Sorry about the late update, guys. Shit has been going down here on my end - nothing too major, but picture a moving truck and twenty years of accumulated crap.

Not fun.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Connie is... she's a very difficult character to write for. As I'm going along with her, I've found that she's very unpredictable. It will get more apparent as she grows.

Also, I have somewhat bad news. We're getting down to the end of my ready chapters. I have three more up to the end of this next story arc I have planned, but depending on how fast I can bang out the next one, there may be some delay between 16 and 17. Again, there's three more, I just want to warn you guys beforehand because I tend to write very, very slowly. Depending on whether or not I'm excited about what's going on in the story. This is in addition to the fact that I'm writing my own story, the shit going down, home, daily stuff.

Anyway, I just wanted to inform you guys. Cheers.

RYNO

Aside from the faint clunking sound of the massive clockwork gears that trickled out from Ozpin's office, a comfortable silence had come over the pair that waited in the hall. Connie had exhausted herself had fallen asleep sprawled across three different chairs, with her head resting next to Ruby's leg. As for Ruby, she fought desperately to keep the blush from spreading across her face.

Okay, this is weird, she thought to herself. Well, not the bad kind of weird, so I guess the good kind of weird. But does thinking that make it a bad kind of weird? It's not like I've had this happen before, but it does feel kinda nice and her ears are so soft and is it hot in here?

She looked down at her new friend and had to fight from squealing in delight after seeing that, even while she was asleep, Connie's fox ears would twitch every so often, reacting to any source of sound. It was one of the cutest things she'd ever seen. Still, Ruby kept on rubbing Connie's ears, lulling the girl to sleep after her hysterics. She looked like she needed it – Connie had been clinging to her cloak for dear life.

They had been sitting there in silence, and Ruby fell into a peaceful lull herself. She barely registered when the office door open and squeaked when she was patted on the shoulder, looking up to see her sister giving a wide, ear-to-ear grin.

"So! Whatcha doin'?" Yang asked, her fists on her hips.

Ruby shushed her and hissed, "She fell asleep not long ago! Be quiet!"

Her smirk turning into a gentle smile, Yang leaned down with her hands on her knees, watching the two of them. "You know, you remind me a lot of how Summer used to sing us to sleep."

Ruby froze, lost in a distant memory before she looked to her sister. "I do?" she asked in a small voice.

"Totally," Yang said quietly. "Look, I'm sorry I was harsh with her at first. I… well, I'm gonna help you keep an eye on her. She seems like she needs it."

With a smile, Ruby nodded and said, "Thanks, Yang."

"As heartwarming as you two are making sleeping during school hours out to be," Weiss said, stepping out from the doorway, "I hope that you realize just how close all of us came to jeopardizing our careers as Huntresses over her."

"But it's Sunday, school isn't until tomorrow…" Ruby muttered.

Hardly a beat passed before Blake, who had somehow managed to sit herself beside Ruby without any of them noticing, said in a quiet, sarcastic monotone, "Oh Weiss, you're such a bleeding heart."

Weiss huffed and put her hands on her hips, hardly bothered by the sudden appearance of her teammate. "Well, it's not like you weren't thinking the same thing, Blake Belladonna."

"I thought it, but I didn't voice it."

The heiress rolled her eyes. "And pray tell, what's the difference?"

"That I kept my trap closed."

"You insolent –!"

"Will both of you hush?!" Ruby whispered harshly. "She's asleep!"

"Not anymore I'm not…"

Ruby jerked her hands back as Connie groaned, ears laid back as light struck her sore eyes. She gingerly lifted herself from Ruby's lap, too dazed to realize where she had been as she sat with her head bowed and her elbows on her knees. Yang, frowning in concern, reached out and rubbed the girl's shoulder as she asked, "Hey Connie, are you okay- whoa!"

Yang leapt back in surprise when Connie looked up at her, revealing red, puffy eyes and swollen cheeks that were painful just to look at.

"I think that answers that question," Blake muttered to herself.

Shaking her head, Ruby rubbed her new friend's shoulder as she gently asked, "Hey Connie, you've been asleep for a while now. Do you feel any better?"

Connie didn't say anything. Instead, she dropped her gaze to her hands, idly clenching them, as if to check that they were real. She looked back up to Ruby. "So… that wasn't a dream…?"

Ruby smiled and shook her head. "Nope."

"It wasn't a dream," she repeated. It was… strange. Despite feeling like she should get the license plate of the truck that hit her, she felt light, almost like an oversized sack of bricks had been lifted from her shoulders. Without a word she threw an arm around Ruby's shoulders, head bowed, holding her in a fierce, sidelong hug as she struggled to articulate what she felt, but in the end she could only hug Ruby tighter.

Ruby quickly began turning blue, the arm around her neck too tight as she flailed her arms in dismay.

Connie just as quickly released her, awkward and face flushed in discomfort.

Ruby looked to Yang for help, only for her traitorous sibling to grin and give her a dismissive shrug.

"What she means to say," Ozpin said, striding through his office doors with his cane in hand, "is thank you."

With a nervous gulp, Ruby looked up at the headmaster. He was the same as always, yet something about him made her uneasy. Maybe it was the fact that he didn't have a cup of coffee in hand, or maybe it was the knowing smirk on his face. Possibly it was that Professor Goodwitch was nowhere to be found, in the middle of her Dust and Aura Manipulation class. Or maybe it was the fact that each of her teammates, who should by all rights have nothing to smile about after being lectured by the Headmaster for well over an hour, look at her with smiles and – in Weiss's case – hesitant, forced turns of lips, not even worthy of being called grins.

