Nora tipped her head back to get the last drop of the fake soda Ren had made her promise to drink instead of the caffeinated ones, but he didn't ban her from the ones with regular sugar and she'd need all of the extra energy she could get for her plan to work.

"Nora, I'm sure that this makes some sort of sense in your head, but I don't understand what we're doing here," Jaune whispered from right next to her. They were crouched behind an alcove, watching Weiss talk on her scroll in the kitchen. She was talking in really quiet business-esse to someone who sounded like he was probably her dad, so Nora had no clue what anything was about.

"Jaune, it's as simple as simple gets." Nora patted him on the back. "What do you want most in the world?" She flourished her hand in front of him like she was drawing on an imaginary canvas.

"To become an awesome Huntsman." He clenched his fists with a goofy grin on his face that would've had Nora laughing at any moment. But right now was no laughing matter. Nora had a job to do, and if Ren wasn't going to help her then she would have to save her friends the only way she knew how.

"No, no, no." She shook her head, grabbed his shoulders, and applied enough pressure that he started to turn toward Weiss. "What do you want right now?"

"Umm… A hamburger?"

Nora let her head fall forward and sighed. It figured that he'd think with his stomach at a time like this, she needed a more direct approach.

"What? It's dinnertime and I'm really hungry."

"Jaune," she said, forcing extra-perkiness into each word. "All semester you've been going on about how much you like Weiss for… well… because she's pretty."

"It's not than just that. When she says anything I-"

Nora cut him off by placing a finger on his lips. "Exactly! And right now she's-" she glanced around the wall to see Weiss glaring at the fridge. "-not exactly in a good mood, but that's where you come in."

"Come again?"

"It's simple. You're a lovable goof, in fact I'd say you're the most lovable goof at Beacon and she's a stuck-up rich girl who's having family issues. There's no better time for you to turn on that classic Jaune charm and ask her on a romantic date where she can forget about everything else that's bothering her as you sweep her off her feet." Nora twirled around, hoping Jaune would pick up on her meaning. She didn't add that this was also her best idea for how to get Weiss away from the mystery Anathema, that she'd written herself a note about being worried about; before she forgot about it again.

Dear future me,

Hiya!

You might be wondering why this note popped up as soon as you opened your scroll. If you are, Yay!, because that means we were right. If you aren't, try again tomorrow. =^_^=

The past week has been really weird and really worrying for a bunch of different reasons.

First, Ren seemed to remember someone who I couldn't being a member of team RWBY. When I was writing this note, I could name Weiss, Blake, and Yang. That R person was a mystery and that's just weird (maybe you have better luck remembering him now?). I couldn't even figure it out by finding the mystery member in class or at lunch or dinner because team RWBY hasn't been going to those together.

Second, Ren and I were still pretty sure that someone on RWBY, who wasn't Weiss because she passed the investigation (THIS IS IMPORTANT, DON'T FORGET THIS), has to be an Anathema, but neither of us had any idea who it is. Considering I also can't remember R, that makes them really suspicious (probably our top suspect and you should be careful around them, whoever he is).

Of course, R could also just be really boring, skip classes a lot, and generally not hang out with anyone. I've forgotten lots of people like that before. But Ren remembers this person and I know everyone that Ren hangs out with. No one's closer to him then we are, so he wouldn't hide this mystery R person from us. At least I hope he wouldn't

If he was, then that would mean that he was either being brainwashed by an Anathema... or brainwashed by some girl. Like that redhead in sparring class he keeps hanging out with (not Pyrrha, thanks goodness). Ren's not like that though and if someone did brainwash him then I'd break all of their evil brainwashing legs to get him back to normal. But, he hasn't been acting any differently so this R person is hopefully just a normal, extremely forgettable, boring guy, like a less lovable Jaune. And if that is the case, then it's Blake or Yang who's actually the monster messing with our head.

