Sins of Man

by Mesuen

They do not have a reason to exist, but they have a will to exist. In a world where emotions can save your life or end it, Remnant now faces a truckload of new problems. At least Headmaster Ozpin finds himself with a retinue of new allies to assist in delaying in his inevitable defeat. But what do they cost to keep around? Sanity, Salvation, and Solidarity? A headache for sure.

5. Chapter 3:Dried Up Ink

Chapter 3: Dried Up Ink

Despite the rapid spree of heists, muggings, and otherwise lollygagging that Roman has done, nothing he did in the past seems to be easier than simply showing up to Vale's docks waiting for a Schnee freighter to sail in, and simply stealing all of its cargo with the help of the White Fang. Matter of fact, they did not even need to elude security this time around. Corruption in Vale is always a huge problem for many seekers of justice, but the very minimal fees that Roman's employer gave to dockyard security for the night ensured that absolutely no prying eyes would be there or care about their presence. The use of the cargo bullheads made the job incredibly easy. In fact, subverting the law had never been easier in Roman Torchwick's opinion. He was having a field day, no, a field season this winter! Out of all of the crimes he has committed, only one has been thwarted; it was not even by the authorities that he failed his job. This year's upstart from Beacon had done him in whatfor. Torchwick didn't exactly mind, while his employer had the fallback plan should any of Beacon's finest cast their gaze upon him, Roman didn't expect one of its students to stop them already.

Roman Torchwick himself? Well he was just a man of opportunity. He always has been. Despite Mantle winning the Great War, the supposed War to End All Wars had driven everyone besides Mantle into poverty, so even in Mistral, Roman had suffered the long-term effects of Mantle's dominion over the world. Even today, for safety's sake, Roman wore his signature bowler's hat over plain gray state-approved fatigues. But that didn't stop Roman from wearing a blood-red handkerchief and a delicately woven silken white overcoat over his fatigues. It didn't matter how devious you were as a criminal, none of it mattered if you didn't look good for the cameras after all. And it also added another broken law under his resume as a mastermind criminal! What's not to love about dressing dapper?

Of course, now that they have attracted at least a bit of Beacon's attention, every job after the recent failure against Beacon had to be adapted in the event it happened again. White Fang grunts dropped the machetes and clubs in favor of pilfered Atlesian rifles and anti-aura stun batons, Roman's own bodyguard Neo lies in wait should he have to depart from the scene in haste, and even the Bullheads were equipped with some heavy duty guns that could turn any Huntsman into a paste on the ground. Though none of that exactly mattered in the face of any true Huntsman, the same could not be said for the students that Ozpin liked to employ to do his dirty work. Roman may have been a criminal but he always thought the disappearances of students at Beacon was always too high to count.

That won't matter once his team wins anyway. Though the grunts push crates of dust into the landed bullheads, Roman taps his cane impatiently. "Would you mutts hurry up? We've got a time limit to keep, I'd rather not have the police waking up to us still stealing this stuff!" He shouts out raising his free hand in a quick malcontent gesture before dropping it. His complaints were quick to be stopped however as a shadow began to move. His eyes flick to see nothing. A puzzling glare at the seeming nothing before he turned around. It probably was something, but Roman knew better than to jump the gun before he had to.

Then it happened. Blake lands behind him. Before he could react, Blake had grabbed him putting him into a chokehold with her weapon aimed to the side of his throat. Roman frowns at the amateurish move. He makes a sign with his free hand and lightly taps his cane to the ground. Blake begins to speak. "Brothers, and sisters of the White Fang! Why do you serve this criminal, this terrorist? To what end do we achieve equality and love in the world collaborating with beasts like this?" She bellows out to the crowd of White Fang who had begun to encircle the two. They ready their rifles, they ready their stun batons. She glances at them hoping for signs of reluctance, for signs of hope within them. Only a few lowered their weapons and questioned their orders. But none stood down.

