AN:

Last update until my first test, so I made sure to make it a good one.

Chapter 19

For the Record

And every single interaction I have with her just reinforces the idea that despite it all, Cinder fucking knows.

"How do you feel about being a spy?" - I ALMOST BLASTED HER OUT OF THE GODDAMN HOTEL!
Though, funny: Still not a scary as the prospect of dating Neo.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

To start, at least now I know how she figured out where Amber was, in-canon.

The simple part, first: Torchwick and Neo stopped by the hotel today. Neo ended up being the one who put up the idea of burner phones, so at least now I can pin the idea on her if the Legion gets pissed.

Also, I am now officially dating Yuno Gasai. Not only did I never think I would say that completely unironically, but - actually, I've said it so many times it's pretty much lost its meaning. The bitch is scary, I can't tell when she's joking or she's serious, I have to match wits with her and date an assassin, and I think the next time we see eachother she's going to take my virginity whether I want her to or not.

Moving on.

Torchwick was here to drop off a literal suitcase full of money, and another one full of dust crystals, and considering dust is worth its weight in gold... He basically dropped two briefcases full of money; we're on our way now to go beat the shit out of the White Fang and force Taurus to work with us. I'm wondering if this will be like my bar fight, or closer to fighting an army of Neos. I'm really hoping for the former.

But that's not the important part. I'm not worried about that - I survived Neo, Yang, and god damn god, in that order. Then I sparred with Qrow and now I'm dating Neo. White Fang thugs don't scare me.

No, what scares me is when Cinder comes in and insinuates that she knows I'm here spying on her... By dropping the word 'you' and 'spy' the very second she comes in.
I am not kidding when I say I nearly blasted that bitch out of the ship when she said that... But fortunately, I kept my cool.

Let's start from the top:

While we were talking, Neo implied Torchwick has contacts everywhere in Vale, and fingers in a lot of pies over in other countries, too. One of those pies is Atlas, and one of those contacts let him in on the fact that Ozpin ordered 'state of the art bla bla bla science jargon' - he ordered cryo stasis pods, is having them delivered to Beacon. Problem is, they don't say exactly where in Beacon.

Cinder hashed it out with Torchwick, Beacon's initiation exams and whatnot are here in a few months, and he's got enough favors to get birth certificates and grade reports forged... In my name.

Well, not my name. It's too foreign.

Goodbye Nebo Aldric... Hello Goud Etiolate. The former meaning gold, or star, I think, and the other - I had to look that up. It basically means ashen. Golden Ash.

I'll tell people to call me Ash.
Groovy.

If it isn't obvious yet... They're sending my ass to Beacon so I can find Amber.

Before I go on, let's get this cleared up:
I'm working with Cinder, spying on the League... Who I am working for... Spying on Cinder... Whom I plan to use to meet Salem, to spy on her for the League, so I can inevitably betray her and - why does everything smell like copper?
What the fuck, Chuck? This is Revolver Ocelot type shit. Does that make Ozpin Big Boss?

Cinder laid out the plan for me. She knows Amber is in Beacon, that's where Torchwick said the cryo pods are getting shipped. She wants a spy on the inside, writing reports on the up and coming Huntsman, Beacon's staff, Ozpin himself, and eventually, Amber's location.

So, while we're gone and his cronies are out robbing dust shops, Torchwick is going to forge some paperwork and get me into the Beacon entrance exams. I've been told that only sixty percent of the grade is the physical portions, so I'm going to have to figure out how the fuck not to bomb the written exam and still get in. From there, I entrench myself in the school, start spying on the locals, send reports, and figure out where Amber is.
Technically, I already have that last bit covered, so... Problem solved. Whoopee.

Meanwhile, they're telling me that after they pick up Taurus, their plans gear down until they can drain Vale of its dust shops. Cinder liked the burner phone chat app idea (why the fuck do we have 'main' scrolls if we're going to not use them at the first available chance?!), decided to adopt it.

I smell copper again: I need burner phones for Neo, so I can talk to her, the Watchmen, and the Legion, get updates from the Watchmen, probably sexts of some sort from Neo, I dunno, and updated orders from the Legion.

So basically, I'm Light Yagami pretending to be Revolver Ocelot working for L while betraying Brutus by telling him I'm driving a Trojan Horse... For Benedict Arnold.
Allthewhile using Watergate's telephones.

What the fuck even is my life?

Finally:
Cinder said that before she ships me off to beacon, we're going to spend some time trying to crack into my power - see if we can prove whether or not it's Master or just fight or flight - At least to such a point that I can access it on my own and experiment while I'm gone. Obviously, she'll want updates on what I find.

And that brings us back full circle, to Beacon.
It occurs to me that I may have to tell the Watchmen that I'm going there... But so too does it occur to me that telling them 'Nathan Drake is going to Beacon' might also be a piss-poor idea. I'm keeping my damn identity from them to ensure as remote a possibility as possible that they may hesitate against me if we ever meet on the battlefield, because - god forbid I survive, or win, that will inevitably lead to the Legion catching on to me.

So should I instead tell them that a spy is going to Beacon?
Because, if I don't, they may take that as a breach of trust... And, push comes to shove, they catch me on campus and try to detain me, the name Nathan Drake is a get out of jail free card.

I'll have to think more on this.

At least Taurus' camp is coming up, next. That'll be an hour or two of beating the snot out of people, won't have to think as hard.
Now, just watch: Somehow, some way, some shape, some form, it's going to happen. I'm going to have to fight Adam. I'm calling it, because that's my life now.
Travel to exotic planets, get superpowers, meet new and interesting people... And promptly beat the shit out of them.

But before all of that?

I need a new arm.

'Till next time.

Much like how Aldric was pretending he was fully rooting for the Legion of Doom, he knew he'd have to play a character when it came to Goud 'Ash' Etiolate, and chief on the list was not broadcasting that he could see as well as he could. Instead, his goal was to make 'Ash' something of a Matt Murdock kind of blind, in so much that he could still functionally see, but not perfectly. Aldric's story would thusly be similar to the eponymous Daredevil's, that being enhanced senses secondary to his loss of eyes. To that effect, during the few days he had spent in the garden, Aldric had begun getting in the habit of using the Power Glove to spawn a white cane, and getting used to using it properly. It would take time to further develop Ash, to come up with all of the niches and mannerisms that would throw off any of the League's attempts to identify him based off of what they knew about the Legion, but that time would have to come after Adam Taurus.

So, focusing on more important goals, he found himself in the lower levels of the Garden, making his way into its armory and searching for the prosthetist. Entering the sterile, white workshop, the prosthetist's head snapped up, and he grinned.

