"Hello Beacon~!" Nora yelled as she hopped off the Bullhead, she was of course shouting into the air, there was no one but team JNPR and RWBY to hear her.

Ren smiled at his team leader.

"Well at least you didn't throw up this time. That's a good thing right?"

Jaune sank to his knees. "Ugh!"

"I'll take that as a no."

Weiss looked around at the hanger and hummed.

"You would think we would have someone here to greet us… although I suppose we did arrive back earlier than expected. You did send them a message ahead of time didn't you Ruby?"

"Yep," She said, hopping off from the airship. "But the CCT signal's kinda bad everywhere but Vale so it might've been delayed."

The Heiress shrugged as if to concede the point before looking at Jaune – still suffering on the ground – and sighed.

"One moment you're a competent strategist and the next you're a quivering mess. It's unbelievable."

"Gurgle!" was the only response she got.

Blake and Yang brought up the rear as the Bullhead took off again, probably back to storage or wherever the school airships went when they weren't in use.

The Faunus eyed her surroundings nervously as she fidgeted. Yang noticed and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax kitten. There's nobody here. You know you don't have to parade yourself around straight away. We could go back to our room if you want first."

"While I agree with you having some peace we still have something to do," Weiss said. "Namely reporting our mission to the Headmaster."

Ruby shook her head. "Nah, that's something only the team leaders need to do," she glanced at Jaune, who had finally managed to stand. An idea came to her. "Why don't I go for both of us?" she suggested to the members of team JNPR.

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? That might be a hassle for you."

"We went on the same mission, I doubt Ozpins looking for two sides of the story in this."

"That's Headmaster Ozpin!" Weiss hedged. "Honestly, I would imagine you would show some respect to your teachers."

"Sorry Weiss." Ruby laughed, scraping the back of her head in a way to show that she wasn't really sorry.

Her partner chose to ignore it.

"Go on then. I expect you to be back before lunch begins though!"

Ruby grinned and sprinted off, waving one arm in their direction as she left. In her other she pulled out her scroll and sent a message to the Headmaster to meet her up in his office. Knowing him he wasn't even there, probably dumping all his actual work on Miss Goodwitch as she wandered around.

Minutes later and a relaxing elevator ride later Ruby stepped into his office. He was sitting behind his desk with a mug of coffee in his hands. What was strange about this image was Amber lying on the floor and a layer of sweat drenching her. Her heavy panting let Ruby know she'd been doing something physically exhausting not too long ago.

"What happened to you?" she asked as she took the seat across from the older man.

The Fall Maiden's response was choking and wheezing, so the Headmaster answers for her.

"I was simply putting Miss Autumn through some… practical lessons. We were in the middle of them when I received your most recent text."

Ruby giggled. "You put her through the 'pain and gain' training? I think Uncle Qrow's rubbing off on you Headmaster."

The man did not refute the accusation, simply raising his much slightly before taking a sip.

"Now then," he said once he had finished. "What is it you wanted to speak to me about Miss Rose?"

The reaper smiled sweetly.

"I think you know… Oz."

And like that the atmosphere changed. Or at least the people in it did. It was not Headmaster and pupil speaking any longer… but a warrior and a wizard.

"When were you going to tell me my teammate was a part of the White Fang?"

He did not react in any noticeable way, not through facial expressions at least. But he did lower his mug to look directly at Ruby.

"It came up in the mission I assume."

"It came up," Ruby agreed. "There was an… argument between Weiss and Blake but we sorted it out."

"Meaning…?"

She sighed. "People were shooting at us and a few of us almost died, we completed the mission and none of the civilians even knew there was so much danger. But enough of that," she leaned forward. "You still haven't answered my question."

Ozpin wore a look on his face that Ruby knew well; it was the look he made when he was contemplation whether or not to tell her something. He was like that, Ruby had been out of the loop a few times before because of it.

Then instead of answering with words he reached into the drawer at the bottom left of his desk. He reached in and pulled out a bundle of files before politely handing them to the reaper. Still he didn't say a word.

