Getting up from a cozy and warm spot was frankly the last thing he wanted to do, but nobody asked for his opinion. The moment his back left the heated wood, the cold wind unexpectedly dug its claws into it. Egrer ran a hand down his spine; his back was completely soaked from the recent stress.
Weiss had it easier; she just adjusted the jacket, using it like a coat.
This whole situation with sneaking Ruby stressed him out quite a bit for some reason.
Could it be that this was the very minion of the Puppeteer that Neo wrote about in her letter? The one who could cast illusions superior to her own? And they had turned into Ruby to pin the blame for their crimes on her, should something unexpected happen.
Too bad there was nothing specific written about how this Semblance worked. No weaknesses, no quirks, no limitations. Neo probably didn't know such details herself.
But even assuming the criminal turned into Ruby to deflect suspicion, would they really act so... unprofessionally? I mean, all those combat rolls and dashes from cover to cover copied from spy movies evoked nothing but secondhand embarrassment. Who better than a criminal to know how to move properly?
Unless they were getting into character, imitating not just Ruby's appearance, but her behavior too.
You could never be completely sure of anything when it came to a Semblance, especially an illusion Semblance. What if it didn't just put on a specific appearance, but also provided an understanding of the victim's behavior? Or did it affect the very minds of those looking at the illusion, forcing bystanders to fill in the missing details themselves and simply ignore the things that stand out?
"Weiss, be ready for anything." Egrer couldn't share his fears with her, but he couldn't just stay silent either.
Weiss merely waved it off, either not noticing the alarm in his voice or not attaching any importance to it. For her, everything looked much simpler.
"I am already prepared to scold my leader for trespassing in a restricted area. The tower is locked at night for a reason."
"And if Ruby fights back?"
"She will not fight us. It is Ruby."
And that was the absolute truth. Ruby definitely wouldn't fight them. But a not-Ruby absolutely would. However, Egrer hadn't figured out how to convey this information to her without saying too much.
Weiss really hated not understanding something. The moment she started suspecting that something sketchy was going on within the walls of Beacon, she'd be unstoppable. She would dig until every possible fact linked together in a single logical chain, and the goals and motivations of all participants in the conflict ended up on her desk, sorted in alphabetical order.
Saying even a word to her about the Puppeteer meant single-handedly signing her up for a dangerous gamble. And he didn't want that at all.
This was no joke; it was a deadly swamp where you could actually die if you stepped into it. This was a level of conflict that even Roman Torchwick could barely handle. Subjecting anyone close to his heart to such a risk was simply despicable.
Illmond, Magenta, Jaune, Ren, and even Yort—every one of them was ready to help him if he just hinted at a difficult situation. But Egrer wasn't going to do that.
Yes, he understood that together it would be easier. That by lending each other a shoulder, you could achieve much more than acting alone. That was exactly why they were divided into teams at Beacon, exactly why together they were greater than the sum of their parts. He wouldn't dare call himself an adept of the power of friendship if he didn't realize such an obvious truth.
However, the selfish desire to lighten his own load wouldn't be a worthy excuse if someone got hurt because of it. Egrer would blame himself for the rest of his life, and well deservedly. There was no reason for which he would risk the lives of his loved ones for... well, for anything at all!
Yes, such an attitude might seem traitorous to some, and that resentment would be understandable. After all, if Yort, for example, started having similar problems and kept quiet, trying to solve them on his own, Egrer would definitely be offended.
But what is resentment when life is on the other side of the scale? Wouldn't a good friend protect his loved ones from danger? Would he rush with them straight into the line of fire? No, a good friend would keep them as far away from such things as possible. As far as all his capabilities allowed.
Doing that meant doing the right thing. The Puppeteer was already starting to suspect something anyway.
However, the desire to help was also right. Striving to solve every problem your friends have yourself, while keeping them away from your own, was the height of hypocrisy. But Egrer was ready to be a hypocrite if it meant safety for his loved ones. He would gladly take that sin upon himself.
He already had allies in this matter anyway. They might not have been his friends, but they could be relied upon, especially since they had their own personal interest in succeeding.
Blake wanted to find out how the Puppeteer managed to subjugate the White Fang, and especially their leader, no matter how hard she tried to hide the latter. And Sun... well, the fool fell in love. Isn't that a worthy reason?
