"Hey! ProAJ13! You cut us off right before the volume 1 end of TPOR with that other fic's first chapter! Why didn't you just do this chapter first then that chapter!?"

Because I decided I felt like screwing with you all. It's not like it's the end of the world.

I'm thinking I might go back and give each chapter an actual name. Idk… maybe I will, maybe I won't. Maybe I'll just give names to chapters that I can actually think of a name for.

Also, I'm posting three chapters today. Just a heads up… and don't get your hopes up! It's not three big chapters!

Anyway, on with the story! Hope you enjoy!


The Plus One of RWBY Ch.8: Black, White, and Red.


"So, I assume you want to know more about me as well?" Blake asked. She sat at one of the tables outside a shop, drinking tea that the waiter had given them. AJ sat next to her and the blond monkey Faunus, whose name is Sun, sat across from them.

"Yes, I would, it's been nearly two days and AJ has been much more willing to speak but if you spoke it was usually to your boyfriend." Sun said.

Both feline Faunus blushed. "He's/She's not my-" They both said and both just gave up and sighed.

"Wait, your both in denial? I've seen the way you act around each other. Whatever. Anyway, yes, tell me about yourself since you are the only one of us that hasn't." Sun requested.

"Do you know about the White Fang?" Blake asked.

"Of course! I don't think there is a Faunus on the planet who doesn't know about them, bunch of creeps who use force to get whatever they want." Sun said.

"I was once a member actually." Blake said calmly.

Sun spit out his drink. "Wait, you were once a member of the White Fang?"

"Yes, most of my life actually, you could almost say I was born into it. Back then things were different, in the ashes of war the White Fang was a symbol of peace and unity between humans and Faunus. But despite being promised equality we were still treated as lesser beings. So the White Fang rose up as a voice for our people. And I was there at the front of every rally and boycott. I actually thought I was making a difference, but was likely just a youthful optimist. Then five years ago our leader stepped down and was replaced by a more… radical one. Our peaceful protests became organized attacks, we set fire to shops that wouldn't serve us, stole cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. The worst part of it all was that it worked, we were treated like equals, but not out of respect,"

"But out of fear." AJ finished, knowing that was where the story was going. "What an idiot! Respect through fear is no respect at all!"

"That's why I left. I wasn't about to continue using my skills to aid in their violence, instead I would dedicate my life to becoming a huntress. So here I am, a criminal in plain sight, all with the help of a little, black, bow." Blake said and her bow moved.

"So did you ever tell your friends any of this?" Sun asked and Blake looked down.

"That's kind of how we got here." AJ said for her.


Team RWBY was tired of waiting for Blake and AJ to come back and went out to search for them. They were currently walking through the streets of Vale.

"BLAAAAKE! AJ!" Yang yelled.

"BLAAAAAAAAKE! AJ! WHERE ARE YOU!" Ruby yelled. "Weiss! You aren't helping!"

"Oh, you know who might be able to help? The police!" Ice Queen said.

"Weiss." Ruby growled.

"It was just an idea!"

"Yeah, a bad one." Ruby said as she started to walk forwards again.

"Weiss, I think we should hear Blake's side of the story first." Yang suggested.

"I think when we hear it you'll realize I was right." Weiss said.

"And I think Weiss's hair looks wonderful today!" Everyone turned around at the new voice behind them.

"AH! Penny where did you come from!?" Ruby demanded.

"Hey guys! What are you up too?" Penny asked ignoring the question.

"We're looking for our friends, Blake and AJ." Yang answered.

"Oh! You mean the two Faunus!" Penny said.

"How did you know Blake was a Faunus?" Ruby asked.

"The cat ears." Penny said pointing at the top of her head.

"But she has a bow, you can't tell she has cat ears." Yang pointed out.

"So where are they?" Penny asked.

"We don't know. They've been missing since Friday." Ruby said.

"That's terrible!" Penny said with enthusiasm and grabbed Ruby by the shoulders.
"Well don't you worry Ruby my friend. I won't rest until we find your teammates!"

"Well that's really nice of you Penny," Ruby said awkwardly to the strange girl. "But we've got this handled, right guys?" She looked at where Yang and Weiss were and found no trace of them.


"So what's the plan?" Sun asked as they walked down the sidewalk of a street in Vale.

"I still don't think the White Fang are behind the robberies." AJ said. "They could be, but I really think it's Torchwich.

"Yeah, they've never needed that much Dust before." Blake reasoned.

"What if they did?" Sun questioned and stepped in front of them. "The only way to prove that they didn't do it is to go to the mostly likely place they would be if they were to do it and not find them there, right?"

"You would have lost anyone else with that." AJ deadpanned. "But lucky for you I got that, and you're right." He said and was no longer deadpanning.

"Fine, but where would that be?" Blake asked.

"While I was on the ship I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge Dust crate coming in from… Atlas I believe." Sun said.

"How huge?" Blake asked.

"Huge!" Sun threw his arms out wide for emphasis. "Big Schnee Company freighter."

"Sounds like our 'most likely place'." AJ said with a smile. They started walking towards their destination.

"So what did you guys name your weapons?" Sun asked to break the silence while they walked.

"Gambol Shroud." Blake said.

"I… don't really have a name for my sword." AJ said sheepishly.

