Chapter 51: Risky rescue

The shattered moon was high in the sky, shining down on an abandoned district of Vale that stood next to the wall that protested the kingdom. There, at an old warehouse protected by a chain link fence, two groups of three people patrolled the area inside the fence, using flashlights on their automatic pistols to scan the area for any intruders while maintaining the illusion of discretion as there were so few of them.

Vans were parked in the area around the building, far enough so as not to arouse suspicion, but close enough that they could jump in quickly if anyone came up.

And if that wasn't enough, the Vans themselves also acted as cover, hiding the actual numbers of the members who had gathered, ensuring anyone who might know what they were up to wouldn't be able to get an accurate read.

Or at least it would make it difficult for a human, that is.

"Twenty-four, twenty-seven. Twenty-nine. That's twenty-nine. And of those, just going off appearance, I'd say at least twelve of them are huntsmen. That's not good odds."

"Well, given that they haven't spotted you yet, I'd say they can't be that good. We can take them."

Adam rolled his eyes at the dark haired girl's plan. Topical Cinder. Charge in first, think later. He knew that Amber's semblance could transfer information from one person to another, (he had been clued in on their way there.) but he had some doubts as she seemed so reluctant to use it. Even if it would make these earpieces irrelevant and make it so much safer for them to communicate without risking exposing him.

The team had split into two units. Adam part of the plan was to sneak into the warehouse and act as the eyes and ears of the team. Meanwhile, Amber and Cinder were sitting in a van Mohawk had been using to drive around the city.

It was the exact same as all the others that were in the area, so they blended in perfectly. And with the windows tinted black, nobody, not even one of the patrols, would notice anything strange.

Which might be why Cinder was so comfortable in suggesting her usual stupid ideas.

"Look, I get stealth isn't your strong suit, but try to understand just because you see it, doesn't mean the others can. And besides, this is one of my better hiding spots, if I do say so myself." Adam said the last bit with a hint of pride, ignoring his teammate's irritable, "I was joking." as he carefully repositioned himself in the warehouse's scaffolding he was hiding in. Below him, the Seraphim continued to mill around, completely oblivious to his presence. Which was only because of the massive lights hanging below him, blinding anyone who might look up long before they would see him.

Well, in theory anyway.

As he had been sneaking in through the roof, the second he had touched the metal scaffolding, Adelaide had immediately looked up right at him, squinting to try and look past the light. For a split second he had been certain she was going to open fire on him or alert the others.

But fortunately, one of the more sciency guys had called her attention away, making her turn back and focus on…whatever they were doing. Because whenever team AACE looked through Adam's eyes, they were almost always flicking to a huge mechanical…thing in the center of the room.

Two human sized capsules lay at the base of the machine, connected by two massive tubs that stretched up to a central core protruding from the top. Set in between the two capsules was set three computers, one on built into the side of the capsules with the third set in the machine. Their screens were both glowing blue as scientists hovered over them, pressing buttons to calibrate it. The machine was active and clearly ready to be used. Meaning Jiao must be nearby.

"I don't know what's going on here but I don't like it. We need to rescue Jiao and get out quickly." Amber chimed in, her own gaze narrowing as she looked at the device from Adam's eyes. Whatever it was, it was clearly Atlesian in origin. And if the Seraphim were willing to use the tech of their hated enemy, it must be something special.

"Yeah, easier said than done." Cinder pointed out. "Adelaide by herself is a handful. Throw in a dozen other huntsmen on top of that? We're looking at a one sided slaughter. And I don't mean in our favor."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for the input." Amber replied with a roll of her eyes. "We need a plan, one that doesn't involve fighting. Give me a second, I need some time to think."

With that, the girl scrambled, trying to get something to write on. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like keeping either notice or writing was the now captured gang member's strong suit as even as she rummaged around in the glove compartment, she came up empty, drawing a quiet curse from the girl.

"We just need an opening." She pressed, settling on a piece of gum wrapper and her own personal pen. "I'm thinking we strike when they bring him to the machine. At that point, I suspect they'll send most of the guards to keep tabs on the outside of the building as I don't think they'll want anyone anywhere near that thing. I just need a quick entrance and exit strategy so we don't get ourselves killed."

"Hey Amber. I don't mean to sound patronizing, but you might want to hurry up." Adam whispered from his perch, shifting his position to try to get a better view of what was happening below him. "I think they're getting ready to use that machine. Whatever checks or upgrades they were doing, I think they're done. Which means Jiao is probably about to be brought out."

Sure enough, they could see the scientists walking away from the machine with one of them, presumably the leader, approaching Adelaide where they began to talk. And while Adam was too far away to hear what was being said, it was whatever they were talking about it was clearly very serious just going off their body language. And given what was going on, none of them could think of anything except something to do with the machine, which meant they didn't have much time.

"Shit." Amber muttered under her breath. So much for making a clean getaway. They didn't have time! Which meant they now had next to no time to set up their escape, and even less to pull it off.

"Adam, I have a plan, but I need you to follow my instructions very carefully. Can you do that? We need everything ready and everyone in position the moment Jiao is brought out." Her question was answered when she saw the boy silently nod his head. Good. He was the linchpins in her plan and their only real hope of escaping without a fight.

