I knelt near the door frame, knee pressing down into the centuries old carpet. Even through the material of the Assassin Suit, I could feel the dust and the grime shifting. Particles of dust and fiberglass drifted down through the air in front of my face. Had to be careful, watch my breathing. Bad for my health. Not just the fiberglass.

Beyond the doorway, I could hear a voice calling. Forlorn, scared in a way I'd come to know.

"Sinclair?... Sinclair?!" Vera called. "I'm trapped- please. Oh god, the security systems won't let me out, They're keeping me here."

I peeked my head past the door frame, to get a view of the room beyond. It wasn't much different from others I had passed through, creeping through the Executive Suites. A few beds, a privacy partition for changing, a gaping hole in the wall from decaying construction, a bathroom. Nothing fancy.

Free with the room, a ghostly blue Hologram, its form that of a beautiful young woman, wearing a fancy, sheer-cut dress. A massive slit exposing a leg, all the way from her hip down.

After dealing with Domino and collecting what I needed from the Tampico, there was only one stop left. One that my conversation with Domino had given me more insight on than Elijah could've provided. I needed to find Christine.

The ride up to the Executive Suites hadn't been a particularly smooth one. The elevator still worked, barely. Could've sworn at any moment the motor was going to kick out, or the cable would snap. Kept stalling out at random. Last thing I needed was for the aging security programs to kick in at the last moment. Leave me trapped in the building's skeletal system. But it held together. Long enough for me to get to the floor I needed. How many trips it had left in it, I had no idea, but it wouldn't take many.

Once I was there, Elijah started chattering in my ear again. I patently ignored everything he had to say at that point. My direction was clear, and my goal was simple: find Christine.

Made even easier, when she reached out over the speakers herself on my arrival.

Somehow, Christine's vocal chords had been healed. Maybe an effect of another auto-doc, or the Villa mistaking her for Vera. Easy enough to do. Domino hadn't been exaggerating. Christine's voice was almost a perfect match for Vera's. A little more rough, a slight grit to it that gave it a more sultry quality that wasn't in the recordings. But it was definitely hers. She used it to warn me that security was still active in the Executive Suites. The Holograms were still patrolling the floor. She said she would do what she could to help me get past them, little though it was.

I heard them not long after.

The recordings that Vera left behind for her Ghost, in her final hours. Her voice filled with fear and worry. Desperately clawing at the walls of the cage she found herself trapped in. A security system that was smart enough to recognize her, smart enough to hear her. Too callous to care. Cruel enough to slaughter everyone who could've helped her. Leave her trapped in the dark, alone.

I watched as the hologram began to walk deeper into the Suite. I crept past it, walking through the hole in the wall.

"I- I'm going to die here… amongst the ghosts." The Hologram played, facing the other way as I slipped past the wall. "I-I'm still being recorded by the Holographic System."

Past the wall and into the hall. The way was blocked by debris, but there was a door that led into a maintenance closet. Big one, looked like it kept most of the floor's Hvac and water systems. About halfway through, a blue hand wafted through the door on the opposite side. My heart leaped out of my chest, and I bolted behind one of the boilers. The Vera Hologram phased through the door as though it weren't even there. Carefully, worriedly, I peered from the curve of the boiler. I'd been blasted enough by the Hologram to know how deadly they were. If it saw me now, things would end poorly.

"I came so far to be here… now, now I just want to leave." The Hologram played, Vera's voice scared, filled with pain. "Please… Let me leave."

The Hologram walked calmly along the length of the room, and I stepped around the boiler with it. Always keeping cover between the two of us as it went. Soon as it passed, I bolted for the door. I pushed through it and stared down a long hall, doors on either side, another hall splitting off further down. Going by my Pip-boy, I was heading in the right direction. The halls up to here had been labyrinthine, the suites had all collapsed enough at one point or another I had to double back. The path itself was straight forward, it was just a matter of getting past the sealed doors.

I made it to the end of the hall, ran into another one, backtracked to a security office, and found the release. All the while, I could hear Vera echoing through the walls. Her long deceased voice carrying the distress of centuries-old terror.

Despite finding a hunting shotgun, and more than enough ammo, I didn't feel any more confident for it.

"Sinclair?... Sinclair, where did you go?" The Hologram played, Vera sounding on the verge of tears. "Where did you go? Why did you leave me here?... Why?

I continued to work my way through the Suites, slipping through the rooms, staying out of sight of the Holograms. Harder than it should've been. They could hide behind a corner without making a peep, made no noise when they moved, and could move through anything. Only time I'd hear anything was half a second before they attacked. By then it'd be too late.

"Sinclair… Sinclair, is that you?" A Hologram screamed, right before I rounded into it.

I dove back and bolted down the hall, hearing as the Hologram warbled, prepared to fire.

"Sinclair!... Sinclair!"

A bolt of blue light nailed me in the back as I turned, ripping open a door. I bolted into the room, desperately ignoring the pain. My heart hammered in my chest as I pulled it shut enough for cover. There were a tense few seconds, as I waited, peering through a crack between the door and frame. Watching as the Ghostly Hologram stalked up to the door, flashing red, watching after where I'd gone. My heart beat faster, and by no means softer, as I watched. Waiting for it to continue blasting me.

After a moment, the red died back to yellow. The recordings resumed.

"The doors, they… they sealed." The Hologram said, Vera's voice haunted and thready. "I… I can hear the other guests, screaming to be let out… to let go."

The yellow faded to blue, and the Hologram moved on. Continuing to hark to a long dead industrialist in the voice of a dead starlet.

I waited a few moments longer. Longer than maybe I should have. Tried to calm down, get my heart under control. Only when I was as calm as I could manage, did I make a break for it. Bolting back in the direction I'd been heading. I had to be getting close.

As I went, I could hear the voices beginning to overlap each other. More Holograms, playing Vera's final words in Stereo. Had been for centuries.

But even as the words got louder and louder, I crossed into a ruin suite and saw it.

The emitter.

I took aim, right as the Hologram spoke.

"We all pay for what we've done." The Hologram echoed, mournfully. "I'm so sorry Sinclair… Sorry, I… I should've trusted you."

I felt my chest ache as that recording played. Maybe my frayed nerves and tired heart. Maybe more.

Domino had coerced the poor girl. She never wanted any of this, nor did she deserve it.

She died, trapped in a nightmare.

I fired. The emitter burst in a vibrant display of sparks and electrical static.

The entire floor went silent. The last of Vera Keyes' voice, silenced.

"I'm sorry Ms. Keyes." I said to the dead air. "You suffered longer than you should have."

Finally free of the immediate danger, I walked the rest of the way calmly. Finding the means of opening myself a clearer way back to the elevator. Mending a broken gas main here, hitting a few terminal keys there. All the while, mourning for a woman I'd never met. Not the only victim of this place, but the first.

Once I cleared the way back, I went for the Main Suite. Vera's.

