We allowed Sun to collect his drink, then we all took off into the late afternoon once more. We tried to be smarter about how we moved. A group our size would be pretty noticeable, so we had to keep somewhat spread out, but we couldn't afford to be lagging either. We got split up slightly as a result, but not seriously. Sun took point, leading us back, Blake kept close to him as he went, and the rest of our team kept in steady pace behind them.

The place Sun wound up leading us rang of familiarity. Not because I'd been there before, but because it stank of the White Fang's usual tactics. They'd been keeping to abandoned and unused buildings, or ones they knew to be easily swayed to the cause. A good number of them were either derelict or under construction. The apartment building Sun led us to was the latter, and in the final stages of it, looking from the outside. Were the White Fang not actively using it, the place likely would've already been looking for renters. It wasn't a particularly massive building, three stories, kept it in line with the rest of the skyline, especially in that part of town. The stone and masonry were new, none of the cracking or discoloration that comes with age. There was a two-story parking garage next to it, mostly empty. Mostly.

It was amazing how something could hide in plain sight until you thought about them. Cars, vans, and trucks would be normal to see in a parking garage, until you realized it shouldn't be open yet, because the building isn't finished. The unmarked vans the White Fang used stuck out like a sore thumb.

Our collective got off the street, peering out at the building from an alleyway across from it.

"This is it?" I asked.

"Yeah," Sun nodded. "Got away as fast as I could."

"Seems so normal from the outside," Jaune said. "…Guess that's kinda the point though."

"No kidding?" Weiss asked drolly.

"Alright, weapons check," I said. "Last thing we need right now is trouble from faulty maintenance."

"On it now," Velvet said, pulling out her own Scroll, an action mirrored by her teammates, and myself. I drew out my Scroll and tapped through the menus, tracking to the screen Jaune had shown me the previous night. I debated for a moment whether or not it would make sense for me to call it now. It was actually a surprisingly simple task, once my Scroll was keyed to it. It would use my Scroll as a transponder and hone in on my location, or auto-pilot to some pre-established coordinates. Most of the time they were fairly quick.

My Scroll calculated the potential time it would take to arrive. Roughly ten minutes to make the journey. That it would only take that long was something of a surprise, given what it was carrying. Which was dampened, somewhat, when CFVY's lockers arrived less than three minutes later.

They were carrying much less. Flight speed and distance weren't an issue.

But it was reason enough for me to avoid calling for it, yet. Every minute we spent having to wait was one more the White Fang had to prepare. Once we had a better idea of what was happening, then I could properly gear myself.

As CFVY collected their weapons, I turned to Sun. "How many people are we dealing with?" I asked, trying to keep things focused. "There's no telling when things are going to kick off, we need to get in there."

"I don't know," Sun said. "I wasn't keeping count while running for the exit… At least four actual members, more who were picked up last night."

"So somewhere between four and four hundred," Coco said, pursing her lips. "Hmm… seems a bit too small for four hundred, maybe two hundred."

"Local ordinances allow for a maximum of one hundred and ninety registered occupants within a domicile of this size," Penny chirped. "More if the individual apartments are intended for families."

Coco looked at Penny over her sunglasses, curiously. Frankly I didn't know why she knew that either, but whatever. Probably something to do with her being a robot.

"Having a more accurate head count before we go in would be helpful, but this isn't the first time it's happened," I said. "We'll have to move a bit more cautiously, but-"

"Fox says there's about twenty people up on the third floor," Velvet chimed in.

"… Or that," I said, craning my head towards Fox, squatting behind a dumpster. "Can I ask how?"

"Advanced Aura technique, we told you about them, remember?" Velvet asked. "One of them allows you to see and sense the auras of other people."

"Or where one might be missing, like with Grimm," Yatsu added.

"… Damn, that's useful," I said. "Gotta get me some of that."

"Can we not waste time?" Blake asked.

"Right… We're going to need two teams," I said. "One for sneaking in and the other for back-up."

"One to try and handle it quietly, and the other for when it goes wrong?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I volunteer myself and Sun for breach duty." I looked towards him. "You've got at least some idea of the inside, you'll have to lead us back to the map room."

"I'll try." Sun said, cracking his neck. "You think Blake can come?"

"Me too!" Ruby said.

"Blake yes, Ruby no." I countered. "We need quiet and agile."

"I can be quiet," Ruby huffed. "Quieter than you."

"Six is actually surprisingly quiet when he moves," Blake said, shrugging. "I have no idea how."

