As quickly as the battle had started the commotion was over and while the police rounded up the knocked out members of the White Fang, the trio of Sun, Blake and Ruby perched themselves on some of the non destroyed dust crates in silence. Ruby couldn't help herself being lost in thought at the sudden appearances and disappearances of Penny. First, she appears from nowhere when they were searching for Blake. Then while the three were regrouping and dusting themselves off after the battle, Penny, as well as the two armoured figures and the mysterious airship, had seemingly vanished without a second thought or even a gust of wind left in their wake.
However, the silence was cut short after Weiss and Yang finally arrived at the docks with the young rose coming between Blake and Weiss in an attempt to stop any further problems before they began.
"Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears, and they're actually kind of cute..."
"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"
"Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?
A little over twenty one hours. That means I've had just under a full day to think about this. And in those hours, I've decided..."
As the heiress seems to stop to contemplate her words Yang, Sun, and Ruby can only exchange worried glances at what could happen next and how it could affect team RWBY going forward. However, Weiss quickly steels herself having found the words she wanted surprising both her team and the Monkey Faunus present.
"I don't care."
"You don't… care?"
"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"
"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-"
"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not some... Someone else."
"Of course."
Blake found herself having to wipe a happy tear from her eye at the reunion, with Weiss having cut herself off while fixing a glance at Sun with Ruby and Yang grinning at Blake alongside the heiress. The serious moment is short-lived, however with Ruby being unable to contain herself.
"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!"
As the group begin the trek back to Beacon Weiss faint grin fades before she points at Sun cutting the group off stating she is still not sure how she feels about him however eliciting a nervous chuckle from Sun before the group resume the journey back. The atmosphere around the team much lighter than it had been allowing them to quickly fall asleep soundly once they made it back to Beacon.
Back at Beacon professor Ozpin sits beside a sleeping figure resting in the medical ward watching the group's reconciliation before cutting off the feed after a notification comes through. Changing to the scrolls messaging system, Ozpin finds a single cryptic sentence from Qrow informing him that 'The Queen has pawns.' However, to this, the older Ozpin can only give an exasperated sigh before wishing the figure a speedy recovery before picking up his cane and cup and leaving the room back towards his office.
The following morning Ruby had woken up at the crack of dawn while her teammates continued to sleep in. The previous night after her team hit the hay, Ruby had checked their schedules as well as messaged Jaune for JNPR's schedule and discovered their first three periods where free so RWBY and JNPR had the whole morning to track down and meet Talon and his team. Plenty of time to make new friends and definitely not so she could check out all the weapons they had brought.
Quietly making her way to the bathroom on the other side of their dorm so she could get ready, Ruby freshened up and got dressed in the clothes with the least cookie crumbs stuck to them. These were Talon's super cool special huntsman buddies, so Ruby was determined to make the best first impression possible.
Now ready Ruby crept back into her dorm now armed with what she lovingly referred to as the 'Team RWBY rallying alarm clock.' Admittedly it was just a whistle, but the name made it special. Taking a large gulp of air, the young rose shook her team awake with the whistle's sudden loud ring, causing Yang and Blake to shoot upright and Weiss to roll out of bed much to the heiress's frustration.
"What are you doing you dolt?"
"Sisters of team RWBY we have a special mission at hand. Now we are all back together it is time we meet Talon's other best friends and his team so we can all become super best friends and have the best adventures… EVER!"
"What are you going on about Rubes?"
"We never got to meet Horizon at the docks, so I took the liberty of checking our schedules, and we are clear till the afternoon which gives both ourselves and JNPR plenty of time to meet and get to know Talon's teammates."
"You disturbed my beauty sleep so you could bother another team… I'm going back to sleep."
"Wait Weiss, just think about it, these are Talon's friends and like he said hand-picked from the best of the best. Making friends with them would probably be the only way to learn what they're not good at and pretty much make you a shoo-in to win the Vytal tournament against them."