Third… ummm… there was something really worrying that Weiss told someone to do to them. I can't remember what exactly it was or who was going to do it, but it definitely sounded bad. That confirms that someone's messing with our head! It's just like last time, the more I try to think about what it is that was going to happen, the less I can remember. It's like what happens when I drink too much coffee and just can't think straight, except you know that we've been dry since the beginning of the semester because Ren insisted. _

Anyway, Weiss is really smart, but she just doesn't know what the Anathema are like so she's the perfect person for them to go after. At least, that's what Ren said that after what happened to her during her investigation. You were so sure she was the one, but were wrong and now both of you agreed that you shouldn't go to anyone with rumors or random thoughts anymore. You need actual proof. BUT, that doesn't mean you can't try to help the person who you know is safe and on a questionable team.

The note called Operation Love Bomb is where everything is(actually read the plan, it doesn't involve building a bomb that makes people love each other no matter how cool that would be. The dust alone would cost a fortune).

Also, I hid a bunch of Ren's dinner pancakes in the bottom of the fridge in a pink plastic container. The gravy's probably seeping into them completely and I'm hoping it's delicious.

Boop,

Past Nora

PS- The more times I read this the more I think that Weiss offered to get brainwashed, why else would I keep bringing it up.

-more recent Nora

PS2- Brainwashing is definitely probably a thing. It seems like everyone in school , including the teachers, have been having memory lapses when it comes to R, who I was able to confirm is Weiss's partner.

-Boop Boop

The boop was how she knew it was her and the pancakes had been even better the second time. Past-Nora knew exactly what to give as presents.

"So, Jaune. Are you ready for date-master Nora to help you out?" Nora patted him on the back.

"Uhh, sure."

Nora glanced around the corner to make sure Weiss was still distracted. The other girl was scowling silently.

"So, first things first. Before you go up against Weiss, you need practice," she whispered. "I want you to try asking me out."

"Uhh…"

"Come on. You can do it!"

"Okay so…" Jaune gulped. "Nora, I… I really…"

Nora nodded quickly.

"Grah, this is just too awkward." Jaune dropped his head down. "Nora, you're like a sister to me… Actually, you're just like one of my older sisters."

"Uhh. What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you're tiny, full of energy, strong enough to bench press me, and seem to want to give me all sorts of weird advice."

"You forgot incredibly awesome and definitely going to get you that date."

"Ahh… right," he sighed.

"Look, it should be simple. You go in calm and confident. You, and by you I mean me, have a plan to take her to a wonderful concert on Saturday." Nora held his shoulders and squeezed a little bit. "Don't start out by asking her to it. You need to be nice and silly first. Like, you could compliment her earrings and make a-"

Weiss put her phone down and started walking their way.

"No more time to plan, you've got this!" Nora spun Jaune around and shoved him out of their hiding place. He stumbled forward, almost falling on his face.

"Hey there, Weiss." Jaune waved and chuckled nervously, dropping his voice down to the point where it sounded ridiculous.

Weiss crossed her arms and tapped her foot, looking past Jaune directly at the spot Nora was not quite hiding behind.

"Well you see…" he looked right over her shoulder, still chuckling. "You have really nice earrings today."

"What do you want?"

"Well, do you want to go to a concert with me-"

"No."

Nora banged her head against the wall. He'd started asking too soon.

"Oh… Well, if you're busy then maybe we can-"

"No." Weiss stomped. "I'm not going to go out with you and I never will."

"I, uhh."

"Why not?" Nora jumped out from her conspicuous hiding spot. "Jaune's nice. He's funny, a great friend… Umm, really brave, not to mention-"

Weiss turned to Nora and started raising a finger with each point. "He's incredibly lazy, not studying despite getting some of the lowest grades in every class. He's the opposite of charming and romantic. Frankly, I don't know how he even got into Beacon."

"I'm standing right here," Jaune whispered under his breath.

"I know you are and it's something that you need to hear," she snapped, still looking at Nora. "Why would you think I'd ever be interested in him?"

Weiss had seen right through her.

