Cardin lugged around a bucket and a mop, as he then turned the corner towards the next corridor that he would have to clean; his team followed behind him, as they all carried various cleaning materials with them. Their punishment for instigating a fight within the school was to clean practically every inch of the school, which turned out to be a nice break for the janitorial staff. Where they once enjoyed the illusion of being the toughest fighters in the school, they were now reduced to the laughing stock of Beacon, as fellow students couldn't help but stifle a laugh as they passed by.

Cardin's anger increased with each passing student, as each one laughed at him while the rest of his team kept quiet. It didn't help that Zed had humiliated him at the beginning of the year, then Byeli, someone he had beaten before, had managed to hold her own against her, even after she had been exhausted and drained; even Jaune managed to stand up to him, and killed an Ursa that he could not. He did take out his aggression on his team, however, as he began to admonish them for their own string of losses. Where once they managed to hold their own, they quickly began to lose more and more as the other students grew. In his mind, however, he didn't realize why he- and they- were losing so much.

"At least this is the last wing we have to finish, can't wait to actually take a nice, hot shower," Sky said.

"Seriously though, this was embarrassing," Russel commented, while Dove silently swept around him and slowly made his way down the corridor. However, he nodded at each point his teammates made.

"I don't want to hear any more complaining," Cardin replied, with a slight growl in his voice, and cursed himself as to why he had such weak teammates. "We will bounce back."

"Come on, Cardin, face it, there is just something we aren't getting," Sky pointed out and immediately recoiled as Cardin stalked towards him; almost forcing him into the wall as he stood menacingly in front of him.

"What do you mean? Are you calling me dumb?" Cardin growled.

"No man," Sky said, as he lowered himself to avoid Cardin's gaze. While the rest Russel watched nervously, "I am just saying-"

"Saying what? Tell me, because apparently I am not getting something!" Cardin yelled out, then grabbed Sky by the shirt and was just about to lift him into the air when someone grabbed him by the arm; still fuming, Cardin turned and expected that one of the instructors just happened to have stumbled onto them. Instead, he saw Dove, who normally squinted but now his eyes were open wide, and he was staring daggers at Cardin.

"That's enough." Much to Cardin's surprise, it was the first time Dove had ever spoken, but he shrugged it off and stepped forward towards him, making Dove back away. However, he then noticed that Russel was now standing behind Dove, and just like him, he was staring down Cardin.

"What, you want some too?" Cardin growled.

"Have you ever thought that maybe you are the problem, Cardin?" Dove asked, completely ignoring Cardin's threat, which made Cardin stop in his tracks and looked at Dove with a confused expression.

"Yeah, every time we lose, it's our fault, but when you lose, we still get the blame," Russel added, and at that point Sky joined up with his two teammates; making it three against one.

"You are our leader. We followed you, and it has gotten us nowhere," Dove continued, and just like with Cardin, he ignored Russel's comment. It was then, that Cardin realized his situation, as each of his teammates stared him down and one by one, they turned against him.

"Come on guys, let's finish up and go to bed," Dove said as he closed his eyes and turned his back on Cardin.

" Get back here," Cardin said with a low growl, which wavered slightly as his team walked away from him, and left him alone once they turned the corner. He stomped on the floor, and turned to pick up the mop and bucket; almost breaking the handle as he gripped it tightly but then noticed someone down the hall. He squinted in the darkness, to see that Zed was staring at him and they held eye contact for a moment. Cardin half expected Zed to laugh at him, but instead all he saw was Zed giving him a rather strange look, one that could only be described as a look of pity, before Zed broke eye contact and continued down the hall. Cardin froze for a moment, as he then loosened the grip on his mop, and let out a sigh of defeat.

Even though he knew that had no new information to share with Blake, beyond the events of the previous night, Zed still felt that he needed to speak with her anyway, and strode through the corridors of Beacon's freshman dorm to search for her room with a brisk pace; he remembered that she mentioned that her dorm was right across from JNPR, so instead, he decided to look for theirs. When he stopped right in front of JNPR's door, he immediately turned and saw that there was indeed, another dorm right across from theirs, and quickly turned from side to side to make sure that no one was looking, and marked on the white door, a black 'B' right the middle of the entrance.

When his task was complete, he left just as fast as he had arrived and backtracked to find his way back to the stairs that lead back to the floor from where his dorm resided. As he approached his room, he closed his eyes and guided his hands through his hair to fix it slightly, and when he opened them, he noticed a black mark on his door in the shape of a 'Z'. For a moment, he stared at it, and thought that it was funny as he erased the mark from the door and opened the door.

"I guess I am not the only one who felt we needed to talk," Zed thought, although it was plainly obvious, and stepped inside.

He saw Haiiden at his desk, as he still studied over Oobleck's dissertation, although he had already gotten past the first two volumes and was now finishing the third. While the twins sat on their respective beds, they both looked towards the holographic "telly" that sat atop a nightstand that was set in between two of the beds, and watched the news, which featured a follow up story on the failed robbery at the docks, which even got the attention of Haiiden from time to time. Just as the reporter was finishing, it then switched over to the most famous anchorwoman in Vale; a woman with straight, light purple hair which complimented her name, Lisa Lavender.

