53 Chapter 53: Final night

Night had fallen on the peaceful kingdom of Vale. There, in the center of town was Vale general hospital. A location that had earned itself a reputation as one of the safest and most professional hospitals in the kingdom. Many people would bring their families and loved ones there as even during times of crisis, they could count on the staff to always deliver a place of peace where they could discuss their problems while knowing they were safe.

So one could imagine the shock when the normal peaceful atmosphere was shattered as three men ran inside, pushing over some other customers who were standing in line as they made a man sprint into the room designated for injured patients.

As they charged inside, one of the receptionists stepped forward, blocking the path of the man in the back, immediately chastising him for making such a ruckus in a hospital, with many of the other customers joining in.

However, when the man produced a SMG that he fired into the ceiling, sending dust and cement raining down on both the recipient and those who were defending her, it turned what had been a somewhat angry crowd into a panicked mass of people sprinting towards the exist, pushing and shoving others out of their way, letting the man sprint deeper inside the hospital where he quickly joined his three comrades.

Together, the men raced through the building, checking the name on each door, even kicking a few open revealing either terrified staff, or brave loved ones, desperately trying to shield their injured or sick relatives from the men. Some even going so far as to lunge at them the second the door, having grabbed some makeshift weapon in an attempt to knock the assailants out.

But they were met with a burst of rapid fire from the automatic weapon, sending the brave man and women crashing to the ground, their blood staining the floor red as the hospitalized loved screamed out their names as the men moved on, leaving a corpse where a person had once stood.

Finally, as one of the men kicked down the door to an old, Atleian man and his five year old granddaughter, immediately raising his gun to mow them both down. However a call came echoing down from the end of the hall,stopping him in his tracks.

"I found him! He's in here!" The man yelled, aiming his gun at the door with the plack that read Eric Schwarz.

Immediately the other two men stopped whatever they were doing and rushed to the door, leveling their guns at it as the first man reached out and grabbed the knob, turning to find it was unlocked.

With a quick glance at his comrades, he held up three fingers, then slowly began to lower them.

When his last finger went down, the throw opened the door, rushing in with his gun aimed at the bed. Behind him, the other two men charged into, clearing the corners and behind the door, making sure he couldn't get the jump on them.

However, upon them clearing the room, they immediately felt their hearts drop as they found it completely empty. The bed was made and the window locked, no footprints or anything to indicate anyone had been inside for hours. A few flowers sat on the end, fresh and clearly delivered recently, but had been left when the occupant had been evacuated.

With a sigh, the first man pulled a radio from his belt, raised it to his mouth and pressed the button that allowed him to speak.

"He's gone." The man reported. "Must have been taken before those kids launched their raid on our hideout. They must have known we'd retaliate if their plan worked."

"Shit!" Adelaide cursed on the other end of the line, punching the well of the warehouse. "Clever bastards. Fine, can't be helped. Pull out before the cops show. We have other leads and I can't lose any more men tonight."

The "yes ma'am!" that followed did little for her spirits. None of her other teams had seen the kids either, not the one posted at the airships to Beacon, not the team at Music Fest, and not even the ones watching her family! This had been her best chance at relocating them after they had managed to give Issac the slip.

Sure, after he had contacted her, she had sent her best trackers to pick up their travel, but they had either by pre-planed events or dumb luck, they had fled into Malachite territory, territory that was heavily patrolled by her enforcers. Meaning she couldn't send people after them without starting a turf war.

Rage filled the woman as she glared at the naked, unconscious scientists who were being loaded into a van to be taken to a hospital. This time escorted by two trucks of huntsmen grade members.

She couldn't believe she got so easily played. Back when she had been making her plan to abduct Jiao, even with Howard's late request to not kill the team, she had been able to effortlessly come up with a work around that would leave them alive, but unable to counter.

At least she had thought she had.

She would have never guessed they'd be able to not only find this place, but sneak inside and get out without dying. When she had run into Summer's daughter back at Junior's, she had assumed that was the level of her entire team, both in terms of combat abilities and tactics. Sure, the enforcer had a decent enough eye to read the situation, but anyone with a brain knew that it had been an unwinnable fight.

Clearly she had underestimated them. Something she didn't plan on doing again. Sure, the girl was as thick as they came, but one of the other three must be very well versed in both strategies and logistics. Otherwise a plan like that would seen way to suicidal to attempt and near impossible to pull off.

With that said, something just didn't feel right to the war hardened woman. To the enemy leader. It was one thing to think up a plan and another to have your subordinates follow it. The fact they were willing to go through with such a dangerous plan spoke volumes about the trust they must share. Something she definitely didn't notice when she had fought them before.

Guess she'd have to step things up another notch.

"Hey, Igor." She said, changing the frequency of her radio. "Move into position for project Death March. Stand by and wait for my signal before moving in. We'll only get one chance at that and I want to make sure this goes smoothly."

"Ugh! Finally." The man on the other end groaned. "Hehe. I finally get to cut loose and chop some meat!"

"Just make sure you bring them back alive and in one piece." Adelaide said exhaustedly, resting her head in her hands. "A hostage is no use dead or mutilated. We need them to want to return the singer, not come after us for revenge."

"Aaww. But I wanted to make them scream!" The man whined. "Can't I just take…I don't know, a finger or three? They'll live years without their thumbs and toes."

"IN. ONE. PIECE." Adelaide said firmly before turning off the radio and slumping back in her chair, a sigh escaping her lips as she turned to her tablet. "Seriously, I know he's strong, but having a loose cannon like him is more of a hindrance than anything. Remind me again why your so insistent he works with me."

"Because I want him close to someone I know who can kill him once he's outlived his usefulness." Howard replied through the other end of the call, his voice distorted by the tablet. "More importantly, what is Operation Death March? I've never heard of it before now. Is this some kind of contingency plan to get the stupid singer back?"

Adelaide glanced at the monitor, though the screen was completely blacked out to hide her father-in-law's identity. As much as she wished she could spend more time with him after avenging her husband and his son, she knew he not only had a public image to maintain, but also he was very disapproving of some of her methods. Something she couldn't have in her ranks, especially right now.

"After you came to me with the info on who we'd be up against, I knew there was a possibility that Summer might get involved. This plan was in case that worst case scenario came to pass." She explained, watching as the van drove off, leaving her alone in the warehouse. "I didn't tell you because you were just beginning to rekindle your friendship and I didn't want you to worry."

"I'm always going to worry, you know that." Howard replied, his tone firm. "I know what needs to be done and I'm not going to try to stop you from doing it, but I want to know what you have planned. You've been straying further and further from our original goals. I'm finding it harder to trust things to your judgment, so please tell me what you have planned for Summer."

Adelaide let out another sigh, turning away from the screen. She might not be able to see him, but Howard could still see her. She could practically feel his judging eyes boring into her head, drugging up old feelings she had long since abandoned for the sake of her kingdom.

For a second she thought about lying, telling Howard what he wanted to hear. She knew he wouldn't approve. But at the same time, after everything Howard had done for her, she owed him the truth. Especially given the nature of her plan.

"Summer is a poor match against me, I don't think anyone can argue otherwise." She said slowly, choosing her words very carefully. "Her semblance is hard countered by mine. And even she would struggle on a field of ice. However, she is by far more clever. I don't doubt she'd come up with a strategy that would cost me much more than a single fight. As such I chose to exploit the common weakness of people like her." She paused a second, wondering if she should continue. But after that one second, she decided that Howard should at least know what she was plotting. That way, he could remove himself from this plan if he so chose.

