Preemptive Author's Note: See after chapter notes for response to last chapter.
Yang knew that punching the objective of her first, and very top secret, mission as a Huntress would not be a great start to her career. She also knew that her eyes were likely red, the occasional fleck of flames were lapping the air around her trembling body, and she had chambered incendiary rounds into Ember Cecilia. Another fact Yang Xiao Long was certain of? She honestly didn't care about perceptions. This drunk asshole had revealed something incredibly private and drove Yang's partner and one of her closest friends away.
"Yang, deep breaths," Ruby said soothingly. "Think about Zwei and the time we caught him playing poker."
Normally, that image would have Yang rolling on the ground laughing. This was not a normal situation. The only rolling Yang was currently doing was of her shoulders. "Why?"
"Uh-oh..." Weiss gulped.
Jaune and Ruby nodded at each other. "We'll escort 'Tukson' to the agreed location," Jaune promised.
"And RWBY will get Blake back," Ruby quickly added.
"If what this...liquid fortified individual said is correct, Blake could be at risk. We have to move quickly," Weiss agreed with the faintest hint of uncertainty. Everyone, even the Grimm, knew about the conflict between the Schnee Dust Company and the White Fang. The conflict was considered by many to be the first open war between Human/Faunus Non-State, Non-Government Actors. Weiss was shaken by the accusations against someone she considered a true and faithful friend.
"As soon as we complete our part of this mission," Jaune spoke slowly, deliberately, and with an odd detached calmness. "We will help find Blake."
Ruby nodded. "I'll send you updates every thirty minutes."
"So will we," Nora quickly agreed while Jaune had started questioning Tukson on a few matters.
RWBY quickly said their goodbyes and left to locate their missing member.
Pyrrha sighed as Tukson grumbled and walked off to collect a few items. "Jaune, how impaired is our...associate?"
"He's functional, but we can't be sure how he'll react..." Jaune sighed. "I don't think he'll be a problem getting to Captain Colcannon, though."
Tukson returned with a small 'go-bag' and another back pack. "I'm going to miss this place."
"You've made it a successful business. It is something to take pride in," Ren stated diplomatically.
"You're pretty perceptive, kid." Tukson grunted. "Lead the way, you brats."
Jaune nodded professionally. "We're going to need to be prepared for anything, but we need to keep a low profile. Ren and Nora, there's a cafe three blocks due east. Head out, take a seat and get coffee or something. Look like you belong there. Ren, I want you on frequency six. We'll arrive in a bit. Tukson will join you guys. Pyrrha and I will continue to a florist another block and a half away. We're going to leapfrog our way to The Silver Cerri. Everyone stays in touch, got it?"
"Got it, Fearless Leader!" Nora shouted as she locked arms with Ren.
"Frequency six," Ren reconfirmed. "The Codes we worked out?"
"You know it," Jaune answered with as confident a smile as he could muster. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Tukson watched the couple leave the bookshop in silence.
After a few moments, Tukson sighed. "Don't worry too much about Blake. She's as capable and resourceful as any woman I've ever known."
Jaune and Pyrrha nodded, but didn't say anything. Resentment born from the circumstances festered in the very air.
"I'm drunk," Tukson stated the obvious. "Still, I shouldn't have outed her like that. Blake...hadn't told you she was Fang?"
Pyrrha looked in the probable direction her friend had fled. "She hadn't even told us she was Faunus."
"Damn," the fugitive Faunus hissed. He walked through the store and arrived at a safe. The partners watched as the man retrieved a folder. "This is the deed...make sure Blake gets this. Hopefully, I still remember she loves books."
Jaune accepted the deed. "You haven't forgotten that. Blake reads more than all of us put together."
"Sounds about right," Tukson chuckled without mirth or humor. "Let's get going. I'm ready to put this behind me."
Jaune and Pyrrha escorted Tukson from the store. It was almost melancholy watching Tukson lock, and say goodbye, to his store for the final time. Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Our friends will be fine. We'll be able to help them ourselves very soon."
"Thanks, Pyrrha. You're my rock," Jaune said earnestly. The Invincible Girl blushed a brilliant crimson and simply followed Jaune and Tukson to the next location. They were both focused on what had been said between them and towards their friend. It was confusing, but it was life...and theirs.
"I wish it was as simple as yelling 'Blake!' at the top of our lungs," Ruby lamented.
"We will find her," Weiss promised. Yang was still fuming, but was no longer sliding deep into her destructive Semblance.
"Hopefully she'll call her rocket-locker or use her scroll. Since were on-a-mission-but-not-'on'-a-mission, I have my Scroll set to ping me her location. Technically, I have it set to ping all of our locations..."
"That's a good move, sis," Yang finally spoke. The elder of Taiyang's daughters would never pass up an opportunity to support her beloved baby sister.
"Thanks Yang!" Ruby responded and energetically pointed down the street. "Hey, that's the tea shop Blake loves so much! Let's check it out!"
"Ruby! Wait for us!" The Schnee Heiress called out. The Reaper's partner and sister rushed after their leader. A loud, almost metallic crash, sent the two young women into a panic.
"I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!" Ruby chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "Let me help you up there, friend-o!"
Weiss and Yang watched, with a bit of concern, as Ruby helped the orange-haired girl to her feet. There was a feeling that something wasn't quite...right...with the stranger. "What did you call me?"
"Uh...friend?" Ruby repeated uncertainly.
"No one has every called me a friend! Thank you!" The girl said enthusiastically. That allayed Weiss and Yang's fears. "My name is Penny Polendina from Atlas!"
"Nice to meet you Penny! I'm Ruby Rose from Beacon. This is my older sister Yang and my partner Weiss!" Ruby greeted warmly.
"Salutations!" Penny greeted as she rose up on the balls of her feet.
"So...what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked. She was hoping her 'Come on, leave' mindset wasn't leaking through too much. She didn't want to appear bitchy, but her Semblance was still fueling her anger and it wasn't easy to maintain emotional control at the moment.
"I'm here to fight in the Tournament!" Penny declared.
"The tournament!" The sisters cried out. Weiss even gasped in surprise. They had all been so caught up in their studies, mission, and now the situation with Blake that the Vytal Tournament had become the last thing on their minds.
"Yes! It is quite exciting!" Penny agreed, not privy to the inner workings of team RWBY's minds.
Ruby exchanged a couple of glances with her sister and friend. "Uh, Penny, we were wondering...you wouldn't have had to have seen a dark haired girl with gold eyes wearing a large black bow?"
The odd Atlesian girl tilted her head to the side as she searched her memory. "I believe that I saw her from a distance a few minutes ago. She appeared quite distressed, if her speed was anything to go by, and was using very conventional pursuit evasion techniques."
Weiss sighed. Leave it to someone from Atlas to be so precise. Blake was doing her damnedest not to be found, which made Weiss feel even worse. The Schnee Heiress certainly held no love for the White Fang as that organization had been in a state of semi-open war with the SDC ever since Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus had declared a 'Directorate' in the place of the almost communal, but far more insular rule of the former leader. The fact that her friend had been a member of the White Fang, a militant one if the drunken rambling of Tukson was anything to go by, cut deeply. Worse, Blake had hidden her status as a Faunus from her team and all her friends!
