The next day Shine filled everyone in further on her deal with Watts.
"But we're not really letting him go, right?" Ruby asked.
"Oh, no," Shine said. "We're going to let him think so, then when he escapes the plane, we'll pretend we didn't notice. Of course I'm going to tell him we caught onto his lead. I'm betting the first thing he'll do is find Victoria Kanap and try to beat us to the punch before we can capture her. She'll lay low, but it won't matter at all--we've already found her hideout. We just need a good reason to take it out. This should be perfect. And best of all, Theodore will have no clue that we did this on purpose."
They were finally at one of their new hangouts, but cordoned off from anyone else.
Mercury was not invited to the meeting, but he was in the bar. No one had thought he'd be safe if left at Shade alone--for them or himself.
"I think Watts'll just skip town," Qrow said. "If he can get away, why would he risk coming back to get caught? Salem already thinks he's dead."
"Ego, Qrow," Shine said, like it was easy. "Ego. Watts will never stand to be one-upped by Cinder. But he'll go back to Salem with proof of why he's indispensable and she's useless. And since he knows Cinder is not in Vacuo yet, thanks to me, he will never let this opportunity slip. Meanwhile, we can learn just how connected he is to this woman."
"I can't believe that Theo's been hiding the Maiden all this time because he's starry eyed," Qrow said. "Of all the selfish things to do..."
"It's sort of romantic though," Pyrrha said.
"That's BS," Qrow said. "It's plain stupid."
"That can't be all there is to it," Winter said. "He must realize, stupid as he is, that working with Salem will not make this woman safer."
"Yes, but the fastest way to learn about his plan is to let someone else learn about it," Shine said. "Neo, I hope you're all right with following them again."
Neo made an a-okay sign but then shrugged.
"We're depending on her a lot," Yang groaned. "When are you going to let the rest of us do anything important?"
"I let you guard Emerald two days ago, and you didn't even do that." Shine was angry about that, as it turned out. "So perhaps when you stop disappointing me, I'll think about it."
Yang glared at her.
"She's right," Weiss said, looking embarrassed. "We dropped the ball. We took our eyes off her way too long... It wasn't just Yang, though. It was all of us."
"Yes," Shine said. "And today, I think Emerald had better stick around Shade again... It's not really safe with all these students around, but Theo could hardly let them attack her there... The news that he may have planned that attack still bothers me."
"This is a direct insult," Winter said. "I can't believe we're letting it slide. The girl may be a criminal, but she came here under our protection, and he has crossed a line. I don't know why we don't just court-martial him now!" She banged the table.
Qrow said, "that's not how things are around here. You want all of Vacuo to kick us out of here? Do that. They're loyal to Theo. And the girl has very few sympathizers. They would never side with us."
"And it would expose Emerald more to the public to make an issue of it," Shine said. "We have to think of Mercury now also. And Hazel. We're not in Atlas anymore, Winter. One person will not decide the fate of everyone here...but one little mistake like that would."
Winter was stung.
"I'm fine with staying inside," Emerald said. "I've had enough of those knife happy morons. Besides, Mercury is kind of still on probation, right?"
"I want to train also," Oscar said. "But I've been thinking about making some changes to my weapon...you know, since it's kind of lost a lot of its power now... I was hoping to talk to Pietro about it."
"Upgrade?" Ruby has stars 🌟 🌟 in her eyes. "Really? That's so cool. Oh, I have a ton of ideas for what you could do."
"You do?" Oscar said.
"Oh sure, this has been bothering me ever since you joined us!" Ruby said that like it was nothing. "I mean, there's so much more you could do with that baby! Hey, Blake, you should take yours to get fixed too."
"Yeah, I need it," Blake said.
"Since we really don't need you for anything else today," Shine said, "why don't all of you escort Whitley around? He's been staying on top of this dust issue and the tower. That's where Pietro is going to be. Also you could shop for supplies you need as a group. No one goes off alone, Oscar especially."
