Ruby sighed forlornly as she idly flipped through, but didn't bother reading a word of, a brand new book which had just arrived at Tukson's Book Trade. The Man with Two Souls 3: The Man with Eight Souls, was the third book of Blake's favorite series. Blake would have been reading this for certain if she was here. The problem was Blake was never here anymore.

Tukson's place just wasn't the same without her faunus friend around. Not that Ruby had ever seen Blake's faunus trait before, but Yang had once mentioned offhandedly that she was a faunus. Yang would never lie about something like that, right?

Sure, there were plenty of books, and books were nice, but the lack of S&S nights lately had been disappointing to the young vampire girl. Apparently according to Tukson, Blake had more important things to do lately. Things like 'getting to the bottom of this', and 'finding out what he's planning' took priority over nights of fun with her friends. She wondered just who this mysterious 'he' even was.

Ruby's eyes widened and opened her mouth. Did their little Blakey Wakey have a secret boyfriend? She would just have to confront her broody friend when she next saw her.

Shutting the book, Ruby put it back on its shelf of honor as a new release and walked over to the counter. She leaned on it, earning the store owner's attention when she looked his way. "So, Tukson. Where's Blake this time?"

The man hummed, lowering his own book before replying. "Something about a school trip," he said. "I'm not sure about the details, but she said she'd be gone a few days."

Ruby nodded. So that meant no S&S this week either. They were going to have to do a whole lot of fictional adventuring in order to make up for all this lost time. The only question now was what they could do in the meantime while they waited for their feline friend's return.

"So hey, Tux," she said, giving the man a cool new nickname of her own original creation. "You ever think about setting up some tables for people to play card games on?"

The man looked at her with a blank expression on his face. "No."

Ruby frowned. Shot down that easily? "Really? I think it would really spruce up the place. Get the younger crowd in. Though you'd probably wanna invest in an air freshener with all those people coming in. But hey, you gotta spend money to make money, right?"

"Ruby, you can't just turn Tukson's store into your FLGS," Jaune said as he came up from behind her.

Jaune was holding a comic book in his hand, and that along with the S&S rulebooks they purchased were about the only things worth buying in this store. Tukson seriously needed to expand and diversify his business. Imagine all the lien he could rake in if he sold Remnant booster packs?

"I'm not," she said defensively. She blinked, and continued a second later. "And why not?"

"Those are two radically different things to say in the same sentence."

"Come on, don't you think it would be neat if there were a bunch of tables set up where people could play card games? Or tabletop games? It would really liven the place up instead of feeling like you're standing in a library. I mean there's books literally everywhere."

"It's a bookstore," Tukson reminded her.

"I think Blake would kill you if you destroyed her sanctuary," Jaune pointed out. "Especially if she wasn't around to try and prevent it from happening."

Ruby casually dismissed Jaune's worries with the flick of her wrist. "Oh Blake Schmake. Seriously, we should get her into the Remnant card game. Or Warmaster Fantasy. Not 20,000 though. There's no vampires in that one." She leveled a finger at Jaune accusingly. "And don't even try to pull a technicality with those lame space vampires that existed in Rouge Merchant. We both know that was only a proto-20K game and that none of that lore is even canon anymore."

She was dead serious, or rather undead serious when it came to her vampires. Ruby enjoyed games most when she could play as one of her own kind, which was why she liked Swords and Sorcery so much. Her darling scythe-wielding vampire sangromancer named Ebony Nightshroud was her pride and joy, a masterpiece of her creative juices expressed on paper.

"Yeah, I'm sure if you played you'd definitely play Undead," Jaune casually replied.

She smirked knowingly as she stared up at Jaune's face. "Who says I don't?"

"Wait, you do?"

Ruby jammed a thumb into her chest proudly. "I might just have a nice Undead army back at home…"

"Really? I've never seen it before. How big?"

He'd never seen it because it was all packed away. With no one to play games with there wasn't a whole lot she could do with it.

"Ten thousand points."

Jaune's eye widened and his jaw dropped. "Ten thousand?" he exclaimed. "How can you even afford all of that? I mean they call it plastic crack for a reason!"

"Vampire," she stated smugly. It was the usual answer to all of his questions, and it was the only explanation he needed to know.

The answer deflated Jaune, who only sighed in defeat. "Right. Of course. Vampire."

"I can't believe you're still playing this pretend vampire game," Tukson groaned from behind the counter.

It was a good thing Tukson didn't believe her. Well no one did, in fact. He believed she was a child playing make-believe. That she was a LARPer. In a way it was a good thing. Ruby and Jaune could be as open about her true nature as they wished, and all anyone would think was that she was immersed in some sort of fictional roleplaying. Normies like Tukson and Blake wouldn't know how to handle learning that magic and supernatural creatures like vampires were real.

"So yeah, I could totally ask if Blake plays," Ruby said, ignoring the store owner's sniping comment. "Maybe we could set up a game."

"I could call my mom and get her to ship my army to your place," Jaune said.

The prospect of playing a game against Jaune excited Ruby. She wondered what army he collected. Or if it would be able to stand a chance against her level four vampire wizard army general decked out with all the best vampiric abilities and magical items. Perhaps they would soon find out! She couldn't wait. Tukson's Book Trade was going to become a whole lot livelier when she and Jaune fought some battles in it.

"Is your army painted?" he wondered.

Ruby scoffed, waving another hand at him. "Who has time for painting? I just wanna get to the action as soon as possible."

Jaune stared at her like she'd just insulted him and his family. It was as serious an expression as she'd ever seen on the boy's face. It was a little bit intimidating, if she was being honest with herself.

"Ruby, a well-painted army is just as important as the game itself," he lectured. "The hobby is an expression of your passion and creativity. It's not just about making some broken, overpowered, cheesy army list in order to win every time."

Silver eyes stared into his. On one hand Jaune made a valid point. On the other, he was totally wrong.

She blinked once before offering her well thought out counterargument. "Nah."