"Thank you; here we are, witnessing the aftermath of an attempted robbery that occurred just last night in Tarren Harbor in Vale," said the female reporter, as a video image appeared next to her face which streamed footage from a VTOL that flew over the site, and at the bottom, workers tried to remove the two VTOLs that had crashed in the harbor, while there was the smoldering wreck of another downed VTOL in the clearing on the harbor. All around them was yellow tape that was set up to keep people out while officers investigated the scene.

"Some suspects have been arrested, who are allegedly related with the White Fang, however they were led by a human known as "Roman Torchwick", who is currently Vale's most wanted, and sports the highest bounty in Vale's history," Lisa continued, as a mug-shot of Torchwick appeared on the screen, which were meant to further illustrate her comments.

"And although the robbery did result in failure, which we will get into detail as to how that transpired shortly; the robbery, however, still left a victim, The Schnee Corporation, as the large Dust shipment has now been taken into custody as evidence." The camera then switched over to someone on the ground, who tried to get a word in from the Schnee representative, but the man was disgruntled after he failed to convince the police to hand over the Dust.

"This is an outrage! We already knew what these animals were after, there is no need to hold on to Schnee Company assets!" The man exclaimed before he stormed off and entered a limo before being driven away.

"Mr. Schnee, the president of the Schnee Corporation, however, has been very compliant in the investigation, has gone on record to say that 'he hopes that justice will be done, and that company assets will be returned once the investigation is over.'" At that moment, a photo that was taken during the press release of the incident, with President Schnee in the center, appeared on the screen and although, it seems that the President was compliant with the detective's requests to hold the assets for evidence, he did seem very agitated at the whole situation.

"That's my dad," Zed commented briefly, and pointed to the man, which made Vaughn and Cecilia squint to try and take a good look at him. In the side of the photo, there was an orange haired Faunus, in a really expensive suit that could barely be seen in the shot.

"Now, onto the details of the robbery attempt, we go live to one of the detectives who first arrived on the scene the day it occurred," Lisa Lavender continued, which made the photo disappear and snapped the twins back to attention.

"Here, we have an exclusive interview with one of the first detectives on the scene, Detective Takagi," Lisa finished, and the screen switch over to a full shot of a man, who seems to have eastern origins with red hair.

"Good evening," Takagi replied.

"So, Detective Takagi, the first question on everybody's minds is: how could the White Fang manage to sneak this far into Vale?" Lisa asked, and for a moment there was a pause as Takagi received the question, since there was a bit of a lag in communication to the remote van at the scene.

"Although the White Fang is made up almost exclusively of Faunus, we can't distinguish them between the normal populace, as they don't wear their uniforms or masks in public; that is, unless they are on a mission or are together in one safe area. So we assume they managed to sneak in with the help of Torchwick and 'acquired' VTOLs for the sole purpose of transport of the Dust for this mission," replied Takagi, stiffly and professionally.

"That is understandable. Now, what precautions will there be in the future to prevent such scenarios from happening again? I am sure there have been a few suggestions in the past," Lisa continued.

"Yes, however, they are unorthodox, as well as unethical, as these suggestions include assuming that all Faunus in Vale are associated with the White Fang, and act accordingly. Obviously, we are not going to label everyone a terrorist, especially since our duty is to protect both humans and Faunus. Additionally, profiling Faunus is impractical, as well as morally reprehensible," Takagi responded, this time in an irritated tone.

"Again, understandable, Detective; now, despite the fact that such a large force was sent to steal the Dust shipment, they were stopped dead in their tracks, without so much as a single container of Dust being stolen. How did that happen?" Lisa asked, for a moment she looked down as if to read a list of questions she had prepared on her tablet-Scroll in front of her.

"The robbery was stopped by Huntsmen and Huntresses in training, whom we questioned at the scene, but agreed to keep their identities anonymous, as they are still minors, as well as for their own protection, as there is a potential threat of retaliation from the White Fang. When questioned as to why they were there in the first place, their response was that 'they were in the in the right place at the right time,'" Takagi answered.

"Thank you for your time, Detective, I am sure you are quite busy, and VNN thanks you for answering our questions; have a good night and good luck in your investigations," Lisa concluded.

"And to you too," Takagi finished, and the live image was cut and Lisa was in the center of the picture again.

"Now, there have been some controversy in light of recent events: some stating that the Huntsman should intervene in the conflict against the White Fang, while others have stated that the Huntsmen should continue to do what they have always done, which is to fight the Grimm. More on that later during our 'Point, Counterpoint' segment," Lisa stated and the broadcast ended as the screen then went to the news stations logo, signaling the end of the news report. A commercial for Schnee Company Dust came on the screen before Vaughn pointed the remote at the screen and turned it off, the image evaporating into thin air.

"Apparently, we are heroes," Haiiden said, still not looking up from his studying.

"They were clearly not talking about us," Cecilia responded.

"It was meant to be sarcastic, Cecilia," Haiiden said with a slight growl, which made Cecilia back down. Vaughn's Scroll pinged suddenly, as he then received a message from Glynda to meet with her in Ozpin's office. However, the message specifically stated that he was to go alone.

"Ill be back guys soon guys," Vaughn said, just before he got up and left. "Have a good night."

