Team SLFR: A RWBY Story

by Lorenzo the Maelstrom

A lone wolf, a tricky horse, an intellectual aristocrat, and a machine. These four individuals are a very odd bunch already, considering one of them isn't really a fan of the sun. Sable Fenrisulven, a young combat genius decides to attend Beacon Academy, not because of a dream to be a Huntsman, but as a sort of desire to gain strength, to no longer be weak like before.

11. Chapter 11: Revelations

FINALLY I can give this chapter after 5 months of being dead on this story. But, if any of you have been following my account, then you know I have other stories so at least I'm active.

First off, I wanted to apologize for the long wait, but now tht I am back here I'll try to be more consistent with my writing and publishing.

Second off, without any interruption, I will respond to some of your reviews from the last time I updated!

MajorBrony95: First off, I wanted to say I look forward to hearing more of your feedback into he future! I am always happy to help in anything you need me to do!

So uh…that was the only review I gto so far. But hey! It's a good one!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the canon material.

Alrighty! Enjoy the Chapter!

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Chapter 11: Revelations

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Lilac's tapping foot remained constant. Partially because he noticed the small bit of anxiety creeping up on his back, and slowly his smile turned a bit wider when he noticed Blake look up from her cup of tea. She breathed, then sighed.

"So…how much…do you both want to know?" Her amber eyes turned mellow, although her stoic expression was replaced with that of reminiscence. Her intent gaze burrowed deeply into Lilac particularly, and he couldn't help but grin and wink.

To which she sighed in exasperation and shot a harsh look.

"Finally, you speak!" And that ear-grating voice came back to the point that even Lilac twitched an eyebrow as he glanced to the monkey Faunus. He used his prehensile tail to hold the teacup by the handle but never took a sip out of the cup. "Nearly two days and you've given us nothing but small talk and weird looks!"

Which Lilac did not have an issue with, but he didn't stay too…energetic, if the word was right. Lilac doesn't like to sit still, but he'd never put a joke over his friends. Even a friend whose secret he knew for a long while now.

"I mean, she'd probably be more comfortable around a friend than a stranger." Lilac not so subtly slipped that out with a small smirk.

"Well, hey, I don't have many people to talk to other than my team, and they still haven't made it to Vale," Sun exclaimed while folding his hands behind his head.

"No doubt taking the legal way in. It's hilarious, but why did you even stow away on a boat?" Lilac continued the banter, his horse tail flicking back and forth.

"Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and I don't like sitting still when I could be taking action! Besides, I'm sure you can agree that Vale has all the best sights!"

"Hey, that may be true, but it's not like I'd ever want to take a sightseeing trip with a monkey-like you!" Lilac pouted childishly.

"Ouch! Talk about snappy!" Sun cringed slightly but brushed it off.

"And you're not even supposed to be here. Why are you here?"

"I'm curious okay? Besides, what I want to know is if the both of you have some history together!"

"Absolutely not!" Blake snapped with a faint tinge to her cheeks, which went unnoticed but she cleared her throat. "H-he's a friend from Beacon Academy…and the first one to…"

"To guess that she was a Faunus all along!" Lilac spoke with congratulatory clapping, earning him a brief glare from Blake. He stopped his clapping and sighed as he leaned his chin on his open palm. "Okay, Okay, that was a bit insensitive…"

"Not exactly…but…" Blake hesitated, her eyes darting downwards with a sad gaze, before back to Sun. "Are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Well, duh! I don't think there is a Faunus who hasn't heard of those bunch of freaks!" Sun scoffed, still holding, and motioning his tea with his tail. "They're constantly hurting innocent people and giving us all a bad name with their Holier-than-thou attitude while using force! Bunch of low-life's!"

Blake seemed to look down at that, and yet Lilac noticed that her initial ardor and heated words didn't come out.

His gut sank inwards in trepidation.

"Look, Sun, you're right about some people in the White Fang being…poopy dunderheads!" Lilac exclaimed with a chuckle.

"Who even says that your age?" Sun muttered to himself in disbelief.

"But I feel like we're missing the point here…not everybody in the White Fang is a bad person, but you can't excuse their actions…so well, I would be careful with your words," Lilac explained with a shrug, flicking his tail once more as he glanced at Blake. "Blake, come on, what exactly happened between you and your team?"

"…I…" She hesitated, squirming in her seat and unable to look Lilac in the eye. "I don't think I need to tell you…"

"Why not? What exactly could have happened for you to run away and need a friend to accompany you? Like, that's just silly, and I don't understand why you just left!" His gut cratered in impatience. He slowly adopted a neutral expression, unsure of what her secret could be.

"I-it's because…" She took a sip from her tea, and with a forlorn frown stated. "I used to be part of the White Fang."

...

Oh… He sighed in disbelief and looked stern with his expression. "So…it's like that. Isn't it?"

Blake. Part of the White Fang? Now it…slowly made sense. Her defensive position for the White Fang, and her attitude towards Weiss during the trip. At first, Lilac thought it was because of her Faunus heritage that she was sympathetic to people who wanted to do the right thing and simply following the herd…but no.

"You…kept that a secret, and it slipped?" Lilac could not tell what his expression was, but she refused to look at him in the eye…and that left him frustrated. He knows she's hiding something.

"…yes…" She spoke, though her defeated attitude was well veiled underneath her calm voice.

Sun on the other hand sputtered in bewilderment, though he nearly choked on his tea at first. "You!? You were once a part of the White fang? Are you being for real, right now!?"

"Y-yeah…I was." She confirmed it, and Lilac nearly frowned for a moment. He didn't know what to think other than to be patient and see where she's coming from. "For most of my life. You could say I was born into it. Back then…things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and the Faunus."

Oh yeah…that war. Lilac read a bit about the Great War. He was a bit of a fan of history, even if it took a while to get him to read them. However, that was the precursor to the Fauns Rights Revolution, where the White Fang movement arose as a peaceful measurement for his kind.

"Even after the wars, we weren't given the equality that was promised to us. Faunus were being subjugated and discriminated against with hate. Humanity…thought of us as lesser beings, and from that hate, we needed a way to defend ourselves. The White Fang rose as our defense, and our voice."

Lilac frowned slightly, disagreeing with that statement. No one organization can be a voice for an entire race, and that didn't get them anywhere positive if recent events were of any truth.

Blake continued, and her expression turned to nostalgia…and solemn remembrance. "I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I thought we were making a difference…but I was just a youthful optimist."

"Nothing wrong with that," Lilac spoke out with a tone unfamiliar to them, though the frown softened to a stern glance. "Unless you did things that you regretted?"

"…fortunately, I can't say I'm guilty of anything grave…but I'm not entirely innocent," Blake admitted, and the more Lilac saw, her eyes were cast downwards even more. "Because I still took part in its activities…even after what happened five years ago."

"Wait, what happened exactly?" Sun tilted his head, clueless.

"A change in leadership…and a change in methods," Lilac spoke for Blake, who looked conflicted and grimacing. "Am I right?"

"Yes…" Blake continued though her grimace turned into a frown. "Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor."

Once again, Lilac frowned in sympathy. He didn't like racism…but the hate drove the Faunus to commit sins and crimes that were at the best extreme, and at worst murderous. Lilac never agreed with such a violent way of thinking, but he didn't believe in letting people push him around.

"And the worst part? It was working." Her frown turned to a scowl. "We were being treated like equals…but not out of respect, love, or even understanding. But out of fear for a race that could very well kill them."

"In other words…they grew worse with time," Lilac noted as he simply sighed and folded his arms.

"And because of that…I left," Blake spoke with finality, and the confidence in her statement made Lilac twinge a smirk. "I didn't want to aid in their violence, harming innocents or hurting humans regardless of how they saw us."

"Okay…I'm with you so far." Sun nodded his head. "But then why did you join Beacon Academy?"

"Because I wanted to do some good the best I can. With my skills from being in the White Fang…I decided to become a Huntress." Blake clarified, but she notably sighed as if she knew that whatever she said would still not excuse her actions. "So here I am, a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow."

As if to prove her point, and annoy Lilac further, she wiggled her cat ears underneath the black bow.

"So. You ever told your friends about this?" Sun asked, his tone shifting to fit the mood. However, he was met with her closing her eyes in resignation, and regret.

Something Lilac didn't let go of. If anything, he'd…been pretty patient these past two days. Since the school gave a weekly allowance for students, especially with Lien and, he could afford the stays at a few inns before meeting up with Blake again and following her around. Making sure she was okay, not lonely…and partially to annoy the heck out of Sun.

"I'm still confused, and you still haven't told me exactly what happened to make you skedaddle out of Beacon and away from your friends," Lilac noted as he pointed a finger at Blake, who glanced at him with confusion.

"Because you guessed it yourself, Lilac." Blake's pointed tone rose but she refused to make eye contact with Lilac. "My secret slipped…and now they know. Weiss knows about who I am…and now you do too."

"And?"

"H-huh?" Now at that, she seemed surprised to hear. Silly Blake, what did she think?

"And what if I know your secret now? Wasn't that the entire point of what I told you to do before?" Lilac leaned on the table, his elbows propped and palms holding his chin. He flicked a horse tail to the side, whacking Sun once who winced and groaned. "While I can only guess something happened to make you run away, I'm not…well, I'm not mad. Just a bit confused, and maybe an itsy-bitsy bit disappointed?"

"…that's not any better." Blake narrowed her eyes, quirking an eyebrow. "Why are you…being so patient with me?"

"Why wouldn't I be patient with you?"

"Because of what you told me and Weiss before." Blake pointed out, though her bravado and calmness from before turned to confusion. "You're the one who argued against us both, and I don't understand what makes you believe that the White Fang isn't wrong…but not right either. I don't want to work with the White Fang anymore…but why don't you hate me?"

