39

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What," Blake started quietly, and tensely, having finally pinned Adam in a hallway alone. Enough so that Adam flinched in the dark hallway of their Mountain Glenn hideout. "is 'Operation Breach' exactly, Adam? You have a lot of Dust down there."

"It's… Cinder, that Human woman who was there when we rescued you? It's part of her plan." Adam admitted after a few long seconds, sighing when she raised an eyebrow expectantly and crossed her arms under her chest. "Train lines run underground, from Mountain Glenn to the center of Vale's industrial district. Plan is, we blow a hole in Vale, let the Grimm rampage for a bit."

"You're going to let the Grimm rampage in the city?" She demanded, warm and angry amber eyes smoldering furiously in the gloom of the hallway. "Adam, that's insane, you can't just-"

"Blake, calm down." He said quickly, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her against the wall, staring her down for a few seconds until she took a breath and leaned away from him, raising a leg to let her foot press against the stone wall comfortably. Adam took a breath and stepped back before continuing, "It's planned for the Grimm to be wiped out. Between Atlas and the Huntsmen there, they won't be able to get anywhere or do any real damage. That's the plan, Blake."

"So…" Blake paused to think for several long seconds, "Your entire plan, is an attack that fails?"

"Yes." Adam grunted wearily, turning and continuing his walk through the halls, "The attack needs to go forward now, to stay on schedule. While the patrol fleet should still be in Vale and be able to help, and it's still late enough in the day for the factories to be empty, before the next shift moves in."

She followed him through the halls, the two coming out on a large, open area, White Fang soldiers below were loading crates onto a train and pilots were moving Paladins off of it, both towards the direction of Roman. The massive machines lumbering around to a storage area set a few dozen yards away, under Blake and Adam's building. She leaned on the solid, fence-like stone railing, watching them move about below. Smiling slightly, he joined her, leaning against the stone close enough that their arms touched.

"You know this will only make things harder on the Faunus, Adam." She sighed, turning her head just enough to look at his mask, ears flicking at the sounds below. "Right?"

"For now, yes. But soon? Soon the Humans won't be blaming anyone, for anything, and the Faunus will get what we deserve." He smiled wider, and Blake shuddered at it. He noticed, turning to look at her with a sigh, "Soon, the violence won't be necessary at all, Blake. Faunus will have their rightful place in the world, and the Humans will know it."

"And what is that 'place' exactly, Adam?" Blake asked quietly, the bull Faunus turning away from her with a huff. She grabbed his arm with both hands, staring up at him steadily, "What is their place, Adam?"

"Where was ours in their world, Blake?" He growled, slamming a fist into the stone hard enough to crack it and drive his fist into the edge. "Theirs then will be ours now, because that is justice. They should just hope we're kinder rulers than they were."

"That's revenge, not justice. And that's oppression, not equality." Blake argued, shaking her head and turning to walk towards the ladder at the edge of the roof. She stopped at the top of it, turning to look at the man with those same glowing, furious yellow eyes. "I fight for equality for everyone, and justice for all. What the hell do you fight for?"

He watched her climb down before sighing, tearing his hand out of the stone and shaking the dirt off his knuckles idly. Turning to look down and watch her move to join Roman, he muttered, "For a world you can live in, Blake."

"Roman." Blake grunted, joining the man in the center of his ordered chaos. "Everything going as planned?"

He turned at the question and the meaning behind it, smiling confidently after a second and turning back around and talking quietly, "Yep! All according to plan, Blake. Just hang in there, and make sure you have a ride into town when crap hits the fan."

Looking around warily, and trying not to look like she was doing that in any way, Blake narrowed her eyes. "I will, if I can find one in time. What about you?" She asked in concern, and Gods if she wasn't surprised about feeling that about Roman of all people in the world. "How are you going to get there?"

