Chapter 2: To Catch a Criminal

The clock ticked on seemingly neverendingly, black minute hand inching towards the top of the hour, somehow slowing as the seconds passed. Daria stifled a groan, dark eyes glued to the stark white clock face, finger tapping the top of the table- before stopping.

Weiss glared at her friend, clutching the hand tightly. "I will remove it."

The leader of DRGN ripped her limb free, frowning. "You just don't know how to ask nicely, do you."

"The only worse thing you could have been doing was clicking a pen."

"Don't tempt me."

Rainier snorted and shot awake into a sitting position, blinking out of sync, yellow irises hazy. "Are we done?" He muttered.

"Not even close." Daria shot back.

"How are you even passing?" Ruby asked across the other two girls with a frown, silver eyes locked onto Rainier's expectantly.

He leaned over his leader towards the short huntress conspiratorially. "Well... I'm not." He booped her on the nose, before returning to her seat. Ruby wiggled her nose, stifling a sneeze as Weiss rolled her eyes, the heiress simply returning her attention to the teacher prattling on about mathematics below.

Yang drummed her fingers on the bannister in front of her, sitting a row above the others alongside Blake and Gail. "So..." She muttered, leaning down towards her friends. "Official crimestopper meeting at Dorm RWBY after class?"

"Ooh!" Nash said excitably, turning towards his fellow blonde less discretely. "We gonna fight crime?!"

"...Yeah, Nash," She said, smile thinning slightly. "We've talked about this."

"Oh, pssh, I don't listen-"

"Mr. Aspis!" The teacher called. "You seem to be excited to share. I don't suppose you could walk us through the rest of this problem?"

The boy blinked owlishly as he turned on his heel, plopping back down into his seat, staring with confused blue eyes at the blackboard far below. "Oh! I... well, y'see..." He went silent for a moment, cocking his head to the side, resting it on his arm casually. "You've gotta… well, I was gonna say put those two together and something'll happen, but nah, that's just a buncha random numbers. Maybe try a circle- but, nah, that's just stupid. A 72 degree angle does show up in a star, which could be, like, a pentagon, so the answer's got the golden ratio in there somewhere,"

Slowly, his teammates began to look over at the bored boy in various states of shock.

"Somethin' bout the law of sines? I dunno, that last side could be in two different places. You get the golden ratio from a quadratic equation, so, that's, like 'y' equals the square root of two divided by two... no, naw, it's square root of five divided by two minus one-over-two."

The teacher stared up at him for a moment, before turning back to the board, finishing the problem out for herself. She was silent for a moment, before turning back to Nash. She dropped her papers on her desk and shrugged. "Go home, you guys. You're good to go."

The class wasted no time shooting to their feet, rushing from the lecture hall, some clapping the boy on his shoulder as they passed. His friends, however, simply stared at him in shock as they rose to leave as well. Nash, for his part, didn't seem to concerned with their attention, walking with a skip in his step to the halls.

"Man," He called out, stretching languidly. "I never thought that class was gonna end."

Rainier and Daria shared a look as he continued to walk away. Yang muscled in between them, leaning down to Daria's level and gestured furiously at her. "I am kidnapping him and he is doing my math homework for the rest of the semester, you got that?"

The shorter huntress snorted. "Knock yourself out."

"And how could you be failing with him as a reference at any given time?!" Weiss demanded, marching up to the Vacuoan faunus.

He gave her a noncommitted shrug. "Mostly? I simply block him out. It's done wonders for my sleep schedule."

"I'm onto you," The heiress muttered. "Your laziness will not stand."

Daria snorted, but said nothing else.

"Today's the day, friends!" Ruby yelled out suddenly, making the other seven students jump in surprise. "The investigation finally begins!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I'm glad to see that we're taking this so seriously."

"Hey!" Yang said, offended. "We've got a... mostly serious plan."

"Right! Everyone remember their roles?" Ruby called out, looking over her friends.

Weiss nodded. "You, Gail and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm family, it shouldn't be a problem."

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in there, hopefully I can find out what they're planning." Blake added.

Yang raised her hand. "I've got an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Rainier and I'll stop by there. Might get hairy, but getting information out of him shouldn't be… too hard."

"And Nash and I'll head into the city, check in with the shop owners that got robbed, see if there's anything that the cops missed." Daria finished, arms crossed over her chest.

Ruby, though, frowned. "Shouldn't someone go with Blake? That could be dangerous."

