Volume II: Episode 14: Triangles

"So, another day at work, huh?" asked Arcee as she started to roll along the roads of Vale.

"Hopefully," replied Maple from the saddle, thanks in part to the Autobot comms set in her helmet and Arcee's own enhanced hearing. "A nice normal day at work, with no crazy antics. That's something to look forward to. No offense, but I still really don't want to get involved in your war."

"Aww, but you'd make a great medic," joked Arcee before getting a fair bit more serious. "Honestly, I don't blame you one bit. This war's taken a lot from me. If you don't end up on that long list because you're back here in Vale rather than out in the boonies fighting the 'Cons and Grimm, that's just fine by me."

"So to speak," muttered Maple as they turned onto the highway.

Arcee rolled the phrasing over in her brain module for a bit before deciding that she had better things to focus on. She hadn't been lying, after all. The war had taken a lot from her.

The last two partners she had… well, no one knew where Cliffjumper was or what he was doing, and she'd watched Tailgate get offlined right in front of her. They said that third time was the charm, and she hoped they were right. The last thing she needed was some theological discussion on whether or not her current partner would become one with the Allspark if the worst should happen to her.

Of course, said current partner lived and worked in Vale, far from the walls or any other potential security hazard. All she had to do was watch the streets while Maple slept, drive her to work, examine any and all passersby for suspicious activity, drive her home, and repeat. It was a piece of oil cake, and very relaxing. After the past few months, she could see why Bumblebee liked his posting with Sunfire so much.

Distantly, Arcee remembered the fact that Maple was a member of the White Fang, who were basically Decepticons in smaller organic packages. It was hardly relevant, though. After all, Maple was different. She was kind, and generous, and really only donned the mask to go and work on mechanical issues off-hours.

That was another thorny issue that she probably didn't need to think about. So she went back to scanning the area. She did not like what she found.

"Hey, Maple, there something off about that van?" asked Arcee.

The beaver-tailed faunus looked slightly to the side, and Arcee turned her mirrors to exactly the right angle to show a white van coming up behind them on the sparsely-populated stretch of highway. She tightened her grips on the handlebars slightly and seemed to grow a little bit more tense in the saddle. Her voice reflected that when she next spoke.

"Probably nothing, but we can't take any chances. Let's turn off at the next exit and find another route," said Maple as she tried to seem inconspicuous.

They did so, and just as they feared the van followed them. Arcee made several unpredictable changes in course, and the vehicle matched every one. They weren't trying to be subtle anymore; they were moving in.

"Arcee, patch me through to Yang," said Maple with that same tension as before, now stronger.

The Autobot did so, even as she attempted to evade through the city streets.

There were a few tones and then a click as the call connected. "Oh, hey, Maple. What's up?"

The van was getting closer and, with a sudden burst of speed, came up alongside them.

"Yang, I don't have a lot of time," informed Maple rapidly "There's an unmarked van chasing after me and my partner, and I don't know what's going on. We might need reinforcements... or something."

The van came in front of them.

"Where are you?" asked Yang.

Arcee stepped on the brakes, and they began to increase the distance again.

"We just passed the intersection of… Hurk!"

Maple was cut off as she was suddenly yanked out of the saddle and sent flying through the air. At that same time, Arcee felt some sort of distortion warp her direction and send her swerving about. The faunus landed on top of the van and then disappeared into it at the same moment the Autobot had to jerk herself to avoid crashing into a trashcan.

"No!" cried Arcee as she lost sight of the van. "Not again!"

With a thought, the holomatter "driver" for Arcee, Sadie, came into being. With that projection in place to avoid arousing suspicions, she hit the accelerator and roared out onto the street. She wouldn't lose another one, never again would she lose a partner.

She came out around the bend and just caught sight of the van making a turn back towards the highway. With her target in sight, she hit the accelerator again and closed the distance. It wasn't long, though, before she was spotted.

"Arcee to base. Arcee to base," she repeated over the comms line.

"The is base," came back Prowl's voice.

"Prowl, this is Arcee. Someone just kidnapped Maple right off my back. I'm in hot pursuit," reported the blue Autobot as she continued to pour on the energon.

"Arcee. Please begin transmitting your location," ordered Prowl calmly, and she obliged him using her automatic beacon. "Acknowledged. I am vectoring in all available 'Bots to your location now."

The window on the back of the van opened up, and Arcee was already moving before she registered the rocket launcher pointed out the back. Only, it wasn't a rocket launcher, not precisely. There was a snapping sound, and then a thick projectile flew out without the slightest hint of thrust. It seemed like an easy dodge, but then the thing changed course mid-flight towards her.

The projectile exploded into a net that tangled and ensnared Arcee from nose to tailpipe. She let out a cry as she went flipping and skidding across the road. Even as she was crashing, however, the dastardly net was letting loose with its secondary feature: a powerful electric shock that wracked her body with pain. She should have been down for the count with that, but she still had a little bit of momentum left in her, and… there! With a snapping tear, she managed to rip open enough of the net to continue roaring down along the road.

She had lost a lot of ground, but she still functioned, and she still had a bead on the van. In a few seconds, she was again charging after her target. She didn't even notice the parts of the net still clinging to her body, slapping and grinding, nor did she notice her structural integrity field draining away.

She was close now, so close. Just hang on, Maple, thought Arcee. Just hang on.

The blue Autobot was a meter out from the van when it happened.

A mine dropped from the bottom of the van and adhered itself to the road. The instant the vehicle passed over it, the device activated. A wall made out of hard light appeared above and to the side of it.

Arcee didn't even have the chance to dodge when she was traveling at nearly 200 kilometers an hour.

She didn't know what happened next. All she knew was that she was completely stopped, there was a voice calling out her name, and Maple's kidnappers were gone. Her body was going cold.

In that moment before she was subsumed by darkness, Arcee knew that she had failed yet again.

Ruby dropped to her knees, Crescent Rose slipping from her numb fingers to clatter on the floor. She looked up through heavy-lidded eyes along the blade held to her throat. She was at her opponent's mercy, and at this point, she was beyond caring.

Pyrrha smiled at her and tapped Miló's blade on Ruby's chin, bringing the other Huntress's silver eye up to meet her own emerald gaze.

"Much better!" she cheered encouragingly. "Again!"

Ruby shot her a half-hearted glare and groaned, "...kill... me..."

"Don't be silly, Ruby," the other redhead chided. "That's the opposite of what we're trying to accomplish here."

"Is it?" Ruby asked petulantly. "Is it really?"

Pyrrha crouched down to look at her on even ground. "Yes, Ruby, it is. You're a teammate and- and a friend."

