54 Chapter 54: Counter attack, team AACE strikes back

The sun shown high in the sky above Music Fest. People were milling around and having a good time with their family or friends. Nobody remembered the strange explosions and gunfire from a few days ago, many had in fact just brushed it off as a stunt gone wrong as the media hadn't covered it. In fact, there hadn't been any acknowledgement of it by either the news or the committee that ran the event. And for most, that was enough.

And as the bustling day went by, several people noticed a new sign that had been put up.

"The Three Dragons are holding a special concert on the Mon Cher?! I wish I could go!" A girl cried mournfully as she and her friend stared out at the aircraft carrier turned stadium. "Can you imagine how dreamy it must be to see Jiao up on that stage! I hear it's so big, it rivals, if not surpasses, any other stage in the whole kingdom! It's soo not fair I can't get a ticket!"

"Yeah well, you'd need to sell both your kidneys on the black market to even afford the cheap seat." Her friend chimed in, rolling her eyes in the process. "You know they're the most popular band in Minstrel for a reason. Right now their names alone are more than my dad makes in a year. So obviously it was never going to be cheap. And besides, I heard they sold out in minutes. Apparently one of their rich fan clubs spent its entire donation money to get all the seats. And I can't believe I'm about to say this, but they're even crazier than you are to blow that much on tickets."

"It's not fair! What fan club did that and how do I join?!" The first girl bemoaned. "Why am I the one missing such an amazing event! I've probably spent just as much on their merch that I could get a seat! Why can't they throw me a bone?!"

"That's not something to brag about." Her friend countered dryly. "And it's probably a club from Atlas. Can't think of anyone else who can spend that much on something like this. Snobs are probably laughing it up that nobody else can get in. A funny joke for the rich and privileged elites."

"How unfair!" The first girl cried, showing no signs she had even heard her friend. "I want to go! I'm practically their number one fan! I should have a ticket!" She whined, making the other girl roll her eyes.

"Ug. Stop being so dramatic." She groaned, slapping herself in the face. "Of for the love of-! Look, I didn't pay through the nose to stand here and listen to you whine. I'll buy you a slushy if we can go literally anywhere else! Come on, let's see if any other bands are performing right now. That'll take your mind off this stupid show."

As they walked off, Fang, who had been hiding in plain sight next to a stand, let out a breath of relief. So far, so good. It looks like the Seraphim had taken the bait. Which meant there would be no civilians on the boat when everything went down .

Quickly, he pulled a burner scroll from his pocket and sent a text as he quickly made his way towards the exit of the event. With their plan opening going smoothly, he was no longer needed here, and while he wished he could stay and help the team fight, he was needed elsewhere.

His part wasn't done just yet, but that just meant the easy part was already over. Now, everyone, including himself, would have to work perfectly to pull off phase two. And as for phase three? Well, he'd have to have faith that team AACE would perform spectacularly, because anything less would mean they wouldn't survive.

Normally, he'd have been against a plan this risky. But after looking at the situation and getting her full plan, he understood Amber's thinking. He himself had been in a situation like this in a chess tournament before. When you know you're going to lose in eight more moves, sometimes it's better to try and win in three even if it meant you'd lose on the fourth instead.

And while this wasn't a game, the principle was the same. Death or victory were the only options left, and he'd just have to cross his fingers and hope they got the latter.

In one of the dressing rooms on the Mon Cheri, Amber sat in her undergarments in front of the large mirror, staring at her own reflection as her hand traced the scar on her neck.

According to Eric, the wound had been too deep and the scar would never disappear. Back then, he had spoken with a sadness that was very out of character for him, as if he was feeling sorry for her despite him having one both bigger and actually causing him grief. Something Amber's wasn't.

She supposed that was natural, feeling sorry for an outward scar on someone, but she didn't mind. After all, who cared if it turned some heads, in another few hours, it wouldn't matter anymore. Nothing would.

Honestly, ever since she had made her decision, she found she had been significantly less stressed. In fact, looking back on all the things that had been turning her hairs white, from this vantage point, it all seemed so trivial in retrospect.

What had she been so afraid of? Of failing? Messing up other people's lives? She had already done both so much, surely a few more wouldn't make that much of a difference. All this death and destruction, it was all finally coming to an end.

A sudden ring from the burner scroll Fang had given her pulled her out of her thoughts. A quick glance at it showed the white haired boy's message informing her that the tickets had been bought out by Howard and his associates. Good, that meant everything was running smoothly.

"Adam, just heard from Fang, he says everything is green." She said into her radio, this one also sourced by the young man and guaranteed to stop Howard or Adelaide from listening. "Has Eric distracted Booby yet? He might be away from the event, but we can't have him calling the cops on us."

A short pause followed her question. Then, the voice of their favorite annoying Faunus came back, his tone hushed as she could hear talking in the background.

"Yeah, he's got him distracted." He whispered back as from behind him, she could hear the unmistakable voice of the manager yelling angrily about something. Which given that they had just started didn't fill the dark skinned girl with confidence.

"You sure he can keep him occupied for the whole thing?" She asked nervously. "He already sounds angry and if he finds out what we're up to, he'll undoubtedly take it out on Eric. And with his injury-."

"Amber, relax. Eric's got this." Adam replied confidently. His voice louder as the voice in the background got quieter, indicating he was already moving into position "Even with his handicap, Eric can take out one out of shape manager no problem. And besides, all he needed to do was tell Bobby that he needed to contact his insurance company to make sure his hospital bills are covered as a type of workman-comp to keep him busy the whole day. Right now he's going back and forth between the school's insurance and his own, trying to avoid being sued. It's honestly comical watching him have to deal with that."

Amber let out a chuckle at the Faunus joke, before moving on, her attention now to her other teammate.

"Cinder, ETA on those pyrotechnics. We need those ready before the curtain call. Remember, it's the most important part of the plan as the moment you're done, you need to secure our exit route." Amber said as she looked at the looped video feed from the cameras on her scroll. They really owed Fang big for all his technical help, she would say the next time she saw him, she'd have to treat him to something expensive. But well…

"I'm working on it!" Cinder snapped back, her voice slightly muffled as she had a screwdriver in her mouth. "Look, you're a dust user as well, I don't think I need to tell you how difficult the task of mixing dust with other chemicals is. If the ratio isn't right, I might end up sinking the whole ship. And besides, this formula from Fang is way more complicated than my arrows. Just be patient, I promise it'll be ready in time for the show."