Jaune sighed softly in defeat, throwing his hands up and shaking his head.

"Speaking of the undead," she continued, changing the subject and leading Jaune away from Tukson's desk. She spoke softer as she leaned in closer to him. "Word through the supernatural grapevine is that there's a zombie infestation in Mountain Glenn."

She could think of no better place for another vampire or a necromancer to set up their lair. An old abandoned city in the dank and dark caverns and tunnels away from human civilization? Hundreds, if not thousands of long-decayed corpses just ripe for the reviving? Mountain Glenn was an undead paradise, and it made sense to her that someone would make use of all that privacy and raw material in order to set up a small undead kingdom down there.

"Mountain Glenn?" Jaune asked. "Really?"

"Yuppers," she confirmed. "I mean I don't know for sure, I've never seen it myself, but there's definitely something strange going on down there. Someone's doing something, and who else would even be there if not a necromancer?"

"So you don't know," Jaune stated rather than asked.

"Nope, but I know one way to find out," she grinned.

The fear in Jaune's eyes should have made her feel some sort of empathy for her human, but instead Ruby just smiled. It was about time to start another adventure, and they both knew it. They'd been languishing in Vale after their Argus vacation for far too long.

"You can't be serious."

"As serious as a heart attack!" she confirmed. "Which by the way, I can't have, which is just another reason vampires are far superior to humans."

Heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, all those pesky human conditions held no sway over Ruby. Sure she had to avoid direct sunlight, but who liked going out in the sun anyway? It was lame and bright. Ruby would much rather stay up all night anyway.

"You know I'll protect you from all the scary zombies, right?" she reminded him, smiling a softer, more genuine smile at him now.

A small smile of his own crept up on Jaune's lips. "Yeah, I know…"

"Sooooo?" she asked expectantly. "You wanna go?"

He shrugged indifferently. "I mean even if I did, how would we get there? Mountain Glenn is abandoned. Who'd even take us there?"

"We'll fly, of course."

Jaune's eyes went wide again. "By fly you mean an airship, right?" he asked hopefully.

Ruby snorted a laugh. "Of course not! I'd be the one flying." She placed her hands over her mouth and made harsh noises imitating the crackling of a radio. "This is your pilot Ruby Bloodrose speaking. Enjoy your first class trip to Mountain Glenn."

"First class," he echoed, though if she wasn't mistaken there was just a bit of doubt and sarcasm in his tone. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Oh come on, you should be used to flying by now."

"In normal airships, sure. But flying while you hold onto me with your little bat feet isn't exactly normal. Or pleasant. Or enjoyable in the least."

Ruby hummed after his mini rant on her feet. "Well I guess we can cross foot fetish off your list of potential kinks," she said casually. "And before you ask, no, that's not mine either."

"Ruby. This really isn't the time to be thinking about that sort of thing. Flying with you is terrifying."

She grabbed hold of his shoulders and gave him a soft shake. "Then let's cure you of your fear! It'll be just like hiccups!"

"These two things are nothing alike! And usually you scare someone to cure them of their hiccups!"

"It's either Mountain Glenn, or going back to my place where we have to deal with my mom," she told him. "And trust me, there's about to be some serious drama going down. I heard that Yang's mom is coming to visit soon…"

Ruby shuddered at the thought of Raven stopping by. Though she had up and abandoned her dad and sister a long time ago, she still managed to hold a connection with them even after Summer had entered the picture. Something about learning that her daughter was a vampire and being incredibly strong had made Raven regret her decision, but by then it was too late. Tai's heart belonged to Summer now, and Raven could only have visitation rights with Yang.

When the two older women were in the same room together, it was never a pretty sight.

"Wow, family drama," Jaune frowned. "That sounds…"

"Terrible," Ruby finished for him. "Trust me, I'd rather deal with zombies all day than mean bird ex-wives."

"You're really going to have to explain that one to me someday But I suppose zombies do sound better than relationship drama…"

Ruby's face beamed brightly. "I'm so happy you agree. Come along, Jaune! Let's go get our stuff ready and head to Mountain Glenn!"

The pair would head back to Patch briefly to gather their essential supplies before setting out toward the abandoned settlement. From then on it would be adventure and excitement for the teenage travelers.

One day and one terrifying flight later, Jaune found himself and Ruby standing at the edge of the ruins known as Mountain Glenn. The air was still and cold and Jaune wasn't sure if it was just the mountainous weather or the bleak and foreboding atmosphere of the dreary place.

Ruby didn't seem to notice or care, and she carried herself with all of the usual unbridled enthusiasm she was known for. Hefting her collapsible metal scythe in one hand, she unfolded it with a single swing of her arm, deploying the oversized yet pretty cool looking weapon with the smooth sound of metal passing through metal.

"Aw yeah, now we're talking," she said excitedly. "I've had my baby for so long and I've never gotten to test her out."

Jaune felt at the sheathed sword on his left hip. He too had never gotten a chance to use Crocea Mors in battle. Nor had he had a chance to fire the crossbow strapped to his back at anything other than a stationary target for practice. He wondered if Ruby would actually be right for once and he would get the opportunity to test both out against a zombie horde.

"So where should we go?" he asked, peering out at the seemingly endless lines of burnt out and collapsing gray buildings. "I doubt this place has a tavern where we can get information," he added sarcastically.

Ruby cackled suspiciously. He eyed her warily. "We don't need a tavern with me here," she stated proudly, jamming a thumb at her chest. "Because you've got me, Ruby Bloodrose – Explorer and Spelunker Extraordinaire."

"And you're just adding more and more specialties to your already absurdly long list." Jaune blinked. "And I feel like that last one is something dirty."

"It means cave explorer!" she squawked. "Mountain Glenn is full of caves and caverns and stuff. Trust me, with my enhanced senses we'll find our prey in no time."

Ruby set off without waiting for his response. Jaune frowned but followed after her. In their months of adventuring she'd never led him astray yet, and he was sure she wouldn't this time either. Probably. Maybe. After all, they'd never gone tomb hunting before, and that's exactly what Mountain Glenn was. One giant tomb for a once bustling city.

