The view from Ozpin's office was quite magnificent.
On a good day, the sole occupant of the room could nearly see the other end of Vale; see the children, the fathers, the mothers, all the innocent people going about their daily lives. Enjoying the peace so hard-wrought by huntsmen and huntresses.
A peace growing ever more fragile, it seemed.
"As far as I understand it," Ozpin said, turning his gaze from the outside world back to his most trusted operative. The man looked unusually sober, his flask forgotten on his belt.
"Your niece, and one of her teammates, went to a known information broker and queried about these names?" He pointed at a hastily written note, scratched out in Qrow's handwriting.
Qrow nodded. "That's what the guy said."
Ozpin set down his mug, and sighed.
"Three days. Three days and they've started some vigilante hunt." He picked up the papers, reading the list.
"Yeah, gotta admit," Qrow leaned back, "In between cursing them out with every swear I know, I'm actually impressed. How long did it take my team? A few months?"
"Indeed." He flipped the page, "Just these names?"
"Yeah, or at least that's all he'll admit."
Ozpin sat down, and pulled out his scroll.
"And you think these names are related to their battle earlier this week?" Ozpin asked while tapping out a message.
Qrow snorted, "Unless they've managed to avoid attention from everyone in Vale, I don't see what else it could be." He leaned in, trying to read his scroll.
"Telling Ironwood?" He scowled, "Why is he getting involved?"
"We need more information." Ozpin reminded, "We have no idea who these people are."
"Not quite, I know the name Black. Assassin. He kills huntsmen." He stopped, his brow furrowing, "Although the guy they asked about had a different first name."
"An assassin? What in the world are they doing looking for an assassin?"
"Easy Oz," Qrow held up his hands, "They weren't looking to hire him." His features clouded.
"Probably."
Ozpin let out a sigh, and his scroll dinged. He read the recently delivered message.
-Ozpin
I'll need to run most of these names through our computers, but this Neo woman, can you get a description? I have a theory.
Ironwood out.
"Tin man answered already?"
Remember, he's your best operative...
"Yes, and he has nothing. Yet." Ozpin turned to face the window.
"He needs a description for Neo, whoever he or she is. Try and get one from Yang."
"Great." Qrow groaned, "I'll just go ask, and when she starts wondering how I know?"
"I told you."
"...That'll do."
Adam.
It always came back to Adam.
Never mattered how far Blake ran, he always found her.
She ran from the fragments of her family, he found her lying in a ditch.
She ran from the White Fang, he found her at Beacon.
She ran to a different timeline, and he still found her.
(Was he a bull faunus or a bloodhound?)
What was it going to take to lose him? Was she going to have to kill him? Is that what it was going to take?
"Blake?" Weiss shook her shoulder, "Are you listening?"
She shook her head, unkempt hair flying into sight. Her team, all sitting at a table in the library, open books scattered around them, looked at her with expressions ranging from concern to annoyance.
She opened a book, an old collection of fairy tales, and said, "I'm busy."
Weiss snorted, and began a retort. However, Yang quickly kicked her.
"So, uh…" Yang scratched the back of her neck. "Find anything?"
"…No."
"Alright then." She glanced at the other two members of her team.
"You two have any luck?"
Weiss sighed, and closed a textbook marked with Known Semblances: A-Z
"Nothing here." She leaned back, resting her head against the neck of the chair.
"I've… got nothing." Ruby admitted, "But I'll have lots of stories to tell next time we go camping!"
"Great." Yang set her chin on the table, blowing away a string of hair. "That was a well spent three hours."
"Come on Yang!" Ruby grabbed her sister's shoulders and gestured towards the shelves. "We still have lots of books to read!"
"That doesn't make me feel better."
"Yang…" Ruby pouted while sitting down and crossing her arms.
"She has a point." Weiss said, quickly silencing her partner's response.
"We don't have all day, and we're running low on things that seem…" She picked up a comic book that was set in a pile labeled, Theories.
"Probable."
"Those are totally possible!"
"They're comics!"
