To say things had not gone to plan for me and Ruby would be an understatement. Whether that made what we'd done a failure or not was up for debate, but that didn't change how things had gone. Things had gone sideways hard and fast, and we'd been key-holing our way through everything. Though it was hard to say if everyone else had been faring any better.

As we stood there, grouped up in some back alley, it wasn't immediately obvious. Naturally, things had gone wrong for me and Ruby, we had Penny for proof. If things had gone off course for the rest of them was another matter. Just looking at them only told so much. As they'd all stood across from us, on arrival, they seemed a bit out of sorts. Weiss and Yang had a strange air about them. Something a bit tense, just going off the little thought I gave it. But it vanished quickly once I laid eyes on Ren and Nora. Those two had a whole different type of tension going that was practically palpable. Looked like they were five seconds from the Mojave Mambo when housekeeping came knocking. Arguably, the ones who looked the least out of sorts were Jaune and Pyrrha. But that just made them stick out more. There was something… determined about Jaune that wasn't there before. The kind of clarity you only got after hitting the bottom of a half-dozen bottles, or a good kick in the pants.

Of course, most of that got washed away, once the three of us showed up. Now they were just looking at us in absolute bewilderment. Which was honestly fair. I'd have been doing a lot worse than that if any one of them had come back saying they'd kidnapped someone.

"How do you ACCIDENTALLY kidnap someone!?" Weiss shrieked.

"Snowflake, please keep your voice down," I urged. "It's not something you should be broadcasting to the rest of the world."

"…" Weiss closed her eyes and took a very long, very deep breath. "… Explain. Explain now."

"We will, a lot's happened in the past few hours..." I said, looking over the group again. "…Where're Sun and Blake?"

"They'll be here," Yang answered coolly. "Probably don't want to make a scene trying to leave."

"So, uh, what happened?" Jaune asked, motioning to me, Penny, and Ruby

"Well- um, things were going normal," Ruby said, trying to convey a calm presence. "We'd been crossing places off our list, totally normal, nothing weird, you know how it is. Then we just kinda… ran into Penny on the street."

"Literally," I added dryly, earning me a sharp look from Ruby, before I picked up for her. "We were heading to another spot on the list when we bumped into Penny on the street. Apparently the reason we haven't seen much of her recently is because of her handlers. Didn't want her wandering around unsupervised after what happened at the docks."

"Then why was she this time?" Nora asked.

"She- uh… wasn't." I admitted.

"…" The look Weiss gave me could've cut steel.

"We didn't do anything wrong!" Ruby quickly defended. "We were just talking with Penny, and the people that were supposed to be watching her kinda… weren't."

"Also true, they were too busy chatting up the locals to do their job," I said. "We didn't even go far either, we stayed close by. When Penny's handlers finally bothered to pay attention they came running after us and immediately got uppity. We tried our best to be agreeable and disarming-"

"You were?" Penny asked.

"Yes, but they just weren't agreeing with us." I said. "Then one of them tried to put hands on us and I, kinda, threw coffee in his face. Seeing as Penny wasn't under proper supervision, me and Ruby took it on ourselves to help keep an eye on Penny for a little while. Do some catch-up on everything that's happened."

"… There's nothing accidental about that!" Weiss shouted, eye twitching. "That's just actual kidnapping!"

"Well we were going to get her back to her people!" I countered. "We were literally planning to drop her off with other Atlas soldiers after we were done-"

"Atlas soldiers!?" Weiss interrupted. "You kidnapped her from the military!?"

"… maybe a little," I nodded.

Weiss buried her face in her hands. Everyone else just stared at us in silent stupefaction.

"Yeeeah..." Ruby drawled. "Well, we were going to drop her off. Then things got… worse."

"How could they possibly get worse!?" Weiss asked.

"Well, then the White Fang staged an attack on General Ironwood," I offered.

If the alley hadn't already been silent, that probably would've been enough to do it. Could hear glass breaking the next street over.

"The White Fang did what?" Ren asked.

"The General was to host a gala this evening in honor of the Festival," Penny answered. "The proceeds would be sent towards funding the Vytal tournament."

"-and the White Fang presumably thought it was worth their time to hit it," I added.

"Six and I split up to try and keep everything moving, and while he went to drop-off Penny, I was supposed to go to the next place," Ruby explained. "But on the way there, I saw the White Fang attacking the Gala, and we had to change plans. Penny helped Six get to the Gala, and we managed to save everyone!" Ruby tittered slightly at that fact.

"But, as we were escaping, Penny decided it would be a good idea to follow us instead of staying with her people," I finished. "Seeing as we were now out of ways to return her to the General and his people, we had to take a step back. Which brings us back to why we're standing in an alley like a bunch of hoodlums."

Weiss pinched her brow. "Oh gods."

"Yeah," I nodded, then shrugged. "Welp, can't take it back. Introductions, everyone?"

JNPR looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head. The way I saw it, the damage was done, and there wasn't much of a way to undo it. So it was better we try to make nice until we figured out how we were going to fix it. What better way to start than to make introductions?

"Um- yeah," Jaune said, waving at Penny with a lopsided smile. "I'm Jaune, hi."

"Ren," Ren added, nodding.

"Nnnnora!~" Nora added, giving a toothy grin.

"Pyrrha Nikos," Penny said, pointing at Pyrrha.

"Hello~" Pyrrha said, smiling and nodding.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Penny said, smiling. "I hope we can all get to be good friends."

A sentiment I hoped we could all share. Help wash the taste of criminal activities out of our mouths. "Seeing as we're all on the up-and-up now, let's figure out where we're at," I said, fishing around in my coat and pulling out the plans I'd lifted from the bar earlier that evening. "Aside from the incident at the gala, me and Ruby managed to find some odds and ends while snooping around. Not sure what to make of them yet, blueprints of some kind. We'll look over them later tonight. What'd you guys find out?"

"I'm still stuck on the kidnapping," Weiss groaned, rubbing her face. "… We didn't manage to find anything. All the leads we had were dead ends."

"Yep. Dead," Yang added.

"Me and Pyrrha couldn't find anything either," Jaune said, shrugging. "Pretty much all of the places on our lists turned out to be pretty much above board."

"I wouldn't say we had a quiet evening, but we couldn't turn up anything either," Pyrrha added.

"Renny and I did though!" Nora chirped. "We found some bad guys hiding in the back room of a corner store!"

"Well that's good, what'd you manage to find?" I asked.

"Nothing!" Nora chirped. "The police chased us out before we could really look around."

"…" I sighed through my nose. "I see, you give us shit for actually doing something."

"You kidnapped Penny!" Weiss snapped.

"But we also managed to find something!" I countered.