'Did...did Blake think I'd be just like my father?' The question was troubling.
Snapping out of that line of melancholy thought, Weiss looked up. "How certain are you?"
"Exactly 87.342%. I wish I could be more accurate, but your friend was moving very quickly," Penny apologized.
"Well, okay," Yang gaped. "That's a thing."
"Thanks, Penny! We need to go find her! Our friend, uh, found out about a family emergency that really upset her. Very, extremely, private!" Ruby hastily explained.
Penny nodded. "I understand. I wish you success and good fortune! Perhaps we shall see each other at Beacon at a later date!"
"Sure! That sounds fun!" Ruby agreed. "So...which way was Blake, our friend, headed?"
The Atlesian girl pointed to the east. "At the time, she was headed east-southeast. However, you should expect her to try doubling back or other forms of evasion."
"She's right," Yang sighed. "We better get going."
"Yes, we can't dally any longer or the trail could grow cold," Weiss supported Yang.
"Bye, Penny!" Ruby shouted over her shoulder as most of Team RWBY pushed onwards. The Atlesian girl waved back happily.
'All things considered,' Penny recorded in her personal memory logs. 'That went swimmingly!'
Blake was emotionally compromised, indulging in base cowardice, and confused about her place in the world. That did not mean she was an idiot. Though, at the moment, she was starting to feel like one. Ozpin had sent RWBY and JNPR on a mission. A mission that dealt with the White Fang...and the former Quartermaster of the entire operational branch!
'I should have argued harder for us bringing our weapons,' Blake seethed. Jaune and Ruby had laid out some very reasonable and sound arguments, but one day...maybe...Blake would have the chance to tell her friends 'I told you so'.
Right now, her longing for Gambol Shroud was based on one simple fact. She was being followed. In fact, her amateurish pursuer had been following her for the past twenty minutes. Blake had swung by the docks in hopes of using the bustle of Vale's largest harbor as a cover to lose any pursuers.
'If I've been followed since then...that blonde guy,' Blake deduced. He was a monkey Faunus; that much was clear. 'Agile...used to tracking and pursuit?'
Deciding it was time to throw her pursuer off his game, Blake skidded to a stop and turned to face whoever this other Faunus turned out to be. Her right hand fell naturally into a guarded position while her left rested on her scroll at the small of her back.
The pursuer strolled into the light. Blake was feeling very on edge. No one pursued another on this level without a reason. If this had been another member of RWBY, or even JNPR, this situation would not have been this tense. Awkward and unwanted, but not hovering over a knife's edge of danger. The only reason Blake could think for being chased to this level was...this guy was White Fang.
"You certainly can run," the male Faunus said with a slightly winded tone. He still wore a confident smile. Blake couldn't deny that he was an exceptionally handsome man. He wore an open jacket and blue jeans that displayed his cut abs.
'It's like the field manual example of a honey trap came to life,' Blake mused.
"I think you could use a macchiato," the young man said with a knowing grin.
The moment Blake's mind processed her pursuer's words; the world was seemingly put on pause. That phrase was White Fang phrase for when an operative was suggesting extraction to another member of the White Fang.
Her eyes narrowed. "If I say no?"
"That'd be a shame. Wouldn't a break and someone to talk to be nice, though? I'm Sun, if your curious."
Blake covertly tapped her Scroll. "I'm leaving."
Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow at the beautiful, but clearly mistrusting, woman in front of him. Evidently, she really didn't like macchiatos.
"Can I at least get your name?" Sun asked hopefully. He needed to know something about the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
To his surprise, Blake's eyes narrowed. "If whoever briefed you didn't mention who you were 'extracting', then your bosses are using you like they use everyone else in the White Fang!"
"Wait, what?" The Faunus blurted out. His sensitive hearing picked up what sounded like a rocket locker, but... "Oh shit!" Sun blurted again as he confirmed that it was in fact a rocket locker. He barely dodged the incoming hunk of metal. When he completed his combat roll, his 'quarry' had already secured her weapons. In his eyes, she appeared to be an idealized personification of a warrior woman.
"I'm not going back," Blake declared.
Once again, she ran away.
Ren sat across his best friend, lover, partner, and practically everything outside the small cafe. He couldn't believe everything that had happened since arriving at Beacon. Nora had been the closest thing he had to family since the Nuckelavee attack. Their dynamic had changed in a significant ways, but they had gained quite a bit in trade off. He hadn't planned a single thing, but couldn't and wouldn't deny that everything had seemingly fallen perfectly in place on the 'Nora Front'.
They had even gained more family. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Team RWBY were definitely a very unusual family, but they were Ren and Nora's family.
"I know what you're thinking, Renny," Nora chirped as she scanned the street. "But Blake's a big talented girl. She'll be fine. And if she isn't, well, when Team RWBY finishes destroying whoever put her in danger then we'll get our turn!"
"Nora," Ren said with a smile. "Our objective is the one who put this whole situation in motion."
Nora pouted. "Stop being right. Pyrrha and I can't break his legs..."
"RWBY will find Blake. We'll complete this mission and help find Blake if they haven't, or help surround her to keep her from running away again," Ren said as a way to placate his love.
"I'm going to give her the biggest hug," Nora declared. "Flower shop."
The simple announcement revealed that Jaune, Pyrrha, and Tukson had arrived at their change-off location. Ren and Nora quickly paid their bill and walked across the street. Tukson split off from Pyrrha and Jaune and fell in line with Nora and Ren. Jaune and Pyrrha slipped into the shop. Pyrrha started to wander excitedly. This was only partially a facet of their cover. Pyrrha legitimately was thrilled to be in such a place. Her time as an arena champion and reluctant celebrity, never allowed her to indulge in gardening. She had always wanted a garden. The idea of cultivating beautiful life that would bring happiness, even for a time, to others was appealing to her very nature.
'Perhaps...' Pyrrha's thought was cut off before it could crystallize.
What was the reason for the sudden severing of conscious thought? Jaune Arc had decided to do something completely Jaune Arc-ish. Pyrrha had been lost in her longing for a simpler, far more private, life and lost track of her partner. In the brief moments of distraction, Jaune had somehow found, purchased, and approached Pyrrha with a white and red Crocus flower.
"Thought of you," was all Jaune said or needed to say.
Pyrrha melted then and there at a pace that rivaled a chocolate bar left in a car in the middle of Vacuo's Empty Quarter at noon in the deepest, hellishly hot part of summer. Her natural inhibitions had been weakened to the point where she was about to make a move.
Alas, the Universe had other plans.
"RWBY to JNPR," Ruby's voice echoed in JNPR's earpieces. "No sign of B. Status of your day trip?"
Jaune flashed his partner a sympathetic look before slipping off to the side. "Going good, kiddo. We'll be home for dinner."
