Destiny No More

Chapter 89

Pyrrha stood as still as possible, attempting to match the look of professionalism and discipline that Winter seemed to find so simple. That cold calm never came, however, and she had to fight to stay still; her hands gripped tightly behind her back. She wasn't the only one who was uneasy, although Qrow had a different way of showing it. He was silent, leaning against the wall beside Winter but otherwise offering nothing to acknowledge where they were. If he still had his flask, Pyrrha was sure he would have been drinking from it. As it was, she was tempted to do the same, but she wanted to keep a clear head, seeing as they seemed to be so rare these days.

The Council had declined Atlas' request to lead security for the festival. The strongest and most powerful military on the planet was deemed ill-suited to the task. Pyrrha assumed they had their reasons, but her few interactions pertaining to the Council had always painted them in a poor light. The conflicting part was that Pyrrha couldn't guarantee that her side was any better. She trusted the General, he had fought beside them before she died and he had leapt at the chance to help her fight now, but for the first time since Ironwood and Ozpin's split, she couldn't help but think his actions might have been too much. Bringing an entire fleet to Vale was undoubtedly proving itself to be a mistake.

Ozpin had tried to warn him, or talk him down, she didn't know which because the General had refused to talk about it; instead he had called them to the war room the second that he could. Thankfully, Winter had already correctly assumed that fact and they had been ready, Pyrrha had finished changing into her combat uniform just before she received the notification.

Allos was strapped firmly at her waist, the belt there filled with every type of round she might need when fighting the White Fang. The armor on her shoulder and forearm was mostly clear, but the scratches and dents from her last mission were still noticeable in the bronze tint. She hadn't yet taken the time to properly clean and repair them, but thankfully the damage was mostly superficial. The armor over her legs, so similar to the set that she had once worn before dying, were in a similar state. The chest piece that the General had gifted her was under her shirt, the thin yet incredibly durable material fitting her almost like a compression shirt. She had left Amber's cloak behind, as much as it helped to hide her face and protect her from the elements, it would be a hindrance in battle. The fact she had allowed her hair to grow down to her upper back was bad enough, but that she could at least pull her hair back in a ponytail like she had before when her hair was still red.

Qrow had said that she looked like an actual Huntress when they had met outside the Generals Command Ship, not someone pretending to be one. Winter had agreed, though also pointed out that Pyrrha needed to properly maintain her gear. She thought Qrow had told some kind of joke in response, but in truth Pyrrha couldn't remember, she'd just been too distracted. Her mind was racing as she tried to figure out what their next move was.

Vale was about to turn into a battleground, and it seemed like nobody knew what to do about it.

"With the Council's decision we will have to focus our efforts on routing out the White Fang before the festival as best we can." General Ironwood gestured to a displayed map of the city. On it there were several highlighted warehouses as well as a few red dots located throughout the city he gestured to. "These locations are the known location of the old tunnels leading to Mountain Glenn, and are the most likely places for the White Fang to be smuggling supplies and men." He turned to Pyrrha. "You confirmed that the White Fang of your time used the Paladins as weapons during the Breach, but you also found them well within the city limits when you encountered them again."

"Clover and I theorize that the White Fang have taken over one such tunnel and have been building up the former smuggling routes there." Winter added, stepping forward and clicking a few buttons on the terminal before several of the red dots linked out, leaving only three left inside the city itself. "These are the only ones we have yet to search, but it is possible there are more tunnels we are not aware about. The records are... poor."