Strider's Cove

West District

Alleyway

15:15 hours

Ruby stops running at the next turn in the alley to catch her breath. She needs to relearn how to run without the enhanced AURA leggings. It feels heavy to carry her full body weight, yet good at the same time. Not like that's her main focus at the moment.

"Penny!?" she calls out. She looks left, then right, then left again to catch a glimpse of the duster darting behind some crates, into one of the buildings. She turns left and breaks out sprinting again.

"This is insane," she thinks as she runs. "I saw the building blow up. Everyone died. And she had to be in there, right? Where else would she be? Did she wait for me outside? Get new orders? Maybe she was in the bathroom, I heard the bodies in their had less burns. No, it's impossible, everyone died. But she's alive! Is that really her? Did I mistake her for someone else? Am I even chasing a person, or just a figment of my imagination? No, Weiss saw her too...I think."

Ruby reaches the building and bolts inside. This section of the structure is what is known as a "connector," which is used exclusively for moving between other buildings. Thus, the room is bare of any furniture or decoration. Ruby climbs the spiral staircase in the middle of the room as fast as she can.

"Alright, enough worrying about it," she tells herself. She reaches the top of the staircase, directly in front of a door. "Let's just get to the bottom of this." She shoves the door open, revealing the roof of the structure. Two sky bridges extend from opposite directions, going to different buildings. Penny is casually walking across one of them.

"Ok, not how I imagined this chase ending, but I'll take it." Her first instinct is to run after her, but decides against it, for fear of making Penny run again. Instead she walks as fast as she can after Penny, heart pounding with every step she takes.

It feels so strange to Ruby as she walks. She knows the person behind that coat; her only friend as a grunt; but seeing her from behind the duster and hood makes her seem...foreign, like a complete stranger that Ruby otherwise wouldn't have given a second glance.

"Shit, how long has it been since Signal? Four, five months? Feels like yesterday."

When Ruby gets within arms distance of Penny, the memories of the heat, the chaos, and the run that made her a Hunter flash before her. Not just the images, but the emotions she felt; confusion, fear, excitement, hatred, fatigue, rage, and even hopelessness during her run.

"P-Penny?" Ruby asks timidly. Penny slowly turns around to face her.

"Y-yes?" she replies. Her hood covers most of her head, and her face is covered in a thin layer of grit, but if Ruby had doubts from her brief glimpse of her former battle buddy before, she's positive now; this is Penny Blackwell.

But what was that response?

"It...is that really you?" Ruby asks. Penny blinks a few times.

"Um...Yes...I think so. We know each other?"

"Uh..it's me Penny, Ru-Rose, from 4th Platoon. Camp Signal? You...I thought you were dead." Ruby's heart is pounding.

"...Private Rose?" Penny says. Ruby's heart skips a couple beats.

"Y-yes," she says. Penny takes a step forward and cocks her head to the side, getting a better look at Ruby. Ruby wonders if she has really changed so much since the Signal attack.

"...Friend?" Penny says, then slowly nods. "Friend."

Without hesitation, Ruby lets herself finally grab onto Penny's back and hold her in the tightest hug she can muster. Penny gently lays her hands on Ruby's hips.

"I can't believe it!" Ruby says when she finally lets Penny go. "All this time, I thought...They said that no one survived the explosion! But you're here! You're actually here!"

"Yes, I actually am here," Penny says, smiling the same way she always smiled at Ruby before.

"Wait, this is crazy! What are you doing here? What unit are you in? How come I never heard from you since Signal?"

"I...I've changed a lot since Signal." Ruby chuckles.

"You sure look the same to me. Maybe a bit more stylish in that duster, but still the same Penny."

"I...guess it's a nice coat...so what happened to you?" Penny asks abruptly.

"Oh, right, I guess you're surprised too! You know the Hunter Program? They enlisted me a little while after Signal. Squad leader too!"

"You lead a Hunter squad?"

"Yeah, RWBY Squad, my codename's Ruby! It was kind of miserable at first, mostly because I'm a private leading three higher ranking soldiers, but I'm learning more and more, and my squadmates are really great, and we even fought in Vale-"

"You were deployed in Vale?"