"You should have one!" Sun said excitedly.

"Ok, I'll try to think of something then." AJ said hesitantly.

"You better!" Sun said before turning around and continuing walking.

Blake and AJ looked at each other and Blake just shrugged, not really getting the enthusiasm either, and they started walking again.


Weiss and Yang walked out of another shop. "Thanks anyways!" Yang called out as they left. "This is hopeless!" She said depressingly. "You really don't care if we find them, do you?" She asked Weiss.

"Of course I do! I'm just worried what Blake and AJ will say when they get back. He probably knew about this the whole time. The innocent never run Yang." She finished and began walking to the next shop.

"I feel like AJ would have a response to that, but I'm not him, so I don't know." Yang said to herself before following Weiss.


It was night now and Blake was lying on her stomach on the roof of a hanger near the port. She starred down at the Schnee crates below. AJ jumped onto the roof and crouched next to her.

"I didn't see anything on the other side. Anything here?" AJ asked as Sun came up to them with a small container of apples.

"Not really. They delivered all the crates from the boat and now they're just sitting there." Blake said.

"Well good news, I got you guys some food." Sun said as he handed an apple to Blake. Well, tried to, she just looked at him.

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" Blake asked.

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun asked and Blake glared at him while AJ laughed/gasped a little.

"Ok, too soon." Sun said but AJ took the apple.

"Thank you, Sun." He said with a smile from laughing.

"See! Someone who appreciates my effort!" Sun said to Blake while pointing with both hands to AJ. Blake rolled her eyes.

Strong wind hit the three as an airship flew over them and once its search lights found the containers it landed.

"The hell?" AJ asked.

"Is that them?" Sun asked Blake as soldiers stepped out.

She saw the mark on their backs. "Yes, it's them." Blake said depressingly.

"Crap, so much for Torchwich." AJ realized.

"You guys really didn't think it was them did you?" Sun asked.

"No. I think deep down I knew, I just didn't want to be right." Blake said.

"Hey! What's the hold-up!?" Someone yelled, drawing everyone's attention.

A man with orange hair, a cane, a white suit, and a bowler hat stepped out.

"We aren't exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of criminals at the moment, so, why don't you animals try to pick up the pace!?" He yelled.

"Torchwich!?" AJ whispered in disbelief.

"This isn't right, the White Fang would never work for or with a human… Especially one like him." Blake said before pulling out her katana from her sheathe and jumping down from the building.

"Hey wait!" Sun yelled, he looked to AJ.

"Guess I wasn't entirely wrong." AJ said with a sigh before jumping down as well.

Torchwich was yelling at one of the soldiers who was holding large cables.

"No you idiot! This isn't a leash!" Blake put her sword to his throat. "What the? Oh for f-"

"Nobody move!" Blake ordered.

"Whoa! Take it easy there little lady!" Torchwick said.

"Quiet you!" Blake ordered. The soldiers surrounded her with guns and she took off her bow. "Brothers of the white Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?!" Blake asked and most of the soldiers lowered their guns. The one that didn't, which was behind her, was stabbed by claws and pulled away from the group with his screams muffled.

"Oh kid. Didn't ya get the memo?" Torchwich asked.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together."

Blake put her katana closer to his throat. "Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation."

Three more small airships flew over their heads.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation." Torchwich said. While Blake was distracted looking up at the ships, he fired his cane at their feet. Somehow it didn't even faze him but sent Blake flying.

Blake tried to stand up and looked just in time to see Torchwich fire a shot at her and AJ came out of nowhere and picked her up and moved her just out of the way. Torchwich fired more shots at the two and AJ responded with Energy blasts that took out each shot before it hit them. They both stopped firing to let the smoke clear and Blake took this chance to hide.

"Aww, two little kitties! I'm gonna have some fun tonight!" Torchwich said smugly before he lost his smile and started walking towards AJ. "Wait I remember you." He said with a hint of anger. A banana peel landed on his hat and he got it off him and looked up just to see two feet planted in his face and Sun rolled off of him.

"Leave them alone." Sun warned. Torchwich stood up and multiple White Fang soldiers joined him and surrounded Sun with blades.

"You are not the brightest banana in the bunch, are ya kid?" Torchwich said and AJ face palmed in the background. Sun easily punched and kicked through the group but eventually pulled out a staff and was taking everyone out with that.

AJ was distracted by three soldiers landing near him holding daggers. Their frames were lithe and the seemed like elite soldiers built for speed and agility. 'Let's find out.' he thought and he charged them. The middle one struck out at him once and AJ leaned past the strike but was kicked by the other two at the same time. 'Oh, they're a coordinated team huh?' He went to attack but found the middle one attacking him first and he had to keep up with his guards to block the daggers as the soldier swung with lightning fast speed and was even flipping the blades between strikes. 'Show off.' Then the left one joined in and they danced around each other with clearly practiced coordination and only when AJ got fed up with dodging and struck out at them did they finally back off. He also just now realized they had hit him multiple times and they had yet to be hurt.

