Lights were slowly lighting up the streets of Vale as the sun is setting, team RWBY were on the way back to the Bullhead hangars to get back to Beacon before nightfall. The streets are still bustling with people rushing to get their last minute shopping done. Ruby and Weiss were holding bags filled with dust crystals and ammo cartridges to test out their abnormal dust ammunition for Crescent Rose and Myrtenaster. Blake and Yang on the other hand were walking alongside the white rose duo. Blake was holding a bag filled with various types of books while reading a book that she had bought. Yang was still drinking from a soda cup filled with cola from the restaurant that they were from staring into the sky wondering about what to do once she gets back from town.
"So in conclusion, I think the fire and lightning Dust combined would go well with the bullets since it would pack some punch!" Ruby concluded while waving her hands while holding the bags around. "You dolt, stop shaking them around! Some of the dust that we bought are motion sensitive, you will set them off!" The heiress loudly said while frowning at Ruby. The reaper finally realized what she said and slowly placed the bags back down as she could hear the crystals vibrating. She gave out a sigh of relief as the vibration stopped. There were various shades of colours, glowing from the bag from the different types of dust that they bought. From fire to ice, gravity to friction. Interestingly, a shop that they went earlier had distinctively different types of dust that were combined to create a new effect.
"I'm sorry Weiss. I'm just too excited to try these babies on my beautiful Crescent Rose!" Ruby rattled off. "Jeez Rubes, chill out. I mean, Weiss could just do it easily am I right Weiss-cream?" Yang said while nudging her elbow to Weiss. The heiress gave a annoyed sigh while lowering her shoulders. Yang chuckled as she threw her finished cup into a garbage bin.
As they were approaching the Bullhead hangars by the pier, they saw Atlas guards assembling in line like a formation and keeping a lookout out to the sea facing Beacon Academy. "Huh, I wonder what's that all about. Let's check it out!" Ruby said while the rest of her team including herself approach the end of the pier. As they looked out to the sea, they could hear ice crackling approaching them. Blake scanned the horizon with her Faunus eyes only to spot a familiar grey figure. This time, he was freezing the sea as a platform for him to run on. "Girls.. It's that Saabir guy." Blake said to the rest of her team while pointing towards him. The rest of team RWBY looked in shock to what he was doing. As he got closer, the Atlas guards shouted in preparation of his arrival and took out stun batons and prepared for a fight.
"Tsk, out of my way!" Saabir shouted as he leapt from the ice platform he had formed and shoved the guards down one by one as they tried to block his way. "Don't let him get away!" One of the Atlassian guards shouted towards team RWBY. Before the team could react, Saabir leapt above them and disappeared into a grey blur, vanishing into thin air. "Darn, I was about to freeze his legs." The heiress grumbled with Myrtenaster drawn with ice dust loaded. "I don't think you would be able to either way Weiss-cream. His too cool for you. Eh? Eh?" Yang said with a cheeky smile. Ruby giggled while shaking her head while Blake and Weiss placed their hand on their foreheads.
Buzzing of a scroll was heard as Ruby was trying to recover from her sister's terrible pun. As she took it out, she raised one of her eyebrows as she saw a message sent from the headmaster himself.
'Good evening Miss Rose, there's seem to be problem. I've received reports of a dust robbery happening in town again. I want you and your team to investigate and handle the situation accordingly. I will put word for the staff by the Bullheads to let your team and yourself back after curfew. I've also taken the initiative of sending the address of the shop. It's not too far from you.
Regards,
Professor Ozpin'
As she swiped her scroll, she saw the map that Ozpin sent. She gave a sigh of relief as the shop was the one they had just visited earlier and it wasn't far away from them. "Well girls, it's time to get back in action! Professor Ozpin wants us to handle a dust robbery not far from here. I know it would suck if it was further away from here. My legs are killing me!" Ruby said. "But where should we leave the bags?" Weiss asked while raising both her hands of bags. "We could just leave it with Sun and Neptune." Blake said while pointing at the both of them who were walking towards the pier. "Huh.. Guess that Sun really is fated for you eh kitty cat?" Yang playfully said while resting her elbow on Blake's shoulder, only to be replied with a hiss and a blush.