Ruby looked down shamefacedly. "I haven't exactly been a very good teammate lately, have I, Pyrrha?"

"Whatever do you mean by that?" Pyrrha asked innocently.

Ruby looked up again. "Jaune."

With that one name, Pyrrha froze, her smile turning plastic, then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Once she regained her composure, she opened her eyes, though they had hardened, and she spoke, her voice deceptively pleasant. "Jaune cares for you a great deal, Ruby. He was anxious about your relationship at first, but once committed, he held nothing back." Ruby flinched at the reminder. "Do you have any idea what it would do to Jaune if something happened to you? It would destroy him. Just because you stopped caring doesn't mean he has."

"I-" The denial stuck in Ruby's throat. "Just... just please don't break his heart," she pleaded quietly.

"Don't worry, Ruby, I won't," Pyrrha promised, then stood up and looked down at her sadly. "You already did." With that, the Mistrali champion turned and walked away.

Ruby knelt there for a moment before flopping on her back, exhausted. Pyrrha was right. She had broken Jaune's heart. It hurt. More than she thought it would. For both her and him. Still... she'd made her choice.

As she lay there, she blinked as a familiar snowcapped face leaned into view from above her head.

"Oh, hey, Weiss." She waved.

"She's got a point."

Ruby winced. "Um, how much did you hear?"

"Ruby, I came in three falls ago," Weiss deadpanned.

"Oh." What else was there to say to that? Ruby's attention had been kind of... occupied at the time. High intensity training with Pyrrha was... an experience, one that didn't allow for irrelevant distractions.

"So, why did you do it?" Weiss pressed. "Why did you break up with Jaune? You were so happy together. I even wrote a song I was going to sing for you two dolts at the dance!"

Ruby groaned, closing her eyes. Of all people, she thought Weiss understood. She'd talked to her about it already!

"It's better this way," she insisted. "'May the best woman win,' remember?"

"...and you meant Pyrrha?" sputtered Weiss, flabbergasted.

It was then that it occurred to Ruby that her words back then could have been misconstrued.

"I can't- I don't think I could be happy at her expense and live with myself, Weiss," Ruby elaborated. She sighed. "Besides, this is Pyrrha we're talking about. No one beats the Invincible Girl."

Weiss visibly winced at that. "Ruby, don't you ever let her hear you say that," she hissed. "I don't think she'd ever forgive you."

"Maybe," Ruby acknowledged, "but... I made my decision. It's too late for me now."

"Hmph!" Weiss straightened up out of view. "Well, then, I'll leave you to your self-inflicted pity party, then. You may have given up on him, but I have not yet begun to fight."

With that, she stalked off.

Ruby closed her eyes and groaned again. "First Yang, then Pyrrha, now Weiss?!" she shouted in frustration. "Who's next?! Nora?! Blake?!"

"Ohhh no!" she heard Nora's voice call out from the other end of the training room. "I learned my lesson not to get involved in that hot mess! And Blake's got her hands full with her own dumb blond!"

"Thanks, Nora," Ruby mumbled dryly, knowing Nora wouldn't hear her.

A brief moment later, she heard the door open again and footsteps approach her.

"Hey, Rubes," Yang said, leaning over her.

"Hey, Yang."

The blonde brawler reached down and offered Ruby a hand up, which she accepted. As Yang hauled her little sister to her feet, she asked, "So, training going well?"

"I think Pyrrha's mad at me."

"What did you expect?" asked Yang curiously.

"I mean, Jaune's free now," said Ruby. "I thought she'd be... I dunno. Not happy, but..."

"She loves him," Yang said wistfully. "His happiness matters more to her than her own, and you hurt him. Toyed with his heart, as far as she knows, and she doesn't know why."

"We can't tell her," Ruby blurted out. "If we did- if she knew-" she stuttered to a halt.

"I know," Yang agreed, then shook her head. "You two are more alike than I'd prefer. I'm sorry again for keeping that from you, Ruby. That was just... dumb of me."

"I already forgave you, Yang," Ruby said. "Believe me, I understand." The current situation with Pyrrha was evidence enough of that, but that hadn't kept Yang from apologizing for it. A lot.

The crimson-themed Huntress paused thoughtfully, and then posed a question. "Hey, Yang? I'm sorry if this is being too pushy, but I remember Blake saying to Sun when the two of them met up again that he should be going out with you. Do you… do you like Sun?"

"Yeah," admitted Yang softly. "I like him a lot. Call it love, call it infatuation, call it whatever you want, but… but he lights up my world. He doesn't feel that way about me though. He likes Blake. Still does, right?"

Ruby felt her mouth going as dry as a desert. "Yeah."

Yang nodded. "Loyalty. That's his most attractive trait. I can't ruin that, won't ruin that. So I'll stay silent."

Unbidden, Ruby wrapped her taller sister in a sympathetic hug. They really were cut from the same cloth, but… no, not the same cloth. In some small dark corner of her mind, Ruby realized that Yang was far more like Summer Rose than she was.

The blonde returned the hug, and the darkness was washed away by the warmth of a little dragon's love.

It was then that Yang's scroll rang. The older girl fumbled a bit before she found the correct pocket and pulled it out, glancing at the screen before bringing it up to her ear. "Oh, hey, Maple. What's up?"

Ruby smiled at that. She liked Maple, even if her skills that Blake had bragged about had proven inadequate to the tasks the Xiao Long-Rose family had set in front of her. Their family was special.

Yang's face grew concerned.

"Where are you?" asked Yang, and there was only the briefest of pauses before panic set in. "Maple? Maple!" She stared at the scroll. The call had clearly been disconnected.

"Yang, what happened to Maple?" Ruby asked, dread rising.

"She was being chased by an unmarked van," Yang informed her, "and then she got interrupted, and the line went dead."

"Well, let's get the headmaster and find her!" Ruby called. She looked over to the other end of the training room where Nora was training with Magnhild. "Nora! Come on!"

"Wait, what?" the Valkyrie queried, looking up in surprise.

"Maple's in trouble!"

As the three Huntresses raced out of the room, Nora had only one question.

"Who's Maple again?"

Team APRC was in their dorm after another hard day's work in class. Neither Ruby nor Yang had been there that day, and for good reason. Penny had wanted to go out and help them look for their friend again, but she was at a loss of what to do. There were dozens of people investigating the abduction of Maple, and there didn't seem to be a slot for her that didn't involve her sneaking off to take advantage of the fact that she needed far less sleep than any of her teammates.

"What are you doing?" asked Aska out of the blue, pausing in her work polishing one of her blades.