In response, Nora giggled and tapped her fingers together. "Uhh, well.. It seems like you've been really… Annoyed recently and I thought that someone taking you out on a nice date would be, I don't know, nice?"

"And you sent Jaune? Why not Ren?" Weiss' vicious grin made Nora freeze. There was something very mean in Weiss' eyes. Did she know? How could she know?

"Well, you wouldn't be interested in Ren, no way. He's…. He's uhhh, calm, quiet, dependable- Oh wait, no that's something good."

"Exactly, all of those are positive qualities. He thinks about what he's going to do. If you sent him I might've considered it."

"Well…" Nora held her mouth closed. Could she do that? Ask Ren to ask Weiss out to keep her away from danger? But, then they might actually start dating and he'd be busy and… and…

"Weiss?" another girl yelled from down the hall. "It's been almost fifteen minutes, where are you?"

The girl appeared in a flurry of rose petals. "Oh, there you are. Hi, Jaune. Hi, Nora."

Nora squinted at her. This girl looked familiar, but Nora couldn't place her.

"I had a call that I needed to take."

"Was it your family?"

"Yes." Weiss paused, watching the girl carefully. "How did you know?"

"Uhh, Yang figured it out."

"Wonderful."

There was something about the girl, something that nagged the back of Nora's head, just like when she was taking a hard test.

"Have you figured out who you're going to give your thing to?" Weiss continued talking to her, ignoring Jaune and Nora.

"Oh, right!" The girl vanished into another cloud, reappearing next to Jaune. "Hey, Jaune, can I do something to you?"

He looked at Weiss, the leaned over with that fake-confident grin on his face. He spoke in that fake-deep voice of his whenever he was trying to seduce Weiss. "A cute girl like you can do whatever you want to me."

"Jaune, I'm not sure that's a-" Nora started to object. There were a lot of different potential meanings and she had no idea who this girl was.

"Great!" the girl interrupted, practically jumped on Jaune as she patted his back repeatedly. Then bounced in a circle, cheering. "It worked! It worked; it worked; it worked!"

"Uhh, what just happened?" Jaune backed away, voice back to normal.

"I built an energy pattern for Weiss using my Semblance, but it didn't fit. You're small enough that it was able to wrap around you without any problems."

"What?" Nora and Jaune asked at the same time. First Weiss and then this strange redheaded girl came out of nowhere and called Jaune small… Why was everyone being so mean to him today? Wait a minute, small red headed girl?

"Well, it was built for her, but now that I know it can work on you, I can make special ones for everyone else that are actually focused on them." She grabbed Jaune by the shoulders and turned him toward her. "So, do you feel any different?"

"No, not really." Jaune held his arms out, staring at them.

"Darn."

Weiss grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her away. "Ruby, let's go back to our room so you can try it on me again."

"Wait, Ruby?" Nora looked at her very carefully and forced her way through the fog on her mind. Ruby started with R and she lived with Weiss. R was the cute redhead from sparring class to keep hanging out with Ren! And, she was also after Jaune too! Nora's head snapped towards Ruby trying to focus on her, taking in every detail she could

"Yeah." She dashed over to Nora. "Can you remember me again?"

"Sort of." Nora stepped back. This girl was definitely the one who she was forgetting and she just did something to Jaune. "What exactly did you do just now?"

"I built a… Well, I guess it would be sort of a blessing." Ruby looked up and away from them, pacing as she mused. "I built a pattern that has the same aspects of one of the constellations of Mars that should make the person who has it think faster. I figured that since I can use them to do cool things, I should be able to do that to other people too. But it's much harder to design them if they need to just work on someone else instead of being used directly."

Nora kept herself very, very still. There were ways that could be a perfectly normal, not at all dangerous, statement, but she wasn't sure what they were. Weiss didn't seem worried, but she'd also had this done on her before and said it failed.

