"Blake?"
Blake opened her eyes to see Ruby standing over her smiling. "Ruby? What's up?"
Ruby sat beside her in the grass Blake was laying in, "Nothing much. Was on my way home from the baking club's room. Did you know they make stuff like every day?" She rummages through her bag to pull out a plastic bag with 4 cookies in it. She takes one out to offer to Blake.
"You didn't steal those did you?"
Ruby scoffs, "No I did not! They yelled at me for the pie that Jaune paid for already… But I'll have you know I made these myself!"
"I thought you joined the fitness club?"
"I did! But any day I'm not doing that I can go to the bakery and work on stuff there. It just smells like bread, and cookies, and it's just wonderful. And! You can make stuff for yourself if you have time after club activities." Blake smiled, "Alright, then I can accept your gift." Blake took the cookie and began eating it. Her eyes went wide with her first bite. The texture, the flavor. It was immaculate somehow, "Ruby have you been baking for a while?"
"Oh yeah! Ever since I was little I would force our dad to let me help whenever he made bread or my mom's birthday cake."
Blake's face turned forlorn, "Right. Yang mentioned your mom."
"Oh don't worry! I mean." Ruby began looking down at the grass with her legs tucked against her chest, "I didn't really ever get to know her. It's why I like hearing stories about her so much. And why we celebrate her birthday every year. Me, Yang, our dad, and my uncle Qrow. It helps me feel a little closer to her."
Blake smiled at her before looking back up at the sky, "It's a wonderful sentiment to remember her."
Ruby took a deep breath to collect herself before looking over to Blake, "So what were you doing out here by the way? Literature club wiped you out and needed a nap?"
Blake giggled, "No, I just wanted to enjoy the weather while I can. Even though it's the middle of Fall, Winter will be here before we know it."
"Ugh. Don't remind me. It's gonna be so cold… But at least my birthday is this month!"
"Really? Which day?"
"October 31st. I get to celebrate both my day, and Candy Day at the same time!"
They continued to sit in the temperate weather for a while, until the sun began to set behind the buildings and the girls decided to return to their dorm.
Ruby got up groggy in her bed. Her sister was playing music from her radio again. She hated Yang's passive aggressive way of telling her to wake up. But she hated the fact it was Wednesday more… Sleepily she jumped down out of her bed and began to dress herself, before grabbing her uniform and heading for the showers.
The day's classes passed slowly, as they did every Wednesday without fail. Port ended up talking about one of his many stories again, rather than anything about the Grimm or tactics or fighting techniques like she wanted. During his story Ruby's thoughts began to wander, "Where exactly did the Grimm come from. How many kinds were there she hadn't seen before?" She had heard other regions had grimm unique to their environments, and that Vale's area was unique, in that it had a varied assortment of grimm of all kinds.
She was ecstatic when her gambit of classes was finished at the end of the day, she quickly ran to the gym to get changed and start her session at the Fitness Club. She waited excitedly outside of the girls' locker room for Pyrrha and Nora to come out. She quickly greeted them, noting Pyrrha was still in her crutches, "You going to be alright with your ankle, Pyrrha?"
She smiled warmly back to Ruby, "I'll be fine. I should be able to walk on it in another week or two. And until then I am still able to use my arms fine. So I'll be doing certain weights with Nora." Nora began to shepherd them towards the weight room, "Yeup! We're gonna get Pyrrha's arms and core so strong she could use her hands as legs!"
Getting to the weight room, they all began warming up with stretches, while they still had several minutes before the club began in earnest, they didn't want to just sit. As Ruby was doing her stretches Nora asked her, "So aren't you supposed to be in the running area?"
"I can make it over there quick enough before we start. Besides, it's not like I need to be there to stretch right? By the way, Pyrrha, how's Jaune been doing?"
Pyrrha's face lit up, "Oh he's doing wonderful! He's been hanging out with Ren more, and has been training with me to get better, and he's making such good progress."
Nora looked at Pyrrha with a smug expression, "Boy, you're just gushing over our team leader huh?"
"Of course I am! I was worried for those weeks we weren't talking much. But now, even in about a week, he's clearly determined to get better. And I'm so delighted to be the one to help him."
The bell rang to signify the top of the hour and Ruby rushed off to the running field with the other runners, just in time for the TA, Libra, to get there with their clipboard. All the runners gathered around them, "Today is pretty simple, you know the routine: Stretch, three miles, then rest. After, go for speed first, then go for endurance. We'll meet up again at the top of the hour to compare to last week." And with that, they turned and went back into the gym for their next group. Ruby was perplexed by them, they were so small, with such a soft voice. Yet they were also so direct with their speech and attitude. Like they only ever had one thing on their mind, eternally focusing only on it. As she got to the line she overheard some of the other girls talking, "I wish Libra'd stay around a bit longer. We barely have the chance to talk to them."
"Don't think about trying to get with them. They're a second year, they'll be off on field study next year."
"True, but that's still a year of fun right?"
Ruby went back to her running while still thinking. They even seemed popular, yet she had only ever seen them in the fitness club. She wasn't even aware of what their team looked like.
She continued her running, but it continued to be on her mind.
At the end of the hour, Libra returned to record and compare all of the girl's running scores, but as they left Ruby followed next to them, "Hey! I'm Ruby Rose, you're Libra right?"
They looked to her with a slight shock before responding, "Uhm. Yes I am. Can I help you?"
"I just don't see you around the campus much, so I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out after this?"
Libra stared at her for a few seconds before sighing, "Sure. Just meet me outside the gym when we both get done changing. So long as you don't mind us not doing much besides talking."
"Yay! See you soon!" And Ruby ran off to the locker room.
Ruby finished cleaning herself off and changing back to her casual clothes, and met Libra outside of the gym. As they began to walk with Libra remaining silent, Ruby wasted no time in starting a discussion, "Soooo uhm. How come I don't see you around much?"
They thought for a moment, "I suppose I just don't go out much. I'm often helping Professor Archibald with things or not doing much besides school work."
"Oh. Well uh, what do you like to do when you're not doing work stuff?"
"I guess I enjoy sitting outside and watching things happen as time goes by. Sometimes I'll sit around the courtyard and watch people as they do things." They sat on a bench by Beacon Tower, watching the people as they went by. Going to and from clubs, or heading back to their dorms. Some going inside Beacon tower, and others hanging out themselves. In the silence, Ruby finally started speaking after fidgeting for a bit, "So if you don't mind me asking, how come you accepted my offer so easily and quickly. I don't mean offense but you just seem a little uh…"
"Unapproachable?"
"Yeah, I uh, didn't quite know how to say it nicely."
"It's fine. I am a bit because of my general attitude if I don't know someone or aren't comfortable with them. But to answer you, I could tell you weren't going to stop until I said yes."
"Woooow. Are you a mind-reader?"
Libra chortled, breaking their placid face, "Oh my god, no. My semblance is uhm. I guess you could call it a mood reader of sorts. If I activate it, I can see the color of people's mood, and infer from there. It took awhile to figure out what the colors meant however."
Ruby was looking at them beaming, "That's so cool! You can like, predict what they might do based on their mood, or try and make them real angry!"
"I uh, I guess. I don't think to use it much when I fight. Not much point when I mostly fight grimm, you know?"
Ruby suddenly tempered herself, "Oh right, I guess we aren't meant to be fighting people too much, ha ha." She looked around for a bit before continuing, "So it was only cause you knew I wouldn't give up?"
Libra wasn't looking at her, but was smiling, "Well. I guess it's also cause you're around my height. It's nice to not have to look up at someone in a conversation."
