Volume 2 Chapter 10: Painting the Town

AN: Well, here we are, that infamous night of Volume 2 is here! And no, I'm not talking the dance. Looks like it's up to Kassidy to infiltrate that White Fang recruitment drive that Blake did. Except… Kassidy's not a Faunus. Yeah, this might get a bit difficult.

Also, remember how I said that I'd be updating the first half of Volume 1 as we went along? Yeah… call it procrastination, call it a full schedule, call it a lack of motivation, the end result is that I haven't gotten around to it yet. That project is still up in the air as to when I'll get off my duff and get it done, but still. At least we're back to regular, weekly updates. Assuming, of course, not yet another month has passed since I wrote this author's note and when this goes up.

And to start off our return to some semblance of a schedule… oh, Kassidy, did you allow Weiss to put some makeup on you? You poor, poor girl.

Also also, in case it isn't obvious enough, I have no freaking clue how makeup works… or basically anything regarding the female gender. If I got something horrifically wrong, I blame it on that.

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"Sit still!"

"I am sitting still! Ugh, this is ridiculous."

Kassidy yelped and rubbed the back of her head where Weiss had slapped it. Her teammate continued about her work immediately after, while chastising, "What's ridiculous is your reaction to this. Seriously, it's just makeup, and not even that much of it."

"Not much of it?" Kassidy asked. "I asked you for pointers on how make me look a bit different from how I usually do. I did not give you permission to use my face as an art easel."

"I am doing no such thing! Really, the most I'm using is foundation to try and hide your scars some. And quit rubbing your eye! You're going to smudge your eyeliner and mascara!"

"Well excuse me if my eye itches!" Kassidy huffed, crossed her arms, and pouted when Weiss picked that damn roller brush again to go over her eyelashes. That's it, this is the last time I ask Weiss for fashion advice. With nothing better to do, Kassidy took in the image looking back at her in the mirror – and immediately decided that maybe she was a bit too hard on the Ice Queen. She didn't even realize that it was possible to make something as obvious as her scars nearly disappear; they were still visible, but you had to go looking for them. Hence the jet black lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, and dark blue hair dye: hopefully, they would provide enough contrast to foil any attempts to see them.

"Hmm… that will have to do, I suppose. Frankly, that's all we have time for," Weiss informed.

After breathing a sigh of relief, and then quickly paling when she realized the insinuation that Weiss wanted to put more crayons and paintbrushes and stuff on her face, Kassidy stood up and joined her at the door to the bathroom, where they could quite clearly hear the barely muffled giggles and laughter of the two half-sisters in the room beyond. Kassidy traded glances with Weiss, pounded on the door, and yelled, "Hey, is it safe to come out, yet?"

"Sure – hrk – sure thing, K," Yang managed to choke out. "Don't tell me y-you two are done entertaining us yet, though. There's still more to come, right?"

Weiss rolled her eyes beside her, then opened the door to the dorm room proper. Yang promptly and effectively arrested all of her attention, obviously, what with the combination of miniskirt, thick stockings, and a top so low-cut that her bra was slightly peeking over it. Not to mention the bulletproof, fireproof jacket Kassidy had gotten her featuring prominently and damn if she couldn't wear it. However, her… appraisal, let's say, of her girlfriend's attire was ruined when Yang wolf-whistled in return. "Damn, partner. Trying to make me jealous or something?"

"Of what, Firecracker?" Kassidy sniped. Walking over to her desk, she snapped her armor over her undershirt, then hid both under a zip-up sweater. After pulling on the gloves she got from Jaune, she turned her attention to her boots… which only brought her attention to the part of tonight's attire that she despised most.

"Of other guys seeing you in that more than me. Duh." Yang waggled in eyebrows, and motioned toward the black miniskirt and stockings that Kassidy herself was wearing. "Seriously, though, what gives? I can already tell you're not comfortable wearing that – and I thought you hated wearing skirts."