AJ let his Aura out and the soldiers took a step back before attacking all at once, even going so far as to throw their daggers at him, he leaned away from the dagger, and one on the other side caught it and threw it back. AJ jumped and spun to avoid the dagger and the strike from the third soldier that followed. It was no wonder they managed to keep landing small hits as they were very skilled and he was fighting three guys at once and they kept moving around him. 'I need to change this up a bit.' He lashed out and fired in all directions at them and they easily dodged. In the cover of the debris one of them jumped up and went to hit AJ with both blades in a downward strike. AJ grabbed him by the arms and flung him into a nearby crate as hard as he could. Dust crystals burst out and the soldier never got up. 'Their strategy is to never get hit since they clearly can't take a hit, but they can still take hits better than the grunts I suppose.'

Two left. They threw spare daggers at him which he blocked with a quick unsheathing of his sword. Now AJ focused his flowing Aura into focus and agility and started dashing around faster than the elites were capable of and struck them each a few times. The left one jumped at him and slashed at his face and AJ ducked from it but as he stood up the second one jumped over the first and kicked him in the chest, knocking him back. The first one jumped over his partner and slashed at him which missed, or it seemed, it was actually meant to knock his sword out of his hands which they succeeded in, then he landed and his partner jumped over him again and he slashed and they repeated this a few times until AJ backed into the crate he had thrown the first soldier into. He saw a dagger coming for his face and he leaned out of the way as the dagger stuck into the crate. The soldier was smarter than to try to pull it out and instead slashed with his left dagger and AJ grabbed his wrist and snapped it. The soldier backed up and held his hand in pain and AJ turned to the other one.

This one took the dagger in the crate and attacked again. AJ dodged as the soldier kept switching between three daggers, one of the daggers was always in the air as he slashed and stabbed. 'Now this guy is good.' "I say, you sir, deserve a medal!" He took the dagger in the air as he dodged a stab at his side and stabbed the elite's left hand and he dropped the dagger it held. He looked up at AJ in anger and recklessly struck out with his right and AJ ducked under it and knocked the guy in the side of the head and he landed next to his friend who was still holding his hand in pain. AJ and said soldier both looked down and saw an ice Dust crystal at their feet.

"No. Wait!" The soldier shouted as AJ used an Energy blast to detonate the crystal, sealing them in ice.

"Oh, chill out! You're fine!" AJ said with a smile as the turned back to the fight.

Meanwhile Yang suddenly felt very proud of AJ for some reason she just couldn't pin down.

Sun and Blake were jumping out of the way of a crate that had fallen on them and Blake landed safely but Sun landed next to Torchwich who aimed his cane at him. "Hey!" A voice called out and the fighting stopped with every one looking at a hanger and saw Ruby standing on top with her weapon out in scythe mode.

"Oh, hey there Red! Isn't it past your bed time?" Torchwich asked and Ruby looked back at whoever was with her on the hanger and he saw his opportunity pointing his cane at her. "Die Red!" He yelled as he fired the shot that hit Ruby directly.

"NO!" AJ yelled as he jumped up there to see if she was ok. Penny was there as well. Ruby was out but she was alive. 'He could have killed her and he wouldn't have cared… Cause he's a criminal…' He imagined Ruby and all of his other friends dead and he couldn't stand the thought of losing them. He turned towards Torchwich and jumped down to him, landing near the Dust crystals he had let out earlier.

"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HER!" He yelled, Aura already flowing out in its usual white mist.

"Well duh! That was the idea, kid!" Torchwich said.

AJ heard this and realized the images of his friends dying could become real because of this… criminal…

Now imagine deep inside AJ's mind there was a dark area, infinite darkness, and in that darkness was a figure, you couldn't really tell who it was because there was no light. But then a light appeared. The figure was facing the viewer, his left hand out in front of him. He wasn't far away, his shoulders almost reach the edge of the screen. The light is coming from his left hand and it is a white mist giving off just enough light to see its AJ, but his hood is not only down, it just isn't there, the cloak isn't there at all. Only the left side of his face gets any light but you can see the faint white glow of his right iris, everything around him is dark and he stares at the viewer with a blank expression.

Then you hear the chains shaking again, but then you hear a different sound, you hear them snap. And the white mist instantly turns red, red like Ruby's cloak. Now the side of his face was red from the light instead of white, and the glow of his right eye was the same shade of red, but his left eye, the one you could see, you could see the real color of the iris was blood red, dark red, and his expression was one of a terrifying and evil smile showing all his very sharp teeth, specifically his fangs. Camera starts flying backwards out of his mind as the figure spoke with a demonic voice.

'He would just kill your friends without a second thought! He's a monster. KILL HIM!'

"DIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!" Red Aura exploded out of him, his ears and tail turned one shade of red darker than Ruby's cloak, his irises were blood red and a lighter red glow came out of them, fangs and sharp teeth suddenly were present.

Torchwich realized he made a mistake when he was sent flying to the other side of the area. He got up just to be hit in the face and sent flying away again. Every White Fang soldier left got between him and the red menace before him. A red blur went through the group, leaving black feathers in its wake, and every one of his men were down in an instant. Torchwich fired a shot at the mist and knocked AJ down, but he was up again in an instant and charged.

Torchwich used his cane to block a strike and his arm went numb from the strength behind it and his cane cracked. He realized if he wanted to not be brutally murdered he would need to redirect the hits instead. He was somehow able to do that despite the utter speed and strength that was coming at him, he figured it was some sort of instinct to live that pushed him to his limit. He was still hit hard at one point and sent into a crate. Everything was a blur and he barely maintained his conscience, that was when he saw some lightning Dust and threw it at the boy covered in red mist. He detonated it with a shot from his cane and it tazed the boy till he passed out, even thought that much electricity should have killed him.