A pair of ornate double doors opened into a large sitting room, and massive sets of windows. They peered out to the Villa, so far away and below. The dirty light that filtered through them was tainted crimson by the Cloud. The once lavish sofas were now darkened with age and grime, the tacky and ornately weaved rug was now just tacky. Tarnished brass chandelier over a table of fake flowers, as perky as the day they were rushed out of the factory. There was a mini-bar to the right of the room, a chemistry station set on it. Beside the bar, a door. To the left side, a few chairs, a side table, fully stocked bookshelf, a diseased looking portrait, and another door. The door was part way open, showing pieces of a bedroom beyond.

Christine was sitting in one of the chairs, near the portrait. A Big Book of Science cracked open in front of her and a pained grimace on her face. She'd traded the fatigues she'd been wearing for one of the armored jumpsuits the Sierra Madre security were supposed to wear.

She looked up from her book, and gave me a friendly smile.

"Words make any sense to you?" I asked. "Seems more like gibberish to me, sometimes."

She shook her head. Then spoke. "Not anymore, there's a disconnect between the words and my thoughts... Math makes sense, but I guess poetry's out… It's like I have static in my head."

"Oh, well, when you put it into words it actually sounds painful." I smirked.

Christine gave me a flat look, and rolled her eyes. Then she coughed, grimacing again. "Still is. Hurts to talk... Let's try and keep it brief, ok?"

I nodded. "Save your voice, last thing you need is to go losing it again."

Christine smiled again, before looking back to the book. She flipped a page and tried reading again.

I eyed the door to the bedroom. Had a feeling I knew what was in there, but moved towards it anyway.

"Woke up in there." Christine said, looking mournfully at the page. "It was… less pleasant."

"…" I pushed the door the rest of the way open.

It was Vera's room. Maybe, back when Sinclair first built the Madre it looked nicer. But standing in the doorway, I might as well have been standing at the mouth of a crypt. Fitting, how walking through so much of the Madre had felt like one.

The room was dark, only lit by the stark crimson light casting sharply through the windows. Falling in long, solid streaks. The paint, once solid and golden like the rays of the early sun, was chipped and crumbling. Littering the tattered carpeting in brassy shards. The furniture was otherwise pristine, like stepping into a time capsule. An exhibit of the private décor to the social elite from centuries passed. Massive windows to the right, a lamp tipped to the floor near them. Wardrobe and dresser to the left of the door. Closer than both of them, an Auto-doc. Smaller than the model I saw in the Villa. A personal model, easily moved, given there was a terminal mounted to a movable base, the necessary mechanical arms dangling. To the far wall, set between two glowing lamp fixtures, a king size bed. Fresh as the day it was made, even through the thick, undisturbed layer of dust. Barring the visible disrepair, it was as close to being a perfect gilded cage as you could ever hope to see.

Damn shame for the songbird in the corner.

In the far right corner of the room, hidden in the stark shadow made by the window, was a chair. Seated, prim and relaxed in it, as prim and relaxed as could be, was a skeleton. Features long rotted away, leaving nothing but moldering bone. It had been a woman at one point, I could tell by the attire it still wore. Weren't too many men in the Mojave that wore dresses, that I was aware of. That was private business, none of mine.

But I recognized the dress, knew who it belonged to.

I'd seen it enough, just getting this far.

Vera Keyes sat, reclined, relaxed, and long since departed in the corner of the room. Dress hanging loosely from her boney frame, shoes set primly beside where her feet would've been. Heard heels were murder, but they weren't what did her in.

That would be the half dozen empty syrettes of Med-X at her feet.

Her suffering had indeed ended. She'd seen to that herself. Medical records in the clinic implied she'd been suffering from some kind of disease, terminal variety. Something degenerative and painful, given the chems she was on. Explained the Auto-Doc, and contraband Med-X. Keep things at bay as long as possible. But there were some things even Old-World Miracles couldn't fix.

Over her bed, there was a final message. Scrawled in a fine shade of red, that could've been blood for all I knew.

' Let Go.'

Two words, lots of meanings.

"Can't imagine waking up in there." I said, stepping back into the main room. "Or choosing to fall asleep there."

"Wasn't my choice." Christine answered, grimacing as she snapped the book shut, tossing it aside.

"Have much trouble getting to the Madre from the Switching station?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Straight shot after… I hit the button."

I nodded, made sense, she didn't have to cross half the Villa to get back. "Good… how's it feel to speak again?"

Christine winced. "Different, voice doesn't sound right in my ears… hurts to swallow."

"Makes sense." I told her. "Don't know what you used to sound like, but you sound like the woman on the radio now, Vera Keyes." I said, thumbing back to the late starlet.

She nodded. "Explains… things."

"You can thank Domino for that." I told her. "Bastard thought he could tune you like a piano."

She quirked an eyebrow.

"Long story." I answered. "Short version: Sinclair used her as the imprint for the vault's vocal locks. Domino thought he could use you as a bypass if he made you sound like her."

Christine grimaced. "…Could work." She admitted. "Maybe not for long, but it could."

"Then your throat tears itself apart, and you're permanently mute." I surmised.

She nodded grimly at that. "At least."

"I'm going to guess you haven't run into Elijah yet either." I said.

The grim look on Christine's face gained a disdainful edge to it. "He'd be on the floor right now if I had."

"So we're still doing this then." I said, looking to the far, right side of the room. Behind the bar was a doorway. The only remaining way forward.

Christine got up and followed me as I moved to investigate it. The door was electronically locked, with a terminal mounted to the wall beside it. Christine and I prodded at it for a moment, and managed to bypass it with minimal effort. The other was a short corridor, a right turn, then a left, with only a token curtain to divide them. The left led straight to an elevator, another terminal connected to it.

The entrance to the Casino Vault.

"Fucked up that Sinclair didn't give the poor girl a bathroom." I said. "Least he could've done if he was going to lock her away was make sure she could take care of herself."

"Guess that makes this the end of the line, then." Christine said, eying the terminal bitterly. "That's what Domino attacked me for? Some stupid lock?"

"Elijah's little better." I said, looking down at my Pip-Boy. "There's some pieces of audio I've been needing to collect along the way. My guess, Elijah's own efforts to bypass it. Further proof he was here ahead of us, given he seemed to have already known about it."

Christine slowly raised a hand to her throat. "That just puts him and the Ghoul in the same boat."

"Don't worry, it'll be sunk soon enough." I told her, motioning to the terminal. "Let's see if we can't figure out the password and get down there ourselves, eh? Elijah's expecting me to off you. I enjoy your candor though, so I've got better plans."

I was hoping my natural charm and charisma would earn me a smile or a chuckle. All Christine did was scowl.

"… You alright?" I asked.

Christine looked at me, silently, for a moment. Scowling, not at me but to herself. One of those things you can tell sometimes. "… The old man isn't one for letting things go." She said. "You go down there, there's a chance you won't be coming back up. He'll be coming down after you."