"Ugh! Oh my god I know what you mean! My sister is taller than me, and it's a pain." Libra laughed again. Ruby couldn't help but think how different they looked now compared to how she saw them before when they didn't smile once.
"So, why don't you tell me more about your sister? And then I can talk about my team a bit."
The two students enthusiastically shared information, talking through the rest of the evening, until the sun went down and they had to return to their dorms.
Thursday morning, Weiss was woken up again by the sound of activity in her room. Yang doing her hair and Blake getting up. She quietly began her morning routine: going to shower, dress in her uniform and fix up her hair, then going down to the cafeteria to have her breakfast by herself. Then returned to her room to gather her school supplies and leave with her teammates. She was mostly quiet as her teammates bantered on their way to class. She didn't know what to talk with them about, she barely knew what they liked besides surface level. She could always ask, but she was still a bit apprehensive. Suddenly a large arm was around her as Yang was hugging her from the side, "Yo Weiss, you been quiet, wanna go with us to see them set up some of the Fall Festival decorations?" Weiss yelped before shoving Yang off her, "Don't touch me! … Uhm… Please." Yang's expression suddenly became apologetic, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you weren't super into that kind of thing, sorry. I won't do it again unless you're cool with it."
"It's… alright. I just need some kind of warning."
Weiss quickly hurried ahead of her team to their classes, taking her seat. She listened attentively, as she always did. Took notes dutifully, as she always did. Volunteered to answer any question the teachers asked, as she always did. She was determined to prove she belonged there, at Beacon with team RWBY. For people to see her as Weiss. Though her team asked if she was alright, inquiring about this morning. She would brush it off that she was simply surprised. Truth be told she wasn't used to warm contact since her sister moved out of their home. Only an icy grip…
She was used to having to avoid it. Hide it. She didn't want to bother them with her own issues. They were hers to overcome.
At the end of her school day, she left immediately to get changed, grab her supplies, and go to the art club. She did feel bad for not interacting with her team more. But how could she? It had only been a couple months since they met. With a… less than welcoming reception on her part. She was quick to be defensive, and aggressive, and didn't know how to act around the others in most cases. Perhaps she should try a one at a time method of getting to know them, that might be easier. It's not as if she didn't enjoy them. Well. Most of the time. Yang's music is uncouth, and loud, and Ruby is… persistent. Blake was quiet and seemed cultured, enjoying tea and literature. She might be the best place to start.
Weiss entered the art room, once again as the first to arrive, and greeted Professor Aegis, she looked tired, working on papers and on her scroll. After taking her position with an easel, she began to take out and set up her supplies, as well as gathering some from the room. As she sat down again, the professor looked over at Weiss, "How are you doing today Miss Schnee? Are you making friends with your teammates?"
"Uhm. Well. We're getting along fine. We've gone out together once or twice."
"I suppose it has only been a couple months. I know the club hasn't technically started yet, but what are you working on this week to present?"
Weiss looked down, away from her, "I'm actually going to paint over my project and try again… I wasn't satisfied with it." Professor Aegis looked up from her work, "That's too bad. What were you dissatisfied with?"
Weiss sighed, "I don't know. It feels… Plain."
"Would you mind if I took a look with you? Maybe I could help identify the block."
"Uhm. Sure, I don't see why not."
Professor Aegis stood up from her desk and walked over next to Weiss to look at her painting. "Oh, you were doing flowers in a courtyard again."
"Yes. Is that an issue?"
"Oh no! There's no problem. The point of the club is to cultivate yourself in your artistry. However you see as the best way of doing that. But, you're a very determined woman, Weiss, perhaps you're feeling a bit stuck, or stagnated?"
Weiss looked up at her puzzled, "What do you mean? I thought my flowers looked fine."
"Well. You're someone who strives for excellence in every aspect of your schooling, from what I hear from the other teachers. But while your paintings have all been wonderful looking, they've all been very similar. Perhaps you could try branching out a bit? Focusing on a different thing. Your architecture looks good too, perhaps some buildings, a city-line. Or even on people."
Weiss was quiet for several seconds before responding, "But I don't know how to do those other things well. I can't do them without it looking poor."
"But, that is the point of art. To get better. With subjects you're unfamiliar with, you have to learn before you can produce quality. And it takes time, poor showings, and sometimes help."
"I don't want help."
Professor Aegis simply smiled, "I know. But sometimes it's needed. And there's no shame in accepting it. While it's good to learn to stand on your own, denying help in all its forms is a failing point as well." She moved back to her desk as other students began to show up. She turned to Weiss once more, "Why not try to paint one of your teammates? I'm sure they'd be willing to pose for you, or for a photo reference. Might be a good chance to talk."
Weiss thought on it while staring at her canvas. What else would she paint? She began to paint over her canvas. Something she enjoyed, but also knew, besides the flowers in her closed off courtyard from home. She pulled up her scroll to look through her images. She finally came across one of her older sister, Winter. She was standing stoically at attention, and looked magnificent. "The perfect image of an heir," she thought. And began to outline her sister, setting up the background of her sister's room. It was an image she was familiar with, of the day Winter left home to join the Atlas Military. She became entirely fixated on the image of her sister, with thoughts still swirling through her head.
Frustration. The image wasn't coming out. It didn't look like Winter, it looked like nothing. How could she fix this and have it ready by Saturday? Try again. Again. Again. Again. Every time. It wasn't what she was used to, it frustrated her, she couldn't have nothing to present, what wou-
"Weiss?" Professor Aegis was by her again looking at her canvas. "You're looking quite frustrated."
"I am. It's not looking correct. It needs to."
"Have you painted people much?"
"Well. No. But I can't present something sub-par Saturday."
"Weiss, you needn't have something perfect for the capstone. It's an opportunity to learn. And quality comes with practice, I'm sure you weren't as skilled with your rapier as you are now, correct?"
Weiss began to calm down while staring at her canvas, "No… I wasn't. It took a lot of hard work to get where I am now."
Professor Aegis didn't say anything, but smiled at her again before checking on the other students and their projects.
Weiss continued to stare at the canvas for a minute, her mind almost blank. Until she picked up her brush and continued her painting, rather than painting over it once again.
After the club, Weiss packed up her things and returned to her dorm. Entering, she found Ruby to be the only one there, and was setting up something on their wall while all of Weiss' paintings from the last couple months were beside her. Ruby was setting up the painting she had done during the free paint in the second week of school. "Ruby, what are you doing?"
"Oh hey, Weiss! I'm setting up your painting from when I went to the art club that one week, and then I'm gonna hang up mine next to yours! Isn't that cute?"
Weiss was perplexed, "Um. I suppose? But why do you have my other paintings out of the closet?"
"Well. Yang and Blake were thinking of getting some decorations for their side of the room, and Yang said ours was a little plain. So I wanted to hang up all the stuff you've been working on."
"Why?"
"Because you made them, Weiss! I wanna show off what my BFF can do for anyone who comes over."
Weiss remained with a confused expression, "But they're all so similar, and not that amazing."
Ruby trotted over to grab Weiss' hand and escort her over to the wall she had begun hanging paintings on, "They're amazing cause you made them Weiss! Now, I know you're real serious about like- Position of them and whatever, so I want you to help me so you won't yell at me later."
"I do not yell! … But I will help you make sure they're all level and look nice." Weiss picked up one of her paintings, and smiled as Ruby ran to get tools.