"So? We've time traveled!"
"…Touché."
"Then can we go get breakfast?" Yang asked, already up and pushing in her chair.
Ruby leapt to her feet, and said, "Brilliant idea Yang!"
Yang smirked, and bowed.
"Why thank you Ruby." She looked up, straight into her sisters eyes.
They both started to laugh.
"You two…" Weiss grumbled, but her voice lacked any malice. She got up, and they started to leave.
"You coming Blake?" Ruby asked when she noticed that only three had started walking.
Blake waved them away, "In a few minutes, I'm going to finish up this chapter."
Accepting her answer, Ruby and the others left. However, Yang lingered at the exit.
"…Do you need to talk?" Yang asked turning to face her teammate.
Blake grumbled, and turned to face her teammate. "About what?"
Yang looked away, taking a steadying breath before she responded.
"About him."
The words hit like a train, pushing a button she didn't even know she had.
"Like you talked yesterday?" She spat, her voice angrier than she had ever heard it.
Yang's gaze fell, and Blake immediately wished to take her words back. But before she could apologize, Yang left, heavy footsteps pounding on the hallway floor.
She groaned, and leaned back in her chair.
That wasn't fair to Yang. She was just trying to help, and she knew that. But she couldn't stop looking at her, and seeing the lies spewing from her mouth, taking her for a fool, playing on her naivety and—
Blake took a breath, her heart rate plummeting back into normal rhythm. She got up, and started walking towards the exit, intent on finding and apologizing to Yang.
Once she reached the doors however, two men wearing suits quickly walked up to her.
"Excuse me, Miss Belladonna?" The man on the right—a tall, dark-haired man wearing shades and a grey suit—asked.
"Y-yes?"
He pulled out a police badge.
"You need to come with me."
She should have been angry with Blake.
Really, she should have.
It wouldn't have been her fault—not really—but at least it would have made sense.
She felt concern, guilt, confusion, but not anger.
Someone bumped into her in the line for food, and Yang moved up. She grabbed a few fish sticks, a few veggies, but her focus was far away from the cafeteria.
At least it made sense, to a degree. Adam was back, and she could see how that could screw someone up.
It certainly made her want to hit something.
But Blake needed to let someone in, for her own sake if nothing else. Adam was too dangerous to take on alone. But any trust between the two of them was broken, and it was her fault.
She just wished Blake would talk to her, give her a chance to explain. All she needed was a few minutes, that's it—
"Yang?" Ruby waved her hand in front of her, drawing her out of her thoughts. "You awake?
Weiss was eyeing her fork, seemingly contemplating whether to stab herself with it. "For once, could someone pay attention?"
"I was paying attention!"
"Yes, but you always pay attention."
"I'm listening now." Yang said, interrupting the two. "What is it?"
Ruby gestured to her partner, and said "Weiss here has a plan!" She turned and looked at her.
"Tell everyone in the room, will you?" Weiss scolded, before clearing her throat. "My father's company has a few scientists that…well…"
"You've got blackmail material on?"
To her credit, Weiss merely grimaced at her words.
"Quite. Since we clearly don't have any other options, I thought, perhaps, we could send DNA samples?" Seeing the Ruby and Yang's frowns, she quickly clarified, "They won't tell anyone what they find, believe me."
Yang took a bite of her fish. Ruby stared at her plate.
"…We don't have any other options left?" Ruby asked, her voice cracking slightly.
"Not unless you really want to start using comic books." Weiss pointed her fork at Yang, "What do you think?"
"Hm?" Yang coughed, "Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Want the sample now?"
"No, it'd be contaminated by your food." She rested her chin on her hands, "Get it next morning. You do know how, right?"
"Inside of your cheek?"
She had done it before, since DNA was needed for the Beacon transcripts, along with blood typing, medical history, and, well, species. Those had been the hardest for her to fake, since she didn't have access to a doctor, or a medical lab, or anything really—
Whoa, where did that come from?
Yang clutched her head, a sharp prick of pain spreading out from the base of her skull.