Just as he left the dorm, everyone gave him their own good night wishes, as they would have probably turned in for the night by the time he returned. Zed then went to sit down at his bedside, and stared at the floor as he thought to himself.

"At least now we know that Torchwick is, in fact, here," Zed commented.

"Have you been able to look over those invoices that you nabbed?" Cecilia asked.

"Unfortunately, all but the contents are in some kind of code," Zed responded, and reached into his drawer and pulled out the invoices from beneath his clothing before handing it to Cecilia to look over. She quirked a brow as she scanned the information in front of her, as she took note of the type of cipher on the pages.

"I have never seen this kind before, but to be honest, I wasn't taught much cryptography from my adopted father, as I didn't have much aptitude for it. Although, Vaughn was taught a lot of that technical stuff, so maybe it would be better to ask him," she said with a heavy sigh, and handed the invoices back to Zed, who tucked them back into their drawers, but not without first taking a couple of pictures with his Scroll.

"It's okay, I already planned to ask someone else first anyway," Zed responded. "If that doesn't work, I'll ask him to take a look."

A t that moment, Haiiden popped another couple of tablets of the painkillers that had been given to him, which made Zed look at him with a frown.

Vaughn stepped in front of the doors to Ozpin's office, and knocked before he reached down towards the handle and opened the door. As he stepped inside, he saw that Ozpin was looking through some papers and then set them down as he looked up and noticed that Vaughn had entered. Nonchalantly, Vaughn stepped forward without so much as an expression, before finally stopping in front of Ozpin's desk and greeted him with a salute.

"Your sister isn't here, Vaughn. There is no need for such formalities now," Ozpin said with a soft smile and leaned forward in his seat, with his hands clasped in front of him. Vaughn hesitated for a moment, and slowly lowered his arm, before letting his entire body rest and even let it slouch; all the while, letting out a long, drawn out sight of relief.

"Thank you sir," Vaughn replied. "Old habits die hard."

"Of course," Ozpin responded and nodded.

"What was it that you wanted to speak to me about?" Vaughn asked.

"I have a few questions, but first, I wanted to ask if you thought CRDLs punishment was appropriate?" Ozpin asked.

"I am indifferent about their situation, but if you want an honest opinion, latrine duty seems fitting. People are suggesting expulsion, but they are good fighters sir, they just need to clean up their act… No pun intended," Vaughn quickly added, blushing at his turn of phrase.

"Of course, now, my next question pertains to HAVCs current status," Ozpin replied. "It has been a couple of months since Haiiden's and Cecilia's duel, and things seem to be going well, however, I want to keep a close eye on HAVC, so as this situation doesn't happen again."

"Everything is going well, sir," Vaughn replied and pulled up a chair and sat down. "They have come to an understanding, and are getting along quite well."

"Good, good," Ozpin commented.

"Now, we just need to not keep secrets from each other. Zed revealed his past with the White Fang," Vaughn continued.

"Which will remain a secret to everyone else, for now," Ozpin added.

"Of course, sir. However, we don't know much else about our leader," Vaughn commented. "I am sure you know."

"I do," Ozpin agreed, his face turned grim as he stared at Vaughn. "If you want to know more about him, then all you have to do is ask. I am in no position to reveal secrets about others."

"I know, but he seems reluctant, however. There are some things that I have noticed about him that have made me wonder…" Vaughn trailed off. "However, I guess the truth will come in time."

Ozpin relaxed a bit, he always appreciative of Vaughn's honesty when they spoke together. However, this was one of those times when his honesty would be put to the test.

"Speaking of truths, there was something I wanted to speak to you about," Ozpin stated and he pulled out some papers from his desk and set them in front of Vaughn. When Vaughn scanned what was on the papers, it was a requisition receipt from the school's quartermaster, and a report from the infirmary; it was at that moment that Vaughn realized that this was now an interrogation.

"You do well in your sparring matches, Vaughn. It was for that reason that the Glynda has decided to go easy on you lately, but I am curious as to why you need to restock on your ammunition when you haven't had any matches," Ozpin asked, as his finger traced over the bill, which included rock salts cartridges, Grey Goose, and various different types of Dust. Vaughn stared at it, without showing so much as a hint of an expression before he looked back up to Ozpin.

"Then there is Haiiden. If I recall, his wound was stitched when he was wounded, and likewise, the instructors went easy to allow him to heal," Ozpin continued. "Then he came back to have it re-stitched last night; apparently, he strained himself too much and it reopened his wound, according to the nurse."

Vaughn calmly sat in his seat, his breath steady as he waited for Ozpin to make his point.

"Now, I would have asked him, but like you said, he has many secrets of his own, and I know if I were to ask him, he would give me less than satisfactory answers," Ozpin said. "Now, I am not saying that he would lie. He has never once lied to me, except by omission, but he does have a knack for hiding the truth while still revealing only a part of it."

"And now, with the recent event at the docks, and while I am aware of the students who stopped the robbery, it has made me wonder." Ozpin sighed, as he then leaned forward in his seat and his eyes met with Vaughn's. "I've always appreciated your honesty, Vaughn, which is why I would hope that you would give me that respect, even now. Were you at the docks at the time the robbery took place?"

"Yes," Vaughn replied without hesitation or thought; he needed neither. Glynda kept a calm and collected gaze, however, she gripped the Scroll that she held tighter than before.

