"A week since I last saw you and this is the intel you give me?" Qrow asked while taking a sip from a glass of Diet Fizzer Pepper. The sugary taste was a bit too sweet for his tastes, though it was definitely an improvement over alcohol.

Qrow found himself sitting in a quaint restaurant in Vacuo City in the afternoon, huntsmen weren't too conspicuous on the streets of Vacuo City. Yet he knew that he was on Nordwind's blacklist thanks to his source, it wasn't too much of a stretch that Nordwind could have it's own loyal spies inside Vacuo City.

"It's the most I could get, my connections don't really have that much access to Nordwind anymore. They've closed off Freija to outsiders, their main HQ is completely out of the question. All the while they move to expand their influence more. It's not a very enviable position we're in." The cloaked woman replied.

"What's got the council so interested in Nordwind anyways?... Surely you're trying to talk some sense into them here and there." Qrow inquired.

"I would, but it's not as easy as you think it might be. It's already hard to allocate resources for Vacuo's Army, so in the minds of the council it's best to just outsource security to these guys. After all, most of them are former soldiers..." Senator Kora replied, leaning on her hand as she sighed heavily to herself.

"What has your resistance uncovered? Anything new to note?"

"I'd have found out something useful if my group hadn't been half composed of nitwits. No offense to the guys, Vasilias and Wukong. They're determined and very helpful, but, they can muck up a situation here and there. In this case, they're the reason Freija City's doubled down on security measures."

"This really isn't ideal..."

"No it's not. And if we wanna get to the bottom of whatever Nordwind's true goals are, two weeks earlier I'd have said we already lost."

"I sense some positivity, has anything changed?"

"You remember the train incident a few days ago?"

"The media suggested that it was 'bandits'." Kora suggested, placing quotations on the word 'bandits'.

"Team RWBY was there, on the train. They tried to stop the mercs, tried." Qrow replied, "But with them here now I think we actually do have a chance at fighting these guys on more equal ground."

"If you don't mind me asking, where were they all this time?" Kora curiously questioned.

Qrow remembered what they had told him. The Ever After. Even Qrow remembered when his father told him that story, he hadn't been so keen on trusting that cat in the story. In the back of his mind, he always had some idea that cat was hiding something. As entertaining as their adventures in the parallel world were, the prospect of having to explain to a senator that a fairytale story existed wasn't exactly on the top of Qrow's to-do-list.

"If I told you their little tale, then you very likely wouldn't have believed it, Senator." Qrow replied with a chuckle. "They've been through a lot already."

"I won't inquire further, then. Mr. Branwen." She replied in turn. "But even with Team RWBY back at our side. I still fear the worst is yet to come."

"I agree, but what else can we do? And who else will fight for an invisible war?" Qrow shrugged. "Shade Academy surely won't, they're focused on the Grimm. And as far as Headmaster Theo goes, his brain might as well be made of straw because he'll just go along with the council. They think Nordwind's on our side."

Senator Kora nodded slightly, emphasizing with Qrow's frustration.

"I understand that this must be hard on you, but if we are to truly get rid of Nordwind for good. We must get sufficient proof that they're a cancer in Vacuo. Only growing and consuming what should belong to the people."

"Oh rest assured, the resistance is doing what we can." Qrow replied with a hint of sarcasm, before downing his Diet Fizzer.

Kora smirked before beginning to get up from her seat to leave. Though, she paused mid-movement, she looked like she had something else she still had to say to him.

"There is... one thing that I can confirm. It's that Nordwind wasn't able to get a lot of dust, but it did get enough dust that it's able to power something."

"Oh yeah? What is this something?" Qrow shot her a stare.

"Project Torrent, that was all my informant was able to catch." Kora replied.

"Just a name? Some informant..." He chuckled to himself.

"Whatever it is, it's important enough that they have it contained at some sort of 'black site'." Her words perked his interests, Qrow had heard rumours here and there about Nordwind black sites. None that were in Vacuo, they'd be subjugated to Vacuan Laws if that were the case.

"Where's this black site?" Qrow asked with intrigue.

"Mount Glenn settlement." Kora replied. "After the fall of Beacon, most Grimm in the Kingdom gathered in and around Vale City. What little Grimm were left have been dealt with by Nordwind and they've settled in the area."

"How do I know this isn't some sort of trap?" Qrow asked with a hint of caution.

"If it was I wouldn't have been so hesitant to tell you." She carefully spoke, keeping her tone low.

"Fine, I'll see what I can get..." Qrow flipped his empty glass upside-down, leaving some lien and a tip for the pub. "Until next time, Senator."

"To you too as well, Qrow." Kora nodded her head at him before she left the tavern.

Meanwhile, further away from the tavern. Qrow was spotted by a trenchcoated individual, who had been keeping his distance and his eye on the huntsman as he made his way around Vacuo City. Qrow was right, Nordwind now a few spies crawling Vacuo City. And it was a miracle that Team RWBY hadn't been spotted as they made their way in.

