Chapter 7 – Surprising developments

Completely exhausted I jumped on my bed, face buried in my pillow, not planning to go anywhere anymore today. It was Friday afternoon, just after our last lessons. We always had combat training as our last class on Friday, which was awful. We already were tired of a whole week of school, and our last lesson required us to move more than we wanted to. In my case, I didn't want to move at all.

"Come on! Why are you lying on bed doing nothing?! You know that we are going out, don't you?"

I slowly lifted my face up from the pillow, my ears hurting from Weiss' yelling. Oh yeah right, the docks. Weiss wanted to 'welcome' the students who were coming in from Vacuo for the Vytal Festival Tournament. In reality, she just wanted to spy on them so that she would have the upper hand in the tournament.

"Weiss, I am really tired, can't I just skip this one? I will accompany you anywhere you want next time, but can you just let me be for now?" I tried to sound as pleading as possible and showed my best puppy eyes. It didn't work, of course. It never worked on Weiss, graduated Ice Queen with no heart.

"No! We all agreed to this, so you can't back out of it last minute!" I couldn't remember when exactly I had agreed to this. Probably when I was incredibly tired, just as now, and I didn't really know what I was saying yes to. Stupid past me, always making bad decisions.

I dragged myself out of my bed, as slowly as physically possible just to annoy Weiss. She glared daggers at me, but I didn't care. "Okay, I am ready. Let's go."


"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Yeah, just as wonderful as you dragging me with you just because you wanted to spy on people Weiss. Weiss did seem extremely happy, what made me happy too. I loved seeing people smile and being happy.

"I don't think I have ever seen you smile so much Weiss. It is kinda weirding me out." The last part Ruby whispered, she probably didn't want to endure another famous Weiss Schnee scolding. Deep inside, everyone was at least a bit afraid of Weiss. Wow, I have to write that one down, that was a good quote.

"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organisation that goes into this event is simply breath taking." I had never seen Weiss so happy before, even if she made this whole event sound incredibly boring.

"You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." Thank you Yang.

"Quiet you."

Weiss did have a point. It was incredible to think about how many people were needed to plan this, how many hours they spent organising all this. It was even more incredible to think about how all this even started.

It all began, as most things do, with war. The First Great War of Remnant was a horrible war, in which many brave souls lost their lives while trying to protect their kingdoms, loved ones and themselves. The war eventually came to an end on a small island named Vytal. There the leaders of humanity decided to not fight each other anymore, but instead fight together against their common enemy: the creatures of Grimm. Here, they also constructed the future of modern society, establishing new laws, new academies and new traditions. One of them, the Vytal Festival, created to celebrate the peace between the four kingdoms.

Every two years a chosen kingdom would open its doors to the world, allowing citizens from all over Remnant to meet and learn from each other's cultures. The highlight of this festival was the Vytal Festival Tournament, in which warriors from all the huntsmen academies could come together and test their strength in a safe and friendly competitive environment. The purpose of all this was to motivate hunters and huntresses to never settle for mediocracy, but to always strive for the absolute best they could be, what meant to keep learning new things and improving yourself.

It is true that all of this began with war, but without it, the peace and greatness humanity now has accomplished would have never been achieved. That proves that there actually always is a good side and a bad side to something.

"Woah." Ruby suddenly stopped and stared at something. Realizing I had drifted off, I returned back to Remnant. I had no idea what my teammates were talking about just now, but they hadn't needed me in the conversation, so it couldn't have been very important.

Ruby was staring at a Dust shop that was normally open at this time, except for now. The glass of the windows laid scattered around on the ground and two police men were busy observing the building and its surroundings, almost certainly looking for clues about what happened.

"What happened here?" We had walked over to the two policemen, all of us eager to know what exactly took place here. It was Ruby who asked the question that was on all our minds.

"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle", one of the detectives answered, then walked over to his colleague.

"They left all the money again."

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" Well, I don't know mister detective, maybe criminals?

"I dunno, ya know what I mean?"

"You thinking the, uh, the White Fang?" The White Fang? Hmm, the detective might be on to something. The only criminal organisation I could think of that already had a history of stealing Dust was indeed the White Fang.

"Hmph. The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates", Weiss said. Oh no Weiss, don't say that. You might-

"What's your problem?" Whoomp, there it was. Now we got an angry Blake, thank you so much Weiss.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane", Weiss snarked at Blake.

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus", Blake replied.

"Misguided?! They want to wipe humanity off the planet!"

"So then they are very misguided! Even then, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

"Hmm, Blake has got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago. Maybe it was him", Ruby interrupted.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat and steal." Weiss began again. Ugh, didn't that girl know when to drop something?

"That's not necessarily true." Yang said.