"Mister Drake!" He waved Aldric inside, "come in, come in." He said, "give me just a second, I finished it just this morning." He said, rushing back deeper into the workshop.

Aldric reached the man's desk and leaned the cane against it as he sat down. It took a few more minutes for the portly mechanic to return, with a box in his hands. With a little focus, the amputee in the room could see inside the box, and knew that his arm was in there, and looked just as glorious as he imagined it. The prosthetist placed it down on his desk and let Aldric lean forward and open it up. Cracking open the cardboard box, Aldric grinned at the black and red mechanical limb. Aldric ran his hands along the cool metal, noting the dulled smell of paint floating up to his nose.

"And it's got all that stuff we talked about?" Aldric asked, as he started undoing the bandages around his stump. It was still partially swollen and a little tender, but it wasn't the purple and blue mass of enflamed tissue it had been a few days ago. The doctor was still somewhat surprised at Aldric's Old Man Logan healing factor, citing that even with aura, most people couldn't heal as fast as he did.

The mechanic nodded, "yup. I used the nanites you gave me to set up the chainsaw's teeth." He explained, "though I'll be taking a little more time with the spare you asked for. There's been this experimental Atlesian design running around..." He waved his hand, "ah, never mind. Once I've got a working design I'll send it to the address you gave me."

Aldric was only half listening to the man, just nodding along as he spoke. "I notice that there aren't any straps." Aldric said, as he hoisted the arm up in his good hand, also noticing that it wasn't nearly as heavy as he would have predicted. "Do I just stick it on?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it falling off, Mister Drake. Everyone does, but you'd need to get hit by an Atlesian cannon to break that seal."

Aldric frowned, as he inspected the shoulder socket of the arm. "But I can still take it off? Do my own little fiddles and modifications?"

"Of course." The man nodded, "it's all about intent."

Blurring the line between science and magic even more. Thought Aldric, as he slid the mechanical limb into place.

It became affixed to his stump with a light sucking sound, and barely a second later, Aldric felt tactile sensation return to his left arm. Not phantom pains, and not the feeling of the air from his radar pulse, but actual sensations, as if he had nerve endings again.

He chuckled, "whoa." He said, unable to hold back a grin, as the arm sprang to life and, after the fingers flexed and all of the mechanical parts rotated on their axes, he found himself in full control of the limb.

"You'll find a full return of sensory information, even beyond the finger tips." The mechanic prodded, as Aldric confirmed this by running his fleshy hand along the cold steel of his new black and red robo-arm, noting that he could feel his fingers running along the steel, and not even bothering to wonder how such a thing was possible. This kind of science would firmly be beyond him.

"I'll say." Aldric responded, as he stretched the limb and tested out its range of motion. "Damn." He found he was able to completely reverse the limb, appearing as if the arm had been put on backwards. "That'll take some getting used to." He thought aloud, clenching his fist. The air was filled with light metallic clicks and clanks as the arm's plates rubbed up against eachother. "And I assume..." Aldric murmured, as he let some vague notions of a chainsaw enter his mind. "Yup."

True to his assumptions, merely willing the chainsaw to appear caused the plates on his forearm to split down the middle, revealing the chainsaw. It flipped outwards, storing his hand in the forearm. With another thought, he sensed the Power Glove do its thing, and teeth appeared on the chainsaw, accompanying the sound of its engine rumbling. A few silent thoughts made the saw whir and spin, and made a wide grin appear on the amputee's face.

"Nice." He said, stowing the chainsaw away and flipping his hand back out. "Thanks a lot, man." He said, reaching forward with his new arm.

The mechanic shook his hand, "all in a day's work, Mister Drake."

Aldric snatched up his cane with his new arm and made his way back to his room to finish packing for the White Fang.

Aldric spent most of the short journey to the White Fang's camp fiddling with his new arm, reading over what equated to an owner's manual provided by the prosthetist. He was, in a word, surprised at how natural it felt in comparison to his organic right arm. He felt the sensory input all over it, had a full range of motion, and when he'd tried it out, he'd found that he could crush a small metal paperweight in his hand without any effort. Granted he was certain it wasn't any dense metal like steel or titanium, but still, he'd picked up a solid block of metal and crushed it in his hands like it was putty. In comparison, without his semblance, such a feat was impossible with his formerly good hand; all he needed now was to train a little ambidexterity and he'd be good. As they arrived at their destination, he slid his armored gauntlet on, deciding that the extra armor wouldn't hurt, and that not advertising he was a lefty would only help in any fights he'd get into.

The journey to find the White Fang camp took a lot less time than it did the first go-round. They only intended to be here for a day at most, so when they landed, they didn't even bother bringing camping gear, only their weapons, and the cases of money and dust. They beat feet, as fast as they could, sprinting for Taurus' camp, and making the journey inside an hour, their goal being simple: Incapacitate, but don't kill, and just keep going until they'd either taken down Taurus himself, or until Taurus was more amiable to their desires.

To give the White Fang a little credit, they did have scouts posted in the few kilometers of forest surrounding their camp, but they did little more than delay them. Without even losing momentum, when Aldric came up on the first of the scouts, he clapped his left fist in his right, and with his speed and his momentum, swung the fist forward in a powerful downward arc. The metallic fist smashed into the Fang's face with a crunching sound and he was thrown to the ground with a grunt of pain, as Aldric thundered past him. He sensed Mercury behind him, leaping into the air and coming down hard, slamming both of his feet into the Fang's chest and burying him, unmoving and unconscious, into the dirt.

God damn! Might have to chop the other one off! Aldric thought with a grin.

As continued running, a Fang tried leaping on top of him from the tree tops, but he'd seen her long before she'd seen him, and had thusly sensed her coming. She didn't even reach him, he thrust his metal hand up and over his shoulder, about-facing and running backwards. She froze in mid-air, and with a single horizontal swing, he sent her flying away. A third Fang tried to take advantage of his orientation and charge him from behind, but he made the mistake of letting loose a loud battle cry. Aldric spun around again, enveloping his new limb in his shield; it took the brunt of the attack, shattering the Fang's blade in a shower of metal shards. Aldric then rammed his shield and then his fist into the man's face with a powerful one-two punch, before using his semblance to slam him to the ground, as if Remnant's gravity had spiked massively.

They continued surging forward, and the Fang knew their momentum was too great, as those in the trees ceased their attempts to halt their advance and instead sprinted past them, towards the camp. Aldric could sense them mounting their defense there, there were dozens of them and their numbers were only growing. When the Legion arrived, these numbers did little. Aldric and Cinder charged straight into the center of the mass of Fangs, with Mercury handling the outlying fringes, instantly filling the air with the sounds of battle.

