Greetings everyone, and Happy New Year to you all. I'm back with another chapter of the rebooted OC Story. Since this revolves around the Volume 1 finale, you can believe that this chapter and the next will be an absolute doozy. Here goes...

Several weeks had passed after Damien's meeting with Hau, and since then, things were quite busy in Vale for the preparation of the Vytal Tournament next year. Beacon Academy was abuzz with the upcoming festivities, and all the students were getting ready as the first semester drew closer and closer.

Damien spent most of his time training and increasing the bonds between him and his teammates, as well as getting to know his pals on Teams RWBY, DMON, BLSS, JNPR, and CFVY. As the crimson haired lad traversed through the hallway, he happened to run into a familiar face. "Damien?"

He noticed Coco looking at him. "Oh, Coco. Sorry I didn't see you there."

The brown-haired girl smiled. "No worries. I was actually about to head back to my room." A thought came across her. "Say, you wanna walk and talk with me on the way there?"

"Sure, I'd like that." Damien smiled back as the two travelled.

"I have to say, you've been very busy for this past couple of weeks." Damien addressed her as the two made their way to Team CFVY's room. "It feels like we've haven't had much time to chat."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that..." Coco chuckled as she scratched her head awkwardly. "Right now we're just doing some last minute preparations for our big mission that's coming up. We have been so busy getting ready, I kinda just lost track with everything else."

"That's alright. I know that as a second-year team, you've got a reputation to uphold for the rest of us newcomers, so I guess it's to be expected." Damien chuckled, before he paused for a moment. "Say, Coco? Can I ask you something?"

Coco lifted her shades up as she faced him. "Sure, what's up?"

"I was wondering, what was your experience when you first became leader of Team CFVY?" The lad wondered.

The two stopped walking, as Coco was curious about his question before she thought carefully. "Well, let me see... I was excited as hell when Ozpin named me as the leader. There were a couple of times where I felt that I could do it all by myself. I mean, with an outfit like this, who could argue?" She smirked as the two shared a laugh. "But even so, I knew that I couldn't carry the burden on my own - over time I learned how to rely on my teammates, while we learned to keep each other safe." She confessed.

"I see..." Damien was intrigued by her answer. "You see, I've been thinking for quite a while about what it truly means to be a leader. I mean, there are so many so different types of leadership around here, I'm not truly sure which is the best style is the best. What do you think, Coco? What kind of leader am I?"

Coco was surprised at the amount of questions he had, but she replied nonetheless. "You wanna know what I think? I think you're worrying too much about this whole ordeal."

"I'm sorry?" The lad was confused by her answer.

"The thing is, I'm still trying to figure out that question myself - about the meaning of being a leader. And honestly, I don't think there's one golden way of leadership. Everyone has their own ways of being a leader, and we all figure it out one way or another." The brown-haired gal smiled, as she put a hand on Damien's shoulder. "As for you, Damien - I think you've got what it takes to be a great leader. You have some impressive combat skills, not to mention a great big heart to everyone around you. Right now, the only need you need is some more confidence in yourself."

Damien was at a loss for words, but smiled. "Wow, thank you, Coco. That means a lot, especially coming from you."

"Anytime." Coco started to head off to her room, before she turned her head. "That reminds me, Velvet and I were planning to head out in downtown Vale near the end of the semester. I was wondering if you would like to tag along?" She asked with a faint blush.

Damien's cheeks heated up a tad amount. "Oh, um, sure... I'd be happy to!"

Coco grinned. "Terrific! I'll be sure to message you with the details later on." She winked as she walked away.

The crimson haired lad sighed after the interesting conversation, until another voice broke his concentration. "Heh, nice." Damien jerked his head up and turned to see Yang and Iskandar approaching.

"Yang?! Izzy!?" Damien was slightly flustered as the duo approached him. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Relax, man. We only got here a few seconds ago." Iskandar assured him. "So, what were you and Coco talking about?"

"Oh, just leader business, that's all." The crimson haired lad bluntly answered, while he rubbed the back of his head. "That and, well, she invited me on a night out with her and Velvet..."

