Team SWRZ Volume 2 - Chapter 7 - Mission Accomplished?

It was just another night for Rowan Cassidy. A few hours removed from their White Fang encounter, the group set up camp and rested for tomorrow's journey to Asago Village. If there weren't any further setbacks, they'd hopefully reach it by tomorrow. Until then, she had to focus on the night watch. She drew the short end of the stick and wound up getting picked, along with Edward Regalia.

Unlike her, the large man couldn't sit still. He paced back and forth, angrily muttering to himself about something. If she paid enough attention, she was sure she could make it out. But she wasn't concerned with his problems. He seemed on edge ever since their confrontation with the White Fang.

After giving it more thought, Rowan got up and approached Edward. "Can you calm down?"

It was more of a demand than a suggestion.

"I am calm," Edward angrily retorted.

"Yeah, you're the living definition of calm right now," Rowan sarcastically replied. "Look, lying isn't going to do you any good. If you don't settle down, you'll bring the Grimm down on us."

Edward smacked his lips before taking a deep breath. It seemed to work a little since his hands were no longer balled into fists.

"Feel better?" asked Rowan.

"No," Edward shook his head and slumped to the ground. He spent all day thinking back to his failed attempt to defeat the White Fang grunts. "I lost my composure and nearly got myself killed."

"I know. I saw." Rowan dryly responded.

"You must think I'm pathetic."

"Not really. I don't think much of you or your team, for that matter," Rowan added, wanting nothing more than to return to her spot. But Edward looked like he had much on his mind. "Do you want to talk about what happened back there?"

Edward looked reluctant at first but ultimately decided to air his grievances only to get it out there in the open. "I...despise the White Fang."

"Yeah, I figured." Rowan nodded. "Did they do something to you?"

"Not directly," Edward shook his head. A scowl slowly crawled on his face as he continued, "They're just giving Faunus a bad name. It's bad enough humans already fear and judge us."

"Us?" Rowan looked Edward up and down. She couldn't spot a single animal trait on the man.

"The White Fang is giving the humans the ammunition, the excuses they need to persecute Faunus further," Edward continued solemnly. "I want them destroyed and wiped off the face of Remnant. That's why I became a Huntsmen."

"How noble," Another sarcastic response left Rowan's mouth. It didn't surprise her at all to hear such an uncouth goal from the fellow student—a future Huntsman driven by a desire for revenge that spelled nothing but trouble.

"I don't expect a human to understand," Edward sighed. He wasn't expecting anything from Rowan. It was enough to get everything off his chest. "I realize I'm not becoming a Huntsman for the most righteous reasons, but they're still mine alone. I'll grow stronger and wipe out the White Fang so that they can't harm any more people."

The large man stood up and looked over his shoulder, spotting the twins, Brulee and Maple, slowly approaching them.

"You two shouldn't be up," Rowan scolded.

"Is something wrong?" Edward asked.

"We can't sleep," Maple whined.

"She can't sleep," Brulee emphasized as she gestured to her sister. "She's worried about the White Fang coming after us again."

"Don't worry about the White Fang. I'll protect you," Edward took a knee and placed a comforting hand on Maple's shoulder.

"Those soldiers from before almost killed you. How can you protect us if you couldn't protect yourself?" Maple asked.

"Being a Huntsman isn't all about individual strength. Yes, I got careless, and it nearly cost me my life. But, thanks to Professor Hale, I'm alive and able to learn from my mistake." Edward carefully explained. "It's important for humanity to work together and grow. Humans and Faunus."

It took everything for Rowan not to gag after hearing the man's speech. Now Edward seemed pathetic in her eyes.

"Edward," Cerise approached the group. "We need more firewood. Could you help me search for some?"

"Yes, I'm coming," Edward got up and waved the twins goodbye. He followed his teammate further into the forest, searching for firewood, leaving Rowan alone with the twins.

"Why did you become a Huntress?" The twins focused their attention on Rowan.

Great. She already didn't like to hang around kids. Now she was forced to look after them.

"No real reason," Rowan gave them a dismissive answer.

"You joined on a whim?" Brulee asked.

"Sure, something like that," Rowan shrugged her shoulders.

"Do you hate being a Huntress?" Maple followed up with a question of her own. Hitting a nerve with Rowan as her eyes narrowed.

"I'm not a Huntress," Rowan sternly answered. "And I never will be. News flash kids, Huntsmen aren't all they're cracked up to be. You should learn that lesson now rather than later,"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you want to be Huntresses?" Rowan ignored their question and asked one herself.