"I'm not and I do," Kassidy answered, trying to at least pull down the hem of the skirt enough to cover even to the midpoint of her thighs. "The working theory is that guys'll be too focused on my legs to pay much attention to my face. I need every advantage I can get in not being recognized; if even one person notices who I am…"

"Yeah," Yang muttered. Kassidy kept fidgeting with her wardrobe, until Yang surprised her with a hug. "You sure you want to follow through on this?"

Kassidy nodded into Yang's shoulder. "Even if I wanted to play chicken, there's too much at risk. This is something I need to do." She pulled back far enough to get a good look at Yang's face, and hoped the concern she felt showed on her face. "How about you guys, though? You aren't obligated to help me with my problems; it's not too early for you three to back out."

Some serious poking at her shoulder caught Kassidy's attention, drawing it to Weiss. "First off, you're our teammate, so yes, we are obligated to help you with your problems. Second off, you said it yourself: there's too much at stake here."

Ruby, having finished buckling her boots, took this time to try and lighten the mood. "Alright, guys, today's the day. The investigation begins!"

Weiss had to take a step back when the team leader launched herself off her bunk, and commented dryly, "I'm glad we're taking this so seriously."

Yang kept one arm over Kassidy's shoulders, while extending Ember Celica on her other wrist to make sure it worked perfectly. "Hey, we've got a plan! That's… moderately serious."

While Kassidy rolled her eyes, Ruby prompted, "Right! Everyone remember their roles?"

"You and I will head to the CCT to check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies, or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."

Kassidy pushed away from Yang long enough to pick up where Weiss had left off. "Old Oz tipped me off to a recruitment drive the White Fang is hosting tonight. If I can sneak in, I should be able to find some hints as to what they're really up to."

"And I've got a friend on the shady side of town that knows everything going on in Vale." Yang finished with a smug grin. "Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard."

Ruby capped off the briefing with, "Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we've found. Let's do this!"

"Yeah!"

The sudden voice had all four girls jumping and swiveling their heads towards the window hard enough to give them whiplash. The culprit? A certain blonde Faunus boy, hanging upside down from his monkey tail.

Kassidy managed to vocalize what everyone was thinking. "Sun?! How did you get up there?"

Sun shrugged – or, at least, did the best job of shrugging he could while hanging upside down. "It's easy! I do this all the time!"

"You what?" Yang growled. Kassidy was certain that she wasn't the only one who had a chill run down her spine at that moment.

"I climb trees all the time!" Evidently, Sun was both without said chill and unaware that he had nearly suffered a severe case of dead; heck, he seemed unaware that he had insinuated that he peeped on the four of them in the first place. He flipped into their room and asked, "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

Kassidy shook her head. "We are going to be investigating the situation. As a team."

"Sorry, Sun," Ruby reinforced. "We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to."

"Psht, that's dumb," Sun blew off. "You should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune!"

Kassidy met each of her teammate's eyes; as though an unspoken signal had been exchanged, the entirety of the team shot over to the window. Sure enough, the aforementioned blue-haired teen was perched precariously on the ledge outside their room. Keeping his cool personality up as he always does, Neptune obviously had to greet them with a, "Sup?"

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked.

"I have my ways," he replied. The smug grin vanished when he looked down, however, as did his coolness. "Seriously, though, can I come in? We're, like, really high up right now."

While Weiss and Ruby were helping Neptune in through the window, Kassidy, Yang, and Sun stepped further in to give them all room. Kassidy noticed Sun looking at her, and raised an eyebrow at him. He scratched the back of his head and said, "So, you're looking –"

"Yeah, no, let me stop you right there," Yang interrupted, bodily stepping in between her and Sun. "She's self-conscious enough about it, thank you very much."

"Whoa, hey, I wasn't meaning anything by it," Sun defended, throwing his hands up. "I was just about to say that I hardly even recognized her."

"Actually, Yang," Kassidy interjected, "maybe a… male perspective would help out." When both of their jaws dropped, she turned to Sun. "So, my goal with this getup was to draw attention away from my face, or failing that, my scars. Did I do a good job of that?"

