Well, this took longer than it should have. Must have something to do with writing two docs at once *cough*Extras*cough* while being busy with other things.

Anyway, it's finally here, so enjoy.

EDIT 2/3/2019: Cleared a couple of plotholes.

Chapter 7

Blake Ops

"Treat people like animals and they'll start acting like animals, then they'll be remembered as animals."

-Adria Shepherd, 'Fall of the Old Fang'

Nothing says another day at Beacon than having my dorm ceiling be the first thing I see after waking up. Classes were resuming today, so I had to start preparing myself and take them seriously since this semester was said to be more difficult than the last.

Classes were the same as the last semester—with the same respective teachers. One of the few differences is that the subjects were expanded. Grimm Studies now teaches survival lessons and Grimm biology—even then, it was still mostly about Professor Port's tall tales, which I still doubt are true, if not exaggerated. History Social Studies now have economics and Remnant geology. Dust Studies now teach the more advanced use of dust. Combat Class was more or less the same, physical exercises, weapon maintenance, combat tactics, the occasional swimming and of course everyone's favorite—sparring.

I was usually the first to be finished maintaining my equipment because of how simple they are especially compared to everyone's fancy weapon hybrids and dust clothing, but now I'm spending extra time so I could make sure my laser pistol won't ever end up bursting at my face.

The day ended after Port's class, which was rather slow because one, it's Port's class, what do you expect? Two, being the last class for the day while anticipating for it to be over dramatically slows downtime; the fact that its two hours doesn't help.

Since I vowed myself to have a better study ethic, I tried going to the library after class to study what lessons that were taught today and relax once I'm done, maybe go to Vale and watch that new Spruce Willis movie everyone won't shut up about. [1] However, there was a change of plans after meeting with Sun and his friend, Neptune Vasila-whatever on my way there.

"Yo, Jaune, what's my favorite knight-in-shining-armor doing?" Sun greeted.

"Oh hey, Sun, Neptune. Just going through today's notes. How's Beacon treating you?"

"It's nice! I could get used to a place like this." He answered before grabbing my shoulder to get me near him. "So listen, we kinda need your help."

"With what exactly?"

"I have been… let's just say, 'observing' Blake and her team and by the looks of it, they seem to be very focused on something, and I don't think it's related to school, because seriously, who cares about what a Beowolf's inside look like?"

"Yeah, boooring." Neptune commented.

"Weiss would," I sneered, snickering at my own joke. Though to be fair, Grimm biology does have some useful pointers, such as telling you where the Grimm's weak and vulnerable parts are located, if only they didn't make it sound dull. "I noticed that too, I'm sure it's nothing serious, it's probably just team business."

"I want to believe that too, but they seem to be so awfully quiet outside each other. I feel like they're up to something."

"And as gentlemen, it is our obligation to lend a helping hand on these ladies at whatever they are planning," Neptune said.

If you really consider yourself a gentleman, you would have respected their own business. "Well, whatever it is, I think they'll be fine without us."

"I know, but Blake's being really stubborn a lot lately. I've been watching her for the whole day and something's going on that isn't normal."

And you're being stubborn yourself. [2] "Sun, are you stalking Blake? That's really creepy, man. Keep that up and maybe I'll start stealing her for myself." I sarcastically stated.

"What? No! Listen Jaune, I'm doing this as a concerned friend. I'm telling you—I think it's something about the White Fang. Do you really think she'd just stop after the docks? If she's still going after something as serious as them, then she'll need all the help they could get. I don't care if she and her team are badass chicks, going after those psychos is borderline suicidal even if you know what you're doing."

I sighed, he's right, Blake really needs to let go with the White Fang, and stop provoking them. Otherwise, they will continue to bother her in return. "Fine, but I'm doing this for Blake, not for you."

"Awesome! Now follow me."

I followed the duo to the back of the dorms. We looked at Team RWBY's conveniently open dorm window in the fourth level of the building. Glancing at the nearby tree, I exactly know what Sun was thinking.

"Are you sure about this, Sun?" I questioned. "You know, we could just knock on their door like normal people."

"Yeah, I know, but that's the boring way, and we'll do it my way—the Sun way!"

Oh, I get it.

"Now follow my lead!" he then effortlessly climbed on the tree and leaped to the level of the story where Team RWBY's dorm was located. He hung back there and waited for us.

I had experience climbing trees back home, so it wasn't much of a problem, but I could still remember falling off one when I was younger and I didn't have aura back then; it was an unpleasant memory. Luckily, I did manage to make it and got to the ledge of the building. The ledges were a foot a tall, and it was rather high, so I remained still and hugged the walls tightly, doing my best not to look down while waiting for Neptune to follow.

"Hey, are you coming?" Sun asked.

"Just give me a sec." It took Neptune some time for him to climb the tree. He visibly had some difficulty, but since he was training to be a Huntsman, he did manage to do it eventually.

We then carefully moved next to Team RWBY's dorm window, it being open made it easier to eavesdrop on them while the three of us continued to hold still at the ledges.

"Right! Everyone remember their roles?" Asked Ruby's high-pitched voice.

"You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." A voice proudly uttered, unmistakably coming from you-know-who.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning." Blake said, which indeed confirmed that she was going after the White Fang.

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale," Yang proposed "Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard."

Ruby spoke. "Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found. Let's do this!"

Sun suddenly jumped and hung his tale at the top of the window frame, surprisingly that I could have let go of the ledge. Gee, he really should warn me the next time he pulls something like that while I'm holding on to something. "Yeah!"

"Sun!" Blake yelled."

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked.

"Oh, it's easy—I do it all the time."

"You do what?!" Weiss apparently misinterpreted his statement in the wrong way. (Though if you ask me, it doesn't sound far-fetched.)

"I climb trees all the time!" he clarified, flipping inside the dorm room, giving us the room adjust near the window. "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

"We are going to investigate the situation... as a team," Blake made sure to emphasize on those two words.

While I'm glad that this team is finally getting along and are working together; normally, I'd let them be, but I was still not a fan of their decision to attract more trouble from the White Fang with just the four of them. So I bluffed them into letting us help; it worked before, it worked again, seeing how they couldn't resist getting my help the other day.

"You hear that, Sun? This is team business. Now let's go back before we start bothering them even more." I said, leaning at the dorm's window. I saw that they were wearing different outfits from their usual ones. Yang, in particular, was wearing a more relatively modest apparel, while still exposing her thighs and cleavage, because why wouldn't she.

"Jaune, you're here too?" Ruby said. "On second thought, you guys are welcome to help!"

Got 'em.

"Hold on! I thought we agreed not to involve friends if we don't have to?" Weiss questioned.

"I said we don't have to force anyone to help, but if they are willing, then why stop them? Besides, the more the merrier." Ruby responded with a grin, not that it made Weiss any more glad.

"I'll have to agree with her on this." Blake chimed in. "The White Fang's ploy could be even bigger than we anticipated that we'll need all the necessary assistance, especially someone like Jaune, he's strong, smart and brave; I haven't seen him lost to anyone yet."

I don't know if I should be flattered by that. I was only considered strong because I had to prepare for the worst, smart because I needed to take everything to my advantage when possible, and brave just simply being not true, no matter how many times Nora called me a fearless leader.

Weiss sighed before coinciding with her teammates. "Whatever you say then."

"That's great!" Sun cheered. "Hey Jaune, Neptune, I think you could get in now."

Finally, I thought, I was waiting when I would stop hanging on those tight ledges.

"How did you guys even get up there?" Yang asked after Neptune and I got through the window and into her team's dorm room.

"We have our ways," Neptune replied.

"You know you could just knock." Weiss pointed out with an unamused glare.

"Yeah, it's not like I suggested that earlier or anything." I scoffed before turning to Blake. "Blake, you need to let the White Fang go. If you keep lingering on the past, it will continue to haunt you. Just let the authorities do their thing against them."

"Look, as much as I want to move on from them, I can't help but to think that the White Fang are planning on something and no one is doing anything about it. The police just aren't reliable; if no one is going to stop them then who else will?!

"Jaune, I understand what your trying to do, but Blake obviously isn't going to stop no matter how hard you try to convince her. Trust us, we tried, so it's best you'll just let her be for now." Weiss stated.

I palmed my face and puffed. I guess it couldn't be helped. Walking out of here would only make me look like a dick when I agreed to help out, so I'll just have to go with whatever they're trying to do. I heard it's just an investigation, so how bad could it be? "Fine. So what is the plan?"

"Oh right. Weiss and I are going to the CCT to read some records, Blake is going to some recruitment meeting thing with the White Fang, and Yang is going to the shady part of town to ask some questions." Ruby replied before facing Neptune. "Neptune, you will go with us, seeing how you were smart enough to beat us yesterday, you should be able to help us with the records. That, and Weiss seems to like you."

"Hey!" Weiss nervously blushed while Neptune winked at her.

"Nerd." Sun sneered.

"Intellectual."

"Sun, you will go with Blake, because with you being a faunus, you are sure to fit in." Ruby continued before turning at me. "And you will go with Yang, since you are so good at fighting, she's going to need some extra muscle."

Yang went beside me and put an arm around my shoulder. "Yeah! Let the Blonderhood assemble!"

Oh hell no, I am not going to Vale's criminal underground with Yang of all people, I thought. That would mean guaranteed trouble and more terrible puns from her, and I was not having it.

"How about I go with you and Weiss? I had experience with examining records and catalogs and did some investigating in the past, so looking into some papers won't be that hard for me." I suggested to Ruby. I don't care if I had to go through a tedious process of scrutinizing records for hours, I'm better off fighting boredom once again than risking my life by visiting a place full of thugs with a feisty girl with a hair-trigger temper.

"Unfortunately for you, it has been decided." Weiss asserted with her arms crossed and her eyes closed like the haughty heiress she is. "Neptune will be coming with us to the CCT and his assistance will do nicely."

"Hey, I actually don't mind trading places. The shady part of Vale sounds more exciting than looking at a bunch of papers—I'll leave that one to the experts..." Neptune chimed in, much to Weiss' shock and chagrin.

"Well, hop in," I said, giving each other a low-five as we swap our positions. "Sorry Yang, looks like the Blonderhood would have to assemble some other day."

"That's a shame. I was hoping to see the not-so-wimpy 'Vomit-Man' show more of his sick skills." Yang said. "Eh, there's always next time. The new guy can't be that bad." She continued before grabbing Neptune's collar. "I still haven't forgiven you for yesterday."