"Practice," I told her. "And we don't have a lot of time for debate here, Ruby. You can be first in the door after us, but we need to know what's actually up there first…" I motioned to Fox. "You should come up with us, could use someone with X-ray vision."

Fox looked at me in confusion. Wouldn't be surprised if he didn't understand, but the concept stood. He could see through walls, he was useful here.

"Take Yatsu too," Velvet said. "He's good at stealth."

"No offense, but I doubt that," I said. "Unless he's secretly been practicing his ballet when we're not looking."

"You do ballet?" Penny asked, amazed.

"I've got something that works good for it. Trust me, I can make the whole thing a breeze," Yatsu said. "-and if we don't move soon, we're going to miss our window."

"…" I shook my head. "Fine, whatever, we get caught, everyone is rushing in anyway…" I stepped out from the alley and quickly scanned the street, then the building. Far as I could tell we weren't being observed. Yet. "Sun, on me, Blake and Fox take the middle. Yahtzee, Ren, take the rear and keep close."

"I'm coming too?" Ren asked.

"Unless you want to sit back here and make googly eyes with Nora." I needled, quickly scanning the street for traffic.

Ren made no response to that, clearly unable or unwilling to take a joke, and got in position alongside Yatsu. We were loosely stacked up, and as close to ready as we would be.

"Fox, you see anything on the ground floor?" I asked.

I looked back, and a moment later he shook his head.

"… Alright," I said. "We're crossing the street in pairs, Sun and me first. Fox, Blake, do a ten count and follow. Same for Yatsu and Ren. If you've got questions check them at the door." I scanned the street. We were clear. "… Break!"

Sun and I bolted out into the street, moving smoothly and quickly. Didn't want to linger in the open, but being too obvious about it wouldn't help. We crossed the street as a new car pulled onto it. I grabbed Sun's shoulder and pulled him onto the sidewalk. He looked at me in confusion for a moment, as I waited for the car to pass, pulling him in to make it look like we were just having a conversation. Once it was past, I shuffled him back into motion. We reached the front door of the building, peered through the glass for a moment, then went inside. The interior was well lit and otherwise abandoned. There was new paint and spackle on everything, like they'd only recently finished the construction. The floor was some combination of tiling and stone, expensive looking. Gave an idea where your rent might be going. There was a small bank of mail boxes built into the wall beside the door. On the opposing wall, two doorways, one leading to a stairwell, the other the sliding doors for an elevator.

"What now?" Sun asked, looking around.

"Over here," I said, motioning to a corner of the room, parallel to the stairs and elevator, adjacent to the front door. Loose cover in case someone came from either direction. The two of us slipped over to it and crouched, waiting.

"You hear anything moving?" I asked.

"Why're you asking me?" Sun asked.

"You're the one with the enhanced senses," I answered, annoyed at what should've been obvious.

"They're not that good…" he said, trailing off before shaking his head. "… No, don't hear anything."

'So far, so good, then.'

We waited a few moments before the door opened again. Blake and Fox slipped through, scanned the room and joined us. I took that as my cue to begin stacking-up on the stairwell. I briefly stood on the edge of the doorway, then crossed to the opposing side as everyone took my lead. Left me on one side, back to the elevator, the others on the other covering the doorway.

"Fox, you see anyone on the next floor up?" I asked, looking across to him.

Fox blinked, and looked up at the ceiling as the front door opened again. Yatsu and Ren came into the room about the point Fox shook his head. Next floor up was clear, or at least the stairway appeared to be.

"Alright: Sun, Fox, take point. Sun, you'll guide Fox and the rest of us," I said, slipping around behind him, urging him to take my previous spot. He was a touch confused but complied. "Fox, you're on lookout. If you see something we don't, speak up…" I tilted my head slightly. "Of all the things I'd never thought I'd say to a blind man."

Fox chuckled and acquiesced, switching spots with Blake.

"Alright, quiet and move as one," I whispered, then motioned with my hand for us to move up.

Sun and Fox turned sharply around the corner, scanned the room, and began to climb the stairs. They weren't masterfully quiet, but better than I was worried they might be. They were both Agile enough that Stealth should've been within their repertoire. Sun practically sprang up to the second landing in a single bound, while Fox took the steps in long strides, both eyeing the way ahead of them cautiously. The rest followed after, quickly. Blake and I took the steps in stride, followed by Ren, who hardly made a sound as he went. Yatsu, however, moved like a Brahmin-bull. His movements were deceptively smooth and quick, but his footsteps were heavy. For all that power and speed, came the weight of the muscle that produced it. Despite that though, there was some merit to keeping him on hand for this sort of situation. A hammer was good at knocking open doors. Especially when it was smart about it.