"First, find a way to shut off the lights."

__________________________________

Adelaide stared at the abomination in front of her. The massive machine was nearing its completion and just thinking of the kind of twisted mind it would take made her stomach churn. How far was Atlas willing to go for its fragile ego? All this technology wasted on their military instead of something productive. Like helping those displaced by the war or feeding their less fortunate citizens. She knew people died of starvation in that kingdom long after the royal family was slain.

But instead of helping their people, their government led by that arrogant general spent a small fortune on building up an army for a war that was long over. It was like he was expecting all three of the kingdoms to try and invade Atlas all at once! Nobody could need that much firepower in times of peace. If he didn't hold two seats on the council, no way he'd be allowed to take that much from the people's taxes.

And yet, he wasn't satisfied. Now he was expanding their project to play god with people's lives. And if this…thing was the first step, she could forget the Eternity Dynasty, they'd need to start attacking the kingdom directly just to keep them in check. Because if this is what they were up against, she knew Vale wouldn't stand a chance in a fight.

An aura transfer machine. When she had first heard about it, she had honestly thought her spies were being fed false information. But when she saw the blueprints for the P.E.N.N.Y project, she knew it had to be real. Atlas had just crossed a line, one that would need to be retaliated against.

Building heartless machine soldiers that could be ordered to wipe out entire towns of civilians without having to worry about morality was already pushing it, but now this? Turning people into weapons? That was somehow even worse! At least before, the machines were soulless and easy to destroy by a trained huntsman or huntress. But now giving them an active aura? Turning people into shells of their former selves? How anyone could stand that barbarism was beyond her.

She only hoped the freak of a scientist who built this thing would meet a fate befitting someone who was willing to play god.

"Mis. Adelaide? Everything's ready." The voice of her head scientist broke the woman out of her thoughts. Immediately she turned her attention to him and saw him shuffling uncomfortably as he stood there.

"Something wrong? Is it something to do with the machine?" The woman asked gently. "If you have something on your mind I'm more than willing to listen. After all, you're the expert, not me. And we only have one chance at this, if there's not a ninety nine percent chance of success, then it's worth waiting a little longer before launching."

Her words made the lead scientist nervously wring his hands towards, making an effort to look anywhere but at Adelaide. Beads of sweat glistened on his brow as he spoke with a very obvious stutter.

"No. It's not anything wrong with the machine." He said very uncomfortably, still not looking at his boss. "It's just… is this really necessary? I mean couldn't we find another way to track the Dynasty? ANY other way? This…this is more than a little unethical. What we're talking about is ripping someone's soul out of their body and putting it into something else. Doesn't that…I don't know, feel even a bit wrong?"

Adelaide's gaze softened at his words and she let out a sigh of relief. For a second, she had been afraid their machine wasn't going to work. That they were missing some important peace or part that would render this inoperable. Thank goodness it wasn't that.

"Yeah, I don't like it either." She said, turning with the scientist to look at the horrific abomination. "Unfortunately, we're out of time. No telling when the Phantom will strike again and if we want to assassinate the Eternal Dynasty's high leader, we can't afford to wait. Anymore time goes by, we won't have enough strength to weather the storm we're kicking up."

Quietly, she turned back to the scientist and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know what you're thinking and I feel the same. But we're doing what needs to be done for Vale and everyone who calls it home." She gave him an understanding squeeze before letting him go and turning towards the entrance and making her way towards it as she silenced the voice in her head telling her not to do this. This needed to be done, for the sake of her child, for the sake of her father, and for the sake of her departed husband. The brightest light in an otherwise dark world.

And so, she steeled herself for the coming atrocious she had resolved to commit

"Bring him up. We're ready." She said into her radio. And a second later the sounds of scraping metal filled the room as the entire floor began shaking.

Immediately the guards she had stationed inside began moving to the wall or heading outside all together as the floor in the center of the room began to slide open and a platform raised up to take its place.

There, bound and gagged lay Jiao. The singer had put up such a fight when he realized what was happening, Howard had been a bit rough with him, resulting in a black eye, bloody lip, and bruises covering his face and arms. His wrists and ankles had been cut open by the cuffs around them and he was shivering from the cold.

Laying next to him was a humanoid robot, one dressed in huntsman etire and with facial features of a young boy. It was the subject they planned to transfer Jiao's aura into, semblance and all.

"Guess those costumes aren't very warm, are they?" Adelaide said as a knelt, grabbing the singer and slinging his wiggling form over her shoulder. "Sorry, kid. Nothing personal, but you need to die in order to keep this kingdom safe. So take some comfort in knowing your death wasn't for nothing."

"Mmpph!" Jiao screamed frantically, thrashing helplessly as he was carried over to the machine and set inside one capsule. This one had been modified with straps to hold the whomever was inside down. This would ensure that once the machine started, there would be no way to escape.

And as Jiao realized that, he was sent into an even more frantic struggles, practically kicking Adelaide in the face by pure accident as she tried to pin him down.

"Hey! Would you quit that!" The huntress snarled as she struggled to pin him down long enough to properly bind him."I heard you wanted to be a huntsman at one point. This is the closest you're going to get! So could you-! Ahh, you know what? Screw it."