Besides, Neo was clearly on their side. The letter still resting in his pants pocket was clear proof of that. And although her capabilities were severely limited, just knowing she at least wasn't against them was worth a lot.
Therefore, there was no need to involve even more people. These forces would be plenty enough for them.
But even so, Egrer was actually very curious about the reason Weiss would join their gathering of anti-Puppeteers if he told her everything.
Out of a desire to mess with the plans of whoever controlled the White Fang? Out of a simple Huntsman duty to catch a criminal? Or out of a desire to help Egrer with his personal problem, like Sun was helping Blake? The question, of course, was open. Most likely, all of it at once.
Suddenly, a falling yellow star streaked across the sky, soon disappearing behind the roofs, crashing down somewhere nearby.
Egrer and Weiss exchanged glances and quickened their pace. Ruby had managed to pull far ahead of them, so they only caught a glimpse of her red cloak as she entered the Headmaster's tower. Nearby, a weapon locker was sticking out of the asphalt, and that made them both tense up even more.
"What is that fool even doing?" Weiss grumbled.
On the other hand, it meant that Ruby was their Ruby. It was unlikely that a culprit, or anyone else for that matter, would be able to handle her high-caliber sniper scythe.
All of Weiss's fighting spirit instantly died down when she saw the leg of an unconscious soldier sticking out of the bushes. There was no blood on him, and the rhythmically moving chest armor plate made it clear that his life wasn't in danger. It seemed like he had just fallen asleep.
"Did Ruby do this?" Weiss asked in disbelief. "That can't be. But there is no one else..."
'There is someone,' Egrer thought, pulling out the Needle-Shooter hidden in his pants pocket. 'Blake was right, today the Puppeteer decided to make a move. The question is, did She come here personally, or is it Her minion?'
"Since when do you have a weapon on you?" Weiss asked, bewildered. "Wait, are you planning to fight Ruby?!"
"Not Ruby, but whoever she was chasing. Most likely, she just noticed someone suspicious and decided to tail them. I suggest you arm yourself too."
She couldn't find anything to object with and took out her Scroll.
A second later, they could both see a glowing dot fly out from the other end of Beacon and begin approaching them. Soon, the weapon locker crashed nearby, sinking a couple of centimeters into the asphalt with a loud bang. The door automatically popped open, allowing Weiss to grab her rapier and several Dust vials, with which she immediately loaded the revolver chamber in the hilt.
Apparently, Ruby's locker was the falling star they'd seen earlier.
"We also need to inform the teachers," Weiss said, starting to dial a number.
"No!" Egrer instantly snatched the Scroll out of her hands. "We shouldn't bother them over trifles, we can handle it ourselves."
He cursed himself for not reading Neo's instructions yet; it surely stated when and under what conditions adults could be involved. Maybe it even said something about infiltrating the tower... But right now, he'd act according to the usual scheme that had been established with Blake and Sun.
If they involved the teachers, they'd start digging. Pulling up documentation, calling the authorities, maybe setting up surveillance on the suspects. They start digging—the Puppeteer notices. A reaction would follow, the most harmless of which would be aborting Her operation and retreating.
But even so, who could She blame for the failure of Her plans? According to Roman, only him and Neo.
Maybe Torchwick had exaggerated back then to scare Egrer and keep him from ruining everything with Ozpin's interference. Well, if it was all a simple manipulation, his idea worked brilliantly. Egrer really would keep his mouth shut out of fear for their lives.
"Return my Scroll," Weiss demanded. "In case you forgot, there is a man lying in the bushes here who clearly did not end up there of his own volition. And right now, Ruby is in the same building with the intruder."
As always, arguing with her logic was difficult. Especially now, when Egrer was driven entirely by his feelings, not his brains.
"Come on, don't worry so much. Whoever it is, there's three of us." He forced a smile, despite there being no lie in his words.
Egrer handed her Scroll back, trying to look as nonchalant as possible, as he knew that excessive persistence would only provoke uncomfortable questions from her. He wouldn't even be able to answer a basic "Why are you so sure?", because any answer would be a lie. After all, he wasn't sure of anything at all.
Weiss took the Scroll and for some time visibly fought the urge to call the teachers. In the end, she put it back into her purse.