Ruby's mind clicked. "Wait, aren't we in trouble?" she asked.

Ozpin shook his head. "While I am disappointed that the four of you landed yourselves in hot water," he said, making the four of them cringe, "I am not angry about the reason. Putting yourselves in harm's way for the sake of another is the very definition of being a Huntress, and you should be proud of yourselves."

"Then what was the whole lecture thing?"

Blake, who had been watching in silence, rolled her eyes and snarked, "Apparently, the good Headmaster likes to record himself when he lectures students."

"Yeah, we were watching on the security feed," Yang said. "We didn't want to interrupt what was happening out here."

Connie slowly looked up, realization dawning on her as her embarrassment vanished. Fists clenched, she shakily got to her feet and leveled a murderous glare at Ozpin. "So, this whole thing was staged?" she hissed, making all but Ozpin pale and lean away from her.

With an unashamed nod, Ozpin said, "Yes. In all honesty, you grew closer to Team RWBY faster than I predicted."

"You predicted?" Connie muttered to herself. Suddenly it all made sense – being stuck in the room next to Team RWBY, the cafeteria, the firing range, now. "Then the last two weeks were all part of your plan? You were using me?"

"Yes. Though, most of the interactions between all of you were by yourselves. I just set you in close proximity."

"Quite frankly, sir," she hissed, ears laid back, "I'm through with being used."

Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake were shocked, though it couldn't even compare to Connie's outrage. They couldn't stop her in time from going for her gun-

"I have steered you towards Team RWBY these last two weeks," Ozpin interrupted. "Of all the first year students, and most teams in fact, they seemed most appropriate for you to grow closer to. But before you shoot me," Ozpin gestured toward the fox girl's gun, "answer me this: were the emotions fake? Does knowing this make your newfound feelings any different? What happened out here is still valid, Miss Constance, despite the circumstances in which it came about."

"You mean despite your meddling," Connie retorted. Still, with her M54 halfway drawn she paused. If she thought about it, her feelings towards Team RWBY hadn't changed. She felt violated, but Connie could admit to herself that her fury wasn't directed at the four girls… nor could she forget the times she'd spent with Ruby, and by extension, the rest of her teammates. Taking a deep breath, Connie looked Ozpin in the eye. "Your coffee machine is five feet to the left of your desk, correct? By the western window?"

Somewhat surprised that she hadn't attacked him in anger, Ozpin nodded slowly. "…Yes, although I fail to see the relevance of –"

Before he could say anything further, Connie drew her gun and fired, using only a split-second to aim. Ozpin's eyes widened as he felt the air from the bullet brush past his ear, even as the projectile ricocheted off the door, tumbled, and hit the coffee machine square in the pot, shattering the fragile glass and sending the fresh brew spilling across the floor.

Ozpin and all of Team RWBY, the shot still ringing in their ears, slowly took a peek inside the office and the awaiting mess.

"…Those were aged and roasted Vacuan coffee beans…" Ozpin lamented. He almost preferred she attack him.

"Connie!" Ruby cried, hands to her mouth and shaking with glee. "That was so cool!"

Yang gave her thumbs up and a "Nice!" while Blake nodded and gave the girl a knowing smirk. Even Weiss was suitably impressed, though in a more suspicious, calculating way, as if she knew Connie was waiting for her chance to kill all of them. Connie meekly shook her head and holstered her M54.

"It wasn't that impressive," she said with a shrug.

"Wasn't that impressive? You bullseyed a coffee pot in the next room! Around the corner!" Ruby exclaimed.

Though the compliments made her feel odd, it was in a good way. Weiss, meanwhile, had rolled her eyes and turned to a glum Ozpin. "Will that be all, Professor?" she asked.

"That will be all," he droned, already lamenting the loss of his precious brew, though knew he somewhat deserved it. He barely noticed the departure of the girls, all of them heading for the elevator, though he was brought out of his musings on how to get his next batch of the rare beans when he felt a tug at his elbow.

He looked down to see Connie beside him, looking towards the ground and shifting uncomfortably now that her anger had dissipated. "I-I… um…" she stammered, struggling to get the words out.

"Thank you?" Ozpin offered.

Connie nodded gratefully.

"You are most welcome, Constance."

"I still don't trust you," she said sternly. Connie gave him the slightest squeeze of his elbow before she ran back to the waiting elevator, where her newfound friends were waiting. Giving a long sigh, Ozpin meandered back into his office, ignoring the widening brown puddle as he strode to the massive window behind his desk. "This is certainly turning out to be an interesting year," he said to himself, looking out over Vale. His home. And, hopefully, one he would be able to protect this time.

-O-O-O-

The elevator ride down to the lobby was short, though Connie wouldn't have noticed with the way her new… acquaintances laughed and joked with one another. Yang would tease Ruby, who would turn as red as her namesake, and turn to her partner for support who would only tease her some more in her own special brand of deviousness that would leave the girl confused, at least until Blake would explain it to her. Ruby would exclaim in mock outrage before falling into hysterics, followed by the rest of her team – even Weiss would laugh, though it was stifled chuckles that barely managed to sneak through her mask.

And then the process would start all over again. If nothing else, it was entertaining to watch.

"So," Yang said as soon as they stepped off the elevator, "what should we do today?"

Walking down a mostly deserted hall, the blonde brawler was walking backwards with her arms behind her head as she faced the rest of her team. They had settled into a line as they walked, with Ruby, Weiss and Blake walking abreast of each other. Connie was walking at Ruby's shoulder, watching with a slight smile.