"He'll try." I admitted. "But I wouldn't go down without a fight, and I've tangled with worse than him."

Christine's scowl deepened. "No. You haven't."

"…" I turned away from the terminal.

Christine paused for a moment. The next time she spoke, her voice was bitter and angry as hot sand. "I'm not letting him down there. After everything he's done, I… I can't take that chance… Whatever he wants down there… He can't have it."

"I wouldn't let him have it either." I told her. "But… The way you make it sound, you'd rather try and end it up here."

"I would." Christine said, shuddering. "I've had enough of dark and… cramped places, recently."

"…What's this about Christine?" I asked. "I know you hate the bastard, but if you're staying up here, trying to take him on your own is a stupid risk."

"I have to." She said. "It's all his fault. All of it."

"What?" I asked.

" Everything . What he's done here… doesn't compare to everything else he's done." She said. "The Brotherhood Fracturing, losing Helios to the NCR… all the people that've died…"

"... He's the reason, isn't he?" I asked. "He's the one that split you and Veronica."

"…" Christine blinked, the bitter look on her face turning tired, worn down. With the red gloom in the air, it almost made it look like she was trying not to cry. Must've been the dust, making her eyes water like that, Cloud stinging them. "… I was sent to eliminate him." Christine said. "I've followed him so far… seen everything he's done… I thought Veronica was dead because of him… Him and his obsession."

"But she's not ." I reminded her. "She's out there, She's one of my closest friends."

"I know." Christine said, face setting into stone. "But I can't walk away from this."

"… Why not?" I asked. "Who's going to stop you? The Brotherhood? The Madre?"

"… Me." She said.

"…" I sighed through my nose, and motioned to the hall around us, to the Madre at large. "Do you know what this place is, Christine?"

She looked at me, still stone faced.

"This place isn't a casino, it's a mass grave." I told her. "A grave filled with the bodies of those caught and trapped by obsession. Both other's and their own. They all thought that what they wanted was worth the cost, but they never bothered to stop and think about what was being asked." I motioned back to the rooms we'd left. "Sinclair built this place to protect Vera, and it cost everyone who worked here their lives, including Vera's. Domino was obsessed with ruining Sinclair, and it put him in a grave. Elijah, he wants this place himself, for whatever reason, and it's cost everyone else instead." I lowered my arms and steadied myself. I took my helmet off and looked at her. "Elijah needs to pay. But it shouldn't be at your own cost. You've paid enough."

Christine looked me in the eyes, and I could see that scowl of hers breaking. She was a strong woman, to survive in the brotherhood, in the Madre, she had to be. This was something that was going to take everything she had to do.

"… I had a chance once, to settle this." Christine said. "Before coming here, in a place far away… But then it slipped away. I can't…"

"…Veronica still cares about you, you know?" I said. "She still talks about you, how much you meant to her, even when the Brotherhood wanted to keep you apart… When we travel, make camp for the night, she mumbles about you in her sleep."

Christine looked like I'd just shot her in the chest. There was pain and longing in her eyes. Muddied with a distant light. Something old, but never forgotten. Her scarred lips pinched themselves tight.

"I don't give a shit about the Brotherhood." I told her. "I couldn't care less about old tech and lost wonders. I want Elijah dead… but not if it means watching someone else get hurt. Whether that's you, or Veronica… He's taken enough from both of you."

"… He needs to die." Christine said.

"Then I'll make sure he does." I told her. "Just let me handle him, let him follow me down, let him be my problem… and if I fail?... Well, at least I'll have softened him up for you."

Christine mulled my words for a moment, swaying slightly, from one foot to the other. Eventually, one of her arms came up, and gripped the other at the elbow. Fighting herself, grabbing whatever she could for leverage.

After a moment, she nodded. "…Ok." She answered, softly. "No matter what happens, he has to die."

"He will." I said, giving her a reassuring smirk. "It ends here."

Christine fell silent, as I slid my helmet back on. She looked tired, fighting yourself can do that. Winning didn't do much to change it.

The only thing left to really do, was figure out how to open the door.

So we stood there, for a moment, in silence, puzzling over it. At least, I had been. Christine had taken the moment to ponder something else.

"… Before chasing Elijah here… I'd found him in a place called the Big Empty." Christine said. "There'd been… someone else with him."

"Really?" I asked. "Who? Must've been crazy too."

She shook her head. "He wasn't, not the way Elijah was, at least… He was the one who pulled me out of the machine… that did… this. " She motioned to her head. "He… helped me heal, told me where I could find Elijah… Listened to my story. He… sympathized. Said he knew what it was like, looking for someone who'd had such an impact on their 'past life'." Christine looked at me and gave me a lopsided smile, the kind that makes you look ten years younger. "You remind me of him."

"… Sounds like he had his own obsessions too." I said.

She shrugged. "He said people were like couriers. Sometimes, never understanding the messages they brought… That's who he was hunting for too, a courier."

"…" I looked at Christine. "… Y'know, you could've said something."

"Not sure if he meant you or not." She said, leaning back against the wall. "There's a lot of Couriers out there… But, I guess we've all got something we're willing to chase… sometimes… You just need to be willing to let go."

"…Yeah." I nodded. "Sometimes, you gotta wish it was easier..." Then I motioned to the building again. "But, I guess that's what this whole place was about then, right? Begin Again, Let Go. It's written everywhere."

And scrawled over Vera's own bed.

Christine chuckled, and it was warm and hearty. "Yeah… Begin again, but know when to Let Go."

The terminal across from us chirped. ' Welcome Ms. Keyes '

With a rush of cool and stale air, we heard the elevator kick into motion. Steadily climbing up to the top floor for the first time in centuries.

I looked at the terminal across from us. Then back to Christine. She looked as dumbfounded as I felt.

"…and open, says me." I smirked, looking to the Elevator then back to Christine. She was looking at me, dumbfounded

"That was… how ?" Christine asked.

"Lucky guess on your part." I said. "Ever thought about using a Vitomatic Vigor-tester?"

"…"

Christine started to laugh. Then I did too. The Madre sucked balls, and we both needed it.

After a moment, Christine wiped a tear from her eye. "I guess this is it then?" She asked.

"Yeah." I told her, then motioned back to the suite. "Go find some place to hide, let Elijah come down after me. If I don't come back, bring this place down on top of us."

"How about you come back instead?" She asked.

"Deal." I told her.

She smiled, then turned and started down the hall back to the suite. Left me alone to wait for the elevator. My own thoughts.

We were close to getting out of there, right in the homestretch. All that needed to happen was me putting a bullet in Elijah's head. Then I could go home. Get back to everyone…

But something angry inside of me didn't want that.

Elijah had hurt the people I cared about. Domino and Sinclair had hurt countless more with their stupidity.

And I'd done a lot worse for less.

