Nothing to say, let's be on the way!


Ruby wasn't one to judge people without getting to know them first. Sure, she didn't exactly go out of her way to meet people in the first place, but she didn't judge them either. Unless they were flirting with her sister, then she was almost positive they were terrible people who had earned her ire. This was non-negotiable.

At any rate, the girl who stood before them seemed nice enough, if not a tad eccentric. Whitley had warned Yang and her that the ginger girl was strange and even a little eerie, while Adam stated that she was definitely hiding something.

Boys, Ruby chalked it up to.

They were meeting this new friend at Ren's request, the boy sending them a message that demanded their presence. Before Whitley could deny in any way, Ren sent a series of pictures that looked oddly like each of them while they were asleep.

In their beds. At night. In their locked room.

Needless to say, they'd been all too threaten— er, happy to come meet Ren's new friend. That's why the team found themselves in the gardens.

As they walked through the quaint garden they could overhear voices from around the corner. It was Team PAVL and likely this new friend, but there was also another energetic voice. A voice that Adam recognized. A voice he very much didn't want to hear. As the four of them rounded the corner his fears came true.

"Fancy seeing you here boys," Neon winked.

"I'm leaving," Adam turned and began to make a break for it.

"Ruby?" Whitley said simply as he checked his nails.

The reaper vanished without a word. After only a few seconds she returned, a sulking Adam trying to claw his way out of her grasp.

"Thanks sis," Yang didn't even turn around to acknowledge the scene.

"Are these your teammates Adam and Whitley?" the ginger girl asked. Ruby assumed that was Penny. Whitley was the one who stepped forward to answer.

"Yes, the one wrestling Adam is Ruby and this boar is my partner and our leader Yang."

"Boar!?" Yang fumed.

"Did I stutter?" the boy raised an eyebrow.

"Feisty," Neon laughed. Yang didn't find it nearly as funny.

"Anyways ladies, since these two absolute gentlemen don't seem to want to introduce me, I'll do it," the faunus swept a hand in front of her theatrically, "Neon Katt. Your pleasure."

"Don't you mean 'my pleasure'?" Yang quirked an eyebrow, crossing her arms.

"Not in the least Goldilocks," the girl snickered. Yang already didn't like her.

"It's nice to meet you Neon," Ruby greeted politely. She blinked when the girl disappeared from in front of her, shivering a little when she felt the hairs of a tail tickle her shoulder.

"You're a cute one too! To think that Adam and you are partners. Ah, it's just not fair that all the pretty people end up together," she wept mockingly.

"U-uh, right," Ruby smiled awkwardly. She was perhaps beginning to understand why Adam was afraid of this girl.

"You know," the faunus sidled up closer to the reaper, making her fidget in place, "I'm not exclusive to boys. Adam owes me a date but there's nothing saying we can't make it a three-way."

It was official: she understood Adam now. Ruby released the bull, sending him a look of total understanding. He did not hesitate to move.

"Righteous freedom fighters first!" he shouted as he pushed his way through and past students who got in the way of his escape. Ruby was hot on his heels, neither partner wanting to give the cat girl anymore chances to proposition them.

Unluckily for them, Neon liked a chase.

"See ya later Penny!" Neon shouted as she jetted off in the direction the two red partners ran. She was okay with people playing hard to get.

"Bye Neon!" Penny waved merrily, not batting an eye at the girls antics.

That left Yang and Whitley with Team PAVL and Penny. Ren and Penny launched back into whatever conversation they had been in before Team YSTR arrived. Something about the best way to subdue a man using only his own shoe.

"Never a dull moment," Nora sighed. Pyrrha smiled awkwardly yet soothingly as she patted the girls back. Truly their two teams were a colorful bunch.

"So Penny," Whitley decided to staunchly ignore the scene they'd witnessed, "you had told us that you were here for the tournament? I wouldn't pin you as a fighter."

Was that an insult? Yang didn't know. Whitley seemed to make everything sound like an insult. Even genuine, heartfelt compliments! He was just a sour person in general. Maybe that's why he and Adam got along so much better than they thought they would.

"I am very much a trained combatant! My weapon utilizes some of the most technologically advanced components, courtesy of my father!" she answered happily. Indeed the... Backpack, was quite the intimidating weapon. He didn't know what it could possibly be. The bag was large, going from between her shoulders to her lower back and going from shoulder blade to shoulder blade. It was more of a trunk than a backpack. She looked happy to be talking to them.

Whitley looked happy too, Yang noted. Not in a good way of course. He had an evil, scheming look on his face, no doubt filing away any information he could on any possible opponents.

"One of my friends is the best however! She is strong, beautiful, and is a tactical genius!" Penny boasted.

"Oh? Do go on," Whitley urged, happy to hear more about the competition.

"With pleasure! She is smart, smarter than almost everyone! She's also a very graceful fighter and has an incredible semblance! She's also quite punctual," Penny seemed to think this was a friendly conversation with no underlying motivations. She was sorely mistaken.

"That's great for you," he said, smile still in place. He obviously didn't care, but he wasn't being a douche either so Yang held back from hitting him. For now.

"Actually speaking of her, Whitley, I have been meaning to ask. You share a similar appearance to this friend. Are you perhaps related to Weiss Schnee?" Penny asked curiously.

The boy froze. He hadn't thought about this. Of course Penny knew Weiss. She had said that she and Neon were from Atlas Academy after all. It made sense that they'd all know each other. Did that mean Weiss was here too? That wouldn't do. He hadn't had time to drill his team into being perfect.

"Yes I am her brother. You said you two are friends?" he asked. He better be nicer to Penny if Weiss liked her.