Aldric tackled his way through three fangs by using the flat of his shield as a battering ram. He rolled to his feet and quickly knocked out the Fang underneath him with a powerful blow to the head. He sensed a Fang charging him from behind, but he spun around, bringing his shield up in a wide arc. The Fang's blade hit the shield and instantly slid off of it in a shower of sparks, allowing Aldric to carry into his momentum and bury his less mechanical fist into the Fang's stomach. The Fang went flying several feet, but his allies seemed not to care, instead only trying to attack, to knock out Aldric's momentum. One came in, lunging forward and latching his arms around Aldric's shield arm, another locked onto Aldric's free arm and they both wrenched his arms out to the sides. A third came in from the front and gave a swift front kick to Aldric's face, but these were normal men moving at normal speeds. They were good, but Aldric was better.

With his semblance, he deflected the booted foot, shoving it over to his left and then deactivating his shield, letting it vanish in a shower of embers. The Fang holding his shield stumbled forward, and as Aldric swung his now free left fist around to hit the man holding his right, the Fang that had tried to kick him, now kicked his ally, with Aldric adding a little of his own semblance behind the other man's kick, to ensure that the shield-grabber went down. Aldric's metal fist smashed into the man's nose with a loud crack and an accompanying crunch, and then again in his cheek with another. This stunned the man enough to let go of Aldric's arm, and now with no one holding onto him, Aldric leapt up into the air before a Fang could tackle him from behind - this resulting in the Fang tackling the kicker and sending them both to the ground.

Up in the air, Aldric formed his shield again and then threw it with all of his might, it bounced off of four Fangs before Aldric landed on the ground again and caught it deftly. He sensed a Fang leveling a gun at him, and quickly charged this Fang. The gun went off three times, with each slug bouncing off of Aldric's shield without a single adverse effect. When Aldric reached the gunner, he dropped to his knees and swept the gunner's legs out from under him. The Gunner hit the ground with a light grunt of pain, just as Aldric sensed two men charging into the battlefield from Taurus' tent.

"What is this?!" Taurus demanded in an outrage, as Aldric got to his feet.

Both he and Aldric turned to see Cinder standing openly in front of the tent, her two blades held calmly in her hands. Mercury slowly approached from her rear, the two suitcases hanging from his back and sliding down his arms to his feet. Aldric sensed the Fang beneath him groaning, and with a brief grunt and a chop from his shield, the Fang was knocked out, his nose deformed.

"We could have gone to anyone for help..." He heard Cinder distantly intone, in a cold voice, as she took a single step forward, throwing both of her blades to the ground at Taurus' feet. "But we chose you, Adam Taurus." She took another step forward, this one with a threatening posture, accompanying her grin turning to a feral one. "Our plan will be beneficial for both of us." She raised her hand, and as the dust lines in her clothing glowed a bright orange, the ground at Adam's feet, and her blades as well, burst into powerful, searing hot fire, causing the leader of the White Fang and his lieutenant both to retreat backwards a step. "Or one of us." She said, laying out her ultimatum.

With this, Mercury knelt to the ground, laying both cases down and opening them, revealing the fruits of Roman Torchwick's labors, in the form of stacks of cash money and canisters filled with dust crystals. "So which will it be?" She asked, as the glow on her clothing died down, and she lowered her hand.

Even from behind his mask, Taurus looked livid, his entire face twitching with barely contained fury. "You come in to my camp..." Taurus growled, tightening his grip on his red blade. "You attack my men... Threaten my people - and you just expect me to roll sit down and let you take that you want?! To let you spend their lives as if they the were money in that case?!" He demanded, giving a livid nod to the case in question.

So am I about to watch the butterfly effect bite me in the ass? Or is this just the 'convincing him' part that the show didn't cover? Aldric wondered, adjusting his grip on his shield, and keeping his eye on Taurus' sword, ready to throw the former at the latter at a moment's notice.

"You seem to think we came here as pillagers, Mister Taurus. You would do well to notice that not a single one of your men has died, this day." Cinder responded, slowly adopting a more neutral stance, albeit now with both hands raised slightly above her hips, in a messianic pose. "You know more than any the skills of your men and women. It is in your hands that their lives lay... And I would think you would truly wish to consider our offer. After all... What else would make the White Fang more feared than to have been intimately involved with the destruction of Beacon?" She sneered.

Taurus' frown remained firm, though Aldric noticed his lieutenant briefly cast a look over in the red-head's direction. "That's impossible." He countered.

Cinder merely smirked, and there was a snap of her fingers. A few seconds passed by in silence, before Aldric sensed several speeding masses approaching at high speeds from the forest's edge. He turned his head as they launched into the camp, and revealed themselves to be three beowolves. They skidded to a halt next to Cinder, and took on docile stances, allowing the half-Maiden to pet their heads as if they were pets. Adam and his lieutenant both retreated another step, with the White Fang leader raising his firearm the moment he saw the Grimm.

Yup! And as Adam pulled the trigger, Aldric heaved his shield.

It passed by between the two just, taking the bullet from Adam's gun with a loud ringing noise. Adam's head snapped to the shield, and then to Aldric, who stared right back, as his shield hit a tree, and returned loyally. Aldric caught it easily, and affixed it back to his right arm, arcing an eyebrow, daring Taurus to try it again. He noticed Taurus' eyes, shielded by his mask, briefly snap down to his left arm, before he turned his scowling gaze back to Cinder, seeming to only now notice that the Grimm weren't attacking, but were instead acting as docile animals. Cinder turned her orange eyes to Adam, likely reveling in the look of shock that was replacing the one of rage.

"Nothing is impossible, Adam Taurus." She said in a warm, velvety tone. "Shall I assume your cooperation?"

Taurus bared his teeth, but after a few moment's thought, slowly sheathed his blade. Aldric sensed Cinder grin as two of the three beowolves vacated the area; and as Mercury closed his cases and got to his feet, Aldric realized that this was the first time he'd seen a Grimm since Cubone and Mothra. It was unnerving, but Cinder was keeping control of them, so he'd keep from freaking out, for now. However, when the leader of the White Fang looked over to him, Aldric got a sinking feeling in his gut.

Don't do it. Aldric thought, repressing a sigh as Taurus looked back to Cinder. Please, don't you fucking do it. I will nope the fuck out of here if you fucking do it.

Cinder raised an eyebrow, at this continued silence. "Or... Your lack thereof?"

"I want assurances." He growled.