God was right. Being in the Madre long enough could make you forget. But I'd say I'd kept things straight, well enough.

Elijah wasn't leaving the vault.

But the Madre was a hazard too dangerous to be left alone and I'd yet to be paid for services rendered.

I was going to take this place for everything it owed. With interest.

…

As I began to wake, I could hear the snickering of my teammates.

"Shh, quiet." Nora said, something I'd thought impossible for her and was almost reason enough to immediately give her my undivided attention.

Instead, I let my eyes slowly creep open and take in my surroundings, gave them time to adjust.

It was another warm, sunny, mid summer's afternoon. Could easily be mistaken for any other. Barring the beating I'd had to take during sparring, it almost was. But there were going to be important things happening that night. A lot of things needed to be set into motion. I'd had more than long enough to try and piece myself back together. School was over for the day, and we'd plowed through whatever homework we'd been given.

Tonight was when things got real again.

My eyes adjusted to the mid-afternoon light, streaming through the airship windows. Helped, minutely, by the shadows being cast on me.

Standing directly in front of me were Yang and Nora. The both of them giggling and snickering to themselves as Yang fiddled with her scroll. Though I was able to notice the tiny lens on its backside. A camera, maybe? Scrolls could apparently function in a number of different ways, wouldn't be surprised if they took pictures too.

In either case, it made a little chirp like a camera after Yang tapped on it.

I took that as an excuse to wake up, properly righting myself.

Yang and Nora's eyes snapped up from the camera, surprised, but their smirks unwavering. Without missing a beat, Yang closed her scroll and slid it back into her pocket.

"Sleep well?" Yang asked, as if nothing happened.

"Like an armor-clad baby." I answered, fixing her with a look. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing." Nora chirped, with a not so innocent smile. "Just some harmless blackmail."

It took a moment for Nora's words to register with the waking parts of my brain. Then, after a moment, I began to take note of the weight I was feeling against my right shoulder. With a look to the side, I saw Ruby leaned against my shoulder, snoring lightly. Hood drawn up over her head, red cape curled over her like a blanket, Zwei's head poking out from under it at her lap.

Vaguely, I could remember feeling her land against me on the trip in. Was more surprised I hadn't whacked her for it.

I took a sobering breath as I tried to think of an answer. Unfortunately, the best I could come up with was "You're both assholes."

"This's for there being no dinner tonight." Nora chirped.

"No, this's going to make sure there's no dinner in your foreseeable future." I told her. "How do you expect me to come up with a meal while we're in town?"

"Dunno, you're the expert." Nora shrugged, checking her scroll as Yang fiddled with hers. If my understanding of things was right, she'd probably just sent her a copy of the picture.

We were all on the ship heading into Vale. Ruby and I had taken the bench with our bags of equipment and intel. The others had taken to the benches nearby, or were otherwise standing. Watching the ground and horizon pass us by, way off in the distance. Unless your name started with a J and rhymed with lawn. Then you had your head stuck inside a waste bin the whole way, trying not to heave.

Seriously, the ship hadn't even left its mooring before he'd bolted for a bucket. Don't know what kind of motion sickness gets to someone like that. Might not have been, come to think of it, may be more anxiety related.

Pyrrha was with Jaune, sitting on one of the benches, helping to limit the 'splash zone'. Blake, Ren, and Sun were near one of the windows, idly talking about something as Vale passed below. Weiss wasn't too far from them, but she was fiddling with her toothpick. The action broken open, her finger gently spinning the cylinder, brow set in a contemplative arc.

Judging by what little of the landscape I could see in the background, we were approaching the landing zone. Sooner we got to Tukson's place, the sooner we got set up and underway.

I tweaked my head to the side slightly, stretching before shifting my right shoulder, trying to wake Ruby up.

She promptly tried to punch me in the face.

Her left arm whipped out from under her cape in an uppercut, startling poor Zwei awake. I caught the punch without missing a beat. Not much power behind it, just as shoddy as her earlier attempt. Couldn't expect changes in just a few hours. Though points had to be given for reflexes.

After a moment, Zwei quirked his head up curiously, yawning as Ruby tried to pull her fist back. When it didn't move, because I was still holding it, her head turned groggily towards me. Her silver eyes slowly blinked open.

"Sleep well?" I asked.

"B'wah?" Ruby asked as Zwei began to shuffle around under her cloak. She looked down at him groggily, before opening her cape enough for him to get out. He hopped out and scampered to the floor, stretching out his stubby front paws. Only after a solid ten seconds did Ruby turn her head back up to look at me.

Then she realized she was using my shoulder as a pillow.

Her face flushed to the hue of her hood, and she bolted upright. "S-sorry."

"All good." I told her. "Though I could've done without you trying to swing at me."

"Eh heh-" Ruby chuckled nervously. "That was a reflex. Yang used to attack me when we were younger."

"No I didn't!" Yang called, slowly hiding her scroll. "There was only that one time, two tops. No worse than you constantly spinning around."

"I didn't spin, I shifted." Ruby defended, getting up from her seat.

"Do you know how many times I woke up with a kick to the face?" Yang asked dryly. "I was glad when dad finally got us separate beds."

"Adorable." I said back, dry as Mojave sand.

The airship began its descent, and everyone slowly began to reconvene. Even Jaune, being careful with how he moved his bucket. I could see he was trying to control his breathing, so hopefully he wouldn't- nope there he went again.

"You gonna be ok?" Sun asked, eyeing Jaune wearily.

"I- I'll be good." Jaune managed to choke out. "It's just the airship. The turbulence makes my stoma-* ulp* "

He came a hair's breadth from losing whatever was left in his gut. I was surprised he had anything left in there. If he kept going though, dehydration was going to be a problem.

Pyrrha continued to help Jaune while the rest of us collected and organized our belongings. Just the necessities for the most part: clothes, weapons, intel, and the small necessities needed to stay overnight. Bad enough bathing would be trouble, but not having a toothbrush would get wretched pretty quick. We'd packed it all in the dorms before setting the room to rights and leaving. If anyone came knocking, they'd be curious where we all went, but otherwise not have a clue what we were doing.

"So how are we doing this?" Sun asked. "We go to this place you have picked out and split up?"

"That's the idea." Ruby nodded.

"Voice down." I added, calmly scanning the airship. There were a few other people nearby. "We're not exactly inconspicuous, grouped up like this."

"Whaddaya mean, we're not inconspicuous?" Nora chirped. "We're just a bunch of students going out for the night. You stick out more than any of us."

"And going around saying things like that isn't helping." I said, under-handing a bag that caught her in the chest. "Let's just try and get to where we're staying first, then we can worry about hashing things out."

"I just said that." Ruby muttered.

"You missed the part where we actually come up with a plan." I said.

