BEEP BEEP BEEP BE-

She was ready for it this time, hand darting out with practiced precision to strike the off button on the alarm. The blue digits read an angrily blinking 6:00 AM on the display. She watched until the numbers changed a few times before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. The rest of her morning routine was burned into muscle memory, but it wasn't until she was in her full Beacon uniform and lacing her shoes that she stopped to look back at clock. The time was right, but...

It was Saturday. She didn't need to be up right now, actually, no one did. Without a doubt in her mind, not a soul in all of Beacon was awake with any real purpose right now. And yet...

Weiss found herself walking with unusual purpose in the direction of the Headmaster's tower. Outside, the morning dew coated the flagstones, casting a slippery sheen across the courtyard.

"What do I even say?" She chided herself along on the way.

"What can I say? What's done is done, he can't do anything." Weiss let out a frustrated groan. It's not like it was the headmaster's job to monitor student excursions to Vale. But that's not what she cared about, was it? All she needed was to ensure not a single word of this slipped out to her father. The second her presence here implicated him in any way, and she would be on the first shuttle back to Atlas. It took Weiss a few more steps to realize how backwards her plan was. She liked Ozpin as much as anyone else; he was eccentric and odd but he ran Beacon well. That said, with how much money her family donated to the academies, it would almost be a bigger risk to confide in the old man. There was just no guarantee that he wasn't in her father's pocket in one way or another.

Weiss continued on briskly past the tower, heels clicking angrily against the polished stone. She stepped past the courtyard fountain, turning sharply to climb a wide staircase up a branching path. Her mind was racing, thinking of all that Blake, Yang, and even Ruby had said. All of them had a point, this was eating her alive. She couldn't just wait for someone else to do something, because there was no one else. It was time to take back control of her life.

A few more turns found her at the foot of a massive spire, its height putting even the headmaster's tower to shame. Bold letters adorned a nearby archway, the words "CROSS CONTINENTAL TRANSMIT SYSTEM" engraved on the relief. She scanned her student badge on a card reader and stepped inside, blue light and a familiar electric hum washing over her. A cold draft rushed in behind her as the automatic doors whooshed softly to a close. It wasn't like her to think without a plan, but the CCT was a reliable resource. You could call anyone, look up anything. At the very least she could make a few connections to Atlas and-

No. She couldn't risk leaving a paper trail. If she wanted her search history to be sent back to Atlas, she would use the terminal in her room. Besides, she was the one who had insisted on Beacon over Atlas, so it would only be fair to solve this with Beacon resources. Walking through the lobby, Weiss noted how quiet it was today. No receptionist, there probably wouldn't be one until noon. Entering the first floor terminal area proved the same, with only a light din of conversation permeating the white noise of the machinery.

She made for the central elevator, thumbing the 'up' arrow on the panel. Leaning with her back against the wall, she looked aimlessly around the room. A few rows in front of her, an older student was watching some kind of foreign news channel. A Faunus reporter was standing in knee-high water talking about flooding in a coastal town, or so she could assume. Just a couple screens past him was what could have been another first-year saying goodnight to her family. An anguished cry had her looking to the side. It took her a second to find the source of the noise, until she spotted a monitor spelling out the words "YOU LOSE" in big red letters. She checked her watch and cringed, just as a high pitched ding sounded from behind her. The doors of the elevator slid open to reveal a tired looking Faunus, her backpack hanging over one shoulder. They traded places wordlessly, Weiss tapping the button for the fifth floor as the doors pressed to a close.

When the elevator arrived on her floor, she was greeted by the smooth sound of silence. A quick look confirmed that she was alone, but she still erred on the side of caution and made her way to the back row of screens. Pulling a chair, she hung her bag off the side and clicked the guest login on the console. She wasn't surprised at all to see her family crest pop up on the screensaver, ever a reminder of what she stood to inherit.