The dark haired huntress shook her head. "It'd have to be a faunus-"

"Like Rainier." Daria said, cutting her off, giving both huntsmen in question a pointed, raised eyebrow.

The duo were silent for a moment, yellow eyes meeting, the Vacuoan opening his mouth with a counterpoint, when-

"Not a bad idea!"

All eight huntsmen jumped as they turned to the window; hanging upside down in the frame was Sun Wukong, tanned face split with a grin, golden furred tail wrapped around something out of sight.

"Sun!" Blake yelled, bristling in irritation.

Yang tilted her head curiously. "How did you get up there?"

The monkey faunus shrugged. "It's easy; I do it all the time."

"You do what?!" Weiss shot back, a distrustful scowl painted across her face.

Sun flipped into the room, landing smoothly. "I climb trees all the time. So, we finally getting back at the jerk with the stupid hat?"

Ruby sent a look at the two teams, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Sun. We don't really wanna get more friends involved if we don't have to."

"Psh, that's dumb!" He turned back to the window. "You should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune."

Daria and Ruby edged forward, staring out the window; lo and behold, the blue-haired huntsman was standing on the ledge just out of view, leaning against the wall coolly. "Sup."

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked.

"I have my ways." Neptune shoot back nonchalantly.

Daria raised an eyebrow. "...Boo."

The Mistrali huntsman jumped in surprise, giving her a wide-eyed look for a moment, before adding nervously. "Okay, fine, please let me in, we're really high up right now."

The team leaders stepped to the side as Neptune jumped in, slightly panicked.

The now ten huntsmen stood in a loose circle around the dorm, all looking suitably impatient with the process unfolding before them.

Ruby nodded. "Alright! un, you can go with Blake, and Neptune and Rainier can go with Yang."

Neptune shrugged, letting the shorter huntress push him over to Yang and Rainier's side.

"Sir Vasilias."

"Sir Platina."

The duo exchanged head nods, shaking hands for a moment, before leaning against the wall, arms crossed coolly over their chests, zoning out of the conversation at hand.

Weiss' eyes, however, shot back and forth between them, brightening in interest. She blinked slowly. "Ac…tually, Ruby, why don't you go with Yang, and Gail can go with Daria and Nash?"

The leader of RWBY frowned. "But, Weiss, who would you go with?"

"Well, if you're going with your sister, you two would have everything handled- I mean, if you don't need them, Neptune and Rainier could always come with me. It's a nothing assignment anyways."

The former huntsman gave her a charming smile and duel finger guns, while the latter conversely gave her a mildly shocked, impressed look, hand going to his chest and mouthing in surprise, 'me?'

Ruby stared at them for a few moments, before bursting out into laughter. "Hahahaha, nah." She grabbed Weiss by her collar and pulled her down the hall, still laughing. Gail dutifully followed after them silently.

The remaining huntsmen watched the trio leave, before turning to each other.

Daria sighed, shaking her head. "Fine, whatever, let's just hurry up and do this." The remaining seven took off after the expedition's leader.

Gail wringed her hands together as she and her companions marched towards the base of Beacon Tower, where the CCT System was located, towering above the surrounding campus like a monolith. Her eyes trailed up its length, letting out a nervous breath.

Ruby, though, was brimming with excitement, bouncing around the other two, silver eyes bright. "Woooow! I forgot how big the tower looks this close!"

"You should see the one in Atlas." Weiss said smugly, arms crossed as they made their way towards it.

"That was the first one, right?"

"Correct." Weiss and Gail said in unison. The Atlesian blinked in mild surprise, turning to Gail with a cocked head. The archer, looking equally surprised at her outburst, averted her gaze to the ground, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

"I don't think we've met." The heiress said in interest, looking her companion up and down.

"G-Gail. Cerulean." The lone member of DRGN stammered out, swallowing hard.

The Atlesian curtsied to the archer. "Weiss Schnee, heiress of-"

"Oookay, Weiss, that's good." Ruby cut in, pushing the heiress onwards.

"I was just introducing myself!"

"Aaaand you did. Mission accomplished."

"I was just-"

"'Oooh, look at me, my name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!'" Ruby said in a falsetto high voice, before snickering at the Atlesian's frown.

"Don't be a pest!" The pale girl snapped irritatedly. "Besides, the only reason we're all here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call at the library!"

"I knooow, but it's so cool! Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!"

