Team SWRZ and Team WEIS might prove too much for the unsuspecting guards. The plan worked like a charm. The students acted as the perfect distraction, defeating wave after wave of incoming enemies. Professor Hale didn't have to step in to deal with the small fry. Lieutenant Stark and Professor Patel shouldn't have any issues sneaking through the back with all the commotion they caused.
"C'mon! Is that all? I thought you traffickers would be tougher than this!" Schwartz brandished his swords, ready for the next wave of enemies to come on down. He hadn't even broken a sweat yet. Maybe he should've been the one to act as the distraction instead. It would've been more exciting that way.
"This is not all of them," Watchet presumed, keeping his attention on the front of the mansion.
"Maybe they've given up?" Ilma suggested while retrieving her, throwing knives from the bodies of her defeated foes.
"It's never THAT easy," Sunil stared at the mansion, surveying for possible ambush points. There were so many windows—plenty of opportunities to snipe them unaware. "They're most likely plotting an ambush inside."
Schwartz scoffed at the apparent information. "Doesn't matter. They can't stop me," He stepped to enter the mansion, but the Bull Faunus moved out in front of him.
"Hold on. We should wait for further instructions," Sunil looked to Professor Hale for guidance.
"We need to keep the enemy's attention on us. If they won't come to us--"
"--We'll go to them!" Schwartz slipped past Sunil and kicked the door down. To no one's surprise, an ambush was waiting for them. Dozens of men on both mansion floors trained their guns on the intrusive student.
"Why am I not surprised that The Flock sent a child to do their dirty work?" Beryl sighed behind the safety of his guards on the second floor. "I swear, I'll never understand how your organization functions. But I will give credit where it's due. I never imagined you'd send your executives to act as a distraction."
"The Flock? Nah, I'd never associate with a group that doesn't even have a cool name," Schwartz verbally squashed the man's theory.
Beryl's eyebrows raised in response. "You're not with The Flock? Then who--" He stopped as more students poured into the mansion. But their affiliation hit him once Lilith entered the scene. "Lilith Hale..."
"Beryl Reid," Lilith nonchalantly responded.
"Friend of yours?" Schwartz pointed one of his swords at Beryl.
"Far from it," Beryl and Lilith answered in unison.
"Sensing ALOT of animosity there," Ilma whispered to Sunil.
"I won't bother asking what you're doing or how you even found this place. All that matters now is how I'm going to deal with you," Beryl reached the guard rail, getting a better look at the intruders in his base. Oh, the plans he had in store for them. This day was getting better and better.
"You expect this to go any differently from last time?" Lilith taunted.
Beryl scowled at the woman, then gestured to his guards. "Kill them all," He walked away while the guards open-fired on the students.
Schwartz activated his Semblance, [Unleashed], and glided across the first floor. He made quick work of the first few guards, granting the other students some leeway to act. Some guards on the second floor got sniped thanks to the teamwork of Ilma and Rowan. It was easy taking them out one by one thanks to the mountain of a man, Sunil, acting as their shield.
Darkness seeped from Zorina's body, spreading its reach to cover some guards on the first floor. The men screamed in terror once consumed by the void, but their screams were silenced once Wei entered the abyss. He could see them all perfectly, panicking like a bunch of morons. They were easy to dispatch.
Watchet's sword stretched across the first floor, cutting through several of the guards. With the first floor just about cleared, Emma and Lilith rushed upstairs. Their voice Semblances combined knocked the guards down like dominoes.
"You kids can handle the rest," Lilith took off down the hall, chasing after Beryl.
"Professor Hale! Wait!" Emma called out.
"Leave her. This is our chance to act on our own," Schwartz smirked at the idea. "Let's split up into groups of two. Search for more enemies or free any captives."
"That's as good a plan as any," Ilma snaked her arms around Sunil's arm, laying claim to her partner. "Dibs on the big man."
"Rowan, you're with me," Schwartz pointed to the orange-haired girl.
"Sure," Rowan shrugged her shoulders and approached her teammate.
Zorina watched the two stand side by side, suddenly acting cordial. That couldn't be right. "Huh? But she's MY partner."
