"You ditch us for hours and come back with some shit about child traffickers?" Schwartz complained from behind the safety of the curtain that divided Team SWRZ's dorm room in two. Even after the beat down from Professor Lilith, the young man continued to train. He resumed his regimen of push-ups while his partner, Watchet, sat on his back for extra weight.

"We should hear her out, Schwartz," Watchet advised. It wasn't every day Rowan would come to her teammates for anything. What kind of teammate would he be if he didn't listen to what the young woman had to say?

"Is it the same group of bad guys we fought before?" Zorina inquired.

Schwartz scoffed. "We? I didn't see you fight anyone or anything on that last mission!"

Zorina shrank away in embarrassment, recalling her uselessness when out on their previous mission. It wasn't her fault her teammates kept her out of the loop whenever they ran off on their own. Or was it?

"Anyway, I'm giving you all the heads up that we might get roped into this mission," Rowan forewarned the group. While she wasn't looking forward to ANOTHER mission out with her team, she couldn't afford to pass up on this opportunity to shut down this child trafficking operation. If they manage to find the base, then it should get destroyed.

"Yeah, thanks to you," Schwartz pointed out, his voice beginning to strain with each push-up.

"I thought you'd be excited about another mission." Rowan folded her arms.

"Oh, I'm excited," Schwartz stopped his workout, prompting Watchet to get up. "But I want to do something else. Something huge that will get us into that Vytal Tournament."

Rowan rolled her eyes. Her team leader's stubbornness knows no bounds. How far will he go to participate in that stupid tournament? Was it impossible for him to take a hint?

"Wouldn't taking down an organization of child traffickers count as something huge?" Zorina asked. What kind of mission would be suitable enough to satisfy Schwartz's lust for action if THAT wasn't going to do it?

"Depends," Schwartz shrugged his shoulders. Kidnapping and trafficking go hand and hand in Mistral. Would anyone make a big deal of one organization falling when another would rise to take its place a week later?

Rowan sighed, knowing she would have to state her stance on the subject AGAIN. "I don't care about the stupid tournament!"

Schwartz shifted the curtain aside, staring his stubborn teammate in the eyes as he responded, "I do. It's not fair that you're ruining this opportunity for us."

"Don't talk to me about fair when the three of you are trying to force me to partake in this stupid thing," Rowan glared back, refusing to falter or be intimidated. The group couldn't pressure her into this, no matter how hard they tried.

"You want us to help you, but you're not willing to do the same," Schwartz broke eye contact when he turned to collect his swords on his bed. "You can go alone for all I care."

"Schwartz..." Watchet said in a disapproving tone. He thought the two of them would've gotten along by now after their last mission together. What will it take to get these two on the same page?

Schwartz's cold attitude didn't faze Rowan in the slightest. She expected he'd react like this in the first place. "I didn't ask for your help. I'm just relaying information."

The tension in the room lifted once a knock came at the door. Watchet crossed the room to open it, allowing Professor Lilith to enter.

"Good, you're all together. The four of you are coming with me on a recon mission." The woman demanded.

"The hell we are!" Schwartz adamantly refused, earning himself a swift strike to the gut from the instructor. He doubled over onto the floor, coughing violently.

"Does anyone else feel like refusing?" Lilith scanned the students, looking for the slightest hint of disobedience. The rest of the team shook their heads. None of them wanted any of what their leader got. "Good. You've got fifteen minutes to pack your bags and meet me in the Quad. Pack only the essentials."

With those strict instructions engraved into their brains, Team SWRZ packed their bags and met with their instructor at the designated location. Professor Lilith stood promptly next to Lieutenant Joan Stark, who seemed displeased by the team's presence.

"What is this?" The Snow Leopard Faunus asked.

"They're part of the team I'm recruiting," Lilith bluntly answered, holding back the urge to grin.

"I requested for experienced Huntsmen! Not children!" Stark hissed.

"These children are why you have your prisoner. They could also be why you return to Atlas with your head held high instead of down in shame." Lilith praised the children. But most of them knew it was only to jab at the Atlas Specialist.

"Enough games, Lilith. Send the children away," Stark demanded.

"Professor Hale! We're not too late, are we?" The others look down the path and see Sunil Ambrus approaching the group with the rest of Team WEIS.

"No fucking way," Schwartz stared down the opposing team's leader, Wei Tian.

The White Tiger Faunus walked past Schwartz, paying the young man no mind as he spoke with the instructor. "What is it that you need from us?" He asked.

"I need you, students, to bring your best. We're going on on a recon mission," answered Lilith.

"Recon? Okay, so there's no reason for the big guy and me to tag along. Let's go, Sunil," Ilma tried to walk away. But found herself walking in place once Sunil grabbed the back of her coat. She wasn't going anywhere.

"She asked for all of us to come. So we're all going." Sunil firmly stated, loosening his grip once his partner lost the will to fight back.

"Our team should be more than enough to complete this mission," Wei arrogantly proclaimed, earning the ire of Team SWRZ. "Everyone else will be dead weight."

