"And what would be the last thing you'd expect to see on this volcanic island?" the male announcer on the projection TV said. "A waddle of penguins. Thousands gather on this remote equatorial island every year to mate."

Markus and Velvet laid cuddled together on his couch, facing the TV but only paying it half attention, as they had been for most of the day. "I love lazy Sundays," Velvet said with a sigh.

He brought an arm around, taking Velvet in a hug from behind. "They certainly are the best. I didn't know a lazy Sunday existed until I came here."

She spun to face him, putting both hands on his cheeks. "Oh, you poor thing," she said with mock empathy before pulling him in for a kiss.

Markus's Scroll, forgotten on the kitchen island from lunch, sounded off with an alert, causing them both to groan. Markus moved to step over Velvet when she pushed him back to the back rest. "Nuh uh," she hummed.

"I have to," he whispered back, stepping over again. "I'm expecting a message from Professor Ozpin," he reached an unfolded his Scroll, sighing, "which I have just received."

"Oh?" she said, sitting up. "What's it say?"

He closed his device. "That our preparations are almost complete."

"What preparations?" She looked over the couch to Markus when he didn't respond. "More secret stuff, isn't it?" she asked as she put her chin on the back cushion.

Markus placed his Scroll down. "Yes it is, but I don't mind telling you, since I don't think you're behind this latest string of Dust thefts." He sat on a nearby stool. "That, and I can't keep everything from you."

"I mean, if you can't say anything about it, I understand, but -"

"Technically, nobody said I couldn't say anything about it," he said leaning on the island. "A large shipment of Dust has just arrived from the Atlas Academy, in Schnee Dust Company containers, and it's currently being unloaded down at the docks. We're hoping that whomever is doing the thieving will catch wind of the shipment, and try to take it."

"That's… surprisingly subtle for Atlas." Velvet watched as Markus moved from the stool and into his bedroom, leaving the door ajar. "Or did you come up with it?"

"That was me," Markus said as he opened his dogi dresser. "Shocking, isn't it?"

"So what's the endgame of your plan?" Velvet asked.

"Capture one of the operatives, interrogate them, and find out what they've been doing with all the Dust they've been stealing." He pulled out his jet black dogi and its grey long sleeve undershirt, perfect for nighttime surveillance and infiltration. He dressed himself in his chosen attire, then walked back into the main room.

"Oooh," Velvet cooed as she have Markus's dogi a look. "The dark and mysterious warrior."

Markus huffed a laugh. "Mysterious? Maybe. Dark? Hardly. My blasted Camaden complexion forces me to wear long sleeves at night."

Velvet smiled in amusement before her face showed concern. "Are you heading out soon?"

Markus glanced at a clock. "I plan on waiting until it gets closer to dusk before going to my observation post."

"You're just observing?" she asked.

"Yes, and taking one for questioning. Probably some lackey, easily subdued."

Velvet's tense posture suddenly relaxed as she fell back into the couch. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

Markus joined her on the couch. "Concerned for me already?" he jokingly asked.

"I am," Velvet replied, not joking.

"Nothing's going to happen," Markus assured her. "I'm just going to sit and watch, take one, and call it a night. But for now," he pulled Velvet onto his lap, "we've got some time to burn."

"Solo mission are some of the hardest you will ever have to undertake," Amber's voice rang out in Markus's mind, "not because of the lack of support, though that doesn't help, but because you are alone with your own thoughts. You begin to think, and that in itself can be the most dangerous part of the mission."

I'm thinking this might be a waste of time, Markus own mind thought as he peered through his binoculars.

It's only been three hours, another part of his mind responded. Patience.

Markus had arrived at his observation post just as the last shipping container was being unloaded. He watched as the sailors received their pay for the job before heading into town to spend it. One of the sailors opened a Scroll after receiving his share, and sent a quick message. Suspicious, Markus thought as he continued to watch the man. Could be an informant. The sailor turned, revealing a neatly rolled up tail. Hmmm… highly suspicious.

Three and a half hours later, Markus laid on a warehouse roof, cloaked in a the full cover of night, digital binoculars affixed to the stacked containers. His eyes flashed to the display's clock, mentally noting how much time had passed since the sailor's message had been sent.

He slowly reached for his supply cache on his right, fumbling around for and grabbing a snack bar, gently tearing the paper wrapping he had covered it in. It makes less noise, Amber's words repeated in his head, and doesn't reflect light like the foil. And, you know… biodegradable. He took a bite, grinding the morsel between his teeth in circular motions to reduce chewing noises, just as Amber had taught him.