"Yeah, complete FUBAR. We barely got out of there alive ourselves."

"Why are you here now?"

"We got in a little...uh...bit of a bad situation...long story short we're grounded while there's this investigation, but now we're looking for White Fang in this town. Hey, what unit are you with? I haven't seen many Vale soldiers in town, and Fort Beacon is the only base in the region."

"I'm...not in any unit, really." Ruby gulps, and finally lets her ignorance fall away.

"Ok, Penny, I really didn't want to say it, but...what happened to you? Really. I saw the report myself, everyone inside the mess hall died in the explosion. You were listed as KIA. And now you're here, in a private uniform acting really strange."

"Strange? How?" Penny asks, blinking again.

"You just seem really...mellow, confused even. You're asking lots of questions and dodging mine." Penny looks over the edge of the skybridge and over her shoulder cautiously.

"I really want to tell you, friend," she says. "But I'm not sure if I can."

"There's no one here, Penny. No CO, no Fang, no Feds, no Coalition, nobody. From one old friend to another, please tell me." Penny nods slowly again.

"Ok," she says, and pulls down her hood. "Give me your hand." Ruby slowly holds out her hand, which Penny takes and presses on the back of her head, waving through the orange hair. "Do you feel it?"

"Um, should I?"

"It should be right here."

"No, I-wait! Is it cold?"

"Yep," Penny says, releasing her hand. Ruby quickly pulls away.

"Penny, what's going on?"

"Them listing me as KIA isn't necessarily a lie. I was medically dead for almost five hours, covered head to toe in third and fourth degree burns." Now it's Ruby's turn to blink.

"Penny, are you saying you were actually in the explosion? Like, directly on top of it? Because you sure don't look like it."

"You know my father, right?"

"Yeah, you told me about him. He's an engineer, right?"

"More of a scientist by occupation, but yes. He's been working on an operation codenamed Project Polendina. Originally meant for a future spy program, he's spent the past several years developing a powered endoskeleton to be used by soldiers to give them near superhuman strength and durability."

"Wait, did you say 'endoskeleton?'" Ruby questions.

"Yes."

"Did you mean to say 'exoskeleton?'"

"No, I mean endoskeleton."

"As in a powered exoskeleton...inside the body?"

"Yes. The Polendina suit replaces the original human bones with mechanical replicas, mostly consisting of the bones in the arms, legs, and rib cage, plus slipping a series of flexible body armor under most of the skin. The suit is regulated by a small computer, called the Core, implanted on the heart. Everything is powered internally, by blood running through tubes in the artificial boness. In combat, the Core directs blood to the required limbs to heighten their strength."

"...You do realize how insane that sounds sounds, right?" Ruby asks. Penny cracks a smile.

"Yes," Penny replies.

"Well, how did you get this, Polendina thingy inside of you after you...died?"

"My father was very focused on the Core, seeing what it was capable of. One of these capabilities is reviving a deceased soldier directly on the battlefield, taking over the duties of the natural heart, essentially mimicking life in a dead body. After the heart starts working again, the Core triggers a release of a very specific amount of different chemicals, primarily adrenaline, in order to get the body in full operation in a short amount of time."

"And it revived you after five hours of being dead?"

"From what my father told me, just barely. It actually took the Core almost five times as long as it should have to get my heart beating on its own again."

"So, you were only given the Core then?"

"No, the Core only works with the full suit. The Core alone can only keep the body running for so long until the full suit needs to be implemented. I was in surgery for...how long was it? Something like thirty-two hours." Ruby's jaw drops.

"Thir...tee...What was that number? I think it was too big."

"Thirty-two?"

"Yep, too big. I thought you were dead for only five hours?"

"I was, but they had to work slowly to remove my bones and replace them with the suit, because my heart was so unstable. I also lost many of my original organs; kidneys, lungs, intestines; I'm technically made of about seven different people now, including myself. After that, my father grafted me a new set of skin, and this is the end result."

