Back once again with the police, and the terrorists, and the political shenanigans. Back once again with the fic where we play the "catch Couer out when he mistakenly mentions Yang having `hands` as opposed to `a hand` game". Seriously, I had to go through this with a fine comb because I kept using plural. It's hard!

Cover Art: Thatrandom

Chapter 14

If the White Fang's goals were to cause chaos and controversy then give the bastards a medal because they'd managed that. Yang tried to keep her head down for most of it and focus on what was important; keeping Weiss safely in the VSPR headquarters and making sure no one came for Lisa Lavender. The latter proved most complicated, especially when a squad car pulled into their parking lot and three officers, two men and a woman, fanned out and moved towards the building.

"Want me to tell them to fuck off?" Mercury offered. He sounded just a little too enthusiastic about it for Yang's liking. Not that she didn't spare a glorious moment to imagine the looks on their faces, since she totally did. Reality kicked back in however, and she shook her head.

"Leave it to me. Take Lisa into a back office. I want her out of sight."

"Got it." He nodded and moved over to the still worried woman, taking her by the arm. Before he left he shot Yang one last grin. "Give 'em hell, Captain."

Tch, trust him to only call her that when he was abandoning her to the wolves. Well, it wasn't like he was leaving her alone. She had a feeling most people would have found something else to do when faced by a situation like this, leaving her to her fate. The crooks and criminals that made up the VSPR weren't exactly `normal`, though, and they all crowded around – eager to see if anything would come of the meeting. She had a feeling they were itching for a fight and eager to finish whatever these three started.

The three officers certainly noticed that when they entered, sparing a nervous glance for the Malachites leaning over the back of the couches, smiles as vicious as ever, and then an even more nervous look toward Neo, who had already drawn her sword. When the diminutive mute realised she was the centre of attention she quickly diffused it by running a finger across her throat in a slow, threatening, gesture.

"Note to self, teach Neo what `diffuse` means," Yang mumbled. She pushed past Roman and Junior, each doing their best `look at me, I am a man and am squaring my shoulders, quake in fear` impressions. She stood in front of the three and crossed her arms. Or, well, crossed one arm and rested her stump of an arm on top of it. "Officers," she greeted. "Welcome to the VSPR. How can I help you?"

The three officers looked between themselves before one of the men was pushed forward, ingloriously nominated as the spokesperson. He looked at Yang and swallowed, clearly more afraid of her than the dangerous criminals behind her.

He made her shit list instantly for that.

"I-I am here on authority from the Vale Central Police Department with instructions to arrest Lisa Lavender for crimes against the city. You are to hand her over immediately or face the consequences."

And threatening her didn't exactly help his cause. One of Yang's eyebrows slowly rose. "What consequences?"

"Uh… well… I…" The man trailed off, making it clear he hadn't actually expected her to refuse, let alone prepared himself for listing said consequences to a very scary seventeen-year-old girl. A girl who was also a huntress. A huntress who was quite obviously not in the best of moods. To be fair, she'd just come from a bank robbery with poison gas, terrorists, and one of her friends going psycho. Not exactly the best start to a day, let alone the best ending to one.

"Did Captain Redcliffe put you up to this?"

"Um, no. Captain Redcliffe is currently at hospital for a broken nose. He hasn't woken up yet. Our orders came directly from the Council."

"Who from, exactly?"

"I-I don't know. I was told them by a superior in my department." The man folded under her gaze and began to wring his hands together. "Look, Captain, I… I'm just doing my job. I was told to come here and arrest Miss Lavender pending charges. Can we take her with us?"

"No."

"No?"

"No," Yang agreed, ignoring the pained sound the man made. "I'm afraid she's currently a part of an investigation into the White Fang and we need her testimony. As you no doubt know the VSPR have our own charter and resources, and since this is our jurisdiction, our claim to Lisa Lavender is strongest."

Maybe. She hoped so. To be completely honest she was bullshitting with the best of them right now, but you didn't get into as much trouble in Signal as she had without knowing how to spin a lie. Yang and her friends had been common sights in clubs and pubs, even before they were legally allowed to enter them. It was all about looking confident and sounding so certain of yourself that everyone else started to doubt their own opinion.

