A New World
Chapter 10: Expelled
A/N: Almost done with Volume 1. I mean this chapter marks the end of the events in Volume 1 of RWBY, but I have plot points to fill before Volume 2. Enjoy!
Hiccup was awoken when his scroll went off - telling him that he had an important message. He glanced at it and then hurried to get dressed before heading to Ozpin's office.
"You wanted to see me sir?" Hiccup asked when he entered his office and saw Ozpin, Glynda and Henry Winchester were all in the room.
"Yes I did. This is about Jaune, he's expelled and is getting packed ready to leave. It has come to my attention that his transcripts were forged," Ozpin said grimly.
Hiccup pretended to be shocked. "Really?" He asked, taken aback.
Ozpin nodded and Hiccup looked at the head of the Vale council.
"Did he tell you about this?" Hiccup asked, addressing Ozpin while staring at Henry.
"Yes," Ozpin replied. "Where are you going with this Hiccup?" Ozpin asked.
"I'm just wondering who told him about Jaune's transcripts. Because we didn't tell Henry here so who did," Hiccup wondered.
"I can be directly spoken to you know," Henry said, irritated.
"Be quiet, this is now a Beacon staff issue and you're not part of the staff," Hiccup snapped and Glynda hid her smile behind her hand while Ozpin had to take a sip of his coffee in order to hide his smile as Henry face turned red in anger.
"I'm thinking team CRDL is involved. Maybe Cardin? Unless you know the name of whoever spoke to you," Hiccup said, turning to Henry.
"He said his name was Russell Thrush and that he was on the same team as my son," Henry said through gritted teeth.
"I'll call the team here and let Glynda here deal with Russell. You should go talk to Jaune's team. They were was quite upset about him being expelled, especially Pyrrha. You should also leave Henry," Ozpin said turning to him.
He was taken aback by this but stood his ground until Glynda glared at him and he practically ran from the room with Hiccup following at a leisurely pace.
As Hiccup made his way to the dorms, he heard Ozpin make an announcement, calling for team CRDL to go to his office.
He knocked on team JNPR's room and waited for the door to open. It was opened by Pyrrha, who looked like she had been crying recently.
"Hello Hiccup," Pyrrha said, her voice void of any happiness.
"Hi Pyrrha. You don't look so good. What's wrong?" Hiccup asked, again pretending that he didn't know already.
"Jaune is getting expelled." Pyrrha replied sadly.
"Oh. ok. Well I might have a solution for how you and your team can continue to see him, even if he is no longer a student here." Hiccup said and Pyrrha's expression became hopeful.
"Really?" She asked, now slightly more like her usual self. "How?"
"He can stay at my forge in Vale. Ever since Ozpin made me the Guidance Counselor here, I've had less time to go there."
Pyrrha's face brightened up. "I'll tell him the good news. Thank you Hiccup." she said genuinely.
"Any time." Hiccup grinned.
He then felt his scroll vibrate. He glanced at it and then looked at Pyrrha.
"You'll be pleased to know that all of team CRDL have a month of detention and Russell Thrush, the person who got Jaune expelled, is on the verge of being expelled himself." Hiccup said, holding up his scroll so Pyrrha could see.
"You're welcome by the way," Hiccup said after she had seen the message from Ozpin.
"Sorry. Just can't believe it," Pyrrha said.
"Alright. Now tell Jaune that he can go to my forge when he is ready. A room will be waiting for him."
"I will," she promised. "Thanks again."
The streets of Vale are being decorated in time for the Vytal Festival. Red, yellow, and green streamers and balloons are proudly on display, and Team RWBY is strolling through it all with an awed Weiss Schnee walking at the front.
A sign is being put up by an elderly Shopkeep - the same Shopkeep who was present when Ruby stopped Roman Torchwick from robbing his dust store. The sign reads in bright red letters "WELCOME TO VALE!" for all the foreign newcomers from their respective kingdoms of Remnant to see.
Weiss stopped and raised her arms in amazement.
