The Stygian

by Gallian Squad 7

Ozpin tells of an old legend, where sibling gods created the world of Remnant and it's eternal foes. But, did not some of the elder god's creations survive even once? According to one book, there were some, and they were powerful enough to fight the Grimm to a standstill. But, that's only a story...right? Well, Ruby knows otherwise. After all, she's the Icon of the Stygian.

7. Everthing Happens in Town

Ah, another chapter!Today marks the 'official' end of Volume 1 (As in what we see in the show, somewhat) as the girls head out to town and discover thieves and monsters aplenty!

Thoughwho walks away from the exchange in one piece is another matter entirely. J

Now, no more stalling!

Show time!

Everything Happens in Town

-Ruby-

The first meeting after Weiss woke up was more than a little awkward.

See, I just liked being able to help my friend while she was recovering, but absolutely everyone wanted to talk about how our first real mission as 'Big Game' hunters went.

The title was Yang's idea, blame her.

It was a team JMPR only meeting, every last one of us squeezing into the area around Weiss's cot the day after she woke up. I, being both leader and Weiss's partner, got to sit right next to the cot, while the others had to figure themselves out.

If Nora decided using Ren as a chair was a good idea, it was ignored.

Besides that, the meeting quickly turned into describing how their fights had gone down. Jaune and Ren's fight had been pretty straightforward, as they'd already seen a Velocidrome in action. While it still hit hard, a liberal application of their well practiced roars made it consistently flinch.

It was just a matter of going for the fleshy bits after that.

I was more than a little embarrassed when they mentioned the roars, since Weiss and I both forgot about them, but Pyrrha and Nora's account made me blush in shame.

They'd gone after the Iodrome, and shared the memory of the outright noxious smells of the slime it spat at them. Some of it had splashed onto Nora's arm, where a claw had opened a gash during a charge, and immediately made the area go numb. She hadn't been able to think on it that much, but she'd kept up a full body Aura barrier the rest of the fight, as did Pyrrha.

Nora was the one that did most of the damage to the lizard, what with Magnild being able to shoot grenades when transformed, but it was Pyrrha that delivered the death blow. She'd ripped Milo through the poisonous sack under the Iodrome's chin, leaving it to bleed out.

Nora had then smashed its skull in, just to be sure.

Yang decided to recount her and Blake's fight with the Great Jaggi, with all the embellishments one would expect from her.

Using my patented Yang translator, I was able to deduce what actually happened.

So, the GJ was able to sniff them out, and had then tried to ambush Blake. Instead, it got a jaw full of rock, while Yang sent several straights into the side of its skull. After that, it was more cautious, and only attacked Blake with its tail or claws.

Yang got a little too excited as the fight dragged on, charging in when she thought the raptor didn't see her, only to be sent flying through some trees by a tail swipe. Her Aura and Semblance had absorbed the damage, and Blake had used her own power to summon the sturdier clone, the one with red eyeliner, and lassoed the beast's feet.

Yang had returned just in time to see Blake sinking her blade into the back of the raptor's skull, a few rounds from Gambol Shroud making sure it stayed down.

Blake rolled her eyes at the end of the story. "Yang's excitement aside, it was much easier to fight the beast on flat ground. Not to mention, we weren't caught by complete surprise."

Nora giggled. "You didn't roar either! What's the point of doing all that screaming if you don't even use it?"

I sighed, making the others look at me. "Well, it still felt like we were, you know, going after Grimm. How many times have we been told to make as little noise and light as possible?"

Weiss huffed. "More times than I care to count. My every instructor told me to be as quiet as possible, so that the Grimm couldn't use what little hearing they have to track me. These… things are another story entirely."

Ren shuffled, trying to look over Nora's shoulder. "In any case, we came out of our first official excursion alive. Weiss may be the most injured of us, but I think we should take it as a lesson."

Yang chuckled. "Yep, don't argue when a murderous parrot is coming for your icy ass."

Weiss's glare could have frozen fire, so I stepped in. "Yang, not while we're in the infirmary. Besides, we can take a break for a few days, right?"

Jaune's tongue stuck out in thought. "I… think so? Professor Goodwitch hasn't said anything to us, but I got a message from Professor Oobleck saying our lessons were canceled for the rest of the week."

Yang's eyes lit up. "Sweet! When did the doc say Snowflake was getting out, two days?"

I glared at my sister. "She said it would be a few days before Weiss could leave. Earliest guess would be Friday, but my Lien's on Saturday."

Yang shrugged, grinning at an amused smirk on Blake's face. "Well, that lets our little princess get all cozy before we hit the town. Sound good, partner?"