"You and Watchet don't team up enough. Take this as a bonding moment." Schwartz and Rowan split from the group and searched through the mansion.
"We're looking for Duncan, aren't we?" Rowan asked.
"Yup," Schwartz nodded.
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Lilith chased Beryl through the mansion. The scarred man tried to use the home-field advantage to escape, but the Huntress stayed on his trail. Left with no other choice, the man bolted into the nearest room. Lilith kicked the door off its hinges and spotted the man with his back against the bookcase.
"Nowhere left for you to run," The Huntress boasted.
"So it seems," Beryl sounded calm, unbothered about being cornered.
"Make this easier on yourself and tell me where Roddy is," Lilith demanded.
"He's not here," Beryl stated.
"I can see that," Lilith narrowed her eyes. "Tell me now or else--"
"Or else you'll torture me again? Bring it on. This time things WILL go differently," Beryl gestured for Lilith to bring it. He brought his hand up to his ear and smirked.
Lilith shrugged her shoulders and went with old reliable. She opened her mouth and used her Semblance, [Bird's Song], emitting a high-pitched screech. Beryl grimaced but stood his ground despite being forced back against the bookcase. The Huntress blinked, bewildered. While she held back on her attack, it should've been enough to knock him down.
Beryl noticed the shift in the woman's expression and laughed. It was great to wipe that arrogant smirk off the Huntresses' face for once. "It's the first time I've seen you make such a face! You have no idea what I did, do you?" The man turned his head, pointing to the device attached to his ear.
"What the--"
"Like it? Some of the finest technology that Atlas has to offer. Helps return my sense of hearing since you destroyed it," The scarred man explained. "I can turn it on and off whenever I feel like it. So that Semblance of yours is powerless against me."
Lilith cracked her knuckles and approached the cornered man. "Only a fool relies on their Semblance. I have other ways of making you talk."
"Sorry, can't hear you," Beryl taunted.
Lilith threw a punch but missed as Beryl reached behind his back and removed a book from the shelf. It activated the quick escape, revolving the bookcase around, leaving the Huntress alone in the room. She wasted little time using her Semblance again, boosting its power to blow a hole into the next room.
The Huntress stepped through the hole in the wall, finding no sign of Beryl but finding a Manticore Grimm conveniently unchained. "Of course," She sighed as the beast roared and lunged at her.
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"We're not getting anywhere with these distractions!" Rowan exclaimed, taking cover behind the safety of a corner. While she and Schwartz split from the group in their search for Duncan, they only managed to get twenty feet away before encountering trouble.
Now they were pinned down in one of the many hallways of the mansion. Just how many guards did the base have?
"Quit complaining and shoot!" Schwartz rounded the corner and open-fired on the guards.
They were already down by the time Rowan went in for her attack. "Huh. Saved me the bullets," She put her guns away.
"These guys are gonna keep coming until we take their boss out," Schwartz stated the obvious. Perhaps he should've gone with Professor Hale to deal with Beryl instead. The witch hunt for Duncan was a bust so far. With the mansion as big as it was, it would take hours, perhaps days, to find him.
"Let everyone else handle that. Our goal right now is to--"
"--Find Duncan and kill him. I got it," Schwartz interrupted. As the students passed through the hallway strewn with bodies, a lightbulb went off in his head. He stopped and removed the clothes from one of the guards.
"What are you doing?" Rowan watched her teammate put the clothes on over his own.
"Going incognito," Schwartz answered, showing off his new look. "If we dress as one of the guards, we won't have to worry about them coming after us. Go ahead, take their clothes."
Rowan looked back and forth between Schwartz and the unconscious guards. She considered his plan for a moment, but that's all she did. With a shake of her head, Rowan pressed onward. "Yeah, no thanks. Your plan's not going to work."
"Oh yeah?" Schwartz got up behind his partner and held his sword to her throat.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"What are you--"
A few guards rushed down the hall with their weapons drawn, stopping a few feet from the students. Schwartz took charge before they could process the situation. "The intruders did this! I've got this one! Go after the others!"
"Right!" The guards charged down the hall.
Once they were gone, Schwartz released his captive. "You were saying?"
"Shut up," Rowan stormed off with Schwartz smugly following.
