Volume 2 Chapter 5: First Blood

AN: So, here we are again, and on time if I get a say in things. Apologies for the low quality of last chapter – it was a bit rushed on my end. It won't happen again if I can help it.

Anyways, while Kassidy and co. have been living the good life at Beacon, the White Fang are still mobilizing. A fact that Kassidy can no longer ignore.

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"Alright… alright. I think we've finally caught up with Oobleck's class. Damn that guy for trying to cram three hours of material into fifty minutes of lecture."

Yang simply groaned in reply, her head slumped into her history textbook and her impressive amount of hair splayed out in all directions. Both blondes ignored the librarian shushing them. Their first exam was tomorrow, and the story this semester is identical to how it was last semester: learning a different planet's whole history was hard, especially when your teacher was Prof – Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck. While Combat Training was the same it was last semester, and Trigonometry was still laughably easy for her, this semester wasn't a complete cakewalk as both Grimm Studies and History were picking up the pace. Dust Studies – the new name for Applied Chemistry – and Physics weren't making her work load any lighter, either.

A waft of what had to be Yang's new peach-scented conditioner brought her thoughts from studies to her team. It seemed like Yang and Sun had worked things out – the monkey Faunus had even kept her occupied for an afternoon workout session when Kassidy needed more time to memorize the social dynamics in Ursa packs… because that would totally be a useful thing in her future career as a Huntress. Neptune had made his presence known once or twice more since that disastrous lunch a few days ago, and naturally, Weiss had become Yang's prime teasing target. Ruby's still, well, Ruby. The poor girl can't catch a break in class, and even with Kassidy and Weiss' help she's only been pulling average grades through the first week and a half of the semester. Though, it hasn't stopped her from suddenly claiming a spot in the top five of the Combat Training class' leaderboards, edging out Ren for the fifth place spot. She might be Yang's sister, but Kassidy couldn't help but feel like a sort of older sister to Ruby as well – maybe it was from how similar they were age wise, maybe it was from how far out of their depths they've been thrown, and actually dating Yang probably helped cement that idea.

"Is it time to head to dinner, yet?" Think of the devil, and she will speak. The lilac eyes shined with renewed fervor, probably of anticipation of the fact that they had plans to hit a popular burger place in Vale that evening.

Kassidy could only groan herself in reply, though. "We've still got that assignment in Grimm Studies to do. I swear, if half of it is recalling any more of his stories again…"

Yang groaned again before espousing, "This is so boring! Why couldn't I get a fun girlfriend that liked ditching homework for eating greasy burgers?"

Somehow, Kassidy managed to deadpan, "You should've gone to Weiss if you wanted fun." Their eyes locked, and they were able to keep straight faces for about a second before descending into giggles.

"Hey, um, excuse me?"

The sudden voice had Kassidy snapping her head up towards their guest. Red eyes and mint green hair greeted them, a dark complexion being only barely hidden by a gray and green top – and calling it a top was being generous. The woman who had interrupted them began, "I'm so sorry to bother you two, but I must have missed some notes in that last Grimm Studies class. Could I ask you to help a girl out?"

Yang perked up at the prospect of more people to make friends with. "Yeah, sure! Uh, I think. How good were your notes again, K?"

"Well, I mean, I do record the lectures," Kassidy muttered as she dug out her class notes, which only turned out to be roughly a third of a page of actual notes, followed by about four pages of code. She hastily had Bob start digging through her video archives for the lecture in question, before turning to their newest companion. "I'm Kassidy, by the way. The pretty one's Yang."

"Damn… I see what you mean," came a new voice. A guy whose fashion sense began and ended with gray came up past the girl and claimed a chair at the table they had all congregated at. "I'm Merc, that's Em."

"Ugh, didn't I tell you to wait at the table, Mercury?" Em groaned. Turning back to Yang and Kassidy, she said, "Sorry about my partner. He's pretty much insufferable, and the worst note-taker I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with." She fixed a glare on the guy at the table with that last statement, before resuming, "I think it had something to do with Boarbatusk weak points?"

"Pfft, do we really need to do this, Em?" Mercury asked. "I thought we were gonna have some fun out in the city tonight."

"You know we can't, Merc," Em chastised. "Teachers told us to stay out of the city while the White Fang's running amok."