The twins went silent for a moment. They held each other's hands, finding the strength and the answer to her question.

"Our parents were Huntsmen," Brulee answered. "They went out on a mission when we were younger, and they never came back."

"People said they died, but we don't believe it. Our parents are Huntsmen, the strongest fighters in the world. There's no way Grimm could've taken them," Maple added. "They promised us they would come home."

"We're want to become Huntresses so that we can find our parents and fight alongside them," Brulee said determinedly. "They're out there somewhere, fighting for their lives to come back to us. We're sick and tired of waiting. We want to go to them."

"You're wasting your time," Rowan thought. Just from the short story alone, she could tell that the twins were hanging onto false hope. Their parents were dead. No doubt about that. Perhaps she should let them know the cruel reality of the world.

Huntsmen are far from being the strongest in the world. Huntsmen are people, and people die. Rowan learned that the hard way, and she figured the twins should as well. But, something inside kept her from doing that.

"When you get old enough, attend Huntsmen Academies," Rowan sternly instructed. "And when you graduate, you can go and search for your parents."

"You think so?" The twins looked up at Rowan with soft smiles. It was rare to hear someone act in support of their dreams and aspirations. The only other person that willfully supported them was Mother Carwyn.

Rowan reluctantly nodded her head and took the twins back to bed for the night. Afterward, she turned and spotted Schwartz standing nearby with his arms crossed. "It's not like you to lie to children."

"What do you know about me?" Rowan scoffed and walked past him. Since her teammate was up and about, she could get some sleep.

"Not much," Schwartz admitted. "Why didn't you tell those kids the truth? You know that their parents are--"

"I know," Rowan cut him off. "I'm sure the twins know the truth as well. But, that slimmer of hope is keeping them going. It wouldn't be my place to take that away from them."

"How noble," Schwartz remarked with a chuckle. "So, you're a bit of a softie when it comes to kids."

"Shut up. I'm going to bed," Rowan shook her head and went back to sleep.

The rest of the trip to Asago Village went about as boring as expected, at least to the thrill-seeking Schwartz der Hund. After the White Fang attack three days ago, he hoped for a battle of a lifetime--swarms of White Fang soldiers attacking them in hopes of retrieving the children. But nothing of the sort happened. The only action he happened to encounter was the few battles against the Grimm and nothing else.

Schwartz wanted nothing more than to be done with the whole mission. As interesting as the mission sounded on paper, it was a snooze fest compared to the search and destroyed missions he saw posted on the board.

Thankfully, the group reached the village. Watchet stepped forward and raised his shades to get a better look at the place. It wasn't anything spectacular from any other village he's seen in his travels. If you've seen one, then you've seen them all. But it nonetheless brought a smile to his face seeing people living in harmony outside the kingdoms.

"Here we are, Asago Village," Lilith presented the village to her students with a small gesture of her hand.

"About damn time!" Schwartz exclaimed. "Now, let's hurry up and drop the brats off."

"I'll leave that to you guys," Rowan spoke up. Now that they reached their destination, she didn't want to miss out on her chance to investigate the crash site.

"Do you have somewhere else to be?" asked Watchet as he lowered his shades back over his eyes.

"I've got a date with the showers. We've been traveling for days," Rowan complained. It worked out for her since it was a legitimate concern of hers. There's no reason she can't examine the crash site and get herself cleaned all in the same day.

"Yeah, you have been sticking up the tents," Schwartz's verbal jabbed earned him a gun barrel pointed directly at his forehead. Rowan would've pulled the trigger, too, if Watchet and Zorina hadn't stepped in and separated them. A fight was the last thing the team needed upon first entering the town.

"Enough," That single word from Professor Lilith caused the group to settle down yet stiffen in fear of angering her any further. "We'll worry about the bathing issue once we deliver the children to their foster parents."

"Speaking of foster parents, do you think we should warn them about the White Fang?" Edward asked.

"Not just the foster parents, but the entire village." Cerise surmised. It wouldn't be right for them to drop off the kids with the threat of the White Fang looming over them.

"We don't want to cause the people to panic, do we?" Amani countered her teammate's suggestion. "If we tell them about the White Fang, and they panic, Grimm will swarm the place."

"One thing at a time," Lilith instructed. "We drop the children off, and we'll see where we'll go from there."