Torchwich ran for dear life hoping the terrifying boy wouldn't wake up but he saw his ears and tail become brown again and he lost the red mist that was everywhere around him so he made it to his ship with a little bit of his dignity left.

"These kids are freaking crazy." Torchwich said as his ship got away.

The figure in his mind changed, the light mist was white again and in the light that shined on the left side of his face you could see his normal eyes again, but in the shadow of the right side (his right) you could see the eye was still glowing red.


AJ eventually woke up and saw Blake, Sun, Ruby, and Penny all looking at him with concern, until he looked at them and then they all let out the breath they had held in. AJ stood up and looked at them all.

"Ruby! Are you ok?" AJ asked as he suddenly got really close to Ruby.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm just a bit sore is all, that Torchwich guy really hits hard." Ruby said but was suddenly hugged tightly by AJ.

"OH THANK GOD! I thought he really had hurt you there…" AJ said with relief that his friend was ok. Ruby blushed but hugged him back.

"Hey, what about me?" Blake asked, a bit jealous. 'Wait, I'm not jealous, am I?' she thought.

AJ turned to her and suddenly jumped to her side. "What? Did he hurt you too? Are you ok?" He asked with serious concern.

Blake laughed a little. "Yes AJ, I'm fine." She said and he hugged her as well.

"Oh good! That's a relief! I really thought he had hurt you guys." AJ said, saddened by the thought.

"The only one her hurt was Ruby before you went berserk." Sun commented and AJ let go of Blake and looked at Sun in confusion. "What? You don't remember going crazy?"

"Um… no. I blacked out when I confronted Roman after he hurt Ruby." AJ answered, confused.

"Yeah, you went all red and nearly killed Torchwick." Sun explained.

"You really don't remember that?" Blake asked. "Cause we thought you might hurt us if we got in the way. It was like it wasn't even you."

The boy from Earth was sad that he had scared them. "Sorry, I just saw him hurt you guys in my head and I wanted to protect you all."

"It's ok AJ." Blake said softly. "We can take care of ourselves too you know."

"Hey wait, how come I don't get a checkup and hug?" Sun complained.

Blake and Ruby smiled at that. "You have Gun-Chucks, you're fine!" AJ said with a smile and Blake and Ruby finally laughed.

"Speaking of weapons, do you have a name for yours yet?" Sun asked.

"Um… Nipzona?" (the P is silent so it doesn't sound so stupid) AJ said more like it was a question than a statement. "Can I just use a made up word?"

"There isn't anything against using a made up word but that sounds like a magic spell or something." Sun said. AJ just shrugged and decided it was better to have a dumb name for it than no name.

They heard walking behind them and turned to see Weiss and Yang walking up to them. AJ looked the opposite way of them to avoid getting angry again.

"Weiss, I want you to know I am no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was-" Blake started.

"Stop. Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you two?" Weiss asked. AJ was surprised she hadn't yelled at them yet. "12 hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this, and in that time I've decided… I don't care!"

"You don't…care?" Blake asked, surprised.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, no I'm not."

"Then that's all that matters! I just need to know that next time something this big comes up you'll come to your teammates, and not some…" Weiss looked at Sun. "Someone else." She said avoiding any rude descriptions.

Blake rubbed away her tears of joy that almost came out. "Of course, thank you Weiss." Everyone smiled for a moment but then they all saw AJ with his back to them. Weiss slowly approached him.

"AJ…" Weiss started actually sounding like she was sorry. AJ didn't respond. "I'm sorry… For what I said. I realize now that not all Faunus are bad and I shouldn't have worded things the way I did. You and Blake are proof of good Faunus. I always try to forget the one time you helped me. I'll admit it, I don't like that I was helped. But that's just my pride getting in the way. You came over to me when I was depressed. You of all people, found me and comforted me even when I yelled at you and told you to leave. What I'm getting at is… can you find some way to forgive me?" Weiss asked and AJ stood there for what felt like an eternity in thought.

The silence was finally broken by a sigh from AJ before he finally turned around and looked her in the eye.

"You have shown me twice now that you do have a heart. It's going to take a lot, but I am going to give you another chance and try to find some way to forgive you." AJ said without a smile but you could tell his words were sincere. Everyone, especially Weiss, sighed in relief and smiled.

"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby cheered.

"I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you!" Weiss said pointing at Sun.

AJ rolled his eyes, showing that things really were back to normal. "I suppose that's to be expected." He said.

"Hey wait, where's Penny?" Ruby asked and everyone looked around and saw no sign of her.

"Hey guys, it looks like it's gonna rain. We should head home." Yang pointed out. Everyone looked up and frowned except for AJ, who looked up and smiled like this was a beautiful day.

"Oh, is it?" AJ said excitedly.

Before they headed back a police member approached them. "Sorry about this but I have one last question for all of you, it's required your ages are put in the reports. Sorry, I forgot to ask the first time." He said.

"17." Yang.

"15!" Ruby.

"17." Weiss.

"17." Blake.

"17." Sun.

"17." AJ.

"All right, thanks." The policeman said as he left.

