After Yang had recovered from her little stunt with her aura and stemmed her nosebleed, the four of them decided to drag me to Downtown Vale. Something about decorations and the like. And while I'll admit that they knew how to decorate here, it wasn't anything to go yelling about. Needed more intestines and hearts and less ribbons and lights. I remember this one psycho that made a jack-o-lantern out of a human skull. Real nice.

"The Vytal Festival! Oh this is absolutely wonderful." Weiss said upon seeing said decorations. She had that peppy schoolgirl walk as well, so anyone looking could tell she was happy.

"Wow Weiss, I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much. It's kinda weirding me out." Ruby said, and a slight chuckle from Yang followed. Although she was still fuzzy in the head a bit.

"How can you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a tournament." She continued after that, but I had focused in on the word' tournament. Wasn't there something very important with the Vytal Festival. I started to scan through the memories of souls consumed, searching for information.

Amity Colosseum. The single largest and most advanced structure ever built by the four kingdoms. Used in the Vytal Festival, competing teams from kingdoms fight in front of thousands of spectators. That's all I needed. A floating city, above an actual city. I couldn't think of a greater catastrophe, not to mention the fact that it would set back all four kingdoms at once, as well as completely destroy one.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks." Yang said while Ruby covered her nose and complained about fish. Personally I didn't get it. The smell of decay was great.

"I heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today, and as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom." Weiss said, and you could cut that charade with a knife.

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Smart really. I don't know why you'd hide that. Humans are odd.

"Whoa." Ruby said, interrupting Blake and Weiss' bickering. All of our gazes soon fell on a crime scene across the street. Ruby went to walk over there and we all followed. Two detectives were walking back and forth, taking notes and talking. Ruby walked up to one of them.

"What happened here?" She asked. The man looked up from his notepad. "Robbery. Second Dust Shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." While he walked away, the other one yelled something to him.

"They left all the money again." Ruby seemed interested in this, and so was I. So we listened, noting that they had no idea, that the White Fang were suspected, and that they weren't paid enough. I could see why though. They were pretty useless.

"Hmph, the White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates." Blake scoffed at her. "What's your problem?" Oh yes, I could feel an argument brewing. This could be fun. How I love to see friendships ruined.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss answered. Fair enough from what I knew about Adam Taurus. "The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided faunus." Blake said. No one's misguided. They just have that evil in them. I've seen it, used it. I am that evil.

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" Same. "Then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a dust shop, in the middle of Downtown Vale." Blake answered. True enough.

"Hmm, Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months go. Maybe it was him." Everyone agreed with that, but Weiss decided to put her two cents back in. I love watching arrogance.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal." Even Yang looked a bit offended at that one. "That's not necessarily true." She said, and would have continued if not for the police yelling.

"Hey, stop that faunus!". Low and behold, a monkey faunus was sprinting his legs off of a cargo ship, no doubt a stowaway. Although it seemed he didn't care much, because he proceeded to hang upside-down from the nearest pole and began eating a banana. Bad idea though, because a rock almost hit him a second later.

"Hey, get down from there this instant." In answer to the policeman, he gently placed the banana peel on his face before jumping off the pole with a maniacal laugh that I certainly approved of. Then he began running this way. After a moment he was up the docks and on our sidewalk, giving Blake a quick wink as he ran past.

"Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition. And there is goes." Weiss seemed to get her bearings again and shouted. "Quick! We have to observe him." She started running after them and the rest of us followed suit. Unfortunatley after only a few seconds chase, Weiss managed to ever so gracefully shoulder-tackle a pedestrian, looking distraught as the faunus escaped.

"No, he got away." She said, oblivious as to who she ran over. "Uh, Weiss." Yang warned, and she looked down. Staring up at her with an unnatural smile was a ginger-haired girl in a sundress and an odd black and green throat covering. She jumped back in shock as the girl greeted her, still lying on the ground. I could only stare in confusion.

