Chapter 15
"Finally! She speaks." Sun exclaimed, "Nearly two days and you've given me nothing but small talk and weird looks."
This earned him an angry look from Blake.
"Yeah, like that."
"Sun, are you familiar with the name, Theodore Constantine?" Blake asked, no longer angry.
"Are you kidding? I'm sure every Faunus on the planet knows that name!" Sun said, "A person who protects both humans and Faunus. A real hero in my book."
"That kid you said cornered you in the ally the other day…that was him."
This caused Sun to almost choke on his drink.
"Cough, cough. What?! I punched Vale's Hometown Hero?!" he asked, "Oh man! Every Faunus in the world is going to hate me for this!"
"Calm down." Blake said, "I'm sure he didn't take it seriously. Also, are you familiar with the White Fang?"
"Of course." Sun replied, his tone turning from fearful to serious, "I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet that hasn't heard about them. Stupid, holier than thou, creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks if you ask me."
"I was once a member of the White Fang." This revelation caused Sun to choke on his drink a second time.
"Wait a minute! You were a member of the White Fang?!"
"That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it. Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between humans and the Faunus. Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings, and so the White Fang rose up, as the voice of our people, and I was there. I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference, but I was just a youthful optimist.
"Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down and a new one took his place. A new leader with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. They were setting fire to shops that refused serve us. Hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor, and the worst part was it was working. We were being treated like equals, but not out of respect, out of fear.
"So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead I would dedicate my life to becoming a huntress. So, here I am. A criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little, black bow."
"So, have you told your friends any of this?"
Ruby and Yang were calling Blake's name while Theodore was using a telescope to search the rooftops. Since Blake was a cat Faunus, she would like to be in high places. Weiss was doing absolutely nothing to help and it was really starting to make Theodore mad. It seemed Ruby caught on to that as well. She stopped walking and turned to the heiress.
"Weiss, you're not helping." She said.
"Oh, you know who might be able to help?" Weiss asked, "The police."
"Weiss." Ruby growled.
"It was just an idea."
"Yeah, a bad one." Theodore added.
"Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." Yang suggested.
"I think when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right." Weiss said.
"I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today." Another voice said. This caused all for students to quickly turn with surprised looks on their faces. Theodore saw it was a girl Ruby's height. She had short, orange hair with a green bow on the back. Her eyes were a light, jade color. Her wardrobe consisted of a long sleeved white shirt with greyish overalls, in the form of a short dress, with green outlines on them. She had a black and green colored long collar on her neck. She looked to have black, green outlined jeans that nearly covered her black sneakers.
"AAAAH! Penny, where did you come from?!" Ruby asked after screaming. Theodore looked at the girl, named Penny, wondering if he missed something. He then realized he reunited with the girls, two days ago, after he lost track of the monkey Faunus. They must have run into her and he didn't get the chance to meet her.
"Hey guys." Penny said with a smile on her face. She then took notice of Theodore. "Who's your friend?"
"Hi. I'm Theodore Constantine." Theodore said, holding out his left hand for her to shake. Penny had a surprised look on her face before it turned to excitement. She immediately took his hand and started shaking it like crazy.
"OH, MY GOODNESS!" she squealed, "VALE'S HOMETOWN HERO! IT IS SUCH A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!"
"Pleasure to meet you too." Theodore replied while trying to keep his balance, "Now, could you please release my arm before it falls off?"
Penny immediately released his arm after hearing his request. Theodore checked to make sure nothing was broken. The girl had a strong grip, for someone so short.
"So, what are you guys up to?" Penny asked.
"Uhhhhh," Ruby said.
"We're looking for our friend, Blake." Yang said for her little sister.
"Ohhhh." Penny replied, "You mean the Faunus girl."
"Wait. How did you know that?" Ruby asked.
"Uh, the cat ears." Penny answered.
"What cat ears?" Yang asked, "She wears a…bow." Realization dawned on the three girls as to how Blake hid her heritage. Theodore already knew that secret. He just waited for them to finally say something after they figured it out.
"She does like tuna a lot." Ruby whispered to Yang.
"So, where is she?" Penny asked.
"That's the problem." Theodore answered, "We don't know."
"She's been missing since Friday." Ruby added.
"That's terrible." Penny said, walking up to the young huntress in training, "Well, don't you worry, Ruby, my friend. I won't rest until we find your teammate."
"Ah, that's really nice of you Penny, but we're- "
"We could actually use all the help we can get." Theodore interrupted.
"But Theodore- "Ruby tried to retort but saw that the other three were already gone.
"It sure is windy today." Penny said after five seconds of silence.
