Greetings all! Hope you're staying safe and healthy out there! Don't have anything to say so I'll see you at the bottom!


The few days following the docks incident weren't nearly as awkward as one may have first thought. None of the student body was made aware of what exactly had happened or who was involved, but someone had let it slip that Beacon students were there and that was enough to get people speculating. There were the few curious students who wanted to know just who it was, but nobody seemed to have any real idea.

Of course, Adam and Velvet's teams knew, and so did Neon and Penny.

But since none of them particularly wanted to announce how they'd helped foil a large-scale robbery against a group of terrorists, they had all stuck to listening to other students theorize. After all, they were all confident in their ability to keep secrets.

"ADAM! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU FOUGHT YOUR OLD FRIENDS AT THE—" Ren was then tackled by Yang, who wore a frantic smile as she attempted to quiet the boy down.

Ruby, Adam, and Whitley looked on unamused. Ruby had the disappointed sister face on as well.

"Yang," Whitley rubbed the bridge of his nose, "when did you tell them our teammate's personal information?"

"What?" Yang asked, looking as astonished and nervous as someone who was about to lie their ass off could, "You think I told them Adam's business? I would never!"

The three looked at their leader like someone who owns a dog would look at their dog as they waited for the animal to drop whatever it had in its mouth.

"She, um, told us two days ago," Pyrrha said shyly from behind Ren and Yang. Yang was about to turn on the redhead when a smooth and dainty hand landed on her shoulder with the grip strength of a gorilla and the force of a speeding truck. Ruby didn't waste any time pulling the brawler closer to teach her why keeping secrets was important.

"PYRRHA WHY!?" Yang screamed as Ruby descended on her. Pyrrha looked only somewhat apologetic, but otherwise was unfazed.

This was, of course, a somewhat normal occurrence for all of them.

"How much did she tell you?" Adam groaned.

Nora, being the quietest of the team next to Jaune, stepped forward, looking around for anyone who may have been listening in.

"We know you were part of the White Fang and that you were part of the firefight last night," she said in a low tone.

"Classy, Yang," Whitley berated, watching as the blonde was getting her ear pulled by the reaper.

"Well," Adam sighed, "I suppose that clears any future issues up early."

"For what it's worth," Jaune stepped forward, clapping a hand down on the man's shoulder, "I see a fighting spirit in you regardless."

Adam smirked and returned the gesture. The warrior's will was something that could be universally understood.

"Um, if I may ask," Pyrrha asked next, "why exactly were the White Fang at the docks the other day?"

They all turned to Adam at her question, Ruby having stopped punishing her sister as both of them waited for the answer as well. The bull sighed and looked around the empty hallway.

"I don't know," he said truthfully, "but I'm determined to find out."

"We are not letting you go into the city on your own again. The last time you did, you turned a date into a brawl," Whitley chastised.

"Ozpin seems to have no intention of going after them unless he has any idea of what they're doing. I aim to remedy that," Adam stated, clearly not willing to budge on the matter.

"Adam," Ruby said, stepping up to him softly, "I know you have your reasons for wanting to get the Fang out of Vale, but you're one man."

The hallway was quiet as Adam wrestled with what Ruby had said. As much as he didn't want to admit it, she was right. He was one guy, and his fighting prowess aside, he had no idea where to even start or who else was involved.

Not to mention that if he got too involved, he may eventually run into Blake. How would that go? He hadn't exactly made their parting on good terms.

"Hmph," Whitley finally crossed his arms and turned away, "if you're so incessantly insistent on this idiotic crusade, then you should at least have someone watching your back."

Yang turned to her partner, shocked. Was Whitley... Offering to help someone? She had to write this down. This was a day to remember!

"Oh no," Ruby cut in, "no way I'm letting you two run around Vale fighting terrorists!"

"Then we'll do it as a team!" Yang cheered.

Ruby's head fell into her hands as she let out a muffled cry of frustration. It was Adam's turn to lay a soothing hand on the girls back.

"Ruby, nobody is doing anything about this. Can you really just sit by and do nothing knowing that all of this is going unchecked?" he asked. He hoped that he could appeal to the girl's heroic side and win her over.

The reaper fidgeted, slowly growing more and more antsy until she finally let out a grunt and stomped her foot. It would've been cute if not for the chilling look she sent his way.

"You... You're...! You're a butt!" she said, tense and standing rigid. Yang laughed at her sister's attempt at insulting someone. It had never been her strong suit.

"Does that mean you're coming or not?" Yang asked. Ruby whirled on her, sending the blonde a scathing look.

"Shush you. You're a little too eager to go around as a vigilante," Ruby said with her hands on her hips. Yang laughed and looked away nervously.

"Uh, maybe?" Yang said. Ruby groaned and slumped.

"Ugh, fine. Only because someone has to keep you all alive," Ruby pouted.

"Since when did you and Whitley swap places?" Yang asked.

"I would like to reiterate that I called Adam's idea idiotic," Whitley said without pause.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence," Adam sighed.

"Well you're all as functional as ever," Ren said, cutting off any more retorts. Adam grunted, Whitley huffed and turned his nose up, Yang gave a big smile and a thumbs up, and Ruby blushed and tried to hide in her hood.