There was moment of silence as the group was about to start walking but that silence was interrupted by Ruby.

"Wait! You said you were 16, didn't you!?" Ruby asked, surprised.

"Yeah." AJ responded.

"Then when did your birthday happen!?" Ruby asked, surprised he hadn't said this earlier.

"I don't know." AJ shrugged. "Couple weeks ago."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Blake asked before Ruby could yell again.

"I don't celebrate my birthday." AJ said backing away from Ruby.

"Well you are SO getting a late birthday party!" Yang said with a smile.

"NO! I don't want a birthday party! You can get presents if you absolutely insist but I hate parties! Please." AJ begged. They argued for a while about this but AJ was adamant about the lack of a party so RWBY reluctantly agreed.


All the way back to Beacon they had smiles on their faces as team RWBY was finally whole again. But AJ wasn't smiling about that, Blake saw he was always looking up at the dark clouds and the shadowed scenery with a smile on his face. He seemed so happy and Blake couldn't stop looking. While they were on the airship heading to Beacon he was looking up and out the windows, still with a smile like it was a beautiful clear sky.

When they got to the academy and to their dorms Blake saw AJ walk outside onto the roof when it was pouring rain. She peeked through the door and saw him standing in the rain with his hood down and looking up into the rain with a smile. She watched him stand there for a while wondering how a cat Faunus could stand being in the rain. He waved his hand above him and his Aura flowed out and the white mist made the rain sparkle as it hit it. He started walking around doing this until the air above the roof was sparking with rain as it passed through the veil of Aura. It was a beautiful sight and they were both too entranced by it to move. It was as if the rain was trapped in the veil and became small ice crystals, while in reality it just makes the rain sparkle as it passes through. There were so many sparkles it actually made the place glow in the lack of light being it was nighttime. Blake decided to leave before he found out she was there and go back to her dorm and sleep. Only she was called by Ozpin.

"Well, this has certainly been an eventful evening." Ozpin said as he walked into the room with his mug and cane. The room had a single table with a light above it and a chair on either side of it. Blake was sitting in the seat furthest from the door. "I'm sure after a night of thwarting attempted robbery you would like nothing more than to go back to your dorm and take a nap, but, I was hoping maybe we might have a chance to talk." Ozpin said as he sat in the seat across the table.

"Of course." Blake said nodding.

"Wonderful. I'll make this quick though in case AJ gets worried, he's very protective of his friends, as I'm sure you have seen. Any ways, as you know, in order to enroll at this academy, students must pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most train for years at one of the many combat schools around the world. You are one of the few who did not, you passed the exam with flying colors."

"I was raised outside the kingdoms. If you can't fight you can't survive." Blake said.

"Oh you most certainly survived Blake. I admire your drive, and am proud to run a school that excepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich, poor, male, female, human, you've seen we except Faunus as well and I am most proud of that, there's someone who isn't even from this world." Ozpin said the last part like it was nothing major. Blake looked at him in disbelief but he ignored it. "Blake why do still wear that bow? You take it off when you're in your dorm and AJ shows it fully now, why not you?"

"AJ wanted to stop hiding, regardless what people thought, as long as he had a friend who would be there for him, I simply gave him the push he needed, I was that friend. I am not ready to do that yet, I can't have the attention. With all due respect, humans don't give us much respect yet, despite the supposed strides you have taken."

"AJ despises attention and he did it anyway. I will not force you Blake, but there simply is no reason to wear that bow and hide what you are."

"I want people to see me as an individual, not a Faunus. For who I am, not what I am."

"AJ said something once, that the animal traits didn't make you any different from anyone else. He said you are still human regardless, everyone else sees humans and Faunus as two different things so to hear him say that was a surprise. Most Faunus fight for equality, he wants people to see there isn't a major difference to begin with. But about what you said, what are you then?" he asked.

"I… don't understand the question."

"How did you know the White Fang would be at the shipyard tonight?" Ozpin turned serious.

"I didn't. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"You wouldn't be the first. But what happened tonight was not an isolated incident. I may be your headmaster, but I am also a Huntsman, and it is my duty to protect this world from the forces that conspire against it. Blake, are you sure there is nothing else you would like to tell me?"

"I'm sure."

"Very well. Thank you for your time, Miss Belladonna." Ozpin said as he got up and left with his cane and mug. "If you ever need to talk to me, please don't hesitate to ask." he said before he finally left.

Ozpin walked back to the elevator to his office and stopped just before he entered. "I assume you have something to say?" He asked without turning around.

"Yeah, I noticed your little sentimental and caring tone at the end but that doesn't excuse threatening and interrogating her! My best friend!" AJ said angrily.

"You know why I did that, AJ." Ozpin said turning towards him.

"I don't care why!" AJ said before leaving and heading to his room. Ozpin sighed before getting in the elevator.

"Protective indeed, and a distrust of authority no matter how much he likes the authority figure." Ozpin said to himself as the elevator started its ascent.


Blake waited till AJ joined their lunch table to ask about yesterday.

"Hey, AJ. I saw some students yesterday who didn't like that it was raining and others were kind of depressed by the dark and rainy day. So why did you seem to be happier because of it?" Blake asked and everyone else awaited an answer.