"You keep using us as bodyguards," Ren said. "Isn't there anything more important we could be doing?"
"Putting the people with least experience on the easiest jobs is pretty standard," Shine said calmly. "And like I said, once you manage to pull that off even one time, I'll consider it."
"We've guarded things before with no problem," Nora protested, "just not here... Vacuo is tricky."
"Then you need to adapt to it," Shine said. "Besides, our operations here work better the fewer people are involved--so be glad you're getting some time off. I'm sure whenever Salem gets here, you'll have plenty to do."
Her point was pretty clear.
"Assuming your plan with Watts gets him as far as the plane, then what?" Winter said. "Do we have any role in this?"
"No," Shine said. "But I did have one thing I was thinking about--only, Raven would have to agree to it."
"What?" Raven looked up warily.
"Winter is recovered now," Shine said. "So it's time to be honest about this... The Maiden powers are not something I like that much, but you're stuck with them for now, and you might as well learn how to control them properly. I mean, better than Cinder getting them... Like it or not, Raven, you've had a much longer time to learn how to use those powers. Is it possible you could help?"
"Maidens don't usually train each other," Qrow said.
"Sounds like it might help a lot," Wally commented. "You know, speed things up."
"It's not...an unworthy idea...in theory," Winter said painfully. "But I'm not sure Miss--Raven and I are...suited to that sort of...exercise."
"And no way in h--- do I want to be saddled with her!" Raven said.
"I suppose you'd rather be dealing with Cinder," Shine said. "Well, Raven, Winter, I must say, you both are shining examples of intelligent and mature tacticians. Because we all know, war is about your personal preference, and survival depends entirely on who you like."
Silence.
Raven rolled her eyes. "If it's to beat Cinder, I guess I could suffer through it a little."
Winter couldn't believe Raven had cracked first... What had the tribe's loss done to this woman?
"Of course, putting it like that, if Miss Branwen is all right with this, I have no issue," she said loftily.
"Like you weren't pissed off about it." Raven despised people who acted superior like that.
"I was trying to keep this more professional," Winter said. "That concept is apparently alien to you and your brother both."
"Did I say anything?" Qrow said. "Other than I think this is a terrible idea, knock yourself out. But it could totally kill someone."
"Of course you should practice outside Vacuo," Shine said. "Better still, Tyrian probably won't catch you at it if you're not inside the kingdom. He won't go out there alone. If he does, shove him into a sinkhole and run."
Yang looked annoyed by this.
"What should I do, baby?" Wally asked Shine.
"Your best," she answered.
"I guess I'll just keep helping people," Wally said. "I mean, the attitude of this kingdom is really starting to shift. I can feel it. More people are helping the last few days. And you notice the sandstorms have totally stopped since last week? It's crazy."
"Don't get used to it," Qrow said sourly.
"Dude, don't rain on our parade," Wally said.
"Qrow is enough stormy weather for this group with that outlook," Shine agreed, getting a scowl from him.
Raven smirked--but then lost it.
"Still, Robyn is the only one of us still helping, and she's not even updated on what's going on," Winter said.
"No problem, I'll just update her today." Qrow was hoping Shine wouldn't give him another lame assignment if he volunteered for one. "And check on things, since apparently we're supposed to be scarce."
"Good idea." Shine let him have it.
Winter frowned slightly. Wasn't there a better use of time than just keeping Robyn updated when she was barely a part of this?... Though the Ace Ops were hopelessly out of the loop also.
On the other hand, she thought, at least she wouldn't be stuck with Qrow today. That was a plus. Way too much of that in the last week.
Why that didn't make her feel more relaxed she couldn't say--except that Raven was arguably even worse and she was already glaring at her.
[Yeah...can't see them getting along. Sisterly bonding? I mean...I guess if you're the type of sisters who try to pull each other's hair.]
* * *
The teams went on their way with Whitley not long after that, and of course, Yang had only complained about the assignment.