"As I said," Ren bowed. Nora sighed at the boys theatrics.

"Um, we'll always be ready to help if you need it!" Pyrrha offered.

"Really?" Yang asked. With eight of them, combing the city would be a breeze!

"Of course," Jaune replied, "what are friends for?"

The two teams talked more as they walked the halls. Classes were out for the next two weeks,m before the next semester started. More and more transfer students would be showing up soon.

And after them, the Vytal Tournament would be upon them. It was all the more reason to try and put a stop to anything going on around Vale.

"What's up losers!" a cheery voice called from behind them. They turned and watched Neon skate their way lazily.

"M' not a loser... You're a loser," Yang grumbled.

"Boys aren't I to mumbling ya know," Neon smirked as she breezed past Yang.

"Ha! What if I'm not into boys?" Yang said, thinking she had a one up on the girl.

"Girls don't like that either," she smirked.

Yang just growled.

"Hello Neon," Adam said tiredly. The girl, he admitted, wasn't that bad. Annoying and snarky, yes, but not malicious or rude.

"Hiya hotstuff," she winked, then turned to Ruby, "that goes for you too!"

Ruby blushed and hid behind Yang. Yang just groaned and gave the cat girl a death glare. Neon rolled her eyes but shrugged it off easily.

The girl had become a regular part of their group as of late. She got along well with Ren, and apparently she, Pyrrha, and Nora had already developed a 'girl bond' in the short time they'd known each other.

If only Yang had gotten that memo. In Ruby's case, the girl was very upfront about her attraction to the reaper, so Ruby skirted the line of friend and prospective lover. Yang however, just didn't get along with the faunus girl.

Hell, Velvet was easier to get along with! And she had started out hating them!

Speaking of...

"Oh! Hey you lot!" she greeted as they turned the corner. Wasn't she a strange friend they'd made. From someone who was bitter and crude to someone who would have no problem starting a conversation with them when they bumped into each other.

Adam had warned them about why that was a bad thing, but they'd yet to fully experience the girls more talkative side. Lucky them.

"Hello Velvet," Adam greeted lazily. Lately he was too preoccupied thinking of the White Fang to be put off by the amount of people who wanted to get in his pants.

"Yo! Velv! This cannot be the same boytoy from last week," a new, yet familiar voice said from behind the rabbit girl. She had smooth, and very well looked after hair that had a caramel color towards the ends.

Her outfit, and general disposition really, screamed 'I'm better than you in every way'. She lowered her sunglasses (why she wore them indoors, nobody knew) and looked them all over before strutting forward.

Velvet yelped when a quick slap met her rear. She blushed and smacked the offender, who grunted but remained otherwise okay.

"Coco! We've talked about this!" Velvet hissed, rubbing her cheek. It may have looked like a light tap, but Coco could swing a minigun around with one hand like it was a shopping bag.

Long and short; the slap had hurt her ass like hell.

"Relax Bunbun, I wanted to get a better look at your new man meat," Coco smirked as she appraised Adam again.

"Should I point out that this is technically harassment?" Adam asked.

"No," Coco didn't even twitch a muscle as she scanned him, taking in his normal outfit.

"Hm."

"Coco, don't," Velvet said suddenly.

"Hmmm..."

"Coco."

"Hrmmm..."

"Coco, I really think that I've got a chance with Adam so help me God if you say—"

"No wonder he's a bull, this beef is packing meat."

The hallway was painfully silent. Velvet actually looked like she may start crying at any moment. Or swinging. Either way she was very red and there would be screaming and someone would get hurt.

"Velv, I'm serious."

"Coco."

"This dude is dragging his own area code, I can feel it."

"Oh my god, Coco!"

"We're talking a big, fat, angus—"

"ENOUGH WITH THE BULL JOKES!" Adam finally found his voice again and interrupted.

"Like seriously, he isn't compensating with that sword, he must have some shmeat. Why have you been hiding this information from me? I mean I might be gay but holy tits, this dude is even standing like he can't keep it under control."

"I HAVEN'T SEEN HIS PENIS YET!" Velvet shrieked.

"RUBY! WHAT ARE THEY SAYING!?" Yang shouted, her ears very securely covered by Ruby's hands. Ruby was red as well.

Actually, looking around the hallway, the only people who weren't blushing was Coco, who looked wholly serious about everything she'd just said, Yang, who clearly hadn't been able to hear any of it, and Ren, who was actually on the floor howling in laughter.

"Ahem," Jaune was the one to step in, bless his brace soul, "Maybe we should go to a more private area and... Totally and completely change topics."

"Ooh, the famed champion, in the flesh," Coco looked him over as well and he paled, "speaking of flesh... Looks like you've always got a lance with you..."

Coco's eyes crossed a loud thump was heard throughout the hall. She collapsed unceremoniously in a heap and nobody made an attempt to catch her. Velvet stood behind her, breathing heavily, face matching even Ruby's blush, and hands cupped in a hammer fist where she'd just knocked out her leader.

"I... Am so sorry about that," she whimpered.

"Is... Is that your leader?" Neon asked, looking at the fashionista in fear. Neon knew she was a tease and could be a little promiscuous at times, but this woman was scary.

