Turbulence shook the plane as Glynda finished her speech. She looked down at Weiss, whom she'd told to sit down beforehand, for her own good. The heiress remained silent for a long time.

"So, let me recap," Weiss finally spoke. "There's another dimension connected to our world, from whence evil monsters come from regularly. The sole motive in said evil monsters' existence is to kill everyone on Remnant. And Beacon's top priority is to defend the world against them," she paused. "…Did I miss anything?"

Glynda frowned, not knowing what to make of Weiss at the moment. She'd expected a stronger reaction, an angry tirade or perhaps a smug statement about how she'd always known Beacon was more than it seemed. But the heiress' expression was mostly impassive – Glynda had seen her eyes waver a bit when she got to the part about the Grimm's mission, but that was the most striking thing she'd noticed.

"That's the gist of it," Glynda said. "I must stress to you again, Miss Schnee, this is very confidential information. You mustn't share it with anyone."

"Of course. What, do you think I am dying to tell the whole world that we're all in mortal danger?" Weiss smiled dryly. "I've just been caught using superpowers by every major news channel in the globe. No, I am not eager to reveal any more secrets."

"I am sorry you were forced into that situation, Miss Schnee. I had suspicions that something might happen in Atlas, but… I should have taken more precautions," Glynda said. "I am glad you decided to join us, though."

"Someone targeted my company. Targeted me. Your enemy – which I suppose we share now," Weiss stood up. "Please, do not act as if I had a choice."

Glynda suppressed a tired smile. Weiss Schnee was a real piece of work, perhaps the most puzzling person she had dealt with in a long time, and with the company she kept, that was not an easy feat.

"I do have a question," Weiss said, facing her directly. "How have you kept these Grimm a secret for so long?"

"That question, I'm afraid, requires a very complicated answer," Glynda replied carefully. "You'll have to forgive me, but I can only tell you we have our ways."

"I see," Weiss grinned knowingly. "Beacon has secrets hidden behind their secrets. I wonder what I'll find out next," she turned away and walked towards a window. "If you'll excuse me, I have some processing to do on my own."

"Of course. Take your time," Glynda said. "Though I must say, Miss Schnee, for such a proud person, you have an awful habit of dismissing your best decisions. You could have walked away. Instead, you are here. There is no shame in taking on a noble cause."

Weiss rolled her shoulders and fixed her eyes on the clouds they were speeding past, giving a very clear message that she was done talking. Glynda shook her head – puzzling, indeed.

Turning her back to Weiss, the commander walked down the aisle towards the door to the hangar at the back of the plane, passing a napping Yang on the way there. While the Xiao Long girl had been plenty helpful and energetic as they took care of the situation back at Atlas, Glynda had caught her throwing some rather intense looks her way more than a few times. Glynda could feel there was something Yang wanted to say to her, but for some reason, she was holding back.

She had a good guess what was on the girl's mind, and if she was being honest with herself, Glynda was glad that conversation had yet to happen.

She reached the door and looked through its glass panel. On the hangar were her three prisoners, Roman Torchwick, Adam Taurus, and the assassin she now knew as Mercury Black – apparently, Marcus had had a secret son. They were safely confined and being watched constantly by ten of the best agents she'd found at the Atlas HQ.

At the very back of the hangar was the Dust Core that had been on presentation before, the one Torchwick had tried to steal – by his own admission. They had found an unregistered jet landed near the SDC, certainly big enough to carry the invention, but Glynda had her suspicions. The attack on Weiss, Torchwick's sudden appearance at the scene, and the absence of the mastermind, Cinder Fall – it was all too strange.

What was she missing? Why did she have the terrible feeling that they were doing exactly as Cinder Fall expected – exactly as she wanted?

Something was off, and Glynda was not going to let her guard down until she got to the bottom of it.

"Alright, stand back just a little more. I don't wanna hit you by accident – and if by any chance it blows up…" Ruby shrugged. "You get it."

Blake nodded, taking a few steps back to put some distance between the two of them. Ruby looked around the open hangar of the Beaconship to make sure the immediate area was clear, then with the tip of her tongue poking out of the corner of her lips, took her weapon and held it in both hands in front of her. She pressed the little button on the side of it, and the thin cube of metal unfolded with a series of clicks and screeches. In a matter of seconds, it had morphed into a scythe as tall as Ruby herself, with an even sharper-looking blade than before and a compartment for Dust cartridges near the bottom end of it.