Ruby fished her Scroll from her pocket, raising it up with a grin at the tower- with far too much momentum, though, the device tumbling from her hands as she let out a squeak of shock, dashing after the Scroll.

Before sliding to a stop, looking up at the girl standing in front of her.

The ginger girl blinked in surprise, looking down at the dropped Scroll. "Oh!" She picked it up, offering it over to the short huntress. "You dropped this."

The leader of RWBY blinked in shock. "...Penny?!"

Penny blinked, before her eyes widened, as if just placing Ruby's face. "...Uh..."

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

Gail and Weiss exchanged a confused glance, the latter crossing her arms, while the former began inching towards the Tower.

"S-sorry," Penny stammered out, waving her hands in front of her. "I think you're confused-" She hiccupped, the Scroll falling out of her hands and into Ruby's. "Uh... I've got to go!" Without another word, the girl turned on her heel, hurriedly marching away.

Weiss blinked. "What was that about?"

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

"Wait!" Weiss yelled, reaching out a hand towards her team leader, before sighing, letting it fall. She turned to Gail, the archer instantly stiffening. "Well, we're already here. Come on."

The two huntresses stepped out of the elevator into the communications room, the room itself sprawling, littered with dozens of glowing green terminals, a handful of people sat at the computers, in the midst of video calls with others. The two girls walked up to the front desk, a hologram secretary sitting behind it, smiling pleasantly at them.

A series of beeps greeted them, before the AI cocked her head to the side. "Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit Center. How may I help you?"

"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas." Weiss said, voice assuming a well-practiced formal tone.

"Absolutely," The hologram looked down for a moment. "If you could head over to Terminal 3, I'll patch you through."

"Thank you!" The Atlesian said chipperly, waving for Gail to follow her in. Her smile dropped as they passed the front desk. "We could have simply just made the call at the library, but no, Ruby insisted on coming out here- and then she ditches us! That girl sometimes,"

Gail offered the heiress a small, supportive smile as her pale eyes turned towards her.

"In the meanwhile," Weiss continued as they neared their Terminal. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

The archer jolted as the conversation turned from her, looking out towards the walls, searching very carefully for her words. "I-" She shook her head. "I'm just... not used to... being in places like this. T-That's all."

Weiss gave her a slightly suspicious look as she sat down. "Fine. You, just... stand... over there. Yes. There. Perfect," With Gail out of view of the screen, she took a deep, steadying breath, schooling her face back into a polite smile.

The screen came to life, a short-haired receptionist looking down at her desk as the call went through, a replica of Weiss' snowflake emblem spinning lazily behind her. "Thank you for calling the Atlas-" She jolted in surprise as she looked up. "Miss Schnee! Good afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well!"

"No, thank you! I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list." Weiss said brightly, placing her Scroll into a slot on the keyboard.

"I... see," The operator muttered. "If you don't mind... what may I ask is this for?"

The heiress' eyes shot over to Gail for a split second. "Oh, school project."

"Um... there are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am."

Weiss smiled. "Then I'll be sure to handle them with care."

"...Right... very well. The data is being transferred to your Scroll now."

The huntress smiled, rising to her feet and giving her partner a very unimpressed, pointed look, aimed towards the operator. "Wonderful. That will be all, then."

Before she could properly leave, however, the woman called over to her, "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?"

Weiss' smile dropped for a split second, before coming back to her face. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, then, have a nice day!"

The call ended, and the Atlesian sighed, before turning towards Gail with a raised eyebrow. "...I'm lucky you're quiet."

The archer gave her a tiny, forced, nervous chuckle.

Yang and her bike slowed to a stop, pulling a matching bright gold helmet from her head. She looked around the shady street for a moment, a grin splitting her face. "Alrigh!" She called out. "We're here!"

There was a blur of movement, and Rainier fell from the sky, landing smoothly onto the asphalt below. He gave her a raised eyebrow as he looked around. "...Well... I've been to seedier places."

"And that's why I brought you." She said, giving him a wink and duel finger-guns.

He, however, leaned around the blonde warrior. "Is... he alright, Miss Xiao Long?"

Neptune was looking less than kosher, sat behind Yang; his face a mask of terror and disorientation, blue hair ruffled around his head. "I'm... cool..." He muttered, before shaking his head. "And where is here, exactly?"