"We're not just friends," Penny stood proudly, "we're the best partners in the world!"

Partners?

Partners!?

"You're what!?" he shrieked. The opponent that he'd been gathering info on was his own sister!?

"We're the best partners in the school!" Penny shouted back, assuming that it was telling time.

"Oh oh! I can be loud too! WHY ARE WE BEING LOUD!?" Ren hollered as he jumped up, Nora sighing deeply as she slowly tugged the boy to sit down.

"Weiss is a great partner! She always said she had a brother but never mentioned you by name! It is a pleasure to meet you finally Whitley!" Penny beamed.

"W-we've already met," he stammered out, still coming to terms that his sister's teammate was standing before him.

"Yes, but now I have also officially met the brother that Weiss is always talking about! It is truly a sensational feeling!" Penny was overjoyed by this new development. Her own partner's brother! How wonderful!

"I think I need a minute," Whitley said quietly. Information gathering on his own sister. He already knew his sister! And what if Penny told Weiss about how he'd been asking about her? She'd never let him live it down! She'd be on his back faster than Klein on a stain! And that was really fast!

"Wow. Never thought someone could get Whitley to lose his words so easily," Yang looked on, impressed. Maybe Penny wasn't so bad after all. Definitely better than Neon had been.

"Yes well, my partner and leader is the best friend a girl could ask for!" Penny said with unrestrained pride.

Yang thought it was pretty endearing that Penny admired Whitley's sister like this. If Whitley gave her the same admiration maybe they wouldn't argue all the time! Her whole team needed to appreciate her awesomeness more, really.

Speaking of the boy, she sent a sidelong glance his way. Somehow, some way, he'd gone more pale than normal. She couldn't imagine what it was that had him so spooked. He looked like he was on the verge of passing out!

Whitley was indeed on the verge of passing out.

Weiss was the leader of her own team!? And he wasn't! Sure he'd gotten over the fact by this point and while he wouldn't say so out loud, Yang was a capable leader for their team. But what would his sister think? He wasn't the leader while she was! Was all of her training for him for naught? Oh he could see her reaction now...

"My dear brother Whitley, I am ever so disappointed in you. All of my advice and training and you weren't made leader?"

"Sister, I can explain!"

"All the time I spent on you, and you waste your potential."

"Weiss, I am still top of the class!"

"But no longer top of priorities. Goodbye brother, nay, Whitley. We are family no longer!"

Okay, so maybe he was exaggerating a little. The point still remained that Weiss trained him to be the best. To be on top. It worked for her, and yet it didn't work for him.

Would she actually be disappointed in him? He had been sending her letters but he hadn't mentioned his place on the team. What if she assumed he was the leader and waset with wasted expectations when she found out he wasn't?

"Whitley, you are quite pale right now! Weiss does a similar thing when she's incredibly nervous! Are you incredibly nervous!?" Penny stated, growing louder with each sentence. Whitley shook his head and stared at the girl for a moment.

"Penny? Is my sister here with you?" Whitley asked, sounding hopeful as much as he sounded desperate.

"Negative! I arrived before the rest of my team, much like Neon! Unlike Neon however, I paid for my boat ticket!" Penny said happily.

"You guys took a boat from Atlas to Vale?" Pyrrha asked. That would've been quite the frigid boat ride.

"Heavens no! We took a bullhead to Argus and then a boat ride from there!" Penny smiled fondly as she remembered the trip. Neon was a very entertaining traveling companion.

"Oh! I'm from Argus!" Pyrrha said happily as she recalled her hometown.

"Argus is so lovely! Such a beautiful town!" the two redheads began chatting avidly about the town while Whitley processed the information.

Weiss wasn't here. That meant he had time to plan. Maybe he could find a way to grow a few more inches, that way he could at least be a lot taller than her. No that wouldn't faze her, everyone was taller than her. Maybe he could get incredibly buff? No that didn't work either, most people were bigger than her in that regard as well.

Did he even have to do anything? Weiss wasn't cruel, she would likely not care what position he held on his team. But what if she did? Weiss accepted nothing but perfection. Was him not being the leader of his own team imperfect?

"Whitley? You're doing the pale thing again," Yang waved a hand in front of his face as he thought.

"Maybe he's been possessed by a ghost!" Ren shouted.

"What? No I'm just thinking—"

"A GHOST!?" Penny yelped, leaping back.

"I'm not possessed, you simpletons!" Whitley huffed.

An argument about whether or not Whitley was haunted ensued. Whitley was actually somewhat grateful for it however. It distracted him from overthinking his sister's opinion of him.

He couldn't help but wonder how the older two members of their team were doing with Neon.


Ruby was faster than him.

That fact never made him more envious in his life.

"Adam! Ruby! Don't run away! We can be great friends!" Neon shouted behind them. She was gaining on them.

No, that was being generous to Ruby. She was gaining on him. Ruby had abandoned him to the dogs. Or the cat, in this case.

Now that he thought about it, what was it about cat faunus that drew them to him? Blake had been a slow decline into bloodlust, but the fact remained that she had slowly become nuttier than squirrel shit. Neon looked like she started that way, so he was afraid of what would happen if he spent an extended period of time with her.

Maybe she'd explode. Into a nova of rainbows and sprinkles or something. The thought would've been amusing if it weren't a possibility.

"Gotcha!"

Adam offered nothing more than a grunt as he kept running, ignoring the weight on his back.

"Ooooh, you're toned," Neon smirked as she hung off his shoulders. She wrapped her legs around his waist, effectively locking herself into his back.