Opening the browser, she clicked the search bar and typed in a request. A few clicks later had her scrolling through the most recent of Vale news. Dust robberies and fluff pieces about the notorious thief Roman Torchwick took the spotlight. Apparently another string of shops had been hit last night. Clicking past those showed less interesting articles; Grimm sightings on the border, a rise in gravity dust prices, and an uptick of gang activity in Vale's industrial sector. She clicked on the last one, the thumbnail showing a thug in a black suit robbing an elderly man at an ATM. A bored sigh escaped her as she rested a hand on her face, refreshing the page to show the latest stories again. Well, there was nothing about her, she could be thankful for that at least. Gods, she didn't even want to think about the media fallout if a recording of that night made it online.

About an hour later, Weiss was almost completely empty handed. Part of her wondered if that was a good thing. She had the address of the club she went to, and a little background search told her it was in Vale's top 10 for most critically acclaimed nightlife destinations. Apparently they had just finished a major renovation some months back. Finding nothing else of interest, she checked her watch again and logged out of the terminal. The rest of her team would be waking up by now- well maybe for the exception of Yang. Shouldering her bag, she rubbed some feeling back into her legs and lurched from the chair. An airy feeling settled over her, giving her brief pause until it was accompanied by a low growl. She had to start taking better care of herself... Had it really been that long since she'd eaten real food?

A rattle at the door had Blake looking up from her book, faunus ears twitching at the noise. She subconsciously tilted the front cover down, obscuring it from view. Ruby was still passed out face down in her bunk. Her sibling's bed was empty, the sound of running water splashing faintly through the bathroom door. Yang's hour-shower was almost at an end, and without Weiss there might even be some hot water left for the rest of them. The girl in question stepped quietly through the door, fumbling her key back into her bag. The two locked eyes, and Blake lifted a single eyebrow in greeting. Weiss took a quick look around the room, and seeing the still sleeping Ruby, closed the door gently behind her. She smiled affectionately, whispering a soft "Hey, you!" as she moved to sit on the edge of Blake's bed.

"Is Yang in the shower?" Weiss asked in the same hushed tone.

"Jaune, actually." Blake answered deadpan, moving her finger to turn a page of her novel.

Weiss stared incredulously for a second, then rolled her eyes and grinned. "Vomit boy? As-if. Those things are rotting your brain, you know."

Blake flushed slightly and swatted Weiss' hand away when she made a grab for her book. She hurriedly clapped it shut, sliding it under her pillow in one fluid motion.

"This one's not even bad!" Blake hissed, crossing her arms in defiance.

"Mhmm, sure." Weiss retorted smugly, unshouldering her bag and tossing it across the room to land on her own immaculately dressed bunk. She sprawled back, half laying with feet still planted on the floor. The Faunus gestured irritably at her, but rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You're certainly chipper today, you had us worried you know." She said nonchalantly, eyes flicking to see Weiss' reaction.

"I know, I should have came to you all from the start. I was a fool to deal with this on my own." Weiss answered honestly.

"No, I mean worried about last night. You dodged Yang's texts again, I had to hold her back from charging out to go find you." Blake mused, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers. "She thought you pulled a me."

Weiss sat up abruptly and pulled her scroll from her pocket. A quick thumb of the screen proved Blake right, with multiple unread messages popping to life under Yang's chat bubble. She groaned and collapsed dramatically back onto the bed.

"I totally forgot, we were supposed to eat together..." Weiss' voice was flat with regret.

"Don't be such a drama queen, she wasn't that upset about it." Blake said amusedly.

"No, it's not that," Weiss started, glancing at her watch again. "That promotion that's going on, yesterday was supposed to be the last day. I missed out..."

Blake peered cluelessly down at her.

"Promotion...?"

As if on cue, the bathroom door flung open, Yang walking out in a T-shirt and shorts. A towel was draped over her head, blindly stumbling as she frisked her hair.

"RUBY! Shower!" She barked the order like a drill sergeant before discarding the damp towel on Weiss' bed.

