The woman had cat ears, not a bow as Weiss had originally thought made her feel marginally better; at least she hadn't been almost beaten by someone wearing a bow. That might have been more than her pride would allow. She didn't look dangerous sitting there on the other side of the one-way glass. She seemed peaceful. Docile even. And completely emotionless. Well, two could play at that game.

Weiss strode past the guard, turned and entered the interrogation room. The woman blinked up at her disinterestedly.

"My name is Weiss Schnee."

"I know."

"Then you have me at a disadvantage."

"I'm okay with that."

"You were sent to kill me."

"Only a fool would say so."

"You're part of a terrorist organization. How smart can you be?"

"We're not a terrorist organization."

"No? You're right, you just have picnics. With tea and cookies."

"We're just defending ourselves."

"With guns. With explosives. With murder."

"We tried to be peaceful, but it seems that violence is the only language humans know."

"Your 'peaceful organization' has killed hundreds of people."

"Yours has killed hundreds and doomed thousands more."

"Well you're certainly not helping your case any."

"We shouldn't have to!"

Weiss crossed her arms and leaned back.

"No. You're right. You shouldn't have to resort to terrorism. Which is why I've been pushing for Faunus rights, as you'd be well aware if you existed in the real world instead of with a secluded group of radicals."

The woman finally broke eye contact. "The Schnee Dust Company is part of the problem. A big part of the problem."

"I'm not going to pretend my family has a stellar record. But really, that's all the more reason to see me as an ally. Not try to blow up my property and kill my employees."

"Adam said we needed a clean slate."

Adam. Weiss filed the name away for later. "And does Adam know that some of the members of SDC security are, in fact, Faunus? Or does he just ignore that?"

"They're misguided. We try to help them, but sometimes it's not possible. Sometimes they have to die, too. For the greater good."

"Something else Adam said?"

The woman looked away again.

"I thought so. And what do you think?"

"I think sometimes people have to die. I thought you had to die."

"And what do you think now?"

"I think you're trying to trick me."

"Maybe. But I'm also trying to help the Faunus. The ones who don't try to kill me, anyway."

"I don't know that. You could be lying."

"Yes, I could. But really, if you don't know if that's a lie, maybe you should reevaluate how you get your information on who to hate."

The woman grimaced. "Can we just get to the interrogation part?"

Weiss pursed her lips. "Alright then. How did you know where exactly I was going to be when you attacked?"

Silence.

"Alright, then, how are you controlling Grimm?"

Silence.

"Can you tell me where the White Fang are located?"

Silence.

"Can you tell me how you acquired that mech?"

More silence.

"Very well. I will talk to you later, I'm sure."

Weiss started for the door.

"A human."

Weiss stopped, her hand on the door knob. "A human?"

"He made an offer. He's the one who brought us the mechs. He's the one who told us where you were. He offered other things, but I don't know what they were. Maybe something to do with the Grimm."

Weiss turned. "What did he get in return?"

"Nothing. He didn't want anything. He said he just wanted chaos."

"And what is his name?"

"Roman Torchwick."

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For the fourth time today, Jaune was thrown backwards by the force of Cardin's mace, sending him sliding backwards along the training room floor and into the wall. Dove joined Jaune in a heap a second later. Lark and Gray didn't even bother looking over anymore, instead continuing their own sparring match.

"Come on, get up, you two. Jaune, you're supposed to block with your shield, not your face. Know when to attack and when to defend. I'll give you a hint: always defend. That's your fucking job."

Dove was already back on his feet, his sword held ready, while Jaune struggled to remember which way was up.

"Come on, Cardin. Can't we take a break? We've been at this for hours, and I really don't see any improvement."

"That's because you're not trying, Jauney-Boy. We're going to keep at this until you two can take me down."

Finally on his feet, Jaune raised his shield and nodded at Dove. Dove darted around Cardin's side, firing off several shots as he did so. Cardin turned to face him, rolling forward under the gunfire and swinging his mace upward. Dove leapt backwards and Jaune rushed forwards at Cardin's exposed back, slicing downward with his own sword. Expecting him, Cardin twisted out of the path of his blade and redirected his mace to strike Jaune in the side. Jaune flew over Gray and Lark, who simply ducked and continued their match, before slamming into the wall. A few moments later, Dove was next to him again.

Cardin sighed and shouldered his mace. "Nothing gets through your thick skull, does it, Jauney-Boy?" Cardin walked up to the pair on the floor, causing Lark and Gray to pause as he stepped between them.

"You've got a shield for a reason. You're just not going to do any damage on your own, Jauney-Boy. Leave that to your team and keep their asses alive. Think you can do that?"