The girl let out a sigh. That was why she had asked the girl if she wanted help. She knew just as much about dust mixing as Cinder did. And while she was no Obsidian, she was pretty handy with most chemicals and how they interacted with dust.

But maybe it was for the best. After all, it wasn't like she didn't have a part to play. And it wasn't going to be easy either. Taking a deep breath, the young woman sat down in front of the mirror and opened a makeup kit.

"Welp, never thought I'd be doing this in a real dressing room." Amber said to herself. "Gave up trying to be an actress years ago, even though everyone said I'd be a pretty good one." She let out a chuckle at her own joke and how terrible it was, her gaze slowly wondering to the spear she had left propped up against the wall.

Honestly, she had just gotten so tired of putting on her front, of acting like everything was okay. Now, now she just wanted to rest, rest and be done with everything.

"Just a little longer." She reminded herself, sternly slapping both her cheeks. "You just need to hold it together for a little longer. After that, it'll all finally be over."

A little while later.

Adelaide sat in a front row seat in the Mon Cher's main stadium. Beside her, sat several other gang leaders of varying skills. And while none of them could take a huntsman, they weren't there for that.

When Howard had told her about their plan to use the aircraft carrier as the location of their trap, to say she had been surprised would have been an understatement. Trying to out maneuver your opponent on their turf was practically suicide. Definitely not something she would ever do except as a last resort.

And that spoke volumes of how desperate they must be.

Now, Adelaide was no fool. She knew she had back the singer into a corner as much as the Phantom had done to her. This was a desperation move, meaning all she had to do was outplay them, and this pointless battle would be over.

And while she didn't know what they were planning, she had a good idea.

There were only two ways off the ship, the regular exit, and a backstage exit for staff. She suspected they'd try to get Jiao out the back while the team fought on a sealed main stage. Doing that would allow them not only to hold her men and well as three vs one her, keeping her in place while the singer escaped. Well, if they thought it was going to be that easy, they were sorely mistaken.

Outside the ship, she had posted several men who were just milling around next to the employee exit. And while they weren't huntsmen, they could easily over power the singer on his own. She had also gotten a hold of several media drones who were circling the area, mixed in with the actual drone getting overhead footage.

As a last line of defense, she had Igor hidden at the abandoned docks, waiting in a motorboat to head them off if they tried to flee by sea. And while she normally didn't trust Igor on his own, she didn't have the manpower to assign to be his partner as all of her remaining huntsmen were guarding her machine.

But with Isaac having access to the entire security footage and on coms to guide both her and her men all while keeping an eye on that maniac, that was a risk she was more capable of taking.

Still she knew time was of the essence. Last night's fight would have grabbed the attention of interested parties. And may it be the Vale police, Ironwood's attack dogs, or even the Phantom, she knew it was only a matter of time before someone started poking around and finding something they shouldn't.

They had one day to pull off this kidnapping and extract his semblance. Any more time would be extremely risky, and very dangerous.

Adelaide was pulled out of her thoughts as the sound of blaring music filled the theater. Looking up, she saw the show had begun, which meant it was time to see just what these kids had planned.

The song was called something like Identity. And as such, all the members were wearing identical costumes as well as masks making it difficult to tell them apart.

Under other circumstances, she would have thought they'd try to sub in someone else in Jiao's place, then sneak him out the back. However Bobby had assured them that, while they could get identical costumes pretty easily, the dance routine was far too complicated to learn overnight. And given the synchronized nature of the dance, it would be obvious which one was the fake.

That, and each and every member of the team had very distinct scars somewhere on their body. And given that this was a boy band, their costumes were pretty revealing. As such, as the women scanned the idols, she took note of each one's appearance.

The Faunus would have had a scar on his chest from his fight with Isaac, and as for the knight, with his wound, she doubted he was in any condition to dance on stage, nor would it even be possible to cover the massive hole in his neck. And seeing as both were exposed and neither had any scaring, nor the makeup required to cover something like that. It was almost safe to say it wasn't an impostor.

As the song continued, some of her gang had begun to cheer and clap, imitating the sound that an audience would make. She doubted that they would be stupid enough to actually believe there were any civilians in the crowd, but any doubt in their heads was a good thing. And more importantly, it let her keep an eye on everything around her without drawing much attention as if anything out of the ordinary happened, that area was to go silent. A single she would be able to notice right away.

Right now, nothing was wrong. Nobody was trying to sneak in or attack from behind, which meant her hunch was probably right. They wanted to sneak him out somehow during the performance. Unfortunately she already had a plan for that too.

Last night, she had gone over the choreography and planned the best time to take the singer. As well as the best times to pull him out.

At the mid way point in the song, Jiao would go to the very back on the stage with the other two taking the front before slowly backing up to either side of him. That would be the perfect opportunity to escape. Get all three out at once and immediately put a wall of three huntsmen up between her and them. Which meant, they would have to strike first.

And that opportunity was almost upon them.

Right now, Jiao was advancing toward the crowd by himself, trying to hype up the audience. This was the time, the second he turned around to rejoin the group, they'd strike. He'd be blindsided and caught off guard. What's more, as he retreated, Bobby had said that several fireworks were set to go off all around the stage, acting as a glitter bomb.

Using the explosives as a catalyst, she could freeze the area around the entire stage, blocking the team from coming to his assistance, isolating him completely. From there, they only needed to escape with him to the deck of the ship, where Igor would be waiting with his boat to get them out.

And as Jiao took center stage, singing directly to the audience, Adelaide crotched down, her hands opened wide, fingers twitching as she counted down in her head.

Three.

With his solo done, the Singer began to walk back, letting his other members take up their own vocals to cover whatever crap he was singing.

Two.

The music hit a fever pitch, drowning out the sound of the lids to the fireworks being lifted, ready to shoot on a preset timer. And as she saw them, everyone in the audience slowly rose, hands moving to rest on hidden blades and guns. Then…

One.

"Now!" Adelaide screamed, slamming her hand onto the floor as the gang members in front of her threw themselves out of the way as ice raced along the ground toward the stage. At the same instant, the fireworks went off, drowning out any noise that might have alerted team AACE to her move.

Immediately a huge ring of ice appeared around the stage, sealing it off from all sides save the front. The ice had also slunk up the walls, shifting into spikes that pointed inward, keeping the now terrified singers trapped in the center of the stage, unable to move without risk of impalement.