Ruby's hand immediately shot up. "Oh! Oh! What about –"

"We are not going to be spending our Sunday afternoon loitering around a Dust shop," Weiss shot, cutting into Ruby's tirade before it could even begin. "If nothing else, we should study."

Ruby groaned, stomping her feet like a child as she walked. "Ugh, we studied yesterday… and the day before that!"

Weiss gave a cocky smirk, turning her nose to the air as she said, "Well, how else do you expect to achieve the same level of academic excellence that I have?"

Utter confusion was all that could describe Ruby's face. "Like a plague?"

"That's pestilence," Blake offered.

"Wait, so… cocky?"

Yang grinned. "That's arrogance. And Weiss."

"Hey!"

Nose deep in a book, Blake muttered under her breath, "Ruby wouldn't use that word if she knew where it actually came from. It would fry her brain."

Connie couldn't help but snort, struggling to contain her laughter. With a grin, Yang looked to her and said, "You should laugh more, it suits you. Well, when you're not doing the whole 'I'm a badass' thing and all."

She didn't know what to say to that.

Surprisingly, it was Blake that cut in with a quiet, level voice and asked, "What about that new café downtown?"

Ruby laughed. "You just want to go there for the books!"

"I feel no shame," Blake retorted.

"What do you think, Connie?" Ruby asked, stopping to face her. Connie looked like a deer caught in the headlights, eyes wide and mouth clamped shut. Pressured and not knowing what else to do, Connie frantically nodded, much to the pleasure of Blake, Ruby and Weiss.

Yang? Not so much, as she was moaning about being stuck around dusty books all the way to the docks. Seeing as it was Sunday many other students were there as well, wanting to spend their last hours of freedom as far away from Beacon as possible. Connie, while feeling a little more comfortable around Ruby, eyed the crowds surrounding her with distaste and hands constantly flexing, itching to take her gun in hand.

They're too close. They're going to attack. They're going to hurt me. Too close too close tooclosetoocloseTOOCLOSE-

Connie flinched when Ruby took her hand, though it still managed to keep her calm and ease her racing heart. She took a glance around her as she slowed her breathing and scolded herself as she realized that no one was even looking them. They wanted nothing more than to go into town just like them. Still, she shuffled awkwardly at Ruby's hand over her own as they boarded the four-winged airship and found some seats at the stern of the vessel, away from everyone else. As the soothing thrum of the airship intensified, slowly pulling the ship away from the docks, Yang leaned toward the two as she frowned in concern

"Hey, you okay?" she asked.

It felt strange to have someone worried over her. Strange, unfamiliar, and awkward. "Yeah," she said with a blank nod, "I am." However, she couldn't help the warm feeling in her chest. It didn't stop her from slowly pulling her hand out of Ruby's own, lost in thought and missing the slightly hurt look on Ruby's face. The rest of the ride to Vale was spent in silence, though it was unlike the time in the cafeteria or the last two days when she had observed Team RWBY. It was comfortable, putting Connie at ease and reassuring her that she wasn't making a huge mistake.

She spent the half hour flight staring out the window, amazed – and not for the first time – at how different this kingdom was from Atlas. She had grown up there, and so it was and would always be her home. Despite how unforgiving it was, the cold and the snow and the ice had a certain serene beauty to them. Several times she'd brave running into the night watch to sneak out of her room and go to the roof, simply to stare at the tundra surrounding the city. But Vale had its beauty too. Lush green forests, wide lakes, oceans, even the plateau Beacon had been built on. While Atlas seemed to never change, frozen in time, Vale pulsed and breathed with life. She found she liked it, despite how different it was.

The thrum of the airship's engines lowered as they neared the end of the flight. Not a word was exchanged as Team RWBY got from their seats, quickly followed by Connie, and towards the front of the passenger compartment students had already begun to crowd in front of the bulkhead. Through the window Connie could see the airfield tower, made of steel supports and three enclosed floors. Spread across the tower's three-hundred foot tall length were elevators snaking through the structure like veins. It not only gave the massive airships room to dock but also for smaller air yachts and freighters, along with the four-winged Bullsharks at the lowest level, a new VTOL design based on the aging Bullhead, resting on landing pads that spread out from the tower like lily pads and interconnected with supports and walkways. The thrum lowered even more, and with surprising gentleness for its size, the airship settled against the tower's docking clamps with barely a tremor.

"'Kay, so the café. Is there anywhere else we wanna go?" Yang asked as they waited for the students to clear out, something that Connie was extremely thankful for.

Weiss smirked and shifted her weight onto one foot. "One wouldn't think that you could think that far ahead, Yang."

"Oi. Just 'cause I like to fool around doesn't mean I ain't smart," Yang growled, leveling a glare at Weiss.

"So can you explain last week's quiz? And that grammar, for that matter?"

"I only got a forty-three because I got off by a question halfway through! I hate multiple choice!" Yang yelled indignantly, shaking her fist at the heavens. "Damn you, whoever made up multiple choice exams! Damn you!"

"Bravo. You should've been an actor," Blake said flatly, slowly clapping.

As the last of the students cleared out, Connie looked nervously around the empty compartment and whispered to Ruby, "…I know I've been around them for over a week, but are they normally like this?"

Ruby sniggered. "Yep, pretty much."

"Dust spare us."

Ruby burst out in high-pitched, snorting laughter, nodding as she said, "Yeah, you should've seen Yang when I was growing up!"

"And ya still are!" Yang shouted jovially, throwing her arm around her sister's shoulder. "You've got your entire life to enjoy me, little sis!"

