Alright, been long enough, let's get back to the show!

Yang and Blake, it's time to show those investigative chops! Also, let's see what trouble a lower end monster can get up to!

Probably not going to have any of the big guys show up here, but who knows? After this, we'll likely head to Mount Glen and the Vytal Festival before the first act comes to an end. At that point… we have fun .

Let's get to it!

Even More Happens in Town

While Ruby and Weiss were having a grand ol' time in the infirmary, the rest of Team JMPR got to work. Well, the BY part of Team RWBY did as JNPR had to decide who would handle coordination vs. leg work.

Surprise-surprise, the brawler and her partner got assigned to legwork. Yang had a way of charming people into giving up information willingly most of the time while her fists convinced the rest and Blake had prior experience in information gathering that far outstripped her fellows.

"Remind me again why Ren's not with us?" Yang asked only a short while after they'd started tracking leads, Blake riding behind her partner as Bumblebee carried them through the city. "He's a freaking ninja and we may need him."

Blake sighed, barely hearing her partner over the wind. "He's keeping an eye on the chatter in the city, without permission may I remind. He'll have to be quiet as is to make sure no one knows he's in the main comm center. Besides, I'm a far more experienced infiltrator."

Yang looked back with a smirk, though it was hidden by her helmet. "Ah, come on, don't be jealous. Just thinking I may need someone else to sneak in if you're busy somewhere."

Blake rolled her eyes, but didn't respond as a car rolled by with its horn roaring. Yang had almost wandered into opposing traffic when she'd looked back. Once they were stable, she gave her answer. "First, watch the road. Second, this is a preliminary investigation into both the White Fang activity and any leads on what the Beasts are doing. We're not out here for a Sunday drive."

Yang shook her head, blonde mane fanning out behind her and tickling Blake's skin. "I know that, just trying to lighten the mood. You've been way too somber ever since we woke up this morning, didn't even lighten up all that much when we caught Weiss starting to figure out she has a crush."

Blake leaned back to look at the sky, wondering at that statement. "Just… lost in thought I guess. I always thought getting out of the Fang would give me some measure of peace, even after everything I've seen them do, but some part of me still doesn't want to believe they'd be here and conspiring with dirtbags like Torchwick."

Yang hummed in answer. No one had heard why Blake had left the Fang in the first place beyond her vague answer of no longer agreeing with their methods. While that was certainly a valid reason, Yang had gotten to know her partner well enough to figure out that wasn't the main reason. Probably wouldn't get it out of her today, but Yang could hope.

Her maternal side didn't like having secrets kept by those she cared for, even if her rational side knew that people deserved their secrets.

Regardless, the rest of the drive was a peaceful affair. As they pulled up beside a familiar club, its lights off with the sun high in the sky, Blake gave her partner a side eye. "You're sure this guy will know something?"

Yang swung off Bumblebee and stretched. "Of course! Junior here always keeps his ear to the ground and has all kinds run through his bar. I had to convince him it was worthwhile to be on my good side, but I kept property damage as low as I could."

Blake sighed and remained where she was. "So, you almost turned the place to rubble. Just pull what you can out of the guy and get back quick, we have too many leads to stay long."

Yang glanced back at Blake with a frown. "Hey, you ok? It's not just being somber at this point, you're being really sour."

Blake looked away, only deepening Yang's concern. "It's not much, just wanting to get this mystery sorted out. I'd be a lot more concentrated if I didn't have Dust thefts and the Fang sitting over my head."

Yang didn't completely believe that, but she knew time was wasting. With a grin and a wave, she strode through the doors of the club and disappeared. Blake, after waiting a minute, looked to a side alley. "You can come out now."

Another head of blonde hair flipped out of the shadows and sauntered up to Blake, an easy grin on his face. "Hey, glad you could make it. Fancy getting a club as the spot, but there's no life this time of day."

Blake rolled her eyes at him. "Doesn't matter, did you find what I asked? I know there's bound to be at least one White Fang rally in the city."