Ruby looked between him and the files for a second before curiosity won out. She was a little surprised at what she saw:

It was a list of seven people; their names written on tabs at the side.

Weiss, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren and Jaune. She flicked through them. They were basic enough; a short bio, a little bit about their skills and personality early in the year. And then she got to Jaune's.

"Ozpin!" she hissed.

The silver-eyed girl's eyes were wide, yet the older man said nothing.

"You're telling me that he faked his way into Beacon?! He forged his transcripts and you knew? Does Glynda know?"

He shook his head. "She does not," he confirmed. "It would hardly do to give the young man unfair treatment by making Miss Goodwitch think he's not up to par with the rest of the students."

"He's not!" she cried.

"Now Miss Rose," he admonished. "Surely you don't expect me to take away an aspiring huntsmans dream just because of his records."

"I do actually," she bit back. "You want the best of the best here at Beacon. You took Jaune on; a guy with no combat training or huntsman education at all and even made him the leader of his team!" she shook her head in disbelief. "That makes zero sense! What crazy reason could you have for…"

She trailed off, freezing in place as her eyes widened even further. Her next words came out in a whisper.

"You can't be serious."

"I am. Completely."

"No Oz. We can't just trust it because of… You know it's not…" She couldn't finish. Amber finally interjected.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked. She tanned skin was flushed with a red tint and her breath was heavy, but finally at the right speed. She scratched the scars on her face as she looked between them.

The headmaster raised an eyebrow.

Ruby scoffed. "You're the teacher, you tell her." She sniped bitterly.

He sighed.

"It is a… long story Miss Autumn. As I explained to you in our recent lessons, millennia ago two Gods walked the surface of Remnant. They were the two brothers, one of light and the other of darkness." He took a sip of coffee. "For years they governed their new creations; Animals, Grimm, Faunus and Humans and for a time the world stayed still… stagnant" He paused. "For some reason, they left. One day, they simply abandoned Remnant… but not before leaving behind the relics."

He nodded to the Fall Maiden. "You are already aware of the one in this school, and you know that by collecting all four the user could do anything they wanted. Any wish, any desire would be fulfilled… that is a dangerous thing to have. If one wished it so they could control the minds of every living creature on the planet."

He stood now, turning towards the window and looking out as the two girls listened silently.

"The Gods knew this. And while it seemed they would leave us to such a fate they created one contingency plan… the Gods… I do not know where they came from, but where ever it was had its own stories and legends. Great and terrible ones that inspired awe and wonder. So when they left they created… templates: People that would be born to reference these stories and legends… and they, are completely immune to the effects of the relics. They are called… Avatars.

He turned back to them.

"Every few generations a few of these avatars will appear. Sometimes just one or two, or perhaps even four or five. The most that have ever appeared in history is eleven. Not only are they free from the relics control they also have a power they might never realise. It is called an… awakening of sorts in which they reach towards the Gods themselves. I've seen it once or twice and it is truly a sight to behold."

He voice became grave. "However there is also a cost. The avatars are intertwined with destiny in a way no one else is. They grasp it, toy with it and can either embrace it or reject it fully based on their actions. Sometimes it is things practically unnoticeable." He motioned to Ruby.

"Miss Rose is one such Avatar; her origin is based on a fairy tale called 'Little Red Riding Hood' the first parallel is obvious simply by looking at her attire."

Ruby clutched her red cloak tight around her.

He went on.

"Other times they have more… tedious factors: Like for instance, Miss Rose is the most likely to be targeted by a Beowolf, even if there are many other people – perhaps even easier targets – around her. With years of research one could find out so many things about an Avatar; from a legend they could learn their feats, their strengths, Weaknesses and sometimes their hopes and fears. Of course as I said they are not bound by these things and can quite easily leave them behind if they are aware of who they are. But if it is kept from them they might… gravitate towards their stories."

He looked down at the file.