"...You do realize how insane that sounds, right?" Ruby asks.

"You said that already."

"I know, just making sure you heard me. Who knows about this Polendina suit?"

"You, me, my father, and Ironwood."

"General Ironwood?"

"He gave my father permission to go ahead with the procedure in exchange for my use in tests if I survived."

"Tests?"

"In the field. What I'm doing now."

"Oh, so is that why you're not in a uniform? It's top secret?"

"Very top secret."

"Is that why you ran from me when you first saw me? You weren't sure if you should make contact with someone from before this all happened to you?"

"...Yes, more or less." Suddenly, Penny's head jerks to the side.

"What's wrong?"

"I have to go," Penny says, and turns to run down the sky bridge, but Ruby grabs her wrist.

"Wait!" Ruby says. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go," Penny repeats.

"Yeah, right, top secret stuff I'm sure. But you can't just leave me again!"

"No, of course not, friend, but I have to go." Ruby thinks rapidly.

"Do you know where Fort Beacon is?" she asks. Penny blinks.

"Yes, but I can't get in. My father won't let me near it."

"Can you get as close as you can coming from the southeast midnight tonight?"

"I suppose, but why? Will you get me in?"

"Yes, I know a blind spot in the patrols."

"Ok, but Ruby, I…" Penny pauses. "I have to go."

"So you've said," Ruby says, letting go of Penny's wrist. Without saying another word, Penny takes off running down the bridge, hops over the side when she gets near the end, lands on a roof, and runs through an open doorway.

"...Holy shit, Penny's a robot," Ruby thinks to herself.

VS-04 Cross Continental Transmit Tower, top floor

15:21 hours

The doors of the elevator open, and Weiss steps into the communications room, where Strider's Cove talks to the rest of the world.

Weiss isn't sure what she was expecting, maybe some graffiti, tested bulletproof glass, soldiers looking over the shoulders of callers; basically the streets at a higher altitude. But, surprisingly, the mercenaries that would otherwise be playing rambo downstairs are now respectful, keeping quiet and phoning their employers, family, old battle buddies, and potential contracts. They even leave the locals alone, who use the CCT, the only piece of true "modern" technology to profit personally; calling people on the outside, either in the Coalition or the Federation, to find out where it's better to be a refugee in; making deals with contacts in the black market; finding work from whoever has money to pay; even sex lines for those that got tired of the local attractions. Then there's the one or two that sit at their screens, sobbing their eyes out, while the person or persons on the other side do the same.

"Lots of reasons to be crying this day and age," Weiss thinks, then snaps out of it when she realizes that the two local militia guards have been eyeing her. They're well equipped, especially for local border troops, with identical sets of BDUs, flak jackets, telnyashkas, and three-hole balaclavas. Their weapons are different; an AKS-74u and an AK-103; but look a lot cleaner than most militia troops Weiss has seen. Another sign of how well treated CCTs are.

Weiss walks up to the front desk, where the same holographic woman Weiss has seen a million times before flickers to life, looking down at a computer screen that doesn't exist, fingers tapping on an invisible keyboard.

"Hello, and welcome to the LS-04 Cross Continental Transmit Tower," the hologram says after looking up at Weiss. "How can I help you?"

"I need to make a long distance call to Schnee Armament Headquarters in Atlas," Weiss says. She takes out her scroll and inserts it into a slot on the top of the desk.

"Absolutely," the hologram says, looking back down at the computer. It doesn't take long for it to find the correct number in the scroll to dial. "Your call is being patched through to terminal thirteen. Have a nice day!"

"Thank you," Weiss says in an almost sarcastic tone, then takes her scroll and walks past the desk, towards the computer station marked "13."

Most of the other callers Weiss passes are local mercenaries, either contacting their employers and catching up with their families. But she does notice one merc having a hushed discussion with a Faunus clothed in a black and white uniform.

"Good to know the Fang still isn't afraid of outside support," Weiss thinks.