Sun winked and held up a familiar flyer. "You bet there is! I don't know why you want to sneak in to this thing, but I can't say no when someone asks for help. So, we heading out?"

Blake pursed her lips before shaking her head and summoning a clone enhanced with her beast's power. "Hold on a second, need to clean up the scum so they don't make off with my partner's bike. I don't want to be responsible for all that damage."

Sun watched as the clone blurred out of existence, only for shouts and thuds to fill the air for several seconds before the clone reappeared with a pile of thugs and delinquents at its feet. "Wow… you really are a Founder."

Blake glared at him with enough heat to make Sun backpedal. "Sorry-sorry, I know I shouldn't call you that. It's just… you hear the stories and all, hard to believe any of it's true."

Blake dispelled her clone and pulled out a notepad. After scribbling a quick message and sticking it to Bumblebee, she started tying up the unconscious would be thieves. "First, help me out here. Second, that power is a big reason I left, but that doesn't mean I can't still believe there are some good people left in the Fang. It's why I need to see if the rallies have changed, and to confirm the rumors they're working with the local master criminal."

Sun hopped over and started tying up the scum too, a frown on his lips. "I… guess that makes sense. I hear the current leader's a real nut though, and it won't be good if someone recognizes you."

Blake froze just long enough for Sun to notice, but she played it off as best she could. "Yeah, well… I still want to believe the Fang stands for something until I can see it for myself."

She finished tying the last knot. "Come on, we need to get going. Knowing Yang, things will get hectic within the next few minutes and we need to be scarce by then."

Sun shook his head and ran after Blake, the girl already halfway to the rooftops. He didn't understand why she wanted to leave her partner out of this, especially when he'd seen the two get along famously back at Beacon. Really, it just reeked of secrets.

Then again, Blake liked to keep her secrets. Sharing her nature with Sun only happened because he'd seen the Beasts first hand, and even then, she swore him to secrecy.

Deciding it best not to dwell on the mysterious girl that was running ahead of him, Sun put his focus into catching up with her and keeping pace. They had a terrorist cell to infiltrate after all, and it would be a poor story to have it end just because he couldn't keep up.

Not to mention the teasing he'd have to endure.

-Yang-

"Well, that was a waste of time."

Yang groaned as she left the club, Junior staring after her in fear. She'd only had to smack around a few of the new guys before she got Junior to spill, but what he had wasn't much. All he knew was that Torchwick was getting paid big bucks to go after all the Dust in town, but by who and for what reason, he didn't know.

Yang knew from long years of helping raise Ruby and looking after both her Dad and Uncle when people were lying. Junior had none of that showing when he'd spilled his guts, so she took a swig of the juice she'd 'confiscated' and left.

Once she was out, she started calling to Blake. "Well, that was a dead end. Not much to… Blake?"

Yang blinked a couple times and rubbed her eyes. Nope, Blake wasn't there. Instead, there was a pile of wannabe thugs KO'd next to Bumblebee and what she thought was a note slapped on it.

Groaning, Yang jogged over and took the note. "Alright… 'Yang, I'm sorry for vanishing into the blue without telling you, but I received word one of the big leads would disappear if I didn't head there immediately. I'm very sorry for not telling you, but we can't miss this chance. I promise I'll make it up to you.'"

Yang grunted and crumpled the note. "Yeah right, bone head. Sun gave me his number too, and I've gotten plenty of voicemails from him thinking he called you."

She opened her scroll and dialed Pyrrha. Not even two rings went by before Pyrrha answered. "Yang, what's up?"

"Blake bolted with Sun like we suspected." Yang sighed, Pyrrha reciprocating. "I need you and Jaune to go check out the water distribution centers, see if they've noticed anything weird from the rivers and sea. In the meantime, have Nora meet me at the CCT tower. Weiss gave me the access code for the Dust supplies shipped here, so we'll give those a once over."