"She scolded us like we're kids!" she said. "I mean, 'Oh, you disappointed me, so you're grounded. Now babysit the 14-year old!' "
"Isn't she right though?" Blake said. "We didn't do what she wanted. You know, we didn't try that hard to keep an eye on Emerald, Yang. We all know that, and she almost got killed over it. I thought Shine was right to be angry for once."
"Oh, take her side," Yang said.
"There's not a side here," Weiss said. "We did fail. But at least no one is probably out to get my brother, so we should be okay."
"Did you forget that a lot of people here hate your family?" Nora asked helpfully.
Weiss sighed.
"Well, we'll make sure he's fine," Ruby said cheerfully. "I'm okay with this. It's been nice not having a crisis every single day to deal with. I mean, I know Salem will show up, but you know, maybe this plan will actually work."
"It's not even a real plan, it's just stalling," Yang said.
"We have to do one thing at a time," Pyrrha said. "Why borrow trouble?"
"Sure," Yang said hostilely. "Easy for you to say."
She moved away from them again.
"How is that easy for me to say?" Pyrrha said incredulously.
"I just don't get her," Jaune said.
"It's my fault. I blew up at her in Underland," Pyrrha said.
"It was going on before that," Jaune said.
"You ever think that she's just jealous?" Whitley, who they'd thought was ignoring them while on his scroll, piped up.
"Jealous?" Pyrrha said oddly. "Of what?"
"Not that I give a rip, but aren't you some world famous fighter?" Whitley said. "And the blonde girl is certainly an attention seeker. I mean, look at her outfit and hair. She's so loud and rude--she's like my sisters but more uncouth."
"Hey!" Weiss heard that.
"And you've clearly been through some things," Whitley said to Pyrrha. "That makes you seem special. I mean, if I were her, I might even feel a little envious, not that I ever have that problem myself."
"Of course not," Nora said dryly.
"But you know, I hear girls are pretty competitive," Whitley shrugged. "She probably just hates you because of that. Tsk tsk." He shook his head. "This is why the huntress thing is just a waste of time."
"Will you stop with that? It is not, and you know it," Weiss said.
"I think there could be something in what he's saying," Jaune said. "I mean...I wouldn't say it like that, but maybe Yang is kind of jealous. She's been in trouble a lot since Atlas, and Pyrrha's been getting a lot of praise. I guess it could feel like it's not fair. Not that it's your fault, Pyrrha, but it's just...how it is."
"I'm sure I never thought I'd steal anyone's thunder just by being here," Pyrrha said. "I've hardly done anything."
"Oh, sure," Weiss said sarcastically. "Hardly a thing. Face it, Pyrrha, you've acted like coming back to life is nothing for you. You're still the same person as before. You're not even fazed by it or by having the people kind of responsible for it hang around us. It bothers all of us more than you. I guess we should have expected that of you, but it's hard to compete with. Not that we should be worried about competing... Still, if Whitley is right, and that's a big if, it would kind of make sense."
Whitley grew tired of listening to this conversation and fell back from them. He was trying to get scroll service and call some of his new associates--but the signal was so unstable out here.
Quite suddenly, someone snatched the scroll from his hands.
"Hey!" He looked up, sounding just like Weiss, to be honest.
"You really need to have less butter fingers, Governor." Libby held up the scroll. "A baby could pickpocket you."
"What are you doing here?" Whitley demanded.
"I live here, you blooming git," Libby said. "More like what do you be doing out here alone? Not learned yer lesson yet?"
"I'm not alone. I actually have several personal guards today," Whitley said haughtily.
"I don't see any," Libby said.
Whitley looked around, slowly realizing how Emerald must have felt, because they'd all gone on without him.
Mostly they just hadn't realized he'd fallen behind on purpose and were again too busy talking amongst themselves.
"The nerve of them!" he said. "Who's not learned from their mistakes?! I'll report this to Miss Likstar as soon as I get back to Shade."