We cleared the landing and climbed to the second floor. The moment we did, Fox's head snapped to the ceiling and he shoved Sun through the doorway into the second floor. Recognizing it as a bad sign I paused for a moment and listened.

I could hear footsteps echoing down from above us. They were moving quickly, the slight echo screwed with the specifics of it. Sounded like only one set though.

"Move!" I hissed, ushering Blake quickly up the steps, motioning for Yatsu and Ren to follow. The two of us, Blake and me, cleared the landing and leapt through the door, rounding for cover.

But Yatsu and Ren couldn't follow us fast enough.

As Blake and I pulled into cover, someone rounded down the next flight of stairs leading up. They were moving quickly, distractedly. A young woman with antlers on her head. She was clutching a small pack of papers and muttering to herself. If I wasn't aware of what was going on, I'd have just assumed she was another tenant or normal citizen. Whatever she was heading off towards had her rattled though. She missed the four of us hanging in the doorway, peering out at her. But the moment she got to the top of the next flight of stairs leading down, she stopped and stared down Ren and Yatsu. She paused, and I could tell her gaze had immediately tracked to the two of them.

"… What the-" She started to speak.

My hand flew to the Cow Puncher and cranked the output to the highest setting. A quick tap to the back of the head, I could have them out like a light. There was a chance it'd backfire, have her scream, but she was already about to.

But before I could step out of the shadows though, something went wrong. The antlered woman stopped speaking, voice cutting off mid-way. She began to sway and wobble on her feet.

Without missing a beat, Yatsu bounded up the stairs and put a hand on her shoulder, steadying her. She remained standing, but I could tell there was something off about her. Such as not reacting to the giant that was currently, very loosely, restraining her. Yatsu turned half-way back down the stairs and motioned for Ren, who, in turn, quickly followed up the stairs, eyeing the deer woman as he passed. He moved behind cover with us, leaving only Yatsu in the open.

Yatsu waited until Ren was completely behind cover, before he began to move. Though I could tell, whatever he was doing was taxing. There was a tension in his face, the kind that comes from bearing a heavy load. It lasted as he released his grip on the woman. Not wasting a moment, he lumbered through the doorway of the second floor with the rest of us and took cover. As soon as he was, he relaxed, the tension leaving his face.

The woman steadied herself, looking around. I could hear her muttering to herself, sounding as though she'd just suddenly awoken. "What?... What was I… Where am I?"

She started down the stairs at a slow pace, scanning the plaster walls as she went. There was a long pause as we waited for her to move out of sight completely. We waited until her footsteps had faded completely before anyone said or did anything.

"…" I looked at Yatsu. "What was that?"

"Semblance," Yatsu said, catching his breath. "I can affect people's memories. Make them forget things for a short time."

"…Oh," I said, nodding. "I can suddenly see why having you along was a good idea…" I nodded towards Fox.

Fox smirked, nodding, before looking up to the ceiling. The smile faded slightly, before he looked at Yatsu.

"He says there's four people in the room above us," Yatsu said. "Two on the stairs, two near the hall leading that way." Yatsu motioned across the room, leading to a corridor of actual apartments.

"That sounds right," Sun said, motioning with his hand. "I remember going down that way, and there being a bunch of rooms down there…" He paused, thinking, before motioning to either side of the hall. "I think there were rooms for people to sleep on either side, a supply room, and then the map room was down at the far end of the hall."

"Ok, and of them, Fox said there were twenty that'd be willing to put up a fight. These four cover a fifth of that…" I looked over at Fox. "How can you tell which ones are going to fight back?"

"Fox can see the way their Aura shifts," Yatsu said, cracking his neck. "It's kind of like he can see some of their thoughts. Makes it easier to see who we might need to fight."

"…Y'know, you two make this kind of work a lot easier, I gotta say." I shook my head. "I thought having extra people here would just make things trickier."

"Give us some credit, we've done stuff like this before," Yatsu said, shrugging. "Though this is a first."

I nodded, then pulled out Blood Nap and stuck it into the wall, surprising them. Pulling hard, I carved a rough outline of the floor above us into the plaster. I then marked it roughly in four places, the White Fang we knew were up there.