"Somewhere dark, and terrible, that harbors a secret very few men and women have the guts to gaze upon," Rainier muttered lowly. "Legend has it-"

"Yeah, no, that's enough!" The Mistrali warrior said, climbing off of the bike and holding his hands up in an 'X'. "I'm good without creepy eldritch nightclubs."

Yang rolled her eyes as she began marching towards the building's entrance. "Oh come on, you big baby. Right inside."

As the trio neared the building, the low thrumming of EDM began to be audible, the frame of the doors glowing with bright lights.

"Hurry, close the door! She's coming!" Someone yelled from the inside, the distant sounds of panic spilling out into the street.

The blonde huntress grinned, giving her teammates a coy look; cocked her fist; and threw a shotgun-aided punch at the double doors, a small explosion sending them flying open, two familiarly black-suited thugs flying away.

"Guess who's back!"

Only a chorus of guns cocking greeted her, a large handful of guards, or henchmen, aiming their weapons at her indignantly. She, however, didn't flinch, instead turning her glare up to the stage, staring the DJ down. He slowly reached up and took the needle off of the record, the club plunging into tense silence.

"Yeah, so… could you define 'friend' for me?" Neptune asked quietly.

A shell fell from Rainier's leg, a grin slowly splitting his face. "That's the thing. Friend. Such a broad term. Give the word, Ms. Xiao Long."

"What is wrong with you people?"

"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot!" A man jostled his way through the crowd; he was tall, and stocky, dressed in a black dress shirt, black vest, black gloves, pants, and boots, and a red tie- which he adjusted as he walked up. "Blondie, you're here!" He stared at her for a moment. "Why?"

Yang smirked. "You still owe me a drink," She grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the bar. "Chill out for bit, guys. This'll take juuust a minute."

Neptune whistled. "What a woman."

"Careful, my friend," Rainier said, sitting down in an unoccupied booth as the music resumed, crossing his legs. "There's a reason she's not part of the game."

"Game? What game?"

The faunus sighed, holding his hands out above him. "Ah, a game of challenge, risk, intrigue, romance. Tis a game for the charming-"

"No more words, I want in."

"I'll see what I can do," Rainier shot back with a charming grin as Neptune joined him. "In the meanwhile- come! Have a drink with me. Non-alcoholic, granted, but a drink nonetheless. "I've been curious for quite a minute of who exactly Neptune Vasilias is!"

Daria sighed as she and Nash exited the Dust shop. "And... bust."

"Aw, come on," The boy said, jostling her shoulder with his. "I's fun! Like a fantasy game where you gotta run around town!"

"I'm not much of a gamer, Nash."

"Oh. I's like! ...A..." His face fell. "This is so boooring."

"And there he is," She muttered as the partners continued to march along. She turned over her shoulder to where Phalanx was walking on dutifully behind them, humming softly with energy. "Did we really need to bring him, though?"

"Aw, you never know," He shot back, hands folded behind his head, eyes closed. "Sides- maybe we could use him to intimidate people!"

"Why would-"

"You think that's our problem? We're too cute."

"Cute."

"We're little munchkins."

"I... that's..." She faltered as she looked down at him. "I think that's the most self-aware I've ever seen you."

"Mmhm. Mama always said that I was cute as a button. And so are you! We're just not intimidatin'."

"Well... you're not wrong."

The duo continued on in silence as Daria led the way, following the directions offered by her Scroll.

"Hey, Daria?" Nash asked after a few minutes, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, bud?"

"You think we're good?"

That made her hesitate, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"Us. DRGN. You think we're good?"

"I... yeah- why, what's up?"

He shrugged, face losing a tint of its usual exuberance. "I dunno. It's, just- like. SOUL's super good, right? They're really, really good. And RWBY are really good too! And JNPR's, like, three-fourths good. Are... we that good?"

"What- of course we are," She put a hand on his shoulder. "What's up, bud?"

"I dunno. I's like, we don't get along as well, and we don't hang out as much, and I can't fight, and Gail can't fight, and Rainier's kinda sorta not there, and you're trying really, really hard and I just feel like we're lettin' you down, and maybe we're not as good as-"

She pulled him into a hug, shaking her head. "Shut up."

"Kay."

Without another word, they continued on, her arm thrown over his shoulder and holding him next to her.

Rainier bobbed his from side to side to the beat of the song, impatiently, before rolling his eyes. "Come on."

"Wait, she said-" Neptune said, frowning.