Neptune just nervously chuckled and grinned.

"I for one, don't mind Jaune joining us," Ruby remarked to a disappointed Weiss.

"Shut up, Ruby."

"Just one problem," I stated before turning to Blake. "Are you sure they won't recognize you? The White Fang did find out who you were the second they saw you at the docks."

"Why do you think I'm wearing a different outfit then? Besides, I'll be wearing a mask, and it's not like I'm the only faunus girl with black hair." [3]

"Fair point." Well, that's not a bad idea; those new clothes look good on them anyway.

"Alright is everyone all set?" Ruby asked everyone in the room before we all nodded. "Let's do this then!"

=o=

1. That film was rather controversial since it depicted Spruce Willis' character as a human vigilante, who kills criminals he comes across, including faunus. It was accused of promoting fascism and violence against faunus, with the White Fang threatening violence to theaters that screen the film. It should be noted that the film was not well-received by critics, either due to the controversy, threats from faunus extremists, or the quality of the film itself, or the combination of the above.

2. Look who's talking.

3. Blake was supposed to be the only one wearing different clothing during the investigation, but Ruby and Yang liked the idea of wearing different outfits during the occasion and had me follow them even though it wasn't necessary for us.

The Vale CCTS Tower wasn't far ahead, in fact, it was a very brief walk—since it turned out, it was not only on the campus, but it was in the Beacon Tower all along. I thought it would be located somewhere in the city where it would be much more accessible. [1]

I still can't believe that this was the very same tower whose temporal unavailability prevented anyone from calling (real) help from Podunk that day.

"Wow! I forgot how big the tower looks up close!" Ruby squealed.

"You should see the one in Atlas." Weiss added.

"That was the first one, right?"

"Correct. Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."

Thanks for the tour guide, it's not like I crammed history to learn that for the fiftieth time. [2]

"Oooh, look at me! My name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!" Ruby mocked.

"Like yah, I'm such a classeh womahn. Don't make fun of meh 'cause I'm perfect and your not, ya' dolts." I followed, doing my best impression of a snobbish valley girl, causing Ruby to giggle.

"Why does everyone think that I keep calling people that?! I only remember calling Ruby that like once when we first met!" Weiss angrily remarked. "Let's not forget, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call from the library."

"I know, but it's so cool! Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!" Ruby pulled out her scroll. Unfortunately, it slipped and ended up landing in front of someone interesting.

"You dropped this." A familiar voice said, which belonged to none other than the eccentric wonder-girl from the docks two weeks ago. It's quite surprising as I honestly thought I would never see her again.

"Penny?!" Ruby screamed, shocking her the moment she recognized our faces.

"Oh, it's you," Weiss said nonchalantly.

"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!" Ruby questioned.

"I'm still not sure how it was you that saved the shipment that night." Weiss made an off-hand remark.

Ruby gave her partner an annoyed look. "Weiss, not now."

"S-Sorry. I think you're confused." Penny said before making a hiccup that caused her to throw the scroll which Ruby was able to catch.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"It's okay. I'm fine! It's just a minor hiccup." Penny replied before making another hiccup. "Uh... I've got to go!" she said as she bolted away from us.

"What was that about?" Weiss questioned.

"Beats me," I answered, being as confused as both of them.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Ruby said before going to where Penny was headed. "You go make your call! I'll meet up with you later."

"Wait!" Weiss called, unfortunately for her, Ruby was out of sight by then..

Since Penny was a part of the incident of the docks and was a rather major player during that event, she was technically part of this case. There was more to her than meets the eye, and I have a lot of unanswered questions from her.

"And where do you think you're going?" Weiss asked as she saw me following Ruby's trail.

"I'm going after them. I still need to know what's up with her. Go ahead, we'll meet you later." I told her before I continued following the two.

"I thought you came with me so you could help me with the records!" she whined as I went further from her. "Jaune!" she yelled before I heard her groan in defeat. Well, I never wanted to stay with her so we could stare at papers for hours anyway.

I spotted the two below the steps. Penny was noticeably trying to brush her off without being rude. Ruby continued to follow her, sliding down the trails and stopped her from walking.

"Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me! Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need you to tell me what happened to you that night! Please...as a friend"

I took the steps down and Penny turned around and saw me. She looked anxious and didn't know what to say.

"It's okay. You're not in trouble. We just need some things cleared up." I assured her.

Penny just stared at me until Ruby held her shoulder and told her, "You can trust him; Jaune is the nicest guy I know."

She looked down and took a few seconds to ponder. "Friends…" she muttered before turning back to Ruby. "It isn't safe to talk here."

"So where exactly can you tell us then?" Ruby asked.

"Please follow me."

She led us both into a Bullhead. Apparently, whatever she had to say, it was sensitive enough to be heard at a crowded place like Beacon. I couldn't care much because I have a desire to know what's with her.

There's something strange about this girl that she is not telling us.

=o=

1. There were already several communication stations around the city that were connected to the CCT so that people don't have to necessarily travel to the Beacon Tower in order to use the communications.

2. You didn't have the best memory when it came to history, so it was my pleasure.

We took a short walk around downtown. We stopped at Café Noire, the very same place where Blake explained everything to me. Talk about déjà vu. I was once again inquiring information from a strange, mysterious girl, who I just have to confront after she fled from her friends.

Penny and I were standing outside the café, waiting for Ruby as she ordered us some drinks.

"So Penny, where are you from?" I asked.

"Atlas."

Well, that explains the fancy backpack with the high tech flying swords she have. "Atlas, huh? Nice place. Pretty advanced, especially with all the neat weapons and robots they are making."

"Yes. Precisely…" She said with noticeable grief.

There was definitely something bothering her. She didn't feel like the cheerful girl who managed to slaughter an entire platoon of White Fang troopers without losing her smile. "Hey, you can tell me what's wrong. Don't worry, I'm not gonna force you if you feel uncomfortable about it."

She looked down a second before asking. "Jaune. Has your father been sometimes overprotective of you?"

I took a deep breath at that question before answering. "Yeah. He's a bit paranoid. Can't really blame him, we live outside the kingdoms; that's why he trained me enough to be qualified for Beacon. His training was tough, I admit, but I get what he was trying to do. He's my dad after all; he was the first person I look up to when I needed someone to talk to. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be dead by now."

"Sounds like your father loves you very much." Her expression brightened.

"Of course he does; what kind of father would he be if he doesn't?" I rhetorically asked. "Anyway, what can you tell me about your father?"

"He's a brilliant man, one of Atlas' finest scientists even."

I raised my brow in interest. "Cool. Did he make your weapons?"

"Correct. They're still mostly prototypes, however. There are still a lot of improvements to be made before they could display their full potential." she nodded.

So you're telling me that those crazy flying blades attached to her backpack that could blast lasers strong enough to cut Bullheads in half were only prototypes? Damn. Must be one heck of a genius. Can't imagine what the final version would be like. "That's really neat. I can see why your dad is considered to be one of Atlas' top minds." I complimented her. "By the way, mind telling us why you just suddenly left us at docks without a single farewell. I'm not mad at you, no one is, trust me—I'm just really curious."

"I really want to answer but I—"

"I'm back~!" Ruby chirped as she left the café with a drink carrier holding three cups of coffee. "So what did I miss?"

"Oh, nothing really. Well, other than the revelation that Penny's weapons were prototypes." I stated.

"They're just prototypes?! That's awesome! So you're telling me that her weapons could still be better?!"

Oh boy, it appeared that I have triggered her inner weapon-enthusiast. Penny seemed to become anxious so I had to respond on her behalf. "Pretty much."

Ruby noticed Penny's expression and apologized. "Oh, I must have made you a bit nervous. Sorry about that, I just get too excited on cool weapons that's all. Here, have a drink."

"No thanks, it's fine. My father does not allow me to take hot drinks." Penny declined.

"Come on, it can't be that bad. Coffee helps ease your mind; you look like you could use one." Ruby urged.

"I'm okay Ruby, really. You don't have to."

"That's a bummer… More coffee for me then!"

"I'd be careful with those if I were you," I took mine from the carrier. I instinctively can't trust energetic girls with caffeine much nowadays.

She snickered. "Relax Jaune, I'm not like Nora."

Not really, but close enough, I thought as I took her word with a grain of salt.

We went for a stroll at the sidewalks, which is when Ruby started asking questions regarding the docks incident while drinking two cups of coffee.

"So, Penny. Do you know anything about those guys we fought at the docks a couple of weeks back? Namely Torchwick and the White Fang."

"I wish I could help you, Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men."

"Well, what happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you just disappeared! Were you kidnapped?"

"That's a little too far, don't you think?" I remarked.

"Oh, no! Nothing like that!" Penny responded

"Then where did you go?" Ruby inquired.

"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but… Oh, you have to understand, my father loves me very much… He just worries a lot."

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Ruby chimed in.

"Ditto," I added before puffing. "Well, that's what fathers do."

Ruby continued asking. "But why not let us know you were okay?"

"I... was asked not to talk to you… or Jaune… or Weiss… or Blake… or Yang. Anybody, really."

"Sounds like we upset your dad. Sorry, Penny." I apologized.

"No, it wasn't my father—" she rectified before a voice caught her attention. We followed to see to a corner overlooking a public announcement conducted by a hologram of a man in a white military suit, unmistakably Atlesian. [1]

"The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years—and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" the hologram said followed by an applause from an audience as the robots behind him bowed.

"But, the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine'... Well that's just not good enough, is it?" He opened vertical sliding doors, showing a new batch of robots that were sleeker and whiter compared to the older ones that were grey and glossy. "Presenting... the Atlesian Knight-200!" the new robots stepped down and stomped on the older models as the crowd gave a round of applause.

"Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary." The robots gave a few poses, earning a few laughs from the audience. "These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield."

I don't know about that, but the last time I heard someone leaving everything to machines, it did not go well. There's a good reason why some people are still skeptical over these things to the point of mistrust. Trust me, a couple of my teammates can tell you why.

"However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch.

"Ruby… Jaune…" Penny called while Ruby was apparently engrossed by the announcement.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"I think we should go somewhere else…."

"Hang on for a moment, I like where this is going!" Ruby urged.

"So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company—are proud to introduce... the Atlesian Paladin!"