"Keep in touch," Ruby said softly.
Jaune nodded, though the gesture would go unseen. "Same."
"Have they found Blake?" Pyrrha masked her disappointment with her genuine concern for her friend.
"Not yet," JNPR's leader confirmed wearily. Ren quickly reported that they were in position. "We're two hops from being able to help."
"I hope she's alright..." Pyrrha whispered.
Roughly an hour later, and two check-ins between Team RWBY and Team JNPR, Tukson and his escorts arrived at the aerodome. The Silver Cerri was waiting for the Beacon Students to arrive. Captain Colcannon was halfway down the ramp before JNPR even reached the grand airship's berth.
"Oi! You with the head on ya!" Kale bellowed. "I hope ya friend ain't the only one comin' on board this Oul Battleaxe."
"Afraid not, Captain," Jaune announced. "My buddy 'Tukson' is the only one joining your crew."
Everyone could tell that 'buddy' was anything but accurate given Jaune's tone. The Faunus fugitive flinched, but knew he shouldn't blame JNPR for their annoyance. Kale took a step forward and appraised the Faunus.
"Aye," Kale said after a moment. "Get on board. Laal will get ya to yer bunk."
"Aye, aye Captain," Tukson said sharply.
The Captain laughed. "I think you'll do well."
Tukson nodded to JNPR before boarding the airship. After a moment, Pyrrha turned her attention to the Captain. "Excuse me Captain. May I ask a question?"
"Of course, lass. Ask whenever you're ready."
"Have you seen," Pyrrha fished out her scroll and pulled up a joint picture of RWBY and JNPR. She quickly pointed out Blake. "this woman? There was...an incident and we were separated."
Colcannon lit a pipe. "I didn't but Buteo couldn't stop tongue wagging about what a ride some girl was. His description matched your friend."
Jaune took a step forward. "Did he say where?"
"She was hanging around the port's entrance. Buteo offered her a ride, but she refused and dashed."
"Do you know which direction?" Ren interjected.
"Sorry boyo, but that wouldn't help much. If the lass is crafty, she'll double back and use all sorts of tricks ta throw you lot off her trail," Kale explained.
"Why do you think she's trying to avoid us?" Nora asked through gritted teeth and narrowed eyes.
Colcannon laughed ruefully. "Cause I know the type. I was the type. Didn't get right with what I was runnin' from for a long time...long time."
JNPR remained silent. The captain continued, "Good luck. Don' worry too much. Girl like that, I'd hate to be someone getting in her way right now."
Team RWBY arrived in the alleyway where Blake's Rocket Locker had touched down. They were desperately searching for clues. Yang, having the most experience in these matters, had taken the lead and was interviewing everyone nearby.
Weiss sighed as she tried to divine any clues from the angle of the Rocket Locker's landing. "Ruby, I'm worried."
"We're all worried, Weiss. But don't fret too much! We'll find her or I'll give up strawberries and chocolate chip cookies," Ruby declared.
"Of course I'm worried about Blake, she's our friend! A friend who will receive a very stern talking to once we find her, but that's not quite what I'm worried about the most at the moment," Weiss answered with a smile that faded into a concerned scowl.
"What are you thinking, Weiss?" Ruby asked.
The Schnee heiress pointed to the angle that the locker had landed. "Doesn't something seem a bit off about the angle?"
"It's leaning a lot. Rocket Lockers are supposed to land vertically..." Ruby mumbled as she was distracted by all the engineering thoughts and calculations rumbling through her head. "We need to check those fire escapes."
Weiss followed Ruby's gestures to the three fire escapes/balconies in the alley. "I'll ask the owners of these buildings. Go fill in Yang."
"Hey! I'm the leader of Team RWBY!" The reaper grumbled and stuck her tongue out at her friend.
"Take it under advisement then!" Weiss countered playfully. She quickly strolled towards the nearest building.
Ruby shrugged and walked over to where her sister was fending off some random guy's very clumsy attempt to flirt with her. RWBY's leader was fairly certain Yang was about to fall back into her Semblance.
"Yang! We've got a lead!" Ruby announced both to inform her older half-sister and valiantly rescue her from the idiot who wasn't taking a hint. She really wished she had brought Crescent Rose. That would have sent the guy running and made sure he would leave Yang alone.
"Oh thank Oum!" Yang threw up her hands, both in celebration that they had a lead on locating her partner and as a convenient escape route from the idiot who wasn't taking a hint. "What do you need me to do to track down our… 'objective'?"
"I can't tell you around a civilian," Ruby said sharply. The younger woman was honestly having a blast playing up her Huntress on a mission act. Which...honestly wasn't an act at the moment, but Ruby was going to indulge a bit to keep her mind somewhat off her hurt that Blake was gone.
Yang gleefully ditched the guy and headed into the alley. "What have we got?"
"Weiss and I think Blake brought her Rocket Locker down at the odd angle on purpose. We're going to check the three fire escapes to see if she jumped up on them to escape."
"Okay," Yang said as she started looking for anything that jumped out to her. She had to find her partner. "Weiss is searching..."
"The lower left," Ruby answered quickly. "I'm going to access the Rocker Locker's systems to see if I can find anything useful."
"On it," Yang quickly agreed. Team RWBY go to work. They were hoping to find something that would reunite them with their friend.
As Ruby worked, she reached out to her friends in JNPR. 'You better have some good news, Jaune...'
"We're following up on leads as well," Jaune assured Ruby. "Good luck."
Ren approached his closest guy friend. "Has RWBY had any luck?"
"Yeah, actually. They found Blake's Rocket Locker." Jaune wanted to continue, but Nora ran up and interrupted.
There was no annoyance, because Jaune could tell Nora had uncovered something important. "Jaune! Renny! I think you'll want to know about this!"
"What's up, Nora?" Jaune asked.
"Well, Pyrrha and I were trying to find out some information from people, but couldn't get much since all the guys were hitting on us..." Nora started. Pyrrha, who had been following her friend at a reasonable plan blushed in both anger and embarrassment, but mostly anger. The girls were pleased by the possessive/protective reactions of their teammates which helped the anger fade.
"What we did uncover," Pyrrha interjected, eager for a change in subject, "was that there have been a string of Dust Store burglaries."
"The police said it was almost like someone was trying to equip an army,"
Jaune's eyes went wide. "That's why Professor Ozpin needed us to get Tukson out. He'd know what was going down..."
He quickly produced his Scroll and entered Ozpin's Contact Data. Fortunately, the Headmaster answered promptly. "Ah, Mr. Arc! I have received word from Captain Colcannon that Tukson was delivered safely. I knew I could count on JNPR and RWBY."
"Thank you sir, but we have a situation," Jaune reported. Ozpin remained silent and Jaune realized that was a cue to continue. "Tukson...revealed that Blake was not only a Faunus, but an ex-White Fang operative."
"That is unfortunate," Ozpin said neutrally.