"Oh yeah?" Schwartz reached for his sword. "We'll see about that, you son of a--"

Watchet reached out and grabbed onto his partner's wrist. The mission hadn't even started yet, and the two groups were already at odds. It was hard enough keeping his team in line. He couldn't imagine what went through the instructor's mind forcing this group, in particular, to work together.

"Can we not fight each other? We are all on the same side," Watchet tried to act as the group's peacekeeper. Thankfully, his words were more directed toward the team leaders. The hatred is mainly between the two of them.

"You weren't kidding about them," Another voice came from behind Watchet. The young man sharply turned, spotting the stealthy individual that snuck up on him. It was another instructor, Clementine Patel. "You kids don't like each other, huh?"

"It's mainly them," Emma indicated to Schwartz, and Wei engaged in another staredown.

"Hold on, if we're doing a simple recon mission, why do we need an Atlas Specialist, two instructors, and two freshmen teams?" Sunil asked. Nothing about this setup seemed simple to him.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"We'll explain everything once we're aboard the ship. Now get in," Lilith demanded. The students complied with her orders and boarded the Atlesian airship. Now only the adults remained standing in the Quad.

"Shall we see which one of our students is better?" Clementine suddenly asked with a smirk. Unknown to the students, the instructors had a private pool. They'd select their promising students and wage bets on their progress against one another. This mission was just one of those types of bets.

"Sure, why not?" Lilith mirrored Clementine's smirk, much to the confusion of Lieutenant Stark.

"Wait, what's going on?" Stark asked, puzzled.

"We're your elite team," Clementine and Lilith patted Stark on the shoulder before joining their students on the airship, embarking on their next mission.

Safe to say, the trip to the Atlesian Airship was an awkward one. The tension in the vehicle kept everyone silent for most of the ride. Thankfully, someone tried to smooth things out. That person was Sunil.

"So, this will be our first joint mission together," He chirped to try and break the silence. While the two teams weren't necessarily friends, they didn't need to be enemies. It's okay to have a rivalry with other students in the school. Competition promotes progress.

Schwartz groaned and stared at the ceiling. "Another joint mission? What's the point? We learned nothing from our seniors, and we'll learn nothing from this team."

"The point is learning teamwork. We still struggle in that department. It's not enough to work well with our team, but with others as well." Watchet informed his partner. That was the main thing holding Team SWRZ back. Their stubbornness and uncooperative natures prevented them from growing and reaching the levels they should be at by now.

"Exactly," Lilith nodded in confirmation of the young student's statement. She often noted how Watchet had a clear head on his shoulders. Unlike a certain brat she knows, he'd make a fine Huntsman in the future.

"What's the point of working with other people when we can't even work together?" Rowan kept to herself, looking around at the other students. She didn't see a snowball's chance in hell of anyone cooperating. But maybe they didn't need to. The mission aimed to find the child trafficking base and eliminate it. Cooperation is necessary, but at least they can agree to stay out of each other's way.

"This will be a wonderful learning experience. Huntsmen from two different kingdoms, coming together under one mission," Watchet could hardly contain his excitement. He would be closely observing the professionals at work.

"Just don't get in our way," Wei demanded the opposing team. He worked too hard to reach this point. He didn't need the rubbish Team SWRZ dragging him and his team down to their level.

"That's my line," Schwartz scowled at the White Tiger Faunus. Who did he think he was, giving out demands? Perhaps this mission would allow him to take him out. Accidents tend to happen when out on the field.

"Why not let them take the lead?" Ilma asked from the comfort of her sleeping bag. What did she care if the other team took charge? As long as they worked hard, so she didn't have to, she was all for it.

"You're not using this as an excuse to slack off," Wei told his slacker of a teammate.

Emma raised her hand with a smile. "I'm interested in working together with Team SWRZ. We worked well together during the initiation. I'm sure we've grown stronger since then."

"Much stronger," Zorina proclaimed, eyeing her physical rival in Sunil. But Wei scoffed at the notion.

The team wasn't a threat to anyone but themselves. Wei could take them all out himself if given the order. Judging from their past sparring sessions, it was a miracle they made it this far into the semester.

"By the way, shouldn't we get briefed on the mission now?" Rowan inquired, looking over to the ship's pilot, Lieutenant Stark. "We don't exactly know what we're looking for."

Stark set the ship on auto pilot and stood from the captain's seat. "For those unaware, a prisoner transport ship was attacked. It was a coordinated assault, all to release this man."

A holographic image of Duncan Butcher appeared before everyone. "This man is Duncan Butcher. He's a dangerous con-man that started his career here in Mistral."

"How's a con-man dangerous? Other than stealing shit, what else has he done?" Schwartz asked. Out of all the crimes in Haven, getting conned is pretty basic. You lose some property and move on with your day. Is it enough to warrant the attention of Atlas Specialists?

"He's been caught operating in other kingdoms of Vacuo, Mistral, and Mantle. His most recent operations have resulted in the deaths of high-profile people of interest," Stark sternly answered.

Rowan grimaced when she thought back to her last encounter with Duncan, her ex-partner in crime. The way he shot that man in the head without the slightest hint of hesitation. They had to catch him this time and keep him locked up.