"Yes. This is Coco," Velvet gestured haphazardly towards the body on the floor.

"So much detail," Whitley looked sick after hearing about the apparent size of not one, but two of his friend's genitals.

Pyrrha on the other hand had a strange look on her face. She was also very clearly embarrassed, after all, who could hear that entire debacle and not be a little flustered?

But she also looked... Excited. She stared at Jaune for a moment before Nora bumped her arm, sending her a look that said 'ease up' and she coughed into her hand to hide it as embarrassment.

"How about we... Do anything else but remain here," Nora suggested. They all agreed, Velvet dragging Coco with no care for her wellbeing as they found a better place to speak.

And also to make sure nobody would hear anything else Coco would inevitably say.


Raven paced the floor of the hotel room that she'd been given while she worked in the city. It was nice enough. Not the penthouse, but on the higher floors and large nonetheless. She didn't care for any of the furnishings right now though.

She was still looking over the letter she'd found.

She had one week to figure out where the hell she had to go. She checked the address number and, surprise surprise, there were more than twenty different places that matched it. Some of them were even similar as well so she couldn't even guess which one was the right one when there were multiple warehouses and office buildings listed. A map lay on the coffee table, several pins and sticky notes attached to it.

Whoever planned this knew that. They were testing her. They were trying to see if she was able to keep up with their subliminal tactics.

Unfortunately that had always been Summer and Qrow's specialties, she had always been better at surviving and coming up with something on the go. She was a fighter and a tactician, not a spy.

That's what had printed the current phone call.

"Raven, you really should tell Ozpin about this," Summer said once again from the other end of the phone. Luckily, she was off of work for the week while the students had their break. It was a week shorter than the huntsman academies, but then, they had less to do in general anyways.

"I have this feeling Sum. It's not that I don't trust Oz, but there's just this strange sense I have telling me that there's a lot more going on than he's telling me," Raven said back. Summer sighed. She hadn't been an agent of Ozpin for a while not out of trust but out of responsibility for Ruby when the girl was born and her deadbeat brother had left her niece. This left Raven as Ozpin's only real agent now.

"Ray," Summer was in leader mode now, so she made sure to listen to what would likely be very helpful, no matter how little Raven would like it, "you're playing a very dangerous game not telling Ozpin about this. If you get caught or this is a trap, which it most definitely has to be, then nobody will know where to look for you."

"But Summer," Raven looked pleadingly at the woman through the device, "it's my gut instinct right now. It's telling me something sinister is going on."

"Salem is sinister!" Summer shouted in exasperation.

"Not with her. Something else. I can't explain it but... I think it may have to do with Ozpin," Raven said quietly.

"What!?" Summer clearly didn't like that assumption, "Raven, are you crazy!? Why would you think Ozpin is the bad element here!?"

"It's not that he's the one we need to worry about," Raven clarified, "it's that he's hiding something and if it means the girls might be in danger then I can't just leave it be. Would you?"

It was a dirty move, Raven knew it. Mention Ruby and her safety and Summer couldn't just leave it be. The reaper may have been one of the strongest damn kids Raven knew, but Summer still saw her as her baby, and she wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Damnit," she hissed, "you're determined on this, aren't you?"

Raven said nothing. Summer sighed deeply and groaned.

"Fine! Just don't get yourself hurt! Yang wouldn't let me hear the end of it!" Summer finally accepted.

"Thanks Sum," Raven said. She wouldn't say it out loud, but knowing that Summer would be behind her for this meant a lot.

"Also, I have no idea which address this could be," Summer said as she looked at another tab on her scroll. Raven had sent her a picture of the note to see if the woman could find it any better than she could.

"Damn," Raven sighed. That still left all of this a bust if she couldn't even figure this out.

"Oh! But I do have a favor now that we're talking," Summer requested.

"You're not gonna have me go grocery shopping for you, are you?" Raven asked skeptically. Summer scoffed.

"Please, you don't know your way around a grocery store," Raven was a little hurt by that comment, but didn't let it show, "No, there's a place Ruby told me about on our last call that sounded cute. Get me a business card from there, there might be something that'll make for a good gift for when I visit her!"

Raven rolled her eyes. Leave it to Summer to go from talking conspiracies and secret wars to thinking of gifts for her daughter.

"What's the street?" Raven asked, not really interested but feeling that she owed the woman a favor or two.

"I think she said Scarlet Avenue," Summer said.

"Yeah sure, I can make the trip," Raven said as she made her way to the door. Maybe getting some air and freeing her mind would help her figure this out.

"Thanks Ray. Call me if you need help!" Summer demanded.

Raven smirked and nodded before the call winked out. She took off across the city, simply taking in the air and setting. She didn't like the city too much, so she was doing her best to take her mind off of all the hustle and bustle.

She arrived at Scarlet Avenue and found the place summer had likely been talking about. Of course, because it was Ruby, it had to do with baked goods and weapons. How someone managed to combine those two things was beyond her, but Raven supposed that if someone could make a living off it then it was none of her business.