Sun squinted as he stared at her face, before nodding and flashing both a thumbs-up and a grin. "Only reason I can see them is I know what to look for, and even then most people will be ogling over your legs. And don't worry, I'm good!" Sun hastily added when Yang's eyes flashed his way. "I'd prefer keeping all my organs where they are, thank you very much."

While Yang calmed down a bit, Kassidy scratched her chin in thought. While it sounded like Ruby and Weiss were filling Neptune in on what was going on, she asked Sun, "Alright, are you sure you're wanting to help us? Once we all leave this room, I'm going to officially declare it too late to back out."

"Dude, you remember what I told you at the café a few months ago?" Sun's expression darkened considerably, so much so that it almost took Kassidy off-guard. "I owe it to the Rosettes. The White Fang's not gonna take anyone else if I have something to say about it."

Kassidy nodded at him, her own resolve showing through her clenched jaw and furrowed brow. "Okay then. The White Fang's organizing a recruitment rally tonight, and I was going to sneak my way in and find out more about what they're up to. I already have a plan on how to do it, but having an actual Faunus with me would only help things."

Sun tilted his head even as his jaw went slack. "Exactly how were you going to convince people that you're a Faunus?"

"I'll tell you on the way over; if you're still in, that is."

Sun nodded, but before more words could be said Ruby got everyone's attention. "Alright. I'll go with Weiss, did I hear that Sun would be going with you, Kassidy?" The two parties in question nodded, prompting Ruby to… start shoving Neptune across the floor? "And Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner. Everyone good?"

"Actually," Weiss interposed, "Why don't you go with Yang? After all, she is your sister."

Ruby cocked her head. "But who would go with you, then?"

Weiss smiled and lifted a hand level to her face. "I guess Neptune could come with me."

Kassidy blinked, before turning to her girlfriend and mouthing 'what'. Yang winked, but before she could say anything Ruby interrupted by way of breaking into laughter. "Pfft, nah! Okay guys, let's move out!" Ruby punctuated her statement by dragging a protesting Weiss behind her.

The four remaining souls exchanged glances, before Kassidy espoused, "Be careful, Yang." Ignoring the cocked eyebrow that came from her, she caught Neptune's eye and said, "You keep my woman safe now, you hear?"

Neptune nodded, but Yang snorted before responding, "You're the one that needs to be safe, partner. And speaking of…"

Yang strode up to Sun, but Kassidy stepped in front of her and planted her hand on her shoulder. "Actually, I'll field this one, Firecracker." Turning her attention to a now incredibly nervous Sun, she intoned, "Alright, since you're probably tired of Yang's death threats… if I find your hands where I don't want them, I'll shove my boot so far up your ass that you'll be tasting leather for the next week. We clear?"

Sun turned a bit green, and fervently nodded. Yang whistled low, and muttered, "Damn, and I thought I had good threats. Though, just to be clear, I was about to tell you to look out for her, alright?"

"Alright, ladies and germs, no time like the present," Kassidy announced. "Let's get this show on the road."

Sun's arm squeezed tighter around her shoulders as yet another passerby wolf whistled and gave her a wink. Kassidy shrunk closer into Sun's side, away from what felt like the five hundredth lecherous male this night (but in actually was only the eighty seventh… not including the baker's dozen of women who acted similarly). Kassidy sighed, mentally thanking whichever gods existed that Yang wasn't here… she might have had as high a body count as Kassidy did when all was said and done. Not to mention that they'd never find all of Sun's pieces.

But really, it was for the best. Sun pretending to be her boyfriend kept the worst of it away; more importantly, it helped establish an important part of their alibi when they tried to get into the recruitment rally.

Rounding the corner, Sun asked, "You sure this is the place?"

Kassidy nodded. "If my intel is correct, it should be in this alleyway up ahead." She fidgeted with her miniskirt yet again, then ensured, "You remember your part of the plan, right?"

"Relax, K, I got it."