"Alright, game plan," I said. "Fox, I want you to mark out where most of the actual White Fangs are. Blake, Sun, you two will take the elevator up to the next floor and draw the attention of the four visible here." I motioned for everyone to gather around the map. As they gathered, I began laying things out for them. "You'll take those two, while Ren and I deal with the two near the stairs. The objective is stealth, so try to avoid grabbing the others' attention. Shouldn't be too hard."

Fox began to mark out where he could see other White Fang waiting, head twitching back and forth to the ceiling. As he did, Yatsu spoke up. "What are me and Fox doing?"

"You're going to hang back," I said, raising a hand to stop him as he tried to interrupt. "You're both capable and have skills that are vital to this. But it's because you're capable that you're playing rearguard. If you're stuck in the heat of things, it'll be easier for someone to get the drop on us or alert the others to what's happening. Plus, a surprise attack is a lot more useful if people don't see it coming. If we've got you, plus the crew in reserve outside, we'll be good."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Yatsu grimaced, but didn't say anything. Tacit acceptance was still acceptance. With the way tonight was going, they'd have their chance at fighting yet. I watched as Fox plotted out the locations of the White Fang on the floor above us. Kept the plan of attack simple, focused. Keep their numbers small and off kilter. We could cleave through them before they had any idea what was happening. In theory. Practice was where things tended to get hung up.

I finished explaining the plan, and looked at everyone. "Questions?"

"Are you sure this'll work?" Ren asked, eyeing the map made by myself and Fox. I had taken an extra moment to run up and down the hallway on our floor to better flesh it out. If basic architecture held true, it should've been relatively identical to the floor above in layout.

"No, not really," I told him. "Every time I make a plan, it goes out the window the moment it gets put into action. But that's the risk of most things. If we don't get this done though, there's a very real chance a lot of people are going to get hurt. Knowing that, hoping it'll work, and adapting when it doesn't, is our only real choice."

Ren nodded, accepting the answer.

"If that's it, then it's go time," I said, looking at everyone. "Remember, it all goes to shit if we need to engage in open combat, but we've got the others outside waiting to back us up. Work quick, quiet, and don't hesitate."

Everyone nodded, and we silently fell into motion. Ren and I moved out of the hallway and back into the stairwell, as Sun and Blake took the elevator. We waited a moment, as the cabin made its way down to us. As the doors opened, Fox motioned for us to move. Took it as a sign that the White Fang had noticed that the elevator was being used, and were paying attention to it. As soon as the doors closed between us and the elevator, Ren and I took to the stairs. Moving quickly, keeping our footsteps soft.

We rounded up to the landing and paused, scanning up to the next floor. I saw one of the White Fang pass by the doorway, moving to get a better view of the elevator as it continued to rise. He got just far enough out of sight, that both Ren and I could climb the rest of the way. We didn't say anything as we took position on the next landing. Couldn't chance the Fang's sharper senses picking up on us here. We both knew the plan, we just needed to get the timing right. Looking in through the doorway, I could see the White Fang waiting at low ready. Seeming more confused about why the elevator was suddenly being used than cautious. Could be that they thought it was the deer woman realizing she'd forgotten something and coming back up. Technically she had forgotten something, but she wouldn't be coming back up.

There was a chime and I heard the elevator doors open. I made sure the Cow Puncher was primed.

I heard someone speak, just out of view. "Who the-"

Ren and I rounded out of the corner at the same time Blake and Sun leapt out of the elevator. What followed was a tense moment that, to me, felt like an eternity. That moment when the fighting starts and the adrenaline kicks in. When suddenly fast doesn't seem fast enough and going slow is an indescribable hell. We were on the Fang in a matter of seconds, but it felt like tens of them to me. Long enough that the Fang could've snapped back around and shot me in a blink.

Instead, it ended with the Cow Puncher planted in the back of my Fang's head. A quick snap of electricity, and they collapsed forward, landing on their weapon. At the same time, Blake, Ren, and Sun connected with their respective Fang. Ren, like me, had it easy because he didn't have his target facing him. He bolted in alongside me and slammed into his Fang with both his fists extended, one high, one low. The lower in the small of the Fang's back, the higher one around the base of his skull. I don't know what Ren did specifically, but it caused the Fang's body to swell and ripple where he'd hit. Like disturbed water or a flag in the breeze. Whatever it was, more Aura chicanery likely, it instantly caused his target to collapse.

Blake took her Fang out in simple fashion. From what little I observed while taking down my Fang, she used her weapon's hook form to disarm them, her weapon swinging out and lashing around their gun, ripping it from their grasp. Half a second later it came hurtling back at their head, and they hit the ground unmoving.