"If you can, explain the events that led you and HAVC to the scene. I need to know about the 'extra-curricular' activities that my students take on," Ozpin elaborated.

"It wasn't just HAVC, but CNBR as well," Vaughn admitted, which made Ozpin quirk a brow in surprise, and also shifted in his seat. "Zed was on a date with Byeli, during which they overheard a conversation with someone he said used to be in the White Fang with him as well."

Ozpin nodded, as he knew full well as to whom he was talking about. "Was it a fellow student named Blake Belladonna?"

"Yes, sir. He had overheard her and a transfer student speculate about a potential robbery, and decided it would be worth his while to follow Blake. That was when he called us to come, and only when we got to the docks did he explain that he has been looking for Torchwick, and was under the impression that he might be there. Similarly, Byeli also called for her team, and followed Zed, but she did it also to follow Blake," Vaughn continued, and there was a moment of silence as Ozpin sat in silent contemplation.

"There was an ensuing battle between CNBR, HAVC, and White Fang reinforcements. We were victorious, but fled the scene before the police arrived, not wishing to cause undue trouble for the Academy," Vaughn added without prompting.

"Thank you Vaughn, that will be all; I just the needed details from your perspective," Ozpin finally said, with a reassuring smile, which was what finally made Vaughn feel slightly confused but he shrugged it off and stood from his seat.

"I will take my leave then. Have a good night, Headmaster," Vaughn finished, and turned to Glynda and bowed in front of her. "Good night, Professor Goodwitch."

" And to you, Vaughn, thank you," Ozpin replied and watched as Vaughn turned to leave his office but kept silent until the door closed behind him.

The next morning, it was time for finals day to begin, and the seats in Ossea's classroom were packed a lot more than usual; even CFVY, who were normally in Oobleck's class at this time, were sitting together as the room erupted into discussions, each student trying to guess what was going on. However, in the corner of the class, CRDL could be seen sitting alone, while Cardin sulked in the corner. However, Haiiden noticed that Cardin was staring at him from across the room, but decided to ignore it.

Suddenly, Ossea stepped in through the door, and descended the stairs to its desk and set down a stack of papers, but then began to silently wait. A few minutes later, Oobleck then rushed into the room with his usual coffee high, with a trail of papers flying behind him as he zipped in.

"Have a seat, class," Ossea announced, and the room fell silent as they all obeyed its command and sat down. After a few more seconds of silence, whispers broke out, and then it was Oobleck's turn to step forward.

"Class, today we have decided to try something different," Oobleck announced, and pulled out a single piece of paper and practically slammed it onto the table. "Professor Ossea and I have been talking, and we have decided that it would be in our best interests to proctor a test that combines both of our curricula together."

At this revelation, the class went from silent whispers, and again, exploded into chatter as friends talked to one another about what this would entail.

"That's not fair!" exclaimed one student.

"Yeah, we didn't study for this!" blurted out another.

"Calm yourselves, students," Ossea interrupted. "The test will not have anything new, or anything which we did not cover in our classes. The reason why we decided to combine our tests is essentially because both of our classes have a degree of overlap in our curricula. Whereas Professor Oobleck's –"

"Doctor!" Oobleck exclaimed, which made Haiiden smile slightly.

"Whereas 'Doctor' Oobleck's class," Ossea continued. "Is history in its purest form, mine is social studies, with a hint of history and diplomacy in it; a joint test seemed like the ideal approach."

"Yes, our test has been especially tailored to the main subjects of both of our classes, which will seamlessly work together in tandem with each other," Oobleck said excitedly, as he sped through the class and dropped off a stack of five pages that have been stapled together to each student, before taking his place at the bottom of the class, alongside Ossea.

"You all have an hour and thirty minutes to complete the exam," Ossea announced.

"I would say good luck, but, you won't need it if you have been studying," Oobleck said with a grin.

Haiiden looked down onto the paper in front of him, as he scanned the contents he realized that it was double sided and all but the top of the first page was blank, which summarized the content of the exam. There was a single question which comprised the exam:

Conflicts of our Era:

Consequences of the Great War, and its effects on the Faunus War

#1: Describe the causes and consequences of the Great War, with detail into how those consequences fomented the Faunus Rights Revolution (The Faunus War).

I t was then, that Haiiden realized that he was about to pass this test and that he would ace both Ossea's and Oobleck's classes in one fell swoop; a grin then fell on his face.

The day was now turning dark, and the orange glow of the receding sun was shining through the windows and into Beacon's dining hall. Haiiden groaned as he covered his face with his hands as he sat with his team and JNPR; they all sat and ate silently as they watched Haiiden squirm in his chair, almost as if he was nauseated. Next to him was a cup of coffee.

"Did you fail your test?" Jaune asked.

"I don't know, Jaune. I don't think so. In any event, we don't get the results back until after dinner is over," Haiiden replied through his hands, and reached to pick up the cup and took a rather large gulp.

"So what's wrong, then?" Jaune asked and scratched his head. At this point, Zed reached over and put a hand over Haiiden's shoulder.