"You think I'd hate you? Me? Lilac Sleipnir?" He scoffed with a hint of lighthearted banter, before jerking a thumb to his winking face. "In your dreams! I can't ever hate you, Blake! And I'm sure your team doesn't either!"

"That's…not likely." Blake looked down at her tea, though she frowned deeper.

"What? You didn't just leave and assume, did you?" Lilac pouted, but his voice layered with a sense of security.

"Well, what else was I supposed to do?" She once again raised her voice. "Weiss has a hatred for the White Fang, and I lied to my friends about this for too long…I probably won't be allowed back into Beacon Academy…and would they even accept me?"

"Okay, now your just being a silly billy." Lilac countered with a raised finger. "I can't speak for Weiss, that's up to her, but Ruby and Yang are your teammates and your friends. Heck, my team wouldn't even judge you for being a Faunus either!"

"…" Blake didn't say a word before she glanced at the horse Faunus with confusion. "I just don't understand."

"Understand what?" Lilac's smile turned downwards into pursed lips.

"Why did you follow me for two days straight? You left your team as well, and you've decided to stick with me. Why?" She seemed guarded for a moment, and Lilac couldn't' blame her. It's not like Lilac's pretty subtle about his views on the White Fang, however, mixed they may be in his point of view. But he already knew the answer. "Why do you even care about someone like me, when you criticize the White Fang the way you do?"

"…" Lilac remained silent, humming to himself as he folded his arms and closed his eyes in thought. She's not going to let this go, and it doesn't look like she's going to feel any better unless she's reminded why her friends genuinely cared about her. Or why he cares about her. "I guess…it's because of my parents."

Blake looked up with a lost look, while Sun rubbed his head with his tail in confusion. "You're…parents?"

Lilac nodded, his expression turning nostalgic and…sincere for once. "You said you were always at the front of every rally, right? Well, before we were even born my parents…advocated for Faunus Rights, but they never had the heart for violence or anything like that. They're both amazing, always trying to support Faunus equality as well as preventing violence on both sides. Plus, really good with magic tricks!"

He shifted in his seat, his expression turning neutral. "Still, they did get some flak. As much as they advocated and defended Faunus from human discrimination, they also spoke against Faunus's fighting back against the humans for the simple reason that hate just breeds more hate. Growing up with them, I never really participated in the rallies…but they always taught me to be open-minded and consider things from different points of view. Even if some of them can be…ugly and disappointing at first."

"They sound…like good people." Blake nodded, slowly but surely piecing it together, although Lilac knew she had more questions. "So, that explains why you disagreed with us both…"

"Yeah, I think it's awesome they taught ya that, but I'm not surprised." Sun grinned, all the same, patting Lilac on the back. "I mean, your parents supporting Faunus rights seems obvious."

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised." Lilac's mischievous grin complemented his flicking horse tail.

"Oh really?" Sun taunted with his casual smile, as he took a sip of his tea. "And why's that?"

"Because my parents aren't Faunus."

…

Oh, they are staring. Blake's widened expression and…gaping mouth nearly made Lilac snort and giggled uncontrollably, while Sun's spit-take left Lilac tilting his head with a grin and shaking his head while chuckling.

"W-wait…your parents aren't Faunus?" Blake was the first to ask as she leaned in with question and suspicion. "Or do you mean that one of your parents is human?"

"Nah, Nah, Nah! I mean that my mom and pops are both humans!" Lilac lifted his chin in pride, and yet his expression was still a sincere smile. How could he not? Those two are the most amazing people in the world!

"Both of them!?" Sun gawked as he slammed a hand on his table with a shocked expression. "How the heck did that work!? I mean…that does not make sense! Two humans don't just give birth to a Faunus!"

"And if a human and a Faunus even ever got married and together…the child would have to take the appearance and traits of the Faunus." Blake deduced, but her expression slowly dawned to a glint of discovery and bafflement. "Wait, if both your parents are human…and you're their son…"

"Then what would be the logical explanation?" Lilac tilted his head as he leaned with a teasing smile, and he widened it further when she furrowed her brow in slight annoyance.

…

"You're adopted…" Blake sighed, her head falling into her hand.

"Bingo." Lilac nodded, relaxed but also a bit more open as he continued to explain. "It's pretty jarring when two humans fight for Faunus rights and against violence in general. Now you understand why they both would get criticized…and why a Faunus child like me growing up in Mistral with human parents might…paint a bad picture for them."

Lilac frowned slightly, his times in Mistral not that pretty or pleasant. Mistral, despite being a commercial supermarket of a nation filled with villages and different classes of living, was far more lenient on Faunus compared to Atlas. Even so, it's still the second-most intolerant place of Faunus in more ways than one.

His parents were already getting flak for supporting Faunus' rights from the humans who questioned their decision-making, but it was even more frustrating to the young Faunus when the people that his parents were fighting for…turned on them and lashed out.

They were ungrateful. Lilac thought, and short-sighted. But he didn't hate them. Because his parents didn't raise him that way. They understood both sides of the argument, and Lilac adopted those ideas growing up.

Look at both sides, listen to what they have to say, and if they are both being stupid, you call them out on it!

He chuckled to himself at his pop's words. Of course, he looked at Blake and a hint of guilt and regret started to build up in her eyes. She finally looked Lilac in the eye for real, though only ever briefly.

"Whoa, that's, uh, real heavy there…" Sun commented as he took another sip, though his eyes were pretty surprised himself.

"Eh, Whatcha gonna do. It's not like I hold a grudge, so I can't say anything else." Lilac leaned on his chair, waiting for Blake's response. "But Blake, why do you think I told you all that jazz?"

Blake's pensive expression clearly showed her doubt, and she fidgeted with her hands before sighing. "I have an idea…"

"Because if my parents were willing to do all that for Faunus and willing to adopt me? I like to think that shows goodwill isn't dead between humans and Faunus!" Lilac explained with a rather determined and expressive grin. However, he dropped the flippant personality and decided to be sincere. "Blake, I'm sure Ruby and Yang aren't going to care whether you're a Faunus. And Weiss just needs to realize the world doesn't revolve around hate, so you're just fine!"

Blake listened intently, though her expression widened up with something Lilac called a spark.

"You're their teammate. You're our friend. Nothing's gonna change that!" Lilac flicked his horsetail eagerly, and yet his smile was refreshingly honest. He folds his arms and lets that sink in. He hopes that got through to Blake, even if a little bit.

And it did, as Blake looked solemn but…breathed a sigh as if releasing the tension, she had. Slowly, but surely, she let a small smirk on her lips. "I…would like to believe that Lilac…thanks."

"D'aww, shucks!" He rubs the back of his head, brightly grinning and waving it off. "So, does that mean you're coming with me to go back to your friends?"

…

She remained silent, though she looked away slightly…and Lilac tilted his head in confusion. "What?"

---

"LILAC! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU, MIDGET!?"

"Sable…you don't have to shout! And Language!"

"Fuck your language, Frey! LILAC, COME OVER HERE SO I CAN PUNCH YOU AND YOUR STUPID SMILING MUG!" Sable continues to charge down the sidewalk as he shouts into the streets Vale with a fury that Ragnar did not want to get in the way of.

Seriously, Shortstack…where the hell you run off to? Despite himself, he frowns in concern now. It has already been two days since Lilac disappeared, and everybody within the team has been panicking ever since. Especially since he disappeared on the same day Blake ended up running away.

"Man, where the heck could he be…?" Ragnar scratched the back of his head, frowning while he glances at the group.

"Truthfully, I do not understand what possessed him to have left in the middle of the night, but I suppose he'll explain when we find him." Frey nods while pushing up his glasses, though his cold frown looked scary to Ragnar.

"Y-yeah, and I hope we'll find Blake too…I just hope she's okay…" Ruby speaks out as she looks down concerned, though that is to be expected. She cups her hands around to form a small megaphone. "Blake~!

Ruby panicked the following day after Team RWBY's and SLFR's trip, and she was a flailing mess of concern. Both teams ended up searching all around Vale, looking for their respective members with concern and frustration. But…well, the first day, no one able to find him at all…and it doesn't help that Weiss kept doing her stupid, fuckin' sass every chance she got.

"Weiss, I don't want to be that kind of gal…but can't you help at least a little bit?" Yang turns to Weiss, quirking an eyebrow with folded arms.

Weiss rolls her eyes, though she doesn't say much at the moment before she sighs. "Oh, okay, you want me to help. Well, I think some people would be willing to help."

"Weiss, if you even bring up the police…" Frey speaks with a stern and yet tense voice, making Weiss snap her gaze to him…and shutting up for once.

"H-hey, it's just an idea…! I'm not asking for anything drastic…" Weiss tried to make her argument, averting her eyes to the ground, dignified and yet clearly not as aggravated.

Yet again, another thing that Ragnar's dying to find out is what's the deal between these two.

Frey's been worried sick, and surprisingly enough he's been beating himself over the head about losing track of Lilac. He seemed to be disappointed with himself…though from his silent and cold expression, it's more than just that.

Because he's keeping his distance from Weiss for reasons that Ragnar didn't need to know, but then again he ain't in a happy mood either way. To be fair, nobody except a fair few are happy with Weiss now. Ruby and Yang are trying to be easy on her, because no shit.

But Sable?

"Yeah, like we can trust you not to blow it out of fuckin' proportion," Sable growls ahead of them, still stomping off. "Seriously…where could they be!?"

He's noticeably more volatile these days. Especially after what happened with Lilac and Weiss's outburst. If anything, it shows in his stomps and scowl, particularly with Ruby at his side trying to keep an eye on him…and making sure he does not sucker-punch somebody in the schnoz.

It has happened before. Ragnar snorts, although half out of amusement and the other out of sarcasm.

"Sable, calm down. We'll find them sooner or later!" Ruby jumps to pat him on the back in assurance, though she had a nervous grin.