Sun…

Sun summoned two glowing copies of himself, pantsed his target, swept his legs out from under him, and then ax-kicked him into the ground.

Points for creativity, but it felt a little over the top.

But it did the trick. Four Fang down, sixteen to go. Fifth of the way there.

"Alright, Fox and Yatsu will be up shortly," I said, creeping ahead. "Let's pair off and get this done."

Sun and Blake nodded and started down the hallway ahead of me and Ren. The idea was that we'd split the hall in half between the four of us. Ren and me on one side, Sun and Blake on the other. Trouble was that the Fang weren't split evenly, so we had to work around that. We decided that Blake and Sun would take the lion share. Largely because their Semblances would allow them to more quickly even the odds. Even if the fighting broke out, Ren and I would still be in position to keep the stragglers from joining in. Add Yatsu and Fox into the mix, and matters were smooth sailing. Or troubled water, depending.

The four of us moved down the hall in silence. Blake and Sun turned left into one of the rooms and shut the door behind them. Ren and I moved another door down and to the one on the right. First door we'd passed was one of the waiting rooms they'd had Sun in. Fox could tell from judging the Auras inside. Instead, the room Ren and I moved into had at least three people waiting inside. Though as Ren cracked the door, I felt that 'waiting' wasn't the right description. The apartment beyond was small and cramped, made more so that way by the piles of boxes and weapons crates. Not to mention the bulging waste bags of debris, courtesy of a wall they'd clearly taken down. I'd no idea when workers had been in the building last. They'd probably be pissed to see these jackasses had come in and knocked it down. But the three Fang were in the midst of clean-up, stashing the weapons back into the crates. Two of them were handling the weapons, guns, and swords. The third had been handed the tedious task of reloading magazines. Given all the loose ammunition around, he was having a hell of a time.

I tapped the filter at the front of my mask, redundantly reminding Ren to remain silent. Then the two of us began to creep forward. For the moment, while they were busy with their work, their backs were turned to us. One of us needed to be able to take out someone fast enough to deal with the third. I had the Cow Puncher locked at max output, and I was careful about where I moved my arm. I knew using it like that was a gamble. The weapon had survived its initial field test the previous night, but that didn't change it was a Jury Rigged prototype. All it would take was one faulty wire or loose connection for it to stop working or, worse, self-destruct.

Considering it was lashed to my arm, that wouldn't be good for me.

As we began to close in on the three of them, Ren drew out his pistol-knives, their curved blades hanging down from the muzzles like pointed teeth.

We got as close as we dared, and with a nod, leapt into action. I grabbed the one reloading the ammo from behind and clasped a hand over his mouth. My other hand repeated its earlier action, sending high-voltage electricity through the back of the Fang's head. As he tensed in my grasp, Ren leapt through air, delivering a butterfly-kick to the side of one of the Fang's head. While this felled them almost instantly, it did nothing to their friend.

The remaining Fang spun on us in confusion as I released his one friend, who fell limp to the floor.

Seamlessly, Ren slashed with his pistol, the knife hooking onto their hood and dragging them to the side. Consequently, towards me.

I shoved their friend down and sprang forward, clocking them in the head with the Cow Puncher. This time wasn't as clean. They'd started to say something, and it devolved into a strangled string of babbling and screaming as the electricity hit. I let it run a few seconds longer than I probably needed to, just to be safe.

Seven, thirteen.

There was a sound of sudden footsteps, coming from the hole in the wall. It was hard to tell if it was only one set or more, but they were coming. I could tell Ren heard them too, by the way he suddenly moved into cover. A move I might agree with under most other circumstances. Unfortunately, while we could hide, the three incapacitated bodies couldn't, which defeated the purpose of trying to keep quiet.

As the footsteps approached the hole in the wall, I grabbed one of the swords off the ground.

A White Fang appeared in the hole.

I twisted, throwing the sword.

The sword buried itself into the drywall next to the Fang. The pommel struck into the wall and stayed stuck, leaving the blade jutting out. It did, at least, draw the Fang's attention off us momentarily. That brief instant of wondering 'Is that a sword? Did I get a sword thrown at me?'.

Couldn't always hit my mark.

But, since they weren't paying attention, Ren lunged at them, pistol-whipping them in the head. When the initial whipping didn't put them down, Ren kicked him in the stomach, doubling them over. He then hooked the White Fang, and half dragged, half-spun him out of the way. The Fang tumbled to the floor.

I bolted forward and kicked him in the head for good measure.