Ruby leaned in, and asked, "You okay Yang?"
She grunted, "I'm fine Rubes." A bolt of pain lanced through her, bringing a groan to her lips. "Just… got hit harder than I thought yesterday."
Ruby's face scrunched up in confusion, "When did you get into a fight yesterday?"
"Right after…" She stopped, and looked up.
When did she get hit?
"Should we take you to the infirmary?" Weiss asked, her planning forgotten.
Yang slowly shook her head, "No, no I'm good." She smiled weakly at her teammate, "Just a headache."
Weiss didn't look convinced, but she started to eat rather than push for answers. Yang quickly joined her, picking up a now cooled fish stick and swirling it in small pool of ketchup.
Suddenly she heard a sharp pinging sound, and Yang looked up to see Weiss, her face turning into a rather green hue.
"…What?"
She swallowed, "Why are you eating fish? For breakfast?"
Yang shrugged, "I wanted to? Why is that such a big deal?"
"Because it's fish!" She sputtered, "Terrible fish at that!"
"What's wrong with fish sticks?"
"They taste horrible and disgusting and you're having them for breakfast!"
Ruby snickered, causing Weiss to glare at her.
"What's so funny?"
"We grew up on an island."
Weiss stared at her. "…So?"
"Fish was cheap."
Weiss sat in silence, before sighing and setting her head into her now crossed arms.
"Fine, enjoy your frozen fish sticks, you tasteless brute."
Yang smirked, "Don't mind if I do…" She plopped one in her mouth, her eyes locked on Weiss the whole time.
"Make a spectacle of it, will you…" She grumbled.
Yang ate the rest of the fish, but she had to admit that Weiss wasn't wrong; they were terrible fish. Frozen for sure.
Ruby opened her scroll, and said, "Is Blake coming?"
"She said she was, so she will." Yang responded, pushing away the fish.
Weiss glanced at the time worriedly, "It has been a rather long time. Perhaps we should go check on her?"
Yang sighed, "It won't help, alright? She needs space, not us following her around like puppies." She got up, picking up her tray, "I'm going to go dump this."
"Finally came to your senses?"
"No, Weiss." She walked away, "Just lost my appetite."
"I wonder why?" Weiss muttered.
Ruby laughed softly, and got up to grab some juice. However, her juice gaining quest was interrupted by the surprise appearance of her uncle.
"Uncle Qrow!" She yelled, before remembering the previous day. "Oh, uh, sorry for not visiting yesterday…"
"Forget about that, where's Yang?"
"Right here." She slid beside Ruby, "What's going on?"
He jerked his head backwards, and started to speed-walk towards the exit.
"Blake's being questioned in Ozpin's office." He growled, his hands clenching into fists. "Some jackass detective thinks they can just barge in here and—" Yang started to run, quickly outpacing the rest of the group.
"Yang, wait!" Qrow and Ruby yelled. Ruby sprinted towards Yang, forcing her to stop.
"Get out of my way!" She howled, pushing against Ruby. Qrow grabbed her arms and held her still.
"Yang, listen to me!" Qrow said, "If you go up there and do what I think you're about to do, you'll both be arrested!" He sighed, and let her go.
"Just… give me a few minutes, and I'll handle it." His fingers brushed the hilt of his sword.
"One way or another."
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
Tall cop—Detective Herb—leaned in, close enough that Blake could feel his breath. He smelt of coffee and stale fast food.
"A man's dead, and you were there, and we know it! Stop pretending!"
Blake pushed him away, heedless of her strength, and threw him into the desk. He scowled, and was likely about to accuse her of assault. Luckily Ozpin stepped in front of him.
"Mr. Herb—"
"Detective."
"While I understand your urgency, please do remember that you are talking to a seventeen year old girl." He tapped his cane, and turned to her.
"Miss Belladonna, if you could explain your whereabouts last night, I'm certain we could get this all cleaned up." He smiled, and Blake was thankful to have one ally against the police.
