FEBRUARY 24TH 6:30PM

Friday night. Typically it was party night for most students, with endless drinking and recovering from a hangover the day after. But for Ruby, there were no celebrations. She was still too upset to do any kind of celebrating, the wounds were still fresh.

It'd been a week since she asked Blake to leave. A week that felt like an eternity. Blake wasn't there on her sofa in the morning reading a new book, nor was she hogging the bathroom in the evening for a warm bath, nor was she there for Ruby to distract when she cooked dinner. The strangest thing about it all was that the nights where there wasn't a sound at all from the vent was when she truly couldn't sleep.

All this time had passed, and Ruby still hoped Blake would return. She wished that she would. Blake came into her life just as easily as she slipped away. Even if the latter was her own doing, Ruby wished she at least had a sign Blake was safe.

Once more, she looked to the vent. Months since Blake first got in through it, and she never did end up getting it fixed. Not that she would now. If her best friend was ever in any danger, ever absolutely needed to return, she'd leave that door open for her forever.

Maybe she was there now.

It wouldn't surprise her. It could well be that her friend did try and come back, but ended up deciding against it at last minute. Of all the things that were 'Blake-y', anxiety was definitely one. Not knowing what compelled her, she stepped toward the vent, lifting it-

Beepbeep-Beeeeep-beepbeep-beep-beeeeeeep!

The somewhat uplifting ringtone brought Ruby out of her daze. Abandoning the vent, she collected her scroll from her pocket, raising it to her ear once answering. "Hey Pyrrha, what's up?"

"Hello, Ruby." Apart from seeing her occasionally in the dorm, Ruby didn't know Pyrrha well. And she could sense in her voice she wasn't all too comfortable with talking. "Sorry to call you out of the blue like this, but is Yang with you at all?"

Raising an eyebrow, Ruby wandered around the room for something to do as she spoke. "No, not with me. I thought you had her number?"

"I do, but she's not very good at texting or calling back."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "You don't have to tell me twice. Want me to give her a message?"

"Well... It's somewhat private..." A brief pause on the phone, until she seemed to realise something. "Actually... You went for the trial a week ago as well, didn't you?"

As if she wanted to be reminded of that day even more. Even the mere mention of it was upsetting her. Taking a shaky breath in, she replied as calmly as she could. "I did, yeah. Why?"

"I was just wondering if you experienced any side effects from your dose, or if Yang has."

For a brief moment, Ruby paused. She herself hadn't experienced such side effects, not even a little bit of sickness. But Yang of course had her ears and tail. Since then however, she'd kept herself hidden. As far as she knew, even Weiss was in the dark about that. Keeping such information quiet, Ruby answered politely.

"I haven't, no. But... Ask Yang if she has yourself."

"Like I said, I would if she'd pick up," She nervously laughed. But more seriously, she asked in a much more serious voice. "Can... I ask your advice?"

For a moment, Ruby nodded. And then foolishly remembered that wouldn't be visible through the scroll and answered properly. "Yeah, of course. What is it?"

There was a pause on the other line, followed by a small sigh. Just before Ruby was about to ask what was wrong, she spoke up.

"I've... had a very strange side effect. And I think it's the trial that did it."

"... Oh." Ruby stopped her pacing, leaning back against one of the kitchen counters. "... What do you mean by 'strange side effect'?"

"I mean, very strange." Realising Ruby would need more info, she clarified. "I don't know how to describe it, but... Shall we say, growths? In my hair. They're not very noticeable, but they don't feel like hair. They feel like... Like feathers."

Ruby had completely frozen as Pyrrha went on further. "And not just in my hair, either. My lower back, a lot have appeared there too. When I tried to look in the mirror, it looked so strange, as if I have a... a..."

"A tail?" Ruby guessed. It had to be! This was exactly the same side effects as Yang was having, and now Pyrrha too.

"Y-Yes." She sounded more nervous than Ruby had ever heard in their brief time they knew one another. Anyone would be, it wasn't normal to be calling your friends and telling them you've suddenly got a bird tail. "And it's not just me, Yatsuhashi is another, he said he grew a much longer tail and some kind of horn on his head. And Coco? Coco said she had a small tail and some floppy ears. None of us know where to go, we don't want people to see us like this!"

This was getting stranger by the minute. But as for what to do, Ruby didn't know. While she was told one thing, Yang was told another. There was no telling what was correct anymore. All Ruby could go on was the information she had, and try her best to reassure Pyrrha. Last thing she wanted to do was cause a panic.