"You do that." Pyrrha said, not sounding too sure. "Um… are you going to be ok with it though? It's going to be a lot of numbers, and math's not your strong suit, to say nothing of Nora."

Yang smirked and mounted Bumblebee. "Don't worry, I got Nora to swear on focusing if this happened. All it took was promising I'd help her get some Ren pancakes and she was on board."

Pyrrha groaned over the scroll, Yang sending the call to the speaker in her helmet. "Yang, we've been trying to tone that down ever since our first night in the dorm. Don't go and ruin months of work over this."

"Do you want to volunteer?" Yang asked as Bumblebee roared to life. "I'll take either, your choice."

She could feel the stink eye Pyrrha was giving her through the scroll. "…Very well, she'll meet you at the CCT tower before long. Jaune, Nora, we're going on a field trip!"

The last part was shouted at the other members of her team who weren't busy trawling through the local databanks. Yang gave her thanks before ending the call and steaking out into the city, eyes casting about in disappointment.

While the crass part of her was sad she'd lost the feeling of Blake pressing against her as they rode and the possibility of watching those long legs in action, the rest was saddened that Blake still didn't trust her. They'd been partners for months and fought many deadly enemies, Grimm and Beast alike, so why couldn't Blake just… talk to her?

Everyone else did, even if Weiss needed a bit of prodding. It didn't even have to be some big, world-shattering secret. Just being left out of the plan was… hurtful.

Yang shook her head and flew up the on-ramp, cars honking as she raced toward the CCT tower. No matter the issues with Blake, there was a job to do, and by heaven she'd do it.

-Sewer-

"This is a foul place, are we sure this leads to the tower?"

A duo of finned lizards stalked through the sewers of Vale, rats and other critters scurrying away as they splashed through the fetid water. While the lead lizard's wide head was lowered to the water and following a scent, its partner was glancing around with unabashed disgust.

"We are searching for an entrance to that tower." The lead lizard, a Cephalos, hissed. "This was the closest lead I found in the last sojourn, but we will soon pass into the unknown. Keep your eyes peeled, the scent continues."

The second lizard, another Cephalos, snarled but remained silent. After a time, they came upon a fork in the tunnel, writing painting the unnatural walls.

"…I cannot read these symbols." The lead Cephalos growled. "We will have to explore independently. Take the left, I will take the right."

Its compatriot growled but complied. Really, it would be so much easier to get around if the humans used symbols that made sense rather than that mess of straight lines and scribbles.

The lead put its snout back to the water and started down the tunnel, what felt like ages passing before it sensed vibrations in the walls. Looking around, it found a door through which the vibrations were strongest. Based on the way its skull was shaking, a large body of beings was above this location and making a lot of noise.

It tilted its head in thought before smashing the door in and scrambling up the stairs. May as well see what all the commotion was about, it could be important.

It entered another series of stairs that emptied into a network of walkways suspended in the air by metal beams, the Cephalos having to tread carefully so it wouldn't scrape its claws on the metal and reveal its position.

It had good reason to be sneaky, as a mass of chattering humans were in the cavernous room below. Oddly, they had features like the lesser animals of the wild, such as ears and tails. Even then, they still smelled human, and that was reason enough to avoid them.

Even more so since the white masks they wore resembled the Enemy enough to make its blood boil.

Regardless it settled in to wait. If there was any luck on its side, there'd be something interesting in here…

A new scent met its nose and it almost cackled.

One of the children was here, the one that smelled of Nargacuga. This suddenly became much more interesting, and much more… valuable.

A merry chase was in order… after it figured out what the hell was going on down there. More unknowns on top of what they already had would be less than welcome.

So, it followed the scent through the scaffolds until it was right over the scent, but out of sight. Tracking the scent, its gaze fell on a head of black fur next to another with bright yellow fur on their head. The pair were silent, but it was clear to anyone paying attention they were looking around.

The room burst into mutters as someone walked onto the stage. The Cephalos didn't know what the human was talking about, but a cover was thrown off and it hissed at the metal men that lay underneath.

