"We need to do what!?" Ruby cried as the team sat around their dorm room.

"Steal Some Painting From Beacon For Junior." Scythle answered. "I'm Not Sure What About That Is So Hard To Understand."

"No, I understand the basic idea perfectly." Ruby stated. "I'm just… Why? Why is this the deal you guys made?"

"Look, It's Either We Steal Him A Really Expensive Board Of Colors, Or We Don't Get Anything From Him." Scythle said.

"Well, do we really need his help?" Weiss asked. "The investigation was perfectly successful on my end, and Blake-"

"All we really figured out was that they've only targeted Vale for their Dust robberies and that they're operating somewhere outside of the southeast." Blake summarized before letting out a sigh. "That doesn't tell us much of anything."

"So we need Junior to complete the investigation." Yang said. "And like it or not, he isn't talking until we pay his ransom. Though if someone had let me do my thing-"

"For The Last Time, No." Scythle scowled. "Junior Is The Best Informant In The Kingdom And Leads A Large Gang. You Get Further If You Work With Him."

"… Did Scythle just say something reasonable?" Weiss asked, glancing around the awed group.

"Yeah…" Blake nodded. "It's so weird to hear her talk about long term-"

"Plus Mel And Mil Are Total Babes And I Miss Their Kisses." Scythle added.

"Ah, there it is." Blake sighed.

"Well, I hate the idea of stealing and selling to criminals…" Ruby muttered before letting out a sigh. "Fine, if it's our only chance, we'll go for it. Any idea where this thing might be?"

"Does Beacon Have An Art Gallery Or Something?" Scythle asked, and the other four girls shook their heads in response. "Then I'm Clueless."

"Well, show us what we're looking for." Ruby said, gesturing for her sister to pull out her Scroll. "Maybe one of us has seen it."

"It's Called The Forest Sanctuary Or Something." Scythle said, flicking open her Scroll before dropping it into the center of the group. "Looks Pretty Cool. Def Wall Hanger Material."

"It keeps ringing a bell for me." Yang muttered as she scratched her head. "I feel like I've seen it once or twice. I just can't remember where."

As the group looked down at the image, Blake's eyes widened before she turned the Scroll towards her. The girl swallowed nervously before glancing around the group, seeing Weiss clutch her chin nervously as Ruby studied the image. "… I know where this is." Blake said, drawing the group's attention as she looked up at them all with worry. "And you're not gonna like it."


"Did you girls wish to speak with me?" Pr. Goodwitch asked as she approached the group crowding her office door's window, causing team RWBYS to jump away from the door as they turned to face her.

"Oh, No, Not Really." Scythle quickly answered. "I Just Found A Picture Of A Cool Painting Online And Blake Said You Had It In Your Office." Scythle gave the window next to her another glance as she put on a smirk, hoping to hide her anxiousness as she looked back at Goodwitch. "Gotta Say, It's A-A Great Piece."

"Never pegged you as the type to appreciate art." Goodwitch stated.

"Yeah, Well, You Never Know A Girl By Looking." Scythle said. "I Hear It's A Really Expensive One. You Making Serious Bank With Your Teaching Job, Or Did You Do Some Work On The Side?"

"Neither, it was a gift after a mission to save a hunting outpost." The teacher answered. "I told them they didn't need to, but they were rather insistent."

"Eh, They're Loss." Scythle said before snapping her fingers. "Say, You Mind Leaving Me Alone In Your Office With It For A Few Minutes? Just So I Can Really Appreciate It."

"Is this some scheme to get in and change your grades or something?" Goodwitch asked, putting on an accusatory glare as she looked between the group, who all seemed to tense up as she spoke.

"Wha? Nah, No Way." Scythle said. "'Sides, I'm Doing Amazing Amazing In Your Class. Why Would Dick Dastardly Stop Ta Cheat?"