The man's eyes never left Qrow as he dialled a number on his scroll as he shifted his way back into an alleyway.

"Alert the big man, Branwen's planning something..." He discreetly spoke into the device, before hopping onto a skimmer bike and making his way out of the city.

***

Back at the warehouse, Team RWBY had been put off new missions for the time being. Qrow still had a job for them today, however. Since he was being airlifted back to Vale, and was the one to be infiltrating the new Nordwind Base at Mount Glenn. A place which struck familiar chords with the huntresses, where they encountered and tangled with the criminal mastermind Torchwick. Even though the Grimm had gone from the area, there was still the threat posed by the new Nordwind occupants.

Which is why Team RWBY would instead be providing overwatch with a drone, allowing Qrow to have a good idea on the positioning of enemies in the area.

The team of four gathered around a small monitor, watching as Qrow deployed a Seeker drone above him. The camera zoomed out as the drone ascended into the sky, high enough that it overlooked a large enough area to see Qrow and his surroundings.

"I still think that it was foolish of Uncle Qrow to go alone, with us along we could bring some real pain on some Merc scum." Yang declared.

"No offense sis, but you're not exactly in tip top shape yet." Ruby nervously chuckled.

"Another rare occaision when I agree with Yang," Weiss piped up, while keeping her eyes on the monitor.

"It makes some sense, we haven't been able to get to Dust shops. CFVY could funnel some to us, but they're short on lien too." Blake said. "Times are tough..."

"I mean we could probably just..." Sun inquired, while popping up behind the four.

"We're not stealing dust, Sun." Blake sternly said while quickly turning her head towards him.

"Hey, just a suggestion. Don't shoot the messenger." Sun replied before leaving.

The four kept their eyes on the monitor as Qrow slowly made his way towards what looked to be a miniature fortress on the mountainside. The walls protecting the inner citadel looked to be housing a facility of sorts. Though it was smaller than Nordwind's official headquarters, it was imposing all the same. An airstrip within the walls of the fortress housed a fleet of bullheads, while a supply ship landed onto the tarmac to be unloaded by faunus workers. Even from further away they looked like they were being hassled by the soldiers to work harder, unload the dust faster.

"Give me your eyes in the skies, girls..." Qrow's voice sounded through the comm. "See any points of entry?"

"Unlike the main base these walls don't look shielded, there are crates of supplies behind them that you can use for cover... I think you could climb the wall with your scythe." Ruby observed through the monitor.

"That scythe thing's easier said than done, but I see your point. Which section of the wall are we talking about?" Qrow asked.

"Left hand side, your left hand side. I mean, fortresses generally don't have hands." Yang joked.

"Real funny, Yang." Qrow just smirked, shaking his head as he proceeded.

They watched as Qrow slowly approached the base, approaching using the rubble of the past settlement to obscure his movement. Team RWBY watched with baited breathe while he slowly made his way as close as he could to the base. Instead of clumsily climbing the wall using his scythe Qrow opted to just fly over it in his avian form, landing behind the crates of supplies meant for the facility.

"Good thinking..." Ruby said. "Now there are some guards."

"Some guards?..." Weiss sarcastically asked with a raise of her eyebrow. "The base is teeming with them."

"I am trying to find an opening, thank you very much!" Ruby whisper-shouted. "It's like one of those stealth sections in video games... but... a bit harder."

"Okay, Qrow... once the coast is clear. You can maybe use one of the building's vents to get inside." Blake spoke into the mic.

"Oh, just like-" Yang began, before being cut off by Blake.

"No, Yang. No." She shook her head. Resulting in Yang giving her a playful shrug.

Qrow flew towards one of the ground level vents, to his surprise. The screws holding the grate in place were rusty and old, the walls and airstrip might have been new features, but the building itself was shoddy and ill-maintained.

With some applied force with his claws, the rusty nail gave way as Qrow hopped into the vents and began to traverse the facility. But it was at this point that a few gunshots flew past the drone's position, Weiss quickly attempted to veer it away.

"Shoot, they saw the drone! Get it out of there Weiss! Yang alarmingly said, patting her shoulder quickly.

"I'm doing that just fine without your hand on my shoulder Yang." Weiss replied.

"They're going to suspect that something's up! Ruby we have to warn your Uncle." She continued, but it was at that point that the Seeker drone was hit by gunfire. The drone fell to the ground as the camera feed was cut, leaving nothing but a shivering image of the ground captured by the camera.

The four girls stared in shock at the camera as their only possible connection to the base was shattered and destroyed.

Ruby exclaimed an incomprehensible sound out loud, quickly pushing her way past Yang and Weiss as she yelled into the microphone.

"Uncle Qrow we've been compromised! Qrow! Qrow! QROOOOW!" Ruby cried into the microphone, but it was already too late.