"And perhaps even suffer for it… Honestly I don't know if it is from my own acts or what the work of the Gods have set for me but this is the first opportunity of its time."

Ruby bit her lip.

"How many?"

"What was that?" the headmaster asked.

"How. Many. Of. Them. Are. Avatars."

"Out of the ones in these files…"He hesitated and looked to the side.

"All of them."

The hiss that passed between Ruby's teeth was audible in the otherwise quiet room, but Ozpin pressed on as he listed them in a cold tone. Like they were just statistics.

"Weiss Schnee: Snow White. Blake Belladonna: Bella. Yang Xiao-Long: Goldilocks. Pyrrha Nikos: Achilles. Nora Valkyrie: Thor. Lie Ren: Mulan… and Jaune Arc: Joan of Arc."

The girl fell back into her seat. "That's why you accepted him… right? Because his story involves a girl who started from nothing, and became a legend."

The white-haired man intertwined his fingers. "Correct. Ironically it seems every member of team JNPR is the opposite gender of their origin. Although in each case there is a point where they pretended to be the other sex. You know them don't you? Achilles once called himself-"

"Pyrrha." Ruby growled. "I know all this Ozpin. Don't forget that I read them too."

Amber eyes shifted between the two figures. "What do uh… what do you mean by 'read' them. If they were written down then people would know about them surely. I mean…" the Maiden flailed her hands uselessly. "Come on."

Oz sighed, getting further into his teaching role.

"There is a… not quite a place – for it can't be accessed physically – that holds the legends and fairy tales of the two brothers. It can only be accessed by someone who has come into contact with the Gods. That should have meant they disappeared a few generations after the Gods vanished… but I remained. And so I have access to them, and by proxy, anyone I am in contact with can enter. It is called the Odyssium… or at least it was by its scholars."

He looked at Ruby.

"Miss Rose spent a large portion of her years scouring this library. Reading every book, every tome and every page she could… and while she is by no means finished her journey through it, she knows perhaps as much as I could possibly teach her. Definitely enough to recognise an Avatar by their name."

"And that's why you didn't want Yang involved." Ruby said in a low voice, and when the Headmaster stopped she looked up at him. "You made sure to keep my sister away so that Raven wouldn't realise her daughter was an Avatar."

"If she did then she might make a move for the relic. They are invaluable assets."

"You promised."

Silence. A thick, heavy silence that chocked the air only interrupted by the gears of the tower ticking slowly.

"Ruby-"

"You promised me you wouldn't rely on the Avatars!" she howled, shooting to her feet. Amber recoiled from the aura rolling off her protector. Ozpin was not fazed, or at least if he was he didn't show it.

"Ruby… You know as well as I do how important the Avatars are. No matter what time, what age they appear in they are always at the centre of great change. When eleven Avatars converged it was nearly eighty years ago… and Remnant was engulfed in the Great War. We need them Miss Rose."

"Yeah, and when you make a move with them things go wrong," she disputed. "You 'eyes' are just based off of Odin's legend as his birds. But when you used them too much Raven abandoned you and I took her place years later. I already knew there were an above-average number of Avatars; that was clear when you let Sienna Khan go unsupervised, and what happened? She's the leader of a terrorist group."

He sighed. "Yes, you are right. In these cases I have made miscalculations in-"

"And let's not forget the most important one." The reaper growled. Oz stilled.

"Miss Rose." He whispered.

"I mean it's probably one of your bigger mistakes."

"Ruby." He said, louder this time.

"Who did it involve again? Oh yeah, my mom-"

"ENOUGH!" The wizard thundered. Energy crackled around him as his eyes lit ablaze… but all that stared back was cold silver. When Ruby continued it was in a bland tone.

"You thought that because her Origin was Dorothy she'd be able to kill Salem; The Wicked Witch of the West. To you it probably made sense that it was the perfect time… There was you, the Goodwitch, the Tin Man, The Lion and the ScareCrow."

She let out a breath she was holding… the Headmaster did the same.