Weiss sits down at the desk and turns on the monitor. A brown-haired receptionist that Weiss knew from home appears on the screen, in front of an animated version of Schnee Armaments's logo. She is looking off screen, most likely at a monitor.

"Thank you for calling the Atlas branch of Schnee Armaments Corporation, how may-oh!" the receptionist says, startled when she looks at the camera. "Miss Schnee! I didn't expect you on a public line!"

"Well, you know how warzones are," Weiss says, pulling up a smile.

"Yes, so I've heard," the receptionist replies. "So, are you trying to reach your father? He has nothing on his schedule at the moment, I can patch you through. Winter's here on a business trip as well."

"Oh, please not both of them at once," Weiss thinks.

"Oh, that's fine, thank you," Weiss replies. "I just need some files back home. I've made a list." Weiss plugs her scroll into the station and presses a button.

"Alright, getting it now," the receptionist says, looking off camera again. She frowns a bit after a moment. "Erm, these are all restricted files. Even I don't have access to open them, and I don't want to send them on a public channel…"

"Well, it's a good thing I'm family," Weiss says cheerily. "And I'm giving you direct authorization to send them. If the files are intercepted, the blame will be fully on me."

"Understood, but...may I at least ask why you require files of this...subject?"

"I'm in hostile territory," Weiss replies without missing a beat. "I need to know the area."

"I see...very well, uploading all requested files to your scroll now." Weiss looks at her scroll until the loading bar fills up, then removes it from its port. "Are you sure you don't want to talk to your father?"

"Not if I can help it," Weiss thinks.

"No, that's quite alright," Weiss says, struggling with her smile. "You may pass along word that I called, through."

"Very well, good hearing from you, Miss Schnee."

"Yes, and thank you for the files," Weiss says, then turns off the monitor. She breathes a sigh of relief, then opens her scroll to look at the files. It doesn't take her long to find White Fang safehouse in Strider's Cove. She turns on her radio.

"Bumblebee, this is Weiss," she says.

"Bumblebee here, go ahead," Blake responds.

"There's a White Fang safehouse fronting as a bar somewhere on third street, assuming you can find a street sign."

"Nah, GPS knows what's up," Yang replies. "Hey, third street is just up ahead!"

"Good," Weiss says. "Looks like the safehouse is currently unoccupied by Fang, but is protected by some local guns for hire, led by a retired human soldier called the Black Bear. Looks like he and his men worked closely with top Fang lieutenants for years. If anyone in this town knows a way to the head of the White Fang, it should be him."

East District

Corner of 3rd and R Street

15:30 hours

"Solid copy, Weiss," Yang says. "We'll make him talk."

"Obviously. Radio back when you're through and we'll regroup. Out."

"So this is what Ruby was talking about?" Blake asks Yang. This is what the west of Patch is like?" Yang shrugs.

"I didn't go through there very often, but yeah, I can see it. I imagine this street is either neutral or disputed turf." Unlike the street the CCT is located on, third street, along with nearly every other street in the East District, is deserted of life, with the exception of a random civilian, maybe wearing their colors, dashing across the street to a hideout, or a militia or Coalition truck barreling over potholes at high speeds, weapons of all occupants raised. Yang also noticed that no skybridges exist, only scattered remains of the few that were attempted.

"Probably neutral, since we aren't getting shot at."

"Gangs would shoot at soldiers?"

"On the border, absolutely. Most gangsters are too young and dumb to realize that not every fucker with a gun isn't trying to kill them. That's how most gangs start, really; kids band together to survive in numbers."

"So, were you in one?"

"Yeah, when I was a kid. Never did anything serious besides some shootouts with Faunus troops. I left long before joining the Fang."

"So it worked? The gang protected you?" Blake looks at Yang.

"You ask a lot of questions," Blake comments. Yang smiles and shrugs.

"You can return fire, if you want," she says.

"Ok, why did you lie about the book?"

Yang's eyes widen, and she stops walking.

"...What?" she questions, half trying to fake ignorance, half terrified.

"That book has Tukson's scent. I recognized it from when Weiss was covered in his blood. Spilled Faunus blood has a very distinct smell, and your book is covered in it.