Judging from how the officers looked between themselves for answers, it was working. The woman shrugged, while the other man mumbled something about having no idea, leaving the leader to rely on his own wits.

On her part, Roman helped expedite the process by twirling his cane around his finger, whistling a jaunty tune which may or may not have been from a recent slasher movie. It worked wonderfully. The lead officer's face paled and he swallowed audibly.

"W-Well, I suppose there's nothing that can be done. T-Thank you for your time, Captain. We're sorry to have bothered you."

"No problem," she replied, grinning. "You're just doing your job after all. Sorry for having dragged you out here for nothing."

Yang watched as the three nodded and said their own farewells before they turned about and marched out of the building, moving a little faster than they necessarily had to. From the full-body windows they watched the officers practically sprint to their squad car, before they clambered in and pulled out of the parking lot.

They were gone barely ten seconds before Yang leapt into action. "Roman, I want you to catch up with Mercury and find out as much as you can from Lisa. Make sure she stays inside. I don't want her going `missing` on our watch. Miltia, Melanie, man the phones. If anyone calls for anything that isn't important, stall. If the Council calls, say I'm interviewing a suspect and take a message. Junior, can you call a doctor and get them over. I want Weiss looked at, but I don't want it being the hospital, or anyone finding out. Make sure whoever you call can keep a secret." Yang watched the crew rush into action as she barked each order, doors opening and slamming as they went. She turned to the last person. "Neo…"

The mute girl stared at her. Yang stared back.

"Sit there and look good."

Neo made a dramatic salute and went back to reading a magazine. All orders given, everyone busy, Yang retired to her office and drew out a thick book on laws, alongside the charter of the VSPR that Ozpin had given her.

She had a feeling things were going to get a little rough.

/-/

It wasn't even thirty minutes before the first interruption came. Yang slammed the book shut and rubbed her forehead. She wasn't an idiot, not even close. When your dad was a teacher you couldn't afford to be dumb, but being top of her class in Signal and near the top in Beacon didn't do much for understanding the frankly labyrinthine laws of Vale. It hardly helped that the VSPR was an ill-planned and last-minute decision sort of thing, which meant their own charter contradicted the laws several times and didn't even make mention of other things.

"We're going to need a lawyer," Yang groaned.

The door slammed open before she could think to find one, Melanie rushing through with a pale face. Yang doubted she came with good news.

"Bad news."

Called it…

"The Council is holding a crisis-resolution meeting tomorrow."

"How is that bad news?"

"We're not invited."

"Ah…"

"What we are invited to, or more specifically you, is a summons that will take place two hours before that," Melanie said. "The man who called sounded pompous as hell. I get the feeling this isn't an optional sort of deal."

"What time is that?" Yang asked, wondering if she had time to find a lawyer and get some advice. It was already nearing seven and most would be closed now.

"Ten in the morning."

Yang winced. "Ouch. They're really pushing it…"

Melanie would have none of it. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll have to attend."

"Not that," she said. "I mean what are you going to do? You're not going to let the VSPR be shut down, right?" There was a certain edge to the girl's words. It wasn't aimed at Yang but rather the world at large, but she could understand it nonetheless. Melanie and her sister needed the VSPR to work. They'd be sent back to prison without it.

"I'm not going to roll over and take their abuse if that's what you mean," Yang said. "Not unless I think rolling over will save the VSPR."

"R-Right… I knew you would. It's just…" Melanie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. The white-dressed twin was normally sure of herself but the call looked to have rattled her, somewhat understandably.

"I need the VSPR, too. Trust in me a little."

"Y-Yeah. I'll leave you to it, boss. Good luck."

Yang's confident smile faded when the door slammed shut. She'd put on a good show for Melanie's sake, but she had no idea what was going on, let alone how to put a stop to it. They'd done good work at the bank, that much was obvious – but this had `politics` written all over it and she'd never been taught how to deal with that.

"Qrow would just tell me to stay far away from politics and I doubt Dad knows anything about it. Ozpin would be the best bet, but is he even on my side?" Yang pinched the bridge of her nose between her finger and thumb. She could feel a headache already mounting. "We saved as many people as we could. It wasn't even our fault the Fang bomb went off and we limited casualties. It would have killed way more if we'd not been involved."