"Except she went alone, fought alone… and died alone." She looked him straight in the eye. "All because you though her being an Avatar, The perfect Avatar to counter Salem that she would win. And when she didn't I lost my mom. So you tell me Ozpin, are they so valuable that you'd risk their lives, and the lives of the people around them like you're doing with Jaune?"

"…I am."

The last Rose looked down at the file again. "How can you be sure that it's even him?"

"A number of reasons really… His name would not be enough evidence on his own but the fact that he, a civilian with no training was brave enough to try to enrol, not to mention seems to have a natural ability for strategy I believed it so… however the most damning piece was that he seems to be having trouble with one student by the name of Cardin Winchester. Who is opposed to him for seemingly no reason."

The slow nod that came from Ruby was confirming. "The Cardinal of Winchester," she said. "He's the one that orders Joan of Arcs execution."

"Indeed. While Cardin is unlikely to be an Avatar himself his character is integral to her story and so it was this little tidbit of information that confirmed my suspicions."

Ruby said nothing for a moment, before letting out a breath, and standing up.

"I'm going back to see my team… you'll find my report for our mission on the database by this evening. Thank you for speaking to me Headmaster." She turned to leave and the elevator opened but before she could step in the man called out to her.

"Do you still blame me for Summers death?"

She didn't turn round, at least not fully; the side of her face just visible as she pulled up her hood.

"Yes."

And the doors closed shut behind her.

…

…

Yang watched as her partner's eyes flitted left to right nervously and felt the urge to say something, but thought better of it. it looked like at any moment she might jump out of her skin. It was at least a little easier to see how she felt; her ears twitching at every sound was helpful.

They were in the cafeteria, having changed back into their uniforms and gotten ready to eat. (Yang had thrown her clothes in the wash, pungent with the smell of sweat, grime and dust powder it was a wonder her team hadn't said that might be because they were in the same boat.)

Blake had kept her end of the bargain and discarded the bow, allowing her Faunus traits to be seen by the world.

And it was drawing stares.

Not everyone of course, this was still a place filled with teenagers and while many might be interested there were still a lot that just didn't care to look or didn't want to get involved. One group however was the most obvious:

Team CRDL. The four of them had zeroed in on Blake the moment she walked into the hall and had begun sneering at them. Their looks normally wouldn't have been of any concern to Yang but her partner was already skittish as it was.

Weiss had noticed it too and so the two of them had flanked their dark-haired teammate as a way of offering their bodies as shields. It worked to some extent: Yang had a way of drawing attention from other people and Weiss' cold glared silenced most people.

Fortunately team JNPR was like an island in the sea of eyes, Nora having seen them earlier and loudly waved them over to their table.

There were still a few scowls and stares but most of it died down as they sat. Pyrrha sent a kind smile their way.

"So did you get everything with the Headmaster sorted out?" the red-head asked.

Weiss nodded. "Ruby just sent a message on her scroll moments ago, she said she would be meeting us here soon."

Nora grinned. "So how do ya feel? We're the first teams this year to do any missions an I think we did pretty awesome."

"Honestly I am quite pleased," Weiss said. "Despite the… complications faced due to my recklessness I think we should all be proud of what we have accomplished in such a short ti-"

"Not that silly," Nora laughed. "I'm talking about how fun it was to kick so butt!"

Ren rolled his eyes and smiled even as the Heiress sighed and Yang snickered.

"Well I think it was awesome," the brawler smiled. "Got my blood pumpin' and everything."

"Of course a barbarian like you would enjoy getting shot at."

"What was that Ice-Queen?" Yang said with a predatory smirk which was received with a scowl.

"Only that your joy for the face we fought against a numerically superior force fits the description of a common brute Xiao-Long!"

"Aww~" Yang cooed. "You care about me! Isn't that sweet."

Weiss shot her a look. "What part of that gave anything to suggest I cared about you? I would sooner feed my hand to a Grimm than bond with you."

"Well I think I'd give a leg to be your bestie Weiss-cream. Wouldn't you Blake?"