"...Oh," Yang murmurs, looking at the ground. Blake cocks her head to the side.

"Why are you so defensive about it?" Blake asks. "Why didn't you tell anyone about the book before, and why did you tell us now?"

"I...haven't told anyone before…"

"I can keep a secret. Trust me. What is it?" Yang takes a deep breath and takes out the picture of the woman. She hands it to Blake.

"Is she in the book?" Blake asks.

"No. I think...I think she's my mother."

"You don't know?"

"Not really. When I was little, I would ask my dad constantly about her, but he would never say anything, never even acknowledge her. Finally, one day, for some reason, he got really angry, went into the attic, got this picture, gave it to me, and said 'This is who you're looking for.' After that he went back to being silent again."

"Sounds like she's your mother."

"Maybe, but my dad didn't say it like that. It sounded like maybe this woman knew my mother, and where to find her. Or maybe it is her. Or maybe this is just some random picture my dad gave me to get me off his ass. Either way, I've been looking for her ever since.

"Well, she's got old First War gear, officer…" Blake says, studying the picture.

"Yeah, I've gone over it a hundred times," Yang says. "I've asked every First War veteran I could find if they could tell me anything. Apparently the unit she commanded, the Second Assault Marine Division, was on the border when the war began and was completely wiped out after about a year of constant fighting and no reinforcements."

"So you don't even know if she's alive," Blake says. Yang shrugs.

"The Feds have always taken prisoners."

"Yeah, for labor, forced enlistment and experimentation. Oh, sorry."

"Don't be, it's already crossed my mind. But all I know for sure right now is that this woman isn't in human territory right now, which means she's in Fed-controlled land."

"And you thought Tukson knew where she could be?"

"Tukson was an important officer," Yang says. "He had access to a lot of information, and people that knew even more information. I could've got it out of him, I know it."

"And what have you gotten out of your book, so far?" Blake asks, handing the photo back.

"As far as I can tell, everyone that we fought in Vale is in that book. I know a way to some of them, who can definitely get me one step closer to this woman." Blake slowly shakes her head for a moment.

"As much as I want to believe you," she says. "You do realize how ridiculous you sound, right? You're talking about finding one POW from a war decades ago and hundreds of thousands of casualties."

"I know."

"Officers, and especially special forces officers, usually didn't last very long. Most were used for propaganda. Firing squad."

"I know."

"She's...probably dead."

"I know."

"...So why do you care about her so much, especially when you don't even know if you're her daughter."

Yang looks down at the picture.

"Because, after all this time, I feel like I already know her, always known her. And even if she isn't my mother, or doesn't even know my mother, then finding her will still be good enough for me." Blake nods.

"Fair enough. So you see Black Bear's bar?" Yang looks at her GPS.

"Yeah, I guess it's that building there," she says, nodding towards one of the only buildings in Strider's Cove to not have anything built above it. It has no front sign or advertisement, with the exception of shards of glass and bottles littering the ground in front of it.

"Looks like a Fang safehouse," Blake comments.

"So how do we do this?" Yang asks. "Do we just go in guns blazing?"

"No, we avoid a fight if we can. We find Bear, get him isolated, get the information out of him, then we leave before anything can happen."

"Well that's no fun."

"Better than getting shot with no AURA."

"I guess so. Ready?" Blake nods, and the two flip the safety off their pistols and enter the bar.

It's like walking into an old western movie set. Many mercenaries sit at old, broken tables on creaking stools and chairs, drinking a wide variety of booze. A few more soldiers sit at the bar, watching a Federation football game, a professional team against a military team, on an old, cracked television. A jukebox in the corner of the room plays Faunus folk music. While many of the patrons are obviously independent private soldiers, many wear identical black PASGT, with red stripes running down their arms and helmets. Their eyes are covered by red tinted goggles.

"Wow, they look ridiculous," Yang says.