Everything around them looked the same, and it was especially so in the moonlight. Every building was crumbling and indiscernible. He had no idea what they were looking for, but the pep in Ruby's step told him that she was happy. His frown quickly faded. Even if they wound up finding nothing, even if this was just one gigantic waste of time, he would still have a good time because he was here with her. He would have fun because she was having fun. Ruby's energy and positivity was just infectious like that.

He was still on-edge, ready to draw his blade at a moment's notice. However, so far there had been no need to. No sign of any enemies whatsoever. It didn't sit right with the young man.

"You know, there's a lot less Grimm than I thought there'd be," he commented. After all, Mountain Glenn had been overrun by Grimm years ago. He figured there would still be some lingering about.

"You think maybe the zombies got them?"

Zombies versus Grimm? Aside from that sounding like a pretty badass fight, Jaune wondered just how their power levels would scale. Could a horde of zombies take on a pack of Beowolves? How many would it take to overwhelm the beasts? And if a Grimm was bitten by one, would it become a zombie Grimm? These were the important questions nobody was asking.

However in the end, Jaune settled for a less fantastical option when it came to the lack of Grimm. "That, or somebody else," he suggested. "Maybe someone more alive? Like a huntsman?"

"They better not have," Ruby growled. "How am I supposed to be like Ebony Nightshroud if I don't get to use her signature weapon? I even named it for the occasion."

Jaune smirked. "So you want to be a Mary S-"

"Ebony Nightshroud is not a Mary Sue!" she cut him off before he could finish his verbal jab.

"And that's why Tukson didn't let you use her in our campaigns," he countered.

Ruby scoffed. "Yeah well Tukson is also against the idea of tabletop and card games in his store, so his opinion is invalid."

Of course. How dare the store owner want to maintain the integrity of his livelihood. How dare he not want to turn his bookstore into a haven for nerds and spazzes like Ruby.

"So you named your scythe?" he asked. He couldn't blame her, seeing how Crocea Mors was named by his ancestor. "What's it called?"

Ruby smiled lovingly at the weapon she brandished, and clutched it close to her chest as they walked. "Crescent Rose."

All things considered, that was a pretty cool name. However, Jaune did notice one peculiar thing about it.

"So your last name is Rose," he noted. "Does that mean your weapon's name is actually just Crescent?"

She gazed up at him confusedly. "Huh?"

"I mean, like, is its first name Crescent and its last name Rose like it's your child or something? Because, you know. Ruby Rose. Crescent Rose. That's kind of a weird name to give it if you're not naming it after yourself, in which case its given name would just be Crescent, right?"

Ruby's free hand squeezed her forehead and she groaned softly. "Jaune you're making my head hurt."

"What?" he asked innocently. "I thought it was a perfectly valid question."

"You're a perfectly valid dork," she shot back. "Its name is Crescent Rose and that's that. No deeper meaning to it. No hidden intent. Okay?"

He thought that was a rather boring answer, but shrugged nonetheless. "Okay."

"Good, because…" she trailed off, stopping in her tracks and holding her arm out for him to do the same. Her head tilted up, and she began sniffing the air. "I smell something."

Jaune smelled it too. It was a mixture of concrete, stagnant water, and mold. A dead city would give off that sort of unpleasant aroma.

"Smoke," she continued, which wasn't what Jaune was about to suggest at all. "Fire."

He couldn't detect that, but then again he didn't have super senses like a vampire did. If there was fire down here in an abandoned city, that could only mean one thing. He drew Crocea Mors from its sheath so he would be ready for action if it came his way.

"So someone's here then?" he asked, lowering his voice now that there might be someone else lurking down here.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. I think we both know what this means."

Jaune nodded in agreement as well. "Yeah. Maybe whoever took out all the Grimm-"

"Necromancer," she finished for him.

He rolled his eyes. Why even bother arguing at this point? "Sure. Let's go with that."

"Follow my nose," she instructed, taking point and leading Jaune through the ruins.

The pair stalked as silently as they could through the rubble and decay, and in time Jaune began to smell it too. There was definitely someone down here if there was a fire going, but he couldn't figure out who would want to be in a place like Mountain Glenn. As Ruby darted from wall to wall, from cover to cover, he figured they would soon find out. He could see the light from the fire up ahead, the actual body of it hidden behind a mostly-collapsed one story wall.

Then the vampire vanished from his sight.

"Ruby?" he whispered harshly, stopping in place. He looked all around trying to figure out where his friend had gone. He wouldn't risk speaking again, lest he alert whoever was down here to his presence. After all, the last thing he wanted was to-

"Gotcha," a dark feminine voice whispered from behind, holding a blade up to his neck.

Jaune froze in place, but his lips didn't. "Ah!" he yelped, head flying backwards and smacking into the nose of whoever had come up behind him. The blade scraped against his neck, but his strong Aura was more than enough to protect him from its edge and it passed by harmlessly as his assailant stumbled back.

Jaune whirled around to confront her with his sword and shield, but was immediately put at-ease when he saw who it was. "Blake?"

The girl in question held her nose with one hand and a black sword with her other. Intense golden eyes stared at him with just as much surprise as his. "Jaune?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing? What are you do-"

Before Blake could finish she was grabbed from behind, and the smaller but stronger Ruby wrapped her arms around the faunus girl's torso, leaning up to rest her fangs against the girl's neck.

"Gotcha!" Ruby snarled, echoing what Blake had said seconds before.

Blake struggled in the vampire's grip, but unlike Jaune she wasn't strong enough to break free even with her Aura. This could go downhill very quickly, and Jaune waved his hands around trying to get Ruby's attention.

"Ruby, stop!" he said. "It's Blake! It's just Blake!"