Yang squealed at the invite. "Ooh dang, dude. She's totally into you." She giggled.

Damien's eyes widened, before he shook his head. "Whoa now! I think you're jumping to the wrong conclusion. This isn't a date or anything."

"Be honest, you have some feelings for her, don't you?" The blonde boxer nudged.

"No! ...Okay, maybe. But I doubt she feels that way towards me." The crimson haired lad blushed a bit. "For starters, she's a second-year student, I'm a freshman."

"Come now, that hardly means anything, Damien." Iskandar smirked. "You've got nothing to be scared about." He moved closer to Damien's left, as Yang moved to the other side.

Damien leered back and forth between them. "If that's the case, then why haven't you two confessed your feelings at each other?" He folded his arms as the two of them backed away.

Yang and Iskandar looked awkwardly at each other before facing each other. "What, uh, what are you talking about?"

"Oh please, don't give me any of that. There's some fireworks going off between the two of you since day one." Damien pointed out. "Anyone with even the faintest understanding of human emotions can see that!"

"Okay, let's just change the topic now!" Yang quickly cut him off. "We were actually looking for you, because we wanted to see if you and your team wanted to walk through Vale with us."

"Is that so?" Damien nodded. "What's the occasion?"

"Apparently, Weiss wanted to go to some docks to greet the students coming from Vacuo who'll be taking part in the tournament." She explained with a small eye-roll.

"Personally, I think she just wants to get a better look at the competition." The Dragon Faunus assumed, emitting a chuckle between the three.

Damien spoke up. "Either way, I think that would be a fine idea. I'll go ask my teammates, and let you know afterwards."

"Sounds good. See you there, Damien." Yang waved, as they all headed to their respective dorms. As Damien entered his room, he was unaware that Coco watched him from a distance as a small smile crept on her face.

*Vale Docks*

Moments later, Teams RWBY, DRGN, and DMON walked through the streets of Vale as they examined the many decorations that were hung up for the future celebration. "The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss squealed.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." Ruby joked, before a small frown formed. "It's kinda weirding me out..."

The heiress turned to her leader with slight shock. "How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"

"Who are you and what have you done with Weiss?" Francesca snarkered, as everyone except her chuckled at that.

"If you ask me, I think it is a far better use of time than you constantly playing your video games." Leonidas mused, as the brunette scowled.

"Yeah?! Well, at least you can't tinker around with your little devices!" She retorted

"They're called nanobots, thank you very much."

As Francesca and Leonidas bickered, Naomi nudged Neos' arm as she whispered to him. "I bet they're gonna hook up sooner or later." She giggled.

"Oh, definitely." The spiky-haired teen smirked, as he wrapped his arm over her shoulder.

"Well, it is quite the nice day for exploring this area." Ryu nodded.

"Indeed. It is just too bad that Team BLSS is unable to join us." Gwen sighed. "At least Lee is slowly starting to warm up to you."

"Yeah, he only gave Ryu two funny looks this morning." Blake joked, as everyone, including Weiss this time, laughed.

The young samurai sighed. "Well I am glad Lee and I can repair what was lost between us. Hopefully it will not be long until that day arrives."

"Ryu..." Gwen looked at him as she hugged his arm.

Damien smiled at the bonding that was happening as they neared the docks. "It feels like it's has been a while since we've laughed together as a group. I don't think anything could ruin this atmosphere."

However, after tempting fate, Ruby looked over to the side as she gasped. "Whoa." She pointed over to a Dust Shop that appeared to have been broken into, as police duct tape blocked off the building, while two detectives examined the scene. "What happened here?"

The three teams moved closer to the ransacked shop as they listened in on the detectives' conversation. From what they had heard, that was the second incident that week, and that none of the Lien has been taken, but rather, the Dust. Furthermore, they had concluded that the only probably guilty party would be a Faunus group known as the White Fang, to which that statement resonated with Blake and Iskandar.