"Move in!" The woman then yelled, charging alongside her men as they all rushed forward, weapons drawn and ready just in case their opponents somehow managed to break through the-!

Suddenly, an explosion ripped through the stadium, shaking the entire ship! Adelaide and her men came to a complete stop as they were all either thrown to the floor, or forced to grab whatever they could for support.

"What the?!" The ex-huntress screamed, stabbing the blades on her wrists into the ground to steady herself. The blast had come from below and even as the ship rocked and shook, she could still hear more explosions coming from down there. And they were getting louder.

Then, the room was filled with smoke as all along the walls of the room, fire erupted in massive screens as another blast shook the ship. Her gang members screamed in surprise, staggering back from towards the center of the room to avoid the heat, but the flames died down as quickly as they had come, confusing the more experienced ones.

But before even Adelaide realized what was happening, there was a loud crack below her.

"Got 'em!" Amber screamed over the headset as she watched the scene play out on her scroll. The floor beneath the stadium had crumbled, caving in and sending the entire audience falling into the belly of the ship, leaving the stage, held up by Adelaide's own ice, the only thing to survive the numerous, carefully planted blasts!

"Adam! Move in and escort the payload to position A! Then meet up with me at the rendezvous point!" Amber yelled into her radio, running full pelt out of the dressing room and toward the parking lot. "That's not going to hold Adelaide for long! We only have a few minutes to get phase two running!"

"Yeah, I know!" The edgy boy replied as he slashed through the ice, practically pulling each and every one of the band off the stage before sending that to down into the massive pit. "I've got them! I'll meet you there shortly! Just make sure the car's up and running! They won't be far behind!"

And as he quickly began escorting the band to safety, down in the pit, rage in the White Witch had begun to manifest.

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"Damn it!" Adelaide screamed furiously as she raced up the wall of the ship, creating a frozen ramp to skate up. Her entire crew had been taken out by the trap and she was now only one left!

"Isaac! What's going on up there?!" She demanded, her rage making her entire body shake. "Please tell me someone managed to stop them!"

"I don't know!" The old man replied, his voice equally angry. "They've shut off both the drone and the cameras in the ship! I'm completely blind! However, I did see a sports car being moved in towards the employee exit! As well as a bomb scare being called in the area with the most direct route out of the event! Not very sneaky, but pretty effective!"

"Shit!" Adelaide swore. She was still too far down in the ship. She'd never make it in time!

Clenching her fist in rage, she immediately reached up and changed her frequency to call in her ace. "Igor!" She bellowed. "Move in to point Four! Find a sports car leaving the area and stop it! That's their escape vehicle! Kill anyone inside except Jiao and get him back to the warehouse! I'll meet you there shortly!"

"Finally!" Igor laughed gleefully, immediately powering up his speedboat and racing toward the event, a crazed smile spread wide across his face. He finally got some action in the stupid mission. And with orders like those, nobody could blame him when he turned those brats inside out!

Meanwhile, outside the ship, Cinder ran to the parked sports car, sliding to a stop and slamming a handheld siren onto the hood and attaching it with its magnetic base.

"Good to go!" She yelled to the occupants. "Fang's report came in too! The escape route is open! You have the clear to go! Just another few seconds and you can begin phase-!"

Before she could finish, the roar of an engine came from the ship. Spinning around, the dark haired girl saw Adelaide shooting across the deck, her rockets making her move at tremendous speed towards them!

"Oh shit!" Cinder said, instinctively taking a step back before waving at the driver. "Go. Go now! Go before she gets here!" And at her command, the car immediately began to pull back, before turning and driving toward the exit.

"You're not going anywhere!" Adelaide yelled as she landed. And immediately, ice shot towards the car, freezing the ground as it tried to cut the vehicle's escape path.

But before it could reach it, three arrows landed right in front of the advancing ice. Detonating the next second, charring the ground and stopping the ice in its tracks and creating a massive cloud of steam, just barely letting the older women just barely catch a glimpse of Jiao, still in costume, hunched over in the driver's seat.

With a smug grin, Cinder stepped in front of Adelaide. Her weapon still in bow form as behind her, the car drove off, making its way as quickly as possible toward the exit of the event and safety.

Grinding her teeth, Adelaide took a step forward, her wrist blade closing over her hands. "Out of the way, kid. I really don't have time for you today. And I think at this point, I've already more than proven you can't beat me." She ordered menacingly, her breath already visible as around her, the temperature was already dropping dramatically as her aura leaked out, making her entire body glow with its intensity.

Despite this, Cinder calmly pulled her blades apart, effortlessly twirling them in the air before sliding into her battle stance.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She said, her tone cocky but not arrogant. Something Adelaide immediately noticed. "But this time I got some coaching from a friend who's really good at analysis and strategies. She gave me a few tips on how I can take you apart piece by piece. And once I've left you on the ground, just barely alive, I plan to pay you back for every single hit compliments of our past two battles."

As the girl bragged about her unwon victory, the older woman's eyes flicked to the car as it disappeared into the distance, her irritation growing as it did.

"You're stalling." She said bluntly, her gaze shifting back to Cinder, who twitched at the accusation, practically confirming it.

"Just like I thought, you have no plans on actually fighting. You're just going to hold me here so your client can get away. However, you've made one fatal flaw. You came unprepared." The ex-huntress' eyes traveled up the dark haired girl's body, which still had noticeable bruises and small cuts, to her quiver, which had significantly less arrows than before. It all tells her a very clear story. She was spent.

"You are exhausted." The woman stated, crutching down as she got into her fighting stance. "I bet you were up all night getting that plan ready. Unfortunately it's all going to be in vain. You forgot that a plan like this hinges on one thing, and if that thing can't follow through, then the whole thing will come crumbling down. And the mistake in this one is…"

With that, the rockets on her skates burst to life, sending her careening toward the dark haired girl, freezing the ground before her as she went.

"You can't stop me here!"

Immediately, Cinder took a step back, sharpening her heels into spikes to avoid slipping when the ice caught up to her as she superheated her blades. She knew she couldn't dodge or let the woman make a passing strike as she could just use the momentum to get past her. And that would ruin everything!

Immediately, she stabbed one of her blades into the ground. And the second the ice touched it, she released all her stored heat, creating another massive steam bomb blocking her from sight as she stopped the ice.