He saw how Ruby's silver eyes squinted in confusion before regarding the girl in her arms. Blake looked back at her, and a moment later she released her captive. "Blake? Huh, it really is you. What are you do-"

Yet another interruption occurred when another unknown entity pressed the barrel of a pistol against Ruby's back. "Not another move," a young black-haired man said calmly.

"Gah! A ninja!" Ruby yelped, being taken by surprise by this new adversary.

Jaune's sword and shield came up again. A gunshot wouldn't kill Ruby, but he didn't want to see her injured either. Luckily before things could get too out of control, Blake stepped in to bring things to a peaceful conclusion.

"Ren, it's okay," she said. "I know them. They're… friends."

The words seemed to put the boy known as Ren at ease, and he lowered his weapon before stepping back. The four teens shifted so that they stood in a rough circle, Jaune and Ruby on one side and Blake and Ren on the other.

"Blake? Ren? What's going on?"

Two additional girls came from the other side of the wall where the fire was burning. The one who had spoken had long red hair bound in a ponytail, wearing armor of leather and bronze and carrying a spear and shield. The other, a shorter girl with short orange hair hefted a massive hammer which put even Ruby's oversized scythe to shame. It was astounding how someone so small could wield a weapon larger and likely heavier than herself.

Blake appeared nervous, which was understandable after the massive misunderstanding which had just taken place. But as she approached Ruby and Jaune, she spoke softly and deliberately through gritted teeth.

"Please, please, pleeeeease," she pleaded. "Do not embarrass me in front of my teammates."

Teammates? Jaune looked over the other three teenagers who had emerged. So that meant that these were her teammates from Beacon?

Ruby apparently understood as well. "Teammates?" she asked, taking in the sight of the other three. Her face lit up with excitement and joy. "Oh my gods, Blake, your party is so balanced!"

Blake's hand smacked her forehead and she groaned.

Rushing up to the others, Ruby darted between them one by one. "A fighter, a barbarian, and a monk," she gushed. "And Blake's the rogue? What an awesome adventuring party! You guys have got it all covered!"

"A… party?" the taller redhead asked confusedly.

"Well yeah!" the shorter redhead exclaimed excitedly. "Team BRNN is always the life of the party!"

Team Brown? That was their name? Jaune had to admit, he would have thought that a team from Beacon Academy would have a cooler name than that. Like Team… Avenger. Or Team Chaos. Something cool.

"What in the world is going on over here?"

Another person, this one a grown man, emerged next. Wearing a long brown coat and a wide-brimmed white helmet, he was considerably older than the members of Team BRNN. A teacher, perhaps?

"Dr. Oobleck!" the shorter girl gushed excitedly. "We found people! Survivors of Mountain Glenn! This is amazing! It's the discovery of the century!"

"They're not survivors, Nora," Blake told her. "These are… um, they're…"

And just like that, Ruby went into action. Grabbing her long red cloak with her free hand, she brought it in front of herself to cover her body and the bottom half of her face.

"Deadlier than a kitchen knife factory, and darker than Blake's choice of reading material, I am she who stalks the necropolis in search of lurking evil. I… am Ruby Bloodrose!"

Blake buried her face in her hands. Jaune was getting secondhand embarrassment from Ruby's eccentric introduction. Ruby herself apparently had no issues with any of it.

"Oh yeah?" the girl known as Nora grinned. "Well I am she who harnesses the power of lightning! The wielder of the mighty hammer Magnhild! The devastator of Grimm and breakfast buffets alike! I… am Nora Valkyrie!"

"Oh gods," Blake groaned, shaking her head back and forth in her hands.

The others stood by passively watching the dorkfest unfold before them. Ruby on the other hand saw a kindred spirit in Nora, and approached before offering her hand.

Nora clasped it and the two shook hands. "Our battle would have been legendary," Ruby grinned.

"Indeed it would have, had we not been on the same side," Nora agreed. After stepping back she gestured to the other two. "Oh, and these are Ren, Pyrrha, and our teacher Dr. Oobleck."

"Hello," Pyrrha waved politely.

Ren nodded wordlessly.

"And this is Jaune," Ruby pointed back to the blond.

Jaune raised his own hand and waved without a word.

"So you're not survivors of Mountain Glenn?" the older man asked disappointedly.

However rather than answering the question, Ruby instead honed in on the young man. She approached him, giving him a look up and down before a hand rested on her hip. "So you're him," she said knowingly.

Ren blinked. "I'm… him?"

"The boy who's been taking up all of Blake's time," she said, pointing accusingly at Blake. "The one who's been making you miss all of our S&S nights!"

Blake's expression was a mixture of confusion and horror. "...what?"

"Ren," Ruby explained. "Your boyfriend. The one who's been taking up all your time. The one who you need to find out about what he's planning. A secret birthday gift, maybe?" Ruby blinked a couple of times. "Wait, Blake, when's your birthday?"

"What?" Blake shrieked.

Nora shoved herself in between Ruby and Blake. "Yeah, what?"

Jaune had no idea what was going on, but he couldn't help but feel it was utterly stupid. Then again that wasn't too uncommon when it came to Ruby.

"Well I mean just look at him," the vampire explained. "He's calm and quiet and has black hair. He's basically a male version of you, Blake. Also the only boy on your team, so he's either a harem protagonist or your boyfriend." Her eyes widened and darted to Nora and Pyrrha. "Or both…"

Nora laughed nervously. Pyrrha looked confused yet intrigued. Ren wore a stoic expression that Jaune couldn't read.

Blake just looked pissed. "I can assure you, Ruby, that Ren is not my boyfriend. He has never been my boyfriend. And he never will be my boyfriend."

Well, that settled that. Or at least it would have if not for…

"Hey!" Nora pointed a finger accusingly at Blake. "What, is there something wrong with Ren? Is he not boyfriend enough material for you?"

Dr. Oobleck stepped in, holding up his hands to try and regain some semblance of control and silence. "Children, children," he said. "While this might be all in good fun, I believe we have a much more pressing matter to deal with here. Mainly, who are these people, and what are they doing here?" His attention focused on Blake. "Blake, do you know them?"