"Behold! Crescent Rose Mark II!" Ruby bellowed, deepening her voice. "Lighter than ever before! Reborn from the toughest metal on Remnant! None can escape its deadly reach! Hyah!"

She swung the scythe over her head, almost tumbling as the blade impacted the ground before her. Ruby blinked a couple times, then righted herself and raised the new Crescent Rose to inspect it more closely.

"Wow, I was just having fun there, but it is actually a lot lighter," she mumbled, and Blake had a feeling she was talking more to herself than to her. "Neat."

Ruby tried another swing, more carefully this time, and made a small noise of satisfaction at the end of it. She swung again, then moved into another attack, and soon she was lost in a lone dance, her cape flowing around her as she spun and thrust and hopped about, slashing at a horde of imaginary foes.

Blake watched silently, almost unsettled. She'd been trying to figure out Ruby for the last two days, sure that there was something essential she was missing about the girl, but the more time she spent with her, the less certain she became about that. Ruby, it seemed, was as complicated as she appeared. She was almost too good, and that might be why Blake felt so uncomfortable around her. As if she didn't have enough reasons already to think she didn't belong…

"You know, Blake, if we're gonna be fighting Grimm, you're gonna need a new weapon too," Ruby said, taking a break from her dance. "Your pistol's fine and all, but Grimm are tough. You need to break or pierce their armored skin, so you either need something really sharp, or a new gun that can fit Dust. But ammo runs out, so you probably would need something more personal either way."

"If you say so. I am not the expert here," Blake said. She looked at Crescent Rose, slowly raising an eyebrow. "But I don't think I need or want something like that…"

"Why would you not want something as cool as Crescent Rose?" Ruby twisted her nose at her. "But if that's how you feel… I'll fix up something simple for you," she paused. "…If you'll just lend me your ribbon-thingy."

"Okay," Blake said doubtfully, unwrapping her ribbon from around her wrist and handing it to Ruby. "But… what do you need it for?"

"Research," Ruby replied, staring at her blankly. "That's all."

Blake crossed her arms, more than a little suspicious, but decided to let Ruby do as she wanted. What was the worst that could happen?

Her ears twitched as she picked up a new sound amidst the rushing air that came from the stable hovering of the Beaconship. Blake looked first at Ruby, fearing she had noticed her slip-up, but luckily enough, Ruby's attention had returned to her scythe. Holding back a sigh of relief, Blake looked to the skies, trying to locate the source of the noise.

It didn't take her long to see an aircraft coming the way of the Beaconship. It was bigger than the jets stationed at the flying base, resembling more a cargo plane. In a minute it reached them and landed on the hangar, running a little more before coming to a halt.

"Hey, that's probably Miss Goodwitch with our other teammates!" Ruby said. "Man, I hope she's fine. Whatever went down in Atlas, it sounded like it was pretty bad."

"You would have heard if something happened to her," Blake said. "Do you have any idea who's coming with her?"

"Nope," Ruby shook her head. "They're probably super cool, though! Let's go meet them."

As they walked to it, the back of the plane opened and a ramp went down to the hangar. A few moments later, Glynda Goodwitch came out, signaling over her shoulder, and a trio of agents followed after her, carrying between them something huge and, if the strain on their faces was anything to go by, very heavy. Whatever it was, it was hidden under a black tarp. Blake didn't like that at all, but she held off her judgment – maybe the Commander would tell them about it later, and was just keeping it a secret for now.

After the object came three pairs of agents, each escorting a bound prisoner. The first, Blake didn't recognize, but the smug expression on his face was enough to make her dislike him immediately. Then came Roman Torchwick, which she remembered from TV reports of his criminal exploits. He didn't seem menacing at all now. Rather, he looked supremely annoyed.

"Oh my Gosh! It's you!" Ruby squealed. "Remember me, Torchwick?!"

He turned his head to look at her, then released a loud groan. "Red! Oh, I definitely remember you! You were the start of all my problems! Seriously, do you know how much grief Beacon has given me since then?"

"Less than you deserve, I'm sure," Ruby stuck her tongue out at him. "You don't have any right to complain! Maybe if you had made better life decisions, you wouldn't be this in predicament right now."