"Don't wanna sound too cliche, but you just don't get it do you? The White Fang and I have a partnership going on. I scratch their back, they scratch mine. Basic business incentives, really. Now if you would be so kind, let me give you a bit of advice. If you're gonna take someone hostage, make sure they don't have an escape plan!" Roman exclaims in confidence. The melodic cudgel, Roman's beloved cane and weapon, fires at the ground beneath them shattering his form into shards of smoldering glass, this explosion sends Blake flying and tumbling out of the ring of White Fang who, taking the opportunity, begin to fire their looted rifles. The average White Fang militant was by no means untrained or rowdy, but the WF is a young organization, and its militarized forces even younger. Many of these grunts had never seen battle, let alone one against a huntress, even a student. It was to nobody's surprise that when the dust settled, and the munitions the result was little more than bullet holes in shipping cargo and shattered concrete, for Blake had disappeared. Roman, who appears to have been behind his WF goons the entire time sighs as he grows a smirk. "Doesn't feel good killing a young lady, let alone a sympathizer to the White Fang's cause, but we got an operation far bigger than the life of just you, little kitten." Roman yells out knowing the cat had scurried off to prepare another ambush. Yet the ambush arrives a lot sooner than even he would think. The sound of a rifle popping from the distance. A grunt collapses, unconscious from a non-lethal round. The rubber bullet bounces off his chest. Roman raises a brow and makes a sign and taps his cane again. The rifle fires again. Another grunt falls. The sound of another feminine voice roaring in anticipation catches the groups' attention. Roman frowns as a blonde brawler lets loose a chortle as she uppercuts yet another grunt into the air. Her violet eyes look at him in a challenge and confidence. "We've got company!" Roman bellows out in a command and just as Yang slams her fist into his cheek, his form along with the group of grunts shatter into smoldering glass.

The glass melts into nothing but smoke. Yang looks around in disbelief. Ruby, the sniper from afar, also looks from her scope in astonishment. Ruby had been situated at a window on the second floor catwalk of a warehouse looking over the dockyards. It was a convenient scouting position that Blake had used earlier in the day, and now it was her sniper's nest. Though the plan would have worked flawlessly in the face of the White Fang who largely lacked aura let alone semblances, the appearance of Roman's illusions seemingly threw a wrench into their operation. It made things tricky. Ruby smiles as she racks another non-lethal round in. They did not exactly have any communication as the plan engaged, but this only pressed her role as leader, along with overwatch, Ruby glances down at the dust bullets resting upon the window sill. Fire for retreat, Lightning for attention, Ice for alert. It was simple, but they did not exactly have a lot of time to prepare for this impromptu mission. She huffs and steadies her breath and aims down the scope once more.

Roman and the grunts run out from behind more cargo containers. The grunts take a knee at the first rank, and the second remain standing unleashing a hellstorm of bullets upon Yang who only smirks. Suddenly a brilliant Schnee glyph forms between her and certain death! The bullets stop and gather, frozen in time. Atop a cargo rooftop Weiss holds the Myrtenaster in the air and focuses. She glares with a scarred eye and sends the bullets back with her glyph. Roman clicks his tongue. Makes a sign with his free hand and quickly taps his cane. The group was torn apart into thousands of glass pieces that smolder into nothing once more. Weiss frowns. Yang laughs. "Come on, Ice Queen, You will get your chance next time!" She gives a thumbs up to Weiss just as a torrent of red flares drops down upon her from above. Roman stands atop a cargo container pointing the cudgel down as a perpetrator of the explosions. Yang, having been sent flying, recuperates quickly, and slams her hand into the ground just as she lands, preventing a sliding fall and she nimbly cartwheels to her feet gritting her teeth. "Yikes. They mean business." A soft comment heard by none.

Roman smiles just as a banana peel is thrown at his head from behind. He turns around to see Sun Wukong sprinting at him full force. "I've had enough of you!" He screams and tackles Roman off of the cargo container sending the two falling some 10 feet to the ground they slam with a groan, there is a crack as Roman cries out in pain. Roman grits his teeth.