"Where's your sense of adventure, man!" The faunus called back, already stomping off after Yang. "Come then, don't be shy!"

The blue haired huntsman groaned, slowly sliding from the rather comfortable seat, begrudgingly following after his current teammate, the two huntsman picking their way through the crowd to the bar off to the side, Yang's trademark golden hair shining like a beacon.

They were still a good several meters from her and her 'friend' when they managed to pick up on the heated argument.

"I haven't talked to him!" The club owner exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here. He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever. Came. Back."

Rainier hummed as he and Neptune sat down. "Ah, so those were your men. So sorry about that."

"Also, where did they go?" The latter huntsman finished.

Junior stared at them for a few moments, dumbstruck. "…What kind of stupid question is that?! They never came back! And what do you mean, 'sorry about that'- who- who are these guys?"

Yang leaned forwards so that she was between him and her companions. "Don't worry about them; worry about me if I don't find out what I want."

"I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them- which is SOMETHING I CAN RELATE TO!" He yelled, turning his attention to his men.

Yang sighed. "Come on, guys." With a shake of her head, she rose to her feet, the huntsmen following after her as they marched to the exit of the club.

"Literally anything?" Rainier asked, voice a touch softer than usual, speeding up to walk beside her, pale yellow eyes curious.

The lone huntress only sighed again. "Well… we got everything we can. Hopefully everyone else is having better luck."

Phalanx beeped out surprisingly urgently once, getting Daria to jump in shock. "What the- you stupid-"

"Right." Nash said quietly, turning on his heel and ushering his leader down an alleyway, just wide enough for the mech to enter as well, blocking the entrance.

Daria frowned at her partner as he rather hurriedly led them through the alley, brilliant blue eyes cast to the rooftops. "Nash, hon, what's-"

"We're being followed."

"How do you know?"

"My suit can track auras, silly."

"...Okay... and?"

"Ya hear that beep Phalanx made? That means that a huntsman showed up on his radar."

Daria slowed slightly, mulling the thought over, before blinking in realization. "...Then where are they?"

Nash nodded in agreement. "Phalanx, who's got that aura?"

"...Not found." The mech droned back.

"Where they at?"

"...Ten meters to the right and... twenty meters up."

"Ooh that ain't good."

The duo picked up their pace, Daria's Infinitas shooting into her hands. "Okay," She muttered quietly. "Here's the plan- you-"

"Everyone, if you can hear me, we need back-" Blake called out urgently from the huntsmen's scrolls.

"HEEEELLLLP!" Sun added helpfully.

"Big robot!" The faunus continued. "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!"

"Well, that's as good of an excuse as any," Daria muttered. "Up?"

Nash nodded in agreement, climbing up and into Phalanx as she latched onto the mech's back. With a few bounding steps, the construct leapt into the air with the aid of its thrusters-

And the huntsmen caught the barest glimpse of gold before rocketing onwards towards the freeway.

"Where are you guys?" Yang asked through her Scroll, Bumblebee racing along the streets, weaving in and out of the other vehicles littering the road.

She didn't need an answer.

Like a bull in a china shop, a hulking silver mech went charging across a street perpendicular to them, a suspiciously familiar panicked scream preceding it.

"I think that was them." Neptune said calmly.

"Yeah, I got it!" Yang called out, skidding to a stop and turning on a dime, speeding off. Her gaze shot to the rooftops- where Rainier was running, similarly turning on his heel, the duo exchanging nods before racing off after their friends.

Nash barreled across the highway, Phalanx's massive arms pumping hard as the mech whirled around the cars honking irritatedly about him, glowing visor locked firmly onto the opposing mech ahead of him, and Blake and Sun further ahead, leaping from car to car in their frenzied escape. Daria, for her part, simply swung wildly from side to side, clutching onto her partner's mech for dear life.

"I've got him!" Phalanx yelled out, thrusters activating as he prepared for a final leap, leaving the ground after Roman's mech.

And then the thrusters ceased, the internal display of the red-armored robot blaring angrily at Nash. The mech- and its rider- came to a screeching stop, Daria going flying away, hitting the asphalt hard, rolling several meters further.

The sudden stop barely saved Phalanx from the falling blur of gold, a glowing golden sword leading the fall, carving through the highway as if it was nothing. The man leapt to his feet, pulling his sword free, and kicked off of the red mech, sending him hurtling further up the highway, coming to a skidding stop halfway between the two huntsmen. Daria rose to her feet, eyes narrowed at the newcomer.