The Heiress spluttered indignantly at the pun as Yang laughed. The others of course groaned.

Apart from Blake. She could see clearly that the whole thing was meant as a sort of joke. Their voices held no venom. And it made her smile at their antics. It was nice.

That was until she heard a cruel bark of laughter from a few tables away.

The others heard it too judging by the way they stopped what they were doing to see the source. It didn't help that the rest of the cafeteria had done the same.

Yang frowned, her cheery demeanour waning a little. "What's so funny Winchester?"

That's right, Blake thought. Wasn't he one of the other first-years to graduate? Wait, yeah she'd heard him talk in Oobleck's history class before they'd left for their mission. His team had gone to Forever fall hadn't they?

She supposed she should have said hello to him at some point at least to politely introduce herself but right now from the way he was sitting – back leaning against his table, arms splayed wide and head held high so that he looked down at them – that didn't seem so appealing. He looked the picture of arrogance.

When he spoke, Blake's eyes twitched on the top of her head at the condescending tone in his voice.

"Oh nothing. I just thought it was funny that you asked the opinion of an animal on something like friendship."

Before Blake could even think about shrinking in on herself or responding in some way to defend herself Yang growled.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?"

He didn't look fazed. "I'm saying that Faunus probably don't understand things like that. They're not intelligent enough… well, they might understand companionship, like a dog."

Yang and Weiss were on their feet in an instant. The Schnee Heiress was sending the coldest glare she could muster at the teen, and her hand's twitched as she reached for Myrtnaster, which wasn't at her side.

The blonde brawler didn't have need for something like that and marched over to Cardin with her fiery fury until she was centimetres from his face, growling up at him menacingly.

"You' trying to start a fight Winchester? Cause' I'll give you one if you don't watch your mouth."

He smirked. "Go ahead, I can take you no problem."

Yang bared her teeth and raised a fist, fully intending to deliver a right hook right to the punk's jaw.

Only for someone to intervene.

"Alright that's enough Yang."

Everyone paused at the appearance of Ruby, how stood at the side of the two teens with a placating smile on her face. Or it would have, if the feeling of dread hadn't come over Yang when she looked at that smile.

Her sister went on.

"There's no point in getting into a fight here. We'll all just get into trouble for it. Maybe settle things in a sparring match? Come on Yang, we were going to relax after our mission right?"

The blonde didn't miss the way she emphasised the word 'mission' and despite the anger she was feeling towards the guy in front of her she let out a breath.

"Yeah, ok." She said, turning back to her friends and moving to sit down. That would have been the end of it were it not for the fact that Cardin just had to get the last word in.

"Oh what's that?" he called out loud enough that the whole hall could hear him. "looks to me like the freak lovers are cowards too. What? Afraid I'll beat you?"

Before Yang could respond with an insult of her own her sister spun around and shot him that same smile, although now it had a bit more teeth in it.

"Oh we'd never worry ourselves about that… by the way, what's with the bandages on your arm for?"

The leader of team CRDL flinched back and cradled his right arm, attempting to hide the evidence as people turned to look. Yang just caught sight of the wrapping under his sleeve. "How did you-"

"Where could you have gotten something like that though? Oh, wait, weren't you and your team taken to Forever fall while we went on our mission? But there should only be some lesser Grimm around there… don't tell me someone as strong as you got hurt there."

His face flushed red.

"Why you little-"

"Nah! That couldn't be it. silly me. Anyway, we'll just go back to our table now. We wouldn't want to bother you with the mission that the teachers sent us on. See you Cardin."

And while turning her back to him and shutting down any retort he had, Ruby also succeeded in turning the laughter his way.

When she sat down a few of her friend were smiling, particularly Blake, who just looked happy that her teammates had defended her. Weiss actually gave her leader an impressed look. She smiled back at her, but when she did Weiss suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong Ruby? You look… drained. Did something happen?"

"What? Oh no it's nothing," she lied easily while smiling again. "Just that all the stuff we've been doing recently's finally caught up with me. I think I need some time to relax."