"What? Oh sure, no problem ladies." Neptune answered with a bow. "Yeah, we'll watch your stuff while you are gone. We'll be by the ramen shop over in the corner." Sun cheerfully said while pointing at the ramen stall. "Thanks guys. Come on girls, let's go!" Ruby said while running ahead leaving petals behind. Weiss waved back at Neptune while Blake nodded in appreciation at Sun. Yang just gave a cheeky smile with both her eyebrows raised up and down towards both of the boys before catching up with her team as they blushed in return.
As they approached the corner to the shop, they could hear moaning and groaning. As they turned the corner, they saw Saabir holding one White Fang thug by the collar while the rest of the thugs were rolling around slowly in pain with suitcases with dust crystals scattered around the vicinity. "Tell me, who is in charge of you losers." The grey boy intimidatingly said to his victim. "Adam, Adam Taurus.." The thug said weakly. "So, that guy again huh? Thanks." He concluded while throwing him back to the ground. Team RWBY were stunned in place to the scene and approached Saabir. "Wow Saabir, that was.. Impressive." Ruby said while looking around. He gave team RWBY a surprised look before staring at Yang for a short while before looking at the thugs around him. "Well, someone had to take care of it. Besides, you girls are quite slow." He bragged while walking around to place the dust crystals back into the respective suitcases. "Hey, I thought you weren't allowed out of Beacon. Professor Ozpin said that you were grounded for the day." Yang said while approaching Saabir from behind. He gave out a long sigh before standing up. "Well, he didn't say night." The grey boy said as he gave a cheeky meek grin. "Here, while you girls are here. Might as well you lot help me in returning these to the shop keeper." He concluded while tossing suitcases one by one to each members of team RWBY. As he packed the final suitcase, he walked over to each of the White Fang members, tying them up with cable ties that he took out from one of his various pockets of his vest. "Now, daddy is gonna go away for awhile, stay here until the babysitters come and pick you all up. Alright?" Saabir provokingly said to the thugs as Yang chuckled with Ruby while Blake was looking at them in anger. Coming from the White Fang, she was still disappointed in the actions they had made. To rob a dust shop while donning the White Fang's colours, it would just make people think twice about Faunus' now.
He then grabbed the final suitcases and started to walk off. The heiress on the other hand placed the suitcases down and drew Myrtenaster, only to place them in a ice cage that she made. "Nice hustle snow woman, come on." The grey boy thanked the heiress before she gave an annoyed look to his remark of her while picking the suitcases back up.
As they approached the shop, they saw the shopkeeper waiting outside of the shop. They then returned the suitcases one by one only to be checked by the shopkeeper as if he was trying to keep track of what was stolen. The shopkeeper was actually a middle aged Faunus with goat horns, short messy black hair with a mustache, and was wearing his white t-shirt, dark-brown pants and what looked like black slippers. As he finished counting, he tossed a small paper packaging towards each of the Hunter and Huntresses in training. "Here you go kids, compensation for helping out an old Faunus shopkeeper. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. As for you girls, there'll be a half prices for the next time you shop at my place." The shopkeeper said with a wink. As they slowly opened the packaging, it revealed a small black crystal which faintly vibrated to their own touch. "What is this anyway?" Weiss said while inspecting the dust crystal carefully. "That Miss Schnee, is a crystal that I invented myself. It specifically shows the amount of aura left for those who touched it first. Luckily for you lot, it's already packed in a small paper packaging. So all of you can keep track of each other's aura levels. I know you have some fancy technology to keep track of each other's aura, but I'm sure that's only during competitions. But this one is specifically made to keep track without all that tech." The shop keeper explained while the group inspected their own dust crystal. The crystal slowly changed respectively to each of their own aura's colours. From red, white, black and yellow. As for Saabir, the crystal glowed distinctively from grey to turqouise. He then tossed it back to the shopkeeper. "Here, I don't need it." The grey boy annoyingly said as he walked off afterwards. Team RWBY then thanked the shopkeeper accordingly and chased after Saabir.