Just as he had calculated, Weiss suppressed the voice of reason and simply blindly trusted his words. It felt vile to use such manipulations, but if it kept her away from the Puppeteer, Egrer was ready for even worse underhanded tricks.
However, he heavily doubted that Weiss wouldn't have questions when they went inside and faced the criminal. Wouldn't it be better to just tell her everything right now, so she knew exactly what to expect? She thought nothing dangerous awaited them. To her, this criminal was just some drunk student who obviously wouldn't do anything terrible to them.
Suddenly, Egrer realized it was only a matter of time before Weiss got involved in this mess. A very short amount of time. She definitely wouldn't like that some villain was wandering around Beacon and breaking into restricted areas, so she was guaranteed to start her own investigation.
But there was also hope that everything would blow over. That they would miss the intruder and never cross paths. He just needed to find Ruby and lead them both out of here under some pretext.
Whatever the Puppeteer wanted to achieve here, bursting in guns blazing would be too stupid. They needed to act carefully; it was better to retreat now than to drag Weiss and Ruby into this mess too.
Therefore, they needed to get out of here ASAP, grabbing all the innocent bystanders along the way.
Egrer gently pushed the ajar door, and it opened with the muffled hiss of a damaged opening mechanism. Down the wall, right to their feet, slid an Atlesian soldier. Apparently, he had flown into the door during the fight.
Weiss knelt down in front of the unconscious man and checked his pulse and breathing. Judging by her relieved exhale, the poor guy's life wasn't in danger.
"Whoever was here, they clearly did not hold back," she whispered, stepping deeper into the room.
Weiss flicked the light switch, but the shattered lamps only let out a couple of sparks that harmlessly melted into the air. Then she turned on the flashlight on her Scroll, illuminating the spacious waiting room.
The scene was rather grim. A smashed desk, in the wreckage of which a figure in white armor could be seen, a couple of overturned sofas, and a long slash in the wall, inflicted by something sharp. Here and there lay Atlas soldiers, defeated by an unknown opponent.
Since there was still no army with heavy equipment here, and the Atlas flagship was hovering in its usual place, it meant the intruder had managed to deal with everyone fast enough that no one had time to call for backup.
"Sir, wake up." Weiss gently patted the face of the most intact one of them. The soldier lay frozen in a ridiculous pose, ass up, having clearly crashed into the wall and slid down it. "Sir!"
She slapped the poor guy on the cheek, so hard his head jerked to the side. It yielded no results.
"You should be more careful with him," Egrer said, coming closer. "He might have a concussion or a cracked skull. Remember our survival lessons - if your Aura breaks and you lose consciousness, you'll wake up in a day at best."
"Are you really going to lecture me? You slacker, of course I remember that."
Judging by Weiss's bewildered look, she might have remembered the theoretical knowledge, but could hardly apply it in practice. Right now, she was too agitated, beginning to realize that a merely drunk student was unlikely to defeat this many opponents.
"Who could this be?" she asked into the void.
Suddenly, a crash rang out a couple of floors above, followed by a gunshot. Egrer would recognize that characteristic sound even during an artillery barrage; only Ruby's scythe possessed such a booming and heavy gunshot.
"Damn it," Egrer grumbled, dashing up the stairs.
He didn't feel much fear at the prospect of fighting the Puppeteer or Her minions. Perhaps it was out of hope that since the intruder hadn't killed the soldiers downstairs, the worst they'd do to them was cripple them. Or maybe because something was finally happening. He was sick of jumping at every rustle and glance; he had no more strength to endure the agonizing wait. Now it would be a simple and direct face-to-face confrontation.
The only thing Egrer worried about was the involuntary involvement of Ruby and Weiss. From now on, targets just like his were painted on their backs.
The fight was taking place on the floor with the CCTS communication consoles, and the first thing that caught his eye was a female figure in dark clothes wielding two reddish swords. Naturally, the criminal wore a thick full-face mask, and there were no special distinguishing marks on her.
The main question was whether it was the Puppeteer's subordinate who came here, or Her personally. And the fight would show that.
Egrer didn't burst into the brawl with a battle cry; instead, he crouched down and hid behind a desk. Right now, the element of surprise was on his side, and losing it just like that would be stupid.
Dashing between covers, he crept closer to the criminal's back, trying to time a moment of weakness. However, that was unlikely to happen anytime soon, as Ruby could barely fight.