"If you get back," Libby said. "You know, I've a bone to pick with you. You still owe me from the other day."
"It wasn't my fault you disappeared," Whitley said.
"I know when I'm not wanted snooping," Libby said. "Don't want no trouble myself. Do you have any bob on you today?"
"Bob?" Whitley said
"Money," Libby said.
"Right...well...I have my credit card," Whitley said.
Libby swore using some new words he'd never heard before.
"I remember that you don't take credit," Whitley said. "But it's not like there's just a bank on every corner here."
"I can take you to one," Libby offered.
"Very kind of you, I'm sure," Whitley said flatly. "But I really have other things to do. If you could just point me towards where my escort went...perhaps one of them has cash."
That last part might have saved him. Libby brightened up. "Well, what are we waiting for? They went that way."
She pointed up the street and to the left.
"Let's get a move on." She took him by his wrist and yanked him after her.
"Do you mind not getting dirt on my sleeve?" Whitley said.
"Love, if you think it won't be dirty already just by standing in this street with these here dust devils, you're plum crazy," Libby said. "I'm healthy, you know, just the dust makes me cough sometimes. The mines and stuff have residue."
"I know about that," Whitley said. "My grandfather died because of dust residue inhalation."
Libby paused. "Did he...?" she said. "Sorry to hear that, mate."
"They have better protection now," Whitley said.
"Can't afford it," Libby said. "But I haven't worked in the dust mines for a long time now. Just used to help me Uncle...but I guess it stays with you. Dust always gets me coughing now. And sand..."
"You probably shouldn't live in Vacuo then," Whitley said.
"And how would I ever move? Sneak onto a ship?" Libby said. "I get by all right. Silver lining, at least I worry about Grimm less."
"There's something wrong with your philosophy," Whitley said.
"Something is wrong with your head," Libby said rudely. "And your manners."
"What would you know about manners?" Whitley said.
"Enough to know that you ain't got none," Libby said.
Whitley stewed for a moment, but then his mind turned elsewhere.
"Miss Broom," he began.
"Call me that again, love, and I'll shove mine up yours." Libby twisted her stick/broom thing.
"Libby...what is that short for?"
"Liberty," Libby said.
"Liberty then," Whitley said. "I don't suppose you've ever heard of anyone by the name of Kanap?"
"No," Libby said.
"No... Or any...sort of flying person?" Whitley said. "Other than, of course, the Protector Of Mantle?"
"You hear rumors already?" Libby said.
"Rumors?"
"Oh, yes." She gestured upward. "The terror by night, they say. Just started happening in the last several months, really. Some say it's a Grimm, but it's never seen too close. Just some flying thing. People say it's a-spying on us, or it's some desert spirit. I think it's probably just some stupid bird, but you know how people are. Superstitious."
"Is it ever seen up close?" Whitley said.
"I just said not," Libby said. "But it's usually only seen on the east side of the kingdom. I think that's why people got worked up about it. They say some of the old ruined buildings there are haunted by the souls of the exploited workers from before the Great War. Tommyrot."
"Haunted?" Whitley said. "No one lives there?"
"I suppose a few people who aren't superstitious do. It's free real estate," Libby said. "But I think it's too far from the useful scavenging areas, and besides, the vermin are usually worse where there's fewer people to scare them. I don't go near the place myself. All the useful scraps have been picked clean ages ago anyway. But they do say The Mad Woman lives there."
"Mad Woman?" Whitley said.
"Urban legend," Libby said. "They say that near 15 years ago, a woman moved into one of them old buildings and set up some kind of torture shop there. They say that people who wander in the street outside it can hear weird sounds coming from it some nights. But no one gets that close; it's just hearsay. Grimm tend to flock to that area because it scares people, so no one would be so stupid to live on that block. The people who live in the ruins live on the ones closest to the rest of the houses. I think it's silliness."
"You made that abundantly clear, but the legend says that someone does live there?" Whitley said.
