Chapter 7 – Newcomer

The weekend had arrived, and Bane had no idea what to do. His past week had been filled with classes since he got to Beacon, and before that he had been learning about Vale as well as more of the world. Now, he had no idea what to do for the weekend. Unfortunately, that was all the opportunity Evelynn needed.

"You need more clothes. You came with, what, two sets of clothes? That's ridiculous! You would have to wash clothes every day!"

"Really, I don't mind that much."

"That's fine, we're still getting you more clothes!"

"I don't even have any money to buy clothes!"

"That's why I'm buying them!"

"Where did you get money?"

Evelynn opened and closed her mouth a few times before turning to Nathan. "Where did we get that money again?"

Nathan didn't even look up from his laptop. "Those mercenaries in the forest. After we killed them, we took their weapons and sold them. Quite nice ones too, but they couldn't use them to save their life, obviously." He shook his head. "You'd think mercenaries would learn to stay away from Beacon."

Evelynn shrugged. "Well at least it's a good source of spending money."

Bane shook his head, amazed at how easily people killed each other. It seemed to be a daily occurrence. Evelynn didn't even flinch, but simply continued "Yeah, that's where it came from." She turned back to him. "So, let's go get you some clothes."

Bane hung his head, defeated. He looked up quickly "Nathan, you coming too?"

He just laughed. "Nope, you're on your own."

Bane and Evelynn walked out of the room to find Pyrrha and Jaune in the hall as well. They weren't really getting along, and they soon found out why.

"Jaune, Ren is our teammate. If it's his birthday, we should be getting him something. It's only right."

"But I have no idea what to get him!"

"That's why we look around. Watch for some inspiration."

Jaune sighed before looking up as Bane spoke up. "We're actually on our way into town too. Want to join us?"

Jaune shrugged. "Might as well. If I'm going to suffer, I might as well do it with someone else" This comment earned him a friendly punch from Pyrrha, although it almost knocked him over.

"So you have been working on your stance. I was wondering"

The praise from Pyrrha greatly improved Jaune's mood. He was suddenly looking forward to finding a gift for Ren, and just spending the day with Pyrrha.

They walked out of the school and opted for the bullhead to take them down to Vale, rather than the long climb down the mountain. They were dropped off at the foot of the mountain in a large clear area, and continued on to the clothes store first. Jaune and Pyrrha stood in front of Bane as Evelynn went through dozens of shirts and pants, holding them up to Bane before tossing them towards Jaune, who caught them most of the time, or hung them back up. Bane barely even got a chance to see what was being chosen before they were paid for, but he was pretty sure three of the shirts were identical. As they walked out of the store, Evelynn handed him the bags, finally giving him a chance to see what he was going to be wearing.

Jaune and Pyrrha were walking ahead of Bane and Evelynn, still discussing where to try buying Ren a gift. Evelynn was still walking near Bane, watching his reactions as he sifted through the new clothes, laughing several times as he pulled out shirts with Grimm dancing on the front. He was right, there were several identical shirts. He was about to ask about returning some of the shirts when a purple sphere appeared in front of him. He looked up to see a human form flying towards him, thrown from the sphere. Not being able to drop the bags in time, he lifted his hands to try to catch the person, but was knocked back several feet, landing on his back with a bag landing on his face, having lost his grip. The other person landed on top of him, knocking some of the wind out of him.

Bane groaned "These purple spheres must just have a thing for me."

"Wait, you've seen these before?" a girl asked. Bane noticed it wasn't Evelynn. The bag was pulled off of his face, and the voice spoke again "Where was it? Did someone fly out of it? Wait." The person that came out of the sphere was the one speaking to him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, surprising him with her strength. As soon as he was standing properly, she grabbed his shoulders and looked him over. He noticed she had purple hair, and was wearing a black hoodie with purple fabric inside, and being shown at the cuffs. She was wearing shorts, black with purple stripes going down each side, with high-top boots to match.

"It is you! Bane!" she pulled him in for a hug, which he didn't return, more from confusion than anything else. She backed off, looking at him in equal confusion.

"Uh, Bane? Do you know her?" Evelynn asked. She was standing where she had stopped when the sphere had appeared, momentarily stunned at the time, although she had the mind to pull out her daggers.

Bane looked over the newcomer again, then shook his head, turning back to Evelynn. "Not that I can remember." He turned back to the newcomer who looked slightly dejected. "Don't take offense to that, I can't remember anything past a week ago right now."

Her jaw almost dropped, but she snapped it back into place by speaking instead. "I told them it wasn't safe for anyone but me. Now look what happened." She sighed, then said "I don't expect you to believe this, but I'm your sister."

Bane simply raised his eyebrows, while Evelynn's jaw dropped. "YOU HAVE A SIS- oh wait. Right. You wouldn't have known that."

Bane shook his head, then looked back at his apparent sister. "So, what's your name?"

"Ashley."