Now near the hole, I could peer into the room it had been used to haphazardly conjoin. It was a smaller room, practically just a closet. It was warm, humid, and stank like someone spent too much time in it.

It also had banks of monitors, computers, Scrolls, and diagrams scattered about.

Plus another two White Fang, who were very quickly trying to arm themselves.

I rushed into the tight room and punched the closest one in the face with the Cow Puncher. Unfortunately, with our element of surprise gone, the effect was more muted. The electric shock still carried through, but the incapacitation didn't stick like I'd hoped it would, at most buying me a moment.

The second Fang drew a short sword from his side and swung at me, as Ren rushed him. He clambered over a table and planted his boot into the chest of the second Fang, making his strike fall short.

The first Fang struggled for a moment, recovering. He tried to force himself through his initial plan, trying to draw a pistol from his side. My off-hand swept down and slapped his hand off the weapon. I followed by pushing forward and shoving into him, keeping him off kilter. He stumbled back into one of the tables, and I brought my fist down on him in a hammer blow. It connected, and he only stayed off the floor by virtue of the table.

The second Fang, seeing the numbers turning, twisted to the side and took a pair of wild swings at Ren. The first only narrowly missed Ren, but he caught the second in the crook of his pistol-knife. He angled his wrist, locking the two weapons together, before twisting the weapon in his grasp. It forced the Fang to either release the sword or turn with it. When he failed to let it go it arched him forward, and widened his stance to keep balance.

I kicked the Fang's knee in, and then cracked him in the back of the head with the Cow Puncher, which I could feel beginning to pick up something of a wiggle in the mounting. As I spun to kick the first Fang in the face, just to be safe, I cut the power to the Puncher and let it collapse back into storage. If it was going to break, I'd prefer it not be in the middle of a fight.

Ten, ten. Halfway there.

But we'd had the lighter load.

Ren and I slipped back out into the hall through a door in the small room. About the time we did, the door across from us burst outward, sending another White Fang sprawling into the hall. He was followed by one of Sun's glowing copies, the first time I'd actually seen one, who landed on them with both feet.

Another moment passed, and the copy faded into a golden glow. Both Sun and Blake stepped out of the opposing room after it, dusting themselves off. A quick peer passed them into the room showed at least one of the Fang cratered into a wall, so suffice to say they'd done their part.

If Fox was accurate, which he had been so far, then that would mean there were only two people left. Two we'd need to concern ourselves with anyway.

Calmly, we all quietly made our way down the hall to the final room. Knowing there were only two people left to worry about, I let Sun kick the door open and the four of us rushed in.

We were treated to the sight of a room full of maps and pictures, spider-webbed and collaged throughout the room. All more or less intact. The same could not be said for the two remaining White Fang who lay folded on the ground like yesterday's laundry.

Fox and Yatsu loomed over them, smirking as they noticed entering the room.

"… What?" Yatsu asked. "You didn't think you were going to have all the fun, did you?"

…

After taking a second to toss all the White Fang off to the side, I messaged Ruby to bring everyone in. They found their way up to the third floor quickly, ignoring the pile of unconscious bodies, and joined us in the map room. There were a few of the initiates who realized what was happening, and decided to bolt. We didn't stop them. With everything else going on we didn't have time to waste trying to.

"You all made this significantly faster than it normally is," I said. "If it were actually feasible, I'd roll out with a team like this more often."

"Well you could," Ruby needled. "You'd just have to ask."

"Didn't realize you could suddenly see through walls," I said snidely, I then turned to Sun. "Alright, so, we're here. What'd you see that was so important you couldn't just tell us?"

"Uhh…" Sun intoned, before motioning to the entire room, as though that was supposed to be an answer. "Is this not enough?"

"Not if you can't explain all of it," I said, studying the pictures. "Words, Sun."

"No, I… I think I see what he's trying to say," Weiss cut in, scanning the walls and connections. "They're… all branches." She pointed to one of the pictures, and I followed her finger. It pointed to one picture that all of the others seemed to grow out from. It depicted a massive stone building, an old one. In some way it reminded me of the old Mormon Fort in Freeside. That was the closest I'd ever come to what I believed the picture was supposed to be of: a castle. It was built atop a hillside, cut into it really. A free way swooped around it, prodding in like massive veins, smaller roads leading down from the hillside.

"That's Kohl's Gate!" Ruby gasped, confirming that for me.