Ever since they dragged her away from the library and brought her to Ozpin's office—apparently protocol for when a huntress-in-training was arrested—she'd been trying to fend off the police's questions. Ozpin had likely been the only reason they stayed with legal methods.
Still, she was running out of ways to distract them, and she honestly had no idea how she was going to escape the charges. She had no alibi, and no way to explain away the blood she had left behind.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
"Like she'll tell the truth." Herb said with a sneer. He pulled out his scroll, expanding it and setting up a video.
"It shows everything right here," He started, pointing at the video. As she watched, Blake's heart sank like a stone. It was their fight in the embassy, captured on the security cameras.
This was the reason she didn't go through the front entrance in the first place!
"See?" The video had reached the point where Adam had attacked her arm—honestly she was half-surprised someone didn't remove that part—and he was franticly pointing at her, more specifically her ears.
"It was her!"
Ozpin didn't react, although Blake could see his grip on his cane tighten slightly.
"Or perhaps it was another faunus with similar features, or someone wearing novelty ears." He argued, slowly walking towards the detective.
Herb merely snorted, "The picture quality isn't that bad." He pointed at Blake, "I've never met her, and I can still tell they're the same person!"
"It's a dark video. More than that," He picked up his mug and took a drink, "My own sources indicate that Miss Belladonna was at a bar last night."
Herb, to his credit, wasn't thrown by Ozpin's words. "Really? And would your sources happen to have any evidence?"
"Eyewitness statements." Ozpin countered immediately, "Fingerprint evidence, a report from a government operative whose name I cannot disclose." He sipped, "Anything else?"
Herb smirked.
"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to see those." Ozpin stared at him for a moment, and then handed him a thick folder. Herb began to go through it, as Blake could hear him mumble out unintelligible words under his breath.
Despite what it meant, she was grateful for the distraction. If he saw her now, he'd probably arrest her just for how she looked. Her hands were gripping the sides of her chair, and her whole body felt coated in sweat.
Before long, he turned to her, a slight grin plastered on his face.
"So, Belladonna, "He began, flipping the folder back to the front. "I'm going to ask a few questions about what happened last night, and you're going to answer them. Got it?"
Oh crap.
"I-I understand."
"So, when you arrived at the bar, what happened?" He asked, his grin turning feral.
Just… just make it up. What would Yang most likely do?
Suddenly an idea came to her, and she began to speak.
"We, Yang and Weiss and—and myself, we entered, and all the workers in there threatened us with guns." She held her breath.
Surprisingly, his grin vanished at her words, and he flipped to the next page.
"Who were you meeting?"
Well, first thing that came to mind worked last time, so…
"Junior, an information broker."
His scowl grew.
"Was the club operational?"
"No, it was being remodeled, or repaired, I'm not sure."
He was nearly growling now, held back only by Ozpin's increasingly smug expression.
"Did you enter the bar straight away?"
"No, we spent a little time in the entrance way."
Now the growl slipped out, and he threw the pages at Ozpin.
"She talked with her friends, got her story straight. This proves nothing!" He slammed his hands, now balled into fists, down on the table. "I have video evidence!"
The door opened, and Blake turned to see Qrow stomping across the office.
"Hey, you." He said, causing Herb to turn. "Yeah, you're the right idiot."
Herb snarled, and said, "You have five seconds to rephrase that."
Qrow grinned, an expression that reminded Blake more of a feeding Grimm than a human. "Really now? Or what? You'll take on a huntsman?"
"What do you want?" Herb demanded, crossing his arms. "I'm in the middle of an investigation."
"Really now? Cause all I see is you interrogating my niece." He jerked his thumb towards Blake.
…What?
"Um…" Herb glanced towards her ears.
Qrow sighed, and said, "Adopted."
"Alright then, your niece stopped being a minor the moment she became a huntress." Herb explained, "And even if she wasn't, she committed a terrorist attack!"
While the two men stared at each other, Ozpin stared at the screen. His eyes focused on Blake's form, and then on Blake herself.
"Gentlemen," He interrupted, "If you would return to the screen, I believe we can get this all straightened out." They both looked at him, and then at the screen.