"That's private urban security for you," Blake says. "You see anyone that looks in charge?" Both Hunters scan the room. Yang nods to a soldier sitting at the bar on the phone. He doesn't wear full combat gear, opting for a white dress shirt and red tie underneath a black bulletproof vest. He also has a thin, black beard and red-tinted aviators.

"Looks like a good candidate," Yang says.

"Agreed," Blake says. "Remember, don't make a scene." Yang smiles.

"Just follow my lead, Blakey," Yang says, and walks up to the bar.

Yang and Blake sit at the bar, where the bartender, one of the henchmen, eyes them cautiously. Bear ends his call and returns to his drink on the counter.

"Faunus Moon, no ice," Yang requested cheerfully. The bartender glares at her.

"What kind of Moon?" he asks.

"Viktor's Pride," Blake answers. "Make it two. Half vodka in one."

"What, don't think you can stomach it?" Yang asks with a laugh.

"Seriously, I just saved you a whole lot of time kneeling over the toilet," Blake says. "Human and Faunus blood don't mix, period."

"Oh, it's possible," Bear says, turning to face the two Hunters. "The trick is to use epinephrine."

"What, adrenaline? How is that supposed to work?" Yang asks. Bear reaches into his pocket and pulls out an autoinjector.

"Down a few Moons, stab this into your arm, and you'll be fine. Kingdom-made autoinjectors only react with human blood, so the Faunus stuff gets overpowered and thinned out before the body has to reject it. Heart pounds like a motherfucker for a while, but it's worth it." He rolls the autoinjector down the counter towards Yang.

"Sweet, thanks!" Yang says, picking it up and turning it over in her hand.

"You guys just get into town?" Bear asks.

"Mmm, yeah," Yang says. Their drinks arrive. Blake ignores hers, but Yang downs hers in one gulp. It has the same texture as syrup; thick and sticky; but has a cold, bitter taste to it, like licking a piece of metal.

"Need some work? I can use all the hands I can get. We're the top dogs in this part of the Cove."

"No, what we really need is information," Yang replies. She pops the top of the autoinjector off, exposing the needle.

"Alright, like what? I've got contacts strung all along the border, plus some more in the Kingdoms and Federation. You wanna join up with a militia? I can get you right to the commander. Want a contract with the Coalition or Federation? I'll point you in the direction of the nearest outpost. I'd go with the Coalition in this country, since they pretty much control the place now, but in most other countries the Feds are a good bet, and they pay more."

"No, nothing like that," Yang says. Blake turns around; all the henchmen are watching them. "I was hoping to get some info about the Fang."

"White Fang? No problem, they have cells everywhere in Viktor Speeder. Hell, if it weren't for us, their outposts would be able to cover the whole city."

"Cells? My friend's an ex-Fang, buddy," Yang says, pointing over her shoulder at Blake. "If we wanted to find a cell, we wouldn't need to ask. I'm talking about the higher-ups of the Fang, y'know?"

Bear doesn't reply, just stares at her. He takes off his glasses and looks at his henchmen. Blake puts her hand on her holster. Bear does the same.

"Dammit, Yang," Blake whispers. "You can't just leave the White Fang."

"...Oh. Okay." Yang says. She waits a heartbeat, then lunges at Bear with the autoinjector. Bear aims his Jericho 941 pistol at Yang, who slashes his wrist with the needle, making him lose his grip on the gun. She wraps her arm around his neck and spins him around, pinning herself against the counter, Bear in front of him. The bartender pulls out a Mossberg 500, but Blake is already vaulting over the counter, and plants her foot firmly in his cheek, sending him flying into the back wall, making glass bottles on shelves fall and shatter on the floor. She takes out her pistol and aims them at the henchmen, who draw P90s and AR-57s as the rest of the mercs clear out of the bar.

"Probably could've gave me a warning at some point," Yang says, drawing her pistol.

"Too late now. Let's get this over with," Blake says. One of the henchmen starts to move forward, and Yang plants her pistol against Bear's temple.

"Tell them to stand down," Yang says.

"Fucking bite me," Bear says.

"Oh, I can top that," Yang says. She lowers her pistol and fires a round into Bear's foot. He cries out and tries to fall down, but Yang keeps him up in the chokehold.