"The only bad decision I've made is not making sure I had killed you proper back then!" he shouted. "Granted, I had no way to know you could tank a goddamn explosion to the chest, but still!"

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" Ruby smiled cheekily. "I don't speak sore loser."

Torchwick's face turned red, but he was taken away before he could say anything in return. Ruby humphed satisfactorily, and Blake nodded at her, surprised she could be so-

"Blake."

She froze, suddenly unable to breathe as Adam was carried past her. His eyes were hidden behind his mask, but she was as certain they were on her as that he would kill her right there and then, if he had the chance. Suddenly, four years felt like nothing. She was staring death in the face, and it was staring right back.

The moment didn't last long, as Adam was quickly taken to the ship's main building. Blake remained still, until she felt a light touch on her arm.

"You okay, Blake?" Ruby asked. "You look like you've just seen a ghost," she sighed. "Bad choice of words. Sorry."

"It's okay," Blake said, trying to sound normal again. "I was just… caught off guard. Seeing Adam alive when he was right next to a giant monster and a pyromaniac was one thing…"

"And being right in front of him, with him addressing you directly, was another matter altogether," Glynda Goodwitch interrupted, stopping beside them. "Miss Belladonna, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Blake shook her hand mechanically. They had met long before, when she was just ten-years-old. Glynda had been assigned to watch over a White Fang protest. The Commander was keeping that a secret, covering up who Blake really was.

Blake didn't know how to feel about that.

"Miss Goodwitch!" Ruby shouted, locking the older agent in a bear hug. "I've missed you so much!"

"It's not been a week," Glynda said, sounding exasperated and amused at the same time. "And how many times do I have to say, to you, I am Commander Goodwitch."

"Sorry, Miss – I mean, Commander Goodwitch," Ruby backed off, jumping a little on the spot. "Uhm, I have a question…?"

Glynda looked up at the sky. "Yes?"

"So, uh, I've kinda missed, like, three consecutive days of school because of all this stuff," Ruby said. "My attendance rate is still good, but if it goes any lower, I don't know… What if there's another crisis like this one? I'm gonna have to miss even more days then, and I don't wanna redo a whole school year!"

"Agent Rose, let me remind you once again of when you begged me to let you join Beacon, and how I told you you'd have to manage school and work and every little thing that is so important to girls your age, and how you'd have no time to care for all of that," Glynda said. "You made your own bed, agent."

"Okay, I get it, but…" Ruby looked at the Commander with puppy eyes. "Can't you at least call the headmaster or something? Pretty please? I'll work twice as hard, and I'll never cut off comms again!"

"That's a shameless lie, Ruby Rose. You and I both know it."

"Hey!" Ruby pouted. "It's agent Rose to you, Commander."

Glynda huffed loudly, then muttered something about doing Ruby a favor, once. Ruby squealed and hugged her again, much to the Commander's chagrin. Witnessing such a wholesome scene wasn't enough to make Blake forget about Adam, but it did make her feel better – though she was sure that feeling wouldn't last.

"Now, where are agents Nikos and Arc?" Glynda asked. "I was under the impression you all had come on the Beaconship. Unless the Director left them behind to watch over Vale?"

"No, they're inside right now. Jaune was feeling a little airsick. Pyrrha's keeping him company in the infirmary," Ruby said. "Commander! Did you bring the rest of the team? Please me tell yes! Please!"

"Please do," Blake muttered. "She hasn't stopped talking about it since we met."

Glynda opened her mouth, but a sharp voice overtook her own.

"You have a flying base? Why do you have a flying base?!"

A white-haired girl wearing a business dress was coming down the ramp of the plane, walking towards them as if everything around her offended the very essence of her being. Blake paused at the sight, recognizing the girl from somewhere, but she couldn't quite make a connection…

"This, agent Rose, is one of your prized teammates," Glynda said with a hint of apprehension. "Weiss Schnee. Ruby, please, control yourse-"

"WEISS SCHNEE?!"

Blake jumped away from Ruby in fright, and when she looked again, Ruby was jumping at the new arrival. Weiss screamed and raised her arms before herself, the only thing she could do in time to keep both of them from tumbling to the floor.

"What the hell!" Weiss looked down at Ruby, swatting at her face, but the redhead was unmovable. "Unhand me right this instant!"

A white glyph appeared between them, prying Ruby off Weiss before pushing her far away. Ruby landed back on the floor, looking bewildered for a second or two, before returning to staring obsessively at Weiss.