"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" she exclaimed.
"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." Ruby said before she frowned a little. "It's kinda weirding me out…"
Weiss turned to Ruby.
"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" Weiss said as they continued walking.
Yang sighed, arms crossed. "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." She deadpanned.
"Quiet, you!" Weiss snapped.
As they stop near the docks and the sounds of foghorns are heard, Yang speaks up again.
"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" she asked, annoyed at having to do so.
Ruby covered her nose. "Ugh, they smell like fish!" she said in disgust.
"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!" Weiss replied while simultaneously ignoring Yang and Ruby.
Weiss starts walking away again.
"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Blake interjected.
Weiss scoffs. "You can't prove that!"
Ruby turns her head to the right. "Whoa," she says and attracts the attention of the rest of the team. The team follow Ruby's gaze to a shattered window down the street and a door full of yellow caution tape of the Vale Police Force before they all walk over to one of the two detectives standing in front of the store, who is writing on his pad.
"What happened here?" Ruby asks.
"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle," The detective replies before he walks over to his partner.
Yang sighs sadly "That's terrible."
"They left all the money again," the second detective says to his partner.
Ruby turns her head when she hears this.
"Huh?" she asks but received no answer from the detectives who were talking to each other, no longer paying attention to Ruby.
"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" The first detective replies.
"I don't know, an army?" His partner asks.
"You thinking the White Fang?" The first detective responded as is partner removes his sunglasses.
"Yeah, I'm also thinking that we don't get paid enough."
"Hmph! The White Fang." Weiss says in disgust, crossing her arms and pointing her nose in the air with her eyes closed "What an awful bunch of degenerates!"
"What's your problem?" Blake asks
Weiss turns to her. "My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."
"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths," Blake responds crossing her arms, getting serious "They're a collection of misguided Faunus."
Weiss is taken aback. "Misguided? They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!"
"So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!" Blake exclaims.
"Hmm... Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago…Maybe it was him," Ruby says, coming to Blake's defense.
"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum," Weiss replies, oblivious to Blake's growing anger. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."
"That's not necessarily true…" Yang interrupts but trails off when the team here comotion occur in the distance.
"Hey, stop that Faunus!" a voice calls out
As the team overhear the cry for help and rush over to investigate, a Faunus with a golden monkey tail is seen running down the length of a boat and leaping on to the edge as two sailors are about to apprehend him.
The faunus looks back at his pursuers with a smirk. "Thanks for the ride, guys! Haha!" He jumps off and hits the dock running
"You no-good stowaway!" one of the sailors shouts as he runs off.
The faunus uses his tail to hang on a lamppost while he peels back a banana. "Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" he replies. Before he eats, one of the detectives from outside the dust store throws a stone at him to get his attention.
"Hey! Get down from there this instant!" the detective shouts up at him.
The faunus drops the banana peel on the detective's face, who growls in return. The monkey-like Faunus twirls up to crouch on the lamppost, laughs in amusement, and proceeds to leap off and run away from the detectives. As he runs past Team RWBY who were watching the scene unfold, he winks at an astonished Blake before he continues to be chased by the officers.
Yang watching the Faunus get farther and farther away. "Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes…"
Weiss holds up a finger "Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss, Yang, and Ruby give chase.
Blake stands still, lost in thought, then comes back to reality and follows her friends. The team rounds the next corner, but then Weiss bumps into someone and falls over. She looks up only to see the faunus jump on to a building and disappear from her view.
"No, he got away!" Weiss says, disappointed.
"Uhh... Weiss?" Yang says before she points strangely at the girl underneath her teammate.
Weiss finally sees that she fell on a smiling girl, which startles the heiress and she hastily gets up.
The girl, still down on the ground, smiles widely at the four of them. "Sal-u-ta-tions!" the girl says in greeting.
"Um…hello." Ruby replies.
"Are you…okay?" Yang asks.
"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking," the girl replies
the team members look at each other in bewilderment before Yang speaks up again "Do you…wanna get up?"