"And when we do, we just need to ask Blake to explain herself, and hopefully Lilac will be with her as well." Yang nodded in agreement, following the two.

"And Weiss will have some words to say to Blake, won't you?" As if to make a point, Frey glares pointedly at Weiss who averted her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure the Ice Queen's going to apologize over something she did wrong." Ragnar follows behind them, rolling his eyes and waving them off. "It's not like she has any sense of humility."

"On the contrary! I like to think she's as humble as a mighty oak!"

"See, I don't think that's exactly a better comparison…" Ragnar shakes his head, throwing his head back in a laugh before hitching it.

Same for everybody else as they stopped in their tracks and turned around in surprise to see…Penny.

"Gah, Penny what are you doing here!?" Ruby stammers out with surprise and some nerve to her voice.

…the fuck is she doing here? Ragnar had to bite back a groan and a harsh sigh, though he did reflexively frown at her appearance now. Seriously? How long has she been following them?

"Ah, hey everybody~! What are you all up to?" Penny waves her hand in greeting, only casually glancing to Ragnar for a moment…and somehow having a brief flash of a smile at him. How odd, considering Ragnar's not even trying to hold in a smile.

He's just…frowning like shit.

"Uhhh…" Ruby for a moment stutters out.

"We're looking for our friend Blake." Yang steps in with a hand at her hip.

"And that bastard midget." Sable groans out as he cricks his neck, before noting Penny's tilted expression. He deadpans, before sighing and explaining. "I'm talking about Lilac."

"Oh~! Understood!" Penny nods in understanding. "You're looking for your Faunus friends!"

…

"Excuse me? How did you know that?" Weiss has a questioning look, if only briefly.

"Um…the cat ears?" Penny points to her head where the ears on top would have been, and Ragnar's head falls to his hand.

Yang let out a small chuckle. "What cat ears? She wears a…bow…"

…

…

"Yang, girl." Ragnar steps back before he leans into her ear conspiratorially. "It wasn't that hard to tell."

"Oh, shut up, Perry." Yang rolls her eyes with an annoyed sigh.

Ruby looks up in thought. "She does like tuna a lot…"

"And it explains the iffy stares she keeps giving me…" Sable folds his arms, bringing a small nod as he frowns softly.

"Hmph, that's just everybody who has the dreadful luck of meeting you." Weiss huffs with a smug smirk.

"Oh, right, because the Ice Queen who scared off her teammate has any right to judge me?" Sable arches an eyebrow, shutting down her argument as she flinches and yet averts her gaze with a small frown.

"Ahem." Frey coughs into his throat, taking the moment to cut before tensions worsen already. "Regardless, Penny, I assume you are here to join us in our efforts?"

"Of course! Ruby's friends are also my friends, and friends help each other, right?" Penny jumps once before grinning brightly with jubilee…

Kill me. Kill me right now. Ragnar deadpans with a twitching eyebrow, as he feels a nudge on his shoulder courtesy of Yang.

"Your cousin is a bundle of sunshine. Ain't she?" Yang grins teasingly, winking almost conspiratorially.

"Oh, shut up, Yang," Ragnar remarks with a snarky grin, rolling his eyes. It's times like these that make things a bit livelier.

"W-well, I'd be happy if you wanted to help. We haven't seen her since Friday." Ruby admits with a small nervous smile.

"That's terrible!" Penny puts her hands to her face as she gasps, before approaching an uncomfortably nervous Ruby. "Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!"

"U-Uh…that's nice of you, Penny…" Ruby keeps a small shaky smile, although she turns to Ragnar with a 'help me' look. "B-But you can help us look for her with your cousin, r-right?"

…

WHY THE HELL ARE YOU PASSING HER OFF TO ME, YO!? Ragnar is struck with a rather frozen expression, hanging jaw and all that as his eyes twitch.

"Oh! Sure!" Penny nods with seemingly no problem, or even any distance as she then approaches Ragnar, before holding his hand and…dragging him away!?

"Wait, what, hell no, let me go!" Ragnar resists, albeit he doesn't do much else as he needs to keep appearances in front of Penny and the others…as Frey is sighing with an apologetic wave and Sable's snide smirk as he gives a two-finger salute. "YOU TRAITORS~!"

Ugh…da hell did I do to deserve this…? Ragnar groaned as he was dragged away on his feet…before turning his head to see Penny. She's…surprisingly serious at the moment. Does she want to help Ruby? Despite knowing what she is?

…

Tch… Ragnar clicks his teeth but has a small…sad frown. What…makes her so special to the Doc? What's the reason…?

Honestly…I couldn't give less of a shit…

---

Blake found herself a bit more pensive, albeit a bit suspicious of certain circumstances. However, her soft frown was clear as she walked alongside Sun and Lilac down an alleyway. It isn't particularly grimy, even for Vale standards…but she does have rather conflicted thoughts now.

Adopted by two humans…and raised like a family member all the same… Admittedly, to Blake, who had worked with the White Fang most of her life…such an idea or concept felt foreign to her. She still isn't sure about going back to her team, especially with Weiss most likely harboring some resentment towards her…

And perhaps she might not…but she does not want to make any decisions that she'll regret. She has already done enough. For now, Blake needed to focus on her doubts.

"So…what's the sitch?" That child-like tone came from Lilac, whose tail flicked back and forth with an expectant twitch. His face was surprisingly easy going…even if he was also focused squarely on Blake.

Thankfully, Blake manages to hide her growing thoughts to explain. "Well, I just find it hard to believe that the White Fang is behind all these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before."

"Seriously? The terrorist never needed that much Dust?" Lilac half-lids his eyes with a grin.

"You have to understand Lilac, while Dust is important to Remnant…the White Fang doesn't focus on robbing stores from Dust. Especially if they are open to the public. They are people advocating and fighting for their kind…not petty robbers." Blake explains with folded arms, although she finds it hard to defend the White Fang.

"Wait…what if they did?" Sun breathed out with widened eyes, but he paces in front of the two as he continues. "I mean…Lilac's right about one thing, they never had to before, and they are too busy being self-aggrandizing revolutionaries to steal from stores!"

"Yeah, I mean, it's not cops and robbers!" Lilac puts his hand to his sides as he chuckles giddily. "I mean, unless they are actively trying to make it look like they didn't do it. Right?"

"But they said they couldn't find any traces of who stole the Dust." Blakes cups her chin in thought.

"True, True, but then figure this!" Sun put up his two fingers and pointed to Blake and Lilac. "The only way for us to prove they didn't do it…would be to go to the place where they would likely be if they did, and not find them there!"

That's… For a moment she considered it…but that still unnerved her for reasons. She knows they are violent, but the White Fang aren't robbers…and the idea that they could be is contradictory.

"He-hey~! Guess even the monkey man can come up with a good plan!" Lilac laughs it off with a nudge to Blake, who sighs with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey, living in Vacuo, you're bound to be clever to avoid getting robbed!" Sun defended with a shrug and a small huff.

"Okay…but then where would that be? It's too vague a theory to pinpoint their location." Blake once again has her doubts…albeit rather concerning ones. Sun's theory does bring up important points, but she doesn't want to admit them to be immediately true.

"That's where I got you covered! See, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas." Sun explains with folded arms and a laid-back smirk.

"Huge?" Lilac quirks an eyebrow with a twitch.

"Huge. Like 'Schnee Company freighter' huge!" Sun emphasizes by pulling his hands wide around him.

"Eh, I've seen huger!" Lilac shrugs with a smug chuckle, although he does keep his expression rather tightly knit. "But if what you say is true then…"

"We should find the hangar where they could be…" Blake nods in agreement, almost in agreement all the same.

"Alrighty-then!" Lilac kicks his foot forwards in excitement, as he sprints ahead, looking back to Blake. "Then let's make sure we stop whoever's behind this game of cat and mouse!"

"Dude, it's 'cops and robbers'! You said it yourself." Suns shakes his head as he charges.

Blake sighs in resignation, but she allows herself a determined stare as she follows them both at an even speed. Sun's clever, she'll admit that…and Lilac is surprisingly being supportive about this entire plan.

Either way, Blake is grateful. At least she won't be fighting alone.

---

"Oh, sorry dears…I have seen no such Faunus around the shop." The elderly woman behind the counter fiddles with her hair bun, although she bows apologetically.

Once again…no such luck. Frey refrains a sigh, as he instead tries to smile courteously as he bows. "I see, well, thank you for cooperating all the same, ma'am."

"No, No, it was my pleasure!"

Frey nods with a smile, turning his back as he exits the store. However, he briefly glances at Weiss, who had been following her most of the time here. He briefly frowns before he opens the door.

Weiss…you still don't get it? He thought he knew her better, or rather, he thought that Weiss was better than to let prejudices take over her rational judgment. However, he refused to see her as such…but he was constantly reminded when she brings up the topic of Blake.

She's still raised by Jacque Schnee. A part of himself frowned softly as he paced the sidewalk with Weiss following behind, his calm expression gone. Weiss is better than this, Frey knows it. But he can't help but be disappointed in her, after the effort to get to know her teammates.

And she still seems to not understand. You can't denounce an entire organization as inherently malicious individuals, but you cannot deny the faith and trust you had in your teammate. Such a concept is unbecoming of a Huntsman-in-training.

It isn't what my father fought for.

"Frey!" Suddenly, Weiss's called out to him as he noticed he had been a tad ahead of her.

For a moment, he turns his head to see her head…and while she averted her gaze from him…she seemed less than concerned and nonchalant. He frowns softly as he turns and folds his arms.

She takes a shallow breath before turning to Frey with what seemed to be her attempt at being dignified. "Look, I don't want you to misunderstand."

"What is there that I am misunderstanding? You and Blake had an argument, which certainly got heated, and from what little information I gathered over the past two days…you still haven't changed your mind over what you said." Frey retorted with a soft frown, almost scowling softly with stern sapphire orbs.