It just didn't make sense. Why would the Council be pissed off at them for that? Yang scowled and pushed herself up with one hand, skirting around her desk and pouring a small plastic cup of water from the cooler. She drank a little, and then splashed the rest in her face.

All their success so far had mostly come from momentum, luck, or quick thinking. She liked to think it was the latter since luck didn't mean much if you didn't take advantage of it. They'd acted on what little Intel they had and taken plenty of risks while doing it, avoiding stepping on too many toes as they did. She knew nothing about police procedures, but she'd smashed through it all with brute force and determination.

This wouldn't be the same, however. She couldn't beat up the Council. Instead, she needed someone who knew more about politics and how to deal with it. Yang growled and slammed her cup down on her desk, spilling water out over several newspapers stacked there. She stared down at them for a second. Her eyes widened. Of course!

The interrogation chambers were a little down the side and closer to the holding cells of the VSPR HQ. They were dull and without decoration, grey walls and small cell-like rooms with lockable doors and windows from which officers could watch people being questioned. Lisa Lavender wasn't technically a criminal, at least in their eyes, so she sat at one having a little more of a casual chat with Mercury and Roman, the latter smoking a cigar as he did. They all turned to face her as she burst through the door.

"Problem?" Mercury asked.

"Maybe. Can you go help the sisters up front? I need to talk with Lisa. Roman, you can stay but grab us a drink."

The two hurried to follow her orders, while Lisa looked at her a little uncertainly. The woman's lavender hair was a little frazzled with the occasional strand sticking out atop her head. Other than that, she carried herself well and sat with both hands on the table. It was perhaps better than anyone else could have managed considering what just happened.

"Miss Lavender," Yang began. "Can I call you Lisa? This'll be a lot easier if I can."

"Go for it," the woman laughed. "I owe you my life. You can call me whatever you like and I won't complain." She didn't seem nearly as frightened of them as the police earlier had. That was good.

"I've just had some people come to try and pick you up," Yang said. "They say the Council wants you arrested, which we know is true from what that twat Redcliffe said. Thing is, I don't understand why."

"It's politics," Lisa said.

"I had a feeling it would be. I'm not into politics, though. Being a huntress didn't really push me towards it, or caring about it. I figure you, on the other hand, might."

"Ha. You've got that right. Politics is my bread and butter – quite literally. I need to find good stories to stay employed and you can always rely on politics for that. Used to be able to rely on Roman, too, but he got himself arrested."

"You have my most profound apologies," Roman drawled, placing some bottles of beer down before them.

"You liked Roman?" Yang asked, surprised.

"You make that sound so unbelievable…" he whined.

"It's not that I had any kind of favouritism for him," Lisa said, ignoring the theatrical man. "It's just that he was always good for stories. He hit hard and often, made the police look like idiots, prompted angry outcry from the Council and up until the end he never really got anyone hurt while doing so. He was good for business. I cut my teeth on his news stories. It was how I got started."

"That's me," Roman said. "Always doing my best to boost the local economy. I hear security companies loved me, too. I always kept reminding people why a good security system isn't something you skimp on."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Moving on… Do you have any idea why the Council would want to arrest you?"

"It's probably because of that broadcast we did. At least that's the only thing I can think of."

"Why?" Yang asked. "We did that to make people get away from the bank. Even if there was a little bit of panic that has to be better than the risk of people being poisoned. Why would they have an issue with that?"

"Oh, it's not that," Lisa laughed. "They'll say it is and they'll say we incited panic, endangered a police operation and all that, but the reality is that we got the message out before they could doctor it, and that makes them look bad. Think of it like this, every time we got a story about some scandal or other we had to think real carefully about whether we ran it. On the one part it would be a huge story, but on the other it was going to piss off the one involved. You can do it against the odd Councillor, especially if they're not popular or you know there's enough of a scandal to drag them down, but you need to be careful with the higher ranked ones. Go against them and they'll tear you to pieces."

"Can they do that?" Yang asked. "I thought the media was supposed to be free of stuff like that?"

"In theory, yes, but reality is a very different thing. Even assuming they didn't just declare it false or lies, you need to remember that not all scandals carry the same weight. If we publish something that takes someone down then that's fine, but if they survive it – or if they had friends who weren't pleased to see them go – then that means there are people in power with a grudge against us. Sometimes they can't do much other than cut funding or neglect to invite us to official events, but we're not always that untouchable."