No one offered a single complaint, fearing the professor's wrath if they opened their mouths. Lilith followed the directions on her scroll and led the group to the address. She knocked on the door and presented the twins, Brulee and Maple, to the foster parents when they opened the door.

"Special delivery by your neighborhood Huntsmen in training!" Schwartz announced. The twins didn't share the young man's enthusiasm, not even wanting to show a smile to their new foster parents.

The first to approach was the mother. The woman dropped to one knee and smiled at the twins, having sensed their hesitation and reluctance. "Brulee? Maple? Welcome to your new home."

"Please, come inside," The father spoke next, stepping aside and opening the door wider to allow the group in the house. "You all must be exhausted from your journey."

"Don't mind if we do," Schwartz wasted little time in accepting the invitation, earning him glances from the other students. The group entered the house and made themselves comfortable in the living room.

"My name is Blane," The father introduced himself before gesturing to his lovely wife. "And this is my wife, Prim."

Prim waved to the group. "Thank you so much for safely bringing the children here. Brulee, Maple, if you'll please follow me, I'll lead you to your rooms."

"Okay," The twins begrudgingly collected their things and followed their foster mother up the stairs to their new rooms. Meanwhile, Blane led the group further into the house and helped them sit in the living room.

"What a lovely home," Amani noted, taking a gander around the place. It was well-decorated, minus missing family photos, but she didn't pay too much attention to that small detail.

"Thank you, it's not much, but we're happy with what we've got," Blane said. "Now, would any of you like anything to eat? What kind of refreshments would you like?"

Right on cue, the bellies of the students rumbled. They raised their hands with answers ready to go, but their instructor beat them to the punch.

"We don't plan on staying long. We have one urgent piece of business we'd like to discuss with you." Lilith answered.

"What is it?" asked Blane, noticing the blunt tone of the woman's voice.

"Are you aware that the White Fang are targeting these children?" Lilith bluntly asked.

Blane narrowed his eyes. "No, I wasn't aware of that. How do you know this? Do you know why?"

"The White Fang attacked us before we arrived here, and all we've gathered so far is that the children are Faunus. We're certain that has something to do with it." Lilith answered.

"And you defeated them?" Blane's eyes widened for a moment. It was hard to believe that a powerful organization like the White Fang lost to children.

"They were only grunts. Nothing to worry about." Nagina boasted with a nod of her head.

"Just because we dealt with the grunts, it doesn't mean they'll stop. Do you have means of protecting yourselves?" Lilith asked.

"We have weapons, but we're not highly trained like you Huntsmen," Blane noted.

"That's not good," Watchet brought his hand to his chin. "The children won't be safe if we leave them here unprotected."

"Unprotected?" Blane's tone grew slightly aggressive, taking Watchet's comment as an insult. "We may not be as strong as you, but we're far from being defenseless."

"My apologies, I did not mean to--"

Blane realized his little outburst of anger and drew back. "No, I'm the one who should apologize. I tried to become a Huntsman once, but it didn't work out. I was taking a bit of my frustration out on you, and that wasn't fair."

"We're not trying to shame you or anything," Cerise added. "We want to make sure that Brulee and Maple will be safe if we leave them here."

"I understand. They will be safe here. The White Fang wouldn't go through the trouble of wiping out an entire village for just two kids," Blane said.

"You hope," Schwartz said half-heartedly as a warning. He'd heard ruthless stories of the White Fang. It wouldn't surprise him if this village got wiped off the map mere days after the kids were delivered.

"You said so yourselves that they merely sent grunts to kidnap the kids. Clearly, they're not that high on their list of priorities." Blane surmised.

"Well then, we'll leave it at that," Lilith concluded the conversation as she stood from her chair. Having completed their mission, there wasn't any point in prolonging their stay. "We'll be leaving now."

"I understand. Thanks so much again for all you've done for us," Blane waved the group goodbye and escorted them out of the house. The group headed onward down the street, away from the residence.

"You know, minus the whole White Fang attack, this mission was easy!" Amani stretched her arms out and sighed her worries away. The mission could've gone an entirely different direction, but she believed she saved the group from further hardship thanks to her.

"There was something odd about that man," Watchet said.

"You're telling me," agreed Schwartz, bringing a smile to his partner's face. He was happy that someone else caught onto the strange encounter.

"So, you noticed it too?" Watchet asked.

"Yeah, who the hell would want to adopt those kids?" Schwartz harshly responded. And like that, Watchet's smile faded. Perhaps it was too soon to expect much insight from his team leader. Was there any hope from any of them?