Adam wheezed. This girl had more leg strength than one would expect. While some men would love to be crushed by a girl's thighs, Adam was no such man. Aside from that, Neon was no normal girl, she was a huntress in training with aura and muscles.

Long and short, her legs were actually starting to crush him.

He saw Ruby ahead, looking around. How dare she leave him to this! If he was going down, she was going down too! So with one final push, Adam poured it on and charged forward like the bull he was.

"Gah! Adam stay back! She's on you!" Ruby screamed.

"And you left me!"

"Survival of the fittest!"

"Man you two are so weird," Neon laughed as she held on tighter to the man's back. He grunted as he felt his ribs constrict little by little.

"Adam get away! Stay back!" Ruby began to back up but in her haste she stumbled and fell over.

Adam took the chance to pounce. He landed on the reaper, winding both of them.

"Now I've got both of you!" Neon cheered.

"Now she's got both of us!" Ruby hissed.

Adam had already passed out. The constant squeezing on his midsection had made running and breathing at the same time difficult.

"So Ruby," Neon purred, "Since we're already here, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"I AM VERY AFRAID OF INTERACTING WITH LESBIANS WHO WANT TO DO THINGS TO MY BODY!"

"Bi, but whatever," Neon smirked. Ruby paled when Neon didn't deny the part about doing things to her.

"Be gentle," Ruby whined quietly.

"Woah sister," Neon shot her a skeptical look, "I'm more of a third date kind of girl. Also not really into public stuff."

Ruby blushed. Okay maybe she jumped the gun a little bit there.

"What's wrong though Ruby? Don't wanna pway with wittle old me?" Neon sent a pout her way. Ruby still struggled.

"No!" the reaper grunted.

They failed to hear or see the fourth person walking their way. Walking was too generous actually, it was definitely stomping.

"What the bum-fuck is going on here!?" Velvet swore.

"Huh?" Adam finally came to, looking around slowly. He realized it was his nightmare.

"Adam!? Who the hell is this!?" Velvet asked, foot tapping quickly.

"Are you the girl he's going on a date with?" Neon asked, standing quickly and appraising the rabbit faunus.

"Maybe, maybe not, what's it to you?" Velvet growled, observing her much the same way.

"Cool, tell me how it goes so I can make our date even better," Neon smirked.

The two faunus had an intense stare down. The playful and teasing face of a cat met the beady and unflinching gaze of a rabbit. On the ground still, a rose and a bull watched. The bull had noticeably begun to scramble as he tried to get away.

"Adam!" both girls shouted.

"No!" he shouted back as he broke into another sprint.

He didn't make it far due to both girls tackling him to the ground again. He looked back to see Ruby disappear in a cloud of petals.

Traitor! After dragging her down with him, this is how she repaid him!?

"Tell this girl to bugger off!" Velvet demanded.

"No, tell this girl that it takes more than a nice pair of legs to get into a guys pants!" Neon stuck her tongue out at the second year.

Adam wisely stayed silent. Right now he was standing in a warehouse full of fireworks while wearing a suit made of matches. One wrong move would send the whole situation up in flames.

"That's it! Adam! Get dressed! We're going out tonight!" Velvet demanded.

"Do I get a say—"

"No."

Of course he didn't.

"And when you're done clawing your way out of that date I'll take you on a real date," Neon declared.

"Do I get a say in that?"

The look Neon sent him said more than any no he'd received in the last year.

"Ugh, he clearly doesn't even like you that much!" Velvet growled at the girl.

"Says you! I might not know you but I can see plain as day that he wants nothing to do with you!" Neon humphed.

Adam had the wherewithal to not mention that he didn't really like either of them and definitely didn't want to go out on a date with them.

The girls continued to take snipes at each other but didn't ever come to blows. Even still, Adam managed to crawl away while they were distracted. When he finally got back to his feet and started running he heard Velvet's voice behind him.

"Don't forget to be ready by six!" the way she said it sounded more like a threat than a reminder. He had a feeling she'd kick their already recently broken door in if he was just a minute late.

Unfortunately, whether he wanted to or not, it looked like he had a date tonight.

How romantic, he thought grimmly.


"You are aware of the plan, yes?"

He rolled his eyes but nodded anyways. Of course he knew the plan. Cinder may have thought he was an idiot but he was quite the capable criminal when he felt like it.

"Good. I expect it to be done quietly. And keep an eye on the White Fang recruits that are joining you. Let it be known to them that their goals and mine are not the same."

He gave her a look that asked 'And what have you been doing?' with his eyebrow raised and his eyes skeptical. She hummed but her face didn't twitch at all.

"Someone has been looking into our little project. I will be around during your heist to see if I can find her. If I do, I will be making contact with her."

Roman didn't quite understand that but he knew he wasn't in the place to ask. What exactly were Cinder's goals? She hadn't killed anyone to prove a point yet so he assumed there was more to her than just a power hungry psycho.

He hoped that, at least. Whatever power she had displayed in that warehouse was something fierce. It made the hairs on his neck stand on end. Something that primal wasn't normal. And if she didn't want people getting hurt or property damage abound, then why did she get the White Fang on board?

Cinder was a loose cannon, and she worked in mysterious and quite frankly confusing ways. Roman and Neo would have to keep tabs on her. They didn't know what her plans for them were, but they weren't risking their lives for her or whatever strange crusade she was on.

The scroll he held clicked as the call ended and he closed it. Tonight he'd be raiding the docks for a big dust shipment that had come in. Why Cinder was supplying the White Fang of all people with dust was beyond him, but again, he wasn't in the place to ask.