A large hologram of a two-legged mech straight from a sci-fi movie appeared. Atlas was always known for their impressive and innovative technology, but even then, they still never cease to amaze me with their inventions. That robot is pretty freaking awesome; it would be a dream to ride on one of those things.

"Now, we couldn't have him here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!"

"No way…" I said, astounded while Ruby was just as understandably impressed

"Can we go now?" Penny stepped back.

A couple Atlesian soldiers started looking at our direction, one of them pointed at us while the other radioed his comms. "Uh, are they looking at us?" I turned back and saw Penny running.

"Penny? Wait! Where are you going?" she asked before we looked back and saw the soldiers sprinting toward us. We dropped all of our coffees and ran, following Penny across the street and into an alleyway.

What a waste of good coffee.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked me as we did our best to catch up with Penny.

"I don't know!" I told her, but if my assessments prove me right, then she must have been a V.I.P. or some sort judging that his father is considered to be a brilliant scientist and that she was not the type of person to commit a felony of some kind. "Maybe we should reason with them!"

"Are you kidding?!"

"Hear me out; I don't think she's in trouble. They're just worried about her or something."

"What do you mean?"

"What I was saying was, they're not here to arrest her or anything like that, and they just want to escort her because she's someone important to them."

"Well, whatever the reason, it looks like she doesn't want to get caught yet!"

We kept her as she ran across the street and went into another alley. The two soldiers were slowed down after they almost got hit by a passing car, giving us more distance between them.

We were able to get near Penny while the two Atlesians continued to chase us. We then noticed two paths as we continued to make our way to the alley.

"Split up!" she commanded before I was able to argue.

She and Penny went to the left while I went to the right. The Atlesians did the same, with one of them chasing me as I continued to evade them.

I put on my hood, not that it would make much of a difference, but I was sure they'll forget me once this is done. After all, they were after Penny and not us; they shouldn't really bother much with dumb kids like us.

I went through an apartment's back door. I noticed a janitor's closet near the building's main entrance, so I opened the front door to make it look like I went through there before hiding inside the closet. I peeked out and saw that I managed to trick the soldier into going out the front door.

I remained inside until I was sure that the soldier was gone outside a hundred-yard radius from where I was at. A few seconds of staying still in the closet, I heard my scroll vibrate, I took it out and saw that Pyrrha was trying to call me. I didn't want to ignore her call so I went upstairs and answered, the Atlesian should have given up since I was irrelevant and wasn't worth his time; surely, his partner must have called him from backup by then.

"Jaune Arc speaking."

"Jaune, where are you? I thought you said you'd study today."

"Yeah, I'm going to have to postpone that, Team RWBY suddenly asked me to help them with something…important," I explained

"How important exactly?"

"Important-ish important?"

She was audibly suspicious. "Is it as important as the last time you went with Blake?"

"Look it's nothing like that." Well, not yet anyway, if I were to be completely transparent. "It's just some sort of school project. I have some experience with what they needed, so I took up the task."

"Jaune, if Team RWBY have a school project, then we should have one too since we're basically in the same class unless I'm missing something, which I doubt I did because I remained attentive in class. Are you hiding something?"

"Okay, maybe it's not a school project, but it's important nonetheless. Plus I'm trying to keep them out of trouble." I looked through the apartment's window and saw an ambulance and a few marked cop cars quickly passing by, that was when I heard my scroll's text tone and saw a message from Ruby telling me that I should immediately meet her at her marked location. Oh boy, don't tell me you and Penny had anything to do with those responders.

"Well, just don't take too long. This place is rather hectic without you…" she said before I heard Nora's screaming.

"The great tech-heresy is coming upon us! The machines are achieving free-will! Their machine spirits are being corrupted! They are now about to initiate the subjugation of all organic life! Ren, quick! Get the EMPs. I refuse to be enslaved by a bunch of walking toasters!"

Oh great, not his techno-religious crap again. It made sense for someone like Nora to have those beliefs but the fact that Ren himself also shares her beliefs is making me question how much of his sanity Nora took from him. Thankfully, he sounds like he is still capable of being sensible despite this.

"Nora! Calm down! There isn't any robot uprising." Ren audibly tried to tell her.

"That's what they want you to think! Lisa Lavender is an A.I. I tell you; they control the news!"

"We mixed up the diet soda with the regular ones…" Pyrrha sighed.

I made a muffled groan as I shook my head. "Put me to her, I'll handle this."

"Okay." she obliged and put the scroll near Nora, which is evident because Nora's screaming became much more audible.

"Nora, this is Jaune. As your Fearless Leader, I command you to calm down at once!"

"Ha! Nice try, tin can, but your fancy voice simulators are not going to fool me! We will remain defiant to the end, for we have endured countless ages being the under threat of such monstrous predators, and your revolt will be seen as nothing more as another failed attempt at destroying humanity!"

I put my free hand on my face. I'd be impressed by that if she wasn't on a sugar rush right now. "Nora… just, please… stop it." I said in my natural tone that she usually hears.

"Oh, it's really you! Best of luck out there, you see a robot? Smash it until their processors are in itty-bitty-tiny pieces! They cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be bargained with, and they will destroy anything made out of flesh, so you better be careful."

"I will, Nora, just please don't wreck the dorm."

"They are watching...!"

"Look, whatever you're doing, just hurry back," Pyrrha told me.

"I'll try," I replied. "See you later."

I exited the apartment and ran through the same alley until I arrived at Ruby's marked location. I saw a crowd near a truck that had its front broken at the streets while it was being towed. By the looks of it, no one was seriously injured; the driver was being interviewed by a police officer who was writing down his notes.

What the hell exactly happened here? I thought. My other question was, wasn't the driver the same person who I sold my loot to? Something tells me this was neither my first nor second encounter with him.

"Psst. Over here." A voice called out. I looked around until I saw a half-opened dumpster before Ruby got out of it.

"Ruby? What are you doing in there?"

"It's complicated." she dusted off the trash that was sticking in her outfit.

"Where's Penny?" I asked since she was nowhere to be found.

"She went with the soldiers." she answered. "You were right, they were not there to hurt her. They just wanted to make sure she was just safe, that's all."

"Well, that's a bit of a bummer. At least we know she's fine." I remarked before making a question. "Care to explain what's with the truck?"

"Oh yeah…that… uhm…" she stuttered, which all but says that she had something to do with it.

"I swear! I saw her stop it with her bare hands!" A pedestrian yelled out while Ruby was still trying to come up with an answer.

I folded my arms and continued to stare at her before she finally made a response. "She used...umm...her semblance! Yeah, that's right! Her semblance is super strength…which explains how she pulled that bullhead the other day!"

I gave her a puzzled look before I hesitantly bought her word. Something was not adding up, but it sounded too plausible to be a lie. I guess there was something I'm better off not knowing. [2] "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Well, there's…uhh…"

"There's what?"

She began to shake her head. "Nothing. Forget I asked."

"Well, okay then."

Ruby looked back at the street. The crowd was dispersing, and the tow-truck carrying the damaged vehicle was leaving. "We should get out of here."

I nodded to her and we walked out of the area and was now strolling onto the Valish sidewalks.

"So, what now?"

=o=

1. General Ironwood was the one who was doing the address. As usual, while Jaune heard of him via some of Professor Oobleck's lessons, he still wasn't able to recognize him. Ruby, meanwhile, recognized the General when Penny mentioned him to her.

2. Although information about it is already disclosed and is considered as common knowledge among those living in Atlesian territories, I am going to omit some details about one of Penny's most defining elements until it properly revealed later for the sake of suspense for those who aren't aware of it.

Editorial Note: As usual, to provide a wider content to the narrative, I am going to place the other pairs' perspective here, starting with Yang and Neptune. Unlike most other excerpts, the following was originally an audio recording that is being presented in a transcript format.

Neptune's Audio Logs: Investigating the Club with Yang (Transcript)

Neptune: Ahem. So, yeah it was a pretty crazy night. It kind of sucks that I didn't get to see most of it. Hell, we didn't even do much; Sun admitted that we might as well not be there at all. At least the experience was fun, and bringing that Jaune guy and having him go with Ruby and Weiss turned out to be a really good idea, even if we got a little trouble with the cops because of the damages and stuff that we have to perform community service for three days.

Anyway, we got to the club via Yang's pretty cool motorcycle. Since Vale's a pretty big city even for the speed of Yang's bike, it was already dark when we got there.

(Audio cuts during the duo's arrival at the club.)

(Sound of a motorcycle's engine stopping.)

Yang: Come on, my friend's right in here! (Audible club music in a distance.)

Neptune: Cool. (Shakes off the dizziness.) And where exactly is... here?

Yang: Just a club that I used to hang out one time—the same night I got banned. It was a pretty wild night.

Neptune: You were banned the first time you came here?

Yang: Yup, still am. But I don't give a flip, and they ain't gonna do jack about it.

Neptune: You're the one to talk.

Yang: ( To the bouncers.) Hey, there you two! What're your names again?! Biggs? Wedge?

(Sounds of the bouncers' panicking and doors shutting can be heard.)

Yang: Aww, they weren't that shy before.

Neptune: Looks like they don't really like you.

Yang: Eh, who can blame them? They don't have the guts to face a woman like me. (Grunts as she tried to open the door.) Oh, so they wanna play that game. (Cocks gauntlets.) You might want to stand back.

Neptune: Wait, you're not doing what I think—

Yang: (Grunts as she summons an explosion.)

Neptune: …you're doing.

(Club music becomes more audible as the duo enters.)

Yang: Guess who's back!

(Guns clicking. Club music suddenly starts breaking out until it eventually stops.)

Neptune: Yeah, so could you define 'friend' for me?

Man 1: Stop, stop! Nobody shoot! (Footsteps) Blondie, you're here…why?

Yang: You still owe me a drink. (Fading footsteps)

Neptune: Whoa, what a woman. ( Pauses as he notices a pair of girls.) 'Sup?

Girls: (Simultaneously) Hmph. Whatever. ( The two audibly walks away.)

Neptune: (Chuckling as he started walking through the club.) (To a tong member.) Nice place.

Man 2: Whatever, kid. Keep an eye on your girlfriend.

Neptune: (Stammering) Right…yeah…of course. (Whispering) This is pretty awesome. I know Yang's a ton of fun, but I didn't know she's this much of a daredevil.

Yang: Looks like you still have this place up and running, Junior. I'm surprised that people still go to this dump after that crazy dance-off we had.