She grabbed a card for Summer and left, walking a different way back. As she did she got back to thinking of the note. She memorized the address. Five-one-one-four. Still, there were just too many places that matched and too many buildings that could be used for a secret meeting.

She rounded the corner and looked around. It looked like somewhere along this different route she'd walked into one of the older sections of the city. It wasn't a problem to her, nobody could rob her if they tried their best, but it still sparked some amount of pity as she looked around.

Such a waste these sections of the city were. Totally abandoned, and yet the council refused to do anything with them. They could house so many and yet they did nothing because it wouldn't net them the profits they wanted.

As she looked around her eyes stopped on one building. But it wasn't the building that she was staring at. It was the faded numbers on the side that led to a rusted and beaten fire escape.

Five-one-one-four.

No, it was just a coincidence. There wasn't any chance that she was this lucky. She looked around. Was there anything that could've said this was the right place?

She found the street name. She stared at it and narrowed her eyes. The gears were turning in overtime. Why was it causing such a reaction in her brain?

Then it clicked. And it all made sense.

The note had been written in green ink. While not uncommon, most people stuck to black or blue ink, sometimes red, but green was just a strange color to use. Even for a suspicious note, why wouldn't they use some cheap pen? Why use such a specific color?

It's because that was part of the address.

She had the number. Five-one-one-four. And now she had the street.

On the same corner as the building was an old streetlamp. The light clearly didn't work anymore, but that's not what mattered. Hanging off the top of the pole was a metal rectangle. The street name, while faded, was still visible.

Green Street.

She'd found it. It had to be the place. It was all too perfect. She couldn't check yet though, if it was the place it would just look like she was trying to set up her own trap ahead of time. It was a surefire way to get herself killed.

She had to make sure it was the right place first. Just to be sure, she rushed back to her hotel room and looked over the map she had laying on the table. She looked over every address number she had found. Sure enough, the one in Green Street was there. She looked around however.

There were actually two other Green Streets in Vale.

But neither of them had a five-one-one-four address. Only the one that she'd just been on.

She'd found it. She had found the place. By sheer luck and a ridiculous request from Summer she had figured it out! Now, in a week, she would get some answers.

Or kill a lot of people if it turned out to be a trap.


"How are you, dear?" a jovial looking man asked from the other side of the monitor.

"I am doing quite well father!" Penny replied, smiling the whole time.

Pietro Polendina was a kind hearted man and entirely proud of his daughter. There wasn't a thing that Penny had done in her entire life that he hadn't fawned over. While most would be embarrassed or upset about having the world's most invested helicopter parents, Penny loved it.

The girl and her father had a fantastic relationship that she cherished deeply. Not a day went by that they didn't speak to each other, and she made it a habit to call if she couldn't visit personally. That's why this call was such a relief to the man. Penny hadn't called in a few days, which was irregular of her. He was confident she was safe, but worried nonetheless.

"Still in one piece?" he asked with a smirk. She nodded bodily and spread her arms wide, turning so he could see her sides and back as well.

"I am still in as many pieces as when I arrived!" Penny said confidently. Pietro laughed at his daughter's words.

"Oh! And guess what father!" Penny had her hands bunched before her face and her eyes were sparkling. One of them quite literally was sparkling a little.

"What could have you in such a good mood?" he asked, excited to hear what had made his daughter somehow even more happy than usual.

"I made new friends! A lot of new friends! Two whole teams worth!" Penny squeed, her grin threatening to split her face.

"Darling that's wonderful!" Pietro was ecstatic. His little girl was making friends in Vale! She had come so far in such a short time away from home!

"It truly is father! They are some of the most unique individuals I've ever met! They are somehow all dysfunctional and incredibly efficient at the same time!" Penny said proudly.

Pietro paused but his smile didn't go away. What did that even mean? He may have been a scientist, and a pretty good one if he did say so himself, but that sounded like an impossible statement.

"Why don't you tell me about them?" he asked. He'd love to know about her newfound friends.

"Well, there's Ren, who matches my volume no matter what! And he is very pretty! Like a girl!" Penny described.

Pietro listened intently the whole time. She had indeed met quite a lot of new people. He recognized Whitley Schnee and Jaune Arc from fame alone, but the rest were new to him.

This Ruby girl sounded quite interested in his daughter, from what Penny said. He'd have to look into that. This Adam character sounded familiar too, but he couldn't quite place his finger on why. He'd look into that too, but right now Penny was telling him about an eventful night from a week earlier.

"... And then after we made sure Adam was okay, I ran away! I was so embarrassed about setting the docks on fire that I needed to hide!" Penny said energetically.

"Judging from what you've told me about these new friends of yours, I'm not sure they'd be too upset with you, Penny," he tried to soothe the girl.

"But father! Everything was on fire! Ev-er-y-thing!" Penny annunciating each syllable. Pietro laughed, and she gave him a pout.

"I'm sure they're more worried about where you've been hiding. Haven't you told me the only one you've seen since then was that Ruby girl?" he asked. Penny nodded shyly and he gave her a patented fatherly look.

"They're probably worried about you, dear. The longer you hide the more they might think you're avoiding them because you don't like them."

She gasped. But that wasn't true at all! She was just afraid they'd be scared of her, or that they'd be mad that she caused so much property damage!