"Understatement much, sir?" Jaune snapped. He couldn't help but see the shocked and betrayed look on his friend's face. The fear of rejection that had been polluting her beautiful features was haunting. The fact that Ozpin could be so blasé about such a personal betrayal perpetrated against Blake!
"Apologies, I know this is a difficult situation. We weren't sure why Blake had summoned her Rocket Locker and were looking into matters," Ozpin amended his stance.
Jaune recounted exactly what happened. The anger remained in his voice. Ozpin could understand the reaction. Teams JNPR and RWBY were practically one team, all things considered, and were full of passionate individuals.
"Continue your search," the Headmaster said gently. "Curfew for Teams RWBY and JNPR are extended until midnight tonight. I will personally inform Professors Goodwitch, Port, Peach, and Doctor Oobleck of your special permissions. If there is any information you require from the authorities in Vale, contact me. I will make use of my connections."
"Yes sir. Thank you sir," Jaune said. "I'll contact Ruby and her team now."
"Good luck, Mr. Arc," Ozpin said as he ended the call.
"What did Professor Ozpin say, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
"He's not going to punish us for being out so long after the mission was complete?" Nora asked. "Cause, I'm scared that would lead to us getting out pancake rations cut..."
"We're not in trouble," Jaune assured his friend. "In fact, JNPR and RWBY have had our curfews extended until midnight and Professor Ozpin is informing the rest of the staff so we won't get in any trouble. I need to call Ruby and let her know."
"And Blake?" Ren asked.
"Well, we better find her and get her back on Campus by midnight then," Jaune declared succinctly.
JNPR all nodded and quickly reached out to the majority of RWBY. They were now on the clock.
And they weren't going back without their friend. Consequences be damned.
JNPR wasn't the only ones aware of the Dust Store robberies. Blake Belladonna was currently staking out one of the stores that had been hit. The police were pursuing multiple angles, but the only realistic leads always led back to the White Fang and/or Roman Torchwick. Blake could easily believe, and wanted to believe, that it was only Torchwick behind the crime wave. The thought that the Fang was stockpiling Dust could only mean Adam was preparing for a major offensive operation. An attack on the magnitude hinted at by the Dust thefts could only mean that Sienna Khan had also signed off on such a spectacular plan. Adam may be a darkly charismatic and meticulous operational leader, but his ability to keep his faction of the White Fang properly funded was a struggle.
That had actually been Rojo and Blake's main focus during their days as revolutionaries.
Frowning at the thought of being outed by Rojo in one of his drunken emotional pits, Blake tried to refocus. She had slipped a glance at the patrol officer guarding the crime scene's folder. There was a pattern to the break-ins.
'The thefts have also hit the trucks heading to the stores...' Blake mused. 'That means...they are going to hit the next shipment...arriving tonight...'
Resolved, Blake started to head to the industrial docks. She was going to find out the truth. The Faunus beauty's hand brushed up against her Scroll and a storm formed in her mind.
"Should I call them?" Blake asked the wind. "Would they even answer?"
Blake had acted rashly and out of fear. There was no doubt her friends would accept her apology and likely welcome her back, but they were no doubt hurt by her actions.
"I can't keep running away after this," Blake decided. "I'm sorry, everyone."
Weiss was smiling as she ended the call with her home. "I just got some information from Klein. There is a sizable shipment of Dust coming into the Industrial Aerodome tonight. If Blake wants to find evidence to clear the White Fang of their involvement, that is where she will be."
"Great work, Weiss!" Ruby high-fived her partner. In another situation, Weiss accepting the high-five would have elicited a number of humorous responses from the recently assembled friends.
"You really came through in the clutch," Jaune agreed. "I know we're all hoping that these attacks are the work of Roman. That being said...there's going to be violence. Not against Grimm, but people."
"We're going to try to use nonlethal tactics, but if it is a choice between any of you and them, I'm choosing my friends," Ruby declared.
"Call in my Rocket Locker," Yang ordered. "We're getting our friend and my partner back."
"It's on its way," Ruby declared as she looked up from her Scroll.
Jaune nodded at its team to confirm that their equipment was on its way as well. JNPR and RWBY were preparing mentally as their Rocket Lockers arrived. As Ruby took the lead on contacting Professor Ozpin about the situation, Jaune approached Yang.
"We're not going back to Beacon without Blake," Jaune said without preamble.
"Damn right we aren't," Yang agreed.
Jaune was caught a bit off guard by Yang's fervor, but he smiled in return. "Nora put the handcuffs in my locker as a joke."
"Hopefully we can just talk Blake into coming back," Yang's anger deflated as the hurt seeped into her voice.
"You know, Blake didn't run because she doesn't care," Jaune tried to comfort his blonde compatriot. "I'd say she ran because she was afraid that we'd reject her for her past."
"We'd never do that! Even Weiss is freaking out," the brawler was cut off by a shouted 'Hey!' from Weiss, but continued. "and her family and the White Fang are at war!"
"Blake's perceptive and one of the smartest people we know," Jaune said plainly. Yang nodded in response. Continuing, Jaune added. "But we know what her Semblance is. She can't read minds. 'Tukson' outed Blake in a pretty dickish way. I have a feeling that the 'he' Rojo was talking about was...well...Adam Taurus."
"Shit," Yang hissed. "That means Blake was in deep. I guess I can understand her freak out more...but she didn't have to run from us, from me."
Jaune noted the last bit, but left his curious observation unspoken. "We'll just have to let Blake know when we catch up to her."
"When you're right, you're right," Yang sighed. "Are you sure you can't just whip up some kind of fish thingy to draw her out?"
"I don't have a recipe for 'Some Kind of Fish Thingy' on me...maybe we can bribe her with the idea of one?" Jaune teased.
Yang laughed. "Thanks. You know, for someone we've all nicknamed Fugitive, you're pretty good at sticking around, Jaune..."
"Thanks," Jaune chuckled. Any further conversation was cut off by the arrival of the Rocket Lockers. JNPR and RWY quickly equipped their weapons and were off. Weiss was in the lead as she was most familiar with the Industrial Aerodome.
"I should have brought my bike..." Yang grumbled as she followed her sister's partner. The elder daughter of Taiyang found herself hoping that some form of hostile goon would be at the docks. Yang needed to hit something very hard. She would rather it be a criminal, but if not the fiery brawler was certain she could goad someone into a fight back at Beacon or at some nightclub. Yang needed a release and would get it.
Somehow.
Roman Torchwick was not a racist. He hated, derided, and planned on using and discarding all but one living being on Remnant equally. The derision he was heaping on the hired White Fang help was not at all because they were Faunus. It was because they weren't Neopolitan or Roman Torchwick. So, if anything, Roman was being a humanitarian trying to uplift these incompetents to such rarefied levels of competence, good looks, and style.
Truly, Roman was a magnanimous son-of-a-bitch.
The thought brought a smile to his face as he exited the Bullhead. "Alright you motley crew of flea-bitten revolutionaries! Time is money and we're losing both! Let's load these crates and go home!"