"Hey, they did what they needed to, right?" Ruby asked. "We just needed to cross places off the list, and since most of them turned out to be dead-ends, that means we know where to focus."

I nodded, casting a look down at Penny. She was just smiling, enjoying the chaos around her. Hard to say what classified as normal for her, but at the very least this didn't bother her. We were going to need to get her back to the General sooner rather than later. Last thing we needed was the military going on a manhunt for her. That they weren't already combing the city for her was at least a reassuring, or perhaps worrying, sign. The only thing we could do for the time being was try to get our own affairs in order before we worried about the rest. Seeing as we'd managed to cross the bulk of it off the list, we were making decent progress. As soon as we heard back from Blake and Sun, we could start in earnest on the next bit of business.

Right as I thought they should be along shortly, I felt my Scroll buzz. Something everyone else seemed to notice too, as we all began to check our scrolls. Group message.

…

(You): ["Were in truble Torchwik's at the rally cant get out"]

Blake did the best she could to hide the way she was furiously typing at her Scroll. The crowd around her gave them some small cover, but if any of them noticed, things could get ugly fast.

Things had been going smoothly for her and Sun Wukong for most of the evening. Finding the Rally hadn't been hard, getting into it was even easier. She was familiar with all the old procedures. The level of secrecy needed for this sort of thing, it was easy enough for her to follow the signs and markers to where the rally was hidden. Though it had caught her by surprise to see a pair of brothers standing outside the entrance, armed. That was a change. Even if the White Fang had grown more militant, it had never visibly bared arms at the rallies. It always sent the wrong message, and made it more obvious where they were. But she and Sun were able to enter without any issue. The small masks they'd needed to put on only helped to make them blend in. Though she had to question the attire they'd been sent in, and the odd looks it had gotten them. Despite that however, after an initial glance, they'd been all but dismissed by everyone who saw them. How that worked, she had no idea. It almost worked better than when she'd normally wear a bow.

However, while getting in had proven easy, getting out was now the problem. She knew it wasn't going to be easy. Most people who walked into these sorts of situations weren't allowed to walk away easily. It would be too easy for the authorities to start tracking people down, if they could come and go as they please.

Despite that, she hadn't expected Torchwick to brazenly walk out on stage. Even knowing the White Fang had fallen enough to start working with the likes of him. It didn't strike her as a good idea to have him be the one acting as the spokesman. The only worse choice she could think of would have been Bane or, worse for her, Taurus. The former of whom had come out onto the small stage beforehand, and was keeping close to the side of it, wearing a neck-brace she couldn't recall him wearing before. Despite that however, she hadn't expected them to let a well-known criminal be the one to do the talking for them.

That it had worked spectacularly spoke more of Torchwick's own charisma than anything else. Almost every present for his speech had gone from uncertain, to frothing mad by the time he was done.

Now, the flow of the crowd was naturally pushing her and Sun towards him, deeper into the warehouse. Further away from the exit, which she was sure they should've been moving towards instead.

As the crowd slowly began to press them forward, her chat lit up.

(Six): ["Crap"]

(Ruby): ["R u sure its him?"]

Despite herself, Blake double checked.

(Blake): [Do e kno anyon lse wearrig a owler hat?]

She cursed the fact that she kept struggling with the keyboard. How could something be both over and under-sensitive?

There was a small break in the chat, and every second that passed between messages felt like an eternity.

"Blake?" Sun asked, voice tense. He was waiting for her to make a move.

"Working on it." Blake answered, watching the chat roll.

(Six): ["Are you sure you can't get out?"]

(You): ["Knot wihout makking a sene"]

(Yang): ["We'll think of something, just stay calm."]

(Nora): ["We'll bust in and break their legs :D"]

(Ruby): ["Blake u need 2 keep hidden, we r coming"]

(Weiss): ["How do we get to you? Can't remember if you told us where it is"]

(Six): ["I know where it is, we're coming Blake/Sun, just keep calm and keep hidden."]

The chat stopped after that. Blake thought it went much smoother than if they'd have had the conversation in person. Although she wasn't with any of them, so perhaps it only looked that way.

"How are we getting out of here?" Sun breathed, only barely beginning to move forward. Others were starting to take notice of them. It wasn't just because of how the two of them were dressed either.

"They're on their way..." Blake answered, looking around. They were going to cause a scene if they didn't move. But if they didn't keep with the crowd, things would change quickly. Her eyes flicked up to the improvised stage, not too far from them. To the White Fang waiting there, armed. Watching the crowd trickle deeper into the building. Torchwick, who stood there puffing a cigar.

The massive machine behind them.

The majority of its space was occupied by some massive machine she knew Ruby or the Courier could likely identify. One that she knew little about, beyond the fact it wasn't something she wanted to fight here. Some form of mech suit. Far bigger than ones she'd faced in the past.

Blake watched as Torchwick's gave seemed to settle onto the crowd. Then it began to narrow as he looked at the crowd. Looked at them.

"…We need to move." Blake said, stepping forward in earnest "If we get caught, this whole thing will have been pointless."

"…ok." Sun nodded, looking down at his clothes briefly but following in step with her. He looked calm. More calm than she felt.

Torchwick's eyes stayed on them as they continued to follow the crowd. Tracking after them as they slowly and calmly made their way to the back of the room, stepping closer to the doorway. Blake tried her best to remain calm. Even she began to feel the familiar tickle of fear in her chest. She'd been undercover many times during her time with the Fang, the only thing ever obscuring the truth being her little black bow. The feeling that she was only ever one careless moment from discovery was a feeling that never went away. Even clad in an outfit as ridiculous as the one the Courier gave her, it was there.

And Torchwick's eyes weren't leaving them.

He had to see them.

Had to remember them from that night at the Docks. Even with such a ridiculous outfit on, there was no chance he didn't recognize them. The only difference to her appearance was a hat and a tie around her neck. Sun stood a better chance of not being recognized than her, but still stood out with the clothes he was wearing.

There was no way-

"What's wrong, human?" one of the White Fang on stage asked.

Blake's ears pricked. She only barely resisted the urge to turn and look at Torchwick.

"… Dunno," The criminal answered. "Somethin' funny lookin' about that one with the hat."

Blake's heart began to pound in her ears.

"… Probably nothin'," The Criminal said, shrugging and turning around to the massive machine. "Now, let's see about getting this thing outta here-"

His voice trailed off as Blake and Sun passed through the door deeper into the building. Surprisingly, they found themselves in a corridor. Painted cinder block walls, concrete floor, everyone filing in one direction.

"You ok?" Sun asked, looking ahead.

"Will be when we're out of here," Blake let out a slow breath. She could see White Fang, waiting intermittently along the walls, watching them all as they moved forward, armed with swords and axes. It was only a short hallway. She could see the double doors everyone was filtering out at the far end. "Keep your eyes open. If there's a way we can get out without waiting for everyone, we need to find it."