The Remobra were correct. The humans have certainly advanced if they can make metal golems en masse now, yet… I have a feeling these creations are only effective in numbers greater than what I see here. That monstrosity though…

It stared at the giant of metal that stood behind the still talking human. It was large, easily as large as a Barrioth, with fists and legs that could crush anything. The Cephalos had a feeling that thing would be… an issue.

A commotion began below, the Nargacuga child making a gesture before the lights in the room went out. The other humans fell into confusion, but the Cephalos swiftly adjusted to the lack of light and followed the movements of the Nargacuga child. A companion followed her before that… titan, it supposed, bust down the wall and gave chase.

…Well then, the chase was on, just a lot sooner than the Cephalos thought it would be.

And without it being the target.

Joy.

-Yang-

"Nora, remind me to use Ren as an incentive the next time we have to do math."

Nora just giggled and skipped along, blissfully ignoring Yang's incredulous stare. "I'll do anything I can if it gets me pancakes, especially Ren's. You and I both know he has the magic touch with those things."

Yang shook her head in sheer disbelief. Nora had, with Ren's pancakes as a reward, somehow calculated the exact amount of Dust shipped to Vale over the past year, the deficits and ghost numbers therein, along with the routes and delivery destinations after singlehandedly talking down the Schnee Company representative that attempted to block them despite using Weiss's codes.

It was truly scary, and now Yang had the other reason why Nora was given pancakes the morning after they'd been given real tough homework.

"Anyway, at least we have proof of someone hitting the Dust shipments." Yang sighed, pocketing the drive holding their info. "I'll put in a call to Jaune and Pyrrha, and you can let Ren know he's good for today. After that, we'll track down Blake and Sun."

Nora paused mid skip and blurred over to Yang with a frown. "You're not going to give her a 'Talk' are you? It really could've just been a lead."

Yang almost smiled at Nora's question. "No, I'll give her a regular talk. She shouldn't just run off like that, especially if it was after the White Fang like we all suspect. Sheesh, and after we ran into that criminal at the docks too, it wouldn't surprise me if she got recognized if they try to blend in."

Nora hummed in response. "I see… well, we'll just have to break some shins if that comes of it. Besides, she's not an idiot, if there's trouble she'll call."

Yang patted Nora's shoulder with a grin. "Yeah, you're right. Then the 'Boom Sisters' get their turn to wreck some ass."

They shared grips and sinister grins, the self-proclaimed strongest duo in the Academy getting into an impromptu arm-wrestling contest. It came to an end as Nora's scroll rang, her bubbly personality rising to the surface as she answered. "Nora Valkyrie, breaker of legs and eventual Ren family member!"

Yang could almost hear Jaune groan over the scroll, Nora having forgotten to turn off the speaker. "Dammit Nora, we talked about using that as your greeting."

"Haven't convinced me yet." Nora chirped, making Yang chuckle. "Now what's up Jauney boy, did you finally buck up and give Pyrrha her just reward beside a waterfall?"

Jaune's groan was much more pronounced this time. "Give that idea a rest, Nora!" His voice became a whisper. "Pyrrha and I are just friends right now, and I sure as hell don't feel I'm anywhere near good enough to try asking her out, damn how I feel or what anyone else thinks."

Nora gave Yang an exaggerated eye roll, as if to say, 'You see what I have to deal with?'

Yang chuckled again and gave Nora a thumb's up before Jaune cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, we have some news. A few of the workers in the eastern distribution centers have been hearing sounds in the tunnels that used to run to Mt. Glenn. Best they can tell, it's a small pack of Beowolves, and they already put in a request for the Academy to deal with them."

Pyrrha's voice came over the scroll, her small pants showing she'd been running. "Thing is, one of the maintenance cameras spotted a big bi-pedal animal with wings and a hammerhead shark's face. We called Ruby and she found something about a Cephalos. Camera recorded it sniffing around restricted areas before stalking off."

Oh, that wasn't good.