A series of snarled curses were aimed at Roman, but were deflected with a casual twirl of Melodic Cudgel. He was in too good of a mood, honestly. Neo was off making sure that their insurance policy against their wonderful business associates was 'up to date'. Roman was going to make sure that they had a way out of this god-awful deal.
'All in all,' Roman thought. 'I better enjoy this positive moment before it all goes to shit...' Roman decided to chastise an idiot for not handling the tow cable properly. The Crime Lord had expected worse, honestly.
On cue, cold steel was pressed against this throat. "For fuck's sake!"
"Nobody move!" A young woman's voice called out. Roman watched a black ribbon float in front of his face with utter boredom. "Brothers and Sisters of the White Fang! Why are you working with this scum?"
Roman suddenly recognized visible from the corner of his eye from the furious ranting of the White Fang officer 'assigned' to this venture. This was Blake Belladonna. Roman wondered if he could get a ransom bidding war going between Menagerie and Taurus.
"Principles take a back seat to economics, Missy," Roman taunted. "I provide a service the White Fang need a great deal more than your idealism."
Blake flinched at the last word and the venom lacing each syllable. The momentary distraction was all Roman needed. A shot from Melodic Cudgel sent Blake sprawling. "Boys, tie her up. I'm sure someone will get a bonus if they bag her!"
"Suppressive fire!" A voice yelled out. Submachine gun, grenade, and rifle rounds rang out. The White Fang dove for cover under the torrent of fire.
'Of course she would show up! Why doesn't every other bitch ruining my life show up as well! Let's just make this fine evening 'Shit on Roman Night!'
"Well, Red. I knew you'd show up to ruin another of my nights!" Roman shouted.
"Roman and the White Fang. Fantastic!" Weiss huffed with magnificent sarcasm. A series of glyphs appeared and formed a stairway to Blake. "Yang! Go!"
No one would have to tell Yang Xiao Long twice. She was already using the momentum boosting properties of the glyphs to position herself in front of Blake. Three White Fang militants were charging with drawn sabers. Yang had been craving a release for her anger, fear, concern, and, at this point at night, hangriness. The White Fang were generously providing Yang with the perfect release. The first militant thrust his blade at Yang's midsection. The brawler side-stepped the attack and hyper-extended the man's elbow with a palm thrust. Instantly, she had used her momentum to push her first victim to the ground. Yang was already cartwheeling into the middle opponent and brought her heel down on the crown of the Antelope Faunus's head. Landing in a crouch, Yang had completed a furious cascade of strikes to the final asshole's kidney, ribs, and jaw. The entire explosion of violent catharsis had barely lasted fifteen seconds. Blake had barely had time to rise to her feet before Yang had obliterated the attackers.
"Yang?"
"Who else would be coming to save your ass?" Yang questioned.
A scream and a crash heralded the arrival of She of the Boop into the melee. "I'd say Nora is involved."
"You know what I meant!" Yang responded to the teasing. "Ah crap! Bullheads!"
The aircraft were coming in for a textbook attack run. Yang and Blake had no chance to dodge the fusillade of high caliber rounds seeking to eliminate the warrior women. It seemed the docks had other ideas about Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long exiting the world. Dozens of shipping containers reformed into a protective wall around the Huntresses with unnatural speed. Yang looked over her shoulder and saw Pyrrha, arms outstretched and surrounded by an odd distortion, controlling the shipping containers.
"Thanks for shipping us, P-Money!" Yang shouted as she and Blake moved to support their team.
Jaune was exceptionally grateful for the intense training Pyrrha and Ruby had put him through at Beacon. He had just made a mistake that a few months of go would have been fatal. Jaune had turned his attention to gawk at Pyrrha's display of power. The White Fang did not allow him a moment to appreciate not only his partner's abilities, but those of all his dear friends. Instead the radical Faunus made a valiant effort to remove Jaune's liver. Jaune expanded Crocea Mors' shield form to full width. He used the expansion to knock the sword thrust aside. The Knight took a quick swipe at the exposed arm of his opponent. His enemy was not a Hunter. There was no substantial level of Aura to protect the Faunus. Crocea Mors cut off the arm.
'It is my friends or them. He'll live. I have to protect my friends. That's why I'm a Hunter,' Jaune repeated that mantra as he managed to block a burst of machine gun fire from another White Fang militant. The Cook/Knight continued to advanced and simply bashed the soldier with the shield of Crocea Mors. Jaune's momentum knocked the Faunus into a shipping container. Team JNPR's leader had never kicked someone in the face, and he was surprised by how much force it generated. He was doubly surprised when not only did he knock the guy out, but broke the man's cheek.
Pushing aside such thoughts, he moved out to assist his team and friends.
Weiss Schnee was singularly focused as she fought her family's war. 'Deflect and redirect,' Weiss recalled her lessons. Even as she recalled her training that Jacques had spared no expense for, a realization struck her.
Weiss was not fighting for the Schnee.
Her sister, perhaps, but Weiss had barely considered herself on the side of the Schnee Dust Corporation. The Heiress owed her allegiance to the seven people currently fighting for each other and their own lives beside her.
Saber and Myrtenaster clashed. Weiss was quickly establishing dominance over her opponent when the sound of a chainsaw was eclipsed in violence by a voice roaring, "Die Schnee!"
Weiss had combat tunnel vision and had absolutely no chance of dodging or redirecting the attack coming from behind her. Barring a miracle, the chainsaw would carve the young woman in half; aura be damned.
Then the Miracle arrived with a cry of "Tally-ho!" and a concrete shattering hammer blow.
Wasting no time, or a second glance at her good friend Nora, Weiss quickly smashed her primary opponent in the face with Myrtenaster's revolver mechanism. The opponent was knocked unconcious by the blow.
"Why are you defending scum?" The giant of a Faunus snarled at Nora. Weiss was shocked by the sheer size of the White Fang Agent.
"Defending?" Nora taunted. "I'm fighting you, not defending you."
No other words were exchanged. Weiss wasted no time creating a series of Glyphs around the combatants. Smirking at the havoc her maelstrom of a friend would unless, Weiss called out to Nora. The Valkyrie laughed as she exploited the time-dilation effects of Weiss's Glyphs. Nora proceeded to hammer, figuratively and very very literally, the White Fang Lieutenant.
"Great work Nora!" Weiss cried out as the Faunus was knocked to the ground. Nora turned a fraction to grin at Weiss and that created all the opening for the White Fang to launch a counter attack. He moved with more speed than one would have expected for such a giant. A vicious kick to the gut sent Nora sprawling. In an instant, an elbow strike caused an explosion of pain behind Weiss's forehead where she took the full brunt of the blow.
"I never dreamed I'd get to kill a Schnee..."
"Weiss!" Ruby screamed her partner. Reacting quickly, she delved into the capabilities of her Semblance to cross the docks fast enough to save her friend. Team RWBY's leader had made it a dozen steps before an explosion sent her flying.
"Oh no you don't, Red. We have a few words that need to be exchanged!" Roman snarled.