The two calmly kept with the crowd as they reached the far end of the corridor. It opened out into a large bay room. Loading equipment sat abandoned near large channels cut into the floor, filled by transport trucks. The channels leading to large bay doors. A loading dock.

The doors were open.

But there were White Fang milling near it, tentatively scanning outside.

"Found a way out," Sun said. "We could make a dash for it."

"There's people guarding it," Blake said.

"We can take them," Sun said, shrugging. "Or sneak past. If we run fast enough-"

"Oy, you two!" A voice shouted, drawing the attention of people in the crowd, including Blake and Sun, who followed the voice. They found one of the White Fang rushing up to them. A part of Blake told her to prepare for a fight, but the Fang didn't have his weapons drawn. Neither of them made any unexpected moves. If anyone else was paying attention, any suspicious actions would backfire. They didn't have a choice but to play along. The Fang, a man with tan scales on his skin, pushed through the crowd towards them. Any who had been curious about the situation continued on, following instruction from other White Fang.

After a moment, the Fang sidled up to them. Another passed before Blake found her voice. "Can we help you?"

"Got need for the likes of you," The man said. "Your traits are easy to hide, you're to come with me. We got something special in mind."

Blake couldn't help but look at Sun, who looked back to her in turn. The exit was close enough at hand, and they knew they could be out with only a moment's run. But, of course, now their objective had chosen to show itself. Whatever was being planned, it'd been their priority to find out. It had been the whole point of coming to the Rally. Listening to Torchwick pontificate had been decidedly less than insightful. Their ruse hadn't been discovered, so far. But every moment they stayed was another in which it may be discovered.

Unfortunately, running was not an option for either of them at that moment. Blake judged the numbers at the door. Even with her and Sun's abilities, she'd rather not risk escape against those numbers.

There was only one path forward, and their guide was watching them. Expectant, and growing steadily more impatient.

Blake nodded, stepping forward. "Show us the way?"

The White Fang nodded and motioned for them to follow after him, muttering lowly about the two of them being 'fucking newbies'. He led them away from the large bay doors, and their most immediate exit. They cut quickly through the gathering throngs of people, as they gathered and grouped. Some given uniforms, others loaded into vehicles. Few were staying, it would seem. Blake wasn't sure where they would be taken, but she knew what would happen. Initiation, training, and an introduction to what it meant to be a member of the new White Fang. A radically different mindset than how it had been under her father.

One whose effective and impassioned twistings of the old ideologies rooted far easier than not. It was easier to make what was wrong feel right when you put enough emotion behind it. And there was always someone willing to feed those emotions. Always.

The trio turned down another corridor, moving deeper into the building. Doorways dotted the hall as they went, feeding into offices, stock rooms, the spare spaces to handle the legal end of whatever the building was in the daylight. Some manner of distribution company, Blake surmised, which explained the adjacent warehouse. Whether that was supposed to be ironic or not, she wasn't sure. The leadership of the White Fang were less interested in irony than they were in revolt.

As they followed, Blake noticed the way certain other Faunus were being directed to follow behind them. There weren't many of them, compared to the rest. A scant dozen to the dozens that had attended the rally. There seemed little sense to the way they were being chosen to her either. No concern for gender, or what type they were. Cat, Dog, Monkey, Lizard, mammal and reptile of all varieties. None of insect, avian, or piscine descent though. Which did not surprise her, given how rare it was to see them outside, and even within, Menagerie. But it also didn't clarify to her what they were all being singled out for.

Their group pulled off into a side office, desks and tables pushed to the side, giving them all room to stand. As the last of them trailed into the room, the White Fang shut the door behind them. A trio of them made their way to the front of the room. Two of them went about preparing something while the third, one with a fluffy tail stood in front of them.

"Alright, pay attention, I don't want to repeat myself. We've got a lot to do before tomorrow rolls around," The Fang said. "Normally we'd reserve something like this for our more seasoned brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, recent setbacks have made that difficult. You've all been chosen both for your current lack of notoriety and potential for conceal-ability."

This sent a murmur through the small group. Blake noticed Sun's head swivel slightly as he scanned the room. But she could understand now. They were being chosen for something covert, where they'd need to be able to blend in with humans.

It also gave her a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Those sorts of tactics were normally used for reconnaissance or espionage. She got the sense this wasn't going to be the former.

"What you're going to be doing is critical to the success of what's going to happen tomorrow," The White Fang explained. "You'll receive proper instruction once we're done here, and sent off to your expected rallying points. If you're concerned we're throwing you head-first into a firefight, don't be. If you all do this right, you won't even need to carry a weapon with you. It's better if you don't anyway, most of you would be spotted immediately."

The two other White Fang finished their work, projecting a map on the wall. Blueprints of a kind Blake had some familiarity with. While with the Fang, she would have to study them from time to time when planning. She had an idea of how to read them, recognizing dozens of small rooms connecting to stretches of hallway, at least two floors. Several larger rooms, connecting and branching off of a larger structure. Her eyes scanned to one corner of the document.

'Processing and Holding Cells, Oakholme Wing'

As she read it, the other two White Fang went to the small group and began passing out packets of paper.

"Right now, you're receiving lists of people you'll need to get in contact with, along with time frames for shift changes, access codes, and cell numbers if need be. Study them, you have until tomorrow afternoon," The White Fang instructed. "You won't be able to take them with you once we're rolling. We had to put a lot of effort into getting that information so don't lose it. The job you'll be doing is an important one, so you can't afford to forget."

"What exactly are we doing?" Sun asked, catching Blake's attention as he held up some of the papers.

The fluffy-tailed Fang looked at him for a moment, as a small murmur went through the rest of the group. The White Fang smirked. "You've got brothers in arms currently held in bondage. We'll be looking to correct that."

"… what?" another member of their group, a man with short cropped, golden dog ears asked.

"We're staging a jailbreak tomorrow at the Main Precinct up town," The White Fang continued to explain. "With the information provided, you'll all be responsible for making sure it happens."

There was a brief pause in the gathered group of Faunus, as they all collectively took a breath. After it passed, they began to pelt their appointed instructor with questions. Mostly questioning the sanity of the plan, the instructor, and themselves to be expected to go along with it.

"Quiet- Quiet!" The White Fang snapped. "One at a time, you've all got places to be and the less time you spend fighting over one another, the faster you can start preparing… Yes, you there, with the tail."

"Uh yeah, what!?" The first asked, a young woman with a fox tail. "Aren't we going to get caught almost immediately?"

"Not if you do as instructed," The White Fang answered. "You're giving too much credit to local law enforcement. Most of the instructions are on the papers you've been given. How you execute them is to your discretion, but if you're smart, you won't get caught."