"A mother's first and last thought will always be of their children."

Her words were met with a long silence. Then…

"No." Howard said on the other end of the line. "Absolutely not. Ruby and Yang are not to be dragged into this war. They have done nothing wrong and are innocent. You can't just-."

"Igor was part of the Starless Platoon. He can handle Summer no problem." Adelaide cut in, her voice hard and set. "What's more, I have already sent more than enough resources towards their hotel. They'll cover it up no problem and once we have her sisters, I think Summer's eldest daughter will be much more cooperative. She'll return the singer in exchange for their safe return. Then we can move on like nothing happened."

"Adelaide." Howard said, his tone dark and warning. "What you're suggesting is wrong. Very, very wrong. Not just on a moral standpoint but also it goes against what the Seraphim were supposed to stand for. We protect Vale and hold Atlas responsible for their crimes. We don't drag children into-!"

"I don't like it either." Adelaide confessed, still unable to look at the screen even though there was nothing to see. "But we don't have a choice. If the Three Dragon leave Vale, our window is gone. And then we'll be at the mercy of both the Phantom and the Eternal Dynasty. That is a far greater evil then sacrificing the momentrul happiness of a couple of kids."

Another long silence filled the room, broken only by the occasional creek of the warehouse and the distant sounds of cars in the much more populated parts of the city.

Then…

"Do you really feel that way?" Howard asked, a strain in his voice and the woman knew he was close to tears. Not that she could blame him. After all, those words, that excuse, it had been what had originally driven him apart from his then good friend, Ozpin. Hearing those same words from his own daughter, the most important thing to his dead son, must feel like having that knife of betrayal driven into his chest once again.

Adelaide wished she could tell him she didn't, wished she could go back and live in that fantasy where she could simply survive by caring for her son, wished she was someone like Summer, able to let go of the past and move forward into the future.

But she wasn't. And they both know that.

Another long silence followed Howard's question, his daughter unable to speak telling him everything he needed to know. The hard truth that rang between both of them.

"Fine." Howard said after several agonizing minutes. "You are free to believe whatever you want, but know this. If you lay so much as a finger on either of those two girls, my funding is gone. That included my legal team, my money laundering businesses, my spies. All of it will be pulled and you will have to start from the bottom up all over again."

Adelaide didn't respond to Howard's threat. She knew how little influence he truly had on them. Even if he ordered them to stop helping her, she knew that all the local business owners would be more than happy to accommodate her under his nose, resulting in no real loss on her end.

But she was also well aware of what he was doing. And so, she decided to let him steer the conversation.

"So, what do you suggest?" She asked with a sigh, turning back to face the tablet. "You know our window is small. If Jiao goes back to Mistral, we won't be able to touch him. Hell, I'd be surprised if the Phantom didn't off him the second he got back just to keep him out of our reach. And given that we only have two more full days until he's gone, we don't have time for another complicated scheme."

"I know." Howard replied, his voice sounding tired. "I'll- just give a few hours and I'll come up with something. In the meantime, I'll contact our inside man and have him start pressuring the team to bring him back. That way we'll at least have them tied down to one spot."

Adelaide turned away, calmly beginning to examine her wrist blade gauntlets, carefully running a finger across the barrel of the gun.

"You know, when we find them again, we aren't going to be able to pull our punches." She said calmly, pretending not to be interested in the sudden shift in breathing on the other end of the line. "When we fight them again, we're going to have to kill them this time. Something you couldn't bring yourself to do when you faced them earlier tonight. Tell me, the next time you see them, can you bring yourself to do it? Kill Silver's daughter? Summer's?"

While she couldn't see her father's face, she could picture his brow creasing as a deep frown spread across his face. His thinking face when he was indirectly being called out.

"I'm not sure if I could." Howard replied after a few seconds. "They're surprisingly quick and can come up with effective strategies very fast. They made me look like a senile old man in compari-."

"Stop."

Adelaide's voice was hard as she cut in, silencing Howard midway through his ramble. "We both know if you had been fighting all out, you'd have won against eight kids of that level. There's no way they would have escaped if you didn't choose to let them."

Her accusation was met with more silence, letting the women press on, not holding back even for her own father. "I know you like to pretend you're getting on in age, but we both know you still have enough power to beat me. Combine that with their weakened state, there's no way you would have lost like that. So, let me ask you again. Can you kill those kids when the time comes?"

Her question was met with silence yet again. Then, after a few seconds, the call ended.

With a sigh, Adelaide turned to look out the open door, staring up at the shattered moon, a forlorn expression on her face.

"Yeah, you always were too gentle for war, old man." She said quietly to herself.

_______________________________

Meanwhile in a single story house with an overgrown garden in the front and a kicked over lawn gnome laying at the entrance, four battered and bleeding teens stumbled through the knocked down door where they were immediately greeted by the two other teammates.

"Good, looks like you survived. Though just barely from the looks of it." Fang said, immediately rushing to Amber's side, grabbing her before she fainted in Cinder's arms.

On the way there, Adam had come round and had taken over carrying the singer, who while also awake, was still very weak. Which was a good thing as the second he was out of her arms, Amber had all but collapsed, forcing Cinder to catch and carry her the rest of the way.

"I'm…fine. Heal…Jiao…first" The dark skinned girl wheezed as Fang carried her towards Eric, who was rushing towards them with a medical kit. The girl's face was pale and her breathes ragged and uneven. With a shaking hand, she tried to push the boy off her, only to find she lacked the strength to even make him notice.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Eric said as Amber was placed on the couch and the lights in the building were turned on. "You might be the leader, but I'm the team medic. I get the say on who gets treated first. And if you could see yourself right now, I think even someone as selfless as you would see it."

Amber opened her mouth to protest, but it changed to a hiss of pain when the knight began cleaning her neck wound before coating it with his aura.

"Don't worry about Jiao. I'll take care of him." Fang said, taking out another medical kit and walking to the singer who had been laid on the table. "I may not have a healing semblance but I do know first aid. And not to sound like Cinder, but I was the best out of the group I traveled with after we were chased out of Atlas."

The team (except one.) shared a light laugh at the jab, the mood shifting slightly as said girl flipped the boy off before crossing her arms and letting out an annoyed huff.

"Oh shut up, would you Fang." She snarled. "If you're going to make fun of me, at least make your jokes more interesting than your hair. Seriously, white? What are you trying to do? Look like an old geezer? You alright talk like one, you don't need anything else."

"Funny, this coming from the girl who couldn't figure out how to use a vending machine and chose to punch it instead."

"Bite me!"

As the two continued to exchange insults, Amber found herself unable to hold herself back anymore and let out a quiet laugh. Watching those two bicker like an old married couple made it almost feel like they hadn't just pulled off a rescue from under the nose of a feared crime boss and fought one of the strongest huntsmen in Vale less than an hour ago. Them arguing over nothing made everything feel…normal, right. Like she had finally come home.

She couldn't remember the last time she felt like this.

"Hey." Amber cut in, stopping the two mid fight before they could escalate it. (Well. Before one of them could escalate it.)

"Fang, thank you, for everything. If you weren't here, I don't think we would have been able to pull this off." She said, her voice exhausted, but still bright. "That map and route you had us saved our lives. And even now, helping take care of us and everything, I just-. I just don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you for everything you've done."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, it's still a little early to celebrate. You guys aren't out of the woods just yet." Fang said immediately, waving away her words. "Until Jiao is safe, the Seraphim will keep hunting him. I'd put money that they're already watching the airports, docks, and every road out of town, waiting for you to try to smuggle him out. And from what you've told me, they aren't going to be short on resources for surveillance or tracking."