They started going door by door, searching high and low for the elusive Duncan. But their mission came up short at every turn. That was until they rounded another corner, spotting two guards in front of a door.
"Weird," Rowan commented.
"What is?" Schwartz asked, not seeing anything wrong with the particular scene. He just saw two guards standing in front of a door. Nothing weird about it.
"There are intruders about, yet those guards haven't moved? What's more important than defending your base of operation?"
Schwartz nodded, beginning to understand what she meant. "Do you think Duncan's important enough to be guarded?"
Rowan shook her head and answered with a flat, "No."
"Harsh," Her teammate laughed.
"But something in there is worth guarding. Perhaps we should check it out," Rowan suggested. She knew it deviated from the mission, but curiosity got the better of her. "Go out there and talk to them. Find out what they're hiding."
Schwartz accepted the job with a half-hearted salute before approaching the guards casually. "How's it going, guys?"
"What are you doing here?" inquired the first guard.
"Aren't there still intruders around?" wondered the second.
"Yeah, that's why I was wondering why you two aren't out there helping us," Schwartz complained, playing out the role perfectly with a drawn-out sigh.
"Beryl gave us strict instructions to guard the prisoner until he comes to deal with him." The first guard answered.
"Prisoner?" Schwartz tilted his head to the side, a soft smile beginning to form on his face. "Who's the prisoner?"
The second guard shrugged. "Some guy the executives of The Flock sent us. It's some peace offering."
"As if Roddy would be satisfied with that," scoffed the first.
"Any clue what the guy's name is?" Schwartz tried to pry for more information. If his hunch was correct, then their target was behind the door.
"Why do you care? You shouldn't even be here in the first place!"
"Enough of this," Schwartz got fed up and battered the poor guards. While that happened, Rowan snuck by and opened the door, finding the prisoner, Duncan. Thankfully, the man was gagged and bound to a chair—an easy target for Schwartz.
"There you are," Rowan smiled, looking at his pathetic state. It was a complete role reversal from their last encounter months ago. She made sure to get a perfect mental image of this scene since it would be the last time she'd ever see him alive.
"Mr. Duncan," Schwartz entered the room and shut the door behind him. He didn't seem all that surprised by the man's current state. "I've heard so little about you."
A chill traveled down Duncan's spine once he saw the dangerous gleam in Schwartz's eyes. It was all too much for one man to take. He was betrayed by one partner, only to serve and betrayed by another. And now his ex-partner brought someone along, possibly to finish what she couldn't.
"Make it quick. I'll be outside," Rowan gave Duncan one final glance of disdain before leaving. She stepped out just in time to get spotted by more guards. The young woman cursed and took off down the hall.
"I told her to change her clothes," Schwartz shrugged off the gunfire outside and unsheathed one of his swords. He couldn't be bothered to worry about that now that he had found his target. "Sorry about this, buddy. It's nothing personal."
Duncan's muffled screams fell on deaf ears. He frantically struggled to break loose but only succeeded in toppling over in his chair. The desperation reached its tipping point. Even while down, he tried to hurry away.
The scene felt all too pathetic to Schwartz. He almost felt sorry for having to kill him. But a deal was a deal.
"Seriously? Don't make this any harder than it has to be," Schwartz went over and removed the gag from his mouth. "I'll at least let you say your final words. But if you scream, you're dead."
"You don't have to do this! Whatever Rowan's paying you, I'll double it! No, triple it!" Duncan pleaded.
Schwartz rolled his eyes and groaned. There it was, the usual desperate bargaining attempt for someone about to die. He's heard it repeatedly during his raids out in the forest.
"She's not paying me. At least not with money," The student nonchalantly replied, dismissing the man's bargaining attempt.
"Is that bitch sleeping with you then?!"
Schwartz recoiled in disgust. Him and Rowan sleeping together? Not a snowball's chance in hell. "That's gross. I'm into older women."
"Then what is it?! Whatever it is, it can't be worth killing me!" Duncan exclaimed, racking his brain to try and figure out Schwartz's gain in this situation. "If you do this, you'll end up like me one day!"
"Is that right?" Schwartz asked, doubtful of the man's claim but intrigued all the same. "What makes you say that?"