"I… um…" Blake stuttered, clearly not wanting to admit she knew who he and Ruby were.

Pyrrha's hand came up to rub her chin thoughtfully. "She does look kind of familiar..."

"No. No she doesn't," Blake insisted.

"She was at Beacon for tryouts," Ren correctly pointed out. "The one who was pretending to be a vampire."

Blake groaned again.

"And apparently you three play S&S together?" Pyrrha smiled. "That's so sweet."

"Oh my gods I want to die..."

"No time for that, Blake," Ruby exclaimed, either not knowing or not caring that she was the source of Blake's plight. "We're here because we've received word that something strange is going on in Mountain Glenn."

The words made Blake perk up a little bit. Or at the very least look less depressed. "You did?"

The vampire nodded smugly. "Mmhmm! We're actually looking for a n-" She stopped short of saying what she was truly looking for, and for that Jaune was thankful. "Someone's lair. Hideout!"

Blake folded her arms and hummed. "So it seems like we're on the same mission," she mused. Her eyes flicked back up to meet Ruby's. "I don't know how you heard about any of this."

"I'm pretty well-connected."

"But this is too dangerous for civilians," Blake continued, eyeing Ruby and Jaune back and forth. "I can't ask you to come along with us for this. This is the job of professional huntsmen and huntresses like us."

Jaune had the strangest feeling that wasn't the only, nor even the primary reason Blake didn't want them tagging along. That reason was a loud, dorky, chuunibyo vampire named Ruby Rose.

As always, Ruby casually dismissed the sound advice in an instant. "Nah. Don't worry, me and Jaune have totally got this. We're kind of hunters in our own right. Show her your crossbow, Jaune!"

He didn't know why he should, but Jaune removed the crossbow from his back and held it for Blake to see. She didn't seem impressed. He didn't expect her to be either.

"Oooooh, neat," Nora said excitedly, coming up and eyeing it close up. "Does it turn into anything cool like a mace or an axe?"

Jaune frowned and shook his head. "Nope. Just a crossbow." He patted his sword at his side. "And the sword's just a sword too."

"Ah. Well, still, a weapon's a weapon! And you've got two of them. So does Ren! You're like twins!"

One look at the boy told Jaune that this couldn't be further from the truth. Still, that seemed to be a compliment in this new girl's eyes, so Jaune would gladly take it.

"Ruby, really," Blake insisted. "I can't ask you and Jaune to risk your lives here. There's more going on than it seems. This is more than just a class field trip."

"So you do know the truth." For once in her life Ruby seemed to be getting serious, and Jaune could probably figure out why. At least in her mind. "But beware, Blake Belladonna, for once you see the truth it cannot be unseen. What you learn cannot be unlearned. The truth of this world is terrifying, and most people would be better off living in ignorant bliss than learning that harsh reality."

Jaune had a feeling that the two of them were talking about two wildly different things, but he said nothing. He wanted to see how this would turn out.

"I'm… good?" Blake answered to Ruby's cryptic and dramatic warning.

The vampire chuckled darkly. "Very well. Follow me and Jaune down to a land untouched by the sun's rays. A bleak and sinister place filled with malice and death. The very tunnels beneath Mountain Glenn hide dark secrets, and it is in those depths that we will learn the truth of what haunts this long-dead city."

Blake rubbed her chin thoughtfully. It seemed as though an epiphany had just struck her. Pyrrha and Nora were confused, and Ren… Ren was as stoic as ever. However, it was the one mature adult in the group who was the first to speak up.

"Of course…" Dr. Oobleck said softly. "Of course. Of course! It all makes so much sense now! How could I have been so stupid?"

"Dr. Oobleck?" Pyrrha questioned.

"We're not just looking for an underground crime network. We're looking for an underground crime network! What better place to do their dastardly deeds than in the abandoned railroad tunnels underneath the city?" He rushed up to Ruby faster than any normal person should have been capable. "You, my dear, are brilliant! Brilliant I say!"

She was never going to let him live this down. A doctor had just called her brilliant. It was all the ammunition Ruby would ever need for the rest of her long, undead life.

"Oh, stop it you!" she grinned, not wanting him to stop in the slightest. "I'm just, you know, kinda amazing like that and all…"

The praise didn't last for long though, and the professional huntsman produced his own weapon, what appeared to be a flamethrower of some kind. "Come along, children. If we want to surprise them it would be best to do it now in the middle of the night. If we're lucky we might be able to halt their entire operation in one fell swoop!"

Jaune had no idea who the man was referring to, but he felt better about confronting them with the presence of an entire huntsman team at his side.

The group set off to locate Ruby's necromancer, or whatever it was that Blake and her team were here searching for.

The underground portion of Mountain Glenn looked… surprisingly the same. The same gray concrete streets. The same decaying gray buildings. The only difference now was that rather than a black moonlit sky, there was just more gray above them. That, and the railroad tracks.

Ruby was walking along them, or rather on one of the rails, doing her best to keep her balance as the group journeyed toward their as of yet unknown destination. Jaune figured they'd probably know it when they hit it. Or they hit them. If these were huntsmen on an actual mission it was sure to be something dangerous. Maybe not Grimm, but something. Or rather, someone. Maybe Ruby had the right idea about there being someone down here even if she was completely wrong about who it was.

"Pssst!" Ruby whispered harshly, earning his attention. She was looking at him from her spot on the rail. Despite standing a few inches taller because of it, she still had to look up at him.

"Yeah?"

"We're almost there."

A shiver ran through Jaune's body, and his hand instinctively went to his left hip. Crocea Mors was ready to be drawn in an instant. "How can you tell?"

She sniffed the air for dramatic effect. "I can smell them. Them, and their blood."

The shivers only intensified after such a foreboding remark. Blood? Just what was going on down here that there was blood being spilled? Human sacrifice? Plain old murder? Something worse?

