Chapter 8: Undetectable Circumstances

Harmon enjoyed mornings where he woke up to the sight of the bright sun and the sound of birds chirping. He looked forward to mornings like these. However, unfortunately for Harmon, today was the first day on the team with him.

"Aprikose!" a rather enraged Ruben yelled. The leader of team RADR struggled as he tried to free himself from the web of strings that entangled him.

In the corner of the room, Malko watched the rest of his team squirm underneath the strings he had woven around their beds before they had woken up.

"Don't… don't struggle…!" Malko tried his best to talk in between snickers, only for him to break out in laughter. "It only gets worse!"

"Argghh!" Avery tried to reach for her flame pellets atop the desk that was beside her bed with her free arm, but to no avail. After a third attempt, she conceded with a tired huff.

Harmon just silently hung upside down from the ceiling, completely expecting this sort of situation. He had already experienced Malko's sadistic form of humor before in the Emerald Forest, but he wondered if his new teammates could handle the puppeteer and his antics.

"As your leader, I command you to release us from our bindings!" Ruben ordered.

"Did you just make the sentence 'Let us go.' more complicated?" Malko answered back.

"Please," Avery pleaded.

"Mr. Aprikose, I believe we've all had our fair share of fun," Harmon spoke up. "Would you kindly release us? Otherwise we would be late for class. And Ms. Goodwitch wouldn't like that, would she?"

Malko wiped a tear as his laughter died down. "Alright, alright. I was just messing around. And for the record, I'm not afraid of Ms. Goodbitch."

With a smile, he motioned his hands backwards, and Charlotte's Web started to retract. Halfway through, the puppeteer felt an unnatural click within his weapons.

"Uh oh," he gulped. "Looks like it's jammed." Malko only chuckled nervously.

"Oh for the love of-!" At this point, Ruben was visibly fuming.

"Geez, relax! Don't get your underwear in a twist. Oh wait."

Malko gave the strings several light pulls in hopes of it slowly retracting. He tried again several more times, but still nothing happened. The puppeteer gradually grew impatient at the lack of results. With one last tug, he fixed the jammed mechanism.

However, the strings suddenly reeled back and retracted with tremendous force. The furniture, along with the rest of team RADR, flew across the room and landed with a loud and painful thud.

"Ouch…"


Harmon wiped the sweat from his forehead and examined the room. It was tidy enough, almost as if their predicament never even happened.

"That took a while," Malko said. "But I'm glad we-"

The puppeteer was cut off as Ruben grabbed him by the shirt and pinned him against the wall. "You're lucky you didn't break anything! If you ever do something like this ever again, I'll make sure you can't walk."

"Hey, hey. What's with the hostility, supreme commander?" Malko only laughed as he grabbed his leader's arms. "Now let me go and say you're sorry."

There was a short pause before Ruben gently released Malko from his grip. "I'm… sorry…"

"Now punch yourself in the face and-"

"Hey!" Harmon grabbed the puppeteer's shoulder and pulled him away from their leader. "That's enough!"

"What… what was that?" Ruben staggered back. "Did you… did you mind control me?!"

"Sort of. Yeah," Malko grinned.

"Oh that's it!"

"Ruben!" Avery called out as her leader stormed out of the room. The fiery girl followed her friend out the room.

Ruben stopped in the middle of the hallway. "I am telling Professor Ozpin to kick him out of our team, Aves! I mean, this guy is just too much!"

"Hey, I admit," she placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Malko scares me, too, alright? But I want to see him in a new light. It's our first day as a team, I want this to work!"

"Avery…" The normally feisty girl gave Ruben a serious look. After a few more moments of silence, the red haired scientist only sighed and smiled.

"You're always so positive about everything. But someday you're going to realize that the world isn't as bright and sunny as you imagined it."

"Guys!" Harmon dashed out of the room. "I'm afraid we're going to have to settle our issues at a later time. For now, we need to get changed!"

Ruben and Avery looked at each other and realized that they were both still in their sleepwear.

"What time is it?" Avery asked.

"8:45," the pianist answered.

"Class starts at 9:00! We need to move!" Ruben ordered.


"How much time do we have?!" Avery said in between heavy breaths as she and her team ran through the hallways in their uniforms.

"Five minutes!" Harmon answered back. The pianist skidded on his shoes as he made a sharp turn.

"Just keep running!" Ruben yelled in panic.

They were approaching the end of the hallway, when all of sudden teams JNPR and RWBY burst out of their rooms.

"To class!" The redheaded reaper yelled as she took off into a sprint. The rest of her friends followed suit.