"I'm trying to figure out what the best ones for everyone else would be. You, Jaune, and Ren should be about as tough, but I'm going to need to work a lot harder to make anything for Weiss, Blake, Yang, or Pyrrha."

"You want to do this for everyone?"

"Yeah, at least, assuming it actually does something."

"Ahh… And by Mars, do you mean, like the goddess that Pyrrha worships?"

"She's just one of them, but also yeah. I'm pretty sure I could do something with the other constellations too, but haven't focused on them too much so it might take a bit." Ruby quirked her head to the side. "Why? Is there a particular one you want? Last time I asked you sort of panicked."

"Ahh…" Nora giggled and backed away more. "I'm good. I was just sort of curious and, uhh, you know it seems pretty… different. Not like anything I've ever heard about before."

Weiss was watching Nora very carefully, but didn't say anything. Nora glanced back wondering how Weiss could see right through her, but also not see the danger she could be getting herself into.

"Anyway, I'm sure the two of you are really busy and we should get out of your hair." Nora grabbed Jaune's arm and started pulling him away.

"We are?" he asked, not fighting back. "But, I wanted-"

"We're very busy with… your sword! Right, Jaune." Nora kept pulled. "We need to work on your accuracy and figure out what else you can do with it."

"Ahh, right." He chuckled and waved to them. "Bye Weiss, bye mystery girl."

As soon as they were out of sight, Nora pulled out her phone and updated the note. R was Ruby and she did something to Jaune. She also wanted to do things to the rest of them. Also, Nora needed to talk to Pyrrha about religion and whether or not this was something that could actually happen.

There was someone that her teammate was sure had one of her goddess' blessings, but Nora couldn't remember who it was. Hopefully it was Ruby, that would make this a lot less worrying.

Yang spun around and spread her arms wide. Behind her was a long row of bars, convenience stores, and closed Dust shops. A couple of cheap hotels loomed in the distance, discolored facade showing off their quality. "Welcome to crook central."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "This looks like a pretty normal, if run down, street."

"Exactly." Yang pointed out three of the bars in order. "It's the type of place that you only go if you have no other options. It's also right near the docks, which is where everything illegal flows in."

"Lovely." She shook her head and watched a group of Faunus head into one of the bars. "How do you know all of this? It doesn't exactly seem like the type of place that you'd go to willingly."

Yang sighed and nodded toward and empty alley. When they were sufficiently far from the street she began. "I spent a lot of time away from home this summer. I was looking for someone and had run out of good options for where to find her. So, I started looking in bad ones."

"Uh huh." Blake crossed her arms and gave Yang one of those, you're not telling the whole truth and I know it looks.

"I also might've spent a few days trying to drink myself silly after I realized what I said yes to." Yang looked off to the side and cringed. "It, uhh, didn't really work out like I hoped it would."

"What did you think would happen?"

"That I'd black out, wake up feeling terrible, and it would all wind up being a bad dream." Yang laughed awkwardly. That had probably been the lowest point in her life. She'd failed to notice, or care, about people that she knew were being hurt and had accepted a literal deal with a demon.

"That doesn't seem like the best way to react."

"It probably isn't, but it's sort of a family tradition at this point." Yang sighed. "After mom died, my dad and uncle weren't exactly great role models for a while. Dad got better... eventually. Uncle Qrow, well, I'm pretty sure I've seen him sober at some point.."

It was only a slight exaggeration, but Blake still gave her another look of annoyance.

"What? It was literally the worst point in my life. I screwed up and let a bunch of really bad people go because I was too obsessed with finding my mother."

"Then, I suppose this could be a second chance for you."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that myself." Yang closed her eyes and focused on the area around them. "But I don't think anyone important's here right now."

"How can you tell?"

She could feel a bunch of weak Auras being activated through the walls. They could be bar fights, overly rough dancing, or even Semblances; none were even remotely threatening. "I can feel nearby Auras now."

Blake looked like she wanted to say something, but was holding back.

"Come on, what is it? I can take it."