"Not gonna, for a bit." He grunted back, pausing when a few of the White Fang soldiers passed too close for his liking. "I have to wait on Neo, and the kid too I guess. Can't leave her, and she won't leave him behind, so in a rough spot." He sighs, scratching at the back of his head, "Oh well, used to that at least, so don't stress it."

"Do you know when the train is supposed to… Well, you know." She sighed and gestured at a crate, the explosives showing through the top a bit.

"Ah. Tomorrow around noon, last I heard." He smiled, turning and looking at a few Faunus down the line with a solemn expression, tipping his hat with a long finger from his off hand and stepping up beside her, turning his back to Adam on the ledge behind them while Blake watched the man in question with forced apathy, "Be careful, kid. Okay? When you make your move, make sure you're sure of what you're doing. Because the shit I know that's out there is fucked up, and I don't know it all."

"I know what I'm doing, Roman." She growled, eyes narrowing dangerously at the taller man. "I'm not some scared child that doesn't know any better."

"No, you don't, kid." He said dismissively, shrugging when she turned and scowled at him more fully. Chuckling, he sighed and gave her shoulder a pat as he turned, "Neither do I and if it weren't for Neo, I'd be gone already, off hidin' somewhere. As is?" He sighed, shrugging nonchalantly and stepping past her, "Dunno, but probably gonna die."

She blinked, watching the man stroll away like he didn't have a care in the world. After he rounded a corner, she sighed, "Crazy Humans." Turning, she spotted a man messing with the explosives and raised her voice, "Hey, watch what you're doing! You want to blow us through the roof?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ozpin sighed, pacing side to side on the balcony of his office, Glynda watching him from inside, wary of being spotted still given her supposed injuries. She watched him, sighing eventually, "You're upset."

"A touch, yes." He admitted quietly, the cool morning air blowing up from below and ruffling his clothes, "Between James' lack of trust for anything I have to say, Miss Nikos' instability as of late, and what is left of RWBY's own antics of late, I am a touch irritated."

"Understandable." Glynda conceded quietly, leaning against the frame of the balcony with a small smile. "James is… coming around, however, and within the next few days we have operations planned to solve the other issues as well."

"I know." He said, sighing and picking his mug up from the balcony's railing, "It is merely a… frustrating time, I suppose, for me. I've truly never been good at waiting through the last day or so before something important like this."

Hearing her Scroll chime quietly, Glynda fished it out of her breast pocket, smiling thinly when she saw it was a message from James. Seeing her smile, Ozpin approached, and she read it off, "His fleet is moving the Branwen Tribe and their items right now, and he's got a few patrol frigates and a destroyer stationed near Vale in case something happens." Sighing, she continued, "He… Also has reports that a fortress to Vale's north has stopped their routine check-ins without reporting a cause. He… is concerned about a possible Grimm problem, or the White Fang, and requires your input."

"Find out if he can make a video call." Ozpin ordered, stepping past her into his office. She nodded, sending the message while he made his way to his desk and pressed a button, heavy curtains unfurling from the roof and covering the windows around him to prevent glare. When Glynda nodded, he pressed another button to lower a screen and started the call. James' face appeared a moment later, the dull grey of his office around him broken by a shelving unit and a cock, and Ozpin smiled politely. "James, I hear you've had some sort of problem?"

"I'm not in the mood for pleasantries or games, Ozpin." The general grunted roughly, sighing and sending a static sound across the line, "Castle Fort has failed to make any check-ins on schedule, and worse, they aren't responding to direct hails."

"Is it possible that they are suffering from an equipment malfunction?" Glynda asked politely, stepping around so that she was behind Ozpin's chair and fully in James' sight. The general's eyes softened slightly, and she smiled, "Hello, James."

"Glynda." He greeted, nodding his head slightly before continuing, "No, Atlesian fortresses like that have multiple things they should be doing if they suffer a severe enough malfunction to make this happen. Not the least of which is sending one of their light flyers to another base nearby, of which there are a couple within range, to notify us of their situation."

"And no fliers have been reported, I assume." Ozpin added, sighing and stroking his chin worriedly.