Now hidden in the mist, Cinder closed her eyes and concentrated, sensing the aura of the approaching huntress. She knew what was about to happen and she knew she only had one shot to pull off Amber's plan to cripple the woman. And if she couldn't do that, the plan would be ruined!

And sure enough, just as she expected, even though her vision was blocked, Adelaide didn't stop, charging into the steam, her blades crossed in front of her as she aimed to ram into the dark haired girl and end the fight immediately. But unlike in the past, this time, Cinder was ready!

Instead of trying to dodge, Cinder lifted herself up, using the blade that was in the ground as a step stool for a one handed handstand with her feet right at head level, letting her absorb the attack by landing on Adelaide, going with her momentum instead of fighting against it.

"What!?" The woman cried in surprise, complaining caught off guard by the move, making her too slow to realize what this did to her momentum. For with this sudden extra weight upper body was thrown back as her legs kept traveling, causing her to flip into the air, unable to touch anything or anyone to correct herself.

Cinder meanwhile, had also been sent flying. However, thanks to the tight grip on her rooted blade, she had managed to stay in one spot, and as the woman was still spinning and unable to counter, the dark haired girl swung her other super heated blade, clashing against Adelaide's skate. And while the blow itself didn't do much, what followed certainly did.

Boom!

Immediately, Cinder and Adelaide were completely engulfed in a huge column of flames as the girl released all the stored up heat. The blast wave sending both flying off in different directions!

Adelaide was thrown away from the docks, rolling several feet before landing in a heap on the road where she quickly pushed herself onto her hands and elbows, glaring back at the wall of smoke, her eyes narrowed in anger and confusion.

"A suicide attack?" She thought to herself. "Why? She has less aura than me so she must know this is more disadvantageous to her than me. So why attack so recklessly? Is she trying to wear me down so I can't give chase? Or has she finally just snapped?"

Despite her confusion, the woman quickly shook those thoughts away and began getting to her feet. At the end of the day, it didn't matter. Cinder had failed. She had not only let Adelaide pass, she had blown herself up as well. And while she doubted that had broken her aura, she could give chase now without-.

The moment she stood up, Adelaide stumbled as she stepped on something incredibly uneven, causing her to fall onto one knee. But something felt wrong. It didn't feel quite right. This wasn't like when she had spent her entire day tripping over herself when she had been on a mission with Qrow, it was much more reminiscent of when she was learning to skate for the first time. Like she was walking on stilts.

And when she looked down to see what she had stepped on, she let out a furious curse.

When Cinder had attacked, she had heated her blade so much, she had actually managed to burn off a part of her aura! Something she had capitalized on with that explosion as she had used it destroy a portion of her skate!

"Mother fucker!" Adelaide snarled, glaring up at the screen of smoke that still wafted up from the explosion. And not a second too soon as Cinder shot out of it, immediately closing the distance between them and forcing the older woman to block, locking blades in the process.

"How's that for can't win!" The dark haired girl cried triumphantly, using her high position to keep her opponent on a knee. "Compliments from the girl your old man made a fool of! Just a little pat back for all the hell the two of you have cau-!"

Before she could finish, Adelaide shifted her weight, twisting her blades to one side, throwing Cinder off balance, which gave the older woman an opening to kick the girl in the stomach with a rocket propelled strike, sending her crashing into the side of the ship!

"Igor! The target's heading to the highway!" Adelaide yelled into her radio. "Get on the same frequency as Howard and find him before he gets away! I'm-!" The woman was forced to cut herself off to dodge an arrow fired at her head, then to retreat backwards as Cinder, spinning like a helicopter, came crashing down on the spot she had been moments ago.

"You're not doing any of that!" The dark haired girl yelled, giving chase as Adelaide tried to put distance between them. "I'm-!"

But just as she closed in, the ex-huntress shot forward, quickly slashing at her head forcing Cinder to cartwheel out of the way as the blade took some of her hair.

"Girl, you are in over your head." Adelaide said darkly, the blades on her feet retracting as her entire body began to glow with her light blue aura. "You think you've got me beat just because you broke one of my weapons? Don't make me laugh! A brat like you is a hundred years too early!"

Suddenly, frost began appearing all across Adelaide's body, covering head to toe in thin ice before expanding and reforming itself into long thin sheets as if it were a living creature.

The ice spread from her hands down her arms, forming a layer of ice covering her skin with the top actually leaving her body, weaving into several jagged spikes extending from her forearms making a sword breaker of ice before reaching her elbows, where it became blades sticking out several feet from her body.

At the same time, it spread from her face, coating her neck in a ring of spikes before snaking down to her shoulders, back, and chest where it changed into more jagged spikes, sticking out seemingly at random.

Her legs were also coated in ice spikes, only this time, they were much smaller and covered key points, such as her shins. However, all that changed when you got to her knees where a long ice blade extended from each joint, threatening anyone who might go for her legs or even just get too close.

As the ice came to a stand still, Cinder got a moment to actually take in what had just happened. Adelaide had covered herself in ice, turning it into armor. But that wasn't all that had changed as when the woman took a step toward her opponent, ice shot from her foot, encasing everything in a thick layer of ice several feet in all sides.

What more, even from a distance, Cinder could feel the air getting colder. Her breath was becoming visible and she could feel the chill under her skin, the kind she remembered from her time back in the Atlas tundra.

"W-what the hell is this?" She breathed, eyes wide in shock.

"I'm sure you know how aura and semblances work, so I won't bother explaining that. However, did you know that there's a high level of semblances one can achieve?" The woman asked, each breath releasing a cloud of steam into the frigid air around her. "It's called a level two semblance. Those I supposed that's just what I call it. Basically, it's when you master your power to such a degree that it can actually develop new properties."

Calmly, she raised her arm, the spikes on it sharpening even more right before Cinder's eyes. "This is my level two ability. I can control water vapor in the air and move it however I wish. And by streaming my aura, I can actually extend it several hundred feet away from my body. That's actually how I created all that ice. But when I use my power this close to my body, I can even alter the water's shape no matter the form. That of course includes when it's ice."

Adelaide took another step forward, the temperature dropping as she approached. Frost trailing around her as she went, almost as if it was alive. Those as she fixed Cinder with a cold glare, her breath visible as she spoke, it felt more like it was her barely repressed rage, thrashing around through her semblance.

