A/N As usual, I encourage feedback, but please wait until you've finished all 8 chapters.


Act 3
Huntress and Hunted

Reaper awoke with a strange sensation across her middle. She looked over and saw Neo slumbering behind her with her arm tossed over the scythe master. The past few days since she had been back, it had been nearly impossible to kick the multi-colored girl out of Reaper's room. And quite honestly, Reaper had been too tired to even try. At least this time they both stayed fully clothed.

Again? The Voice remarked Neo's presence and position. If we didn't know any better, I'd say she wants more than a… what's the kind phrase for it? Friends with benefits?

The kind phrases never do Neo justice. You just need that oomph only 'fuck buddy' can provide. And maybe we don't know better.

This girl is crazier than we are…

And highly unpredictable.

Reaper stood and abandoned the room, letting Neo continue sleeping. She wandered the halls of her home and, not for the first time, wondered if her house was a little too big. She took up a glass of milk as she passed through the kitchen and headed for her Ruby Vault. The first thing she noticed when she stepped inside was the freshly empty cases.

She had taken her old scroll, her red cloak, and Crescent Rose to Beacon for her cover. Her old scroll was turned in for a new one, which she had left on its charger back in RWBY dorm. She had left her old cloak and her old weapon with her old girlfriend. As she looked at the empty glass, the girl could feel that strange sensation again. The feeling of 'Ruby' slipping further away so 'Reaper' could take her place.

With another pass at the room, the scythe girl came to another startling realization. She could tie her mounting insanity to the development of 'Reaper'. Clearly 'Reaper' was still growing, would her madness continue to grow as well? If she was already hearing uncontrollable imaginary voices, what could possibly be next? The thought greatly unnerved the fallen huntress. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable in the room, she set herself to leave. In the doorway, she spared the vault one last look.

What am I doing with this stuff? What good does it do me? I can't go back… Reaper closed the door and did something she had never done before… she locked it behind her. She wasn't 'Ruby' anymore. Now that Beacon knew it was time she stopped pretending. In fact, Reaper dropped her milk off and considered finding something else to drink, something more 'Reaper'. Might as well go all out, right?

She rummaged through a long-forgotten liquor cabinet Torchwick had stocked when the house was built. "Let's see… what would 'Reaper' drink…?"

None of these are popping out at me either.

Reaper sighed and pulled the first bottle her fingers wrapped around. She poured a reasonably small 'test' amount into a clean glass and tried it. The strong alcohol burned on the way down, making the girl cough. It wasn't exactly pleasing going down, but it wasn't too bad once it had settled in her stomach. She took another trial drink that felt the same as the first, and set the bottle back in the cabinet.

Yeah, this seems like a stupid idea.

Oh, can it.

The black scroll buzzed in her pocket. She turned to see Neo standing in the kitchen. The multi-colored girl poked her scroll, urging Reaper to check her own. 'You want a big girl drink?' the message read out.

"I was just trying something… somehow, when I think of 'Reaper' I don't see her drinking milk." Reaper confessed.

Neo typed out another message. 'You may be a new you, but taste buds are harder to change. Sit down.' Reaper raised an eyebrow, but having nothing else to do at this moment elected to sit down and see what Ice Scream had in store. Neo began to dance around the kitchen and grabbed various bottles and items. A minute or so later and Reaper was presented with a strange white concoction.

An experimental taste later and Reaper was pleasantly surprised by how sweet it was. She could still taste the alcohol, but the burn was mellowed by the heavy milk cream it was made with. The glass was quickly emptied. Neo winked and messaged the scythe girl the recipe. It took a few tries to get it just right, but Reaper soon had it perfected, and she and Neo shared a few rounds. Their third drink was interrupted by Torchwick's blonde. This girl had stuck around longer than the last few, long enough to earn a nickname from those thinking she may actually be here to stay.

"Hey, Ditz." Reaper greeted.

"God, I hate that name…" she responded. "Torchwick wants to know when you're starting your investigation."

"Didn't I tell you yesterday to tell him I was starting this afternoon?" Reaper pointed out.

Ditz gave a few empty blinks. "You did…? You did…"

Reaper sighed heavily while Neo face-palmed.

And she wonders why people call her Ditz?

"And you wonder why we call you Ditz…?" Reaper echoed. The blonde left quickly to update her boss before she forgot again. "Of all of Roman's girls, why is she the one that's here to stay?"