"Don't call me K," Kassidy shot back even more harshly than she intended. When Sun raised his eyebrow, she explained, "Only Yang gets to call me K. Just like I'm the only one other than her uncle that can call her Firecracker."

"Cool," Sun shrugged. They turned into the alleyway, but Sun suddenly stopped and his eyes widened before he turned to her. "Crap, I completely didn't notice, are you even armed right now?"

Kassidy facepalmed; forget noticing his body language, Sun was lucky that nobody had heard him, so close to the entrance to the rally. "Yes, Sun, keep in mind who you're talking to. Everything's hidden under my jacket; as long as nobody tries to feel me up, I should be good."

"I'll make sure it doesn't come to that," he reassured. "Let me do the talking until he starts asking about you."

"Good evening, my good people," the greeter said. Dressed in a cheesy and, dare Kassidy say, out of fashion suit, he kept a calm, patient smile. His eyes, however, were what gave him away, as they narrowed on them – and her in particular. "Pray tell, you wouldn't be lost, would you?"

"Only by those who wish to lose us," Sun said, almost as though he had rehearsed it. "We wish to be found."

"Well, you have come to the right place, then. May I get your name, Mr…"

"Sun Wukong."

The greeter nodded, and handed Sun a Grimm mask. "Very good, Mr. Wukong. And what about you, Miss…"

"Nocturne," Kassidy said. "Artemis Nocturne."

"Indeed?" the greeter mentioned. His smile disappeared as his brow furrowed. "Pardon me to ask, Miss Nocturne, but what manner of Faunus are you?"

"Panther," Kassidy lied.

The greeter's eyes narrowed, and Kassidy knew that she needed to put on the acting performance of her life. I sure do hope that getting Ruby to teach me how to turn on the waterworks at will pays off. "If I may ask," the greeter said after a pause, "you do not look like much of a Faunus. What are your traits?"

Discreetly nudging Sun in the side with her elbow, Kassidy willed her eyes to widen and start watering. In a faux shaky and cracking voice, she stuttered, "My ears… they were… they were… oh, Sun!"

"There, there, they can't hurt you anymore," Sun comforted, allowing Kassidy to throw herself into his chest as she faked bawling into him. He raised his gaze to the greeter, and sheepishly explained, "I'm sorry about that. Last week, she got attacked, and…"

The greeter's eyes widened until they were the size of dinner plates; the man even took a step back and sucked in a sharp breath. "Dear Oum. I am so sorry, Miss Nocturne, I had no idea, please forgive me." He handed a white mask to her, then planted a hand on her shoulder; fortunately, he didn't seem to notice the armor underneath. "Let me tell you that you are doing the right thing, coming to us. If Oum wills it, then perhaps you'll be able to repay the vermin personally."

"That would… that would be nice," Kassidy seethed. Still pressed into Sun's chest, she stepped into the warehouse when the greeter opened the door for them. She waited until they rounded the corner, then pulled herself out of his torso and slipped the mask on. She frowned at how it constricted her peripheral vision, then tapped her earpiece. "That was even easier than I thought it would be, Sun. Alright, Bob, I'm in. We still recording? Everyone still doing good? Is my distraction in place?"

"Yes, yes, and yes."

Unfortunately, there was no time for any more words, as they were pushed into an assembly, split in half between existing and prospective White Fang members. They waited a few minutes, before a monster of a man stepped onto the raised stage and tapped on a headset microphone. "Thank you all for coming," he announced. "For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours. I can assure you, he is the key to attaining what we have fought for for so long."

The cane came out first, followed by a pair of brown shoes and black slacks. Kassidy nearly growled, already knowing who their 'special comrade' was. Although, as the man stepped out, she couldn't help but notice that Roman was still wearing more mascara than she was. "Thank you, thank you!" he announced. When the only reaction to his appearance was frustrated grumbling, he added, "Please, hold your applause."

"What's a human doing here?!" the girl in front of Kassidy yelled out. Finally, Kassidy thought, someone with brains. Might even be able to use that.