"Well I'm glad we're not the only ones!" Malko chuckled as he picked up his pace.

"We're going to be late!" Jaune cried.


The three teams had burst through the door of their classroom with some of their uniforms already mildly disheveled, having arrived in the nick of time.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The stout teacher standing on top of the podium eyed the students. "Looks like you arrived just on time. Please, take your seats so I may begin my lesson."

"Let's go guys." Ruben gestured for his team to head to their seats. Team RADR sat a row above team RWBY and right next to JNPR.

"Ah, Professor Port…" Malko sat down a crossed his arms as he leaned back on his seat. "The legendary Teller of Tales."

"Teller of Tales?" Harmon turned to his partner, confused at the remark.

Professor Port cleared his throat. "Monsters! Deeeemons! Prowlers of the Night!"

"Oh."

"Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names… but I merely refer to them as prey. Ha! Ha!" Port held his left hand in a fist for dramatic effect.

Ruben glanced around the room. He observed that teams GAMA and BLUS had been punctual. Well, they weren't the ones who try to one-up him all the time. He looked beside them, at team JNPR.

'Lucky Nikos. You have a functional team at least.' He wondered why Jaune was chosen as leader instead of Pyrrha, but he was just glad that he was able to lead a team, however bad the members were. 'Well, member…'

From the corner of his eye, he noticed that a certain trouble maker had already dozed off with his hands behind his head as Harmon sighed and sat up straight, while Avery was trying her best to pay attention to Professor Port's lecture. The fiery girl was vigorously taking down notes.

Ruben sighed inwardly and closed his eyes.

'I guess I'll worry about us later.'


As soon as Professor Port's class had ended, the lunch bell had rung. All the students slowly filed their way out of the room.

"That class was crazy," Malko said as he stretched his arms. "Guess team RWBY's disbanded now."

"Hey, Ruby was only trying to help," Avery retorted. "Besides, we need help as well."

"Why are you looking at me?" Ruben noticed that everyone was staring at him. He sweat dropped at the glares they were giving him, his partner in particular.

"I think we should spend more time together, you know? Get to know each other better? So… lunch?"

"I agree. Cooperation and communication are important aspects of a functioning team," Harmon answered.

Both of them immediately turned to Malko. He sighed.

"Sure, whatevs. I'll behave."

"Ruben?" Avery looked at her leader with big eyes.

"Fine!" The red haired scientist held out his hand to Malko. "I suggest we forget about this morning and focus on the future of this ticking time bomb that is a team."

The puppeteer gave a Cheshire smile and grabbed the hand with full force. "Very well. You respect me, I respect you in return."


Team RADR took up a table near the end of the cafeteria. Each member had their own emptied plate and satisfied faces.

"That was good." Avery smiled as she placed a hand on her stomach

"Eat too much and you'll gain weight." Ruben pushed up his glasses.

"Oh, you did not just tell a woman she's fat!"

Harmon laughed along with Malko.

"Alright. What else do you want to know?" the girl asked. Throughout the meal, Ruben and Avery had been telling the rest of their team about Mistral and their time at Sanctum Academy.

"Maybe one more question." Malko leaned back on his seat and crossed his arms. "Are you two a thing? Or…"

"No!" Avery abruptly stood up at the question, blushing and waving her hands in front of her.

"I'm sorry." The spectacled scientist pulled his partner back down tow her seat. "What she meant to say was that she's not interested in forming that sort of relationship with me. I also feel the same. Science is the only lady for me."

Malko chuckled. "Wow, you're a nerd. Yeah, Avery, you're better off with someone else," he said with a wink.

Avery just looked away with a spark in her eyes.

"Moving on, Harmon?" Ruben called out. "You're actually the one I haven't heard much of yet."

"Oh." Harmon wiped his mouth with a napkin and placed it down. "What is there to say?"

"That piano sword!" Avery exclaimed. "Does it actually act as a piano or is it just for show?"

"Well, obviously, it has to act as a piano. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to perform."

The girl gasped. "You can perform?!"

"How good are you?" their leader asked.

"Well…" The pianist gave a hesitant pause. "Concert level." Harmon answered.

"That's my partner!" Harmon cringed as Malko gave him a rather strong pat on the back.

"Where do you perform?" Avery asked.

"I have performed in the Atlas Academy stadium as well as other convention halls."

"Really?" Avery rubbed her chin. "I keep up with the musical industry. I mean I've heard of singers like Weiss Schnee or musicians like Kousay. I'm sorry I haven't heard of you."