Blake shrugged, smirk still in place. "I'm just interested in seeing the festival preparations. Not a whole lot of rich folk around right now."

Weiss growled at the jab, even if Blake wasn't being totally malicious about it. I, on the other hand, decided to stand up for my injured friend. "Come on, that's not nice! Sure, Weiss is kind of snobby, and a little bossy, but she's not one of those rude people."

Weiss's glare went right to me and I silently cursed my big mouth. I couldn't help being honest, that's what made me so lovable!

Pyrrha cleared her throat. "Sorry, but can I point out something that's been bothering me? It's about a report I saw on the news this morning."

All our eyes turned to her, curious eyes shining. Pyrrha pointed to the TV that lay across from Weiss's cot, a remote flying into her hand via Semblance. "Here, I think they're still talking about it."

She flicked on the TV and switched to the local news channel. The usual anchors popped onto the screen, sound picking up in the middle of a sentence.

"…and the preparations are still under way. Now, for those of you just joining us, we have another update on the strange find that appeared at the docks this morning."

The anchors were replaced with an image showing the Vale docks, police and onlookers alike surrounding a cordoned off section as one of the anchors started speaking. "Early this morning, one of the ships out in the bay hauled in a strange catch. The crew was unsure what the creature in question was, but scientists that arrived on the scene a few hours ago have been able to give a preliminary report."

The image of the docks was replaced with a picture of a large, green reptile with webbed feet, an oar like tail, short, sharp claws, and a long snout full of curved teeth. Its face was frozen in a snarl, the eyes wide even in death. "The scientists have determined that it is a hitherto undiscovered species of aquatic lizard. The surprise comes in the size of the lizard and what it could possibly prey on, as fish are insufficient as a diet for an animal of such size."

The picture disappeared and was replaced by the anchors. "That's the most current update we have. We'll be sure to bring you any further updates as they become available, but for now, the Vale council has announced the closing of all beaches un-"

Pyrrha flicked the remote and the TV grew quiet. "That's my concern. It wasn't as big as the beast's we've fought, but I'm concerned it's a sign that they're starting to appear in the sea."

Nora nodded, finger tapping her chin. "Yeah, that's not good. Professor Oobleck may be training us to fight in water, but those things look like they'd swim circles around us before we could break anything."

I frowned. "Um, I could check in the book. I don't have it with me, but if someone's willing to go to the dorm?"

Yang popped to her feet. "Say no more, little sis. Yang's on the case!"

A cloud of dust in Yang's shape marked her departure, the rest of us ignoring her antics. I didn't need to leave a dust cloud, so why should I pay attention to such a thing?

…Ok, I wanted to do that with my Semblance at some point, don't judge me.

That didn't mean anything at the time though, so I started up another topic. "I hope that thing's not in the book. I'd really like to go see the festival preparations before having to write that report for Oobleck."

Team JNPR's eyes snapped to me, their faces disheartened.

"A report?" Nora whined. "Why do we have to write a report?"

I shrugged. "He wants us to think on what we did, and write up a plan if we run into those lizards again. Far as I can tell, he wants a plan for each of the ones we fought, but I'm not sure about anything else."

Ren sighed. "I'll send him a message asking for more details later. What's taking Yang so long?"

As if invoked by the words, the door's swished open and my sister skipped inside. One hand held the worn book I'd asked for, and the other held a bag with something delicious smelling in it. "Someone ask for a delivery?"

She plopped in her seat before handing me the book and rummaging through the bag. "Thought everyone'd appreciate some snacks while Rubes there scanned the book."

Yang produced a variety of treats, the package of cookies going to yours truly, but Weiss waved away the offer of some kind of bread. "I hate cinnamon bread, they put too much of the spice into it."

Yang pushed it forward. "Come on, a little spice might warm up that cold attitude."

I sighed, pausing in my reading. "Yang, come on. Not while I'm trying to see if the news was serious."

Yang smiled at me. "Wouldn't be me if I didn't joke. You have to admit, Snowflake's an easy target too."

I glanced at Weiss, but her glare didn't stop my own jab. "True, I guess. The reactions are worth the price of admission, but not the scolding if you ask me."

Weiss had the look of one who wanted to prove me right, but she just huffed and settled back against her pillow. With that over, I went back to scanning through the 'Book of Beasts', as I'd come to call it. Several minutes passed, with only random chatter filling the air, but I didn't see anything that was similar to the creature we'd seen outside of one entry.