"It was thanks to this string of misfortunes that we've discovered that Mr. Duncan works for a criminal organization known as The Flock." Stark continued with her explanation.

"That's a stupid name," scoffed Schwartz. The Flock? Who in their right mind would be intimidated by a group with that kind of title?

"Regardless, The Flock is very dangerous," Stark dismissed the image of Duncan, replacing him with pictures of two more people. "We believe these two are responsible for the attack on our transport ship."

"Who are they?" Watchet inquired, lowering his shades to get a better look at them.

"We're unsure of his real name. But for now, he's going by the moniker of Alba Mallard," Stark began with the giant person of the couple. "We have no background information on him other than his criminal history. Mostly assault charges and vast destruction of public property."

"Skip," Schwartz rolled his eyes, uninterested in the big man.

"And this is Bianca Baker, but she goes by Ash Catcher now. A couple of years back, she was a well-known artist, infamously known for using blood in her paintings. She'd hunt people down, kill them, and leave her mark for everyone to see." Stark revealed.

"Dibs," Schwartz declared. If he were to encounter that woman on the mission, then he'd be the one to take her out.

"Would you take this seriously?" Rowan sighed.

"What? I am!"

"So, you know they attacked the ship because--"

"Because Ash left her sigil on the ship. She wanted us to know that The Flock was involved." Stark answered. "This is the organization's first involvement with Atlas affairs."

"It was only to rescue their comrade, right?" Emma wondered.

"Yes, but I don't imagine Duncan is high enough in their organization to warrant this," Stark replied.

"He must be since they rescued him," Sunil said.

"Who cares if he is or not? We'll discover what he knows when we capture him," Schwartz announced.

"What does this have to do with child trafficking?" Wei asked.

"We have reason to believe The Flock has allied with another organization," Stark dismissed the images of Alba and Ash, once again replacing one picture for another. "And the leader of that organization in question is this man."

Clementine and Lilith narrow their eyes at the slim man presented as a hologram.

"So, it's true," Clementine heaved a heavy sigh at the sight of the mysterious man.

"What's true?" asked Zorina.

"Do you know him?" Watchet followed up.

"That man's name is Roddy Mack. He used to be a Huntsman," Lilith began with her explanation. "He turned rogue after a particular mission. He wound up killing the client who hired him and other Huntsmen."

"Badass," Schwartz gave the man a nod of approval. Perhaps he should ditch Haven and learn to kill Huntsmen from him instead.

"Is there any clue as to why he suddenly decided to quit?" Watchet inquired. There were many reasons why Huntsmen would stray from their oh-so-righteous path. Through his years of travel, he's heard many unsatisfactory answers. If he listened to another from the instructors, this Roddy Mack could not live much longer.

His existence brought a stain to the legacy of true Huntsmen.

"None," Clementine shook her head.

"Who cares why he quit? He's a bad guy now. We'll cut him down," Schwartz rhythmically tapped his fingers on the handle of his sword.

"You should leave that to the professionals," Wei looked at the arrogant student in disgust. Schwartz could barely hold his own against his team. How did that moron expect to defeat a fully trained Huntsman?

"Before both of you start," Lilith interjected, stopping another argument from happening. There's already enough tension in the airship, and she's sick of the infighting. "Even us licensed Huntsmen would have trouble fighting him."

"Why's that?" Sunil asked.

"His Semblance," Clementine answered. "He can hypnotize people by using soundwaves. He typically uses his flute to do that."

Schwartz grinned and side-glanced at Watchet. Watchet and Roddy had similar Semblances, but one was superior.

"That's a dangerous ability. But we know how it works. We can make countermeasures," Watchet advised.

"I don't imagine anyone brought any earplugs?" Schwartz looked to the others aboard the ship.

"That won't be necessary. We have the perfect countermeasure for this Roddy guy," Emma boasted, pointing over to her team leader.

"How's that guy the perfect countermeasure?" Rowan wondered, suspicious of the girl's claim.

"Wei's Semblance blocks out sound," Sunil happily revealed.

"I'd prefer if you didn't reveal my Semblance so casually," Wei glared at his teammate. Semblance abilities should be kept secret to prevent the enemy from gaining hold of that information. That's why only members of Team WEIS and the instructors know about his ability.

"Come to think of it, I remember you were using it back during the initiation," Zorina said.

"Perfect. Then your Semblance will be integral to the defeat of Roddy." Stark proclaimed.

"Hold on. You're missing a couple of steps. We still have no idea where the base is or if Roddy will even be there." Lilith said. "Right now, this is a recon mission. We search for the base and scout it out; depending on how it looks, we'll either call for reinforcements or take care of it ourselves."

"Don't act like you're in charge of this mission, Lilith," Stark got in the instructor's face. "You're on MY ship. You and your students will follow my orders, or there will be consequences. Are we clear?"

"...Yes," Lilith answered.

"Good. Now get ready. We'll return to the spot where our prisoner was captured. Their base shouldn't be too far from that location." Stark returned to the pilot seat. The group exchanged glances and returned to waiting around in silence. Their mission was clear, but they still needed time to prepare for whatever came their way mentally.