"But what if we do get caught?" Another, a man with short mouse ears, asked. "They're going to notice a bunch of people coming in to speak with the White Fang!"

"Which is why most of you were chosen," The Fang answered. "Most of your traits are easily concealed or masked. You'll find most of what you need to disguise yourselves at your assigned safe houses prior to your part in this tomorrow."

"What if they try to break out while we're still there?" another woman asked.

"They won't, we've got guys on the inside to make sure of it." The Fang reassured.

The conversation continued in such a fashion, seeming to drag on for a small eternity as she and Sun listened. Basic answers given to people who might find themselves woefully unprepared for what was coming next.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

But Blake found she had all she needed.

That sinking feeling in her stomach had turned out to be accurate. She needed to warn everyone, quickly.

Blake felt her scroll buzz. She drew it out low, looking down at it in semi-concealed fashion.

(Sun): ["What do we do?"]

Blake cast a quick eye beside her, and found Sun looking partly towards her. Hard to see his eyes with the mask on them. She gave him a small shrug, dared not answer via Scroll. But she did motion gently towards the door they'd come through. The two of them had gained something of value. Now they needed to leave with it, before they lost complete control. The others had to be getting close.

The only question was, how?

Sun nodded to himself, glanced towards the door, then turned back towards the presentation. He had no idea how they were going to get out of the situation either. Nor would Blake have expected one beyond simply barging out. She'd spent enough time with Sun to know he could be sneaky, but not the kind of sneaky they needed right then. They could fight their way out if they needed to, but then they'd be back to where they were.

Perhaps, if they waited, they could make their way back to the loading dock. Maybe then they could take a chance at slipping away.

Of course, as she thought over this course of action, the door to the hallway opened, drawing everyone's attention.

Standing there was a rather tall White Fang, broad shouldered and well trained. A male, but she couldn't pick out immediately of what descent. His outfit looked disheveled, as though he'd just been in a fight, evidenced by their left arm, currently resting in a bulky sling. She couldn't get a good look at his face. He wore the hood and mask all Fang did, in addition to a bulky metal mouthpiece, a pair of tubes looping down off it, running back behind his neck. His skin, the little she could see, was a fair shade of warm white, pale hair thick on it.

Everyone fell silent, as they observed him. He remained silent, as he observed them as well. When he finally did speak, his voice was deep and clipped. "Ah. There we are."

"What is it?" The fluff-tailed Fang asked. "We're trying to get them prepped."

"Boss sent me," The Pale Fang answered. "Needed me to grab a pair of them before you sent them out."

"Why?" Fluff-tail asked, almost indignantly. "We need everyone we can get on this."

"Special job," The Pale Fang continued. "Something to do with catching Crazy Steve."

"… By the brothers is he still a problem?" Fluff tail asked, shaking his head. "I thought Bane said he wasn't going to be."

"I'm not questioning it, I'm just doing my job," The Pale Fang answered. "Just need to take two."

The Fluff-tail Fang grimaced, but motioned to him to continue.

"Thank you," The Pale Fang answered, before scanning the group. Blake could feel their gaze as it swept over them. Even if she couldn't see them, she knew this interloper was watching them like a wolf watches sheep. That sense of primal dread, where a predator looks for the moment to snap its jaws into your neck.

He motioned to the group with his good arm. "You two, Black Cat and Sun Monkey. You've got the right look to you."

He chose them.

Blake felt her blood begin to run cold as she began to think of a reason not to play along with things. She knew she could have Sun to back her. It would look suspicious if neither of them decided to go, but it didn't need to be them, did it?

But then another thought occurred to her, and she knew it should be them.

It was exactly what she'd been asking for. An out.

She nudged Sun who looked down at her in confusion.

"Come on," she said, grabbing him by the arm. After only a moment's resistance, he joined her, and the two crossed the room. The Pale Fang stepped aside, and allowed them out of the room. Quickly shutting the door behind them, the Pale Fang took the lead.

"Follow, quick," He ordered.

Blake and Sun did as they were bid and fell in step behind him.

"What are we doing?" Sun asked, as quietly as he could manage.

"As soon as we get close, we break off from him and run for the exit," Blake said. "We should be able to get out if we're quick."

"…that's the plan?" Sun asked.

"You got anything better?" Blake asked.

"… Good plan." Sun answered.

As they approached the end of the corridor, leading out into the docks once more, the Pale Fang slowed. They came to a stop a few yards away from the opening. He held up a hand, ordering them to stop as well.

Blake and Sun both attempted to ignore it. They shot forward, fully prepared to rush past them, close the remaining distance to the exit.

The Pale Fang, however, lashed out with either arm and pulled them to a stop. Which caught the both of them off guard immediately.

More so, once Blake saw the item wrapped around the Fang's left arm, having hidden beneath the sling. A metal device strapped to their arm, blocky and heavy.

"Could you both not?" The Fang hissed. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep this act up?"

Blake looked at the Fang in confusion, as she began to piece the matter together. "… Six?"

...

Five Minutes Earlier*

After an obscene amount of bickering, we managed to get through to Blake and tell her we were on our way. What followed could be best described as a mad dash. Blake had laid out the rough location of where the rally was supposed to be, but we lost a little time on the specifics. Fortunately, around that time of night, there weren't many people around. The White Fang wasn't afraid to take risks either, and had a few people stationed out the back of some paper distributor. They had trucks waiting to more covertly move people, and were doing a decent job of not drawing attention… more than the obvious at least.

I pulled away from the edge of the roof, overlooking the exterior of a loading dock. We were on the adjacent rooftop, keeping our heads down. "I count maybe five or so guys stationed around the back there, plus another two doing laps up and down the alley leading in. Safe to assume there's going to be more inside."

"How are we doing this?" Jaune asked, chancing a look into the loading dock. "You think if we rush in we can take them down?"

"Not without letting everyone inside know we're here," Ruby answered, drumming her fingers on Crescent Rose. She looked at me. "Do you think we should?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. That they managed to get this far and not put them in a frenzy means they've kept their heads down. Charging in would just be kicking the cazador's nest."

"You mean a wasp's nest?" Ren asked.

"Same difference," I told him, looking towards Ruby again. "We don't know the numbers, their arms, or what the building looks like inside. I think we could handle it, but this is a job where a scalpel would be more useful than a hammer."

"Well, our resident 'scalpel' is currently stuck in there," Weiss noted, motioning to the building. "Just looking at the trucks, we might not have long either."

"Soooo- hammer?" Nora asked, swinging her hammer over her shoulder.

"No!" Ruby squeaked. "er- at least, not yet."

"We don't have a lot of time, Ruby," Yang said.