I pointed to it, reading the passage out loud to myself. "The Royal Ludroth is much larger than its smaller kin. Its other distinguishing feature is a large, mane-like organ that stretches from its jaws to its torso. The organ can hold large amounts of water that the Ludroth can then concentrate in its jaws and fire with the force of a cannon. It tends to be the dominant predator of ocean shallows and rivers."

There was even a small illustration of the RL, as it shall be known in code from here on. It was super stylized though, so I couldn't really tell if it was all that accurate to the thing we'd seen on TV.

I noticed no one was speaking, so I looked up from the book. "Uh, sorry. Can't say I found anything all that useful, only the Royal Ludroth entry had anything that pointed to smaller versions. Problem is it looks like it has a mane of some sort, so I don't think that creature's related."

Jaune had a look of disappointment on his face. "I guess we'll just have to do the reports then."

There were groans of varying intensity at that, only Weiss keeping her face neutral. "I think it's a good thing. The better prepared we are, the less likely this is to happen."

She gestured at her casts, the point made without further discussion.

Pyrrha stood and stretched. "I think it best that we go ahead and get started on that report then. Jaune, Nora, why don't you come with me to the library?"

Nora popped out of Ren's lap, fist in the air. "Let's do this! The sooner it's done, the sooner we can go to town!"

Yang cheered right along with her, everyone but myself leaving to go get started. Ren promised to send any extra information about the report their way before he left, but that was it.

Now alone with Weiss, I could already see frustration brimming in her eyes. "Sorry, Weiss. I know you're left handed and writing's not going to be easy."

Weiss frowned. "I'm predominately left handed, yes, but I can write with my right hand just fine. Would you mind getting my materials? I'd like to get started as well."

I nodded and took off; wondering about what we'd do when this trip to town that everyone was talking about came around.

Honestly, after that we just worked on the report. Nothing exciting happened while Weiss was in the infirmary, or when she got out, so we were able to get the reports done pretty easily.

I only had to beg for help once.

-Ozpin-

The days after Ms. Schnee woke up were one headache after another.

First, there was that strange creature that showed up. I wasn't sure how a local fishing boat had been able to catch such a large and obviously dangerous creature, but Port had been able to determine what the scientist's already knew.

Such a creature would need much greater prey than the local fish in order to survive, and it had the distinct organs that belonged to almost all female reptiles.

The scientists had been asked to keep that piece of information quiet, of course, because it meant something very unfortunate.

The Beasts were starting to appear in the sea now, where the kingdoms were weakest in terms of defense. It made sense that the defense was weak there, of course, what with most Grimm being sky or ground bound, but it was concerning none the less.

Then, there were the reports of ever more thefts of Dust in the city. The attacks seemed random at first blush, but even a cursory investigation revealed that the thieves were organized and after one thing in particular, the Dust.

What they were planning to do with so much Dust was a mystery, but I can't help but think the Witch is behind all this. The problem was tracking down and eliminating her agents, before the seal on the Beasts got any weaker.

If an Elder awakened at this point, the damage could be catastrophic.

Now, I was in my office, contemplating how we could go about trying to stop the heists and focus on the beasts, when I got a call on my personal line.

I tapped a button on my desk. "What is it, Glynda?"

Glynda's voice filtered through the speaker as her face appeared on the desk. "Headmaster, we have a situation. How soon can you make the docks, the leisure ones specifically?"

That made me pause. "Thirty minutes, at most. What happened?"

Glynda shook her head, voice heavy. "It's hard to explain without seeing it. Please, join me at dock six as soon as you can."

The call cut out, Glynda hanging up. I sighed at yet another possible complication before dialing the staff's Bullhead pilot. "Jordan? I need to be at dock six in Vale, immediately. Leisure dock six, to be specific."

I heard the good man tell me they'd be ready to go the moment I arrived before hanging up. As I made my way to the elevator that would take me down to the hanger's path, I felt a strange sense of foreboding.

It looked like I'd have to move up Amber's timetable, if what this feeling told me was right.

-Dock Six-

As I'd said, the trip to the docks took less than thirty minutes.

I was met with the usual set of whispers and stares that accompanied one of my renown, but I ignored them in favor of Glynda glaring out at one of the docks.

"What's the problem?" I asked as I walked to her, "You rarely require my input on anything."

Glynda simply pointed her 'wand', as I was fond of calling it, towards the pier. "See for yourself."

I followed her wand and felt my eyes narrow at the sight. It was a small sport's boat, made for maybe five people at most to go cruising in the shallows or fishing.

The only problem was that a good chunk of it was missing. Judging by the twisted fiberglass and metal, it looked like something had taken a bite out of it.

I turned to Glynda. "Any casualties? It looks like something a Grimm would do, so I'm not sure why I'm here."

