Author's Note: Bah, I kind of forgot to keep track about one stage of retail life that's hitting me.
Brain: Inventory!
Yeeeeep. It's inventory time at my day job again which means this week and next week is meant for prepping and actually doing it. To stack things more against me, I am actually hoping to put in some overtime at my night job for next week so I may not be able to touch a computer nonetheless a Word document until the week after. Unfortunately, new transmissions don't pay for themselves and money is kind of a necessity. To make up for it, I am planning on the next chapter to be a bit lengthy as I will not only be going through Extracurricular but also Burning the Candle in one go.
Despite going through two episodes at once, the material is still gonna be pretty much original and new since, as I stated before, pretty much anything to do with Jaune is gonna be skipped-
Brain: Cause no one caaaarrrrreeeeed!
-and I'll be mixing and altering stuff that did happen. Yang and Blake's serious talk may be more or less the same and Pyrrha's sparring session will be present though I plan to breeze through it. Other than that, Sun won't be the one approaching Blake after the sparring match and there's going to be a focus on some Weiss and Ruby as they make their own preparations for the dance. I intend to have fun with the next chapter and the dance chapter after that as those two chapters in particular will focus on the dynamics that convince me – and others – as to why our favorite pairings are Bumblebee and White Rose.
Brain: Until then, here's this chapter!
The hill was the largest that she had to traverse but not by much, and she had cleared the others just as easily as she should with this one. However, during those instances before it had still been early on in her journey when her motivation, her body, and her energy had been fresh.
The road - really, a dirt path rather than a road - had started off better as well. When she began, it had been as smooth as it could be with the boots of those who frequently traveled it having made up for what paving it lacked. The bumps were infrequent, the jostling at a minimum, and it hadn't been as punishing beneath her feet.
Going further away from civilization - and help - where travel had become limited to non-existent, the pathway had deteriorated overtime with the changing seasons. To underline the scarcity of the living, leaf-stripped branches hung sinisterly over her, the haunting breath of the passing wind triggering grim creaking while the bony tips clawed at nothing. She shivered, both against the chilling display that touched on dark imaginations and the tangible but no less frigid contact that bit down on her weary and bruised form.
The ground had also grown cold, becoming hard and unyielding. It had begun bruising her feet which were holding up better than her shoes, the heels of which having been worn down while the rest of it had become scruffed and torn, sporting holes at the front that made her toes visible. Their deplorable condition contributed to the pain of her ascent of the hill.
She stubbornly pushed herself on while she pulled the wagon up with her. The wooden handle had been just as brutal. Between the weight of the wagon and its contents that she had been towing, every bounce and shake that the uneven path was responsible for caused added friction to her hands, forcing her to constantly switch. It hadn't saved them. They both throbbed with consistent pain, even the one that was hanging from her side. As for the other that currently gripped the handle, it was further abused with the torn and blistered skin rubbing against the wood.
The muscles in her arm and in her legs, having been pounded with what had to be hours of exertion, threatened to give out on her. Stretched to what had to be the limit, her shoulder threatened to pop out of its socket with her legs trembling and ready to collapse in an instant.
It was her footing that failed her.
A high note of surprise came with the sudden slip, the blame to be placed on the path or her deteriorating shoes she wasn't sure as the shot of panic and instinct took over. She fell to a knee, her grip remaining tight on the wagon which tugged with the very real danger of a reversal; to pull and drag her all the way down the hill if she didn't let go. She refused to do so, not just because of the progress she would lose and have to redo but her fear for who was being carried in the rickety thing. Her free hand desperately scrabbled for what purchase she could find within the solid earth while the mounting pressure had her bending back precariously, on the verge of falling backwards.
She obtained a firm grip, delaying but not yet saving her. Fueled by desperation, she managed to work through the pains of her body, pushing off the ground with her knee while her nails clawed for momentum. The last couple feet she needed passed by in a blurring mix of pain, fear, and adrenaline, the only signal she had to mark her success being when the weight that sought to drag her back abated as did her need to struggle. There was no sense of accomplishment, only the aches that plagued her when she deigned to give herself a break.