"You don't even know what I said, Frey. You of all people should understand why I'm not in such a rush to find the run-away." Weiss remarks as she steps forward once.

"That 'run-away' is your teammate…and Why? Because she's a Faunus?" He doesn't move, but his stalwart appearance doesn't falter.

"Because she's a Faunus who worked with the White Fang!" Weiss huffed, although she had her own narrowed expression. "The people who have the biggest grudge against my family, me included!"

"And because of that, you need to condemn her for being part of it?" Frey shakes his head, disappointed and fed up. "Blake is inquisitive, and perhaps stand-offish, but most certainly not a terrorist from her actions."

"Yeah, maybe that's what she wants us to see." Weiss raises her voice, and her expression flashed with cold indignation. "For all we know, she might not even be innocent! What actions has she done to people who accuse the Faunus? Answer that, Frey, because I know exactly what the White Fang did to my family!"

"…" At that, Frey simply remained silent…although his frown loosens up, his brow softening its stalwart gaze.

"…why are you so insistent on finding her? And…why have you been distant?" Weiss looks down, frowning and yet…frustrated with how Frey has been acting. Something that he seems to catch on, although who could blame her?

Frey agreed to not bring her family into their discussions to not let it affect their partnership…but it seems that talk of her family is heavily rooted in this subject matter.

"Weiss." Frey sighs softly, his expression turning slacked and yet sympathetic. "I will not claim to understand how much hardship you may have endured, and I will not push you to tell me. However, what I can understand…is feeling suspicious of a former comrade for not being honest."

Weiss bites her lip and closes her eyes as she lets Frey continue.

"But…I want to hear what Blake has to say for herself, before making any quick judgments of her character at all costs." Frey looks to her eyes, although he looks stern and steeled. "And I hoped you could do the same."

"…I'm trying." Weiss bitterly admits, as she turns away and walks down the side-walk yet again. "But the innocent hardly ever run, now do they?"

…

Frey looks at her retreating back and sighs as he readjusts his glasses…before having a saddened expression. His steps are heavy with sympathy, although also pained. "I suppose…you bring up a valid point."

---

"Gah!" Sable throws up his arms once again in frustration, stuffing his hands into his pockets as a scowl forms on his young, but rugged brow. "Of all the days he could have up and vanish, it had to be for two days straight!? I swear if I find him drowning in some puddle when I find him I am going to lose my shit!"

"That's kinda morbid…and language." Ruby sighs as she mutters quietly, although she's just as demoralized by the lack of success in their search for Lilac and Blake.

Ruby didn't know what to think when Blake just ran off…and to be fair, she still doesn't know what or who Blake is. She didn't leave any notes or an explanation about why she ran off. All she knows is that Weiss is mad at Blake, and now Sable's in a more huffy mood than he usually is.

Ruby fails to understand just what's going on inside his head, and that's sort of affecting her mood.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that for like the 6th time, short-stack…no need to keep reminding me when I spit them out." Sable rolls his shoulders before throwing an annoyed glance towards Ruby, although his scowl is replaced with a frown.

"R-right, I'm sorry…" She mutters out as she looks down at the ground, leaving the white wolf with silence…and her own saddened expression.

Sable glances to his side, looking down at Ruby, and closing his eyes before letting out a sigh. "So…when we find Blake, you gonna ask her any questions?"

"More like Weiss is going to interrogate her…she said something about not wanting to be pushed around. But the weirdest thing is she phrased it like…she was a part of that group…" Ruby keeps frowning in thought, although her expression looked sullen.

"…so you're telling me that there is a possibility that Blake could have been part of the White Fang?" Sable frowns, although he seems only mildly surprised.

Ruby lets out an exasperated breath. "I-I dunno, Sable, she just ran away before we could even get an explanation! A-And I'm worried because I don't know who she is anymore, or what this means for the rest of our team, and what will she say when she comes back!"

"Hey, Hey!" Sable exclaimed as she tried to calm her down as he stepped right in front of her. "Regardless of what she says, you can't let that change how you view her."

Ruby tried to take a few deep breaths, but she looked…a bit nervous and downcast. "I-I know…she's still our friend…but I'm worried Sable. You understand…right?"

Sable looked into her silver eyes as he looked down, before rubbing the back of his head and scoffing in frustration but also understanding. "Of course, I do, you idiot…"

Ruby looks a bit, grateful if also sympathetic as she looks at the distress on his face, mixed with frustration and panic. For a moment in her gut, she feels boiling guilt of misunderstanding. Especially considering Lilac's gone missing as well…

"The midget doesn't even leave a letter…" Sable kicks up a bit of dirt to the street, but he puts his hands to his hips as he leans back to see the sky…and Ruby notices a flash of realization in his eyes. "Wait…"

"Huh, what is it?"

"Blake and Lilac both went missing at the same time. That seems way too fishy for them to be just splitting up, let's say that." Sable turns to Ruby with a puzzled, albeit inquisitive gaze as he figures things out. "So, if those two left, and let's say Lilac happened to see Blake…then it's possible the two are together."

"Wait…are you saying that if we find Lilac…" Ruby has a small smile of hope.

"…then it's likely we'll catch the cat right in the act!" He pounds his fist into his open palm before he reveals his sharp-toothed grin.

If there were any moment that Ruby felt grateful to have Sable nearby, it would be this moment of genius. "Awesome sleuthing, Sable!"

Sable blinks, before cocking his head to the side with a cocky smirk. "That's awesome? I was just thinking shit through, you know that."

"Language, and still a bit cocky!" Ruby rolled her eyes, but she giggles softly all the same as she jumps up and down with hope. She jumps up and raises her hand for a high-five, which Sable gladly returns.

"Well…let's go get our teammates then!" Sable turns back to walking towards the sidewalk, but he nonetheless looks a bit more determined.

Ruby nods with a hopeful smile, as she runs towards him as well. Sable's right in some way, and she reminds herself that she's not the only one doing this alone.

---

Night falls, the chirping of crickets and the silence of the night grows deafening. All except for a silent hum, of which comes from the horse Faunus who lays flat on his stomach next to Blake.

"So…we just looking at the packages or what? What about the action?" Lilac remarks to Blake, who keeps herself looking at the crates with focused precision.

"There isn't activated until we find out exactly what happens. They offloaded the crates from the boat…but now they're just sitting there." Blake comments with a calm albeit tense voice.

"Aw…but this was supposed to be like the 'Super Spy Kim Bond' movie!" Lilac bemoans too loudly for his good, before being shushed by Blake.

"This isn't a movie Lilac…" Blake comments with a small glare, before looking at the crates in even more silence… "Besides…' Gentleman Spy James Possible' is the better choice."

"Wait, you saw that movie!?" He chucks up a snort, before rolling his eyes and flicking his tail eagerly. "The one where the spy and his lover both end up on a crashing boat to save the world?"

"Quiet…!" Blake hisses out a whisper, but she nonetheless has a barely noticeably embarrassed expression.

"Psstt!" Suddenly, as they hear a thud to their right, Lilac looks to Sun who crouches down next to them. "What'd I miss?"

Blake opened her mouth to talk before—"She's watched 'Gentleman Spy James Possible!'"

"Pfttttt!" Sun covers his mouth to hide his snickering snorts, although he almost fails before whispering. "Seriously!? That train-wreck…!?"

"I know, right…!?" Lilac giggles underneath his breath, even as he and Sun ignore Blakes' twitching brow and almost heavy glare. "I-I mean, it's just like…if you're going to be a gentleman, you could at least be smart about it!"

"Hey. You two." Blake raises her voice sternly, before narrowing her eyes. "Shush…!"

"Fine, Fine…friggin buzz kill." Lilac pouts softly as he goes back to watching the crates…before noticing and sniffing. "Wait…why does it smell like my favorite thing in the world around here, in this steel-covered dock?"

"Oh, I dunno," Sun looks to the side, as he holds a carrot in his right hand and offers it to Lilac. "Maybe because I got it for ya?"

Lilac gasps in silent surprise, with twinkling mauve eyes, as he takes the carrot and takes a bite out of it…before pinching his fingers together. "Delicious."

"…do you constantly break the law without a second thought." Blake just gives Sun a questioning look, while Lilac is caught in just enjoying the snack.

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun counters with a defensive smile before Blake heavily glares at him. "Okay, too soon!"

"Oh, gods…this is so good~!" Lilac squeals softly as he takes another bite of the carrot…before he feels a rush of the wind flapping his wavy hair away. "W-what!?"

At that, Lilac, Blake, and Sun both draw their attention upwards to witness a Bullhead's searchlights flashing around for a landing spot. It descends to the middle of the cargo containers and extends a ramp, where an individual walks down.

"No…" Blake breaths out in disbelief.

"…" Sun keeps a small frown, although he's sympathetic.

"Well…here they are…" Lilac, however, scowled heavily once he saw the individual's chrome mask, adorned with fangs for a menacing visage. Their black hoods hid their true features, and the white vest they wore along with ebony pants that were laced with belts for weapons. Holsters with rifles, and somehow even more prepared scowls behind that mask.

"Yes…it's…them." Blake nods in despair, her expression in sad disbelief.

"All right! Grab the tow cables." The White Fang soldier holds a rifle in his arms, commanding the rest of the members to come down from the ramp before they fall in line to follow their instructions. They acted organized and sadly did so without any question.

"You didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun remarks as he looks to Blake.

"No." Blake looks at the scene, and Lilac notices a flash of disappointment and sadness in her amber eyes. "Deep down…I think I knew. I just didn't want to be right…"

"Blake…" Lilac…slightly gets where she's coming from in some shape or form. At least, only so far as he would feel if friends disappointed him. He wasn't sympathizing with the White Fang any time soon. Even then, he scours the black-hooded members while he makes note of their numbers, before—

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" That voice is new, albeit rife with a pompous rushing to it, as a man with a bowl hat, bright orange bang hair covering one eye while he gestures his cane wildly walks down the ramp. Lilac widens his eyes, and for a moment he hears Blake's audible gasp…and that should come with the sight. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

So, the White Fang is working with a human thief? That's…completely cuckoo-bananas! He frowns in thought as he continues to keep an eye on Roman Torchwick.