Up until this point, Kassidy and Yang had been absentmindedly listening while digging through their notes. That last sentence, however, did well in gaining both their attentions. Kassidy, in particular, nearly shot out of her seat before all but exclaiming, "Whoa, whoa, what?! What's up with the White Fang now?"

Mercury raised an eyebrow at the outburst. "You haven't heard? The mutts have been running rampant in downtown, stealing a whole bunch of shit. Hell, I even heard they nabbed some Atlas equipment a couple nights ago."

"What kind of equipment?" Kassidy demanded.

Em shook her head, before answering, "Don't know for sure, just that from what I overheard from those troops they brought with them, they weren't too happy about it." She was content to leave it there, but tilted her head when Kassidy swore under her breath and started typing furiously on Bob's screen. "Uh, are you okay? What's the big deal?"

Kassidy didn't even bother looking up from her computer. "Let's just say that the White Fang and I… disagree. If they're hitting Atlas' stuff…"

A sudden hand tugging on her shoulder got her to finally look up, coming face to face with Yang giving her a soft smile that was at odds with her wide, beady eyes. "K, I'm sure it'll be fine. Ozpin said he's got some of his friends on it; between them, the police, and Ironwood's guys, they can probably handle it themselves."

That answer didn't fully convince Kassidy, who hemmed and hawed while continuing to switch her glances between Yang and Bob. "I don't know, Yang. If things are getting worse –"

"Then Ozpin'll take care of it." Yang grabbed Kassidy's hands and drug them from the computer's screen. "Didn't Uncle Qrow tell you not to worry about it? C'mon, K, you know it'll be fine." Kassidy huffed, but raised an eyebrow when Yang grew a sadistic grin. "If you ruin our date tonight with all your 'doom-and-gloom' stuff, I am not going to be a happy partner."

Giving one final sigh, Kassidy conceded, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I still want answers though, Bob. Use Code One protocols if you have to, capische? But other than that… yeah, you're right." Yang's smirk only grew after that admission, making Kassidy chuckle, "Again. Don't let it go to your head, firecracker."

"Are you two a thing?" Mercury asked. When they both nodded, Mercury hit the table and said, "Damn! I was really hoping to –"

"Yeah, no," Kassidy interrupted. Mercury raised his hands at the glare she shot his way.

"Ugh, don't worry about it, he does that with every girl he comes across pretty much," Emerald sighed. Suddenly sitting back up, she asked, "Hey, not to be pushy or anything, but –"

Yang sprang into action immediately. "Boarbatusk weak points! Yup, yup, sorry about that, almost forgot. Uhh, here they are! I think."

While Mercury and Em got to copying the notes, Kassidy managed to interject, "Hey, it's not in the notes, but personal experience says that some good armor-piercing ammunition can get through the skull if you get a nice, flat angle on it."

"Seriously? Good to know, I'll need to keep that in mind." Finishing some final scribbles and leaning back with a contented sigh, Emerald shot the two blondes a thumbs-up. "Thanks for the help, you were a real life-saver. Have fun tonight!"

"Don't worry, we will. Good luck on the assignment!" Yang sprang up, and after helping Kassidy out of their seat the two blondes gathered up their study materials and left the library.

Back at the table, Emerald sighed yet again as she slumped in her seat, while Mercury kicked his legs up on the table. "Ugh, how did Hottie end up falling for Miss Sleeps-With-Knives over there? Think they'll take the bait? Seems like they're gonna have some fun this evening."

Emerald smirked, "Nah, I could see it in Kassidy's eyes. She's not leaving it alone."

"Hook, line, and sinker," Mercury applauded. "Excellent work as always, Master Thief Manipulator."

"Ugh, cut it out, Merc." Emerald was about to play on her Scroll some, but a sudden thought caused her to sit up straight in her seat. "What do you think the odds are she'll run into Belladonna tonight?"

Mercury shrugged, "Eh, my money's on kitty cat. She has Munsell looking out for her, at any rate, she'll be fine. Eugh, how that guy gives me the creeps."

Emerald giggled, "You're just mad the Rosettes were the only ones that actually beat you in Combat Training over in Mistral."

"Hey, fuck those kids, and fuck that bullshit Semblance of theirs!"

Mercury winced as the librarian shushed them and shot them a dirty look.

"Holy crap this is good," Kassidy forced around a mouthful of bacon cheeseburger. "No wonder you like coming here. Why didn't you show me this place last semester?"