"…Why does that sound like a punishment?" Connie muttered to herself.

Ruby groaned in agreement. "Please kill me…" she whined.

Weiss rolled her eyes and stepped forward as she said, "None of this is helping us in deciding where we're going to go besides the café. Fortunately, I have an emergency itinerary prepared for an occasion such as this." She pulled her scroll out of her jacket pocket, waving it slightly.

"So… not only are you a snob most of the time anyway, but you prepare in advance for it, too?" Yang asked incredulously.

"Oh, shut up you," Weiss shot, opening her scroll. "Now, I have a rough schedule that we can adjust as we need. Does anyone need school supplies?"

Yang groaned. "Someone kill me."

-O-O-O-

As it turned out, Connie was sorely lacking in school supplies. While this usually meant she would simply go out and grab a notebook and a few pencils, the heiress had much different plans in mind. Not only did Connie get a notebook and pencils, she ended up with two binders, a sharpener, a planner, several more packs of pencils, a stack of scratch paper, and a light brown book bag that she quite honestly couldn't see the bottom of. As the café came into view, Connie let out a long-suffering moan, grunting under the weight of the bag from hell.

"You'll thank me once classes get underway," Weiss said, strutting her way down the street.

"You'll thank me for not shoving a pencil up your behind…" Connie muttered, and not for the first time she thought the white-haired girl had shoved so much stuff into her new bag on purpose.

Ruby sniggered. "Well, if you did, it would just join the others."

Despite every effort not to, Connie couldn't help but snort and choke down a laugh.

There was only light traffic in the streets of Vale, with most of the people wanting nothing more than to spend a relaxing day outside. There were mostly humans around, and the few Faunus they did see were doing all they could to avoid humans, preferring to go down alleyways or duck out of the way of a passing human entirely. Connie received dirty glares from humans several times, whispering to themselves as they eyed her laden bag with suspicion.

They think I have a bomb, she thought to herself in amusement. They should worry about themselves before they worry about me.

Weiss, Ruby and Connie had gone on by themselves to the office supplies store, seeing as Yang had suddenly developed a sudden too-much-paper-gives-me-rash disease and Blake had just wanted to get to her books. They left before Weiss could discuss Yang's discrepancy of wanting to leave for a book store. While Connie hadn't minded the hour-long detour she just wanted to collapse into a chair and eat. The café was now just a straight shot in front of them, just a half-block away. She could already smell the heady aroma of coffee.

Distracted as she was by the smells around her, Connie wasn't paying attention when a bulky-looking man barreled into her, nearly sending her to the sidewalk before Ruby could catch her by the arm. "Watch it, fox!" he growled, and ducked inside a nearby convenience store before any of them could say anything.

"Watch where you're going, you- you jerk!" Ruby shouted, shaking a tiny fist in her anger.

"It's miscreants like him that ruin the image of Vale," Weiss said in a huff, glaring at the door with disdain. "Let's go."

Giving the door one last glare, Ruby helped Connie back to her feet and asked, "You okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Connie let out a breath, and adjusted the bag strap before she gave Ruby a slight smirk. "I'm fine, Ruby. …Thank you for asking."

Ruby still didn't look convinced.

A sudden, rare ball of confidence bloomed in her, and Connie couldn't help but smirk as she said, "It'll take more than that to injure an Armor pilot."

In all honesty, she was used to it. While she didn't like it, being shoved was an occurrence she was familiar with. After trying to hide herself and utterly failing in her first year at Ironwood, she simply felt indifferent to the man's actions. Unlike most Faunus, whose traits could be hidden quite easily under clothing, Connie had never had the luxury of being able to hide. Cat ears could be hidden under a hat, the same with dog ears. Claws could be sheathed and tails could be wrapped around the waist. Antlers were another case, being protrusions of bone. Those simply couldn't be hidden, not without sawing them off. That, sadly, was something that deer Faunus were forced through back in Atlas, regardless if they were pilots or soldiers. It was too much effort to make three separate helmets. The council barely passed one for humans and one for eared Faunus in the first place.

More exotic traits were a different story. While it was exceedingly uncomfortable, wings could be folded beneath a heavy jacket. Eyes could be hidden by contacts, even if it became uncomfortable after hours on end. Other traits, like Connie's fox ears, were horrible to try to hide. They were easily twice as long as a cat's, making anything from hats to hoodies to bows impossible to fit them in. She'd nearly lost the tip of her right ear from lack of blood circulation one time.

So, a shove was something she was used to. Hell, it was at the low end of the spectrum of what she'd endured before. Giving Ruby another nod to say she was alright, she followed the two partners the rest of the way to the café without incident, greeted by the gentle tinkling of the doorbell. Three others were there aside from the last two members of Team RWBY, two of them on a date at the farthest table from where Yang and Blake sat at, while the third was a tall man in a trenchcoat who was reading where he stood in an aisle.

As for the place itself? It was a quaint little shop, with the café area in the front and five lines of bookshelves at the back, where a door to the kitchens was tucked in a corner. The smell of wood, paper and coffee mixed well together, as did the lighting, which was bright enough to let people see yet soft enough to be gentle on the eyes. For Blake, the conjoined café and bookshop was paradise, and was smiling as she dug into a novel with a cup of coffee close at hand. Yang had been pouting up until she saw the three walk through the door and instantly brightened into a wide grin, waving her hand as she stood.

"Hey guys! Over here, we saved you seats!" she yelled, completely unnecessary in such a quiet place.

Weiss rolled her eyes as she strode over. "You make as much noise as a Goliath, Yang," she snarked.