With that, she slammed his gauntlet into the singer's stomach, knocking the wind from him, resulting in him going limp almost immediately as he began pathetically coughing, letting the woman properly strap him down.

"There, that wasn't so hard." She said as she quickly pulled back, her work complete. "Like I said, this isn't personal. Just take a few deep breaths and die knowing your death will have some purpose. Which is more than what you'd have died for from your inevitable drug overdose or revenge crazed x fan."

With that, she pressed a button to seal the capsule before turning and making her way back to the center of the room where the robot lay.

"Come on, help me with this." She called to her men, two of whom quickly rushed over where the three heaved it up and began walking towards the other capsule.

However, before she could reach it, a sound reached her ears.

It was subtle, like a piece of background noise in a factory or the chatter of people in a store. But to someone with her experience, she recognized the sound of metal hitting against something. And it was coming from above her.

And while she may not be good at sensing aura, she knew when someone was silently watching her.

Immediately, she spun around, firing from both her gauntlets in the direction of where the sound originated. Immediately hearing a young man swear as bullets rained down on his location.

"Above! In the scaffolding!" She screamed and in an instant everyone in the warehouse began moving.

Immediately some huntsmen dove for cover while others opened fire with her trying to smoke whomever was hiding up there out. Meanwhile, the two still carrying the robot rushed to get it inside the capsule as another began fiddling with a control panel next to it, raising several bulletproof walls that circled the machine.

But fear drove the men to act quickly causing them to be sloppy and uncoordinated, resulting in them not only missing, but not even flanking properly.

And Adelaide couldn't blame them. For while they all believed in her strength as the White Witch, the Phantom of the Witching Hour had single handedly annihilated every other base he had been sighted at, leaving no survivors.

Which meant they couldn't afford any mistakes!

"Team Alpha! Cover the machine! Beta! Cover Jiao and our scientists! Do not let him touch them!" She screamed, not taking her eyes off the spot he was hiding in, behind a large support beam. "I'm sure that's his target! If he gets to either, everything is lost! Call every outside team to get in here and help! We can't take any-!"

Before she could finish, a deafening bang rang out from the rafters as a red energy burst shot from the intruder's hiding spot, rapidly sailing across the room high overhead far outside their reach before it came down, crashing right into the generator that powered the light.

"Shit!" Adelaide swore as her entire team was plunged into darkness. Without a moment's hesitation, she slid into hiding behind a support beam, while simultaneously using it as cover. Meanwhile, the other gang members had become panicked, firing blindly at the ceiling, deafening the entire area as each shot echoed through the entire warehouse.

"That's right, the Phantom never attacked his opponents head on, preferring to use gorilla tactics or assassination tricks." Adelaide thought. "That did minimize risk of injury and any bystanders seeing how he fought, as well as diminished his opponent's ability to fight back. And while she did hate he man, she had to give him credit, he certainly knew his stuff."

Good thing she had done her own research.

Immediately she slammed her hand onto the support beam, sending a wave of ice spreading across traveling upwards towards the scaffolding. Then, timing it perfectly, she threw a raw lightning dust crystal into one of the lights hanging from said scaffolding.

A loud crack filled the room as the crystal shattered the bulb, sticking in the light. Then, as her ice spread its way through the area, it came down, encasing the light in a sphere of ice, both holding it in place and making a protective layer between the dust and any outside attack that might make it volatile.

With a smirk, Adelaide pressed her hand hard against the beam, flowing her aura through the ice and up into the sphere, triggering the dust inside to activate, showering the room in a bright light illuminating everything in the room as the lightning began banging around in the sphere, trying to escape and find a point to strike.

As the lights came back on, many of the other Seraphim raised their arms to shield their eyes, even Adelaide. But she quickly blinked the spots out of her eyes, letting her properly scan the scaffolding.

From her new position, she could see the spot he had been using as cover. But it was now empty, without a single trace of whomever had been hiding there save the many bullet holes that surround that area.

"Shit!" She swore, immediately turning her attack to the machine in the center of the room. Had he gone for Jiao? No, he was still trapped inside the capsule. Then what was he-?!

Immediately her eyes widened as she finally took in the whole room. She hadn't noticed before as she was still slightly blinded by the light, but her eyes were rapidly adjusting now and she could see what had been done during light out.

The center room was covered in glass arrows. Not near the machine, but closer to the platform that had brought Jiao up. An area that was standing between her and the machine.

Immediately her mouth fell open. This wasn't the Phantom. This was those annoying kids again! They had somehow tracked her down and were trying to take Jiao back! Which meant-!

"We're surrounded!" Adelaide screamed. "It's not the Phantom! It's a full team! They're-!"

But before she could finish, the room was engulfed in flames as the arrows went off! Creating a massive twister of fire that shot skyward, burning right through the scaffolding causing debris to rain down on the Seraphim!

Immediately the entire warehouse was engulfed in smoke, making it impossible to see and causing the members who weren't huntsmen to flee the building, arms over their heads to shield themselves from the debris.

At the same time, the huntsmen and huntresses tried desperately to reach the machine on the other side of the flames, only to be beaten back by the dust empowered heat.