"You're not alone, Watchet. Something's definitely off," Lilith spoke up.

"Did we miss something?" Edward asked, looking back and forth between Lilith and Watchet. It seemed the two of them caught onto something that the rest of the group failed to realize.

"Yes," Lilith and Watchet answered in perfect unison, creeping out the group internally. When did the two of them get on the same wavelength?

"Okay...and what was it?" Cerise wondered.

"Did you not notice there wasn't a single picture of the couple in the house?" Watchet responded with an inquiry of his own.

"Who cares about that? Maybe they were just house-sitting?" Schwartz answered with a shrug of his shoulders. Obviously, he wouldn't bother to notice a small detail about the house. He didn't give a damn about the mission in general, so why would he care about pictures being there or not?

"How about when I brought up the threat of the White Fang? Did the man seem concerned or frightened to you?" Lilith added to the questioning.

The students thought back and quickly realized how odd the man acted throughout their conversation. He didn't appear frightened or shocked but rather annoyed. Ordinary people would tremble or gasp at the thought of the White Fang coming for them. But Blane seemed oddly calm and collected.

"Now that you mention it," Edward brought his hand up to his chin, thinking back to the encounter.

"Something's fishy about that couple. Did we make a mistake in delivering the twins?" Amani asked, her face going pale at the thought of the group endangering the welfare of the children.

"The mission required us to bring the children here. We succeeded." Zorina stated.

"But there's something strange about the foster parents. We should investigate." Cerise countered.

"That wasn't in the job description," Schwartz sighed and shook his head. This entire mission proved to be a huge pain in his ass. They completed their objective, so they should leave it at that. It wasn't any concern of his to worry about the brats now that they were home.

"Regardless of the job description, we cannot in good conscience leave the children in such questionable circumstances," Watchet said.

"You're basing all of this on pictures and behavior you all found weird?" Schwartz wondered.

"Who are we hurting by investigating?" Rowan shrugged her shoulders, deciding to take Watchet's side of the argument. If it prolonged their stay in the village, it helped her own agenda in the long run.

"No one, but--"

"Think of it this way," Watchet cut off his team leader. "You presume the couple is ordinary. Would ordinary people stay calm and collected under the potential threat of an organization coming after them? The man didn't even ask if we would protect him or his family. He seemed eager for us to leave."

Schwartz opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He couldn't refute Watchet's claim since it did make sense.

"It seems some of you have different opinions on how we should approach this matter," Lilith stared down at the students with folded arms. "Here's my proposal. The mission is officially completed now that the children have been delivered safely. Those of you that wish to leave may do so and return to Haven Academy. The others, however, may stay and help me with the investigation."

"Is there any extra credit?" Amani raised her hand with an expecting smile.

"There won't be. Use your morals to make a decision. As Huntsmen in training, you will encounter several missions that may leave a bad taste in your mouths. Of course, it's your choice on how you wish to proceed from here," With those parting words of wisdom, the instructor wandered down the street. The students exchanged glances, and one by one followed their teacher. "Oh, you're following me?"

"Not like I got anything better to do," Schwartz sighed.

"What's the game plan?" Amani asked.

"I'm going to speak with the village leader and find out what I can about those people. I don't want to draw suspicion, so we'll break off here. Find a place for us to stay tonight and keep a low profile," Lilith ordered before she left the students to their own devices.

Since the opportunity so kindly presented itself, Rowan wasted little time breaking off the group without telling them. When she left the village, she contacted Mari Gould through her earpiece. "Mari, are you there?"

"Where else would I be?" Mari answered. "Finally got some alone time?"

"Yeah. Send me the coordinates to the crash site." Rowan ordered.

"Just sent it to your scroll. You're welcome."

Rowan checked her scroll and found the coordinates. It wasn't too far away. The trip to the crash site was bearable since there was no bickering amongst teams, no annoying children. It was just her and Mari, as the good ol' days.

The con-woman eventually reached the crash site, and as expected, Atlas soldiers had the place locked down. Androids patrolled the perimeter, and armed guards scavenged the wreckage. Whatever the transport ship carried, Atlas didn't want anyone finding out.

"Of course, security would be tight," Rowan rolled her eyes at the hoops she'd need to go through to find what she'd need.

"What do you expect? Atlas gets very agitated when someone messes with their toys," Mari scoffed. Rowan shook her head at the comment. Like Mari was one to talk, she'd through a fit too anytime her things got broken.