"If you're my sister, why do you have such a normal name?" Bane replied.

"Well, Bane is really just a nickname, although no one used your real name back home anyway. It was Eric, if you want to know."

"I think I'll stick with Bane. Causes too much confusion if I change now."

She nodded, then finally noticed her surroundings. "Where are we?"

"The city of Vale. You actually just scattered the clothes Evelynn bought for me."

She turned and looked around, noticing the various bags laying around her now. "Oh. That's why I had such a soft landing."

"Actually, that was my stomach, but whatever works."

They cleaned up the mess, Ashley introducing herself to Evelynn as well. They continued walking, although much faster to try to catch up to Jaune and Pyrrha, who had not noticed the incident behind them. They reached the pair, who turned at the sound of footsteps. Jaune raised his eyebrows, then asked "So Bane, who is this fine young lady you've dragged along with you?"

Bane hid his smile, and replied "Ashley, this is Jaune…" they shook hands. "…and this is Pyrrha." They shook hands, looking each other over at the same time, then smiling. "Jaune and Pyrrha, this is Ashley, my sister." Both of their jaws dropped, then Pyrrha looked between the two, comparing them, while Jaune tried to get his mouth to function well enough to ask where she had come from.

"I believe it." Pyrrha commented.

"Good. Cause I only learned this about two minutes ago, so it's nice for someone to confirm it." Pyrrha laughed slightly at that, and Bane noticed Jaune glare at him slightly. Bane grinned inwardly, realizing what that look meant.


"Sir! We've detected a pulse with a similar frequency to the one we tracked to Joe's bar!"

"Excellent. Are we able to more fully analyze this one?"

"Yes sir. It appeared in the middle of a street in Vale, and so there is no distortion. Our experts have made incredible progress already."

"And what have they learned?"

"The frequency is not actually constant. It is constantly oscillating, changing its frequency every nanosecond. They have found the maximum and minimum frequencies, but the pattern is… difficult to decipher. It may not even be possible to duplicate it."

Roman frowned, deep in thought. "Did another person come out of this sphere?"

"Yes, a woman this time. She… met up with Bane immediately after exiting the sphere."

"Does she have any skill in combat?"

"She hasn't fought yet."

Roman grinned. "We'll just have to change that then, won't we? Any suggestions?"

The assistant paused, then said "The best plan would be to drop off some of our men, rather than Grimm or trying mercenaries again. If we can surround them, we can guarantee she will be involved if she has any combat abilities."

"Excellent decision. Choose how many you will send, and see that it is carried out."

"Yes sir" the assistant grinned as she walked away.


The five students had completed their shopping, and were just returning to Beacon. Bane was trying to get more acquainted with Ashley, which Evelynn helped with greatly. While Bane tried to think of something he would like to know, she would have a list of things to ask, many of which helped Bane as well. Others… not so much. The two girls were discussing the different flowers on their planets, which was one thing Bane had no knowledge or interest in. He began thinking of improvements he could make for his weapon when his thoughts were interrupted by gunshots and a loud scream from up ahead. Pulling his shield off his back, he ran forward, leaving his sword in it's scabbard for now. They came out into the clearing just before the climb back to Beacon, and found chaos. People were running from a bullhead that had just touched down, spilling out black-suited men with red sunglasses and ties, some firing guns at the escaping civilians, others forming up outside the bullhead with swords.

Bane dashed in, pulling his sword out and cutting though one of the soldiers{A/N} with the backswing. He glanced up to find more soldiers running in from the streets coming off the clearing, effectively surrounding the original soldiers. A trap? They'll have to do better than that to catch four students from Beacon… and my sister. He blocked a sword coming towards him and bashed him in the head, knocking him out. He saw Pyrrha standing back-to-back with Jaune, her firing her rifle at the incoming soldiers, him cutting down the nearer soldiers. Bane whirled around, cutting through another soldier, then blocked bullets from another. He saw Evelynn stabbing a soldier in the back, then disappearing, only to reappear with a dagger in another soldier's throat. Bane dashed at the soldier that was firing at him, cutting him down instantly. A sword stopped an inch from his leg, blocked by a short sword. He looked up to see Ashley holding the sword, a similar sword in the other hand. She cut through the soldier's neck, then turned to find another victim. "Thanks" Bane yelled after her before continuing to take out the soldiers throughout the clearing.

A dagger flew past his head, the handle heading straight for Evelynn, who caught it perfectly. She pulled her other hand back, and the other dagger came back to her as well. Strings on her daggers? Cool. The soldiers were nearly gone, the few remaining running away, only to be shot down by Pyrrha. She shot the last one in the knee, and he cried out in pain before falling on his face on the pavement, knocking himself out.

"For the authorities?" Bane asked.

Pyrrha shrugged. "Or Ozpin. He's more likely to follow up on it."

Bane nodded, then walked forward and slung the man over his shoulders. "Let's get going then. Not much we can do for the bodies."

"What bodies?" Ashley asked.