This girl's aura wasn't right. Whatever this thing lying on the ground in front of us was, it wasn't human. At least not completely. Her aura looked restrained and controlled, like a puppet on strings. It moved only because the body moved, not the other way around. And it didn't protect the body either despite clearly being unlocked. It stayed reclusive, serving only to provide the semblance of a soul and person.

"Um, hello." Ruby said. "Are you... ok?" Yang continued. "I'm wonderful, thank you for asking." The thing said as it continued to lie on the ground. We all looked at each other for a second. "Do you... want to get up?" Yang asked her. The 'girl' looked unsure for a moment until she nodded. "Yes."

And then she jumped up in a typical military kick-up. "My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you." She droned out, almost mechanically. All her typical movements were also way to pronounced, giving her an off look.

Ruby started and we all introduced ourselves, except for Yang who asked, "Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" And she got hit by Blake for that, which made her return to a normal introduction. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She said again. Weiss commented on it and the girl attempted to play it off as normal.

"Well, sorry for running into you." Weiss said, turning around and prompting us to do the same. "Take care friend." Ruby said. It was a figure of speech, but the girl apparently took it literally as a few seconds later she appeared in front of us. "What did you call me?" And proceed to walk too close to Ruby. She attempted to answer, but was flabbergasted as Penny leaned inwards more in interrogation.

"You called me 'friend'. Am I really your friend?" Ruby looked to us and we all made universal 'no' gestures to no avail. "Yeah, sure. Why not." She answered. A beat, and the ginger then laughed. "Sen-sational. We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys." Oh yay, more teenage stupidity combined with an over the top unnatural thing. At this point I was already making a cover up story in case I wanted to nuke downtown to get this over with faster.

"Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby leaned over to Weiss and asked. "No, she seems far more coordinated."

"So, what are you doing in Vale?" Asked Yang. "I'm here to fight in the tournament." She said, shocking us all. Her and Weiss and Blake then debated over her being in the tournament, and the functionality of combat skirts. This all lead up to, with numerous more faunus insults, Blake losing her cool a bit.

"Why do you keep saying that? Stop calling him a rapscallion. Stop calling him a degenerate. He's a person!" She yelled, getting closer and increasing the tension. "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can, or this lamppost as a lamppost?" Weiss answered condescendingly.

"Stop it!" Blake yelled. Weiss just kept talking, to my fortune. "Stop what? He obviously broke the law. Give him time, he'll probably join up with those other faunus in the White Fang." At this point Blake's fists were white-knuckled. "You ignorant little brat!" She yelled, walking away before she lost it completely and decked the heiress.

Aww. That would have been fun.

Then my spirits rose again as Weiss walked after her. "How dare you talk to me that way. I'm your teammate." She said. "You are a judgmental little girl." Blake retorted. "What in the world makes you say that?" This argument continued high into the night by the time we got back to the dorms and after.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem." Weiss said, only to anger Blake more. "That is the problem." She said, eyes brimming with anger. I'll admit, I was annoyed at this point as well. Their argument was making me unable to get any decent thinking done, and neither of them had thrown a punch yet!

"You realize you're defending an organization that hates humanity, right? The White Fang are pure evil." Blake shot to a standing position. "There's no such thing as 'pure evil'! Why do you think they hate humanity so much?" She didn't give Weiss a chance to answer.

"It's because of people like Cardin, people like you that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!" Blake said while Ruby and Yang sat back, silently waiting for this to end. Me, I was trying to find a good way to escalate this, and examining who would be easier to push. Bratty heiress, or most likely former White Fang member?

"People like me?" Weiss asked, mocking being offended. "You're discriminatory!" She yelled. "I'm a victim!" The heiress yelled back, fully raising her voice this time. The combination of that outburst and the meaning sent them both silent for a minute, and I felt my chances of watching a good fight diminish.

"You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the faunus?" She walked to the window, looking out at the city. "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember." She continued on.