"I don't quite understand why it was necessary for Sun and Blake to go to this Rally," Penny chimed. "Does it have something to do with why the White Fang have been running around?"

"Sort of," I answered. "We'll explain after we get them out of there."

A tense silence fell over our group as we stayed huddled on the rooftop, studying the loading dock beneath us. I watched the guys stationed at the docks themselves. They were tense, but not jumpy. They were observing the area with a slow meter to their movement. It spoke to a level of competency, experience. Maybe not enough to stop the nine of us if we decided to rush them. But they wouldn't panic easy, they probably wanted trouble if nothing else. I couldn't say the same for the pair they had roaming the alley leading to the dock. They seemed a bit more jumpy, trigger happy. Which also had some sense. If they opened-up at the first sign of trouble, the rest of them would know and be ready to react properly. Have everyone in motion before the real fighting started.

But it meant there was no easy way to sneak in. Observing the building, there weren't many windows to slip through. Roof access was limited, not many doors either. Good pick on their part, lots of chokepoints, defensible.

Made our problem an absolute bitch to get a handle on.

I double checked the group messages. Nothing from Blake since the last bout. No time to try and contact her.

We didn't have many options.

But I could think of one.

It was one I'd only used a few times in the past, in the Mojave. A touch-and-go strategy that only really works if you were careful and could think on your feet. Using it here would be easily the most dangerous time I'd ever attempted it. If it went wrong, I'd blow our cover and be behind enemy lines when the fighting broke out.

Unless we found ourselves another scalpel though, it was hammer-time, and I'd had enough dancing for one night.

I reached down to my Pip-Boy and flicked through the tabs to the 'quests' section. I went down to the one associated with Blake, 'What's New Pussy Cat?', and set it as active. As I'd hoped, my compass immediately marked her location, pointing into the warehouse. I took a breath, and stood up. "Ok, I'm going in."

The group looked at me in confusion.

"We either make a move or risk losing them," I said. "Outside Blake, Ren and I are the only ones I'd peg as being quiet enough to get in without drawing attention. Of the two of us, conceited it might sound, I'd say I've got more practice in this department."

"But if you're going in-" Ruby started to protest.

"I have an idea," I interrupted. "Trust me, I've done this in the past. It's a long shot, but if I fuck it up we didn't have many other options beyond brute force to begin with." I pulled out my Scroll and quickly tapped into the group chat, a message. I kept my finger off the send button, but showed it to everyone. "If something goes wrong, or I think we're about to get caught anyway, you can consider this the panic button. I press it, you need to hit hard and fast."

"I feel like we should be more afraid that you've got an idea," Weiss said snidely.

"Absolutely, but I'm not hearing any better ones," I told her.

"How exactly are you planning to get in?" Pyrrha asked, eyeing the loading dock. "I don't see many alternate entrances."

"I have my ways," I told her, before looking at Ruby. "I need you to trust me right now. Tonight hasn't gone to plan on most fronts, but I think I can get Blake and Sun out reasonably safe. I've got you lot to provide back-up if things go south. Can I count on you?"

"Well, duh," Ruby said, not missing a beat.

I nodded, then motioned to the alley that led into the docks. "Good. Then do me a favor, and avoid looking down that alley for a few minutes."

I spun on my heel and crept across the rooftop. Had to mantle over a ledge as I reached the mouth of the alley, dropping to a slightly lower rooftop, but the further away I was from the loading dock, the more comfortable I felt moving at a less restricted pace. Better though a Faunus' senses were compared to a human's, I'd had enough practical experience to know they only mattered so much. A blind Deathclaw can hear better than a seeing one, but stay far enough away and it won't matter much. Sharper senses only matter as far as the ones using them know how to use them.

The White Fang in the alley were almost laser focused on making sure nothing appeared in line of sight. Observing them, I could see they were at least moving at a slow, stalking pace. Both carried guns, shotgun and rifle, muzzles sweeping the alley gently. Would need to watch their lanes of fire.

I moved along the rooftop until I was in step beside them. Didn't immediately make my move. I waited, moved with them until they were most of the way down the alley, away from the loading dock. It meant more time backtracking, but less likely they would be discovered. Worth the extra precaution. As we approached what I thought was a suitable distance, I worked the cow-puncher out of my sleeve. My fingers slipped into the knuckle rings, and my free hand fell to the switch, modulating the power. I'd seen what full-power could do, but this was a situation that would require finesse. It would work in open combat, but I didn't need sympathetic reflexes drawing unwanted attention. I turned the dial down, to about where I'd kept my prod at for more covert situations. No telling if that was going to be overkill now. The Dust components had compounded the power output tremendously. Without testing, I wouldn't know just how much I was really putting out.

If standard power had nearly fried someone, what would a lower setting do?

With a sense of practice I was finding myself way too comfortable with, I jumped off the roof. It was followed by that brief moment, where gravity grips onto you. When your guts and their contents shift upward in your chest because of inertia.

They snapped back down, as I crashed onto the closer of the White Fang, slamming him into the ground, on top of his weapon. Made a dull thud as he landed. His partner wheeled towards me, but I snaked in with an uppercut before he could get the muzzle pointed at me. Cow-Puncher caught him under the chin, and I saw him tense as he stumbled backward, backing against a wall. With the brief moment it bought, I rounded back onto his friend, still pinned, and punched him in the back of the head. I held Cow-Puncher there for a moment or two, letting the electricity work its magic. Felt him tense, but otherwise stayed silent.

Right as his buddy began to recover, I bolted off one and crashed into the other. He tried to bring the muzzle onto me, hesitated, then tried to use the weapon to block against my punch. The hesitation is what got him. Had he just gone through with trying to shoot me, he'd have wrecked the whole thing even if he'd missed.

Instead, I punched him in the forehead and used the wall as a backboard. The White Fang started to let out a strangled scream, but I clamped my other hand over his mouth. Kept it that way until he collapsed to the ground. I took it as a sign he was going to stay down. For how long would be anyone's guess, but I only needed it for the vague term of 'long enough'.

Which I judged it would be, when he rather suddenly lost control of his bladder.

Unfortunate, because out of the two of them, he had the pants that were more my size.

Repressing a natural sense of disgust, I chucked the two of them to one side of the alley, and began to take what I needed from them. Namely, their uniforms. Or the parts of them that would fit me at least. Tunic, shoes, hood, mask, gloves, and a pair of pants I noted as being a touch too big for me in the waist. I started with pulling the uniform proper onto me. Meant stashing my armor nearby, felt a bit naked without it, but I knew the feeling would only get worse. Uniform felt well enough that I couldn't notice much about it that was out of place… except for my Pip-Boy. Had to remedy that, improvised a sling that would make it look like my arm was in a cast. Aura let people heal quicker, but I could probably bullshit my way through if pressed. Better than leaving it out in the open. Tucked my Scroll in the sling with it. Be less noticeable than having to dig it out if trouble started.

