"These guys have NO manners!" chided Ash after cutting down the last guard with her daggers. What was Beryl thinking, leaving unqualified grunts to guard two top executives of The Flock alone in the basement of his operation? If she didn't know any better, she'd think that he was looking down on them. He would surely pay for that.

Even with the numbers against them, the combined might of her and Alba made quick work of the worthless guards.

“Neither do you,” Alba stated as he reached within his pocket to retrieve his handkerchief, then proceeded to cleanse the blood of his enemies off his knuckles. With the fight completed, the two could move on to the next objective of their visit. “Come on, their cargo should be beyond this door.”

Ash sheathed her daggers and looked to the large, metallic door to the far back of the room. After giving it a once over, she pointed and asked, “Don’t suppose you’re carrying the key for it huh?”

Alba shook his head and inspected the door, not spotting a single keyhole in sight. But there was something that caught the man’s eye, a lone monitor not too far away from the door. He approached the monitor and kept still once it turned on and scanned him, enveloping his body in a green light. The words access denied flashed across the screen in red.

“It doesn’t like you,” Ash laughed at her partner. The laughter turned to a quick yelp once she got snatched up and set in front of the monitor. She too was scanned and denied access to the room.

“It doesn’t like you either,” Alba countered with a smirk.

Ash rolled her eyes and escaped from her partner’s grasp. It was always one setback or another whenever the two of them were out on missions together. She missed the good old days when she flew solo. “Beryl would set this up, wouldn’t he?” She complained.

“Or Roddy,” Alba surmised. “Come on. Maybe we’ll get lucky in finding someone here that can open it for us.”

“And if they can’t?” Ash wondered, mainly to get out of the hassle of collecting all the bodies. The thought of dragging each one in front of the monitor sounded like a tremendous pain in her ass.

“We improvise,” Alba walked over and collected the first body for the scanner. “If none of the guards can get through, then it’s most likely set up for the higher-ups of this group to have access.”

“And Beryl’s the only one that’s had the balls to show up today,” Ash sighed and joined her partner in collecting the bodies of the guards.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the room, the duo of Lieutenant Stark and Professor Patel stealthily staked out the scene from behind the safety of flipped-over tables. Thanks to the distraction provided to the team upstairs, sneaking into the mansion through the back was a piece of cake. They arrived just in time to witness the Flock Executives effortlessly take down the guards. Well, that was one less problem for them.

“It looks like The Flock and Roddy’s group are having a falling out,” Clementine stated. That was good news. It meant they wouldn’t have to worry about the combined forces of both groups coming after them. If they played their cards right, perhaps they could goad the organizations to take each other apart.

“Good, that makes things easier for us,” Stark reached for her weapon. “We can capture them while they’re distracted.”

Noticing the Atlas Lieutenant’s rash action, Clementine grabbed her hand to stop her. “Hold on. We should get everyone else down here before we even think about fighting.” She cautiously advised against the ambush.

“We don’t need Lilith, nor a bunch of students to take them down. Besides, you saw how numbers didn’t matter for those two. The two of us should be more than enough for them.” Stark slipped out from Clementine’s grasp.

“They beat a bunch of grunts that probably rarely saw any action. If we can at least notify Lilith to get down here, it’ll be three professional Huntresses against the two of them.” Clementine collected her scroll and tried to contact Lilith. But she received no answer.

“Of course, she doesn’t answer,” Stark rolled her eyes. She wasn’t at all surprised that Lilith continued to show her irresponsibility as a Huntress.

“Something must have happened. You head back upstairs and make sure everyone’s okay. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on our friends over there,” Clementine suggested.

But to Stark, it may as well have been an order. “How about YOU go find the others? I’ll keep watch.”

“Joan, your Semblance isn’t built for stealth like mine, plus–”

“--I’m in command of this operation. You’ll do as I say.”

Now wasn’t the time to bicker back and forth. They were out in the field and time was of the essence. As long as Stark stayed quiet and kept her head down, following Alba and Ash shouldn’t be too difficult.

Clementine reluctantly left Stark behind in search of the rest of her allies. With the nuisance out of the way, all the glory now belonged to Stark once she captured the Flock Executives on her own. She drew her weapon and stealthily maneuvered closer to her prey.

“You scanned his face already,” Alba bluntly told Ash after she scanned the same face for the third time in a row.

“It’s so hard to tell! Their busted faces look the same!” Ash callously tossed aside the unconscious body of her beaten victim. Her patience now running thin, the woman retrieved her daggers and stared down the door. This was taking too long. They should’ve been on the other side of the door by now.

Alba stepped in front of Alba and blocked her view of the door. “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s a mistake. The door could be trapped and you could destroy whatever’s on the other side.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Ash lowered her weapons with a pout.