Her massive scythe chopped a desk, the computer sitting on it, and a chair in half. After which Ruby simply got her legs tangled and fell on her ass. She felt very unstable in her high-heeled party shoes.
The intruder, meanwhile, simply jumped aside from that clumsy strike. Some red veins in her clothing lit up red and flared with heat, and her swords reddened even more, melting right in the air and transforming into a bow with an already drawn bowstring.
Weiss saved Ruby from meeting the arrow by conjuring a glyph right in the projectile's path. With a strange sound like a rattling bass string, the arrow changed course and flew straight into the ceiling.
"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed joyfully, turning to her savior.
"Do not get distracted, you fool! Do not lose sight of the enemy."
"But I can barely see her! The lights are out in here."
Egrer remained unnoticed and began sneaking between the terminals right toward her. If the Puppeteer was standing before them—who, according to Roman, was capable of matching strength even with Ozpin—then trying to defeat Her was definitely not an option. But whatever She had planned here, a fight and noise clearly weren't part of Her plans. It was obvious She was already looking for escape routes, darting her head in all directions.
Simply tearing off Her mask would be enough to consider it a victory. Assuming they managed to escape after that, of course. It was unlikely the Puppeteer would hold back when the secret of her identity was at stake.
Egrer sneaked close enough, and when Weiss and Ruby attacked simultaneously, he lunged at her from behind. He could have sworn he hadn't made a single sound, but the criminal, without even turning around, took a step to the side. As if she had always known where he was. Flying past, Egrer received a parting elbow to the back, tumbling to the floor and nearly dragging down Ruby and Weiss, who had collided with him.
Well, she clearly knew how to use her opponents' plans to her advantage.
Ruby slammed the tip of her scythe into the floor and cranked the power of its built-in gun to the max. A shot roared, but the bullet flew wide, as did all the subsequent ones. With every pull of the trigger, Ruby skidded further and further back, leaving a deep trench in the floor.
"Aim more to the left!" Egrer shouted, rolling away. For the first time, a bullet hit the nimble intruder, only making her stagger. The massive caliber of the sniper scythe caused her only minor inconvenience.
Any doubts that this was merely a minion vanished. With that amount of Aura and combat skills, this woman was absolutely the Puppeteer. The very person (or Faunus) who gave no quarter to Torchwick, the police, or all the Vale White Fang members.
Weiss took advantage of the enemy's momentary hesitation and swung her rapier. A path of white glyphs appeared before her, multiplying the speed of her rapid approach toward the criminal.
"Don't go into close combat!" Egrer shouted, as he understood the Puppeteer's danger better than anyone.
But Weiss wouldn't have had time to brake anyway. The enemy's bow sharply turned red and melted back into two swords, which met the rapier's thrust. Despite the acceleration from the glyphs, Weiss couldn't land a single hit on Her, while She effortlessly landed blow after blow.
Up until this point, the most terrifying opponent the three of them had ever dealt with was Pyrrha. But even she wasn't capable of slicing a narrow, through-and-through fissure in a concrete wall with a single strike. And more importantly, Pyrrha always fought with caution, trying not to cause pain. The Puppeteer, however, hit hard, fast, and without a hint of the slightest mercy.
Weiss retreated under this onslaught, barely keeping her weapon in her hands. She was far from always able to dodge, and from the force of the blocked strikes, her rapier let out a pitiful metallic clang.
Egrer stealthily made his way to the enemy's rear. He hid behind a toppled desk and picked up a long severed cable, waiting for the right moment for a backstab.
And when it came, he used the cable like a whip and wrapped it around the Puppeteer's ankle. She stumbled, but the moment she forcefully yanked her leg, Egrer went flying into the window. The armored glass took his body harshly and painfully. A half-growl, half-groan escaped his lips on its own.
However, the brief moment he had bought was enough for Weiss to take off her jacket in one motion and throw it into the enemy's face.
A glass sword chopped it in half, making Egrer's heart skip a painful beat. Gods bear witness, if that trick hadn't helped Weiss prick the Puppeteer in the side, he would've personally strangled her.
A shot rang out, but this time Ruby fired behind herself. The wild recoil gave her the momentum to cross half the room and come to her friend's rescue. But from the counterattack, she stumbled back and slipped on her heels again.