Man 1 ('Junior'): Just cut to the chase, Blondie. What the hell do you want?!

Yang: Remember Torchwick? The guy with the bowler hat? Don't bother lying, I saw you talk to him last time I visited.

Junior: Heh, Torchwick. I'm afraid you came to the wrong place. I know who he is, I'm just not buddies with him. He only came here once to make a deal and that was it. End of story.

Yang: Bullshh—err—crap, you're obviously not telling us something!

Junior: You're wasting your time here, Blondie. Seriously, I don't know what's he up to today nor do I give a damn about it.

Yang: Then can you at least tell me the last time you've seen him?

Junior: For the last fucking time, I don't know!

Yang: How can you not know?

Junior: I haven't talked to him! I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here. He paid upfront, I lent him my men, and none of them ever came back . [1]

Neptune : ( Talking to himself.) It appears we have an uncooperative suspect here. It's time to unleash my inner detective. ( Goes to the table and slammed it, knocking over a glass cup) So, where did they go?

Junior: What kind of stupid question is that? They never came back! ( He turns back to Yang ) Who is this guy?

Yang: Don't worry about him, worry about me if I don't find out what I want!

Junior: I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them. (Suddenly yelling) Which is something I can relate to!

Man 3: (In a distance) Hey!

Yang: Come on, Neptune.

Neptune: We got everything we need?

Yang: Well, we got everything we can. Hopefully, the rest of the team is having better luck.

Neptune: You got banned from this place? Man, you're a wild chick.

Yang: It's what I do, pretty boy.

=o=

1. You can thank Ruby for that one, they were the same men who accompanied Torchwick during the night Professor Ozpin found her.

You may remember that I refused to extract Blake's writings due to her painfully-colorful prose style. Regretfully, I had no choice but to add it in here, as other accounts hardly detail the circumstance where she was present. If you insist on reading her dreadful writings, I advise you to proceed with caution, but if you are unable to bear with them, feel free to skip this section. The occurrence was explained later and it wasn't that hard to follow anyway, if only Blake made her account a little more readable.

And don't get me started on her fanfictions.

Confessions In The Shadows: The Infiltration

A cold breeze flew through the air as dusk finally emerged, bringing forth the starless, nebulous night sky exceeding the tenebrous, deserted warehouse where the meeting would betide, signifying that the time has come for it to transpire as stated in its schedule that was provided to the faunus who are seeking emancipation through retribution.

I traced the White Fang's rough symbolic scratch marks on a nearby hard concrete wall with my soft, alabaster fingers that contrasted to its rough solid material. Around its corner displays the entrance to the session through an ominously caliginous passage that was being elapsed by individuals of our kin who were bearing the masks that signify allegiance to the White Fang. I witnessed a couple of troubled faunus youths being granted access to the warehouse, sadly lacking the cognizance that they would not be battling for a better world, but to unwittingly continue the vicious cycle of prejudice and injustice that has been plaguing both human and faunuskind since the dawn of their coexistence.

"I don't get it. If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?" queried my tailed companion, who raised an admittedly decent inquiry, but he still lacks the intelligence primates are usually famed for more often than the contrary. It's a pity that he was designated to accompany me to this crucial mission, as he was the only fellow faunus I know of in this circle of trusted associates. I would have preferred the two of my other affiliates who possessed a similar hair complexion, both of whom I have known to be far more congenial. But for the sake of our objective, perhaps it was beneficial for them to pertain to their own respective assignments where their respective abilities would be needed in order to generate progress for this investigation.

"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters," I elucidated, enlightening his curious mind on the veils in question.

"Grimm masks... That's kind of dark," he remarked with discernable turmoil.

"So was the guy who started it." My mind was then succumbed to recollecting the images of my former beloved—Adam Taurus—after the mere mention of that individual who held a great extent of particularities. I purged my own mental images and slipped into my visor, partially obfuscating the face of the familiar Belladonna girl that was once known by the very organization I was infiltrating, prior to my rebirth as I was conscious that the members are apprised about my stature in the organization.

We set foot into the establishment and blended to the assemblage of recruits in common clothing filed beside the detachment of uniformed soldiers that were lined in an orderly fashion. As we stood in the midst of the congregation inside the ominous room, we acquitted our efforts to remain concealed while the visored members glance at us as nothing more than another twain of repressed kinsmen who are yearning to revolt at their human oppressors, the very image we were trying to deceive them into presuming. Years of experience have made me skilled enough to insinuate into the most secluded areas, [1] therefore my entire mental state lacked any difference from my previous operations provided by the very faction I was infiltrating. One distinction from my previous operations, however, is that I am accompanied by a companion who presumably lacked perspicacity in the fine and intricate arts of subterfuge, thereby inducing some difficulties with his mere presence while already needing to supervise him for this task.

The personage conducting this convention of horribly misguided, if not hypocritical souls was none other than Vandyke Fawkes—the tattooed, chainblade-wielding mutilator of the White Fang. My amber orbs threw figurative daggers toward him as I recall every single act of hellish malevolence he had the sadistic pleasure in partaking during the times when we had a mutual affiliation. His methods were inhumanely ferocious even by the standards of the most extreme portions of this organization. Nevertheless, Adam evidently found his fellow sadist a respectable position.

"For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours! I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for so long."

Roman Torchwick has finally manifested himself to the unwelcoming mob of atrabilious faunus, who propelled every kind of derogatory remarks toward him, not that it had affected him one single bit. One such recruit among the masses demanded answers from the organization on why they allowed themselves to fraternize with one of the evil, repugnant, despotic, materialistic, and traitless scum that they anticipated to swear retribution to.

Torchwick managed to appease the blazing fury that was the crowd before him by sharing his dislike for his own species. The same crowd who bellowed irate jeers at him subsequently howled cries of joy as they began to accept their collaborator who was outside of their own kin. But anyone who was any wiser knew that he expressed himself through his antipathy to society as a whole; not out of sympathy for the maltreated faunus who in all likelihood, were considered as nothing more than instruments for his enigmatic ends.

Scanning the stage, my perception shifted toward a short, strange, and interestingly colorful figure adjacent to him. She was a girl with heterochromia, possessing hair that matches the asymmetrical colors of her orbs. Her appearance was of a harmless little girl, making her appear incongruous to the horde of violent ruffians that surround her, but if she indeed was Torchwick's confidant, then she was not as innocent as her aspects suggested. My concentration returned toward Torchwick, for I lack the requisite information to judge the idiosyncratic midget he is accompanying, nor does she appear as relevant.

"I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy, the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms! Government, military, even the schools; they're all to blame for your lot in life! And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... No offense to any rodents in the room."

Within a single snap, he uncloaked the enormous object wrapped in black fabric behind him, unveiling a substantially-sized, curveless metal behemoth that bears the scarlet insignia of the White-Fang painted on its shoulder before his audience. The giant contraption designated for war was undoubtedly of Atlesian origin, which was evident by the clean, bright, rectangular aesthetic it exhibits itself with. [2] The members exclaimed in ovation to the unveiling of their new asset. My companion and I were no less astounded at the revelation, as a weapon this formidable should be impossible to be possessed by individuals such as Torchwick, no matter how much influence he managed to acquire in the dark world known as the criminal underground of Vale.

He said that it was one of Atlas' latest technological innovations for their already-powerful military force. He added that he was able to obtain one of these rare mechanical titans though an 'employer'. Whoever this mysterious employer may be and how are they able to somehow seize a significant asset from the greatest military superpower on the planet even before becoming officially furnished for their utilization, still remains a mystery yet to be solved.

"Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?"

He was answered with a burst of applause from all over the premises, with the members harmonically cheering in anticipation to witness the destruction of one of their oppressors using one of their jaw-dropping technologies. Within the throng of the roaring herd, we still remained flabbergasted at the reveal of the White Fang's new possession, even if we expected a major unveiling that would help advance Adam's twisted ambitions. "We should get out of here," I apprised to Sun as I faced toward him.

"Will all new recruits, please come forward," beckoned Fawkes. The sea of recruits started to flow straight like an unswerving stream, dragging us with a torrent of bodies as it advanced onwards; attempting to move in the opposite direction would undoubtedly cause suspicion.

I instigated my intuitions and scanned around the monochrome warehouse swiftly for a possible escape route before our presence became compromised. Alas, the line of recruits was growing short after a significant number had overtaken us as we remained stationary. Torchwick began to notice the two static recruits, he inquired closely and began to recognize us below our obnubilating disguises. "He sees us," whispered Sun. I might have to inculpate him for his lack of alternative apparel as he was wearing the same Vacuan garb he wore that momentous night.

Continuing to examine the building, I found a fuse box that my intuition apprised me that would temporarily unsight him and the faunus with deficient night vision from our tampering presence. "He can't see in the dark," I stated assuredly.

I withdrew my trusted Gambol Shroud from my holster and swiftly aimed towards the fuse box before squeezing my trigger, shrouding the entire warehouse in near pitch-black darkness with a single blast of gunfire that was able to successfully penetrate the power source, effectively disabling it from its functions. The room echoed into the sounds of confounded cries of the muddled members trapped inside as we took advantage of the opportunity to make our escape from the hostile environment. Although there was a significant amount of faunus in the premises who possess the ability to maintain a clear perception even during darker environments, they unlike Torchwick, are unable to distinguish the renegade among them who were further obscured by the pandemonium that was occurring in the area.

We bolted towards one of the windows, one of the remaining light sources radiating effulgently on the gloominess of the building. I could feel my feet press through the solid ground hardly and repeatedly as we arrived closer to the window as its increasing size indicated that we were coming close to it. On our way, I heard a technological resonance of a certain machine actuating that inexplicably indicated an awakening of a slumbering giant.

We leaped to the catwalk and hurled our bodies through the window's glass, shattering them to pieces as we collided against their fragile material. The atmosphere of the air made a noticeable shift as we found ourselves in the building's exterior while our feet once again met the solid surface after descending from the window. Shortly after we continued to rush away from the warehouse, its wall collapsed as the mechanical golem being piloted by Torchwick himself emerged from the building, spilling glass and rubble to the ground.

Proceeding to leap over a civilian vehicle to perch above a building, leaving a dent on its roof as we stomped on it with our aura-filled feet. We proceeded to jump and land from one rooftop to another, evading the rogue Atlesian mech as we traversed through the dense urban jungle with the wind guided us along our path.