"Aw, you're just jealous 'cause I'm bigger than you!"

Staring askew at the smiling blonde, Weiss seemed uncomfortable as she silently stammered, making choked noises before she finally sighed. "There… are so many things wrong with that statement that I'm not even going to deign you with a response. How did you even segway from a Goliath to the size of… you?"

Yang pouted once more. "You're no fun."

"You can have fun without being vulgar."

"But that's no fun at all!"

"Anyway," Ruby cut in, "I thought we were gonna be together as a team today! We can't do that if we're arguing!"

Almost grudgingly, Weiss and Yang looked to their leader, willing to drop their argument. For the time being. Blake simply looked over the top of her book with a questioning stare.

Ruby grinned. "Besides, we still need to show Connie around!"

Connie, who had been watching with a mix of fascination and morbid curiosity, snapped to attention at hearing her name. "I-I don't want to impose –"

"It's a little late for that," Weiss muttered, just quiet enough that no one would be able to hear her. Except for Connie, though she was sure that the heiress had no intention of letting her thoughts be known in the first place. Mentally shrugging, she stiffened, and with practiced ease buried any indignation she felt at the back of her mind.

More than that however, a sour expression came upon Blake before it was quashed in an instant, so fast that Connie barely had time to see it let alone anyone else.

She filed it away in the back of her mind.

Unaware of the exchange, Yang laughed and said jokingly, "Hey, we're the ones who dragged you out here! If we didn't you to impose we wouldn't have let you come along!"

"And once again, you prove that you're little better than a bull in a china shop," Weiss jibed, giving the blonde a triumphant grin.

"Guys…" Ruby whined.

Sensing an argument, Connie placatingly held up her hands. "I apologize if I've intruded on your time. Really, thank you for this, but if I need to go I'll –"

Once again it was Yang who reached out, gently grabbing her by the shoulder. "You're fine, Connie. Weiss just hasn't thawed out her panties yet."

"What – I've never – how dare you!" Weiss shrieked, drawing yet another grin from Yang.

"Comedy gold," Yang sang.

Ruby groaned, holding her head in her hands. "This is just something you're going to need to get used to, Connie…" she mumbled.

If the last few days had told her nothing else, it was that Team RWBY cared about its own. With a smile, Connie watched the growing argument as she said, "Thank you."

-O-O-O-

"C'mon sweetheart, hurry it up. I don't know about you, but I don't got all day."

Not even a hundred feet from where the group were enjoying themselves, back in the convenience store a robbery was taking place. The problems began about six months before, when the owner was forced to switch their security system to a different one. Said security system as little more than money flushed down the toilet at the moment, with four armed men holding the cashier – a girl barely out of her teens – at gunpoint. Two of the thugs were rooting through the snack shelves, pointing their own pistols at an aging grandmother and the same rude man who had barreled into Connie. A third was loitering at the door as a lookout while the fourth looked like he just stepped out of an office, with a suit jacket, pants, and tie hanging loosely off his neck.

He sat on the counter, gun lazily pointed in the terrified woman's general direction as he aimlessly talked. "I mean, it's not like we don't have all the time in the world, but come on. We're in a bit of a rush, so if you would kindly open up the register for us, I would appreciate it."

The woman immediately shoved her hand into her pockets, rooting for her keys.

Pleased at her haste, the man propped a leg up on the counter and rested his arm on her shoulder, the same on holding the gun and making the poor girl flinch. "Do you know what the world is like?" he asked. "It's like a boiling pot with a soggy stew inside. Nothing in it stands out. It's all the same – one big pulpy, sloshy puddle of goop."

The woman trembled, fumbling as she searched desperately for the keys to get the crazy man out of the damned shop!

"Yet there is something that's special," the man continued, perfectly at ease in his monologue. "Y'see? That one ingredient that makes it a stew."

He leaned in close. "And do you know what that is?"

Dreading it, but unable to do anything else, the woman paused in her frantic search and looked the gunman in the eye. "Th-the meat?"

The man seemed disappointed. "That's what everyone says," he griped. "The meat. But that same meat could be used for anything – curry, goulash, hell, even salad! It's the same ingredients. It's the stew mix that makes it a stew."

Giddy and desperate, the woman pointed a shakey finger down an aisle to the left. "Stew mix is on aisle five! We have three kinds –"

"I'm not lookin' for stew mix!" the gunman roared, and amid the woman's terrified squeals fired a shot off next to her ear.

-O-O-O-

It was faint. Too faint, really. She couldn't be sure. But years of hearing them had taught Connie what to look for. And right now, she'd heard a gunshot.

"Um, Connie? Are you alright?"

Looking to Ruby, Connie found that she had instantly shot to her feet, body tense and ears quickly swiveling, searching for any noise. She'd nearly knocked over the table which would've been unfortunate as it was laden with their lunches. Shaking her head, Connie turned away as if in a trance and began striding for the door. "Something's… not right…" she muttered.

Ruby looked between her teammates, and they all gave each other a nod before they followed the fox girl. Leaving a generous tip for the waitress, they were close at Connie's heels as they exited out to the sidewalk.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked, her tone serious.

Connie continued staring straight ahead, settling on a pace that was between a quick walk and a jog. "I'm not sure, it could be nothing, but… I thought I heard a gunshot."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Even if you did hear a gunshot, don't you think someone would have contacted the police by now?"

"Don't underestimate human negligence. People always assume someone else will do something," Connie said, ignoring the heiress's indignant glare. "Even if they did call the police it'll take them time to get here, and when they do everyone in the entire block will know about it. We're here now, and they don't know that we are."