"It's perfectly fine, Ms. Daggry. Unlike Ms. Schnee, I take to the background. I'm sort of an accompaniment for hire."

"You can call me Avery. And… are you okay with that? Not being noticed for your talent?"

Harmon simply smiled. "I am completely satisfied with my position. Besides, I have people who acknowledge me. They're all I need."

"Like Weiss?" Malko nudged his partner. "You two seem close."

"Hey, you keep talking about pairing us up. Don't you have someone, Malko?" Ruben chucked at his small retort. However, he stopped when he noticed that the member in question stayed silent, bearing a dark expression.

"Oh! I'm sorry! Sensitive question?" Avery had a concerned look on her face.

"No… it's fine." The puppeteer decided to stand up at that moment. "Come on, let's get to class. Just an afternoon to go."

The rest of the team just stared as he left their table.


The bell rang as students flocked out into the courtyard. Team RADR was headed towards the library to collect the books they needed.

"We still need to unpack," Ruben groaned as he rubbed his temples.

"Might as well get the books on the way." Avery giggled.

"Hey guys!" The four members turned to face the petite leader of team RWBY.

"Oh, other Red," Ruben said. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Weiss? I… need to talk to her."

'Is this about this morning?' Harmon thought.

"Sorry, we haven't. But we'll tell you if we do see her," Avery answered.

"Oh, okay. I'll just be in the library." Ruby walked away with a downcast expression.

Ruben pitied the girl. For her to end up teammates with a Schnee was probably fate messing with her. Once they knew the reaper was out of earshot, the red haired scientist heaved a sigh.

"I don't know. If you asked me, I'd say she deserved it. Typical Schnee."

"Ruben!" the fiery girl hit his head. "She's our friend, and you need to be nice."

"I guess they haven't settled matters yet, huh?" Malko commented.

"Guys, you can go ahead," Harmon spoke up. "I'll catch up, okay?"

"Harmon? Where are you going?" Avery asked.

"I just need to check on my weapon. It needs regular maintenance or it'll sound like scratching an old chalkboard."

"Okay then," their leader said.

Malko bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows as he watched his partner head back into the campus.


Ruben and the remainder of his team were nearing the cafeteria. The library was supposedly around the corner. They were walking down the road to the doorway when they had met up with two members from team JNPR.

"Pyrrha!" Avery gleefully waved her hand at the girl.

"Avery! Good to see you again." Pyrrha smiled back at her. She glanced beside her friend, finding a rather creepy looking individual wearing an orange beanie staring at her. "Um… Hi?"

"I heard you're some big shot from Mistral. You look more beautiful than your picture on the cover of that cereal box." Malko gave the champion a mischievous smile. Pyrrha shuffled her feet at the puppeteer's words.

"Well… I don't like to boast but…"

"Malko! Play nice." Avery smacked the back of Malko's head. The latter grimaced as Avery faced Pyrrha once more. "How's the first day for you guys?"

"We were just at the cafe grabbing a bite!" Jaune, the newly assigned leader, replied. "Are you guys heading for the library?"

"Yeah! Why don't we go together?" Avery suggested.

"Mmmm…" Ruben, with arms crossed, groaned

"Ruben…" Avery gave him a disappointed look. "Stop it with your childish competitions."

"If it's all the same, Ruben," Pyrrha said in a comforting tone. "I think you're quite outstanding in the field of science."

All of them turned to Ruben for an answer. He just remained silent, giving Pyrrha a big pout before exhaling in defeat.

"Fine, let's go…" However, the red haired scientist stopped in his tracks before they continued. "Wait. Where's Malko?"


"I knew you'd be in a place like this." Harmon approached the snowy haired girl who stood near the edge of the balcony with her hands on the rail.

"Harmon?" Weiss said. "How'd you find me?"

"Multiple balconies and a lot of luck." Harmon leaned on the railing and smiled. "I noticed you and Ruby had a fight today."

"Oh, stop it!" Weiss crossed her arms over her chest. "I should've been the leader. I'm much more capable than that childish brat. I talked to Professor Port and even he couldn't say anything nice. I just… I want to make a difference as a huntress, and I can't do that if I'm not in charge."

Harmon only gazed at his friend with a knowing look.

"Nothing. Nothing you can say will convince me that I can't be a leader."

"I understand."

Weiss gave a bitter smirk. "Do you really? I mean it's not like you aimed to be a leader in the first place. Heck, you're satisfied with your team right now. How can you possibly understand my situation right now?"