Penny turned away from the mirror she was posing and moving in front of to answer her team leader. "I'm practicing so I can dance with my date this Sunday."

Ciel looked up from her fashion magazine, and Rufus nearly dropped his soldering iron onto the circuit board he was working on.

"I apologize. These fumes must be getting to me," said Aska. "I could have sworn you just said you were going on a date."

"But I am," Penny said, tilting her head to the side.

"You?" Rufus snorted. "On a date?"

Penny pouted at him. "Is that so hard to believe?"

Rufus waved his soldering iron at her. "Well... yeah. I know how you're wired."

The ginger gynoid bristled at that. "Was that a pun?"

"I'm sorry, but…" Aska began, shaking her head. "Penny, where did you even get an idea like that? You're too young to be thinking about dating."

Penny felt her face go flush with anger. "'Too young'?!" she demanded. "You're not that much older than me, none of you are! I'm a big girl. I'm combat ready. And I'm sure as heck date ready too!"

Ciel closed her fashion magazine rather forcefully and got up to face her. "Who do you have a date with?" she asked pointedly.

"Sun," declared Penny proudly.

The dark-skinned girl seemed to stiffen even more than usual at that. They all did. What did they think about her now? Was this because Sun was from Vacuo? Because he was a faunus? Because he was a former classmate of Cinder Fall? Because he had a tendency to leave his team behind to go off on adventures? Because he had a criminal record? Because he never wore shirts that covered his excellent chest muscles that weren't mandated uniforms? And wow, she had really picked an objectionable object of her affections, hadn't she?

"Penny," began Ciel softly, "what you're feeling is just a childhood crush. It may seem like the most important thing in the world to you, but it will pass."

The ginger felt something snap inside her mind, like the last in a series of suspension cables finally giving in to the weight of the bridge it had been holding up. She was seeing pink now. Her whole world was fury.

"This is not some 'childhood crush'!" screamed Penny angrily, marching right up to Ciel and jamming her finger within a hair's breadth of her wide-eyed face. "This is an adult infatuation with adult feelings. I'm not pining away in a tower waiting for some hero to rescue me. I want to be with him. I want to kiss him. I want to f-"

Penny tried not to grumble through the terrible taste of soap in her mouth.

"Now, are you ready to behave like a dignified lady, or do you need a little more time to think about how you've acted?" asked Ciel as she stepped in front of her, the expression on her face back to its normal stoicism after what Rufus had caught on camera and said was his new background.

The ginger reached up to the soap bar, but her blue-eyed compatriot gently brushed her hand away and took the vile-tasting thing out of her mouth. Penny took a moment to flex her jaw before replying. She wished she could have some orange juice or something to swish first.

"I'm ready," answered Penny softly.

Ciel nodded. "Good. Now, you said you were going on a date with King. What made you think this?"

"You were there," Penny said in confusion. "When he talked about who he was planning on taking to the dance that time at lunch, looking at me the whole time."

The other three members of Team APRC exchanged alarmed looks.

Ciel opened her mouth, then closed it and frowned. Aska opened her own mouth, but Ciel held up a hand to silence her, and the team leader acquiesced. This sort of social situation wasn't, after all, her forte.

"Perhaps you should talk to him and confirm it," Ciel suggested. "His choice of words was rather... ambiguous. Besides, you never told him you agreed."

"Omigosh, you're right!" Penny shrieked in horror.

Then she bolted from the room.

The other three exchanged concerned looks. Back then they hadn't thought anything of Sun's little exchange because… well, they knew how he felt about Blake, and they recognized that thousand yard stare of his from experiences in their own lives. Penny didn't have those experiences though, and shamefully, they realized that they had forgotten that.

"I'm the fastest," Aska said. "I'll go."

With that, the ninja also left the room. Through the window.

Another day, another failure to find Maple. Blake should have been able to do something with her extensive ninja skills, but… nothing. Even Maple's motorcycle was gone without a trace. Who did that? Did the White Fang find out she was having doubts and take her out? They would have recovered the bike if it was intact. It was a theory, at least.

There were too many questions and no answers. And statistically speaking, after so long with no demands and no one able to find her… Maple was almost certainly dead. She was dead, and it was Blake's fault because she wasn't there to protect her. She wasn't there to…

"Blake, we'll find her," said Weiss resolutely, shattering the black-haired girl's spiral and making the two lock eyes. "We'll find her, and we'll rescue her."

Against all reason and logic, Blake smiled. "Right, we'll find her. What's one more impossible task anyways? We're Huntresses; we live for this."

"That's right." Weiss nodded.

The two of them were back in their dorm. Ruby and Yang were still searching, and JNPR was hitting up some contacts to see if they were able to get anywhere, but everyone else had called it for the night.

Weiss looked distant. "You know, I can't help but wonder what the White Fang would do if they found out about the Decepticons."

"Easy answer," Blake said. "They'd fight them. I'm not sure, but..." she trailed off.

Weiss perked up at that. "'But'?"

"That first place we checked out," Blake said. "You know, months ago? We never figured out who attacked it, but I think... I think my ex was there. Some of the damage fits his weapon, fighting style, and semblance."

"Your ex," Weiss repeated. She arched a curious eyebrow as pieces began to fit into place. "Your psycho ex... from the White Fang?"

Blake nodded wordlessly.

"...was Adam Taurus, the guy you were asking Torchwick about?"

Blake nodded again.

"And you think he was there? Why didn't you tell any of us that before?!" the snowcapped girl demanded. "You were the one who suggested it was MECH, back before we even knew who MECH was!"

"I didn't want to believe it, okay?" Blake admitted. "I didn't want my old life to ruin my new one! I... I came to Beacon to leave all that behind, to start fresh. I didn't... I didn't want to repeat my past, with the same old conflict, White Fang versus SDC."

"Is that why you defended my father's company?" Weiss asked curiously.

"No," Blake denied, shaking her head. "I... I didn't want to believe that you could be involved."

"Because I'm a Schnee."

Blake looked away in shame.

"I suppose... that's... understandable..."

"No, it isn't!" Blake snapped, whipping her head around to glare at Weiss, then her gaze dropped. "Or... it shouldn't be. The White Fang... we became what we hate, painting all humans with the same brush we thought they painted us with."

"Not so long ago, you might have been right about me," admitted Weiss. "If I'd learned you were part of the White Fang before... all this? You were right about one thing. I knew people who were killed by the White Fang. If I hadn't had the- the context I have now, I probably would have... "

"But you didn't," Blake reminded her. "'Would have' and 'did' are two very different things. If we'd met a year earlier, maybe I would have slit your throat."