Saturday was cold, with a breeze gently blowing through the turning leaves in Beacon's trees. After sparring class Yang decided to head back to her dorm, as she still a little over an hour before meeting with her club. On the way to her room she decided to check their mail. Weiss was typically very diligent about checking it, but it wouldn't hurt for her to see if anything had shown up for her or Ruby. To her delight, there was a letter addressed to her. Yang returned to her room and sat on her bed as she opened it up and began reading, "Yang, we were all young once, but it was not particularly kind of you to abandon your sister on her first day at Beacon. A little bird told me she spent her first lunch break out back feeding the school chickens. No one has ever accused you of being too aware of the feelings of others. Try to cultivate that flaw. -Signed, Uncle Qrow."
Yang stared at the note for a moment before mumbling to herself, "Oh apples."
Yang ran off to the gym where Ruby was getting ready for her running mini tournament. She was shocked to see Yang rushing up to her as she was stretching, "Yang? What are you doing here? You aren't usually at my club's capstone."
Yang ran over and immediately grabbed Ruby in a tight hug, "Ruby, I'm so sorry! I abandoned my baby sister and you had to eat lunch with the chickens!"
Ruby was attempting to speak, but couldn't get much out other than wheezes, "Y-Yang. Please. My lungs…" Yang loosened her grip but still wouldn't let go of Ruby, she was actually crying a bit, "I'm so sorry Ruby, I've been a bad big sister, I'll try and be better!"
Ruby was still catching her breath, "Yang, really it's fine! The chickens were real nice!"
"But there's gotta be something I can do to help right? Something to make it alright?"
"Yang, I'm fine, but how about you see how if the rest of our team needs help with anything?"
She dropped Ruby back to the ground, "You're right! Well, good luck baby sis!" Yang yelled as she ran back the way she came.
Looking at her scroll, she still had about 20 minutes before the board game club met, and she rushed back to her dorm to check if anyone was there. She only found Weiss at her desk studying, and as cooly as she could, moved behind her. "Heeeeeey Weiss. Need any help with homework?"
Weiss continued working for a few seconds before responding without looking up, "Do I ever?"
"W-well no. I just thought that maybe I could help you with something possibly?" Without receiving a reply, Yang began to walk out of their dorm, before Weiss spoke up, "Yang?"
She looked back excitedly, "Yes?"
"Well… There's one thing I could use help with-but if it's too much trouble you don't have to! Uhm. Sometime next week, could you be a model for me to paint? So I can get more practice with painting people."
Yang began waving her hand, flattered, "Oh you tease, Weiss, you haven't even bought me dinner yet!" Weiss became flustered, "You could just say no you know!"
"I can do it for you Weiss, thanks for letting me help, teammate!" And she sped out of the room to head to her board game club meeting.
Arriving at the clubroom she was out of breath and sat in the room as others were already setting up their games. Yang was sitting alone as Jaune walked over to her, "Um, Yang right? Do you want to play a game together? This one is able to be played with two players."
"Uh, sure."
The two played without conversation for a few moments before Jaune spoke up, "So uhm. You been playing games for many years?"
Yang didn't look up from the board as she was thinking of her next move, "Yeah, since I was a kid, my dad would play with me. Sometimes Ruby's mom too, we have a pretty decent collection at home. How about you?"
Jaune made a quick move, not thinking very long on it, "Oh yeah, family board game nights and all that with my sisters and parents."
"How many sisters do you have?"
"Oh uh… seven…"
Yang giggled, "Boy, that seems like a mess for someone like you." Jaune squinted before making his next move, "Alright, a bit rude… But I will admit that I do get a little homesick thinking about them."
Without looking up, Yang moved her piece, "What kind of stuff would you do with them?"
He reacted to her move, "Well uh. Almost everything we did as a family. Camping trips, going fishing, that kind of stuff. Anything at home was usually done to me as the one brother. Being tormented, having whatever they made with food forced on me to try, them all braiding my hair."
Finally placing her main piece on Jaune's side, Yang glowed confidently, "Well, if you need some help, I'd be happy to braid your hair for you. Might help you feel a little less homesick."
"Uhh. Well. I guess it couldn't hurt."
Yang sat behind Jaune in JNPR's room, carefully braiding his hair as they talked for a while, Yang listening to jaune talk about his sisters, and her talk about Ruby in turn. Eventually she finished braiding every bit of Jaune's hair she could, "Aaaaaaaaaaaand done!"
Jaune looked over her work in a mirror, "Wow. You know it wasn't actually that bad, it did help me a bit, thanks, Yang."
Yang was heading out of JNPR's room, "Full big sister treatment!"
Walking down the hall she began thinking to herself, "Well that was two thirds of Team RWBY and then one member of JNPR. Where's Blake? Surely she could use help with something. Maybe finding a new hobby? Or getting out to do something since she reads so much. Something exciting and less dry than her usual routine." She looked up to see Blake coming up the stairs to their floor, and Yang bolted up to her, "Blake! Just who I wanted to see, do you ne-" She was interrupted by Blake putting a finger on Yang's lips, "Ruby warned me you're feeling guilty. You don't need to help me with anything Yang."
"Please? That's the magic word right? There's gotta be something you could use help with?"
Blake stared at her for a moment before reaching into her bag and pulled out a book. "How about you try reading this for me? It's called 'The Man with Two Souls'. It's one I enjoy quite a bit, and should occupy you for a time. It's only 71 pages." Blake walked past Yang, who stood staring at the book. She opened it and read the first page, "Oh boy… This is very dry. It might take me a minute to finish this…" She closed the book and dejectedly walked back to their dorm to continue it.
Blake walked with her team to their first class of the day Friday morning, Yang was once more in high spirits, talking about plans to see the Fall Festival decorations today after school with everyone. It would be a three day weekend with the start of the festival, Halloween, being on Monday, and Yang has some sort of scheme planned for that day. Blake still wasn't sure what it was, but she had seen Yang making calls and writing out plans and invitations for something on the 31st. She'd be sure to ask her about it when it was just the two of them. Walking into their classroom for combat and grimm studies, she had a double take upon noticing Professor Port wasn't behind the desk, it was Professor Aegis. Upon noticing them, she waved at Weiss who walked up to talk with her as Blake sat in her seat by Yang. Eventually the bell rang and Weiss ran to her seat. And Aegis smiled, then began her introductions, "Hello, everyone. You're probably wondering why Professor Port isn't here. He's away on a mission for a while and I'll be substituting until his return. I have something fun planned for the latter half of class, but for the start we'll be going to page two hu-"
"Oh so they're just letting animals teach the students now huh?"
Blake turned to glare at Cardin, who was leaning back in his seat with his feet on the desk. She looked back down to Aegis who's smiling expression had turned cold as her eyes narrowed,
"Cardin Winchester correct? I assume you have your combat gear near and accessible?"
Without looking down at the professor, "Pfft. Yeah of course I do. Never know when I'll be called on to trounce some nerd."
Professor Aegis continued her unmoving stance, "Then I suppose we'll skip to the fun part first. If you'd be so kind as to become combat ready, and see how well the animal does in a sparring match."
The class rose with "oohs" as Cardin scowled, and got up to equip his gear.
As he was getting ready the professor addressed the class, " I had intended for the sparring and observation portion to be the end of the class, but now is as good a time as any. The point of this sparring match will be for you all to observe and think. Be on the lookout for details on how we fight, details you think might be important if you were to fight me, and how the performance could be improved." Blake couldn't help but feel she was so much colder than her smiling self at the start of class. She was being incredibly blunt and straightforward.
She then went behind her desk to equip an electronic pack to her back. It was clearly Atlesian tech, though Blake was unable to determine what it did. Was it her weapon?