"You idiot!" Roman frowns and in a subtle glimmer that only Wukong could see, Roman throws him off with significant ease. The mastermind jumps up ignoring whatever pain he seemingly had and flashing a confident smile. The two engage in melee as the grunts file out and begin their physical parley with Yang and Weiss. The two beat back the dozen strong party who fire, block, and otherwise distract the two Huntresses.

"He's mine!" Just as Wukong and Torchwick clash, Blake leaps from the shadows pulling Sun back and her blade slides against the cane of Roman, the cane pushes forward deflecting the attack but Blake's cleaver-sheathe comes next, realizing the dual-wielder's conundrum, Roman flashes a half-smile as he expertly yanks the sheathe out of harm's way with the curved handle of his cane. Blake frowns as she lands, grunting in frustration, she presses the assault. Ducking beneath an incoming counter swing of Roman's cudgel, she thrusts her blade up intending to skewer Roman's neck and chunk his aura; the blade, however, only met another clash against Romans cane as he deftly recovers and spins Blake's Gambol Shroud out of his way for Roman to continue the melee!

Just as Roman takes the cane with both hands and gives Blake a hefty batter's swing, her katana swipes it away and Blake does a reverse backflip in the air to send the cleaver into Roman's side. Roman, for his part, simply backpedals out of the swipe and points his cane at the airborne Blake and fires a brilliant red flare that flies out into the sky before exploding. It appears that Blake disappeared into an oily black shadow as the real Blake comes from underneath it thrusting her katana into Roman but stopping short to prevent Roman's expert counter as he brings the cane down upon where her head would have been. The two were locked in a stalemate, that much is certain. Even after Blake depended upon her semblance to disappear and circle around at extreme speeds, Roman merely spun agilely out of strikes, pivoting his hips to avoid thrusts, striking aside chops from Blake's cleaver, parrying her katana, and even riposting with deft thrusts of his cane! The quick-paced stalemate of several dozen weapon clashes and blade locks ceased when Roman back-handed Blake suddenly. Blake staggers back, her aura holds, but no amount of soul shielding did not stop the sting in her nerves. The wince is enough for Roman to get the advantage.

A sadistic chuckle emits from him as he brings the cudgel down onto her shoulder before she could recover. The upper body strikes ceased as Blake brought her guard up only for Roman to bring his attacks below. A feinted strike to her arms cycles down and the cudgel is brought to her knee, tripping Blake. The aura remains, but Blake's posture and training broke down. Just as the Melodic Cudgel's barrel points down to Blake's eyes, Sun interrupts jumping into the melee. "Leave her alone!" Sun challenges as he readies his weapon. Just as Blake rolls out of Roman's blast, Sun jumps over her in a spinning back-kick. Roman brings his cane up to collide against Sun's shin, yet Sun did not flinch. Sun lands and wastes no time bringing Ruyi-Jingu down upon Roman who deflected the staff aside. The two clash quickly and precisely. Thirteen metallic clangs ring throughout the dockyard as it is filled with gunfire, chaos, and battle. Roman smirks as he chops down onto Ruyi-Jingu, only for the beloved staff to shatter into four pieces, Sun smiles as the weight of Roman's swing brings him off-balance. With Ruyi-Bang and Jingu-Bang in hand, Sun brings the full fury of his nunchucks down upon Roman who barely manages to keep up with his cane. Even after the dual nun-chucks begin to fire dust rounds, Roman deflects them away. The two kept at it for only two seconds, yet Sun's weapon had fired off twelve times within that span until Ruby fired the Ice round into Roman's back. It freezes his right arm, preventing Roman's next strike. Sun leaps away from the alert signal. And just as Roman is frozen, he fires his cudgel into the ground. Fire erupts from the concrete and travels some lengths beneath Roman's feet who only laughs as his body shatters into glass.