"A few months ago, I might have let you," Weiss said softly.

"No, you wouldn't have," Blake answered simply. At her friend's confused look, she explained, "Weiss, you are defiance incarnate. You would never have settled for a tragic death at the blade of an assassin, or your own self-inflicted wounds, for that matter. If for no other reason than because that would have made you a martyr for your father to wave around."

"Ha!" allowed Weiss with dark humor. "You have a point."

"Though, while we're on the subject of what we would have done, had things been different, what do you think we would have done if I'd told you what I suspected back then?" Blake asked leadingly.

"Well, we would have..." The rest of Weiss's argument died on her lips. Blake was right. Back then, back when the self-loathing and shame was at its peak, Weiss probably would have delved even deeper into the White Fang, would have tried going to them for help, and that would have ended... well, "badly" would be putting it mildly. Probably with a summary execution.

And if they didn't kill her…

"Hahahahaha!" laughed Weiss manically as she stood amongst the flaming ruins of Vale's government buildings.

"Please, why are you doing this?" asked one of the few remaining bureaucrats that hadn't been executed by the White Fang.

"I lost a bomb," answered Weiss madly as she tossed a bundle of high-explosive dust crystals towards them with a lit fuse. "Do you have it?"

…perhaps was for the best that…

"Things kept coming up. Then we had that argument," Weiss murmured, "and you were away for your special training."

"Yeah." Blake sighed as she leaned back. "Just one more reason to wonder if I've been away too long."

"I don't wonder." Weiss sniffed with exaggerated haughtiness. "But what do you mean 'one more'?"

"Everyone thinks I'm dead."

"Which is silly and terrible," Weiss agreed. "I don't even know how that nonsense got started."

Blake paused thoughtfully. "Terrible, yes, but... what if it wasn't?"

"Excuse me?" Weiss cocked a scarred eyebrow. "What are you scheming?"

"'Scheming'?" Blake asked innocently. "What are you insinuating with that?"

"You're a former terrorist, and you're a ninja," Weiss deadpanned. "I'm pretty sure 'scheming' comes with both those territories."

Blake's bow flattened atop her head. Weiss wasn't sure why she kept wearing the bow, even in their dorm, but at least in private, she was allowing herself to be much more expressive than she had before.

"Well," Blake said, "I was just thinking... I've just finished all this ninja training..."

"Are you suggesting you want to keep hiding just to keep this ridiculous rumor going?"

"Of course not!" Blake denied. "I'm saying that trying to keep that rumor going would be a great way to stay in practice, and keeping it up through a whole week of classes until I show up at the dance with Sun would be a good benchmark."

"'With Sun'?" Weiss echoed.

"Of course with Sun," Blake replied. "You were there when he asked me."

"Yes," Weiss confirmed with a nod. "I was also there when you all but said 'no' and very clearly suggested he go with Yang or Penny instead."

Blake froze at that.

Then she bolted from the room. Through the window.

Weiss sighed and got up to follow her friend. Through the door. There were so many other things that needed to be dealt with right now. Like figuring out where to look for Maple next. Or preparing for the Vytal Tournament.

Or her plans to get her own blond to take her to the dance.

Blake landed in the tree outside their dorm, and immediately began bounding from tree to tree towards the Haven dorms. She couldn't explain it, but she just felt like she was on some sort of timer. Her sensei had told her not to ignore those instincts, and after months of training, they had been tuned to a razor's edge.

With one final, shadowy bounce, she landed on the three-inch lip that ran around the exterior wall of the Haven guest dormitory. Plenty of space. From there she was easily able to enter the dorm and sneak inside.

She came to the dorm kitchen and carefully crawled in over the counter where someone had been making toast. It was still hot, and so it was likely that they would be back soon. Without a sound and without being seen, however, Blake was able to enter and close up any trace of her intrusion.

She began to stealthily search the dorms for Team SSSN, but when she looked around the corner, she found her target was already out in the halls. Sun and his whole team were wearing tracksuits, and it looked like they were leaving to exercise. He was… he was… he was… oh, to the Grimmlands with it. He was hot, especially when he dressed up like he was now.

Blake had been holding back her feelings for so long... and for what? To avoid another Adam? Adam was Adam, but Sun was Sun. She couldn't let her evil abusive ex rule her life forever.

She was a free woman now. She could and did make her own decisions, choose who she wanted to associate with. And here? She chose love. She chose Sun!

…and he was about to exit the dorm.

"Wait, Sun!" cried out Blake with one hand reaching out desperately to him.

The monkey faunus froze and turned around to look at her. "Blake?"

"Wait," one of his teammates - Sage Ayana - said. "How did you...?"

She ignored the question and rushed over to meet Sun in the foyer and lounge right in front of the exit, and his team spread out behind him, coy expressions on their faces, Sage letting his question die unanswered. Elsewhere in the dorm, someone screamed in terror. Something about a ghost? Ah, not important.

"Sun," said Blake breathlessly as she came to a stop in front of him, "will you go to the dance with me?" She blinked, then shook her head. "No, wait, I accept... I mean, yes, I will... if you haven't-"

"Yes, Blake," Sun interrupted, smiling sunnily. "Yes, I'd love to go to the dance with you." He held out his hand. "Will you go with me?"

"Yes, Sun," she said, taking his hands and looking him in the eyes, returning the smile. "Yes, I'll go to the dance with you."

Relief flooded through Blake as she let herself get lost in those eyes. It was like a weight had suddenly lifted off her shoulders.

A choking sob broke the moment, and they turned to look over at the door leading outside. Standing there with a shadow behind her was a familiar-looking girl. It was the orange-haired girl they'd run into the day she'd met Sun, and she was looking at them, her face twisted with despair, her whole body trembling.

"Penny?" Sun asked in concern. "Is something wrong?"

Tears began to flow down the carrot-topped girl's cheeks, and she turned and fled.

Sun watched in confusion and made to follow. "What-?"

"Don't," Neptune interrupted. "I've got this." The blue-haired boy gave Sun a reassuring smile that glinted in the light. "Trust me." Neptune turned, then started back at the woman he found himself face to face with. "Gah!"

The woman stepped aside and waved him past. She was a kunoichi. Her garb announced that clearly enough, and even if it hadn't... well, Blake had learned that there was a certain way ninja walked when they weren't trying to hide it, if you knew what to look for. She stalked up to Sun.

"King," the kunoichi said, her accent even thicker than Storm Shadow's, "I realize you could not return Penny's feelings, but why did you have to make her cry?"

Oh, no, Blake thought. What have I done?