Weiss shook her head as she muttered under her breath. "Hmph! The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates!" She huffed, as everyone stared at her.

"What's your problem?" Blake leered at her, feeling a bit offended.

The heiress was surprised at Blake, before she addressed her concerns. "My problem? I just simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"Now hold on just a moment, Schnee." Iskandar spoke up. "The White Fang may be extreme at times, but I wouldn't dare label them as 'insane.' At the very least, they would be considered misguided."

"Misguided? They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!" Weiss pointed out.

"So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!" Blake countered.

"Blake and Izzy have a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago... Maybe it was him." Ruby thought.

"That does sound like a possibility." Damien nodded. "Either way, we shouldn't just jump to conclusions so soon."

Weiss turned her head away. "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." She spat out, to Blake and Izzy's anger. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

Yang held Iskandar's hand, as she tried to calm everyone down. "Oh come on, Weiss. That's not necessarily true..."

Before the tension could escalate any further, they heard the sound of two sailors who gave chase to a blonde monkey Faunus, as he dashed by everyone before he hung upside-down on a lamppost by his tail. "Thanks for the ride, fellas!" The monkey Faunus waved.

"You no good stowaway!" One of the sailors yelled out.

"Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" The stowaway taunted, as that got the attention of the two detectives

"He's got a point, y'know. How else do you think I keep getting away with half of the pranks I pull off." Neos chuckled, as everyone gave him a look, which he shrugged off.

"Hey, get down from there!" One of the detectives shouted as he threw a stone at him, but was greeted by a banana peel to the face. The mischievous Faunus leapt off and ran from his pursuers again. However, as he ran, he was able to give a quick wink to a bewildered Blake, before he and the detectives ran out of sight from the three teams.

After a brief pause, Yang addressed Weiss. "Well, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes..."

After she recovered from her shock, Weiss pointed in their direction. "Quick! We have to observe him!" She shouted, as everyone quickly gave chase - to no avail. However, as they ran, the heiress tripped on something... or rather, someone, while the runaway Faunus managed to elude everybody's sight. "No, he got away!" She shouted.

"But first, you should probably look at what you're sitting on... Or should I say who?" Naomi pointed out as Weiss was indeed sitting on a very peculiar girl, as the heiress immediately got back up.

The perky girl faced the dozen, as she greeted them enthusiastically. "Sal-u-ta-tions!"

"Greetings..." Gwen bowed.

"I hope you're feeling okay." Damien asked.

"I'm feeling wonderful!" The strange one smiled.

Everyone looked at each other with befuddled faces before they focused their attention on the girl on the ground. "Then naturally, you should be able to pick yourself off the ground." Leonidas pointed out, as the girl did just that.

"Hello, everyone! My name is Penny, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Penny introduced herself. "And who might you be."

As everyone was about to introduce themselves, Neos butted in as he pointed to everyone one-by-one. "I'm Neos, and that's Damien, Ryu, Gwen, Iskandar, Naomi, Francesca, Leonidas, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang." He rapidly listed, much to their confusion. "What? Just wanted to save us a couple of minutes."

"A pleasure to meet you all!" Penny cheerfully repeated.

"You already said that." Weiss pointed out.

"So I did." Penny nodded.

"See you, friend." Ruby waved as the teams walked past Penny.

As they got far enough from her sight, Ryu spoke up. "There certainly was a strange aura around Penny."

"Well that's putting it lightly, don't you think?" Neos muttered.

"Ryu has a point. I believe there's something more than meets the eye about her." Iskandar noted.

"She was... weird." Yang commented.

However, after she said that, Penny suddenly appeared in front of everyone. "What the?! How did she do that?" Leonidas gasped.

"What did you call me?" Penny asked.

"Oh, uh, I didn't mean to-" Yang was about to apologize, but Penny stopped her.

"Not you!" She approached Ruby, and inched closer to the red-head's face. "You! You said I was your friend... is that true?" She asked.