He shook his head. No, no he was not about to get sucked into Ruby's supernatural fantasies. Even though she was an actual supernatural creature, she had been wrong about everything else she'd said so far. Dust Gremlins, a wizard enchanting his drinks, and whatever else she'd said that he'd forgotten about.

Blake had apparently heard her comment, somehow, and moved over to get closer to Ruby. "You said we're close?"

Ruby nodded. "Yup. Won't be long now. And then we'll finally get to see some action."

The dark-haired girl nodded and moved over to inform her teammates of this new information. She and Ren broke off from the main group and dashed ahead, soon vanishing from sight. Jaune wondered if Ruby could still sense them with her enhanced hearing and smell.

One of the other girls, Pyrrha, sidled up next to Jaune. She stood nearly as tall as him, but with those tall bronze-clad boots of hers he wondered how much of that height they made up for.

"So, you're friends with Blake," she said knowingly.

"It's complicated," he admitted. "But yeah. We've known each other for a few months now, and I'd consider her a friend."

Pyrrha smiled. "That's good. She's not always the most open of people when it comes to making new friends. It makes me happy to know that she's made friends with you and Ruby." The smile faded just a bit. "I can relate, being… me." A moment later she stuck out her hand. "Therefore allow me to introduce myself properly. I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

Jaune accepted and shook her hand. "Jaune Arc."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Any friend of Blake is a friend of mine." She seemed a bit more nervous now despite having just introduced herself. "I hope this isn't too forward of me, but would your Swords and Sorcery group have room for one more? I know I'm still little more than a stranger to you, but…"

The words trailed off, but Jaune knew exactly what she was saying. He also knew exactly what his answer would be. "Well my mom says that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet," he said, falling back on one of his favorite quotes. "So sure, I don't see a problem with you joining the group. Right now it's just me, Ruby, Blake, and Tukson, so a fourth party member shouldn't be a problem."

Pyrrha's smile returned, deeper this time as she nodded. "Excellent. Most grand."

Jaune noted how very proper she sounded, and that would definitely bring a new dynamic to their group. Between Ruby's insanity, Blake's deadpan seriousness, and Pyrrha's professionalism, Tukson's was about to get a whole lot livelier now.

Seconds later Dr. Oobleck held up a hand for them all to stop. Blake and Ren both emerged from the shadows, the former from the right and the latter from the left, each dragging a body behind them. Jaune could only hope that they were unconscious rather than dead. Each wore black pants and a white vest, but the most telling feature of their attire were the white masks that covered the top halves of their faces.

"Sentries," Pyrrha said knowingly.

Jaune frowned. So there were people down here. Or more accurately, judging by those masks and the symbols on their shirts, the White Fang.

"We found their base," Ren said. "Along with two guards. There are probably more, but I'll bet most of the people down here are asleep right now."

"Then how about we wake 'em up!" Nora gushed excitedly, brandishing her mighty hammer in both hands.

"No, we're going to do this the proper way," Blake said immediately. "The stealthy way. That way no one can get away."

That sounded like a good plan. A solid plan. A safe plan.

However, no plan ever survived contact with Ruby.

"That sounds boring," the vampire said, gripping the shaft of her scythe. "Come on guys, let's do this!" she exclaimed as she began running in the direction of the enemy base. "Rubyyyyyy Bloodrose!"

Five of the six remaining people stood there in stunned silence as they watched Ruby run off. Only Nora, hefting her own weapon, followed after her.

"Oh my gods she just ran in," Ren said with some mixture of shock, disappointment, and utter befuddlement in his tone.

"This is exactly how she died in S&S…" Blake groaned.

Jaune wasn't about to wait around for that to happen in real life. Drawing Crocea Mors, he didn't waste another moment rushing in after his best friend.

The sounds of battle grew louder as he and the rest of the group approached, and as everything came into view Jaune saw Ruby and Nora swinging away at the few remaining enemies with reckless abandon. Nora wielded her weapon as if it was light as a feather, sending broken bodies flying through the air with every swing. Ruby was equally as amazing, spinning and slashing with her scythe as if she'd been using it her entire life. Bodies were cut down like wheat before her, and no mere mortal could hope to stand up to her superior vampire strength and speed.

More and more armed guards began to pour from the buildings around, as well as from a parked train which sat ominously in front of one of the narrow tunnels. Some men began disembarking from it as well, but it was one man who was dressed particularly differently from the rest of them which earned Jaune's attention.

"What in the world is happening out here!" a tall and thin man in a white coat yelled. He leaned on a cane, and something about him just screamed 'class' to Jaune.

Ruby lashed out with an extended finger, pointing to the man in question. "It's the necromancer!"

It was barely audible over the din of battle which had been fully joined. Automatic rifles of the White Fang soldiers roared. The guns of Team BRNN shot back, and the difference in their skill became apparent as the grunts were gunned down while the huntsmen still stood tall. Not wanting to be outgunned by the numerically superior foe however, Blake led her team into melee combat against their foes who lacked any sort of close quarters weaponry.

Jaune bashed a soldier with his shield and followed up with a slash of his sword. Aura flared and the man went down hard. A kick to his head later knocked him out for good, and he looked up to try and find the next enemy. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He was actually fighting someone. He thought that those dreams had been dashed when he'd failed Beacon's initiation, but perhaps there were more ways to help out in the world than just being a huntsman.

"Oh come on! Fight, you animals!" the dapper man shouted from his position outside of the train's engine. "There's only seven of them and seventy of you!"

As Ruby slashed down another terrorist, her gaze turned up to the man who'd just been yelling. "Your evil horde doesn't stand a chance against us, necromancer!"

"Necromancer?" the orange-haired man asked confusedly. "While I have been known to romance a few necks in my time, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Stand back, Ruby," Blake snarled, shoving the vampire aside. She gripped twin swords in her hands as she stared up at the man on the train. "This one's mine!"

Without waiting for a response Blake rushed forward, dodging the projectiles the man was firing from his cane. Jaune couldn't help but think about how badass that was.