"Cinder said the doctor and fill out a form or something. I'm sure they'll be able to fix... whatever this is."

"Hmm... I think Roman said the doctor will laugh this off and not take me seriously. I might try and contact Schnee Dust Co directly about this instead. But thank you anyway, Ruby. I'll try and get in touch with Yang again and see if she's also experienced this."

"Yeah, sure. Hope you get something sorted."

And with that, they both hung up. Such a conversation had only brought more questions and mystery. So Yang wasn't the only one who was experiencing symptoms anymore. The Schnee Dust Company had a lot to answer for.

Which rose the question, why was Roman telling some students to go directly to them, while Cinder was telling people to go to a doctor? And more importantly, why were so many people undergoing these strange symptoms yet she was completely fine?

Just because Blake was gone, didn't mean the investigation was over. And as she walked toward one of the kitchen drawers to find where she'd stored all their written information, she had a new found determination to continue for the sake of her sister.

And deep down, for the sake of Blake too.

FEBRUARY 24TH 8:15PM

It had been a strange week not just for Ruby, but for Weiss also. There had been so much running through her mind the past week. The most obvious one, Faunus were real. The stories she recalled her dad telling her as a child were all true, that legendary people with animal features and fearsome strength really did live in the jungles of the world. Then there was the fact Blake was one. Up until that point, she had never seen Ruby's roommate in the flesh before, and any pictures she did catch had the ears hidden under a small black bow.

The third was the most haunting. All of what Blake said. She'd never met the woman before, but she was so angry. But not a kind of anger from rage. An anger that stemmed from fear. From the sound of it, for good reason.

'Your people took me! You all shoved me in a room, experimented on me!'

Even if she never truly knew her, she could tell she wasn't lying. That kind of raw emotion to a stranger wasn't for nothing. Whether she liked it or not, the Faunus were linked to her in some way. And she needed to investigate.

And as she finished her shift, the perfect time had risen. The offices were mostly abandoned, which gave her the perfect chance to gather information. Once checking over her shoulder to make sure no one was in sight, she then got to work.

Logging into the system, she began to search through the maze of files within the company's network. Being the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company had its perks. From the looks of things, she had access to files that no regular employee did, which made it much easier for searching.

'Okay, first thing's first. F-A-U-N-U-S.'

The search brought up no results. She knew it wouldn't, of course. Whoever was behind all this wouldn't be so stupid to name it the very thing they were searching for. Next, a more inclusive search.

'V-A-C-U-O.'

Two folders came up. One was dated far back, well into Weiss's childhood. No doubt that was from the first expedition her father was a part of. The second was dated more recently. Six years ago. That seemed to line up to the second expedition. When she expanded the folder, it brought up a variety of different file types. Mostly text, some graphs sheets, but nothing relating to Faunus she could see.

What was next? The Miracle Dust. That was another mystery that had been on her mind for weeks. Perhaps the files would offer some form of clarity to the ingredients at last.

'M-I-R-A-C-L-E D-U-S-T.'

The list was endless. Seemed that every employee working on it had a separate file for their own findings, making it increasingly difficult to hone in on anything specific. This was going to be a nightmare to search through name after name after-

"... Menagerie Cell Intake?"

It was the only folder that wasn't a name. It never gave away any clues as to what it was, so naturally Weiss's curiosity was piqued. But as she double clicked the folder, an error message appeared.

'Error: You do not have access to these files.'

That was odd. Her status should have given her access to everything within the company. But thankfully, she knew a way around it. Typing away, she took the steps to log herself out, but log in with her own father's account. Yet again, another benefit to knowing her dad so well. She knew his password was hers and Winter's name along with their birthdates.

Once logged in under his name, she tried once again.

'Error: You do not have access to these files.'

"... But that's..." Impossible. The highest authority was still not enough to access that folder. But why? Here she was looking for answers, and had only gained more questions.

It wasn't over yet. If she couldn't access the files, she could at least see who had access. Looking within the file's properties, she was able to search for the file's origin, and it's creator.

'CREATED BY USER: CINDER FALL.'

Right away, alarm bells were ringing in Weiss's head. Not only was this department skipping inspections, but there were clearly things they fully intended to keep hidden from her father. But what on earth could be so bad to justify that? Yet again, it raised more questions. Alarming ones at that, when doubled up with Blake's accusations.