"Blake…mind answering why the flappity-heck, is Roman Torchwick working with the White Fang?" Lilac remarks with a confused frown, although he leans his chin to his hand which is propped by his elbow. "Because, last time I check, the White Fang is a closely-knit Faunus bunch of terrorists. Not thieves."

"I-I…I don't know." Blake shakes her head, almost just as distressed and confused. "The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that."

"Gee, if I got called an animal for doing my job, even I would be uppity." Sun remarks with a whisper, although he doesn't get to say more as Blake unsheathes her Gambol Shroud, and walks off the edge of the roof. "Hey, what are you doing!?"

Lilac rolls his eyes and groans with a soft huff, as he unsheathes from his hips Surt and Njord, brandishing them in a reverse grip. "Welp, Sunny, let's back her up…!"

"Don't tell me your seriously—" Sun didn't get to say much until Lilac hopped off the roof, twirling and landing into a crouch alongside Blake. However, the black cat looked at him with a confused, albeit chiding glance.

"Lilac…" She starts, before Lilac presses a finger to his lips, telling her to pipe down and just nodding with a bright, mischievous grin.

He's not leaving her on her own anyway, and whatever that is supposed to mean to her, Lilac doesn't care to hear it. No friends left behind and all that, and it seems that Blake understood the message. She nods with a brief smile of gratitude, before nodding her head to where Roman was managing the White Fang members.

Lilac gives a mini salute, blinking as he tips the peaked hat on his head. For the moment, he swings his finger softly before gesturing to one of the other crates opposite where Roman is. Blake nods at this and seemingly sneaks behind to the container closest to the thief.

Lilac winks, before making his way with deft footing and a twirl over the air into the crate. Thankfully, nobody saw his wonderful moves; though if they did they'd certainly marvel at it.

Either way, Lilac just laid low as he watched Blake peeking around the corner. He waits for abated breath and focuses his eyes to get any valuable information.

It didn't matter who Blake was supposed to be before Beacon because to Lilac she was still a great friend who had to make it up to her team. Even if he must entertain her plan right now, Lilac will do it with a grin and a snicker of mischief.

Make a show of it and make a fool out of the dummies who try to beat them down.

Lilac repeated that in his head and keeps his Mauve eyes focused on their target.

---

"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" Roman shouts with a berating tone towards the Fanged member in the distance, tapping his cane to the ground with impatience before-

"What the—" A blade to his throat, gleaming ebony in the night, and crooking his head to see two amber orbs glaring at her along with a raven-haired young girl. "Oh, for f—"

"Nobody move!" She presses her blade to his throat, cutting into the skin and leaving a small drop of blood trailing down.

However, this does nothing to stop the White Fang members from readying their swords, and aiming their rifles square into Blake and the hostage Roman.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady." Roman chides with a soft patronizing tone, but now she has everyone's attention. As her eyes dart to Lilac, who gives a thumbs up from behind his crate, before splitting in…two?

Must be his semblance. She doesn't show but internally notes it as the second clone hides behind another crate, seemingly setting up an ambush.

However, now that every White Fang member continues to close in on her…she realizes that they won't listen unless she gives them a reason to.

It may be pointless…but I want to at least reach out to them… She sighs, as she keeps the blade pressed onto her hostage and uses the other to free the ribbon hiding her cat ears…leaving most of the White Fang members still and hesitant in their movements now.

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum!?" She raises her voice to rally up her former comrades in arms and seems hopeful as a few of them lower their weapons at this development.

It seemed that they still had a conscience and some agency…even if it was suppressed once again by Roman's mocking laughter. "Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"

Blake's eyes darted to Lilac and his clones from where they hid, and they peeked along with a nod. "Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation!"

Any more words were drowned under turbines blowing the wind wildly around the holdup, which prompted her to look above with confusion. She had been met with dread.

What…is this…?

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation." Roman remarks with a sardonic grin as they both look up…and Blake is left dumbfounded and horrified at how deep this runs.

At first, she only wanted to think that this was a small joint operation, however unlikely or frustrating it was. But not only is the White Fang working with scum like him…they had two bullheads aimed towards them with the intent to kill…and this entire situation confirmed her fears.

It wasn't until she heard Lilac's yell that she snapped back to reality, and snapped her eyes to Lilac and his doppelganger dashing from behind the cargo and sliding towards the nearest two White Fang members. One Lilac used his legs to sweeps the leg from behind, while the other jumped and brought his leg from high down to another member's head in an ax kick.

However, she hears Roman sigh. "Ugh, cats and horses…what is this the farm?"

And yet she noticed his smirk as she heard a cap opening, looks down in time to see his cane aimed at her feet—

---

"Huh!?" Sable and Ruby turned around in time to hear the explosive sound that echoed, along with rising smoke coming from the docking bay just a few buildings away. Immediately, Sable scowled and had a look of mild concern. "Fuck, that sounds bad…!"

"Yeah!" Ruby nodded, and without any pause, the two of them dashed towards the smoke. Before Ruby bumps once again into someone, falling onto the ground.

Sable paused as he stopped, before turning to Ruby with a look of confusion, and…sighs softly with a raised brow.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Ruby immediately gets off of the person she bumped into before pausing and blinks as she notices it's Penny.

"Oh, hello, friend!" Penny waves a hand with seemingly no problem, although she also looks to be a bit calmer and more pensive.

Ruby offers her a hand up, and Penny took it slowly. "Oh, hey Penny…u-um, hey, what are you doing here alone? I thought you were with Ragnar?"

"Oh, right!" Penny blinks for a moment, before tilting her head and sheepishly chuckling. "Ragnar told me that he needed to do something important, and…sort of left me here!"

Immediately her sentence is followed by a hiccup, confusing Ruby and Sable but they both looked confused all the same. "O…kay? Where did he go then?"

"Oh, uh, I dunno!" Penny shakes her head frantically, although Sable notices no hiccup at the moment curiously. "Anyways, where are you all going? To the fireworks display?"

"Those are not fireworks, Penny, that's smoke. And nothing good ever comes from smoke like that." Sable points towards it with a frown, although he folds his arms. "You coming with us or not?"

"Wait, Sable, are you sure?" Ruby tilts her head in soft concern.

"It's okay, Ruby, my friend! I am combat ready!" Once again, Penny repeats it with a smile as

she salutes it.

"See? She's combat-ready, I'm sure she can kick some ass." Sable waves it off with a nonchalant smirk as he dashes forward and towards the smoke.

"Wha—wait, Sable, how can you be sure!?" Ruby dashes to catch up to him.

"Hey, new friend! Where exactly are we going?" Penny follows them with a bright innocent smile.

---

Crapbaskets on a rosy carrousel! Lilac rolled away just in time before the blast could leave any holes in his new suit, or even the cape…although the cemented ground was way too hard for his tastes! He still has a few scuffs on his amethyst purple suit! The black cape's at least a bit less than tattered, so there's that…

However, as he was caught up in these thoughts, after coughing up the smoke left in his lungs, he realizes that he seems to be caught in the middle of a bunch of White Fang members, with swords and rifles aimed at him with no intent to hold back.

"Stand down! We don't want to hurt you!" A member with a rifle aims it, however, his voice seems demanding with a hint of urgency.

Lilac rolls his eyes as he dons Surt and Njord in their reverse grip, crimson and cyan blades gleaming with the intent to burn and cleave. He has a mischievous smirk for the moment, although his eyes are determined and shining a mauve fire. "Says the Faunus with a broken gun!"

"What…? What do you mean, broken gu—" The member couldn't finish before being kicked in the nads from behind by another Lilac.

"Oops! I meant broken 'nads!" Lilac chuckles as he shrugs, before suddenly getting shot right in the chest by one of the members. Lilac clutches his chest softly, however seemingly no blood or even any Aura got cracked or shattered. "Gah! Oh, no I am forever doomed to be free from this mortal coil~!"

The Lilac in question, however, flashed a wide grin before disappearing in royal purple wisps, leaving most of the White Fang confused, before the real Lilac goes to take them out one-by-one.

Lilac dashes to the nearest one on his right, weaving his body and hopping through the terrorists swinging blade before landing on top of it and giving a rising kick to the chin. He lands on both feet, ducking underneath another member's wide-swing, and clashing it with his bowie knives, before disarming him with a twist and then kicking him repeatedly in the chest.

He flips backward before gesturing to the other members that remained. "Alright, who else is ready to get a good ol' spanking from Daddy Lilac!?"

His grin is paused with the sound of flaming missiles fired, turning to his left and noting Blake avoiding the swings of Roman's cane, before leaving an afterimage of hers out of the way as she retreats behind the containers.

"Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty…!" Roman approaches the crates with a taunting gesture before he's interrupted by a splat on his head. Lilac could barely hold in his snickers, the banana peel stuck on Roman's hat.

Roman growls with annoyance as he tosses the peel aside and looks up at the assailant.

"Woohoo!" Lilac turns to that voice, and for a moment grins as if exasperated but also confident in who that came from. The Monkey Faunus leaps from the container above Roman, dropping down on him feet-first into his face, before jumping off it and rolling onto the ground. He lands on his feet next to Lilac, before remarking with a pointed finger. "Leave her alone!"

"Dude, where the hell were you?" Lilac nudges with his elbow to the Monkey Faunus, not intent on giving him any more credit the 'epic line'. "Mrs. Black Cat and I have been over here working our butts off, and now you show up to take the glory? I know you're a thief, but stealing somebody's spotlight is pretty rude ya know?"