The girl thinks about this for a moment "Yes!" she leaps back on her feet while the team steps back a little.
"My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby."
"I'm Weiss."
"Blake."
"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Blake elbows her in the side "Oh, I'm Yang." the team members introduce themselves, in order of their team name.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny exclaims happily.
"You already said that." Weiss pointed out.
Penny pauses. "So I did!"
"Well, sorry for running into you!" Weiss says before she turns around and starts walking away.
Ruby waves her arm. "Take care, friend!"
When they get far enough away from a startled Penny, Yang speaks up "She was…weird…"
Weiss looks around. "Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?"
Penny is suddenly standing in front of a surprised Weiss. "What did you call me?"
Yang speaks up as Weiss looks back and forth in shock and Yang looks apologetic. "Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!"
Penny shakes her head. "No, not you." she walks through the group and leans her head down to look at Ruby. "You!"
Ruby is startled. "Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh…" she stammers nervously.
"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?" Penny asks softly
"Uuuum…" Ruby trails off as she looks over Penny's shoulder while her teammates motion for her to say no. "Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?"
Ruby's teammates comically faint, but Penny looks overjoyed and laughs. "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" she exclaims.
Ruby groans as Weiss brushes herself off when she had gotten back up. "Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby asks
"No - she seems far more coordinated." the heiress replies.
"So... what are you doing in Vale?" Yang wonders
"I'm here to fight in the tournament." Penny explains.
Weiss pauses. "Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?"
Penny salutes in answer. "I'm combat ready!"
"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."
"Says the girl wearing a dress." Blake comments
Weiss stands with her arms crossed. "It's a combat skirt!
Ruby speeds over to Weiss' side. "Yeah!" she says as they both high-five.
Realization hits Weiss. "Wait a minute." she walks over to Penny and grabs her by the shoulders. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed…rapscallion?"
"The who…?" Penny asks, head tilted in confusion.
Weiss holds up a poor drawing of the criminal-in-question "The filthy Faunus from the boat!"
"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake demanded
Weiss turning her attention from Penny to Blake. "Huh?"
Blake walks over to Weiss, angry. "Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!"
Weiss scoffs. "Oh, I'm sorry." releases Penny and motions to objects around her "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"
"Stop it!"
"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!"
Blake growls, clenching her fist. "You ignorant little brat!"
Weiss looks offended, but when Blake walks away, she follows. "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"
"You are a judgmental little girl!" Blake says shortly.
"What in the world makes you say that?" Weiss asks
"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"
Yang slides up next to Ruby, looking uncomfortable "Um, I think we should probably go..."
Penny pops up behind Ruby, smiling "Where are we going?"
"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!"
"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"
…
The argument between the two continued throughout the day and team RWBY are now back in their dorm room.
"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!"
"That is the problem!"
Weiss gets up from her bed "You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"
Blake gets on her feet as well. "There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"
"People like me?" Weiss asks, taken aback.
"You're being discriminatory!" Blake shouts.
"I'm a victim!" Weiss replies. As they stare each other down in silence, Weiss leans in close, leering as she speaks quietly.
"You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus?" She leans against the bookshelf by the window. "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed.
My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood." she bangs her fist on the bookshelf which prompts Ruby to go over to comfort her.
"Weiss, I-" Ruby began but is cut off by a shout from her partner.
"No!" Weiss turns away from the window and walks back over to Blake
"You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"
"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake growls. Silence drops down on the scene again. A surprised Weiss backs away slowly, and Blake realizes her mistake as she looks around at her teammates.
"I… I…" Blake stammers before dashing out the door.
Ruby reaches out for her. "Blake, wait! Come back!" she runs over to the door and calls to her down the hallway as Yang sits herself down and Weiss looks down.
Blake runs outside and arrives at a statue of an armored man with a sword and a hooded woman wielding an axe on an outcropping, staring at the Beowolf under the stone heroes in particular.
She closes her eyes and slowly lifts her arms up to her bow and pulls the string to release the bow from her hair. She wipes away a tear away as the pulls up to reveal her Faunus ears. On the verge of crying, she becomes startled when she hears a voice above her.
"I knew you would look better without the bow." a voice says
She turns around and looks up.
The next morning at Beacon, Ruby wakes up from her beauty sleep, yawning in the process. She looks over at Blake's empty bunk, and groans sadly.
Later on in the day, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang are walking through the empty streets of Vale.
"She's been gone all weekend..." Ruby mutters sadly
Weiss is indignant at the attention Blake was getting, but nevertheless tried to cheer up the rest of the team.
"Blake's a big girl, I'm sure she can handle herself!"
"Weiss, come on. She's one of our teammates!" Yang points out.
"Is she? We all heard what she said!"
"Weiss," Ruby says with an edge to her voice.
"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Either way, she's missing, and we need to find her!" Yang exclaims
"A member of the White Fang! Right underneath our noses!"
Ruby groans as Weiss said that. "I just hope she's okay..."
Elsewhere in Vale, Blake is sipping a cup of tea and sighing. She looks up at the monkey-Faunus from the boat, sitting across from her and Hiccup who was also sitting at their table. The faunus holds his drink with his tail as his hand props his head up. He takes a sip when Blake puts her cup down.
"So, you want to know more about me..." Blake began while she looked at him intently.
"Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and you gave me nothing but small talk and weird looks!" Blake gives the monkey-Faunus a firm look. "Yeah, like that."
"She's usually quiet you know." Hiccup pointed out, unfazed by the glare he received from Blake as a result.
"That's not true," Blake said defensively.
Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to list off the times where you have said more than you need to? I can only think of two occasions. That includes your argument with Weiss by the way," Hiccup paused and waited for her answer. She said nothing and instead gestured for him to continue.
"You read more than you talk. You barely said anything when you rushed into my forge with your friend here and nearly gave Jaune a heart attack," Hiccup pointed at him before continuing. "You told me you had an argument with Weiss and spent the rest of the time reading 'Ninjas of Love'," Hiccup deadpanned.
Blake blushed, both at the reminder of barging into the forge to see Jaune and at the mention of the smut books that she liked to read, before she coughed and looked at the Faunus across from her. Said Faunus had a smirk on his face.
Blake rolled her eyes before closing them and looking at him sadly.
"Sun... Are you familiar with the White Fang?"
"Of course! I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them. Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!"
Blake sipped her drink while listening until she speaks up for the big reveal. "I was once a member of the White Fang." Sun promptly goes cross-eyed and chokes on his drink, making him put it down and wipe his mouth as he holds up a hand to process this information. "Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!" Sun exclaimed in shock before he glanced at Hiccup. "Did you know?"
"Yes. I've known that for a while," Hiccup replied
"Wait, was this argument with Weiss about your involvement with the White Fang?" Hiccup asked.
Blake nodded and Hiccup sighed. "What did she say?"
"She called the White Fang thieves and murderers." Blake replied.
Hiccup raised an eyebrow in question. "Aren't they?"
"That's not the point!" Blake snapped angrily. "She should listen to me before saying stuff like that."
"Maybe she should" Hiccup agreed. "But did you listen to her?" He countered and Blake froze, her anger disappearing.
"I recommend you think about it from her point of view as well, because her view is equally valid." Hiccup said and Blake made a mental note to do just that.
"I'll do that" Blake promised. "Thanks." she said with the barest hint of a smile.
"No problem." Hiccup smirked.
"Alright" He said, waving a hand. "Continue the story."
Blake blinked. "Where was I?"
"You were a member of the White Fang…" Sun said, to jog her memory.
She nodded. "That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it," she said as she began her story.
"Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and the Faunus."
"Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as a voice of our people. And I was there."
"I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference. But I was just a youthful optimist."
"Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking."
"Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect... out of fear."
Blake puts down her teacup in front of a stunned Sun.
"So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow," she wiggles her cat ears beneath the fashionable disguise to demonstrate.
Sun is still coming to terms with this. "So…have you told your team any of this?"
Blake simply looks down in shame and says nothing.
"Blaaaake!" Ruby calls out.
Yang also calls out. "Blaaaake!"
Ruby, Yang, and Weiss are walking through town and calling in vain for their missing teammate.
Ruby continues to scream. "Blaaaaaaaake! Where aaaare yoooouuuu!?"
Yang follows suit. "Blake!"
Ruby turns on Weiss "Weiiiiss, you're not helping!"
Weiss scoffs. "Oh! You know what might be able to help? The police!"
Ruby crosses her arms in irritation and slight disappointment at the idea. "Ugh, Weiss…"
Weiss is defensive. "It was just an idea!"
Ruby continues walking down the sidewalk. "Yeah, a bad one."
Yang is following behind Ruby. "Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions."
Weiss follows behind Yang. "I think that when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right!"
Penny follows behind Weiss "And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!"
Ruby turning around suddenly with her team, letting out a shout of surprise. "Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from!?"
Penny cheerfully ignores the question. "Hey guys! What are you up to?"
"Uhh..." Ruby struggles to think of an answer.
"We're looking for our friend Blake." Yang answers for her.
"Ooooh, you mean the Faunus girl!"
Ruby, Weiss, and Yang stare at Penny.
"Wait, how did you know that?" Ruby asks
"Uhh, the cat ears?" Penny says as she points to her head
Yang laughs a little. "What cat ears? She wears a…bow…"
The realization leaves them in silence as a tumbleweed blows through in the wind.
Ruby whispers. "She does like tuna a lot…"
"So, where is she?" Penny asks.
"We don't know. She's been missing since Friday."
Penny gasps. "That's terrible!" she approaches an uncomfortable Ruby. "Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!"
Ruby is doing her best to continue smiling. "Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, guys?"
She looks behind Penny to direct her question at Yang and Weiss, but finds herself alone with the company of the strange girl. A tumbleweed blows past them again in the quiet.
"It sure is windy today!" Penny says
Sun, Blake and Hiccup are now walking down an alley. Sun holds his hands behind his head. "So, what's the plan now?" he asks.
Blake contemplates her answer. "I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before."
Sun widens his eyes. "What if they did?" he wonders as he lowers his arms and paces in front of Blake as he continues his theory.
"I mean…the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"
"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be," Blake replies
"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."
"How huge?" Blake asks
"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."
"You're sure?" Hiccup asks and receives a nod from sun.
Yang exits a shop with Weiss, waving to the person inside. "Thanks anyways!" she sighs "This is hopeless." she then looks at Weiss when the white haired girl looks around nonchalantly.
"You really don't care if we find her, do you?" Yang says, an edge to her voice.
"Don't be stupid; of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her," she walks forward, calling over her shoulder.
"The innocent never run, Yang!"
Yang looks down in thought.
"So, Blake is your friend?" Penny asks for the millionth time.
Ruby sighs as they make their way down the sidewalk "Yes, Penny." she says, irritated.
"But you're mad at her?" Penny asks
"Yes," Ruby answers before pausing. "Well, I'm not. Weiss is."
"Is she friends with Blake?"
"Well, that's kind of up in the air right now…"
Penny is still trying to contemplate this. "But why?" she asks once more.
Ruby sighs again. "Well, you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was..."
Penny gasps. "Is she a man?"
"No! No, Penny. She's…" stops and sighs, looking at Penny as she talks now. "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off."
"I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things." Penny replies.
Ruby turned her gaze downward sadly "Me too…" the pair then continue walking.
Amidst the chirping of crickets and darkness of night, Blake lays flat on her stomach on the rooftop overlooking the shipment of Schnee Dust containers.
"Did I miss anything?" Sun asks.
Blake looks up as Sun drops down to her right, while Hiccup silently watched the scene in front of them unfold while on her left.
"Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."
"Cool." Sun responds, holding out one of the green apples in his arms. "I stole you some food!"
Blake giving Sun a questioning look. "Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?"
Sun defensively counters. "Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Blake delivers an angry glare at him. "Okay, too soon!"
Just as he says this, the winds blows all around them, and they look up to see a Bullhead's searchlights flashing around for a landing spot, descending in the middle of the cargo containers and extending a ramp for a black hooded individual with a metallic fanged mask to come out of.
"Oh no…" Blake gasps
"Is that them?"
Blake stared at the symbol of a wolf on the back of the man's outfit.
"Yes… It's them." Blake answers after a few moments, tone filled with despair.
"All right, grab the tow cables!" One of the White Fang members down below ordered, gesturing with the rifle in his arms.
"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asks.
Blake stares sadly at the scene. "No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right," she closes her eyes in despair, only to open them suddenly when she hears a new voice speak up.
"Hey! What's the holdup!?" the White Fang members look up at Roman gesturing widely and coming down the ramp. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"
"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that." Blake stands up and unsheathes the katana of Gambol Shroud before walking off the edge of the roof.
Hiccup sighed while Sun gave an alarmed shout. "Hey, what are you doing?!" Sun said.
Blake falls to the ground in a crouch, then continues on to hide behind one of the containers, peeking around the corner to see Roman berate a White Fang member holding a coil of rope.
"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" as he's looking around, Blake suddenly appears behind him with her blade at his throat. "What the- Oh, for f-" he rolls his eyes when he's cut off by Blake mid-swear.
"Nobody move!" she orders
The White Fang soldiers ready their guns and equip their swords in response.
Hiccup stood up and grabbed his weapons. "She's going to do something rather stupid," Hiccup said to Sun. "Go on lover boy," Hiccup teased.
Sun spluttered in embarrassment, blushing. "How did you know?"
Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "I didn't. I'm just teasing. Have you really fallen for her already?" Sun nodded and Hiccup smirked at Sun.
"Huh, so that love at first sight nonsense really does happen. I could make a bet with you on how long it will take her to notice, but this isn't the time. Go on," Hiccup said, pointing at the scene.
"I think we should listen to what he says first," Sun said, still blushing.
"Alright, I'll call her team then," Hiccup said, reaching for his scroll.
"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady," Roman said to Blake.
As the White Fang closed in on her, Blake uses her free hand to go for her bow and remove it, causing the ribbon to fall away as her Faunus ears are shown to the world.
"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"
The White Fang members lower their weapons a little at this development, unsure of what to do, when Roman laughs.
"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" he says, still laughing
"What are you talking about?" she demanded
"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"
"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation." Blake hissed.
Suddenly, the air is filled with more turbines blowing the wind wildly around the holdup.
Roman looked up. "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation…"
Two more Bullheads are hovering above the heist, and as Blake watches in horror, Roman smiles and manages to fire his cane at Blake's feet, resulting in a large explosion.
Penny and Ruby turn around upon hearing the noise, seeing the smoke rise from the docking bay just a few buildings away.
"Oh, no…" Ruby groans, just as her scroll went off, but she ignored it as the pair ran to the docks
Blake, dazed but relatively unhurt on the ground, quickly rolls and runs out of the way of Roman's continued attacks, flaming missiles destroying cargo behind her as she retreats behind more containers.
Roman approached slowly ."Here, kitty, kitty, kitty…" his taunt is interrupted when a banana peel lands on his head, causing him to look up and growl at the assailant.
Sun leaps from the container above Roman and drops down on the criminal's face feet-first, rolling up and readying himself to fight.
"Leave her alone!" he shouted at Roman.
The Bullheads open to let more White Fang members descend on the scene, standing by Roman as he gets up and surrounding Sun.
"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" Roman taunted.
With that said, the White Fang charge at the monkey Faunus, but he manages to dodge slashes and get some of the soldiers with his fists and kicks until he rolls out of the way, pulling out a collapsible red staff. He quickly uses this to beat down on each opponent that nears him, falling each one in a single flaming blow when he twirls, even creating a scorching shockwave to beat the last of them.