Glynda sighed. "No one was hurt, thankfully, but the two who were on the boat say that they were cruising through one of the shallow parts of the bay when they bumped into something. After that, there was a violent shaking before they were thrown to the front of the boat. When they got their bearing, they saw a large, flat shape submerging while a chunk of the boat was missing."

I grunted. "They're lucky it missed the engines. Were there any other details, or is that it?"

Glynda nodded. "Yes, one of them saw the shape seemingly dig into the sand on the reef floor before everything went still. Said it had a purple hue to it from what he could tell."

I cradled my head, trying to think of anything that could match that description. "I… don't know this one. My knowledge of the enemy is great, but there are things that were lost to time. It's not a Grimm, that's for sure, but I know only the most common beasts and their leaders. The middle ranks are lost to me."

It was unfortunate, but we'd do what needed to be done. "Lock down the shallows for now. Glynda, I want you to grab Oobleck and find this thing. If you can, deal with it. The last thing we want is to try and send the team against an unknown right now."

Glynda sighed. "Understood; I'll tell the police to do just that. We'll try and deal with it before the festival preparations get delayed."

I nodded. "Good. Mass panic will only gather the Grimm, and those thieves still need to be dealt with before they start impeding our Dust reserves. We have much to do yet before rest can come."

Glynda shook her head before striding off to talk to one of the police officers in the area. I turned back to the idling Bullhead, pulling my scroll out to message the students.

Hopefully they weren't already in town, or this could get bad fast.

-Ruby-

Why were we heading for the docks, again?

Our trip to town was just good ol' team RWBY right now, since Jaune ended up falling behind on report and all. Weiss had just waved them off with an oddly cheery smile, the grin not vanishing even as they flew into town.

Then, Weiss had started gushing about the planning and logistics necessary to make the Vytal Festival happen. While Yang could have phrased her comments about the gushing better, I did agree that Weiss tended to get excited about very dull things.

I sighed as the docks came into sight. "It smells like fish here, why are we even at the docks in the first place?"

Weiss crossed her arms. "I heard there'd be students from Vacuo arriving today for the festival. As a student of Beacon, it's only right that I greet them."

Blake didn't miss a beat. "She's going to spy on them so she has an upper hand in the tournament."

Weiss didn't deny the accusation, but my gaze was drawn down a street we were passing. "That… doesn't look good."

The others looked down the street, our feet carrying us up to a line of police tape in front of a busted up shop.

I looked to one of the officers. "Excuse me, what happened here?"

The officer glanced at me. "Robbery, second Dust shop in the past week. Damn city's turning into a jungle."

He turned away and started talking with his colleague, but we could still hear them. "So, they left all the money, right? What on earth could someone need so much damn Dust for?"

The other officer shrugged. "Got me. Chief said it may be a White Fang raid for supplies, but they'd at least take some money or hit another spot."

Weiss scoffed at the name. "White Fang, awful bunch of thieves and murderers."

Blake glared at her, showing a rare flash of anger. "What's up with you?"

Weiss turned around, surprised. "What's up with me? I simply do not care for criminally insane individuals who make life difficult for honest people."

Blake seemed to take exception to that. "The White Fang are a bunch of misguided Faunus, and there's no way this could be them. Why just rob a Dust shop in downtown Vale?"

I stepped in before it got ugly. "Weiss, Blake's got a point. Besides, remember that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago, the one I told you about when I was explaining how I got accepted? Maybe he did it?"

Weiss huffed, but had to get one last shot in. "It doesn't mean the White Fang aren't scum. That lot of Faunas only know how to lie, cheat, or steal."

Yang stared at her. "Uh, you sure you want to say that? I believe Velvet's handed you your butt on more than one occasion."

Weiss sniffed. "She is an exception. Velvet is a credit to Faunus everywhere, and I refuse to see people degrade her for simple heritage."

I had been watching Blake during that whole exchange, and she looked shocked at that final proclamation.

Naturally, something decided to interrupt us.

There was a commotion back by the docks, so we walked over to see what was going on. When we got there, we watched this blonde guy in a white jacket and jeans leap over the side of the boat Weiss had pointed out earlier and run up the pier. The most important part happened when he climbed up a lamp post and held on with his tail.

Yep, he had a tail, a monkey tail specifically. The crewman were yelling at him for being a 'no-good stowaway' while he retorted that no-good stowaways get caught. From there, the police told him to get down, he ran up and by us, and we gave chase.

Considering the speed he was putting on, it was pretty obvious he was one of the Vacuo students Weiss was talking about and she needed to 'observe' him.