"Mr. Herb—"
"Detective."
"—if you notice, your suspect suffered a severe wound to their hand, right here." He pointed to Adam stabbing her hand. "If Miss Belladonna was the suspect, shouldn't she have the same wound?"
Herb glanced at her, and her hand. "Medical treatment and a ton of makeup."
Ozpin sipped his coffee. "Medical treatment that she never received. Our records will back that up."
Herb was silent; he could tell his case was unraveling around him. The funny part, Blake thought, was that he was right. What was real was less likely than fiction.
…Oh God, her life was insane.
"…I'm sorry for taking up your time." Herb said tonelessly, "If you remember anything else, please call me." He handed her a card, and walked off.
"…Prick." Qrow spat after he left. He turned to her. "You okay?"
Not even close.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine."
"Good." Qrow stretched, "Let's head down. Oh, and Oz?" He jabbed his finger towards the headmaster.
"Next time, I get here before he starts asking questions."
Ozpin sighed, "Hopefully there won't be a next time." He glanced at Blake.
"Although something tells me there will."
After a few quick explanations, Qrow and team RWBY had returned to their room, intent on relaxing after a rather serious morning. The four girls had collapsed onto Blake's bed, Blake looking like she wanted nothing more than to fall under its covers and sleep.
"So, this is what you do when we give you four beds." Qrow plucked the cables holding up Ruby's bunk, filling the room with a twang.
"They're more stable then they look." Weiss explained.
"I'm sure." Qrow sighed, and sat down on Weiss's bed. "Look, I know what happened last night—"
"Of course you do," Yang muttered.
"And I just have to say," He smiled slightly, "Congratulations! You are officially the youngest team to become vigilantes."
Ruby tilted her head, "Is it because I'm younger?"
"No, it's because todays your third day at Beacon, and you've already had a teammate arrested."
"Oh."
"Speaking of which, what happened?" Yang asked; her hands balled into fists.
"Well, your girlfriend over here—"
"What?!" Both Blake and Yang shouted. Qrow rolled his eyes in response.
"Fine, your "Bed buddy" got mistaken for someone who got stabbed in an embassy in Vale."
Blake looked away, while Yang began to rub the back of her hand. Weiss had a perfect poker face, and Ruby…
Well, she tried.
"Ruby…" Qrow sighed, "I know that you were there." He glanced towards the door, half expecting to see a police officer there. Ruby, meanwhile, just glared at him.
"Then why defend her?" Yang demanded, "Why are you here in the first place?"
"Because she's pretty much my niece—"
"Huh?"
"And because…" He sighed, "Because that person you four fought at the dust shop is far more dangerous than a group of teenagers should have to fight."
The room went silent. Qrow seemed to be waiting for the team to answer, but none of them had any idea of what to say. Of course she was dangerous. They all knew that, but they couldn't explain that to Qrow. He'd think they were crazy!
"So, you wanted to protect us?" Ruby said slowly, calculated. Relatively speaking.
Qrow nodded.
"You didn't need to do that." Yang argued, "We can handle ourselves!"
"You don't know this woman like I do."
"Yes we do!"
Blake elbowed Yang, whispering, "Shut up!" To her just under her breath.
Qrow raised a brow, and leaned back. "Really now? What's her name then?"
"Cinder." Yang blurted.
Ruby tensed, briefly noticing the similar movements her teammates made. Even Yang's anger faded into shock.
"Cinder, huh." Qrow said, and he leaned forward. "Are you sure?"
Yang stayed quiet, leaving his gaze to fall on Ruby.
"Um… yes?" She squeaked softly, unable to meet Qrow's eyes.
"Huh. Cinder…" he pulled out his scroll, and Ruby could vaguely see some sort of messaging program launch up.
"How'd you find that out?" He asked. His focus remained on his screen, but Ruby knew better than to assume he wasn't paying attention.
"We, uh…" She mumbled, desperately trying to come up with some kind of explanation that made sense.
Thankfully, Blake came to her rescue.