"Because someone was busy playing sourpuss," Yang smirked. Kassidy rolled her eyes and returned to the all-important task of stuffing her face.

Dinner was later than either of them expected, in no small part due to Weiss figuring out that they had, in fact, blown off the Grimm Studies assignment to try and get dinner early. I might enjoy Weiss as a study partner from time to time, but wow if that girl can ever pitch a fit when it comes to grades. Still, guess I have her to thank for a moonlit dinner… even if their moon isn't quite as romantic as the moon we had back on Earth.

Suddenly, Yang stood up from the outdoor table they were seated at, and said, "Hey, give me a minute? Need to hit the restroom."

"Don't hit it too hard, you'll hurt your hand. Or the toilet, more likely." Kassidy chuckled at the cute, playful way Yang's eyes narrowed before her partner dashed inside.

Unfortunately, peace and quiet were not to be hers as Bob spoke up. "I do believe I've narrowed down the search for missing Atlesian supplies, but none of the specifics have been released on publically available channels. I'll need your authorization to use the Code One protocols to find out the specifics."

"Switch to earpiece, no need to have anyone overhearing you," Kassidy snapped, keeping her voice hushed. Hastily, she added, "Enact limited Emergency Code One protocols, keyword: iconoclasm."

"Keyword accepted, Code One protocols in effect."

"And be careful this time around, the last thing I need is for the general to be more pissed off at me than he already is."

"Way ahead of you on that front. Can't beat me the same way twice. Um… I do believe I've found the problem."

Kassidy was about to ask for clarification, but had her attention arrested by a series of schematics being thrown up on Bob's screen. The title of 'Paladin' dominated the top of the file in big, bold letters. What attracted her interest was the designs themselves. "Hmm… rocket pods, infrared sensors, are those plasma cannons? And more servos, motors, and actuators than Ruby can shake a sniper scythe at. Looks like Atlas went and built themselves a bipedal tank when I wasn't looking. Sound about right?"

"It's worse than that. This is also the missing Atlesian tech… it seems like the White Fang somehow stole nearly two dozen of these Paladins."

"T… tw… two dozen?!" she hissed. Her face paled as she slumped back in her seat, her half-eaten burger forgotten. No… this is going to be Baton Rouge all over again. I can't. I can't allow it.

"Kassidy?" her computer prompted.

"To hell with what Qrow said," she spat. "I can't ignore this. Not anymore. Continue Code One protocols. We need to hit the White Fang, and we need to hit them now. Chat up my contacts if you have to, get me something I can use to slow these fuckers down."

A ringing bell told the story of Yang making her way back outside. Her smile faded, however, as she sat down and saw the look on Kassidy's face. "You still thinking about the White Fang?"

"Yeah," Kassidy admitted. She forced herself to start to eat the rest of her burger, if only to keep up appearances. "I know the guys above us are capable and all. I dunno, it doesn't feel right to sit around with my thumb up my butt, hoping nothing goes wrong."

"You think I like this either?" Yang asked. "Of course I want to do something about it. But I trust my uncle, I trust Ironwood, and I trust Ozpin to have a grip on things. And if push comes to shove, I trust my team to have my back, and so I won't go rushing in alone." Yang closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, and intense red looked at Kassidy. This didn't seem to be borne from anger, though, if the slight sheen of tears was anything to go by. "I want you to promise me, K. Promise me you'll leave this alone. Promise me that when the time to act does come, you come to us rather than try to do this alone."

"I promise, Yang," Kassidy lied. Shuddering a breath, she added, "I promise that I won't get over my head in this White Fang stuff. I'll… I'll make sure the team comes first." There, not a lie anymore. I know how to be careful, contrary to popular belief.

Yang closed her eyes again, and this time beautiful lilac was the color that greeted Kassidy's sight. "Okay, then. That's good enough for me."

It was towards the end of dinner that Bob spoke up again, in her earpiece this time. "I've found a frequency the White Fang's been using for communications. They're raiding a warehouse on the other side of the city in ninety minutes' time."

Yang managed to fit around the last of her fries, "Bob talking to you about something, partner?"