As she logged herself back out the computer system, she came to one conclusion. If she couldn't talk to Blake again, she needed to speak to the next best thing. Ruby herself.

FEBRUARY 24TH 10:30PM

At the very least, the second time on the street was nowhere near as bad as the first. It wasn't the safest place to sleep, or the warmest, and the food wasn't as easy to access nor were the washing facilities brilliant. But at least compared to her first time, she had something. Even if it was just the rear washroom of a restaurant and a makeshift roof of corrugated metal outside.

But it still wasn't quite enough. Although the company was pleasant, it wasn't as good as the roommate she still desperately missed. Ruby. It always went back to her lately, whenever she felt down or upset, she'd always remember the one who let her in and gave her everything. She just missed her so much, regardless of her feelings.

And she didn't even have anyone to tell about it. Everyone around her was none the wiser of how she felt. To them, Ruby was another human, another person unwilling to spare change. But there was so much more. So very much more.

And that was all Blake could think about through her washup. Images of her half dozy smile in the morning when she woke up, the way her face creased up when she laughed too loudly, the genuinely caring look she had when they both sat together in the evening.

It kept her going. It kept her warm as she ran the cold flannel over herself to wash away the dirt and grime and warm when she stepped into the even colder air to dry herself off. No matter how many times she told herself she had to focus on her own species, her mind always wondered back to Ruby when she needed it. And the longer it was only her that knew that, the longer it would.

"Woah, oops! S-sorry!"

When Blake looked over her shoulder, she just caught the sight of Sun leaping back around the corner out of the way again, holding a hand out for her to see. "Didn't know it was still occupied. I wasn't peeping, honest!"

Giggling softly, Blake kept her back to him as she continued to run the towel over her arms. "Don't worry, I believe you. Just stay around the corner till I get some clothes on."

"Yep, no problem!" Sticking to that demand, Sun remained around the corner, running a hand through his hair as he waited patiently. "If it helps, I only saw your back for like, one second."

"I guess I forgive you," She joked, moving on to her next arm to dry it off. "Sorry for hogging the room for this long though. Washing just... gives me that time to think."

Despite Blake assuming otherwise, Sun had noticed a difference in Blake's attitude since she arrived. While she'd grown to be comfortable in their presence, in the evenings she was different. She always wanted to be alone, and always took forever to wash up, as though she were avoiding them. There was sadness in her, no motivation to do much talking. It was as though she was grieving. He didn't know Ruby that well himself, but she was still the one that put Blake up for months. She obviously meant something to her. Now seemed a better time than any to ask.

"About Ruby?"

Blake had to stop mid way through wiping her face. It was one thing to have the thoughts racing through her own head, but hearing them from someone else's mouth was different. It caught her by surprise.

Trying to coax her out of her shell more, Sun went on. "You know, you never did tell me what went down with her. One minute, you're spending Christmas togethe -"

"Hanukah." Blake corrected once again.

"- Spending Hanukah together, the next she sends you packing. I don't get it."

Glaring out into space, Blake found her grasp on the towel becoming a little tighter. She growled under her breath. "Of course you wouldn't get it. You never liked her."

"Sorry but if you don't give me anything to go on other than she threw you out, I never will." He snapped right back, looking in the direction of the open space without stepping out just yet. Blake hadn't quite given the word it was safe to do so. "So... prove me wrong. Tell me about her."

With a deep sigh, Blake looked over her shoulder in Sun's direction. In the end, he was right. And so she as she slid her clothes back on again, she explained everything.

She told him how Ruby first cooked for her when she was first caught, and then how she took her in when she was wounded. She went on to the offer during the holidays, about how it meant that she was typically a family affair, yet Ruby invited her to it. She told him about their time out by the lake, the snowball fight, then the star gazing in the evening.

Then there were the smaller things. The evenings they'd curl up on the sofa together, her reading and Ruby playing her games. Sometimes Ruby would fall asleep against her, and the two would just end up sleeping there together. When she finally had her clothes back on again, she stepped out from around the corner, folding her arms across her chest.

"She's one of the most selfless people I've ever met," She could barely look him in the eye, feeling embarrassed that she went on for too long. But there was still so much more to tell. "Not human. The most selfless person. Even when I was back in Vacuo, no one in my clan was as caring and understanding as her. Sure, they kept me safe and fed, but I was just..."

She sighed deeply, looking off as she ran a hand through her hair. "It was so long ago, but I remember how I felt back then. I was just another number, someone to keep our line going. But she made me feel like more than that. And she still does. Even now when I think about her, I just get so excited and happy. But knowing that, and knowing how I messed up and she might hate me, it hurts. It hurts so much..."

