Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale

Wren skidded backwards, Sig's assault proving stronger than it was the last time the two had dueled. He grunted as he flicked his wrists, two blades appearing atop his hands. With another flick, the chain on his left arm shot outwards, stopped by Wren's right hand. He swung it in lazy counterclockwise circles, suddenly speeding up.

He let go of the chain, sending it flying off behind him. Sig sighed with relief as a small vortex opened up behind Wren, another one opening behind him. Sig gulped.

The chain dart stuck to his tail, dragging him through the portal and past Wren. Wren kicked Sig in the chest, extending both chains and launching into a spinning flurry of strikes, ending with overhead cracks that knocked Sig flat. A buzzer sounded, heralding Wren's victory.

"Wren Branwen wins!" Professor Xiao Long said. Sig sighed as Wren helped him to his feet. "Now, who's next?" She cocked her head, raising an eyebrow. Before anyone could volunteer, an intercom crackled to life.

"Yang, could you get over to the headmaster's office immediately? Oh, o-oh, right, along with, uh, Summer, Wren, and your daughters? This is urgent!" Jaune sounded panicked.

"Huh? Wh-what?" Kira turned to look at Taiga. Taiga shrugged.

"Well? You heard him! Class is done for the day, kids! Run along."

-VOL 2-

Yang, Summer, Wren, Taiga and Kira nearly broke down the door to Oscar's office.

"What?" Yang asked, lilac eyes turning blood red.

"We got the news just a moment ago. Weiss is in critical condition following an attempted assassination." Oscar said, an edge of panic in his voice.

"What!?" Summer nearly fell over.

"She was taken to the hospital this morning. Ruby's in hysterics. She keeps saying something about a pair of Grimm that look like people bombing a club, and-" Jaune began.

"Woah woah woah. This morning? Why didn't I hear about this sooner?" Yang growled, hair beginning to give off a golden light.

"Yang, please. We only just got the news. We're asking the same questions as you." Oscar sat down.

"And there was something about human Grimm?" Taiga said. Wren peeked over the rims of his glasses.

"She said that there were two men, calling themselves Ink and Rust. Weiss landed a fatal strike on one of them, but they simply shrugged it off, claiming that they were a new species of Grimm." Oscar drummed his fingers on his desk. "But there's no security footage of the attack, so we can't verify these claims."

"I'd say you can damn well verify Ruby's word. Tell me, Oscar. Has she ever made anything up when it comes to potential threats?" Yang bristled.

"Usually we'd be more ready to trust her, but you know what the idea of losing someone you love does to you!" Jaune's voice grew in volume by the time he finished. He glanced at the red sash he kept with him. "You don't think straight, you rush in. You get hurt, you see things, you- listen, we all want to believe her, but we aren't sure how much is coming from the shock or what."

"Doesn't Ruby wear some fancy camera-eyepatch? We could bring Sig in, have him look at the footage from her eye." Wren butted in.

"We aren't taking him, you, or anyone to Atlas. It's too dangerous for students like you." Oscar said, turning away from them.

"You what?" Summer shouted.

"If what Ruby said is true, these two bested two of the best Huntresses on Remnant. Do you think you have any chance against them? Jaune said.

"Avalon." Summer shot back.

"I-he-that-no! Final answer. No." Jaune sputtered.

"I agree with Summer," Yang said. "And Wren." she added.

"Yang?" Jaune said, shocked.

"One, she's right. They nabbed Avalon. And do you think that Ruby's gonna want to hear that we just left Summer here when there's apparently some Grimm-people out to get her family?"

"I suppose you're right." Oscar sighed. "And I know that even if we leave them here, the rest of those kids will find their ways to Atlas somehow or another." He chuckled. "After all, we managed it nearly thirty years ago."

"So. We go to Atlas. We take XNTW, KAST, and SLFR. And then?" Jaune asked.

"We kick down the door to every gang member, hitman, and serial killer we find until we get the one!" Yang slammed her fist into her open palm.

"That isn't a plan." Jaune deadpanned.

"Since when are you the strategist?" Yang shot back.

"Since always!" Jaune replied.

"Settle down! We aren't children." Oscar yelled. Yang and Jaune instantly shut up.

"How's this? We take Sig, give him the eyepatch, he works his magic, and bam! We kill two birds with one stone by proving that my mom isn't losing it, and we either prove or disprove the existence of a new species of Grimm." Summer said, impatiently. Everyone looked at her in silence for a moment.

"Can't argue with that." "Good idea." "Yeah." The replies rolled in simultaneously.

"So! Road trip?" Wren asked.

"Yeah. Let's get going." Yang replied.

A/N: Here we go! Volume Two is here!

I hope this feels like a nice transition from last chapter's action and sudden plot twist.

I feel like I should mention this, too. This arc is very loosely inspired by DinasEmrys' fanfic "Premium Well Redux." It's a great read, if a little dirty at times (a clean version is on and a steamier version is on AO3), and the plot is, in my opinion, REALLY well done. The plot twists make sense and are well-hidden, etc. Unfortunately, it has been left unfinished, last updated two years ago. I opted to pay homage to it with a basic "Weiss/Team RWBY is targeted by a mysterious masked assassin, uncovering a conspiracy in Atlas" plot. Some details are the same, like a past villain making a return following resurrection, but only a few. One particular INCREDIBLY AWESOME scene in Redux inspires a scene later. I'll leave it at that.

Anyway, that's it from me!

Until next time!

097Cyber, out!