Ruby rose to her feet shakily. The speed at which she had been traveling amplified the shock of her fall. Fortunately, her Aura reserves were not horribly depleted. Crescent Rose extended to its full form moments before Roman attacked. Roman had the advantage at close range. Melodic Cudgel was a much better short range weapon. Crescent Rose relied on reach, mobility, and momentum to be wielded at its full potential. Vale's most notorious criminal was not allowing Ruby to achieve any of those three criteria for a successful battle. The hook in the cane gun was being used to great effect to restrain Ruby. It was a testament to Ruby being a complete prodigy that she hadn't been killed yet.
Roman's next action was incredibly petty. He punched his teenage nemesis directly in the nose.
"Red." Roman stepped on the girl's stomach before she could react. "I'm going to..."
Evidently, Roman was going to be slashed viciously in the forearm by a green blur. The swipe came from someone with incredible spiritual control. The concentrated Aura in the weapon nearly penetrated through his Aura and his armored coat.
"Kid. This is my favorite coat. I'm going to kill someone you love for that," Roman threatened.
"You really need to shut up," RWBY's Reaper snapped and opened fire. Roman managed to deflect a single shot from Ruby's Crescent Rose. The impact of the rifle round knocked Melodic Cudgel from his grip and forced Roman to evade and take cover behind one of the Dust Containers. These fucking kids were dumber than average, but they couldn't be that dumb could they?
Roman smirked as the handle of Melodic Cugdel was used to turn his head. Neo was grinning at him.
"Good news, Neo?"
The only person Roman Torchwick gave a damn about nodded. She rested her umbrella sword on her shoulder and jerked her head in the general direction of "The Fuck Out of Here". As always, Neo was completely unfazed by the chaos unfolding just around the corner of the shipping container.
'Her Semblance is damn useful,' Roman thought. He didn't look back as the pair slipped away into the night. The White Fang were made up of big boys and girls infected with rampant zealotry-induced stupidity. They could take care of themselves.
Pyrrha slammed her shield onto the forearm of one of the six White Fang surrounding her. Using her downward momentum, the Hoplite managed to dodge a bayonet thrust. Miló, in its xiphos-form, struck the rifle armed terrorist in the sternum. Pyrrha quickly lifted her heavily armored leg to deflect a saber slash. A bonus effect of her Semblance was that Pyrrha had a vague sense of where a metallic object was. The sense wasn't perfect, but it did provide a measure of a heads-up. Quickly, Pyrrha used her Semblance to deflect the incoming bayonet thrust. She countered with a swipe of Akoúo̱ that sent the militant sprawling.
'Where are the last two?' Pyrrha wondered.
The staccato retort of machine gun fire immediately had her shelter behind Akoúo̱ and expand her Semblance to deflect anything that came too close. Peering from behind her hoplon shield, she watched tracer fire streak by and force the two remaining militants behind cover. The supporting fire Pyrrha was receiving wasn't accurate by any stretch of the imagination. It was doing its job and suppressing the pair of wounded White Fang soldiers. Pyrrha cast a quick glance over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of a determined and wrathful Jaune. He was copying the shooter's stance used by Ruby and herself. Pyrrha was so proud of him.
Unfortunately that pride lasted mere moments. Quickly, it was turned to ash in her lungs as Jaune's position was engulfed in fire and shrapnel.
"JAUNE!" The scream was ragged, broken, and full of primal unconstrained terror that it silenced the docks for a moment. "J-Jaune..."
Nora could barely see the flames, the giant enemy laughing over the prone form of her friend, and the circling Bullheads through her tears. Her second-favorite-guy ever, team leader, and all around awesome friend had taken a direct hit from a weapon designed to would Goliaths. Aura or no, that kind of firepower would carve anyone into pieces. Suddenly, pain decided it could wait. The emotional void where Jaune's dorky jokes stepped aside for white-hot rage.
"You assholes!" Nora roared. "That was my friend! The god-father of my children!"
She aimed Magnhild's grenade lauchher form as best she could through her emotional tremors. A single shot was fired and struck the White Fang Lieutenant in the side with a grenade. The man screamed in pain as he fell. Weiss, barely recovered from the twin shocks of her concussion and Jaune's...no...Weiss wouldn't consider that. Instead, Weiss would harness that fear and anger. Her own battle cry drowned out by the screams of Pyrrha, Ruby, and the various Bullheads approaching the docks, Weiss charged. She made it four steps towards her nemesis before her legs were tangled up and Weiss was tripped by a bola weapon.
A White Fang woman quickly pounced on Weiss with an air of desperation surrounding her. "Get away from my husband you little Schnee cunt!"
It was not an elegant fighting move, but Weiss was desperate to live. The Schnee Heiress could not wait for the Faunus woman to draw her knife. So, she snapped at the woman's ear and bit down hard. The Faunus screamed and attempted to slash at Weiss's throat. It would have been a fatal attack, had there not been a sickening crunch. There were two new screams that echoed through the warzone. A scream of pain as Nora's Magnhild crushed both fibula and tibula.
"My t'ika! I will kill both of you! I will kill you a thousand times!" The Lieutenant bellowed. His threats, while not empty, were un-actionable. He was too wounded from Nora's grenade and his own exhaustion. Desperately, he clawed his way over to his wife after she had been knocked off of Weiss. Nora was too exhausted to fight and was more concerned with helping Weiss to safety.
For them, the battle was ended. 'I have to find Jaune,' Nora wept.
Lie Ren had experienced a great deal in his life. There was a great deal of horror and loss, but moments of joy and gain as well. Ren had witnessed monsters that defied explanation and haunted his dreams to the point he would wake up screaming to Nora holding him tightly as if she had his Semblance. All of that was an accepted part of life on Remnant. Monsters, Dust, Semblances, and extraordinary abilities were commonplace. They had explanations. Atlas had entire divisions dedicated to explaining Aura and Semblances through the lens of science. Ren may not have a clue about the depths of the science, but he could accept the results.
What he was seeing now was something out of a fairy tale.
Ruby Rose was his friend and had a very defined, very obvious Semblance. It was not something involving leaking pure energy that looked and felt like molten silver.
"Jaune..." Ruby whispered.
"Ruby, we have to move! There are four Bullheads coming in for a strafing run. Ruby..." Ren tried to reason with his younger friend. Reason was quickly replaced by instinct as both fighters caught a glimpse of a rocket launcher being loaded in one of the Bullheads. Ren acted on his Instinct and activated his Semblance. There was some form of recognition in the energy that erupted from Ruby's eyes. Instead of being burned by the strange energy, Ren was simply tossed close to thirty feet into the base of a loading crane. Ren couldn't get a clear view of what was happening, but the Bullheads had suffered catastrophic damage and were crashing all around Ruby.
"Ruby!" Ren yelled out for his friend as the strain of the mysterious power caught up the Reaper and she collapsed. Wounded, but determined, Ren struggled to reach the unconscious young woman. "Ruby!"
A clang caused Ren to wheel around protectively and aim Stormflower at the source of the noise. "Who are you?"
