Vale, day
After the events of the last chapter, the remaining members of Teams RW(B)Y and (X)ICR were walking through Vale, looking for their friends.
"Dominic! Blake!" Ivy yelled, hoping for a response.
"They've been gone all weekend. I hope nothing bad happened to them." Ruby said with a frown.
"They're huntsmen in training. I'm sure they're fine." Weiss dismissed.
"While I wouldn't say it like that, I agree with my sister." Connor said.
"C'mon! You heard what Blake said!" Weiss said to her older twin.
"Regardless, they're missing and we need to find them." Yang said, trying to diffuse the situation.
Wicked Sukiyaki, day
Far away from the commotion, Blake took a sip from a cup of tea. She, Sun, and Dominic were taking refuge in a new Sukiyaki shop that opened a few weeks ago. Apparently, the owner was a friend of Dominic's. "So, you want to know more about me?" Blake asked Sun.
"Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and all I've gotten from you is small talk and weird looks!" Sun said before Blake gave him an angry glare. "Yeah, like that."
After rolling her eyes, Blake continued. "Sun, are you familiar with the White Fang?" she asked.
Meanwhile, Dominic was busy getting his order from one of the employees. "Thanks, Unpleasant." he said to the elderly clerk before returning to the table.
"So, have you told any of your friends about this?" Sun asked as Dominic sat down.
"Really? What am I, chopped liver?" Dominic asked before taking a bite out of a scalding piece of sukiyaki.
"So, what's the plan now?" Sun asked.
"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before." Blake said.
"What if they did? I mean, the only way to prove it's not them is to go to the place they'd most likely appear and not find them." Sun suggested.
"Only problem is, I have no idea where that'd be." Blake admitted.
"I might." Dominic said, getting the attention of Blake and Sun. "I have info on a large Dust shipment coming in tonight."
"How good are your sources?" Blake asked.
"Solid Gold." Dominic said before taking a bite out of a piece of meat.
FLASHBACK
Undisclosed Location, five minutes earlier
"You're sure?"
"Would I lie to you?"
"Do you know anything about our enemies?"
"A girl in pink tried to sneak up on me with some sort of illusion Semblance. And I don't think Torchwick is pulling the strings here."
"Please elaborate."
"It looked like he was being given orders from an unknown party. What would you like me to do?"
"Nothing for now. We need them to think you're on their side. Unless something big happens, don't call. Who knows who might be listening."
Vale, day
"Weiss, you're not helping!" Ruby scolded.
"You know who might be able to help? The police!" Weiss said, getting glares from everyone.
"That's not funny, Weiss." Connor said.
"It was just an idea!" Weiss defended.
"Yeah, a terrible one." Ivy said.
"Weiss, I think we should hear what Blake has to say before we make any assumptions." Yang said. If her brother felt that she was innocent, she probably was.
"And when we hear it, you'll all realize that I was right." Weiss said, making Yang and Ivy roll their eyes.
"And I think Weiss's hair looks wonderful today." Penny said, making everyone present jump back in shock.
'How did she get so close to us without- OH...That explains a lot.' Connor thought to himself as he used his Magic to analyze Penny. He expected something strange, but this was just...
"Where did you come from!?" Ruby asked, a bit frightened by Penny's sudden appearance.
"Hey, guys! What are you up to?" Penny asked, ignoring the question.
"We're looking for our friends, Dominic and Blake." Ivy explained.
"Oh, you mean the Faunus girl and the hot guy." Penny said, shocking everyone.
'Does she know!?' Ruby, Yang, and Gregory thought at the same time.
"I'm sorry, did you just say Dominic was hot?" Weiss asked.
"Well, he had a very high body temperature. Was he sick?" Penny asked, relieving Gregory, Ruby, and Yang.
"No, he's just...He's fine." Ruby assured.
"So, where are they?" Penny asked.
"We don't know. They've been missing since Friday." Ruby admitted sadly. She knew Blake wasn't in danger with Dominic around, but she still worried.
"That's terrible!" Penny gasped. "Well, don't you worry, Friend Ruby. I won't rest until we find your friends!"
"That's really nice of you, Penny. But we're okay. Right guys?" Ruby asked, only to get no response. Her friends had abandoned her.