On her side, Adelaide bit her lip nervously. Normally she'd just freeze the flames over, but right now she couldn't without risking damaging or destroying the machine. On top of that, she had no idea if the scientists who had been on the other side along with their robot had managed to get clear either.

As much as she hated to admit it, they had put her in a tight spot. In order to keep both it and her people safe, she'd have to get up close and personal with these annoying kids.

"I'm going in!" She roared, immediately charging towards the flames. "As soon as this clears, move in and secure the machine! Get all non-combatants into a protective circle and make sure that neither them, nor any of our equipment is damaged. Understood?!"

She didn't even wait for the "yes ma'am!" before charging into the flames. Immediately, she began releasing her aura, extending it a few inches from her body as she used her semblance creating a subzero temperature all around her, protecting her from the heat.

Within seconds, the woman had cleared the fire tornado, skidding to a halt right before the machine. And there she let out a furious scream.

The capsule holding Jiao was empty, the straps cut away and the lock destroyed. Her three scientists, as well as all her guards were laying on the ground knocked out, their bodies and faces covered in soot and ash from the flames. The robot was sitting next to its capsule, a deep slash across its chest. Across the way, a massive slash had been made in the wall, leaving a massive hole in it. On a piece of debris next to the hole was light brown, almost white frill from skirt, as well as a very noticeable footprint of a high heeled boot.

"Damn it all!" Adelaide cursed, slamming her fist into one of the defenses walls as fury and confusion filled her head. How the hell had they done that?! Nobody, not even Summer could have knocked out this many people, broken that lock, (which had cost more than her house!) pulled an undoubtedly terrified civilian out of specially made restraints, and got out of a building that was surrounded on all sides by her men in that short of time! There was just no way that was even possible!

As the tornado died down, she spun around to face her men, eyes blazing with rage.

"Alpha team, get the injured to medical site 3! Gamma, you'll stay here with me to make sure our equipment isn't damaged! Beta, you and delta begin circling the area! Do now let anyone in or out unless you recognize them! And even then, make sure they aren't disguised!" Adelaide yelled as she pulled out her Scroll, her men already moving to carry out her orders. "Everyone else, spread out and check all the roads for the intruders! They couldn't have gone far in such a short amount of time! Take every car that isn't used for transport or security! anyone who can't fit, spread out on foot! When you find them, don't engage! Get either me or Igor once he arrives! I want him recaptured before sunrise! Move, now!"

With that, everyone immediately raced out of the warehouse, some carrying the injured, others pulling out weapons, all on high alert as they got into vans, driving off at high speeds looking for the escape prisoner and his four guards.

As she ran out, Adelaide pressed a button on her Scroll and immediately the entire warehouse began to shake as the ground below the massive machine began to lower into a hidden bunker, completely out of sight taking the robot and Gamma team (which was entirely made up of repair workers.) with it.

Fury burning her gaze, the gang leader scanned the damage done to their bungler hideout, her rage growing. How the hell had three kids done so much damage in such a short amount of time? On her watch no less!

Had she gotten rusty? Out of practice after retirement? No, that wasn't it. She had trained relentlessly to ensure she was in top shape when Atlas made its next move. No, she knew the real reason for her failure.

She had underestimated them, plan and simple. But that's something she wouldn't do again. When they crossed paths again, this time she wouldn't hesitate, wouldn't hold back. Next time she saw any of them, she'd put a bullet in their heads like she should have done that night when she had first crossed blades with that dark haired brat.

Back when she had first made the plan with Isaac, and after he had come back from learning the identity of the team guarding the band. He had made a demand for the plan. That they were not to kill Silver's daughter. And given her own personal feeling of debt to Summer, she had agreed.

But now? With everything on the line? That promise no longer held any sway. Debt or not. Promise or not, she couldn't let this chance slip through her fingers. Not with the Dynasty of Atlas right at their door. So like it or not, she knew what needed to be done. In order for Vale to prosper, she would have to kill team AACE.

As the van carrying the scientists speed towards a hospital, weaving its way through side streets and back roads to avoid leading anyone back to their hideout.

"Can't believe Adelaide was outplayed by a couple of brats." The driver said to the man in his passenger seat. "Think she's losing her touch? It doesn't feel that it should be this hard to kidnap one defenseless singer."

"Do you know how they got away? Or how they manage to even find this place? If not, put a sock in it!" His partner countered immediately. "Look, I know she's not perfect, but there's nobody in Vale who wants to stick it to those Atlesian dogs more than she does. And without her experience and connections we'd be rotting in a cell in Blackwater by now."

"Yeah, I guess." The driver said somewhat vaguely as he looked away from his partner. "But employing these eggheads, going after a singer, and all this stuff about attacking the Eternity Dynasty, it feels like we've strayed from the path we should be on. Like, I don't know. Torching Atlesians homes, or breaking their limbs and leaving them alive. Not all this huntsmen nobility stuff. I mean, the reason I joined was to get back at those bastards for driving everyone out of my village, not go to war against some lame terrorist group that's going to be destroyed by the kingdoms."