She loosened her grip and, when she was sure she wasn't going to lose it, let go of the handle, wincing as it felt like the flesh of her palm was being peeled from it. She flexed her fingers, stretching them, and again came that blend of pain and relief from the action. A visual inspection revealed what she already felt: the cuts, the popped blisters, broken and dirty fingernails, and the warm mixture of blood and other fluids that offered temporary respite for her cold fingers until they too would freeze and become another hindrance.
She turned her attention ahead, staring out at the path that continued on and her heart sank when not even the horizon was visible to her; obstructed by the jagged trees that the path cut through with no end.
Sitting low in the middle of the cold and the wilderness, her body exhausted and sore, the determination that drove her this far was on the verge of failing.
Should she give up?
The conviction that got her to take this course with the confidence that it was the right choice was being eaten away by the doubt that settled over her. Her desperate need for answers and the chance to return her family to normalcy, once so righteous, was appearing more and more foolish the further she went with no sign of coming any closer to her goal.
She dared to look back and the idea of returning withered just as promptly when she witnessed the same arduous trip that she would have to take in order to go home.
To return with nothing or to keep going with the chance to find the answers that she desired. At this point, it was not something as pure as hope but the prospect of the reward that she could receive as payment for this self-inflicted torture that influenced her decision.
She grabbed the handle when it moved, afraid that it was rolling back, but that turned out not to be the case.
"Yaya?"
She looked back to see the toddler having awoken from her nap within the nest of blankets that had been prepared for her. Beneath the red hood, half-lidded silver eyes looked tiredly at her.
"Go back to sleep, Ruru," she quietly instructed, praying that the smile that she formed would distract her sister from the grime and contusions on her face. "Everything's going to be fine."
There was an incoherent mumble but, thankfully, the toddler complied and dropped back into the wagon, the recent shaking apparently having succeeded to pry her from her sleep but not enough to bring her to wakefulness. After devoting a minute to her sister as much as to herself, she pushed herself back up, ignoring the agony of her knee - the cloth over it torn from her pervious fall, blood welling up through the grit - and the complaints of her hand when she retrieved the wagon's handle.
Everything's going to be fine.
Yang woke up in a lethargy, gaining consciousness but little else. Her eyes were reluctant to open and her limbs felt heavy, making her wonder how or why she even accomplished in wakening. If not for an instinct to recollect the last few memories she could draw up, she might've let her eyes remain closed and then drift back off to sleep. As it was, as soon as she remembered the events that led her here, she forced her lids up in order to see where 'here' was. The familiar surroundings of her team's dorm room quelled any worries and she was able to piece together what happened.
The Paladin. Jeez, that was a doozy.
It had been a while since she pushed her Semblance that far. She was no stranger to some of the draining effects that could occur with its use; gathering and controlling that amount of power and then releasing it all with the use of her body could take a toll. Usually she was careful and would hardly be affected by it but the situation with Roman and his giant death bot had been the exception: taking that amount of damage so quickly, drawing equally massive amounts of energy from it, and the duration she remained in her supercharged state far exceeded what she was accustomed to. Having her natural supply of adrenaline and endorphins being cut off with the energy drainage was the cherry on top.
Lying on her stomach with her head happening to be turned to the window, she could see the daylight streaming through the curtains. Morning, although she predicted that it was probably later than that. Going by previous experiences and how exhausted she still was, she'd be out of it for most of the day - probably sleep right into the next when she decided to close her eyes again which would be soon.
Detecting something wrong with her surroundings kept her from doing that right away. This isn't my bed.
She was too low, something she noticed when she checked the window. As to who's bed it was, seeing the stacked books on top of one of the posts clued her in. She guessed that getting her up on her own bed would've been too much of a chore and her teammates settled with placing her on Blake's. A tilt of her head and a long sniff at the pillow rewarded her with the familiar scent of jasmine and Yang couldn't help but quietly chuckle at the discovery.
A weight settled itself onto the mattress next to her. "Yang?"
The blonde was too accustomed to the quiet movements to be startled by them. "Morning, Blake." She tried to turn over to bring her partner and girlfriend into view. "Is it mor-?" She broke off with a hiss, small daggers jamming themselves into her from what had to be everywhere.