"My last Editor was fired for running a story a prominent politician didn't like," Lisa continued. "The CEO owed someone money and that debt was called in, giving a good man the boot. I've seen journalists struck off for doing their job and people threatened into silence. Hell, I've been blacklisted from one hospital for `poor behaviour` despite never having been to it before. My boss' son was denied a place at a good university where a politician he offended is a major patron and donor. The kid had perfect grades but was apparently `not inclusive` enough."

"That's horrible…"

"That's politics," Roman said. "A bunch of old men and women doing whatever it takes to cling on to some illusion of power. When you regularly make decisions on what kind of funding to give to hospitals and emergency services – literally killing people to save money – then how much of an issue is fucking over one person's life to preserve your own secrets?"

"Pretty much that," Lisa agreed, to Yang's utter disgust. "In this case we highlighted a potential hostage situation before the Council could put a happy spin on it. The fact that something like this could happen under their nose makes them look bad, but at least if they'd had a chance to deal with the media after, they could have controlled what got out. You'd all be hearing stories about how the `quick-thinking Council` diffused a situation that could have killed hundreds of people."

"And if that led to some outside being killed?"

"Then it's an awful tragedy that took the lives of innocents and the Council's prayers are with the victim's families." Lisa rolled her eyes at the last bit. "Like Roman said, they already make decisions over thousands of lives. Do you really think a couple of dead people bother them? Politics is about looking at the bigger picture. It's about choosing who lives or dies but making that choice based on statistics and numbers, not emotion. That's the theory anyway, and the world would be a nicer place if they stuck to that, but add in human greed and ambition and what you've actually got is a self-serving group of parasites trying to keep the status quo and raking in millions in lien as they do."

That… didn't sound good. Hell, it sounded horrifying, though Yang wasn't stupid enough to think Lisa and Roman were the most unbiased sources of opinion on the Council. It was hard to discount their warnings, though, especially with what was going on.

We basically took the credit for what happened at the bank, which is good for us – but made it clear we were the only ones able to deal with it. That makes the Council look bad even if they were the ones to create us in the first place. She wasn't sure if they could shut the VSPR down, not with the public opinion they'd just gained, but they could probably do other things like limit their operations or maybe even remove her from the command.

That would be a death knell for the VSPR, especially if they put someone else in charge and ordered them to run the VSPR into the dirt. It would also mean her chances of getting back into Beacon and on her team would be dead and gone.

It couldn't happen.

"The Council want to speak to me tomorrow," Yang said, quickly filling the two in on the situation. "You got any idea what I can expect?"

"Nothing good," Lisa said. "They'll want me at least."

"To punish you…?"

"Maybe, but they might just force me to do something for them. Right now I'm the only journalist with any knowledge of what happened back there. What I say will effectively be fact, so if they get to me and `convince me` to change my story… well…"

"That can't happen," Roman said. "We need the good credit from this. We did all the heavy lifting and our very survival counts on people knowing that."

"I know, Roman." Yang said. "I know."

It wasn't that she wanted to give in either, but she wasn't sure what kind of options she had. The VSPR answered to the Council, as did everyone who worked in Vale. If she refused them then they'd have the evidence they needed to fire her. She couldn't actually say no to them.

Or could she?

"Say, Lisa… you're a journalist, right?"

"Journalist, newsreader and qualified camera woman," she boasted. "I've been through it all from behind the camera to in front of it. I worked my way up from the bottom."

"And how far did you have to go for a story?"

"Eh, it depends. Sometimes the stories fell in your lap but the big ones – the exclusives – ah, you really had to hunt those ones down." Lisa smiled viciously, recalling some of those times. "It's pretty cloak and dagger at times, though it's always the other person with the dagger. Sometimes you've got to make some shady deals, paying people to rat on colleagues or meeting informants who fear their jobs will be in danger if their bosses find out. You'd be surprised about the kinds of places I've had to go to when meeting someone. I had to go to an abandoned train yard with a suitcase of money once. That was vaguely terrifying."