Blake and Sun walked down the streets of Vale wondering what to do. Well, it was Sun wondering what to do. Blake was just being silent, either not thinking of anything at all or figuring out how to apologize to Theodore for not listening to him.
"So, what the plan now?" Sun asked.
"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies." Blake finally voiced her thoughts, "They've never needed that much dust before."
"What if they did? I mean, the only way to prove that they didn't do it is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it and not find them there. Right?"
"The only thing is, I have no idea where that would be."
"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about off loading a huge shipment of dust coming in from Atlas."
"How huge?"
"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."
"You sure?"
Theodore waited outside for Weiss and Yang to exit the store. Yang was asking people around the city if they had seen Blake. Sadly, the search was coming out emptyhanded. So far, no one had seen her. When the two girls finally exited the store, Theodore could tell that they had gotten nothing, again.
"Thanks anyways." Yang said to the store owner as the door closed. The sad look on her face told Theodore everything. "This is hopeless." Yang then turned her attention to Weiss. "You really don't care if we find her, do you?"
"Don't be stupid." Weiss answered, "Of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her. The innocent never run Yang."
"Maybe she had no choice, Weiss." Theodore said, "Blake was probably afraid that only I would believe her."
"What would you know about- "that's when it dawned on the heiress. "You knew her secret, didn't you?"
"I did."
"Why didn't you tell us?!"
"Because it wasn't my secret to tell! I urged her to tell you guys, but she wouldn't listen, and now this happened."
"You're taking her side?!"
"Yes, I am."
"How could you be OK with what happened to my family?! With what the Faunus are doing to humanity?!"
Theodore's patience had finally reached its limit. He shoved his telescope into Yang's hands and walked up to Weiss. I'm gonna regret this. He thought to himself. Yang was expecting him to give her a lecture, but she was wrong. Quicker than she could have guessed, Yang saw Theodore slap Weiss in her left cheek with his right hand. Weiss looked up at him with surprise written all over her face, while holding her injured cheek.
"You and others being discernment towards the Faunus is what makes me want to puke!" he stated with anger written all over his face, "It's this kind of behavior that gives the White Fang a reason to hurt humans! I am sick and tired of seeing how you're treating the situation! You're acting as if we were trying to befriend a Grimm!"
"How dare you- "
"SHUT UP! Have you ever talked to the Faunus that work for your dad?! Have you asked them how well he pays them?! You would be surprised at the answer! They nearly die during their work and they only get enough money to pay for three days' worth of food! The majority of the White Fang come from working conditions like those! It's people like your father that bring out the worst in Faunus! I thought you were different from your father Weiss! I thought you were better than him! I even tried to convince Blake of what I thought about you! Looks like I was wrong."
Weiss could only stare at Theodore in horror at the truth of his words. She was acting, exactly like her father. Blaming all the Faunus in the world for the problems the White Fang created. It may have costed her the friendship she had with Blake. With a scowl still on his face, Theodore walked away from Weiss towards Yang. He retrieved his telescope and continued to walk.
"I'm going on my own to search for Blake." He said to them, "Don't follow me."
He continued to walk until he was out of site. He leaned against a wall and took a few breaths to calm himself down. He knew he would need to apologize to Weiss when this was all over. Sure, she needed a reality check, but he didn't need to slap her for it. Before he could continue his way, his scroll started to go off. Pulling it out of his pocket, he checked the number and then answered it.
"Hello?" he said and listened, "What? Where? The docks? OK, I'm on my way."
Theodore then hung up his scroll, placed it in his pocket and dashed towards the docks.
Nighttime had fallen onto Vale. Blake was hiding on a roof, waiting for Sun to return. The Schnee Dust Company cargo had been unloaded, and so far, no one had shown up. She was hoping that it was just Torchwick or another criminal just stealing dust, and not the White Fang.
"Did I miss anything?" Someone said. Blake turned to her right to see Sun land right next her, holding a bunch of apples in his arms.
"Not really." She answered, "They've off loaded all the crates from the boat, now they're just sitting there."
"Cool. I stole you some food." Sun said, offering her one of the apples.
"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" Blake asked, "Theodore is going to get you for that."
"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun asked back, which earned him a glare from Blake. "Okay. Too soon."
Both Faunus then felt a rush of air, accompanied with the sound of an engine. Looking up, they saw a bullhead shining a light on the docks. It stayed airborne for a little while before landing. Its doors opened, and out stepped a figure dressed in black and white, accompanied with a mask. On the back of his shirt was a symbol. It was red, with the face of an animal, with three claw marks behind it.