Vale, afternoon
"So, Blake and Dominic are your friends?" Penny asked.
"Yes, Penny." Ruby said, sighing.
"But you're mad at Blake?" Penny asked.
"No, Weiss is."
"Is she friends with Blake?"
"That's kinda up in the air right now."
"But why?"
"Well, Blake might not be who we thought she was."
"Is she in a relationship with Dominic!? Is that why they're gone?" Penny asked.
"No. Trust me, that wouldn't be a possibility." Ruby said. "But Blake didn't really talk to us much before running off."
"I don't have a lot of friends. But if I did, I'd want them to talk to me about things." Penny said as they continued walking.
Vale Docks, night
Atop an unused shipping crate, Blake and Dominic were keeping an eye out for the White Fang. "Did I miss anything?" Sun asked as he arrived with apples.
"Nope. We've been sitting here for 17 minutes and haven't seen anything." Dominic said, bored.
"Cool. I stole you some food." Sun said, holding a Granny Smith apple.
"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" Blake asked.
"Hey, weren't you in a cult?" Sun asked, thinking it was funny until Dominic hit him in the head.
"Ever heard the term "Too soon"?" Dominic asked rhetorically.
After he said that, a Bullhead descended to the Docks before opening up. The Bullhead in question had a very familiar symbol on it.
"Oh no." Blake said.
As Sun spoke to her about the Fang, Dominic got a call from his informant. "What is it?"
"The man leading this operation is at the Docks right now. If you act quickly enough, you can stop him."
Hanging up, Dominic discreetly left Sun and Blake.
Vale Docks, night
"Everything is going just as planned." Adam said to himself as he overlooked the operation.
"So. You're the guy in charge." Dominic said as he arrived on the scene.
Turning around in shock, Adam was infuriated to see that his Dust heist was being uncovered by a human. Or at least, what he thought was human. "If you value your life, you'll leave." Adam said, grabbing his weapon's hilt.
"Sorry, but that won't be possible. If I let you continue with this little venture, I wouldn't be deserving of my title." Dominic said as he summoned his sword. "En garde!"
3!
2!
1!
FIGHT!
"Denied the Light. Betrayed and cast aside." Dominic lunged at Adam before slashing downward, forcing the Faunus to use his sword to defend. Unfortunately, this only worked in his favor. His weapon glowed red before he launched a beam of energy at Dominic, sending the blonde into a shipping crate.
"No choice, only violence and villainy." Dominic retaliated by throwing Dust crystals at Adam before detonating them with Fire magic. Ruby told him about how Torchwick used the same attack, so he decided to copy it for this bout.
"No hopes, no dreams. Now bow before your King!" Dominic stabbed his weapon into the ground, causing plumes of magma to erupt from the concrete. Adam's Aura protected him from the worst of it, but he still got minor burns.
"Light left us long ago. Hate is all I'll ever know. Strike the Earth, let Darkness rise. Dark yet darker grow the skies." Adam had enough of Dominic's attacks and decided to strike back, slashing at his eye. It was only through Time Break that Dominic dodged that potentially fatal blow.
"And who are you, to dare my domain? Only a fool would try and stop the reign. King of the Mountain, the King of Flame, has answered the call!" As they flew through the area, a couple of Dominic's flames managed to hit Adam. While he tried to extinguish them, Dominic landed a direct hit to his back. This made him fall to the ground, blood dripping from his mouth.
"And who are you, to challenge my might? Only a fool who thinks they're in the right. You lost before you picked this fight!" As Dominic sang his victory, Adam took the chance to stab him through the chest, then using his Semblance to make sure the wound wouldn't heal.
The energy beam from Adam's Semblance caused an explosion that sent both of them flying. Dominic tried to get up, but found that he was unable to. 'This isn't good. He must've gotten my spine with that attack.' he thought to himself as he drifted to sleep.
Eventually, he was found by Yang and Gregory, who had to carry him back to Beacon.
Unpleasant
Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Species: Faunus?
Skill: Soothing Rhythm
Element: Dark
Battle Class: Sorcerer
Adam Taurus
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Species: Faunus
Semblance: Seeing Red
Element: Dark
Battle Class: Knight