After a few minutes more of waiting, the ship came into its moorings and we disembarked. It was a late Friday afternoon, so the station… port… place we got off at was packed. Commuters rushing home, students out to party, and the travelers coming in for the Vytal Festival, still an eternity away. Maybe we didn't stick out as much as I thought, but it's hard to tell. Maybe to anyone who wasn't looking we'd pass by, but anybody on look-out duty could pick us up. We needed to remain low-profile-

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"Wow, it's getting busy around here." Nora chirped, practically dragging Ren forward with his bags. "When did all of the decorations go up?"

"Over the past few weeks." I told her. "They've been putting more up while I was running around."

"Looks different from the last time we all came here." Ruby said, looking around. Banners and ribbons everywhere, festive lights dangling from rooftops and arching over streets. It was understated, but present almost everywhere, especially in the busier parts of the street. There was a dull roar about the place, brought about by hundreds of footfalls and the calm clamor of conversation. "Really does feel like it's slowly getting closer."

"The festival will be fun." Yang said. "It's been forever since the last one, but there's going to be a lot going on."

"Y'know I actually got to go to the last one in Mistral?" Sun asked, looking around. "Didn't look like this. Lot more fireworks and stalls."

"Well it's not here yet ." Ruby said. "But we should all go when it is."

"Not to be the mood killer, but we should probably keep moving." Ren said. "It seems like we're going to be busy enough tonight already."

"My sentiments exactly." I said, giving him a nod, before looking at Jaune and Pyrrha. "Assuming we're good?"

Jaune dry-swallowed a few times, then grimaced and shook his head. Now back on stable ground, he seemed to be in better control of it. Pyrrha nodded as well, and we started down the street.

Of the people in the group, I knew myself, Blake, and Yang seemed to have an idea of how to get to Tukson's. Leaving it up to us to guide our way through the streets. It wasn't far from where we'd disembarked, part of the reason we'd chosen to land there was how much quicker we'd be able to get there and get ready. As it stood, we were all as close to plain-clothes as we could get. Meaning our usual, non-school related attire. Though I'd erred on the side of caution and gone in something other than my armor. A pair of jeans, my boots from my Riot Gear, and a t-shirt. Something that wouldn't attract too much attention, even if I wasn't about to ditch my helmet. Everything else was stuffed in the bag I had slung over my shoulder, then.

The way to Tukson's slowly took us down streets that were less populated, though well-traveled. Meant we were still a bit odd to see, but there were less around to actually see it.

"Still wish Neptune and the boys could've come with us." Sun said. "I'm telling you they could've helped too."

"I'm already leery about you and Blake heading off on your own." I told him. "That's something your teammates wouldn't have been able to help with, on top of the fact we've only met one of them once . Plus you'd leave our numbers unbalanced. We'd either have a party of three, or someone running around on their lonesome."

"Which we figured out is kind of a bad idea." Ruby said, nudging me.

"Hey, it worked for a while didn't it?" I asked. "Sure, it kinda went sour at the end there, but now we're doing this, so I'd say it evened out."

"Would've been faster if we'd just done it from the start." Blake muttered.

"I'm kinda out of the loop here." Sun said. "What've you guys been doing?"

"Breaking the law and making mischief." I told him. "Y'know, the kinda stuff you seem to be about."

"Hey, I don't break the law." Sun countered. "I just… have fun and don't really worry about the consequences."

"Hence, breaking the law." I said.

A few minutes of walking, and we reached the street Tukson's shop was on. There were a few people on it, walking, but the street seemed otherwise quiet. As we made our way down it, I scanned it quickly. There didn't appear to be anyone watching the shop, if they were they weren't obvious about it. No one clearly camped out, none of the people walking paid us any mind. They could be camped out in the other buildings across the street. Would be hard for us to account for that. But, they also didn't have much reason to be watching Tukson's shop either. He'd skipped town weeks ago, and the place would've been quiet barring my using it the other night. With any luck, it would still be unlocked. Save me the hassle of having to pick it. The less time we had to spend waiting out front, the less attention we would draw.

Though, as I stepped up to the door, I found I had left it unlocked after all. We'd been in a rush to get back to Beacon that night, so I wasn't surprised I had.

I stepped inside, then held the door open for everyone to quickly shuffle in after me. Once we were inside, I carefully shut the door and locked it. Made sure that even if we were being followed, any uninvited guests would need to knock first.

Tukson's shop wasn't a cramped place, I'd call it cozy really. But with the ten of us all in the showroom, it certainly felt a lot fuller. Even having to avoid all the wreckage and destruction. Everyone spread out slightly, looking over the stock that'd started gathering dust without their owner around. I noted Jaune drifting towards the comic books with Nora, while Pyrrha seemed enticed by the historical section. Though I also noted it was near the romantics.

"What happened here?" Nora asked. "Looks like an Ursa got into a fight with a Puma."

"Tukson got attacked while trying to flee the White Fang." I answered. "He pulled through but didn't exactly have time to clean up after the fact. That the place is still as put together as it is counts as a miracle."

"Smells musty in here." Weiss said, grimacing as she looked over the destroyed room. "Are we sure that we want to use this place?"

"Do you want to be the one to shell out for a hotel room, or cab fare?" I asked. "We've got to make do with what we've got."

"It could do with a new coat of paint... and a carpenter-" Pyrrha said, pulling herself away from the shelves. "- and it's, perhaps, a little cramped as well."

"There's room in the back, which is where we'll be staying too…" I shrugged, recognizing the problem. "Which is where we'd actually be set up too. Ok, not a lot of room, but it's better than nothing."

"Maybe we should get back there first and see what we're working with." Ren said, before jerking a thumb to the front windows. "The security shutters can make it harder for people to look in, so if we need to we could sleep out here… Though I'd rather not."

"One step at a time." I said, then motioned to the back room. "Let's figure out what we're working with back there first."

"I call the corner!" Nora squawked, bolting for the door.

"Isn't there going to be like, four of them?" Jaune muttered.

We all started towards the back of the store, and once again passed through the door single file. The back room of the shop was even more cramped than the rest of the store. Worsened by the increased number of books being stored back there. The lighting was also significantly worse, and the air stagnant. But it had the benefit of privacy, since there were basically no windows. It didn't look much different from how I'd left it either. Stool still near a desk, paperbacks and books, staircase to the far right of the room. Just the mess I'd left it.

"…" Weiss sighed audibly through her nose. " Please tell me there's at least a bathroom somewhere."

"… Um…." I jerked a thumb towards the right side of the room, where Nora was rearranging things. "We have a corner, and Jaune has a buck-"

" STOP. " Weiss said, looking absolutely horrified.

"I already called dibs!" Nora squawked, continuing to settle in. "… And when are we doing dinner?"

"We're not." I answered, rubbing my mask.

"WHAT!?"

"Alright, look-" I said, trying to clear off the desk. "I know this place sucks, but it's what we've got to work with, ok? You can't expect everything to go perfectly in the field either."