It sounded it. It also sounded vaguely illegal, but she wasn't really interested in that. "You had to do a lot of digging, then. How would you normally go about that?"

"Well you'd start with a rumour in most cases, or maybe you'd see something that made you suspicious. The first thing you'd do is figure out who is involved and who stands to benefit, then you take all those people and you don't go anywhere near them." Lisa made a motion as if to throw something aside. "Instead, you figure out all the people around them, then you go to them and you start digging. You look for people they've dissatisfied or employees who are underpaid or feel slighted. You inspect everything around them and look at what they're doing, where they're going, and who they're going with. If you want the story then you need to dig to the heart of it." The newsreader blinked up at Yang. "Why?"

Yang looked to Roman and smirked. To his credit, it didn't take him long to figure out what she was thinking. "We do need an investigator," he said. "And no one's more dogged than those in the media. Especially if that story is the only way to get out of trouble."

"My thoughts exactly."

"What do you mean?" Lisa asked. "What do you want?"

Yang turned back to the woman and leaned forward. "We have reason to believe there's someone in the Council working with the White Fang." Lisa's eyes lit up. Yang knew right then and there that she had her. "It sound like a story you'd like to cover?"

"Y-Yes! Of course! Something like this… Gods, even ignoring the threat to the city, which I'm kind of partial to, the fallout alone would be titanic. I can't not get involved."

"You could if you were in prison," Yang pointed out. "Or leashed to the Council's demands, which it looks like they're thinking of doing."

Lisa's smile fell. "Well, yes. But that's out of our hands now, isn't it? It's not like you can turn the Council down. They want me on sedition. Whether or not it's true they'll gain access to me and that'll be the end of it. My movements will be monitored. I'll have no option but to do what they want."

"Not if I get to your first." Yang reached up to bring her hand above the table. It slapped down beside Lisa's wrist, lazily snapping a pair of handcuffs onto her. The woman gawked. "The Council wants me to arrest you for sedition. They can't complain if I'm actively doing that. You're under arrest."

"W-What?"

"And tomorrow I'll have to take you there so they can process and sentence you," Yang continued, grinning all the while. "Well, unless you want to save us all the time and confess to your nefarious crimes now. Of course, that would make you a criminal."

Lisa glanced to Roman and then back to Yang. She then looked down to the VSPR badge and her eyes widened. "Oh…"

"Lisa Lavender. How do you plead?"

"Guilty of all charges."

"That's guilty of all charges, Captain," Yang said. "Welcome to the force."

/-/

"Is this wise?" Roman asked as he followed Yang out of the interview rooms. "The Council aren't going to be pleased."

"They're already unhappy with us. I don't see how one more thing is going to make it any worse." Yang accepted a folder that was handed to her and flicked it open with her chin. She balanced it on one hand, reading the contents. "What's this?"

"The after action report on the bank attack. It came from Vale Central but was forwarded to us for documenting purposes."

Yang winced, and winced again when she read a little further. It hadn't been nearly as bloodless as she would have liked. They had Fang to blame for that, since Grey's unit had stormed the place without a single casualty. Once Fang hit, though, there'd suddenly been a lot of people carrying automatic weaponry. It was perhaps inevitable that some people died, but knowing about it and reading about it were two different things.

"Damn it all to hell…"

"At least the Lieutenant got out safe," Roman said. "They found him in the vault all tied up. We saved his life at any rate. And the hostages. They got out safe and sound."

"But so many police died…"

"Yeah." Roman brought out a new cigar and lit it. He puffed out some smoke; the action somehow seeming more bothered than usual. "I won't lie, it was a bad show, even by my standards. Using poison like that, not to mention turning people against one another… the White Fang are crossing some serious lines with this. I can't say many faunus will be impressed with it. It's going to hit their recruitment."

"Then why are they doing it?" Yang hissed, and the question was asked not for the first time. It just didn't make sense. She scanned a bit more on the folder and snapped it shut with a scowl. The two walked on until they reached their destination and Yang opened the door with one foot, slipping inside.

Junior looked up from where he was talking to a man in a white coat. "Boss," he said, nodding. "I was just talking to the doctor here. Private consultant and medical, and he knows how to keep quiet. I've used him before."

"No you haven't," the bearded man with glasses said. "Not officially, anyway."