"… Well, I suppose that's true…" Glynda stated. "But even still, I'm not leaving someone like you in my office without supervision, and no, your team doesn't count."

"Aw, Come On, Just For A Min?" Scythle asked.

"We promise we'll keep a sharp eye on her." Ruby offered.

"The answer is still no." Glynda affirmed. "I have very important documents in there, and I don't want students messing with them."

"Can't Those Cabinets Lock?" Scythle asked as she pointed through the window.

"Can't you pick locks?" Glynda rhetorically asked as she pressed her Scroll to the keypad. Before Scythle could continue further, Glynda sent the group a harsh look. "Look, we all have classes we need to prepare for, I suggest you all get to it." With that, Glynda slid into her office, closing the door behind her.

"Uh, Okay Then!" Scythle called out as she and her team turned to leave. Muttering to herself as left earshot. "I'll See You In Class You Lovely, Brilliant, Accomplished Dominatrix That Will Fillet My Ass-Why Did It Need To Be Her Office?"

"As though stealing from Beacon wasn't bad enough." Blake muttered. "Now we need to steal from Goodwitch."

"Can't we just make a fake and give that to Junior?" Ruby asked.

"He's Too Thorough, He'll Make Sure It's The Real Deal." Scythle stated as she curled her fingers around her chin. "But Work On Printing A Fake Anyway. We'll Need A Decoy If We're Going To Get It From Glynda."

"And how are we going to get in and out of her office without anyone noticing." Blake asked, looking up at one of the hall's cameras as the group passed it.

"… I'm Thinking, I'm Thinking…" Scythle muttered.


"Okay, So We Have Cameras Here…" Scythle said as she and her team sat on a roof around a map of the school, marking one end of the hallway of the faculty's offices before marking the point it connected to the main hallway. "And Here… Only Blind Spots I Can See Leave Us In Plain View Of Everyone Else."

"So we'll need to take them out?" Ruby rhetorically asked, leaning over the map as she thought over the conundrum. "How do we do that?"

"Hm…" Scythle hummed to herself before snapping her fingers. "Oh, I Know, Let's Get Emmy In On This. Me And Her Are Really Good At This, Cause She Has A Semblance That-"

"How about we don't get anyone else involved?" Blake stated more than she asked.

"Yeah, we wouldn't wanna get anyone else in trouble because of us." Ruby said.

"How about we cut the power?" Yang suggested. "They can't work without electricity."

"That would make it incredibly obvious something's up." Blake pointed out.

"And it would leave whoever goes in fumbling in the dark." Weiss added. "Not the best idea for a stealth mission."

"And Here I Am Without My Night Vision Goggles." Scythle sighed.

The group stared down at the map in thought for a few more moments before glancing at the raven-haired girl. Catching on to the stares, Blake looked across the team with their eyes on her. "What?"

"You're a Faunus, that gives you better night vision than any of us." Weiss pointed out.

"Plus, You're The Resident Ms. Ninja." Scythle added. "So It Only Makes Sense To Send You In."

"Woah, hold on, I…" Blake stuttered out. "I've never actually done anything like this."

"Aren't You Ex-White Fang?" Scythle asked. "You Must Have Stolen Something In Your Life."

"Yeah, but I'm trying to leave that life behind me." Blake stated. "And if I get caught, I'll be in major trouble."

"And If I Get Caught, It's The Death Sentence." Scythle argued.

"Actually, Amethyst might be able to get into a good spot for this." Ruby said, drawing all attention to her before pointing to one end of the hallway. "See that."

"A faculty restroom?" Weiss observed.

"How's That Going To Help Us?" Scythle asked.

"You're supposed to clean the restrooms, right?" Ruby asked.

"First Floor Restrooms." Scythle stated. "This Is The Third Floor, Remember?"

"Yes, well, if you were to conveniently forget that little tidbit…" Ruby suggested. "They might let you off with a warning. Can't really fault you for a misunderstanding."