"But dinner-" Nora whined.

"Does it look like we have time right now?" I asked, looking at her as my teammates and hers continued to look around the room with rapidly dwindling enthusiasm.

As I watched her though, I remembered the stairway beside her. That was an enigma I'd made note of on my previous visit, but had never bothered to check.

At this moment, even if it just led to the roof, it was more space for… anything.

I pointed to the stairs. "I don't know what's up there, but if it's anything good, that'll at least give us some room. So stop whining and prepare for the worst, we'd only be sleeping here anyway. Let's just try and deal with one problem at a time."

"Right." Ruby said, steeling herself.

The others began slowly trying to rearrange the room as I headed for the stairs. Frankly I wasn't sure what I was going to find, but it couldn't have been anything too worrying. It was likely just a crawlspace for whatever ventilation and electrical systems the shop needed. At worst, it would lead into the apartments above the…

I began climbing the stairs more quickly.

There were apartments above Tukson's shop. You could see the windows above his sign outside. There had to be another entrance around the back of the building for residents to use. But what purpose would having one connected to the shop be? It clearly wasn't an emergency exit, and Tukson wasn't going to let strangers wander through the back of his store, presumably.

Which only left a handle of options, and I was hoping I knew the one.

I tromped to the top of the stairs, and found myself on a cramped little landing, a door to my left. It wasn't anything fancy, just a steel security door. The kind used for basic industrial building and commercial construction. The kind required by a standardized building code.

But it had a peephole, deadbolt, and normal door handle built into it.

A smile crossed my face as I knelt down and began to work the locks. The door handle was unlocked, but the deadbolt had been set shut. But a bobby pin plus a minute or two of persuasion got it moving how I wanted.

With a *clunk* the lock moved and I swung the door open, revealing the room beyond.

Things were looking up for once.

To the right, I could see the windows that peered out above Tukson's sign, set into a roughly plastered brick wall. It was a couple yards away, the front wall of the building. Put me maybe two-thirds of the way to what I thought was the back wall. Looking behind me, I could see it went a couple more yards before finally hitting another wall. I could see another door, a more normal, personal one you'd see in someone's home. The front door.

I took a few steps into the room, confirming that it was indeed abandoned. It looked lived in for sure, but not for some time. Things were strewn about, like someone had been in a hurry. But most of it had settled, with dust even starting to collect.

Tukson knew he wouldn't have had time to worry about it, plus he was on a one-way trip out of town. Wasn't his concern what happened.

But this was definitely his apartment. The number of books more than confirmed that.

"Everything ok up there Six?" Ruby called up the stairwell.

I walked back to the steel door, and looked down from it. She was leaning into the doorway at the bottom.

"Change in plans." I told her. "Get everyone up here, but keep your voices down. If there's neighbors, we don't need them eavesdropping."

"What's going on?" she asked, somewhere between curious and concerned.

I smirked, looking back into the apartment, then down to her. "We're getting an upgrade."

After a moment, I heard Ruby begin rousing everyone, and I stepped back into the apartment proper. It was a sizable space, running the length of the building that faced the street. To my right, the street-facing wall, was one of the windows, connected to a den of sorts. There was a pair of long sofas, sitting end to end at a support pillar, forming an angle. They faced a table set between bookshelves, where I'd imagine you'd keep a TV, in the Old World. To the farside of the apartment, down from the den, was a walled-off area, taking maybe a quarter of the floor space. Through the crack in the door, I could see the vague shape of a bed, so a bedroom. To my left was a proper kitchen, running the length of the wall and up the corner with counter space. Only broken by a fridge and cooking range with an oven. Cabinet space hovering over that. The kitchen terminated in a small space, leaving a path that led to the front door, then past that was a dining table. Before reaching the far side once again, where another set of doors waited. One was completely shut, but the other was wide open, revealing a bathroom.

I crossed the floor and opened the door, just to check. Just a storage closet, though it did have a water heater at the back of it.

Overall, a pretty sweet bachelor pad. Either Tukson made a mint selling books, or rent was really cheap.

I heard the footsteps tromping up the stairs and watched as Ruby once again peered around the corner. A look of relief washed over her face.

"Good news, there's a toilet…" I peered into the bathroom. "-and a tub-shower combo."

Yang peered around past her younger sister. "There's a wha- oh heck yeah!"

"Count yourselves lucky, we're getting a softball with this." I said.

Ruby and Yang stepped into the room and began looking around, as the others began to meander their way up. Similarly, I could see the relief that came over most of them, Weiss in particular looked like she'd had a weight taken off her. Even Blake looked pleasantly surprised once she was looking around.

"So this is why he always charged so much," she muttered.

Zwei toddled through the door, before making a beeline for one of the couches, bounding onto the cushions. He looked quite pleased.

JNPR and Sun made their way up too. Almost as soon as they did, they spread throughout the apartment. Ren moved to the bookshelves in the den, while Jaune made a bee-line for the kitchen sink, sucking water from the tap. While Pyrrha followed him, Nora's eyes darted to the partially open bedroom door.

"Di-"

"I call the bedroom!" I snapped.

"… Boo." Nora pouted.

"I've spent the past four months sleeping on a cot, that bed could be full of nits and I'd still take it."

…

We went around the apartment in a quick fashion, familiarizing ourselves with the space. I could think of worse places to use as an operational outpost. I'd seen plenty of them. We pitched any personal effects and bags we'd brought with us into the den and set our intel down in the dining room, spreading the map and collected info out on the table. Sure, it was right next to the front door, but we didn't have much intention of opening it either.

Unlike the fridge, which Nora decided it would be a good idea to check. Despite it having been three weeks since Tukson had left.

We basically pitched everything inside it into a dumpster in the alley. Pretty sure what was inside was either a bioweapon or undiscovered life form. The smell alone was rancid fat festering with fermented cheese and spoiled vegetables. I've eaten some foul things, but I was half ready to retch myself.

Once we'd disposed of anything that'd get us tried for war crimes, we did a final run-down of our checklist.

"So, the Teams are me and Six, Yang and Weiss, Nora and Ren, Pyrrha and Jaune, and Blake and Sun." Ruby reiterated, before gesturing to the map. "Blake and Sun are going to the edge of the industrial district for the rally, and me and Six will be taking the locations near them." She motioned to herself and me, before turning towards the others. "Yang and Weiss will take the northern part of town, Ren and Nora can take most of the commercial district, and Jaune and Pyrrha can handle the residential."

"We need to keep constant contact as the night goes on, to make sure nothing gets too far out of hand." I reminded everyone. "And we'll have a meet-up in the center of town sometime around midnight if possible, just to make sure we're all in one piece."

"After we get there, I guess we figure out what to do next." Ruby said, looking around the map table at everyone. "Questions, ideas?"

"Dinner?" Nora chirped again.

"…" Ruby looked up at me. Not bothering to hide the puppy-dog look.