Blake and Sun look around. They are confused. To Blake, everything had gone wrong. She planned to kill Roman yet every time she got close he used his semblance to escape. The ability to create illusions far trumped her own shadows, especially when it could encompass even his grunts. Roman was no lowly criminal, there was a reason he was wanted in every Kingdom besides Vacuo that was for sure, but Blake couldn't help but despair. The state of the battle chafed her pride as an assassin for the White Fang. It grated on her want to help the WF. It humiliated her efficiency as Adam's second in command. It created oily black emotions that seeped into the air ever since she left Beacon. As her friends clashed further and further. Confidence and youthful energy subsided for desperation and panic. Even now as Torchwick called bullheads to descend from the sky and powering up the great cannons on their noses, the emotions sunk further and further. Such feelings would attract Grimm. It would attract death. It would –
As more Bullheads begin encircling the dockyards, and Roman laughs in confidence as he brings his cane down onto Sun's arm, shattering his aura. Yang, Weiss, and Ruby did their best to beat back the White Fang grunts, but only a few actually laid on the ground unconscious. Every other militant they gave a beatdown simply shattered into glass and the real one either uses their baton or shoots at them with a rifle. The criminals were prepared for an altercation like this, and the students were not prepared to fight for their life so readily. Ruby frowns, having fired the Alert round into the field. The team had played their cards cautiously, she bit her lip, wishing she had not fired it upon Roman in the first place, because to her it felt like their reluctance led to this happening. Maybe if she simply let loose bullet after bullet they would have overwhelmed Roman? Maybe if she fired the Lightning round for attention instead, it would have led them to focus on Roman? She knew if they took down the mastermind, the grunts would surrender. So why did this not go to plan like Blake asked for? Ruby racks her mind for any idea, anything that a leader could do. But the miasma of oily emotions coalesced just as Roman brought his cane down onto Sun's arm, shattering his aura and sending him a few feet stumbling back.

Roman gives off a short chuckle. "You kids really bit off more than you can chew! We still got another hour or so to finish our jobs, but you guys? Oh-ho-ho, this won't take us any more than five minutes!" He states glaring at Blake who took a knee near the two. Her aura was drastically low, her cautious cowardice led to her conserving her energy. She had to wait for the perfect time to strike. But that time never came. Roman steps over to Sun who, having been exhausted fully, gasps for air on the ground. "Now it doesn't feel right killing this generation's protectors of humanity. But I'm sorry kiddo, you stuck your noses into business that ain't your own." Roman mocks with false pity as he raises his cane. Just as he brings the cane down with intent to bludgeon Sun Wukong to death, another ebony cane interrupts his strike. The two canes collide with a deafening metallic blow.

Emotions coalesce. The desire to kill. The desire to protect. The pride to uphold. The battle between wanting to expunge the evil from her kindred, and to save the lives required to bring about change in this totalitarian world. These emotions fester, these emotions boil, and soon something manifests. Not an aura, not a semblance. But a Grimm. As the professors and Sephiroth from Beacon call it. An Abnormality. "Now what's this? A gentleman's tool brought upon a fine young man like a weapon?" The ebony cane brings Roman's cudgel up as a humanoid in a black coat and long birdlike mask observes the shocked mastermind's eyes as well as his cane. The humanoid is covered head to toe in either leather or black cotton. Its bird mask hides any facial features with only stained glass eye holes to peer through. "Ah, I see now." The creature states plainly, as he swipes Roman with his own elongated cane, causing Roman to shatter into glass. The good doctor looks down on the weary Sun and states in a comforting tone. "Rest easy, young lad. I'll see to your wounds shortly. There are ruffians about. Wastrels that are not fit for today's good society." it exclaims as it dons a feathered hat procured from the center of his coat. The feather itself being that of an unknown carrion bird. The being, appearing like an ancient Valean doctor, had a pure white undercoat yet everything around the simple white chest is dyed black. The doctor ponders as it stares out into the field. Many had not yet noticed its presence beside Roman, Blake, and Sun, and unknowingly Ruby who kept overwatch over it all. Ruby, for her part, recognized an extreme threat when she saw one. She quickly unloads the rubber bullet and racks the fire dust crystal. Though she did not know the intentions of the good doctor that unveiled itself from a miasma of oily smoke, she fired the retreat signal at the WF soldiers who scattered from the large red flare that barrelled at them.