I was going to need to talk to her about her wording at some point. Yang had far too much fun teasing me about the accidental innuendos I made; she didn't need Weiss being added to that list of victims. It's what friends did.

Sadly, the chase came to an end when Weiss rounded a corner and ran smack dab into a pedestrian. The Faunas boy disappeared from sight thereafter, making Weiss glare after them.

I, on the other hand, noticed the person Weiss had pushed down. "Weiss, get off of Penny!"

Weiss looked down only to be greeted by a big grin and even bigger green eyes. Weiss squeaked and jumped back, allowing Penny to stand up.

"Salutations!" Penny greeted enthusiastically. "My name is Penny, pleasure to meet you… Oh, Ruby!"

She skipped forward and pulled me into a crushing hug. "Penny… choking, not breathing!"

Thankfully, she let go. "Oh, sorry! I have a hard time not hugging my friend."

I could see the others giving Penny some strange looks. "Uh, hate to say it Penny, but we got to go. It's nice to see you though; we should chat if there's time later."

Penny smiled, "Great, I'll see you then!"

She turned and walked away, allowing Yang to look at me. "So… she doesn't understand personal space, does she?"

I sighed. "Not… really. Look, I know she's really awkward, but she's really sweet too! You just have to be patient."

I perked up immediately afterwards. "Oh, I forgot, she'll be taking part in the tournament too!"

Weiss's face went flat. "She doesn't look the part at all."

Blake rolled her eyes, "Says the one that fights in a dress."

Weiss crossed her arms, a defiant fire in her eyes. "It's a combat skirt! It's specially made for fighting!"

I had to get in on this one, my Semblance carrying me to Weiss's side. "Yeah!"

A hand was given and I slapped it with vigor. We were skirt sisters, and that made us best friends.

Weiss had an idea spark in her eye. "Wait; if she's in the tournament… could she know that monkey-tailed rapscallion?

Blake took umbrage to that statement, again, and so the arguing began and went on.

…All the way back to the dorm.

At this point, even team JNPR had joined us in the dorm room, if only to offer solidarity as the two of them bickered back and forth.

I sighed as the arguing slowly died off and Weiss finished describing what the White Fang had done to her life. "Weiss… I'm sorry."

Weiss ignored me. "You wanted to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they are liars, thieves, and murderers who have made my life hell!"

Blake's mouth moved before her mind, I could tell by the sheer emotion that came out. "Maybe we wanted our lives to not be the hell they already are!"

Dead…silence.

It wasn't every day your teammate, and the girl your sister had a not so hidden crush on, basically confessed to being a member of a terrorist group.

Blake's mind caught up to her before ours did and she flat out ran. I could have out-sped her if I really wanted to, but something in the back of my mind stopped me.

I guess, for all my talk of being friends, I still felt betrayed.

No one moved for several minutes until Ozpin himself poked his head into the room. "Ah, I see most of you are here. Ms. Belladonna seemed to be in quite the hurry, but I'll speak with her later, I suppose."

Weiss recovered from her shock. "Headmaster, you have to go after her! She just told us she's part of the White Fang!"

To the shock of everyone, Ozpin just stared at Weiss. "Former, Ms. Schnee, former. I won't give you the girl's backstory, but she left the White Fang quite some time ago."

Pyrrha frowned. "They have deserters? First I've heard of that."

Ozpin shrugged. "Of course you wouldn't, do you really think the White Fang wants people to know that their members leave? The damage to their reputation among the desperate would destroy their attempts to appear legitimate."

He turned his gaze to Weiss. "Then again, bias, and how young you all are paint how you see the group. Believe it or not, the White Fang were originally a peaceful gathering of Faunus who petitioned and rallied for their rights. They didn't turn to violence until their attempts proved fruitless, and the leadership changed."

His cane clacked against the floor as he walked in. "I'm not here to give a history lesson though, that's Professor Oobleck's job. Instead, I've come to warn you that a subset of the Grand Beasts, known as Leviathans, have begun to appear in the shallows around the docks."

Jaune shook his head. "Seriously? It's just one problem after another, isn't it?"

Nora jumped to her feet. "Then we go find Blake and sort this out! Fighting these guys is a lot more important than fighting over the past."

Weiss refused to let it go. "How do we know she's not a mole? A sleeper agent? We're putting ourselves and the school in danger!"

I had enough, this wasn't the Weiss I'd come to know while she was just WhitePlush. I sprang to my feet and grabbed her arm, dragging her into the bedroom and slamming the door.

I let go and rounded on her. "Would you just stop? There has been nothing but a hateful spew coming out of your mouth for a long time, and I refuse to sit there and listen to your trash!"