"They're in the sewers?" Nora gasped, not ready to hear that. "No one will even think to look down there, they could get anywhere in the city… wait a minute."

She tilted her head in thought as the average door and manhole cover entered her mind. "Aren't… the big ones too big to get in that way?"

Yang agreed, but there was another problem. "I'm pretty sure, yeah, but… well, they just need one entry point and they can wreck a lot of important things. Not to mention the tunnels down there that're abandoned."

Jaune grunted in agreement. "Yeah, we know. We'll be getting a report to Professor Ozpin about it when we get back, just wanted to make sure you guys were up to date."

Nora gave her thanks and hung up, Yang already making for Bumblebee. "Well… that was news."

"Yeah, and not good news either." Yang sighed as she mounted up and put on her helmet. "How the heck are they able to get into the sewers to start with? Not to mention sending in scouts to look for restricted areas."

Nora got behind Yang and they roared into the city, her thoughts barely heard over the rushing wind. "They do sound a lot more organized than what we've seen. I mean, most of the one's we've fought have been solo or small packs. This though… it sounds like something's leading them and making plans."

Yang shuddered at the very idea. She'd read that book of Ruby's too, in addition to the many story times it was used for back in her childhood. The only thing that could realistically lead any of the Beasts was either one Ozpin designated as a five-star threat, or an Elder.

The latter was far and away the worse of the two.

Nora almost spoke again before a shrill ring came from her scroll, the sudden noise nearly sending Yang into opposing traffic. Once Nora had the screaming device in hand, she gasped. "Yang, Code 001! Southbound in the Spaghetti Bowl, two miles!"

Yang knew that code by heart and Bumblebee screeched in protest as Yang threw them into a tight turn before roaring the way they came.

The code system was something Jaune and Ruby had thought up during one of the leadership conferences that Ozpin held every so often for the various team leaders. It's where they'd met Coco for the first time, and subsequently added her team to their friend group.

The codes themselves ranged from 1-100, with the level of danger and urgency going up as the number went down. They also had specific meanings, but what was most important was that a Code 1 had been issued, which meant that someone was in imminent life-threatening danger and needed immediate assistance.

The coordinates were sent out automatically after Ren pointed out they'd need to know where the scroll sending the code was, with an app that Weiss and Blake programmed automatically putting the coordinates into the GPS to provide direction.

That was how Yang knew she'd need to jump onto the bridge below them in order to make the famous Vale Spaghetti Bowl quickly. That section of the road system was a mess of different bridges and exits, making it incredibly easy to get turned around in.

Yang though, knew her roads.

"Woohoo!" Nora crowed as they ran up a boarding ramp and flew into the air, arms spread out. "What a rush!"

Yang focused on the landing, Bumblebee jolting hard as they landed on the bridge below them. The shocks did their job though, and Aura kept the riders intact as the motorcycle's engine roared and they took off again.

Ignoring the horns of startled commuters, Yang glanced back to Nora. "Distance?"

"Half a mile!" Nora informed, head on a swivel before catching sight of something. "There! Holy… is that mech?!"

Yang looked to one of the far bridges and growled. Black and yellow blurs were hopping from car to car with as much speed as they could muster, a giant mech chasing them with far more speed than it had any right to hold.

"Damn it all." Yang muttered before opening the throttle as much as she could, Nora holding on for dear life as the motorcycle blurred for another exit ramp. This time, Bumblebee flew much further, Ember Celica unfurling with a thunk before three shells added even more momentum.

"Sweet!" Nora cried, enjoying this far too much. "We get to fight a mech!"

Yang sighed as the shock hit them again, the fight coming to them this time. "Just get the hammer ready and smack that thing off the bridge. We'll deal with it at ground level."

Nora cackled, and Yang felt her change. A side-benefit of Nora's power, or 'jam' as Ruby was prone to calling it, was that she could now produce her own lightning. Admittedly she had to be careful for the same reasons the others did, namely personality changes and the now very real chance of going feral, but she'd been practicing hard.