My eyes traced back along the trails of papers, maps and photos. Each one seemed to lead back to a building of some kind or another… No, one kind. Judging by the sparse signage, they were all precincts. All with some connection to the prison. I looked down at my Pip-Boy, studying the map, and the documents around the room. Everything came into focus as I did.

"These must be the precincts closest to the prison," I said, motioning around the room. I closely studied some of the documents. "Transfer orders, prisoner papers, shift changes…"

"But I didn't get anything for Kohl's Gate," Sun said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "They wanted me to run to one of the other places instead."

"Perhaps they were waiting for you to come back?" Penny offered, scanning every paper in the room meticulously.

"They still wanted you to drop off information, yeah?" Velvet asked. "Maybe they needed someone to get out?"

"Or maybe they wanted everyone out so they could throw a party?" Coco offered.

"Be serious," Weiss snipped. "Whatever they're doing, it could happen any minute."

"Then maybe we should be out there instead of in here," Coco countered, pointing to the pictures. "Seems pretty simple. Pick a place and go, anything's bound to help."

"But why these places specifically, why Kohl's Gate?" Ruby asked.

The room fell silent as we all puzzled over what it meant. All the pieces were in front of us, we just hadn't put it all together yet. Clearly the precincts were all connect to Kohl's Gate somehow, the documents showed it. They knew what prisoners were where. They knew when the guards changed shifts. They had all they needed to spring every one of their people from the smaller precincts, why go for Kohl's Gate? If they were going for Kohl's Gate why, then, were they wasting time on the smaller places?

It was all connected.

But how?

"Maybe they need a lot of help for what they're doing?" Nora chirped. " I mean, we need a lot of help for what we're doing, and we're not supposed to all be together tonight, right?... Maybe it's a plan?"

"… Sonnuva bitch," I said, as the wheels began to turn, finally. "That's exactly what it is."

"What?" Nora asked.

"The precincts," I said, motioning to the pictures, tracing them back to the picture of the prison "These precincts, they're all in close proximity to Kohl's Gate. They'd be the first ones called to provide support. It'd take longer for the others, or even Beacon to respond…" I felt the sudden urge to kick myself. "I've spent the past two weeks helping stuff them full of people. If they all get word to riot at once-"

"The police will be tied up for the rest of the night," Ruby said, realizing what I was getting at.

"Leaving Kohl's Gate on its own," I said. "Whatever they'd want to do, they'd only have to deal with the usual staff until the Huntsmen showed up, and that could take an hour, minimum. Not counting if they knock out communication."

"They could free everyone," Coco said, scowl evident in her voice. "And there's a lot of scumbags in there."

"But why?" I asked, shaking my head. "I've seen these guys shoot each other soon as help themselves. Why take the risk? There's no way they could move the Dust in that time, and the riot alone wouldn't be enough to do more than kick a hornet's nest."

"Well it is an arsenal," Velvet said. "They could be going after that?"

"… What?" I asked, feeling a chill roll up my spine as I turned towards Velvet. She looked at me, confused.

"I told you earlier, it was an arsenal during the Great War," She explained. "They built the prison around it, but there's still an Arsenal attached to the castle."

"… An arsenal?" I asked, repeating her words in my head. "As in, 'we store our artillery, explosives, and guns here' arsenal?"

"Vehicles as well," Velvet said. A moment after she said that, the penny dropped for her as well. "Oh… Oh no."

"The main service stations for most of Vale's Bullhead fleet are located in both Beacon and Kohl's Gate. Along with a secondary field located on Patch," Penny explained, tilting her head curiously. "It's possible that could be their main interest, if they need to get the Dust out of Vale."

"The weapons and munitions would be a necessary bonus after everything they've lost," I said, head whipping around the room. "They're taking everything they've been handed and trying to turn it back around."

Almost as soon as I'd said the words, my Pip-Boy chimed. I'd already had it lifted, so it wasn't hard to see

- Complete: Investigate the apartment for more information.

- Objective: Warn Vale Authorities to the danger.

Before I could even say or do anything though, Jaune was already in motion. "Then we need to stop them!" he said, pulling out his Scroll. "Everyone call a precinct, we need to warn-"

A sound began to emanate through the wall of the apartment, practically vibrating them. It made my blood turn to ice and my stomach dance. A single, howling note, rising and falling in pitch. Carried out in a steady rhythm.

A raid siren.

"That's the Kingdom-wide alert system," Yang said. "Why-"

"It's started," I said, feeling my fists begin to ball. I ran to the nearest window and smashed it open. The sound was clear, passing through the opening as I leaned to look outside.