“Find Beryl and bring him down here. He’s our highest chance of getting this door open,”

Ash liked the idea, but she was unfamiliar with the layout of the mansion. Who knows how many secret tunnels and traps the mansion could have? They’d be looking for Beryl on his home turf. It could take hours to find him. Days even.

Would their boss even wait that long?

“Easier said than done to find him,” Ash complained.

“Then we’ll have him brought to us. All we need is the perfect bait,” Alba folded his arms and looked out further into the room. “Come on out. I know you’re around here somewhere.”

Stark flinched from behind the desk after being called out so suddenly. How could they have known she was there? Was she careless in her stealth? Did they spot her somehow? Did she smell? What was it?

Regardless, none of that mattered anymore. If they knew she was there, then it was time for action. Stark stood up from her hiding spot and trained her gun on the criminals.

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“There’s nowhere for you to run! Give yourselves up and come quietly!” She demanded.

Ash raised her hands in the air. With a deadly weapon aimed at her, what else is a poor, defenseless woman to do? “I guess we’re done for, Alba. There’s no way we can escape from an Elite soldier from Atlas.” Her eyes wandered to the tail swaying behind Stark. “Oh, that’s rich. They accept Faunus in their Special Ops?”

“They’ll accept anyone as long as they’re useful,” Alba said.

“Enough talk! Get over here!” Stark commanded.

“As you wish,” Ash kicked off the ground, launching herself across the room in seconds. Before Stark could even blink, Ash’s forehead pressed against the barrel of her gun. “If you pulled the trigger, how beautifully do you think my blood would splatter across the room?”

“W-What?!” Stark stepped back in complete bewilderment at the woman’s speed and mental state.

“Too bad! You hesitated! We’ll paint with your blood instead!” Ash went for Stark’s neck with her dagger.

Stark altered her gun into its Scimitar form and blocked the lethal strike.

“We need her alive, Ash,” Alba announced. Stark managed to deduce from his calm tone and relaxed posture, the man didn’t plan to intervene in the fight. That was comforting, at least for now. But she still had to deal with the Ash problem in front of her.

The women clash several times before separating. “You’re lucky we need you alive. Your blood would’ve made a fine material for my next masterpiece.” Ash callously said.

“You’ve spilled enough blood,” Stark looked at the blood splatters around the room. She drew in close and swiped her sword, aiming for the criminal's neck.

Ash leaned back to evade. While she avoided the lethal attack, she could feel an odd chill coming off the blade. “Going for my neck? How ruthless,” She laughed.

“I’m merely returning the favor,” Stark sneered.

“Oh yeah? Well–” Ash paused once she suddenly noticed her breath in the air. The odd chill she felt earlier became more apparent and continued to linger. So much so that frost started to cover the area around them. “Alba, did you touch the thermostat?”

“Take this seriously,” Alba warned.

“Listen to your partner. You’ll die if you underestimate me,” Stark said.

“A little cold never bothered anyone,” Ash shrugged off the chill hanging in the air. The heat emitting from her weapons thanks to her trusty Fire Dust provided her with enough warmth. Thus, the battle continued.

Ash launched flame arch projectiles, prompting Stark to take evasive maneuvers. Once the barrage of fire ended, the Atlas Lieutenant followed suit with ice projectiles of her own. But instead of dodging, Ash decided to stand her ground and deflect them.

“That all of you?” taunted Ash. While it was her first time fighting a Specialist from Atlas, she expected more. Much more.

“Ash, your hands,” Alba alerted his partner.

The woman glances down to find her hands encased in ice, and it continued to spread. She gritted her teeth and used the Fire Dust in her weapons to melt the ice, thus freeing her. “That was annoying.”

“I thought the cold never bothered anyone,” Stark mockingly remarked. Right on cue, the temperature in the room continued to plummet.

“This isn’t just Ice Dust,” Alba noted.

“Do you like it? It’s my Semblance. But combined with Ice Dust, well, it’s a whole other [Ice Age].” Stark revealed.

“Take her down quickly before I decide to step in,” Alba ordered.

“Don’t tell me what to do! I’ve got this!” The chattering of Ash’s teeth and noticeable shivers in her body told everyone otherwise.

“You’ll be an ice sculpture before you even come close to beating me!” Stark declared, taking the initiative in the battle now. She rushed ahead and swung her sword, only managing to slice through a few strands of Ash’s hair thanks to the woman’s reflexes. Though the cold slowed her down a bit.

“Watch the hair!” Ash retaliated with a series of swipes with her daggers but missed every attack. Stark’s body movements were fluid, unhindered by the cold climate she created. She might as well have been back home in the icy tundras of Mantle.