"Actually, several have. A small, civilian transport fleet has been reported in the area, including a light frigate by appearances." James said quickly, turning to search for a folder with the information in his drawer. "Older models, by a small margin, but still. It's-"

"Tell your men to send some ships now, your castle is likely under attack or already taken." Ozpin growled, steepling his fingers in front of himself on the table. "Salem has done this often enough, using mercenaries, malcontents… terrorists, all to achieve her ends."

"The… White Fang, you mean?" James asked after a second, the older man nodding. "How would they afford an Atlesian frigate? How would they-"

"Salem has amassed as much of a fortune as I have, James, and as much influence among those too weak willed to oppose her. Or uninformed of her, I suppose." Ozpin cut in, the general nodding and sighing again, this time angrily. "Employing these to assault a fortress is odd, but not unheard of. She must have some goal in mind to do such a thing as this, some goal this would facilitate."

"Perhaps she doesn't want the Vytal Festival to go forward?" Glynda suggested, Ozpin humming in response, and a request that she continue. "If Atlas were to fear something greater, they may withdraw from the Festival, or even just stall it until a later date. The ramifications would be dire no matter what."

"It would make sense." James agreed, nodding with a grave look, his brows furrowed and eyes hard. "The Vytal Festival is important to politics and Kingdom relations around Remnant, so interrupting it would be quite useful indeed for the Queen of the Grimm. Sowing chaos would be part of her strategy, surely."

"Indeed." Ozpin agreed, looking at James and taking a long breath, "We must ensure that the Vytal Festival goes forward, no matter what may come. Until we find out what in the Brother's name Salem is up to."

"Agreed." James grunted, working his jaw for a few moments before speaking again. "Oz, about what we talked about a few days ago…" He let out a tired breath, running a hand through his hair agitatedly. "I… This isn't an apology, per se, I think I was right to react the way I did, I think."

"I would agree, James." Ozpin responded, smiling thinly, "Were I in your position, I'd have likely reacted the same way. What matters now is that we move forward in spite of that… event, and its confusion." The general nodded, and Ozpin smiled more widely, "Now, send men to that fortress. Find out what is happening."

"Already done. When will you be departing with Nikos and the others?" He asked gruffly, awkwardly shifting the subject to try and get rid of the awkwardness that he felt. "I understand they were… 'unhappy' that the operation had to be stalled?"

"Indeed, though they accepted the reasoning rather easily. We need your fleet's support, after all. Attacking Mountain Glenn would be almost worse than useless without a fleet, and your soldiers and drones of course, to deal with the Grimm such would bring." Ozpin said simply, shrugging at the question. "Not to mention prisoners, of course, as I won't be ordering them to simply execute every member of the White Fang they happen to meet along the way to Miss Belladonna."

"Which is another matter to be discussed." Glynda interrupted smoothly, "What will your soldiers be told about her? I won't accept her being placed in mortal peril, you understand, James."

"My soldiers will be briefed on her and ordered to recognize her as friendly and undercover, Glynda. I'm deploying mainly special forces under my direct command, so it should be of little concern that they obey my command. She could threaten them with a bomb strapped around her waist, and they'd defer to my brief." James explained, smiling proudly at the mention of his soldiers. "Atlesian discipline is among the finest in the world, I assure you. They'll do as commanded."

"Very well." Ozpin conceded, chuckling to himself and shaking his head. "When will you be arriving, or shall we meet at Mountain Glenn itself?"

"A rendevouz would be best." Ozpin answered quickly, bringing up a map that was shared across the connection, pointing to a mountain overlooking Mountain Glenn and Vale alike, "Here. We can meet up, and land on Mountain Glenn's surface before heading underground. The Grimm presence on top of the structure will be severe, but nothing like the Goliaths and worse nearby."