"I'll find them at once!" she jolted up immediately, snapping to attention.

"Atta girl," Pietro laughed.

"Thank you father! I will make sure to call you again soon! I love you!" Penny said quickly.

"Love you too darling," the man smiled as she hung up and bolted out of the room. As she did, Pietro sighed, happy that his daughter was growing up so well. He stood from his desk chair and stretched before he walked out of the room.

Penny meanwhile rushed through the halls, laser focused on the task before her.

She had friends to find!


"... And then I said, 'Velvet, your whole ass is showing', and I've never seen a girl disappear as quickly as she did," Coco finished her most recent story. She'd been telling quite a few about her own time at Beacon, acting much like a family member to Velvet who tells your friends your most embarrassing moments.

Of course, Velvet was red with both rage and humiliation, and Coco had a few more bumps on her head than she did when they'd started. It was probably made more humiliating by the fact that Ren had been feeding the fires and asking for more and more every time. Neon and Yang were both doubled over laughing, sometimes even pointing her way as though she was the source of the joke in the first place. Technically she was but that didn't make it less embarrassing.

And nobody was stopping her leader! Velvet felt betrayed when she chanced a look towards Adam. The man wasn't laughing, but he was covering his mouth and sending her an apologetic look with his eyes. Somehow knowing he was at least hiding his smile made her feel a little better.

Just kill her now. At least nobody else was around to hear.

"Why was Velvet's ass out!? And why is it humorous!?" Penny shouted very loudly as she ran towards their group.

Nevermind, looks like anyone nearby was now very privy to that particular part of the story.

"Penny!" Neon stood from where she had been laying down, wiping a tear from her eye, "Where have you been the last week!?"

"I was afraid that you all thought negatively of me for exploding the docks!" Penny said, bowing her head in apology.

"Hell no! That was rad!" Yang pumped her fist.

"It was certainly something," Adam mumbled from next to the brawler.

"I wish I could've seen it! I heard you tore two bullheads in half by yourself! I bet I could totally do that with a good enough arrow!" Ren said, hopping towards the ginger.

"You're not mad about all of the fire?" Penny asked.

"Penny, we're normally the ones starting the fires," Whitley groaned as he eyed Yang, who looked as innocent as she could, "by this point it's essentially a part of the charm."

Penny beamed. This was wonderful! Not only were her new friends not mad at her, but they just said she'd as good as passed the requirements of being one of them! Who knew setting fires would be what earned her friends trust?

"As lovely as it is to see students getting along with those from both older years and other kingdoms," an older, more wizened voice sounded from behind all of them, "I must say that I would prefer Vale remains in one piece by the end of your break."

"Headmaster Ozpin!" a few of them jumped, trying to show the man some form of respect. He smiled lightly and waved them off.

"Now now, I'm your teacher not your general," he eased them, then turned to Neon and Penny, "though speaking of generals and teachers, yours would like to speak with the two of you."

Neon and Penny looked at one another, the faunus shrugged, not particularly worried about talking to the man. He may have seemed a little odd, and certainly goal oriented, but he wasn't a bad man.

"General Ironwood is here?" Penny asked. Her father worked for the general as the head scientist but she herself hadn't ever had much interaction with the general. Her father said that he was very busy, and that he normally didn't have time to deal with anything that wasn't business.

"Not quite. He's on an airship heading this way, but he'd like to hear about last week's incident from his own students," Ozpin explained. He suppressed the frown that wanted to come up.

Ironwood had been informed of the attack on the docks by the council, not by Ozpin. Ozpin actually had been attempting to keep the incident as hidden, quiet, and tame as possible to prevent the general from enforcing more of his army on Vale.

That unfortunately wasn't an option anymore. There went the lovely view from his office.

"Oh, that's all?" Neon yawned, "Yeah, sure. Where are we heading?"

"I have him waiting for my call in my office. He's expecting us in roughly twenty minutes," Ozpin told them. Neon nodded and Penny saluted.

"We'll be there promptly!" Penny stated. Ozpin smiled again and nodded before bidding them all a good day and leaving them be with the parting words of 'don't start anymore fires, if you would?'.

"Welp, looks like we'll be on our way," Neon sighed.

"I am happy you all accept me and my destructive ways!" Penny said happily.

"Uh, yeah, no problem," Jaune said, slightly confused by the ginger. Nora just sighed, used to the strangest things from Ren by now.

"Huh, if the General is coming, our teams are probably coming too!" Neon said as she and Penny started walking away.

"You're right! I cannot wait to see Weiss again! I have so much to tell her!" Penny gushed.

Whitley froze as he heard the girl's words. Weiss was coming. And soon. Likely by the end of the break. He turned to his team slowly, woodenly even. If one listened they may have been able to hear what sounded like a rusty gate creaking as he turned a critical eye on the three members behind him.

"Uh, Whitley?" Yang said, a little freaked out with the frankly manic look that had taken over his face, "You alright?"

"No."

"Um, why?" Ruby asked, concerned for the boy. If something was wrong, she wanted to help. Her big sister instincts were kicking in for him!

Actually, now that she looked at her team, she had a pretty weird role on it.