"Hey you, girl, wait!" The shopkeeper shouted while panting, Yang stopped and turned around only to see a horned Faunus bending over gasping for air. "I figured you would want this." The shop keeper said while handing her Saabir's crystal. "Why would I need this?" The blonde brawler asked while inspecting the crystal. "I don't know, I don't really need to keep track of that grumpy boy. But I figured you, looking like the caring type in the group, wanted to have it. But it's okay if you don't need it. Just toss it aside if you dont really need it. Now, I have to get back to my shop and sort the crystals back respectively to their shelfs." The shopkeeper said while turning away, waving his hands around in the air while walking back to the shop while mumbling, almost matching a goat baaing. Yang then gave a smile of confusion while looking at the crystal before placing the crystal back into her pocket. She then proceeded to chase the rest of her team.
As three quarter of team RWBY reached Saabir back to where the thugs were tied up, he was explaining to the Vale police officers what happened. The officers then returned with a nod of appreciation and understanding before grabbing the thugs to put into their armoured van. Saabir then gave a sigh while placing his hands at the back of his head while walking away, only to be interrupted by Weiss' loud cough. He turned behind only to be stared at by three curious and grumpy looking teenage girls. "What? It was just a crystal. I don't need it." He said. "That's not what she meant Saabir. What are you doing out here alone? You know Professor Ozpin DID ground you." Blake said as he then scratched the back of his head. "Urgh, fine. I'll explain to you all on the way back. Guess there's no point being the mysterious one now." Saabir concluded while walking off towards the pier.
As the blonde brawler catched up to the rest of her team, she saw Saabir walking off alone. "Did I miss anything?" Yang asked while looking at each of team RWBY. "No it's nothing, he said his gonna explain why he is out of Beacon eventhough he is not supposed to." The Faunus girl replied to her partner. "Good, I'm curious to know too. Let's go girls." Yang said as team RWBY jogged after Saabir.
As they reached the pier, they saw Saabir hiding behind a letterbox while peeking at the Atlas guards guarding the perimeter. "Trouble there?" Ruby said softly as Saabir jumped in surprise while the rest of team RWBY were behind her. "Jeez, you scared the living aura out of me." The grey boy said while clutching his chest. "Well.. As you can see, Ozpin did warn them about me. So they are keeping a lookout for me as you can see." He pointed while the rest of team RWBY took a peek behind the letterbox as well. "Hmmm.. I would help you. But I'm sure Weiss could help you right Weiss?" Ruby said with puppy eyes while grabbing Weiss' arms. The heiress gave an annoyed sigh and nodded in reply. She then separated herself from the group and walked towards the Atlas guards before all of them saluted in her presence. She then waved her hand off to signal the guards to be at ease. As she approached the Atlas guard with a more heavily armored gear which what looked to be the one in-charge, the Atlas guard saluted once more before placing his hand down. Weiss then started explaining to him about Saabir and he then gave a nod before saluting again, turning around to his men. "Men, do not engage the grey boy again. Miss Schnee has put in word to excuse him for now. No one will tell Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon and that is that. Understood?" The commanding Atlas guard shouted. "Yes sir!" As the rest of the Atlas guard shouted in response while saluting. Weiss then turned around and gave the group a thumbs up.