"Cardin, this isn't working! We never even fight anyone. Why do we need to know advanced tactics to fight drunks and thugs?"

Cardin grabbed Jaune's collar and lifted him so that the two men were eye level.

"Why? Why? Because if you don't you end up like Russel. This isn't some game, Princess. This isn't something you do just to run home and tell Mommy so she can be proud of you. This is war, Jauney-Boy. And sometimes in war people die. But I'll be damned if someone dies when I can prevent it."

He dropped the recruit to his feet. "Now get the hell back on your feet. Gray! Lark! You and Dove start hitting Jaune until he can block all three of you at once."

"All three of them? What? There's no way I'll beat all three of them."

"You're not supposed to, Jauney-Boy. You're supposed to not let them beat you." He gestured vaguely with his hand. "Go on, then."

As the four readied their weapons, the door opened, admitting Ozpin.

"Professor. Sir." Cardin stood at attention.

"Captain Winchester. I require a word with you. It should only take a moment."

Cardin glanced over at his team. "Of course. You four take a break. I'll be back." Ozpin nodded and led Cardin from the room.

"Oh, thank dust," Jaune exclaimed, slumping against the wall.

"Don't feel too bad about Cardin," Gray advised, patting Jaune's shoulder. "He's not too bad, really."

"Yeah, he probably won't let you get seriously hurt," Lark cracked, crossing to the wall and opening his locker. He deposited his halberd and turned back to Jaune. "Only a little."

"That's… comforting. Was he seriously this bad with you?"

"No," Gray admitted, putting away his own weapon. "But, well, he was training me when Russel was still, you know. Alive."

"You guys talk about him a lot."

"He was a good teammate," Dove observed.

"Bit of an ass sometimes, but yeah. Good guy," Lark agreed.

"What actually happened to him? If it's not insensitive to ask."

"No, you're coming in, you should know what you'll be going up against," Gray sat on the bench and gestured for Jaune to sit. He did. "Well," Gray began, "we were investigating Grimm reports out in Copse. You know, small village south of Vale? Anyway, there turned out to be Grimm. A lot of them. We ended up getting separated, and by the time we had driven them back… there wasn't much left of Russel to find."

"We retrieved his leg," Dove informed Jaune. Jaune blanched.

"His leg?"

"Most of it."

"That's… uh…"

"Yeah. Poor bastard."

"We haven't been out to investigate Grimm like that since." Lark shifted against the wall. "Ozpin won't let us. Says our job in the city is more important."

"Not supposed to be our job," Dove stated.

"Yeah. I know. Russel would've hated it, too. He only wanted to fight Grimm. Fits Cardin, though."

"Yeah, I was kind of confused by that when I signed up. Aren't hunters supposed to fight Grimm? Not criminals?"

"Ozpin's idea," Gray explained. "He thinks that criminals and gangs are more of a threat to people than the Grimm, and that police aren't doing their job."

"Can't blame him on that, really," Lark added. "Whole section of the city is run by Junior and his gang. No one will say it, but everyone knows it."

"Wait, Junior? I thought Ozpin was on good terms with him."

"Junior's keeping the peace, at least. Ozpin can't just throw him out."

"Yet."

"I don't think I want to fight him. He's even bigger than Cardin."

"You haven't even seen a Grimm yet," Gray laughed.

Lark smirked. "Cardin's a full Hunter, and a pretty damn good one. Mobster like Junior couldn't hold up against him."

"Size is not necessarily an indicator of capability," Dove advised.

"Alright, I get it. I'm an idiot." Jaune sighed. "But you guys all knew that."

"Nah, you're doing okay for a rookie. We've been doing this for years. You'll get the hang of it."

"Comparing your ability against Cardin's is unproductive."

"I still think you suck."

"Thanks, guys."

The door burst open, revealing a visibly angry Cardin.

"Alright. We've got orders for tonight. Suit up. Full gear."

Jaune glanced around. "Uh, all of us?"

"Yeah, you too, Jauney-Boy." Cardin slammed his locker door open and retrieved his mace. "We got some info from Junior about that Torchwick guy. Ozpin wants us to take him down."

"That's good, right? Guy sounded like he could use a swift kick to the balls."

Cardin glared at Gray. "We're working with Junior. And Xiao Long."

His team exchanged looks of confusion and surprise. Cardin sighed.

"Come on, CDGL. We're gonna go fight a gang war."

A/N: CDGL is pronounced Cudgel. Also, my ego would like to thank the ten people following. I hope my story remain worthy of your attention.