A chill crept through the air. Its only companions being the fading sunlight and the silence that stalked the street. The relative silence was only broken up by the occasional groaning of a rusted Ferris wheel that loomed a block away; a sorry reminder of squandered wealth in one of Vale’s abandoned slums. It was in this slum, this urban open-grave, that Team RWBY perched themselves on a rooftop overlooking an abandoned bar.
“I don’t like this,” Blake murmured. Her grip tightened on the the thermal binoculars. The lone heat signature was just as still as it had been an hour ago, an almost unnatural amount of time for someone to remain motionless. “Whoever it is, they haven’t moved an inch. Do they know we’re watching them?”
Yang stepped next to Blake near the edge, her arms crossed. “I’m telling you—it’s just some homeless dude in a mask or something. Probably drunk and passed out.” Yang said. “You can’t trust the briefings in these citizen reports. Half of ‘em can’t even tell a black puppy from a baby Beowolf.”
Ruby giggled at Yang’s comment. Ruby’s eyes lingered on her Scroll before she closed the tab and pocketed it. “C’mon sis,” Ruby said. “Give the civies a little more credit. Oh! Remember that ‘Know Your Grimm’ PSA campaign they did a few years back? With that Grimm Alphabet song they came up with? ♪♪A is for Apathy and B is for Beowolf, C is for--♪♪”
“No! No! No!” Weiss exclaimed, rolling her eyes as she joined the other three girls along the ledge. “Please don’t remind me! I spent months getting that cheesy song out of my head.”
Weiss frowned as she put her hands on her hips. She followed Blake’s line of sight towards the abandoned building. Weiss could hardly blame anyone for being skeptical—the citizen report was nothing short of gibberish. A five page typo-riddled conspiracy theory about Grimm-hybrids lurking around Vale disguised as humans. Unfortunately, if a citizen paid the fees, Beacon Academy had to honor the request. No matter how ridiculous it sounded.
“It likely is some vagabond,” Weiss said. She wrinkled her nose, a sudden thought occurring. “And if it is, the scariest thing in there will likely be the smell.” Weiss sighed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Let’s just get this over. Or do we need another hour of recon, spymaster?”
Blake lowered the binoculars and shot Weiss a withering glare. “Fine. We’re going in.”
With that, team RWBY descended from their rooftop vantage point. Once on the ground, they crept across the desolate street, stopping a few feet away from the front door of the abandoned bar. Ruby held out a hand, motioning for her team to stop. After a few seconds, Ruby gave Yang a sharp nod, and without hesitation, Yang kicked the door open with a bang before leading the way inside.