"Don't move," came the quick instruction. A hand was delicately placed on her shoulder to keep her still. "It's noon, actually, and nowhere near enough time for you to have recovered yet. Ruby told me about what you have to be going through."
Yang had quickly figured that out once the initial lance of pain died down, leaving her to feel like she was one giant bruise all over. Another consequence: a person's Semblance was tied to their Aura and what affected Yang physically did the same to her soul's energy and the benefits that came with it, including accelerated recovery. She settled herself back down. "Everyone okay?"
Blake's touch remained and she gently stroked along Yang's shoulder, daring to only do that much without running the risk of aggravating anything. "We made it out fine before the police could arrive. It was late by the time we got to Beacon so it wasn't hard to get you to the dorm without anyone spotting us."
Yang sighed and mumbled appreciatively, the light touch calming. She remembered everyone being fine before her collapse but it was good to make sure. "Sun and Neptune?"
"We didn't see them until this morning but we messaged them earlier to make sure they were okay."
That accounted for everyone but not everything as another worry came to mind. "My bike?"
"I took care of it."
"You took care of it?"
She felt the suppressed humor vibrate through Blake's fingertips. "I'm a fast learner. Your bike's locked up, safe and sound. The only scratches it has are the ones that were already there."
"There shouldn't be any on her at all!" In spite of her exhaustion that made her voice groggy, Yang managed to conjure up a bit of shrillness. "What did you do?"
Blake's reply was patient but there was enough for Yang to know that, if she was looking at her, there would be a playful smirk on her face. "I didn't do anything. They were there when I got to her and I made sure to be careful. The drive to the garage was completely mech-free."
Yang just laid there, quietly fuming for a bit. "Full tank at least?"
"Full tank."
"Fine, I'll let it slide. Did you guys go over everything we found yet?"
"No. Lunch is about to start and I was checking up on you until Weiss and Ruby were done with their classes. We'll be going over everything then." As if predicting what Yang was about to say next, she added, "You're staying here."
Yang pouted even if the continued complaints of her body were already making a very convincing argument. "That's no fun."
"It wouldn't be fun even if you went. A lot of sitting around, talking, coming up with theories. Think of it as preparing a paper except we do all the work and you get the A without doing anything."
"Well when you put it like that it doesn't sound so bad."
"That's what I thought. Now hold still." Blake's hand drifted from Yang's shoulder, brushing her mane of hair off to the side before moving low and gripping the bottom of her top.
It was only then that Yang realized that she wasn't wearing the same clothes anymore and a quick look down showed that she was wearing her usual sleepwear. Any jokes that would center around who got the duty to change her or comments of Blake being so quick to bare so much of Yang's skin was interrupted with a pained gasp when the brawler felt the cloth brush along what had to be some hefty swelling of bruises. "How bad is it?"
Silence was her response but she could feel Blake's grip on her top, holding it in mid-raise where it stilled.
Yang attempted to turn her head but the curtain of curly locks blocked the faunus from view. "Blake?"
"About as bad as you'd expect it to be," came the steady response which said enough to Yang. She took pride in her durability but she was definitely feeling the results of last night and wouldn't be surprised if she did look as bad as she felt.
Blake pulled the clothing up the rest of the way and Yang gasped in a different way, fighting down a shudder at the cool gel that was applied to her back. Gripping Blake's pillow and pressing her face into softness, Yang used it to help stifle the winces and groans as her partner lathered her back with the cream, Blake taking care but the kneading earned sharp jabs of agony on what had to be particularly bruised areas which was often.
Yang's voice was slightly muffled when she made a suggestion. "Not that I can't take it, but what about throwing in some Aura with that?"
"It won't do anything about the exhaustion," Blake replied. "Besides, we never tried it before and I'm hesitant to do so now. Ruby and Weiss have an advantage over us after what they went through with establishing their bond. We'll work on it."