"Goodwitch," Weiss said, suddenly going very quiet. "You had better explain this situation immediately, or I am stealing your plane and going back home."

"I'm… very sorry. This is agent Ruby Rose. She's also part of the initiative. One of our first recruits, actually," Glynda looked at Ruby sternly. "As she's made very clear, agent Rose already knows who you are. Ruby, please, have some decency and apologize to your teammate."

Ruby blinked, as if awakening from a trance, and suddenly shot up straight, her face becoming as red as her cape.

"I-I'm so sorry! I was just so excited about meeting my new teammates, and then it was you and you were right there and…" Ruby looked down, seemingly unable to meet anyone's eyes at the moment. "I'm kind of your biggest fan…"

That, apparently, was the last thing Weiss expected to her, as she frowned and shook her head vehemently. "Excuse me? Did I hear you right? My biggest… fan…?"

"T-that's right," Ruby bit a finger nervously. "Y-your music is, like, the bestest ever…"

"My music?" Weiss repeated. "Well… thank you, I suppose. That's… not really the thing I'm famous for these days, but…"

"It's a tragedy you never released a second album!" Ruby shrieked all of a sudden. "An international freaking tragedy!"

Blake wasn't sure who was more terrified at that moment, Glynda, Weiss, or herself. The four of them were silent for a moment, before Ruby finally mumbled something unintelligible and retreated into the confines of her cape.

"Okay. That was… a surprise," Weiss turned to Blake. "I assume you are also part of this initiative?"

Now that Ruby's moment was over, Blake was suddenly aware of the reality of the situation and who was right in front of her. Weiss Schnee. The heiress to the family that had probably caused the faunus the most suffering for the past half century. And she was talking directly to her.

"Hello?" Weiss frowned. "You look a little pale. Are you okay?"

"I think she's still recovering from agent Rose's outburst," Glynda laughed lightly. "Right, Blake?"

Blake shook herself out of her stupor and forced a little smile onto her lips. "Right. That was very unexpected," she said. "I'm Blake Belladonna. I'm not with Beacon, but yes, I'm part of the team."

"Ah, I see. You must have been roped into this just like me. We should stick together," Weiss offered a hand. "I take it you've heard about me?"

Blake stared at the outstretched hand for a moment, then took it and gave it a firm shake. "You're correct. I've heard a lot about you, Miss Schnee."

"Of course you have," Weiss let go of Blake's hand. If she had noticed anything weird, she wasn't letting it show. "Anyway, where's the buffoon? Don't tell me she's still napping."

As if summoned, the muffled noise of a motor came from inside the plane, and a few moments later a helmeted girl in a motorcycle came riding down the ramp. She moved towards the group, picking up speed, only to turn sharply and stop right before she would have collided against Weiss.

"Excuse me, princess, but some of us need a healthy dose of sleep to keep our beautiful looks," she removed her helmet, revealing long blonde locks and a pair of violet eyes. "I guess you wouldn't understand. You must have other people to figure that out for you."

"Maybe I do!" Weiss scowled at her. "Or maybe I just don't need any special effort to look good."

"I highly doubt that," the rider turned towards Blake and winked. "But I can tell she is a natural," she got off the motorcycle and put down her helmet on the empty seat. "How did a fine girl like you end up on a dump like this?"

Blake was a little surprised when she felt herself smile, but she did not fight it. It was a little sad that, out of all the introductions she'd had these last couple days, this was easily one of the most normal.

"I walked," she said. "I'm Blake."

"Pleasure to meet you, Blake. I'm Yang," the blonde patted her on the shoulder, which was a little weird, but Blake didn't object. "Just so you know, I'm not usually this catty. It's just that princess Schnee seems to find a lot of pleasure in getting on my nerves. I'm just paying her back."

"I get on your nerves?" Weiss scoffed. "Blake, I assure you, it's the other way around. Yang Xiao Long is a constant pain."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, princess."

"Would you stop calling me-"

"Y-Yang?"

Ruby's voice was so quiet, Blake wondered if anybody else had heard it. The answer quickly became clear, as Weiss stopped talking, Glynda took a step away from the group, and Yang's attention went to the redhead currently grasping tightly at the edges of her cape, her chin trembling ever so slightly.