"Brothers help me. Did you even listen to her speech?" His partner said exasperatedly. "Vale is vulnerable right now! You know what that means?! If we don't do something, then we're all at risk of history repeating itself! Only this time it'll be the entire kingdom that we'll have to flee, not some tiny village! What's gotten into you, man? Since when were you this daft?!"

The driver shrug defensively at the actuation, still not looking over. "I'm just say'n! No need to blow up." He complained. "I'm just wondering if it wouldn't be better to have someone else less the gang. Someone who knows what we want, not forcing their own ideology on us. It's something worth considering now that we have another person who could take up Adelaide's mantle."

"Igor?" The second man asked in disbelief. "You must be joking. No way in hell am I following someone like that. Guy's crazier than a bag of cats. He'd probably start another war first day he was in charge. You can't honestly think-."

Bang!

A sudden loud sound cut the men off, immediately drawing their attention to the top back of the van.

What the hell was that? It sounded like something had landed on the top of the vehicle, but who would be stupid enough to try that? Jumping onto a moving vehicle would make such a loud noise that it was useless as an ambush tactic. And there were no bridges or anything, so something couldn't have randomly fallen onto them.

Wordlessly, the passenger pulled his shotgun from the floor of the van and cocked it. He didn't know what it was, but whatever it was, it just felt like too big of a coincidence that this happened the same night that they had a bunch of kids attack them.

But before either of them could begin trying to figure out what had happened, a foot slammed into the back of the passenger seat's head, sending his head smashing against the dashboard!

"What!?" The driver cried, spinning around to see what had just happened. And immediately his eyes went wide when he saw it was one of the scientists had kicked his partner and was now ripping the gun away from him!

"What are you doing?!" He screamed, immediately pulling a handgun from his coat. "Have you lost your mind?! We're on your side! Don't-!"

Before he could finish, there was a deafening crash as his window shattered as someone punched right through it, scoring a blow right on his face as well.

"Gah!" He cried. But before he could even think of countering, someone else grabbed him from behind, ripping him from his chair and pulling into the back of the van where he was thrown against the door at the back.

At the sudden removal of the driver, everyone inside could feel it suddenly lurch as it started to drift off the road, forcing the person who was hanging off the side of the door to grab the wheel to avoid tipping it, jerking it back on track.

This sudden movement gave the former driver a chance to see his attackers. And when he did his heart leapt into his throat.

The two scientists he thought had been transporting weren't the eggheads Adelaide had hired! The one who had thrown him was a young girl with dark hair. A lab coat had been thrown over a somewhat expensive looking outfit, completely with heels and all! What's more, she was young! In her early twenties at latest! No way was this

"The hell are-?!" He began raising his gun as he spoke, but before he could finish, Cinder shot forward, closing distance in a second! And as she planted her foot into the moving van, she spun, throwing her whole weight into a single kick right to his chest, aiming with the tip of her now glowing heel!

"Game over." She said with a smirk right. And the moment her foot made contact, she released all the heat stored inside.

"Aahhhh!" The driver screamed as a huge steam explosion forced the locked door open, blasting him out of the truck, and onto the hard road behind them, where he the cold cement, rolling a few feet before coming to a stop, completely unconscious.

"Was that necessary?" Adam, the other scientist, asked as he choked out the man in the passenger seat. "I'm case you forgot, we need this van to look inconspicuous. Blasting the back doors out kinda defeats that purpose!"

"Oh shut up. He fired that gun, we'd all be in trouble." Cinder shot back as she rushed over to the last scientist, Jiao, and made sure he didn't go flying out of the vehicle. "How about next time, you don't go until I'm ready! Another second and we'd-!"

"Come on you two, knock it off!" Amber called as she used one hand to keep steering, the other to open the door. "It's not going to be long before they find the real scientists and figure out what happened. We have a very small window to disappear and get to safety. Adam, take the wheel! Cinder, secure the doors! I'll take care of Jiao!"

With a unanimous "yes ma'am!" The three important set to work. Adam rushed into the driver's seat, pulling it forward to allow Amber to slip past where she dropped a bag in between the two seats before rushing to Jiao's side, pulling out a kit that had a little more than first aid in it.

As soon as she reached the singer, Cinder broke from her position, racing to the open back doors. Pulling them shut before using her semblance to weld them shut, thought not before kicking the other Seraphim out.

"That takes care of that." Cinder called back, dusting her hands off. "Need any help with Jiao or-?"

"Thanks, but I got it." Amber replied, not looking up as she rapidly cleaned the singer's many wounds. "Go get in the front with Adam. Help him avoid any confrontation. And while it's best not to make a spectacle of ourselves right now, if you see Seraphim who knows what happened, well, you know, shoot them."

With a nod, Cinder ran through the van and into the passenger seat, pulling on her seat belt as she went. Once secure, she reached into the bag and pulled out both blades of Midnight, as well as her now significantly reduced quiver of arrows.

"Damn it, I'm gonna need to make some more arrows soon. What a pain." She grumbled, pulling Adam's sword from the bag as well and placed it in the space between the two seats. "Still, I guess it was worth it. Can't believe that it seriously worked! Where'd you learn tactics like that? I can't imagine you picked that up from Sanctum."