"Take off those shoes!" Weiss yelled, who experienced absolutely no discomfort in eight-centimeter stilettos. "It is better to fight barefoot than like that!"
Egrer, who until then had been crawling under the desks, unexpectedly popped out and tried to reach the criminal's face. He unfolded the Needle-Shooter and took aim. With a simultaneous three-pronged attack, he had a real chance of pulling off his plan.
With a quiet hiss, a meter-long needle shot out and snagged the edge of the fabric mask, ripping it off the Puppeteer's face. But Egrer didn't manage to get a look at anything. No one did.
Her weapon suddenly heated up so intensely that blinding orange light flooded the room.
Egrer immediately dropped to the floor, screaming from the unbearable burning sensation. His light-sensitive Faunus eyes hurt excruciatingly from such a sharp flash. The others weren't ready for it either. Accustomed to the darkness, Weiss and Ruby squeezed their eyes shut and jumped back, dragging Egrer with them.
By the time they recovered, the Puppeteer was gone.
"She's gone!" Ruby cried out, running over to the melted window.
"How are you?" Weiss's concerned voice asked. Egrer was still rolling on the floor surrounded by broken tech, melted shards of glass, and shell casings, frantically rubbing his eyes. Obviously, he was in a lot of pain. "Do not rub them, you will only make it worse!"
"It burns like hell, I wanna rip my eyes out." Egrer wiped the tears that were streaming in a non-stop river, and with an incredible effort of will, tore his hands away from his face. He started squinting, but could barely see Weiss's face through the massive glare and light spots. From the outside, he probably looked like some hysteric: red, puffy eyes, tears, and snot. "Did I at least get her mask off?"
"Yes," Ruby said. A second later came the sound of a steel needle being pulled out of the wall, and soft, still-warm fabric was placed into Egrer's hands. "Do your eyes hurt a lot?"
"Very," Egrer didn't lie. "But it's getting better."
This fight clearly showed that hoping to defeat the Puppeteer by force was an absolutely idiotic and suicidal idea. If She had wanted to, She would have killed them on the spot with a couple of moves. They might have been able to put up a bit of resistance, but it's unlikely they would have done more damage than all the beaten soldiers on the first floor. Beaten by Her, for the record.
Suddenly, a chime rang out from the elevator, as if someone had arrived on their floor. The sound of sliding doors made everyone look in that direction. And even with his damaged vision, Egrer was able to identify that mighty figure.
General Ironwood had come for them. Armed with a massive revolver and ready for battle General Ironwood. Judging by his stance, the three of them clearly shouldn't expect anything good.
A neural chain that had lain dormant for almost three years immediately activated in Egrer's head: General - army - police - punishment - jail, causing him to immediately yell out:
"It wasn't us!"
Naturally, the general immediately thought it was them. After all, they were the ones standing in the middle of a wrecked room, with the unconscious bodies of his subordinates littering the first floor. He had fundamentally no other suspects yet.
"Everyone on the floor, now!" He aimed his revolver at them, and simultaneously several more armed soldiers came up the stairs into the room. "You are under arrest, do not resist!"
Outside, fireworks whistled, and the giant clock at the top of the tower struck midnight. Amidst the thunderous pops and joyful shouts from the street, Weiss began to protest indignantly, Ruby fearfully dropped to the floor and put her hands behind her head, and Egrer remembered the letters in his pocket.
If they were found during a search, he could safely start digging his own grave. And there would definitely be a search, because they would clearly be blamed for all this bedlam. It couldn't be otherwise. And the only witnesses to their innocence were the soldiers from the first floor, who obviously wouldn't wake up anytime soon.
'Eat them', a thought flashed through his head. However, reasoning soundly, Egrer realized he simply wouldn't have time to execute that plan. He'd literally be pinned down before he could force several sheets of paper down his throat.
His gaze fell on Weiss standing next to him. They would definitely treat her more delicately, considering her father was the main Dust supplier for the Atlas military.
So the plan drew itself. Her dress had no pockets, but it did have an open back. That's exactly where he shoved his letters.
"Eg?!" she squeaked, feeling a hand against her skin. "We had a deal!"
"Don't give them to anyone and don't read them."
That was all he managed to whisper to her. The general didn't bother issuing another warning. He fired.