The pianist faced the horizon, in the direction of the city of Vale. "All my life, Weiss, I have been behind some of the greatest singers in Remnant. Not once have I been the center of attention."

The ice queen's eyes widened at Harmon's words. After a brief pause, the pianist spoke up once more.

"And that's okay, because the music I create makes someone else's voice sound even more beautiful. You don't have to be the leader to make a difference. You can be a good teammate and help your leader be even better than she realizes… That's who you are, Weiss. You're just as important as the rest of team RWBY."

A smile graced Weiss's lips. Suddenly, the pianist found himself in a tight grip. The ice queen had wrapped her cold arms around him.

"Thank you, Harmon."

The boy felt a chill go down his spine at the heiress's touch. "No… problem…!"

After a few more moments, Weiss immediately let go. "Oh no! I have to apologize!"

"Ruby's in the library."

"Alright then! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Weiss immediately grabbed Harmon's hand and led him out.


"Wow…" Avery gazed in awe at the vast expanse of shelves filled with thousands of books.

"Um," Jaune scratched his head. "Do any of you happen to have a list of the books we need?"

"Right here." Ruben pulled out a slip of paper where he had written the names of the books they were required to have in numerical order.

Avery let out an audible hum as she grabbed the list. "Why don't we start with 'The Encyclopedia of Grimm Volume 1'?"

"Okay," Pyrrha said as Avery handed her the slip of paper. "We can split up and get the second book."

"Oh yes!" Avery's face lit up and raised a fist in the air. "We get the books for each other and meet up for the rest! It'll be faster that way. Ren, Nora, do you mind getting the third?"

The pair that had accompanied them to the library stood beside her.

"I believe we can do that." Ren answered.

"Let's GO!" Nora enthusiastically shouted.

"Nora! Inside voice!"

"Right. Sorry."

"Alright." The red haired scientist nodded in agreement. "I just wish we were an actual complete team." Ruben complained.


"This way!" Weiss pulled Harmon into the lobby of the library.

"My word… Beacon is well supplied with literature."

"Come on, we need to find Ruby."

"Aren't those your teammates over there?" The pianist pointed over to a certain pair, one who sported bright blonde locks skimming through the shelves and the other who wore a neat black bow over her ebony hair flipping through a single book.

"Oh!" The ice queen ran up to the blonde, panting. "Yang!"

"Weiss? Hi." The friendly brawler tucked a book underneath her arm and waved at the heiress with the other. "Just in time. Blake and I are still looking for some books. Do you think-"

"Have you seen Ruby?!" Weiss asked hurriedly, cutting Yang off midsentence.

"She went ahead to the room to get a head start on the first reading assignment," Blake answered as she flipped another page, her eyes never leaving the text. "We're still trying to find the missing ones."

"Oh…" The snowy haired girl looked downcast. She felt a hand lightly placed on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you can talk to her later. Let's try and finish this before the library closes alright?" The pianist beamed at the ice queen as he tried to cheer her up.

"Yeah." Weiss smiled.


"I can't believe our team is reduced to two people," Ruben grumbled exasperatedly as he and Avery walked down an aisle of bookshelves.

His partner stayed quiet, a few footsteps behind him with her hands behind her back. The scientist picked up on his best friend's awkward demeanor. "Aves? You're awfully quiet."

"Oh, what?" Avery snapped out of her thoughts before shaking her head. "It's just… why don't you like Pyrrha, or even Weiss?"

Ruben stopped in his tracks and sighed again. "Aves, isn't it natural for one to be jealous of those who have accomplished so much more than him? I guess… I'm just disappointed in myself."

"What? No, Ruben." The normally loud and feisty girl was oddly quiet as she stepped closer to her friend. "You're amazing. I'm sure you've done some great things in your life."

Ruben chuckled sarcastically. "I'm not good at fighting, which leaves my semblance almost useless in combat, and I rely too much on my tech which can't even function normally." He pointed at the rocket modules attached to his boots.

His words grew heavier each time he opened his mouth. "Look at Pyrrha. Excellent in combat, studies, attitude, looks… She's the perfect student. Then there's Schnee. Her family's company has been Remnant's primary source of dust for as long as I can remember. She bears a reputation that precedes her as the heiress of a powerful establishment. And even if she wasn't like that, she's still more capable of becoming a huntsman than I ever will."

Ruben inhaled, then exhaled deeply. Without even knowing, the young scientist was trembling with clenched fists.

"Aves, the reason I came to Beacon is to better myself. A system of education that I think is far more superior to anything Mistral has. I'm the heir of Crimson Labs. I have to bring something back that would make my family's company stand out in the world. They're all counting on me."