At his words, a dark look came over Cinder, her face immediately becoming a hard, thin line as her eyes narrowed and she clenched her teeth.

"Howard." She spat, her hands tightening into fists. "Until he's gone, the Seraphim will have next to unlimited resources. On top of that, he has enough influence with every high ranking official in the city. Meaning until we get some hard, unquestionable evidence, we can go to the police or any other huntsman. Meaning our options are pretty limited."

Another long silence followed her words, broken only by the sound of Eric and Fang treating their respective patients. They all knew the bind they were in. Like it or not, because of them burning bridges, they didn't have a lot of good options.

Professor Goodwitch would definitely expel them if they called Beacon for back up, and calling Fang's team would certainly alert the strict teacher. The police wouldn't be able to do anything without proof and a good few days of red tape, same with any legal huntsmen. And any hope of trying Fang's criminal contacts would not only get him in hot water, but also start a war between the two factions. A war that would arguably be even more deadly than Music Fest.

Much as they didn't want to admit it, this victory was little more than a hiccup in the grand scheme of the Seraphim.

"So, what now?" Adam finally asked, voicing what was on the entire team's mind. "We need to get Jiao back to Mistral where Adelaide can't get him, but that's not so easily done. Not only does he still have one last gig with Music Fest, but with Howard on their side, the moment he even buys a ticket, the Seraphim will know. We need-."

"You are over thinking." Jiao piped in from the table where Fang was treating him. "Look, I get that this mission is very important to you, but I'm sorry, you're outclassed."

All eyes in the room turned to the singer as he pushed the white haired boy off so he could sit up, one hand clutching his chest.

"This is how things are going to happen. As soon as I'm healed, we contact Bobby. He'll arrange a new guard, this time of pros. From there, you four…and your friend escort me to the airport where we do the hand off. I get on the first flight back to Mistral and am out of this psycho's reach. Once I'm safe, I'll send word to your school explaining what happened and who's really to blame. After that, I'm sure the cops will be able to find evidence of Howard's criminal ties. Or at least enough to tell them that what happened was way over the scope of your mission parameters. You won't be expelled, I get to continue my career, and we both get our happily ever after. End of story."

Upon finishing, Jiao attempted to get off the table, only stagger, forcing Fang to rush forward and catch him.

"G-give me a scroll." He grunted, extending an arm at Amber. "I'll make the call. I know you don't like Bobby, but right now, it's our best course of action."

At his words, Amber and Fang exchanged a glance, the dark skinned girl looked up to him as if asking a question, and the boy gave her a nod, confirming…whatever it was she had asked.

"Actually, that's probably the worst idea we have right." She said nervously, her gaze falling to the floor as all eyes turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Adam asked, his confused tone mirror on Cinder's face.

And despite the simplicity of the question, it seemed to make Amber even more uncomfortable as she began twiddling her thumbs and making a point to look anywhere but at her team.

"So, um, you remember when I said I had an idea but didn't want to put any ideas in anyone's heads?" She asked as Eric began wrapping bandages around her neck. "I…might have asked Fang to look into Bobby to see if he was up to anything shady. And…well…"

She shot a pleading look at the boy who nodded and reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folder, placing it on the table next to Jiao.

"Amber was right to be suspicious." He said, taking out a picture and some documents, handing a copy to Amber, Jiao, and Adam, who was immediately crowded by Cinder, to get a good look.

The document was a life insurance policy, that stated that upon Jiao's death or disappearance, his entire net worth would be paid to Bobby in full with additional compensation for every canceled event there after, as well as a documented will stating that all personal money would be used to cover any debts before the remainder was transferred to the charitable organization Bobby ran, something oddly suspicious as Jiao never struck them as being very charitable.

As for the picture, that was a little more damning. As it was a photo of Bobby inside Howard shipping office, shaking hands with the man.

"Bobby is working with Howard!?" Cinder snapped in disgust, almost tearing it in her rage. "That lowlife sack of shit! He set us up!" Her understandable fury and rage was mirrored on Adam's face, those his had more disgust than acting anger.

Amber meanwhile, looked incredibly shocked and disheartened despite her asking Fang to look into it. Her face falling and her shoulders slumping as she read over the paper.

"I don't suppose this could be just a standard life insurance thing, could it? You know, going to a foreign kingdom and wanting to take precautions?" She said, already knowing the answer. So when Fang shook his head, it came as no surprise.

"Not a chance." He replied, a tired sigh escaping his lips. "People might prepare for death, but nobody prepares for disappearances. Stuff like that only appears on wills or insurance if the person arranging it knows they're going to go missing. Believe me. I've seen enough people try to murder their spouses and disappear the body after putting that specific claws in the policy. I hear it actually got so bad in Atlas that a law was passed that made it impossible to inherit any money from a relative if even the slightest trace of evidence could be found that linked you to their death. You would not believe how common that used to be up there."

Fang paused a moment before continuing. "And besides, he made a deal with Howard. And while I don't know what it was, I doubt it could be a coincidence that all this happened right before the Seraphim tried to kidnap Jiao."

At his words, all eyes turned to the singer, who had been sitting in stunned silence as he stared at both the picture and the document. His mouth hanging open, eyes wide. Then, he let out a slow laugh as he leaned back, pressing his hand over his eyes.

"Haha. So, that's it huh, old man?" He said in a tight, strained voice that sounded both like he was struggling to breathe, yet on the verge of historic laughter. "After all these years, you'd just throw me under the bus just because you can? Man, that…that's really…hehe! I knew you were a rat, but that? That still really stings."

Despite his hand covering his eyes, Cinder could still see the hurt and betrayal on his face, hear the strain in his voice as he fought back his rage and sadness. She knew what it was like to be betrayed by someone you looked up to, someone who was supposed to protect you. She had felt those exact same emotions more than once in her life, and she knew the horrible, searing pain and bitterness that came after.

But while she had years to come to terms and forget about them (not that she really had.), Jiao was just learning about this now. And while despite being the biggest (living) bastard she knew, it must still hurt to have one of your partners just dump you like that.

And so, Cinder slowly approached the distraught singer, reaching a hand out and gently touching his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about that." She said softly. "Bastard you are, you're still better than a greasy bag like Bobby Rocks. He'd have dragged you down with him and ruined your whole career. Worthless trash like him shouldn't be allowed to manage a kids camp let alone an actually hard working celebrity like you. Your better off without him."

At her words Jiao let out a chuckle, opening his eyes to look over at his guard.

"Wow. How uncharacteristically nice of you." He said in a tired, yet jokingly smug tone. "I guess it's a testament to how dire the situation is if you're actually trying to cheer me up. Or is it you just want someone to say you did a good job so you don't get expelled when this is over?"

"Oh, it's definitely so I don't get expelled." She quipped back with a grin. "I hate job searching and after the money I already put into my intoiton fees, I'd like to see it actually go to my good use instead of being inhaled by the school broad and used to fund sex toys for old men to use while watching girl in their lockers."

The two shared a dry laugh before the singer laid back down, hand pressed back over his eyes as he let out a tired sigh.

"So, what now? We'll need to act fast before Bobby starts hiring other huntsman to track us down under the pretense of kidnapping. So should we inform the police?" He asked, still with a slight tremor. "I imagine they won't be in much of a hurry to arrest one of their biggest donors or go through the hell that is prosecuting a resident of another kingdom. But it should put them under enough scrutiny that they'll be delayed for a little while."