Her partner hummed before snapping her fingers.

"Why don't the four of us go into Vale tomorrow? I'm sure it has plenty of places to do just that."

"That sounds fun," Yang grinned. "What about you Blake, feeling up to it?"

The Faunus thought for a moment. "I suppose there are a few things I could pick up while we're there if that's alright."

"Okay then." Ruby agreed. "We can go into Vale tomorrow." She turned to Jaune.

"What about you guys, do you have anything planned?"

The boy shrugged. "We were thinking of just heading to the training rooms. Pyrrha was saying I should get some more practice in."

Weiss hummed.

"Perhaps. I'll admit I was fairly impressed with your planning on such a tense situation."

He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed but pleased with the compliment.

"Yeah, but when it came to the fighting I might have relied on Pyrrha a little too much."

The champion smiled as she laid a hand on him reassuringly.

"It's fine Jaune. Besides with help we can all work to improve."

"And me and Ren will help!" Nora boomed. "We can join in on the fights, what do ya' say Renny?"

"That… sound's good." Apparently not, judging by the haunted look that had appeared on the quiet boys face. Truly, the thought of fighting Nora even in a spare was a terrifying one.

The electric teen didn't notice the look (Or maybe she did, just choosing to ignore it) and smiled. Everyone else at the table eventually did too and when lunch had ended the two teams waved goodbye to each other.

There was a pleasant enough mood when team RWBY made it back to their rooms, relaxed enough that when Yang leapt up to her bunk Weiss didn't comment on how she'd messed up perfectly good sheets.

Instead she sat down at the desk next to the door and pulled out a textbook of some sort, seemingly zoning in right away. Blake sat on her own bed and pulled out a book of her own to read. Eventually Yang turned to one of the walls, pressing a button with her scroll. (Recently Beacon had added TV projector to students rooms, they'd gotten a… budget rise of sorts from the council) It flicked on with a noise as it created light in the now dimmed room.

Blake hesitated as the sound of the TV filled the room. It wasn't too loud, so at least Yang was being thoughtful enough in that regard but there was something she felt she needed to say.

"Hey… guys?"

"Yeah?"

"Yes?"

"What is it?"

Her ears flattened against her head as she coughed into her fist to mask a flash of embarrassment.

"I just wanted to say thank you, for…you know, standing up for me in the cafeteria earlier." She looked away. "I've… never had people that weren't Faunus stand up for me about things like that."

Weiss raised her head a little higher, whether she was preening over the thanks or just feeling superior over it was unclear, but either way she just shrugged as if to say 'it was no problem', Yang was the vocal one of the trio.

"Aw, don't sweat it Kitten. I for one was just lookin' after my partner. Although maybe punching him would've caused more problems than he was worth."

A small smile tugged at the dark-haired girl's lips.

"I would have bee fine seeing that."

"Oh~ feisty, I like it!" Yang laughed.

The banter between partners went back and forth a bit more, and after a few moments Ruby decided to leave them to it, instead taking an interest in whatever book Weiss was looking over. The Heiress jumped a little in surprise as rose petals fell onto the surface of the desk.

"Whatcha reading?" the younger girl asked innocently, bent over slightly to read over her own partner's shoulder, arms behind her back and eyes curious. A look passed over Weiss' face before she shook her head and answered the girl.

"It's study notes; my sister sent them to me a few days ago and I just recently received them."

Ruby looked sceptically at the 'study notes'. It was a textbook, plain and simple and from the look of it, well over three hundred pages. She said as much to Weiss but instead of looking embarrassed she nodded as if it was completely normal.

"Yes," she said. "My sister was very keen on helping me succeed here, so she had one of the most detailed collections of material compiled for me."

The reaper nodded slowly, deciding to accept it for now.

"So what are you looking over right now?"

Weiss brushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she spoke, her eyes trailing the pages.