Kassidy thought about it a brief moment, then nodded. "One of my friends wants to talk – and no, let me stop you right there, not one of those friends." She sighed, but the way Yang's face fell almost broke all resolve. But I can't back out now. I'm sorry, Yang. I'm so sorry. This is something I have to do. "Do you… do you mind calling the night here? I promise, I'll be careful, but I don't know how long I'll be." Disarming the tension, she added, "If Ice Queen is gonna yell at anyone for being late, I'd rather it be me than you."

Yang exhaled, then nodded. "Fine by me. Don't tell me you're hoping to get away from me with just that, though."

They stood up and hugged. When they broke, they still held a grip on each other's hands, and looked in each other's eyes. Kassidy could see it plain as day in those lilac orbs: the desire for more, but also the fear, the hesitation. They each leaned forward for a moment, just a moment, before Kassidy shifted her head to rest on Yang's shoulder as they hugged again. Sorry, partner. After I as good as lied to you… it's for the best.

They pulled back and broke their contact, and Yang wasn't the only one disappointed by the lack of anything further. Still, they said their farewells, and went their separate ways. One blonde went to the airdocks, while the second went into an abandoned alleyway.

It was there that Kassidy went to work. She spoke quickly, southern lilt returning in full force. "Keep an ear on their comms, let me know when somethin' changes. I want a route and floor plans to the warehouse in question. And get my locker here – I ain't busting up a heist with my charmin' good looks."

"Done, done, and done," Bob announced. It only took a few minutes for her locker to arrive, and Kassidy was glad that, for once, she decided to keep her gear stored where they were supposed to be stored. Fighting with the metal cuirass that replaced her bulletproof vest, slipping on her new gloves, and ensuring both her weapons – as well as both regular and electric ammo – were strapped on, Kassidy found a way to climb to the roof of the building she was next to and began to cross the city. She had a long night ahead of her.

The muffled sound of a window breaking was what alerted Kassidy to the heist having begun. She peered out from behind her cover, just in time for a quintet of figures to make their way through the impromptu entrance. A sixth followed them, her hand reaching up to undo the bow on top of her head. Kassidy growled to herself, but resisted opening fire in favor of circling around the building. That window, she knew, was too high off the floor of the warehouse to use as an escape; they'd have to pick a door not too far from where the Dust was stored.

She slinked along the wall to the door in question, sitting just outside the field of view of anyone looking out. Kassidy popped the magazine out of Rogue, confirming for the thirteenth time that yes, she did indeed load a clip of Taser ammunition. Lying to Yang was bad enough; she'd rather not kill anyone she didn't need to. She steadied her breathing, slid her goggles over her eyes and activated her own nightvision, and waited for the telltale click. Easy, Smith. Any moment now, the guy will be checking to make sure their escape's clear. Any moment now…

The door clicked and eased open, a man in a black sleeveless hoodie, white vest, and white mask peeked out. Kassidy was tempted to taunt his obviously suspicious and incriminating clothing, but instead decided to hit his head with the hilt of her sword as hard as she could. A grunt was all that escaped before he fell to the ground. Showtime.

Rogue was not a weapon built for stealth; this was immediately obvious the instant it thundered and set a shot into the guy trying to stack crystals into a box. Kassidy cringed as hard as anyone at the pained yelps he gave as he fell, spasming, to the floor. The other four occupants were quick to react, however, dropping their loads, drawing pistols, and returning fire. Kassidy had to dive behind a reinforced crate to save herself from an early grave.

"Shit, it's the Immortal! We gotta get out of here!" Kassidy smirked at the nickname they had given her. I wouldn't go as far as 'immortal', but I appreciate the fact that I have a fan club now.

A female voice called out, a voice instantly recognized as belonging to Blake. "Get a hold of yourself, she's still just a human! She doesn't even have any Aura! Just don't go for her head!"

Alright, enough waiting around. Kassidy swung around the far side of the crate, and managed to squeeze off another shot before needing to duck back behind cover. At this moment, however, both Blake and another White Fang grunt leapt over the crate with blades drawn. Quickly shifting Rogue to her right hand, she pulled Baton out of its sheath and parried the first series of strikes.

Blake replied, however, by drawing her cleaver, striking back with more powerful blows that forced Kassidy out of her cover. She realized, too late, that the third Faunus would still be a gunner, and twisted herself to get a shot at the criminal in question. A duo of loud clangs thundered off Kassidy's side, and she got pushed off balance and onto the floor. Still, she managed to return fire, and the fourth White Fang member fell convulsing to the concrete.