Cinder removed her hand from the thick fur of the beowolf. "Such as?"

"The lives of my men aren't cheap." He stressed, glancing at his lieutenant. "Every step and every action I take is calculated. Every plan I make is thorough, with every variable considered. All this in the aim of preserving as many of their lives as possible." He turned to Cinder. "I know deaths are unavoidable. I am waging war. But throwing lives away is what they do." He pointed at Cinder, "if you want me to convince them that the way we win our war is to ally ourselves with the very people against whom we fight, I want you to assure me you won't throw the lives of my men away." He lowered his hand to the hilt of his blade. "Or so help me, I'll fight you myself."

Yeah, good luck with that, my friend. Thought Aldric. You'll find this little fireball a little more tough than a seventeen year old Huntress in training.

Cinder nodded to him, "of course, Adam Taurus." She said. "I understand the value of life, as well as when and where one must be ended." She gestured around her, "you will notice that few, if any, of your men here today will have perished in this battle."

Holy shit, wait a second, am I actually avoiding having to fight this guy? Is that possible? I attract this shit like Goku. Aldric watched the exchange.

Taurus let out a long, steadying breath, as he let his hand slide off of the hilt of his blade. "How do you intend to stay in contact with me?" He demanded.

"Simply." She said, "we've connections to Roman Torchwick, in Vale. It is with him you will be most closely be working, and he he shall handle communications. It is only you and he who will ever commune directly with me." She said, nodding to the thief and the assassin's son, who closed the cases, but left them on the ground as they got to their feet. "I will be in touch." She said, about-facing and waving over her shoulder, prompting the remainder of the Legion to follow her.

Holy shit I did it! I didn't have to -

"And there's one more thing."

FUCK! Aldric knew he'd jinxed it.

Cinder's smile turned to a light, almost imperceptible frown. "Oh?" She intoned, coldly.

"I remember you." He said. "I remember the last time you were here, and I remember what you said you wanted to do." He growled. "You intend to change the world. You want to tear down Beacon, but I can tell you won't stop there - just as you know that if given half the chance, neither would I." He said, "and maybe I would believe you could do it... But then, the next time you come here... You're missing one of your men, and another one -" He snapped his fingers and pointed at Aldric, who knew where this was going, and was only keeping from freaking out because now, unlike most other situations, he was actually allowed to scowl. "- another one came back mutilated. So you're trying to convince me you and yours are strong enough to do what it is you desire... When you're not even strong enough to keep yourselves alive, and in one piece." He shook his head. "I don't know how it is you do that with the Grimm... But that doesn't change a damn thing. You're expecting me to donate my men and my men's lives to a cause where you can't even guarantee your own." He growled, baring his teeth.

Cinder hummed. "So you wish for us to display our power. Prove that we are capable of what it is we set out to do." Cinder surmised. "Against someone more equipped to face our challenges than mere mortal men."

"Faunus." Taurus growled, "and yes."

That's it. I'm going to kill everyone. Change my name to Joe Kerr. This is literally the same excuse Torchwick used... Granted that one was a set - Aldric's face fell. No. No, she didn't set this up. She couldn't have. He could sense her facial expression, and though he was a long way away from being able to determine things like micro expressions, he could at least tell that she was just as blindsided as Aldric was. So is this the coincidence, or is Torchwick's use of it the coincidence?

Taurus continued. "Look at this from my point of view, Fall." He demanded. "All I've seen are some pyrotechnic semblances, and a near full-strength team of unaffiliated Huntsman take apart an army that only had a few aura users readily on hand... Both of whom are standing before you." He indicated himself and his towering lieutenant, who nodded. "You have skill, and you have connections. Your display here had shown this clearly...But you've also shown me a very callous disregard for the lives of those who should trust you." A pause, "a very human trait." He added, scathingly. "How do you truly hope to accomplish this goal you've set out?" He demanded, brazenly. "This is something where all pieces on the board will have to contribute their part. There can be no acceptable casualties. This is something where everyone will need to carry their weight... And there can be no backseat Generals." He summarized, with a firm shake of the head.

Or... Wait, is he suggesting he wants to fight her? Aldric wondered, as Cinder gave the Grimm a pat on its flank, and it vacated the area.

"Am I to assume this to be a challenge from you to me?" She asked, an eyebrow raised.

Surprising Aldric, Taurus nodded. "I don't order my men to do anything I myself would not do. I'm just as willing to put my life on the line as they're willing to put theirs. The only way I'll even consider fighting alongside you is if you'll do the same."

Cinder grinned, "I am flattered by the respect you imply... But I must decline."

Now the livid scowl returned, "excuse me?!" The Fang's leader demanded, aghast.

"Very recently I came into the possession of a certain skill. A skill that has fundamentally changed the way my aura functions, and unlike some of my associates, I am not the kind to flourish in a trial by fire. My body is still yet unused to that which flows through it, and as such... Any engagement in which you and I become involved in would not only be unindicative of what I am capable of, but would also place my life in undue danger." Aldric was ready to tear his hair out.

Taurus was briefly surprised by this free admission, and he took advantage of it quickly. "Then what's to stop me from taking you out and being rid of your threats?!"

It seemed his response had been exactly what Cinder had been hoping for. "Both my trust allies behind me... And my right hand." She nodded to Aldric.

Uh, wait, what? When did this happen? When had Aldric gotten this promotion? Was there a pay raise? Could he avoid what he knew he probably wouldn't be able to?! Regardless of these questions, he kept up his neutral frown as Taurus looked over to him.

"I can assure you that his power will be comparably only to mine, when it levels out." She continued, attracting Taurus' gaze again. "There are an incredibly rare few like him. If it is a test of might you wish for... Of power and skill... You can consider him a reflection of myself."

God fucking damn it! God FUCKING DAMN IT! This was the guy who one-shot Yang - the same chick who'd broken all of his ribs and given him a concussion. The only reason he felt he'd gotten out of the Amber fight not as injured was a combination of her lack of skill, over reliance on her powers, his shield, and his armor. But against this guy? Aldric wasn't fond of his chances.

"Power is only part of the equation, Fall!" Taurus growled, "how can I be expected to place any modicum of trust in you, if - as evidenced by right now - you'll throw your people's lives into the fire, instead of your own?!" He demanded, taking a bold step forward, and clenching the sheath of his blade tightly. "Whether or not you have control shouldn't matter. If you're even a portion of the leader you need to be to accomplish something like this, you'd place your life on the line first, before throwing theirs away!"

At this, Cinder's feral grin dropped down to an angry frown. Never the one to enjoy being challenged like this, Aldric sensed her briefly drop her gaze to the ground in thought.