It was now an appropriate time for the team to reassemble. Torchwick will not stop until we are silenced, and he will go to great lengths to achieve that objective. Team synergy was required in order to slay this metal giant. Torchwick must be stopped while we prevent him from painting the town red with the blood of innocent victims caught in the crossfire.

=o=

1. Those years surely didn't make her a skilled writer. Although, she would make a better poet.

2. The same Atlesian Paladin model that General Ironwood introduced earlier in this chapter.

Since the whole Penny thing was at a halt and we didn't feel like taking another bullhead trip back to Beacon just to help Weiss, especially since we knew that she can take care of it herself just fine. We hung out at the arcade to pass time until the others managed to find something.

I managed to maintain the high score on the rail shooter that Ren and I completed a few times, only this time I beat the game solo. Speaking of shooters, Ruby managed to ace the virtual shooting range, getting several bullseyes under a single sitting. Since the games we played tested our skills, it was training to a sense, so we didn't exactly waste our own time just to entertain ourselves.

We left the arcade once it got dark. We still have yet to get an update from others, so we simply strolled around town sharing some stories.

"You serious?" Ruby laughed at my stories about Nora's antics and how consuming soda made her go crazy around robots.

"Yeah, she thinks robots are finally rising up against their meatbag masters and they are about to overthrow us!"

She kept laughing until she suddenly stopped. "Does every robot have to be bad? If there's a good robot? The ones who will stick on our side."

"I don't know, ask Nora. An idea of a robot uprising wasn't my idea in the first place."

"Jaune, this might sound weird but… could robots have feelings?" Judging by the tone of her voice, she sounded more worried.

Huh, she's right about that question being a bit weird. Don't know what made her bring that up. She sounded strangely serious about the question though, her eyes still gazing at me as she waited for an answer.

"You mean become sentient? Maybe, if one is crazy and brilliant enough to make that happen. If you're worried about them 'growing beyond their programming', don't; the idea alone is just that silly. Robots have to be unrealistically intelligent for that to happen. Besides, Nora just came up with that because she was on a sugar rush, basically her typical craziness plus one. Robots going full rouge would need a virus vicious enough to violate all three laws of robotics, and that virus needs to be deliberately and carefully designed, you can't make a virus like that by accident. I don't think we have to worry about fighting robots anytime soon, aside from a few combat drones, maybe."

After telling her that, Ruby suddenly heard Blake's voice at her scroll and immediately picked it up.

"Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back—" Blake yelled the second we answered her call, making it no less obvious that she was alarmingly in distress.

"HELP!" Sun cried out in her scroll's background. "Big robot! And it's big! Really big! That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something! Hurry!"

The call was then cut off. "Okay, that's a manually-controlled mech so it doesn't count." I quipped to cope with the fact that the thing with the docks is going to happen again even though that was a stupid statement.

"Whatever that was, I am not missing this!" She smirked excitedly. "Quick, we have no time to lose!"

We tracked down Blake's scroll and began running toward the destination, nevermind that we realized that it was too distant for us to reach. "Crap, they're on the highway bordering the industrial district, that's miles away! We'll never get there in time!"

"I could, my speed can get me there in a jiffy! I could carry you with it, but it would slow me down and use more of my aura."

With little time we have, that obviously didn't sound practical. "Any other bright ideas?"

"This is an urgent situation! I'm going to have to get there first. Sorry Jaune, but I think you're going to have to catch up!" she said before using her semblance to zoom to the top of the nearest building.

"Wait! What am I supposed to do then?!"

"You'll think of something, I know you can! Right now, my team needs me and I need to be as quick as I can! I'll see you later." She then hurled away with the wind, leaving me with nothing but trails of rose petals.

Great, now what? I asked myself. I didn't have any sort of transportation to travel there quickly. It was also a good opportunity to finally head back to the dorm and I would have taken it if not for the fact that I have a reputation to uphold; people would be asking me why I abandoned them if I did just that, especially since I involved myself in this.

So I continued to run toward Blake's location while thinking on how to get there as quickly as possible. Looking around, I spotted a bicycle parking rack on the sidewalk across the street. I was hesitant to commit bicycle theft but what else could I do? Take the bus? Desperate times call for desperate measures. I hope the owner has insurance or something if I'm not able to return it.

I went to the racks and used my lock-picking skills to unlock one of them. I quickly got into the bike and started pedaling to Blake's location as fast as I could.

A few minutes had passed, I checked my scroll and saw that the entire team had already made it while their trackers were still moving around the highway, indicating that the chase was still ongoing.

I managed to make it to the western part of the commercial district. I kept pedaling my way until I saw a couple of VPD squad cars. I thought that they were heading to the highway since they were also heading west like I was, so I followed them.

But as good the idea was at the time, in hindsight, I really shouldn't have done that.

The cops led me to a bank where they suddenly stopped. One of the officers was shot as soon as he left his vehicle. The front of the bank was clouded with smoke where all the gunfire was coming. As soon as I saw this, I pushed the bike's brake and tried to turn back, only for someone to start shooting at my front, making me throw myself out of the bike.

I quickly crawled, stood up and ran toward the nearest cop car to get some cover. As soon as the shooting stopped, all of the cops were either dead or too injured to keep fighting. I peeked out as the smoke started to fade. Emerging from it were White Fang soldiers armed to the teeth—in the middle was a small feminine figure. Unlike the robbers, who wore standard-issue White Fang uniforms and visors, this one wore a Grimm mask that concealed her entire face while her hair was still visible at the back of her head, her hair was two-toned in color with one side brown and the other pink; she wore a white jacket with a brown corset under it with her waists slightly exposed, brown pants and white high-heeled boots that still made her look short.

Godsdammit, with all these White Fang encounters lately, I swear that I'm really starting to miss the Grimm, at least they're much less annoying to deal with. Where the hell was Penny when you needed her?

After thinking on what I should do, I unholstered my laser pistol and randomly began firing at the robbers, making them get to cover, while the short, fully-masked one just blocked the shots with her pink umbrella, I was only able to hit one of them down out of chance.

I tried running to the nearest alley, only for more White Fang soldiers to pop out from there, so I had to run back while shooting at them.

I saw that I was surrounded by White Fang bank robbers, so I had little choice but to get rid of them until help arrives.

I went back to the cop cars for cover while using my shield to block incoming gunshots. I then fired at two of the troopers, almost instantly putting them down thanks to the accurate stopping power of my trusty upgraded laser pistol. One of them started to dash towards me with daggers on both hands, she started to jump over the cop car I was at, so I put my shield up and threw her to the ground once she put her foot above it. I began striking her with my sword while she tried her hardest to deflect them. Sensing a gunman behind me, I slipped to her back with my shield covering as the gunman started to open fire at me, only to gun down his comrade as I blocked the shots that got past her.

As soon as the dagger wielder fell, I charged toward the assailant and bashed his masked face with my shield before slicing him until he was down as well.

Two White Fang goons looked at each other—one of them a guy with a spiked steel club and the other a girl with a pump-action shotgun. They decided to approach me and tried to succeed where others have failed, unfortunately for them, I couldn't allow that to happen.

I parried the club wielder's attacks while simultaneously blocking the female trooper's shotgun blasts. When the gunner's ammo ran out and started reloading shells into her weapon, I sidestepped from her partner's vertical strike and bashed him with my shield before turning back to slash her, causing her to drop to the ground with her weapon. Afterward, I hear the other trooper cry in agony.

"That was my sister, you son of a bi—!"

Oh, shut up. You attacked me first—what the hell did you expect? I thought as I shot him with my laspistol mid-sentence when his guard was down.

Facing back to the bank, I saw three White Fang members backing out, grabbing the bags of money then fleeing. The short one without the uniform, on the other hand, decided to step in.

I pointed my gun at her and started shooting, which she just casually deflected it with her umbrella. My ammo clip ran out, so I holstered it back and expanded my shield. She pulled down her umbrella's canopy and started attacking me with her weapon. I blocked her initial attacks with my shield. I dashed back and went to strike at her, but she was so fast that she dodged every swing. She countered one of my attacks and started to push me back until she swept my feet, making me fall to the ground.

I kept parrying a few more of her attacks while lying down before she managed to swing my sword away from my grasp. She then stomped on my left arm, ceasing me from using my shield as she unsheathed a blade from her and raised it to stab my face.

Before she was able to do so, a gunshot flew into her mask, knocking her back before a scarlet blur came to her and began to clash her weapon with hers.

I took a good look at the figure who saved me, it was none other than my partner—The Invincible Girl herself. "Pyrrha?"

"Hello again!" Pyrrha greeted, pushing her sword against the girl's umbrella before they both pulled back. "We'll discuss this later!"

I nodded at her and got to cover. I reloaded my laspistol as I peeked out and watched Pyrrha and the short bank robber fight. I noticed a red laser sight aim towards me before I leaned back and avoided the shot, I fired back at the sniper who was at the top of the bank, dispatching him with a single accurate shot.

In hindsight, I'm glad I warmed up my firing arm with that light gun game at the arcade earlier.

Looking back at the two girls. The short robber had her mask damaged enough, she threw it away—revealing a face that contained mismatched eyes that shared the color of her two-toned hair. Above all that, I realized she wasn't a faunus, meaning like Torchwick, she's no regular member. I stepped in and assisted Pyrrha into dealing with this threat, forcing the short girl to change tactics and started spinning around her umbrella to parry both of our attacks.

She turned at me as we started to clash our weapons. She kicked her back which Pyrrha blocked with her shield. As I continued to parry her attacks with my sword, I began shooting at her legs, making her leap back as Pyrrha threw her javelin at her, she dodged it but it ended up hitting a bag of money being carried by a White Fang member, causing him to drop it and cower away.

The short girl then narrowed her eyes but then suddenly smirked. I readied my weapon and started charging at her since she was open and was just standing there. But after swinging it to her, her figure literally devolved into pieces of glass.

Confused, I stared at the shattered pieces that were supposed to be her body, wondering where she was. We then saw a Bullhead float above us, its passenger—the same girl we just fought—smiled and waved at us before she flew away.

I panted as I looked around the area, finding nothing but bodies of police officers and White Fang troopers lying around. "Is that the end of it?" I asked.

Pyrrha was about to answer, but then she suddenly turned back, locked the wrist of a White Fang member, pushed him to the ground and aimed his hand cannon at him after swiping it. "I think it is now."