"Rowan put you up to this, right? She wants you to kill me? That's because she doesn't have the stomach to get her hands dirty!"
"Yeah? And?"
"Why do you think she wants me dead? I'm not afraid to do whatever it takes to get the job done! People had to die sometimes, and she couldn't stand it!" Duncan declared. "Think about it. She ordered you to kill me, and then she left. The girl can't stand the sight of blood."
"I've noticed. Well, anyway," Schwartz raised his sword, wanting to get back to business.
"Wait! If you kill me, you'll become a murderer! Rowan can't stand killers! She'll just hire someone to get rid of you someday!" Duncan exclaimed.
Schwartz stopped mid-swing and lowered his weapon down to his side. "You know a lot about Rowan, right?"
"Yes. We've been partners for years," Duncan nodded.
Schwartz smirked at the revelation. He couldn't let an opportunity like this pass him up. It was his chance to learn more about his runt of a teammate. Find out what makes her tick. "Tell me everything you know about her, and then maybe we can talk about letting you go,"
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"This area is clear," Watchet reported after striking down the last guard in his way. He sheathed his sword and looked at Zorina. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine," Zorina stepped over their defeated foes to join her teammate. "All these guys have are numbers."
Watchet shook his head, thinking that Schwartz's arrogance was rubbing off on her. "Do not get cocky. Even the strongest can lose due to overwhelming numbers. We are winning because we are working as a team."
"Do you think Schwartz and Rowan are doing as well as us?" Zorina wondered aloud.
"I am sure they are managing," Watchet assured his concerned teammate. "I am more concerned about our Professors and the Atlas Lieutenant."
"Why?" Zorina inquired.
"We have not heard a word from any of them. Does that not concern you? Ordinarily, teachers would not leave first-year students inside the heart of enemy territory without--" The students looked up once a booming roar shook the mansion's foundation. "Oh dear, that sounded like--"
"--Grimm..." Zorina's voice shook.
Watchet set a comforting hand on her shoulder, recalling the girl's fear of the creatures. "Do not worry, that came from upstairs."
That brought Zorina no comfort at all. What did it matter where the roar came from? It still meant that a creature of Grimm was inside the mansion, which meant it had to die. "We'll have to deal with it, won't we? We can't leave it to roam around the house." She stammered.
"You are correct. We cannot leave it alive. But I do not feel comfortable fighting alongside you if you are going to freeze," Watchet bluntly told her.
Zorina's phobia of the Grimm was well-known to the rest of the team. They put it off for the time being since more pressing matters kept rising. But they couldn't keep doing that forever. Sooner or later, the girl would have to face her fears. It's one thing to have them, and it's another to have them consume you.
Zorina hung her head, defeated. She knew all too well how much she held the team back. Here they were, out on a mission, and it felt like they were babysitting her. Pathetic.
"I'm sorry," She said softly.
"You do not need to apologize. It is only natural to fear the Grimm," Watchet said. "We will work on it over time. For now, let us continue dealing with these traffickers."
"Yes," Zorina nodded and followed after Watchet.
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"Who the hell keeps a Manticore in their house?!" Lilith avoided another fatal swipe from the large Grimm. It stared her down, snarling, fangs bared, ready to sink its teeth into her flesh. The beast rushed her but crashed through the wall once the Huntress side-stepped it.
The Manticore recovered quickly, only to get sent flying back with a diving kick. Lilith followed her onslaught, battering the giant beast with her bare hands. Her last strike blew the monster back through the wall.
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"That's everything I know about her! I swear!" Duncan exclaimed.
Schwartz fell silent, processing all the information told to him. He didn't quite know how to feel about it all. You think you know someone, then realize that you don't. Honestly, it's not like he ever made a considerable attempt to get to know his team. Maybe he should try now that he's learned about Rowan's secret.
Oh, that poor girl had a lot to answer for.
It's no wonder she wanted the man dead. If someone knew his identity and threatened to spill the beans, he'd have to kill them unless they could reach a compromise like him and Watchet.
"Thanks for telling me," Schwartz raised his sword with a smile.
"Wait! You said you would let me go!" Duncan panicked.