Speaking of the protestors-turned-terrorists, Roman didn't like the idea of working with them. They were a bad bunch nowadays. Once upon a time Roman remembered respecting the raids he heard the Fang were pulling off around Remnant. When those raids turned into hostage situations and executions Roman had lost that respect. He had no problem with faunus. The White Fang of today weren't faunus anymore though, they were animals. Savage, angry, and always ready to fight.

He didn't like working with them, and it was jobs like this that made him appreciate Neo all the more. Unfortunately for him, Neo had been very specifically instructed not to join him on this heist. He was essentially alone, surrounded by and in charge of a group of terrorists that would probably rather kill him that work with him.

Fun.

Roman paced the safehouse floor. Tonight would be a pain in the ass, he already knew. Hopefully the grunts he was stuck with would know not to start a ruckus. Cinder was oddly specific about that. No random pedestrians hurt, no unnecessary damage to the city. It made the whole operation all the more strange.

He hoped that tonight, he could do this job quickly, quietly, and without any extra company showing up.

Fat chance.


Ozpin stared at the monitor in front of him. On the screen, a lone figure stared back. They'd been having this same debate for forty minutes now and it was starting to become just a tad irksome.

"Ozpin, there's no issue in being too cautious," the man on the other end said.

"Yes but there is such a thing as being too extreme, James," Ozpin sighed.

James Ironwood. General of the Atlas military, headmaster of Atlas Academy, and one of the few people Ozpin trusted implicitly. He could think of no living being on the planet more capable of leading the largest army on the planet than James. He was made for the job.

Also a firm believer that inaction meant that they were all going to die.

"Ozpin, my army can provide the protection that we need to stave off any attacks from her," James pressed on with his point.

"And I understand the want to be on top of things James, but bringing an armada to Vale would only serve to make people start conspiracies. The sight of several multi-ton warships floating above head doesn't create the peace of mind you may think it does," Ozpin leaned forward as he waited for what would likely be another reason that they absolutely needed three fifths of the Atlas military patrolling the city.

"And since when was keeping the peace your intent?" James asked.

Ozpin's eyes darted around quickly, even though he knew nobody was listening in. The line was secure as well.

"I aim to make sure humanity thrives. You of all people know that is my intention," Ozpin said slowly. Measured. Sharp.

"If you wanted humanity to thrive we would've expanded. You have the power to make that happen."

Power yes. But the ability to keep the entire world from learning how he could do it? Not even a little bit.

"Your army is to stay out of the citizens and student's lives," Ozpin answered, Ironwood noting that he'd dodged the conversation, "we don't need an international crisis going on behind the scenes of whatever she is planning."

"My soldiers will only intervene if they feel it necessary," the general confirmed. Ozpin sighed. Yet another variable to have to deal with when the festival started.

An off-handed nod was all the general received from Ozpin. The call ended shortly after. Ozpin closed his eyes as he turned his chair to face the window. An army. In his own kingdom.

Now that just simply wouldn't do.


Don't attack, they're doing you a favor by helping you with this.

Adam had been repeating this in his head for the last twenty minutes. It had been a difficult process, not swinging wildly at the people around him right now.

"Comb his hair back."

"This cologne doesn't smell right, get me the one on that shelf. No! The other shelf!"

"... And remember that when you're talking to a girl you should look into her eyes, not her cleavage..."

"There's a spot on this horn, get me the file!"

"File my horns and nobody will find your pieces," Adam growled as Yang went to retrieve the item. Tight now both teams YSTR and PAVL had him sitting in front of a mirror as they essentially prepared him for his date.

He was a grown ass man! He'd been on dates before! Why the hell did they insist on doing all of this!?

"Guys," Nora, ever the voice of reason, cut in, "I think he's fine."

He'd have to remember to buy the girl some flowers. She was a saint in the darkest of times.

"I guess he's passable," Whitley had his arms crossed as he looked him over head to toe. For the boy, that was actually pretty close to a compliment.

Adam's hair was combed back neatly. Sometime along the process of dressup, someone, he didn't know who, had slipped a small band around one of his horns. It was silver in color, and he had no idea where it had come from or if it was even intended to be placed on a horn, but it was there whether he liked it or not.

He wore the outfit that Neon had suggested. Though the girl creeped him out slightly, he had to admit that it definitely did more for him than any of Whitley's suggestions. With a little cologne he was nearly date ready. All except for one thing...

"Seriously Adam, you can't bring that with you," Yang once again reached for the offending object, only to have it pulled away from her.

"I refuse to be caught unaware," he claimed. All of them sighed except for Ruby, who looked at the man in admiration.

On his normal, civilian, date night outfit, he had his sword clasped to his belt.

"You're going to a restaurant, not an underground fight!" Whitley berated.

"You never know when you'll need to fight," Adam said sagely. Well, as sagely as someone who was defending a sword like a mother bear it's cubs could.

"I totally agree with him," Ruby chirped. She wilted when everyone turned their glares on her. Adam gave her a thumbs up, but it didn't look like she was receiving support from anyone else.

"Girls don't like swords on dates!" Ren exclaimed, "If you're gonna bring a weapon on a date it's gotta be something smaller like a knife!"

"Swords are just big knives," Adam defended.

And thus they got nowhere in the argument. A short beep sounded the alarm that it was five minutes before he was supposed to meet Velvet. He stood and worked his neck to the side to rid it of knots.

It had been drilled in his head to show up early to retrieve Velvet so as to be 'the gentleman'. He had been given tips as though he'd never met a woman before and how to talk to a girl as though he didn't currently live with two of them.