Fang let out a sigh as he leaned back, folding his arms as he went. "Unfortunately, it's not that simple." He said. "We go to the police, what do we say when they ask where we got the evidence? That Batman gave it to us? No. They're more like to arrest us than Howard or Bobby."

"What?! Why?!" Cinder snapped, whipping her head around at Fang's words. "Who cares where it came from?! We got it! That's what matters! So what if we got it from…wherever you got it. It's undeniable proof that something shady is going on between those two! They can't-!"

"Vale law says that evidence obtained illegally isn't admissible in court." Amber cut in. "It's so nobody can create a first time bias with false evidence or false witnesses. Police have the authority to fudge the rules a bit, but only under very certain circumstances. Other than that, it doesn't matter if it came from a private detective who broke the law to find the truth, the court has to dismiss it. Besides, I don't think that the wording on a document is going to convince a jury that Bobby was planning to make one of his band go missing."

"And even if they did accept it, we'd still be in hot water." Fang added. "Once word got out that it had been one of Lil. Miss enforcer was behind it, that would leave me high and dry. The Seraphim wouldn't take kindly to it and without her protection, they'd kill me by the end of the week."

A long silence filled the room at these words as one again, they knew who was behind it, but couldn't do or tell anyone. Frustration burrowed its way into each and every member of team AACE's gut as they let their helpless position sink in. No plan, no recourse, and no help. They were truly trapped in a world of corruption and hate that they couldn't get out of. A world that none of them had wanted to be in.

This was far beyond the scope of their abilities. They were first years at Beacon, they were supposed to be training to protect the world while they wasted their time chatting about nothing in the cafeteria with their classmates. Not fighting for their lives against crime lords, corrupt managers, and a war hero turned business owner while in a world that refused to change. All this, it was just too much.

After several minutes of silence, Amber straightened up slightly, turning to Fang as she did.

"Would it be possible to turn illegal evidence into legal evidence? Could you like, I don't know, leak it to a media company or newspaper reporter? Anything like that?" She asked defeatedly. She knew the answer already, but still insisted on hearing it anyway. Just to make sure every possible option was truly sealed.

"Oh yeah, I definitely could." Fang said with a roll of his eyes. "But I'd need multiple outlets, eye witnesses, a corrupt influencer, and something to put a little dirt on his name to let people start feeling like they couldn't trust him. In other words, it'd take months of work and several hundred dollars as well a far amount of complicated setup before I'd even be able to realistically be able to put him away for any significant amount of time. Something that is not on the table in this situation."

With a sigh of defeat, Amber's head slumped, immediately causing her to hiss in pain as the gash on her neck began to throb.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." She groaned weakly as she slowly got to her feet. "In that case, we should use this time to rest, recover our aura, and heal. In that time I'll come with…something. I don't know what, but I'll figure it out. For now those, I really need to wash my shirt because I'm pretty sure walking around looking like I murderer somebody is not a good look for me."

With that, before anyone could say anything, Amber turned and headed into the laundry room.

A little while later.

Amber pressed her back against the dryer as she buried her head in her arms as she hugged her knees to her chest, her clawed fingers digging into her legs and would have probably drawn blood if not for her aura. The rapid vibrations let her pretend that the uncontrollably shaking in her limbs was thanks to the machine and not the lack of oxygen that she was getting.

After putting her clothes in the washing machine, and turning it on, the young girl collapsed onto the floor. Her rapid, uneven breathing that she had been taking great pains (literally) to hide from her team had finally caught up to her, almost making her pass out again. If it wasn't for the throbbing pain in her neck right there and then, she honestly probably would have.

This was just too much. The betrayal, the fighting just for survival, the hopeless situation they found themselves in. It was just so overwhelming she couldn't handle it.

And if that wasn't bad enough, she still couldn't figure out some way to turn the situation around, despite that being pretty much her entire job. Go figure she was to stupid and worthless to do even the most simple tasks. She really was just a waste of a space, wasn't she? She couldn't do anything right.

Sitting there, slowly trying to calm herself down by pressing her back against the warm machine seeking any form of comfort no matter how trivial it was, made her realize just how pathetic she must look. Still, with both her parents both gone and certainly hating her, her legal guardian off who knows where, and unable to contact his family without putting them at risk, she was so alone, she didn't really care. Besides, she had locked the door as she didn't have any spare clothes, so it's not like anyone would see her.

And speaking of comfort.

Slowly, the young woman raised her head and turned her attention to her furry clawed palm, where her still bloody broach sat.

She stared at it blankly thinking back to her life before she realized she was a curse. Ignorance was truly bliss. Back then, she could have easily pinned her pain on some external factor, like the person who killed Winny's brother. Those two years after they had promised to take revenge on him while painful, it felt like there was something they could do with that pain, that hurt. The hours they had spent training in earnest made it feel like they had been slowly working towards a way to end their pain. And even after she had realized she was a monster, she had still believed that maybe, if she redeemed herself, that might make it stop hurting.

But now? Now she had nothing to truly strive for. Nothing to make herself believe that the pain and guilt would go away. She was trapped in a never ending battle that she was drowning in, and try as she might, she couldn't reach the surface no matter how hard she tried. Pulled down by the horrid acts she'd never be able to make up for.

And now, she was dragging her team down with her.

Softly, the monster stood up and made its way to the door of the room, her clawed feet making a horrible scraping sound that only she could hear as she reached her destination and pressed her ear to the door. Thankfully, her horns technically didn't exist, so she could actually touch it without alerting the others.

From there, she could hear the sound of Adam pacing back and forth in the living room as he nervously rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"We can't stay here." The Faunus said, his tone irritable from both fear and exhaustion. "They'll find us here sooner or later. I say we take refuge with the Vale branch of the White Fang. Ghira himself is there. If we explain to him what happened he can help us. Let us turn the tables on the Seraphim! We might even-!"

"That's a bad idea." Fang replied as he glanced out the broken door. They had shut all the curtains to make it harder to see inside, but the door was a constant threat. "Remember, if Howard got certain members to help in his plan once, odds are he can do so again. Besides, I'm sure they're being watched by other Seraphim. The second we try to make contact, they'll know where we are and launch an attack. Better to stay away from known accomplices. Besides, the White Fang isn't the most open organization. I doubt they'll offer statuary to humans."

Adam immediately bristled at the comment, his tone turning darker as he spoke again.

"Care to expand upon that last part? I know they're not perfect, but when you're constantly being oppressed, you can't exactly be picky. Besides, I'm here. They'll house all of us if I ask."

Fang turned to the Faunus, then let out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "No offense, but from what I've seen of their Minstrel branch, I think they missed that idea that equality means everyone is equal, not one is above the other. Most of the ones I've worked with seem more interested in subjugating humanity, not living alongside it. That includes the branch leaders and those right below them. In fact, it seems like they're spreading that message of hate and violence more than their original message of equality. Even seen one laughing as they took a shove to a child's neck, they took great pleasure in hurting a human, no matter who they were or what they have done."

"Yeah well, maybe you're kingdom should sort out it race problems if they wanted to low the number of hate related crimes." Adam shot back immediately, folding his arms and turning his nose up. "Play the victim all you want. I know that Faunus are treated as second class citizens in Mistral. Betrayed by even the Faunus we've put into power. Of course they're going to change to more radical methods when not heard. I don't approve of them doing that stuff sure, but-."