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"Nora calmed down and took a nap and Ren was keeping an eye on her, so I decided to check on my own partner, and found out that he was fighting bank robbers!" she said after tying down the last White Fang trooper, crossing her arms as she scowls at me.

"Trust me, I didn't exactly want to be here."

"You really do have a knack of finding yourself in trouble. I thought you were supposed to be helping Team RWBY in whatever they're doing. Not… this." She gestured around the place.

"I was about to continue doing that until I got into this mess," I explained.

"Where are they now then?"

"They're on the highway, fighting a giant robot I presume."

"What?" she asked as if I was screwing around. Couldn't blame her, it's as incredulous as it sounds.

"I'm serious. This was supposed to be a simple investigation, then Blake and Sun called saying they were being chased by a giant robot with Torchwick in it. We all rushed to help, then I ended up here."

"An investigation? Torchwick? What is this all about?"

"It's a long story."

"And aren't these the bandits from Forever Fall?" she gestured to the unconscious bodies of the White Fang troopers.

"They're not bandits, unfortunately," I stated, struggling to keep my gaze at her.

"Jaune, could you explain to me what is going on?!" she demanded, obviously out of loop on these things.

Before I was able satisfy her questions, I heard sirens from a distance before a few squad cars approaching us. "I'll have to do that later,"

The police arrived at the scene. The officers then got out and started pointing their guns at us. "Oi! Hands in the air. Drop your bloody weapons!" One of them commanded.

I considered protesting and explaining that I'm not a robber (although I did steal a bike earlier), but I knew the wise thing to do was comply. I know my rights, and they aren't going to consider me a robber since I wasn't wearing a White Fang's uniform. Really, the only bad part about this was I couldn't go with my usual routine of looting enemy bodies.

I dropped my weapons and put my hands up, Pyrrha did the same.

"Wait. Pyrrha Nikos?" One of the cops realized who he was aiming at as he lowered his gun. "Sign me notepad please!"

She glanced at me, which I could only respond with a shrug.

"Oight, lads, calm down, they're not a threat." Another officer said to the others before turning at us. "But that doesn't mean you kids are innocent. You two still have some explainin' to do."

Here we go again. If I knew that I was heading to a bank robbery—with the fucking White Fang no less, I would have taken a cab back to Beacon and let Team RWBY (plus Sun and Neptune)[1] do their own thing; they were capable without me, why did I even go to the trouble of bothering to help? And why was the White Fang robbing a bank anyway? Last time I checked, they needed dust but not money.

Those girls better have some good news.

=o=

1. Like Neptune mentioned earlier in his audio logs, they weren't able to provide an adequate contribution to the battle with the Paladin. See the excerpts below.

Editorial Note: Since since Jaune was unable to be present during the encounter with Torchwick's stolen Atlesian Paladin at the highway bordering between the Industrial District and the Commercial District of Vale, the event will be detailed by excerpts through Ruby's memoirs and Neptune's audio logs. For obvious reasons, Blake's accounts will be excluded, since their previous inclusion was already enough for one chapter.

Neptune's Audio Logs: Big Freakin' Robot!

Neptune: After leaving that shady club, Sun and Blake suddenly called us saying they were being chased by a giant robot as those two coincidentally passed us.

(Audio cuts to Neptune and Yang after leaving the club.)

Neptune: Those guys really hate you, don't they?

Yang: Well, they wouldn't have to if they were a little nicer before.

Neptune: What exactly happened then?

Yang: Well, here's the short version: I asked them for something, they tried to beat me up, I ended up kicking their butts. Let's just say the club remained closed for a few months.

Neptune: (Surprised pause.) Okay… that explains that.

(They got in Yang's motorcycle. After she started her engine. She suddenly heard Blake's voice coming out from the scroll.)

Blake: (Scroll call) Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back—

Sun: (In the background of Blake's scroll) HEEEELLLLP!

Neptune: Oh hey, it's Sun.

Yang: Shush!

Sun: (In the background of Blake's scroll) Big robot! And it's big! Really big! That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something!

Yang: (Responding at the call.) Where are you guys?

(Metallic stomps can be heard in the background.)

Sun: (In the background of Blake's Scroll and somewhere in the duo's distance.) HUURRYY!

Neptune: I think that was them.

Yang: Yeah, I got it. (Turns around her motorcycle then accelerated.)

Neptune: Whoa!

(Audio cuts to a couple or more minutes later.)

Yang: We've gotta slow it down!

Neptune: Got it!

(Sounds of car horns and vehicles crashing.)

Yang: Hold on!

Neptune: (Screaming.)

(Cars crashing.)

Neptune: (Weapon twirling.) (Railgun blasting.) (Weapon transforming.) (Grunts as he leaps to the Paladin) (Sound of a weapon penetrating a metal.)

Sun: (In a distance, barely audible due to the traffic.) Neptune, hang on!

Neptune: (Screams as he struggles to balance with the robot.)

(Sounds of Sun's clones colliding with the Paladin.)

Neptune: (Screaming) (Bump)

(Both Sun and Neptune screamed as they both fell from the highway.)

Sun: (Lands safely on his feet.) Ha! Perfect landing.

Neptune: Oof! (Lands on his partner.)

Sun: (Grunts in pain.)

Neptune: Sun, are you okay?

Sun: (Painful moans.) My back…

Neptune: Don't worry, bro, I still got your back.

Sun: No, you moron—my back hurts!

Neptune: Oh, sorry.

Sun: Give me a sec . (A few seconds pass as his aura heals him.) There, much better now.

Neptune: Seriously dude, a giant freaking robot?!

Sun: Hey, I'm just as surprised as you! I didn't know what we were walking into.

Neptune: Okay, okay. You think we could still catch up to them?

(Audio pauses as they look at a faraway distance. They saw the Paladin fall and looked at their allies.)

Sun: You know what, let them handle this. It's their fight; I just dragged ourselves into this. This is just too much. Fighting Torchwick in that robot would be badass, but I didn't sign ourselves up for this. Innocent people just got hurt, man!

Neptune: Wait, what? So, we're just gonna leave them?!

Sun: They'll be fine. I've seen them fight, they could handle it. We'll just be a liability anyway.

Neptune: (Sighs) Whatever you say. (Pause.) Man, I could use something to eat.

Sun: I know a place; you'll feel right at home.

Neptune: Hey… I just realized something. Where's Jaune?

Sun: I have no idea.

The Red Rose Diaries: Fighting Torchwick at the Highway.

I saw Torchwick shove cars off as he chased Yang, and all I could do was watch and let Weiss use her ice dust to make him and his robot slip until he fell below the highway. All I could think of was the people he harmed because they were in his way, but I went to hold my emotions for the moment and focus on stopping Torchwick.

Everyone was already there and were ready. [1] We first used 'Freezer Burn' to create a fog out Weiss ice and have Yang crash on it. It gave us some time while Torchwick had trouble finding us in the fog.

I charged and hit him. I ordered Weiss and Blake to attack the robot at its legs while it had trouble trying to shoot them. Torchwick tried to stomp Blake, but Weiss pulled her with glyphs before that could happen.

Torchwick fired some rockets at them but they were able to avoid them. Thanks to Weiss' time dilation abilities with her glyphs, Blake was able to slice all of those missiles down.

Blake and I went in and attacked its legs again. When Torchwick tried to shoot me. We both jumped up and sliced off one of the robot's arms.

Yang then leaped to his back. Punching it until Torchwick launched himself to the highway's pillars until he managed to shook her off. This was a mistake for him, as it activated Yang's semblance. With that, she blew the other robot's arm when it tried to punch her. Torchwick kicked her, making her fly away. I got Blake to pull her back with her weapon's ribbon.

We needed to slow it down, so I fired several rounds of ice dust at Weiss' glyphs, creating shots powerful enough to freeze Torchwick's robot. Blake threw Yang at Torchwick, finally breaking his robot to pieces.

Yang tried to put him down once and for all by firing a shot, only for some weird colorful-looking girl to come out and block it with her umbrella. Yang tried to charge and punch them before finding out she broke pieces of a mirror, with them disappearing. We then found them on a Bullhead, flying away, scot-free.

It looks like Torchwick has a new henchman, according to Yang.

We may have broken his robot, but he got away... and we couldn't save those people. Weiss tried to lighten the mood and it's not funny, even Yang called her out on it.

The police came, one of them was the detective from the docks. He said that we needed a serious talk. We couldn't find a reason to say 'no', after all, it's our fault why Torchwick hurt those people.

Could we have done something? Was it our fault that we made Torchwick hurt those people? I can't answer that.

I wish Mom was here, she would have known what to do.

=o=

1. For those who are wondering how I got from Beacon to Vale's western highway so quickly, I bribed a Bullhead pilot into giving me a 'private emergency flight' and have him take me there as soon as

We all sat around the VPD's interrogation room in silence. The entire group, plus Pyrrha, was here. Sun and Neptune also came when they were called.

Tension was in the room as we waited for Professor Ozpin and Detective Huntley to return from their conversation outside. Ruby, on the other hand, looked disheartened, lacking her usual spirit and enthusiasm, I heard she was upset that they were indirectly responsible for the civilian casualties on the highway, and that they couldn't do anything to prevent them.

"Tell me, Jaune. Do you really have experience with examining records?" Weiss broke the silence in a furious, yet mild tone.

It appears that Weiss was not happy about us leaving her and forcing her to check her family's company records on her own, and I thought she was better off without us bugging her.

"Yeah, I used to work part-time being an assistant for a public library as a summer job. Tedious work but the pay was decent for my age at the time," I answered.

"That means…" she said before suddenly shouting and slamming the table. "You could have helped me! Do you have any idea how long it took me to analyze an excessive amount of records on my own?"

"Hey, you look like you have it all figured out, Ice Queen —your straight A's says it all. It's not like you wanted my help anyway." I shouldn't be verbally defending myself but I wasn't in the mood of being pushed around after recently having my life on the edge yet again.

"Just because I won't be happy about it, it doesn't mean that I don't need it!" she retorted. "And please stop calling me that!"

"Then stop acting like one!"

"Stop it!" Ruby cried out. "Innocents died and Torchwick got away with it. Now we're here to be questioned and you two are fighting! We need to stick together for now, it's why we're all even alive."

We were both taken aback by Ruby's grief. Not being able to save innocents really hit her hard. "She's right," I told Weiss.

"Don't..." she replied, looking away from me.