"Okay! Go forth and enact romance!" Ren said as Adam was pushed out of the room and into the hall.

"Use protection," Jaune said simply, no amount of joking or teasing in his tone. Adam felt the urge to ask about that but realized he didn't have the time right now.

The bull was seen off, all of them wishing him luck of some kind. He didn't feel very lucky, funnily enough.

After a few minutes he arrived in front of the room that Velvet had demanded he find. He sighed deeply, putting on his least emotionally dead looking face. He knocked lightly and waited.

"VELVET, YOUR NEW DICK IS AT THE DOOR!" he heard a girl scream.

"COCO! HE CAN DEFINITELY HEAR YOU!" he heard Velvet shout back.

He did his best to hold his grimace back. He already hated this. He heard footsteps and clicking as someone worked behind the door. Finally it opened and displayed a brunette wearing a pair of sunglasses. Coco, he assumed.

She looked him up and down a few times. He watched as her eyebrows knit over time and her mouth twitched down with each pass. After four different scans of his person, she finally looked back into the room.

"Velvet, you sure this is the guy? He looks like shit," she said bluntly.

Classy.

"Oh shut up!" Velvet elbowed the girl out of the way. He heard her collapse with an 'oof' and couldn't help the smirk that came to his face. She deserved that one.

Velvet looked nice. She wore a rich brown sweater that went down to the very top of her thighs. One of her shoulders was exposed, the neckline of the sweater dipping quite low and granting him sight of her smooth skin. She wore black leggings and a pair of brown boots that went to mid shin.

"Sorry about that Adam. Some people can't separate their head from their ass," Velvet glared down and past the door, presumably to where Coco had landed.

"He looks like a made-for-girls calendar lumberjack!" Coco argued. Another 'oof' was heard as Velvet kicked into the room.

"Shall we?" she smiled sweetly. Too sweetly.

"Right. Let's," he groaned. That smile was scary.

He didn't expect the girl to rush forward and grab his arm from him. She linked hers with his and pulled him through the halls. She was certainly forward when she felt like it.

"Where are we going exactly?" he asked. She had made the plans, telling him that all he needed to worry about was showing up.

"A nice place by the docks. Lovely view," she answered. She quirked an eyebrow at him as they boarded the bullhead.

"What?" he asked.

"You're bringing your sword?" she asked, unimpressed.

"What if we get attacked?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.

"We're hunters in training. We kick the crap outta them with our hands and feet," she stated. He groaned.

"Sword stays, end of discussion," he said with finality. She huffed but it lacked any annoyance.

"Whatever you say bully-boy," she hummed. He scoffed at the nickname. Yang was bad enough. He didn't need her giving him names too.

Meanwhile, the two faunus were unaware that they had a small entourage trailing them. Around the corner of the ferry bullhead, two individuals kept subtle tabs on the couple.

"I'm so excited to be on a reconnaissance mission with a friend!" Penny smiled brightly. Neon shushed her, covering her mouth.

"Quiet, girl! They'll hear us!" the faunus chastised. Penny covered her mouth quickly, eyes showing shock.

"Why are we following our new friend Adam and his prospective lover?" Penny asked. Neon rolled her eyes.

"She's not his lover, she's just rude. And it's so I can figure out how to make my date with Adam like, a billion percent better!" Neon explained.

"There is no such thing as a billion percent," Penny said simply, a concerned look crossing her features. Neon sighed.

"I just mean that we'll see what Adam does and doesn't like and then I'll do it better than her," she reiterated. Penny's eyes lit up.

"Oh! Like a cheater!" Penny said, happy to have a reference point now.

"It's not cheating, dear Penny. As the saying goes, all is fair..." Neon waited for Penny to finish the phrase.

And waited some more. And a little more after that. She rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Penny. Finish the saying. All is fair..."

"... In television?"

"No Penny! In love and war! All is fair in love and war," Neon grunted out.

"Actually, there are several things that would be considered underhanded and war crimes in a war. They also say not to lie to those you're courting or they will likely not like you when they learn you've deceived them," Penny lectured.

Neon stared at her for a moment before sighing. She placed a hand on Penny's shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"Penny?"

"Yes?" Penny asked, excited to answer her question.

"Just... Shush," Neon pleaded. Penny immediately adopted a kicked puppy look, causing Neon to groan and turn away. Nope. Not this time.

When the bullhead landed Velvet wasted no time dragging Adam from the doors. By this point he had succumbed to fate and was letting his life live him. Oh how he wished he were just being dramatic.

They fell into a casual stroll when they reached the streets of Vale. Velvet didn't ever go near his hand, instead keeping their arms linked. Perhaps she thought that was too intimate for the first date.

He wasn't nervous, contrary to what his friends seemed to think. He'd been on a few dates before. If anything, Velvet looked more nervous than he did, though she hid it better than most. What one would assume was her being pushy or forward was likely her trying to keep the situation under her control so she felt safe. She also made idle charter and comments about things they passed.

All in all, she was actually quite the normal girl once you got past the aggressive defense mechanisms. They received a few odd looks from people as Adam passed, no doubt eying the sword clasped to his belt.

Sue him, he had the rights to carry it around. Besides, with the amount of crime that had been sprouting up around the city, he didn't want to be caught unarmed.

After twenty or so minutes of walking they arrived in front of a quaint looking restaurant. True to Velvet's word, they were right by the docks and the windows of the building looked out towards the ocean. They entered and Adam looked around. The inside was clean and a warm light filled the large room.

The host smiled for them but his eyes slowly drifted down. He looked skeptically at Adam for a moment before he spoke.