"Well, I understand clear skies are beautiful and all, but they're so bland. A cloudy day is much more interesting to me. I prefer any form of inclement weather over a clear day. The darkness of a rainy day is just more interesting to me." He said with a smile and everyone was somewhat surprised by this. Everyone else sees a clear day as a beautiful day but they understood his reason for preferring a cloudy day over a clear one, that doesn't mean they agree though.

Not much longer and it will be time for a two week break and the next semester. It had been a few weeks since the event with the White Fang. Things were relatively normal for everyone now, it didn't go unnoticed by AJ how tired Blake was lately but she said she would take a break during the school break so he assumed she would be fine. But now, he had to go through one more match in Glynda's class. Two cloaked figures stood on stage, one was tall and one was short. The cloaks were the same in ways, like how they both went down almost to the ankle.

One was colored red, the other brown.

"Alright, last day of school! Let's do this!" AJ cheered.

"Yeah!" Ruby yelled excitedly.

"Begin."

Red like Roses part II

Ruby charged him with her speed semblance, he redirected with his sword but she was a blur leaving rose petals everywhere. He waited for the attack, hearing the shots she kept firing to keep moving, and ended up failing to react in time as he was hit a few times before he jumped away from that spot. He let out his Aura and stared forward, then smirked. He jumped and rolled in midair dodging a slice, he landed and crouched dodging another, he jumped again, dodging again, landed and jumped backwards, dodging, he suddenly stuck his foot out to his left without looking and Ruby came into view again falling on her face.

"Not bad." He calmly said before punching the ground where she was lying at, but she sped off and hit him again on the way out. She stopped on the other side of the stage and started firing at him with her weapon in gun mode. He blocked the slow paced shots with his sword a few times then jumped to avoid a shot instead and willed his bow into existence and pointed at her, she knew what this meant but wasn't sure what to do about it. He appeared in front of her hitting her once with his sword, she turned her Crescent Rose into scythe mode and shot, swinging the blade at him. He simply moved into her guard and blocked the sword by grabbing the pole of the weapon. His hand had a faint white glow.

"Plot twist!" he said like it was a punch line to some joke and jumped away for her. Her precious appeared untouched but she didn't trust it.

"What did you do!?" She yelled across the stage.

"My semblance, Copycat." His Aura kept flowing off him yet he used more Aura, and again, an outer layer of Energy to keep the shape, to make Crescent Rose in his hand, only the red was replaced with pure white and the red appeared in his jeans instead. Yes I'm saying his blue jeans turned the color of her cloak. "Pun partially intended." He said as he got into a stance Ruby knew well, he cocked the bolt and crouched, pointing the scythe behind him. Ruby took the stance as well, she had a serious look on her face while AJ had an excited smile.

They both vanished, white feathers and rose petals flowed throughout the stage, sounds of gunfire and weapons clashing were constant. Their Aura would occasionally go down a chunk. After a while they slowed down and they saw them in the middle of the stage. Ruby sliced at AJ who blocked with his scythe and struck at her, she jumped away and jumped back at him firing to spin her weapon, and he blocked but was knocked back. They both stopped and breathed heavily for a few seconds. AJ lost his Aura mist. It was clear now that they weren't moving that AJ's scythe had cracks in it that were glowing white, which made them hard to see on a white weapon, but her Crescent Rose is red and black, and only the primary color red was replaced with white so the black was still present and made it easy to see the cracks.

"You two aren't quitting are you?" Glynda asked, smiling, knowing the reaction she would get by asking this.

AJ chuckled. "Nope."

"Not a chance." Ruby said, smiling as well.

They shot behind themselves and dashed towards each other beginning anew with the invisible fight. Once again the only sign of a fight is the sound and the items they leave behind.

Red Like Roses

Fills my head with dreams

And finds me

Always closer

To the emptiness and sadness

That has come to take the place

"OF!" The both yelled as they reappeared in the middle of the stage right next to each other with mad smiles on their faces, their cloaks flowing behind them from moving, and their weapons behind them as well, the two of them were surrounded by white feathers and red rose petals, ready for one big swing, they both fired to propel their swing, "YOU!" they both shouted, but Ruby was the one to land the hit and put AJ's Aura into the red.

"Ruby Rose is the winner. Well done you two!" Glynda said with a smile and applause filled the crowd of students. "I think that was a good final match everyone! Have fun during your break and don't cause too much trouble!" Glynda said and people left the class or went to congratulate Ruby and AJ.

"Dang it! Good one Ruby." AJ said as he stood up, his white version of Crescent Rose disappeared and his jeans were blue again.

"Thanks! You did good too! And what an awesome semblance you have!" Ruby said.

"No kidding! You copy peoples weapons!? That's pretty badass." Yang said as the rest of team RWBY, and team JNPR walked up.

"So that's what you meant by multiple fighting styles!" Weiss realized. "I thought glyphs were your semblance!"

"No, I can barely use glyphs besides the simple one that acts like a wall, still helps but I can't do much more than that and maybe a speed glyph." AJ explained. "And that one glyph that exploads."

"How did you know how to use her weapon though?" Jaune asked.

"Well, while Ruby is crazy about weapons, I'm secretly wondering what that weapon has been through. When I copy a weapon I learn about all the fights it's been in and learn how to use it all in an instant. It's a pretty incredible feeling." AJ said with a smile.