Neptune slowed as he approached Team APRC's guest dorm. The door was ajar, and he could hear Penny crying. It broke his heart.

"I'm such a stupid, stupid girl," she wept. "I should have known he was talking about Blake. Why wouldn't he want her? She's beautiful, enigmatic, a great fighter, and I'm just some average student from a Mantle family no one's ever heard of."

"It figures, though," Rufus said, clearly resigned. "She's practically a princess. Wealthy, highborn... former terrorist. Of course she'd just swoop in and take what she wants."

"You sound like Robyn Hill," snorted Aska. Wait. How did she get here before him?

"Don't you compare me to that woman," Rufus snapped. "If there's anyone involved in this mess that compares to her, it's Belladonna."

"Penny, you are a flower of the north that blooms in the heart of winter itself," Ciel offered comfortingly. "If others are too blind to see that, then you are also strong enough to endure it."

"No, I'm not," Penny sobbed. "I'm not strong at all. I... oh no. I already bought a dress, and made arrangements, and told people from other teams that I was going and had a date. Oh, Ciel, what am I going to do? If I don't show up, everyone is going to want to know what happened, and if I do show up, everyone will know what happened, and either way, I'll be humiliated. What am I going to do, Ciel? What am I going to do?"

Neptune took that as his cue and stepped into the doorway, pushing the door open fully, to see Penny sprawled on the beds, her head in Ciel's lap as the other girl patting her comfortingly. The redhead looked something beyond miserable. It was like her entire being had been ripped out and torn up, and… and that was just something that he couldn't abide.

"Perhaps I can offer a solution," he suggested.

Aska stalked up to him aggressively. "You have a lot of nerve, showing up here after what your team leader pulled."

"A heck of a lot of nerve," agreed Rufus. "If it weren't for the regs, I'd ship you back to Vacuo in boxes."

"Please, let me explain," Neptune said, holding his hands up placatingly. "You all know Sun's not a bad guy. This is all just a misunderstanding, but it's a misunderstanding that's hurt Penny a lot, and I'm... I'm not cool with that. Please, if you'll allow me, I'd like to escort Penny to the dance."

Penny pulled her head up and looked at him through tear-filled eyes. "Wha-... why?"

"He's trying to let you save face and uphold the honor of all involved," answered Ciel solemnly.

Neptune tilted his head at that. "Not how I would have put it. I just can't stand to see people that unhappy. I may not be the best man, or even a good man, but I can fake it pretty well. Well enough to get you through a night, at least."

"And if she refuses?" Aska asked.

Neptune shrugged. "Then I move on to the next idea on how to fix this issue. Well, to figuring out the next idea. I'm not going to run away, not when a friend needs me.."

"I... I won't refuse," Penny choked out. "I accept, Neptune. I will allow you to escort me to the dance."

Rufus looked at Penny, then looked back at Neptune. "You hear that? No backing out now. The dance is in less than a week. Be there. Or else."

Cinder hunkered down, clutching the suitcase possessively. The house had been occupied, but she'd taken care of that. It was sturdy enough to offer her shelter, and the pantry was well-stocked. It would do for now, at least until the former residents were missed. And then she'd move on.

The suitcase and the weapon within it was her only real asset. She wasn't sure yet how she'd use it, but she'd committed its activation sequence to memory long ago before incinerating the instructions that had been stolen with it. It was her ticket back to power and glory. It was the only thing she had that could salvage her dreams.

The TV flickered on, and she reflexively drew a hand back, calling on the Fall Maiden's magic to summon a ball of fire to her hand. The staticky image of a person's head appeared on the screen, and for a brief moment, she thought it was Cobra Commander, perhaps calling to taunt her. The predominant color was blue, after all, and the image bore a silver faceplate, but as the image resolved, it became clear that the faceplate was far more angular than Cobra Commander's featureless mask, and it was divided from a blue crown by a red visor.

"Greetings, Cinder Fall," a deep, modulated, monotone voice sounded.

"Who are you?" she demanded. Her eyes darted to the windows and doors, searching for avenues of attack. This was most likely a distraction.

"I am Soundwave," the voice continued. "I wish to form an alliance."

"And what makes you think I'm interested?"

"You have been expelled from Haven Academy and charged with numerous crimes, including but not limited to: murder, treason, terrorism, extortion, theft, and forgery. Your former minions in the White Fang have disavowed you, else you would be with them and not here. Your team from Haven remains in custody. Many other Havenites have sworn a blood vendetta against you. The Iron Grenadiers seek to recover the prototype you have stolen. You have sought alliances with other organizations and been denied."

Cinder ground her teeth. Whoever this "Soundwave" was, he seemed to be quite well-informed. Too well-informed.

"You certainly know a lot," she stalled as she tried to figure out how to get out and past whatever ambush team he assuredly had set up outside. "Or at least you think you do."

"Simple observation and deduction," countered Soundwave. "It has led me to the conclusion that an alliance would be advantageous."

"I will not be your pawn," she snarled.

"You are already a pawn." The response stung all the more with the monotone it came in. Like it was a statement of fact, rather than a retort. "Nonetheless, I have information for you as a token of goodwill."

"What sort of information?"

"The location and transport arrangements of one codenamed 'Autumn.'"

She snuffed out the fireball in her hand.

"I'm listening."

With the rest of the Fall Maiden's powers, after all, she wouldn't need her minions anymore.

Cinder will come, Emerald reminded herself as she stared at the man sitting across the interrogation room table from her. She'll come for us.

That didn't make the silence any less wearing on her patience, though. She couldn't see any clocks or watches, but she was sure that they had been sitting here for at least an hour or two already, and neither had said a word the whole time. It was aggravating.

"What's even the point of this?" she demanded, breaking the agonizing silence. "Come on, Professor Snake Eyes. Everyone knows you don't talk. Can you even talk? What do you want from me?"

Finally, the ninja moved, sliding a slip of paper across the table. She looked down at it.

"What do I know about the Arashikage Clan?" she read aloud in dumbfounded confusion.

"You want me to what?" Nadir asked, staring out through Team ABRN's open doorway at the panicked form of one Neptune Vasilias.

"I need you to teach me how to dance," his fellow Haven student repeated. "I just- I've got a date to the Beacon Dance, and..."

"And you don't know how to dance," Nadir finished. He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Neptune. "So why come to me?"

"Um, couple of reasons," Neptune said. "First, I'm pretty sure you know how to dance. Second, you're discreet; I've seen how you wrangle your team together and then just step back. Third, um... I'm desperate and don't know anyone else?"

Nadir sighed and rubbed his temples. "How does someone as cool as you not know how to dance in the first place?"