Vegas Gold turned a victorious grin from Phalanx, to the short huntress, cocking his head to the side with an audible pop. "Welcome to the show, kiddos!"

And he charged at her, Dragon's Fang held high.

Rainier leapt through the air like a blur of silver, yellow eyes locked hard onto Roman's mech- a gunshot propelled him through the air faster, and he rocketed into the Paladin's side, nearly taking it off of its feet from the blow, kicking off to land onto the asphalt, sparks flying into the air.

"Oh, great, and now the wolf is here!" Roman barked out, turning the mech's gaze to the faunus.

Weiss suddenly leapt up from below, landing onto the highway with Myrtenaster high at the mech, her eyes meeting Rainier's for a split second.

The crime boss growled, turning towards her. "Fine!" He charged ahead, passed the faunus, Rainier already poised to take off after him- instead, the heiress simply plunged her rapier into the ground, a circle of ice covering the pavement. The mech lost its footing, falling through the air, over Weiss- then over the railing, tumbling to fall to the ground far below.

Rainier jogged up to where Weiss was standing at the railing. "Mind if join, my dear?"

She gave him an upturned glance. "You may. Just don't get in the way of any of our team attacks."

"Dear Miss Schnee, I'm hurt! I am an excellent dancer!"

"We'll see about that." With that, the Atlesian leapt from the highway, falling after the mech and where the rest of her team was waiting below.

Rainier moved to follow after her- before stalling with a frown, looking back up towards the way they had come. He caught the deep red of Phalanx, the white of Daria- and an unfamiliar golden blur dancing around the duo with ease.

He hissed in a breath. "Bollocks." Without a second thought, he turned on his heel, racing back up the road to his teammates.

Vegas swung down hard at Daria, narrowly missing as the diminutive leader scrambled away, ringblades held up to defend herself. The criminal went for another wild slash, but feinted at the last moment, leaping up and to the side as Phalanx came crashing down next to him, the pavement shattering under the mech's fist. Gold shot back with a wide swipe, glowing blade carving a distressingly deep gash into the red armor. A surprised smile claimed his face as he hit the ground rolling, looking at the two huntsmen- Daria rising to her feet, grimacing at her opponent, while Nash simply turned his head and looked down at the wound in surprise.

"Look at you two!" He laughed out. "Just a couple of odd ducks. Not made of the sternest stuff, huh, little man?"

Phalanx growled, moving to take a step forwards. Daria, though, raised a hand, getting him to stop. "Who the hell are you, and why are you attacking us?!"

The killer sighed, a hand going to his heart. "That's refreshing, I'm not gonna lie. Not many people ask who I am... they mostly stop at why."

"Oh I hate you so much."

He shrugged. "Truthfully, I could be more upset about it. You two, after all, aren't gonna live more than a couple minutes, so digest that as you will," With that, Vegas began marching forwards again, taking his time. Then he stopped, golden eyes going wide. "What the f-"

He wasn't give a chance to finish the thought as a silver blur shot from between the two huntsman, colliding with the killer, a cannon shot sending him flying away. Rainier hit the ground, sparks flying into the air, yellow eyes meeting gold as he scowled. "Do we know this man?"

"No clue." Daria muttered.

"Good. Then no one will mind if I rough him up a little, no?"

"Knock yourself out, dude."

Rainier charged forwards, Phalanx falling behind him, and Daria further back, the trio racing towards the snarling killer. Gold raised his blade up at the last moment, silver metal sliding across gold as the faunus went flying passed, hitting the ground and turning on his heel. Phalanx took the chance to throw a heavy punch, missing as the criminal leapt into the air, planting his boots onto the mech's massive shoulders, pushing off, Dragon's Fang aimed towards Daria as he fell.

He didn't make it, though, a massive hand gripping his ankle and bringing him crashing back into the ground, the pavement shattering under the blow. Rainier was to his side in a heartbeat, leaping up and spinning, silver claws coming down hard onto the killer's back, the asphalt further spider-webbing under impact. Phalanx ripped him back up into the air, tossing him back the way they'd came.

The body of the killer nearly impacted Daria, only missing as she leapt into the air, letting him slide beneath her- and then struck out with both boots, crushing him between her and the highway. She herself, though, lost her balance, stumbling as she returned to the ground.