A moment of silence followed in the room. In which time, Blake continued to avoid eye contact, and instead paced back to lean against the closest wall. Sun could only run a hand over his chin as he thought of what to say, sighing himself gently as he composed himself. But he'd heard enough to figure it out.

"You and her were more than just friends, weren't you?"

At which point, Blake wasn't even surprised anymore. It had been bottled up all this time, and even at the possible risk of judgement by her only remaining friend, it was better than containing it any longer. She kept her gaze to the ground to try and stop him noticing the tears that were forming.

" I wanted to be."

While she expected Sun to be disgusted or try to talk her out of it in some way, the reaction was very different. After the brief pause it took for the words to settle, Blake felt the warm embrace closing in around her, and Sun's head resting on her shoulder as he pulled her into a warm hug. Such close affections after so long shocked her, had her unable to do anything other than look out with wide eyes in shock.

"It's okay," Sun reassured her, rubbing her shoulder as he held her close. "It's gonna be okay. Ruby doesn't sound like she threw you out for no reason. God... I misjudged her."

No longer holding back, Blake couldn't quite push past the lump that formed in her throat when she tried to talk. Instead, she returned the embrace, and nuzzled her head into his neck as she sobbed, allowing the tears to fall. Each sob, Sun merely held her still, gently rubbing her shoulders again and again in the hopes of helping in some way. Even if it wasn't perfect, it was helping Blake let out the pent up emotion she'd bottled up for weeks.

"But what if it's not?" She managed to mumble. "W-What if... i-if she never forgives me? You've been around them longer and you said it y-yourself, Sun; these people put t-themselves before anyone else."

"But Ruby isn't like them." He reassured her, pulling back from their hug and holding her cheeks in his hand, making sure he had eye contact with her. "I was wrong to lump her with them, especially after you told me how well she treated you, and especially when I have the people here that I have. I'm sorry. I was an idiot."

Blake sniffed once again, still avoiding eye contact as she rubbed away more of her tears, moving away Sun's hands in the process. "It doesn't matter. Sitting here crying isn't going to make her love me. Nor is it going to find the other faunus."

Although Sun agreed, he shook his head gently, holding her shoulder instead. "No. No, Blake, this isn't a contest. Finding the other Faunus is important, but what good is bottling up your emotions? It's just gonna make you sick, and you can't save anyone if you're too sick to do it."

Slowly nodding, Blake wiped away yet more tears before they became obvious, deeply sighing to calm herself down as best she could. As much as she agreed, she wouldn't allow herself to be this way all evening. She let it out, that was that. Time to move on, just as she always did before. And insistent on doing that, she used the chance to change the subject.

"About that, the reason I lunged at Ruby's friend... I think she's connected."

Sun tilted his head, still worried, but wanting to hear her out. "How do ya mean?"

"At least, wherever she works? It's definitely connected." Stepping away from Sun and out of his grip, she took the moment to pace around the room, collecting her thoughts. "The coat she wore had that same emblem, the two-slipper-thing that looks kinda like a heart. From what Ruby said, she works with the Schnee Dust Company, that place that makes the drug trials for the students at the college."

"Oookay you briefly mentioned that, yeah." Watching her as she paced around, he leant back against the wall. "I'll bite. How's that connected?"

"The trial is supposed to give humans everything we can do naturally. Immunity to diseases, increased healing properties, all that stuff. Ruby's sister Yang took it, but it didn't just do that." She turned to face him, looking more determined than upset from now. "It gave her ears and a tail. It gave her Faunus features."

"It what?!" Sun shouted in shock, but suddenly ended shaking his hands. "Wait wait wait, they made a drug that turns humans into Faunus? That's crazy! Why would they even need that?!"

"I don't know, but it gets worse," She continued to explain, "They're not just Faunus they're... They're more than that. When I felt Yang pull me off Weiss, she did it so effortlessly, as though I weighed nothing at all. I know she's a strong girl anyway, and we have a little bit extra strength if she was just turned into a faunus, but she could never be that strong on that alone."

"You said ears and a tail too. Faunus only have one animal feature. That's impossible naturally, that had to be made."

But their moment in deep thought was interrupted when the back door swung open. Neptune. From the way he burst in and looked to the other two with a shocked expression, he'd been in a rush to find them.