"That seems very… strange. I've been trying to do that without any luck, but it just comes to you without any effort?"

Yang shrugged. "I don't really spend a lot of time worrying about how these things work."

"Do you think you'll be able to recognize them?" Blake leaned over and watched the road.

"Probably? I mean, I didn't really see them in the first place, but if they put up a good fight, I'm sure I'll be able to figure them out."

"What's the plan then?"

"We go in and I ask myself what seems like the most fun!" Yang pounded her fists together and grinned. When her partner wasn't amused she laughed. "Hey, it was what I did last time and that worked out well."

"Can you avoid getting into a fight this time?"

"Yep, I just need to find something else that's interesting." She stepped in and looped Blake's arm into her own. A quick yank pulled her partner in and with a step forward, Yang leaned into her. "And don't worry, that's not just a euphemism for you."

Blake rolled her eyes, but didn't pull away until they reached the first bar. It was a grungy, hole in the ground filled to the brim with dockworkers and lowlifes. There was only one way to tell most of the two groups apart from each other: Aura. And that was something that most people wouldn't be able to tell at a glance.

Of course, neither of them were most people and everyone inside could tell that at a glance. This wasn't the place for two teenage girls to go without drawing a lot of attention.

Yang zeroed in on her target immediately, the table with the only decent Aura. She was a mountain of a woman, probably closer to seven feet tall than six and half as wide at the shoulders. Right in front of her was what Yang needed, what her throat and stomach burned for now that she'd gotten the chance to see it. A bottle of her Uncle Qrow's favorite whiskey.

The woman raised her glass and watched Yang very carefully as she strode up to the table. She continued to drink while Yang waiting, taking her sweet time to finish a single sip. "Yes?"

Yang slammed her hands on the table. "You have an excellent taste in whiskey and I was hoping that you'd share."

"And why would I do something like that?"

"Well, I have a proposal for you." Yang pointed at the bottle. "We have a little drinking contest, whoever wins gives the other one a bottle."

She blinked a couple of times, then looked at her glass. "I must have had more than I thought because that's the dumbest thing I've heard all night and that means either you're an idiot or you think I'm one."

"Come on, you scared of little old me?" Yang smiled 'innocently' and let her desire flow outward.

The woman stared at her for a moment, before sighing. "It's your funeral, kid. You'd better not get puke on my boots."

"I don't think you need to worry about that."

Ten minutes later, Yang knocked the front door open triumphantly and left with Blake on one arm, her prize in tow. She had the bottle of whiskey as well.

"So, the Ursa's Den, wasn't expecting that. Though, considering he's working with the White Fang, maybe I should've." Yang leaned onto Blake, her entire body feeling slightly warm. "It's only a couple of blocks away, so we can go scope it out next."

"I can't believe that you're still standing."

"Standing? I feel fine." Yang pulled away and leapt forward, spinning in the air. She caught the ground with her heel to keep the spin going and landed without swaying. "See, no problem."

"You drank an entire bottle of liquor by yourself."

"So did she."

"She was twice your size."

"And had barely any Aura… Compared to me that is."

Blake rolled her eyes.

"You really think we'll be able to find him?"

Yang shrugged. "I'm about as sure as I can be and Nila was pretty sure she'd seen Torchwick heading that way. He isn't exactly subtle."

Blake nodded and continued forward. The streets were busy enough that they could slip through crowds without anyone paying too much attention. If Roman was at all smart, he would have someone on lookout.

"What sort of place is this?"

"Faunus bar, known mostly for still being here despite the number of people who've tried to burn it down." Yang suddenly stopped. "Come to think of it… we should probably pick up disguises. I've been around here before and he's definitely seen you."

"I could just sneak in and check."

"And leave me all alone outside while you have all the fun? Nope."

"Fine." Blake pointed down the street at a clothing store. Two jackets and a hat later, they were back on track.

A beefy ram Faunus with horns that curved all the way around his head stood outside of the Ursa, giving the two of them a peculiar look when they walked up.