Is she actually considering it? Aldric felt a small swell of respect for her.

But, breaking his fucking heart, she slowly turned her head towards him. In the few moments he had before he knew he was out of time, Aldric realized that the butterfly effect had, indeed, bitten him square on the ass. But, then he had an idea; a terrible, awful idea. Perhaps the dumbest one he had ever come up with, and that was fully aware of the fact that he was being a spy in the Legion of Doom; but, if he could just buy himself one chance to make it work, and if he could make it work, he may be able to make the butterfly effect work for him, and not against him.

Oh... Fuck beans. He thought, as he straightened up his stance and nodded to Cinder. He felt his heart rate quickening as Cinder turned to Taurus. How am I going to do this?

"I told you... Adam Taurus." She intoned, dangerously. "Our plan will be beneficial for both of us..." She took a step back, as Mercury came upon her flank. "Or one of us." She said, before she turned her gaze to Aldric. "Don't kill him."

Adam's head snapped up as he heard Aldric's shield spinning through the air, hurtling right towards him. As he spun around to face it and brought his sheathed blade up to block it, his lieutenant charged forward, roaring just as loud as his chainsword. The shield slammed into Taurus' blade, and he grunted from the force, before it rebounded and flew back to Aldric, who was already surging forward, his metal hand reared and clenched in a tight fist, his right hand held in front of him. He caught his shield and swung it out of the way as he brought his mechanical arm down hard, but Taurus pressed the trigger on the sheath, and the sword fired out far faster than he could have drawn it. Aldric's fist slammed into the blade, and it only barely didn't cut through the gauntlet that covered it.

The two of them skidded backwards as Aldric sensed Mercury sprinting forward and kicking the Lieutenant's chainsword out of the way of Cinder's head. Aldric wrenched his fist back and dodged a quick, savage swing from Taurus, the blade dragging against the edge of the bandages covering his eyes. Using his semblance to ensure no loss of balance, Aldric spun around and slammed the broad side of his shield into Taurus' flank, causing him to stumble just enough for Aldric to follow up on the momentum of his spin and backhand him with his left arm.

Taurus recovered quickly and had his sheath, now closer to a rifle in appearance, pointed at Aldric. Aldric's shield was up just as Taurus fired, the bullet slammed into the shield and rebounded away, and Taurus snapped the rifle downwards to get at Aldric's feet, but where he expected Aldric to not have seen it from behind his shield, he underestimated how well Aldric could fight, even with such an obvious injury to his eyes. Aldric quickly crouched down and the next bullet again rebounded off of his shield with a loud bang. Taurus growled and Aldric hopped to his feet, using his shield to parry Taurus' next slice. The extremist faunus, however, had planned for this, and Aldric, now with his greatest defense off to the side, was wide open. Taurus capitalized on this by swinging around the one-handed rifle and pointing it right in Aldric's face, pulling the trigger in the same amount of time it took to blink. He, however, wasn't prepared for the bullet to freeze mid-air, so close to Aldric's face that the displaced man could actually feel it digging into the skin of his nose.

That was close! Aldric grunted and slapped the stunned faunus' rifle away, before shoving his head forward and headbutting the masked terrorist. Fuck, he's not playing around. How do I do this?! He demanded of himself, as Taurus met his headbut with one of his own.

Aldric stumbled back and sensed Taurus stabbing at his shield, but instead of going for the arm it was wrapped around, he went for the shield itself, and with a powerful slice, tore it from Aldric's arm and sent it soaring away. Aldric bit back a curse and deflected the next chop with the back of his gauntlet, swinging around with the metal arm and beating Taurus in the face. One, two, three lefts rammed into the masked faunus' head before Aldric followed it up with a right uppercut, but Taurus recovered faster than he'd predicted, spinning around and raising his gun again. Aldric crouched down to one knee and clenched his fist, and as the bullet flew out, another shield appeared. However, as fast as these shields could spawn, a bullet flew just a bit faster, and Aldric felt this one drag across his neck, him being literally an inch away from death.

If Taurus was surprised that Aldric had pretty much pulled another shield out of his ass, he didn't show it. He did show, however, a remarkably fast adaptation, knowing that Aldric's shields were all but impregnable and protected him from all the damage that it intercepted. Thus, he didn't even bother trying to attack it like most of his other opponents would, he didn't try hammering away at it to keep Aldric pinned down, and he didn't try to take it away from Aldric.

He snapped his head over to the one he'd previously stolen from Aldric, and dived for it. Aldric cursed and pulled the shield away from him with his semblance, but Taurus hit the ground, right in front of the shield. In one smooth motion, he rolled to his feet, stowed his rifle on his hip, and caught the shield, bringing it to his chest. He skidded back several feet, calling out loudly before he wrested the shield from Aldric's telekinetic grasp, and even turned Aldric's strength against him, using the momentum generated by his grabbing the shield and adding it to a kick to Aldric's chest, that sent the human flying back. Just in front of them, he and Aldric could see Mercury blasting away at the Lieutenant with the cannons on his feet, his pants partially shredded by repeated contact with the chainsword.

Uh, that's not happened before! Aldric felt his heart fall into his stomach, as Taurus clenched the shield tightly in one hand, adjusted the grip of his sword in the other, as his hair and the markings on his coat began to glow a deep red. Oh fuck, how... Wait... Wait, I can use this! And as Taurus chose to glare at him menacingly, Aldric charged forward.

Aldric threw the fist clenching his shield towards Taurus, and the faunus, as he'd hoped, used Aldric's first shield against him, bringing it up to block Aldric's attack. What he didn't know, however, was that by making contact with it, even through another Power Glove construct, Aldric had reestablished his connection to it. But, unlike previous times when he'd used this trick, this time, instead of using it to make the shield Taurus was holding vanished, he used it to alter its shape. Specifically, he made letters appear on the inner surface of the shield - the very surface Taurus had to be looking at if he was using it defensively.

THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY, ADAM TAURUS. STAND DOWN!

They appeared as would all new shapes for the power glove: Pale blue, wireframe outlines, meaning they stood out against the otherwise red, white, and blue inner surface of the shield. And with his radar pulse, Aldric could see the exact moment that Taurus registered his desperate attempt at contact. As Aldric silently thanked every god he could name for aura-enhanced reflexes, he saw the faunus' pupils dilated a fraction, and his frown briefly went from rage, to incertitude, and then back to rage as he brought his blade around to stab at Aldric's flank. The fighter bit back a curse, and instead of using his semblance to deflect the attack, decided to trust his armor and his barriers to do it, so he could focus on wiping away any evidence. The message vanished as Aldric felt the blade cleave through his barriers, but it didn't off of his armor. Taurus had repeatedly shown himself to be intelligent, even in their brief battle. He'd deduced Aldric's powers, learned how he fought, how his shield worked, and now?