"You miss the point." Fang cut in. "It's not the ordinary everyday workers who're responsible for not fixing the kingdom, it's the people in charge. They're the ones who make it legal to abuse Faunus labor and then it's the company owners and shareholders who see a profit that abuse those laws. Attacking the middle to low class who are just trying to put food on the table isn't going to change anything. If you want true change, you have to go after the top brass."

"I-! That's-!" Adam spluttered, trying to find a counter. "I mean, you still vote for them! T-that makes you particularly responsible for-."

The Faunus broke off stuttering as he continued to try to add more points to his argument, giving Fang the perfect in.

"A good friend of mine is-. Well, was the daughter of a corrupt politician." He said. "She told me all kinds of things he got up to in order to stay in power. Everything from using fake polls that said he was winning to sending thugs to inimitable locations that were against him. All these tricks to make it seem legit, when nobody actually liked him."

Fang paused for a moment before continuing.

"Besides, in order to get votes, you need to campaign, to campaign you need money, and the best source of money is rich investors, and once they get you in power, they'll expect favors that, if not done, they'll spill all your hidden secrets that will get you removed from office. And let's face the facts, they'd never support a non-corrupt politician. As such, the system just gets more and more corrupt until…well the current state of the world where everyone is needlessly suffering."

Adam, upon seeing he wasn't winning this argument, let out a huff and slumped back against the fireplace adorned with various articles of the past the previous resident had collected.

"Yeah well, whatever." He grunted. "But back on track, it's not like they won't be able to find this place. What guarantee do we have that they're not mustering their forces to come charging in as we speak? For all we know, they're outside right now, poised and ready to-."

"They aren't." Cinder chimed in as she crouched next to a bookshelf, scanning its content intently. "Before he was assa- killed, this house belonged to a new friend of mine I made shortly after coming to Vale proper. Nobody outside my family knew about that. And I doubt even my mom would have let that slip when she was talking with Howard. So if they don't know about my connection, they won't know to check here."

"Huh, I guess that makes sense." Eric said as he examined the mantelpiece and the many trophies on it. "Explains why you knew both where the generator was and how to turn it on. And if that's true, then it should prove difficult to track us. As long as we stay off the net and keep our scroll off, there's no way to track our movements here. Off the grid is hard, but effective."

"No shit, Sherlock. That's why I suggested it." Cinder said with a playful roll of her eyes. "Sure it's a temporary fix, but for right now, it buys us time. Doubt it's going to hold through an entire city sweep with pro huntsmen though. So the moment Bobby reports this as a kidnapping, the clock starts ticking down until we're discovered."

"So what you're saying is we're sitting here wasting time while our inevitable doom approaches." Jiao snapped, as he pulled the ice pack off his head and sat up from the couch where he had been lying. "What we need is to stop twiddling our thumbs and do something! But instead, you all are relaxing as if your lives aren't in danger! Care to explain to me why you are indulging your leader wasting time prettying herself up while a gang of psychos are chasing me down trying to steal my literal soul?!"

"Hey! Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you!" Cinder snapped, turning to glare at the singer. "Last time I checked, if it wasn't for Amber, we never would have found you! Or gotten you out! Besides, right now we're all exhausted and nearly depleted our aura reserves. Resting and recovering is probably the best thing we can do right now. During that time, we can strategize on our next move as soon as Amber get out."

Jiao rolled his eyes at the dark haired girl. "Don't recall you thinking like this beforehand. Either I must have hit my head too hard and this is all a dream, or the world really is ending." This comment made the girl bristle and her hand tighten into a fist, but she didn't react. Instead, turning back to the shelf, continuing her search.

Fang, who noticed this, turned back to the other boy, a small smile on his face. "Well, I may not be Amber, but while I was digging up info on Bobby, I pulled some details on both White Witch Adelaide, and Igor, of the Starless Platoon. Both insanely powerful and dangerous, especially the latter. Igor is considered by many to be one of, if not the, worst criminal from Vale to be allowed to walk free. With very good reason."

"The Starless Platoon?" Cinder asked, looking up from the shelf once again, immediately drawing the attention of her teammates.

"That's right. I keep forgetting you grew up in Atlas so you wouldn't have heard about some of that stuff." Eric said as he leaned against the mantle. Immediately knocking one of the stone losses and nearly dropping a priceless china figure.

"Well, Amber's the history nerd, so she can go into more detail, but the short story is that it's a unit made up of criminals from Vale, Vacuo and eventually Mistral that was assembled during the war as a way to combat the Atlesian knight drones. Which were brand new at the time and could be mass produced with the effect that they could turn a battle into a one sided massacre with their advances for the time aiming AI." Adam said as Eric dove, managing to catch the figure before it hit the ground. "The idea was that death row criminals would be given parole if they chose to fight in the war doing the most dangerous, difficult tasks. Basically to ensure they wouldn't survive. In other words, expendable soldiers who nobody would care about if they died in the line of service."

"So like the Suicide Squad from the comics?" Jiao asked, shifting into a more comfortable position as Fang nodded in response.

"Yeah, that's actually where the idea came from." He explained as Eric, having finished looking over the figure for damage, was trying to put it back without anyone noticing. "Back then, the war had no end in sight. So even if the Starless Platoon didn't die on mission, they would from natural causes. And because they couldn't gain any rank, they posed little threat to the kingdom's security while being incredibly dangerous to the enemy. Of course, that all changed when the war actually did come to an end."

"See, after the war ended, a lot of people were so happy, common sense flew right out the window. And people started demanding the release of the criminals who were in the Platoon. And under that kind of pressure, the politicians who should have known better, ultimately agree to hold up their end of the bargain. Releasing all but one of the of the Platoon." Eric said, dusting off the figure he had put back on the mantle, accidentally sending it crashing to the floor where it broke into a million pieces, causing him to sigh, shoulders slumping in defeat. "Basically, they got a pardon for any crimes prior to their service. It's why even to this day, criminals like Marcus Black or Lady Edreia are still at large. And while the pardon doesn't let them break the law anymore, it's believed that some people in the council are using them to further their own agenda. Namely, Anodeser."

"Him again." Cinder grunted. "Wasn't he the guy who tried to take you out of the running during Beacon's entrance exam? And the guy who tried to get Atlas to demilitarize after the war?"

"The very same." Adam replied, disgust clear in his tone. "Bastard is the kind of person who twists everything around him to get what he wants and threatens or blackmails everyone who might get in his way. Ass hat has even promoted violence against the Faunus. Calling us animals and saying that we over react to our abuse. Down playing it to make us look like a bunch of whiners!"

"And it's not just Faunus he's targeting." Eric said, his light and cheerful tone replaced with a much darker one. "Anodeser has stationed a good chunk of Vale's army at the exit to Giga, blocking anyone from leaving or entering without exclusive permission from him, or another counsel member, even delaying our request for things like food or medical aid, changing the rules on how we're supposed to request them every few months, trying to make us look like the bad guys who don't want to play by the rules. And yes, that did include leaving as well. So just ask about the red tape I had to go through to come to Beacon."

"Yikes. And here I thought all politicians were just lazy asses. I didn't know they were this…controlling." Cinder said, drawing a quiet chuckle from Fang.

"The problem is those in charge not listening to the people they're supposed to survive has always been around, easily predating the war. Hate is often used to propel a leader's personal agenda." He said, looking down at the floor. "The monarchy of Atlas used the fear of expression and art to propel their war. Now that they're gone, the leaders of the other kingdoms are just using the same method to further their own goals. And they're not the only ones using it either. The Seraphim are another prime example of how spreading one's hate for their own agenda of oppression and fear. I wouldn't be surprised if it's not just Howard Shipping that's supporting them in secret. Racism and fear for a common enemy is a good way to make a profit and spread your influence. And ironically enough, people with more than enough of both tend to be the most hungry for more. Really makes you question what all that death and suffering in the war was even for as at the end of the day, we just traded one set of tyrants for another."