Yang smiled, and it wasn't like the playful smile she'd given Blake, or the contentious one she'd aimed at Weiss. It was like the sun had come down and housed itself inside her, and now its warmth was being channeled from her into Ruby. All Blake could do was wonder how someone could show someone else so much love so effortlessly – and if she would ever be so lucky to be at the receiving end of a smile like that.

"Hey, sis."

Ruby jumped into Yang's arms and the two embraced, the former turning into a blubbering mess of half-words and tears. Blake smiled and looked at Weiss, and was surprised to find the heiress with an admiring, yet also somewhat bitter expression on her face. It was such a relatable look…

What was Blake doing here? How had she gotten involved with such a strange bunch of people?

"I hate to break you up," Glynda stepped back up to the group, laying a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "But now that everyone is here, it's time to get together and work on the trouble at hand. The Director is calling for a meeting in the Command Room."

"O-okay," Ruby parted from Yang, wiping a tear from her eye. "We can talk later. Right now…" she showed everyone a tenacious smile. "It's time to get to work."

"You're sure you are well enough for this?" Pyrrha stopped next to the doorway and looked back at Jaune, her eyes narrowing a bit in worry. "You can stay back and rest. I'll get back to you and fill you in as soon as the meeting's over."

"Pyrrha, please. I'm already miserable enough without-" Jaune covered his mouth for a moment, then nodded to himself and started again. "-without you treating me like an invalid. Not that I don't appreciate your support, just the contrary, but…"

"Sure. Confidence, Jaune. Confidence!" she tapped him the back, and he had to cover his mouth again as his cheeks turned green. Pyrrha withdrew her hand and smiled shakily at him. "Sorry…"

"It happens," Jaune said dejectedly. "Let's just go. Everyone must be waiting for us," he grimaced. "Including our new teammates which I am sure to impress with my majestic appearance."

"That's the spirit!" Pyrrha gave him a thumbs-up, then walked into the Command Room. Jaune took a moment to stare at the back of her head in honest confusion – sometimes he couldn't tell whether Pyrrha really believed in him that much or was just trying to preserve his fragile ego.

Much like the rest of the Beaconship, the Command Room looked like it had been pulled straight out of a blockbuster movie. Dozens of agents were hard at work on panels that ran along its circular walls, windows all around displayed the view of the sky above the clouds, and in the very center of the room was a round digital table. Standing with his back to the table was Director Ozpin, with Commander Goodwitch at his side, and sat around it were Ruby, Blake, a blond girl Jaune didn't recognize, and-

"Weiss?" he stopped short of sitting down, one hand on his chair and another on top of his head.

"Jaune?" Weiss' response was just as loud, though she did sound a little offended too. He didn't really hold it against her. "You're here?"

"Uh, yeah," Jaune swallowed dry. "I'm… part of the team."

He looked around, waiting for anyone to object to that, or to at last reveal how they had been playing an unnecessarily long prank on him. But no one did – in fact, he could swear the Director looked back at him and smiled, but when Jaune looked his way, Ozpin was facing away again, drinking his coffee nonchalantly.

"Yeah, so…" Jaune sat down. "Hi, Weiss. And team. Hi, team."

"You two know each other?" Pyrrha sat down beside him, her eyes alternating from him to Weiss. "I didn't know that."

"Sure, you did. Didn't I tell you about the time I met Weiss?" Jaune smiled smugly. "It's a great story!"

"Yes, but you didn't make it sound like you knew each other so personally," Pyrrha said. "…Not that I mind, of course!"

"Oh, there is nothing personal about our relationship," Weiss remarked, staring daggers at Jaune. "But I am truly surprised you haven't been bragging about our encounter. Congratulations, you get a cookie."

"Oooh, can I get a cookie too?" Ruby asked, perking up in her chair.

"Ruby, she doesn't have cookies," the blond girl said. "I bet she doesn't even know how to bake cookies."

Weiss scoffed. "Why would I bake cookies if I can just buy them from a store?"

The other girl gestured at Weiss, as if to point out how right she was. Weiss made a show of rolling her eyes and turning away.

"Okay, that feud is not gonna get old any time soon…" Ruby sighed. "Pyrrha, Jaune, this is my sister Yang. She's won, like, a bajillion kickboxing tournaments, she's awesome at making superhero costumes, and she has the hottest Semblance ever," she blinked, "Wait that came out wrong."