It was quiet again. Aside from the room ambiance, there wasn't another sound until the door opened with Professor Ozpin and Detective Huntley.

"You kids just can't stay out of trouble, can you? First the docks, and now this. It doesn't help that I was also informed that some of you have interesting backgrounds while being the most hectic students on Beacon this year," The detective remarked as some of us became nervous, with some of us chuckling anxiously. "Anyway, who started this unsanctioned investigation?"

Ruby and Blake both raised their hands before staring at each other.

"I assume that both of you started this?"

Blake tried to answer. "Actually, sir, I was the one who gave the idea of…"

"No Blake, it's my fault. It may be because of you, but I was the one who started this investigation," Ruby vehemently stated. "If I just chose to help you in another way, none of us have to be in here and feel guilty for those we weren't able to save."

Blake was shocked at her statement and tried to assure her. "Ruby, no one's blaming you for—"

"No! If we didn't interfere, Roman wouldn't have to chase us and hurt those who happened to be on his way. We really should have just let the police handle it."

I really felt sorry for her. I know what it's like to be guilty over things you have no control over. "Don't push yourself that hard, Ruby, you only did what you thought was the right team and you did it to help a friend. You couldn't have known that Torchwick would rampage the street with a stolen robot, none of us could have." I consoled her.

"But you came out a hero, I, on the other hand, wasn't able to get Torchwick and make him pay for what he did."

I did not respond, I just couldn't; I could only look at her in pity when she felt guilty because she was too selfless to see innocents suffer while she envies me for my supposed heroics while being oblivious of my selfishness. I would have left the bank for its fate, but I had to act out of self-defense because I wanted to preserve my life. Now people are hailing me once again, while the willing heroes are lamenting for their failure; they deserved better than this.

"Okay, so Miss Rose is pinning all the blame for this. But I'm not here because of what got you into nosing around the White Fang, but why this all started in the first place, and it appears that Miss Belladonna was the root of all of this," Detective Huntley said before turning to Blake. "Could you explain why?"

She looked down and slightly hesitated before answering. "It's because of my friend, Tukson, the bookstore owner who was murdered a few days ago. I believe the White Fang has something to do with it."

She was obviously lying and we all knew it, [1] but we respected her secret, including Weiss and surprisingly Ozpin, who just stood there and watched. It was best not to expose her previous affiliation with the White Fang, as we don't know what they might do to her.

"Ah, yes, we're still looking into that. But what made you think that the White Fang was behind it?"

"Because… he used to be with them," she answered, some of us were surprised, but Detective Huntley just cupped his chin, looking intrigued so far. "But he wasn't radical unlike the other members, he believed in equality and peaceful coexistence even if he had to resort to a few extreme measures. But he realized that they were going too far that he left, which is why they hunted him down," she explained, wiping a tear. "You already know that he was once a member, do you?"

"Yes, we do. Recent evidence shows that he was indeed a former member when we searched his flat[2], but that doesn't mean we're jumping to the conclusion that the White Fang murdered him because they want him silenced. We will, however, take that as a possibility while we carry on the investigation," he affirmed. "By the way, you knew he was a member prior to his death?"

"He trusted me enough that he told me everything because he knew his time would come."

"Were you two close?"

"No, it's nothing like that. I was just one of the few people he trusted."

"I see. Thank you, Miss Belladonna. Now back to the recent incident. Why was Roman Torchwick chasing you with an Atlesian mech that wasn't even supposed to be available for its military yet?"

"During our investigation, Sun and I discovered one of their meetings. I passed myself as a faunus and snuck in. Torchwick then presented himself and showed him the mech, saying he got it from his 'employer'. He eventually discovered us and the rest is history."

"Infiltrating the White Fang, huh? You kids have more guts than most of the officers in this precinct," he said before looking at the wall where the one-way window was supposed to be. "No offense."

Yang noticed this and smiled and waved at the invisible officers on the other side.

"So not only Torchwick is still with the White Fang, but he is also under the employment of someone who could take hold of a weapon that's still in production. This is bigger than we thought it would be," he remarked before moving on to another subject, something that I was worried he'd bring up. "Enough about the Torchwick and the mech. How did you know about the White Fang's bank robbery while all of that was occurring, Mr. Arc?"

Well shit, here goes nothing, I said to myself as I cleared my throat. "When Blake and Sun were calling for help, we had to get there as soon as we could, so regretfully, I had to steal a random bike to get there quickly."

Detective Huntley raised his brow, Ozpin was still as calm as before. Everyone, meanwhile, was giving me looks mixed with shock and confusion, including Sun, who if I recall correctly, wasn't above stealing food.

"You yoinked someone's bike?" Yang questioned.

"Do you really think I wanted to do that?! It was a dire situation; I'm not happy that I had to do it. I was even planning on taking it back, I swear!" I argued.

"We're going to have to discuss that some other time." Detective Huntley said. "Please continue, Mr. Arc."

"Right. While I was heading there with my 'borrowed' bike, I saw some police cars and thought they were heading to the highway, but it turned out they were responding to a bank robbery prompted by the White Fang. I decided to stay there and stop them, knowing the others would handle Torchwick just fine." I told them, leaving the part where I tried to get away, only for the White Fang to stop me and force me into fighting them.

"What else did you notice during the robbery?" The detective further inquired.

"Well, there was this one girl. Unlike the others, who were White Fang members, this one was wearing a full mask. She was short, and when she took the mask off, I saw that she had mismatched eyes that shared the color of her hair, which was pink and brown. She used an umbrella to fight."

That caught Team RWBY's attention, but Detective Huntley was the first to respond.

"Hold on. A short girl that has two-toned hair with mismatched eyes that were colored pink and brown and carried an umbrella? You're not talking about The Neapolitan Butcher, are you?"

"The Neapolitan Butcher?"

"Neapolitan? Isn't that—like the ice cream?" Yang asked.

"Correct, the name comes from her color scheme, which is the same as Neapolitan ice cream. She's one of Roman Torchwick's accomplices. Don't let that girl's look deceive you, she is one of the worst psychopaths who we still haven't caught simply because of how slippery she is,"

That explains why she was a tough fight. She could have killed me had not Pyrrha arrived

Detective Huntley faced the one-way window again. "Hey Dylan, could you get those files for me please." he then looked back at me. "Anything else I should know?"

"I think Blake and I saw her at the warehouse; she was beside Torchwick when he was showing off the robot," Sun added.

"That confirms that it is indeed her," Detective Huntley stated before turning back at me "Continue on where you left off, Mr. Arc."

"Pyrrha came in and helped me fight her off. It wasn't really wasn't easy, she was fast and tricky. She suddenly turned to shards and got away in a Bullhead."

"Shucks, she pulled that to us too!" Yang added. "Only that time, she used it to escape with Torchwick!"

"Must have been some sort of semblance that manipulates the target's view with an illusionary image," Weiss said. "Anyway, what were you doing there, Pyrrha?"

"Just went to check on my partner. Found him fighting bank robbers so I came in and assisted him," she answered.

"Yeah. Thanks again, Pyrrha. I guess owe you another one." I uttered.

"You don't have to owe me anything. I was just looking after my partner and leader." she beamed.

The door opened and a police officer came in, carrying some files on 'The Neapolitan Butcher.'

"Ah, thank you." Detective Huntley took the files as the officer left the room.

He put the file on the table, opening it and revealing a pencil sketch of her face and a few zoomed-in photos that barely showed her from various security cameras.

"That's her," Pyrrha confirmed.

"It wasn't easy to make a record of her—we could only cover some vague details while the rest remain missing. These are the only visual sources we have of her since no one was able to bring back any photos of her alive. There was an account of Torchwick calling her 'Neo', which is likely to be an alias. Aside from that, the only thing we know about her is that she's affiliated with Torchwick and is extremely dangerous. If you happen to encounter her again, I highly advise you not to engage her alone, or better yet, do not engage her at all. If you want to know how dangerous she is, she has killed trained Huntsmen before. Trained. Huntsmen."

I gulped. I just happened to get into a fight with a homicidal psychopath and somehow lived to tell the tale, mostly because I was assisted by an undefeated champion, but just imagine if Pyrrha did not interfere.

Thinking about it, I think I've seen her stature before but I couldn't make my mind off it.

"Now back to the robbery," the detective faced me again. "Could you tell me why was the White Fang robbing the bank? I know they're no stranger to robberies but last time I checked, they didn't need the money, all they needed was dust. Lastly, why were they still wearing their uniforms when they could easily pose as regular criminals? One would assume that they were wearing White Fang uniforms to frame the group, but the recent interrogations and evidence proved that they were indeed the White Fang." [3]

"Your guess is as good as mine," I shrugged. How could I know what the White Fang are up to, I didn't even get much info on them lately.

The detective sighed. "Alright then. Now with that out of the way, Mr. Arc. As much as I want to be lenient with you since the aftermath of the bank robbery would have been worse if it weren't for your meddling, I'm afraid we still have to follow protocol and condemn all of you to disciplinary action." he said before he turned to everyone.

Oh Brothers, I don't like where this is going, I internally remarked.

"Since you conducted an investigation on one of the most serious criminal organizations on Remnant without the approval of your superiors, and because of the repercussions you caused. All of you are sentenced to community service with the exclusion of Nikos, as she was not part of the investigation, and her presence at the robbery is not accounted for."

We all looked down at guilt. It eventually had to happen sooner or later.

"Your duration varies on the degree of your involvement. Wukong and Vasillias have the shortest amount, only having three days of labor, given their minimum contribution; Arc will be given a week of service for bike theft, despite his efforts to reduce the havoc at the bank robbery that we do appreciate; Rose, Schnee, and Belladonna will be given ten days of service for damages and casualties they indirectly caused to the public on an unauthorized investigation. [4] Miss Xiao Long, on the other hand, would be given a special case, not only for her participation like the rest of you but also because of her interesting history..." he said as he pulled out his scroll and opened it to a database.

"Wait, so you're telling me that Yang… has A CRIMINAL RECORD?!" Weiss suddenly shouted.

I wanted to say I'm surprised, but then again her partner was an ex-member of an international terrorist group that I fought for three times now, and that very same ex-terrorist gave me a kiss on the cheek a couple of weeks ago.

"Well... it's just a few misdemeanors like underage drinking right...?" Yang nervously reckoned as she forced a grin. [5]

"That and… speeding, reckless driving, disorderly conduct, vandalism, parking violation, illegal U-turns…" Detective Huntley said as he reads her record on his scroll.