"He put on his big boy pants and did at least a couple of weeks of non-stop studying. I believe he only slept a couple of hours at a time," Zed said with a grin, and Haiiden's response was to reach up and grab Zed by the head and slammed it down onto the table. A smile crept on his face as Zed laughed hysterically, which then got the rest of the table to chuckle.

"Well, that's good. I am sure you passed," Pyrrha added.

"Thank you, Pyrrha, however I will say I had a secret weapon, and it was a rather enlightening experience," Haiiden said with a soft smile, which he tried his hardest to hold through his fatigue, while Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "Besides, I wasn't about to allow myself to be held back for another year."

Pyrrha's smile immediately vanished upon hearing that comment. She was still quite upset about that revelation, as she sympathized with how Cecilia might have felt, and upon thinking of her, she turned her gaze towards Cecilia. She noticed that even Cecilia had a rather odd expression, but it was more out of awkwardness rather than anger.

"Well, he is trying hard to make up for it," Cecilia said, her voice a little shaken, as she tried to find the right words to express herself.

"Besides, it just means we get to hang out with you guys for another year," Cecilia joked, and it made any doubts in Pyrrha's mind disappear and she smiled warmly as everyone at the table chuckled again and nodded. The bell then rang, which signaled the end of the day and that the dining hall was to be closed soon.

"I'll meet you over at the board soon," Zed said as he quickly left the dining hall, leaving his team behind with JNPR as they all walked and joked together, except for Nora.

Zed made his way towards the school's library, but had to pass by throng of fellow students as they made their way to their respective classes to check their grades for the finals. On a normal day, Zed would have been just as eager to check his own grades, but today was not a normal day in his eyes; he had a special meeting that he just couldn't miss. He almost praised Blake in his mind for choosing this day of all days to call this meeting, as all the students would vacate the library to check their grades; but also since there was no more studying as the break in between semesters had now officially started.

However, as he stepped into the library, he noticed there were still a few students inside, but they were all spread out, and mostly used this quiet time to relax. He casually walked around the library, and half expected that Blake would come out of nowhere to talk, but as he waited, no one came.

"Perhaps she's checking her grades?" Zed thought, and shrugged as he had some time to spare. Even though the library would also eventually close, it was still two hours from now, and he could use it just a little. He walked through the tall shelves of books and pulled out a couple to quietly scan the contents and when he became disinterested, he set it up back into the shelf. He did start to feel impatient, as fifteen minutes passed by and he still hadn't heard anything from Blake; not even through his Scroll.

He began to think that maybe she might have been sidetracked, maybe celebrating with her team, or perhaps checking her own grades, but he didn't want to waste time here if he didn't need to, so he made his way out of the library. As he stepped out from between the shelves and into the open, he saw a flash of black, and he turned his head to see Blake sitting at one of the computers that were set up in a row along the wall. He took a deep breath, and made his way to her, and once he was a few feet away, his Scroll pinged; he gritted his teeth as he stopped in his tracks and wondered who it was at this time and reached to pull it out.

"Take one of the vacant computers, but not too close to me," was all the message said, and the ID was blocked, but he didn't need it to be told who it was. He did exactly what the message requested, and took a seat in front of a vacant computer that was just a few seats away from her, then plugged his Scroll into the computer; allowing it to interface with the the library systems, and a message showed up on the screen.

Book Bumblebee: "I was beginning to think that you weren't going to make it."

Zed quirked a brow at the strange username, which he assumed was Blake's, and likewise, he decided to make a username for himself.

GuyFox: "I waz here 4 15 minitz waiting 4 u"

Blake almost got a headache from reading that, and was appalled at how he wrote his messages. After a pause, another message popped up on her screen.

GuyFox: "how r u"

Book Bumblebee: "I am not going to speak to you until you write normally…"

Zed found her reaction amusing, let out a soft chuckle as he wrote his reply.

GuyFox: "How are you?"

Book Bumblebee: "I am well, thank you."

GuyFox: "Did you pass your exams?"

Blake then quirked a brow at his attempt at small talk.

Book Bumblebee: "Yes, Zed, I am not as lazy as you."

GuyFox: "Hey now, I have been doing my fair share of work."

There was a momentary pause between them.

…

Both of them stared at their screens, as they wondered what to say next.

…

GuyFox: "I know that you have been also doing your own bit of work."

At that moment, Blake froze as she read the message, but was confused to what he meant and decided to withhold any assumptions. However, she had her own guesses as to what he meant.

Book Bumblebee: "You saw the news story?"

GuyFox: "Yep, 'Huntsman and Huntresses in training stopped an attempted robbery by the White Fang'. It's all over the media, in fact."

Blake nodded, and was just about to confirm that it was indeed her and Sun that foiled the robbery; and just as she was about to write, another message popped up.

GuyFox: "And I had front row seats to it."

Blake swallowed as she read the message and tightened her hands into fists.

Book Bumblebee: How did you know where to find me? Or even where the robbery would be?"

GuyFox: "Simple. We followed you."

Book Bumblebee: "'We'?"

GuyFox: "Me and Byeli, in fact. We overheard your conversation with that guy, Sun."

Blake then froze, a few seconds of pause went by as she collected her thoughts.

Book Bumblebee: "I take it that means Byeli knows…?"

GuyFox: "My team, as well as CNBR knows you were in the White Fang."

GuyFox: "Don't worry. I swore them all to secrecy about you."