"Guess that's our queue. Come on girls and guy. Let's go!" The reaper shouted while cheerfully skipping towards Weiss. "Shouldn't we go and collect our stuff from Sun and Neptune first?" Blake asked. "Yeah, maybe we should. Let's get them." Yang concluded. "While you two are getting your stuff, I'll be over at the Bullheads." Saabir said while starting to walk away only to be grabbed by Yang at his hood. "Oh no you don't. You get to carry our stuff too." The blonde brawler said as she dragged him towards the ramen shop where Sun and Neptune was waiting. Saabir just gave an annoyed look as he was dragged away. As the trio approached the shop, Sun and Neptune were already done with their bowl of ramen, getting ready to head off. "Hey guys! Thanks for looking after our stuff!" Yang said with a grin while nudging Blake closer to Sun. "Yeah.. Err.. Thanks guys." The Faunus girl embarassingly said while looking down with her arms behind her back. "No problem ladies. Neptune and I were about to head over to the Vale Police Office to send in our report for the day. We are 'Junior Detectives' after all." Sun said while folding his arms while Neptune followed his actions. "It's going to be after curfew soon. You two sure Ozpin knows about this?" Yang asked while checking the bags of dust crystals of their contents, while Blake checked for her books. "Oh don't worry about it, he knows about it. He is the one who assigned us this attachment." Neptune said while wiping his 'Junior Detective' badge. Saabir then took the bags of dust crystals in both of his arms and started heading off. "What's up with him?" Sun asked while looking at the grey boy stomping off. "Dunno, come on Blakey. Let's go and catch up with the rest." Yang said as she took the other bags of dust crystal while Blake took her own bag of books. Before Blake departed, she gave a small short wave to Sun as he smiled brightly and waved back in response. "Smooth one dude." Neptune said while elbowing Sun on the waist which gave a teethy grin in return.
As the trio approached Ruby and Weiss they were both talking to each other with their arms waving around frantically, only to be stopped as they saw the other half of RWBY and Saabir approaching them with bags in hand. "What are you two arguing about this time?" Yang asked while raising one of her eyebrows towards the white rose duo. "Oh, nothing. I see you have our stuff back huh?" Ruby said while rubbing her arms as the heiress folded her arms while looking away. "Yep, Sun and Neptune did a good job looking after our stuff. Maybe you should somehow compensate Neptune, right Weiss-cream?" Yang slyly said while narrowing her eyes towards Weiss. The heiress then blushed and gave a short cough. "Of course, I will somehow repay him the next time I see him." Ruby giggled as the bumblebee duo smiled to the heiress' response. Saabir was just staring at shattered moon with a disturbed look before it got covered in dark clouds. Rumbling of thunder could be heard as the wind suddenly grew stronger and blew the streets of Vale, signaling that it would rain anytime sooner.
"Let's get on the Bullheads and get back to Beacon before it rains. Come on Saabir, Weiss already gave the green light to the guards to let you through." Ruby said while the rest of team RWBY had already made their way towards one of the Bullhead. "Oh, sure. I guess it's better than walking back to Beacon via the sea." Saabir said while walking past Ruby towards the Bullhead. As he walked past Ruby, she realised that there wasn't any chilling feeling from Saabir. She then tilted her head while scratching the back of her head while wondering what happened to his Semblence. But she shook it off and jogged into the Bullhead as the doors closed behind her, shortly taking off to the sky afterwards.
The whirring sounds of turbine and the mechanical gears turning could only be heard, followed by the thunderous roar of the sky. The Bullhead that the group took had rows of seats like a ferry. Except that the Bullhead had only them in it. Blake, as usual, was resuming her book where she stopped earlier on, sitting next to Yang. Ruby and Weiss were sitting next to each other inspecting the dust crystals that they bought earlier on, carefully placing each back into the bag where they took it out before inspecting the next. Yang was staring out of the window while Saabir, who was swiping through his scroll looking exhausted and sleepy. He was sitting at the back away from team RWBY near to the entrance of the Bullhead. "So.. What's your story Saabir? Where your from, how old are you, what you were doing before you came to Beacon.." Yang asked while leaning back on her seat. The grey boy turned his scroll off while sliding his scroll into one of his front pockets of his vest. He then place both of his arms behind him and closed his eyes.
"Well, I don't know where to begin. I could say that I'm 20, and I'm from Vacuo." He said giving a sigh afterwards. "So, you're like Sun then. How are things over there?" Yang continued to ask. "Things aren't that great over there. But it was better than nothing. I'm sure you know what happened to the people over there after the great war. We didn't trust each other a whole lot. So we relied on people who we trust to survive. As for my parents.." He continued to explain while placing his hand on the bridge of his nose and gave a irritated expression. Yang gave a concerned look while tilting her head. The rest of team RWBY on the other hand stopped whatever they were doing and looked at the stressed boy. "After I was born.. My mum passed away. There was only my dad that's left of my family. But he was too busy volunteering for the great war. So he had his sister to take care of me." Saabir said while sighing afterwards. Ruby looked at Yang who in return looked back at her, having a sense of how it feels like for Saabir. They both then returned to look at Saabir who was now leaning forwards, fingers massaging his forehead as if he had suffered a headache.