After dodging another strike, Stark slashed the criminal’s side. Ash was fortunate her aura protected her. But that wouldn’t last forever. Fighting an Atlas Specialist while trying to fend off the cold at the same time, it’s a recipe for disaster. Her aura would drain in a matter of minutes.

As satisfying as it would have been to hear Ash ask for his help, Alba couldn’t risk losing his partner this late in the game. They haven’t even gotten through the door yet. It’s too soon for them to drop out now. While Stark was distracted with Ash, Alba rushed in from behind and shoulder-tackled the Faunus.

Stark was knocked off balance and slid across the room. She stabbed her scimitar into the floor to stop herself.

“Hey! I had her right where I wanted her!” Ash complained.

“I know, but we don’t have time for games. We need to finish her quickly and get what we came for before this gets out of hand,” Alba reminded her.

“That didn’t last long,” Stark removed her sword from the ground. She thought she’d at least get closer to taking down one of the executives before the other one decided to step in. Even with Alba’s insertion into the fight, both of them must be somewhat low on aura reserves thanks to their previous fight and the cold chipping away at them.

At this point, she saw it as a battle of attrition.

“Fine,” Ash reluctantly accepted her partner’s participation in the battle. “We attack together.”

Alba and Ash rushed Stark in unison. They scattered once the woman’s scimitar cut through the air, but they quickly returned and flanked her. Alba went high while Ash went low. Stark nimbly avoided both attacks and followed with a downward stab to the floor. She activated the Ice Dust in her sword, combining it with her Semblance to freeze the entire floor in ice within seconds, immobilizing both executives.

Stark pulled her sword out from the ice-covered floor and sought to plunge it into Alba’s body. The man proved far more dangerous than Ash, thus it was fairly strategic to take out the biggest threat in the battle first. Alba caught the blade with one hand and Stark’s wrist with the other. Struggle all she might, the woman was unable to escape from the firm grasp of Alba.

Their stalemate gave Ash enough time to cut herself loose with her flaming daggers. Once freed, she leaped into the air and dropped down with a fierce kick to Stark’s face, knocking her away into the furthest wall. But the assault didn’t end there. Before Stark could recover from the attack, she was bombarded with flame projectiles, courtesy of Ash.

“Tricky Semblance, but nothing we can’t handle,” Ash arrogantly dismissed Stark was defeated. She turned her back and freed Alba from his icy restraints.

That moment of arrogance cost her. Stark dispersed the flames and rushed the executives. She slid across the room and crashed into Ash with an elbow strike, knocking her away from her partner. Alba retaliated with a punch, but she slid to the side and sliced him. The man went for another punch, only to miss again, and get cut again.

Ash recovered from her hit and rejoined the battle, rushing in with a yell at her daggers at the ready. Stark dodged another punch from Alba and used his body as a trampoline to propel herself into the air. She couldn’t afford to let herself get flanked by the executives again. While her plan was sound, she didn’t expect Ash to follow suit.

The short woman jumped off her own partner’s shoulders and launched herself into the air after the Faunus with shocking speed. Stark barely managed to avoid getting slashed by spinning out of the way. However, Ash readjusted herself mid-air, planted her feet on the ceiling, and propelled out of it, landing a sneak attack on the woman’s back.

Alba stood in place while the Atlas Specialist fell towards him. He snatched her by the neck and brutally slammed her into the ground. The man lifted his free fist to pummel her, but he was forced to quickly defend himself once Stark’s sword came for his neck. He gripped her by the wrist and tossed her across the room.

Stark spun through the air and landed safely on her feet around the same time Ash returned to the ground next to her partner. She raised her sword and brought it down with a mighty swing, conjuring a row of spikes that traveled across the room toward her opponents. Ash took to the air again with a leap while Alba sidestepped the attack.

Ash bounced around the room, eagerly laughing as she gained speed with each jump. Stark tried her best to keep up using her eyes, but that careless moment of concentration allowed Alba to ram into her again. She got knocked off balance again, now giving Ash the chance to slash her.

Stark quickly recovered and raised her sword to defend, but she found it strangely heavier than usual. No, that wasn’t right. It felt more like an invisible force was preventing her from raising it properly. That split second of interference was the opening Ash needed to deliver the finishing blow.

She dropped down from the ceiling after another powerful leap and cut down the Atlas Specialist. Stark’s aura dissipated as she dropped to the ground unconscious at the feet of her enemies.

"And she's down! Well done, Alba!" Ash gave her partner his due props while sheathing her weapons.

"It's not over yet. We've got our hostage. The hard part starts now," Alba collected Stark and carried her over his shoulder. While unsure of what he meant, Ash shrugged her shoulders and went along with the man's plan.