"Well… at the moment I'm going over dust – yes, as a Schnee I am already well versed in what dust is – but even I have much to learn about its practical capabilities. What do you know of dust Ruby?"

"Oh, you know," She said with a half-shrug. "Just what I need to I guess: I know it can come in crystals and powders. And that it's used to power pretty much everything on Remnant. But uh… must of the stuff I know is around… well, weapons."

"I see," Weiss smiled. "Well that is not an insubstantial amount – and I did expect the bit about weapons – there is still a lot more to know. Right now I'm going over how a person can use it: the author talks about dust ammunition, dust crystals and powders that can be activated with aura and… well…"

Weiss' frowned in thought. "I'm not sure what to think of the last method."

"What is it?" the younger girl asked, finally pulling up a seat to get more comfortable beside Weiss.

"It says here that if a person chooses that can infuse dust with their very body… this way that have a near-infinite supply of dust, so long as they take into account that it will substitute their energy for their semblances. A balancing act of sorts."

"That sounds cool," Ruby murmured. "But there's a catch right?"

"There is," she confirmed. "The infusion is a dangerous procedure, one that can kill the participant if they are not careful. Not only that but it is a permanent act. Once the dust has been melded with a person there is no reversing it and such things mean that the side effects are a major part of their lives from then onward."

"And those side effects?"

Wiess sighed. "When the person infused with dust reaches a high emotional level dust crystals will begin to form on their skin, leaving them highly volatile and a danger to the people around them. Also, like I said before it is a taxing thing on a person semblance, without proper training it could lead to serious harm… there are other drawbacks as well as advantages but the whole idea just seems… archaic to me. Why would someone put themselves at such risk when other methods are safer."

"I'm not sure," Ruby whispered. "But I think that when people feel it's the only way to get stronger they'll do anything. I guess if it meant saving someones live a huntsman might be asked to do something like that."

Weiss looked like she thought about it for a moment.

"Maybe." She allowed. "I suppose I'll have to read into it a bit more to form an opinion."

Ruby was about to respond when Yang called out to them.

"Hey guys take a look at this." She said, pointing to the projection on the wall. Blake was already sitting forwards, her face in rapt attention.

It was a person – a Faunus, judging by the tiger ears – standing on a podium with microphones pointed at her face. The woman was definitely a striking figure: her skin was a dark shade, that was brought out by the red bindi on her forehead. Her eyes were sharp, bright and focused, a dark gold that suggested drive behind them. Not to mention her outfit, Mistrialian in design was as stunning as it was well crafted. Showing off her tattoos and muscles on her arms.

At once many people would recognise this figure, but the name flashing at the bottom of the screen told viewers anyway:

Sienna Khan. The leader of the White Fang organisation.

"Why is that woman on the news?!" Wiess squawked. The question went unanswered by her team. A voice could be heard over the footage.

"Good evening people of Vale. This is Lisa Lavander here with the story. This morning at ten-fifteen Sienna Khan, Leader of the White Fang in Mistral accepted an interview from several reporting agencies. This is after months of denying such people. The change in attitudes was noticed by many people around the world and many were wondering just what would come from this."

The camera zoomed in on Sienna Khan's face.

"These were her words to the people."

And then suddenly there was a canopy of noise where team RWBY realised they'd cut to actual audio. There were dozens of voices, maybe even hundreds, clamouring and yelling over one another to have their questions heard. The tiger Faunus was fazed by none of it; her eyes roaming the crowds.

She raised a hand and everything went silent.

She didn't thank the reporters for coming, nor did she greet them r even acknowledge them in away way. Instead she stared at the cameras.

"I come here to deliver a message to the people of the world. To speak to the Faunus too afraid to stand, and the Humans that would listen: You know who I am. You what I lead. And you know what I will do to achieve my goals. I will not strain to repeat them…"

Her face hardened.

"What the people do not seem to know is what we stand for or who the warriors of the White Fang are!" she spread her arms wide. "I have heard the stories, how those in power wish to portray us: They dub us terrorists, Fanatics, rabid animals who need to be put down."