"Who's 'they?'" Yang asked.

They all stopped when Connie held out her arm and slinked against the wall of the building. They were back to where Connie had gotten shoved outside the convenience store, though this time there was a thug in a beanie guarding the place.

"That's not conspicuous at all," Weiss said drily.

Ruby leaned forward. "Do you know what's going on?"

Leaning forward as well, Blake listened before she gave out a heavy sigh. "Great, some wannabe preacher with a gun." Connie shared a knowing look with her.

"How do you know?" Ruby asked.

Blake smirked. "I have excellent hearing."

"Robbery, then. Hostages?"

Blake nodded. "Two. And two – no – three men inside, not including this one."

Yang looked to Ruby. "What's the plan?"

Shaken, Ruby panicked slightly as she said, "Wh-what? Me? I-I'm not –"

"You're our team leader, and situations like this are bound to come up again in the future. Weren't you the one who took on Torchwick?" Weiss asked.

Ruby was still torn. Grimm? Yeah, sure, she could take on Grimm. She could lead a team as she took on Grimm. But an actual hostage situation? Before Ruby could spiral further into the pits of panic, Yang grabbed her sister the shoulder and said, "These guys are the monsters now. They're not going to hesitate to hurt people."

Ruby blinked, and hardened her gaze. "Yeah… yeah you're right."

She looked to Blake and Weiss. "Right, the three of us are going to go around the back and sneak in that way. We need to cut them off in case they try to escape. Yang, you go in the front and do your thing."

With a grin, Yang mashed her fists together. "Hell yeah!"

"With your fists? You seem to be forgetting that we don't have any weapons," Weiss said.

At this, Connie patted a hand against her skirt, where her M54 was holstered. "Not quite. I'll go with Yang."

Ruby nodded. "Okay, support her. If they have a gun, try to get rid of it. We good?"

All of them nodded.

"Be careful. Go."

The red, black and white of their team ducked down the alleyway that ran beside the store, making sure to hide themselves behind dumpsters and discarded pallet stacks to keep from getting spotted by the sentry. Yang grinned as she pulled a pair of aviator shades from her jacket and slipped them on.

She said, "Whelp, I guess we're going in. You ready?"

Connie nodded, checking the safety on her gun before pulling back on the slide. There was a long pause before Yang did anything, and Connie looked up to see the blonde giving her a contemplative look.

"What's wrong?" Connie asked, holstering her weapon.

Yang shrugged. "I dunno. You need something signature to make you stand out. I mean, Ruby's got her cloak, Blake's got a bow, and Weiss has her snobby little tiara. And I've got my kickass shades. What about a hat?"

"…Is this the sort of thing we should be discussing right now?" Connie growled, glaring at her.

"Oi, sheesh! It was just a suggestion!"

With that, the two girls finally made their way around the corner, not making any effort to hide. They were immediately spotted by the guard, who not so subtly moved in front of the door as they approached.

"Hey, take a hike, we're closed," he said.

Yang simply grinned and crossed her arms under her breasts, making sure to push out her chest as she said, "Well, I was wondering if you could help me? We're kind of lost."

The man grew a little more nervous as they got closer, his hands drifting to the inside of his coat. "I said take a hike!"

"It'll just take a sec!" Yang said. The man tensed when they stopped a few feet away from him, the blonde and the fox girl standing rigidly next to her. Deciding that they were harmless enough the guard walked closer, noticing that the blonde did wondrous things to her school uniform. The fox wasn't so bad either. Not enough of a rack for his tastes.

The man blinked. Uniforms?

Needless to say, the last thing the guard saw was a tightly-clenched fist heading straight for his jaw.

-O-O-O-

"Forget about the police showing up, I disconnected the silent alarm," the gunman said. "See, I know more about your security system than you do. You know why?"

At the back of the store, one of the goons holding the grannie and the big guy at bay grew irritated and yelled, "Just get the money!"

Unheeding of his accomplice's annoyance, the gunman tapped a sticker on the side of the cash register. "See this logo? Security company. I used to work for those guys not too long ago," he said with disdain.

The cashier nodded, counting out all the Lien they had on hand.

The gunman gave a dark chuckle. "They laid me off when they restructured so now I'm a thief! Ain't that ironic?"

"U-uh huh," the woman agreed, if for no other reason than to keep a bullet from entering her skull.

"Well then laugh," the gunman growled, and pressed his pistol against the woman's forehead. Despite her terror, she let out a nervous chuckle.

He grinned. "Laugh a little more. Let's have a big laugh!"

The gunman began roaring with laughter, and, either from the impossibility of what was happening to her or the fact she was going crazy – the poor woman probably suspected both – she began laughing alongside him, right up until the gunman snapped his gun back at her and snarled, "It's nothing to laugh about!"

He was irritated as he pulled a slim card from inside his jacket and held it out to the crying woman. "Now, you're going to put some Lien on this card. Max it out, understand?"

Before he could say anything else the door opened. Now, the gunman understood these kinds of stooges well – they were big, they were dumb, and as long as you paid them they'd do anything you asked them to. So after he'd explicitly instructed the big dumb oaf outside to keep guard and stay out there, he didn't expect the door to open again. He was confused when a pair of teenage girls walked in, one wearing a black and red school uniform that seemed oddly familiar and a fox Faunus in a white and grey one.

The girls were nonchalant as they began browsing the shelves, totally ignoring the gun he was pointing at them. "Hey! What the hell are you two doing?" he growled.