She was Yang's sister through and through, and acted as much like a mother to her in Raven's place as she did an older sibling. She acted quite the same for Whitley too, which the boy seemed to both loathe and appreciate at once. He obviously hated being scolded, but always was grateful once she helped him. In a way, she'd taken up his actual sister's place while they were apart. That actually made her happy!

Then there was Adam. She and Adam didn't speak through words often; they spoke through subtle eye contact and gestures. Also sparring. They did a lot of that. But with that, Ruby was also the only one who could openly oppose the man and chastise him. Yang said she had a habit of nagging him like a... Wife...

She gulped. If she was like a mother to Yang and Whitley, wouldn't that make Adam the... Nope! Bad thoughts! People were scary! All she needed was weapons! Even if some people were pretty cool, and didn't judge her for liking weapons. Like Adam. Who agreed that a knife was as important as a chapstick!

No! Bad Ruby! Look at his love life! You don't wanna be a part of that! It's like a minefield!

"Ruby? Ruby! Snap out of it!" Yang clapped behind her head. The reaper gasped, turning red quickly.

"Listen up you three!" Whitley commanded. Velvet, Coco, and Team PAVL watched with curiosity from the sidelines.

"My sister Weiss is going to be arriving within the next week or so. We are nowhere near as coordinated and organized as we should be!" he said, walking back and forth like a commander would in front of his soldiers.

"Yang! You need to carry yourself like a leader! Right now you can guide us through combat but only that! You need a commanding presence!" Whitely said, his face set in a glare but not directed at anyone. If anything he seemed angeley with himself.

"Adam," the man raised an eyebrow at the boy, who was very much not their leader, giving him an order, "wear a hat for the entire next semester."

"What," he ground out.

"I may have come to accept you but my sister may not. I know not if she gets along with Neon, but I will take no chances. Congratulations, you are now an honorary human."

"I feel like I've lost," he growled. Ruby reached to pat his shoulder but squeaked when Whitley whirled on her, his intense and crazy eyes meeting hers.

"Ruby!" Whitley turned on her, ignoring Adam's glare. The reaper yelped and shook a little.

He stared at her for a moment. Out of all of his team, Ruby was actually the most well off. Adam would've been too, if not for his horns and a slight attitude problem (had Adam heard this thought he'd say it was hypocritical). He stared Ruby up and down for what felt to the girl like an eternity.

"Just say it already!" she pleaded, hiding her face with her hands and slumping.

"Isn't she, like, tied for second best in your class?" Velvet leaned over and whispered to Pyrrha. The redhead giggled a little and nodded. Ruby was quite the enigma.

"Damn she's hot, and kicks ass? Count me in," Coco said quietly. Velvet elbowed her but did nothing more as they continued watching the scene.

"Actually Ruby, you're fine," Whitley finally said. The girl crumpled, curling up and hugging Savage Rose.

"Thank you..." she... Cried? It was hard to tell when she was on the floor.

"Alright Ice Prince," Yang huffed, stomping forward, "what's this all about? Why do you care so much about what your sister thinks of our team?"

"And why should I have to pretend to be a human? That would be stupid, inefficient, and cowardly. Velvet doesn't hide her ears! Really, what would that even do but make it worse when people found out you're a faunus!?" Adam ranted.

"What he means," Yang cut the man off by stepping in front of him, even though he kept going behind her, "is that we aren't changing just for your sister."

"But think of how disappointed she'll be in me!" Whitley said, grabbing her arms and shaking her, "She'll mock me! Tear me asunder! Disown me and never speak to me again if we're not perfect!"

"Will she?" Yang asked, kind of afraid of this Weiss person now.

"I don't know! Maybe!" he said, visibly frazzled. One single strand of hair popped up and Yang found it a little comical that even though it was only one strand, it made him look completely disheveled.

"Whitley," it was surprisingly Ruby who spoke up, "she's your sister. I'm sure she'll be happy as long as you're happy."

"... Really?" he said, hopeful.

"Yep! Just look at me! If Yang is okay, I'm okay!" she said proudly.

"Yeah! Ruby's the best sister in the world! And she can bust out the beast mode on anyone, anytime!" Yang said just as proudly.

"I... Suppose you're not wrong..." he said slowly. He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose.

Weiss would be fine. She would be... Fine. He just had to keep telling himself that. She surely would be proud of all he had accomplished.

"... And even if you wore something stupid, like a bow, why would you keep wearing it after the people you cared about figured out you're a faunus!? What would you do next? Run away like, two more times and hurt their trust more!?" Adam had been going the whole time. While his own team hadn't been listening, Velvet and Team PAVL were watching in awe. This was the most they'd seen Adam talk... Ever! Even Coco looked impressed and she'd never talked to him!

"What about him?" Whitley said. The sister's hummed at that. Whitley and Adam had gotten past their animosity with each other by challenging each other in everything.

"Maybe your sister has changed," Ruby shrugged.

"What?" Whitley said. Weiss surely wouldn't just accept a faunus so easily, right?

"You're not the only one who can change, Whitley," Ruby said in her sisterly tone, "remember who you were when we first met?"