"I've just never had to before, okay?" Neptune admitted, frustration seeping into his voice. "So will you teach me or not? I'm pretty sure if you ask nicely, Arslan will help demonstrate, eh?" He gave Nadir a wink.

Nadir flushed. "All right, fine," he agreed. "Just... no more insinuations like that, okay? I don't want to go into the tournament with broken bones."

The central headquarters of the Vale Police Department was a massive building dedicated to the preservation and protection of law and order within the city of Vale. It was not - notably, and surprisingly to almost everyone - dedicated to the preservation of people's lives. People, it seemed, were expendable, and there were none quite so expendable as the faunus.

If a faunus was robbed, the police might just hold the recovered goods as evidence and never give it back to the aggrieved party. If a faunus was murdered, it would be a fluke if the cops ever caught the killer. And if there was a politically dicey case that needed to be solved as soon as possible? Well, there was always a readily available supply of faunus to pin the blame on. Justice was a seven letter word to them and nothing more.

Yang had heard all those stories and many others while hanging about the White Fang, but she had never put much stock in them. After all, they were terrorists, and they had a certain type. Besides the obvious demographic that had been the source of recruits for revolutionary organizations throughout history - early twenties, male, sub-par father, college student - there were also the types that fit in more as criminals and those who only wanted to see the world burn; some, of course, were good people - or those at least motivated by heroic ideals - but they weren't the attention grabbers. Not exactly the most trustworthy group of individuals for information gathering, especially when you couldn't run a background check on them before they started spouting off on whatever their pet peeve was. Besides, Yang had experienced a decidedly different time with law enforcement officers growing up on Patch, and she figured that the VPD should have been pretty much the same.

Standing in front of the Missing Persons Division's entrance desk as she was, Yang was beginning to think that the White Fang were being too charitable.

"Oh, you again?" asked Officer Upwood, a painfully average- and uninspiring-looking man, as he looked up from behind his newspaper.

"Yes, me again," said Yang as sweetly as she could, leaning on all the months of experience she had gained lying through her teeth. She needed it, she really needed it. After all, she hadn't slept in three days. "Has there been any update on the Maple Tapper Bricks case?"

"No," replied Upwood before going back to looking at the paper. He hadn't even tried to look like he was checking on the status of the case.

That was that. Yang could just turn around and go back to Bumblebee. She had promised him she'd take a while to sleep in him, and she could just walk on out of there and do that. She could, but she wouldn't. Not yet. Not when the abductions had escalated like this, taking a friend and putting fellow Autobot Arcee in critical condition.

"All this time, and still no update?" Yang snarled. "What are you guys even doing?"

Upwood slowly lowered his newspaper and glared at her. "Listen, kid. I get it. Ms. Bricks is a friend of yours. But you're a friend, not family, and this is an ongoing investigation. We can't comment on it."

"Are you serious?!" Yang demanded incredulously.

Upwood stood up to meet her gaze. "You think I want to stonewall you, kid? You're a Beacon student; that's a political hot potato right there, one I want no part of. But it takes time to follow leads."

"And the other kidnappings?" Yang asked. "Ollie Oakenfri? A dozen faunus, three humans, almost all from the same area?" Maple hadn't been the last. Two other White Fang members had been taken too - active, gun-toting members - but she couldn't exactly tell the cops that.

Upwood sighed wearily and dragged a hand down his face. "Kid, you think we don't see the pattern?"

"You didn't with the dust robberies," Yang pointed out. "It took a tip to Ozpin to clean that mess up."

"Yeah, pardon us for not seeing the criminal mastermind behind the White Fang right under the headmaster's nose," Upwood sneered. "We've talked to the witnesses and told them to call us if they remember anything. We've got forensic samples from the crime scenes we were able to pinpoint. The pattern means this isn't a personal grudge, so that's a dead end. Seriously, what do you expect us to do? Send uniforms combing the whole city? You of all people should know the kind of Grimm activity that would attract."

Yang's hands curled into fists in frustration.

Upwood sighed, his expression softening. "I get it. You're worried. You're training to be a Huntress so you can help with situations like this, but our hands are full enough with the manhunt for that Cinder lady. Tell you what, I know how the academy schedule goes. You guys are supposed to be getting your first official missions next week, yeah? We usually set up a junior detectives thing. I'll talk to the chief, see if we can shift that around to Missing Persons."

"I..." Yang trailed off. It wasn't much, but... it was more than what she'd gotten before. "Thank you."

"And until then, get some sleep, kid," Upwood added. "Aura's an amazing thing, but you won't do your friend any good if you pass out."

The moment Taiyang stepped into the officer's lounge of the K.A.S. Tapfer, he was struck by three things. The first was that he couldn't believe that he was actually there. The second was that he couldn't believe he had actually been allowed in. The third was that despite the cramped space, it was actually pretty nice.

He found James off in the corner, sipping on a dark beverage, and walked over to his booth. He was easy to find. After all, he was the only guy in the bar at that moment who wasn't a robot.

"Tai!" said the general happily. "Glad you could make it!"

"James, you old clanker!" replied Taiyang as he reached out his hands and gripped his comrade's in greeting. "How have you been? I mean, it's been ages since we last talked. Are you trying to grow a beard?"

James reached up and stroked his fuzzy, shadowed chin. "Not exactly, but I think I might try. Been a rough year. Might as well get something out of it, am I right?"

"Too right," agreed Taiyang, sliding into the other side of the booth. "You'd look good with a beard, but you have to maintain it. Got to make sure it's a strong, masculine beard and not a beard of crazy. Sure you're up for it?"

James shrugged. "If I'm not, then that's what razors are for."

Tai smiled and looked at his drink. "Too true. Hey, what is this stuff, anyway?"

"That, my friend, is genuine Sweet Apple Acres apple cider," explained James, picking up his own mug and grinning like he was giving a sales pitch. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to get ol' Granny Smith to supply us some for this bar's stock?"

Taiyang looked into his mug, and then without further ado, took a swig. He savored the taste for a moment, and then swallowed. His eyes were very wide after that.

"Oh, wow…"

"It's good, isn't it?" prodded James.

"Really good," confirmed Taiyang, putting the mug down but unwilling to let go. "I mean, I've heard about this stuff before, but I didn't think it could live up to the hype."

"Does it?" asked James.

Taiyang shook his head. "No, it's better. Something special going on?"

"Plenty of things are going on, but meeting you is sadly the only good one among them," said James sadly with a shake of his head. "What a week for a crisis. We should be celebrating this time of year, not searching for missing persons while one of her servants circles us like a shark."