As soon as Ruby finished, Weiss seemed to disappear into the bathroom before coming out fully dressed and ushering the rest of the group to hurry up, causing both Yang and Ruby to chuckle.
"Gotta hand it to you sis, pretty sneaky of you… So you coming, Blake?"
However, when the two turned to their feline friend, they only found her after image which vanished shortly after much to the pair's confusion.
"Di-Did Blake really just use her semblance just so she can rush out the dorm to find Talon before us?"
"Yep."
"She's got it bad for him, doesn't she?"
"Yep."
Yang can only laugh at her partner's undeniable school girl crush on the younger Ozpin before getting ready and both sisters following after the other two members of their team.
A short walk along the Beacon halls allowed the two sisters to catch up with the rest of their team and meet up with JNPR who seemed to be waiting at a cross-section in the halls. As Ruby was the one to message Talon the day prior, she was the only one among the group who actually had any idea where the new Horizon teams were staying.
"Oh… yeah… Follow me they're apparently staying in the bottom floor west dorms."
"Apparently? You Dolt, don't tell me you actually don't know."
"Well, it's not that it's just… I didn't actually tell Talon my plan so… he may not know where coming."
Finishing off with a nervous chuckle, Weiss can only bring her palm to her face before questioning herself how Ruby was her partner. With the group resuming their journey, they quickly made their way to the dorm room housing Talon's team as Nora rapidly knocked on the door, unable to contain her excitement any further. A few short moments later, the soft patter of feet resounds behind the door before it opens to reveal an average height Latina female with short navy-blue hair styled into a side-swept pixie cut and lavender coloured eyes. The figure only stared at the group before her in confusion before giving a drawn-out yawn.
"Do I know you people and why are you in front of my dorm this early in the morning?"
"Um… Well, I'm Ruby Rose, and this is my team and team JNPR."
"Okay?"
Seeing that Ruby's 'introduction' did not help in the slightest, Weiss quickly cleared her throat to draw the woman's attention before she could clear up what they were here for.
"My apologies for bothering you this early in the morning but it seems 'someone' couldn't control themselves. We're friends of Talon Ozpin, and he mentioned that this was his dorm so we thought we would stop by and say hello."
"Ugh yeah… about that…see the thing is-"
"Cobalt tell whoever it is to shut up it's too damn early!"
The sudden yell from the inside of the room cut off Agent Cobalt, causing her to release a frustrated sigh before yelling back into the room.
"Well scarlet maybe if someone didn't spend half their night fretting about their dear beloved crush she wouldn't be so damn tired!"
"That's… I don't have a crush on him, and you know it so shut up!"
"Oh yeah pretty sure all of Horizon knows about you and your various feelings… Sorry about that, Scarlet isn't much of a morning person. Talon should be resting up in the medical wing after that stowaway the other day. If you knock on that door Gideon will take you to him, he needs to speak to his brother anyway."
Directing the groups' attention to the door across the hall to them, Weiss quickly offered her thanks before agent Cobalt retreated back behind the door content to rest in some more. Before Weiss could knock, however, the door swung open to reveal a mountain of a man followed by a bellow of a laugh from the individual.
"Aha friends of Talon it is so good to finally meet you!"
The sudden booming and amicable tone caught the group off guard, but none more than Weiss, Blake and Ruby as they were the closest the three quickly found themselves off the floor brought into a tight hug by the giant much to Yang and JNPR's amusement.
"Gideon dear, what have we said about personal space when meeting new friends?"
"Ha, but Violet these are not just any new friends… these are the friends of Talon he told us so much about."
The new voice from behind the group caused Gideon to drop the group while nervously scratching his cheek; meanwhile, RWBY and JNPR could only stare in surprise at the new arrival. Instead, the voice was a stark contrast from Gideon's childish tone, holding a significantly more mature manner. Following the voice, the group found a slightly shorter female with a rather voluptuous figure strolling towards them in clothes clearly used for training. Beyond her clothing, the figure had long flowing violet hair with a flower pin used to keep her fringe to the side, seemingly luminous golden irises with slightly slitted pupils and a long bushy fox tail feature the same violet colour of her hair.
