's odd, I would have assumed such an undertaking would have you hang around campus all the time. Maybe you're just really stealthy?"
"Who knows, maybe Blake's skills rubbed off on me. But no, I've spent most of my time investigating things surrounding a potential… detour during the mission. I saw a few open missions near Mount Glenn, and I think we could find something very interesting there if we look hard enough."
"So you're eager to get us all killed again," Ren said in a joking tone.
"Something like that."
"Might I ask for what cause?"
"Same as last time," Violet responded.
"Are we invited too?" A familiar voice spoke behind him. Turning around, he spotted Weiss and Ruby.
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh, you know," Weiss said, "We heard your team went here and we thought we'd check in, maybe train a bit ourselves."
Violet chuckled, gripping his heart in mock hurt, "I appear to have been the victim of a most devious ambush."
"We haven't seen each other in a while, Vio." Ruby said, "I've been kinda worried about you. Yang was thinking of calling Dad and-"
"Okay, okay, you don't have to resort to such drastic measures. I'll talk to you, okay? But not here."
He got up and headed towards the exit, only to be halted by Pyrrha tugging at his sleeve.
"Wait. You promised on the phone that we'd talk."
"That I did," He thought about it for a second, before whispering in her ear, "I think you should walk with us, I have something to show you."
He waved Ren and Nora goodbye and set off with Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha into the streets of Vale. It was a rather awkward walk, and it took several minutes for Ruby to break the silence.
"Soooo… You've been missing from Beacon for a while because you've been tracking the White Fang?"
"You could say that."
The silence continued again for an uncomfortable duration. Ruby looked as if she was about to say something, before stopping herself. Eventually Weiss stepped in, "As much as I approve of fighting that scum, don't you think you're becoming obsessed? Ruby's been worried sick about you, not to mention anything about Blake. She just disappeared one day and you're apparently the only person that sees her now. Where is she?"
"Away," he said dispassionately.
"You can't keep dodging these questions, Violet."
"Actually, I can. But what else is there to say?"
"You can start by telling us where exactly Blake is." Weiss snapped, before taking on a more concerned tone, "She's not in a hospital or something, is she?"
"No, she is perfectly fine. She's just outside of Vale currently."
"So, at Mount Glenn?" Ruby asked.
"Close enough."
"When is she coming back?"
"A few days, definitely less than a week."
During this time, Violet had been covertly leading the group to a very specific location. In no time, they were near what could be considered the bad part of town- dilapidated buildings, largely deserted streets, and the like. Upon turning a corner, they saw a dead man hanging from a window, his blood smearing the ruined facade behind him.
Gasps erupted from the team, though Violet just calmly approached it. Several papers have been stuck to the wall underneath. He knew what they said, of course, he wrote them. He pulled one off and handed it to Pyrrha. Ruby and Weiss gathered behind to study it as well.
Citizens of Vale! Your government has failed in its most fundamental duty of protecting the citizenry. All throughout the nation, it allows the wicked and corrupt to take advantage of the innocent and hard-working. Worse yet, they conspire to keep the injustice hidden, hoping the suffering masses would simply starve away.
To this, the Black Knights say "No more!"
As the current governing body has failed in its duties, we consider it illegitimate and take upon ourselves the task of protecting the hardest hit areas, namely districts 12-19. Report all wrongdoings to your local Black Knight representative and they will resolve the issue in a swift and fair manner.
"Wow…" Weiss said.
"They sound very serious," Pyrrha said.
Weiss looked at the hanging corpse with morbid curiosity, "They're practically in the open now. The news doesn't do it justice."
"Can we…" Ruby began, "Can we go? I don't like this place that much."
"Yeah, we should turn back," Violet said.
Ruby rushed out in a flurry of rose petals, with Weiss chasing after her. Meanwhile, Pyrrha stood motionless looking at the paper and back at the corpse, "Say, Vio, is this what you wanted to show me?"
"Yeah."
"It's… You said I could help you with work, with tracking down the White Fang. Did you have this in mind as well? Is that why you showed it to me?"
"Maybe," he hugged her from behind, "You must understand, this world is filled with such darkness. Someone needs to cleanse it."
"And that someone is… you? Me? The Black Knights? Are you with-"
"Pyrrha, what does your heart tell you? I have it on good authority that man was every bit as debased as the White Fang lieutenant you removed. Hell, this one was even worse, he did not have an aspirational ideology, it was just a naked exploitation of the vulnerable. Do you think that's fine?"