Cardin and Professor Aegis took separate positions at the front of the classroom, and Cardin took a combat stance. Aegis clicked something on her pack, and several blade-like antennae folded out of its sides. Then the corners of Blake's vision became dimmed somehow, as the professor seemed to be growing brighter. Not immensely, but enough to notice the light around them was dimmer for some reason. The antennae began to glow and project hard-light into two large tower shields which the professor took one in each hand as the lights returned to normal, and she finally took her own combat stance with her left shield forward. "The match will be concluded when one of us pins the other, or runs out of aura. First to two wins, or whoever loses enough aura to lose a tournament setting loses overall." And she began to step toward Cardin.
Cardin smirked and ran to meet her, bringing his mace down into her shield. She didn't flinch, nor move back, simply swung her right shield around to slam into Cardin who was sent flying back to the ground. Before he could get up, Professor Aegis was pointing the tip of one of her tower shields at him. "One, zero. Reset." And she moved back to her same position as Cardin got up to do the same. She counted down from 3, then began the match. This time Aegis rushed him, dashing with her left shield out as Cardin swung at her, to no avail. The shield impacted into Cardin, sending him flying into the wall, the impact shattering his aura as he fell down. "Two, zero. The sparring match is over." The professor turned from Cardin, her emerald eyes still icy and her body finally untensing as her shields dissipated. She took a deep breath and exhaled before addressing the class, "So, as Cardin returns to his seat, let's begin the lesson. Does anyone have any observations? Details that seemed important to the encounter? Or information you didn't know that would be something to look out for?"
Weiss immediately raised her hand as Aegis gestured for her to speak, "Your equipment you fight with seems to be tied to your semblance in some way to create your hard-light shields. But we don't know what you can make with them. Your tower shields could have just been what you decided to use for a defensive stance."
The professor smiled, "Very astute. You're correct in that I use this pack as my weapon. It projects hard-light that I use my semblance to turn into my shields. And they are my primary weapons, but you'd also be correct in assuming I can make other things so long as I know the structure and make of them. Not just weapons, but objects with similar properties to their real forms. And does anyone have any observations about my semblance?"
Blake raised her hand, "It has something to do with light? Both your ability to shape the hard-light, and before you created them, the room dimmed a little as you started to glow. Almost like you were taking the light into yourself."
Professor Aegis had a dumbfounded expression looking at Blake, "I'm surprised you noticed that. Most of even my third year students don't. You must have very acute vision Miss Belladonna." Blake looked a bit worried before the professor continued, "But yes, I have the ability to manipulate light as an energy. I draw it into myself, primarily my pack as a storage unit that can hold more than my body can, while also being able to project it out as hard-light. Very well done. And how about the actual flow of the fight? How could Cardin have improved his performance?"
Pyrrha raised her hand, "Even with you leaving openings to your left for him to exploit. I don't think Cardin had a chance of beating a seasoned huntress like yourself with each of your weapons of choice. Cardin charges at things like a bull, and your tower shields created a wall he can't break through. Even if he attempted to flank you, you would likely be able to counter him."
The classroom was quiet looking at Pyrrha's blunt judgement of his performance for a moment before Aegis spoke again, "Hm. Very to the point. Yes the likelihood of Cardin beating me would have been slim, you did thankfully notice I left open points that he could have flanked me, were he thinking to. And that is what I wanted you to notice. I'll allow any more questions or observations before we return to the book.
Blake continued staring at her, trying to determine what she meant about her eyesight. Why was it peculiar she noticed the light changing?
After class, she waited for everyone to leave the classroom, Yang stopped at the door however, "Blake, we got five minutes, you coming?"
"Yeah, I'll be there. You guys go ahead of me." And she walked up to Professor Aegis who was collecting her papers,
"Mrs. Aegis?"
She looked to Blake smiling, "Oh, just miss or professor is fine, I'm afraid I'm not married. Is there something you needed?"
Blake shifted uncomfortably before answering, "I uhm. I actually had a question regarding you. How do you… How do you deal with the prejudice against you? For being a faunus in the open? People out in the street, or ones like Cardin. I mean. There are worse places than Vale for faunus, but there are better ones too."
Professor Aegis looked at her quizzically, "Well uh. Truth be told I'm here because I happened to be when opportunity was put before me. I just happened to be in Vale and Ozpin offered me a position after speaking with him a couple times. As for the less comfortable topic of prejudice? Yes, there's people like Cardin, or the occasional stranger to berate you. But you fight them with your mere presence, Blake. I have a chance here to normalize people like us, and to attempt a spread of positive information, simply living as I am. And like with Cardin, while I don't advocate simple violence to subdue them. We needn't simply tolerate their ignorance either." Students for the next period began entering the classroom, "But I imagine we'll learn a lot more about each other when you're one of my students in two years. For now you should catch up with the rest of your friends for next class, I'll see you next week in Literature club." She smiled and waved as Blake left to meet up with her team again.
Her pace slowed as she began to think. "What did she mean by, 'people like us'?"
The streets of Vale are being decorated in orange, yellow, purple, and black for the Fall Festival. People setting up pumpkins and scarecrows, produce stands and canopies for the farmer's market. Team RWBY was walking down the street looking at all the decorations, Yang pointing out all the aspects of what was being set up and explaining them to Blake as Weiss was staring at the banner smiling, "'Fall Festival'. I've never been able to go to one, this is so exciting."
Ruby walked up beside her, "You're smiling so much Weiss! It's kinda weirding me out a bit." Weiss turned to face Ruby with a pouting expression, "How could you say that? I do too smile. And how could I not? I was never able to go to one since Atlas doesn't have much of a Fall season. But all this stuff, all the colors and food that'll be around, and people. It's breathtaking!"
Yang leaned in, nudging Weiss, "Careful to not get too excited, Weiss. You might melt that icy heart of yours."
Weiss turned to Yang unamused, "Oh hush, you!"
The team kept walking until they were at Vale's dockyard. The smell of fish began to permeate the air, and another ship was docking. Ruby looked down one street to see a small dust shop with shattered glass around it and cordoned off with yellow police tape and two people Ruby presumed to be detectives of the Vale police force examining things. Ruby walked up to the tape and addressed a detective who had a beard, "What happened here?"
Without looking up, he responded to her in a way indicating he'd answered this several times already, "Robbery. Second Dust shop to be smashed and looted this week alone." He stops writing to look down and shake his head, "And with the three last week, this place is turning into a madhouse…"
Yang approached Ruby from behind, "That's terrible. I hope the people who run the place will be alright."
The detectives began talking to each other as the bearded one's partner left the store, "They left all the money again."
Ruby's head perked up hearing this as they continued
"Again? Why take all that dust but no money? Who needs that much dust for anything?"
"An army maybe?"
"You thinking the White Fang maybe?" The second detective took off his sunglasses to rub the bridge of his nose, "I'm thinking we don't get paid enough to speculate about terrorists."
Weiss, audibly, "Hmph. The White Fang. What a bunch of awful degenerates."
Blake turned to her, "Where is that coming from?"
"What do you mean? I simply don't care for people insane enough to resort to terrorism for their ends."
Blake crossed her arms getting frustrated, "The White Fang is hardly a bunch of insane people. They're a collective of misguided Faunus."
"Misguided? They want to wipe Humanity off the planet!"
"That's not their aim! Just… Some of them. And even then it doesn't explain why they would rob common dust shops in the middle of downtown Vale!"
Ruby moved between them attempting to mediate, "Blake's got a point. After all, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I fought a few months ago. He didn't take the money from that shop either, claiming he had no need for it. It might have been him."
Weiss looked away from them leaning on one leg, "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are lowly criminals. All they know how to do is kill, steal, and lie."