Weiss's mouth opened, clearly offended, but I cut her off. "I have never seen someone pull so many 180s in a single day then I did with you! You went from gushing over logistics to calling Faunus insane, to reversing the claim, then reversing that, before calling someone who's saved your damn life, when she knew who you were, a mole! Make up your damn mind!"

See, the nice thing about being so amiable and nice all the time was that when I was mad, people listened. It takes a lot to get someone like me steaming mad, and since it was Weiss I was mad at, I allowed a bit of my power to run through me, just enough for my eye to change.

Considering Weiss's jaw had clicked shut, it had worked.

I took a deep breath. "Weiss, you've been talking to me unfiltered for seven years, yet not once have I seen you talk like such a bigot. I understand the White Fang have made your life hell, and I can understand why you hate them, but this is Blake. If she was like you think she is, why the hell are you still alive?"

Weiss was silent, her face growing pensive. If I had to guess, it was probably the first time she'd let her indignation stop interfering with her mind on the topic.

Eventually, she sighed. "Ruby, I can't help it. The only Faunus I've ever actually interacted with have either been assassin's coming for my head, or Velvet. As you know, the former are far and away the majority that I've seen."

A frown stretched across her face. "I… guess I can add Blake to that list though. It's just… geez, don't give me that look."

I was using my infamous puppy eyes, or Zwei eyes as Dad called them, so, you know.

Weiss shook her head. "Ok, look. Let's go out and look for her tomorrow, and I'll at least hear her out. If she makes a good case, I'll apologize, but I reserve my judgement until then."

I sighed, putting a hand on Weiss's shoulder. "That's all I'm asking. We're teammates; we should be able to trust each other, regardless of what our pasts are."

Silence stretched for a minute before a thought came to me. "So, what kind of Faunas do you think Blake is? My money's on panther."

Weiss snorted, actually snorted. "I'd put it on her being a cat, it'd match how she acts when she'd bored."

We laughed and left the bedroom, finding the others still sitting around while Ozpin was gone. I put on my leader face and started giving directions. "Alright, here's what's going to happen! Blake has gone MIA over our own inability to think straight, and now we have to find her. Tomorrow, we scour Vale like we're looking for the best damn chocolate chunks in the history of forever! Who's with me?"

Smiles abounded at that, ayes filling the air shortly thereafter. I grinned and gathered everyone around the table.

It was planning time.

-Vale Docks, Two Days Later-

Blake really did not want to be found.

Everyone had been up and down the entirety of Vale twice in the past few days, and we still couldn't find her. We'd run into Penny several times, and my sister and Weiss had abandoned me every time she showed up, but she didn't know anything either.

It didn't help that Penny had pointed out just how obvious it was that Blake was a Faunas. Her bow was in the exact right place to hide ears, and she ate tuna almost religiously.

Talk about a blow to the ego.

Anyway, night was starting to fall when we got a call from Pyrrha. I made sure it was on speaker after we found a private corner. "Go ahead."

Pyrrha's face appeared on the scroll. "We haven't found anything, but Ren wanted to ask what the exact root of the argument that started all this. He says it may give us an idea."

I looked to Weiss, who only scoffed. "It was about the White Fang, you know that. It started in front of a Dust store that got robbed."

Ren's voice came over the scroll. "Did you imply that the White Fang were behind the burglary?"

Weiss grew unsure. "I…guess."

There was a sigh before Ren spoke again. "She wants to believe that they didn't rob the store, it's a classic sign of someone that's been part of a group for a long time. She'll likely be looking for any large amounts of Dust and hoping the White Fang don't attack them."

Yang hummed. "There are only seven Dust stores in town and security's been ramped up hard after the first two got robbed. There's… seven of us, so five can be spared to look at the stores."

Weiss jolted back, apparently remembering something. "Wait, there's a big shipment of Dust coming into town from Atlas, my company specifically. I remember getting a memo on it, and it's supposed to be the largest shipment of the year."

I snapped my fingers. "Alright, we'll split up! Weiss and I will go to the docks, Yang, I want you and the others to fan out and search the shops. You don't find anything, you come find us."

Yang gave a thumb up. "Leave it to me! I'll be back in a jiffy."

She grabbed a nearby pole and started climbing up the building, disappearing onto the roof a moment later. Pyrrha's voice finally came over the scroll again. "Alright, I informed the others. We'll see you in a bit, don't try and catch her without us if you find her."

She hung up before I could respond. With Weiss and I the only one's left, we ran towards the docks. I may not have mentioned it yet, but the traversal lessons we'd been having with Goodwitch helped immensely in getting through the crowded streets.