"Oh! Weiss!" Yang froze like a deer in the headlights. "You're uh... back so early!"

The blonde snatched the corner of the wet towel and tossed it away haphazardly, nailing Ruby as she dropped from her bunk.

"Yep, back and better than ever!" Weiss tried unconvincingly for a winning smile.

"Oof, Yang!" A muffled protest came from the floor. "Wait did you say Weiss is back?" The younger girl's head popped up like a whack-a-mole, peering eagerly over the edge of the bed. Weiss answered her question by waving a hand in greeting.

"You look... good." Yang said with a satisfactory tone, studying Weiss up and down with a skeptical eye. "So I take it you talked to Oz? Got what you needed to off your chest?"

Weiss' smile faltered, and she looked to Blake for help. When Blake looked just as expectant, she took a deep breath and steeled herself.

"I, uh... Didn't tell the headmaster about it." She opened her eyes, expecting to see disappointment on their faces. When she saw there was none, she continued, "I don't know if you all planned it this way, but... you're right."

"Right about...?" Yang interjected, prompting her to keep going.

"About needing to do something, as a team. Like when we had to track down the White Fang to help Blake." She glanced to her right and caught Blake's disapproving scowl.

"Which you were right about by the way." She hastily covered, accepting the way her shoulders eased. "When we went after the Fang, we were taking things into our own hands. We didn't tell the headmaster, because we knew he wasn't going to help us. In fact, he probably would have grounded us on campus until they made their move."

"Okay, go on..." Yang narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Weiss leaned forward in anticipation, "So it's the same thing! If I go to Ozpin, this will probably make its way back to my father. You all know what that would mean. But if we go back to the club, as a team-"

"Stop, stop, stop. Ok, Weiss-" Yang shook her head vehemently, stepping towards her.

Weiss jumped to her feet, throwing her arms to the side in defiance.

"If we go as a team, we can find the ones who did this!" She insisted desperately.

A brief silence settled over the room as the girls took turns looking at each other.

"It was my idea." A small voice came from the floor. The three of them looked at once, Ruby's head peeking shyly over the side of Weiss' bed.

"What did you say?" Yang asked bewildered, as if she didn't hear her right.

"I said it was my idea." The younger girl repeated, rising to her feet.

"Why would... Is this going to make you feel better, Weiss?" Yang asked accusingly.

Weiss hesitated and looked down, ashamed.

"I know you've all done so much for me already, so it's hard to ask...but..." She tried to find the right words, looking to Ruby for more help.

"That's all you have to say, I'm in." Yang answered immediately. Weiss stood stunned for a moment, shocked at the sudden change.

"Just like that?" She asked cautiously.

"Just like that. Right team?" Yang slapped her fist and nodded to the other two girls.

Blake smirked and shook her head in amusement, "So you ended up taking a page from my book after all."

"Yeah! We're gonna get this sucker!" Ruby leapt to her feet in excitement. "But... where do we start?" She turned to Weiss with a confused expression.

She held up her scroll in response, waving it between two fingers. Yang accepted it, eyes flicking over the display.

"No way, Weiss are you sure this is the place?" She asked in disbelief.

Weiss affirmed with a nod, prompting Yang to break out in a cheerful scream.

"What, what does that mean?! Yang?" Ruby asked urgently, fear creeping into her voice.

"It means..." Yang paused for dramatic effect, handing Weiss' scroll back to her. "Team RWBY is hitting the club!"

Ruby sagged, all the life draining out of her.

"Me and my big mouth... for the record this was NOT my idea..." She complained defeatedly, dragging her feet to the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Yang framed her fingers in a square around Weiss, "You know, this isn't how I pictured it, but I always knew this day would come."

Weiss crossed her arms indignantly and turned away with a frown.

"Don't be so full of yourself, Yang. This is strictly business, there will time to gloat IF we find this guy." Her posture relaxed, arms dropping slightly. "Though if we don't... when's the last time we all had a night out?"