Yang noticed Blake's growing frustration, and joined in with her sister, "That's not necessarily true…"
Their attention was drawn away by a sailor on the ship that just docked, "Hey, stop that Faunus!" Team RWBY ran to the fence overlooking the docks as a blonde, monkey tailed Faunus ran down the length of the boat, leaping off the edge onto a light post as a sailor yelled after him, "You no-good stowaway!"
He chuckled, turning to yell back, "A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!"
He's interrupted by one of the detectives below the lampost, "Hey! Get down from there this instant!"
The golden haired faunus smiles, "Nope!" And lunges to the next lamppost and onto the street, running past Team RWBY as he winks to an astonished Blake. They all stared as he got further away before Yang spoke up, "Should we uhm. See what he's up to?" Ruby held her fist up, "Bonzai!" And began running after him as her team followed behind her. They kept running after him, turning down a corner as Ruby slams into someone and falls over. The rest of her team helps Ruby up as she comments, "Ugh. He got away." Yang was staring below Ruby, "Uhh… Sis?" She points down to a red-haired girl below Ruby who was laying like a board on the ground, smiling up at them, "Sal-u-ta-tions!" The sudden dialogue startled Ruby, "Um...Hello."
Yang leaned over her, "Are you...okay?"
Losing none of her pep, the girl responded, "I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking."
They all stared at her in bewilderment before Yang finally spoke up again, "Do you...wanna get up?"
The girl seems to think about this for a moment, "Yes!" And immediately leaps back to her feet as team RWBY takes a step back, and the girl speaks up again, "My name is Penny Polendina! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Weiss nudged Ruby to the head of the pack, "Uh. Hi Penny. I'm Ruby."
"I'm Weiss."
"Blake."
"Are you sure my baby sis didn't hit you in the head?" Blake hits her side, "Oh, I'm Yang."
Penny lights up again, "It's a pleasure to meet you all!" Weiss comments, "You already said that."
Penny paused once more. "So I did!"
"Well, sorry our teammate ran into you!" Weiss began shepherding them back the way they came. Ruby was waving goodbye to her, "Take care, friend!" At the phrase, Penny stopped and looked a bit shocked.
Yang waited until she was confident they were out of ear shot, "Well she was… Peculiar."
Weiss began pacing around, "Now where on earth could that Faunus stowaway have gone?" She walked a few paces forward before bumping into Penny, who was now in front of her, looking past Weiss, "What did you call me?"
Weiss was looking back and forth in shock as Yang began to be apologetic, "Oh, I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to be offensive!"
Penny wasn't looking at Yang either, "no, not you." She walked past all the other girls and looked down to Ruby, "You!"
Ruby was looking like a rabbit with nowhere to run, "Me? I-I don't know. I uhm. Uh…"
"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?"
Ruby looked up at her, "Uuuh…" She looked past Penny to her teammates who were all shaking their heads. But Ruby thought about her first day at Beacon, and what Jaune told her, "Y-yeah, Sure! Why not?"
Penny became overjoyed and laughed, "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" Ruby leaned over to Weiss, "Is this what it was like when you met me?"
Weiss made no motions, "No-she seems far more coordinated."
The girls were silent for a moment until Yang spoke up, "So… What are you doing in Vale?"
"I'm here to fight in the tournament next year! I was sent a little early to become acclimated to my surroundings."
Weiss looked at her skeptically, "You're fighting in the tournament?"
Penny saluted her, "I'm combat ready!" Weiss was looking her down, "Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."
Blake chimed in, "Says the girl wearing a frilly dress." Weiss folded her arms in defiance, "It's a combat skirt!" Ruby slides next to Weiss in solidarity, holding out her hand for a low-five. Weiss looks at it and then Ruby before reluctantly accepting the low-five. "By the way, Penny. Have you by chance seen that monkey-tailed uhm… Rapscallion?"
"The who?"
"Ugh, the criminal, stowaway, faunus from the boat?"
"Why do you keep saying that?!" They turned to see a now fuming Blake. "Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the street as the street? Or you as Blake?"
"Stop it!"
"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll likely join up with those other criminals in the White Fang!"
Blake was fit to explode, clenching her fist and gritting her teeth, "You ignorant little brat!" And she begins to walk away as Weiss walked after her, offended, "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"
Blake was refusing to look at her, "You are a judgemental little girl."
"And what makes you say that?"
Blake stopped to face Weiss again, "The mere fact you would sort a faunus boy you have no knowledge or relation to with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"
They continued to jab back and forth as Yang and Ruby watched uncomfortably from the side. Yang leaned over to Ruby, "Um, I think we should probably…"
Penny approached from behind them, cheery as ever, "Where are we going?"
"Uhm. We're gonna go home, Penny. It was nice meeting you, and hope we see each other again." Yang said, smiling as best as she could.
The girls were back in their dorm after the sun had set, Ruby and Yang continued to watch their teammates argue with each other. Their debates never let up for a moment the whole ride back to Beacon, and up to entering their dorm. Weiss was getting frustrated at this point, "I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!"
"That is the problem!"
Weiss began to get in her face, "You realize you're defending a human hating organization, right? The White Fang are pure evil!"
"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"
Weiss' eyes were wide as her whole body tensed, "People like me?"
"You're discriminatory!"
"I'm a victim!" Weiss continued leering at Blake for several seconds before she took a deep breath, "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I'm not quick to trust Faunus?" Her eyes lowered and she began to calm down, leaning against the bookshelf gazing out of their window, "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War. As in actual bloodshed and large scale conflict. My grandfather's company has had a target painted on it for as long as I've been able to think. Ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed in front of a camera that I had to see; an entire train full of Dust, stolen. By two people who slaughtered all but one crewman who was able to get away. Every day my father would come home, furious. And that didn't make for a grand childhood experience." Her shoulders were up, and her fists balled up on the shelf.
Ruby walked up, putting her hands on Weiss' shoulders, "Weiss, I-" She brushes Ruby off, "No!" Now turning to Blake, "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"
Blake exploded in turn, "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed into the dirt!"
The room falls silent as all the girls look to Blake, Weiss with a shocked expression backing away from her. Blake looked to each of her teammates realizing what she said, "I...I…" As Yang began to reach out to comfort her, Blake dashed out the door, Ruby ran down the hall before she lost sight of her, calling out Blake's name for her to come back. Yang noticed Weiss, stumbled into her bed in shock and sat her down. She didn't respond and wouldn't focus her eyes on anything.
Blake was running through the campus towards the direction of Vale, stopping in the courtyard by a statue of a hunter and huntress fighting a Beowolf. She turned away from the statue remorsefully and began crying. She reached up for her bow on her head, pulling one of its strings to release the whole knot, finally revealing her cat ears.
"I knew you'd look better without the bow."
Shocked, she turns to the statue to see the blonde faunus from the dock earlier in the day. She wiped away her tears and took a stance, "Did you follow me the whole way here?! Who are you?"
He jumped down putting his hands up, "Woah woah! It's alright, I'm not some kinda threat or stalker. My name's Sun Wukong, I saw your argument with the one with the ponytail and was curious about why you were defending the Faunus so much, and lo and behold you're like me! So what's up? Why were you running out?"
Blake sighed in exhaustion, "Because I was a faunus in hiding… and I might have just revealed that I'm no longer in hiding…"
"Oh… Uh. You need a place to crash? I'm staying at a friend's place while he's out of town, you can take the bed if you want it and I can be on the couch."
She was in no mood to argue with everything that happened, "Sure…"
Entering the Vale apartment, it wasn't the best of accomodations, but she didn't have many options after running out. Sun immediately went to the fridge to pull out some sodas, "You want anything?"
She sighed, "Water or tea please."