"… I'm Liking What You're Thinking." Scythle said. "So Me Or Blake Hides In The Restroom. That Gives Us A Good Position To Kill The Cams And Get To Glynda's Office. We'd Only Need To Worry About Port And Oobleck's If Either Of Them Are Working Late. But How Do We Kill Cams?"

"… Remember that one movie we watched as kids?" Yang asked, leaning across the map to her red-haired sister. "About those spies who needed to steal from this one corporation or whatever?" Ruby nodded as Yang put on a smirk. "Remember how they got past the cameras?"

"… They hacked the systems and locked them on a single image!" Ruby answered before her excitement died as her hand went around her chin. "But we don't know how to hack the systems."

"Then just go low tech." Blake suggested. "Take a picture of the camera's view of the hall, print it out, and tape it over the lens."

"Won't they notice the picture going on?" Weiss asked.

"Not if you're fast enough to break the sound barrier." Blake pointed out, and all eyes fell on the purple girl.

"… We're Thinking Of Sending Rubes, Right?" Scythle asked, to which everyone shook their heads. "Fine, Fine. But You Guys Are Gonna Need To Be My Lookouts."

"Yeah, cause nothing says, 'inconspicuous' like an entire team hanging out in the halls in the middle of the night." Yang snarked.

"… Well, if we set out Scrolls to video call, we could use them as a makeshift camera system." Weiss suggested.

"Two directions they can come from, five Scrolls." Blake muttered. "That could work."

"Let's Put Them A Bit Far Out," Scythle said as she marked two areas at both ends of the main hall. "Leave You Guys Enough Time To Warn Me. But We Should Also Put Them In Some Blind Spots So They Don't Get Seen By The Cameras."

"And how are we getting the painting out of there?" Weiss asked.

"Ya Kidding? Should Be As Easy As Leaving." Scythle said before clapping her hands as she stood up. "Alright Girls, Make Sure You Have Plenty Of Coffee, Cause It Looks To Be A Long Night."

"Wait, we're doing this tonight?" Ruby asked as Scythle rolled up the map.

"Duh." Scythle stated. "Why Sit On It. Best Get It Out Of The Way Fast, Right?"

"We still need to get pictures of the camera feed." Blake pointed out.

"I'll Get Them, Don't Worry." Scythle said. "Just Get A Printer Ready."

"But couldn't we-" Ruby tried to say before the group heard the bell ring, signaling the end of lunch.

"We can talk about this later." Blake said as the rest of the team got up, following the purple girl back inside.

Ruby watched her team leave before looking down at where the map had laid, feeling a pit in her stomach as she sucked on her teeth. 'We're… Really gonna do this…' Ruby thought, feeling her hands began to shake at the idea.

"Come on, sis!" She heard Yang call, knocking her out of her thoughts before she climbed to her feet to chase after them.


"Remember to hook the Scroll's up to the chargers when you start the video call." Blake said as she handed the purple-haired girl the devices and tape in the team's dimly lit dorm room.

"I Know." Scythle nodded as she stuffed the devices into the back of her usual skirt.

"And don't forget to put tape over the speakers." Blake added. "We'll tape over our microphones, but just to be sure no one hears-"

"I Know." Scythle said, slipping the Scrolls into her pocket as she rolled her eyes. "I Remember The Plan, Blake. I Made It. 'Sides, This Ain't My First Rodeo."

Weiss glanced to the clock on the table between the beds to see the hour past 1 AM, before turning her attention back to the group. "Everyone should have clocked out by now." Weiss said. "We should be good to start."

"And By, 'We,' You Of Course Mean, 'Me,' Because I'm The One Doing The Hard Part." Scythle quipped. "Most Danger You Girls Will Face Is Dying Of Boredom."

"… Are we really doing this?" Ruby asked, drawing all attention to her as she sat on Blake's bed, hunched over her hands as she fiddled her fingers. "Are we really about to steal from Beacon?"