"N-no. Of course not!"
"Do you think he's the only one?"
"He's not."
"And do you think there are no such people in positions of authority?"
"I- There must be, I'm… I see," she relaxed, falling into Violet's arms, "That's what this is about. You want us to join the Black Knights? Is that it?"
"Is that so wrong?"
"I don't know. But you said you'd be risking everyone around you by doing so. You said you wouldn't do that."
"I won't put them at risk. I'm cautious and thorough."
"You guys!" Weiss said, coming back from chasing Ruby "What in the world are you still doing here? We agreed to leave this place."
"Yeah," Violet sighed, "We're coming."
"So, we saw nothing, right?" Weiss said.
"If anyone asks, yes." Violet said, "But it's not nothing."
"It feels a lot more real now," Weiss said, "A lot more terrifying."
"Do you really think you have anything to fear, Weiss?"
"Probably. They may be less extreme than the Fang, but I doubt they'd just let the Schnee heiress be."
"What is their record of targeting people by association? Have you looked into it?"
"No, not really."
Pyrrha gave Violet a look.
"They said they didn't wish to do so in an early statement of theirs. And what of you two?" he asked, "What do you think?"
"I'll be fine," Pyrrha said, "They shouldn't have anything against me. And I don't think they'd target a huntress in training."
Ruby hitched her breath, "When I spoke to Penny, she said she once fought against the Black Knights, so I don't know about that."
"Penny is also part of Atlas Academy, which is explicitly a military institution."
"That's-" Ruby went silent all of a sudden, "I guess that's possible." Violet was surprised to hear no argument from her, but the Penny girl was all kinds of weird and suspicious. Even Ruby would be able to tell that much.
"And what do you think of it, Violet?" Weiss asked, "I can tell you like them."
"You're exaggerating."
"I don't hear denial. You dodge every criticism of them, but are otherwise eager to talk politics."
He momentarily considered her, "And what of it? I can't be happy they're putting more gangsters in the dirt? If the government wasn't so opposed to peaceful change, there wouldn't be so much needless death."
"And have they tried that? Peaceful change?"
"The Fang did."
The statement soured the mood instantly.
"The Fang is still an enemy of my family company," Weiss said coldly.
"You'd be too if you weren't the heiress. Not that I'm judging, you seem like a decent person. You would run it well."
She didn't argue with him on that.
"I guess they haven't done anything particularly wrong yet," Pyrrha said, "Even so, I don't think we should work with them. It's one thing to fight the Fang, but they're considered enemies of Vale and Atlas."
"Yeah," Ruby said, "I'd like them a lot more if they tried cooperating with the police and huntsmen."
Much as it pained him to hear it, he figured Ruby would have problems with that part. She wanted to be heroic in a simple, unproblematic way. It was an unrealistic desire, but he understood it very much. The sooner he deposed the regime, the sooner she'd get her wish. He wondered what Summer would think of him right now. She'd probably be angry with him on many fronts. He'd hoped to create something she could be proud of, even if it was through extreme methods.
"It's a real mess out there," Violet said, "We can only trust time to reveal who was right and who was wrong. I'm honestly not sure myself."
The main base of the Knights was established at a strategic location deep in the ghetto. It was situated within a factory complex that was damaged during the Great War. Though it ceased production, the overall structure held up, as it was built to withstand serious damage. In addition, a small river protected it from one of the sides, and the handful of bridges there were easy to hold.
It used to serve as a storage location for their bullhead before, but now not only does it store countless tonnes of war materiel, but it also contains sleeping quarters, training rooms, a weapons & explosives workshop, a mess hall, and some of the soldiers even applied their civilian skills to install plumbing.
That's all to say, Zero's walks to meetings used to be quiet and simple affairs back when he was starting out. He'd just have to find whatever apartment they'd agreed upon, and he intimately knew all the important people so he rarely even had to disguise himself.
Now he was walking through a hive of activity, every eye trained on him as he passed the various rooms. They tried their best to hide their numbers, but it was impossible after a certain point. It was worth it though, as it made coordination far more efficient.
As he entered the war room, all members stood at attention. He wasted no time on pleasantries, "Status report, everyone."