"Drop him!" one of the henchmen shouts. A couple try to move around to the other side of the counter, but Blake trains her sights on them.

"You want your paycheck, you stop moving," she says.

"Alright! Alright!" Bear grunts. "Everyone back up! Stand down!" The henchmen reluctantly lower their guns, but still stand ready.

"That's better, little guy," Yang says. "First things first." She quickly holsters her pistol and takes out the picture. "Who is this woman?"

"What? I don't know!"

"You say you know where to get information. Wanna bet your life on it? Tell me where to find her. Special Forces during the First War. Taken Prisoner. Go."

"Oh, fuck off. The Feds don't care about prisoners that old. If any are left, they gave them to the Fang a long time ago." Yang tightens her chokehold.

"Watch your language, bitch," she whispers in his ear. "But now we're getting somewhere. You know the name Roman Torchwick?"

"The fu-Torchwick!? The fuck kind of mercenaries are you guys?"

"Answer the question."

"Alright, but could you loosen the grip? I can't breath."

"Fine, but only because you asked so-"

Bear's left elbow slams into Yang's cheek. He rips himself free and makes a dash towards his men.

"Shoot! Shoot!" he shouts, running passed them. The henchmen raise their weapons, but Blake is already unloading her magazine as fast as she can. The henchmen dive to the floor and flip over tables for cover.

"MOVE!" Blake shouts, and Faunus leaps towards the two flanking henchmen. Yang barely climbs over the counter before it erupts in a hail of gunfire. Blake incapacitates the two henchmen with a series of punches, and takes one of their P90s and takes out two more of them before the rest of the henchmen open fire on her as well, forcing her behind the jukebox, which immediately explodes in a cloud of sparks.

"Where'd Bear go, Blake!?" Yang shouts. She takes out her pistol and blind fires over the counter.

"Down the street, to the right!" Blake shouts. "I'm pinned, we have to move!" Yang looks around the bar, bullets raining down splinters and shards of glass, then nods to herself.

"I got this!" she shouts. She finds one of the few intact bottles of alcohol, grabs a bar towel and runs it along the alcohol soaked floor, and ties it around the bottle. She takes out her lighter and sets the towel ablaze.

"Get ready!" she shouts, and tosses the bottle over the counter. It lands right in the center of the store and explodes in a fireball reaching the ceiling and consuming many of the soldiers.

"MOVE!" Yang shouts, and leaps over the counter, pistol ready. All the henchmen not on fire are stunned by the flames, and Yang is able to run straight towards one of them without a single bullet being fired. She grabs hold of the henchman and barrels through the flames, using him as a shield, and through the door, breaking the hinges right off. Blake grabs another henchman, throws him through the old, weak wall, and leaps through the opening.

"There!" Blake shouts, pointing down the road. Yang shakes herself out of a daze and looks. Bear is limping away from the scene, P90 in hand, about halfway down the block. "I'll trail him from the roofs, you slow him down from here." She jumps onto the roof of the bar, then immediately jumps onto the neighboring building, twice as tall as the bar, and runs for the next roof. Yang sighs.

"I really shoulda used that adrenaline first," she says. The henchman, who she's still lying on, moans quietly. "Oh yeah, thanks for the assist, bud." She knocks him out with a single punch, gets up, and runs after Bear.

It doesn't take her long to realize that she'll never catch up to him in time, but notices that Blake is literally on top of him, gracefully transferring from rooftop to rooftop with little effort, and has already caught up to him. Yang fires two wild shots at Bear, who turns around and sprays his P90 in return. Yang ducks behind a nearby car, and returns fire.

"It ain't worth it, little Bear!" Yang taunts.

"Eat shit, asshole!" Bear shouts. He empties the rest of his magazine into the car, throws the gun down, and ducks into an alleyway. Blake watches from the roof, gives Yang a thumbs up, and follows Bear down the alley.

Once he hesitates at a fork in the winding path, Blake steps off the edge and falls straight onto Bear, knocking him flat on the ground. She holds Gambol Shroud to the back of his head until Yang arrives.