"And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear, board members executed. An entire train car full of dust, stolen. And every day my father would come home furious, and that made for a very difficult childhood." Ruby took this as an opportunity to try and comfort a team member, but she was mistaken. Weiss threw her hand off her shoulder and the fire came back to her eyes as she went to Blake.

"You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" She yelled, and I saw something in Blake snap. "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

After that, they both went silent, and Weiss backed up some. Blake looked at us like a cornered animal as Ruby and Yang got to their feet. She backed up. "I-I..." She stopped, glancing at the door before full sprinting at it, putting even her aura into outrunning us. "Blake, wait. Come Back!" Ruby yelled, but it was too late. When you run like that, you don't stop. Not or a while anyway. They knew it as well.

"Maybe, she'll come back later. She just needs to cool off." Yang proposed. Weiss simply huffed before walking into the bathroom, presumably to change into her night clothes. Ruby sighed. "Maybe. We probably shouldn't go after her. Yet." She said to Yang before they both looked at me. "What do you think?"

"I think I'll keep watch on the roof. I don't sleep much anyways." I said, and started walking to the window. "Alright. Call down if you notice anything." I nodded as I climbed out the window and dug my fingers into the brick once more. I'd done this enough already that I was starting to wear handholds into the side.

From up there I closed my eyes again and looked for her aura, that black purple that was so close to my own power in color. She had already made it to Beacon's hunter statue. That was surprising, but not as surprising as the fact that she stopped, and was talking to someone.

The monkey faunus. I'd have to keep tabs on where this was going.

2 Days Later

The weekend had come and went, along with Monday classes. Afterwards Ruby convinced me, and more impressively Weiss to go and look for her. "She's been gone all weekend." Ruby said in a pouting voice.

"Blake's a big girl, I'm sure she can handle herself." Weiss said in her still condescending tone that hadn't changed. She only spoke of Blake in that voice." Yang gave her another look. "Weiss, come on. She's one of our teammates."

"Is she? We all heard what she said." Ruby looked back at her. "Weiss." She said, the small edge to her voice a warning, one she didn't take.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Either way, she's missing and we need to find her." Yang said. Weiss ignored her. "A member of the White Fang. Right underneath our noses!" She said. Ruby just mumbled to herself. "I just hope she's okay."

I knew she was fine. I'd been keeping tabs on her aura this entire time. Currently she was sitting in a coffee shop in Vale. In front of her was the same monkey faunus as before.

A few hours later into our walk, Ruby and Yang were screaming their heads off trying to get Blake's attention from wherever she was at. We attracted more than a few looks on the street. "Weiss, you're not helping." She said, panting.

"Oh, you know who might be able to help? The police!" She said, arrogantly as ever. Even Ruby was getting pissed at this point, and you could see it, and Weiss could tell. She tried to defend herself. "It was just an idea!"

"Yeah, a bad one." Ruby said, walking down the street further. "Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." Yang said. "I think when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right." Weiss argued, and then a voice with a grass green aura spoke up. The same aura.

"And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!" Oh great, the abomination was back. She apparently scared the hell outta the other three because they almost jumped into combat stance, and Ruby screamed. "Agh! Penny, where did you come from!"

"Hey guys. What are you up to?" She said, ignoring the question entirely. "We're looking for our friend Blake." Yang answered. "Oooh, you mean the faunus girl." The three of them went silent for a second.

"Wait. How did you know that?" Ruby asked, flabbergasted. "Uh, the cat ears." She answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What cat ears? She wears a... bow." She said. A tumbleweed passed us by, and honestly, to date, I have no fucking idea where it came from. THEY DON"T EVEN GROWN ON THIS SIDE OF THE PLANET!

"She does like tuna alot." Ruby whispered to Yang. "So, where is she?" Penny asked. "We don't know. She's been missing since Friday." Apparently that touched a never on the abomination, because she grasped Ruby by the shoulders in reassurance. That's terrible! Well don't you worry Ruby, my friend. I won't rest until we find your teammate."