"Hey! I saw him first!" Ruby shouted after her. "XP stealer!"

Blake ignored her. This wasn't a game of S&S despite how much Ruby wanted it to be. Still, Jaune rushed up next to his friend, ready to act as her shield just as he did in game.

Not a moment too soon either, as a group of enemies began rushing toward them. Jaune readied himself for the inevitable clash, standing back to back with Ruby as White Fang terrorists closed in around them.

"Look at 'em, Jaune," his friend gushed excitedly. "Zombies! Real life zombies!"

He frowned as the faunus men and women neared. "Ruby, they aren't zombies."

"But they all have those blank, dead expressions on their faces!"

"Those are masks."

Ruby grunted. "Well what about the way they fearlessly charge at us with no regard for their own safety?"

"That's called blind fanaticism."

She harrumphed, annoyed at his constant but correct skepticism. "Okay, smartypants. If those aren't zombies, then why are they all chanting 'death to humans!' over and over again?"

Sure enough, like brainwashed zombies or fanatical cultists, the White Fang terrorists were indeed screaming about how they wanted to kill all humans. Sometimes Jaune wondered what it was like to live in Ruby's world and only see things from her warped point of view. He wondered if it was fun.

"Because they're faunus terrorists?" he asked.

"Are you saying zombies aren't terrorizing?"

The first of their foes made contact with them, and Jaune blocked the butt of a rifle with his shield before striking back with his sword. "Since when do zombies use guns?"

Ruby cut down one of her foes where he stood with a single slash of her scythe. "Um, clearly when they're zombie pirates who were shipwrecked sailors brought back to life by an insane swashbuckling vampire."

He couldn't believe they were having this conversation in the heat of battle, but here they were. "This isn't Warmaster Fantasy, Ruby!"

"I like to call them vampirates."

Jaune dispatched another terrorist. "Ruby! Not helping!"

"Okay, okay," she relented, whirling around and cutting down three terrorists in one fell swoop. "Just watch my back, okay?" She ginned stupidly at her next words. "My paladin paramour."

Their characters' relationship from Swords and Sorcery was bleeding through here and now. In-game they were shipped, and Jaune's paladin was the lover of Ruby's vampire. He supposed a little real life roleplaying wouldn't hurt much. All it would end up doing was validating Tukson and Blake's opinion that they were indeed LARPers. But hey, that ship had sailed long ago anyway, so why not just embrace it?

He couldn't help but smirk. "Ready, my vampire lover."

Ruby squealed with delight, but that noise was soon drowned out by the screams and cries of the foes they cut down while the battle raged around them.

With the element of surprise on their side the battle had been painfully one-sided. Four junior huntsmen, one professional one, a vampire, and Jaune. Whatever he was. The grunts hadn't stood a chance, and the man who Blake had told them was in fact the wanted criminal Roman Torchwick was in custody. Some pink and brown haired lady had stood by watching them fight, but when it was clear they were losing she'd vanished as quickly as she'd appeared. Whatever they'd been planning down here had been foiled, and whatever was on that train would soon be seized by the authorities.

Jaune had worked up a healthy sweat, and he couldn't quite remember how many enemies he'd taken down today. However many it was, though, was nothing compared to Ruby. She'd been glorious. Completely and utterly magnificent. He would never doubt her skills again after such a display of strength and agility. No enemy had been able to land a single blow on her. He wondered how she compared to huntsmen when it came to combat prowess.

Still, that didn't mean that he wouldn't tease the crap out of her when she deserved it.

Blake's team was resting while Dr. Oobleck had restrained Torchwick. Ren had gone back above ground to contact the police to come out and collect all the beaten terrorists. All that was left was to wait for them to arrive.

Ruby was seated on a large piece of rubble with her scythe still in her hands. Jaune approached her and sat next to her. She'd thoroughly impressed him today, and she deserved all the praise in the world for that.

"You did great today, Ruby," he said genuinely.

"Thanks. You did too."

He smiled at her praise. They really had done some good work today, hadn't they?

"We brought down some real bad guys. If it hadn't been for you insisting we come out here, who knows how things could have went? Maybe Blake and her team wouldn't have been able to stop them. Maybe someone could have gotten seriously hurt or killed. We made a difference today, and it's all thanks to you." Jaune reached up and patted his friend on the head, running his hand through her soft red-black hair. "You really did do good today. I'm so proud of you."

The ear-splitting sound of metal clattering on concrete rang through the air. Ruby's scythe had fallen from her fingers and smashed into the ground. Her entire body seemed to have gone stiff, much to Jaune's concern.

"Ruby?" he asked worriedly. "Ruby? What's wrong?"

She was shaking so hard now that it appeared as if she was vibrating. Fingers nervously twitched so fast that they looked like a hummingbird's wings. Her teeth clamped down so hard on her lower lip that Jaune was amazed she hadn't drawn blood yet.

"Ruby?" He shook her by the shoulder. "Ruby?"

"Eeeep! I can't!"

In a poof of red smoke Ruby's body vanished, and all that was left in its wake was a tiny bat wearing a red hooded cape. Ruby had transformed into her bat form, and flew away in a hurry up into the dark and cavernous abyss that were the tunnels of Mountain Glenn.

She vanished from sight quickly, and Jaune had no idea what had just occurred. He didn't have much time to think about it, as another person approached him from the front.

"Jaune…?" Blake asked warily, staring up to where Ruby had flown off to. "What. Was. That?"

Oh crap.

How was he going to explain this? It wasn't every day that you saw a person just turn into an animal and fly away. Whatever had just happened was enough for Ruby to forget there were other people hanging around, and she'd used one of her vampiric powers in front of them. Now he was left here to pick up the pieces.

"Oh, um, that?" he said uneasily. What could he even say? "It's, uh, you know…"

"Do not say it. Do not say what I think you're about to say. I refuse to believe it."

Refusing to believe it would make life much easier. However, he knew that Blake was a very intelligent girl. She wasn't the type to just run away and hide from the truth, no matter how ugly it was.