"Alright that's just freaking awesome!" Yang said with a laugh.

"So there you go! That's my semblance!" AJ said.

Weiss grabbed Ruby and pulled her away from the group and whispered something to her. They eventually turned to the others.

"Sorry guys, we gotta go to our dorm for a team meeting, see ya! Come on AJ." Ruby said.

They went to their dorm.

"So I'm guessing this is about my-" AJ started as he was the first to walk into team RWBY's dorm.

"Happy Birthday!" They all cheered.

"Ah, so this is about that." AJ deadpanned.

"Cheer up you! We aren't letting you just not celebrate your birthday! So we got you some presents!" Yang said. They were all smiling at him so he wasn't gonna say no.

"Alrighty then. What did you get?" He asked.

"I got you a custom headset, you said you like music so…" Ruby said as she handed him the headset. Dark grey with his symbol on the sides in white, the circle with wings inside that touch the edge of the circle. The symbol is on the back of his black shirt but it's hard to see behind the cloak.

"Wow, thanks Ruby." He said as he patted her on the shoulder.

"Consider that from the both of us since I had to pay for it but Ruby had the idea of it." Yang said. He nodded in thanks to her.

Weiss stepped forward with a familiar white briefcase. "I got you a few different types of Dust to try out. You said you wanted to use it."

"Wow, thank you Weiss." AJ said with an overdramatic bow.

"You better know how to use it by the time I get back from break." Weiss demanded.

"Yeah, I'll try, it didn't really work last time." AJ said sheepishly. 'Stupid Energy neutralizing any Dust I touch.'

"And what did you get Blake? Are you gonna kiss him?" Yang asked teasingly.

Blake blushed and walked up to him. AJ blushed as well thinking she might actually do it. She hugged him suddenly.

"I just want to say thank you, thank you so much for being there for me, for all of us." Blake said.

AJ returned the hug and smiled. "Of course, you guys are always there for me, I can never thank you guys enough for that."

Everyone "aww'd" at that and he glared at them with his eyes glowing over Blake's shoulder and they all looked away from them, avoiding his gaze.

"Even so," Blake said pulling out of the hug but still with her arms around him, she quickly kissed him on the cheek before letting go. "Thank you." She said before backing up to where the others were.

When Weiss, Yang, and Ruby looked back up they saw AJ blushing immensely and holding his left hand to his cheek with his mouth open slightly. He saw them looking at him and he looked away from all of them.

"Wait, you did kiss him?" Yang asked, actually surprised. Blake blushed more than she already was and looked away. Yang started laughing. "Congratulations birthday boy!" She said before continuing her laughter.

"It was just a thank you." Blake mumbled.

"It's not even my birthday anymore." AJ mumbled without looking at them.


After more laughing and teasing they met up with JNPR and started heading towards the airships out of Beacon. All they talked about was their plans for the break except AJ who lagged behind everyone, Ren noticed this and slowed down to walk beside him.

"Are you alright?" Ren asked.

"I'm fine, I just… I'm not going anywhere for the break, I'm staying here and I'm gonna keep training. I'm just gonna be a bit lonely is all, but I hope you all have fun." AJ said with an honest smile at the end.

"Actually, Jaune and Pyrrha are staying to train as well." Ren pointed out.

"Oh, really?" AJ asked.

"Yes, and Blake said she's staying because she doesn't really have anywhere to be or family to see, so she'll just keep an eye on their dorm." Ren said and AJ visually brightened in demeanor. "I have to say, despite all the colorful members of the group, you are the most… interesting one."

"I won't deny I'm interesting but I'm hardly the most interesting." AJ said with a chuckle.

"The big detail about you that shows more than the others is how much you care for all of us, even me and the rest of JNPR, and you seem to forgive them in the end no matter how bad they wrong you." Ren said, referring to Weiss on that last part.

"Friends are the most important thing to me." AJ explained.

"That really shows with how protective you are. The one time Cardin tried to hurt Jaune, not just bully him, you almost broke his legs. You also literally get between us and Cardin when he walks by. No one see's it except me but I see you suddenly move to another part of the group and glare at Cardin as he walks by. You even hugged Weiss when she was depressed, no one else would have done that. None of us wanted to do that at the time. We all see each other as friends and comrades and we would fight for each other, but you and Jaune are the ones that I'm sure would die for us if you thought you needed to."

"I hope it never comes to that though."

"I hope so as well. But what I'm getting at here is that, you don't treat us like friends, more like…" Ren searched for the word, he found one but wasn't sure if he should say it.

"Family. You are all family to me." AJ said with a smile. 'Since I don't have any to speak of here.'

"We are a really weird family then." Blake commented with a smile as she fell back in step with them.

The group was outside and not far from the airships so they all turned to look at each other.

"See you all in a week and a half!" Ruby said next to Yang who threw them a peace sign.

"Yep." Ren said with a sigh next to Nora who was bouncing around, ready to leave.

"Have fun." Jaune said to Ruby and Yang before turning to Ren. "Good luck." He whispered and Ren nodded his head in thanks.

Ren saw AJ looking depressed again and Blake stood next to him trying to comfort him. "Hey guys." Everyone looked at Ren. "We should do a group picture for the most caring person in our group." He tilted his head towards AJ who went to deny the statement. "It's the least we could do."