"That's the spirit," Junior laughed. He nodded to the door to the side. "Your girl is awake, boss. She… well, it's not my place to say but I think she could use someone to talk to."

Yang nodded and walked to the door. "That's why I'm here."

Weiss glanced up immediately when Yang entered the room. The heiress' eyes were bloodshot and not just from the Fang still in her system. It was obvious she'd been crying. Her hands were cupped beneath her chin and her face had rested in them but a moment before Yang arrived. She took in the scene in an instant, the scuffs and marks on Weiss' body, the grime on her once-pristine white outfit, and finally the tracks from the tears.

Yang's shoulders slumped the moment she saw her. Weiss looked so distraught, so broken, and the paleness of her skin didn't help, nor the bruises around her wrists and neck from where Yang had been forced to subdue her.

"Hey, Weiss-cream," Yang said. She managed a weak smile as she sat down beside the girl. Roman had followed alone but obviously thought twice about going anywhere near the bundle of emotions Weiss was. He stood by the door and crossed his arms.

"Y-Yang?" Weiss' voice was brittle. This time it wasn't just because of her pain, but obviously from the drug, too. There was a certain scratchiness to it, probably from when Weiss had roared angrily. "T-The Doctor told me what happened. He said the Fang got to me…"

"You were poisoned. Do you remember anything?"

"I… a little…" Weiss clenched her eyes shut and concentrated. "I remember the hostages being sent out and me helping with that. I remember a woman saying I was the last one. We were on our way downstairs when she called out. Something… no, I think something came down from the ceiling…"

"That would be the Fang virus. They set off a gas bomb and pumped the contagion through the vent system in the bank." It would all be common knowledge by now, so Yang didn't think twice about revealing it to Weiss. "Their intent was to lure the police in and then set off the gas so that it would be a massacre been the police and the hostages. Hell, they might have even intended to die with the hostages, painting the VPD as psychopaths who would kill all the hostages just to get a job done."

Weiss shook her head. "That's horrible. They… they've gone too far this time…"

"I know. Leave it to the police though. And for the love of everything, please don't let Blake or Ruby go charging into this." Yang hesitated to place a hand around Weiss' shoulders. She was still upset about everything they'd done, about Beacon. It only took the small girl's shoulders hitching to change her mind, however. With her one good arm, she pulled Weiss close against her. "Hey, it's okay. Fang doesn't stay in the system and no one's going to blame you for this."

"It's not that. I… I can't remember what happened." She gripped her head between both hands. "I just remember being angry, so angry, and… even if I can't remember things exactly, I can feel a little of what happened. My arms hurt, my fingers especially, and my face." Her eyes narrowed. "My teeth, too."

"You bit me," Yang said.

"I did what!?"

"Bit me," she repeated, flashing her wrist. It itched vaguely. "Not very deep, though. As for the rest I did have to restrain you after you went berserk. I didn't have the luxury to be nice about it. Sorry."

Weiss shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm glad you did it. I… Yang, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

"Did I…" Weiss' words broke off. She bit her lip and tightened her hands into fists. Her shoulders stiffened and her eyes closed. She took in three deep breaths, slowly letting each go in an attempt to regain control. Only when she was finished did she speak, though her eyes remained fixed onto her hands. "I know what Fang does, Yang. I can't remember anything about what happened, but… did I... did I hurt anyone?"

"Is that what's gotten you so beat up?"

"I know it wouldn't be my fault," Weiss babbled, "but did I, Yang? Did I…? I just can't remember and, well, I'm a huntress. I'm stronger and faster than most people and…"

Yang cut her off with a quick one-armed hug. "You silly girl," she laughed. "You didn't hurt anyone. You saved people."

Weiss' eyes slowly rose to meet hers. They were filled with unshed tears. "W-What?"

"You saved people," Yang repeated, smiling. "Think about it, Weiss. The hostages all got out, which meant the only people left in there was you and a bunch of people with guns. When the Fang got in some of the officers were infected and opened fire on one another. There were deaths, I'll admit," Yang paused to sigh, but continued when Weiss whimpered, "but you didn't cause any of them. The White Fang did. You were unarmed, and yeah, you're stronger than most people, but they weren't exactly untrained civilians either."