Oh, what I wouldn't give for a clear street.

Thankfully, our parkour was good enough to get to the docks with little trouble. The only problem was the sight that greeted us when we got to the holding area of the SDC shipment.

There were several bodies with a red beast's face on their torsos gathered off yo one side, obviously unconscious. There were also two wrecked Bullheads and a few fires across the ground. I also caught a glimpse of the one and only RomanTorchwick flying away with two other bullheads firing everything they had at something behind a big stack of crates.

Oh, and blood. Lots of blood and a few fleshy bits.

Before my bile could stain the ground with it, I heard a grating screech followed by what looked like a ball of water flying into the air and busting one of the bullhead's engines. The doomed craft tried to stay up, but it couldn't stay airborne and crashed into the ground.

Weiss shook my arm. "Ruby, I hear fighting! One of the beasts must be here."

I shook my head and we jumped to the top of the crates, stopping short at what we saw.

It was a big area, enough room for any of us to fight without having to worry too much. The problem was the number of mutilated corpses that bore the White Fang's mark and the huge, green lizard with a mane the looked like a sponge.

I gulped. "Royal Ludroth."

Weiss gulped too, likely trying to not vomit. "It's the killer, there's blood all over its jaws and claws. Splattered over the body too."

The RL screeched again and I could see water start gushing to its mouth. There were a couple figures leaping about its serpentine body, one yellow and one black, but they didn't stop it from launching another sphere of water.

The water ball slammed into the front of the remaining bullhead, the force enough to smash the glass inwards and send the bullhead crashing to earth.

I finally got a good look at the black blur. "It's Blake! Weiss, try and freeze that overgrown crocodile in place, I'll cover you!"

Weiss only nodded as Myrtenaster's chambers spun into place. A glyph appeared under her feet and she skated off to join the fight. I planted my darling's blade into the crate below me and lined up my shots.

Ok, I thought, let'ssee if I can put something in this bastard's eyes… wait, is it laughing?

It sure seemed like it. The thing's jaws were open in a perverse smile, and there was some kind of shrieking cough coming from its throat, even as it thrashed and swiped at the ones attacking it.

I watched as its tail caught the yellow blur flat footed, sending the figure flying into the wall. When the dust settled, I realized it was the monkey Faunus we'd been chasing a few days ago.

Well, ifhe'shelping, I can't complain. Now then, aim…

I took my time lining up the shot, though it was hard to ignore the bangs and crashed that happened every time the RL decided to strike. Some superficial wounds had made their way onto its hide, but it was giving Weiss and Blake a tough time.

Then, my opportunity arrived.

The RL reared back, water flowing to its maw, when I lined up my sights and planted a solid shot straight in its eye.

The beast roared in agony and surprise, thrashing about in a desperate attempt to hold off its attackers while it regained its bearings. Weiss took advantage and channeled her power, solid Glyphs of ice surrounding the beast's limbs and holding it down.

Blake, ever the opportunist, jumped onto the back of the beast and started slashing at its mane, water flooding the ground with every slash. The monkey guy jumped and started using its toes as batting practice.

By that point, I saw another yellow blur shoot over where I was standing, along with an orange shape. The yellow blur landed on the RL and started sending blow after blow into its side, a green slime congealing wherever the fists connected.

A moment later, the slime glowed a violent orange and exploded, making the beast shriek. The sound was shrill and hurt my ears, poor Blake clutching her head as she tumbled off the beast's back. Yang, for who else had slime fists, caught her before she hit the ground.

I could see the Glyphs holding the beast back cracking, so I flashed to the side of the orange shape that was smacking away at the tail. "Nora, how much lightning can you make at one time?"

Nora paused. "Uh, enough to jump start a car if needed. Why?"

I groaned. "Dammit, that's all I can do too. Do you think our roars would work well here?"

Nora shrugged, even as she smacked at the tail again. "I dunno, worth a shot I gu-"

At that moment, the RL broke free and it rolled. I mean, crocodile death roll, high speed and trying to turn us into flapjacks. Nora and I jumped away from the mass, but a wave of water coming from its mane slammed into us and sent us tumbling.

Thanking the beauty that is Aura, I sprang up, only to see the RL slithering away on a makeshift slip-n-slide that it was creating out of the water that had remained in its mane.

I watched, dumbfounded, as it reached the edge of the docks and dove into the water.

"No!"

Blake ran past me, bullets kicking up water long after the beast's shadow had faded. "Damn you!"

Her gun clicked, the ammo spent. I walked up to her slowly, careful not to startle her. "Uh… Blake? What happened?"