"How bad is it?" asked Taiyang worriedly. "I mean, Maple's missing, and that's bad enough. It's partly why I'm here as much as I am this week, but…"

"It's bad," summed up James tensely. "Your mechanic friend going missing was only the tip of the iceberg with the abductions going on. There's more than a dozen so far, and that number is only going up. I've got some people working on that, but I haven't had many to spare with the search for Cinder Fall. Ugh, I can't believe we didn't notice what was going on with her with a name like that."

"And what is going on?" asked Taiyang carefully. "I heard what the press is saying, that she's a fake student and behind the White Fang's dust robberies, but that's it."

James raised an eyebrow. "You thinking about getting back in the game?"

"Maybe," Taiyang didn't answer. "I still have my security clearance though. That means I can be a discreet ear if you need it right now."

The Atlesian nodded. "Autumn was attacked, and half her power was stolen."

Taiyang blinked. "That's possible? Did this Cinder girl use some kind of mad science device to suck her dry and get stuck halfway through or something?"

"Best we can figure? Yeah," replied James. "We're still waiting on Qrow's full report. Again. See if any of the new information we have jogs his memory. Problem is that he's completely dropped off the grid, and we have no idea where he's gone or how to contact him safely. Been like this for months."

"He does have a tendency to go on adventures," pointed out Taiyang.

"Yeah, well, he sure picked a heck of a time to do it," replied James frostily. "That's why we're planning to move Autumn to Atlas soon. The Furchtlos will take her out during the dance, when the entire student body isn't watching, and that should give us more leeway with setting a trap for her. If we can't go to Cinder Fall, then we'll make Cinder Fall come to us."

"Need any help with that?" asked the blond Huntsman.

"You offering?" James asked back, knowing that he was rephrasing an earlier question.

"Maybe," repeated Taiyang.

James was thoughtful for a moment, his keen blue eyes focusing on a concept more than an object. "Tell you what. If you can help with getting her life support pod out of the vault, that's one less man that needs to be read in. Help out with security on campus after that, and that means I can free up men for other duties. Might not seem like a lot, but you know these personnel issues are the real killers."

Taiyang considered that. "Okay, I think I can do that."

"Good," replied James with a bit of his former pep. "Like I said, I wish this had happened some other week."

"Why? Were you planning on taking Glynda to the dance or something?" asked Taiyang with false cheekiness, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

"As a matter of fact, yes," answered James simply.

"Holy smokes. Congratulations, man," said Taiyang, utterly floored, but appreciative. "You guys back together, or is this part of some zany scheme?"

"Back together," confirmed James, before taking a contemplative sip of his cider. "We had a rocky start this year, but we worked things out. I hear Snapshot had something to do with that. I suppose I should get around to thanking her."

"'Snapshot'?"

"Miss Rose."

"Oh, wow, Ruby's got a callsign?" asked Taiyang with wide eyes and a smile. "Again, congratulations, man. Always thought you two worked well together. You tell your kids about this yet?"

"Not yet, no," answered James with a sigh. "We're keeping it on the downlow generally, and specifically, we're trying to find out how they feel about the whole thing first. About Glynda possibly moving into their lives, I mean."

"How's that going?" asked Taiyang curiously.

"Well, Kogetsu really seems to like her," answered James with a smile, and then it turned into a frown. "Aska though… I don't know what to do with her. I've tried giving her some space to figure things out on her own, but she's still having issues. The stuff she's done and said in this semester alone… well, it's enough to drive a man to drink."

With that, the general took another swig of the truly spectacular apple cider.

"Well, she may not be able to shoot lasers out of her eyes - Ruby's doing great with that, by the way - but I do have some experience in raising daughters generally, James. Need some help?" offered Taiyang.

James looked into his mug and shrugged. "Sure. Why not? I could use all the help I can get with her, and I haven't even finished my first drink."

"Jaune?"

Jaune paused, Crocea Mors extended, then turned. The recording of Pyrrha on his scroll continued on. She'd made a small library of them for him so he could train in his spare time when she wasn't available. After four days of searching for Maple, they'd all needed a break, a way to take their minds off worrying about their friend. Unfortunately, it also let him stew on other recent events.

"Hey, Weiss," he said, greeting the Atlesian girl as he reached over to his scroll and closed the recording, pocketing the device. He turned to face her with a forced smile that broke her heart. "What's up?"

"I..." Weiss hesitated, then drew herself up. "I'm sorry about Ruby."

"What are you apologizing for?" he asked, shaking his head. "It's not your fault. You've been blamed enough for other people's actions." Weiss felt her heart flutter at that as she followed him to the side of the training room. He leaned against the wall, his head back, staring at the ceiling. "I just wish I knew why. What did I do wrong?"

"I'm quite sure it wasn't anything you did," Weiss assured him, stepping forward and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Ruby's... going through a lot right now, Jaune. We all are. I can't pretend to understand her reasons." Liar. "But she was very clear it wasn't anything you did."

He sighed dejectedly, letting his head hang down. "I wish I could believe that. I mean, I never really thought of her that way, and suddenly, out of the blue, she demands I go out with her. And then after I really started falling for her... this?" He sighed again and pushed himself off the wall briskly. "Anyway, bright side, it means I can do what I told Yang I'd do: focus on becoming a better Huntsman."

"A-anyway," she stuttered, then rushed out her question, "given the situation, have you considered who you're taking to the dance?"

"I had kind of figured I'd be going with Ruby," he admitted, "but... well, that's certainly not happening now." He shook his head. "I don't know if I'll even go. I mean, what's the point? I should spend that time looking for Maple."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Weiss snapped waspishly, waving a finger under his nose. "There's a lot of effort going into this dance, Jaune. It is the social event of the year, and I will be singing! You will not miss this, even if I have to drag you there myself!"

Jaune stared down at the snowcapped girl for a long moment and started trembling.

What's going on? Weiss wondered worriedly. Is he having a seizure?

His trembling increased, and he finally burst out laughing. "Oh, thanks, Weiss. I needed that. Fine, fine. I'll go." He turned and left the room. "See ya there, Weiss."

Well, she thought, nodding with satisfaction, at least he's feeling better.

A thought occurred to her, and she frowned, then stamped her foot in frustration.

She'd meant to ask him to go to the dance with her!

Pyrrha walked toward Team JNPR's dorm. The meeting she'd just come from had been... odd, to say the least. She opened the door to find Jaune on his bed, reading a comic.

"Hey, Pyr."

Perfect, she thought as she drew up her courage. "Hello, Jaune."

Pyrrha closed the door behind her, then sat on her hands on her bed to keep from fidgeting. "May I ask you something?"