Book Bumblebee: "You saw everything, and didn't come in to help?"

GuyFox: "Hey, my teammate held me back; he's very persuasive, and secondly, it's not like I didn't help at all. Remember those two VTOLs that got cut in half?"

Book Bumblebee: "Yes?"

GuyFox: "Well, after whatever that laser was took out their VTOLs, my team and CNBR took out about 20 reinforcements that were headed Torchwick's way."

Although the girl named Penny, whom she had a brief encounter with after the fight, did manage to take out a lot of the White Fang forces, Blake admitted to herself that reinforcements on that order would have made things a lot more difficult.

Book Bumblebee: "Thanks."

Zed thought to himself for a moment, as one of the things she said to Sun did linger in his mind.

GuyFox: "Do you believe me now?"

Blake was taken aback by this comment, her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she formulated a response.

Book Bumblebee: "What do you mean?"

GuyFox: "You expressed that you still didn't believe that they would be responsible for the robberies."

Book Bumblebee: "Just how much did you overhear?"

GuyFox: "Enough. Blake, whatever you may feel for the White Fang is misguided. The White Fang that we used to know, is dead."

Blake sat silently for a moment as she read the message multiple times in her mind.

GuyFox: "And you know it."

It was at that point, that even Zed couldn't write anymore; he admitted the truth the moment he left but he didn't want to reiterate it in his mind over and over again. He took a deep breath, his sorrow replaced with anger, as he eyes turned orange and he resumed typing.

GuyFox: "Torchwick will pay for what he has done."

Book Bumblebee: "Don't get involved."

GuyFox: "You know, I thought about that, but the more stories I hear about the White Fang, the more I realize that I am already involved. I just need to fix a mistake when I let a friend be poisoned by this maniac."

Book Bumblebee: "I guess this is a waste of time then. I called to meet with you so I can tell you that I ran into Torchwick, but I guess you already knew that."

GuyFox: "Not entirely a waste of time. I do have some information, but I need your help."

Blake quirked a brow upon seeing his plea for help, and was taken aback when he sent a file to her. She clicked on it, and what opened up was what seemed to be an invoice, judging from the list of Dust products and weapons, however, she couldn't read anything else.

Book Bumblebee: "What is this?"

GuyFox: "When HAVC took out the cell in Mistral earlier in the semester, I found these in Leo's office. I believe them to be invoices, but I can't decipher this sort of code."

Blake stared for a few moments, the code was rather strange and realized just how far the White Fang has gone, not only in terms of their fighting ability but when it came to secrecy.

GuyFox: "Have you seen this kind of code before?"

Book Bumblebee: "I haven't, sorry."

At that moment, she heard a bang which almost made her jump out of her seat and she turned to see that both of Zed's fists were on the table; as he lifted his hands, she saw that he practically cracked the wood.

GuyFox: "Sorry about that; a couple of my teammates don't know, either. Two of them have military experience, but one of them didn't pay much attention to cryptography. However, she has suggested that her brother might know a thing or two."

Book Bumblebee: "I hope he can help."

GuyFox: "Me too. If we get a break, I'll be sure to let you know."

Zed looked up to his left to eye the clock that was hung on the wall, little did he know, that Blake also took a peek at it.

GuyFox: "I have to go."

Book Bumblebee: "I have to go, too. I still haven't checked my grades."

Then:

Book Bumblebee: "Take care of yourself."

GuyFox: "You too."

Z ed was the first to stand up and leave, while Blake waited for a long time so that people wouldn't be suspicious. However, she also wanted to be alone, and she hid her face in her hands for over an hour, until the bell rang again, signaling that the library was to be closed.

Haiiden tried to peek over the large group of people, who were all crowded around a board, which showed whether or not the students had passed their exams; this school really did know how to pick them, as more students went away happy than not. The cheers from students sometimes rang throughout the halls, which made Haiiden wince a little, but also made him smile. When he finally forced his way through the crowd, he scanned through the posting while still trying to ignore the many students who tried to get past him and saw that he had passed. That was all he needed to know, but he also wanted to see in what position he was in, compared to the rest of the class.

Weiss Schnee

Pyrrha Nikos

Blake Belladonna

Lie Ren

Velvet Scarletina

Vaughn Sceryei

Coco Adel

Anders Ignis

Cecilia Sceryei

Haiiden Shiroi

…

He didn't need to read the rest of the list, although he thought it was a long shot to have made it to the top, but he was happy that he at least made the top ten. He made his way through the crowd again, this time it was a little harder as they were now moving in opposing directions. Once he made it out of the throng, he pulled out his Scroll, and quickly dialed for Zed.

"Hello?" Zed answered.

"Hey, where are you? The grades are posted," Haiiden said.

"Oh cool, did I pass?" Zed asked, and for someone who seemed to not care about his grades or his studies, he did sound rather concerned.

"Yeah, you did. I have no idea how you scored higher than me, though," Haiiden said with a huff.

"You know, I just let things roll, you can't stress out about these things," Zed responded, the concern in his voice was replaced with a hint of smugness.

"Yeah, yeah, I will see you back at the dorm," Haiiden finished and closed his Scroll, and began to make his way to his dorm; as he passed the corner, someone grabbed him by the arm which made him turn and went straight into the defensive once he realized who it was.