"When you are far, make your opponents think you are near. And when you are near, make your opponent think you are far." Amber replied as she began applying ointment to Jiao's battered body. "That's a pretty basic tactic, but there's a reason why it's still taught today. Psychology is one factor of battle that is infinitely harder to train than just your body and observation skills. Even experienced huntsmen can fall prey to such tactics under the right circumstances, such as being caught off guard."

Cinder stared behind her at her partner, mouth hanging open slightly. She really was something else. Being able to come up with a risky strategy like that was one thing, but pulling it off was another! And to do it on such a short notice, she was starting to see very clearly what Ozpin had seen when he had named her leader. She was really in a league of her own.

"She's something, isn't she." The dark haired girl said as she turned back around, earning a chuckle from the driver.

"Yup, she really is." Adam replied, glancing over at the girl. "Tactics, medicine, dusting, and unlike most people, still being able to fight. I've never met anyone who's cane do all that." He paused a second before turning his attention back to the road, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"Maybe we judged her too quickly." He said, more to himself than Cinder. "If it wasn't for her self doubt and emotional baggage, she'd probably be stronger then both of us combined."

Surprised, Cinder raised an eyebrow at Adam, waiting for the sarcastic remark about how that only applied if he was a human. But when none came and the boy continued driving without any signs of joking, the dark haired girl realized he was serious.

With that, Cinder turned, looking out her window, a small smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, she probably would." She said quietly, so that said girl wouldn't hear.

Not that she needed to as when Amber started to bandage the singer's wounds, he let out a weak groan and started to shift around.

"Bout time you got here." He joked, his voice barely a rasp. "What took you so long? Got lost?"

Amber chuckled as she tightened a bandage. "Something like that." She said gently. "But I'm not anymore. I now know what needs to be done. So please just be patient a little longer. I promise I'll have you fixed up in a few more minutes. Although I'm nowhere near as good as my mom."

"Don't beat yourself up." The singer wheezed, breaking off for a second with a violent series of coughs. "Just-. Just keep me alive until we get to the hospital. From there I'll sleep it off and come back with an exclusive interview about-."

"We're not going to the hospital." Cinder called from the front, turning around to look at the two, her eyes narrowed to slits. "Adelaide's looking for you. The moment you get checked in, the place will be swarming with the media, trying to write whatever garbage they can for views. And when they do, the Seraphim will know exactly where you are and come to get you."

"Besides, putting you in a hospital puts everyone who either works or is staying there in danger. If a fight were to break out, many innocent people would get caught in the crossfire." Amber added as she dabbed more ointment onto Jiao's wounds. "Adelaide isn't going to hesitate to kill others to get you back. So for right now, we'll keep you out of the public eye until we can make a plan."

"Are you kidding me?" The singer groaned, pointedly rolling his eyes. "Just have my manager hire more guards! I don't care about the money we spent on Music Fest anymore! Just keep me-! Cough! Cough!"

Jiao was silenced as another bout of violent coughs, this time hacking up blood making Amber immediately help sit him up to avoid choking.

"Please, don't yell." The dark skinned girl warned, gently rubbing his back as he continued to cough. "Unfortunately, that won't work. Not only do we now know who the man behind everything is, they also have a not insignificant amount of power and influence. They could probably bypass most professional huntsmen. And then…"

Amber paused for a moment to help Jiao back down as his coughing subsided. Her face betrayed her insecurity as she looked down at the singer, then glanced over at her team. She had a theory for a while now, but was pretty hesitant to say it. Not only because just like with Howard, she didn't have any proof. But also because if she said it and it turned out to be false, that could be a problem. Better to wait until Fang came back with the info she asked for. She needed-!

"And then…what?"

It was Cinder who had asked what was on everyone's mind as they stared at Amber, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Amber, I know you said you had a theory and didn't want to say anything just in case, but I think this is a bigger deal than what you're letting on." Cinder paused for a second, as if to consider her words carefully, something she normally didn't do. But before her partner could call her out on it, Cinder pushed on.

"Look, whatever it is, even if you're wrong, we aren't going to turn against you, not anymore. So please, trust us. I promise I'll keep a level head and listen until you're done, or whatever you want me to do. So can you stop trying to be the hero and carry everything by yourself? I want to help you, so please let me."

Amber opened her mouth to quickly deflect the question, but paused for a second as she let Cinder's word sink in.

The girl was honestly trying to change, trying to do better. Yet here she was doubting her and refusing to believe she could actually be anything but the hothead who rushes in first, thinks later. If that was the case, could she truly say she was doing this for anything else beyond her own prejudices?

Arguably, she could say she had good reason not to trust the girl with delicate information like this, especially given how she had reacted in the past. But ever since she had bared her heart out to her, the girl was making an honest effort to change, something most people never got to.

Maybe, maybe it was her who had forgotten the ability to trust. And besides, even if she was wrong and she did blow up again, what would that matter now? After all, she had already made her resolve and had no plans to back down. What was one final gamble going to do?

"Okay." She said, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. "I think that Bobby-."

"On no. Hey, we got company! Hold onto something now!"

Amber blinked in surprise at Adam cutting her off. Company? How? She had estimated they'd have another ten, fifteen minutes at least! How had Adelaide not only realized they were the scientists, but also figured out which truck they had hijacked?!