"I'm glad you asked, dearie!" Roman shot back, no doubt referring to her antlers in what Kassidy had to admit was a halfway decent pun. He quickly turned into what could only be described as a salesperson, though, and began, "I'll be the first to admit: humans are the worst. Case in point. So, I understand why you would love to see us all locked away. Or, better yet, killed."

Kassidy felt Sun rustle the top of her hair as he leaned over to whisper, "So, is he going somewhere with this, or…"

"Not to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy," Roman continued. "The ones in control. The people pulling the strings. The dirty, rotten humans that run our Kingdoms." Getting fully into the act, he started counting out on his fingers, "Government, military, even the schools; they're all to blame for your lot in life."

"I'm not sure what's worse," Kassidy whispered back. "That he had to resort to such a hilarious reason you'd expect on a Saturday morning cartoon, or that it's actually working."

"And they're all pests that need to be dealt with," Roman announced. "Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around… no offense to any rodents in the room."

What happened next made Kassidy so pale that she was certain it was showing through the small mountain of foundation that Weiss had piled on her face: the curtained backdrop was ripped away. Standing behind it? Nothing less than a fully armed and operational Paladin. She heard Sun mutter something next to her, but she was practically mashing into her earpiece. "Bob, please tell me you can get into that Paladin."

While Bob wound his way through every wirelessly accessible device in Vale in an attempt to find a way in, Roman continued his speech. "As some of you may have heard, this right here is Atlas' newest line of defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my employer, we managed to snag a few before they, uh, hit the shelves. Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay in the city, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in… this is the arsenal I can provide you." Posing with his cigar and cane, and giving the biggest shit-eating grin Kassidy had ever seen, Roman concluded with, "Any questions?"

"This is bad," Kassidy said. Stuck in a warehouse, surrounded by hostiles, and staring down a bipedal tank which was definitely more intimidating in person than on blueprints, genuine panic was threatening to set in. She heaved a few great breaths and, through force of will, kept her wits about her.

"We've got a bigger problem," Sun nearly sang.

"Bigger than a Pala…" Kassidy trailed off when she saw the problem: Roman Torchwick staring right at them. Sure, it was almost certain that he couldn't recognize her, but she didn't even think about the fact that Sun could've been recognized, and the fact that she'd been no more than eighteen inches from him at any point throughout the night meant that it didn't matter if they knew who she was, because she was now an enemy by association. Fortunately, there was a plan for this. "Bob, I need that distraction right about now."

Roman had gotten the announcer's attention and was pointing right at them. When he turned back to look at them, Kassidy took the time to flip him the bird – dear Oum has Yang been a terrible influence on me – and it was immediately afterward that Bob made his presence known. The lights went out, the fire alarms started blaring, and the water sprinklers started dousing the warehouse's occupants.

"Sun, get to the window! I'm right behind you!" Unlike nearly every single person in the building, Kassidy did not have good night vision; fortunately, it was still good enough to follow a monkey tail poking out of a white shirt. Sun rushed through the crowed, and whatever he couldn't muscle out of the way Kassidy was more than able to dodge. Her heart leapt into her throat when the unmistakable sounds of heavy machinery turning on told the story of the Paladin behind them activating. And she and Sun were the targets.

Sun smashed through the glass, and the moonlight gave Kassidy enough sight to know the best way to jump, dropping into a roll on the way down and being thankful none of the glass decided to stick itself into her arm. She had kept running for a few seconds when an ungodly crunching sound came from behind, and a quick look over her shoulder made her eyes widen as the Paladin sprinting after them, moving even faster than she was. Sun leapt onto a car in front of them, then made the Aura-boosted jump to the roof of the building ahead of them. She cried after him to get his attention, then rolled up the sleeve of her sweater and fired her grappling bracer at him. Sun wasted no time in hauling her up to the roof, and as soon as her feet were on the shingles they both took off in a dead sprint across the rooftops.