"People say they see her some nights, roaming the streets with her odd machines," Libby said. "But no one ever really sees her up close. Could be any common beggar and thief. Or they could dress up just to scare people away from them--no one would get close. Some stories say anyone who did would just fall to their face and not get up. Ghost stories, you know."
"That's concerning," Whitley said.
"Why? You believe in ghost stories now?" Libby said.
"Not at all, but I have reason to think this is true," Whitley said. "There is someone who lives at that address. I have proof of it."
"What?" Libby stopped short. "No...you're joshing me."
"I am not," Whitley said. "And she's an inventor...but I didn't know that she was so feared... That's complicated."
"You're not thinking of going there." Libby gripped his shoulders and shook him. "You're blooming mad! Out of your head!"
"You just said it was silliness," Whitley said. "Let go of me."
"But that was before you said it was true!" Libby said. "If it is true, no one should be going anywhere near that terror! She's crazy!"
"That may be, but I'm not going near her personally anyway." Whitley pushed her away. "I was just curious. There's an order of dust for her for my company."
"For her inventions," Libby said, in a ghostly voice. "Now that's just like the stories... My, my, I never thought I'd hear this. You're not just pulling my leg to have a laugh at me, are you?"
"I assure you, I don't pull people's legs," Whitley said. "Literally or figuratively."
Libby laughed nervously. "You're in some deep bull, aren't you? Maybe a prince's life isn't so easy after all."
"I told you, but I'm not a prince," Whitley said.
"Who's not understanding figuratively now?" Libby said.
"I can't stand you," Whitley huffed.
"Oh, don't be sore," Libby said. "Grow some thicker skin, Governor."
"Will you stop that?" Whitley said. "Why do you keep calling me that?"
"Just means you're more educated and posh than me," Libby said.
"Oh?" Whitley brightened.
"And probably more snobbish also," Libby added.
Whitley frowned.
"I should probably get you back to your 'escort'," Libby said. "Your mother will worry about you."
"A new habit of hers," Whitley said. "I wonder how long it will last."
"Enjoy it," Libby said.
"Very comforting," Whitley said.
"You've got to lighten up," Libby said. "There's no sandstorms today. Funny, we haven't had any since the last one, and it's in season. Personally, I feel pretty good about that. You ought to."
"Oh, don't start with that bright side stuff again," Whitley groaned.
"Fine, you be miserable, and I'll be smart." Libby pointed to her temple.
[Why Should I Worry?--Billy Joel]
[Have to love how Libby does not give a single crap about his attitude.]
* * *
"Where's Whitley?" Weiss asked about three streets too late.
"Wasn't he right behind you?" Pyrrha looked back.
They all looked around.
"Oh no!" Jaune put his hands to his face.
"I can't believe it--we did it again!" Nora cried.
"How can we be this bad at not losing kids!" Ren said.
Oscar winced.
"I knew we should have had a single file line!" Jaune said.
"Okay, just calm down," Blake said. "We can find him. He's in the market somewhere. Let's just double back. Yang!" she called.
Yang sighed and turned back. "What?"
"Whitley is gone," Weiss said.
"You've got to kidding me," Yang said.
"You were helping watch him so much," Ren said.
"What? He was right next to you--how did you lose him?" Yang shot back.
"Guys, fighting with each other won't find him faster. Let's just look back where we last saw him," Jaune said.
"And hope this time some thugs aren't trying to kill him," Weiss said snippily.
They headed back that way.
No one was sure where they'd lost Whitley, but the crowd was still too much to see him--he was too small...
He and Libby were standing on one corner in the shade of a shop awning, as Libby was smart enough to know to do in the middle of the day, but no one saw them.
Blake jumped to the roof to look for him.
Finally, he answered his scroll when Oscar called it and the signal went through.
Then they saw him.
Whitley was pretty miffed at being forgotten, which he made clear, but then he proceeded to tell them what Libby had told him about The Mad Woman.
"D---, maybe we should check this area out," Yang said.