Blake was panting, her eyes still glued on the water. "I… heard about… the shipment. Wanted… to see… with my own eyes."

I heard shoes click against the cement, Ren's calm voice coming up next to me. "I thought as much. So, what did you see?"

Blake lowered her gun. "White Fang, obviously. But… they were working for a human, a guy with red hair. He was directing them. White Fang don't take orders from humans, especially with how he was treating them."

She sighed. "Then… then that thing showed up. It just shot out of the water and grabbed the first White Fang member it could find. I could hear the poor bastard's spine snap from the shaking. After that, it charged at the others and killed whatever it could grab. Claws disemboweled them, teeth broke them in half, and even its sheer bulk crushed them flat. They tried to run while the Bullheads provided support, but it shot those balls of water and destroyed the bullheads. Only that red haired guy and a couple others got away."

I sighed. "I see… come on, Blake. Let's go sit down and talk this out, ok?"

Blake nodded slowly, letting me lead her back to the others, as the sound of police sirens filled the air.

-?-

The children were persistent, and heretical.

The beast hissed as he swam through the shallows. It had surfaced on the unnatural stone to try and avenge the loss of its partner in the shallows, the Gobul Re'ca, but had met those that somehow held the scent of land and sky dwellers.

He did not know what had killed Re'ca, only that a purple aura had snagged the great angler and dragged it out of the sea to her doom. Her mate, Ja'bas, was not going to take the news well.

Now, he was in the depths, blood still leaking from his wounds. His presence was enough to drive away any opportunistic predators, but he feared the wrath of his Lord.

A disturbance in the water drew his uninjured eye, his teeth coming to bear when he saw one of his Lord's attendants.

"Why do you come so early,Se'to?"

The great serpent glared at him, energy sparking in the spines on its back. The injured beast hissed his answer. "I have witnessed heresy. Not only hasRe'cabeen killed,butI saw children of men that held power. One of them smelled of the Stygian."

The other leviathan's eyes widened and a snarl presented itself. "I shall tell our Lord of this. Go and recover, we will need you when the time comes."

The leviathan, a Lagiacrus most mighty by the name of Ar'dynle, swept down further into the depths, brief flashes of energy marking his departure. Se'to growled silently, before turning his bulk toward his lair.

There would be a reckoning for this heresy, especially when the rest of their brethren escaped their prison and joined them in the sea.

They simply needed the 'Wisdom' and 'Power' to carry it out.

-Somewhere in Vale-

Roman Torchwick was not in a good mood.

What was going to be one of his biggest heists in a while, and thus a big payday, had turned into an absolute shit show!

"Neo, where are you?"

His partner in crime appeared from behind a pillar, a frown marring her face.

"Ah, there you are. Tell me, when are our employers due to arrive again? I need to have a word with them."

Neo shrugged before pointing behind her, a sensuous voice answering for her. "Roman, Roman, Roman, I expected so much more from you."

Roman was having none of it. "You don't get to play that card, you or your lackeys. In case you haven't noticed, I have nothing, because you didn't tell me I'd have to tangle with a big freaking alligator!"

The voice… sounded very confused. "An…alligator? Roman, darling, did you eat something strange today?"

Roman's eye twitched. "Don't call me that, witch. Take a look at this, then you'll know why I couldn't get the damn Dust."

He threw a scroll behind Neo's head, a hand with dark skin snatching it out of the air before handing it to the one behind Neo.

A video was already cued up and Roman waited as the woman and her lackeys watched. He could see one of them visibly pale while the other one had his brows disappear behind his bangs. "What I tell ya? . Alligator."

A fire consumed the scroll, briefly lighting the woman's face. Her yellow eyes were set in a glare, but her voice was still that calm, sensual velvet it always was. "I see… Something like that would send most any plan to hell. We will see if we can gather more information, for now, you will continue to work with the White Fang."

Roman laughed. "Look lady, there's no way they'll want to, not after this clusterfuck! They lost fifteen guys, and not a single piece of Dust to show for it."

The woman smirked. "Oh, they'll want to. We have something they want, and the only way to get it is cooperating with us. Besides, we still have big plans for you, Roman."

She stepped forward into the light, her red dress rippling. "We'll just need to make a few… adjustments."

Ch. End.

Ah, that was fun to write. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, considering I saidthere'dbe aGobuland RoyalLudrothhere. I realized while I was writing that introducing theGobulso soon would likely get most of them killed, so I decided to hold off that fight untilthey'rea bit better.

Whether or not someone dies, well,that'sfor me to know and for you to find out.:P

Have a great day!