A long silence fell between the five sitting in the room as their gazes fell to the floor. Fang's words had struck a chord in all of them. Not just on the comment of politicians, but just how much support Adelaide must have.

The unfortunate truth of the matter was the Atlas was just years ahead of any other kingdoms in both military power and also technology. They could mass produce products and ship it faster than any other corporation around the world. That alone made them a massive threat on the business end and would incentivize any CEO of a business to do everything in their power to either cripple them, or sabotage them at every opportunity.

Or, the alternative, help a gang of Atlas hating individuals spread their message of hate across the kingdom. Making people not want to buy from them out of either suspicion or fear. Thus in turn continuing the cycle of discrimination and hate which made them a profit .

And as they sat there, thinking about how big everything was compared to them, a sickening feeling began to choke Cinder. Hopelessness. Assuming Fang was right, which let's face it, he probably was. That meant, even if by some miracle they fought off Howard, Adelaide, and Igor, they'd still be faced with what must be the countless companies that supported them from the shadows. That alone probably gave them immunity from the law, but just thinking about what kind of hidden benefits, such as weapons or intel, it didn't feel like they were up against a gang of criminals, but a nation's real and funded army!

Just sitting there, taking in the enormity of the situation, made the young woman feel ill. They didn't stand a chance. Forget keeping Jiao safe, even if they somehow did, they'd be watching their backs for the rest of their lives. Looking for when one of the people they had indirectly attacked came to take a shot at them. And even at the hight of her ego, she wasn't stupid enough to want to take that fight. Not just for her own sake, but the sake of her family.

But before she could sink any further into this line of thought, a voice pulled her back. One that immediately caught her off guard.

"Maybe, but if we don't take the first steps to mending our world, how can we expect those who come after too?"

Immediately all eyes in the room shut up to Amber, who had reentered unnoticed. Now in clean clothes and free of the bandages on her head and neck, with a now more powerful look in her eyes.

"I know it's hard, scary even. But if we don't stand up and tell them, tell the world we won't stand idly by and let this happen, who will?" She said, walking to the center of the room, spinning to face everyone in the room. "People are always saying it's up to our generation to pick up the pieces of the world after the war ended. They say it's our duty to take responsibility for the actions of our predecessors so they won't have to. Are we going to pass this kind of mindset to those who come after? Expect them to take responsibility for our inaction so we don't have to? How long will that cycle go? How many will suffer needlessly because we don't think we're ready to face that kind of responsibility?"

Amber's hands reached up, clasping together over her heart as she continued to speak, her voice carrying both strength, purpose and resolve.

"We have to do this. We have to make a stand. We can't run away from this responsibility. Like it or not, we are the future. And while I'm nowhere near foolish enough to believe we can make all the problems in the world disappear, I do know they never will if everyone just ignores them and pretends they don't exist. So I say we take a stand, right here and now, against this hatred and oppression. Let them know they can't go unpunished! I say, we put Adelaide, Igor, Bobby, and Howard all behind bars!"

Immediately everyone's eyes widened in disbelief and shock. Surely she was joking, right?

"Hey, Amber. You feeling okay?" Eric asked, walking over to his team leader and brushing some of her hair back to examine the wound on her head. "This hasn't been bothering you at all? Because I'm pretty sure asking the impossible is a sign of… Well, I mean-. You're kinda asking for it right now."

Despite his worry, Amber gently brushed his hand off, shaking her head as she did.

"That's what I thought at first too. But after thinking a bit more about it. We actually are the ones with the advantage right now. And a huge one at that!" The worried looks from her comrades did little to dissuade her as an unusual fire burned in her eyes.

"You don't see it? Come on, think!" She said, turning to look at each member of her team. "What is the thing the Seraphim are after and when can they get it? That's why they're moving with such strange timing and urgency right now! They are desperate right now because their window is rapidly closing!" At her words, Fang's head immediately perked up, his eyes now wide as well.

"Music Fest." He murmured, his face immediately becoming one of shock. "They have to get Jiao before the end of Music Fest before he goes back to Mistral. Otherwise they won't be able to touch him. But that means-!"

Amber turned to the white haired boy, her face beaming.

"Yes. Once that window closes, they'll have a massive machine that Atlas is hunting and nothing to show for it. What's more, even if he came back to Vale, like for a solo band act, I'll bet they couldn't act. It'd be way more obvious if he went missing then instead of at an event that covers hundreds of bands from around the world. It's the only time they could make him disappear without a massive ruckus. Meaning we are actually the ones holding all the cares right now!"

Cinder exchanged a look with the rest of her team before turning to her partner and voicing their collective confusion.

"Umm. What are you talking about?" She asked carefully. "I mean, I get the whole they can't reach him in Mistral thing, but how does that give us all the cards? I mean, with the resources they have, couldn't they just…pull more assets out to counter us?"

Immediately both Fang and Amber turned to Cinder, both speaking at once making the girl even more confused.

"The deployment of resources is something that should only be done once per move. After that, a good general will use what can be captured to support their army. Be that from local villages or defeated armies. This holds true even for domestic disputes like this one. In fact, I'd say asking for more from the state or sponsors is a sign of incompetence on the side of the commander."

"In war, any general worth their salt knows that you can't rely on the state for a second round of resources. So they must use what they can get in the field. Same for a gang war like this. If Adelaide tries to pull from a money laundering business, that would raise some red flags with the kingdom's tax office. Putting it in the spotlight. And with how many places the Phantom has hit, I'd bet she's in no hurry to expose any more of her men to either the government or the Phantom."

As they had both talked over each other, Cinder had no idea what they had said. And going by their faces, neither had her teammates or their client.

"Okay, I'm not going to pretend I understand what you two were saying." The dark haired girl said, resting her head in her hand. "So how about you try again. This time with only Amber and, oh you know. In English!"

At her words, Fang gave Cinder a smug smirk (that made her immediately want to break his teeth!) but said nothing as he stepped back and gave the dark skinned girl the floor.

And as said girl turned to face the rest of her team, she took a deep breath, hand resting on her chest before speaking in a loud, clear voice that carried none of her own insecurities.

"We bait them out." She said calmly. "We don't have the evidence to get any of them convicted right now, but if we can get them out in the open, where others can back up our claims. We pin them with a crime nobody could deny. That way, they'll get arrested for questioning and if nothing else, that will force them to dial back their activities for a while as they remain under police scrutiny. More than long enough for Music Fest to wrap up and Jiao and the Dragons to go back to Minstrel where they can make moves to get rid of Bobby without looking suspicious or petty. That way, they'll lose any potential chance of trying again, even with their resources."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Jiao immigration asked, sitting up to look right at Amber. "In case you haven't noticed, we can't attack them without being turned into the aggressors. And sure, they are definitely going to try for my head one more time, we can't exactly control when, where or how. Effectively meaning we have nothing!"

"We have what they're after." Amber countered, her gaze becoming fixed on the singer, who almost instantly backed down. "If I'm right, then their best and only window is Music Fest. And with only two days left, they're going to be desperate. If we play our cards right, we can lure them all out into the open and expose Howard, Bobby, and Adelaide all at once. And of course, with Igor breaking his probation protocol, he'll most likely be sent away for life-."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up for a second!" Jiao interrupted, immediately raising his hands to stop the girl. "Basically, your big plan is to use me as live bait? Sorry, but if this is a joke, I'm not laughing."