"We're in Vale, scrounge." I said, but mulled things over for a moment. "… If we get through tonight without any of you getting seriously injured, I'll fix a Continental Breakfast tomorrow."

"Deal." Nora chirped.

"We'll split the list of places we need to go, then it'll be time to get going." Ruby said, straightening. "Which means we should probably start getting ready. Everyone made sure to bring outfits, right?"

There was a chorus of nods and murmurs, as everyone knew to be prepared for this.

All except for one.

"Probably should've asked before we got all the way here, but where's your bags, Jaune?" I asked, looking him over.

He'd made the trip relatively plainly clothed, as the rest of us. He'd refused to change out of his armor, which was odd, but not unreasonable. What was unacceptable, was that he hadn't bothered to bring his weapon either. I'd hoped his items were just stashed with his teammates bags, but having seen them unpack, no, they weren't.

So I waited patiently for his words of enlightenment.

"… Oh, right. Forgot about that." He said.

They were not enlightened in the slightest.

"…" I sighed through my nose. "You know we're not making multiple trips back to Beacon, right?"

"I know." He said, pulling out his scroll. "Give me a sec, I put my stuff in my locker, just forgot to hit the button."

Present company all looked at him in confusion.

"What button?" Ruby asked

Jaune just smiled and tapped his scroll. "It should be here in a minute or two… should probably go wait outside, don't want to come crashing through the ceiling."

"What's crashing through the ceiling?" Yang asked

"My locker." Jaune said, walking back to the stairs.

Curiosity piqued, I followed him back outside, our teammates and Sun in tow. We walked back out the front door, and off to one of the alleys across the street. There wasn't any sign that something was happening at first.

But, after a minute or two of waiting, the roar of a rocket engine could be heard screaming over the city skyline. Knew it was a rocket, heard enough of them.

From over top of the buildings around us, one of the Beacon weapon lockers came screaming down. Right before impact, retrograde thrusters erupted beneath it, slowing its descent. Wasn't a gentle landing, but it didn't smash against the ground either. Without missing a beat, Jaune opened it and pulled out a duffle bag, plus his sword and shield. He then tapped at the keypad, and it launched back into the sky, screaming towards Beacon.

We all looked at Jaune in confusion. He looked back at us blankly.

"… did you guys forget they could do that?" he asked.

"… We carried all of that here?" Weiss growled, gaze sharpening. "When we could've done that!? "

Jaune took a step back, putting his hands up innocently.

To be completely fair, I had nothing but respect. The fact that those lockers could fly had completely slipped my mind. Which I saw as a big problem, because that was a very useful feature to have.

Which led to me asking: "How do you set that up?"

Jaune chuckled nervously, then motioned back to Tukson's "Why don't we step back inside first?"

…

It was actually pretty simple. Apparently there was an application that connected to Beacon's network and let you access the lockers' launch grid. You could only call your own, but even that was a boon. It took a little while to get in order, but I had it, since we only had the one bathroom to change in anyway. Didn't get around to testing it before it was my turn to get changed, but it should work in theory. That was going to have to be a working theory until I could test it.

As I finished fixing my Riot Gear in place, I looked around at everyone, and what they were wearing.

Ruby wasn't too different from what she normally wore. Her red cape and hood were still big to the outfit. Though the hood seemed to hang more loosely around her neck, pooling like a scarf. But she'd replaced most of the black outfit she'd been wearing with a gray blouse with belts at the cuffs of the sleeves. A black vest-like piece over that, and a red skirt hanging down around her waist, a black rose embossed in the fabric. Her stockings and boots were much the same, though seemed to stick out more with more color in the outfit for contrast.

Weiss wore a double breasted white coat and pleated skirt. The hem work, stitching, and buttons all in black, the collar of her coat popped up around her chin. She wore black stockings beneath her skirt, and a pair of thigh-high boots. Which confoundingly still had high heels.

Some people just weren't going to get it until they busted an ankle.

It wasn't any more or less eye-catching or fancy than anything she normally wore. But there was something admittedly more… refined about it. Prim and proper, which fit her all too well.

Blake had traded her usual look for a cropped white shirt, with a v-neck and long sleeves. She wore black pants, and had a black half-skirt similar to the one that Yang normally wore. Her shoes were black, heeled boots that came up to her knees, and she wore black wraps around her fore arms. I felt it didn't do much to actually hide who she was, but I was already planning for that.

Yang's outfit was… something. It seemed to pull from both Weiss and Blake's outfits, being a black and white vest over a low cut shirt. She wore what I could charitably call a jacket over that, barely covered her shoulders, and was more sleeves than anything. She wore a dangerously short-looking skirt, stockings, and garters that led to, mercifully, a pair of actual boots. Black, but they had these ribbons tied to the back. She even had this purple jeweled necklace hanging from her neck, showing darkly over her-

Oh wow, she even has a nice purple cloth dangling from her waist, like her cape. Makes her hips look-

OH WOW LOOK AT THEM BOOTS!-

-Ren and Nora were a bit simpler. Ren's outfit didn't look too much different from his usual attire. He'd just taken the sleeves off and raised the collar. Though he had added these long, fingerless gloves I didn't quite understand. Nora, on the other hand, ditched her outfit entirely, and went with something I felt more familiar with. Looked like she was wearing a poodle skirt, with a black jacket on top. No actual poodle stitched into the skirt, but the night was young. Maybe she'd let someone embroider Zwei onto it.

Pyrrha was more of a middle ground between Nora and Ren. Most of her outfit stayed the same, but it was amazing what a change in color did for a person. Almost every piece of brown she'd worn had been traded for something black and gold trimmed. Her corset, her gorget, her boots and skirt, practically her entire outfit. She'd even taken to wearing a pair of long gloves not unlike Ren's, probably a real name for them, but I don't get fashion. She still had that long band of scarlet fabric hanging from her hip, now chained to a blocky, brassy belt. Brassy grieves over her forearms and legs. I was even willing to forgive her for still wearing heels… almost. She'd even ditched that crown around her head, but kept her hair in a high ponytail.

Pyrrha was already an enchanting young woman. Dressed like that, she'd turn heads and cause traffic jams for miles around.

"Well, don't you clean up nicely." I said, giving Pyrrha a nod.

"It's just another outfit I had lying around." Pyrrha said, bashfully. "I don't get many chances to wear it, so I thought tonight would be a good chance."

"It's definitely eye-catching." I said. "Assuming that's what you were going for."

"…" Pyrrha blushed slightly. "I have no idea what you're referring to."

"This isn't date night Pyrrha." I told her. "I know you like the boy, but there's better times than this to try and get his attention."

"When would that be?" Nora chirped. "Me and Ren are around most of the time."

"Oh, well if you know you're the problem-" Weiss said snidely.

The door to the bathroom opened and Jaune stepped back out. "Who's a problem now?" He asked.