Did he ever. He was happy to say he was a better person now than he was before. That made him pause. Better now? He had certainly liked who he was now than who he was months ago. Maybe that would make Weiss proud.

"You're right..." he said, before he collected himself more and stood with newfound strength, "You're right!"

"That's the spirit!" Yang said, happy to see her normal, driven partner back.

"... And then what would you do!? Complain the whole time that everyone except for you is the problem, even though you're the only constant in all of your issues!? MAYBE YOU'RE THE PROBLEM!" Adam screamed. By this point everyone was staring at him as he heaved in deep breaths, a crazed look in his eyes.

"You got all of that out of your system buddy?" Jaune asked from a safe distance.

"... Yes," Adam said as he straightened himself out and composed himself.

"Wow," Pyrrha was clearly still shocked, "that was... A lot! Perhaps... Too much, even..."

Adam coughed into his hand and staunchly refused to make eye contact with anyone else. It was as close to meek as the man would allow himself.

"That was more than a rant! You just lived, like, a totally different person's story!" Ren exclaimed.

"Let's forget about that, please," Adam pleaded.

"Consider it forgotten," Nora just looked scared. Coco looked impressed at the man's emotional control, while Velvet noted that she would never wear a bow around her ears as long as Adam was around.

"Shall we get lunch?" Velvet suggested. The others voiced their agreement.


Cinder sighed as she walked the streets of Vale. The sun shines brightly and the air, while warmer than she preferred, felt nice on her skin.

She didn't need to worry about being spotted out and about because nobody knew what she looked like. There may have been that scare months ago when Roman had been foiled by those kids, but other than that she was only an outfit change, some makeup, and an eyepatch away from being undetectable.

Brothers how she hated the makeup and eyepatch though. Nothing made you miss being able to simply dress yourself and walk about freely like having a large portion of your face scarred in conflict.

She scowled as she remembered how this had happened too. How she wanted to feel her powers run through her as she burned—

She took a calming breath. Nope. She was serene. The epitome of a calm and collected person, who definitely didn't have anger issues.

Salem would be so proud of her!

At any rate, she wasn't just out for a walk because she felt like it. She was expecting two people to show up in Vale soon, and she had been scouting around for them. She had told them not to look for her and that she would find them.

That may have been slightly egotistical of her to say such an elegant and mysterious plan because at the moment, she couldn't find them anywhere. Her ears turned red, flustered as she realized that she may have gotten caught up in the secret planning.

Damn her hubris! It sounded so much better in her head!

She scanned above the crowds more, searching for the very distinctive hair color of one of her companions. She had strayed so far from her personal safehouse that she was now wandering around central Vale, looking much like a lost tourist.

That, at least, wasn't an issue. She didn't stick out anymore than the hundreds of others around her. Tourism was at an all time high in Vale right now what with the Vytal Tournament coming in the next few months. The festival preparation had started weeks ago and now the transfer students and spectators were beginning to arrive as well.

Her eye widened as she spotted what she was looking for. A bright, mint green flash of hair from her peripheral. She made her way towards where she'd seen it before it dipped into the crowds. She ignored the visitors who asked her for directions or the beggars against buildings asking for change. She needed to find those two now, so that she didn't spend another day searching for them.

Her eye darted to and fro as she searched. This was where they were. Surely they were still—

"Excuse me, miss? I think you dropped this," a smug sounding voice said from behind. She tensed for not even a second before her face settled in its normal impassive stare. She knew that voice.

"How nice of you to find me Mercury, though I'm sure I said to wait for me to approach," Cinder said as she turned. Mercury shrugged and handed her a wallet, one that definitely wasn't hers or his, and threw his arms behind his head casually.

"Em! Over here!" he called. Not even thirty seconds later and that same head of green hair was before her.

"Cinder!" the girl seemed relieved to be seeing her, "We finally found you!"

Cinder flushed and grit her teeth. She had found them damnit! It was just a coincidence that met yet had spotted her coming their way!

"Yes," the woman said instead, "how delightful for you."

These two had their own brand of charm, she supposed. Mercury, despite his seemingly uncaring attitude, was unquestionably loyal to her. Emerald wouldn't likely leave her, but she also had a better moral compass than the silver haired boy, and that made it harder to give her certain tasks.

Hell, she could ask Mercury to punch an old man and do it happily! Emerald had a soul, and that made her soft. Useful nonetheless, but soft.

She had found Mercury on the side of the road, before she had lost her eye, and he had just killed his own dad. The house behind him was burning, and she gave him a new place in this world, as well as new limbs that had been crippled when she'd found him.

Emerald had been a petty street thief, and Cinder and Mercury had found her when she had tried stealing from Cinder. Mercury had her pinned down within minutes, and Cinder decided that rather than punish the girl, she'd be much better suited to helping her in her endeavors.

Mercury and Emerald didn't get along famously, but they didn't hate each other either. Probably. She felt like maybe there was some sexual tension between them, but that also couldn't be true because she knew for a fact that Mercury had wanted to have her in bed since she took him in. Whether it was from hormones alone or a genuine affection for giving him a new life, she did not know.

She also would not deny perhaps once or twice indulging the young man when she was particularly frustrated or stressed.