Another groan was Yang's response which turned into pleasant sighs once the applied gel began to work, the cooling sensation that followed more soothing and numbing the pain. Areas where Blake massaged hit sore rather than bruised muscles and encouraged a drawn-out moan, getting the faunus to halt, possibly out of embarrassment. Yang was barely aware of it, the combined sensations clouding her mind while the heaviness of her limbs had her sinking lower than before into the mattress.
Her top was pulled back down and even as consciousness was slipping on by, she managed to tease, "Want me to turn over?"
"I don't want you to move if you don't have to. I think you're good from here."
That she was, sleep ready to claim her. Blake taking that moment to stroke her hair helped but Yang tried to muster up the strength to say two words. Just two little words, but what came out was unintelligible and then she was out.
The stroking went on at her head, pausing only when Blake saw that her partner had drifted off. She bent down, trading her hand for her lips which placed a kiss within the ringed gold. Then she stood, staying and staring down at her sleeping girlfriend with an unreadable expression for another minute before turning to the door.
Weiss linked her scroll into a jack on the edge of the table and tapped a command into the device. Within the center, the projector came on and an image appeared hovering over the surface. Just like one of my father's board meetings.
Weiss wasn't at the top floor of some towering, multi-level skyscraper that served as the headquarters to her father's company though. She was on the second floor of Beacon's library, the building as close to empty as it could be with the majority of students currently in the cafeteria having lunch. Naturally, it was the perfect setup for this briefing as that was really what this should be called. There were no board members or shareholders lined up at an expansive table either to discuss business politics; just two teammates who were only interested in stopping a threat against Vale.
It was the kingdom she brought up, the hologram of the world of Remnant ceasing its rotation when she highlighted the continent of Vytal. It was upon magnifying the eastern half of the continent and focusing on the modest patch of urban gray at the coast that she deemed her opening perfectly constructed. "According to the Schnee Company records, Vale has been the primary target for Dust robberies over the last few months."
She tapped another key, red dots imprinting themselves all over the city, a dozen which became dozens but falling well short of a hundred. Many were located deep within the city but there was a thick grouping along the coast with the line of docks while a limited number of strays went beyond the limits of the kingdom - railways that extended beyond it and connected it to outposts constructed to supply villages and even stretching all the way to Vacuo.
"Each dot represents a robbery that's occurred during that time whether it be a shop in downtown or a direct hit at offloaded cargo stored in the industrial district. Dates involving the shops are reliable for obvious reasons but I doubt that being the case for elsewhere. It could be days to even weeks before someone took notice of a container that may've gone missing from a mountain of others but whether small or large, each robbery is suspected to have occurred around midnight to the early morning hours. Either way, it's safe to assume they're all connected. With that in mind, I've calculated a rough estimate of the numbers: several tons and millions of Lien worth of crystals, vials, and rounds. An amount that's severely impacted the market with Dust prices having risen at a rate of seventy-eight percent or more in order to make up for the loss of merchandise.
Dust has many uses, all of it well-known to us. Rounds for firearms while vials of powdered Dust can be used to make additional rounds, cast spells, or to power whatever technologies that use it as an energy source. Crystals, being Dust's raw form, can accomplish the same thing whether in that state or by breaking it down. The added bonus of crystals is that, being the most stable, their elemental power can be safely mixed together to form other types of Dust. In conclusion, the question of why the White Fang would want this much of it answers itself as any of these uses would be suitable for them even if the amount is exceptionally large."
Setting her scroll aside, she laced her fingers together and set her sights on Blake. "A question that might be better to ask, then, is why the White Fang decided to put so much focus on Vale. They've had a presence here but nothing like what we've been seeing lately. For the past several years, their activities were centered within Atlas or so I believed."
She projected a bearing suitable of her upbringing and found it to be of little effort. Lessons of proper speech and posture came intuitively, keeping her back and shoulders straight, her tone clear and strong but, at the same time, dispassionate. Eye contact steady and when it shifted, it was to be done naturally. She had enough presentations and discussions with professors at Beacon that those skills hardly dulled.
There was added incentive here. Though among friends she's become accustomed to speaking freely and act herself, she couldn't do so here because of who was involved. She wanted to appear pragmatic, unbiased. She wanted to show that, in sticking to their agreement, she was willing to put everything behind them so that they may be able to work together.