"I don't care about Atlas. I want to know if Duncan's dead or not," Rowan peeked her head out from around the tree she hid behind.

"Good luck with that, sister. I don't see how you're gonna get through all those guards undetected."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence in me. Have you forgotten about my Semblance?"

Just when the girl planned to work her magic, a hand reached out from the shadows and grabbed her shoulder. Rowan nearly jumped out of her skin--her scream of terror alerted some of the nearby guards. She realized her blunder and grabbed the person responsible--her ball and chain of a partner--Zorina. She dragged her into the bushes with her hand covering the girl's mouth.

"Huh?" One of the guards looked over his shoulder in the direction of the scream.

"What's wrong?" The second guard asked.

"I thought I heard something,"

"Quit stalling and get back to work! We need to finish examining the wreckage before the Lieutenant gets back!" chided the second guard. Both men went about their business, leaving Rowan to deal with her unexpected guest.

"What are you doing here?!" Rowan angrily exclaimed, trying her best to keep her volume down as much as possible.

"This one witnessed you separate from the rest of the group. What brings you here?" Zorina poked her head out from the bushes, admiring the wreckage. She'd never seen anything like it before. Armed guards, androids, how could she not be excited? "A scavenger hunt, perhaps? What do you to salvage from this wreck?"

"This isn't a game! Go back to the village! You'll only slow me down!" Rowan demanded as she pulled the stupid girl back into the bushes with her. If any of them were to get caught trespassing on the scene, they're done for.

But Zorina didn't understand or even consider the danger the two of them were in. She was excited just to be out alone with her partner. It had been some time since the two of them ventured together. It was the perfect opportunity for them to grow closer.

Rowan could tell her demands would go unmet. Zorina had that look in her eye that screamed trouble. She wasn't going anywhere. Not without causing a scene. Fine. Maybe she could use her partner as a scapegoat. It would kill two birds with one stone.

"Okay, you caught me. There is something I'm looking to find in that wreckage," Rowan indicated to the crash site with her thumb. "But those guards are in the way. Could you distract them long enough for me to conduct my search?"

"This one isn't sure. They seem scary...." Zorina took another look at the guards. Sure, they seemed fine from afar, but if she was meant to distract them, there's a chance they would use their guns on her. Getting shot is not something she planned on doing today.

Rowan immediately noticed her partner's hesitation, but she had a plan for that. She reached out and grabbed Zorina's hands and flashed a well-practiced smile. "You're the only one I can count on for this, partner."

Those words, followed by that smile was more than enough to persuade Zorina to her cause. No forethought went into accepting her partner's request. She tossed common sense right out the window.

"What do you need from me?" Zorina eagerly asked, her eye beaming with enthusiasm to assist Rowan in any way she could.

"Use your Semblance and darken the whole area. While the guards are freaking out, I'll sneak around and grab what I need." Rowan explained her plan. It wasn't well-thought-out, but it was all she could think of on such short notice. The two of them would have to make it work.

"Easy!" Zorina sneered at how simple of a task she had in the whole operation. Her handy Semblance severely reduced her chances of getting caught or shot. It's a win-win. The young woman did as instructed and activated her Semblance.

Darkness spread from her body and shrouded the entire area. Right on cue, the guards panicked as the darkness swallowed them. While the guards were preoccupied, Rowan dashed straight into the darkness to deal with the androids. She retrieved her derringer pistols from her sleeves and open-fired, taking them out with ease.

"Pathetic Atlas toys," She sneered at the broken piles of junk lying around. Afterward, she silenced the screaming guards by knocking them unconscious.

With both obstacles out the way, she was free to search the wreckage.

"Look at you, working so well with others. You might not need me much longer," Mari teased.

"Cut it out. I'm not working with her. She's working for me." Rowan corrected her partner in crime before moving on to the search. She looked through as much as she could, trying to find a single piece of evidence to confirm Duncan's death. Sure, she found a couple of bodies, but they belonged to Atlesian guards or androids.

"Find anything yet?" Mari asked.

"No! Nothing! This is ridiculous!" Rowan complained, taking her frustration out on the detached head of an Atlesian android. The moment she took a breath to cool off, the darkness dissipated. "What's going on?" She looked over to her partner and spotted Zorina down on her knees with her hands up.

Behind her was an imposing-looking woman wearing an Atlesian Military Uniform. She held a pistol to the back of the girl's head. "Who the hell are you two, and what do you think you're doing?"