Sue her, she lived a strenuous life and sometimes a decent fuck helped soothe that. They definitely weren't in a relationship, and Mercury claimed as much himself. It also helped that his ego wasn't bigger than his penis. Not that it didn't come close sometimes.

"Where are we crashing Cinder? My arms are killing me," Mercury smirked. Emerald smacked his bicep but winced and rubbed her hand.

"That joke wasn't funny the first time you told it and it definitely wasn't funny now," she growled. He rolled his eyes and grinned at her.

"You know I'm a comedy genius," he placed a hand to his chest. Emerald gagged and ignored him.

"The safehouse is this way. And do try and keep the noise to a minimum. We don't want to attract any undue attention," she said. They both nodded and followed as she led them back to their temporary home.

"So what's the plan exactly?" Emerald asked, "You told us you had one and that we were needed but the last time you said that you lost an eye."

Mercury elbowed her in the side, and while most would wince at such a gesture, Emerald heaved as the wind was knocked from her completely.

"Thank you for the reminder Emerald," Cinder groaned, "but I will explain the plan when we are away from prying eyes."

The walk back to the safe house was silent on Cinder's part. Emerald and Mercury more than made up for her lack of words with their banter and jabs. Once or twice she had to send them a scowl to keep them from actually starting a fight in the middle of the city.

They finally arrived back at the safe house and Mercury wasted no time claiming the couch for himself. Emerald huffed and situated herself on a folding chair, Cinder seating herself on another chair opposite of her. Without waiting for the question she told them what she was currently planning. To say they were shocked was an understatement. They both looked closer to horrified when she told them what would take place in a week.

"You made contact with one of Ozpin's agents!?" Emerald cried, "Why!?"

"I'm with Em for once boss lady," Mercury had a pensive look on his face, "that sounds like bad news for us. Especially with what you are. Or what you're half of, at least."

"Perhaps that would be true once upon a time," Cinder said calmly, "but I've been doing some research on this one. I think she can be a friend."

"We're making friends now?" Mercury asked. Cinder sighed and tutted.

"Mercury, Mercury, making friends is how you build the strongest armies," she lectured.

"Okay so you're trying to turn one of Ozpin's own pawns onto our side?" Emerald clarified.

"Not turn her on our side," Cinder corrected, "open her eyes to the truth. She'll do the rest on her own."

"No offense, but it kinda looks like we're the bad guys," Mercury commented. Cinder growled.

"Bad and good are too strict of descriptions. What we're doing is for the best," she claimed. Neither argured. They had heard the story firsthand. They knew this was all necessary.

"Okay, so what are you gonna tell this agent?" Mercury asked. Cinder smirked and opened her mouth to answer.

And then froze when she realized she didn't actually know yet.

"We're so fucked," Emerald groaned.

"You seriously don't know!?" Mercury asked. She hissed and her eye was set ablaze momentarily.

"I know what I need to tell her, you buffoons! Just... not how to tell her in a way that she will believe it trust us," she trailed off.

The three of them remained in silence. If they could get this person on the trail to what was happening, then they would gain an invaluable ally. But the truth in this case was, quite frankly, incredibly unbelievable. But if nobody did anything, even if it wasn't in this generation or the next, Remnant would be in danger.

"I guess we'll just have to leave a good enough trail of breadcrumbs," Mercury offered. Cinder said nothing, but nodded at his assessment. This would be a make or break point in her plan.

It needed to work.


That wraps that up! This was a sort of intermittent and between the phases type of chapter. A lot of setting up and getting ready for bigger things in volume two.

Please remember to follow to see when I update and leave a review! Each and every review grants me power, which I then use to write more like a weird writer's version of photosynthesis.

Stay safe and healthy and have a wonderful time!


Omake: Visions of Adam

Ruby was stressed. The object of her stress was currently in the bathroom taking a shower. She was fairly sure that Adam and her had a normal relationship. Neither wanted more than what they had, and she didn't doubt that they were friends.

But what if that was how it started? What if he had some strange curse that made every girl he met fall in love with him!?

Make no mistake, Ruby had known crushes before. She wasn't blind to seeing whether or not she had feelings for someone, she just would rather that she didn't.

She knew she didn't have any romantic interest in her partner, a fact that Adam had told her made him incredibly happy.

What the heck did that mean!? She wasn't a proud person, but she liked to think she was decently attractive! Too attractive sometimes! She really wished she had smaller... Everything, really, so that nobody stared as much. But still, he could've said it more gently!

She sighed. She was overthinking this. She had a good friend and partner in Adam, and neither of them wanted anything more than that. That was final! If she married anyone, it would be Savage Rose!

The door to the bathroom clicked and Adam walked out.

Shirtless.

"Dangit!" Ruby cursed quietly. She wasn't romantically interested in him. She wasn't interested in him in any naughty ways either, and she'd kill Yang if her little sister suggested as much.

But dammit that didn't mean he wasn't hot!

"Ruby, are you okay?" Adam asked.

"I'M FINE!" she said loudly, covering her face with a pillow.

"... I trust that's correct," he said casually, going about dressing himself. Ruby congratulated herself mentally.

Smooth Ruby, like a totally sociable girl!