"Nothing." Pyrrha chirped, quickly sinking the conversation as Jaune-…

"Well damn ." Yang said.

I was inclined to agree with her.

Here's the thing about how Jaune normally looks: he's immature. He dressed like he doesn't take this seriously, even when that obviously couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, he wears the armor, carries a sword and shield like some noble knight. But he wears them over a 'hoodie', ripped jeans, sneakers, and all around looked too relaxed for the job. Couple that with the shaggy head of hair and general puppy-like demeanor, and it was hard to take him seriously. Good kid, but again, immature.

Right now, he was all business, and he looked the part. He still had his armor, the white breast plate and padded bracers, still carried his sword at his hip, ready to go. But his clothes were different. Starting from the toe, he'd replaced his sneakers with a formidable and sturdy looking pair of black boots. Trimmed with white, steel at the toes. His jeans were replaced with a sturdier pair, and the legs had even been given a pair of chaps . Normally they'd look silly, but they were cut low, only a few inches above the knee. Made from a non-reflective material too, so they went with the jeans. There was now a pair of belts, crossing over his waist in an X, with additional support for his sword and shield/sheath. This led into a brown leather vest, buttoned most of the way shut under the armor, over another 'hoodie'. But the 'hoodie' was different, a short sleeved gray one to the usual long-sleeved black.

He'd even bothered to wet his hair and run a comb through it, pulling it back.

It made him look rather put-together, dashing almost.

He stepped back to the group next to Pyrrha. Who was looking at him like a deathclaw looks at a baby molerat. Like it'd found a snack.

"… What?" Jaune asked, looking at everyone.

"Where'd this come from?" I asked.

He shrugged. "They're just some clothes I'd wear when working at home, why?"

"…"

"We need to work on your fashion sense." Yang said.

"Oh come on , it's not that bad." Jaune griped.

"That's the problem, it's an improvement." Blake said, which got a chorus of 'yeps' from just about everyone else.

Jaune just looked exasperated, and pulled at the collar of his hoodie. "Hate wearing it, the vest makes everything bunch…" He paused, and finally seemed to get a proper look at Pyrrha. His eyes traveled up and down her. She picked up on it quickly, and gripped one of her arms bashfully. "… You, uh… You look nice, Pyrrha." Jaune said, giving an unsure smile.

Pyrrha's face started turning as red as her hair. "T-thank you."

"… Hey, Pyrrha?" I asked.

She looked over at me.

"Let your hair down." I told her.

Pyrrha's expression grew confused, but I could see Nora snickering in the corner of my eye. Slowly though, Pyrrha reached a hand up to her hair and clasped at the loop holding it high. She worked her fingers under the band and pried it open, her hair easily falling through it with a shake and a bob. It cascaded down around her shoulders in fiery waves. Made her look more relaxed, at peace. A complete transformation, very mature looking.

Jaune was watching her the entire time.

It was like reading a book, each page telling passages of a young man who suddenly seemed to realize how stunning his partner looked.

The last page had the boy looking like he could use a glass of water and a seat.

" Wow ." Was all Jaune could muster.

Frankly, I think it said enough about the both of them.

"If you two are done making googly-eyes at each other, we should probably wrap this up." I said, looking to Sun as he approached.

He looked… exactly the same.

"Really?" I asked.

"What?" He asked back. "It's not like you're wearing anything different."

"But I'm also not planning to sneak into a place filled with people that not only know what I look like, but want to kill me." I reminded him. He'd been given a run down before leaving the dorms. Should've known better, he didn't strike me as someone to not take risks.

"I can button it up and wear a hat, if that helps?" he offered.

"Did you bring a hat with you?" I asked.

"No."

"Then why offer?"

Sun shrugged.

"… Well, I was going to touch up Blake's outfit anyway, so helping you wouldn't hurt either." I muttered.

"What's wrong with my outfit?" Blake asked, annoyed.

"Nothing, it just does nothing to distract from the fact that you're… well, you." I said.

"In most contexts, that'd be extremely rude." Weiss said.

"Like you're one to talk." I said, then started trolling the apartment. "Give me a minute, Tukson left in a hurry, so he probably left some things behind."

In a manner that I was both long accustomed to, and a smidge out of practice with, I began my search. Scouring every place we hadn't reasonably gone searching yet, for anything I could use to obscure Blake and Sun's identities from the White Fang. I'd only had the odd occasion to actually do undercover work, but I knew enough.

After a bit of turning, I managed to find a few scraps of clothing to work with. A bandana, a fedora, a vibrantly yellow overcoat, a pair of hot-red pants, and a necktie with a bunch of polka dots.

I had to wonder if Tukson hadn't been moonlighting as a clown before joining the Whitefang.

Without missing a beat, I returned to everyone with my findings.

"… You gotta be kidding." Sun said.

"Some of the best disguises are surprisingly overt, actually." I said. "All that matters is that: you don't look like you ."

"I don't know whether to judge your fashion sense or Tukson's." Blake said.

"Blame him, I'm quite fashionable, thank you." I said, divvying the clothes up. "Sun, you get the coat, pants and headband. Blake, you get the hat and tie."

"…" Blake gave me a dry look. "That's not going to work."

"… Good point." I said, looking at the hat. I took out Blood-Nap and poked a pair of slits in the band. "There we go, now it'll fit your ears. Very appropriate."

"You're an ass." Blake said.

"And you're a princess." I said. "Quit yer bitchin' and get dressed, don't want to miss the rally, do you?"

Blake mumbled something impolite under her breath, but took her disguise. Sun did the same, looking at the outfit skeptically for a second, before smirking and nodding. Having apparently convinced himself it would look good.

The two of them made the changes and came back. Blake with the tie done up in a crude bow around her neck, and Sun having pulled on the jacket and pants. It would have to do.

"I think that about does it." I said. "Unless anyone here is suddenly getting cold feet, it's time to move."

Judging by the silence, it would seem, no, their feet were quite warm.

"Everyone's got a mask?" Ruby asked.

To my surprise, everyone actually produced some form of face covering. Weiss with an opera mask, Sun and Blake a pair of White Fang masks, Jaune and Pyrrha with goggles, or a strip of cloth with holes poked in it for the eyes.

I looked at Ruby, confused.

She shrugged, pulling her hood over her head and scarf over her face. "If it works, right?"

Wordlessly, we all walked back down to the shop, shutting doors as we went. Once we were back outside, we knew it was time.

"We all meet back up in the commercial district around midnight. Maybe someplace with food?" Ruby asked, before shaking her head. "If anything happens, message the group chat, even if it's just crossing off locations."

"Remember, we're each other's lifelines tonight. If anyone is in trouble, you gotta say something." I said, looking at each of them. "Don't get caught, don't get distracted, and don't die. This is where it gets real folks. When you're ready… scatter."

We all split off into the growing twilight. Not knowing what the night would bring, but hoping we were ready for it all the same.