"I am a friend of Ruby's. Are you a friend of Ruby?" the approaching girl asked.
Ren narrowed his eyes and tightened the grip on his weapons. "She's practically my little sister."
"Well, salutations! My name is Penny Polendina! I hope we can be friends as well!" The orange-haired girl declared as she rolled forward on the balls of her feet.
"We have to survive this first," Ren pointed out flatly as a squad of White Fang approached.
"Do not worry, friend! I am Combat Ready!"
The world had evidently not finished throwing curve-balls at Ren's perceptions of reality. A hatch opened on Penny's back and quickly produced several swords.
'Wires? How are they attached by wires?' Ren wondered. Regardless of how they were attached, the wires permitted Penny to use the blades at range with incredible precision. Penny's weapons were moving at such speed that Ren had trouble following the assault in real time. He could only notice the aftermath and defeated White Fang militants. 'She could even give Pyrrha a challenge...'
Dozens of Bullheads were approaching. Several had already landed and had begun evacuating the wounded White Fang and some of the Dust. Penny quickly used two of her swords to brace herself. The other swords spun around an invisible central axis as they gathered a massive amount of energy. Ren could only gawk as the green energy lanced out. The beams bisected two of the Bullheads and damaged a third.
"Do you require additional assistance, my friend?" Penny asked with a smile of pure happiness.
"That is an understatement..." Ren grimaced as he picked up the unconscious Ruby Rose.
Pyrrha Nikos was unreachable by words as she tossed aside the burning husks of Bullheads, shipping containers and even the corpses of the White Fang that littered the ruins of the Aerodome and docks. She was only vaguely aware that Nora was following in her wake. Pyrrha was glad that Nora was relatively unharmed. It was, unfortunately, not enough to even dent the hurt and anguish that had created a void in her soul.
She had to know.
The Hoplite needed to find Jaune. She was in complete denial that the man she had fallen in love with was anything other than miraculously alive. Fresh tears stung her eyes as she finally admitted the feelings that had been building for months.
Pyrrha Nikos loved Jaune Arc.
"Where are you?" Pyrrha pleaded with the silence. Her voice was hoarse and broken from her mournful screams and the exhaustion of combat. Pyrrha was very glad the White Fang had pulled out as soon as the Silver Flash had occurred. Ren had shouted something about Ruby being responsible in response to Yang's desperate cries for an explanation, but the moment 'She's going to be fine,' left Ren's lips Pyrrha redoubled her focus on rescuing Jaune. Pyrrha had never used her Semblance so recklessly and so openly before. However, she felt completely safe around her dear friends. Pyrrha had never felt so accepted and loved as Pyrrha and not the 'Invincible Girl', marketing tool, or lien printer in her life. The thought of losing the one who had introduced her to such a wonderful and liberating existence was one she couldn't fathom.
The sight of twisted metal was like the twisting of a knife in her heart. Nora, Pyrrha's trusted confidant and sister-figure, gasped and that drove the knife of worry deeper into the warrior woman's heart.
"How?" Nora's single word stopped Pyrrha's spiral into despair.
"How?" Pyrrha echoed.
Jaune Arc lived.
His body was covered in slowly receding shroud of aura that resembled steel tempered at over 700 degrees Celsius.
"Pyrrha...d-did you know about Jaune's Semblance?" Nora whispered in awe.
The champion collapsed next to her beloved Jaune and wept as she listened to his breathing. It was steady, but Jaune was seriously wounded. "No, but he is alive. I don't care what his Semblance is at this moment, but it kept him here..with me..with us..."
Nora and Pyrrha were not medical experts by any stretch of the imagination. The two beautiful women were elite warriors, but they knew where their talents lay. All they could offer for Jaune was hope and a cursory check for major injuries such as compound fractures or third degree burns. Pyrrha nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulders.
"Is he really alive?" Blake asked with genuine concern.
Nora and Pyrrha nodded. They were stunned that Jaune had survived at all. His injuries were severe, but the fact he was intact was a miracle.
"Jaune is breathing easily," Nora breathed out in relief. The hammer-wielder turned and noticed that Blake's Faunus ears were still exposed. She had never seen them before. 'She should be proud of those.'
Nora smiled as she saw Blake's Faunus ears twitch. "There's a whole lot of sirens approaching."
"Can you hear ambulances?" Pyrrha pressed.
The newly-revealed Faunus nodded. "At least six."
Pyrrha brushed Jaune's bangs away from his eyes. 'Jaune, you and Ruby are going to make it. You have to,' the champion pleaded with her two friends.
"Nora," Pyrrha turned her attention from Jaune to her sister-figure. "I'm sorry. How are your injuries? I hope they are not too severe?"
"I'm going to be sore as hell for a few days, but I'll be alright. I'm just glad we're all going to be okay," Nora answered. "And yes, we are all going to be okay. Jaune is just too Jaune to realize he's been hit by a missile so he'll be up complaining about water tasting like beef wellington in a day or two. Ruby will be begging for Jaune to make some kind of glorious chocolate cake thing that will have us all fighting over the last piece."
The levity helped Pyrrha and Blake immensely. "I still don't want to know how Jaune got that side-effect," Blake added. "He's going to make it," Blake continued mostly to herself. "I'm going to check with my team and send Ren this way."
"Thank you," Pyrrha said quietly.
Yang Xiao Long was furious and normally her Semblance would be active and raging out of control. This was not a normal situation. Anger was not her dominant emotion at the moment. It was fear.
Horrible, all consuming, fear.
She was terrified for the safety of her friends. She and Pyrrha had made it out of the battle with little more than exhaustion to show for their 'victorious' efforts. Ren and Blake had suffered a few bruises, but nothing serious. Weiss and Nora had taken a beating at the hands of the giant White Fang asshole and his wife. Yang's fist tightened as she thought about what her two friends had suffered. As her thoughts turned to Fugitive and her precious sister, anger was swept aside by a torrent of anguish and worry. Fugitive had taken a direct hit from a missile. It was a miracle that he had survived. A tiny worm of doubt writhed in her gut, but Yang was going to trust her partner. Blake had been adamant that Fugitive was alive in her little chat with Ren. That helped...a miniscule amount...Ruby was still unconscious.
"Ruby is stable," the odd Penny stated calmly. "She is quite strong. We must have faith in her."
Yang nodded hollowly. "She's my baby sister. I have faith, but I want her safe now."
"There are ambulances on the way, Yang. We're going to get Ruby and Jaune to the hospital. They are going to be fine," Blake spoke directly to Yang for the first time since combat had ended.
"We? You aren't going to run again?" Yang questioned with a hint of bitterness.
"I'm done running, Yang. I swear," the Faunus pleaded with her partner. "I'm not going to leave Ruby, Jaune, or you. Especially not now when we all need each other so much."
"Promise?" Yang pleaded.
"Promise," the answer came with the slightest of smiles.