But before she could ask Aden for more details, the vehicle lurched, almost throwing Amber to the ground as the Faunus pressed the gas all the way to the floor. Accelerating to such a high speed that even though they were on a straightaway, they could feel the vehicle tipping.

However, when she pulled herself back up and grabbed a handhold on the ceiling of the van, looking out the front windshield Amber felt her heart leap into her throat and her entire body jolted so badly not even a car crash could emulate it.

There, standing perfectly still in the center of the road, his body lit up by the high beams was Isaac Howard.

He had dawned heavy metal gauntlets and metal, spiked boots, complete metal with knee pads and shoulder guards. A weapon as large as himself wrapped in cloth was strapped to his back, the cloth had been embroiled with the many crests of Atlesian families he had destroyed. His scared arms were bare and his long hair braided, a dark scowl spread across his face as he glared down at the coming vehicle.

Slowly, he reached up, pulling the massive weapon from his back with one hand, letting the cloth wrap fall to the ground as he raised it high into the air, letting the gleaming metal become revealed incoming headlights.

It was a huge boomerang made entirely of metal segments, each one seemingly able to adjust and shift while still attached to the whole. Both sides of the weapon had been sharpened into blades with points at the ends, so it could be used for either ranged or melee combat.

Upon seeing this, Amber's eyes widened in shock and horror. That was Issac Howard's weapon, the Fleet Destroyer! A weapon tha, unlike most huntsmen of later generations, had earned its name through bloody conflict. With that thing, Howard had completely decimated an Atleisan air fleet by himself overnight! Rendering an invasion into Vacuo null and void before it could even reach them! And if he had it here, that meant-!

"Adam! Turn! Turn now!" She screamed, her voice completely panicked drawing the attention of everyone in the van.

"Wha-?" Was all Adam managed to get out before a horrible realization came upon Amber.

It was already too late!

The next instant, Howard brought her weapon down, slamming one point into the ground, digging it so deep into the earth that even the heavy metal was able to stand upright without any support, thought he kept both hands on it, digging his boots firmly into the ground as he leaned forward against his weapon, as if bracing it for impact.

And the next second, it happened.

The car suddenly jolted, the tires popping and the front bumper crumpling as if it had been hit by something. But that hardly matters to team AACE as the next second the vehicle was launched high into the sky, cartwheeling through the air as if it was a flipped coin before coming back down, crashing into the ground upside down causing the roof to crumple from the force!

Immediately there was a horrible screeching sound as the van slid several feet before coming to a stop, its windows completely crushed and doors jammed shut as the roof compressed down on them. Smoke was already billowing from under the hood, its fluids leaking out as the wheels were spinning uselessly as they were pointed uselessly in the air.

Howard calmly stood there, not bothering to look back at the wreck he had just made. Instead, he carefully took his hands off his weapon and examined it, rotating his arm as if checking for something.

But before he could find it, the sound of shattering glass made him pause. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Cinder, crawling out of the vehicle from the now smashed windshield, her aura flickering as she glared up at him.

What the hell was that? How had this old man flipped a van that size without touching it?! What's more, what had happened to the van hadn't felt like a blast wave to Cinder, more like they hit something so hard, the entire vehicle had been thrown into the air.

But they hadn't hit Howard yet! They hadn't even been close! Yet somehow, he had flipped them so effortlessly almost like it was nothing to him, as natural as breathing.

A crunch behind her drew the dark haired girl from her thoughts. Looking towards it, she saw Adam, sword and scabbard in hand, crawling out the same way she had, crushing the shattered glass as he went.

When they had hit…whatever it was, the airbags had deployed on Adam's side, cushioning the crash. As such, it looked like his aura had taken significantly less damage compared to Cinder, who, while not completely drained, knew she could probably only take one or two more hits.

However the third member of their team was the worst off.

I'm the back of the van, not even wearing a seat belt, Amber lay on her side, her breathing ragged and uneven. During the crash, she had used her own body as a shield, covering as much of Jiao as she could to keep him from taking anymore damage. Though this did have some consequences.

Her aura had been completely destroyed when the van had hit the ground upside down, causing glass from the windows to cut her arms and legs badly. And when they had hit the ground, she had banged her head hard against the roof. Blood was already starting to leak from the skull, staining her hair and face. From this angle, Cinder couldn't even tell if she was conscious or not.

Rage immediately filled Cinder's gut as she turned her attention back to Howard, who was still just looking at them over his shoulder, as if they weren't worth his time or energy.

How dare someone like this call himself friend's with Summer? How dare he trick her into thinking he was just an innocent kind old man?! How dare he use Amber idolization to use and then discard her like trash!? How dare he!

This man is despicable! His actions of both abuse and manipulation unforgivable! Using a traumatized girl as a pawn, it hit Cinder in a way she never thought she could be hurt. Sure, she was very similar to him on how she had treated her team. But for once, she wasn't angry at him for digging up old wounds, she was furious. No. Livid! That he'd dare to put Amber through the same pain she had gone through!

Clenching her hands into fists so tight, her knuckles turned white, Cinder swore to herself there and then, she'd ripped Howard to peace for what he had done! Not for herself, but for Amber!