"How ironic." She murmured, her gaze falling to the girl's cloak. "Summer's daughter has the same semblance as me, despite her strong disapproval of my methods. Despite being the woman who slaughtered the royal family of Atlas, children included. What a fickle world we live in indeed."

At her words, Cinder felt rage boiling in her gut. How dare she talk as if she was the same as her mother! She was little more than a delusional criminal while Summer was a hero attempting to atone for her past. They were nothing alike!

She wanted to hurt her, jump onto her and beat her face bloody for insulting her mother like that. Every instinct inside her was screaming at her to shut this woman up by force! Make her pay for everything she has done! To wrap her hands around her neck and watch the life drain from her eyes as she boiled her throat from the inside out.

However she did none of those things. Instead, Cinder took a deep breath, shifting slightly into a more defensive stance, her blades now in a position where she could defend better than attack.

"You don't know anything about my mom." The dark haired girl snarled. "She's had to live with the guilt of taking innocent lives for years. Not able to confide in anyone because of her shame. Someone like you, who neither feels nor cares for anyone else's pain could never understand. The suffering that guilt she carries must have been agonizing. And she carried it for years, all right in front of me, all the while I was to blind and stupid to notice."

Looking up, she locked eyes with Adelaide, her face a mask of disgust and shame.

"And as much as I hate to admit it, it's because I was like you." Cinder said, her voice quieting, but not backing down. "I was too wrapped up with my own personal feelings. I didn't look to see how anyone else might be feeling. Or even cared to try. And so, that's why I wanted to be the one to fight you. Defeating you means letting go of that old self. Permanently!"

At this deceleration, Adelaide's eyes narrowed into slits, her brow creasing in irritation.

"Defeat me to get rid of your past self. That's wishful thinking. The past can't be escaped that easily." She said, dangerous rage hidden behind a calm tone. "And even if it was, I think you're forgetting one key thing."

Suddenly the woman charged towards the girl, her blades pulled back, ready to strike as the freezing cold around her turned the entire area chillier as she approached, making it choke the younger girl, letting Adelaide speak without interruption.

"You can't beat me!"

And with that, Music Fest was once again filled with the sounds of clashing steel.

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Honk! Honk!

The sports car's horn sounded time and time again as it sped across the Vale's freeway. Weaving and dodging through traffic at high speeds, making many illegal passes as it tries to put as much distance between itself and Music Fest.

One driver, who had been forced to pull over, leaned out of his window, yelling a slur of angry words after the vehicle that had almost crashed into him.

But before he could get halfway through his list of insults, the roof of his car made a horrific screeching sound as the tip of a blade pierced through it before going extremely tight. Then, a man shot past, using his two weapons to hook onto vehicles (both moving and otherwise.) and pull himself through the air, moving at ridiculous speeds after the sports car like he was Spider-Man.

"Hahahahaha!" Igor laughed gleefully, wrenching his blade free and throwing it into another vehicle, causing the occupants to scream as he used them to throw himself high into the air, this time letting out a volley of shots, raining bullets down on anyone unfortunate enough to be near the sports car.

Screaming and panic filled the highway as the cars around the vehicle swerved, slamming into one another and creating a car pile up that forced his target to swerve to avoid getting stuck.

"I'm getting warmer." He called gleefully, his kusarigama effortlessly pulling him along, letting him swing closer and closer to the vehicle.

"Igor, stop playing around. You're going to draw the police as well as huntsmen if you're not careful." Howard snapped on the other end of the huntsman's earpiece, making him grunt in annoyance. Stupid old geezer wouldn't get off his back.

"Concentrate, or I'll have you back in a padded cell by sunrise." The older huntsman threatened when he saw the maniac ignore him through the drone's camera. "They're probably heading towards the old rural district of the city. There's no signal there, so if they reach it, the drone wouldn't be able to follow and we might lose them! So hurry up and finish them right now!"

"Ugh. Fine!" Igor grunted, rolling his eyes as used a nearby car to leap into the air. "Anything to shut you up."

Immediately he threw both weapons into the high road on the highway, effortlessly pulling himself up to that peak. Then, from his new vantage point, he looked down, spotting the sports car with little trouble.

"Here. I. Come." He laughed. Then, with both weapons still attached, leapt off the street from the side, the one facing away from his target.

The man flew through the air, right until he felt a hard tug at his chains. He had reached their limit, and as he fell back, he grinned wickedly to himself. Finally, he got to cut some meat!

The chains swung Igor back, making him move faster and faster as he descended, carried by the force of gravity. And when he reached the apex of his momentum, he detached his weapons from the road they gripped, launching him through the air landing on the road in front of the speeding car.

"Good night, sweet prince!" He laughed, aiming as both his weapons blades slid open, revealing the hidden gun barrels.

However, before he could pull the trigger, the car swerved, the front spinning to the side, throwing its backside forward where, from the back passenger seat, a mass of red energy ripped straight through the window, completely blocking the madman from the car's view as it raced towards him.

"Oh shit. Not that again!" Igor snarled. Immediately he stabbed the blade of his kusarigama into the road before leaping off, using the chain to swing underneath the highway before it carried him back up, completely avoiding the attack.

As he swung up the side, the man let out a laugh as he ripped his weapon from the road, his face alive with glee. "Nice try brat. But I'm not going to fall for the same trick-!"

Suddenly, Igor was cut off as Adam, who had leapt from the car, slammed both his feet into the maniac in a powerful drop kick, sending them both falling off the highway and toward the ground beneath it.

There, mid free fall, with his feet still firmly planted in Igor's chest as he stood on him, Adam drew his sword, his eyes glaring down at the man filled with rage.

"You hurt me and my friends for the last time, you worthless bastard!" The Faunus bellowed passionately. "I'm going to give you what you deserve. A heaping helping of pain! And when I'm done, you'll never cross us again!"

Igor, despite being threatened, didn't look scared. In fact, his face lit up at the challenge. A horrible grin spread across his face as his eyes gleamed with malice.

"Is that so? WANNA BET!?" Immediately, the huntsman opened his hand, his purple aura immediately becoming visible as it began to twist itself away from his body forming tendrils that twitched and writhed in horrible, jerky movements as he activated his semblance.

Eyes wide, Adam immediately kicked off the man, putting distance between them as Igor swiped the air where the Faunus had been less then a second ago, just barely missing him.