Far off in the distance, I could see a structure glowing against the evening skyline.

A castle.

Kohl's Gate.

Between us and them, miles of city, and the steady wail of the siren.

My Pip-Boy chimed.

- Objective Failed: Warn Vale Authorities to the Danger.

- Objective: Run damage control.

I leaned back into the apartment. "We're too late. They're already at the prison."

A tense silence fell over everyone as they began exchanging looks. We were officially in the fire now, and someone was about to dump gasoline on it.

"What do we do?" Ren asked, eyes scanning the floor, troubled.

"I don't know," I said, gripping the window molding hard enough I could hear it creaking under my grip. "There's too many places for us to get to. Not enough time to stop anything. All we can do is run damage control now. Try to limit what we can."

"… Mmm, nah," Ruby said.

I felt my brow crease and I turned to look at her over my shoulder. The others were looking at her too, as Ruby shook her head. Her face set in the serious way a puppy stares down the vacuum cleaner. Not a clue what it's looking at, but it's loud, scary, and looking for a fight.

"… The fuck you mean 'Nah'?" I asked. "This isn't a yes or no question."

"Yes it is," Ruby said, puffing her chest out. "If it's about giving up on trying to stop this, then: Nope. Nuh uh. Not happening, sorry, find some other girl's time to waste."

"Ruby," Yang started.

"We can't stop them from attacking the Precincts," Ruby said, standing her ground. "But we know where the real fight's going to be. If we go there, we can at least try to help. Maybe we can't change what's happening now, but what if we can stop them from getting what they want?"

"That's dangerous, kid," Coco said, grimacing. "We get caught by the police, there's a real chance that we could all get kicked out of Beacon. The police don't like vigilantes."

'Oh so now you're getting cold feet?'

"But if we do nothing, then what?" Ruby asked. "They walk away with everything, and then there's more people we have to fight!" She kicked the ground. "I mean, I like fighting, but come on!"

"What about Atlas?" I asked. "What're the odds they offer assistance?"

"There's a chance they might get approved," Penny answered. "But there's a number of channels they would need to go through before being allowed to offer assistance. If this were a Grimm incursion, things would be different."

"So it would be just us," I said. "In all likelihood, we will get caught too. We're running into the lion's den, and even if the police don't try to take us down alongside the White Fang, there's nothing stopping them from trying to cuff us after the fact," I shrugged. "Alternatively, we all turn away now, wash our hands and try better next time."

"Six!" Ruby gasped.

"You want to fight Ruby," I clarified. "It's a risk you're willing to take." I then motioned to everyone else. "You can't expect the rest of us to say we're on board without considering what's at stake."

"I'll help!" Penny chimed.

"Aside from Penny," I sighed. "… This is real, Ruby. Every second we waste here talking, things are getting worse. We'd have to get across town, fight our way through the prison, the inmates, probably the guards, and the White Fang. All while hoping we can keep them from taking whatever they want…" I shook my head again. "Those are long odds Ruby. You can't expect everyone to just jump onboard with something that blatantly reckless."

"I would," Sun said, flourishing out his weapon, a staff that looked to be completely composed of four sawn-off lever shotguns. "I mean, I came this far."

"Never said we wouldn't help either," Coco added, smirking. Though I noted Fox didn't seem as enthused about the notion.

"And you know we're helping," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "And I doubt Nora would let anyone on JNPR miss this."

"Are you kidding? 'Course not!" Nora squawked. "I mean, I'll be homeless again if we get caught, but it'll be worth it!"

I tried to ignore the subdued look of panic in her eyes as she mentioned being homeless. Didn't need to worry about that now, enough on our plate.

"What else are we supposed to do?" Jaune asked, confused. "I mean, that's the whole point of being here, why give up now?"

"People already know what we look like, Six," Ruby said. "We can either ignore this, or we can try to do something about it. I wanna do something."

I looked at the fourteen people crowding the room with me. It didn't take a genius to see they were all serious about this. Consequences or not, they were in.

So that was that.

Nothing to be surprised about either.

We all knew where we stood.

Once more, my Pip-Boy chimed

- (Optional): Prevent the White Fang from succeeding.

"… Alright, guess we're doing this then," I said, looking outside. "But we need to get across town, fast."

"That… will be a problem," Ren said, scratching his chin. "All the airships would've stopped running, and the emergency siren will keep them grounded. We're going to need another way."

I looked back out the window and down to the street. The top level of the parking garage was visible.

"… Anyone else know how to drive?"