"I won't say it then," Jaune said politely with all the plausible deniability such silence would bring with it.

"She's… she's actually a vampire," Blake gasped. A hand came up to hold her head and massage away the headache she must have been suffering from. "I mean, I mean what other explanation is there? You can't just turn into a bat. There's no Semblance in the world that allows you to shape shift. There's no way. There's just no way."

"I mean I didn't say it, but at this point I think we're beyond denying it."

Blake nodded numbly, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that vampires and magic existed. "So all those times I thought you two were having sex in Tukson's bathroom, she was actually just drinking your blood?"

"Yeah," Jaune confirmed. He blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I didn't think monsters were real," she continued, pushing right past the fact that all this time she'd thought he and Ruby were getting freaky in a public bathroom. "So Ruby's a monster…" Her eyes widened and she gazed into Jaune's. "You're dating a monster…"

He was about to correct her assumption, but the sudden appearance of a bat flying down from the darkness stole both of their attentions. One big red cloud of smoke later, Ruby Rose appeared once more in the flesh, and she wasn't too happy.

"Hey!" she snarled, pointing a finger at Blake. "What the heck is your problem? You can't say that word! That's our word!"

Blake's eyes widened in shock. Whether it was due to Ruby's sudden appearance or her sudden anger, Jaune couldn't say.

"What?" Blake asked, taking a step back.

"You're not allowed to use the M word!" Ruby pressed, pushing Blake further and further backwards. "What are you, some kind of racist?"

"R-racist?" the other girl stuttered nervously. "N-no! I'm not racist! It's just a word. Monster is just a normal word!"

Ruby threw her hands up into the air. "You said it again! Only actual monsters and people with M word passes are allowed to say that word! And even then, only with a soft A. Show her your M word pass, Jaune!"

Jaune was also a bit shaken and stunned by this sudden turn of events, but sure enough he fished out his wallet and retrieved the small card Ruby had gifted him all those weeks ago in Canton. He held it out for both to see, and Blake's terrified eyes read the words Ruby had scribbled down onto it.

"But, but, I'm not racist!" Blake insisted, as if her entire world had been torn asunder. "I can't be racist!"

"Says the girl who uses the M word all willy nilly!"

"But I'm not! I swear! See, look!" Blake's hand came up to the neat black bow she always wore atop her head and untied it. She slipped it off, revealing a pair of pointed black cat ears atop her head. "See? I'm a faunus! I'm not racist! I promise!"

Huh, so Blake was a faunus? Neat. Jaune didn't think any less of her because of it. In fact it was pretty cool that she'd managed to hide that from them for all this time. However at the same time he felt a little bit sad that she felt the need to hide it. Especially from her friends.

"Oh my gods, Blake's a faunus!" Nora's voice rang out, and Jaune turned to see her pointing at her teammate. Just when he thought there was about to be some drama going down, Nora grinned brightly at her teammate. "That's cool. Isn't that cool, guys?"

Pyrrha and the newly rejoined Ren came to stand by Blake's side. They all wore smiles on their faces.

"Absolutely," Pyrrha agreed.

Ren shrugged. "I've known all along. I just didn't want to say anything." Three sets of eyes settled on him. "What? She does really enjoy tuna."

Pyrrha giggled softly and Nora grinned. Blake appeared relieved. "So… you don't care that I'm a faunus? And that I hid it from you all this entire time?"

"Of course we don't care," Pyrrha said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're more than just our leader, Blake. You're our friend. We would never judge you for being who you are. We all love you."

What an endearing and heartwarming moment. Naturally, Ruby had to go and spoil it because that was just who she was as well. "Doesn't stop her from judging other people's races…" she grumbled.

Blake's hands immediately came up defensively again. "Ruby, please. I swear I'm not racist. I was just… just shocked, that's all."

"Ooooh, Ruby's a faunus too?" Nora gushed, walking in circles around the girl and examining every part of her body. "What kind of faunus are you? I don't see any traits. Unless they're in some place I can't see. People sometimes think I'm a cow faunus, but I can't really understand why. I mean I don't exactly have any cow bits on me, do I?"

Jaune wasn't about to touch that one. Nope. He had enough awkwardness on his plate at the moment.

"I'm not a faunus," Ruby said, her gaze on Blake never faltering. She pointed two fingers at her eyes before flipping them around to point at Blake. "But I'm watching you, Blake…" she said ominously. "I'll see you back at Tukson's…" She turned and walked toward Jaune, linking her arms around his without missing a beat. "Come on, Jaune. Let's head back. We'll let the huntsmen finish cleaning up this mess."

Jaune turned and followed Ruby, sparing a look behind him at Blake and her team. Blake looked utterly defeated and deflated. The poor girl.

"Ruby!" she called after her. "I'm not racist…" she followed up softer and sadder than before.

The vampire didn't respond. Jaune was sure they'd settle this in time, but for now he'd just let Ruby work out her anger naturally. Maybe a nice tasty snack would make her feel better. He'd be sure to offer her some blood once they got back to Vale.

Author's Note: Blake is the unsung hero of this story. I love writing her reactions to Ruby's stupidity, and this chapter especially was a lot of fun.

Considering there's no Team RWBY, there was no docks incident. No Sun incident. Her team never had the chance to find out she was a faunus. However, because Blake was the driving force behind the plot in volumes 1 and 2, she would still press to get to the bottom of the White Fang working in Vale. She would find the connection between them and Roman Torchwick. So she still convinced her team to show up in Mountain Glenn. And you know what? Even if that doesn't make 100% sense, I don't care! I love this story because I just get to have fun with it, and I'm not weighed down by stuff like filler and plot. Just pure joy with every scene.

Even as I write this I realize I forgot to include Emerald and Mercury confronting Tukson, and that's an opportunity to have some fun. So maybe I'll still have them show up later in the timeline to try and do what they did in canon.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you all had as much fun reading this as I had writing it.