Now he'd found the literal gaps in his armor. Aldric felt Taurus' blade slide between the plates of his armor, and an inch of the blade slid between his ribs and into his chest. With his radar pulse, Aldric could actually see it come desperately close to nicking one of his lungs, but it stopped just short.

With a bark of pain, Aldric swung downwards and backhanded the blade away with his right hand, tearing it out of his chest and from his armor. The blade grinded against the hardlight shield with a shower of sparks and a brief spray of blood, but Aldric bit through the pain and pressed on, praying that the sword stopping short was hesitation on Taurus' end, and not sheer luck. Before Taurus could react, Aldric sent a powerful haymaker his way, which impacted Taurus' stolen shield, right in the center of its white star, with a loud gonging noise, which briefly overwhelmed the sounds of the chainsword and its wielder's battle with the assassin's son.

YOU ONLY HAVE ONE WAY OUT OF THIS! Aldric pleaded, as Taurus struggled against the strength of his new cybernetic limb. ONLY ONE! And Aldric, now able to talk to the Faunus, had just one card to play if he wanted to end this fight, but he knew that it carried a lot of risk.

Unfortunately for him, Taurus wasn't biting, and Aldric had to leap back to dodge the next slice. When he landed, however, he found himself surprised when Taurus tossed the shield up into the air, caught it by its edge, and then threw it at Aldric with all of his might, in an almost perfect replication of how Aldric threw it, minus the telekinetic help. Even without the TK boost, when Aldric caught the shield, it nearly knocked the wind out of him, it hit him so hard. Aldric skidded back a foot, digging the dirt up with his feet. He sensed Taurus sheathing his blade, it, his hair, and the markings on his coat glowing with a greater intensity.

Oh shit, this is the Yang killer! Aldric adjusted his grip on the shield, and as six very specific words appeared on its surface, he desperately thought. One shot! And threw it back at the faunus with all of his might. "COME ON!" He bellowed.

The faunus' blade roared out of its sheath, glowing brightly with the aura it had collected. It collided with Aldric's spinning shield with a loud clash and a shower of sparks, as Aldric's semblance fought against Taurus'. When the shield hit the blade, Aldric felt as if he'd been hit in the chest by a freight train, Taurus' attack was so powerful. It took all of Aldric's strength to struggle against it, and as he felt his blood begin to boil and a light pressure well up in the empty pits in his skull, he saw Adam's eyes snap down behind his mask, beholding Aldric's last ditch effort to stop this fight before it got even more out of hand than it was.

Aldric had never seen a man's heart skip a beat before, until the words printed on his shield registered to the faunus leader's eyes. They gave the enraged man brief pause, this lapse in judgement just long enough for Aldric to win their struggle. The shield burst forth and collided with the faunus' chest and sent him flying backwards with it. He ended up colliding with his Lieutenant, pushing the man out of the way of Mercury's coup de grace, a concussive blast which nearly decimated Adam's tent.

Aldric wrenched the shield back with his semblance and continued charging forward, but as he leapt into the air, bellowing loudly, he sensed more than heard Taurus call out, "alright!", causing Aldric to falter and slow himself down, mid-air. "Alright!" He repeated, breathlessly, as Aldric cautiously floated back down to the ground, his final words vanishing from the shield.

Cinder, who had lazily been seated upon the two briefcases they had brought with them, tilted her head, and arced an eyebrow in Taurus' direction. "Alright?" She repeated, as Taurus hauled himself to his feet.

The faunus leader scowled as he sheathed his blade, and held his hand out to his lieutenant. He helped the bleeding and bruised man to his feet, and glared at Cinder from over his shoulder. "Alright." He whispered behind clenched teeth, so much fury in his voice that it could have set fire to the air.

Cinder wasn't done playing with her food however, and merely crossed one leg over the other. "Alright..." She let the word hang.

"I'll..." The livid faunus breathed. "Convince... My men... " He sucked in breath from between his teeth. "To work for you." If looks could kill, everyone present would have been long dead. Aldric noticed the Lieutenant give Taurus a questioning glance, but a single hand gesture from his leader made him hold his tongue.

Cinder's grin returned. "Oh?" She asked, raising herself to her feet, as Aldric and Mercury both came to flank her. Aldric was glad half of Taurus' face was hidden behind a mask, because if it hadn't, it would have been impossible to miss the terrorist leader's eyes briefly darting over to Aldric's lack thereof. "Are you certain, Adam Taurus?" She asked, the way she said his name almost making it sound like an insult. "Do you need another display?" She asked, "or perhaps you would question me more?" Her tone dropped from one of playful mirth to one of cold fury.

"Because if you are certain..." She stopped when she was inches from Taurus' face, looking up at him, and yet still managing to seem larger than him. "Then it would behoove you to know that I do not tolerate anyone questioning me. Be it my orders, or my leadership." She warned, before taking a step back. "I understand your brief outburst here. It is one of pride and anger, both of which are things integral to who you are, and why I desire your alliance above all else. However this understanding is not synonymous to forgiveness." She said, "but... I have become increasingly aware recently that an education is a very important tool to have."

Oh you bitch. Aldric thought, as he felt his heart come back under his control.

"So consider this your one and only free lesson. A chance, in other words." She nodded over her shoulder to Aldric. "A blind man hardly used to his new prosthetic matched you, and he has barely fought for six months, in comparison to your lifetime." She said, "so if you ever question me again... Rest assured that I, far more powerful than he, will be displeased." And as she said this, her eyes slowly drifted over to the Lieutenant, who barked in pain as his chainsword suddenly began to glow white hot, and when it hit the ground, it was melting into a pool of molten metal. "And I will have to voice this displeasure." She said, turning her gaze back to the masked faunus, whose face was still contorted in fury.

Uh... Lady, I honestly think he let me 'win'. Five more minutes I think he'd have done more than give me a new scar. Thought Aldric, as he felt his chest flare up in pain, the stab wound still leaking warm blood.

The furious faunus nodded once. "Understood."

Cinder grinned wider, and about-faced. "You'll be met by a representative of Roman Torchwick. He will tell you for what you are needed." She explained, as Aldric and Mercury fell in behind her.

Once they left the camp, Taurus looked down at the dirt in front of him, in which Aldric had used his semblance to carve a single, simple phrase.