"Be that as it may, we must learn to exercise restraint upon first introductions. Not everyone has your 'enthusiasm' when it comes to meeting people.
It is probably best your teams get used too this, our dear Gideon has always been the excitable type. But on to introductions, it is lovely to finally meet you. I am Violet Ivorys. Our rather excitable friend is Gideon Goodwitch. I would introduce you to the rest of our little family, but it seems my fellow agents are taking this more like a paid vacation than our actual duty. Gideon would you be a dear and take them to catch up with our brother while I take a shower, I need one after my morning run, and I am positive such a reunion would lift his spirits."
Before the group could question why Talon wasn't with them or why he would be in the medical wing, Violet was already inside her dorm as Gideon began walking on ahead towards the left side of the academy housing the training rooms as well as the medical facilities.
For a few brief moments, silence enveloped the group before Ruby's curiosity got the better of her as she turned her attention to the giant before her.
"So Gideon, why is Talon in the medical wing… did something happen?"
"There is no need to worry little rose when we first arrived in Vale there was a stowaway on another ship that came in. My brother attempted to grab the tiny monkey man, but he shot my brother in the throat and then fleeing before we could arrest him. Luckily the shot did no permanent damage, but the blast caused his suit to bruise his throat. My brother can be reckless sometimes, so we thought it best to make him get some bed rest even if he is not severely injured."
Team RWBY could only look between one another after learning that Talon was injured with Blake awkwardly scratching at the nape of her neck. Finding out your close friend was the one who was shot by your new friend certainly did not help Blake with how she felt of Sun and it definitely did not help Weiss's already distrust of the new arrival.
"But like I said the shot did no permanent damage, truthfully Talon would have been out already, but he has grown something of a habit of not letting himself fully recover from previous wounds, and so we decided to make him take a rest for once."
With the two teams now more at ease knowing there was no severe injury, the group had finally arrived at Talon's room. Gideon shushed the group before gently knocking on the door before bursting through as soon as his brother's voice answered back, albeit in a more gravely tone than his usual voice.
"Who is it?"
"Aha brother it is so good to see you well."
Talon was dragged from his medical cot before being embraced in a backbreaker hug causing the shorter male to release an exasperated groan.
"It's good to see you too Gideon, it has been far too long since I last saw you yesterday night before bed. Would you mind putting me down given that I'm not supposed to be out of bed?"
"Oh aha yes of cause sorry brother."
Talon could only offer another groan at being dropped back into bed before remarking that it was okay and noticing the rest of the group in the doorway.
"Ah RWBY, JNPR to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Well we were going to meet you at the docks, but we didn't get the chance because we started chasing that Monkey Faunus. Then Weiss and Blake started arguing, and then we met Penny, and she seemed nice. Then we found Torchwick at the docks, so we started fighting him and then-"
Before Ruby could continue her mile a minute explanation of the past two days, however, Yang placed a hand over her sister's mouth to silence her before offering that they were just here to check in on him. The younger Ozpin could only let out a low chuckle before remarking it was good to see them too and that he was fine. Before the group could continue, Gideon offered that he would give them some peace before making his way out of the door back into the halls.
"In truth Talon there has been a lot gone on in the past few days since we saw you and-"
"Aha, mother it is so good to see you!"
"Gideon what are you doing get off me, don't hug me in front of the other students."
"I have missed you so much mother, I have grown no, now even in your heels I am taller than you."
The group could only listen to the muffled conversation on the other side of the door before seeing Talon merely smiling at the closed-door remarking that Gideon has genuinely missed his mother before urging Blake to continue.