They ignored him, the blonde poking through some heavy cans while the fox girl rifled through party supplies.

"Are you two deaf or what?!" he snarled.

No response.

He hopped off the counter with a snarl and stalked towards the nearest one, the fox girl, as she inspected party poppers.

"Yo! Fox brat!"

The girl finally looked up, giving him a blank stare as she showed him the popper. "How much for this?" she asked.

"Huh?"

#1

The girl pulled the string, exploding the little popper in his face and showering him with streamers and confetti. The gunman panicked and fired, the bullet hitting nothing but air and giving the girl enough time to swung her leg up in a high kick and knock the pistol from his hand. She gave another swift kick to his knee, knocking him off balance before she spun on her heel and slammed a brutal roundhouse into his chest, sending the man flying into the shelves behind him, scattering and exploding the bags of chips on display. He didn't get up.

A long, pregnant pause held the room before the two stooges turned to see what was going on in the front.

"Hey, you!" one of them shouted, pointing his gun at the blonde. With a flick of her wrist she threw a can at his head, knocking him for a loop when it smacked against his nose and knocked him to the floor.

There was a loud bang at the back of the shop and three more girls stormed in. Blake saw the dazed man and leapt on top of him with surprising agility, and before he could even realize what was happening she grabbed his arms, twisted them, and pushed them as far back behind his body as she could without breaking his arms, making the man squeal in pain from the brutal arm lock.

With a blur of red rose petals, the last man was taken out with a flying tackle and slammed against a wall. The blur skidded to a stop in front of him, revealing Ruby as she sat on top of him and twisted an arm behind his back and up towards his shoulder blades.

The white-haired girl was miffed that she hadn't been able to dish out any violence, though she wasn't displeased as she picked the abandoned gun off the floor and held it out at the ready.

Ruby grinned from where she was pinning down her goon. "Okay, it's official! We have the best jobs ever!"

With a grin, Yang pumped a fist and yelled, "Hell yeah! Three points, you're out!"

"I do believe that it's strikes, Yang," Weiss cut in, somewhat giddy herself as adrenaline coursed through her. Connie glared at the gunman as he groaned, covered in potato chips and face under a coffee machine. In a fit of spite she jabbed a button, making scalding liquid pour down on his face.

Amid his pained shrieks, she turned to the cashier. "Are you alright?" she asked.

However, before the woman could respond, the air froze yet again when a toilet flushed at the back of the store. Much to their shock, all of them turned to see a fourth thug saunter out, whistling lightly before he saw the chaos that had ensued.

"Huh?" he grunted.

Yang blinked. "Huh?"

The thug quickly glanced around in panic before he rushed over to where the old lady was cowering by the refrigerators, and positioned the woman in front of his body as he pressed a gun against the side of her head. "Don't move!" he roared. Ruby panicked as well, furiously searching for a solution – Weiss did the same, though she couldn't risk leveling her gun at the man for fear of him shooting the woman.

Connie's eyes narrowed. "Blake?"

Looking up from where she held her thug, Blake asked, "What?"

"I thought you said there were three, not four."

Blake grimaced. "I miscalculated."

"Throw down your gun, snowball!" the thug yelled.

"Hey!" Weiss shrieked.

"Drop'em!"

"You drop it! Besides, you're late to the party! You take too long to take a shit!" Yang yelled at him.

Silence.

With a quick glance, Ruby looked to her sister and gave her nod, who in turn nodded to Connie. In a flash, Yang snatched up another can and lobbed it towards the thug, who panicked as he turned his gun away from the woman to fire thee shots as it flew through the air. Connie ripped her own gun out and the thug's eyes widened as he realized there were now two guns pointed at him.

"I am going to kill this old lady if you don't put down your guns!" he screamed, voice cracking as he pressed the gun against the woman's head, making her flinch. Ruby frantically searched for a way to end things without bloodshed, and sighed as she realized there wasn't one without putting the old woman in further danger.

"…Weiss?" Ruby said, not breaking eye contact with the thug. "Drop it. You too, Connie."

Weiss grimaced, and with great reluctance tossed her weapon away.

Connie did no such thing, instead striding forward as she steadied her aim with her free right hand.

"C-Connie! Stop!" Ruby yelled.

The thug glared at the fox girl. "Don't you get it? I'm going to splatter grandma!"

"That's a real shame," Connie said in a cold, detached voice, making all of Team RWBY stare at her in shock. "But we're not cops and we're not from some charity organization. Sorry old lady, but you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Even the thug was shocked. "What?"

Connie shrugged. "You'll just have to chock it up to bad luck."

"Faunus bitch," the thug muttered.

Weiss said something similar as Ruby called out, "Connie! I know you don't mean that!"

It was then that the terrified old woman snapped, realizing her exact worth in Connie's eyes, and waved her fist at Connie as she screamed, "You little White Fang ingrate!"

The gunman growled as he realized the value of his hostage and leveled his gun at Connie, who only smiled.

Before he could fire she shot the gun out of his hand and put another into his shoulder, making him let go of the old lady as he fell back into the refrigerator. Amid shattering glass and the old woman's screams, the thug slumped to the ground as cold cans and jugs fell down on him, dazing him, before a final heavy jug of milk crashed down on his skull and knocked him out. The old woman stared at her former captor before she turned to Connie, who smiled as she strode up to them.

"Are you injured?" Connie asked, as she dragged the unconscious thug from under the mountain of cans.

The old woman shook her head in shock. "That… that was on purpose? Who are you?"

Holstering her gun, Connie shrugged and said, "I'm no one."