"We're only doing it so we can save Vale." Blake said. "A painting's a small price to pay, and I'm sure Goodwitch would agree."

"But she didn't. though." Ruby argued. "She doesn't even know we're doing this. This feels wrong, this isn't what good guys do."

"… Rubes, Rubes…" Scythle said, shaking her head before placing her hands on Ruby's shoulders, getting the red-haired girl to look into her silver eyes. "There Are No Good Guys. And Even If There Were, I'm Not One Of 'Em."

"You could be, though." Ruby said.

"… Really Couldn't." Scythle shook her head before standing up. "But If It Helps You Feel Better, Just Think Of All The Long-Term Good This'll Do." With that, Scythle turned to the window, pushing it open before reaching into her pocket to pull out a black fabric. "Now If You Will Excuse Me," Scythle said as she pulled the cloth over her head. "I Have A Heist To Do."

"Wait, are those my pan-" Blake began before Scythle jumped out the window. Blake let out an annoyed sigh as she turned away from the window, and Ruby continued to stare out with concern and remorse on her face.


Scythle took in a quick scan of her surroundings as she approached the building, sticking to the trees' shadows just in case anyone was walking by. Confirming the coast was clear, Scythle looked up the building, steadying her nerves before she marched out into the moonlight. Approaching the glass door, Scythle pressed her face up to the glass, looking into the darkroom to find it vacant. Nodded to herself, she pushed against the handle, and the door clicked as it refused to move.

"Locked For The Night." Scythle muttered to herself before nodding. "Good, Should Be Empty." Stepping away from the door, Scythle looked up the building's windows before glancing at the thin tree. Taking one last glance around her, Scythle ran up the tree in a burst of purple rose petals, jumping off one of the branches onto the sill peaking out from the glass. She skidded to a halt before catching herself, taking another glance into the building, finding the janitor's closet nearby before pulling out one of her knives.

Pressing herself against the glass, Scythle slid onto her knee and stuck the blade under the window, sliding it along the seam before she heard a click. She smirked to herself before she pulled the blade up, opening the window as she tumbled in silently. Just as quickly as she stood up, she pulled the window back down before she turned to the janitor's closet. The girl pulled out her Scroll and put it up to the lock pad before the device let out a buzz as it flashed red.

"Figures." Scythle muttered before turning to head down the stairs.

A few minutes later, the elevator door opened, and Scythle pushed the first-floor cleaning cart out into the hall. "Don't Mind Me, Just Doing Some Late-Night Chores." Scythle said as she entered the hallway to the teacher's offices, reaching into her pocket before slapping a Scroll on the wall. As she approached the next turn, she set her Scroll's camera on a timer before flicking it up into the air. The device snapped its pictures just as it passed in front of the camera's lens.

As she entered the hall, Scythle scanned the row of doors in front of her to find darkened windows. She glanced up at the camera in the corner. She gave the device a nod as she approached the end of the hallway, pulling the restroom door open, starting the camera on her Scroll again as she flung it over her shoulder. It once again captured images of the hall before it bounced off the wall behind her, and Scythle pushed her cart back an extra foot to catch the device before pulling it into the room.

As the door shut behind her, Scythle picked up her Scroll and pulled up the images she took. There were several blurry renders of the hall before she found the clearest ones. Nodding to herself, Scythle attached the images to a message, sending them to Blake as she pulled one of the brushes off of the cart.


Blake's Scroll buzzed as the pictures of the hall came up on her screen, attached with the message, '2nd windo over entrance.' Blake looked over her team before she nodded, turning to jump out the window just as the purple girl did to find a printer.

"She got those subtlety, right?" Weiss whispered to the rest of the room as Blake left.


Scythle flicked the screen of the Scroll she left on the wall as she passed it, heading into the stairway again. As the door closed behind her, she unzipped her shirt and pulled the brush out, before her hand went to her rub her chest. "Itchy." Scythle muttered as she began tapping her foot, looking around the stairway as she waited. After a moment, her Scroll buzzed in her pocket, and Scythle turned to leave the room before walking over to the window.