Yang immediately brightened and the flecks of red in her eyes faded. Tears of relief replaced the last remnants of her Semblance's visual cues as the ambulances and police arrived. Professor Goodwitch and Doctor Oobleck emerged from the lead vehicle.
As Glynda took command of the situation, Oobleck was already with Team RWBY. Weiss, normally the most formal and tradition-bound of the team, could only manage a single nod. Her concussion was really impacting her.
"Doctor Oobleck, we need to get most of RWBY and JNPR to a hospital," Blake said.
"What she said," Yang piped in. "Unless..."
"Unless we want to see why you are blacklisted by several drinking establishments in Downtown Vale...noted Miss Xiao Long. The medics are approaching now and Headmaster Ozpin has already set aside one of the wards of Beacon's Infirmary for your teams. I assure you, we are already prepared to provide all medical assistance to both teams."
Oobleck spoke a million miles per hour, but it was assuredly a comfort to RWBY. The comfort was even more pronounced as medics rushed over and began giving proper medical attention to Weiss and Ruby. Yang and Blake cast a glance over their shoulders towards where Team JNPR was receiving aid.
"That's a relief," Blake breathed. "We really need to thank you...Yang...where's Penny?"
Yang's eyes went wide. "She was just with us! Where'd she go! She saved Ruby and I do need to thank her..."
The History Professor watched as one of the vehicle's taillights retreated into the night. There was something he would possibly have to investigate. That was for another time, Oobleck decided. He quickly escorted RWBY to the nearest ambulance.
'I will have to speak to Peter about this...'
Glynda walked alongside Ren and Pyrrha as Jaune and a protesting Nora were led into ambulances. "I promise that we will make sure Jaune and Ruby receive the best possible medical care. What you did was incredibly risky and put all of you in danger, but...it was very brave. But given what I know about all of you...I suppose it is to be suspected."
"I'm not sure I follow, Professor," Ren ground out. Everyone knew he wasn't trying to be rude, but the strain of the battle was finally pushing through the adrenaline that had sustained him.
"There is no way you would allow your friend to remain at risk. Every member of Team JNPR and RWBY did not hesitate to defend your friend. The dedication is admirable, but you are not fully trained Hunters yet. What you did, while a victory, put all of you at risk. Your team leaders have not even fully manifested their powers yet. Please, each and every member of your teams hold such promise, consider your actions carefully in the future. Remnant will need such talent and power in the future."
Glynda finished her piece and strode off. Pyrrha caught a glimpse of the odd look adorning Ren's face. "Is something wrong, Ren?"
"She said power and not Semblance. It would make sense to say that Jaune hadn't manifested his Semblance. Tonight was the first time we had even given thought to Jaune's Semblance. We know Ruby's Semblance. That...was not her Semblance."
The Invincible Girl hummed. "What was that power? I've never seen anything remotely like it. As you said, Ruby's Semblance is quite obvious and she uses it almost instinctively."
"I don't know. It is an unreal power. All I know for sure, the energy came from her eyes. I...saw what looked like wings before I was thrown across the docks."
Pyrrha contemplated Ren's words before putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Whatever it is, our friends will help us figure it out," Pyrrha declared. She then smirked. "Would you like me to bring you a pillow for your stay in the infirmary?"
The composed member of JNPR looked at Pyrrha for a moment before grinning in return. "That would be nice. Perhaps an extra to support my arm..."
"I'll bring us both some extra pillows," Pyrrha concurred. The friends felt their spirits lifted as they tried, as best as their injured and exhausted bodies would permit, to catch up with Team RWBY.
As RWBY and JNPR were whisked away in the ambulances and the police began their investigation, Glynda pulled out her Scroll and contacted Professor Ozpin.
"Yes, Glynda?" Ozpin asked. He had poured espresso. That...was never a good sign.
"Sir, Teams RWBY and JNPR have been recovered. Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose are in the most severe state. However, they will likely make a full recovery," the disciplinarian explained.
"That is excellent news. I have such high hopes for all of them."
"Sir..." Glynda weighed her words carefully.
"Speak, Glynda. You know I will give your report my full attention and trust."
The subordinate professor chewed at her lip. "Sir, they activated."
Silence reigned.
"Are you certain?" Ozpin questioned. "Glynda, I need you to be sure."
"Sir, I have no reason to doubt the report of Lie Ren."
"Thank you, Glynda." Ozpin's tone illustrated the finality of the statement. Truthfully, Ozpin had no need to hear his equerry's statement. He had access to a great deal of information. The footage had been damaged by the battle, the aggressive use of Miss Nikos's Semblance, the arrival of the Atlas...'huntress', and most notably Ruby's Power. Still, one required as much information as possible. Now, Beacon's Headmaster looked at the clockwork mechanisms of his office and smiled. He hadn't expected Ruby to unlock her Silver Eyes so soon. Better yet, the power had been unlocked without losing any of Ozpin's other 'projects'. RWBY and JNPR had performed beyond expectations.
'Perhaps, I can take more direct action...' Ozpin weighed his options. Regardless, his simpler soul had the perfect aegis.
The message ping of his Scroll drew Ozpin back to the here and now.
From Qrow: Queen has pawns.
There was no doubt that the message was troubling. However, Ozpin now had Rooks, Knights, and Bishops at his command.
'Yes, perhaps it is time to risk more direct action after all,' Ozpin decided. 'And perhaps, I do not have only one honest soul but several...'
Author's Note: Before I address the Elephants in the room, I'd like to say that his was a doozy to write! There was a lot of events covered. Two whole episodes and Volume One was completed. Consider this a season finale!
Now for the elephants...
1. This was easily the longest chapter I have written for this fic. Almost 3,000 words longer than chapters 3 and 5 which were the previous record holders. I don't have a set word count for my chapters. I have a set of 'objectives' to achieve. However long it takes to achieve them is however long the chapter ends up being. This chapter had a few objectives. Pursuing Blake, the whole thing with Sun, the Docks Battle...and the two power partial-reveals. Those last two are probably doozies lol.
2. Now for the majorelephant in the room. The punishment or lack thereof for CRDL's actions. First, CRDL was, is, and is continuing to be punished. They are not getting off without consequences. I am an educator. My philosophy is that you don't discuss punishments of one student with another. Right to privacy and all that. There are obviously going to be consequences for CRDL. I tried to alter the scene with Ozpin at the end to start displaying some of the consequences, but it felt forced. So, I went with the original plan. Next chapter will clarify a lot of things.
And the Jaune social/emotional trauma. It will be glorious. Nora and Yang will be merciless. It'll be like the teasing and pun version of the Terminator.
3. The poll up on my profile will stay open until...sometime...July 8th. Get your votes in. For those of you who have voted for items from my plot ADHD Asylum, please PM. I would love to see which of the non-published ideas you want to see. A few have, but definitely not the double digit votes that option has received.
Another reminder, I do have a Discord server. If you're interested PM me.
As always, thank you for reading. Don't be afraid to drop a review. Reviews motivate me more than anything. Want me to revive a dormant story? Review it!
Again, thanks y'all for giving this fic a read!