Pulling it all together, there was only one piece that made me pause.

The hood and mask.

I really, really didn't want to have to wear either of them. Not the least of which being because the mask only covered most of the face, leaving the mouth and jaw visible. But if I didn't wear them, and went in with my helmet and gas mask, I'd stick out like a sore thumb. They'd figure out what was going on before I had a chance to actually find Blake and Sun. If it was going to work, I had to commit to it.

So I took my helmet and mask off, stashing them with my armor, being sure to replace them with the mask and hood just as quickly. The mask and hood didn't keep my hair pulled back like my helmet did. I could feel it trying to slip out from under the hood. Needed a haircut two weeks ago, was starting to get a bit shaggy.

As I pulled the hood into place, my Pip-Boy chimed at me.

You are now dressed as a member of the White Fang*

As long as I didn't take the clothes off, or did anything stupid, it would keep that way too.

Though, for posterity, I did pull my Rebreather from my equipment and seal it to my face. Just for a piece of privacy. Plus, anything to further obscure the fact that I was a human trying to pass themselves off as not.

With my disguise as good as I could get it, I started back down the alley towards the loading dock. Tried to affect the way I walked as well. Given the roughed up and dirty way the clothes looked from my attack, I tried to work a small hitch into my stride. Give more credence to my supposedly broken arm. Wasn't hard, I'd had to work around the real thing more than once. Though this was probably the first time I'd tried to have and work it into the disguise itself.

I passed the mouth out of the alley at a hobbled gait, and quickly crossed to the loading dock, doing my best to try and ignore the fact that my eyesight wasn't adjusted to the darkness. Faunus have natural low-light vision, and my helmet had it built in. Now that I wasn't wearing it, randomly tripping and bumping into things like I couldn't see them wouldn't help my case. Would've been a good time to use some Cateye. If I had it. Instead, I had to work off the dim, amber light that showed off the docks. Emergency lighting most likely, good for basic illumination and little else. Not a bad choice for keeping a low profile.

As I hobbled closer to the loading dock, the two manning the side-door took note of me. Their rifles drifted in my direction, but the muzzles kept low.

"Hold!" one of the White Fang called.

I complied, keeping with the act. They hadn't shot me on sight. Now was when the real test began.

"We weren't supposed to be expecting anyone," the Fang said, shifting on his feet. "State yourself."

"… Mac Styx." I said, throwing out the first name I could think of. "I got news for the big man, let me through."

I had no idea who the big man was, but Blake said Torchwick was there. Shot in the dark said it might work.

The Two Fang looked at each other, then back to me. "Why not use your Scroll?"

"Lost it," I lied, pushing my Scroll deeper into my sling. "We got problems, the job uptown went to shit."

"What do you mean?" the Fang asked.

"Above your pay grade," I told him. "Just let me through, boss man's gonna want to hear this."

Maybe pushing it a little calling him 'boss man' but I was trying to keep in character.

The two White Fang looked at me for a moment, then shrugged and moved aside, opening the door. Briskly, I approached and walked into the building, gladly throwing myself out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Inside, the loading dock was what I'd come to expect of a loading dock. Though the presence of the White Fang, and soon to be, milling about was a little less common. They were presently divvying out uniforms and arms, then loading the new recruits into box trucks. Improvised mass transport. Got the sense if we could've hit a place like this more often, we could've really put a damper on their plans. Wanting to avoid standing around and looking more out of place, I briefly checked my compass and started moving. Not fast, not slow, but with purpose and intent. First rule of thumb for this sort of thing was to act like you belonged. For most of the people present, that would be enough to deter those who asked questions. The few that paid attention might raise them, but the proper disguise would keep them from acting.

As it was, I could tell I definitely earned a few odd looks, both from the recruits, and from the more seasoned White Fang. But the disguise was doing its job. I was just another grunt, trying to do their job, and flying under the radar while doing it. Nobody was going to question what should be obvious right now. If they did, I'd have to trust my ability to bullshit to get me out of it.

My compass led me across the dock floor, towards the far wall and an adjoined corridor. I moved down it with my ever so slightly hitched stride, being mindful of everyone I passed on the way. No one seemed to be piecing things together yet, but it wouldn't take much. Had to keep calm, keep focused, in and out. The hall grew a bit emptier as I approached where Blake and Sun were. People were moving to get the place cleared out. They'd gladly drag Sun and Blake with them if given half a chance, not even knowing who they were. Would rather that not happen.

The compass pointed to a door off to one side of the corridor, and I assumed it was the end of the line. No clue what was going to be inside, so I prepped a basic line of bullshit for whoever greeted me. I opened the door and was greeted by what I could describe as a mission briefing. Maybe a dozen random Faunus, none that had anything that stuck out about them in particular. Probably would've mistaken most of them for humans without a second glance. Had something projected up on one wall, blueprints, couldn't focus on them. Was busy making sure the three Fang in there didn't suddenly decide to see through my disguise and waste me.

But there were Sun and Blake. Standing in the group of gathered Faunus, trying not to stand out.

Time to extract.

"Ah, there we are." I said, affecting my different tone.

"What is it?" One of the Fang asked, some girl with a fluffy orange tail. "We're trying to get them prepped."

"Boss sent me," I answered. "Needed me to grab a pair of them before you sent them out."

"Why?" Fluff-tail asked, sounding like an overworked laborer getting told to pull double. "We need everyone we can get on this."

"Special job," I continued. "Something to do with catching Crazy Steve."

"… By the brothers is he still a problem?" Fluff tail asked, shaking his head. "I thought Bane said he wasn't going to be."

"I'm not questioning it, I'm just doing my job," I responded. "Just need to take two."

The Fluff-tail Fang grimaced, but motioned to me to continue.

"Thank you," I answered, before scanning the group. My eyes scanned over the group in slow and deliberate fashion. Make it seem like I was actually judging who from the batch was actually worth taking. I could see the way some of them flinched. Good, it made them less eager. I didn't need volunteers, I needed two who were getting voluntold.

I motioned to Sun and Blake with my free arm. "You two, Black Cat and Sun Monkey. You've got the right look to you."

Blake and Sun looked startled by the command. I got the sense from watching them that the disguise was, perhaps, working a bit too well. They couldn't pick up that it was me just from a glance, which was good, but it made it seem like I was there to drag them further away. Which, given their predicament, would be bad. But they were smart enough not to blow their cover either. We'd stressed that enough before they even came into this place. I could judge by the shift in Blake's body language, she was prepared to make a run for it if she felt she needed to.