"You wouldn't happen to have, I don't know, some form of backup?!" Sun yelled at her. Kassidy scowled; she couldn't afford to lose even the slightest bit of momentum, or else she wouldn't be able to make the jumps across these roofs. Heck, the small but noticeable strengthening Narud's test serum had given her muscles was the only reason she could do this at all. Consequently, she couldn't afford her attention to be anywhere else except making sure she didn't slip, or slow down, or do anything that would have a best case scenario of broken legs.

Thinking quickly, she took her earpiece out of her ear and tossed it to the guy that actually had Aura to help him along with the impromptu parkour training. "That's got a direct line to my AI," Kassidy shouted. "Get in front of me! I'm following you; I can't afford to look around and figure out where we're going! Not all of us have Aura to make this easy!" After she had finished yelling at Sun, she returned the full extent of her focus to what was in front of her, though as he guided her from rooftop to rooftop she could hear him yelling into the earpiece for backup.

Kassidy nearly panicked again, however, when she saw that they were quickly running out of roofs to jump across. She was about to ask Sun what now when she spotted a freeway passing under them. "Oh god, please no," she muttered, but her heart sank when Sun did indeed take a leap of faith. In front of her, a jump that she could not make and would almost certainly leave her crippled; behind her, thirty seven tons of Dust-reinforced steel that would most definitely ensure she wouldn't live long enough to regret coming out tonight. Two terrible, terrible options, but one was still better than the other. Muttering a quick prayer for maybe the fourth time in her life, Kassidy took what she fully expected to be her last breath, and jumped.

"Gotcha!" Sun yelled. Kassidy's arm felt like it was being ripped out of its socket, but she hung on for all she was worth, and soon she found herself resting in Sun's arms. She might have been embarrassed if it weren't for the bowel-voiding terror that was the Paladin also making the jump and continuing the chase on the freeway. Kassidy looked around from her quite limited vantage point, but still didn't like what she saw.

"I can't make these jumps," Kassidy said when Sun was about to put her down.

Sun looked around himself, gritted his teeth, then looked down and asked, "Get Yang to not kill me?"

"Get me out of this alive, and deal."

Sun was about to go taking off, playing a real-life and infinitely more lethal game of Frogger, all while carrying her bridal style, when what sounded like sci-fi energy blasts started sounding behind them. They both turned around, and caught sight of the cavalry: Yang and Bumblebee, and on the back of both was Neptune, his rifle firing blue bolts of plasma that impacted hard against the Paladin. "I've never been so glad to see Neptune," Kassidy muttered.

"And I've never been so glad to see Yang," Sun agreed.

And then, of course, Neptune had to ruin a good thing and do something that Kassidy would never understand: instead of continuing to fire at the Paladin, he turned his rifle into some kind of bladed spear, leapt off of Bumblebee, and stuck his weapon into the back of the war machine while hanging on for dear life.

"Sorry about this," Sun warned, before immediately dropping her on the roof of the car they were riding on, handing her the earpiece back, and squaring up to the Paladin. "Neptune, hang on!" He slammed his open palms together, and… there were two more Suns? No, that isn't right, they're just outlines. Almost like Blake's shadow clones, except these seem more tangible. Sun's light clones, for lack of a better name at the moment, dashed ahead of them and suicide bombed themselves into the Paladin's hide, before Sun himself pulled out his staff and leapt after them. Roman reacted beautifully, however, finally managing to dislodge Neptune and even getting the two boys to collide in midair, carrying them off the side of the freeway – and out of the fight.

She didn't have time to panic over their loss, though, as Weiss started shouting into her earpiece. "Kassidy, I'm in position!"

"Position for what?!" Kassidy shouted back, before she turned around just in time to see Weiss gracefully backflip onto the freeway – yeah, rub in the fact that I don't have Aura, why don't you? – and bring Myrtenaster up into a guard. Kassidy was about to ask something along the lines of what the hell was she thinking when the blade frosted over. Knowing what was about to happen, and knowing that she didn't want to be anywhere near it, Kassidy looked to the side, saw that there wasn't about to be any cars there, muttered her second prayer of the night, and dove off. Fortunately, the combination of her leather jacket and the metal armor underneath kept the concrete from skinning her alive.