Ruby, having used a package of twine to secure her thug's hands behind his back, rushed up to Connie as she squealed, "Connie! That was so cool! How did you know that would get his gun away from grannie?"

"Yes, do tell us," Weiss spat, glaring at Connie. "We're dying to know why you thought that risking a bullet in a civilian's brain was worth the risk."

"People make mistakes under pressure. I was baiting him," Connie said with a shrug.

Yang finished up securing the head gunman and passed Blake more twine, and strode up as she said, "Well, it all worked out, right? Team RWBY one, thugs zero!"

"We should get out of here before the police arrive," Blake said nervously. Just as she said that, all of them could hear faint sirens in the distance, making Ruby gulp nervously before dashing out the back door in a flash of petals.

"Retreat!" they heard her call out.

"How nice of her to wait for us," Weiss said with a chuckle, and all of them turned to rush out the back door. Yang and Blake made it through, but Connie was stopped by Weiss who hissed in her ear, "This isn't over. We are going to discuss exactly what happened today, do you hear me? I'm not going to put the lives of my teammates in the hands of the likes of you."

Connie shrugged off the heiress's hand and glared at her. "The likes of what? A Faunus?"

Weiss was silent.

"I've heard it all before, Schnee. Your opinion doesn't concern me," Connie shot, and turned to walk out the back door and into the alleyway.

"And whose does?" Weiss asked bitterly, not even close to willing to drop the matter.

"Not yours," Connie said dismissively, and ran to where the three others were waiting at the end of the alleyway.

Hours later, when they would all return to the dorms without accomplishing anything more besides retrieving Connie's book bag, Connie berated herself in her room and later in the garage as she worked on Grendel. Alone, she called herself every possible insult and demeaning slur for putting her new friend in danger, and vowed to never, ever let that happen again. In just the same way, Weiss promised herself that the moment Connie displayed even the slightest hint of wanting to turn on them, she would skewer the fox girl with Myrtenaster.

-O-O-O-

Anton Zurich huffed as he sank back into his chair, knocking back a good, healthy pull from a bottle of fine Atlesian vodka. The long, long day had turned to night, and apart from a minor incident in town about a thwarted convenience store robbery, nothing major had happened since Ozpin barged into his office. The aging man sighed and rubbed a hand across his forehead, knowing that the confrontation would leave him looking over his shoulder for weeks. The inch-deep trench in his desk could attest to that.

Still, this was a golden opportunity, a fact that made Zurich glow with pride as he took another long drink. A man of his stature always had important contacts, and with this knowledge, he'd be the one to lead his betters around by the nose.

He reached for his phone, but stopped. Should he go through with this? Once this was done there was no going back, and if He found out Zurich was as good as dead.

Zurich took a breath and steeled himself. "Only he who does nothing makes no mistakes," he said, and snatched up the phone. He pounded in a number, and for an excruxiatingly long time was met with nothing but a dial tone.

Click.

"Is this the Firefly?" Zurich asked, immediately straightening in his seat.

There was breath exhaled. "This is he," the voice answered, garbled enough that Zurich couldn't tell if it was, in fact, a man.

No going back. Zurich clenched his fist and said, "I have a job."

"…I'm listening."

"There are certain files that the Headmaster of Ironwood Academy will be going through," Zurich said. "Find them. Erase them. Leave no trace."

"…Sounds easy enough."

"I will send you a communique with the list of files. Make sure none of them remain after tonight."

As he said this, Zurich fed a list through his fax machine. The bits of data were sent through the VDF network and onto the internet, where it bounced around twenty separate, random servers before arriving at it's destination.

"I have the list. I'll have to charge triple for a rush job."

Zurich gave a grim smile – then again, the Firefly was one of the best hackers in the world. He would get what he paid for. "Very well. See that it's done."

He moved to hang up the phone.

"Wait. These files are random. Just what are you having me clean up, Anton Zurich?"

Zurich's stomach clenched at the use of his name. Then again, he didn't expect anything less from a super class-A hacker. Still, he could give the data cruncher an idea of what was going on.

With a grim smile, Zurich took a long pull of his vodka before he said, "Leverage, my dear Firefly. Leverage."

Ozpin – Raven Branwen ?

Summer Rose

Tai-Yang Xiao Long

Qrow Branwen

-Raven and Qrow are sister and brother.

-Raven married Taiyang, which made Qrow Taiyang's brother-in-law.

-Taiyang and Raven had Yang, who looks almost identical to Raven thanks to the almighty power of genetics, yet has a different eye colour (When not mad) and hair color as those she got them from Taiyang.

-Summer is completely unrelated to Raven other than the fact they were on the same team and knew each other.

-When Raven left for X reason, Taiyang married Summer either because she: a)Reminded him of Raven, or b)Was part of his team and has been there for him ever since.

-Summer married Taiyang not so much out of love, but out of sympathy. She didn't want him to get more depressed.

-They had Ruby. Qrow, who was still there for Taiyang, trained Ruby in the art of the gunscythe so she could defend herself, and later to be a hunter.

-The reason Ruby wears clothes with lots of black and red, is because Taiyang raised her to like those colors, which, if you guys don't remember, are Raven's colors. Even by the time Ruby came to his life, he still couldn't get past Raven's departure.

-After Summer died and Taiyang almost lost his daughters, he became very over-protective of them to not lose them like he lost Raven and Summer. Qrow, who so far had been a good bro to him, convinced him to not worry that much, and he would protect them too, so Taiyang let Yang and later Ruby to train and become hunters despite possibly suffering the same fate as Raven and Summer.