Yang's entire team glared at her as Detective Huntley continued to read out her listed record of crimes and all she could do was nervously smile.

"…battery, assault, property damage, and of course, littering," he said as he finishes.

Wow, Yang, you've been going places. I think I feel less guilty about stealing a bike now.

"This is absurd! What's next? Ruby getting charged for stealing cookies?" Weiss fumed before she realized that Ruby was still at grief. "Oh. Sorry, Ruby."

"It's okay…" she responded in a low voice. It was still too soon for her.

"That would give her a whole month of service, while on probation. Meaning you would only do labor on Beacon's grounds. You are forbidden to visit the city until your penalty is lifted. If it was up to me or anyone else in the station, this would have been harsher, but Professor Ozpin made an agreement to the chief of police to make sure you don't fall back with your studies as Hunstman trainees. You should be grateful, this is the most clement verdict we could give you with a record like that and we didn't have to take the usual process of taking you all to court." Detective Huntley told her.

"That is bullcrap! There's gotta be another way where I could make it up to you somehow." Yang protested.

"Miss Xiao Long, I'm afraid I have to concur with Detective Huntley here." The Great & Powerful Ozpin finally stepped in and spoke after just standing there for a while now. "Laws are laws, and so long as they are fair and just, they deserve to be enforced. I may have pardoned you previously, but you will have to face the consequences of your actions this time around. This is a rather merciful verdict for a criminal record like yours. Either you accept this or spend some time behind bars and face a judge. Worry not about missions, you can still participate in them since they count as service."

You know, Ozpin seems to have a lot of power for a headmaster of an academy if he is able to coax the police department like that, or he is just that charismatic. Either way, who am I to complain if this meant getting us out of there with less trouble?

"This is freaking stupid…" Yang grumbled. "Fine. Don't expect me to enjoy this. I feel like being grounded again."

"I would also like to add that only Wukong and Vasillias will serve at city grounds, Team RWBY and Arc will only perform service at Beacon, where they would be safe from the White Fang since they would undoubtedly hunt them down for their recent actions against them." Detective Huntley added.

"Detective. Pardon me, but I could pay for the reparations. That way, we don't have to perform community ser—" Weiss tried to propose before Ozpin himself silenced her by raising his hand.

"Miss Schnee, while your offer is appreciated; I'm afraid that we decided that I will have to pay for the damages myself," Ozpin interjected. "You need to be disciplined for the recent incident, even if you did not intend for any of this to happen. This is a deed we cannot let go unpunished."

"But—"

"This is not up for debate. You will all serve your sentences and think about what you've just caused and that's final." he clinched. With that, it shows that there was no way of bargaining our way out of our punishments and all we could do was face the music and accept our fates.

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin." Detective Huntly said. "Alright, I think I'm done here. Thank you all for your cooperation. Try not to get yourselves into trouble again and please stop acting like vigilantes without the approval of your superiors." he concluded as he stood up. "Now, if you excuse me I still have to study the mech's remains. You're all free to go."

Detective Huntley left the room as Ozpin stood in the middle, looking at all of us.

"Students. I can neither say I'm happy or disappointed by your recent stunts. But I want you to take this as a learning opportunity not to provoke deadly criminals and organizations. The authorities, with the cooperation of fully-trained Huntsmen, are hard at work dealing with these types of threats every day, while you are all still just preparing. You may be skilled, but your skills may only be wasted if you are not careful enough; fortunately, none of you have died and you were given fair enough punishments for your lack of discipline. Even then, it does not change the fact that five civilians are confirmed dead and thirty-nine others are currently hospitalized as a result of your destructive curiosities."

We remained silent as he lectured us. Thinking of what went wrong and if this investigation was a good idea from the start. I, myself knew it wasn't, but I couldn't just leave when I said I'd help as it may strain any relationship I had with them when I needed them backing me up at the worst of times.

"Now enough of this, I believed you have all learned your lessons, but you still have to perform the services you are assigned with and think about your actions. Now follow my lead. We'll be taking the Bullhead back to Beacon."

We all stood up and followed Ozpin to the rooftop. As we were making our way there—I looked at Ruby, who was still looking down, feeling guilty for all the lives she couldn't save. I never liked seeing Ruby sad, she was like a sister to me, along with Pyrrha and Nora, so I went next to her and brightened her up.

"You know, Ruby. I wouldn't have stopped those bank robbers if you didn't bring me into your investigation. I know that there were people you couldn't save, but that doesn't mean you didn't save anyone. Who knows what would happen if I didn't go to the bank? You should look at the bright side of things, you don't have to always feel so guilty."

Ruby poked her head up and turned her head at me. I smiled at her to let her know that I was there for her. Without a word, she smiled back, getting my message.

Yang noticed me cheer her sister up. She went in and patted my shoulder. "You did good, lady killer."

I beamed at Yang with a nod. Ruby deserved to know that it wasn't entirely her fault and that no matter what, her friends are with her.

Now I know how my sisters felt when they saw me dejected...

After this, I really need to stop hanging out with Team RWBY for a bit and focus on my team. I only went with them because I thought it would be a quick and simple search for information with no fighting, but it only put me onPodunk 2: The Unwanted Sequel and gave my third strike to the White Fang. I really have enough of these that I'm starting to appreciate the Grimm and schoolwork.

So ends the second day of the second semester and I already feel tired.

=o=

1. It wasn't entirely a lie though, Blake holds some friendship with Tukson prior to the latter's murder. While Blake truly didn't tell the full reason why she was after the White Fang, Tukson's death was one of her motivations for her investigation.

2. The Valish word for apartment while the term 'apartment' is usually reserved for higher-class units.

3. The White Fang was trying to raise funds for an operation that was considered confidential enough that it was even kept secret to the other cells, including to their high leader. As for the latter question, it's likely that they simply did not bother hiding their affiliation.

4. Despite being a former terrorist, Blake did not hold a criminal record in Vale since she hadn't committed a single crime inside the kingdom or at least hadn't been caught committing one.

5. The drinking age in Vale was 18. Adolescents aged 16 are also allowed to drink under adult supervision. Yang was 17 at the time, and while she was not exactly a heavy drinker, she had a few accounts of drinking underage without an adult chaperone.

Editorial Note: Before ending this chapter, we will now look into the White Fang's perspective through one of their reports they left that details the incident in their point of view.

The White Fang Reports: Summary of the Assault in Vale

The human oppressors of Vale should start trembling in fear, for our day of retribution is coming close with each passing hour. The downtrodden people of faunuskind will soon rise as their champions liberate them from the shackles of tyranny as the streets of Vale will be cleansed of fascist filth.

But in order to achieve that, we must cooperate with some humans who share the grudges to those who oppress us. One such person would be Roman Torchwick, a crime lord under the collaboration of the district leader, Adam Taurus and a henchman of our mysterious backer. Many will find the collaboration from a human dubious, but we should remember that the enemy of our enemy is our friend, and Torchwick's contribution will help aid the future of faunuskind as he holds munitions necessary to achieve our objectives.

He said that through his superiors, he managed to get a hold on prototype battle suits that were still not available for the public, the Atlesian Paladin. How they were able to get a hold of these mechanized mobile suits was beyond our comprehension, but it did not matter as we finally have ammunition that could be the key to our success.

We introduced the Paladin to one of our recruitment meetings, administered by Fawkes and Torchwick himself. But we found that the meeting was being infiltrated by Blake Belladonna and one of the pets that accompanied her during the debacle at the docks a couple of weeks ago. Torchwick used the mech, not only to pursue them, but to demonstrate its abilities, and prevent her from interfering with the bank robbery that we planned to carry out shortly after.

Fawkes brought half of the recruits with The Panther Company on the robbery as an initiation, we were accompanied by Torchwick's companion, Neo, who is said to be the same person as 'The Neapolitan Butcher'. With the group's strength, it''s presumed that the robbery would be a decisive success.

And then he appeared.

The robbery was going well, we were able to grab hold of the funds needed we were aiming for the White Fang's upcoming operation for Mountain Glenn and VPD was unable to stop us. But alas came the blond Huntsman who was responsible for the destruction of the Forever Fall outpost and one of the assailants to our failures at the docks. He slaughtered our men, recruits and veterans alike until they were either dead or crippled. Only Neo and a few members escaped, those who didn't were detained or worse—killed.

We have finally coined a name for this human: The Valish Defanger. He is becoming an even worse wrench in our works that were only able to recover one-third of our objective at the robbery, meaning we still needed more lien if we were to carry out Mountain Glenn's operation in the future. While all hope is not lost, the ambitions of a liberated Vale is under a serious threat. The human responsible for this must be dealt with quickly before he ruins more of our operations.

On a related note, Torchwick was able to escape from the Huntsmen, but with the cost of the Paladin. Nevertheless, that was only one of the many battlesuits that are stocked at our armaments, and it only confirmed that they functioned as intended.

Some recruits have become disheartened at our recent failures, but we assured them that we will never give up and that we will soon gain the upper hand among the humans who think they could hinder our campaign. Because soon, our fallen brethren will be and avenged and our morale will ameliorate. We will be the rallying cry of every persecuted faunus on this wretched kingdom.

The revolution will not be humanized!

Finally, I thought it'll never end. This is why you should only write one fic at a time since you might never finish your other stories especially if you have an active life writing outside of these. Unless you happen to be someone like Coeur, who manages to keep a schedule and write several quality stories at the same time while being able to update fairly frequently, but that requires some dedication and LOTS of free time.

You may notice that Jaune hasn't learned Penny's secret yet. Remember that Ruby was the only person Penny trusted, and even if Penny acknowledges Jaune as a good person, she doesn't trust him enough to share her secret with him. Plus, knowing Penny's secret a little too early would dramatically change the plot from my planned outcome.

Also, if you haven't noticed yet. The extras are now out, so far, it only has one chapter, depicting the event that started it all, I plan to write more of these because world-building and writing side-stories are fun.

Welp, since you all know what the next chapter is going to be all about, better start polishing your shipping goggles, I think. (Or maybe don't because the shipping culture on this fandom, while undeniably fun that I have a few OTPs on my own, is kinda shite, it's more toxic than several nuclear wastes merged that I'm inclined to mock the hell out of it.)

Anyways, that's it for now. I'm gonna go make some food.