'Roman finds her funny.' Neo typed out.

"He's got a weird sense of humor." Reaper responded, eliciting a supportive nod from the multi-colored girl.

Coming from us? That's saying something…

"Coming from us? That's saying something." Reaper echoed once more. Neo nodded again.


Reaper and Neo stood outside Junior's club. The scythe girl hadn't bothered asking Neo why she tagged along. At this point, she kind of knew already before they even left. The shocking part was she found herself caring less and less. Neo's constant presence was almost becoming… nice.

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

Let's not jump to conclusions, okay?

What's Stockholm Syndrome for stalkers?

What did I just tell you?

Fine. Maybe you're right, denial will make it go away.

"Just be quiet…" Reaper told The Voice. Neo nudged her to let her know she spoke out loud to it again. Ignoring whatever comment The Voice had next, the pair entered the club. Reaper could feel the baseline of the music bounce around the alcohol in her stomach. Her mind had a strange fuzz that almost made her want to dance. Is this what it's like to be drunk? Or am I just 'buzzed'?

Neo noticed this little internal struggle and smiled to herself. 'Next time don't drink before work. At least not until you gain some tolerance.' She messaged the black clad girl.

"If you knew this could happen, why did you let me?" Reaper asked her.

'I didn't know you had work to do today.' Neo responded.

It's a good point. We never told her our plans.

"Good point…"

They made their way to Junior and the three went into his back office. "I sent the brochure with someone I know and trust this time, so this is something else." Junior correctly assumed.

"We want anything you can tell us about the courier who stole it before." Reaper told him.

"I haven't seen him since, and after what happened I highly doubt the information I have on him is accurate."

"So you can give us nothing?"

Junior sighed and printed something from his computer. "This is what I have, but as I said, I can't promise it's accurate. It does have his face, though." He handed Reaper the paper. The picture showed a young-ish man with hair so dark it almost seemed a shade of blue. "His tail was the same color as his hair."

"Tail? A faunus?" The scythe girl asked.

"Monkey tail." Junior answered.

That will certainly make things easier.

Think we should ask around 'Poor Town'?

Tons of faunus there, especially criminal ones.

There was a knock at the door. "Sounds like I have customers. Ladies, good day." He moved to the door, but was stopped by Reaper. She stepped through the door and carefully peeked around the corner.

Come on, what are the chances that will really happen twiiieee, fuck.

Standing at the counter was Weiss, Blake, and Velvet. The rabbit faunus was wearing Ruby's cloak. Reaper and The Voice simultaneously cursed quietly.

"Velvet," Weiss was talking to the girl, "I understand that you think you can bring Ruby back. But even if you can, right now she is still a criminal. If we find her, we are bringing her in. Okay?"

"But-" Velvet began but was quickly cut off.

"No buts. We are still huntresses first, and Ruby, or Reaper or whatever, is still a criminal. We can worry about the other stuff later, but we need to bring her in first."

The rabbit girl hung her head low. She knew Weiss was right. She just wanted her girlfriend back so badly… "Okay…" She accepted. Weiss let out a sigh of relief.

Reaper made her way back to Junior. "I really hate that you're neutral." She told him, shoving Lien cards into his hand. "If those three ask after me, you don't know anything."

"Unless they offer more." Junior told her. He counted out the money Reaper gave him. "Somehow…" he added, his eyes wide.

"I'll be watching." Reaper warned him. She looked to Neo and the multi-colored girl nodded. Illusioned from sight, the pair took to eavesdropping on the impending conversation.

"You three? I won't be telling you anything else on Torchwick that won't cost more." He warned them.

"It's not about him." Vlevet spoke up and showed him the same picture from before. "You're sure you never heard of Ruby Rose?"

Junior's eyebrow rose. He put two-and-two together and smirked at learning Reaper's true name. "Sorry, never heard that name before today." He told them truthfully.

"What about a girl named Reaper?" Weiss asked. "Ever heard that one before?"

Junior would have been taken aback of he wasn't already expecting that question. "Maybe. Here and there."

"Well, do you know anything about her?" Weiss pressed. "You know I can pay."

Junior seriously doubted the heiress was willing to pay what it took to outbid Reaper. "Sorry, I don't know anything."

Weiss was about to say something, likely harsh and rude, when she was stopped by Blake, who pulled her slightly away. "It's no use Weiss. You can't pay the fortune you would need to without alerting your father."