"That's a bold statement." Weiss said.

"Yes but you of all people know it's true." Ren said with a knowing smile.

"Yeah! Group picture!" Ruby cheered.

"Sure." Pyrrha said and she and Jaune walked over.

"Guys, really, I'm not." AJ said.

"You help all of us whenever there is a problem. You stole a cookie and gave it to Ruby when she was stressed about a test, you sparred with Yang when she needed to loosen up, the thing with Weiss, you helped Jaune a few times with his sword training. When you help us like that asking nothing in return it's hard to say you aren't the most caring one of all of us." Ren pointed out.

"Come on AJ, you know you are." Blake said.

"I know, I just wish he wouldn't point it out." AJ whispered, blushing at the attention.

"Wait, who's gonna take the picture?" Weiss asked.

"No! Someone's gonna have to be out of the picture!?" Ruby asked, saddened by the thought.

"I can fix that." Ozpin said coming out with his cane and mug.

"Ozpin?" AJ said surprised.

"Would you really be willing to take the picture sir?" Jaune asked.

"Of course." Ozpin said with a nod and put his mug down to take out his Scroll. "Alright everyone."

Blake stood with AJ in the middle, Ruby to his right and Jaune to his left after Blake, Yang after Ruby, holding her little sis in a headlock, Pyrrha after Jaune, Weiss after Yang at the far left end of the picture, Ren on the far right of the picture with Nora on his shoulders. Smiles on everyone's faces regardless. No one could be happier at this point.

They would see each other like this again in just less than two weeks and continue school and training with a new semester, but while they were all just happy and enjoying the moment, their enemies were plotting. Torchwich and Cinder Fall would not just stop after the failure at the shipyard, not by a long shot.

A few more laughs and farewells left Jaune, Pyrrha, Blake, and AJ walking back to the school. The group were all looking at the picture which Ozpin had sent to them.

'I think there are… 16 different ways to combine our names into a team name.' AJ thought. 'Never mind there are a LOT more ways! Well then… hmm…'

"You look deep in thought, what are you thinking?" Blake asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I just for some reason started thinking of a way to make the four of us into a team, but there are so many ways to combine our initials." AJ said going into his thoughts again.

"You're making a team name out of us?" Blake asked smiling at the silly thought. AJ nodded.

"JAPB… JABP… I have no idea." AJ said giving up. "Too much to think about right now."

The next day was the first day of the break and the cafeteria was quiet to say the least, with many of the students leaving to see family and or friends for the break.

"Almost as quiet as the library here." AJ pointed out.

"The library isn't quiet when the others are playing that board game though." Blake said sitting next to him.

"Yeah, I enjoy the game and all but I don't get why they bring it to the library." AJ said.

"I know, right!?" Jaune said, sitting across from them.

"It is rather disruptive for everyone else." Pyrrha said annoyed by the thought.

"Hey, since the library is actually really quiet, wanna go there after?" Jaune asked. The two Faunus agreed.

"No, Jaune, we're going to the roof to train after this." Pyrrha ordered.

"Aww…" Jaune said depressingly.

Those four didn't bond as much as you would expect. They bonded, sure, but mostly the two pairs bonded, Blake and AJ were always in the library or their dorms, while Jaune and Pyrrha spent their time training. AJ had to find extra time to try and use Dust again as well. He first tried to hold and use Dust but the Energy he has turns the crystal white until he releases the crystal. He realized this shouldn't be able to work because he can't just get rid of the Energy he has, but he told Weiss he would try so he would simply continue to try different things till he figured it out.


AJ was currently standing in Ozpin's office waiting patiently for Ozpin to begin.

"Ozpin… it's the last day of the break, and my friends are hanging out without me right now, so may we please start soon?" AJ asked politely.

Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "Of course, I just wanted to tell you that I still have no leads on how to get you back to your world and… well I was wondering… Do you even want to go back anymore? You and Blake are getting along better than ever and well, you're getting along great with all of them now. Do you really want to contin-"

"No."

Ozpin actually looked shocked, which was a lot of emotion for him.

"I don't want to leave sir." AJ said depressingly. "As much as I will miss my family and friends, I have new ones here, I couldn't be happier here. You can just stop wasting your time searching, you likely weren't gonna find anything anyway."

"Are you sure of this? That is a very big decision you are making." Ozpin said.

"I'm sure!" AJ said immediately.

Ozpin thought for a minute. "If you truly are sure, you may go join your friends now."

"Thank you sir." AJ said with a slight bow of his upper body before leaving.

'There he goes again, calling me sir, he even bowed! I suppose he shows respect to show his immense thanks. He treats me like an equal otherwise.'

AJ spent the walk over to the cafeteria happy as could be. He didn't have to leave them anymore, he was here to stay.

As he was getting close to the cafeteria he saw everyone running from it and he was pretty sure he saw Yang go flying out the roof and into the sky.

"What a place to stay." AJ said out loud, shaking his head in amusement, before running to the cafeteria.


And that is the end of volume one of TPOR, TPOoR… idk which to call it... Whatever.

Now we have to do volume one of that other storyline we have going here in Fate. Team S.P.W.M.! Don't worry, the first vol of that was rushed so it will only take three more chapters.

Anyway, follow, fav, review if you want, just don't flame or be rude in general.

Have a great day everyone!