"Nothing we can't handle then, I'm sure." James dismissed with a confident smile, turning his head until his neck popped quietly. "But I must go, I'm afraid. I have a few matters to settle and will be departing in my flagship while my fleet moves the Branwen Tribe over to come meet with you and your own… forces."

"I understand." Ozpin said quietly, ending the call after the man nodded respectfully. Turning to Glynda, he smiled coyly, "I wonder how you swayed him so much, Glynda." She gave his arm a playful, and mildly annoyed, slap and he chuckled brightly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Salem smiled at Cinder's report, sipping wine calmly out of a goblet and relaxing languidly in a chair in front of a window that gave her a spectacular view of the land sprawling away from her castle, Goliaths marching alone at random and, in the distance far enough to be scarcely visible, a great Grimm dragon named Turok soared through the skies, circling to the far north where he almost exclusively dwelt. The land nearest her castle was broken and cracked, dark red stone shattered in places where her Grimm spawned and nested, but beyond that, great, green trees spread in every direction until it reached her continent's north-eastern most shores where thick mist coiled, thick enough that she didn't need to worry about being seen by Atlesian ships. Turok made short work of any who would breach that barrier, and the mist was electrified so communications never reached home.

A perfect defense from prying eyes.

"The little whore won't be able to move as well, when she finally recovers. Which I am told will take some time yet before that occurs, and even longer before she can even move." Smiling on the other end of the video call, Cinder added, "Watts' informant served us well indeed."

"And is Jaune suspicious? Has he realized the particular nature of your chosen venue for his first outing?" The Grimm Queen asked, taking a long sip from her silvered goblet. "If he is, we shall have a great issue."

"No, my Mistress, he has his suspicions, but I managed to sway him away from the truth." Chuckling darkly, the Maiden shook her head on the other end of the call. "He relies on his ability being far more accurate than it is, and far harder to manipulate. Tricking him merely requires clever wordplay and direction, as you told me."

"I would know, after all." The Queen chuckled, turning so that her legs hung over the arm of her chair and her head rested on the pillow atop the other, sighing contentedly. "You must tread carefully, however. He could still pick up on the deception if you aren't careful of the topics at hand and your own thoughts."

"A challenge, Mistress, but not one I will fail." Cinder inclined her head reverently, eyes closing in a sign of difference. "I swear it."

"See that it doesn't. I would hate to have to punish you, after all." Titling her goblet, she amused herself at the way it sloshed back and forth as she continued. ""Truly, a Maiden doesn't need to speak necessarily, even if it is convenient. So I would dislike having to carve out your tongue for speaking a lie when you swear to me such."

"It won't be needed." Cinder assured her nervously, "Is there anything else you require, Mistress?"

"The fact that the girl lives is… Problematic. Are you sure there is no way to have her killed?" Cinder shook her head, and the Queen sighed morosely. "A pity, replacing a dead girl is so much easier. Especially for one as virtuous as him, tempting him away from her won't be as easy as I would like."

"Indeed. Unfortunately, for now, Jaune is on his guard too heavily for her to be killed." She sighed, grimacing. "I could attempt to poison her, but anyone entering the room aside from the doctor herself poses a risk. And I see few ways to coerce her, she takes her sole seriously, and Jaune's blasted heroics have secured him some grudging respect from the White Fang's less extreme members. Which are surprisingly numerous, considering where I am."

"Indeed." Salem groused, groaning and rolling her head. "That he has advanced so far is an issue. Tell me, can he yet sense nonliving things?"

"I do not know, Mistress." Cinder answered, swallowing nervously at even that much of a failing. "I shall ask, if you wish it, I am sure I can come up with an excuse of some kind for wanting to know. A mission, perhaps, that might come up soon enough."

"No. Better to be safe than sorry, in that regard." Drumming her fingers on the goblet's rim she smiled, turning to the young Maiden's visage on the screen with a glint to her eyes. "Kill her before you return to me, Cinder. I leave the how of it to you, so long as you are not discovered in any way."

"Of course, Mistress." Cinder nodded, ending the call.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX