"Expulsion?! Surely you can't be serious!"

"Mr. Winchester, I am serious. See, despite Ms. Goodwitch strict streak, she never punishes the cadets more than they deserve. If she believes your actions deserves expulsion, then expulsion will be." Ozpin explained to the burly teenager, whose face contorted into an ugly expression.

"It was just a prank gone wrong!"

"A prank is gluing post-it's in someone's lockers, a prank is putting salt in someone's coffee, Mr. Winchester. Putting the lives of others at risk is not a prank. Besides, your own behavior since the year started have being more than just reprimandable. Several instances of racism and bullying, inside the academy and outside it. Honestly, you weren't expelled before because we didn't have enough evidence for it, but now… You thought that being a Huntsman was just a position of power for you to abuse, Mr. Winchester. It isn't. It's our job to protect AND inspire people to be better. Now, you have 24 hours to collect your belongings and leave Beacon." Ozpin explained calmly.

"This won't be the end of this!" Cardin growled.

"I hope it is, Mr. Winchester. For your own good, I suggest you start reflecting on your actions, before they bring you to a bad situation you can't escape." Cardin just got up of his chair and stormed out of the office, while the commander just sighed and sipped on his coffee.


"Are we sure about this one?" Roman asked as he saw the newest plan from Cinder on his scroll, while the evil woman just smiled at him and nodded. "Look, I can steal anything, but Atlas won't take it kindly if we take one of their prototypes. I'm not even talking about the Hunters and the police, but an army on your heels."

"Actually, your heels, but that's irrelevant." Roman would disagree with that statement if he hadn't a strong sense of self-preservation. "Mining Vale and Atlas trust in each other will boost my plans further."

"Or it will make us hunted by forces we are not ready to fight against. I strongly suggest you to rethink this little plan of yours." Roman urged, but the woman just chuckled.

"I'm sure you won't disappoint me, Roman. Not again." She said as almost a threat, and Roman puffed some smoke, but didn't answer back. He sat in a crate as Neo appeared from the shadows, casting an urgent look at him. "Yes, I know. This won't end well… unless someone get in our way again. You know, someone that likes to ride bikes, dress as a bug and meddling?"

Neo simply smiled and nodded in understanding, before walking away.


"Home, sweet home." Jaune joked as he opened the door for their dormitory, with Yang on his back. The week in the forest turned to be hell, as Goodwitch made more challenging tasks for them as the days passed. Now all of them were tired, more mentally than physically, so everyone wanted a rest.

"Warm baths, fluffy beds, meals he didn't had to kill ourselves…" Weiss said as she supported herself on Blake.

"Pancakes…" Nora murmured as she slept on Ren's back, who sighed and gave a stare at Jaune.

"Fine, I'll make her pancakes tomorrow. It's not my fault she decided to follow Yang's lead." Jaune said as he struggled to enter in their room.

"Well, I should put my partner in bed too." Pyrrha said as she carried ruby on her back. "I was thinking… it will sound silly, but…"

"You want to do something common but you haven't had much chance to do." Blake guessed, and Pyrrha nodded.

"I was thinking we could go out, but not in our Hunter attire… just a casual outing, like normal girls with normal knees as Ruby like to say." Pyrrha explained and they all nodded in understanding.

"We'll decide the details tomorrow, I really need to sleep." Weiss stated and they all entered their rooms.

Jaune laid Yang's on his bed, and allowed her to keep sleeping as he grabbed some clothes and took a long bath, singing an old song as he did so. When he finished, and dried himself, he noticed there was something written in the fogged mirror, and wondered if Yang had entered the bathroom to make a joke, though he was sure that despite all the teasing, she wasn't the kind of girl to take a peek.

Atlas have a toy the bad guys want, go to the airfield warehouses tomorrow night to stop them.

The whole message was inside a drawn heart, and Jaune wondered if someone was using a Semblance to mess with him. He finished putting clothes, and the message disappeared as the mirror un-fogged itself. He cursed, but we wouldn't rush outside to grab his scroll to take a picture with the chance Yang was awake. He walked outside and saw that Yang was awoke, reading something on her scroll, but still on his bed.

"Yang, the bath is free, but something odd happened." He said, and Yang stared at him, signalizing for him to continue, so he told her what happened.

"Weird… Unless you believe in ghosts, someone left a message to you." She said, a little worried. "I think we need to tell Goodwitch. You know, avoid the whole docks thing, as you said?"

"Yeah, I think it's a good idea. We'll do it tomorrow morning then." He said and she nodded, grabbing some clean clothes and entering the free bathroom. Jaune laid on his bed and started to send some messages to his family, but couldn't help but notice the warmth Yang left, and the nice smell, even if they just returned from the forest.

Come on, Jaune Arc! Calm down! She's your partner! And then there was that kiss Coco gave me… Dad would be saying stupid advices… and I'm not sure I should ask advise from mom… definitely not my sisters…

"Ah, that hit the spot!" Yang came out of the bathroom several minutes later, drying her hair, wearing her usual top and short-shorts.

Were they all so small, or Yang curves so… BAD! Bad Jaune!


Jaune and Yang entered Ozpin's office, in the top of Beacon's tower, and saw it was located behind the clock, with all the giant gears exposed. It felt a little odd, maybe even overwhelming to see there. The blonde duo walked to his desk, where Cmdr. Goodwitch was already waiting, with Winter Schnee, Weiss' sister, of all people.

"Mr. Arc, Ms. Xiao Long, glad you two joined us. It's good you two are here. Winter is here as a representative of Atlas, since by what you informed previously, this concerns her country as well." Ozpin said as he pointed them to sit. Both looked at the woman and nodded in greetings, that she returned in kind.

"I'm curious about this message you received, Mr. Arc, and why you were the one to get it." Winter explained, and Jaune just repeated the story. The older Schnee took a few moments to think about it before speaking again. "Whoever sent this message, knows you and wants you there."

"So, uh, good reason for me not to go? I mean, I bet you from Atlas will have that place strongly guarded." Jaune guessed, but the three adults in the room stared between themselves, making him worry.

"Unfortunately, we can't move our own soldiers there without Vale's Council permit, and what is stored there is confidential. A big detach of soldiers would bring unwanted attention. It also means there's a leak on our side, and theirs." Winter mused, more to Ozpin and Glynda than the two blondes.

"Alright, sorry, but who's 'theirs'?" The blonde boy asked, but no answer came from the adults in the room. "You know, I'm not feeling a lot of trust here."

"It's not that, Mr. Arc, or better, not just that. It's not your character we question, it's your ability to keep secrets to yourself. And until we discover the leak on our side, we can't risk information being freely spread." Glynda explained, her tone of voice letting clear her feelings about it. She didn't want to keep secrets, but knew the importance of doing so.

"So, Winter agreed with us and you shall go with your partner, and of course, backup from licensed hunters. Keep in mind we don't want you to intercede but since the message was sent to you specifically, we don't want the risk to see whoever is going to attack our warehouse to not appear." Winter explained, making him raise an eyebrow.

"I have this nagging suspicion I'm going to be used as bait." He deadpanned, and Glynda put a hand on his shoulder.

"You won't be alone, for not only your partner will be there, but also two licensed Huntresses. I'd be there myself, but a high-profile person like me would draw too much attention, as would be Winter. You have all the right to feel bad about it, even to not agree, but capturing these criminals would be a great step in turning Vale safer." The blonde woman said, and Jaune sighed and cursed his morals.

"I'll do it. Who's coming with Yang and I?"


"Jay!"

"Hey, Coco." He said as she pulled him into a hug, making him blush, while Yang gave them death glares. Velvet coiled a little feeling the tension forming between them. "I suppose the commander told you what we'll be doing eh?"

"Stake-out. Boring if you ask me, and we really should meet outside the job." She said as she ended the hug and smiled at Yang. "Hey blondie. Let's work together and show the higher ups what we can do, okay?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure I'll give them a lot of Yang for their buck." She said and Velvet and Coco stared at each other, unsure about how to react to the bad pun, while Jaune chuckled and shook his head.

"Well, so what's the plan? We can't just go there looking like… Hunters…" Jaune said as he stared at the girls, then at himself. He didn't cut the Huntsman look, but the girls….

"Ah, I'm so, so glad you asked. You do need a makeover." Coco said with a smirk and looking above her sunglasses.

"You know, I'm with you in this. Jauney, you will never be the same after we finish with you." Yang agreed, then dragged him by his hood, followed by a smirking Coco and an apologetical Velvet.

"Meep." Was all he could muster to croak out.


"He's moving again. Going to… a mall? Weird, it's a weekday." Emerald wondered as she followed the tracker she put on Jaune's wallet. Mercury gave out a bored sound and sat up on the roof they were perked.

"I still think we're wasting time and I should just go and murder the insect. Boot always wins against bugs." The silver-haired man said as he patted his boots, making the girl roll her eyes.

"Cinder said we shouldn't. Let the altered Grimm deal with him if we must, but we are to keep ourselves hidden. Besides, she has another mission for you." Emerald affirmed as she sent a file to his scroll. Mercury opened it, and looked unamused.

"Who's this guy? Looks like an idiot."

"They say it needs one to recognize another. He's our next test subject, and this one is not a homeless or drug addicted, so he might turn out better than the others. And he does have something against our target too." Emerald said with no emotion on her voice, while her 'partner' just shrugged.


"Come on, Velvet, just a little more skin." Coco affirmed, while her partner gave her an angry stare, as angry as a cute bunny girl could must.

"No! We aren't going to hit a night club, so no!" She said as she appeared in a pair of tight black leather pants and a brown leather corset and shoes. Her forearms had some leather gloves too, giving her an air of 'bad bunny girl'. "I'm already worried this pants aren't flexible enough."

"It's all part of our disguise." Yang said as she appeared in a black and white outfit that said 'sexy biker girl'. "You look great, bunny. It'll be just three gorgeous girls and an awkward guy in a joy ride around the less crowded areas of Vale."

"If Jay stop chickening out and comes out!" Coco, wearing almost the same outfit as always, just instead of pants was a mini skirt with stocking, and her sweater had the back open, said aloud towards the changing stall, and they heard a grunt in response.

"I'm just not sure I do a good bad boy, Coco." He finally said as he got out of the stall, and the three girls took a moment to admire their work. He was wearing a leather jacket, tight jeans and combat boots, and some chains. His hair was now slicked back and kept in place with hair spray, and he was wearing a pair of sunglasses and fingerless gloves.

"Mama like it." Yang murmured, and Coco had to agree, as he spun and showed his toned butt.

"It doesn't feel like me." He complained, until both Coco and Yang slapped his butt. "Gah!"

"It's perfect. Now come on, let's go have some dinner and then we go to our mission." Coco affirmed as they left, and Jaune groaned. It was like going out with his older sisters.

They left the mall, and after another brief discussion on who would ride with who (Yang wouldn't let anyone driver her Bumblebee, but also didn't want Coco on Jaune's back, so Velvet rode with him again), they at first just did what they were pretending to, a joyride through he town until the night became darker and the streets emptier, and drove to the warehouse area near the airfields.

It was… awkward, to say the least. The spot was infamous as a lover's spot, and many cars and bikes were spread around, with couples making out in the dark. Jaune could feel Velvet's face was probably red as a tomato, as they tried to find a more secluded spot for themselves and he just hopped no one they knew would see them and have the wrong idea.

Soon they found themselves in a small hill near the airfield and the warehouses, and no one was nearby. They parked the bikes and sat at the top of the hill, observing the night movement of the terminals and the airships coming and going. It was a rather peaceful nigh, one they'd enjoy more if they weren't on work… and to two girls, if they were alone with a certain blonde.

"…it's quiet." Jaune decided to break the silence, and he only get some murmurs as answer.

"Which one is Atlas warehouse again?" Velvet asked, deciding to not let the silence settle in again. Jaune opened his scroll and pointed to the unassuming warehouse between many others.

"That one, with the roof written 'AS-12', but no movement for now." Jaune answered, and then they saw a heavy load truck moving towards it. "Girls, I think that might be it."

"Finally, some action!" Coco shouted as she got up and readied to move.

"Yeah, let's go there and kick some butt!" Yang agreed, while Velvet meeped and moved in front of them.

"W-we aren't supposed to act! We need to call Beacon!" She said as she readied her scroll, but noticed she had no signal. "Weird… we should've have strong signal around here…"

"Mine is not working too…" Coco agreed, as they saw from the distance several people in dark clothes opening the warehouse and one in a white trench coat and bowler hat. "Alright, we can't let those guys take whatever Atlas is hiding there with them. As the veteran Huntress in the field, I say we move now."

"B-but…" Velvet and Jaune tried to complain, but Yang and Coco started moving.

"It's never the easy way…" Jaune said as he grabbed his Rider Belt.


"And here it is… Atlas newest, fancy, expensive and deadly toy." Roman said as the lights illuminated some kind of robot. He grabbed a book and started reading it. "And it even came with a simple to understand manuals and controls! It makes the life of thieves like me so easy!"

He turned to the masked thugs that showed no reaction as they got about preparing a loading crane to put the robot on the truck. Roman sighed and puffed some smoke, lamenting the lack of interest of their new grunts. He just hoped that they would be useful when the inevitable arrival of the authorities takes place.

"Alright, everyone stop and put your hands on your heads!" He smirked as they were right on the clock, and saw the brunette with the minigun up a crate. Soon he saw a blonde girl blocking the exit, and a Faunus one on the other side. But most importantly, he saw a Kamen Rider, making him smirk.

"Well, look who we have here. Meddling kids! All it's lacking is a big dog! Now, would you kindly leave? I have a package to deliver." He joked about, only to hear the sound of guns cocking, making him shrug. "It's never the easy way, is it? Well, do I have a surprise for you guys!"

He snapped his fingers, and the thugs stopped working and turned to the new arrivals, and then they made a screeching sound and started convulsing, and their clothes ripped, revealing a Grimm forming from inside, Alpha Beowulves and Ursas Major. Coco opened fire, but those Grimm were faster than normal ones, and apparently smarter as they used cover to their advantage.

"W-what just happened?!" Velvet shouted as she avoided an Ursa's claw and kicked it on the face, making it fall on its side but getting up quickly.

"I don't know and right now I don't care!" Yang said as she jumped against a Beowulf and emptied her gauntlets on it, her last punch braking the monster in two. "Those things are tough!"

"So am I!" Coco declared as she pushed the barrel of her minigun down an Ursa's throat and fired, exploding its head. Jaune moved to her side, fighting two Beowulves at the same time, kicking and punching then as hard as he could, covering her back. She was about to say something when they heard a different sound from usual, and turned to where Torchwick was.

"And they even left the keys inside. Atlas really made this easy." He mocked as he made the Atlesian machine move. He didn't waste time or cared about the obstacles and people and rushed outside, breaking the wall instead of going through the door. Jaune grabbed an Ursa in a headlock and broke its neck.

"Hopper!" He called, and soon enough his bike entered the warehouse, running over one of the Beowulves and tossing it one the boxes.

"How you did that?" Yang asked as the bike blinked its golden lights.

"Hopper is a smart bike. Yang, you and Coco take him and pursue Roman, Velvet and I will deal with the Grimm!" He shouted as he kicked another Ursa in the face.

"But!" Yang tried to discuss.

"He's right, blondie! Velvet and he are melee, while I'm ranged, and you know how to drive a bike!" Coco said, and Yang groaned but jumped on Jaune's bike, with the brunette jumping right behind her.

"You two better be alright when I come back!" Yang shouted as she revved the engine and started the pursuit.

The girls left the warehouse and followed the marks on the tarmac, as the robot's tracks left deep marks on it. Soon they left the warehouse area and got into the highway, where some damaged cars were in the escape areas, and the fast bike soon made them close the distance with Roman, who was fleeing in the highest speed the robot could deliver. Thankful for the girls, it wasn't faster than Hopper.

"Blondie, put us on the side of that thing! I'll stop it on its tracks!" Coco shouted.

"On it!" Yang answered as she 'stepped' on the gas and dodged the broken cars along the way, and then the top half of the mecha turned and started firing on then, forcing her to lose speed so they could avoid the fire. "Damn it! Hold on, I'm going wild!"

"Hold on what?!" Coco shouted back but Yang was already speeding again.

Yang jumped on the opposite side of the highway through a broken car working as a ramp, and speed through the incoming traffic and speeding past the mecha, causing confusion on Roman until she jumped back, Coco having turned on her seat and firing her mini-gun on the robot's legs and 'feet', breaking some of its cogs and jamming its tracks, tossing the mecha out of control and down the highway.


Velvet always considered herself a good Huntress, and tonight she was wondering if that was good enough, as she kicked another Ursa on the face, and jumped out of the way. It started with a dozen Grimm, and now they were down to six. She was proud she took two on her own, but she also felt Jaune was doing most of the job.

"Rider PUNCH!" He shouted as he punched one of the Beowulves and it fell down engulfed in golden flames. He kneeled and breathed hard, and Velvet stood by his side.

"Are you alright?" she asked as he started to stand again.

"My Aura levels are starting to run low. Special attacks consume lots of it." He explained as they eyed the five Grimm left. Velvet wondered if she could use her weapon to copy Jaune's armor, but wasn't sure if she would be able to use those attacks. "The signal is still jammed… If we could find the source…"

"I can do that!" She said as she perked up and grabbed her scroll. "Jammers emit signals like a wireless router, so I can find where the signal is stronger and disable it! But…"

"I'll keep them busy! Go!" He urged and she nodded, scroll in hand as she tried to find the source of the signal, while the Rider engaged against the Grimm again.

She tried to pay no mind to the shouts and roars coming from the battle as she followed the app on her scroll that tracked wireless signals intensity. She moved with her eyes on the screen until she bumped into the truck, and she cursed under her breath until she realized the obvious. The jammer was in the truck.

She opened the door and found in the panel the device, and with a battle shout she kicked it into tiny pieces, and her scroll signal returned. She called beacon immediately, and moved to help Jaune, finding him in a pinch as the five Grimm surrounded him. She had no time to act as they jumped on him, but then one of the monsters were pulled back, giving Jaune a chance to dodge and escape the pile-up.

"Jaune!" Velvet cried as she rushed to his side, and they both stared as the Beowulf that was pulled was trying to move back at them, but had two blade on his back and was still being pulled.

"Friend Jaune! Are you unhurt?" A familiar voice came for them.

"Wait… Penny?"


Yang made a sharp turn to get out of the highway through an incoming ramp and keep pursuing Roman, but under the darker shadow of the highway they were unable to see signs of the giant robot, so she aimed her eyes on the ground, trying to find tracks on the tarmac again. It didn't take long for them to find the impact point, but no tracks from it.

"Where did he go?" Coco questioned, but as soon as she said it they heard a sound upwards.

Roman used grappling hooks on the mecha to attached itself to the bottom of the highway, and now he was above them. Yang sped to get out of the way as Roman dropped, the robot's arm hitting Hopper's tail, making it toss wildly and forcing the girls to jump. Coco and Yang rolled, and the brunette started firing, but her bullets weren't strong enough to pass the mecha's armor from distance. Yang closed in and started punching its legs, causing large dents on it. Roman didn't appreciate it though, and kicked her away.

"Blondie!" Coco shouted, then proceeded to fire again, aiming at the enemy's lights and cameras, breaking a few before it raised its arms to cover them. It took two steps towards the gunner before it started shaking. Yang jumped on its back and was pummeling it, firing Ember Celica as she tried to gain access to the cockpit.

Roman groaned inside the cockpit an trashed around, until he tossed the mecha against a pillar, smashing Yang on it, then grabbed her leg and tossed her away. Coco took the chance and dashed underneath it, and started firing between its legs, destroying several components underneath it. The robot lost its legs and fell, the brunette rolling out of the way in the nick of time.

"Come out to play, clown!" Coco challenged with her minigun pointed at it. The robot suddenly jerked and pointed its arm at her, a missile being armed. Coco froze for a moment, then the arm was jerked up and fired the missile aimless and harmless into the sky, as Yang, red eyes and glowing hair, tossed the robot aside, breaking the arm. The blonde brawler exploded in a flaming Aura and punched the mecha's body, tossing it several meters away and breaking it open, Roman flying in the air and stopping at a pillar.

"Ugh, I'll send Atlas a complain." He murmured and saw the two women approaching him. "Well, it was fun to play, but I'm going now."

"You're going nowhere." Yang said still angry, as she cocked her gauntlets.

"On the contraire, sweetheart. I'm going away. Neo!" From the shadows jumped a small girl with an umbrella, that made a bow to them, then smirked and blew a kiss and waved. Coco and Yang jumped at them, but the duo shattered like broken glass.


"I'm glad to see you're fine, friend Jaune! Winter sent me here to be your backup!" Penny said rather cheery, making the other two stare at her in disbelief.

"It's dangerous! You need to run!" Velvet urged her.

"Run? That won't be necessary, because I'm combat ready!" Penny affirmed as swords flew from her backpack, and attacked the Beowulf, killing him. There was a moment of silence between everyone involved, including the Grimm, as if no one could believe what just happened.

"Is being cute but dangerous a running theme with all the women I know?" Jaune wondered aloud.

"Coco would punch you if you called her cute." Velvet playfully warned him.

"Dully noted. Now, shall we?" He asked and she smiled, and they engaged the other Grimm.


"I know I owe you ice-cream, stop pestering me! No one sells ice-cream this time of the night… No, I'm not going to steal it." Roman told his partners as the girl pouted at him. They stopped 'talking' as they heard the familiar stilts. "Do you even call before paying a visit?"

"I'm more worried about this recent tendency of yours in failing." Cinder answered, her face hinting slight displeasure. "And how this Kamen Rider boy found you so easily. It makes me wonder if someone tipped him."

"Yeah, sure, people would tip the masked rider instead of Beacon, the police or Atlas. Also, I know you tagged him, so why not giving me some heads up? I almost left empty handed!" Roman complained back and Cinder walked dangerously close to him.

"Almost? And what did your incursion bring me if the Atlas new toy is not with you?" Roman put his hand on his coat and pulled the manual and a data stick.

"The instructions and the operational system, darling." She took the items and smiled, sickeningly dangerous towards him.

"You get to live longer, dear Roman." She spoke and left, and roman groaned to himself. He would have to take more insurance if he wanted to survive.


"And don't come back!" The black-haired girl in white dress said.

"Or next time we'll break something… on your body." The one with a red dress and shorter hair added. The twins stared down at Cardin, drunk out of his sense as he tried to stand up.

"You two bitches! Do you think you're a big deal?!" he growled as he tried to attack them, but it was easily dropped on his back, while they put their stilts on his throat.

"Go away, you loser, or the police will come to take you to a hospital." The white-dressed one affirmed as they turned their backs towards him.

"Bitches!" He growled as he stumbled forwards, ignored by the people around. He stumbled his way forward, until he tripped in a can on the sidewalk and fell down, causing some people to laugh at him and move away. "It's all his fault. He thinks he is a hotshot! I'll show him! I'll smash Arc's face!"

"My, aren't we full of anger here!" He turned his head to see a mint-haired girl staring down at him. "Tell me, big man, what if I said I know a way for you to become stronger? One where you could get even against a certain blonde?"

Cardin's mind screamed at him to not listen to that girl. His rage silenced the screams.


A.N.: Aftermath next chapter, as well as the tin man. Also, some fluffy is expected. :3