"You two, Sage just got back," Right away he pointed back out the door from where he came. "You're gonna wanna hear this."

FEBRUARY 24TH 10:52PM

"I've been around here for years and ain't ever felt so nervous talkin' to someone."

Sun and Blake had seated themselves around with the rest of the group. Sage was famous for his stories, many of which were true ones he'd seen with his own eyes and told to people of all ages at the local community halls. If anyone needed information about anything, he was the one to go to. A factor Blake learnt more about over the week. But he'd asked for Blake specifically for this tale.

"I get all kinds of folk asking me what I've seen around the city; parents lookin' for runaway kids, police looking for missing suspects. Heck, I had one guy ask if I'd seen a girl in a cosplay! But this guy, he knew about Faunus."

That alone got the group's attention. Not many humans knew of the word, which spoke enough about what kind of person this was. But he clarified further. "He asked cat eared Faunus, specifically. I didn't get to see his face, but he knows you exist."

Blake couldn't help but worry. It couldn't be Ruby, she wasn't at all intimidating. The only other possible people were those in the Schnee Dust Company, but that would mean they'd have known she survived the gunfire. Paired with the knowledge of how Sun was chased by one of the associates over the holiday period, it wasn't a good sign.

"Could be someone who works for Cinder... Did he have orange hair? Top hat, cane?"

"No, nothing extra like that, exactly." Sage scratched his head, trying to form an accurate description. "He was tall, was wearing these weird robes and a hood... I kinda thought he was doing a Naruto cosplay or somethin' at first glance. But then I kinda noticed there was a few scars on his face. Like, across his eyes. It was like somethin' from a damn D'n'D game or somethin."

While Sun seemed even more confused and worried about this description, oddly enough Blake was relaxing. That description seemed all too familiar to her. To someone she had nearly given up hope in seeing again. After all this time, could it be Adam?

"Sage, did this guy have red hair?" She then also pointed to the top of her head. "And horns? I know you said he had a hood but-"

"Now that you mention it, the hood did sorta bump up like there was somethin' under there... But yeah. The dude had red hair." Already Sage could sense she was onto something. "Is he someone you know?"

Blake nodded all the more, even beginning to smile. That was definitely him. And after all this time he'd kept to his word and was seeking her out again. "Adam. He's the reason I'm free in the first place."

Sun looked in Blake's direction. This was the first he'd heard of anything to do with Blake's escape. Asides from a few details, Blake didn't talk about her ordeal with him, even less so about her escape. But while he wanted to trust his friend's judgement, something felt wrong. It was purely a feeling in his own gut, but the name, the way Sage spoke about him and then Blake's disregard of it also had alarm bells ringing.

Not noticing the worrisome look Sun was giving, Blake needed to know more. "Did he say anything else? Where he was heading?"

"Kinda ominously..." Sage also didn't seem too happy. "But he said he'd find you in a couple of day's time. 'Where she first woke up.' Does that mean anything to you?"

Blake nodded. The early memories once she was free weren't so easily forgotten. In light of everything, that location was obvious. "The back of the dorm buildings. That's how I got into the habit of hiding in the dorm vents, it was the first place I knew." Looking out blankly, she wondered to herself. "Maybe he'd been looking for me all this time..."

"Bloody'ell. Talk about a tall dark stranger, eh?" Scarlet remarked with a small laugh. "What'cha gonna do next?"

"Go find him, of course." There was no question. While her goal to save the rest of her kind was still there, she had to find Adam again. "He can help us with our search, he's probably been trying to free the others already like he did with me."

"Are you really sure about that?" Sun had tried his best to remain quiet for her benefit, but he couldn't shake the feeling he had. "You have plenty of time to change your mind. You heard what Sage said, the dude seemed really ominous."

But Blake wasn't deterred. In fact, she appeared more offended at the possible implications. "He's saved my life, Sun. This will be the first time I've seen him again in months. I can't ignore that."

"It just seems kinda... I dunno. It just seems kinda sketchy, y'know?"

"Well, you don't have to come with me." When that appeared to worry Sun even more, Blake shrugged her shoulders. "I survived long enough on my own, and we're not tied by the hip. If he knows something, it'll help us."

"Yeah... I guess." Not wanting to offend her any further, he refused to comment anymore. There was plenty of time, but Blake didn't seem the type to change her mind so suddenly. Especially not if it was someone so close to her. In the end, all he could do was hope for the best. But still the thought constantly ran through his mind.

'It won't help us if something happens to you, though.'