Blake nudged Sun and they left the group of Faunus they'd been standing with. I stepped aside and let them out into the corridor, giving a quick two fingered salute before shutting the door.

Erring on the side of caution, I kept the tone for a bit longer. Wait until we weren't standing just outside the door. "Follow, quick."

I took the lead of us, heading back down the hall. Things were going smooth so far, which could be a bad sign, given my luck. But we were in the home stretch, all that needed to happen was that we walked back out the door. I could manage that.

Blake and Sun couldn't.

Right before we stepped back into the loading dock, I tried to get them to stop so I could talk to them. There was a clamor of footsteps behind me, and I spun, catching both of them mid-sprint and sending them to the ground, only barely stopping them from spilling out and ruining everything. I suppressed a very heavy sigh.

"Could you both not?" I growled. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep this act up?"

The both of them tensed when they hit the ground, and had probably been about to get up and fight me. After I spoke though, they relaxed, Blake's head swiveling to look at me. "…Six?"

"Who the fuck else?" I said, dragging them slightly back down the corridor before helping them up. "Are you two trying to get caught now?"

Back on their feet, the two of them looked me over. Despite the masks over their eyes, I could still see the surprise in their features. "… dude, how?" Sun asked.

"Got my ways," I hissed. "Got a tool that can help me find-"

"No, he means how did you manage… this." Blake asked, gesturing to my outfit.

"Stole it, the rest is practice," I told her. "It won't hold if people look at it too closely, so try and keep character, alright?"

Blake nodded, seeming to relax slightly. Then Sun asked, "Where's everyone else?"

"On a rooftop across from the loading dock," I said. "They're ready to dive in if we fuck things up in here."

Sun nodded, pausing a moment, as he looked like he was trying to keep himself restrained. "… Did you really steal some guy's clothes?"

"Two guys actually, first guy pissed himself," I corrected.

"…" Sun shook his head, chuckling.

"I can't believe that's working," Blake said, calming.

"It won't if we blow it here," I told her. "We're almost out, just keep calm and follow my lead. I was able to talk my way in, should be enough to get back out."

Blake nodded, and I gave both her and Sun a look. As soon as I believed they were ready, I turned and started forward again, this time having them follow me at a close clip, their steps at an even gait with mine. They were wise enough to know that if my disguise was good enough to bluster my way forward, they could easily ride the tail wind. Gave more credit to Blake on the matter than Sun. Blake seemed to have an idea of what being undercover meant. We had to weave around a small group of people that were piling into one of the trucks, but they kept with me. The most we got from anyone was an odd, perhaps too long glance, but were otherwise ignored.

We were across the loading dock in short order. I could see the door in front of me. There were going to be the two Fang standing guard on the other side, and they were liable to ask questions. But I could explain it as needing the two of them as essential personnel. As long as we ran fast enough, they weren't going to have long enough to question it.

We made it to the door before we got caught.

"Hold it!" A deep, familiar voice called.

I could feel the whole loading dock stop around me. Which it did, most of the sounds of motion died away with it. I spun around, quickly scanning the room, seeing who it was that had made the order.

My stomach dropped the moment I saw him. A giant, broad shouldered Fang, face completely encompassed by a bone-white mask and a massive tattoo on his shoulder. He looked as I remembered him, except for one new detail: a large, circular brace running around his neck, holding his head in place.

The giant Fang from the Warehouse.

The one I'd kicked into a wall.

'Yep, there's where the bad luck went.'

The Giant Fang approached us at a fast clip. Not running, but moving with the same purpose and stride I had been. He didn't have that chainsaw with him either, he was unarmed. But when everyone else was, perhaps he didn't need to be. All he had to say was a word and he could have us riddled.

Blake tensed, as the Fang approached us. She swore under her breath, trying to make herself look smaller, inconspicuous.

I stepped in front of her and Sun, buy them some cover if things took a turn.

The giant stopped in front of us, and he loomed over all three of us.

"Was told you have something to tell me," The giant said. "Leaving so soon?"

"…Was going to wait for you outside," I answered evenly.

The giant growled, continuing to stare me down. "I don't recognize you."

"Mac Styx," I told him.

"I didn't ask for your name either," the giant growled, incensed. A tense moment followed, before he tapped at his mouth and asked. "Why do you wear that."

My rebreather. He was wondering why I was obscuring what little you could see of me. "... Crazy Steve ripped some teeth out," I lied. "It's helping keep my mouth covered."

"… Really?" The giant asked. "Seems convenient. Takes a strong will to overcome that… and talk as easily as you do."

"I'm high on painkillers and rage," I told him, adding a seething edge to my voice. "I'll rip his throat out."

The giant nodded. "And if I ripped it off?"

"It'd be very painful," I answered. "For you."

"…" The giant chuckled, the sound of a chugging engine. "That makes two of us… Well, you have my attention." The giant opened his arms. "What was the message you needed to tell me, about tonight?"

"Our attempt on the General's life failed," I answered, ignoring the noises Sun and Blake made behind me. "Steve was there, along with some red hooded wretch. They managed to catch everyone but me."

Another tense moment passed, and my grip on my Scroll tightened. If we couldn't get out of this, our teammates were our only alternative. Assuming they didn't get antsy and jump in anyway.

The giant growled. "You endanger us all by coming here?" he asked. "You were supposed to be caught you moron, that was part of the plan."

I didn't respond to that.

That part was definitely a curveball.

"Were you followed?" the giant asked. "Did you lead Steve here as well?"

I shook my head. "N-no, I didn't."

"…" The Giant shook his head. "Useless. If you'd said yes, I could've at least had my vengeance…" I could feel his gaze sharpen on me. "Before I dismiss you so I can determine what I should do with you, answer me: why were you taking these two away?"

I found myself floundering for an answer. Big man wasn't smart, but he was asking the right questions.

Then he threw another curve ball, and leered at Blake. "Better yet, did you know you're standing next to Lady Belladonna?"

Blake tensed, and I felt an icy spike dig into my spine. Bastard knew who Blake was.

"… What?" I asked, turning slowly on Blake, trying to seem confused. Lean into the act. Try to make it while my hand clutched onto my scroll. Only barely resisting the urge to hit the panic button.

Not yet. Play the room. Sell them a story.

The Giant bought it. His attention was elsewhere anyway.

"You didn't think I wouldn't be able to recognize you, did you, my lady?" The giant rumbled. "Taurus has been looking for you."

A look of dread washed over Blake's face, what wasn't currently masked. I could see her tensing, her arms ready to reach for the weapon at her side.

"You're Lady Belladonna?" I asked, subtly inching closer to her. I motioned to Sun. "Monkey-"

"Get on the truck, boy." The giant ordered, shifting his gaze to Sun. "Whatever this idiot says holds no authority. Get on a truck, I do not care which. You should know what your job is. Pray you do it better than this one." He motioned to me.