"Well uh. We got water at least. No Ice though."
Exasperated, she sat on the couch, "So what's with you anyways? You seem to be around my age, but I know you don't go to Beacon. Also do you actually have permission to be in here?"
"Well, he told me where he keeps his spare keys, so I like to think that's permission enough. I'm a student from Vacuo who's supposed to be an exchange student for the Vytal Festival after the new year. But I decided to go a bit ahead of my team to scope it out, have fun, you know."
"That seems wildly irresponsible."
"Well I met you, so that's a pretty good Start already."
He handed a glass of water to her, and from then on for the rest of the night, she didn't speak.
Ruby was the first to wake up, in a change of pace, looking over to see Blake's bed was empty. She groaned getting up. She had barely slept after spending most of Saturday looking for Blake.
As Yang and Weiss were getting dressed, she made her announcement, "Alright! Now that it's Sunday and we have no classes, we're gonna head down to Vale and spend all day looking for Blake!"
Weiss was despondently brushing her hair, "I'm sure… she'll come back when she's ready…"
"She's been gone all weekend…"
"Blake is a big girl. I'm sure she's… fine." Yang turned to Weiss, concerned, "Weiss, come one. She's our teammate." Weiss continued to not make eye contact, "I know but… What she said. We all heard it. That she was a part of the White Fang."
Yang finished tying her boot laces before standing up confidently, "Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. No matter the case, she's our friend, and we're going to find her!" She left out the door as Ruby watched Weiss. She set her brush down, yet seemed unable or unwilling to move. Ruby moved beside her, extending her hand. Weiss looked at it with a beat expression, and accepted her help getting up as they left their dorm together.
On the second floor balcony of a cafe, Blake sipped at a cup of tea across from Sun; he was holding his cup with his tail as he propped up his head with his free hands. They sit for a while not speaking, barely looking at each other as the noise of people's lives hum from the street and the other customers chat about their days.
After several moments of silence Blake finally set her cup down and spoke, "So you want to know more about me…" She looks up to him intently, expecting a response.
Hey throws his arms up, "Finally, she speaks! A whole day and a half of small talk and suspicious looks!" She stares at him with her eyes narrowing. "Yeah! Like that!"
She rolls her eyes before closing them for a few seconds. When she opened them her expression became sad, "Sun… I would assume you're familiar with the White Fang?"
"Of course! I don't think there's a Faunus on Remnant who hasn't heard of them. Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get what they want. Bunch of cracked pots if you ask me."
Blake continued sipping her tea as he spoke, before responding, "I was once a member of the White Fang."
At the statement, Sun choked on his drink, then promptly wiped his mouth and held up a hand in disbelief, "Wait a sec, you were a member of the White Fang?"
"That's right. I was a member for the majority of my life. I guess you could say I was born into it…" she looks off the side of the balcony. Her expression mournful as she looked at nothing in particular, "Back then things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and Faunus. Making peace, showing we were equal, and defending each other from hate… Of course despite being promised equality, the Faunus were still subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser. And as a result, the White Fang rose up as the voice of our people. And I was there as a little girl." She turned to look Sun directly in the eyes, her body mostly relaxed, but her voice clearly frustrated and her fingers curled, "I was in every rally I could. Bolstered every boycott. I did think we were making some kind of difference. But I was just a child. Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down under growing tension and opposition within our group. And a new leader took his place, with a new way of thinking."
Sun looked at her knowingly, "Sienna Kahn."
Blake continued, "Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, stealing from them. Hijacking cargo from companies that abused Faunus labor. And the worst part of it was, it worked. We were being treated as equals. But not out of respect… out of fear." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again to look at Sun, her old expression returned. "So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would become a Huntress. To better the world. And so here I am: a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow."
Sun looked serious, processing all the information he had just received, "So… Have you told your friends any of this?"
Blake simply looked away in shame without responding.
On the streets of downtown Vale, Ruby and Yang were calling out for Blake as Weiss trailed slightly behind them. Ruby shouted into an alley, "Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake! Where aaaaaare youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?!"
Yang shouted for her in no direction in particular, "Blake!"
Ruby ran up to Weiss, trying to shake her into motivation, "Weiiiiiss! You're not helping us!" Weiss was now getting frustrated, "Do you honestly believe my yelling will help you two in any way?"
"Weiss you're not even trying!"
She looked away stubbornly, "Why should I, when she clearly didn't try with us." Yang came up to their huddle, "Weiss, we should hear her side of the story before jumping to any conclusions."
They began walking again as Weiss crossed her arms, "If she wanted to tell us, she would have done so by now… I would think you'd realize that by now."
"And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!"
The girls all turned in astonishment to see Penny walking behind Weiss. Ruby is the first to shout in alarm, "Penny! Where did you come from!?"
Penny ignored the question, "Hey guys! What are you all up to? You seem to be missing one."
Yang stepped forward, "We're looking for our friend Blake."
Penny stiffly nodded her head knowingly, "Ohhhhhh, you mean the Faunus girl from yesterday that you're missing."
The girls stare at her in alarm, Ruby again taking the lead, "Wait. How did you know that?"
Penny pursed her lips, like she'd been asked what color the sky was, "Uhm, the cat ears?" She points to her own head.
Yang chuckled, "What cat ears, Penny? She wears a… booooooohhh…"
They all now sit in stunned silence as Penny rocks on her heels. After a moment she breaks the quiet, "So, where is she?"
Ruby looked down sadly, "we don't know. She's been missing since Friday."
Penny gasped in alarm, "That's terrible!" She moved close and put her arm around Ruby, "Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!" Ruby forced a smile as she wrenched herself from Penny's unusually strong grasp, "Uh, that's awfully nice of you, Penny. But we're okay! Really! Right, guys?"
She turns to see that Weiss and Yang have left her with the strange red-head.
Ruby sighed and began walking as Penny dutifully followed beside her, "So, is Blake your friend?"
Again she sighed, "Yes, Penny."
"But you're mad at her?"
"I'm not. I think Weiss might be."
"Is she friends with Blake?"
"That's… Something I'm not sure of at the moment."
Penny held her chin thoughtfully, "But why?"
Ruby shuts her eyes and sighs again, "Well, you see… Blake might not be who we thought she was…"
Penny gasps in alarm, "Is she some sort of shapeshifter?"
"No! No, Penny she's…" She stops and looks to Penny, "I don't know what she is. She didn't really talk to us before she ran away."
"Hmm. I don't have a lot of friends. But if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things." Ruby looks down sadly, "Me too…"
The day began to darken, early as it did in Fall, as Yang left a shop with Weiss, waving to the people inside, "Thanks anyways!" As she shut the door, she sighed dejectedly, "This is hopeless." She looked over to Weiss who was staring at the ground, "You really don't care if we find her, do you?"
Weiss began to walk down the street, "Don't be stupid; of course I do. It's just… What will she say when we find her? What will she say to me?" Yang begins to respond before deciding to let her continue, "Am I wrong to feel upset she kept it from us? From me? … Maybe if I had kept my cool. Maybe if I had spoken to her more, tried to open up to her more… Maybe she would have opened up with us more." Yang kept quiet for a moment thinking. Finally she put her hand on Weiss' shoulder to stop her. "Then do that."
"Huh?"
Weiss looked into Yang's eyes, they were so bright staring into her, "If you think you did wrong, then apologize. If you wanted to do better, then do it when we find her. Maybe what you said is what you really think. Maybe it's what someone else has said for you. But it's up to you to make, and keep your friendships, Weiss."
Weiss continued staring into Yang's harsh gaze, she didn't notice a tear streaming down her face. Noticing it, Yang backed up, looking away from her for a moment apologetically, "Sorry! I didn't think my eyes would melt the Ice Queen."