As her arms changed to glittering scale and her eye shifted to electric green, Nora called upon the lightning within, green energy crackling around her. Perfect fuel for her semblance to feast on.

The blurs f black and yellow shot past them, Yang catching Blake's guilty eyes for a moment before they were past them on screaming towards the mech. "Nora, break it!"

Nora laughed and wound up Magnhild, her semblance and power suffusing her in a cloak of power as she stood on the seat. "Batter up you son of a calculator!"

The mech was unimpressed and tried to swat them aside, only for Yang to send Bumblebee into a slide while Nora delivered the mother of all hammer blows to its central mass.

A sonic boom filled the air as the mech was launched off the road, somehow still intact and functioning if its flailing limbs meant anything. Yang righted their skid and screeched to a stop, the riders watching as the mech reached the zenith of its flight and began to fall.

Right to the bottom of the bowl.

"Alright, let's get this guy." Yang growled before jumping off the road, Nora right behind her. Aura proved itself invaluable again as they landed, not even a smidgen of pain coming from their legs as they squared off with the recovering mech.

"Yang!" Someone called, a blur materializing into Blake. "That's the guy who's been attacking the Dust shipments, he's working with the White Fang!"

"I resent that fact!" A voice yelled, the source putting it as from the mech. "I don't like working with a bunch of terrorists girlies, but I'm getting paid to do it, so here we are. Now then, could you please just let me squash you? This has been a long enough day without having the rally interrupted and I'm not looking forward to getting yelled at!"

The girls stared at the mech as it righted itself, surprised by the driver's words. Yang gave voice to their disbelief. "Uh… you know the basic want to survive kind of prevents that, right?"

They could hear the sigh over the speakers. "I know, but I'm frustrated enough to ask, which should tell you everything about my employers. Now then, may as well test out the hardware. It's already passed the stress test with that blow, so let's see how the weapons do."

That statement was followed by a barrage of rockets and machine-gun fire, the girls evading the onslaught with all possible grace. There were three things firing independently though, and that didn't make attacking the thing easy.

"Alright, it's keeping you at bay." The rider noted, the sound of a pencil scratching paper coming over the speakers. "And all from that AI Neo and the witch put together. If nothing else, gotta give 'em computers."

Yang sent several rounds at the mech, which barely staggered it. "You're taking notes?! While trying to kill us?!"

"Well, this is mostly Atlesian engineering at work." Torchwick said casually as he watched Blake flip away from a stream of bullets. "The accuracy and reaction speed could use some work though."

Nora proved it by getting close enough to land a denting blow on the mech's arm, rendering the gun useless.

"I love that you're so casual about this!" Blake shouted in frustration as she sent her whip out to swing from a road support. The bullets followed, but she got close enough to slice off the barrel of the other gun. While Torchwick was distracted writing that down, Yang activated her 'jam' and rushed forward, slime coating the last turret and one of the arms as she wailed on the mech.

"What… is that shit?" Torchwick asked as he looked at the slime coating his ride and the blonde girl's fists. "Is this… snot? That's disgusting, girlie."

Yang scowled at him and leapt away, slit eye narrowed. "Shut up and blow up, you ponce."

Torchwick glared through the screen at her before his eyes widened, the slime changing to a violent orange-yellow. "Sh-!"

His curse was cut off as the slime exploded, the force taking off an arm and weakening the already abused chassis. Once the smoke cleared, the mech was still standing, but Torchwick was visible now with an emergency shield covering him. "Hot… damn… what the hell… was that?"

He had the wherewithal, and sheer gumption, to start making notes. "Mech… can't take… more than a supercharged hammer blow… and explosive slime… before chassis fails. Shield… works but, not shocks. Work… on that. Still functional though… just a lot slower…"

Yang and Blake had enough, the pair striding forth to apprehend him.