Weiss coughed into her fist and looked away. That was painfully close to what she had said directly to Blake not too long ago. The Faunus did not say although however, instead of resting a reassuring hand on the Heiresses back.

Sienna Khan was not finished.

"The White Fang is none of these things;" her voice got louder as she made a sweeping motion with her hands. "We are the defenders of the Faunus kind that have for too long been treated like the lesser species. We are the punishers of the fools that would harm our children with their vileness. We are the force of revolution for all of our people!"

The tiger woman bore into the cameras again.

"Which is why I have decided to assure the kingdoms of the world that while change is coming, they can survive the oncoming storm through their own efforts to fix the problems within themselves. This is not a request, but a demand." She leaned forward on the podium. "Whether they decide to follow it will decide their fates."

And with that the screen cut back to Lisa Lavander with a microphone in her hand.

"Strong words from a woman with such great influence on our will have to wait and see where this leads the White Fang, for now we'll keep you up to date with all the latest. My name is Lisa Lavender and this has been VNN."

It went on to talk about other stories but Yang had turned it down by then. The blonde glanced between her teammates. Ruby had climbed back into her bunk as Blake leaned against her bed. Only Weiss had not moved from her spot, a cold look on her face.

"Well, that's definitely a thing… wow, wasn't expecting that."

Weiss crossed her arms and glared at the wall.

"How could they even allow the White Fang a platform like that to speak?"

"Well they are an influential group," Blake answered hesitantly. "There are many Faunus who support their cause, and strangely enough some humans too despite the Fang's… stance against them. A group like that gets a lot of coverage because it brings in money for news agencies. Not to mention they can't silence their voices in case it's seen as outright bias."

The heiress huffed. "Well it certainly doesn't convince me. Not after being shot at by people she claims 'aren't terrorists'… we know first hand that she is spreading deceit."

"I wonder about that."

Weiss blinked in surprise.

"Blake?"

"I-it's nothing," she said. "I just think that… I'm not sure. Sienna Khan's an honest person, even if she's ruthless. For her to lie in front of some my people just seems… out of character."

Ruby tilted her head. "So… what do you think?"

"I'm not sure," the Faunas girl replied. "maybe it's nothing."

She didn't sound convinced.

"Well we can think about it later," Yang said, steering the conversation in a different direction. "What do you guys wanna go tomorrow? I'm up for anything."

Blake hummed, comfortable with moving onto saver areas of talk.

"There's a bookshop I want to visit in Vale if that's okay? I know the owner and have an order placed…" her ears twitched. "Weiss… is that a notepad?"

"Of course," the regal girl answer shamelessly with her head held high even as she scribbled down a list. "It is important to plan out all areas of an activity so that we may receive its whole benefit."

Yang burst out laughing a second later, rolling onto her side.

Weiss flushed, realising she'd done something to trigger it.

"What's so funny Xiao-Long?!"

It only made her laugh harder.

Ruby smiled atop her bunk as she watched her sister and partner go at it. She smiled even wider when Blake joined her on the top bed to avoid the chaos that was slowly building – mostly Weiss throwing pillows as the brawler – and sent her a wink.

Blake responded In kin, before flashing some lien.

Oh they were placing bets were they?

…

…

Ozpin gazed out his window to the courtyard below. His mug was strangely absent as his demeanour worried Professor Goodwitch.

"So what do you think then?" she asked him from the other side of the desk. She was careful to watch his face in the reflection.

"I cannot be certain… but I fear it is the start. We must keep a watchful eye to find the signs before it becomes an issue. For now however we have more pressing matters to attend to. James will be arriving soon will he not?"

The woman nodded, handing him the scrollpad in her arms.

"Yes, General Ironwood has decided to personally oversee the transport. It will be well guarded and should arrive in our hands without trouble."

"A comfort." The Headmaster said as he stared down at the screen in wonder.

"We must focus our resources on its research…"

The image was clear… and its contents dangerous.

"This black dust."

...

...