"Yang, that's not our orders," Weiss said.
"So?" Yang said. "We're not going to go to her house. I just want to see the area."
"We've been told to stay away from it in case one of the spies sees us," Pyrrha said.
"We could go to the edge of it. What would that tell them?" Yang said.
"Too much," Jaune said. "Let's just finish taking Whitley to his meetings. Thanks, Miss...uh, Libby."
"You still owe me," Libby said.
"You wouldn't happen to know a shortcut to the spot, would you?" Blake asked. She was tired already.
"I might, but that's extra bob," Libby said.
"That means money," Whitley said importantly.
"Who could have guessed that?" Weiss said sarcastically. "You can't just get lost, Whitley. You're old enough to know to stick close to us."
"You're old enough to know not to look away from me while I'm trying to make a call," Whitley said. "And aren't you licensed for this?"
"Ooh, he's got you there. Why have common sense when you can license it out to someone else?" Libby said.
Whitley frowned at her.
"You know, I might like her after all," Weiss said.
"Doesn't cost me to be right," Libby said. "But it will cost you not to be. I live by that."
The group decided to let her show them.
* * *
The errand took longer than they thought. Whitley had some questions about shipping to ask the overseers of it. He wanted to know how people picked up their deliveries.
"We should get out of here," Blake said. "According to the plan, Watts is going to look for Kanap, and we shouldn't be anywhere she might be."
"Likstar's stupid plan is never going to work that precisely," Yang said.
"Do you want to bet on that?" Pyrrha said. "So far it has. Are you trying to mess it up?"
"No, I just think you're giving her way too much credit. She's not an expert on Watts," Yang said. "And if one single thing doesn't go the way she wants, we're toast."
"That sounds like a song," Libby said.
"What does?" Yang said.
"'Just one mistake is all it will take to go down in history,'" Libby said. "'Remember me for centuries.'... You know, I don't know what it's really about, but I always take it as it only takes one thing going wrong to make something immortal for being a disaster."
"That is more true than she realizes," Oscar muttered.
"Yeah, did Ozpin write that song?" Jaune wonderdd. [🔥🔥🔥]
* * *
"They're planning something with Watts," Mercury told Tyrian that day while he had the chance. "I'm not sure what. Does Salem know he's alive yet?"
"Until you prove to me that that's not just them lying to you to make us look like fools, she doesn't find out." Tyrian was surprisingly shrewd about this one particular area.
"You want proof? What do you want me to do, talk to him?" Mercury said. "I'll get busted."
"If they are really letting him go, surely you can contrive be around," Tyrian said. "Make yourself useful. And hurry up. Our queen wants results. Tick tock, tick tock."
He was even more annoying as a supervisor than he was as a psychopath.
* * *
After dropping Ruby and Oscar off with Pietro to talk shop--literally--the others wanted to go get dinner instead.
Blake met up with Sun at some outdoor cafe.
The others tagged along. Anything to get off their feet.
Yang was still in a mood.
Checking her scroll, she was surprised to see a message from a strange number saying: Come meet me downstairs.
Frowning at it, Yang wondered if it was her mother. She doubted it, but who else would be messaging her? Winter? Anyone else on the team whose number she didn't have?
She got up and walked downstairs. They'd all been eating on the top floor.
No one was in the downstairs area that she could see.
She walked out onto the street. Nothing.
She looked around the corner of the restaurant.
There was a trash bin, but other than that, no one that she could see.
She turned around. "What the heck is going on?" She looked at her scroll.
Suddenly someone moved behind her, and she turned only in time to see something coming at her.
She swatted at it with her arm, and it felt like someone plugged a power cord into her and drained all her energy out like a battery.
"What the...?" she said dizzily.
"So sorry," some voice she didn't know said.
Something like a taser hit her after that, and she blacked out.
[Talk about an electrifying way to end this arc.
Sorry, but it's Yang, so I had to make that a pun.
Also, am I mean with the cliffhangers or what?]