"I take punches and I punch right back," Yang smirked. "And I do look pretty hot while doing it, thank you, Ruby."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Ruby glared at her. "This is Pyrrha and Jaune. Pyrrha is the Beacon agent. Legend says, she once took down a pair of Goliaths, all by herself, when she was only thirteen!"

"It was only one Goliath, and I was sixteen. People like to exaggerate," Pyrrha said. "It's nice to meet you, Yang. I didn't realize Ruby had a sister."

"We're half-sisters, technically, not that it matters," Yang said. "What about you, Jaune? What's your deal?"

"I… uh…" Jaune gulped. "I… also took down some Grimm one time. Very big Grimm. They had fangs and claws and everything. I would tell you their species, but they were unclassified! And, uh, we couldn't study them… because I killed them! All by myself. Yeah. That was one wild afternoon, I'll tell you!"

For a good while, everybody just stared at him, saying nothing. Jaune caught even Pyrrha giving him a judgmental look. He let out a nervous laugh, then gestured at the Director enthusiastically.

"Anyway! Aren't we here for a super important team meeting? Let's get to it, then!"

"Indeed. Let's get to it," Director Ozpin turned around and put his coffee mug on the table. "First off, let me express how thankful I am that every one of you have answered our call for help. Some of you have no reason to be standing with us today, other than for the greater good of our world – and while that might sound like the easiest reason of all, when your safety and your future are on the line, it is never that simple. Regardless of what comes to pass, from this moment on, you truly are heroes."

He took a moment to look at each member of the team and nod. From the corner of his eye, Jaune noticed Ruby positively shaking in her seat, a radiant smile stretching her lips.

The Director's gaze left Pyrrha, then he took a step back and turned to Commander Goodwitch.

"Now, it's in everyone's best interests that we are all on the same page about what we're dealing with," she tapped the table, and images of the plane crash Jaune and Pyrrha had survived popped up as a holograph. "Three days ago, agents Nikos and Arc were relocating Roman Torchwick from Vale HQ to an Atlas facility, per Councilmember James Ironwood's demand."

"The relocation was not completed. As they approached the midway point in their flight over the Vale-Atlas ocean, their jet was assaulted by Mercury Black, son of the infamous assassin Marcus Black, now deceased," a profile of Mercury came up. "The assault was aided by the simultaneous attack of a Nevermore Grimm. We firmly believe Black had some, if not total control of this Grimm. Black rescued Torchwick and they made their escape, going off the grid until today."

"Excuse me, Commander, but regarding Mercury Black…" Pyrrha spoke up. "What sort of combatant is he? I was defeated by him that night, and while part of it was because I was caught off guard by the Nevermore and… well, the sheer reality of the situation, I also felt like he wasn't just a regular thug or assassin."

"You aren't wrong to feel that way, agent Nikos," Ozpin said. "Marcus Black was a foe to be feared. He made a business of taking only the highest marks his insidious clients had to offer, and he the job perfected to an art. I'm ashamed to say Beacon never managed to catch him, though many good agents lost their lives trying."

Goodwitch nodded. "Nearing the end of his life, Marcus began to show signs of having an Aura. It was much weaker than those present in Semblance individuals – for he certainly had none – but it was enough of a factor to put him a level above the few rivals he had at the time," she paused. "We did not have a chance to study that phenomena, as Marcus was eventually found dead in one of his hiding spots – or the ashes that remained of it."

"So this Mercury guy has an Aura, but no Semblance?" Ruby asked. "You told me that was impossible, Commander Goodwitch."

"The world is full of surprises, agent Rose," Goodwitch said. "If I told you, two years ago, that one day you would be able to run faster than a speeding car, would you have believed me?"

"If I exercised a lot and tried really hard…"

The Commander shook her head at her, then tapped the table, substituting the holograms with images of a military complex and the symbol of the White Fang.

"While agents Nikos and Arc dealt with that problem, agent Rose was having an adventure of her own. She was assigned to track a Grimm along the eastern coast of Vacuo, and her search eventually led her to this Vacuan base – which had been taken over by a White Fang terrorist cell some four days before."