Bane looked around, his eyes widening as he noticed there were almost no bodies lying around anymore. "Where did they go?"

It was Jaune's turn to shrug this time. "We don't really know. Dead people disintegrate almost instantly. It makes for easy funeral services, but that's the only real benefit."

Bane looked around again. "And where's our bullhead?"

Pyrrha checked the town clock. "It left about five minutes ago. I guess we walk now."

Bane sighed before the group began the long climb up the mountain.


"Sir, all of our men were taken out, save one it seems. The students are taking him to Beacon now."

"And the girl?"

"She has combat experience. She appears to be very good, but she only uses a couple of short swords, which indicates recklessness."

"And you don't think the same of Evelynn?"

"She's different. Her semblance keeps her from getting hurt in such instances, as she tries to remain invisible through the entire fight. The last fight we observed her participating in before this one, she was able to remain invisible through a fight that lasted nearly an hour. Apparently it doesn't take much aura to fuel her semblance."

Roman sighed, then asked "Any progress on that energy signature?"

"None sir. After analyzing each individual frequency in context with the others, we have not yet discovered any patterns."

"So you cannot duplicate it?"

"No, sir. Unless a major breakthrough is made, we will need the source of these signatures to duplicate them."

"Any idea what the source is?"

The advisor shook her head. "No sir."


Bane flopped the soldier into a chair just outside Ozpin's office, then knocked on his door. "Enter" Ozpin called through the door, and Bane picked up the man again as Evelynn opened the door. The five walked into the room, and Bane settled the soldier back into another chair and stood beside it. The man started waking up, so Bane pulled out his sword and put it under the man's chin. "And who would this be?" Ozpin asked.

"One of the soldiers that attacked Vale" Pyrrha answered. "We brought him here to find out what his purpose was."

Ozpin raised his eyebrows. "I won't bother asking why you didn't take him to the police." He turned to the soldier, who now realized who was sitting in front of him. "Do you know who I am?"

"P-P-Professor Ozpin." The man would have fainted again, but the sword at his throat prevented it.

"Headmaster actually. And so you realize that it would be… beneficial for you to answer me properly, correct?"

"Yes sir." The soldier answered, swallowing nervously.

"Good. Now, what was the reason for you to attack Vale? Attacking in such force as I've already seen on the news is clearly too much for a simple raid."

"We were sent… to test the girl."

"The girl?"

"That would be me, Headmaster." Ashley stepped forward. "I arrived today in a similar manner to Bane, except without the days to prepare a new weapon. Although, that should be unnecessary."

Ozpin nodded. "I've seen you fight. I assume you wish to join Beacon as well?"

"Yes."

"An easy choice, I see. You will join your brother's team. You seem to get along with most of them already."

"Thank you sir."

"Now, back to you, soldier." The man stopped relaxing. "Who sent you to test her?"

"I cannot tell you that." The man stated, his voice shaking.

"I think you will tell me anyway. Because you know that if you don't tell me, there are many different ways that I can cause you pain. And not one would be illegal, seeing as how you attacked several of my students."

The soldier swallowed again, then answered "And if I tell you, Roman would do many more things. Many of them illegal."

"So you're working for Roman Torchwick?"

The soldier's eyes widened, realizing his mistake. Then he roared, charging at Ozpin, but Bane dropped his sword and grabbed the man by the throat, stopping him in midair. He tossed the soldier back into the chair, where he immediately stood back up to charge again. Bane pushed him back into the chair, holding him there this time.

"Why did Roman want to test her?"

"We don't know. We were sent to test her same as this guy was tested by those girls." The soldier jerked his chin at Bane with this statement.

"The twins?" Bane asked.

"Yeah, those two."

"And can you give me their names?" Ozpin asked

"No. They scare me almost as much as Torchwick."

Bane thought back to that fight for a moment. "Do the names Melanie and Militia help?"

The soldier's eyes widened as Ozpin replied "Yes, it does. That would be the Malachite twins. Melanie and Miltiades Malachite. I'm surprised you were able to overpower them."

Bane shrugged. "I surprised them at one point. Surprised myself then too."

"Excellent. Well, sir, I don't believe your services are needed any longer. Would you like us to send you back to Roman?" Ozpin smiled with this comment, expecting the answer.

The man didn't disappoint, screaming "NO" and shoving Bane off of him and running for the door. He stopped in his tracks, then slowly lifted off the ground, slumping over from his waist. Beside him, Ashley stood with a sword embedded in his stomach and was lifting him off the ground with one arm.

"Yes, I think you shall do brilliantly at this school" Ozpin quipped.

{A/N} I'm just calling these guys soldiers so that every time I speak about one of them, I don't have to say "One of them dudes with the cool sunglasses, the suit, and a tie." See how annoying that would get? And to anyone who noticed, sorry for spelling Miltia's name with an extra i. Reviews, comments, questions, favorites, follows, etc. are always appreciated.