"Humph. That's quite the expression." He said, turning back to his weapon. "The last time I saw it, it was on your mother. Right before we dove into that mission, right before we enacted justice on that hated king and his wretched bloodline. She did the right thing that day, ending the war. Still, that's not the expression a huntress should wear outside of war times."

Cinder's eyes narrowed as she pulled herself to her feet, that irresistible rage roaring at her to charge, to make him suffer! And it took all her willpower to hold herself. She knew if she charged in now, under these circumstances, not only would she get herself killed, she'd get her teammates killed as well. Howard was leagues ahead of Adelaide, and she had thrashed the dark haired girl effortlessly! Much as she hated to admit it, they needed a plan.

"You know, when Summer called me to tell me you had messed up, but got your second wind, I was very surprised. According to Adelaide, I thought you'd never be a true huntress given your attitude and unwillingness to compromise. This is one of the rare instances I'm glad to see she was wrong." Howard said as he saw the two huntsmen in training get to their feet, chuckling as he saw their eyes narrowed at him. "No words, huh? I can't blame you. After everything I've done, I'd be too angry to speak as well. But please believe me when I say that I never intended Ruby to get caught up in that fiasco. Only the Schnee brat was supposed to be hurt that day, nobody else. But I guess that's still on me for putting my faith in a bunch of racist fanatics."

He chuckled as his own horrible joke, Cinder felt movement beside her and immediately extended her arm, blocking Adam's path as the Faunus took an aggressive step towards the old man, his entire body shaking with rage as a dark snarl escaped his throat.

And at this spark of emotions, Howard fell silent and closed his eyes, his expression unreadable by either of the two huntsmen. They knew he had achieved whatever he wanted, but what that was they had no idea. Surely he wasn't getting into their heads, someone that strong wouldn't need to. Yet try as they might, that was the only reason they could think of.

A hard silence filled the road after this exchange as both parties stood their ground, waiting for something, anything that might give them the advantage. But when none came, it was Howard who broke the silence.

"Well then, I guess that's enough of the pleasantries." He said, his eyes opening with a completely different look in them. A dark look, one of a battle hardened warrior. One befitting of a man of his reputation. "I won't ask you to hand over the singer. I know if you could have been convinced, you'd never have mounted a rescue. But let me give you this warning."

Immediately, he seized his weapon with both hands, hauling it out of the ground as he spun to face his opponents. As he did, his boomerang split in two right at the center, effectively transforming into two giant, bladed Tonfa covering his hands and arms before extending several feet past his elbows.

"If you stand against me, I will kill you."

He spoke quietly, calmly even, yet the moment he spoke these words, Howard's entire demeanor seemed to transform. Gone was the kind, soft spoken old man who always seemed to be smiling. Now, I'm his place stood the legendary war hero who fought against Atlas so ferociously, his name became feared across half of Remnant!

And as she stood there, Cinder felt a wave of killer intent wash over her, almost knocking her off her feet. Even from this distance, she could feel the intensity of his aura, making her hair stand up on end and her limbs begin to shake. A bead of sweat ran down her face as she instinctively took a step back, every fiber of her body screaming at her to run.

Back when she had first met him, a part of her wondered if he really was that good. Summer had said he had saved her countless times, but the dark haired girl had been skeptical. She couldn't see this old man, who was running one of the most boring businesses in the kingdom, being anywhere near strong enough to get her out of any real danger.

But now? Now she understood. This man was strong, far stronger than she ever thought. And now she was about to get a first hand look at what he was truly capable of.

Gripping her weapon tightly, Cinder shifted into her battle stance. All kinds of feelings fill her body. So many she couldn't keep them straight, she had no idea what she was currently feeling.

But one thing she did know. At her current level, she'd be dead in five minutes!

/////////////////////////////////////////

So, I wanted to say that there's a difference between what you think will work in your head compared to what works on paper. Basically the idea for Amber's was cleave, when I thought of it, however as I wrote more and more of it, I realized how stupid it really was. Unfortunately, as I said in the notes at the top, I'm not in a position where I can change the script at the drop of a hat.

Anyway, moving on, there's actually something else I'm going to start here called the cut content hour. Which is little more than me talking about what didn't make the final cut and why it didn't make it. Aka, I want so semblance of the hours of work that gets chucked into the bin to have so meaning.

So, in this chapter, you might have notice the shift from Adelaide's perspective to be a bit forced. That's because I originally planned to go into her backstory. At this point, you'd have learned that she was born into a village in Vale territory that was occupied by Atlas. She effectively grow up as a slave and used for cheap labor so the army could hold there position and…other services for the solders.

Eventually, the war shifted and Atlas started losing ground. At this point, to deny Vale ground and to aid their retreat, anything Atlas couldn't take was destroyed, villages were burned, and the citizens were executed.

Yeah, combine that with what you know about Adelaide's husband and you can kinda see why she hates Atlas.

This was ultimately cut because going from such a heavy focus on Adelaide to one on Howard just felt jarring. And after roughly 12 failed drafts trying to make it seamless, I eventually gave up and put it here.

Anyway, that's the end of what I'm is going to be a series of cut content. So until next time, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next chapter. Bye!