"Hey! Stop that Faunus!", someone shouted from behind us. Fortunately, that distracted the others, so that they didn't start a cat fight or something. We ran towards the sound, just in time to see a monkey Faunus jumping off the boat that just sailed in. Most certainly he sneaked into the boat, and was now discovered by the crew. Hanging upside down he ate a banana, completely at peace, while the detectives from earlier approached him.

"Hey. Get down from there this instant." Detective 1, as I decided to call him for now, ordered.

In response he threw the banana peel in the face of the detective. I liked this guy's methods already. He then jumped on the ground again, and sprinted away, coming our way. He ran by us and – wait, did that guy just wink at Blake? Never mind. And he got away, that is what I wanted to say. Wow that rhymes, I really should become a poet.

"Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there is goes." Yang gestured towards the already disappearing Faunus.

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss sprinted away, with the rest of team RWBYE on her heels. We easily kept up with the Faunus boy and the detectives, until Weiss turned around a corner and ran into a girl. We all stopped, and watched the Faunus boy jump out of sight, leaving us and the detectives behind.

"No! He got away!", Weiss yelled out, apparently oblivious to the fact that she knocked over a girl.

"Uhm, Weiss?" Yang said, pointing at the girl Weiss knocked over, who was still on the ground with Weiss.

"Euh!" Weiss instantly backed away and re-joined our group. The girl didn't seem like she really wanted to get up, as she kept laying on the ground. Maybe they had floor heating here, you never knew in a fancy city as this one.

"Salutations!", the girl greeted, waving at us.

"Um, hello." Ruby said a bit unsure. "Are you okay?" Yang followed up.

"I am wonderful, thank you for asking." The girl still laid there on the ground, making no move to get up. We all looked at each other, confused and wondering why we always ended up in this weird situations.

"Do you wanna… get up?" Yang asked.

"Yes." The girl answered, and finally got up. "My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Yeah, it was always nice to know that I still wasn't the most mentally instable person in Remnant.

"Hi Penny, I am Ruby."

"I am Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Blake slapped Yang on her arm. "Oh, I am Yang."

"Elisa."

"It is a pleasure to meet you!" The girl, Penny I corrected myself, repeated. Seriously, what was wrong with her?

"You already said that." Weiss stated. Well, thank you Captain Obvious. Captain Obvious Ice Queen, that sounded quite nice.

"So I did!" You could say much about Penny, but she was really optimistic, not even letting a typical snarky Ice Queen comment discourage her. Respect bro, respect.

"Well, sorry for running into you." Weiss said while turning away, urging us to increase the distance between us and Penny as soon as possible. Sometimes Weiss did have good ideas, emphasis on sometimes.

"Take care, friend!" Ruby said, then followed Weiss.

We walked away as fast as we could without literally running, what is really hard, just so you know. You have to have talent for it, a lot of talent. And training. Blood, sweat and tears. Ah whatever, why am I even trying anymore.

"She was weird." Finally someone said what we were all thinking. Thank you Yang!

"Now, where did that Faunus riffraff run off to." Ah, there was the famous I-have-a-mission-and-I-will-not-rest-until-I-complete-it Weiss Schnee.

"What did you call me?" Hmm, that voice didn't sound like that from one of my teammates. I saw something red and green walking by me. Penny. Oh no.

"Oh, I am really sorry. I didn't think you heard me." Yang stammered, while Weiss was trying to figure out where Penny had come from so fast.

"No, not you." Penny passed Yang, having only one goal in mind. Ruby. "You."

"Me! I-I don't know, I – what I, uhm." I saw Ruby desperately thinking about something she could have said that put her in this position. Good luck with that Rubes, you are on your own now.

"You called me friend! Am I really your friend?" Oh no, no no no no no. This couldn't be happening. Please Ruby, just reject her as swiftly as possible. Don't say yes, don't be the friendly little goofball you always are. Apparently the rest of my team shared my thought, as they were trying to silently convince Ruby to say no. Of course she didn't get it.

"Uhm yeah, sure. Why not?" Me and the rest of team WBYE fell on the ground of shock. This was a complete nightmare. Please tell me this was a dream. Could someone pinch me and let me wake up?

"Ahaha, sensational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" Oh no, the clingy modus was already activated. Run, Ruby, run as fast as your legs can carry you! And please take me with you.

"Ooh, is this what it was like when you met me?", Ruby whispered to Weiss, who was busy brushing off any dust or sand of her clothes.

"No, she seems far more coordinated." Wow, savage Weiss strikes again. And you are just going to take that Ruby?

"So, what are you doing in Vale?", Yang interrupted, trying to stop Ruby and Weiss from starting a fight with each other, again.

"I am here to fight in the tournament!" I saw Weiss immediately looking far more interested than a few seconds ago, her spy mode activated once more.