"Hey, I needed to time it right, considering Mr. Eye-liner here was constantly shooting out rockets! I'm not trying to get fried here, I'm trying to kick some ass!" Sun defends himself with a shrug, grinning.

"Right~! Because clearly, you knocked Mr. Spends-too-much-time-on-his-hair out!" Lilac remarks with a sardonic flick of his tail, before gesturing to the still conscious albeit glaring Roman. "Oh, right, you didn't! Because he's still up and standing like a Cerulean's Magazine Model!"

"Hey!" Roman shouted at them both, before seemingly clearing his throat and snapping his fingers. At that, a Bullhead lands, and out from the ramp comes out another legion of White Fang soldiers with bladed sabers. "It's not entirely humble to banter in the middle of your crime scene!"

"Huh, well, looks pretty bad." Lilac deadpans with a blank expression as he puts a hand to his forehead as he scans the White Fang members swinging their blades in intimidation.

"…hey, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sun remarks with a whisper, back-to-back with Lilac.

"Don't tell me, we're gonna kick there heiny?"

"Yep."

"You gonna beat them like a Vacuan drum with a good wha-bam?"

"Definitely."

"While I go kick them right in the 'nads with the fury of a multi-legged horse!?" Lilac giggles manically at that idea.

"…I think you may have a problem with that, but uh…yeah! You do you!" Sun remarks with an awkward expression but focuses on a martial stance.

…

"BRING IT ON!" Lilac shouts with a wide grin, dashing forwards to the nearest grunt, launching arcing kicks with flurry strikes of his knives. He clashes with two grunts that swung their sword before they both sliced downwards to hit Lilac, who simply leaped and ducked underneath it before grabbing the back of their hoods and pulls them forward as he rolls. They hit the cargo on their backs, and are knocked out at first.

Lilac whistles softly, before he hears roars from two other grunts and sighs as he cartwheels away from two singing blades.

The grunts recover their stance, before tilting their head when they see that there are two of them again.

"What's the matter? Never seen a pony show before?" One of the Lilac's spits out a raspberry while poking out their tongue.

"Ha! These goobers can't tell a pony show from an actual circus show!" Lilac 2.0 waves it off with a cocky smirk, before mockingly slapping his heiny. "Go ahead and try to pin the tail on this horse, ya goofs!"

"Grrrrr!" The two White Fang members growl out with anger and frustration before they swing their sabers in succession and combo against the Lilacs.

However, both Lilacs twist and dance around their opponents like a bunch of dancers, although they also clash with their knives and seemingly get the upper hand. A combo move between the Lilac's turned out to be that as they swing a flurry of strikes, and launch arching kicks to the grunts, who fail to keep up with the confusion and the speed of Lilac's flurry of mauve performance. Soon enough, they finish with a jumping drop-kick and launch the two grunts over the air and right splat onto the wall of a cargo…and sliding down as with a grunt.

Meanwhile, with Sun, he doesn't have any weapon ready but manages to dodge slashes from the members, while launching backhands and front kicks to the members that get too close within his range. He sees an incoming sword slash, before rolling away and skidding to a stop with a whooping laugh.

He pulls out a collapsible red staff, adorned with golden engraving along the length, and somehow segmented in three pieces. Then, as more grunts charge at him with the intent to kill, he spins his staff behind him before using one end to beat down the crowd with precise and flexible reach. A dancing wisp of fire at the end of the staff burns his opponents, giving him the appearance of a flaming warrior. However, he swings his staff downwards to deliver a scorching shockwave to the group leaving the last of the White Fang knocked out and out of commission.

Lilac manages to take out a few of the last White Fang grunts, before noticing Blake peering over from the corner of the container. He nods at her to get ready, and then brandishes his knives towards Roman Torchwick.

He stands next to Sun before whispering. "Alrighty, now we got the boss to deal with…so what do we do now?"

"What else, horsie? We mess his pretty face up!" Sun chuckles as he contracts his collapsible staff again and wields it.

"Ha! True that!"

Roman on the other hand growls in frustration, before aiming his can towards the two Faunus, firing a shot that Sun manages to block with ease.

"He's mine!" Blake shouts from behind as she finally leaps into the action with haste and a look of frustrated desperation on her face.

Lilac watches as Blake blurs into afterimages as she swings Gambol Shroud, the cleaver hitting with heavy strikes, and the katana used deftly like a longer blade to sneak in at the openings that Roman left open. However, it seemed that Roman in comparison backed away but deflected every strike with his cane at a speed that only Lilac has ever seen with most experts. Blake grew desperate in her dashes and afterimages to find a weak spot until she finally lands a blow after distracting Roman with her semblance. She dashes for a thrust before an overhead cane swing hits her in the head, Roman recovers quickly and uses a set of blunt swings to Blake's body. Thankfully, she manages to use an after image to flip away, and the two weapons clash again.

However, that opening was all Roman needed as he jabbed her in the side with his cane. His laughter echoes as he launches a more blunt swing onto Blake for one final beating to the head and causes her to go down on her back away and next to Lilac.

"Oh, hell no!" Lilac stomps his feet onto the ground with a frown, before turning to Sun and nods with a fierce grin. "Double-team?"

"Let's dog-pile this sucker!" Sun remarks with a chuckle as the two Faunus dash forward, with Lilac taking the lead…and immediately making a second clone of himself with his Semblance.

Roman clicks his teeth with an arrogant smirk, as he clashes with Lilac's knives at first, having a slight speed advantage at first, with Lilac struggling at first as he deftly moves his hands. However, Lilac soon grins confidently as Sun joins in on the three-way clash between eh Lilac's, himself, and the bandit who was having trouble keeping up with all three of them.

Sun's collapsible staff splits into two spinning circles of flame-firing shotgun nun chucks, before firing off bursts of fire as he clashes with Roman's cane. Lilac's Surt and Njord clashed with the cane as well, bursts of arcing flame and torrential wind enhancing the flames as he continues to slash and arch his slashes with a mixture of acrobatic flips.

Roman manages to block a good chunk of all the attacks thrown at him, but he seems to be getting nicks and scratches to his blazing orange Aura. After all, Lilac hoped that three opponents at once are much for Roman to handle, but it's better than nothing to have Roman get nicked.

However, a millisecond pause was all it took before Lilac heard a shout as Blake lands one good slash in at Roman and knocks him back. Roman skids onto the ground, before noting a container hanging by a crane above the three warriors…and Lilac looks up as well before shouting, "Oh, crap-baskets!"

Roman fires his cane at the supports, and Lilac barely manages to dodge behind it alongside Blake, and Sun, but his clone stayed looking up with a dumb smile before widening its eyes and turning into a puff of purple smoke as it was crushed underneath.

Lilac rolls forward, gasping but breathing heavily. "Whew…that was close!"

"Nope." Lilac tenses up before sighing as he looks straight down the barrel of Roman's cane. "This is."

"HEY!" Before Roman could fire anything, they both have their attention drawn to that familiar voice.

To Lilac, he grinned brightly as he looked at Ruby, Sable, and Penny, who arrived on the rooftop aiming down at them with an extended Crescent Rose.

Sable had his revolver Hati aimed as well, and Penny stood in the back waiting generously for anything.

"Well, Well, Well, hello Red and Big Bad Wolf!" Roman waves his cane as he loses interest in Lilac. "Funny, what a sense of déjà vu at the moment. But the better question, isn't it past your bedtime?"

Lilac grins brightly upon seeing his leader back here, and even more so how wonderful it feels to have seen him working with Ruby. For the moment, however, he seemed lucky enough to have been saved from this scenario.

---

"Hey, Ruby, are these people your friends?"

Seriously, that's the question she asks? Sable rolls his eyes with a grumble, although he cranes his head toward her with a deadpan expression. "Do they look friendly to you?"

"…well, that man looks pretty well-dressed, is that friendly?" Penny asks with a beaming grin, causing a groan from Sable as he pinches his nose. However, she steps forward a bit. "Maybe we should say hi!"

"Penny, stay back!" Ruby turns to her, distracted for a moment.

However, Sable notices Roman snarling, before raising his cane. He shoots a missile from his cane and Sable widens his eyes for a moment as he dashes towards Ruby to duck and roll. "You idiot!"

Suddenly, the force from the explosion launches both of them away into the ground. This sends the Red Hood and White Wolf backward as Ruby lands on her back and Sable is skidding on his feet although his Aura takes a good amount of the damage.

Followed by that ass-hats cackle, Sable growls his teeth as he looks at Ruby. "Ya okay!?"

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm fine…" Ruby groans as she tries to stand up, although she notices that her scythe is gone. "W-what? Where did my baby go!?"

"Okay, Pause." Sable deadpans with a seemingly irritated expression before he notices Penny walking forward with a minor glare…and he quirks an eyebrow. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Penny, wait! Stop!" Ruby raises a hand, in a futile attempt, before Sable puts her hand down with his. "Sable?"

"Where's that spunk?" Sable remarks with a cock-sure grin, as he looks to Penny confidently. "Hey, you think you can handle it? I'll back you up!"

Penny turns her head towards them with a small but confident frown as she smirks. "Don't worry."

Suddenly, the backpack that Penny wore begins to whir as it opens up…and from its dark depths comes a single sword being lifted by what Sable notices to be a single thick string.

Wait. No. That's not one sword. Sable narrows his eyes, before being baffled by what he sees next. The neon sword extends and then multiplies into several blades, numbering between 10-15 single edges neon blades. They hovered by multiples strings behind Penny like a halo. She leaps from the rooftop, and uses the blades like wings, she sends three blades as she swings them with a wave of her hand to knock out two White Fang soldiers before she even touched the ground. Sable narrows his eyes closed, although he seems to be surprised by how easily she seems to be handling them.