"Oh no." Blake said, knowing that symbol all too well. The symbol of the White Fang.
"Is that them?" Sun asked.
"Yes, it's them."
"Alright, grab the tow cables." A member commanded as three more exited the ship.
"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asked.
"No, I think deep down I knew." Blake answered with a sad look, "I just didn't want to be right."
"Hey! What's the holdup?!" shouted another voice. Blake looked to where it came from and was surprised to see Roman Torchwick step out of the ship. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment. So, why don't you animals try to pick up the pace before Vale's Hometown Hero shows up?"
"This isn't right." Blake stated while standing up and unsheathing her sword, Gambol Shroud, "The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that."
"Hey! What're you doing?!" Sun asked right as Blake jumped from the roof. She stealthily snuck to were Torchwick was. He saw him conversing with a member who was holding a small tow cable.
"No, you idiot." Torchwick said to him, "This isn't a leash."
Roman was getting more nervous by the second. Any moment, Theodore could show up and foil their plans. He was hoping that these White Fang soldiers would work fast. Sadly, they weren't equipped for doing thing like this. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a blade to his throat.
"What the- "he said in surprise. He knew it wasn't Theodore, because the boy wouldn't sneak up on him. He would always make his presence known, just in case there were any civilians in the area. It would give them a chance to run. "Oh for- "
"Nobody move!" Blake ordered, causing the members of the White Fang to halt in their tracks. They had their weapons in hand, but could do nothing as their supposed leader was near deaths door.
"Whoa. Take it easy there, little lady." Torchwick suggested to Blake. The Faunus girl, hoping to talk the White Fang out of what they were doing, removed her bow from her head. Under them were two black cat ears. The members of the White Fang lowered their weapons in surprise seeing that a fellow Faunus was holding Torchwick hostage.
"Brothers of the White Fang!" she said, "Why are you aiding this scum?!"
"Heh, heh, oh kid." Torchwick chuckled, "Didn't you get the memo?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The White Fang and I are going in on joint business venture together."
"Tell me what it is, or I'll put an end to your little operation."
She backed up her threat by pushing her blade closer to his throat. It wasn't enough to make him bleed, but enough to get the point through. She was surprised when she heard another bullhead fly over.
"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation!" Torchwick said over the roar of the engines. Blake looked up to see two more bullheads over the docks. She knew exactly what they were going to do and only hoped that Theodore would arrive in time to help. The little distraction was all Torchwick needed to escape from her grasp. Using his gun cane, he caused an explosion that made Blake fly a few feet away from him.
Blake was fine, but was angry at herself for not making sure he couldn't use his weapon. She had no time to think about that though as multiple shots were being fired at her. She dodged most of them by herself, but used her semblance on the last one to take cover. Torchwick slowly walked to where she was hiding to see if he could take her by surprise.
"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." Torchwick said in a threating manner. He was interrupted as a banana fell onto his hat. Letting out a growl, he looked to see where it came from only to be met with a pair of sneakers to his face. He was knocked to the ground as Sun jumped off him and made a perfect landing a few feet from him. He turned around to face Torchwick with a scowl on his face.
"Leave her alone." Sun said, waiting for Torchwick to get up. He got, instead, seven White Fang members jumping from the second bullhead to the ground. Torchwick had gotten up and was not happy.
"You are not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you kid?" Torchwick asked. The White Fang goons then charged at Sun, expecting to take him down in less than five seconds. They were wrong. Sun fought back with the monkey style of Kung Fu, before pulling out his weapon. A red and gold collapsible bow staff. The White Fang soldiers went down like dominoes to Sun's attacks. Seeing that the men were down, Roman shot at Sun, not expecting the monkey Faunus to block his shot.
"He's mine!" Blake said to Sun, jumping out of the smoke. She hoped to take Roman down easily, but got more than she bargained for as he blocked all her moves with ease. Even with her semblance, the robber was able to punch her away from him. His victory was short lived as Sun jumped into battle. His staff split in half and became two set of shotguns chained together. Torchwick blocked those attacks with ease as well, but didn't expect Blake to get a hit on him and send him flying ten feet away from them.
Torchwick saw a crate being suspended in midair and got an idea. He got up, took aim, and shot the cables holding the crate, causing it to nearly fall on the two Faunus. Both dodged just in time, but Sun was stuck in the spot he rolled into when he saw Roman with his cane to his head. The robber was smiling victoriously as he would be able to at least off one Faunus for the night.
"HEY!" someone shouted. Turning to where it came from, Roman saw Ruby, or Red as he called her, on a roof with her scythe activated.
"Well, hello Red." Torchwick greeted, ignoring Sun. "Isn't it past your bed time?"