"Wait, you are fighting in the tournament?" Weiss asked sceptically. I understood her doubts, Penny didn't really look like a fighter, and certainly not like a huntress in training.

"I am combat ready!", Penny exclaimed, while saluting to Weiss. This girl really needed someone to guide her, although I was afraid she already was a lost cause. Why was she even walking around the city, alone? Didn't she have a team, as she stated she was here to fight in the tournament?

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." This was a magical moment in my life, I finally agreed with something Weiss said. Please wait a second, I have to go lie down a moment. Oh, this was the perfect opportunity to check if the floor here did have floor heating or not.

"Says the girl wearing a dress." So, Blake was still angry at Weiss. She did have a point, I couldn't even properly walk in a dress. How could she fight in that thing?

"It's a combat skirt." Weiss replied, and Ruby immediately stood beside her. "Yeah!" They high-fived while doing a badass pose together. I kept being amazed at the chemistry of Ruby and Weiss. One moment they were bickering and couldn't stand to even see each other, the other moment they acted like best friends.

"Wait a minute. If you are here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed rapscallion?" Weiss almost commanded the girl. I felt the temperature rising even more, and looking at Blake I knew why. She was furious, almost certainly because of how Weiss called the monkey Faunus from earlier.

"The who?" Penny asked confused, sending us silent pleads for help. No thank you, I didn't want Weiss to be angry at me. She was really scary when she was angry, and I am not as brave as you might think.

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!" Suddenly, Weiss held a hand-made drawing in her right hand, while still holding Penny with the other. I don't like to criticise the work of others, but the drawing looked terrible.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Oh oh, here it comes.

"Huh?" Weiss now redirected her attention to Blake, who spoke up again.

"Stop calling him a rapscallion. Stop calling him a degenerate. He is a person!" Blake blurted.

"Oh, I am sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the trashcan as a trashcan, or this lamppost as a lamppost?" Weiss, honey, did you really want to die this much?

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time, he will probably join up with these other Faunus in the White Fang." O my God Weiss, now you were going to far. It is one thing to call the monkey Faunus bad names, but to assume he is a criminal? You can't do that, you can't judge a whole race for the actions of some.

"You ignorant little brat!" Blake growled, balling her fists in anger. Weiss actually looked a bit taken aback by Blake's comment. We all watched Blake turn around and walk away from us.

"How dare you talk to me like that? I am your teammate!"

"You are a judgemental little girl!"

"What in the world makes you say that?" Ugh Weiss, were you that stupid or did you just don't care?

Ruby, Yang and I looked in fear at each other. This was not good. Small fights happen all the time if you were together as much as we were, but this wasn't a small fight.

"Uhh, I think we should probably go."

"Yes, before they try to kill each other." I agreed with Yang.


"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" Well, maybe because you are racist, Princess.

"That is the problem!" Blake reacted.

We had already returned to our dorm, silently hoping that Blake and Weiss would stop fighting and make up. That hope was soon crushed, mostly because they didn't even stop yelling at each other on our way to our dorm, and my ears were starting to hurt just a little bit. I hated yelling, I hated angry people and I hated conflicts.

"You realize you are defending an organisation that hates humanity, don't you?"

I couldn't take it anymore, so I zoned out all of the yelling. Peace, peace, peace. There was nothing wrong, everything would be okay. I felt my hand shaking a little bit, and I discreetly placed my other hand above it, so that no one would notice.
I wanted Blake and Weiss to stop fighting, but I didn't know how to do it. I didn't dare come between them, as they would just take me out together and then continued fighting. It would help for a few moments, a common enemy, but I wasn't ready to sacrifice myself like that.

Suddenly I noticed the tone of Weiss' voice changing. First the only thing I heard was anger and betrayal, but now there were other emotions leaking through, fighting to be heard. Sadness. Loneliness. Hurt.

"Ever since I was a child, I have watched family members disappear, board members executed, an entire train car full of dust… stolen. And every day, my father would come home furious, and that made for a very difficult childhood."

Now Ruby stepped in, placing her hand on Weiss' shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Weiss, I-"

"No! You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It is because they are a bunch of liars! Thieves! And murderers!"

Blake seemed taken aback for a moment, as if something Weiss had said actually pained her. Hurt and regret flashed in her eyes for a moment, but disappearing as soon as they came.

"Well maybe we were tired of being pushed around!" Shocked at her own exclamation, Blake stumbled back, away from us.

"I-" She turned around and ran away as fast her legs could take her. Ruby jumped forward a few meters, stretching out her hand towards the door, obviously contemplating whether to follow Blake or not. Apparently, she decided not to, as she kept standing there, her hand still up in the air, as if she was frozen in time.

Blake would be gone for some time, although we did not know that at that time.