Weiss quickly wiped it away before laughing softly, "You're right. I'm me. Nobody else, and I can make myself whatever I want."
Blake and Sun walked through a side street as the light began to fade, and the air grew colder. Sun stopped to lean against a wall, "So, what's the plan now?"
Blake leaned beside him, looking deep in thought, "I still don't quite believe the White Fang are behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before, and would usually rob distributors rather than shops."
Sun moved off the wall excitedly with a thought, "What if they did? I mean… The only way to prove they didn't do it, is to go where they would be if they were doing it, and not find them there! Right?"
"Well. Yes, the only thing is, I have no idea where that would be."
He stood confidently holding his hips, "Well, while I was on the ship, I heard from some of the workers they're offloading a huge shipment of Dust from Atlas."
Blake looked up, her eyes focused, "How huge?"
"Huge! Big Schnee Company freighter."
"And you're certain?"
"Oh yeah!"
The sun had set and a layer of fog had crept into the dock, as Blake laid on top of a shipping crate overlooking the Schnee branded Dust containers. Sun drops in beside her, "Did I miss anything?"
"Not really. They've offloaded the crates, now they're just sitting there."
"Cool." He drops off an assortment of fruit by her, "I stole you some food by the way."
She looked at him questioningly, "Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?"
"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something" She glares at him, "Okay, too soon!"
As the silence settles between them again, the wind begins to blow around them as they look up to see a Bullhead VTOL land in a clear spot amidst the containers. It extends a ramp down as several black-hooded individuals stepped out, donning metallic, fanged masks.
Blake quietly lamented, "Oh no…"
"Is that them?"
Blake attempted to see clearer as one of the men turned his back to them, revealing the bloody wolf symbol of the new White Fang, "yes… It's them."
The White Fang members began motioning to one of the crates, "All right, grab the tow cables!"
Blake continued to stare in silence. Sun shook her shoulder gently, "You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?"
She stared at the scene sadly, "No… I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." Their attention is suddenly caught by a new voice, "Hey! What's the holdup?! It's just attaching a cable, not dissecting a corpse!" The White Fang soldiers look up the ramp to see Roman Torchwick walking down, followed by a small woman; half his size, with pink and brown, curly, hair, and twirling an umbrella. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so could the menagerie at my service, please pick up the pace?"
Blake continued to look down in shock, "This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that." She stands up, pulling out the Blade portion of her weapon, and leaping down and towards the scene as Sun calls after her in alarm, "Hey, what are you doing?!"
Blake wasted no time jumping from crate to crate, getting closer, before finally leaping down behind Roman and holding her blade to his neck as the woman and all the white fang members point their weapons at her, Roman comments, "What the- Oh for f-"
"Nobody move!"
Roman, losing none of his pep, "Woah! Take it easy there, little lady."
Blake takes off her bow to reveal her cat ears, "Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"
The soldiers lower their weapons, looking to each other, unsure of what to do in the moment as Roman begins to laugh, "Oh, kid. Didn't you get the memo?"
Blake begins getting frustrated, "What are you talking about?"
"White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"
Holding the blade closer to his throat, "Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation."
Suddenly the air whips up around them as two more VTOL's hover above them as both her and Roman look up, "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation…"
Two more VTOL's show up above the dock to begin attempting their Dust extraction, and distracted by the display, Blake looks in horror, not noticing Roman point his cane backwards at her feet, and firing.
Near the dock, Penny and Ruby hear the explosion, and begin running in its direction.
Blake was on the ground, shaking her head, dazed, but mostly unhurt. She quickly has to roll out of the way of Roman's continued assault, firing flaming missiles, and destroying anything left where she was, as Blake uses her semblance over and over in quick succession, leaving after images that get blown apart as she continues running. Quickly she dives behind another set of containers as Roman casually strolls towards them, "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." His taunt taunt interrupted by an apple bonking against his head from above as he looks up to see Sun, plummeting down towards him, "You leave her alone!" As Sun impacted with Roman, he shattered and dissipated like glass, and standing in front of him was the small girl leaning on her umbrella and the four White Fang members who began to approach him as she didn't move.
Sun pulled out a collapsible, red staff reading himself to fight. At this the White Fang soldiers began to charge him. The first three approached as one, but upon entering the range of his staff, Sun quickly brought the edge of his weapon down upon the head of one, cracking his mask as he fell to the ground unconscious. At this the other two attacked as one; Sun in response dropped to the ground, kicking out the legs of one and swinging his staff into the soldier's back, and continuing to spin, thwacking the third soldier in his neck on the back swing. The last soldier raised his firearm to end Sun from a distance, but in a second he hurled his staff like a javelin at the soldier's face, flooring him. Looking up, Sun noticed the girl hadn't moved, but was actually softly applauding him with a smug grin, as she waited for him to get his weapon back.
Roman stalked around several of the shipping containers, "Come on, sweetheart. I don't really care for hide and seek as much as my friend, Neo back there, and would appreciate it if you just came out so I can end you quickly." Blake blended into the shadows to the best of her ability, she wanted to be able to get the drop on him again if she could. Maybe if she got higher she cou-
She was stopped by a sudden explosion in the alley across from her, he was firing at random to find her, she had to move now or get hit.
She lunged out from her hiding spot as it erupted in flame. She ran off to get behind more shipping containers, Roman's shots exploding at her heels as she ducked behind a container. "I am a fan of shooting ducks, but they tend to move a little more predictably, if you don't mind!"
His taunting was becoming annoying… She climbed up the containers she was beside, attempting to flatten herself as she reached the top, so as to not be seen. Blake crept closer to the edge as Roman was beginning to round the corner of where she had last been. Seizing her opportunity, she pounced down on him with her blade out, managing to slash at his side, only to realize his Aura had guarded it, but at least she had surprised him. She continued to slash at him as he backed away, deflecting them with his cane. Every time he was about to land a hit, Blake used her semblance to leave an afterimage and attempted to get around him again. He didn't let up, no matter how many times she lunged over him, dashed around him, to find a weak spot, he seemed to always know where she'd end up. She broke off again to get back amongst the containers. To Roman's dismay, "Ugh! Again with this?" He paused for a moment, as if waiting for her to come back out, before he began casually strolling back to the area where his VTOL was. She had to get him, he was alone right now, it was her best chance. And she lunged again at his back, only for Roman to point his cane from over his shoulder, firing at her. The explosion landed to her right as she jumped up to his left side to slash, he seemed to half-heartedly jab at her with his cane, only to hit an afterimage yet again, Blake was certain she had him now as she made a motion to slash his midsection, only to be met with the barrel of his cane, as Roman smirked and fired point blank at her.
At the VTOL, Sun ran at Neo with his staff ready, bringing it down to her head, only for her to casually turn her entire body to the side, in one deft motion. He tried to swing, in the next motion she leaned forward, his staff harmlessly gliding over her. And before he could react, she stuck her heeled boot into his gut, knocking him back. She then opened her umbrella to twirl it behind her, seeming to wait for Sun to make the next move. He readied himself, "So what's your deal huh? You with the creep in the hat?"
Neo frowned as she began to walk towards Sun now.