Only for the remaining fist to shoot out and send Yang flying through three separate road supports, the concrete crumbling atop her. Blake had barely a moment to gawk before a new fighter entered the scene, a young woman in a formal top and pants with pink and brown hair.

Even her eyes were the same, as Blake could see them dancing with patronizing glee as she held an umbrella before her. Sensing the quarry was about to escape with what was his obvious accomplice, Nora and Blake roared forward to try and stop them.

Only for their very images to shatter like glass, the mech and Torchwick disappearing along with the girl.

Blake scowled and growled before remembering another important detail. "Yang!"

She turned and ran for the pile of concrete, ignoring the sounds of police sirens that started to appear before them along with the arrival of Jaune and Pyrrha, ready for combat. "Yang, are you ok?!"

The rubble shifted and Yang staggered out of the mess, a little bruised and bloodied, but otherwise ok. "Yeah… just took a good smack to my chest is all. Looks like I'll be seeing Dr. Nadya for another contusion."

Blake had a helpless smile rise on her lips before she walked up and embraced Yang. "I'm… I'm sorry, for leaving like that. I know I shouldn't have, but…"

Yang returned the hug gently, deciding to leave the scolding for another time. "Hey, it's alright. Well, not really, but I understand why you did it. Just, let us know next time alright? We'd prefer to hear it from you rather than Sun calling the wrong number and not realizing it."

Blake pulled away with a sheepish scowl. "Darn it, I knew something was up when you didn't give chase. Alright, we'll talk later, but for now, why don't we head back and swap information?"

Yang was just about to agree when she heard Jaune yelling for them. "Guys, get over here!"

Yang and Blake shared concerned glances before running over to the others, Pyrrha, Nora, and Jaune staring into the ravine next to their erstwhile battleground.

"What is it?" Blake asked as they joined their friends. "Is something… down… oh gods…"

Yang silently agreed as she stared into the ravine, the bottom filled with recent rainwater. Three heads stared out of the water, two of them Cephalos like Ruby described.

The other was a truly monstrous Beast, its sapphire scales and red spikes framing a cobra's hood that led to a crocodilian head with intelligent yellow eyes staring out of the sockets, its maw stretched into a grin that sent shivers down their spines.

Yang swore she saw electricity crackle between the teeth.

The Cephalos retreated a moment later, the great Beast continuing to stare at them before its maw moved and it… spoke.

What came out was no language Yang or the others understood, but the voice was deep and commanding, only adding to the imperious aura of the Beast. Power unlike any other cloaked it as well, everyone instinctively knowing that if it wanted to, it could kill all of them with little effort.

Eventually, it stopped speaking, and the head disappeared into the water, a shadow far larger than even a cargo bullhead marking its departure.

"…They can get in… even the big ones…"

Jaune's haunted voice broke the reverie, everyone running full tilt for Bumblebee and the auto-taxi. Ozpin needed to hear about this now, or something terrible was bound to happen.

Pyrrha though, had started recording the Beast after the idea of documenting its size popped into her head. With that in mind, she sent the recording to Ren with a single line of text.

'Translate it.'

-Ren-

How in the heck am I supposed to translate this?

Ren sighed as he made for the infirmary. Jaune had called after Pyrrha sent him the recording, telling him to inform Ruby and Weiss about what happened while they made all speed back to the Academy. Problem was, while Ren was very well-read, that… speech was nothing he'd ever heard.

Sighing, he walked into the infirmary only to stare.

"Come on, Weiss, kick her butt!"

"You got this Coco! Don't let the Snowflake get the better of you!"

Apparently, Team CFVY had come back from their most recent mission and paid the recovering half of RWBY a visit. As Ren watched, Ruby and Velvet cheered on their respective partners in some fighting game while Fox and Yatsuhashi sat back and watched.

Not wanting to interrupt the spirited girls, Ren went to them first. "Hey guys, how'd the mission go?"

"About as well as you expect, considering the Beowolves charged a mini-gun toting fashion freak." Fox answered with his usual snark, Yatsuhashi greeting Ren with a silent nod. "Kind of surprised to see half of RWBY in here though, it's usually all or one with you guys."