Blake peers around the corner of the container to watch Sun jump around and beat more White Fang soldiers, causing one to fly over Roman's head.
The crime boss growls in annoyance and aims his cane at Sun, firing a shot that he defends himself from just when Blake leaps into the action.
"He's mine!" she shouts
Blake goes in close and becomes a blur of afterimages as she slashes both blades at Roman, who backs away and deflects each would-be blow with his cane at unbelievable speeds. Blake continues to dash, hop over, and slide around Roman to try and find a weak spot, but her enemy, while barely deflecting the attacks, lands a few hits on Blake until one final beating with his cane causes her to go down.
Just as Roman deals with one opponent, Sun appears right behind her and disconnects his staff in two spinning circles of flame-firing shotgun nunchucks.
Sun swings each gun at Roman while firing everything he as at him, but even with the rapid series of shots and flying bullets, Roman manages to defend himself against every bullet and hit until a millisecond-long pause allows Blake to get a slash in and knock him back.
On his back, Roman notices a container hanging by a crane right above the two warriors, and gets up to fire his cane at its supports. Blake leaps behind it, but Sun barely misses when he jumps forward, ending up right below the nozzle of Roman's cane. Just as he's about to fire, his and Sun's attention are drawn to a familiar voice.
"Hey!" Ruby says. Hiccup uses the distraction to shoot at Roman, knocking the cane out of the hands of a surprised Roman
Ruby appears on the rooftop overlooking them, Crescent Rose extended and ready for action.
Roman loses interest in Sun, waving at Ruby instead. "Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"
Penny approaches Ruby. "Ruby, are these people your friends?"
Ruby looks behind her. "Penny, get back!" while her attention is diverted, Roman lunges for his cane and fires at her, launching the young Huntress-in-training back from the explosion's force and sending her scythe flying away. "AAAAAH!" Ruby shrieks in surprise from the blast.
Roman gives off an evil laugh at his attack on the young girl. Penny turns her head toward the criminal and gives her first glare, walking forward while Ruby tries to get back up.
"Penny, wait! Stop!" Ruby raises her hand in a futile attempt to stop her.
"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!" Penny replies.
Her backpack mechanically opens up, and from its dark depths comes a single sword that extends and multiplies into several blades hovering over Penny's back.
Leaping from the rooftop with the weapons acting as wings, she sends three of her swords to knock two White Fang soldiers down before even landing on the ground, where she proceeds to fling the swords at one enemy, impale another to a wall, create a barrier of spinning steel against a running attack, leaping over a goon with her swords in tow, and finally making a wheel that she throws to knock multiple Faunus off their feet.
Sun observes the spectacle in amazement. "Whoa!" he says before then running off to safety.
Three more Bullheads come from the skies and open fire on the battle, but Penny merely forms a shield and launches two of her swords into the wall behind her, which in turn pull their wielder back with their strings. When her swords swirl around her again, she commands them to open their points and build up a large glowing ball of green light. With a punching action, several bright lasers crack the pavement when they fire at the aircraft and slice each one in half, causing several of the White Fang members inside to fall and letting Ruby watch as Bullheads fall in pieces behind her.
Stunned, she turns back to Penny as she aims her swords at the remaining Bullheads holding the crate of Dust and pulls back on their wires, tugging the aircraft with them.
Ruby watches in awe. "Whoa… How is she doing that?" she wonders
Seeing the Bullhead's flight fall under Penny's control, Roman grimaces and turns to run towards the last transport.
Penny, after her large green pupils dilate for a second, pulls with all her might on the strings, and the aircraft crashes into a stack of crates, causing an explosion as a result.
Roman watches from the safety of his escape. "These kids just keep getting weirder…" with his observation made, he uses his cane to close the doors, and the jet lifts off, flying away from the lost battle.