"Gah!" Adam cried as he hit the ground, forced to roll to disperse some of his momentum. Above him, Igor threw his kusarigama into one of the support beams underneath the highway, letting him land lightly on the high ground where he grinned down at the redhead, eyes gleaming with malice.

"Aww. How adorable." He purred. "The noble Faunus defended his friends from the big bad wolf. It could almost be a children's story. Too bad there won't be a happy ending."

Below him, Adam had gotten to his feet and slid into his fighting stance as he glared back up at Igor, eyes filled with burning hate. Though they did flicker slightly at the man's words, making him grin even wider and somehow more horribly.

"Don't tell me you forgot?" Igor said, his face contorted to show his teeth, pure, sadistic joy on his face. "Even with your partner's help, you've lost to me every time we've fought. This time won't be any different. You'll die screaming all alone. Nobody's going to come to save you this time."

Adam said nothing, letting the silence roll for a few seconds. Then, he locked eyes with Igor, smirking up at him as he did.

"That so? Seem pretty confident." He taunted. "I think you're forgetting, you failed to kill me during each of those encounters. And each time, I saw you fight, learned a little more about your style. Like how you're completely dependent on that semblance of your. So, now thatI know how it works, I've all but won this fight."

Looking down on the Faunus, Igor felt his smile grow even wider as his heart began hammering in his chest. How long had it been since his blood had boiled like this? Too long. As much as he loved watching people beg for their lives as he slowly cut them open, even he had to admit that it got boring after a while. He much preferred prey that tried to fight back, letting him play with them for a bit before devouring them. A game that let him inflict the truest, purest form of pain. Hope falling to despair.

And this young boy was now offering him just such a game. Well, he had never been one to shy away from a challenge.

"Fine boy. I'll play with you." Igor said, licking his lips as he spoke. "I look forward to seeing whatever little plan you've got up your sleeve. And your expression when I crush it. Your despair will be-."

"Igor!" Howard snapped over the radio, cutting the man off mid sentence, making him let out a snarl of irritation. "I was right! They're headIng towards the rural district! I'm not going to be able to keep track of them with my drone! Whatever you're doing, put it on hold and-!"

"Tis. Shut up." Igor grunted, pulling his earpiece out and dropping it to the ground. Then silencing Howard's infuriating scream by dropping on top of it, crushing it beneath his foot before looking up back at Adam. "Sorry about that interruption. Now where were we?"

Calmly he put his blades away, his grinning face becoming more unhinged with every passing second.

"Aww yes! Now I remember. We were going to test your little theory. Let's see if you actually know my semblance." He began advancing towards the Faunus, both arms outstretched to either side, purple tendrils lashing out of both. "I'm more than willing to put this up to the test. See what you have in mind. And once you fail, I'll get to watch you spend the last few minutes of your life in pure agony! Ahahahahahah!"

With that, the man ran forward, charging at the Faunus at top speed, his arms poised to strike from any angle Adam tried to dodge to.

However, instead of retreating, Adam ran at Igor, his sword still sheathed with one hand on the hilt, the other holding his scabbard, keeping the machine out of the way.

"He's crazy!" Igor thought, his eyes widening as Adam ran at him. "Surely he must know he can't escape my semblance once hit. Does he plan to take me down with him? No. Not his style. He must be planning to dodge at the last moment then hit me with his semblance. Yes, that makes more sense. He wants to get the jump on me and keep up the pressure so I can't counter. Well too bad! Something of that level isn't going to work!"

As they closed in, Igor watched the Faunus carefully, waiting for him to tip which way he was going to dodge too. He knew he had to be quick, his semblance might be able to rise slightly off his body, but only a few inches. So he needed to be sure he knew which way his opponent was going to go.

But to his increasing surprise, Adam made no move to dodge him. In fact, as soon as they got within striking range, the Faunus began to draw his sword in a slashing motion, blade angle at Igor's stomach, putting him in a position where dodging wasn't an option anymore.

"What a fool." Igor thought to himself. "I guess he must have been betting on me trying to dodge instead of actually planning something. What a disappointment this was. Oh well, at least I can deal with him and then fuck and torment that beautiful tan babe."

With a roar, both huntsmen swung at their opponent, their attacks both connecting as they clashed, before sliding past each other, forcing their feet into the ground, coming to a stop with their back turned to the other.

Adam, his sword drawn, still outstretched from his slash across Igor's stomach as the boy planted his feet, coming to a complete stop.

Igor meanwhile, came to a stop a few feet away as well. Him slightly bent over, his hand lower as he had struck Adam's shoulder, his hand sliding down his arm as they passed.

They stood there for a second, but to both fighters, it felt like an eternity as they one waited with baited breath, the other complete surprise. Then, as a gentle breeze blew through the city, the victor of the clash was made clear.

"Gah!" Igor cried, dropping to one knee as his hand flew to the side of his stomach, where a shallow cut was dripping blood.

And as the drip slipped through his fingers and onto the ground, The man's eyes went wide in surprise as he replayed what had just happened in his mind.

As Igor brought his hand down, striking Adam on the shoulder with his aura tendrils, immense letting his semblance seep into the Faunus, something had gone wrong. Inside of seeping in, upon making contact with the Faunus, it slumped off. As if it was a hunk of dead skin that was being molted by a snake, falling away harmlessly.

Slowly, as he felt his own aura begin to stop the bleeding, Igor glanced over his shoulder, glaring dangers at Adam as he tightened his grip on his wound. Surely this had been a fluke. No way this brat had figured out his semblance already. That was impossible!

However, as Adam lowered his blade, without turning back around, he began to speak with decisiveness and certainty. As if reciting a phrase from a childhood story he had memorized from years ago.

"Igor Crawler. Wanted through Vale, Vacuo, and Minstrel for more counts of murder and manslaughter than years you've been alive. The vale police department has quite a bit of information on you that's free to the public." Adam said, without looking back at the man as he continued. "Weapons, twine kusarigama. Used to entangle opponents' weapons or limbs rendering them helpless. Semblance, aura pollution."

With smirk, Adam turned, leveling his blade at his opponent's face as he continued to lay bare the man's secrets.

"Your semblance has two forms, both with their own bothersome ability. Form one lets you erode an opponent's aura. Both as a cloak or as a semblance. Which is how you survived my attack in the sewer. However, it's the second form that's the most troublesome."

Igor, wordlessly turned around to face Adam, who kept his blade leveled at the man's face. Despite this and how much information Adam had acquired, the crazy huntsman didn't seem to disturbed. Though his experience was pretty unreadable.