Hawk was the first to speak, "The paladin's software was installed, and the parts we've salvaged from Forever Fall have been integrated into the machine. It's armed and ready to go."
"And what of our inventory?"
"We've reached our target for stockpiles of firearms, ammunition, and dust. We're also 15-20% over target with secondary requirements like uniforms, medicine, rations, and communication devices."
"Very well. Glaston?"
"The new system continues to be well received, with people noting a massive decrease in crime. I'm also glad to report that the soup kitchens we've started rolling out the past few days have grown very popular. There's even some fluff pieces about it in the papers."
"I'm glad as well. Though the credit for the idea is all yours."
"Thank you," he smiled for a moment, before growing more serious, "Zero, I know that we've agreed on all this already, but I'm growing anxious. The cops have been almost totally absent. They must be preparing an attack."
"Why do you assume that?" Marrow asked, "They could just be washing their hands of the whole thing, they've been very passive thus far. It's less work for them." He looked worse for wear these days, but he was holding it together. Zero was impressed, though annoyed they had to play along with him. Still, he had some important information to pass on to Vale command.
Glaston shot Zero a look, looking for direction, "Perhaps," his metallic voice rang out, "In any case, I believe our first course of action should be to take out our competition. An easy victory over the Fang is possible if executed well, and it would ensure more recruits flock to us. Glaston, Blake, and I have been devising a plan on that front."
"We're attacking the Fang?" Marrow asked.
"Yes, they've been too demanding in our communications, I'm certain they want to do the same to us soon. It's better to make the first move."
"If that's what you want, I won't object."
Zero moved on, "As for the training efforts, how have they gone?"
"Well enough," Amin said.
"We've had an increased workload these past few weeks," Blake said, "But we're proud of our work."
"I had my doubts at first," Azul started, "But after establishing a proper salary system, morale has never been higher with the troops. I just hope we can maintain this for a long time."
"We can, I've taken special measures to supply the Knights with more money. Not to mention all the assets seized from criminals helping us out. If that's all, I'd like to depart. I'll be absent for at least 2 days, but I'll stay in touch. For any pressing matters, refer to Glaston."
The participants started to get up and leave, though Marrow remained seated, "Excuse me, Zero."
"Yes, Amin?"
"I'd like to talk with you… In private. It's important."
"What could possibly be so important you couldn't mention it in this meeting?"
"I- uh, I'm not sure if any of them might be spies, and this is very sensitive." Zero smiled behind his mask at the sheer audacity of the man, "Not that I don't trust them, but I don't want to take the chance."
"I don't need to tell you how offended I am, and I consider myself especially cautious in these matters. But if you insist, the founding members are trustworthy. Glaston! Blake! Amin has an important report to deliver, I have to go now."
"Wait!" Marrow called out, but he was already gone.
"You should have seen his face as he was making up the super important report," Blake snickered as she was packing her bags.
"I'm sorry for pestering you with that, but I need him for the coming battle. If he delays their attack or leads them into a trap it'll all be worth it. They believe he has my utmost trust."
"I know. By the way, how do you feel about the mission?"
"It should be easy enough," Violet said, putting on his backpack, "We'll ascertain their strength, report their exact location to the armed forces, maybe even take some of them out ourselves."
"You sure you don't need any extra support? We could have people in waiting there."
"I wouldn't want to risk revealing our allegiances early. I trust my team to pull through if things get sour. Speaking of, I got Pyrrha to say some nice things about the Knights."
"Oh? Well, lucky you. But yes, you should be safe with her."
He left the dorms, heading outside to the landing pads where the rest of his team awaited near a bullhead.
Ren waved to him, "Ready to get this show on the road?"
"Absolutely. To Mount Glenn it is."
"One Grimm surveillance mission, coming right up!" Nora exclaimed.
The bullhead's ramp lowered, "I'm glad to see you're all so excited," said Professor Oobleck as he descended the ramp, "We'll be heading out in 5 minutes." At that moment something in Violet knew that this was going to be a very long and frustrating mission.
AN: So, uh… hi! Been a while, huh? I know I said this chapter was coming 'soon,' and I'm sorry it didn't pan out. I got kinda stuck, and certain exam & project deadlines caught up with me. I know I could have managed my time better, so I'm sorry for that.
Anyway, we're off to Mount Glenn now, and we'll soon be finished with act 2 of the story (out of a planned 5). Hopefully I see you soon!