Later, a handful of police cars are at the docks, where Ruby, Blake, Sun, and Penny are sitting on boxes in silence while Hiccup explains the situation to the officers present at the scene. That is, until Weiss and Yang appear on the scene.
Ruby speaking quickly to explain the situation.
"Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute…" Weiss ignores her and squares off with Blake.
Blake calmly stares her down. "Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"
"Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?" she pauses and Blake remains silent. "Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided…"
Yang, Sun, and Ruby look on, worried.
"I don't care."
Blake is surprised by her answer. "You don't care?"
"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"
"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-"
"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up… you'll come to your teammates. And not some…" looks at Sun behind her as she catches herself. "Someone else."
Blake looks at Ruby and Yang grinning at her, she wipes a tear from her eye, nodding "Of course."
Weiss smiles and nods. The moment is serious for a second more until Ruby screams. She waves her arms wildly. "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!"
As the five gather with each other, she points accusingly at Sun "I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!" Sun laughs nervously in response.
Ruby looks around. "Hey, wait a minute…Where's Penny?"
From the darkened back seat of a limo, Penny watches the group of friends reuniting with each other.
"You should know better than to go running around in a strange city." The driver of the limo says.
Penny lowers her head, sadly "I know, sir."
As the car drives off from the scene, the driver of the limo speaks up again. "Penny, your time will come…"
Meanwhile, back at Beacon. Ozpin is seen holding a Scroll showing a "LIVE FEED" of Ruby at the docks. He closes the video and opens up a communication with Qrow, whose team name and other information is left blank and his only message is "QUEEN HAS PAWNS."
"Hmmm…" Ozpin mutters in thought
Later on, Roman walks into a large warehouse with a shadowy interior. He goes over to a table and places down a case of mysterious contents, sighing in tiredness.
"How very disappointing, Roman," A voice says.
Roman turns around suddenly when he hears the voice and sees a woman with black hair and glowing yellow eyes, flanked by two companions.
"Whoa! Hehe... I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon..." Roman chuckles nervously.
"We were expecting... more from you," The woman continues.
Roman laughs a little more before getting serious. "Hey! You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang."
"And you will continue to do so," the woman summons a fireball in her hand and steps closer to Roman with her two companions, a silver-haired man and mint-haired, tanned woman.
"We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is...a little cooperation." the woman says, an evil smile present on her face.
"Wait, why did the heist fail" a voice asked, as the owner of the voice - Adam Taurus - stepped forward. "Did you screw something up Roman? Humans are exactly as stupid as I remember." He sneered.
"Adam," the woman's voice rang out, filled with authority. "Why are you here?"
"I'm here to ask why he is still working for us. He has failed twice now, and you told me he had never failed before when we hired him."
"He makes a good point." The woman admitted, much to Roman's chagrin. "Tell us why Roman." The woman ordered.
"The same kid from before showed up. The one who stopped the dust robbery before that Huntress with the purple cloak showed up. There was also a cat-eared faunus girl-" Adam's interest was piqued when he heard that "and a boy with a monkey tail-"
"Wait, wait, wait. The girl with cat ears, did she have black hair?" Adam pressed, desperate to find out.
"Yes, why?-" Roman began but was cut off again.
"Doesn't matter why. I've got to go." Adam said before walking away, ignoring the fact that everyone was looking at him now. He had a certain cat eared girl to find, and he knew just where to look.
Once outside, Adam took out his scroll and dialled a number. "Head for Beacon." Adam said without greeting the person over the line first. "Blake Belladonna will be there. Find her and bring her to me." He then hung up.
Adam started to walk away. He wanted to kick himself for not thinking of the idea sooner. He had sent people to search throughout Vale, thinking she would be hiding somewhere other than Beacon due to her past as a former White Fang member.
Instead she had hid where Adam would be least likely to look - among humans.
Because despite the fact that Beacon accepted Faunus, they still had more human students, this made it the perfect hiding place. Now however, the tables had turned.
A/N: Now, just need to tie up some plot points next chapter before moving onto Volume 2 events.