Vegas took the opportunity to scramble to his feet, tackling the much smaller girl to the ground, pinning her under his weight. He turned furious golden eyes back up to the two approaching huntsman, his blade aimed directly towards her sternum. "I'D STOP THERE," He roared. "UNLESS YOU WANNA SEE HOW WELL DRAGON'S FANG CUTS THROUGH AURA!"

The duo skid to a stop, Rainier's eyes locking onto Daria's. He gave her a tiny shrug- before jolting in surprise. "My friend!" The faunus called out, beginning to saunter forwards. "Perhaps there has been a mistake-"

"Oh, no mistake!" Vegas snapped back. "I'm killin' you all, one way or another!"

"Perhaps that was the mistake!" The Vacuoan gasped in realization.

That made the killer hesitate, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Then a great arrow collided with his side, encasing his entire left side in ice. He let out a cry as went tumbling from Daria, the impact shattering the ice, but leaving his off-arm trembling in coldness.

He looked passed the recovering huntress, the short girl sucking in a breath as her Infinitas shot back to her hands, glaring furiously at her opponent. Further down the highway, looking equally incensed, was Gail; greatbow planted into the pavement, another hulking arrow nocked, this time glowing orange. Daria, recovered, held her blades out at him, pulsating earnestly with green energy.

"It's like you guys multiply," Vegas hissed, looking around at Team DRGN surrounding him. He rolled his eyes as he cautiously rose to his feet. He let out a bitter laugh, leaning against the railing. "You think they're done then- ohp! Another one shows up. Fine! Sorry, kids, you'll have to see that trick next time!"

Then he plummeted off of the highway. The four huntsmen all rushed to the railing, peering down to the ground far below.

Nothing.

Rainier, Gail, and Nash rushed to Daria's side, the former putting his hands on her shoulders. "Are you alright, Dearest Daria?"

She rubbed the spot on her chest Dragon's Fang had touched soothingly, frowning to herself. "I would have been fine. Guy had barely touched me before that."

"I... right. Nash? Are you alright?"

There was a beat of silence, before- the boy's head replaced Phalanx's. "THAT WAS AWESOME!"

The other three stared at him in various states of awe.

"Yeah, that sums up my day." Daria muttered, sourly stomping away from her teammates, returning her blades to their hooks.

"So, golden dude with a glowing sword." Yang summed up.

"And garbage references to boot." Daria finished.

"Ouch."

The two teams were gathered back in Team RWBY's dorm room, lazily- and tiredly- lounging around in different states.

"And I didn't lose!" The short girl snapped. "It was just a moment of confusion."

"No one said that you lost..." Ruby muttered.

"You're not helping!"

"Gah why are you always yelling?!"

"And whattabout you guys?" Nash asked, spinning in his appropriated office chair. "Didya get robo-guy?"

Yang sighed. "Nah. He got away. And a new sidekick."

"Ooh new villains!" All eyes turned to the boy. "Wha? Love a good villain faction."

"Nash, these villains are trying to kill us." Daria offered softly.

"Oh, pssh, we're good. We're practically gods!"

"Top ten words said before disaster." Ruby said quietly.

"You need to be more serious about this," Blake prodded, leaning towards Nash. "These are dangerous people."

"Uh huh."

"You're not even listening to me."

"Yes I am."

The faunus shook her head tiredly, turning away from the boy.

Gail leaned forwards, nudging Rainier to get his attention. "You... didn't see the guy? At the docks, I mean?"

The Vacuoan shook his head. "Not a sight. But, perhaps- Miss Belladonna, how about you? You were there longer than I was, after all."

"I didn't see him." The girl in question muttered, turning mistrustful eyes to her fellow faunus.

"A shame."

"Uh..." Ruby said, eyes shifting back and forth between the two huntsmen. "Hey, how 'bout that pun Weiss made?!"

"Oh gods." Yang muttered.

"I tried, okay?!" The heiress snapped, hitting her fists against her legs. "It was a decent pun!"

"No," The blonde shot back. "It wasn't! I've heard Oracle make better puns than that!"

"What was the pun, exactly?" Rainier asked, turning away from Blake.

"Well!" The heiress began, straightening up. "When he got away- he had his minion and one of them created some sort of illusion that shattered when Yang hit it. And I said-"

"'Well that sure made our plan fall apart!'" Ruby called out in falsetto.

"When you say it like that it sounds terrible!"

Rainier slowly turned from the duo to his own leader. "Dearest Daria, I think it's time we left."