"What do you want, Cardin?" Haiiden asked, he knew that he shouldn't jump to conclusions, but with his previous experiences, he knew that he should always be ready with him.

"If I had wanted to hurt you, you'd already be on the ground," Cardin growled.

"Oh yeah?" Haiiden asked, and pulled his arm away, which even made Cardin recoil.

"I just want to talk," Cardin continued, the growl in his voice gone now. Haiiden didn't know how to respond, so he just stood with his mouth wide open.

"Excuse me?" Haiiden asked.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Cardin responded, his eyes shifting back and forth between Haiiden and the group of people.

"Okay?" Haiiden replied.

"Not here," Cardin said, almost nervously as he still kept his gaze on the congregation of people who were still eager to see their grades. Haiiden traced his line of sight, and what it was that Cardin was nervous of, and decided to humor him a little.

"Okay," Haiiden said with a shrug, and followed Cardin as he led him away from the rest of the students; both of them unaware that someone had noticed them, and after a few minutes, they entered an empty classroom and Cardin stood next to the door with his arms crossed.

"Nice place you led me to Cardin, secluded" Haiiden commented, to which Cardin responded with a harsh glare. "Nice place to jump me."

Although it was a joke, Haiiden couldn't help but look around, and noticed that they really were the only ones in the room. He kept that piece of information in his mind, and turned to Cardin and likewise crossed his arms.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Haiiden asked, and watched as Cardin's face expressed a variety of emotions, ranging from confusion, to anger, then finally, to defeat.

"I need some advice," Cardin said, and Haiiden's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting this from Cardin, of all people.

"Advice about what?" Haiiden asked, as he leaned as he looked up at Cardin. However, Cardin didn't reply at first, and it became obvious from his facial expression that he didn't know exactly how to proceed.

"There is apparently something I am not getting. My team is one of the few that is doing poorly academically, and where we were once doing well in the spars, we are now being beaten senseless," Cardin said, and gritted his teeth as he thought on it further, and Haiiden looked at him sympathetically. Which to Haiiden, was a strange experience.

"Look at that Faunus freak, for example –" Cardin began, but was cut off.

"Her name is Byeli," Haiiden hissed, and for a moment, Cardin froze and stared back at Haiiden, and sighed.

"Byeli, for example. I beat her easily the first time, but now she was able to take out one of my guys and was able to hold her own against me, even with her Aura depleted from a previous match," Cardin swallowed just as he finished and Haiiden nodded.

"That's to be expected, this school is meant to train people," Haiiden said.

"But we have been training just as hard as anyone, yet my team…" Cardin stopped himself for just a moment, and gritted his teeth as he took a deep breath. "…And I, are not getting anywhere.

"You want me to be honest, Cardin?" Haiiden asked, while he kept his gaze on him; he already knew the answer to Cardin's problem.

"Sure," Cardin said as he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"You are arrogant," Haiiden said bluntly, which caught Cardin off guard where he expressed surprise at first, but it quickly melded to anger. "You are bigoted, a racist, and a bully."

It was true, that he bullied people for fun, but when he heard what Haiiden said, especially after his own team left him, each point that he made stabbed him like a needle to the heart.

"You came here for the wrong reasons, you came here thinking that what you learned in Combat School was enough, that this Academy had nothing to left to teach you that you didn't already know," Haiiden finished. "You disregard your classes, you mock the ideas that the instructors present, and you don't coordinate your attacks when your team fights."

Haiiden waited to see what Cardin's reaction would be, but all he did was stare at the floor.

"Am I wrong when I say that even your team has gotten tired of it?" Haiiden asked, and Cardin's head shot straight up to glare at him.

"You wanted my honesty, and you got it, Cardin. If you want to grow, then you have to take this school seriously," Haiiden said, and Cardin's expression softened and he let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks," Cardin said and turned to leave.

"No problem, I was told at the start of the year to help in any way I can. Just don't disregard what I have told you," Haiiden said, and Cardin stopped at the door and processed the information, before responding with a nod, then left. Haiiden let out a sigh of relief, and when he likewise was about to leave, someone stopped him at the door and closed it shut. Instead of the beaming face of the cheerful girl that he had come to know, he instead looked up to see Nora's calculated stare.

"That was some impressive wisdom you imparted to Cardin," Nora said coyly.

"Yeah, well, I do my best to help," Haiiden replied with a shrug and a smile, however, it wavered the longer he met with her stare.

"You know, you never really gave an answer to us about why you left Beacon," Nora stepped down the stairs towards Haiiden, so that now they were face to face. "You don't know how long Pyrrha was upset about that."

"I thought I did, I said that I wanted to do good in my own way," Haiiden replied, now forced onto the defensive.

"We all want to do good in our own way, which was why we came here," Nora replied just as fast as Haiiden did.

"I don't understand what this is about –" Haiiden said but then Nora crossed her arms.

"Did you ever think that maybe YOU came here for the wrong reasons? That maybe you also thought the school had nothing to teach you?" Nora asked, and tilted her head. Haiiden was left speechless as he stared back at the freshman student, never expecting something like this from one of most cheerful students in the school.