"Uh, sir? Would you like me to take care of your... Object?" he asked, looking slightly put off by the large sword.

"Believe me buddy," Velvet leaned forward, stopping Adam from answering, "it's not worth your time to get into this discussion with him."

The host laughed nervously, if at least good-naturedly, as he led them into the restaurant.

Outside, across the street, Neon held a pair of binoculars up as she spied on the two. Next to her, Penny eyed the same place intensely, binoculars not present. Instead, in her right hand was a notepad and in her left, a pen.

"Write the sword thing down," Neon said, not bothering to drop the binoculars

"Affirmative!" Penny said happily, writing down 'sword thing's with no other information. She was very good at doing what she was told! Exactly what she was told. Too exact sometimes.

How was she supposed to know that when Weiss said 'hit the lights' she meant turn them off? Her leader had been so disappointed to see the fist print in the wall where the light switch once was.

At any rate, Neon told her what to write down and she did so diligently! So far the list was long, some such items consisted of 'take charge', 'hold arm', and 'dress like you're going to get it', whatever that last one meant.

Penny's lingo wasn't the best. She had been fairly sheltered by her father. She didn't know what exactly it was that Velvet expected to get, but apparently Neon thought her state of dress was important.

"She totally conditioned her ears! Oooh, that slick bitch," Neon grumbled to herself. She could do that too! A shiny and soft tail was the same as ears!

"Should I add conditioned ears to the list?" Penny asked.

"No Penny, I don't have faunus ears," Neon said, sending the girl a deadpan expression. For emphasis, she flicked the girl's nose with her tail.

"Oh!" the girl jumped slightly as the appendage tickled her, "Then I shall add conditioned rear end to the list!"

"Not my ass Penny, my tail!" Neon griped. Penny stared at her for a moment before looking down at the list again.

"Earlier you said 'use the booty to your advantage', so should I cross that off of the list?" Penny asked, thoroughly confused. Neon gripped her twintails and pulled slightly in frustration.

"Leave the ass thing, and just add the tail part," she sighed. Penny saluted and did as told before going back to staring at the restaurant.

"You're... Sure you don't need a pair of binoculars?" Neon asked.

"Oh!" Penny suddenly looked flustered, blushing very slightly, "I have... Very good long distance eyesight!"

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, Neon staring at the girl with a skeptical look the whole time. Penny grew a little more red with each passing moment.

"... Right then," Neon said. Penny sure was a weird girl. Maybe it was her semblance or something.

Penny sighed and wiped a drop of sweat away. Crisis averted! She was a master at espionage!

"Neon?" Penny asked.

"Yes Penny?"

"What exactly is it that this girl is dressed to get?"

Neon sighed. This would be a long date.


Adam could tell this date would be a bit longer than he would've wanted. For one, Velvet had immediately launched into telling him her story and her experiences as a faunus, and while he respected her for the courage that normally took...

"... Of course that was when I was just a little bunny. I didn't really start to hit my growth spurt until I was around fifteen or so and even by then my ears were still way bigger than most other faunus in my town..."

The girl talked much more than he'd expected her to. So far he'd only seen her in two states: agitated and shy. This was a whole new experience. She would tell a story that would require another story to explain, but in the middle of that she would have to tell you about someone or something so that the story explaining the story made sense. Not to mention...

"... Of course, I always wanted my first time to be special, but with legs like these and an ass this firm you'd be stupid not to want to at least try and get a taste. Not that you have to of course, but seriously our kids would be sexy I mean just look at your..."

She was very forward about her sexual deviousness. Apparently emotions and aggression weren't the only thing this girl had pent up. Adam feared for his crotch at some of the things she'd mentioned she was interested in. He wasn't one to believe stereotypes until he could prove them true or not, but Velvet certainly seemed to have the sex drive of an actual rabbit.

"Velvet?" he asked suddenly.

"... And then there's that time I tried to fit the whole doorknob in my— oh, what's up?" she asked, not even fazed by the quite frankly disturbingly horny thing she'd just been saying.

"What's your favorite class?" he asked. He needed to prove something.

"Hmm," she tapped her chin a few times, "I guess I like Grimm studies a lot."

Figured. Port must've had a one night stand with a rabbit faunus eighteen years ago.

"So what about you Adam?" she asked, "What's your story?"

His story? How did he say 'I'm essentially an ex-terrorist and my crazy ex girlfriend got maimed after being arrested on a raid and became a bloodthirsty, revenge craved psychopath' without sounding like he wasn't insane?

"Well," he started instead, "I grew up on Menagerie."

"Wow. I've never been. Even though it's supposed to be like faunus heaven or whatever. Guess I just feel like I wouldn't..." she trailed off.

"Like you wouldn't want to leave?" he finished.

"Yeah," she breathed, relieved he understood. And boy did he understand.

"You wouldn't be the first. There's a reason there are still faunus living outside of the island," he said.

"To think that there's a place where people like us could just walk around with not a shred of fear just sounds... Well, frankly, too good to be true," she smirked slightly.

"You wouldn't be wrong," he shrugged, twirling his fork, "most people who visit for the first time expect some form of backlash. They expect to be told 'I told you so' or 'you should've always come here', but instead they just receive hospitality. The worst thing about the place was all the sand," he looked out the window at the ocean. The waves reminded him of the island.

"So what's the catch?" she asked, still smiling but looking suspicious, "Other than sand. There's no way it's just that perfect."

"Hah," he smirked her way, bringing his gaze back from the window, "who said there had to be a catch?"

Her eyes widened a little. She leaned forward, her ears twitching slightly. Excited, maybe a little nervous. He'd picked it up from watching her ears while she talked his own ear off. By this point they'd finished eating and the check was sitting on the table idly.