"Us," Avery said as she stared into Ruben's eyes.

"What?" The boy raised an eyebrow.

"They're counting on us. You're not going to do this alone." The cheery girl beamed at Ruben as she placed a hand on her chest. "You have me and the rest of your team."

Ruben felt his hands loosen as he grinned at his partner's words. He pushed up the frame of his glasses with a finger. "Very well then. Step one in my brilliant plan to conquer Remnant! Get through class!" He cheered as he raised his fist in the air.

"Shhhh!" Everyone around them shushed the pair.

"Sorry. Library. Right." Ruben whispered.

Avery silently giggled. She always liked Ruben when he was in his mad scientist mode.


Malko sped past the rooftops of Beacon Academy. Using his strings, he attached himself to the side of a building and swung across the large gap. He had checked the locker rooms, unable to find Harmon there.

'Where is he?'

Adjusting the balance of his body in midair, he landed on the roof of the dorm building with ease. The puppeteer keenly looked down at several students who were entering the structure.

This was the dormitory for the second years, where he was supposed to sleep this year. He wondered if his team was still there. The thought was snuffed out after he had checked each of the rooms as he swung by them.

'They've probably dropped out…' Malko clenched his fist in mild frustration until it loosened at the sight of one particular person. Moving closer to the edge of the roof, he peered down below. A faunus with bunny ears followed her team and entered the dormitory. Velvet Scarlatina.

Malko closed his eyes and remembered his biggest mistake, almost as if it was just yesterday. He balled his fists and gritted his teeth harder this time around. Hopefully she had recovered. Her smile was a distant memory for Malko. To see that same smile on her face again… It made him grin. As they disappeared into the building, Malko snapped back to reality. She would never forgive him for what he did. He remembered her cold stare, the look of horror she had on her face…

As he was taken away in handcuffs.


"Argh…" Ruben groaned under the stack of books in tow. He, Avery, and Harmon, having met up in the library and getting the necessary reading materials, had decided to head back to their dormitory. It wasn't long before they had made it back to their room. "Do I really have to carry your books?!"

"Well that's what a gentleman would do." Avery smiled with the light number of books she held close to her chest. The trio turned a corner. "Besides, Harmon's not complaining."

The said pianist followed with the same amount of books in his arms. "That's because I'm too exhausted to converse."

"Where's Malko anyway?! That mongrel has been nothing but trouble all day!" the scientist blurted.

"I'm sure he's gonna come back. Here we are." Avery opened the door to reveal Malko sitting on the bed and playing with the strings on his right hand. She squeaked a little and jumped back.

"Hey guys…" Malko pulled back his strings and stood up from his bed.

"Why you…!" A series of thuds echoed across the room as Ruben dropped his books and went after Malko.

"Ruben!" His partner shrieked as Harmon dropped his stack and grabbed their leader by the arms.

"Can we please be civilized about this?!" Harmon shouted as he held him back.

"Where were you, huh?! Is that what you're going to do for the rest of the year?! Mess with us then ditch us?!" Ruben gritted his teeth. "What are we?! Some source of entertainment?!"

"That's what I wanted to talk about." Malko bore a stern expression as he faced his teammates.

Ruben stopped resisting before Harmon loosened his grip.

Malko sighed before speaking up. "I've decided I want to take this seriously. School, I mean... and I can't do that without your help."

Harmon smiled. "You may be a short tempered person who acts without a thought, but when it comes to being honest with yourself, it takes you an unbelievably long time."

Malko smiled back.

Avery joined in and nudged her partner who then rolled his eyes.

"As long as he never uses his semblance on us as well as his… knitting yarn," Ruben said.

"I'll have you know that these 'yarns' can pull apart bone and sure... I'll try to find something else to entertain me." Malko answered.

Holding out his right hand, Ruben spoke. "Welcome to the team."

Malko took the handshake. "I thought I was already part of the team."

"Not to me... but now you are."

"Aww!" Avery held her cheeks. "You're so cute!"

"Aves." Ruben backed away and pushed up his glasses, turning red. "Never. Ever. Call me cute!"

"Aw come on! It's a compliment!" Avery took out her scroll and propped it on a table. "Everyone gather around!"

The rest of her team faced the camera in a group as it beeped. Ruben put his hands in his pockets, Malko held up a peace sign, Avery had her thumbs up, and Harmon straightened his tie.

"Say RADR!" Avery shouted.

"RADR!" Everyone else yelled as the scroll flashed and captured a picture.