Blake hissed, she grabs Sun and tries to scurry off to the shadows. But the strange beaked doctor had only shook its head.. "Now, now, respect your elders. We'll have a nice good chat over tea later. For now, let's handle these ghastly thugs, shall we?" The Good Doctor pinches his hat and raises it revealing the glass goggles of its bird mask as they reflect Roman Torchwick's battered face across the dockyards. Roman, for all his confidence, folds immediately. He raises a fist. "Alright crew. Pack it up, we've got as much as we need, don't wanna handle Beacon's monstrosities!" He exclaims, dropping the fist to clutch his ribs, the Roman of the battle disappeared for a significantly injured individual, one whose blood dripped from his lip in a delicate fashion. One who gestured to the Bullheads that hovered above to aim their heavy weaponry to gaze down upon the Doctor like a storm hanging above a lone tree with fickle roots to hold it through.

The good Doctor taps his cane into the ground. "Ah-hah! Running away, how cowardly! Unfortunately for you, Someone's putting a damper on that plan!" The good doctor steps forward. The students rally behind the good doctor.. Blake remains, Yang drags Sun away to safety. Ruby keeps overwatch, she readies another fire dust round if they genuinely needed help, her semblance boiling over as aura gathers in her legs; once the round fires, she would join the melee to assist the team in retreating. A sound plan.

The bullheads spewed hellfire down onto the ground below, yet it only lasted four seconds before elongated hooked green blades ejected from beneath them. Hanging up atop the drydocks section, a lone individual stands marionetting a dozen blades that web down and strangle the bullheads. It's Penny, and she smiles happily and excitedly as she tears great metal birds from the sky. Yet that did not stop the four long seconds of the students scrambling for cover, and watching as thick cargo containers are shredded, the concrete foundations of the dock shattered, and whatever dust in said containers shoots up in fiery wrath. The authorities were paid off cor a covert operation, yet the entire industrial district had likely been alerted, if not more so after the several bullheads full of Dust are wrenched from the sky slamming into the SDC Freighter and other maritime vessels causing a chain reaction of devastation.

Ruby could not help but form an O with her mouth as she watches the series of destruction, and her friends simply take flight in response to it. Whatever White Fang members had the same idea, and Roman is nowhere to be found. With no target to be found, she begins to dismount her rifle from the warehouse window, only slowing upon hearing subtle footsteps from beneath her. "Oh guys! We have to go!" She calls out, turning around to see only a thin parasol jabbing her stomach and sending her out of the window. As she falls and orients herself to land on her feet she stares up to see a dual-color pair of eyes gaze down at her. Pink-White, and Black hair. An exhausted albeit confident smirk, and cold eyes. A young woman or perhaps an older girl, Ruby could not tell, but the girl disappears behind the window sill prompting Ruby to run back inside the warehouse doors that remain ajar.

Just as she runs inside the pinkette drops down holding her parasol against her shoulder. A well-dressed woman that stood out extremely easily; to Ruby, it was a wonder how nobody had noticed her before. Her apparent hostility made it quite easy to say she was supporting the White Fang or Torchwick, the lack of faunus features, made it seem she was under Roman's employ. Ruby could not analyze for a moment longer as her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden stab towards her throat with the parasol that closed in the blink of an eye along with the smiling pinkette joining her face to face at sudden speeds. "Deal with her fast, Neo. We don't have time for this, not anymore." Roman's voice echoes throughout the dark, seemingly in hiding. Neo nods as she readies her parasol, Hush, Ruby readying Crescent Rose in response. The now named Neo presses the attack immediately, her thin and long parasol allowed her to jab, slash, and pressure Ruby who needed to use her semblance to defend herself, aura gathering in her arms as she swiftly glides her beloved scythe into guards that would not be possible.