"Ruby, are these people yours friends?" Penny asked walking up to her.
"Penny, get back!" Ruby said, out of fear that she might get hurt. Torchwick took this chance to fire a shot at Ruby. What he didn't expect was for Theodore to step in and push Ruby out of the way, taking the shot full force. Theodore was thrown back a few feet and was rendered unconscious.
"Theodore!" Ruby exclaimed, running to Theodore's side. Kneeling, to check on him, Ruby put her ear to his chest to see if his heart was still beating. Seeing that it was, Ruby let out a sigh of relief. She heard Torchwick in the background laughing at what he did. She was about to jump into the fray when she saw Penny walk right past her and towards the battle.
"Penny, wait! Stop!" Ruby shouted, afraid of what might happen to her friend.
"Don't worry, Ruby." Penny said without turning around, "I'm combat ready."
What looked like a backpack on Penny's back opened to reveal a floating sword. However, the weapon had a set with it. Nine more swords revealed themselves, making it a set of ten swords. Penny jumped from the building and started to engage the enemy. She was easily over powering them, sending them flying left and right. She controlled the swords as if she was telekinetic.
Three more bullheads came in and started to shoot at Penny. Two more swords came out of her back and launched themselves at the building behind her. If you looked carefully, transparent strings were attached to the weapons and Penny. She was pulled to the building, away from the firing bullheads. Once she was out of harms way, her then swords became guns and started spinning in a circular motion. A ball of energy started to build up and five seconds later a giant beam was shot into the sky, taking down two of the three bullheads. Ruby stood on the roof, shocked at what she was seeing. Penny had taken down a miniature army and two ships all by herself. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a groan. Turning around, she saw Theodore waking up.
"Did anyone get the number of that bus?" Theodore asked while sitting up and holding his head. He was about to stand up when he was tackled back to the ground from Ruby giving him a bone crushing hug.
"Theodore! You're OK!" She said.
"Yeah, Ruby." He answered with a smile, "Hey, where's Penny?"
Ruby was about to answer him when they saw a bullhead trying to get away with a shipment of Schnee Dust Company cargo. Penny used six of her ten swords to latch onto the ship. She then started to walk backwards and appeared to be pulling the ship back.
"How is she doing that?" Ruby asked.
"I was about to ask you the same question." Theodore replied. His attention was, however, torn from Penny to Torchwick who was attempting to get away.
"Oh, no you don't!" Theodore stated and jumped down from the building. Once his feet touched the ground, he sprinted to where the bullhead was grounded and saw Torchwick get into the bullhead and close door. While picking up speed, he saw Penny give a big tug and pulled her bullhead into the other crates. He didn't time to be amazed, though because Roman Torchwick was trying to get away. Theodore came to a stop as the bullhead carrying the robber started to fly away. Looking around, Theodore only saw a bunch of crates. Knowing what he had to do, even if it meant all of Vale finding out. So, taking a stance, Theodore stretched his right hand out and shouted some odd words that got Penny's, Blake's, Sun's, and Ruby's attention.
"Tranfigure cratemos in formetesan!" he shouted as his hand started to glow a bright yellow. Five empty crates around Theodore floated in the air and melted into liquid. All five liquids then merged together and formed into a harpoon gun. Theodore then walked up to the newly made harpoon gun, took aim, and fired. The harpoon reached its target and latched onto the bullhead. He then pulled a lever and the ship was being towed back into the docks. The door opened to see a very surprised Torchwick looking at Theodore.
"I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULD LEAVE!" Theodore shouted to Torchwick, waiting for the bullhead to finally touch the ground. Roman, however, had other plans. Pulling a dust crystal out of his pocket, threw to the gun, and fired with his cane. The resulting explosion destroyed the harpoon gun, letting the bullhead start to fly away.
"CLOSE BY NO CIGAR, CANESTONTIEN!" Torchwick shouted and started to laugh. He stopped, however, when he saw Theodore make a fireball appear in his hand. He then threw it at Roman, who was blown into the other door upon impact. The bullhead then flew out of sight.
Theodore let out a growl of annoyance. He was so close to catching Torchwick and he got away, again. He turned around to walk back to the others only to come face to face with them. Sun, Blake, Ruby, and Penny all had looks of surprise on their faces. After ten seconds of silence, Ruby walked up to Theodore and asked him what everyone else was thinking.
"How did you do that?" Ruby asked.
"I would love to tell you Ruby," Theodore answered, "but let's wait for the rest of your team, then we'll head back to Beacon, meet with all the professors and then I'll tell you. I promise."