"They were really creepy, by the way," Ruby interrupted energetically. "They all wore those red and white masks that covered their whole faces – how do they see with those? – and they had sooo many guns, and while I like guns, there's a point in everyone's life where they have to take a step back and realize maybe they don't need that many-"

"Moving on," the Commander cut her off. "Agent Rose tracked the Grimm to a chamber underneath the complex, upon which she met Miss Belladonna, who was there for her own reasons. There, they hid and witnessed an alliance between Adam Taurus…"

She tapped the table, bringing up a live feed of the terrorist, locked up in a transparent cell somewhere in the Beaconship.

"…and Cinder Fall, our main person of interest," she continued. "What did she have to say, agent Rose?"

"Something about a new world order. The strong ruling the weak, that stupid kind of stuff," Ruby said, frowning. "She sounded like she really meant it, too."

"And Adam went along with it, of course," Blake added bitterly.

"She did kind of threaten his life, though. It's not like he was all excited about it," Ruby pointed out reluctantly.

"Don't let that fool you. Adam is good at deceiving people like that. He might seem like he's only going along with Cinder to save his own skin, but trust me, as soon as he sees an opportunity to stab her in the back and take over…"

Blake fell silent, crossing her arms and hanging back in her chair. Jaune saw Weiss turn towards her, and he immediately recognized that tempestuous expression on her face that meant nothing good was about to come out of her mouth. Fortunately, Commander Goodwitch spoke before that catastrophe went down.

"Though Rose and Belladonna tried to stop them, Cinder Fall and Adam Taurus made their escape, but not before giving a warning regarding Vale – which we now know was a ruse to distract us from this afternoon's happening," the Commander paused. "I think we are all aware of what happened today?"

"Oh yeah," Ruby said. "Weiss was super badass."

"Thank you?" Weiss looked at her unsurely. "…Wait, how do you know that? You were surprised when I arrived here, and there was no time for you to watch footage of the incident between now and then!"

"Ruby's hoping if she sucks up to you enough, you'll sign the poster on the back of her bedroom door," Yang said.

"Y-Yang!" Ruby punched her in the shoulder. "Weiss, I promise you that is not true!"

"You have a poster of me? In your bedroom?" Weiss edged away slowly.

"Yeah, and you get a pretty good view of it when you lie on her bed," Yang noted.

"Yang!" Ruby punched her again. "I don't know why I ever thought you being part of the team was a good idea."

"I don't mean to offend, but I think our time would be better spent listening to the Commander," Pyrrha said, smiling apologetically. "Commander?"

Goodwitch looked at the Director for a moment, as if questioning whether she truly needed to go on with this, before shaking her head and continuing with her report.

"Today's attack on the SDC was the evidence we needed to confirm that Torchwick's escape and Taurus' recruitment were not unrelated. Rather, they are working together – for Cinder Fall," she said. "We believe the attack was not personal. It seems that their target was the Dust Core. For some reason, Fall has taken an interest in it. Miss Schnee, can you imagine why that is?"

"You're asking me what use a madwoman in league with the Grimm and the White Fang could have for an energy source that is infinitely renewable, extremely volatile, and which limits have yet to be discovered?" Weiss raised her hands helplessly. "Her old living room heater isn't cutting it anymore, most likely."

"That's about the answer I expected," Goodwitch nodded. "We don't know what Fall wants. Frankly, we don't even fully believe she really wanted the Core. If she did, she certainly didn't put enough effort into taking it. The attack might very well have been another misdirection, and we played straight into her hand."

"So you're saying we've captured three of her people, yet we've gotten nowhere? In fact, we might be in an even worse position than before?" Weiss asked incredulously. "Remind me how the World Council still trusts you to do your job?"

"I understand the sentiment, Miss Schnne, but the world…" the Director looked around for a moment, then shrugged. "The world is still spinning, after all these years, and quite well at that."

"Frankly, just because Vale hasn't sunk into the ocean and Vacuo hasn't collapsed into complete anarchy, doesn't mean you're doing a good job," Weiss said icily.

The Director grabbed his mug and took a long sip, not making eye contact with anyone. Jaune watched in silence as his teammates shifted uneasily in their seats – even Ruby didn't seem as excited as before. The only one seemingly unaffected by the brief argument was Pyrrha, who looked as dutiful as ever.

"What is our move then, sir?" she asked.