I'LL BE IN TOUCH

Three days passed after the fight with Adam Taurus. Aldric had to take the first to recover from the fight itself, and the second because he still needed to get fully used to his new arm, and to dodge more bullets from Cinder. She was ready and willing to try and start cracking into Aldric's Master powers, but Aldric managed to fend her off by diverting her attention away. The two made a game plan, but that was about it. On the third, Aldric tried to run around and find a voice modulator anywhere but the Garden, but struck out. When the sun went down, he snuck out of the Aviator for his usual nightly run. He spent an hour making sure no one was following him, before he bolted back to the forests.

He flew much faster than he had for the Fall Maiden fight, because then, he'd had time to spare, but now? He was perhaps risking more than even when he'd made contact with Qrow and Ozpin. He had less than twelve hours to fly out to the camp, convince Taurus of his validity, and fly back, and he had to pray that Cinder didn't go looking for him during this time. He had an excuse prepared for if she cornered him and demanded to know where he was, but he really didn't want to use it. Lying about a booty call with Neo would probably turn out to be lethal in any number of ways, but that took less effort to explain than his second, and much more dangerous, option. At least the former had some kind of precedent.

Regardless, it took him two hours of nearly blackout-speed flight to get to Taurus' camp. He landed so hard he left a crater, and when the dust cleared, he had a lot of guns settled on him, more than a few of the potential shooters were sporting bandages and bruises, likely having been a part of the fighting, days ago. Aldric didn't even flinch at the sight, as he straightened up. He simply stood there, in the middle of his small crater, face masked behind the mask and goggles, and head wrapped in the shemagh. Add in the moderate breeze making his coat billow, and he looked like an animate shadow, flickering in the night air.

He sensed Taurus approaching before any of the Fangs could decide to shoot him. He called out for them to stand down, and Aldric took that as leave to step out of the small divot in the ground. The leader of the White Fang stopped inches away from the masked spy, scowling as he gave him a once over, either having not expected, or not having been prepared, for Aldric to appear in full regalia.

He said as much, "what's with the get-up?" He asked, looming several inches over his human guest.

"You're one to talk." Aldric shot back in his gravelly tone, his goggles staring right up into Taurus' decorated mask; true, the 'anonymity' angle was kind of thrown out the window when Taurus already knew who it was he was expecting, but this wasn't all for Taurus' benefit. The way Aldric saw it, only Taurus and maybe his Lieutenant would know about this double dealing, and would be able to pin it on him. Everyone else had no clue who this Nathan Drake character was, and he aimed to keep it that way. "Drake." He presented his gloved hand to the faunus.

Taurus glared at the hand, and looked back up to Aldric's eyes. "You told me you know where she is."

Aldric lowered his hand. "In private." He nodded to Taurus' tent.

But when he took a step forward, Taurus placed his hand on Aldric's shoulder, halting him. "You said." He growled, "you know."

The silence of the air between them was broken only by the sounds of the night around them. Distant fires crackling, crickets and bugs chirping, even some of the Fangs not directly involved with the goings-on could be faintly heard going about their night, talking and eating. Aldric didn't turn to look to Taurus, just as Taurus was still pointedly staring at the crater Aldric had left on landing.

"I know a lot of things, Mister Taurus." Aldric slowly rasped back. "and the exchange of information depends on trust. And a standoff isn't trust."

This got Taurus to look at him, which Aldric reciprocated. "Says the man wearing a mask."

"To the man wearing a mask."

"You need guns on me for this to be a standoff." Taurus said, his hand still on Aldric's shoulder.

"You've got guns on me. You decide to shoot, I'm dead." He rasped, "but up there?" He indicated to the starry night sky, "I have bombs. I die, they drop down here, you're dead. That's a standoff."

Taurus leered at Aldric from behind his mask, and Aldric stared back from behind his own mask. With his radar pulse, he sensed several Fangs slowly lowering their weapons and looking up to the sky, as if they could locate his threat. Taurus and Aldric continued glaring at eachother, the air growing cold between them, and the faunus' strong grip on the human's shoulder only growing tighter as the former argued with himself.

"Fine." Taurus finally growled, before he gave each of the assembled Fangs a look, nodding to them all. Aldric sensed them lowering their weapons, and after another nod, they dispersed back into the camp. Taurus about-faced and marched back to his tent, motioning for Aldric to follow him.

Once inside, Aldric observed Taurus placing his weapon on a desk. The redhead looked over his shoulder at the human, and nodded at the desk. Aldric understood the unspoken demand, and placed his gun on the desk, next to the blade and scabbard. Knowing that Taurus was smart enough to realize he wasn't dropping the weapon that had made his shields during their fight, Aldric then dropped the Power Glove, depositing it in one baseball-sized viscous blob right next to the pistol. Taurus didn't have to know about the backup canister, or his chainsaw.

The two exchanged another glance of mutually cold anger, before Taurus approached the back of the tent, where the map of Vale still hung. "Where is she?" The red head demanded, crossing his arms and staring intently at the map.

"Let me clarify something." Aldric rasped, approaching Taurus' flank, and looking up at the map alongside him. "I said I know where Belladonna will be." He emphasized. "Not where she is."

Taurus growled, "and?"

"She will... Be at Beacon, around the time the Lady In Red wants to bring it down."

"And how can you possibly know this?"

"Process of elimination." Aldric responded, "she's one of the few people working in this camp with access to her aura. She would both need a way to not be tracked once you return to your main camp and reconnect with the others, and a place to hide that would provide adequate enough excuse for her presence. A huntsman academy would be perfect. Other sources of aura would mask her own, and would also give her a built-in excuse for her presence, given her natural strength and skill." A pause, and then Aldric grinned from behind his mask. "And I have reliable sources that have access to Beacon's roster. Her name was on it." He wasn't lying, either - he had access to the show, which gave him this knowledge, and is Torchwick could get him into the academy, that meant the mobster could get his hands on student rosters if he saw the need. It wasn't bulletproof, but it was good enough for what he needed.

"Then how did you know her name? Do you have spies here in my camp?"

Aldric shook his head. "First visit. She was present. One of the Fangs referred to her by name. We left, I obtained the Beacon rosters by an unrelated coincidence, saw the name. Second visit, you and the chainsword Lieutenant were here talking. Referred to a 'her' in a way that didn't suggest cordial feelings, and she wasn't here. I put two and two together." He rasped. "You're looking for her. Why, I don't care, but I could tell there was weight to her name... So I dropped it, because I knew it would get you to stop your suicidal struggle long enough for us to talk. Sold you the name for your time."