The singer sat up straighter and crossed his legs as he glared at Amber, not bothering to hide his irritation at her suggestion.

"Look, I know you guys are new at this, so let me spell some things out for you. This is not happening!" He pressed his finger into his palm to emphasize this point. "Not only is it breaking all kinds of client and public safety standards, it's down right stupid! Even if by some miracle I agreed to this, which would be required by the way, there's no guarantee you'd be able to beat them this time around. I mean, look at you! When you face them at full power they made you all look like third rate, half assed, losers who were to stupid to tell their heads from their asses! No offense."

Jiao leaned back, throwing his arm out as he let out a hysterical laugh, muffling Cinder's "much taken." comment.

"You have no hope of winning! And if you failed that time, you'd have practically be delivering me to them on a silver platter! It's suicide for me, and pretty much an assassination of any credibility to your school! Because in case you forgot, Bobby still has all the footage. And believe me, once he knows he can't get any more out of you, he'll leak it. Let the whole world be thrown into chaos so he can make a few extra bucks off interviews and talk shows. Trust me, as deprived as you think he is, you haven't seen anything. The last time he lost his temper with a staff member, he not only fired them, he spent a good few thousand of his own money to make sure they could never find a job again. And that was out of prettiness. Can you imagine what he'd do to you if you crossed him?"

As his rant came to a close, the singer's arms dropped and he slumped forward. His posture mirroring the hopeless situation they had found themselves in.

Even Cinder found herself struggling to believe Amber's plan would work. Or even if it did, that they'd be able to move forward with the repercussions of their actions. Well, mostly her actions. And while she was willing to face them head on, (or at least she thought she was.) she didn't want Ruby and Yang to have their futures dragged through the mud because of her.

"Look, I get you don't want evil to win, justice to prevail and all that crap. But I'm sorry, it's just too late. We can't do anything anymore. It's over." Jiao's words, while harsh, acted as the voice inside most of their heads. None of them saw a way out of this, not without throwing the kingdom into chaos. And chaos, it brought the Grimm. With the kingdom's military in shambles and the need for huntsmen always on the rise, they knew that if a full scale assault at their borders began, the ensuing battle would not be without heavy casualties.

Upon seeing the defeated looks on her teammates' faces, Amber closed her eyes and calmly walked to the door, coming to a stop in its frame.

"You're right, it's not going to be easy." She said without turning around. "It's going to be hard, suicidal even. But there is an out. If the blame shifted from the huntsman training regiment to a lone individual who's so incompetence as a leader who ordered, blackmailed, and threaten her teammates to follow her, then I think people will become much more lenient towards both the academy and the system."

Immediately Cinder's head shot up, her mouth flying open and words tumbling out so fast she didn't even realize she was speaking.

"No. Absolutely not!" The dark haired girl snapped, immediately making her way towards her partner. "You are not taking the blame, not for me! Not again!" As she reached her partner, Cinder grabbed Amber by the shoulder and spun her around before grabbing her by the vest and lifting her up slightly.

"You are not taking the fall for this! Not on my watch!" She nearly screamed in the girl's face, giving her a shake to emphasize her point. "You did nothing wrong! It was my stupid ideas that got us into this fix, I'll take responsibility for it. I never asked for your help, your protection! So stop putting everything on your own shoulders and let me hel-!"

"You have a family. Are they willing to take the hit for this?"

Immediately Cinder froze at the question, her blood running cold. Amber had just hit the nail on the head again. And this time, she wasn't holding anything back. She knew how attached the dark haired girl was to her family, that she'd kill for them. And of course, knowing that, she immediately had poked her weak point, effectively being her argument to a complete stop.

"I…I…" Cinder stumbled, her grip weakening as her gaze fell to the floor. Her guilt was overwhelming as she fought to find an answer. Yes, she wanted to take responsibility for HER actions, but at the cost of her family? That was a price too high to pay, for anything.

And Amber knew it.

"That's what I thought." She said, gently prying her partner's head off before gripping it tightly with her own. "I understand. I'm sorry to put you in this position, but I want you to know that I'm not doing this for free. If we go through with this, you have to promise me something. Something that you won't go back on."

Slowly, Cinder's gaze traveled up, coming to a stop as she locked eyes with her partner. Shame and self loathing had taken hold of her when even a part of her was tempted to let Amber take the fall, to take the easy path. But now those feelings had grown ten fold because now, she was being given an out, an easy way to move forward as Amber sacrificed her own dream for the sake of the selfish, greedy girl.

These feelings must have shown on her face as the next second, Amber gave Cinder a reassuring squeeze, a smile spreading across her face as she held her gaze.

"Promise me that when I'm gone, you'll be a leader that everyone can be proud of." She said softly. So softly that Cinder was the only one who could hear. And immediately the dark haired girl felt her breath being taken away. Surely she wasn't-!

"Upon my departure, you'll be named leader. So make sure you study hard and don't screw up too much. It won't be easy, but I have faith in you. I know you have what it takes to become an amazing huntress. Just…try to cool that head of your and you'll go far." She let out a chuckle at her own joke before stepping forward, now so close to Cinder that the dark haired girl could feel her breath.

And from this distance, Cinder saw something in Amber's eyes that hadn't been there yesterday. Calm acceptance. She had already made up her mind, she was going through with this plan, regardless of what the dark haired girl thought.

"I promise." Cinder said quietly and was immediately pulled into a tight hug. One she, after getting over her initial shock, was very happy to return.

They stayed like that for a few seconds, simply enjoying the other's warmth before, all too soon for the dark haired girl, Amber pulled away and walked past the girl, back into the room.

But as she passed, the dark skinned girl pressed her still bloody brooch into her partner's palm, exchanging one last smile before walking to the center of the living room and jumping up onto the couch to address her team one last time.

"Okay, seeing as this will be my final long winded speech, I'll make sure to make it extra cheesy!" She said in her fake cheerful tone. "Remember, once our plan is set in motion, there's bound to be hiccups, so we'll all need to be prepared and ready to adapt accordingly. Now, first to set our trap, I think we should…"

As the girl continued her speech, her partner turned to look down at the piece of jewelry in her palm, a sick feeling settling in the pit of her stomach that wasn't just guilt or shame, though those were there in spades.

As much of a goodbye as this was, Cinder couldn't shake the feeling Amber was preparing to never see them again.

_____________________________

A little while later

Howard let out a sigh of relief as his scroll began to ring, prompting him to pull his car over to check the caller id revealing it was Bobby who had finally decided to show his sniveling face.

Normally, he would never work with a slimeball like that man, but he needed a way into Mistral's criminal underground, and the way thing's currently stood, he had no way of getting that without a proxy agent, someone he could trust inside the kingdoms and while Bobby was far from trustworthy, he knew men like him, who only cared about money, and were easy to predict.

"Speak." He said, answering his scroll. "And it better be good news, if I hear you failed at your one job again, I'm going to cut you off from your finances. I don't think I need to remind you I detest people who have repeatedly failed to deliver."

"Yes, yes. Of course I remember." The man said nervously, not a good sign. "I just thought you should know that…well I heard back from them, but…it's…ehm…"

Howard let out an irritated sigh, rubbing his temples as the nervous spluttering man on the other end desperately tried to down play his stupidity and incompetence.