"I'm not really close with my dad honestly, only to my aunt, but we own a cafehouse between the border of Vale and Vacuo in a small town called the Whispering Mounds. It's not really the greatest of cafe in town, and not exactly the greatest town. But it's bearable enough to keep himself busy whilst I'm here training." He continued to explain while leaning back on his seat while placing both his hands into his hoodie's pockets. "So do you visit him often?" Ruby asked the grey boy. "I used to when I was in the first year. But ever since I enter the second year in Beacon, I had too many assignments and barely enough time to visit my dad and aunt back at the Mounds. The assignments even ate up the term's break because it was THAT long. But I made sure to drop him a message with my scroll before leaving for my assignment." He concluded while looking at Ruby. "Should we ask him about his team?" Weiss asked Ruby softly who in return shook her head. "Probably not the best time now. Why not next time?" The reaper softly replied the heiress whom both looked back at Saabir who was looking at the ground.
"Before I enrolled into Beacon academy, my aunt helped me train whatever it is necessary for me to be accepted into Beacon academy whilst my dad was fighting in the great war. I know you all won't believe it, but my aunt is actually a Faunus with talons for nails and sharp falcon eyes." Blake narrowed her eyes against Saabir who had a Faunus for an aunt. "You know for a bookworm, I thought you would be more talkative. I know you probably wanna ask, why is my aunt a Faunus right?" The grey boy asked the Faunus in disguise, receving a nodding reply from her. "Well to put it simply. My grandad was a Faunus and my grandmother was a normal human being." He replied. "What kind of Faunus was he?" Yang asked while leaning forward in her seat. "He was sort of like a bird type of a Faunus. More towards the owl side, wise and such. I didn't really know how they really are since my grandparents passed away before I was born. I only got a few details about them from my aunt." He replied. Yang then leaned back in her seat with a curious look. "I know this is weird.. But, how does a bird type Faunus reproduce? Does the female lay eggs or something?" Yang asked without consideration only to be returned with a grossed out look from Blake and Weiss and a confused looking reaper.
"Don't even ask Goldilocks. And I don't even want to know." He replied. "As for my aunt, she was a Huntress herself you know. But she stopped because she wants to focus on having a family with some weird guy she got engaged with and she's been non-stopping talking about." He continued while shaking his head. As he finished explaining, raindrops slowly pelted the Bullhead's metal exterior while the thunder roared, signifying the beginning of a heavy downpour.
"All right you lot, we're approaching Beacon soon. Get ready to disembark from the Bullhead. And thank you for choosing Atlas for being your source of transportation." The pilot announced through the speakers. The white rose duo and the Faunus girl packed their individual things into their bags to prepare to disembark. Yang stood up and walked towards the window to examine the heavy downpour. Saabir stood beside her and joined as well.
"Does it usually rain at your home?" The blonde brawler asked. "Yeah, it usually does. But we have sometimes have sandstorms too because of the mixture of climates between Vacuo and Vale." He explained while turning to Yang. "Even if you're not the leader of the team, you seem to take care of these girls pretty well." Yang turned to look at Saabir and then to the rest of her team afterwards giving a nod. "Well, someone has to take the mantle of the big sister in the group. Even if my little sister is the leader, she's still lacking on the social side if you know what I mean." She explained as Saabir did not gave any reply. As she turned to look at Saabir, she realised that he was turning pale. He then clutched his chest tightly while groaning in pain.
"Guess I'm at my limit.. They really got me good." The wounded boy said while falling back as the world blurred around him, only to land on the back of his head. Yang tried to catch his fall but to no avail. "Saabir! Are you okay?!" She shouted as the other members of team RWBY rushed to her side. As Saabir's vision blurred, he saw what looked like locks of black hair instead of the usual blonde hair that Yang had in her stead. 'Nataly...?' He thought to himself as his vision blackened.