She snickered. "Oh come on-"

"No we need to go, right now, immediately."

Nash frowned. "I don't get it."

"I'll tell you when you're older."

Shinai closed his eyes, hand wrapped around his blade's handle, other hand held up in front of him as he focused.

His opponent grit his teeth together, battleaxe held in a white knuckle grip, skirting around the side of the platform, eyes locked onto the samurai. Shinai rose slightly, his blade held backwards, parallel with his arm. The other boy looked off to the side, where Goodwitch was watching interestedly.

The samurai lifted his free hand, and gestured for his opponent to come to him.

The boy scowled, but charged forwards nonetheless, battleaxe raised high into the air, swinging it down with as much force as he could muster. Predictably, Shinai sidestepped the slower huntsman, swiping across his back, before twirling Shi En in his hand, taking two quick swipes at the boy's legs, before kicking his foot out from under him, taking a hard step forwards, throwing his weight into the larger warrior's.

The force of the tackle sent his opponent hurtling away, tumbling across the ground. He rolled back to his feet, charging forwards again in frustration. His axe swung through the air, missing as the samurai leapt vertically, one boot planted on the steel axehead, the other striking out to catch the bigger huntsman under the jaw, sending him stumbling away, free hand flying to his face.

Shinai hit the ground in a roll, springing forwards and going on the offensive, a flurry of swipes striking out with lightning fast precision against his opponent, almost sending him off of the stage entirely. The samurai's hand struck out, catching his opponent by his loose shirt, pulling him back towards the safety of the stage- before immediately striking out with the butt of his katana, sending the boy crashing into the ground. The Temple huntsman held Shi En across the back of his opponent's neck, a single eyebrow raised in silent questioning.

The other huntsman groaned, dropping his axe. "I yield."

"And, match." Goodwitch called out, the lights rising again. Shinai's eyes rose to the display high above, to the boy's dark orange aura bar; and his own brilliant green bar. The students in the stands applauded the two huntsmen as the samurai helped his opponent to his feet, giving him a small bow.

"You did well."

The other huntsman snorted. "Yeah. Sure."

"You rushed in when you should have been cautious, despite knowing that I was faster than you. You let your anger get the better of you and made stupid mistakes. Being foolhardy isn't the same as being courageous."

The boy frowned for a moment, preparing at retort... before his face fell, the advice mulling over in his mind. Instead, he simply sighed, and copied the samurai's gesture in a small bow, before marching from the stage.

"Well done, Mr. Kyani," Goodwitch praised, stepping up to join the samurai. "And Mr. Bulwark, you'd be wise to take his words to heart. Considering the length of that last match; would you like another round? Or would you rather let someone else shine."

Shinai thought it over for a moment, before bowing his head. "If you'd like me to, I'm more than willing to have another fight."

"Very well then," She turned her gaze to the crowd. "Do we have any other volunteers?"

The other students didn't make a single sound, not a soul moving.

"Very well. Then I suppose I'll have to choose an opponent," She continued to scan the crowd, before crossing her arms, shifting her weight onto one leg. "Mr. Platina!"

The students around the faunus all jolted, turning to look at him in anticipation. The Vacuoan himself hardly reacted, pale yellow eyes locked onto the stage's inhabitants.

"I'm certain you're raring for another fight with Shinai; your last fight certainly dazzled."

Daria leaned forwards, giving her friend a raised eyebrow, small, coy smile planted on her face.

"No."

The short leader of DRGN blinked, the word taking a moment to process in her mind.

Rainier, though, had never turned from Shinai and Goodwitch, crossing his arms and kicking his feet up onto the bannister.

"Are you certain?" Goodwitch asked curiously, head cocked to the side.

"Always." The word was growled between grit teeth, the faunus' hands subconsciously tightening into fists.

Daria pulled on his sleeve, leaning forwards. "I didn't think you turned down challenges."

He said nothing.

"Alright then," Goodwitch said, scanning the crowd again. "Ah, Ms. Kassandra, you've impressed lately. Would you like to have a round with Mr. Kyani?"

"I- uh- sure. Why not. What's the worst that can happen." A girl muttered as she rose from her feet, making her way down to the stage.

Shinai, however, never took his eyes off of Rainier, narrowed in confusion.

Rainier himself, never looked away either, face carefully blank as he chewed on nothing more than a thought, ignoring the looks of those around him.