"We will be conducting interrogations with the individuals we captured in Atlas. It is unlikely they will give us anything useful, but you never know," Ozpin said. "Meanwhile, we will be monitoring the sky, the land, and the ocean for any signs of Cinder Fall. If she is found – that is when you six come in. And if she seeks to retrieve her partners or the Core by attacking the Beaconship, she will be met with stark resistance. Keep your weapons and each other close – always be ready."

"You're dismissed," Commander Goodwitch said, minimizing the digital table's display. Director Ozpin turned away, fully channeling his attention into his mug.

Everyone got up, Weiss being the first to do so – with an unreserved noise of contempt. She wasn't the only one unsatisfied with the meeting. Yang was similarly agitated, and there was suspicion written all over Blake's face. Jaune himself didn't know what to make of what was happening.

"Sir, if I may ask a question," Ruby said, drawing everyone's attention as they made to leave. "It's about Cinder Fall."

The Director emptied his mug, then turned to face her. "What about her, Miss Rose?"

"Well…" Ruby bit her lip. "What's the big deal about her? You and the Commander make her sound like she's the worst person ever. And yeah, she beat me up bad and I don't like any of what she said back in Vacuo, but… I don't know. It's all very… confusing, I guess," she looked down for a moment before returning her gaze to the Director. "She told me to ask you about her."

"Did she now?" Ozpin hummed under his breath. "To be honest, Miss Rose, I didn't tell you and your team much about her because, well, there is little to be told. Cinder Fall is a master of many things, chiefly murder and deceit. She is a villain through and through, and that's it," he paused. "Don't let her get into your head. The most important thing right now is stopping her before she hurts anyone."

"Okay," Ruby said, her old smile making a triumphant return. "I can agree with that. Right, guys?"

She looked back, only to receive mixed reactions from the rest of the team. Weiss stormed out of the Command Room, followed a moment later more quietly by Blake. Yang gave her a half-hearted thumbs-up.

"Yay for team-ups," Jaune clapped sadly.

On the second lowest floor of the Beaconship, deep within where the rumbling of the propulsion jets could be felt at all times, were cells designed to keep any and all possible threats known to Beacon in permanent confinement. Each cell was kept isolated in a room, and though they were built of a material that could easily have been mistaken for glass, they were even tougher than the steel that would usually be found in max-security prisons on the surface.

It was almost an honor to be kept in one of those. It really spoke of how dangerous one was when Beacon went to such lengths to keep them in check. Except Torchwick was very much aware that, in his case, such a cage was a gross exaggeration, and since this was his third time being held by Beacon…

He really wanted to get out. He knew he would, soon enough, but he could hardly wait for even a couple more hours – and he had a feeling he would be stuck there for considerably longer.

That was why he was so pleasantly surprised when, for no longer than a few seconds, Emerald Sustrai appeared leaning against a wall of his room, as if she had always been there. She looked like she had run a ten-kilometer marathon, and when she turned her head to look at him and put a finger over her lips, she almost collapsed. And then she was gone again, never noticed by the agents standing guard outside or the one watching through a security camera at the corner of the room.

Torchwick laid back against the wall of his cell, lowering his hat over his eyes.

Soon.

Is that a Blizzard soon, or just a regular soon? Because if it's a Blizzard soon... ooof... hang in there, Roman. Keep your hope, you're gonna get through this.

It's funny, this chapter feels so long, but it's actually pretty much the average size for these stories. Maybe it's because there were only four scenes, with the fourth being much smaller. The second scene in particular, with RWBY meeting and all that, ran on unusually long for my standards. I don't think that's a bad thing - there was a lot of fluff in there, but hey, it's the team-up story, we gotta have the characters interacting a lot, especially since it's the first time they meet.

A note about Ruby being Weiss' #1 fangirl: I realize that's a little opposite to canon, where Ruby has no idea who Weiss is, but... I don't know, I think it's funner sometimes to stray a bit from the beaten path, and it's not like the two became instant best friends here. Instead of being very, very annoyed by Ruby, Weiss is very, very creeped out by her instead! Fun! Also, I had Ruby listening to Mirror Mirror in The Red Huntress, so I kinda dug myself into a hole about her knowing Weiss. Oops! But a fun oops in the end!

I had more originally planned for this chapter, which I'm gonna instead move to Chapter Five. We might get nine chapters (without postcredits) instead of the usual eight because of that. Maybe. I'll see how things work out and hopefully give you a straight answer.

(oh and happy New Year everybody for real this time love ya'll MWAH!)

-Zeroan