Penny lands on her feet, before flinging her swords in an arc to slash one enemy back and impaling one of her singing blades through a soldier's shirt to the wall., and eventually create a barrier of spinning steel against a rush attack. Afterward, a soldier rushes at her before she bounces off her feet into a somersault and makes a wheel of her blades, throwing it at a crowd of enemies, knocking them off their feet.

Damn…she's fucking skilled…but how is she doing that? Sable widens his eyes briefly but has an excited smirk. However, he hears a squeal and turns towards the source of it.

Immediately, a scowl forms on his face.

"Sweet Sugary Cream Pie on a Platter!" Lilac shouts in awe with hands to his cheeks and surprisingly star-struck eyes. "That. Is. So. Cool! I didn't know Penny Gal knew how to do that crazy performance!"

"YO, FUCK-FACE!" Sable shouts from the rooftop, at the top of his lungs before Lilac flinches and turns his shaky head with an awkward smile. "WHAT. THE FUCK!"

"Ohhhhh…uhhhh hey~!" Lilac draws that out as he flicks his horsetail nervously but smiles all the same. "Buddy, leader, love of my life…how are you doing?"

The nerve of this fucking midget! That's what he's got to say after these past few days? Just a hello!?

"Where the hell have you been!? We've been looking for you for two straight days!" Sable screams at the top of his lungs for his voice to be heard, although his eyes are flaring with frustration and slight panic boiling. "And this is where we find you? In the middle of a shootout!?"

"Hey, in my defense, these guys shot first!" Lilac retorts with a yell and a shrug with a nonchalant smile.

"Grrr! Ya know what? Fuck it, just get out of the way!" Sable waves him to the other side of the docking harbor.

"Yeah, Yeah, I gotcha! Penny Gal is handling these goons!" Lilac waves back as he sprints away from the spectacle.

With that, Sable hears a whirring in the air as he finally notices three Bullheads hovering over the docking harbor…and open fire with their turrets, straight to the battle where Penny was. "Oh shit!"

Shit, Penny! He reflexively is ready to leap into action—

"Hya!" Penny forms a bladed shield, before launching two swords behind her, and using the wires to pull her out of the way as she skids. However, they swirl around her like bladed steel, and her neon-green eyes sharpen into a determined glint. She holds out a hand, and the tip of the blades open to reveal as they build up a large glowing ball of green light!?

"What." Sable starts.

"The." Sun continues as he is hiding behind one of the cargo.

"LANGUAGE!" Lilac suddenly calls out as he raises a finger.

Immediately, however, Penny rears back a fist and punches the glowing light…spreading forth bright lasers that crack the pavement underneath her into gravel. They fire at the transports and melting steel as it bisects each of them, causing the White Fang members inside them to fall.

Sable was surprisingly…shocked, to say the least. This is just Ragnar's cousin, right? It's not like he expected her to be useless in a fight…but she can shoot scorching lasers from her blades!? Since when could she do that!? He almost stepped back from the force of the explosions and even the power being thrown around, wind flapping at his open jacket and his goggles wrapped around his neck.

He sees Ruby rising to her feet from the corner of his sight, and even she is in awe at Penny's one-sided conquest against these enemies and Roman Torchwick's plan.

"Whoa…" Ruby breathes out her amazement, as Penny continues her assault. Bullheads try to fly away with the crate of Dust, however, Penny sends two swords to pierce its side, before pulling on said wires as she tugs at the aircraft with way too much strength. Somehow, for such a normal girl…she's pulling that aircraft like it was nothing!

"Whoa…how is she doing that?" Ruby mutters under her breath.

"THAT's WHAT I'M WONDERING!?" Sable shouts out suddenly, causing a yelp from Ruby.

However, for the most part, Sable is still surprised by how with enough strength, the Bullheads are pulled mid-flight and careening onto the floor, restrained. Seeing all of this, Sable is partially distracted as he notices the last transport flying off in the distance, with a Roman Torchwick. However, Sable growls underneath his breath at that.

Once again, Eyelashes escaped right under their noses…but at the same time, Sable doesn't even know what's going on!

Either way… Sable turns to Ruby, with a shrug albeit a relieved smirk. It seems that even she has one similar, and for a moment Sable shook his head in amusement.

At least from looking down at the dock harbor, they both see their teammates, Blake, Lilac, and Sun who looks around to check. Even Penny looks smiling as she salutes with a confident, and bright grin.

For a moment, Sable rubs the back of his head…and sighs in relief as he looks up. "What a fucking day."

---

After 2 hours, the police had arrived and were already clearing up the crime scene with the workforce. Sable currently laid down on one of the boxes, before looking to the side and noticing Ruby sitting on one while swaying her legs nervously. "You are good, shortie?"

"Mmmm…" Ruby pouts softly, but she nods with an awkward glint in her smile. "Y-Yeah, I'm just really nervous about what Weiss is going to say…"

"Hey, full disclosure, if she still has a problem with Blake after what she did against the White Fang? Fuck. That. Noise." Sable points out, rolling his eyes. Before he throws an annoyed glance towards Lilac. "And fuck you."

"Ouch! A little bit harsh after seeing your best bud again after two days, huh?" Lilac is just balancing on a small box, while Blake sits near him with a deadpan expression.

"To be fair, you also escaped…" Blake remarks with a raised eyebrow.

"Only because one of my pals was running away!" Lilac throws up his arms in defense, as he tries to chuckle bashfully. "Besides, it all worked out in the end! Our friends are back and we thwarted Mr. Bowl-hat's dastardly deeds!"

"Doesn't change the fact that he still ran away." Sun points out with a swaying monkey tail and an arm over his knee.

"Ran away, for now!" Lilac remained ever optimistic with a smug nod.

"Hmph." Sable huffs with a roll of his eyes, before grumbling. "Had me panicking and shit…"

"Panicking…?" Lilac leans in with a smug smile as he wiggles his eyebrows. "Is the Big Bad Wolf gonna be a big ol' softie again~?"

"S-shut up!" Sable bonks him on the head with his fist, before frowning and growling under his breath. However, this is met with a chuckle from Ruby, who shoots a minor glare, and she reacts with a whistle.

Suddenly, the group of 5 can hear the clacks of a heel, and footsteps coming from their direction…and Lilac has to refrain from a small frown as he sees Weiss with a stern expression. That's about it though, as he smiles a little bit at seeing Frey, who looks a bit less huffy and more…concerned, and expectant. Yang is right behind Ragnar, who looks to be frowning just as much and Lilac can already sense that something's going on.

"Ah, Weiss, hello! W-we can explain!" Ruby stammers through her words as she buzzes through them with slightly flailing hands at an approaching Weiss. "She explained the whole thing, see, she doesn't have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute…"

Weiss just ignores Ruby and lands her stern gaze onto Blake, and the tension in the air grew heavy with a seemingly construed hostility. Or at least, Sable looked like he's ready to punch Weiss in the face and Frey was right behind as he kept his squared glance to Weiss in anticipation.

The silence hung thick, and Blake took a deep breath while she cast her gaze down. Lilac noticed that she was even now trying to avoid looking at Weiss in the eye, and he waits for what may happen.

"Weiss," Blake begins as she raises her eyes to Weiss, calmer than before but also steeled. "I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. And after some discussion with—"

"Stop!" Weiss lifts a finger, before pinching the bridge of her nose, before taking a deep breath of her own. Although Lilac's horse tail flicked for a moment, and his face blank as he waited. "Twelve hours…twelve long hours, since we searched for you this morning. That's a considerable amount of time for me to think about this…and my answer?"

Everybody held their breath. Frey, Ruby, and Yang were worried; Sable arched his frown, and Lilac kept himself silent with folded arms, while Sun also looked between everybody as if out of place but also worried for his friend.

…

"I don't care."

Lilac blinked for a moment, before grinning brightly as he looked to Blake, who was equally surprised and baffled. "You…don't care? Really?"

"Yes, really," Weiss confirms with a firm nod.

"B-But you were so—"

"Ahp-bahp-bahp! Let me finish." Weiss silences her with a folded arm, although her eyes were less fueled by grudges and more by stern discipline. "You had enough time to talk to the jester over there."

"Hello~" Lilac playfully waves his hand.

"But you're not the only one who needed to talk to someone." For a moment she turns her head to Frey, who looked a bit more surprised but also relieved with a soft smile. Weiss nods in acknowledgment but huffs as she turns to Blake. "And from now on, I just need you to promise me one thing. Something big comes up, I want you to go to your…teammates."

The group watching had a variety of mixed reactions, from what Lilac could tell they were all positive.

Ruby and Yang were grinning ear-to-ear at Weiss, the one who has the most issues with Faunus and White Fang, setting aside her prejudice.

Sun looked nonchalant, but he seemed just as happy to hear that.

Sable rolled his eyes, although his frown was gone for now. He's usually the tougher nut to crack and considering his dynamic with Weiss, it's no surprise.

Frey's reaction was more noticeably brighter, and somehow Lilac could tell something else laid beneath that gentle smile of his, and his sapphire eyes held a certain regained respect for the Ice Queen.

Lilac himself grew a mischievous playful smile, and even more so when he notices Blake's reaction. One that for a moment, warms his heart.

She smiled and even wiped away a tear that was budding in the corner of her eye. However, she nods with a slightly relieved sigh. "I will."

With that, Wiess herself allows a soft smile of acknowledgment. Somehow, that one surprised everybody. Then again, the Ice Queen herself, known for being such a buzz kill is smiling without a hint of smugness or pride.

Nothing but admittedly a sliver of understanding.

"Yeah!" Ruby screams out with waving arms as she then hops off the crate and goes to hug both Blake and Weiss. Yang soon joins in on the group hug, leaving a baffled Weiss and a subtly smirking Blake. "Team RWBY's back together!"

However, that smile didn't last long until Blake pointed and glowered on Sun. "I'm still unsure how I feel about you!"

"Oh, Hehehehe…" Sun backs up a little bit, his laugh echoing with a tint of nervousness.