Ruby peaked behind Penny as she saw Weiss, Blake, Yang, Francesca, and Neos trying to tell her to say no, while the rest were indifferent or nodding. "Uhh... Sure, why not?" She sheepishly replied as the five naysayers comically fainted.

Penny was overjoyed at her response. "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

"Pardon the interruption, but have you seen a monkey-tailed rapscallion?"

Penny tilted her head. "A what?"

The heiress then held up a poorly-drawn sketch of Sun. "The filthy Faunus from the boat!"

"Wait, where did she even get that?" Gwen wondered.

"That's enough!" Everyone turned as they saw an enraged Blake storm towards Weiss. "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 trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?" Weiss rudely joked, as she pointed towards said various objects.

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!"

"You ignorant little brat!"

"How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"

As Blake marched away angrily with Weiss on her tail, everyone else was at a loss. "Well, I guess the tour's over. I guess we should head home then." Neos bluntly shrugged.

However, Yang looked over her shoulder as she saw Iskandar had his fists clenched while he growled softly. "Izzy? Are you feeling okay?" She asked, concerned.

The dragon Faunus looked to the blonde boxer, before he tried to shake it off. "Er, yeah... I'm fine. It's been a long day." He assured.

Yang raised an eyebrow, before she replied. "Okay? If you say so."

As night fell, all twelve teens returned to Beacon Academy, as they continued to endure the never-ending argument between Weiss and Blake, as Team RWBY had already entered their room. "Ugh, are they still going at it?" Francesca rubbed her head, as Team DRGN and DMON crowded in the hallway.

"I don't think I've ever seen such anger before, especially between two teammates." Gwen clasped her hands in prayer, very worried.

"Yeesh, what's with all the noise?" The eight heard Rockwell called out as Team BLSS approached.

"Hey, Rock. Well, to make a long story short, Blake and Weiss are in a huge argument which has something to do with whether the White Fang are crooks." Neos explained.

"Say, Janey. Since you're a Faunus, can you shed any light on the White Fang?" Naomi asked.

Janey folded her arms, as she spoke. "Well, the thing is, me and my folks didn't get anywhere them since we wanted to live a peaceful life. All I do know is that back then, the Faunus of that organization mainly wanted the same thing we all craved - acceptance." The Bluebird explained. "While they always fought to make their point across, they were never outright violent."

"Hmm, but if that's the case, then that description contradicts what Weiss mentioned." Leonidas pondered.

"Perhaps something happened within the White Fang that changed their views on the world?" Sergei thought, as Iskandar looked down solemnly.

"Whatever it is, its not worth digging up old wounds." Lee bluntly stated. "If you want my advice, just leave those two alone to resolve their own issues themselves."

"And then what? Do we just watch them kill each other as a result of it?" Ryu crossed his arms.

As the arguing continued, Iskandar was still lost in thought. "I'm going to go get some fresh air." He quietly addressed everyone.

"At this hour? Are you sure, boss?" Leon asked.

"Yes!" The dragon Faunus raised his voice, which caught them off guard before he quickly walked away.

"Geez, what got into him?" Sergei asked.

Damien narrowed his eyes, before his concern grew. "I don't know, but I'm going to go find out." He spoke up, as he ran off in his direction.

"Hey, what are you-?! Ugh, idiot! Did you not hear what I said?" Lee growled in frustration, as everybody else went to their rooms, except for two.

"Man, what do you think's gonna happen?" Naomi asked Neos.

"Honestly, I don't even know. But even so, there's no use dwelling on it now." Neos figured.

"I guess..." The blue-haired girl looked down sadly.

"Look, babe. No matter what happened back, I'm sure things will look up in the morning. Just hang in there..." He caressed her cheek with his thumb, and gave a small smile. "G'night."

"Good night." Naomi whispered, as they shared a small kiss before they headed inside.

Meanwhile, outside in the courtyard, Iskandar sat on a nearby stump as he pulled out a small photo of himself alongside another winged-Faunus who appeared to be shorter than him. He held the photo close as he sadly whispered to himself. "Brother..."