Weiss did have another motive though. What she had right here was the chance to learn about those who had terrorized her family and murdered several of their associates. Go past the stereotypes and degradations that had created an image she carried since her childhood of senseless monsters. She had to begin thinking of them as not only as a dangerous but very intelligent enemy.
And what better way was there than to hear it from someone who was once a member of them?
Blake met her stare and Weiss was reassured when she didn't catch any signs of indignation from the faunus. "That much is true. Atlas had been the center of the White Fang's attention long before it changed tactics. With the headquarters for the various corporations that have implemented the practice of using faunus as cheap workers stationed within that kingdom in particular, their efforts were mainly focused there."
One of those corporations being Schnee Dust. She didn't say it but she had to be thinking it. How she wasn't being confrontational encouraged Weiss.
"When the White Fang began conducting their attacks, that hadn''t changed. Members who didn't want to get involved fled and when word got around to those outside Atlas, they gathered there to join what they saw to be the main battleground. There were cells that were established elsewhere but I don't know of their activities; I guess either recruiting or making attacks of their own. As a whole though, I believe that Atlas was where the White Fang wanted to make their example to humanity."
"Show that even the most powerful human capital is vulnerable," Weiss deduced and Blake nodded.
"It did work for a while but that choice started to go against them later on in light of the military getting involved. The governing council declared a state of emergency and troops were deployed to reinforce the police and Hunters. Curfews were set in place, patrols increased, and roaming androids that were capable of identifying faunus that tried to hide or didn't possess obvious features gave them an edge. The White Fang was still fighting but their movements were slowed and travel restrictions limited the arrival of outside help due to the military being allowed to use such measures no matter how much it may inconvenience Atlas's citizens."
And you were surprised by this? It was Weiss's turn to stifle that. Blake was making an effort to separate herself from the White Fang, using words like 'they' instead of 'we', and Weiss wasn't going to let herself view her teammate as one of them anymore. It's not like I had any control on my side of things.
She remembered when the kingdom-wide declaration of an emergency had been carried out, initiating what was essentially marshal law. Her family had more or less been immune to it but Weiss was still aware of the consequences that affected regular citizens.
Typically, it was a council of members elected by the public who did the governing - a system that had been adopted by each kingdom and remained in effect for years due to its popularity and perceived fairness after people witnessed for themselves of the tyranny of others. Any executive and legislative decisions were debated and voted on by the members, all with the best intentions for the citizens which they served. This included the use of the military.
In times of peace, the military held little to no power due to the absence of significant external threats and the security of the kingdoms being mainly the duty of policemen and Huntsmen. Even if war was to be made with the generals of the military branch being granted control over the armed forces that swelled in response, they were nonetheless restricted to how they commenced their battles while the council still held overall control of where they fought and who ran it as they were able to dismiss and promote their military leaders. No matter how intense the conflict, the military's authority was to never extend to what had always been the council's.
Atlas was proving to be the exception. Other than the military's fame and accomplishments made during the Great War and the council's intention to guard its reputation as the most powerful kingdom, there were the good Atlesians who were under siege by faunus radicals that were proving to be more than what the police could handle. Between that and Atlas's inadequate numbers when it came to its Huntsmen and Huntresses...
When all you have is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail, Weiss finished. Although the Atlesian Council remained in overall control officially, the ongoing conflict with the White Fang and the military's growing number of successes was giving those generals more and more leverage over the politicians thanks to the positive public reception, including implementing what was termed 'relocation centers' to further separate faunus and human populations.
"Um…" Both Blake and Weiss turned to find Ruby raising her hand awkwardly as if she was signaling a professor's attention while in class. When she got her teammates' attention, she grinned sheepishly. "So do you think they came to Vale because they thought it would be easier?"
Unlike Blake and Weiss, she had been sitting and fidgeting quietly and appeared almost ashamed with how simple her question was after hearing the kind of dialogue exchanged between them. Weiss allowed a break in her demeanor, a corner of her lip curving up to show some support.