"Uh, that's really nice of you Penny, but we're-we're okay. Really, right guys. The three of use had moved away from the scene, not wishing to promote the same treatment from Penny. Although from the distance, I saw another FUCKING TUMBLEWEED pass by them. "It sure is windy today." Penny said.

Weiss, Yang, and I completely ditched Ruby, and Yang had no regrets. We started asking around in stores and other places to see if they had seen her. We had just walked out of one when Yang finally accused Weiss. "You don't really care if we find her, do you?" She asked. Weiss looked back.

"Don't be silly. Of course I hope we find her. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we do. The innocent never run, Yang." She said to Yang. It raised a good point

That Night

By now she search had taken us deep into the night, and I was quite tired of it. So, looking for Blake's aura, I began to silently steer the group of us in the direction of the Shipping Docks. Shipping Docks? Why was she there with the monkey faunus?

By the tensions mounting in her aura, and those at the docks, I could feel a fight brewing, that and the airship above it was something to go by. I sped walked forwards in front of Weiss and Yang without reason, trying to get them to follow me. Fortunately I didn't have to do it for long. As Blake's aura attacked another, there was a sharp whistle and a large explosion at the docks, and I was certain that Ruby and Penny saw it as well.

Many more came shortly after. "Come on!" I yelled, upping my pace until Yang and Weiss could barely keep up. Barely. I didn't bother listening to their complaints to slow down. I watched as more enemies joined the fray as well as the monkey faunus. All too soon I could tell that the docks were turning into a war zone.

Ruby and the abomination beat us there first, and her aura took a hit as another joined the explosion. Then after a few seconds, Penny's aura changed. Ten blades being controlled by strands or aura extended from her, although it wasn't just aura. It was a from of synthetic aura projection, stronger than any I'd seen, and more versatile than perhaps even mine without copying the ability.

She fought with deadly accuracy from what I could tell, though we were still halfway across Downtown Vale. But in the presence of three more airships, she retreated and gathered her aura. Seconds later, a beam of pure power and aura rivaling my own at around 25% burst forth, shearing the three ships in half. From the tingle in my spine, she just ruthlessly murdered most if not all of the passengers.

Then the strands latched onto another ship, and with a few seconds of effort, ripped it out of the sky. More deaths. Everything got real quite after that, and I could see an aura escape the scene. Orange and having douche-bag written all over it.

We got there about twenty minutes later, and Ruby was there to greet us. Behind her I could see Blake and the monkey faunus. "Look Weiss it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. You see she doesn't actually wear a bow she has kitty ears and they're actually kinda cute." Her explanation fell on deaf ears as Weiss walked straight up to Blake, who then stood and faced her.

Blake spoke first. "Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with-" She was cut off. "Stop. Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?" She asked, but Blake decided to remain silent.

"Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided... I don't care!" Blake looked taken aback. "You don't care?" She asked.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?" Blake tried to answer. "No I haven't been since I was younger but-" Again she was cut off.

"I don't wanna hear it. All I want to know is if the next time something this big comes up, you'll come to you're teammates. And not some... Someone else." Blake was obviously stunned by the heartfelt words and wiped a tear away. I tried my best to mimic the faces Ruby and Yang were making.

"Oh course." She said. And then Ruby cheered. They all huddled together and I followed, though a bit more distant. "I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you." Weiss said, her finger in the monkey, faunus' face. He laughed nervously.

"Hey wait a minute. Where's Penny?" The abomination? I scanned the area, looking through buildings for her constrained aura. I saw it, halfway across town and in a car with someone else. I decided to keep this to myself, but kept a mental bridge to her aura. Then I looked back to the group. "It's late. If we want to catch classes tomorrow then we better get back. Let's finish the semester strong." I told them, and there was a general agreement.

We walked back to Beacon together while I took periodic peeks at the other girl's aura through buildings. Through buildings...

Well now. Tommorow was about to be interesting...

Sorry about the delay again. It took me some time to figure out just where I wanted to anchor the timeline. Now that we have it, you've got yourself a countdown to doomsday. See you all in the next chapter.