Yang laughed and leaned into her teammate, rubbing a hand on her head like she might have Ruby once upon a time. Weiss wasn't a child, but right now she was terrified, and rightly so. The heiress didn't complain and might even have leaned into her, seeking comfort.

"You disarmed a load of people, Weiss-cream. Things would have been worse if you weren't there. I guess not even the Fang Virus can stop you being little miss perfect, huh?"

"I… wha… but…?" Weiss stared at her like she wasn't sure what she was seeing, let alone hearing. Relieved tears pooled in her eyes. With her pale skin and red eyes, not to mention the obvious nausea, she looked like a terminally ill patient who had just been told a cure had been developed. "I… I didn't hurt anyone?"

"Oh, you hurt them. But that probably saved them from doing something they'd regret for the rest of their lives, so I have a feeling they'll forgive you, or even thank you. You're not angry I stopped you, right?"

"N-No. Absolutely not… I can't even begin to think how terrible it would have been if I'd gotten outside. My face is so recognisable, and my name, the White Fang would have loved to see me go crazy amongst a group of civilians." Some of Weiss' confidence returned, along with some indignant anger. "Those monsters. I thought Cinder was bad, but this is so much worse. I hope they're brought to justice!"

"They will be," Yang promised. "But leave it to us, okay? I'm looking into it personally. Please don't pull a Blake on me."

"Hmph. I seem to recall you weren't exactly resistant to the idea of us attacking Torchwick initially. I hardly think you can call it `doing a Blake` when you were just as complicit."

Yang laughed. "Hey, I was younger and stupider back then. I've grown up."

"It's been less than three months, Yang."

"Yeah, but a lot has happened in three months…"

Cinder, Beacon, the Grimm, the loss of her arm, the loss of her position in Beacon… the list went on and the casual mention of it cast a pall on the conversation, creating a silence that felt all the more awkward for the fact they were sat so closely together, Weiss still weak and leaning on her for support. The heiress didn't say a word, and Yang wasn't sure what to say either.

Me and my big mouth, she groaned.

"Yang, I… I really am sorry…"

"You didn't do anything."

"Not about this," she said, shaking her head angrily. "About what happened before, about Beacon. I… I knew you weren't going to be accepted back in, and it was our responsibility to tell you. It was my responsibility. But I didn't. I was a coward. I was so worried about you, and we didn't know if you were going to live, and then you did and we were so happy. I… I knew at the time that we should have been honest, but I was just so relieved to see you were okay. I was just so desperate to cling onto that, to forget the fact we'd nearly lost you, that I couldn't bring myself to tell you what had been decided."

Weiss was babbling, rambling. Yang's mind wasn't much better and even though she tried to speak, no words came forth. That was fine for Weiss, who it seemed had a thousand or more to say.

"And it was the coward's route, Yang. I was a coward, an absolute coward. I hid behind a lie because the truth was too hard to accept and I was afraid of what you'd say or do. We kept pretending everything was going to be okay but it wasn't and we knew that. That was my fault and… and I miss you. I miss us being a team. I miss… I just hate us being enemies all the time, Yang. I hate this arguing!"

"Weiss, I-" She didn't get to finish. Weiss tackled her, and had it not been for how weak the girl was she might have knocked Yang off the bed. As it was, she caught herself with her one hand, instinctively wrapping her stump as far around Weiss' back as she could. Weiss' emotions, normally locked tight behind a thousand-foot tall barrier, broke. The day had been a long one and it seemed Weiss had finally had enough. She cried into Yang's chest.

"I'm so sorry, Yang," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry!"

Yang patted her back with her one hand.

Did `sorry` make everything better? Did saying sorry forgive Weiss the betrayal, or the pain she'd been through? Yang wasn't sure, but she suddenly felt tired of it all. It still stung, but the wound was dull and Weiss was in tears, in genuine pain and showing more remorse than she'd ever expected from the normally proud girl. It was hard to hold onto her anger, especially when it was mixed with concern for her teammate. She'd been through Hell. It sounded like Weiss felt guilty enough about it as it was.

"It's fine, Weiss."

"It's not."

"Okay, it kind of isn't," she accepted, "but I'll forgive you. I do forgive you. I… I can at least understand why you did it, even if it hurt me." She was no stranger to fear, after all. It made people do stupid things.