"That would be one reason, I suppose," Blake allowed, her own features softening in response to the youngest member. "I don't know what the thinking was behind the decision and, to be quite honest, I didn't know that our leader was going to invest so much into Vale. When I was assigned my first real mission within Vale's vicinity, I was surprised at where I was going. Shortly when it started, I left as I already decided to leave the White Fang at that point. During my months here and not noticing any major developments, I thought nothing of it until recently."
Weiss had to conduct a small internal war with herself to prevent any uncomfortable questions being asked, such as what Blake's mission was. It was a line of inquiry that she's had to constantly separate herself from despite the temptation of finding out just what Blake had done during her service with the White Fang. She may've been a child when it all began, probably spent her time training just as Weiss had done to prepare for participation, but to have been with them for so long and to have done nothing…
It doesn't matter, she told herself as she had the times before. No more dwelling on the past. Besides, it's not like Blake's the only who has secret intentions that she's given up and wants left alone. "I think the lack of a standing army is only one reason why the White Fang would find Vale as a second-best target."
Weiss repossessed her scroll, dexterous fingers playing over the surface. The hologram zoomed out from Vale but kept Vytal and the capital present. Up north, another continent of vast difference appeared. Instead of greens and browns, there was nothing but the whiteness of the frozen tundra that encompassed nearly all of Mantle. Only one spec of territory was spared: the southernmost tip. Its location was just far enough away from the northern pole that the conditions were deemed as suitable for human occupation. The Dust that could be mined made that a certainty with one kingdom having been constructed within that meager space that also happened to be Weiss's home kingdom.
Atlas.
"Vale and Atlas have benefited the most from each other. While not having the largest military or Dust storages, Vale is the most populous. Temperate environment unlike Atlas or Vacuo, and its territory is far larger than Mistral's. It possesses all of the right advantages and its close proximity makes it a very favored customer of Atlas."
Weiss traced her fingertip down her screen, creating a path that the hologram presented as a nearly straight yellow line between the two kingdoms. "Had the White Fang held any extreme views of Vale before, Blake?"
The faunus in question stared at the image, lost in recollection. "Its members had always put blame on the kingdoms for their trade with Atlas, seeing it as encouragement for the business practices of the companies. Vale was the one that got most of it."
"Being further away from Atlas must've made Mistral and Vacuo less convenient targets."
"The White Fang's influence had always been the weakest there."
Nodding, Weiss tapped her nail against her scroll at the trade route. "It's more than cargo that passes between ships. News, gossip, and anti-faunus or human sentiments. While Atlas sees Vale as a consumer, others may see it as a refuge or staging area. Refugees – humans and faunus – coming here and spreading their own beliefs, taking what racial tension that already exists and then multiplying it. While the war escalates in Atlas, relations in Vale are further strained in response."
Blake maintained staring at the image, the frown becoming heavier as Weiss went on. "Making it suitable for the White Fang to recruit and prepare."
"For what?" Ruby inquired.
"That's what we need to find out." Erasing all the marks she made thus far on the hologram, Weiss again zoomed out to have all of Remnant rotating between them again. "For the sake of argument, let's say that the White Fang does intend to wipe out humanity and that all these preparations are for an attack on Vale. What would be the results?"
Mistral, Vacuo, Vale, and Atlas. Each capital sprung up, each marked by a bright pinpoint of light. With another tap of her finger, Weiss snuffed out the one that was Vale.
"Humanity loses more than one city. It also loses one half of its most developed and occupied continent. If Vale was to go, the villages and other settlements that depend on it for protection and supplies may disappear overtime. A similar effect would happen globally: Atlas would lose a valuable trading partner, and without a friendly port in between them, the other kingdoms would become isolated with trade routes being stretched. I suspect that the loss of Vale's CCT would be just as devastating to communications."
Leaving the holographic representation of such a worst-case scenario to float amongst them, Weiss chose her next words as a fitting, dramatic punch. "Vale isn't just the White Fang's secondary target. At this point, it's their best target; achieving everything they want and more."