"Yeah, I lied," Just as Schwartz brought his sword down to deliver the finishing blow, the Manticore Grimm came crashing into the room. It knocked him off his feet and into the farthest wall. He recovered quickly and glared at the Grimm. "What the fuck?!"
"Are you hurt?" Lilith entered the scene through the hole in the wall.
"Uhhh..." Schwartz looked to the place where Duncan once lied. But it was now occupied by the Manticore. Was he crushed to death? Brutal way to go. "No, I'm fine."
"Good, then get ready," Lilith pointed to the Manticore as it recovered and roared at the two.
Schwartz pulled out the second sword and smiled. "'Bout time things picked up!" The student made the first move. His weapons switched to their gun mode and fired on the Grimm. All that proved to do was agitate it.
The Manticore roared and swiped at Schwartz. He ducked under the claw and reshot it in retaliation. Its attention focused solely on the student allowed Lilith to sneak in from behind and deliver a crushing uppercut to the beast's underbelly. With the creature rocked, Schwartz went in for the killing blow himself.
He leaped onto the ceiling and then used it as a launch pad. He dived onto the Manticore's body and drove his swords into its head. It cried out, writhing in excruciating pain before finally dying.
"Too easy!" Schwartz boasted, pulling his swords out from its body.
"I had already worn it out before it got here," Lilith stated.
"Maybe you would've killed it faster if you used an actual weapon," Schwartz suggested. Before she could respond, the floor beneath them crumbled and broke apart, sending them plummeting to the first floor.
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"A little help would be nice!" Sunil called out to his partner while he was getting pinned down by gunfire. Thankfully, he had his shield and an ample supply of aura. He could adequately hold the line all day. But it didn't mean he wanted to.
"Just tank it like you usually do," Ilma suggested while prepping her throwing knives from behind cover.
"There's too many! I'd die!" Sunil exclaimed.
"Big baby," Ilma used her partner as a stepping stone and leaped into the air. She tossed her knives into the weapons of the guards. "Buh-bye!" She landed perfectly on her partner's shoulders and plugged her ears.
The Fire Dust in the blades went off, exploding in perfect sequence, taking out the guards.
"Good work," Sunil removed Ilma from his shoulders, leaving her to collect her throwing knives scattered across the hall. He took another look around the place, noticing its poor upkeep. "We're not getting anywhere with this. Why would the traffickers use a rundown mansion as their base of operations?"
"Because no one would expect it?" Ilma shrugged her shoulders.
"That, and because it could be a decoy. Think about it. They're sending grunts to deal with us. They'd beef up their security if we were getting close to the actual operation," Sunil surmised.
"That makes sense. So where do you think the actual operation is?" Ilma asked after she finished collecting the last of her throwing knives.
Sunil pointed to the floor. "Below us. In the basement," On cue, the Manticore dropped from the ceiling. Sunil tackled his partner out of the way, covering her while the debris fell. When everything went quiet, the students got up and examined the hole in the floor.
"Guess we've got our way to the basement," Ilma said.
"What was a Manticore doing inside the mansion?" Sunil seemed far too concerned about that.
"A guard dog, perhaps?" Ilma suggested.
"Sunil! Ilma!" The rest of Team WEIS rounded the corner in a hurry, joining them around the hole. "What was that? What happened?"
"Manticore," Ilma answered nonchalantly.
"Did you kill it?" Emma asked.
Sunil shook his head. "No. It came crashing down from the ceiling."
"If we're lucky, it'll deal with the security down there," Ilma smiled at the thought.
"What is she talking about?" Wei directed his question to Sunil while staring down the hole in the floor.
"I think the mansion itself is a decoy. The actual trafficking operation is most likely in the basement." Sunil answered.
Wei nodded after considering the possibility. "That would explain the poor security up here."
"So down the Manticore hole then?" Ilma sighed.
"We should contact the others. Let the others know what's going on." Sunil advised.
But Wei was quick to squash the idea. "No, we should divide and conquer. The others can continue distracting the enemy while we handle the rest down there."
"We shouldn't do that. We need to--"
"--You're not the leader of this team. I am. Either follow my orders or stay out of my way," Wei jumped down the hole. The rest of the team groaned before following him,