"Oh okay, so that got your attention!" Sun separated his staff into his shotgun nunchucks, intending to get the edge on her before she could make a move, he began spinning them in her direction firing off flaming shells, one after the other until he was out of ammunition. In the smoke, to his frustration he saw the round shape of her umbrella, lifting it to reveal she was fine as Neo lunged at Sun, now with a blade sticking out of the tip of her weapon. She jabbed at him in a flurry as Sun kept backing away, finally he ducked down to kick out her legs. He succeeded in making her lose her footing, only for Neo to land with her hand, and placing herself back on the ground. Sun ran at her as soon as she touched the floor to attack again, as Neo jumped up above him, grabbing his shoulder and using it as leverage before she kicked him in the center of his back. He got up again to glare at her, again, just nonchalantly staring him down with her smile.
Ruby and Penny reached the shipping container storage, drawn by the sound of machines and combat. Ruby peaked around a container to see three White Fang soldiers attaching two cables from a nearby Bullhead. Penny quietly behind her, "Ruby, who are these people?"
"I don't know Penny, but it looks like they're trying to steal this stuff." Ruby thought for a moment, and quickly sent a text to Yang of where she was and to hurry there, before closing her scroll and looking to Penny, and in the most serious tone she could muster, "Penny, just stay back okay? I'm gonna try and stop these guys and see what's going on." Penny began to raise her finger to respond, but before she could Ruby disappeared in a poof of rose petals.
She wasted no time, appearing above the lead soldier, bringing Crescent Rose in its rifle form down on his head as he fell to the ground. The two other soldiers quickly turn and raise their weapons, firing as Ruby ducks behind the Bullhead. She began racking her brain, "Think Ruby, think! How can we subdue these guys without maiming them?" She quickly remembered she had different types of Dust ammo. Rummaging through one of her ammo bags on her hip, she pulled out the ice ammo, loading into Crescent Rose, and in another puff of petals, landed atop the Bullhead, and fired her shots at the soldiers hands and feet, freezing them in an instant. They began to call for help as Penny calmly walked behind them, bringing her hands down on their heads to knock them out. Ruby watched stunned, "Penny? How strong are you?"
"Oh, I'm very strong! As I said, I'm here for the Vytal Festival. Specifically for the Tournament!"
Their attention was drawn by three more soldiers running towards them.
Penny looked to Ruby again, "I don't really understand, are these people also not your friends?"
Ruby continued to stare at Penny stunned, "Uhm. No Penny. They're not."
"Understood!" As soon as she finished, she dashed towards the three White Fang soldiers, delivering a gut punch to each one as they crumpled on the floor. Ruby ran up to meet her, "Geez, you weren't kidding about be-" She was interrupted by another blast, as she turns to see Blake being sent flying by another VTOL, and Roman approaching her with his cane pointed to her. Ruby panicked, unsure what to do, so she simply raised her weapon, and yelled, "Hey!" Firing a shot that whizzed past Roman, exploding behind him in an icy patch. His eyes focused on Ruby as a crooked smile formed on his face, "Well, hello, Little Red! Funny running into you here!" He began to walk in Ruby's direction, "It's been ages, I'm dying to see what huntress saves you this time?"
Ruby loaded her flame ammunition, and shouted, "ME!" As she fired several shots at Roman, who clumsily had to dodge them as he returned fire. They both fired an assortment of rounds landing all around the other, both determined to be the one to knock down the other. As Ruby's clip emptied, she took out her next clip to reload as Penny approached her, "Ruby, who is that man? He looks different from the others." Ruby flinched, and turned to Penny with fear, "Penny, you can't be here, get ba-!" Ruby was hit directly by one of Roman's explosions and sent flying back. He laughed in the distance as Penny turned to him with a wicked glare. She began to move in his direction as Ruby sat up, "Penny, wait! Stop!"
Penny pauses before looking back at Ruby and smiling reassuringly, "Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!"
Penny's backpack mechanically opens, and from it floated out a single sword with glowing green markings, that split into several blades hovering over Penny as several more White Fang soldiers ran at her. She quickly knocked over two of them, before stabbing her swords into the clothes of one and sending him flying over a container. Roman snarled and began to fire more shots in their direction as Penny's blades spun in front of her, creating a barrier blocking the attacks, before they settled again behind her.
Three more Bullheads come from the skies and begin opening fire on her, Penny quickly lunges back to be next to Ruby, forming her blades once more into a barrier until the bullets stopped. As the VTOL's came around for another run, she motioned her floating blades in front of her, their bladed tips folding inward as they spun together. Green lightning began to crackle from them as they spun faster and faster, forming a glowing green orb in the center of them. Penny then extended her hands and opened her palms, and the green lightning released as a large beam, cutting through the bullheads and sending them crashing to the ground in fiery wrecks as a stunned Roman watched in shock. He quickly snaps himself out of it and motions to Neo as they both run into their Bullhead. Neo quickly runs to the cockpit to take off as Roman watches from the ramp, commenting, "These kids just keep getting weirder…" The jets fire up as the Bullhead quickly retreats from the battle.
As the sound of the VTOL fades, the sounds of battle fade as well and the docks return to silence. Penny's blades return to her pack as she calmly walks over to Ruby still smiling, "I told you Ruby. I'm combat ready." Ruby was dumbstruck, before she just started laughing, "You sure are Penny! I can see that now."
A while later, Ruby, Blake, Sun, and Penny were sitting on boxes in silence as police patrolled the scene. The paramedics had just finished checking Blake as Weiss and Yang approached them. Noticing them, Ruby jumped up to stand between them and Blake, speaking in a flash "Look Weiss! It's not what you think, Blake explained everything. See, she doesn't actually need the bow for anything, she has kitty ears, and they're actually kind of cute…" Weiss ignores Ruby as she approaches Blake. Blake stands up to meet her, remaining calm, "Weiss, I want you to know I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was the-"
"Stop! Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you? The whole weekend. All of yesterday, and all of today… Which means I've had a while to think about this. And some counseling from our friends." Weiss looks over to Yang who was smiling at them sympathetically, "And with all that, I've decided… I don't care."
Blake looked at her surprised, "You don't care?"
"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"
"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-"
"Nope! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something as big as this comes up. You come to your teammates-... Your friends. I'm sorry Blake. I'll do better to be your friend."
Blake had a tear in her eye, as she quickly wiped it away, "Of course."
The pleasant moment became interrupted as Ruby shouted, "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" Weiss chuckled before looking over to Sun, pointing at him, and half sarcastically, "I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you!" Sun laughed nervously at her jab as Ruby began to look round. "Hey, guys? Where did… Where did Penny go?"
Penny sat in the backseat of a white car leaving the docks. Looking forlorn at Ruby as they drove away. The driver began to speak to her, "You should have known better than to go running around the city on your own."
She lowered her head sadly, "I know, sir…"
"Penny, your time will come. For now we have to be careful."
In his office at the top of Beacon Tower, Ozpin sat at his desk watching a video of Ruby at the docks on his scroll, as news sources were already covering the foiled heist in detail. His scroll buzzes as he receives a message from "Qrow". Ozpin sighs as he opens the message, its only contents being, "Queen has Pawns."
"Hmmm."
He stands up to look out of the tower, down at the soft lights of Vale. The nearly full moon bathing everything in a clear light.
Roman walked into a large warehouse, walking over to a planning table placing the one case he had managed to take out. He turned on a lamp and sighed exhaustingly.
"How very disappointing, Roman." He jumped at the woman's voice, turning with his cane pointed up. He lowers it chuckling, "Whoa! Hehe… I wasn't expecting to see you so soon…"
A woman with glowing, flame like streaks of color on her dress approaches Roman. She had smoldering, yellow eyes, and long curled, black hair. "We were expecting… more from you tonight."
Roman laughed forcefully before getting serious again, "Hey! You were the ones who handed me those stupid mutts from the White Fang."
She chuckled darkly, "And you will continue to work with them. We have big plans for this year Roman. All we need from you is… a little cooperation."