Yet Neo did not relent. Just as Hush slams against Ruby's scythe, she drops low and sweeps Ruby off of her legs, Ruby for her part, fires Crescent Rose into the ground, using the recoil to shoulder bash Neo away and suddenly. Neo staggers back, frowning for a short moment but smiling as Ruby fires her scythe again sending her flying into Neo and readying a downward slash. Neo opens her parasol, blocking the slash, yet Ruby fires the scythe into the air again, giving her enough recoil to yank Neo forward and performing another downwards slash as her scythe is swung around at extreme speeds; brilliant red flower petals are beginning sprinkle along the air as Ruby keeps using her semblance. Roman speaks again. "Keep chipping away at her aura. If she keeps using that semblance to keep up with you, you'll slit her throat in no time, Neo!" His lack of physical presence is unsettling Ruby, she did not know where he was, if his illusions were in play, or if he had too much aura exhaustion to participate.

Paranoia settles in. Ruby glances around the dark warehouse, she wonders if her friends will return here soon. Sun had his aura shattered. Blake was nearing dangerous levels. Weiss and Yang had disappeared in the chaos. For once, Ruby is afraid of fighting. It was not like last time where she beat down thugs and chased Roman off into a Bullhead. This time, Roman's bodyguard battered her beloved Crescent Rose and her arms grew tired. Each swing, parry, and block grew slower and slower. Just as Ruby tears Neo's Hush aside and aims the barrel of her scythe at Neo's face, a red flare descends upon her. From above, Roman reveals himself, exhausted, but still unleashing hell upon the two.

Neo backflips away, Ruby's aura shatters as she is slammed into the ground by the explosion. Ruby looks up as Neo slowly lurks around Ruby. Cautious enough not to leap at her like a wolf against a dying animal, but fast enough to let the heart beat faster. "Leave my sister alone!" Yang bellows out as she slams through the back doors of the warehouse shocking both Neo and Roman. As Yang charges towards Neo, glyphs appear beneath Neo and Roman freezing her feet in place and inciting panic. Weiss leapt through the catwalk window and hastily impairs the two. The good Doctor had measly stepped inside the warehouse with taps of his cane and holding Sun up with one arm around his shoulder. Confidence beaming from the two as they watched their allies overwhelm the two criminals.

And just as Roman screams. "Neo, get us out of here!" From the shadows, Blake's golden eyes ignite with righteous fury as she leaps from the shadows. Her katana aimed for Roman's heart! For the last time. Neo pops open Hush, and she and Roman explode into glass, disappearing. The students and her newfound doctor look around cautiously. Blake slams her blade into the catwalk rails, threatening to chop right through them.

"Damn it! They got away! This is all wrong! It should have went better, it should have went –"

"Calm down, Ms. We will have plenty of opportunities next time." The Doctor tries to placate.

"At least we're alive! They nearly turned us into paste back there!" Weiss exclaims, an unsteadiness in her voice.

"Nevermind that. We need to get back to Beacon. I don't want to be pinned as the guys who did this, the entire docks are burning down outside!" Yang points out of the front doors. Her finger lowers as from behind the burning fiery of fuel, dust, and molten metal, Penny skips through the chaos towards the warehouse.

"Salutations, friends! I have come to handle the criminals! Like. We. Planned." The final three footsteps of her skips accentuate her last three words. She places fists on her hips in pride as she looks out at the group of battered teenagers. "The police will find the bodies of our hoodlums and justice will be enacted to the fullest extent of the law! Let's celebrate! I think there are a few 24 hour restaurants around town!" Penny smiles happily much to the exhausted chagrin of just about everyone else.

"Nevermind that, Penny. We need to get this guy to the Headmaster. He's dangerous!" Weiss exclaims as she gestures to the bird-faced character who took a knee besides Sun. Though Sun had no visible injuries, his Aura, his Soul, had been depleted. Aura exhaustion was usually never fatal, but if the damage done to the soul combined with semblance overuse was enough, it could kill. The Doctor had no intentions of leaving that kind of fate up to chance however, as his hands glow a gentle and soft lavender purple. An aura transfer. It was a primitive form of healing that was used by people in the modern aura to unlock auras with a prayer. Aura transfers were never really effective, yet the bruises and scratches Sun had gotten being tossed about after his aura shattered quickly disappeared. The doctor looks to Weiss as he tends to Sun.