"As I was saying, a lot has happened… and I feel that you are one of my closest friends and you deserve to know just as much as anyone else…"
To this, Blake can only pause before slowly lifting her hands up to her bow, loosening it to reveal her black cat ears hidden underneath and continuing.
"I'm a Faunus… and no just that I was once a member of the White Fang back before it became more radicalized."
"Yeah, I erm already kinda guessed as much."
"Now I can understand if… Wait, what?"
Blake had braced herself for many things as she made her way to Talon's room, she had braced for insults and the silent treatment even for him to never want to talk to her again, but she certainly did not prepare for him to say that he already knew as such and not just that but to treat it so casually.
"You… You knew?"
"Well yeah… I mean shining amber eyes, midnight black hair, remarkable reflexes, last name Belladonna you didn't really hide who you were or the family line you came from."
"But no one else even suspected…"
"I admit I didn't pick up on it at first, but I got suspicious after noticing something, and that's kinda when it clicked."
"Wait, wait, wait. So you knew she was a Faunus and just never even brought it up?"
"I guessed that if she hadn't already admitted it to you guys, then she had her reasons, Yang. After all, you've seen how people like Cardin react to the Faunus. People are allowed to have some secrets."
As the group soaked up the new information, Blake couldn't help but think about something Talon had said about how he realised she was a Faunus.
"You said you got suspicious after noticing something Talon, what was it?"
"Well, your bow twitches whenever you read that ninja book. One time could just be a breeze, but everything kinda got me thinking."
Before any other member of the group could question it, Blake had quickly shoved them out of the door and locking it remarking she needed a minute alone with Talon. Spinning back to face the crimson eyed male before her Blake could only flush a similar crimson shade at what she had heard. She thought she had been sneaky about it, but why of all people to see her reading that book did it have to be Talon.
"H-how much d-do you know about that particular book?"
"Well… I noticed you reading it a couple times in passing, and you seemed to really enjoy it so when I got back to Atlas I picked up a copy to see what it was like."
Okay, Blake had gone from blushing to near enough burning bright red, bad enough Talon had seen her with her guilty pleasure book, but worst of all he now knew exactly what kind of book it was.
"I didn't quite expect it to be… so… yeah. Not gonna lie was more than a little surprised by your taste in literature Blake. Naughty kitty."
While he started off seemingly unsure, the last statement was spoken in a much more confident and flirtatious tone which only caused Blake's cheeks to burn hotter. This was either the worst or the best thing that could have happened today and Blake really couldn't decide, but she knew she needed to do something to try and save at least some face before the male she had found herself falling for.
"I don't read it for that… I just really like the story. But not that part of the story… it's just something I read around… It's… um… It's not smut!"
"I never said it was Blake. Everyone has their own… interests, and you'll receive no judgements from me. And don't worry your secrets safe I won't tell anyone about your… tastes."
Ending with a wink, Blake really didn't know how to feel about this whole situation but before she could think on it further Yang's voice rang from behind the closed door asking if the lovebirds were done yet as the group was still stood out in the hallway. To this Blake can only give a brief squeak before trying to calm herself and unlocking the door allowing the others back in, Luckily the group had just assumed the blush was from Yang's lovebird remark, so the others did not suspect anything thankfully.
With everyone back in the room, the group caught up on everything that had gone on from Jaune fighting an Ursa in the forever falls to Blake reconciling with her team and finding Torchwick at the docks. Talon had also described to the group the other Horizon members and cleared up that it was Gideon and Gale who had helped out at the docks and had returned with Penny as soon as the fighting was over. As their conversations drew to a close and their first classes starting soon, the group said their goodbyes before heading out with only Pyrrha and Jaune remaining. Jaune seemed unsure of himself while Pyrrha was attempting to reassure him and remarked that he doesn't need to tell anyone. However, Jaune cut her off stating that Talon at the very least deserved to know before the two directed their attention back to the only other individual in the room with Jaune being the first to speak to him.