"But two thousand got me Orange Clockwork!"

"It's not about what the info is worth. He's being purposefully evasive. He knows. Weiss, he's being paid not to tell." Blake, the ex-criminal, could easily see the difference.

"Damn it!" Weiss cursed. "What do we do now? Just beat the streets?"

"Not yet…" Blake thought. "We hope there's something she overlooked. Velvet, didn't you hear the name of Torchwick's illusionist?"

Reaper could see the conflict pass through Velvet's eyes. She likely didn't want to think about what else she had learned as far as Reaper and Neo were concerned. "Neo." She eventually nodded. Velvet stepped back to the counter. "What might you be able to tell us about a girl named Neo? Pink and brown hair and eyes?" Reaper could feel the multi-colored girl in question glare a hole into the back of her head after the question was asked.

Junior took a moment to think things through. Neo was crazy, but even she wasn't stupid enough to attack the best info broker in Vale, especially when he was neutral. "Can you pay two again?" He asked Weiss. She quickly handed over the money. "Neo is short for Neopolitan. She's incredibly dangerous and one of two top-ranking lieutenants in Torchwick's new organization."

"Who's the other?" Blake asked.

"That's not what you paid for." He told the girls before taking his leave of them.

Weiss fumed and Velvet was disappointed they couldn't get more. Blake spoke again. "So she's friends with this Neopolitan girl, who's second in command with Torchwick next to someone else."

"Maybe Ruby?" Velvet proposed. "That could explain why they seem to be partners now."

"So all we did was confirm that if we hunt down Torchwick, we'll find her." Weiss summarized. The huntress trio nodded and left.

"Remind me next time I need to visit Junior, to do so during Beacon's classroom hours." Reaper lamented out loud as Neo dispelled her illusion. The multi-colored girl started to zero in on Junior with a fire in her eyes. "Neo, stop!" Reaper warned. The scythe girl was amazed that Neo did indeed stop, but when she turned around she didn't look happy about it. "It's not his fault. He did his job. I'm the one that didn't realize they might ask after you."

Neo knew Reaper was right, but she didn't want to be mad at the scythe girl. She settled for being mad at Junior and not assaulting him for it as she typed a quick message to Reaper's scroll. 'Now is the time for a drink.' It read.

"You mean while we're working?" Reaper asked.

Neo shook her head and typed. 'We shouldn't be topside while they're looking for us. We search during school hours so we won't stumble into them once again.'

That would be smart.

Reaper nodded. "Kinda looking forward to having more of that drink."

Neo raised an eyebrow and fired a quick response. 'If youre not careful youll get hungover'

"Gotta have my first one eventually, know what it feels like." Reaper rationalized.

Neo was about to reply but after a moments consideration she shrugged instead. There was a weird logic to Reaper's thinking. And if Neo was going to get shit-faced with her new favorite person, then all the better.

A few streets over the Beacon group wandered commercial looking for one of the buildings owned by Orange Clockwork.

"What are we going to do if we find one? They're not going to tell us anything." Velvet asked.

"I have a plan." Weiss stated as Blake shifted uncomfortably beside her. "Two of us distract the shop keeper while the experienced thief sneaks around on the lookout for anything helpful."

"You don't have to be so blunt about it." Blake told off her girlfriend.

"So, we're going to steal?" Velvet clarified.

"From thieves! And other kinds of criminals too I guess." The heiress defended. "Look, we're not exactly sanctioned for this investigation of ours. We're already bending the rules."

"So why not break them, right…" Velvet concluded with a distinct lack of amusement. "If you are going to play criminals, than as a huntress, should I bring you in?"

"Velv…" Blake looked her friend in the eye. "I admit it's not ideal, and it may sound a little hypocritical to boot. But there is a large difference between lifting Intel from criminal-owned establishments and the things Ruby has done as Reaper. This is how we find her."

"Look," Weiss interjected, "Blake doesn't like to be rude, so I'm doing it for her. Something we've both been thinking is, maybe you should go back to Beacon. We clearly have different final goals, and that conflict of interest could disrupt the search."

Velvet looked to Blake to see the guilty confirmation in her friends face. "I already agreed to have her arrested if we find her! I can't sit back and do nothing, and there is no point in doing two separate unsanctioned investigations. I'm going with you."

Weiss sighed. "Fine. Then let's go."