As he stood there, Iskandar sensed someone was there as he quickly hid the small piece of paper. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" He roared out, before he saw who it was. "Damien?"

Damien slowly approached him with his arms up. "Easy there, friend. I don't mean any trouble." He assured him, as he sat next to him. "Can we please talk?"

The dragon Faunus sighed heavily before he complied. "Very well then." He got ready to tell his story. "You probably already know how I feel about everything that had happened at the docks today, in regards to the White Fang."

"I know it wasn't easy to sit through all of that, I don't think any of us could handle it." Damien muttered. "But I know how it struck a chord with you as well."

"Well, it shouldn't be a surprise since I was a White Fang myself." He revealed, much to Damien's shock.

"What?!" The crimson haired lad stammered, before he regained his composure. "Are you serious?"

"I am." Iskandar nodded, as he took out the photo once more to show him. "This is me and my brother, Hephaestion. When our parents died long ago, the only home we had was with the White Fang. From there, we had begun our lives as the WF's top enforcers, where we fought off and even slain some of our enemies." He explained. "We believed in the cause until a few years later when dealings inside the company started to change, and when me and Heph started to question what we were fighting for. It wasn't until one of our commanders, a man named Adam Taurus, sent us on a suicide mission which he most certainly intended to has us killed!"

Damien had his hand over his mouth, as he was at a loss. "So, what happened?"

"Well, I was the only lucky one. But, my unit was wiped out from it... including... my brother." Izzy tried his hardest not to tear up at the sentence. "I tried to get my revenge on my enemies, but I was knocked out cold by them. Eventually after I came to, I was given the chance to come to Beacon Academy, but right now, I don't know if it's all for nothing."

"What do you mean by that?" Damien asked.

"Look at me! I am just some a murderous demon. Do I really belong here?" Iskandar wondered. "What will everyone else think of me?"

Damien thought carefully for a moment, before he replied. "If you want to know what I think, you shouldn't let your past haunt you. No matter what has happened, you'll have to accept that to move on." He explained.

The dragon Faunus was surprised at his statement. "Hmph, you make it sound so easy..."

"Well, I know the pain of losing a family member, right in front of your own eyes. And I know just how agonizing it is to not being able to anything about it!" The crimson haired lad grunted, as Iskandar remembered the pain Damien had with his mother's death. "But even so, that doesn't mean you should blame yourself for it, nor should you hide it from your friends."

Iskandar faced him. "Do you honestly think that would work?"

"I'm sure of it. After all, that's the advice someone told me." Damien got up as he was about to walk away. "Think carefully about it, Iskandar." He said as he took his leave.

After a few minutes, Iskandar was about to head back inside, until he noticed Blake standing in front of a statue in the Beacon Courtyard, as she removed the ribbon in her hair to reveal a black pair of cat ears, thus revealing herself as a Faunus.

It was then that he heard another familiar voice. "I knew you looked better without the bow." The two turned and saw the monkey Faunus from the afternoon, as he approached Blake.

Iskandar then took a deep breath before he walked towards the two.

As Damien entered his room, he saw that his teammates were still awake. "About time you got back!" Neos grumbled.

"What'd I miss?" Damien asked.

"You won't believe this, but it turns out that Blake was part of the White Fang." Gwen explain to her leader.

Damien's eyes widened, as he thought to himself. "What? Her too?"

"Well, that explains her reasons for standing up for the White Fang. And considering Weiss' family's past with them, the pieces are falling in place it would seem." Neos spoke in a small detective's voice.

Ryu folded his arms. "Anyways, what happened between you and Iskandar?"

The crimson haired lad sighed. "It's a long story..."

Whew, that was a huge chapter! I tried my absolute hardest to look through all the information available to make this chapter - which included the wiki and the bios/chapters made by Blazing-Saint. Again, to get a better understanding of his OCs, I recommend you read his fanfic. Anyways, it'll be a long while before the next chapter comes, so stay tuned for the very likely conclusion of the Volume 1 Arc of the Team DRGN Reboot... I tired.