Pulling it up a latch, Scythle placed her hand down on the windowsill as Blake jumped up below her, sliding the photos into her hand before Scythle turned around. As she returned to the teacher's hallway, Scythle glanced to the Scroll on the wall, catching a glimpse of her dorm room's ceiling as she smirked to herself before Weiss covered the camera with tape.

Returning to the teacher's restroom, Scythle leaned against the wall as she threw the brush back onto the cart, before looking down at the photos in her hand. Pulling in deep breaths, Scythle glanced out into the hall next to her. "Gotta Be Fast, But Quiet…" Scythle muttered to herself as she pulled her panty-mask down. "Ya Got One Second." She whispered, bracing her legs before launching out of the room.

Slapping the photo on the nearest camera, Scythle bolted to the furthest camera, slapping the next photo onto it before sliding down the wall.

Looking up at her handiwork as the ribbons tapped to their backs unraveled, Scythle smirked to herself before turning down the hall, heading to the furthest edge before slapping the second Scroll up and starting the call. As the image displayed, Scythle rounded back to the teacher's hallway, sliding towards Glynda's office as she pulled out the janitor's keycard.

Holding the card up to the keypad, the light flashed green before Scythle slid into the office. As it clicked closed behind her, Scythle reached into her pocket, pulling out a flashlight that cast a beam upon the painting at the other end of the room. As the girl passed Goodwitch's desk, she placed the light on the table before jumping up to the painting, pulling it off of the wall.


"Okay, everything's set." Blake whispered as she climbed back into Team RWBYS's dorm room to find Yang and Weiss looking over a pair of Scrolls with their cameras and microphones taped over. "It's all up to Scythle now."

"She better not disappoint." Weiss remarked. "Something tells me we're all in hot water if-"

"Was once not enough for that hooligan?" The team heard a familiar voice say from the Scroll below. Glancing down to the screen, the group saw Goodwitch pass in front of the camera.

"Crap, whadda we do?" Yang whispered.

"I don't know, we didn't plan that far." Blake answered with a shake of her head.

"I'm calling Scythle." Weiss said as she reached for the Scroll beneath her.

"She won't be able to clean up fast enough." Blake stated. "Our goose is cooked, game's ov-"

*Bang!*


"What in the world…?" Goodwitch muttered to herself as she turned to look out the window.

Down below, Ruby pressed herself against a tree, the weight of her sister's smoking pistol in her hand as she pulled in short and spastic breaths. She dug her nails into the bark, fighting back the urge to peak out. Glynda had to be watching now, there was no way she wasn't. As she pulled in another cold breath, a breeze flew by her, lifting the pedals she left in her race over and throwing them down the campus. Ruby felt her blood run cold as she watched the pedals go by, before hearing Goodwitch's loud, agitated voice. "Diefull!"

Finally glancing out from her hiding spot, Ruby saw Glynda's cape flicker in the window before the girl raced back to her room.


As Scythle rolled the painting up, the girl placed the fake in its frame and unwound the roll of papers taped together. Setting the original down, Scythle reassembled the frame before putting it back up, grabbing the roll next to her as she turned to leave.

Stepping back out into the hall, Scythle relocked the door before racing to the bathroom and threw the roll in before pulling out a broom. Heading back down the hall, Scythle grabbed one of the brooms before she began sweeping up her pedals, pushing them all into the restroom as she grabbed the black strands hanging from the photos. Stepping into the restroom, Scythle yanked the lines, using her Semblance to cause the pictures to shoot into the room with her.

Pulling the back of her caller out, Scythle slid the painting into her shirt before sweeping her pedals into a dustpan, dropping them into the toilet and flushing them out. After a few cycles, all traces were gone. Scythle glanced out of the restroom before she pulled off her mask and wheeled the cart out into the hall. As she passed the camera, she glanced up at it before grabbing the Scroll she left on the wall.