Markus was about to take another bite when a flash of movement caught his attention from atop another warehouse on the far side of the yard. He focused on with his viewfinder on the new figure. Male, definitely Faunus, not the one from earlier, though. White shirt, sticking out like a sore thumb, and… he saw the unknown look down and speak, holding out an apple with his hand. A figure on the roof moved, illuminating their face.

Blake! Markus pulled away from his binoculars. "By the Mother, what are you doing out here?" he said under his breath. He had little time to dwell, as the engines of a Bullhead transport roared from above. Same thing I am, it appears.

The Bullhead searched with its spotlights, finally touching down in an open area between crates. As the craft powered down, a ramp extended, and out walked a member of the White Fang, clad in the traditional uniform of their common foot soldier.

White Fang? Markus thought as he refocused on the trooper, with more exiting the vehicle. They were the last people I expected. What are they doing here?

"Hey!" a voice yelled. "What's the holdup? We're not the exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment. So why don't you animals try to pick up the pace."

Roman Torchwick, Markus thought as the voice's owner came into view. Now there's a presence that makes sense, but the two of them together does not.

A dark blur snuck up behind Roman, putting a sword at his neck. Oh, no. Markus pulled his head up. No, no, no. What are you doing, Blake? The last thing Markus saw before vaulting off the roof was Blake removing her bow, speaking to the White Fang guards. Markus landed, sprinting toward the group when he stopped his stride as two more Bullheads appeared. "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation!" he heard Roman yell.

An explosion caused Markus to refocus. That came from Roman, he deduced from the smoke. Tactical analysis: Cane is a Dust-based projectile weapon. The detonation sent Blake tumbling away while Roman continued to fire.

"Hey, you!" someone said from behind him. Markus heard the click of a safety being thrown. "You're not supposed -" the White Fang trooper was cut off by Markus's fist, hitting him square on the arch of his cheek. It sent him back, forcing him to drop his weapon.

Markus picked up the firearm. "Shush! I'm thinking," he said while disassembling the weapon. The metal fell to the ground as the soldier rolled in pain. Markus began his advance when he saw a banana peel fall on Roman. Roman looked up in time to see the unknown Faunus bring both feet down onto him, making Markus cringe. "Ohhh!" he said aloud. "That had to hurt."

Two of the guards turned to Markus and charged. Markus assumed his Thaw pose. Spinning flurry kick. Markus waited as they approached, then jumped and swung himself around, hitting the first guard with the outside of his left foot, and the second with the inside of his right, landing sprawled. The two guards fell, motionless.

The two other Bullheads dropped more White Fang, engaging the unknown Faunus. "Well," Roman began, raising his cane at Markus, "you're a cut from a different cloth, aren't ya?" Markus reassumed his Thaw pose as the end of Roman's cane opened. "It's been an eventul night, but I haven't the time for you heroes."

Markus surprised Roman when he stood normally, beginning to walk in his direction. Roman fired, sending a bright projectile toward Markus. It hit, but instead of a brilliant flash of fire an explosiveness, it simply puffed into a ball of smoke, pushing Markus's shoulder back from where it hit.

Markus looked down on the impact site, brushing off a few stray embers. "Huh," he said in observation. "That answers that with a certainty."

Roman gazed down to his cane in bewilderment. "What!?" he yelled in disbelief. "What are you?"

"Just as you said," Markus said as he resumed his walk, reaching behind his back. "A cut from another cloth."

Roman swung his cane around for a strike when it was caught by a blade brought forward by Markus. Roman glanced at the weapon, noting it was of no ordinary metal, if it was metal at all. The blade was a creamy white, a stark contrast to his outfit, six inches in length, with a slight curve toward its sharpened edge. "Here I thought you were a weirdo without a weapon."

"Situational awareness," Markus grunted as the two struggled. "You forced it out."

Roman grinned, pulling his cane downward. He's gonna shoot the ground! Markus's mind screamed. You're resistant to Dust, not to propelled concrete! Disengage and reset! Markus began to push against Roman to back away, but a familiar pressure built in his chest and lunged forward. Instead of the pressure hitting the target in from of him, Markus was propelled back just as the cane fired, his back hitting a container hard enough to leave a dent, then landing face-first on the ground.

Roman recovered from the proximal detonation, just as surprised as Markus was at his escape. "No Semblance control, eh?" he said, taking am again.

"Hey!" Ruby's voice echoed from across the yard.