"You can't be serious," she stated, "it's just perfect?"

"Hmph. No place is perfect," he replied, "but if you're a faunus? I can't think of anywhere that you'd feel safer."

"What about the... You-know-who?" she said, speaking quieter.

No he didn't know who. Who was she talking about?

"The chieftess?" he asked, head tilted a little.

"No the..." She pointed to her mouth. He stared at her for a moment. Then he realized she wasn't pointing to her mouth. She was pointing to her teeth. One tooth in particular.

The sharpest one.

"Ah. That," he sighed. It would make sense that she'd ask about that. About them.

He was treading dangerous territory talking about the Fang. Even if one put aside the fact that he was once a member, it would also look pretty bad for two faunus to be talking about the White Fang in hushed tones.

"They have a presence there but it's not like it is in the kingdoms. Over in Menagerie they're just a group. No reason to raid and steal from your own people to prove a point," he explained.

"So they don't bother anyone?" she asked.

"Recruiters might lean on the younger, more able-bodied and feisty civilians but they don't push anyone to join if they really don't want to," he went on, remembering seeing it as he walked through the streets of Kuo Kuana. Simpler times.

"Hm," she seemed to be envisioning it, and in a way Adam found it endearing. Menagerie was as open as it could get for faunus.

That fact was sullied by the reminder of why the island existed in the first place. As nice as it was to have a land for the faunus to call their own, it only came about because the rest of the world didn't want to deal with them. It was a way to placate, not progress.

Sure the older faunus who had seen the absolute worst of the discrimination and war were overjoyed to have the island. To them it was a salvation; something tangible after fighting and winning their freedom.

To the younger generation of faunus it wasn't so appealing all of the time. Menagerie was, at the end of the day, no better than sweeping the issue under the rug. The faunus get to claim they had their own land, the humans get to tell the faunus that if they don't like how they're treated in the kingdoms they can just go to the island, and the world teeters on the edge of another Great War.

Adam blinked himself out of those thoughts. Even though he wasn't enthusiastic about what he was doing right now didn't mean he should be bringing his mood down.

"Well it sounds like a nice place to retire," Velvet laughed. He smirked at that. It certainly was a good place to fall back once you were done with adventuring.

"If you like sand, sure," Adam commented, grimacing as he thought about the evil, evil substance.

"What is with you and sand?" she giggled.

"It's grainy, and itchy, and it gets blown everywhere!" he humphed, tired of having to explain all the things he disliked.

She laughed at his frustration and he scoffed. Beach lovers, they were the babe of his existence. The deep waters, the sand, all of it! Sure it makes you think that everything is fun and beautiful but then you get sand in your drink and tentacle monsters in your backyard and it's all downhill from there! He turned away in defiance, looking out the window and back towards the ocean, glaring at it as though he could evaporate it here and now.

Then something caught his attention.

"Velvet," she paused at the look he got on his face, "do you see that?"

She raised an eyebrow but turned to look where he faced. To the untrained and human eye, it may not have looked like a lot. They stared at the docks, where to any normal faunus or human in general it would just appear that there was a shipment coming in.

Only two things were wrong with that assumption. The first was that there were two bullheads that were hovering quite close to each other, and considering it was a boat loading dock it wouldn't make sense for them to even be this close to the city in the first place.

The second could only be seen if one had the clearer vision of a faunus mixed with the observant eyes of a hunter.

From the two bullheads, various figures were dropping down to the docks, be it by cables or simply jumping. The cables remained, insinuating that the figures would be returning to the bullheads.

"What the hell?" Velvet mumbled, "Why would workers rappel down from the air on a seaside dock?"

"Because they're not workers," Adam said as he stood.

"What!?" she yelped, before covering her mouth. A few patrons looked over at her outburst and Adam standing but quickly minded their own business when the girl met their eyes.

"Velvet, we need to go see what they're doing," he stated. She shot him an incredulous look.

"You want to go to them?" she asked. He nodded.

"I have a knife in my pocket if you need it," he said.

"Wha— why do you have a knife if you already have your sword!?" she asked as Adam pulled out lien and slapped it on the table. He barely waited before he took off at a hurried pace.

"W-wait for me!" she called, frustrated and concerned. Date being interrupted by the guy's sense of justice? Not as sexy as movies made it out to be. They ran past the same host who'd shown them in. He smiled and started speaking.

"Did you enjoy your tim—"

"Lovely thanks!" Velvet shouted at the host as the two faunus bolted from the door and into the middle of the street.

Adam looked towards the docks. The bullheads weren't nearly as visible but he could still see the tops of them above the buildings. Velvet came to his side and punched him in the arm slightly.

"You so owe me something for this," she scoffed as she eyed the direction he faced, "and gimme that knife."

Be slapped it in her hand without even turning, taking off immediately after. She followed and turned the small weapon around in her hands. It was a switchblade, only about six or so inches in length. It was sharp and clearly meant for combat.

Looks like they were already fighting on their first date. Most people would say this was a sign it wasn't meant to be. Of course, when most people referred to fighting they didn't assume high stakes combat with potential criminals.


Neon and Penny looked confused at the two faunus as they ran down the street. They had suddenly stopped whatever conversation they were having, which Neon noted actually held Adam's attention, and ran out of the restaurant.

"What the...? Where are they going?" Neon asked aloud.

"They seemed quite focused in that direction," Penny pointed towards the way they'd run and had been staring a moment prior.