"Um... Talon there's also something I have to confess."
"Okay if you say your also a Faunus then I really wasn't expecting that one."
"No… its… it's not that. Talon I faked my transcripts into Beacon."
"Yep kinda guessed that already too."
At this, the two can only look on in confusion and uncertainty at the younger Ozpin.
"No offence Jaune but do you really think you're the first to fake a set of transcripts, Beacon alone gets a dozen every couple of years easily. Ozpin's been running this school for years, and he could tell from a mile away that yours clearly were either embellished or downright made up."
"Then why would he let me in?"
"Jaune, when I first met you, I told you my old man saw potential in you, and I saw it too. That's why you were allowed in. Beacon doesn't always just go off transcripts, especially when there's something more beneath the surface. So stop doubting yourself kay, you belong here just as much as anyone else. Although I wouldn't exactly go around telling people, in truth its only me and my Ozpin who know you faked your transcripts."
At this statement, Jaune can only smile with newfound confidence before thanking Talon as he and Pyrrha left to catch up with the others for class.
Later that day as the new night draws in Roman walks back into the large warehouse before sighing in tiredness and sitting against one of the large crates of dust that now dot the room, this had certainly not been his night.
"How very disappointing, Roman."
"Whoa! Hehe... I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon..."
The sudden new voice behind him causes Roman to spring back to his feet as three figures enter the warehouse shrouded by the darkness. The trio's tallest steps forward revealing her burning yellow eyes and flowing dark hair before addressing the career criminal in a voice that seemed to ooze overconfidence laced with disappointment.
"We were expecting... more from you."
At the statement, Roman can only offer a sarcastic chuckle before adopting a more serious expression.
"Hey! You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang."
"And you will continue to do so."
As the Female speaks, she raises her hand before the career criminal before a fireball sparks to life in her palm, causing Roman to sweat before taking a step back and audibly gulping. The flames briefly illuminate the other two figures of the trio revealing a fair-skinned slim male with dark grey eyes and light grey hair partially slicked back while unkempt at the front. The other figure is shorter being a medium-brown skin female with dark-red eyes and mint-green hair with a straight fringe and bangs.
While the fire in the older woman's palm dissipated the disappointment in her tone still remained as she once again addressed Roman regarding the loss earlier that night.
"So tell me, Roman… what could have possibly possed you to run from a small gang of children Hmm?"
"Those Beacon brats weren't the problem, I had them on the ropes but before I could finish the job me and those mutts you sent me out there with are assaulted by two robots and some little girl who could shoot lasers… Not Vale or Atlas robots bare in mind it was difficult to escape when I did let alone with some kid destroying the ships."
Roman had all but growled out the last part to the woman before him, this really wasn't his night, and the sooner he could light a cigar and grab a stiff drink, the better. However, the figure did not seem bothered by his tone, and instead, her voice seemed to take on more of a curious tone after he recalled how the plan for tonight had very quickly gone sideways for him.
"Not Atlas or Vale you say?"
"Nope… Or at least certainly didn't look it. One had to be seven-foot easily, decked out in grey and purple armour, the other around six-foot had the same grey with red armour."
"Weapons?"
"Looked like huntsman weapons, not standard military rifles. The big one had a shield with a ball and chain, the smaller one had a bow and two swords. The little girl was just wearing a dress and a backpack, but she had a bunch of floaty swords that could shoot the previously mentioned lasers."
While Roman recounted as much as he could about the trio which had ruined his night the two associates behind the women mimed that the career criminal had lost his mind only to be cut off when the women once again spoke.
"Interesting, undoubtedly interesting. Perhaps you didn't screw up entirely. I'll be passing this information onto an associate of mine but in the meantime do remember we have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is... a little cooperation."
With that, the three quickly leaves the same way they came in while Roman slumps back against the same crate finally complacent that at least nothing more could screw his night up.