"Hello!" Yang cheerily waved. He wasn't amused.

"What do you want?"

"My friend and I figured your place would be a great spot for a drink."

He scowled and spit in front of her. "Well, too bad. This isn't the place for you."

Yang smile melted into a glare. His Aura was weak enough she could probably drop him in a hit or two. "What did you say?"

The man stepped forward and met her eyes, looming as much as he could. "I said this isn't the place for your kind, human."

"Well tough luck. I think it's exactly the type of place for me." Yang stepped forward, fists clenched.

"Yang!" Blake stepped between the two.

Yang backed away, but kept her eyes on him while he watched Blake.

Blake raised her left hand and held two fingers out. "Bloodless."

The man stepped back and looked from Yang, to Blake, and the to Blake's hat. He grit his teeth so loudly they could hear it, then opened the door. "The balcony's reserved so stay off of it."

Yang made a 'told you so' face at him as they walked in and grabbed Blake as soon as the door closed. "Okay, what was that?"

Blake looked away and mumbled. "It was a White Fang pass phrase. They wouldn't have let us in otherwise."

A couple of things about their last trip to Vale suddenly made a lot more sense. Ruby and Blake happening to run into a White Fang informant had been just a little bit too lucky. If Blake was leading them to him to get the information though...

"Are you still with them?"

"No."

"Does Weiss know?"

"Of course she doesn't!"

"Well…" Yang grinned. "Guess I have one up on her now then."

Blake gaped at her. "You… You don't care?"

"Not really. It's hard to be a Faunus and it sort of fits with the dark and mysterious beauty thing you've got going on." Yang grinned.

Blake smacked her in the forehead.

"Worth it." Yang laughed. "If you're not with them anymore, then it's your past, your business. It doesn't bother me."

"Ruby said practically the same thing."

"Yeah, she's a good kid." Yang sighed wistfully. "The only way she'd be mad is if you actually, I don't know, killed people or seriously destroyed things."

"She wasn't even mad about that."

Yang opened her mouth, then closed it. She was learning all sorts of new things about both her partner and her sister today. Actually, no, the past two weeks.

"Let's get going before someone else comes in." Blake continued up the stairs; Yang followed her.

The floor was a lot nicer than the previous one, a lot more crowded too. Just getting to the bar would take some effort and a lot of shimmying. The stairs up to the balcony would too.

Of course, that was exactly where they needed to go since Roman Torchwick's bright-orange hair was clearly visible at a table up there. He was sitting with a blonde girl with a long furry tail.

"Hey Blake, what sort of Faunus is the girl he's with?"

"Hmm." She watched the girl's tail twitch. "Sugar glider?"

"A what now?"

"It's a small rodent tha-" Blake's face went completely white.

The lights in the room flickered as the redheaded man with horns walked over to Torchwick's table. He was a threat, unlike Torchwick and the girl.

"Yang." Blake slid her weapon free and backed up. "We need to leave now."

"What? Why?" Yang looked back at them and checked all three. "The new guy's the only one vaguely threatening. We can take them."

"We. Need. To. Leave."

"This is our best chance at taking Torchwick out," Yang whispered through her teeth. "If we get a strong White Fang guy too, even better."

"He knows what I am!"

Yang froze and looked back at them. The guy Blake was terrified of had noticed them. He leaned against the railing with a look of murder on his face, his eyes boring into Yang's. She raised a hand and channeled her Aura into her palm, blasting him with a blinding flash of light. The man shouted and covered his eyes as Yang pulled Blake back down the stairs.

It took every ounce of willpower she had to not leap towards the blinded asshole and punch his lights out. He was the only real threat there and Yang was pretty sure she could take him. But, she couldn't just leave Blake standing there like that.

They dashed away, knocking the bouncer on his ass as they fled. Thanks to Blake's speed, they were long gone by the time he stood up. Yang didn't even take the opportunity to make a joke about being carried in Blake's arms.