I watched Sun for a moment, and he watched me, lost. He looked ready to fight, run, do whatever the call was in this situation. Maybe fighting was the call. Maybe now was the time everything went up in a puff of smoke.

But I got a gut feeling that said: 'not yet'.

Things weren't adding up. We couldn't blow it here.

So I made the call.

"… Get on the truck," I ordered.

Sun looked at me in confusion, and I could tell he didn't like this plan. I didn't either.

But we were half a word away from FUBAR, we either played smart or got fucked.

"Do it," I intoned.

Sun paused again, almost a moment too long. He looked at the giant, then me, Blake, the room at large. I could tell he really would have rather thrown hands right then and there. Send us spiraling in a massive firefight. We could have, we really could have.

But instead, he nodded. Without a word, he turned and walked to the nearest truck. He climbed aboard, silently disappearing into the crowd. He would be fine. Unlike us, he wasn't under the eye of suspicion.

The Giant watched me wordlessly. I was half expecting him to suddenly decide I wasn't on his side and attack me. But then he spoke to Blake once more "How strange, coming back here of all places. Change your mind? Decide to take up the cause again?"

Blake didn't answer, but I could see her dry swallow. This wasn't a situation where she was expected to answer, and she wouldn't have even if she could.

"Idiot," The Giant said to me. "Grab the Lady and help her to my transport. Taurus will be glad to speak with her."

I had no idea who 'Taurus' was, but I knew a threat when I heard one. Fuck them both.

I reached out and grabbed Blake, seeming like I was going to be rough with her. But I pulled her close enough she could hear me. My voice came out in a tense whisper. "Kick me in the stomach and bolt out the door, now."

"What?" Blake hissed, sounding like she was only now coming back to herself.

"Do it!" I hissed back

She didn't need any further prompting.

Blake spun and lashed her leg out, kicking me in the stomach. I let the blow force me back, and Blake did that thing she could, a clone of her launching out behind her. The clone, now the real Blake, crashed through the door as the previous one vanished from where it had stood. There was a long pause, as Blake ignored the guards that were standing on the other side and began to book it.

"… You bitch!" I roared and bolted after her, ignoring the Giant. I broke out into a dead sprint through the door after her, choosing to ignore the befuddled guards, hoping that I was keeping in character enough to not arouse suspicion. "Get back here ya fuckin' pussy!"

Deep character. Mac Styx is an asshole.

It proved to be effective, because the White Fang didn't immediately start shooting at either of us. I lagged behind Blake, but made it appear I was still very much rushing after her. She rounded down into the alley way and kept running. I followed her as fast as I could reasonably believe. We ran until we reached the place I'd acquired my disguise. Both of the White Fang were still there, and not yet stirring. They probably would be before long, we didn't have time to waste. I grabbed my items from the garbage. No time to change, not here.

"Keep running," I hissed. "They're going to send more people, we're not out of the fire yet."

"But Sun-" Blake started to protest.

"Trust he'll be fine," I said. "Worry about getting out of here or you'll be in no position to help him."

I tucked my effects under my arm, undoing the sling from around my neck. My Scroll slid open and I cleared the message, preparing to type into the chat and let the others know we were free. Although, I soon discovered they'd already figured that part out.

"HIYA!"

Which Ruby demonstrated by kicking me in the side of the head.

I didn't see it coming, one second I'm looking at Blake. Then there's a rush of wind and a boot crashing into my face. Didn't even have my helmet on for cushioning, just a thin cloth hood and thin metal mask.

It knocked me to the ground, and right as I was about to recover, the muzzle of Crescent Rose was in my face. Ruby loomed over me, foot planted on my chest, scarf and hood covering her.

"I've got him Blake!" Ruby squeaked. "Where's Six?"

"… You're standing on him," Blake said dully.

There was an awkwardly silent moment, as the rest of our friends jumped off the building, eyes either glued on Ruby or me. Ruby however, blinked, and looked down at me. It might have been the coloring of her clothes, but she looked a bit flush.

"… did you seriously have to kick me in the head?" I asked, coming back to my senses.

"I didn't know!" Ruby squeaked. "You were all 'I have my secrety ways' and then ran off! How was I supposed to know you'd do this!?"

"Or have it work," Weiss said, looking down at me, surprised. "Maybe you should tell us next time. Unless you don't mind getting kicked in the head."

"I thought you were random thug #372." Nora chirped

"Well now you know… Can you get off me?" I asked, feeling less than nice about the situation.

Wordlessly, Ruby got off me and collapsed Crescent Rose. I sat up and felt the hood slide off my head, which was throbbing.

"… Huh, so you really are a towhead." Weiss said.

"Is that really what you want to focus on right now?" I asked, brushing a lock of silver-gray hair out of my face. Rather, out of one of the mask's eye holes. Thing covered up to the top of my forehead, but stopped at the scalp. Had my hair flopping about in a mop.

"Why's it so long?" Nora prodded.

"Fuck off, I haven't had time to give myself a cut recently," I said, starting to pick myself up, before Ruby held out a hand and tried to help me. I weighed more than her, and nearly pulled her down, but it was the thought that mattered. Back on my feet, I took stock of everyone. They'd all looked ready for a fight, but otherwise seemed surprised I'd managed to pull it off. Mostly.

"Where's Sun?" Ren asked.

"They've got him," I said. "We couldn't pull him out, but his cover's not blown, yet. The big boss pegged Blake the moment he got close."

"Well she is Ghira Belladonna's only child," Penny added, earning a surprised and questioning look from Blake.

"Then we need to go back for him!" Jaune said. "We can't just leave him."

"He'll be fine, we won't be if we don't go," I said, looking back the way we came. "They'll be sending trucks any moment. We get caught, this whole thing will have been pointless."

"Are you sure he's ok?" Ruby asked.

I looked at her. "As safe as he can be. There's something else going on we haven't caught onto yet. If he can be our guy on the inside it's worth the short risk. But if you want to make it pointless, but make sure he's safe, we can go back. It's your call, but I know my choice."

Ruby looked at me for a moment, rubbing her eyes. It was getting late, she had to be running on fumes by now, they all did. Except for Penny, I had no idea what she was powered by, but she was probably pretty much topped off. "… Blake, text him and find out if he's ok. Six is right, we can't stay here."

"Especially not here," I said, motioning down the alley. "Start hustling, we don't have long."

Without much further complaint everyone shot into motion down the alleyway. I stayed behind a clip, long enough to switch back to my helmet and revel in its familiar comfort. I started changing as I ran down the alley, rushing to catch up to everyone, taking up the back near Blake.

"… Did you seriously call me a pussy?" Blake asked.

"… I was in character."