"In form two you're able to latch your aura onto another person's, almost like a parasite or infection. And once attached, it starts attacking the aura in a much more literal sense. It goes after the person's body." Adam took a step forward, his tone shifting to one of disgust as continued. "I don't know why it only seems to destroy organic matter, but that doesn't matter. I'm going to stop you right here and now. A monster like you is too dangerous to let roam free. You are never going to hurt another person. You-."

"Heh."

Adam stopped mid sentence as Igor's figure slumped forward slightly, a string of quiet giggles coming from the man.

"Oh please. Let's not pretend you actually care about others." Igor chuckled as he looked up at Adam, his head slightly twisted at an awkward angle that cast his face into shadow, his eyes seemingly glowing as he grinned up at the Faunus.

"You just want to kill me, plain and simple. So let's stop trying to justify it with pretty words and indulgent self-righteousness. We don't need to hold ourselves to the standards of that cancer we call society. We can just be our rightful selves in this place. After all, it's our true nature to kill everything in our sight until we're the only ones left standing, isn't it?"

Slowly, Igor drew his weapons, calmly spinning the weighted ends as he began to advance towards Adam. A horrible grin spreading across his face. "We were designed to kill. Stopping us from doing that is like trying to stop a fish from swimming. It's wrong and horrid. Rules and laws just hold us back from our true nature and protect the worthless weak. Weak who by the law of nature should be allowed to die in order to protect to ensure our species remain dominant. By sheltering these worthless things, by protecting them with laws and regulations, all we do is slowly weaken ourselves until we aren't even recognizable anymore."

"So you believe in social darwinism? How original." Adam asked, his voice dripping with disgust. "That philosophy is carried by the weak under the guise of them being strong. A way for the insecure to find comfort in believing their own imaginary strength. It's nothing more than-."

"Hah! Don't compare me to one of those fools who do nothing but preach the beliefs. I'm nothing like them." Igor cut in, hungrily licking his lips as he crouched down, positioning himself to charge. "I couldn't care less what the worthless sheep think. I know the truth and that's enough for me. Why waste my time trying to convince the trash of this world my opinions? It's the nature of the world to kill all things. Plain and simple. Rules and regulations only hold us back from our true selves. Why put up an act when it's so obvious we are meant to kill each other? It's ridiculous if you ask me."

"What are you talking about?" The Faunus asked, disgusted already writhing around in his stomach. "Our true purpose? The nature of the world? Just how deranged are you to think that's all living is about? Life isn't measured by-."

"Aha! You listen but don't hear." Igor cut in, waving his hand patronizingly before cupping it to his ear and turning it toward his opponent with wide eyes and a horrible, almost childish grin. "You see the forest but not the trees. If you look closely, you'll see that all those worthless things you hold to are nothing more than illusion. Things created by man to justify their pointless existence while what they're souls truly desire is so much simpler. Happiness, it's something only found in the single moment, when life drains from the eyes of your latest prey."

Igor calmly took a step forward, that same horrible grin on his face and with his arms now spread to his sides, as if he was going to hug Adam.

"Animals get it. They understand what's truly important." He said, his head turning to the side, yet somehow his eyes seeming to stay perfectly still. "They relish the art of the kill, practice it regularly. However, they are incapable of truly mastering it. All animals fail in this, and it's truly unfortunate. Ironic then that the ones actually capable of mastering it are also the ones so appalled by it. Shackle themselves with worthless labels like, right and wrong, good and evil, justice and crime, and of course the most ridiculous one of all, the importance of life. Hah! What a joke!"

"Your insane." Adam said immediately, shifting into his battle stance. "A world like that, living like that, it's-. No. Never mind. Talking to someone as deranged as you is a waste of time. You aren't worth reasoning with. Right now, the best course of action is for me to put an animal down. For everyone sakes!"

Immediately, Igor's eyes seemed to light up at Adam's words. His hands twitching with anticipation, a single drop of drool escaping from his smiling mouth.

"Yes. That's right. Come at me with an unsheathed blade. Come and try to take my life! HurRy uP aNd cOmE On alrEaDY! aHAhahAHAhA!"

With that, the two ran at each other once again. And the air was immediately filled with the sounds of clashing steel and gunfire.

Meanwhile, in a local junkyard deep in Vale's rural district, the sports car came to a stop, pulling in deep enough that it wasn't visible from the street. There, parked waiting for them among the many mountains of junk, was another vehicle, a normal, inconspicuous family van, sourced from one of Fang's contacts making it untraceable by either Adelaide's criminal connections, or Howard's police informants.

Once parked, the lone figure climbed out of the car, still in costume with a bulky coat wrapped around them as the only protection from the elements. In their hand, they were hauling a guitar case with them for some reason, most likely a suitcase hidden in plain sight.

Quickly, they ran toward the other vehicle, pulling a set of keys from their pockets and unlocking and auto-starting it as they ran. Effectively meaning they could take off the second the keys were in the ignition.

And as they reached the van and pulled the back door opened to throw their luggage in. They suddenly froze, head raising slightly as their heart stopped in their chest.

He was here!

No sooner than the thought passed through their head, a massive boomerang came crashing down onto the hood, completely destroying the engine with a single blow!

Immediately, the singer turned, wrenching his case from the van and turned toward the original sports car. However, before they could take a single step, the vehicle was suddenly wrenched backward, immediately flying into the sky and crashed into a pile of junk, sending it crashing to the ground, blocking the only way in or out of the junkyard.

"Not bad. Amber definitely is clever, I'll give her that." Howard said from atop a mountain of junk, looking down at the singer who was standing there stunned as he now had nowhere to run. "This is definitely the last place I'd ever think you'd run to. After all, I have a massive advantage in a place like this. Unfortunately you forgot one critical thing."

Calmly, the man began walking down the junk heap, metal beams shooting from around the yard and pressing into the soles of his feet so hard, they actually held him up for each step.

"Even without a GPS or drone, I know Vale like the back of my hand." The man said as he neared the ground. "This is the only route someone could take to get out of the city without getting on the freeway. And this junkyard is the only place big enough to hide a getaway vehicle. Meaning it was my best guess where you were going to run to."

With that, Howard reached the ground, calmly stepping off the last metal beam and touching down on the ground, shaking his head with a disappointed sigh.