"Thanks, Blake," Yang says. Blake flips Bear over, who tries to scramble away, but not before Yang plants her foot firmly on his chest.

"Alright, little guy, let's try this again," she says, kneeling down. "Hmm, I think I'll call you Junior from now on. You seem too small to be a Bear."

"...Who the fuck are you?" Junior asks meekly.

"You can call me Sir," Yang replies. Now who the fuck is Roman Torchwick?" Junior moans. "Leader of the Fang, right?"

"No, that's the Grandmaster. Roman's the current Shot Caller for the military branch of the Fang. They rotate out Shot Callers for whoever knows what major operation the White Fang needs done at that time."

"And this time, it's what? The Second War?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Look, the Fang's military is paid to hold old prisoners that the Feds have no need for. If anyone knows where that woman is, it's him."

"Location," Blake says.

"He could be in a hundred different places. None of my contacts have ever actually seen him."

"We saw him in Vale during Operation Checkmate."

"Bullsh-I mean if that's true, then he's probably anywhere but there. As much as he likes battle, there's too much going on in Vale."

"So where would he be?"

"He's spent the last year or so in border countries. Wherever there was a big offensive, he was there. But that was before the Vale Campaign opened up. He could be on either continent."

"I thought Vale was too hot?"

"The city, not the kingdom."

"So where in Vale?"

"I don't know!" Yang turns to Blake.

"I'm gonna shoot his other foot and see if that somehow helps us," she says.

"Okay, wait! I...I got word from one of my contacts in Vale about a week ago that Roman was heading to Angel Recon with some captured artillery and anti-air batteries."

"Bullshit, the Feds glassed Angel Recon to protect their flank during the First War. Nothing can even live down there."

"I know, it probably is bullshit."

"So? Where is the next big Fang offensive?" Yang asks. She starts to feel dizzy, probably from the unusual strain her body has taken without AURA, but she ignores it, and steps down on Junior harder.

"Uhhh...Oh! I heard from a local Fang cell that they're gonna try and re-establish a foothold in Viktor Speeder, share some territory with the Feds or something."

"Are you sure?"

"Look, lady,I-" Yang presses down harder.

"It's Sir."

"Sir! Sir! I don't know everything about the guy, alright!? If I had to guess, I'd says he's in Viktor Speeder, but that's just me. I've got nothing else, I swear!"

"Alright, works for me," Yang says, removing her foot. That wasn't so ha-"

Before she could finish, her stomach suddenly feels like it's exploding, and vomit spews out of her mouth. Right onto Junior's face.

"AAAAAAAAAH FUUUUCK! OH GOD FUCK WHY FUCK! GOD DAMMIT FUCK!" he screams, desperately wiping the vomit from his face.

"Woah," Blake comments.

"Oh...that was unexpected," Yang says.

"Did you take the drink without the vodka?"

"I might have," Yang says, and pukes again, this time mostly landing on Junior's neck and chest.

"OH GOD FUCKING SHIT FUCK SHIT! SHIIIIT!"

"Hold on, Blake," Yang says, half blind from dizziness. "That should be all, right? I only had one drink."

"No, the Faunus blood is all over your stomach," Blake replies. She pushes Yang away from Junior, where she falls to her knees, gagging. She starts searching Junior's pockets. "Your body is gonna need to dump everything to get it all out." She finds another autoinjector and walks over to Yang just as she throws up again. She waits for her to finish, then stabs the needle into her neck.

"There, that should keep everything else in." Junior hesitantly starts to stand up. "Yeah, get the fuck out of here." And with that, Junior takes off down the alley, gagging and cussing all the way. Blake's radio squawks.

"Bumblebee, this is Weiss," Weiss says. "I heard lots of gunfire from the East District. Is everything alright?" Blake looks at Yang, who is trying to stand up with shaky legs, then at the sky behind them, where black some is rising from the bar.

"Weiss, this is Bumblebee," Blake replies. "You're never gonna believe me."