"And who is this Headmaster? Is he your superior?" The doctor asks in curiosity. The team spends but a moment to recuperate before they stagger back to safety. In an hour's time, the team had flown back to Beacon where an annoyed Glynda Goodwitch awaits them. Her riding crop in both hands, an ominous glare in her emerald eyes, and a tiredness on account of the late hour of the night.

Nothing went right. "Do you have any idea how late it is? You missed half of today's classes, burned down the dockyards, and authorities report there are bodies found in the wreckages! At the very minimum you should be charged for manslaughter and vigilantism! It will take months, if not years to fully repair the docks for the bare minimums of commerce, for Beacon to restore its prestige, and for you kids to ever hope of enrolling into an Academy again!" Glynda unleashes her anger at its fullest extent. Chastising, berating, and spewing vitriol endlessly. Everyone save for Penny and the Doctor shrunk further and further with each threat, and each repercussion named. It almost seems like it would not stop until the riding crop slammed into the ground and pebbles floated up from Glynda's semblance and anger.

"But. Once again. It seems you've done something far too great for us to ignore. That being your new friend there." Glynda glares at the doctor. "Report to Malkuth, Team RWBY. Ms. Polendina, Mr. Wukong. We have dorms arranged for you, you may be early, but we are always prepared. It will be Ozpin's mess to clean up what happened in the Docks. Be sure to take that thing with you." Glynda nods towards the Doctor with her head before turning around in a thinly-veiled annoyance, the clacking of her heels echo throughout the campus grounds as she disappears. The team looks at each other and gulps.

"Well, catch ya guys on the flip flop. I got a bed waiting for me. Same time next week, yeah?" Sun points finger guns as he saunters backwards with a half-smile.

"Yes, next week! Let's try the Residential District next time! I'm sure apartments are more cost effective to demolish than dockyards! Less heavy machinery involved!" Penny claps her hands and follows Sun, leaving an extremely dejected and battered Team RWBY to stare at each other and their newfound pet Grimm Abnormality.

"Do you think he's worth extra credit?" Yang asks sheepishly.
"Shut. Up." Weiss demands.

Up in the Headmaster's Office, Ozpin stares at holographic terminals showing the footage of what happened in the dockyards tonight. Malkuth stands at the front of his desk with her usual confidence. A "Hm." escapes Ozpin's lips as his faded green eyes gaze on at nothing in particular past his spectacles. "Another Abnormality, already?" He asks rhetorically. "Escalate the plan. Advance Team RWBY past your department as fast as possible." He leans back into his chair. "The White Fang can be blamed for the Dockyards. Their bodies are among the wreckage. One of our students disappeared in Netzach's Department last week. Use his name in the media." Ozpin sips from his mug as he stares at Malkuth who only salutes happily.
"Yes sir! They exceeded my expectations in just two weeks! Though I can't say much about their survival, I believe RWBY will bring us a good fortune before they expend themselves!"

"Yes. I believe that too. Isolate the Doctor, place him with Yesod so Ruby and her friends remain in contact with him. Being Blake's little spawn, I'm sure he will be a lot easier to handle with her around. I will ask Angela about his entries in the manual. Keep me updated on this."

"Yes sir!" Malkuth turns heel and begins to leave the office.

To Ozpin, it was an unexpected boon. He looks back to the terminals and closes the footage of tonight. He opens the dossiers of this year's teams. With one Team passing the actual initiation of this semester, it was time to move onto the next one. He scans through the teams before his faded green eyes settle on one more. "Hm. Team JNPR. Let's see how Malkuth will deal with you."

Everything is going according to plan. Day 1 begins soon. Soon his plan will start. By day 50, the Vytal Festival will start. By Day 50, the end will come. Day 50.

Day 50.