"I have some old friends…" She began, "In the White Fang. They sent me a message with some names, and descriptions, of people working with the Fang. Cinder matched the woman who attacked us."
Qrow was silent, and Ruby worried that he didn't believe Blake, that he was about to send them off to some padded room.
"Alright then." He said instead, and got up to leave. "Send me the file later. Oh, and Yang?"
"…Yes?"
"You're holding Blake's hand."
Yang and Blake both whipped their heads around, mouths wide open. However, they found their hands nowhere near each other.
Qrow's laughter echoed in from the hallway, and Yang growled. She ran up to the door, leaned out, and yelled, "Not! Funny!"
Blake had buried her head in her pillow, red creeping towards her ears. Ruby snickered softly, and even Weiss seemed to be holding back a few giggles.
Yang glanced at them, "Not a word, or I'll spray paint Crescent Rose!"
Ruby's mirth vanished, and she gaped at Yang. "You wouldn't!"
"Don't push me."
While spray painting her weapon wouldn't damage it—Yang was smart enough to buy the right paints—she'd have to spend hours scraping it off, and disassembling it, and buying solvents…
"Fine," She eventually conceded.
"Good." Yang sighed, and mumbled, "We only shared a bed once…"
"Um, what?"
"Not a word!"
It was a bad day when Ozpin considered switching to decaf. It was an exhausting day when he considered expresso.
Thankfully, he hadn't reached that stage yet, but the information Qrow pulled out of Team RWBY was threatening to push him there.
Names, apparently gained from a White Fang contact by Blake Belladonna. Names, and descriptions.
Three women, one man. One an assassin, one a criminal-for-hire, (Thank you Ironwood) and two unknowns.
He groaned, and briefly considered buying some painkillers. He could feel the headache forming at the base of his skull.
The whole week had produced more questions than answers, and it didn't appear to be slowing down much. He still didn't know why or how a Grimm horde had attacked the new initiates, nor how Weiss recovered from her wound.
On top of that, there was something off about the information Blake had acquired. The odds of any member of the White Fang being willing to talk to her was incredibly low. Her actions when she left the group had ensured that.
He sighed, and got out of his desk. He'd spent enough time here tonight, he needed sleep.
Tomorrow would come soon enough.
Deep inside a White Fang warehouse, two people sat in a soundproofed office. Both were leaders of their own groups, and both had vastly different goals. But for the moment, at least, they were allies.
But right now, Cinder and Adam were having difficulties remembering that.
"Your orders was to scare her, or convert her to our side," Cinder began, "Not kill her."
"Is she dead?" Adam said smugly, although Cinder could easily see the sweat beading on his skin.
"…No." Cinder admitted, her eyes glinting with fire. "But the point is, you disobeyed me." She crept closer, her hands wreathed in flames.
"I thought we had an agreement."
Adam flinched, but continued, "Belladonna is a traitor to the cause! She will never join us."
"Oh really?" Cinder said, pausing. "Why would that be?"
Adam mask locked on to her own, and Cinder had to admire the mask. It worked extremely well.
"You know why. She…" A pause, was he getting emotional? "Killed three of our best men. My friends!"
He shot up, chair forgotten. "Not a single one of my men would hesitate to kill her on sight! You want her to join?" He snorted, "I'd have a better time making the Schnee spawn convert."
Cinder was silent for a moment. Adam glared at her, before picking up his chair and sitting back down. The room was still, no sound beyond the two criminal's breathing.
Eventually, Cinder spoke, "Very well. I'm reassigning you. Torchwick…" A small smile flickered across her face, "…needs more men. You'll provide those men, and assist as necessary."
Adam's lips pressed themselves into a hard line, but he nodded. Torchwick hated him, and he hated Torchwick, but the thief was a professional. He'd keep his feelings out of the job.
Cinder opened the door, and the sounds of hundreds of White Fang members came to life.
"I have some arrangements to attend to." She said, and then walked away.
He half considered asking his men where she went, but he knew it would be a waste of time.
It always was.