"Amber overestimated her ability. She thought I wouldn't know my city, or that I wouldn't be willing to get my hands dirty. Shame on her." Calmly, Howard raised his hand toward the crushed van, and immediately the boomerang ripped itself from the vehicle and flew back into his hands where he leveled it at the singer. "Now, surrender peacefully. You stand no chance against me and I can take you alive with no trouble. The only thing you'll get from resisting is-."

Suddenly, Howard broke off as Jiao looked up, grinning at him through his dark lips. Calmly, he threw off his coat, revealing his equally dark skinned stomach and slender, yet firm muscles. Nothing like the gym muscles he normally had.

"Son of a bitch." Howard snarled as 'Jiao' reached up and pulled his mask off.

"Sorry, Mr. Howard. But I think this one is my victory." He said in a surprisingly feminine voice, before the mask and wig came off, revealing the girl beneath it.

"There are five factors from which victory can be known. The one who knows when they can and can't fight, the one who knows how to employ their resources to achieve victory, the one who can raise or lower ranks, the one who is fully prepared, and the one whose leader is capable and not interfered with by those who don't understand war." Amber said, discarding her disguise and undoing the latches on the case. "But I doubt you need me to tell you that. I'm certain a man like you has read Sun Tzu. After all, you've earned a name for yourself because of your strategic abilities."

With a practiced ease, Amber threw the case into the air, the latches coming undone letting her gracefully grab the staff hidden inside which she immediately spun around her body before leveling it at Howard, who despite the impressive display, remained stoic.

"Are you planning to fight me?" He asked emotionlessly. "You know you can't win. None of you can. This desperate plan of your will only kill your entire team. Is that singer and this mission, a mission that if successful, will jeopardize the safety of Vale and world peace, really worth that much to you?"

Amber paused for a second, Howard's words stirring something. But in an instant, she pushed those thoughts away. She couldn't afford to waver now, not after everything her and her team had put on the line. Not when they were this close to bring justice to those who had evaded it for so long.

"Yes." She replied, tightening her grip on her spear. "Maybe you're right. Maybe this will bring an end to the peace that was fostered for the past few years. But someone I once looked up to told me that it was my generation who is the future. That I must surpass the old and make a future so glorious, that it outshines the darkness the older generation has cast upon the world. And so, for the future I wish to flourish, I have to believe that there is hope for the future without the need for the sacrifice of the innocent."

A long, heavy silence fell between them as Howard took in her response. Then, he lowered his head, a quiet chuckle escaping his lips.

"Right, I understand." He said softly, so softly Amber almost didn't hear him. But she did, and she could hear the pain in his voice, one born out of a self-inflicted injury, and one he was about to make much deeper.

"You have chosen your path, one you have decided to follow to the bitter end. It would be disrespectful to try and sway you, so I'll respect your decision and not try." Slowly, he looked up, eyes locking with the girl where a single tear ran down his face as he calmly pulled his weapon apart into tonfa form. "You have truly grown into a beautiful huntress, Amber. Your parents would be so proud. To stand so firm in one's convictions is no easy feat. And here you are, make such a hard call. Through my eyes, you have become an amazing huntress."

Despite coming from Howard, Amber felt her heart skip a beat as a warmth spread its way through her entire body. A huntress was everything she had ever wanted to be. Even before the destruction of her village, before she became chained down with crippling doubt, it had been a dream she had always been chasing. And now, even from an unofficial source, those words meant way more to her as she knew she had reached the end of her journey.

"Thank you." She choked out, reaching up and wiping tears from her own eyes, her heart feeling like it was going to burst. And even through her tears, she could see the gentle expression on Howard's face, his patience as he waited for her to compose herself.

And as she wiped the last of her tears away, she opened both eyes and fixed the old man with a vicious glare, one of pure concentration and focus, one only befitting someone who could be called her a dangerous adversary.

And with this one look, Howard's expression changed as well. A dark look took over the lit in his eyes and his mouth became a hard line. Fast as a flash, the old man extended his hand toward a mountain of junk, then swung it in the girl's direction, immediately sending a wave of sharp metal objects flying at the girl so dense she couldn't see anything beyond it!

Eyes wide, a bead of sweat ran down Amber's face as she found herself unable to repress a laugh of disbelief as the title-wave of metal bared down on her, almost like a living force of nature.

Slamming her staff into the ground, the girl created a dome of ice around her, praying that this would hold against the onslaught of flying metal.

She had done everything in her power to set her team up for their victories, now she just had to have faith that they would follow her plan without complications. After all, their lives and her justice depended on it!

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

So, that's was a thing, wasn't it? The curtain have been drawn on the final act of Music Fest and the actors are all in place. Now, all that remains is to see how the dices shall fall.

But before we get into that, I'd actually like to talk about semblances again. And more specifically, level 2 abilities.

Believe it or not, I actually didn't make that up. While Adelaide explained it kinda poorly because it would have effected the pacing, I have all the time in the world in these notes.

Basically, it's started as a way to help categorize everything in my head. And while it seems complicated, in reality, all it means is someone who's unlocked a second power of their semblance. Which I believe anyone can achieve with the right training

The obvious examples are Winter, Weiss, and Ren. The first two is there summon ability, an ability that differs quite dramatically from their Glyph abilities. That to me counts it as a level two. Ren fell into this category in volume 8, when he awoke the power to see people's emotions. And while this might seem like the only characters who have this level 2 power, there are a few ones that in my head canon do fall under this umbrella.

First is Goodwitch, namely because it seems like she can manipulate objects on the monocular (I think that's how it's spelled.) level. Otherwise how did she fix broken furniture or even the breach back in volume 2? I don't think I need to say this, but just staking stuff on top of each other isn't going to make something hold it's shape for to long.

The second, (and last one I'm going to mention.) is Cinder. Her base semblance let's her store heat in objects. However, when she fights Amber in volume 3, there's a scene where some dirt got blasted up. Cinder smelts it into glass blades before directing them to fly at her opponent. And since this is before she got any magic, that means it was all her semblance.

This is a power this Cinder currently doesn't have (Hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink wink.) as at it base ability, something like manipulation of an inanimate object isn't a power it has. So to me, I would classify this as another level 2 ability.

But anyway, as I said, it's more a tool that I use to help organize everything. So regardless of if I'm right or not, I'll continue to use it as otherwise I just wouldn't be able to keep track of everything.

Until next time. Bye!