"And That's How It's Done, Girls." Scythle said as she climbed back into the team's dorm room, pulling out the rolled-up painting as she slid in. "A Perfect Crime That No One Saw. As Far As They Know, I Was Scrubbing Toilets."

"And you're sure you won't get in trouble?" Blake asked.

"Not When They Hear My Cover Story." Scythle grinned as she held the roll above her head. "You Now Have Permission To Adore Me." The room remained silent as Scythle glanced around at the group, seeing Ruby staring down at her interlocked hands as the rest of the group stared at her. "What?"

"Forgetting anything?" Weiss asked as she held up a Scroll, displaying the dark hallway on its screen.

"... Shit..." Scythle muttered before heaving out a sigh. "Okay, Just... Just End The Call. We'll Spin A Yarn When They Ask About It." With that, Scythle reached into her pockets and gave Yang her Scroll back. "Still, We Did Good Tonight."

"Did we?" Ruby asked, before looking up to glance around the room. "Did we really just do this?"

"Not This Again." Scythle groaned. "Sis, Stop Being Little Miss Goodie-Two-Shoes Already. We've Been Over This, We Had No Other Choice."

"Yeah, but…" Ruby mumbled. "But it still feels wrong. I helped you steal from Beacon Academy, I… I directly contributed to this. I'm an accomplish now."

"… That Gunshot Was You?" Scythle asked.

"Goodwitch was heading to her office." Ruby explained. "She must have seen you on the cameras and decided to… I… I fired one of your guns outside and she saw my rose pedals. She thought it was you and-"

"And Now She's Running Around Campus Looking For Me." Scythle guessed with a chuckle. "Oh, I Only Wish I Can See Her Chasing Those Pedals." Scythle looked back to her sister to see the girl look back down at her lap, before placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Relax Already. It's Not Like They'll Ever Know."

"But… But we'll know." Ruby said, gesturing to the group around her. "Am I the only one bothered by what we just did?"

"Do you think I'm okay with this?" Blake asked. "I thought I left this life behind, and I was playing lookout and giving Scythle tools for a heist. But whatever A-… Whatever the White Fang is up to must be worse."

"I'm not very comfortable with it either." Weiss stated. "But most of what we did last night wasn't legal either."

"I know this might be hard to believe, sis," Yang said as she sat down next to Ruby, placing a hand on her other shoulder as she spoke. "But when Junior tells us what he knows, all this will have been worth it."

"So the ends justify the means?" Ruby asked with a slight scowl.

"Yep, Totes." Scythle grinned before letting out a yawn. "Well, I'm Dirt Tired. Let's Hit The Hay." She said before she crouched down, sliding the painting under the table behind her.

"Don't you guys think we should talk about this more?" Ruby asked as her twin got back up, already beginning to slip her clothes off.

"We can talk more in the morning." Weiss sighed as the rest of the team headed to their respected beds. "I agree with Scythle, I'm very tired."

Ruby watched as the four girls crawled into their respected beds around her, still trying to figure out how they were so at-ease about what they had just done. As Yang climbed up onto her bed, she tapped her sister's head as she peered down at the girl with concern. "Ya wanna sleep with me, sis?" Yang asked.

"… Yeah…" Ruby nodded.


As I stated last chapter, I had two ideas on what the heist would have been. My other plan for it was to have team RWBYS steal a crown that was said to have belonged to the first king of Vale. It would have involved Scythle needing to break into Beacon's underground vault, which would have helped set it up for when we got to Volume 3. However, I couldn't come up with a good way to have Scythle figure out where the Vault was or how to get into it. Admittedly, the idea of using the air vents occurs to me now, but it didn't at the time of writing.

I also wrote a few more scenes for this, but I think they'd be better saved for next chapter.