Her head shot back up in time to see Weiss spread a thick layer of ice over the entirety of the road… and, in a manner that would almost seem more at home in a bad movie than in real life, the Paladin actually slipped on it, losing control and careening off the edge.

However, it just had to choose to lose control immediately next to Kassidy, and as it tore through the concrete and rebar it also tore through the very ground she was standing on. She had just long enough to glance around, seeing Weiss' hand come to her mouth in shock, and Yang scramble off her motorcycle as quickly as she could, before she was no longer on terra firma. Fully fledged panic set in before she remembered her grapple bracer, aimed it somewhere above her, and fired it off. As if answering her prayers that night, Yang snagged the cable out of the air and let Kassidy lower herself to the ground.

Of course, nothing was allowed to go right for Kassidy Smith tonight, as evidenced by the fact that she had lowered immediately in front of the Paladin. Almost as if on cue, Torchwick's voice came through, no doubt enhanced by some sort of speaker system. "All right, ya brat, now you're just getting annoying. Let's see you survive this!"

Before the plasma cannon had even finished charging up, however, Kassidy felt something slam into her side and drag her away. As suddenly as her motion started, it stopped, and Kassidy had to fight to not throw up all over… "Ruby?!"

Said girl flashed her a thumbs up, even while extending Crescent Rose over her shoulder. "Got your back!"

Two thumps sounded beside her, prompting Kassidy to come face to face with both Weiss and Yang. Hey, the gang's all here. Except… Her gaze returning to the hulking monstrosity in front of them, Kassidy could almost feel herself shut down as the fear truly set in. I'd rather fight an Abrams. At least that thing's too big and slow to get out of its own way. This thing? I can't do shit to it, it's faster than me, and has the perfect weaponry for just removing my existence entirely.

Kassidy was drawn out of her thoughts when a hand settled on her shoulder. Yang's eyes – already beginning to flicker crimson – looked back at her, and the omnipresent cocky sneer was in place. "Relax, K. We got this." And at that moment, Kassidy truly did believe that they had this. A girl carrying around a 40mm cannon in her scythe, someone hilariously skilled in using what basically amounted to magic, and a bruiser with a theoretically infinite capacity for absorbing and delivering kinetic energy? What was a walking tank to that?

Weiss and Ruby shared similar sentiments, allowing Kassidy time to take a breath, reset her thought process, and draw her weapons. A clip of explosive ammo found itself slammed into Rogue, and Baton was curled up under Kassidy's chin in her imitation of Weiss' guard.

"Oh, look, you brought all the other brats with you this time!" Roman goaded, having recovered from whatever Weiss and Yang had done to his mech on the way down. "At least I won't have to waste time hunting you four down. And… hmm, what's this? So many buttons! Eeny, meeny, miny… all of them!"

As the Paladin began powering up even more, Kassidy caught Yang's gaze out the side of her eye. Really, there was only one appropriate reaction to this situation.

"Am I seriously about to fight a bipedal tank with a sword?"

AN 2: Hope you liked the extra 1k words in today's chapter. Consider it my apology for being gone so much. Also… I kinda need a full chapter for the robot fight scene, and I didn't want to split it between two chapters. So, here you all go.

Now time to work on next chapter while I'm on a roll. Hell, at this rate we might even be able to go back to 2x/week uploads over the course of the summer.

Coming up next: oh, c'mon, you now what's coming up next.

Right after these Reviewer Responses.

Captain marvel 36: Fear not, I have disappeared no more! (hopefully)

Dreiundzwanzig: I'd probably feel more of an urge to ask "how you would know what living in someone else's head is like", but I have a disturbingly good idea of what your answer will be.

Nice to be back in action, here's to more RWKY!

serioushugsies: Thanks for the sentiment, but after those rough few months we should be back to normal here. Maybe even better than normal, if I can keep up this writing schedule.