"I am not blaming you. We all have our reasons for why we do things, but what I am saying is that yours were dumb," Nora continued. "Only after the duel between you and Cecilia did you really begin to change for the better."

Haiiden swallowed as he listened to what she had to say, and he felt that he should respond, but he didn't know how.

"Whatever happened that made you find your reasons, I am glad it happened, and I hope you don't lose sight of those reasons, and what you have gained because of them," Nora finished and she turned to leave without so much as waiting for a response from Haiiden. She didn't need any, and she left Haiiden standing frozen in the middle of an empty classroom.

Ozpin looked down onto Vale, just as he normally did ever since the preparations for the Vytal Festival had begun, and marveled at how much it changed. Although Vale was beautiful in its own way, it was how plain it was that made it beautiful, but sometimes Ozpin wished that the roses on top of the light posts would stay. However, his mind reverted to the person behind him, as he heard the clicking of Glynda's heels against his glass floor, which underneath housed the many moving gears that allowed the hands on the clock tower to move.

"I don't understand that child," Glynda said, as she had been eyeing the nurse's report for better part of a few minutes as she paced back and forth. "He knows the importance of the power of his Aura, and yet he does not use it."

Ozpin let out a sigh and turned to sit back down onto his chair, and watched as Glynda paced around the room.

"It can heal superficial wounds, even hasten the healing of more serious ones, and yet he doesn't utilize it. Why?" She stopped and looked over at Ozpin, and it was at that moment that Ozpin realized that she was asking him a question.

"Perhaps he fears it?" Ozpin responded.

"What does he have to fear from it? Our Aura is the fire in this world that drives us, that defends us from the darkness. Without it, we are no better than the Grimm," Glynda commented. "He of all people should know that."

"He knows, Glynda," Ozpin answered and Glynda immediately shut up as she realized what he meant. "He fears it because he watched as his own mother's fire burnt out."

"She should have waited until he was older to teach him," Glynda said, as she began to pace around the office again.

"That may be," Ozpin finished. "That's enough for the day, Glynda. Enjoy the break while you can, and don't worry too much about the boy."

"It's that dream again," Haiiden thought, as he watched the familiar room that he always found himself in every night when he went to bed. His childhood home, the hearth burning brightly, and as usual, the woman in white that sat on the couch right in front of it. As if he had just returned from a break, the scene played out again from where he last left off, where his younger self was playing with a wooden sword and his mom watched him. The somber expression was now replaced with a smile which only hid what she really felt. As usual, Haiiden was the unseen specter that stood in front of the two who were unaware of his presence.

"Haiiden, come here," she said and she offered her hand to the child and waited patiently for the boy to stop swinging the sword, and he turned and likewise, reached his hand out and grabbed hers.

"It's true, Haiiden, I am a Huntress," she said with a soft voice which was mixed with a warmth that Haiiden could feel. Even the child giggled a little, as the softness of her voice tickled his ears. "But do you know why I became a Huntress?"

"To fight monsters?" The boy asked, his voice tinged with confusion, but still kept a smile on his face that Haiiden would only describe as dopey.

"That was my reason, at first, but that was the reason I was conditioned to adopt. In the end, it was not my reason, Haiiden," She continued, while still holding the young boy's hand which made Haiiden slightly jealous.

"What was your reason, mommy?" His younger self asked, at that moment, his mother took a pitcher of water and dumped it into the hearth, and the entire room went dark. Normally, whatever humans had that could be considered night vision would kick in, but instead all Haiiden saw was pitch black darkness, a void that made him shiver.

"I will show you; Haiiden, I need you to close your eyes and feel," she said, and a few moments later, the child's frustrated grunts can be heard as he tried to listen to his mom.

"I don't think I am doing it right!" the little boy cried out.

"Don't think, Haiiden," she responded, and Haiiden stood frozen as he stared into nothingness, instead focusing harder on the words of his mother. "Feel."

At that moment, Haiiden let out a long, drawn out sigh, as he then closed his eyes and summoned that familiar feeling that he felt the first time he did this. He pulled at whatever warmth was inside him, the very fabrics of his soul, and when he opened his eyes, inside the void were the little boy and his mother. However, in the darkness, the woman shone with a dazzling light which made Haiiden wince. However, his attention turned to the little boy, who sat almost stupefied by what he was witnessing and looked up to his mother for confirmation.

"This is the light within all of us, Haiiden. This is why I became a Huntress," his mother said with a smile that was just as warm as her voice.

"It's so pretty," the little boy marvelled, and he raised his hand in an attempt to touch it, but only touched the fabric of his mother's shawl. "I want to fight for it too."

"This is my reason, Haiiden, and mine alone," his mother said. "If you want to fight for this reason, you must understand what it means. And when you finally understand…" she paused, and ruffled his hair.

"I hope you will never forget it," his mother finished, and this immediately grabbed Haiiden's attention as his head shot up with a glazed expression.

"I don't remember that," Haiiden thought and he looked down at the woman, to see that she was staring back at him now; the smile on her face replaced with a look of sadness, as well as pity.

Suddenly, her light flickered and died out, leaving them all bathed in darkness. "Mommy?" the little boy cried out, but was answered only with silence.

In his dorm at Beacon, Haiiden sat bolt upright, panting and heaving, his face and body covered in a cold sweat.