"Sure, Pyr. What's up?" he responded, looking up, meeting her gaze with those sapphire orbs of his.

"Will- will you be going to the dance this weekend?"

"I really wasn't planning on it, to be honest," admitted Jaune, dropping his head. "But... I had a talk with Weiss earlier, and she convinced me to go."

"Oh." Unseen, Pyrrha's face fell for a moment. "I see."

"What about you, Pyr?" he asked, looking up at her again. "You going?"

She gave him a well-practiced smile and shook her head. "Probably not. I had my fill of public social events in Mistral."

"You should go, Pyrrha," he said encouragingly. "It won't be like those things. It'll be all Huntsmen and Huntresses, people who know you, the real you. It'll be fun, and you'll get a chance to relax."

She sighed. "I don't know, Jaune."

"Tell you what, I'll... save you a dance," he promised, his voice soft and earnest, almost... tender.

Pyrrha froze. The room suddenly seemed awfully small and warm.

He grinned and gave her a thumbs up, and the moment was broken. "And I can assure you, I'm a very good dancer."

She arched a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you now? Maybe we should have been looking at other fighting styles instead."

"I mean it, Pyr," Jaune insisted through melodious laughter. "Growing up with seven sisters, you learn to cut a rug." He smiled cheekily. "Just... make sure you let your date know."

Pyrrha blinked. "My date?"

"Of course," he confirmed. "Come on, Pyr, who wouldn't want to go out with you? I'm sure you've got guys lined up around the block to ask you out, and whoever the lucky guy is, he could probably beat me to a pulp. So I'd like to avoid any misunderstandings, you know?"

"Jaune!" she protested, scandalized, her face matching her hair.

He chuckled. "Anyway, Pyr, how'd that meeting go?"

"It was... odd," she replied.

"What was it about, anyway?"

"It was with an Atlesian student, Twilight 'Magic' Sparkle," Pyrrha explained. "She has family working in alternative energy, and she thought my name and the Vytal Tournament would be a way to give it some public exposure."

"Really?" he asked, leaning forward, eyes twinkling with curiosity. "Sounds interesting. Can you tell me more?

Pyrrha nodded. "Of course. Have you ever heard of... 'petroleum'?"

Maple T. Bricks didn't struggle when the unpainted AK-200s brought her into the interrogation room. It would be almost impossible. After all, she'd been awake for almost a week in a sleep deprivation chamber.

The lack of sleep, when combined with the drugs in her system and the recent beatings, made her as helpless as a kitten when the androids forced her into the room's single chair. That pliability was one reason she had been subjected to such treatments. The other reason was that it gave them time to analyze the hornet's nest that had been stirred up by her disappearance.

Wishbone smiled to herself as she watched the prisoner on the holographic screen. Oh, yes. Maple T. Bricks had certainly turned out to be a treasure trove of information. The most obvious was the transformer that had attacked them when they had picked her up, likely one of the enemies the Decepticons had mentioned in passing but never elaborated on, which provided on their own a whole host of implications that filled in so many blanks. The next obvious was the impassioned searching she had inspired in so much of the Beacon Academy populace, and especially two students in particular.

With one gloved hand, Wishbone activated the microphone in front of her. "Hello, Miss Bricks. Are you ready to talk?"

The beaver faunus didn't answer, but she did look up towards the cameras and the speakers from which Wishbone's distorted voice emerged.

"I'll start with something simple," began Wishbone. "What is your relationship to Raven Branwen's daughters?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," replied the prisoner.

Wishbone let out a heavy sigh, and then smiled. She loved it when they played dumb. It gave her an opportunity to have some fun.

She deactivated one microphone and then activated another. "Sentry Four, place your hand on the subject's left knee."

The robot moved to obey, and Wishbone deactivated that microphone before reactivating the other.

"Allow me to rephrase, Miss Bricks," the dog-eared faunus said. "How often does Ruby Rose correspond with her mother, Raven Branwen?"

"What?" the prisoner said dumbly. "Ruby's mother's name was Summer."

That was annoying, but only mildly so. It was clear that they had all coordinated this story together and memorized it. That made interrogating the prisoner all the more valuable. But why oh why did they have to persist in such an obvious falsehood?

She switched microphones again. "Sentry Four, close your hand."

The prisoner's screams filled the air like the music of a great orchestra.

Well, even if I don't find the source of attacks on the SDC tonight, at least I'll enjoy myself, she thought happily as she prepared to continue.

Author's Note 1 (Cyclone):

Poor, poor Penny. It might be the, ahem, Maximal ship... but alas, it was not to be. Still, Blake has finally decided to give poor Sun a break. At least she's treating him better than in canon.

It's kind of interesting. Wishbone has all the pieces she needs to get something very close to the whole truth. She's just missing basically any info tied to the Maidens and the whole Oz/Salem conflict. Which is, you know, kind of a big thing.

One thing I'm noticing is that Cody's a lot more comfortable sliding into certain types of humor than I am, but reception to those seem to be generally positive, so I'm trying to let them go through, no matter how I feel about them personally.

Author's Note 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett):

In the grand tradition of us trying to emulate our source material, aura levels are inconsistent. . . . Also, I realized part way through writing the end of that Arcee scene that electro-nets had disabled transformers before. So, yeah, I guess Arcee is kind of badass in some way.

Maple's line "So to speak" is actually a reference to a webcomic I used to follow called Air Force Blues. In that comic it was a frequent catchphrase where characters would say it after another person says something that could be considered awkward or inappropriate, such as the always popular, "Men, we thrust a large thick column right into the enemy's most vulnerable spot and penetrate deep in their motherland." After writing some of Arcee's dialogue I realized it was reflecting some of the more shippy moments with her in Transformers: Prime, and that line came to me immediately after. . . . Man, that was weird.

Something I realized while reading through this was that when characters cry in this story it isn't the Hollywood "sexy cry" that one often sees in fiction, but instead a very "ugly cry" that is specifically written to be unappealing. In fact, Penny's breakdown here is the first time I can remember where someone crying hasn't been accompanied by a description of mucus running out of their body along with tears. This is, of course, because I'm not entirely sure if Penny does have mucus . . . though she might very well, come to think of it.

Taiyang and James' little conversation was one of the last things to be added, and solely because we realized we had the space. I'm glad we did though. It really flowed out in one take that hardly needed any editing afterwards. It was a fun conversation to write. The only thing that was missing was an explanation for them meeting, which I had thought up before writing it, but I'm glad I didn't include it in the end. Sometimes it's just good to sit down and talk with an old friend.