Ren sighed ruefully as Fox held out several get-well cards that had been personalized for each of Team JMPR. "Well, those two got into a bad training accident this time. We were just watching when it happened, though I'm sure they've already told you that."

Fox chuckled and put the cards on a nightstand. "Yeah, well, now it's just them doing this. We've got some down time now that the Festival's only a couple weeks out, so I hope you don't mind if Coco and Velvet want to see how you guys end up here so often."

"You're chatty today." Yatsuhashi rumbled. "But I can't blame the curiosity."

Ren wished they could tell the truth, but things were complicated enough as was. "Well, we won't mind you stopping by. Also, this match should be over in three… two… one…"

On cue, Coco KO'd Weiss with a nasty combo, Velvet cheering in glee while Ruby let out a dramatic cry of despair. All went quiet when Dr. Nadya's head appeared in her office door, but once she was gone, Coco turned to greet Ren. "Hey, Mr. Pink-Streak. Good to see someone who understands more than two colors."

Ren shook his head as Velvet waved her greetings. "And hello to you too. Come to harass our mutual friends when they should be recovering?"

"Complain about the recovery gowns too, don't forget that." Velvet laughed, Coco glaring at her in turn. "But yeah, we just wanted to check in. Had to save Ruby from watching a history documentary."

Ruby chuckled, despair forgotten. "For which I'm eternally grateful."

Weiss gave her partner a frown. "Hey, that was an interesting documentary about the First Great War, don't tell me it didn't have you interested."

"When it was talking about the weapons, not the politics." Ruby countered with a cheeky grin, making Weiss grumble a complaint. "But yeah, it's been great since everyone came to visit. Velvet and Yas even brought food!"

Ren heard 'Yas' mutter about not wanting to be called that, but ignored him. "Well, I'm sure it's been good, but we should probably clear out. Dr. Nadya's been giving us the stink eye ever since I came in."

Everyone looked to the office, Team CFVY packing up and leaving with hurried goodbyes when they caught Dr. Nadya glaring out the window at them. Ren though, stuck around, if only to give his explanation.

No one noticed Team CFVY turn the corner and huddle around Velvet, a little speaker in one hand and her scroll in the other. "Ok, are we receiving?"

Velvet nodded, Ren's voice filtering through. Now, they could hear the real deal and figure out why their friends were always hurt. It'd be a lot easier to help this way, they just wished it hadn't come down to hidden microphones.

What they heard was… hard to believe. Ren was explaining that a criminal had chased Blake through the streets after she'd infiltrated a White Fang rally with a friend from Vacuo of all places. The criminal had used an Atlesian Paladin prototype, with Yang, Blake, and Nora able to destroy the thing after Nora severely weakened it with some kind of power that fueled her semblance.

As if that wasn't enough, there was the mention of 'Beasts' and their infiltration of the water system. The Grimm couldn't do that, so what the hell were these things?

Then a recording was played, Ruby and Weiss gasping over the speaker. Not one of the erstwhile spies understood what recording was playing, but they recognized power in the voice that was speaking the guttural nonsense.

Then Ruby and Weiss sent everyone for a loop when they spoke in unison.

"I… know what it's saying."

Silence descended for a moment before the microphone exploded into static and the speaker let loose a piercing squeal, CFVY blurring away just in time to avoid Ren's appearance.

Ren in turn took one look at the speaker before crushing it underfoot, already knowing who was listening in.

Now things were even more complicated, and that was without factoring in how Ruby and Weiss understood the Beast's speech.

Or what it said.

"Indeed, the power runs through your blood. Wild, untamed, and altogether lesser than the true masters. Beacons, you will be, for them… should you survive the Black Leviathan and his warriors…"

"Soon… we shall see…"

Ch. End

Again, I apologize profusely for the lack of updates, life is just not kind at times. Anyway, I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and will look forward to the next one!

Bye everyone!