Lilac nods in affirmation as he jumps off his box and smiles for a moment. Although, the cuff of his shirt is lifted from behind, turning to see a stern-looking Sable. Oh boy.

"Sooo…if it helps, I was helping Blake!" Lilac shrugs nervously, although that only brings out a snort from Sable, and an amused chuckle from Frey, with Ragnar following behind.

"We know you were, dumbass. But you didn't even leave a note." Sable remarks as he shakes him up and down, although he taps his temple. "Not so clever now, aren't you?"

"Hehehehehe…" Lilac nods nervously, but he looks over to see a smirk on Sable's mug, before looking to Frey who has a kinder smile…and arching his brow at a distracted but frowning Ragnar. "Hmmm? Buster, what's going on with you? Ya look all gloomy?"

"Huh? Nuffin'." Ragnar shakes his head, his eyes darting around the docks, confusing his teammates. "Just making sure everything's up and snap."

"I suppose a lot of damage has occurred." Frey does nod with a hand to his chin. "However, aren't we missing one person?"

…

"Oh! Wait a minute…" Ruby suddenly raises her voice, and she looks around for a moment. "Where's Penny?"

Ragnar looked to Ruby, and shrugs for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know where she went."

"Ya know, that's what I've been meaning to ask." Sable arches an eyebrow as the group looks at Ragnar. "Ya know where she lived?"

"That's…actually, a good question dude…I didn't ask." Ragnar shakes his head with a nervous chuckle.

"You didn't bother asking where your cousin would be?"

"Hey, she was only staying over for the weekend! Maybe she just has to go ahead and pack up!" Ragnar lifts his hands as he defends himself, although Lilac could sense for a moment with his twitching brow…that there's more to that story.

Is he lying about something…? Once again, Lilac frowns in thought, although he doesn't seem to be too bothered by it. He wasn't gonna push Ragnar to reveal anything if he didn't want to.

Although, he sneaks a look at Blake who was being surrounded by her teammates. For a moment she catches his gaze, and for a brief moment she…nods with a grateful smile, however brief until it returned.

Lilac simply gave a wave and a bright grin, as she brightened up his day with that smile.

What a night.

---

The humming of a car engine permeated Penny's ears as she stared out the door window.

Ruby looks happy, excited even as she hops from place to place with her other friends. Her first friend is having fun with her friends. Penny almost feels the urge to go over there and hug them all, in the best way possible. Revel in the joy of saving her first friend's friend. Penny wanted to have fun with Ruby, and the other Faunus girl.

But… Her smile dies down to a saddened frown, as her eyes shifted to him. His tanned skin and platinum hair seemed to be truthfully resplendent, but she didn't feel like she'd be welcome with him around.

Not after the last two times, they were alone. He's…surprisingly different from how father always assumed him to be, but even then he always told Penny to be friendly as she always was. Her daughter.

But…somehow, he's certainly concerning.

"You should know better than to go running around in a strange city, young lady." Suddenly, from the front of the driver's seat, she hears her driver chiding her softly.

"I know sir…" Penny lowers her head, although the door window is raised. She's not supposed to be out yet…she knows that. However, she wanted to meet new people. Even if it was only for a few days, she still wanted to see them at least.

"Penny, your time will come." The driver remarks with a soft voice, although Penny nods in understanding.

Penny understands clearly…and she should talk to the General about this eventually. She met the independent project, the one they've been trying to find and monitor as well.

But to her, he's Ragnar Periwinkle…

Dr. Rok Periwinkle's Magnum Opus…

---

Shit, Shit, SHIT. Roman Torchwick cursed his shitty luck as he places down a crate filled with the little Dust that they managed to steal from that heist in the docks…

It was originally going to be 4 shipments of said Dust, straight from the Schnee Cargo's, and all he had to do was work with the Animals…!

But those kids put my plans up in smoke! Roman sighs, although it came out more of a groan as he just tightens his fist in frustration. However, for now, he felt also a tinge of fear and anticipation.

It's only a matter of time that lady comes in to check my progress, and as far as I'm concerned…it annoys the shit out of me… Roman scowls in frustration and fear, holding the Scroll in his gloved hand, as he fiddles with his cane on the right. For now, he looks patiently into it…

Ring Ring.

Roman widens his eyes and steps back almost as he looks to the name of his Scroll, and a sweat formed in his brow, running down his cheek as he gulps heavily and takes a deep breath. His breathing echoed in the empty warehouse and checks the time in his Scroll as it rings.

3:45 A.M.

Just 5 more minutes, I think that's enough time to bluff my way out…! Roman smirks to himself, although he feels somewhat nervous as he accepts the call, and holds it up to his ear before breathing in.

"Candle Wick." That heavy, deep, baritone voice. Dull, boring, and nonchalant all the same as well. Too calm for a moment, but Roman grits his teeth. He forces himself to don a smile.

"Never gonna let up the name, are you…?" Roman chuckles, all the same, trying to remain even. "S-so, what's this call about, Leviathan?"

Before he could get an answer…he hears the munching and grinding of teeth on something hard and cracking under the pressure. Roman rolls his eyes before asking. "Are you eating through the phone?"

"Sweet Potato Fries, you want some?" His voice was lax, although rugged all the same. "I could always get you some the next time."

"I'd rather not, thank you." Roman sighs.

"Suit yourself." His voice continues to relax before the baritone boom returns. "Now, what were we talking about?"

"We didn't talk about anything yet…but you were the one who called me." Roman paced around with bated breath, although he found it hard to take Leviathan seriously with these lax behaviors…

"Ah, yeah. Your Lien deposits have been coming up short, and you've been reluctant in meeting us in person." 'Leviathan' began with a curt edge to his tone. "Not to mention you have been more active in the past few months, and yet you haven't been bothering to catch up on your debt. The Family's not gonna be happy about this."

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry that I have to be working on my little enterprises." Roman rolls his eyes but keeps his tone apologetic and more importantly polite. "I'll make sure to get you the Lien you need for later, trust me."

"Your trust is running thin, Candle Wick." Leviathan keeps his voice edged, even if also exasperated. Not mad, or stern, just exasperated. That's the worst. "It's a two-way street. We allow you your own business to flourish, and you give us a cut of your profits."

"You think I don't know that?" Roman pinches the bridge of his nose, before twirling his cane with a noticeable scowl. "It's been getting pretty difficult running my business when all my men are incompetent buffoons!"

"Well, then why didn't you return them to Hei?"

"Because what else is that brute going to do with them? Run his club? Even he doesn't want any of their failures." Roman just growls unconsciously, before shutting himself up. "Besides, it's not like I can return them anymore—"

Roman hitches his breath, slipping that piece of information and clamming up…the other end of the line is silent.

"Candle Wick…what happened to Hei's men?" Leviathan asks with deceptive patience…although Roman can just imagine the bored look on this man's face…

"…tch…" Roman clicks his teeth as he paces around the warehouse and taps his chin in thought to come up with an excuse. He can't just tell him that he's working with the White Fang and other associates! It's already bad enough that Hei's men are incompetent, but getting beat up by two kids is just—

Wait…I can spin that… Roman lets himself a relieved cocksure smile. "Funny thing about that…"

3 minutes later.

"Two kid's interrupted your work, and that's why your men are gone?" That voice seemed unconvinced, but Roman was already tapping his foot on the edge.

"Two dreamers who want to be Huntsman, yeah, yeah," Roman explains with a nod. "Some red-hooded little girl and her mangy mutt of a Faunus."

"Crude words, but if that is the case, then I suppose I'll have to post-pone your deposit…for next week." The voice casually drops that bomb off, leaving Roman widening his eyes.

"Next week!? I can't make that!" Roman shouts into the phone, although he realizes his mistake.

"Well, then what do you suggest?" His voice echoed dangerously into Roman's head…and the thief hitched his breath…before sighing in resignation.

"I'll get it to you in two weeks…" Roman negotiates.

"At double your previous deposit."

"Fine!" Roman growls out, although he keeps his breathing slow, as he waits for an answer.

…

…

Beep~

He hung up on him…Roman lets out abated breath, although the sweat on his brow is thick as he takes a seat on the table and hunches over to take a breath.

The hell did I do…to get mixed up in this shit…

Suddenly, the sound of shutter doors opening startles the thief to straighten up. "How disappointing, Roman."

A sweet, sickly voice cut in from the darkness of the room, leaving Roman chuckling rather nervously…and frustrated at the fact that now she has to be here. The one who he's cooperating with. The one who suggested everything he needed to do for tonight's operation.

The bitch I must keep a secret from the Family… He holds in a scowl and instead holds in a welcoming taunting smile.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon," Roman speaks through antsy steps.

"And we were expecting…more from you." Her deep yellow eyes glowed rather deviously, and even more so with her disappointed voice. However, she seemed to be delighting in this mockery for a moment.

"Hey!" Roman snaps with a brief frown. "You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang!"

Returned with a dark chuckle, in her hand a spark of fire forms into an orb. And then she steps forward, with Roman already rolling his eyes as she becomes more clear finally. "And you will continue to do so."

Her hair was raven ebony, with a bang covering her left eye, however, her yellow right eye glows with a small blazing trailing over it. Right behind her are the kids, and even they look surprisingly smug for being her lackeys.

"We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is for a little…" The raven-haired enchantress smirks, a twinge of wickedness flashing. "Cooperation."

---

And finally, I managed to put this chapter out, but at the same time I finally mustered up the courage to write this one in particular.

I will say, I felt like most of my work was getting better ever since I started, but at the same time, I wanted to apologize for keeping everybody waiting for too long. However, at the cusp of graduation and the end of my school schedule for this year, I'm finally given enough time to focus on writing instead of homework.

So be excited for more of my work on this story and all future stories!

Okay, but for real, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I would appreciate a review and a follow!

This has been the Maelstrom, and I hope to see you on the horizon!