"Are we friends again?" Weiss croaked.

"We never stopped being friends, Weiss. People argue and get into fights. It just hurts all the more when it's with someone you care about."

"I… I think I can see that now." Weiss tried to pull herself away and Yang allowed it. The heiress' eyes were red with tears, but her smile was nothing short of beautiful. The double relief of the Fang and now this had the girl hiccupping, but she looked happy. Relieved. "The others are sorry, too," she said.

Yang held up a hand to stop her.

"Don't apologise for them, Weiss. Things like this… they need to happen normally. We need to sort it out between us. All of us do."

She nodded. "I think I understand. It's… It's good to be able to talk to you again."

"Heh, you too." Yang grinned but was forced to sigh when Roman coughed. "Duty calls, though. I have to get back to work. Just so you know, there's not going to be any charges over what happened. No way is anyone going to try to convict a victim for what the White Fang did. Just focus on getting better and continuing your lessons at Beacon. I'll sort things out. If I need any comment I'll message you, okay?"

Weiss swallowed and nodded. She was still struggling past the relief of learning her actions hadn't killed anyone, and that alone left her weak. "I understand. Thank you, Yang. For this and for stopping me. I'm glad it was you."

"Heh, me too. Get some rest, Weiss-cream. I've had Junior contact Beacon. Glynda will come to pick you up soon."

Weiss nodded and laid down, resting one arm over her eyes. She was probably still sick from the after-effects of the Fang, and of being beaten unconscious by her. She'd recover, though. Weiss was strong like that.

Roman followed her as she left the room, shutting the door behind her and marching down the corridor. "So, you can be a normal girl after all," he said. "That was quite the cutesy display. I almost feel ill."

"Can it, Roman. Weiss is my friend. I'm not going to leave her like that if I can help it."

"Hmm." He took the file from earlier and flipped through it, before he closed it with a sigh and tucked it under one arm. "You read through this, I take it."

"I did."

"Twelve killed from crossfire," he said. "But six killed in another way. Broken necks, strangulation, and one officer with her throat practically torn out. The indents from fingernails suggest it was done with someone's bare hands. A woman's bare hands."

Yang came to a halt. Roman did the same behind her. She took a deep breath and held it. In a long sigh, she let it go. "The White Fang have a lot to answer for," she said. "That's all I'll say. That's all anyone will ever say. Am I understood?"

"As you say, Captain." Roman came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She hadn't even realised her body was shaking until he did. "For what it's worth that was a good thing you did."

Yang nodded. She appreciated it, even if it was from someone like him. Like she'd said, no one was going to charge anyone for this, not when it was so clearly a tragedy. Weiss didn't need to know the truth.

She didn't need to know what she'd done.

Quick wind down for the bank heist and we're leaping into the next arc next chapter. Yes, Weiss' rampage was about as bloodless as one might have expected. I wonder how many were thinking "Weiss killed no one? That's a little contrived" as they were reading that part. Sadly, the reality of someone that could send huntresses and huntsmen into a berserk fury is far less kind.

And the VSPR gains a new member, though not a combat one by any means. Roman and Yang said they needed some kind of investigative detective, and who better for the role than a journalist in search of the story that might clear her name? Heh, that could be a story in its own right.

Some of what she talked about on journalism is from personal experience, by the way. I did have to meet someone in an abandoned train yard with money once, though it was for a settlement on plagiarism not information. I convinced them to settle out of court, but since they felt it would "tarnish their reputation" if they did, they demanded it be done in secret, and then followed the cagiest meeting of my life.

But I was also summoned to Westminster once to meet with an MP who demanded to know why I had run a story which might potentially have damaged the British beef industry and cost us trade deals (BSE Crisis). When I responded, "Because it was true" she lambasted me for a short-sighted fool and warned me against doing anything of the kind again. Later, when I worked alongside ambulances as a first responder, I discovered that I'd been "blacklisted" from any jobs ever working for a Government body. They could see it, since the NHS counted on that list. Scary.

And yeah, Weiss and Yang made up. It felt impossible for either of them to hold a grudge considering what they just went through. That doesn't mean Team RWBY is fixed, not by a long shot.

Next Chapter: 6th March

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