"You actually think you could have killed me?" Taurus asked, pride mixed with incredulity.

"Not alone. And I wasn't." Aldric countered. "You didn't deny it." He added.

"I wouldn't let you people take mine. Better to die on my feet than to live on my knees."

"You have it backwards, but I don't blame you." Aldric responded, his voice deep and grating. "I feel it's better to live on your feet than die on your knees."

"And how would you know? You're human."

"Because my peoples' footprints are on the moon."

Taurus' frown didn't change, he merely went back to staring up at the map. "Don't think I don't notice what it is you're doing, human. You're betraying your own kind, not just once, but twice, in one fell swoop. And you just sold out one of mine without a second thought." Aldric sensed the man's grip on his crossed arms tighten, as his frown turned to a livid scowl. "I'm smart enough to know what it is you're here for. You want me to play along with Fall, but be ready to cut her head off when the chance presents itself. So how do you expect me to place an iota of trust in you, when you bend, break, and betray it so easily?"

"The enemy of my enemy, Taurus." Aldric rasped. "You know as well as I that Lady In Red will spend the lives of your men like a Schnee spends money." That got the desired reaction, when Aldric saw Taurus grit his teeth at the mention of the name. "She proved she has no true concern for anyone she interacts with by sending her men to attack you instead of rising to your challenge herself." He explained. "She's not an idiot. She knew what you were doing. But she's proud. Far more so than you, and you challenged that pride by challenging her. She didn't take that lightly, and now here we are. You hate her and what she stands for, just as much as you've grown to hate my kind and what we've done to yours." He noticed a tightening of the faunus' grip, and decided he had him mad enough, so now it was time to lay off the gas. "And for all of your faults, you do respect the lives of your men. Of your people. You're speaking to me now because you want - you need an out, or else a lot of White Fang and just as many, if not, even more faunus are going to die when she inevitably either loses, or betrays you once you've outlived your usefulness." He said, his gravelly voice filling the still air between them.

"And you think you can be that out?" Adam demanded. "You're human."

"Yeah." Aldric didn't even deny it, his merely being here was kind of proving the faunus right. "And what a piece of work is man." He rasped. "How infinite in faculty. In form and moving, how express and admirable." He noticed Taurus looking at him as he spoke, though if in interest, or something else, he didn't care to guess. "In action, like an Angel. In apprehension, like a god. The beauty of the world, and the paragon of animals." A pause, "and yet to me, what is this but the quintessence of dust?" He turned to Taurus. "Do you know what that means?" He didn't give him the chance to respond. "It means there's what we want to be, and then what we are. We want to be gods, we want to be angels and beauty... We want to be noble, when in reality we're anything but."He wouldn't admit he felt ill qualified to explain Shakespeare when the only reason he knew this quote was because of Patrick Stewart, and ignoring that he was in a universe where it didn't exist in the first place, but regardless, he continued. "You know what you are, and so do I. I know what I am. And so do you."

"Then tell me. Why should I trust you?"

"Because I could have waited to tell you where she will be." Aldric countered, turning to face Taurus fully. "But I didn't. Because you and I have a mutual enemy that we cannot even hope to destroy alone. If I tried, I would die, and no one would rise up to take my place." He rasped. "If you tried, you would die, and you would either be martyred, or replaced, and in either case, a great and vast number of those whom you care for would die. Enough so that the bodies piled high could reach the moon; the blood enough could stain the ocean. Alone, we are mighty, but might is not what is needed. Not to win this shadowy war." He explained. "What is needed is cunning. Strength. Intelligence... But most of all, a unity.

"You yourself are proof." He attracted the intense scrutiny of the faunus as he took in a breath to validate his claim. "You alone would be unable to accomplish what it is you strive towards. You alone could give the world a black eye, but you would die and that would be the end of it. You understand that a voice is strongest when unified. A people is strongest when striving for a common goal. An ideal is at its most powerful when truly believed in. So instead you rallied your men, gained their loyalty by displaying their own. There are people who would die for you, just as you would for them. And now, you have the strength and numbers to be considered a true threat in the eyes of your enemy, and a valuable tool in the eyes of those with whom I work.

"Now you find yourself in a very unique position." Aldric said, preparing to end things. "Three doors in front of you. You can either take... Door number one: Tell her about this, and win her respect... But at the cost of your only ally's life, as well as not truly changing your lot in life or her propensity to spend those of others." A pause, "or through door number two: You can take what I've offered and reject it, in so doing throwing away all of those lives for in a foolhardy effort to resist her yourself, just to feed your pride."

"And door number three?" Taurus demanded, leering down at the human.

"You work with me." Said Aldric, matching the stronger man's gaze with an equal intensity, not budging an inch. "You do everything you can to prove to her that you're dedicated. I do what I can to make sure she keeps in mind the precarious position of your alliance, and how bad of an idea it would be if you rallied the entire White Fang against her, as well as what little information you do possess on your own, and how damaging it would be, should it be released. You prove to her you are loyal, and all the while, you and I make efforts. Slow, sure, efforts. We prepare and rally ourselves and wait for the perfect moment, and rid ourselves of her. You get your war. You get your revolution. Both against an enemy arguably as worthy as the one against which you struggle now.

"And should there be any incentive truly needed beyond that..." He drawled in his gravelly tone. "Imagine what would happen for your own goals when it is inevitably brought to light that a faunus was instrumental in the protection and rescue of truly He explained, noticing a brief widening of Taurus' eyes as the faunus leader considered his words; Aldric decided it was time for the killing stroke, to give Taurus exactly what he wanted. "Even if nothing changed... You would be reinvented in the eyes of your people. You would be practically messianic... And imagine what you could do with those numbers and resources." He extended his hand again. "So what door will you take?"

Taurus looked down at the proffered hand, no small amount of fury twisting his face, before it settled down to a cold glare as their conversation settled upon him. He clasped Aldric's hand, and looked back up, his mask staring deep into the human's own. "When this is over. You're still human." He affirmed, with a single shake of the hand.

"I've gotta admit." Aldric rasped, again meeting the intensity of the masked faunus' gaze. "I'm looking forward to round two."

As Aldric gathered his weapons and made for the entrance to the tent, Taurus called out. "Hey." Aldric paused, and looked at Taurus from over his shoulder. "She said she wanted to kill a Maiden. Does that mean they exist?"

Aldric was silent a moment, Taurus' lack of haughtiness not lost on him. "Yes."

"Did she?"

"That and more."

Taurus let out a slow huff of air from his nose, before asking, "how do you expect to tear something like that down?"

To which, Aldric said, "there were never any bombs." And walked out.