Neon turned and looked. She could see, over the buildings leading towards what she was pretty sure was the docks if the nearby ocean was anything to go by, that there were two bullheads hovering in place. There were cables hanging from the bullheads too.

"That's strange. Most cities don't really fly bullheads this close to structures," Neon mumbled.

"Yes, and these bullheads appear unmarked by any company or school," Penny added as she stared blankly towards the docks.

"How did you...?" Neon had her faunus eyesight and hunter training to see as well as she did, but Penny could see the actual decals of the things?

Was Penny's semblance incredible vision? She denied being a faunus so it had to be something like that.

"We should follow them! If they are running into something suspicious we should help them!" Penny exclaimed. Neon nodded. That was true, if there was a fight going down she didn't want the two to have to do it by themselves.

Plus she'd score brownie points!

"Onwards Penny!" Neon said, the two girls jumping from rooftop to rooftop as they chased after the two faunus.


Roman was going through it right now.

These White Fang grunts were... Lackluster in their performance to say the least. Whoever was in charge of planning obviously hadn't told the goons that if they were going to fly a bunch of bullheads through Vale they had to shift the gear and put the damn things into silent running mode. They'd essentially torn across the skyline, and the engines were still running loudly above him right now.

That was just the first little snafu that Roman had to deal with tonight. Problem number two came in the form of the actual fodder he had on the ground helping him. Useless was too generous. They somehow managed to do less than nothing for the first five minutes since they touched down.

Times like this he really wished he could talk if only so he could tell the bunch of overaggressive bastards to quit standing around with their dicks in their hands and actually do something.

He settled for clicking the nearest one over the head with his cane.

"Ow!"

He fanned his arms out at the surrounding crates and waved his hand in a 'get on with it' motion. They all grumbled but got to work. Seriously, even Junior's dumbasses were better than this! At least they would figure out what they were supposed to be doing ahead of time. These White Fang grunts just expected to be told what they were doing once they got there!

Not to mention how trigger happy they all were. It was always 'shoot a human' this and 'kill all humans' that. He was pretty sure like seventy percent of these guys couldn't kill a fly on a wall even if they had the world's largest fly swatter.

He watched them go through crates, searching for the ones with the dust. While the SDC mainly supplied dust, they rented out their shipping containers to other smaller businesses. It created debt and thus earned them more money, more favors, and more ability to expand where their dust was sold.

And people called him the master criminal.

There should've been two, maybe even three crates full of dust around here. Once they found one, it was likely the others would be nearby. Roman lit a cigar and took a deep drag. He let the smoke leave his mouth slowly as he scanned the area.

Just because this bunch of untrained meat shields were inept at everything, didn't mean he was! They weren't exactly subtle or inconspicuous at the moment. The roar of the engines above reminded him of that. At any moment the authorities could show up just because someone filed a noise complaint.

The worst case scenario was if a huntsman or at least anyone with training and an aura showed up. He'd be able to handle any trainees with a misplaced sense of heroism but if a real certified hunter showed up?

Well he was good. And he didn't doubt he could take down one, maybe even two hunters. But he'd have to do it alone. Neo wasn't even around to bail him out.

For now he just made sure nobody showed up. Last thing they needed was to make more noise than they were already making. He heard a grunt shout for help with a door, rolling his eyes at the lack of ability to be quiet in any capacity. At least it looked like they'd found the dust. That was the first worthwhile thing to happen all night!

Maybe, just maybe, this operation would go off without a hitch!

"Halt! Brothers and sisters of the White Fang!"

Roman made a mental note to never hope again.


Oh no's! A cliffhanger!

But yes that's where we'll end it this time. Next time is the fight at the docks but with a very different team of fighters.

I really enjoy reading everyone's reactions to the characters and story! It brings a smile to my face with every review I read.

At any rate I'll see y'all in the next chapter! Remember to follow and review if you like what you read!

Have a wonderful time!


Omake: Velvet talks a lot more than Adam expected

Adam truly didn't think Velvet would talk so much. Such a quiet girl who normally spoke in sharp, Curt sentences or insults had a lot to say it seemed.

"... So I told the silly cunt that she could suck it and you know what she says? 'Make me!'. And you know what I did?"

"You made her?"

"Damn fucking right I made her! And when she was on the ground I made sure that I..."

Truly this wasn't what he'd signed up for. Was this torture? He already had to deal with listening to Port more times a week than should be legally allowed.

"... That's when I broke out the triple buttstab, and she never saw it coming! But anyways that's why I don't like it when people call me sweetheart. Now that I've explained that I can get back to my story..."

Ad resisted the urge to lower his aura and stab himself in the heart with a steak knife. Such a tempting and beautiful urge it was too. Would people miss him? Maybe, but it would be second to the relief he'd feel as his life flashed before his eyes.

"... Even though Mistral is known for their colorful and normally socially unacceptable porn I always ended up buying from the Mistrali man who sold oddities in my town. He didn't have any teeth but what he lacked in calcium he made up for in wisdom. Unfortunate, considering he couldn't actually pass on any of his wisdom because he didn't have any teeth, but that's the price one pays when they..."

His hand started to reach but he gripped it with his other hand. No. Resist. He was stronger than this. He could weather the most violent storms.

"... Oh but to understand that I'd have to explain why it rains so much in eastern Vale. But even then I'll have to tell you about why it matters so much that it rains so often in eastern Vale..."

Ah.

Ahhhhh.

So this is what it felt like to lose one's mind.

It didn't feel as... Intense as the media made it out to be.

No, it was more like a dull feeling. Like he'd just been lightly tapped by a cotton ball that killed immediately on contact.

Brothers how he wished that were the case.