Blake flipped back, and her sword's blade… fell backwards? Mecha-shift, Kassidy realized, as the hilt of the katana started spitting bullets at her, forcing her to yet again seek cover. The cat Faunus spat out, "Damnit, get out of here, Cyan! Mission's blown! Munsell, cover us!"

"Police are on their way to respond to the scene, by the way," Bob oh so helpfully informed.

When Blake's gun fell silent, Kassidy whipped around to take aim, only to find that they had already covered half the distance to the far side of the warehouse. She groaned, then set off to chase after them. It was a useless gesture, however, as the two White Fang members remaining managed to somehow leap high enough to make it out of the window they had entered through. She was about to try and get a shot by standing on some crates, but had that idea forcefully removed from her head when the one box had a giant hole blown in it. Fire Dust came spilling out, and Kassidy made sure to count her blessings that it didn't explode.

Kassidy turned back around, taking in the scene she left behind her: four White Fang grunts, some rolling on the ground and moaning, two outright unconscious, and zero Dust stolen. Deciding not to stick around to play a game of 'Whodunnit' with the local law enforcement, Kassidy found more use out of her grappling hook bracer, making her exit the same way Blake and Cyan did.

She was already halfway to the airdocks when the flashing lights and blaring sirens finally arrived at the warehouse, and the Vale Police Department found themselves confused at four White Fang members licking their wounds at the scene of the crime, roughly fifty thousand Lien's worth of Dust packaged up but ultimately unstolen, and no suspect to speak of as to their good Samaritan.

AN 2: Oh, look, it's the week that I promise no more late chapters, and what do we have here? Another late chapter! So sorry about that, work decided I needed to stay a good hour after my shift was supposed to end.

Obviously, things are heating up with the White Fang. And like Blake in canon, Kassidy can't help but get herself involved in the whole mess. Anyone want to place any bets on how long it'll take for something to go wrong?

Coming up next: Ehh… still need to work on that. I'll let you know about this time next week.

AgentDraakis: Trust me, my man, you've been contributing for a good while now. Still, that was pure comedy gold you wrote, there was no way I could conceivably think of my story without that scene. Complete with Paul Revere moment.

Firearm Legume: Honestly, I don't know enough about firearms to tell you specifics, just that Rogue isn't a Desert Eagle, just roughly similar to it in design. Keep in mind that Ironwood's pistol that he shows off in Volume 3 is basically a modernized, Atlas-ized version of Kassidy's pistol. RPG class? Going off of DND5E (because I've played way too much of that), Kassidy's that one asshole fighter that gets all the crossbow feats, max dexterity, and then proceeds to spam bolts everywhere. Come on, you know a guy who plays like that. And in case you don't, you do now, because I'm that asshole fighter character!

AndJrew76: Yeah, unfortunately, I'm having a hard time keeping up with the 2x/week uploads with the workload I have going on; a shame, too, because I was really hoping to continue with the old schedule.

FloriteFlower: Well, if it makes you feel any better, Bob basically kind of views Kassidy as his (its?) mother, considering that she "gave birth" to him in the form of programming him. Does that count as a ship? Probably not, but have a consolation prize regardless.

mcd3424: Sleep is something I can get behind. Especially if I can get a girl as hot as Yang to do it with.

Myrillis: Yeah, was wondering for a bit myself how I would handle the whole "Sun flirts with Blake except Kassidy is Blake and Yang is dating Kassidy" situation; that was the result. Don't feel a need to apologize for not reviewing; you owe me nothing. I'm just glad I can put out work that you enjoy. Yeah, studying's a b****, and bad news: it doesn't get any easier in college. I've been there more than once, and pulled more than one all-nighter to get stuff done. Hope your exams went well.

serioushugsies: Welcome to the madhouse! One size fits all straitjackets are to your left, and make sure to take the first unoccupied padded cell to your right. In all seriousness, glad to have you on board, and glad to hear you've enjoyed the story so far. Here's to hoping I can continue with the high expectations. As far why Kassidy is having a hard time gaining muscle… excellent question, one that I never gave a good answer to. I did say I would answer any and all questions regarding Kassidy (excepting one, but I will be beyond shocked if anyone asks it before it shows up in the story), and so the answer is: it's a side-effect of her augmentations. The resources that goes into basically giving her a healing factor are resources that aren't going to making her stronger.