"It's what?" The huntsman asked forcefully. "If you have something to say, then spit it out. I don't have time for your whining. So stop beating around the bush and get to the point already!"

Even through the scroll, Howard's voice carried an intense power that unmistakably carried more weight than Bobby had ever held in his miserable life. You could practically feel the lesser man shaking on the other end of the line as the power of Vale's oldest war hero came raining down on him with a vengeance.

"Y-yes sir! I'll get to it!" He squealed in a very undignified manner. "I heard back from Jiao. He and the team are coming back in! They'll be here shortly!"

"But?" Howard asked with a roll of his eyes. The ability to speak so much yet say so little was an impressive feat from the worthless man. Though he supposed given how little Bobby had accomplished, he had to have something to balance out his talentless self.

"Well, umm. You see, it's complicated. They said they'd only return on a condition and while I agreed, well, you might find it strange. Now don't get me wrong, if you want me to go back on it, I'll do so in a heartbeat, it's just that-."

"Hurry up and tell me the important details!" Howard snapped, the man's dicking around finally getting on his nerves causing him to slam his massive fist into the dash board with a loud bang, making the man on the other end scream and jump, rapidly speaking to make up for lost time!

"They want to use the Mon Cher for a live performance! And they want to do it tomorrow! Otherwise, they said Jiao would be on the next flight to Mistral tonight!"

Immediately Howard's eyes widened at the man's cries, his mouth falling open in stunned surprise.

"They want to do what?" He demanded quietly, still struggling to get over his shock.

"T-The Mon Cher." Bobby spluttered, his panic seeming to die down now that Howard wasn't snapping at him. "You know, the aircraft carrier you turned into a stadium. The one docked in the bay right now? The thing that survives as its own private island. Which I must say, was an ingenious invention. Why, I'm the great mind in Atlas must blush with envy when gazing upon your Magnum opus!"

"Bobby, shut up." Howard said dryly as he rested his chin in his hand. Asking for the use of HIS ship, how they told Bobby outright, and of course, the strange contingency, it all painted a very clear picture to the old man.

This was obviously a trap, but there was more to it than that.

Regular less of if they made the manager, and given his lack of caution that wouldn't be very surprising, the fact that they were doing something huge like this, with a massive paper trail that a kindergarten student could follow, he knew that he was being called out.

This was Amber effectively looking him in the eye and taunting him, saying come and get me if you can. She was issuing a challenge to him and the Seraphim.

"That cheeky brat. Good to see you haven't lost your spirit." He murmured tiredly under his breath, though he couldn't stop a grin slowly spreading across his face. Back in his youth, he would have undoubtedly charged head first into this. Tried to fight his way out with just raw power, but the war had taught him wisdom. He had learned patience and how to put thought into his opponent's actions. A challenge like this was normally something he'd just brush off without a second thought.

After all, he might not have all the cards, the fact of the matter is the moment they tried to leave, Adelaide's men would find them, and from there, it would only be a matter of time before she overpowered them and captured the singer.

However tonight, tonight he felt something different. Adelaide had lost because she underestimated them, Igor too. Both believed themselves to high that a couple of kids wouldn't be able to touch them, and for their arrogance they had paid. If they weren't bluffing and Jiao somehow got back to Mistral before he was captured, then they'd be in real trouble.

Leaning back in his seat, he ran through what he knew about the team in his head. Schwarz, Taurus, and Rose weren't the strategic type. Especially the latter two. No way either of them could come up with a way out. So if it had been coming from any of them, he probably would have just laughed it off and not given them an inch. No way they could orchestrate a plan Adelaide couldn't predict.

Then all that left was Amber. She was the problematic one, same as always. He knew she had a sharp mind, much sharper than most her age. No doubt she was the one planning this, as it was made by someone who was able to read the situation perfectly. So the next question was if she really could out play his daughter.

And as he looked back at her accomplishments so far, uneasiness filled his stomach. Amber was smart and cunning. She had pulled off a rescue he never would have dared to try, making both himself and Adelaide look like fools in the process. All while not being at full strength as well as suffering from severe depression and a lack of self confidence. Something painfully obvious to the old man.

And while he doubted she was clever enough to actually pull that off, that was an unnecessary risk, one that would cost the Seraphim much more than Amber if she managed to pull it off. And this fight while at Music Fest yet again, it was on their turf, giving them a huge advantage.

And the more he looked at it, the more the choice was obvious. He had to play their game, or risk everything on a gamble.

"Very well, go ahead." He replied to the manager on the other end of the line. "I'm approving this action. However, make sure to set the price too high for the vast majority of civilians, I want every seat occupied by one of my men. And make sure to keep an eye on them, anything even slightly fishy happens, report it to me immediately, no matter how mundane it may seem. We will counter whatever their plotting and end this conflict once and for all."

With that he snapped his scroll shut, letting out another sigh as he eased back in his seat.

"Alright, the ball's in your court. Let's see what you're planning and how it stacks up against me." He said, eyes drifting up to the sun roof letting him see the stars, a mournful expression crossing his face.

"I'm sorry, Silver. I may end up having to give you two a reunion much sooner than you'd like."

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

And on that cheery note, we finally began team AACE's counter attack.

So I'm sure someone is going to say it's hypocritical that Amber wants to put Howard away after stopping Cinder from trying to fight him last chapter. And to that I say, look at the situation.

Last chapter they not only had just been in a car accident, (which hurts by the way!) they were running out of time before Adelaide found them and sent reinforcements, and were already exhausted from…everything that happened before that. What's changed now is that she thinks she can tip the odds in there favor, giving them a fighting chance instead of near certain death.

Battles are often decided by the opposing leaders long before the fighting actually starts. Strategy, location and tactics are what makes the difference between victory and defeat. Any good tactician knows this and they won't be likely to fight anywhere that gives them a disadvantage.

Honestly, this is actually something that really bothers me with most modern anime. The fighting is just whoever is the strongest. Or when they do use strategies, it comes off as something superficial like, "haha! My ability works like this. Therefore there's a loophole here, which in turn activates my trap card and now I win never to have this loophole come up again!" It's rarely something like, "hey! Let's lead the bad guys to this area, use your ability to make the ground wet making quick sand to sink the enemy which will force them to use this ability, which after retreating some more will lead them somewhere that can make it backfire on them and give us a window to hit them with this other ability to win."

Now, I know the latter is significantly harder to pull off as you need to have a basic understanding of warfare and strategy or alternatively a lot of time to plan it out. And in the fast moving world we currently live in, I doubt animation studios are willing to give that to the writers. Especially when they can make a nice buck by churning out yet another horrible harem Isekai with minimal effort. But when those strategies are done right, they leave a much stronger memory compared to the normal, "wow what a beautiful, cleanly animated fight scene where people beat each other up no thought."

And on that note, I recently watched an underrated anime called lycoris recoil, which does everything I could ever ask an anime to do.

Smart, relatable and likable characters, a complex story that doesn't overstay it's welcome while tackling some heavy material, combat that isn't who's stronger than who, a final villain who actually feels both threatening and yet down to earth, mix of funny and dark content. And most critically, has a protagonist who, (gasp!) isn't portrayed as being perfect! Sure, she's not an idiot, but she dose get herself into bad situations she needs saving from.

Seriously, if you like my work, (and why are you this far in if you don't?) go watch this anime. It is a hundred times better than the stuff I come up with. I just can't sing enough praises for it. It really is that good!

Anyway, with that tangent over, thanks for reading and I hope to see you next time. Bye!