"Red!" Roman yelled back. "Isn't it past your bedtime?" The cane pointed to a distracted Ruby, sending a projectile toward her. Markus hazily saw its explosion, and Ruby rolling away.

Markus stood on unsteady feet, his head ringing. As his vision refocused, he saw Blake and her unknown partner engaging Roman while a new figure dropped down to fight White Fang reinforcements, quite handily dispensing of them. The redheaded warrior fought with suspended blades attached to nothing, which made Markus shake his head. Am I seeing things? No, that can't be possible.

The spinup of a Bullhead's cannon brought Markus back to earth. He moved to cover peering around to see a green blast come from the girl, severing the two strafing Bullheads. He came out of cover in awe. These people keep getting weirder.

A Bullhead attempted to lift off with a container. Good, Markus thought. This all won't have - His thought was cut off as blades impaled themselves on the hull. Markus saw the faintest hint of lines, pointing back to the unknown girl. As she walked backward, she seemed to pull the Bullhead with her. With one final pull, the Bullhead crashed into a stack of containers.

Ugh, Ironwood's gonna be angry about that one. Engines powering up and the absence of other White Fang led markus to conclude they were about to retreat. He saw one of the Bullheads takeoff, and sprinted after it, but was too late as it and another flew into the night. He watched as they departed, letting out a disappointed breath as she sheathed his blade.

"Markus," Blake said from behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"I could say the same for you. I'm trying to recover plans that you and your friend's arrival set awry," Markus said, doing his best not to sound annoyed.

The unknown Faunus stepped from behind Blake. "You mean -"

"They were meant to take this Dust, yes," Markus said as he spun around. "These containers all have trackers on them. They were to lead us to where all the other stolen Dust was going." He put his hands on his hips. "Where's the rest of your team, Blake, and -" he gestured to the other person beside her, "- who might this be?"

"I'm Sun," he said, extending a hand. "You handled yourself pretty well out there, Markus."

"Likewise," Markus said, shaking his hand.

"And I'm Penny!" the redheaded girl announced. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

"So where's the rest of your team, Blake?" Markus asked.

Penny gasped. "Oh! You're Ruby's missing teammate!"

"Missing?" Markus said, eyeing Blake.

She looked away. "You were right."

"About… what?"

"I would let it out before I had a chance to tell them."

"Oh," Markus said in understanding. "So you ran from them when you needed your team the most."

"I panicked, okay?"

Sun pointed to Markus. "So he knows about -"

"Yes," Blake interrupted his question.

"For about a year now," Markus added on.

"A year?" Sun asked, astounded. "How's that possible?"

The wail of sirens sounded in the distance. "Another story for another time," Markus said as he turned away. "I need to collect my things and report back."

"Markus," Blake called out as he walked away. "That light trail happened again, as you were moving to the container."

He glanced back, giving an acknowledging nod. "You need to get back to your team," he said back. "They won't care, so long as you tell them."

"Queen has pawns," the message read. Professor Ozpin hummed in thought as a ding came from the elevator door. "Come in." Markus stepped through, backpack and digital binoculars in hand. "Markus. How was the mission?"

"Botched," Markus answered, placing the binoculars on Ozpin's desk, "by an untimely appearance by two members of Team RWBY and two other individuals."

"'Botched?'"

"The Dust remains unstolen, and we remain in the dark as to where the other Dust has gone." Markus removed a memory card from the binoculars. "However, it wasn't completely all for naught. We did learn that Roman Torchwick's organization is in league with the White Fang, or vice versa."

Ozpin looked at the card. "Did you learn of this through a Meld?"

Markus shook his head. "They retreated before I had a chance. I know this because he was there with those trying to take the Dust."

"I see," Professor Ozpin said. He leaned forward on his desk, bringing his hands together. "This won't sit well with Ironwood. Any ideas on what we do now?"

Markus shrugged. "Same thing we always do," he said, turning to leave. "We keep moving forward."

Markus entered his room, lit only by the light of Sister Moon. He placed his pack by his bookcase, intending to unpack it on the morrow. He entered his bathroom, discarding his dogi in a laundry hamper and taking a shower, washing the evening's events off of him. He slipped on a pair of shorts before quietly entering his bedroom, seeing the already sleeping figure of Velvet nestled in his sheets.

He sighed. Maybe this isn't a good idea if I'm going to be out there, risking life and limb on "secret" missions. He gently slipped into his bed, cuddling up next to her. Velvet responded by easing into him, giving a relieved sigh.

You're right, he thought as he delicately kissed the back of her neck. I wouldn't have it any other way.