She got the desired results. Blake's expression broadcasted the direness of the situation while Ruby was looking at the rotating Remnant with wide eyes as she sought to picture the world as Weiss predicted. Though Vale wasn't her birthplace, Patch would be one of the first places that would be hit by the repercussions of such a potential future.
"I know the White Fang better than anyone and have seen for myself what it's become," Blake spoke gravely. "What you've said is something that I've never wanted to fully believe but after going to the rally last night…this is exactly what they would want and what they're probably preparing for." She slumped in her seat, appearing deflated by the legitimacy of what her group desired. "This matches the kind of chaos that our leader and others of the high echelon of the Fang would love."
And Blake was committed to stop it. Weiss was certain of that. Unfortunately, we're not done yet. "There's just one complication to all of this."
"Roman Torchwick." Blake all but spat that name out.
"If this was just a straightforward plot to gain faunus supremacy over Remnant, we could've considered him as a crook looking to cash in on the situation even if his customers would be more than willing to kill him too. But other than Ruby having seen him stealing Dust months before without assistance from the White Fang, there's also what you heard him say at the rally."
"He has an employer."
"Someone who either has connection or is actually in Atlas capable of transporting high-tech – not to mention secret – military hardware across the ocean and putting them into the hands of terrorists."
"I saw General Ironwood giving a presentation about the Paladin in Vale," Ruby supplied, happy to contribute. "He said that it wasn't supposed to be ready until within a year and that he didn't have any to show with the AK-200s."
"Yet Roman managed to acquire one that was fully armed and operational," Weiss said.
"With a promise to get more," Blake grimly added.
"So we have to assume that there's someone in Atlas – someone very high up, whether they be this employer or not – who's able to do all of that with Ironwood or any of the military brass being none the wiser."
A feat that would normally be impossible. Something as closely-guarded as an advanced battle suit wasn't something one just picked out of a lot and run off with with no one noticing. There was storing it until it was ready to ship, loading it onto a boat or airship when it was ready, transporting it, and then unloading it once it reached its destination. It would be exchanged between numerous hands and even if someone greased them well enough, there was always the risk of an average dockworker or desk-based accountant noticing something wrong whether by appearances or numbers.
That's not something any one person can do, Weiss thought. And you would need people on both sides to pull that off: in Atlas and Vale. Leaning back in her chair with arms crossed, the Schnee heiress tried to come up with some theories and immediately found herself going from one to the next, each getting crazier than the last. It wasn't just about who would do it or how they would do it, but also why would they do it.
Even if it's the White Fang that's getting them, it'd be impossible to be done with faunus influence. The kind of rank or position one would need to get so much as information regarding something like that is unattainable to a faunus – at least in Atlas. So it has to be a human. Someone with a lot of pull in the military and if they're that prominent then they could have their own private transport lines. Maybe docks to go with it.
But why would someone do that? Especially a human in Atlas when every single one of them is considered an enemy to the White Fang and having been the victims of their murder sprees for the past five years. It couldn't be something as simple as money. Not anymore.
Could they...want the White Fang to be able to fight a war against Vale? A ridiculous notion. It was the only thing that Weiss could think of but that didn't mean it made any sense when she thought about it.
"So they have something going on in the southeast," Ruby began attempting to sum up their briefing, hand rubbing cutely along her chin. "Whatever it is, it involves a lot of Dust that they've been stealing, mechs that Torchwick has been getting from someone that we don't know, and we can assume that that something is an attack on Vale."
Weiss bobbed her head in acknowledgement. "Sounds about right."
Blake swept her gaze over to Ruby and Weiss, waiting for them to say something. When they didn't, she asked, "So what do we do now?"
Weiss breathed out a long breath, eyes turning up to the ceiling of the library while a finger tapped at her arm in thought. What were they to do? Taking into consideration of what they knew for sure and how they would be able to act on it, there was only one thing that they could do. "Right now…nothing."
She may as well have grown a second head with how Blake looked at her. "Excuse me?"
"We can't do anything right now," Weiss repeated. "There's only one positive lead that we can pursue and that's in the southeast, meaning that we have to go outside the walls of Vale and investigate. We can't exactly go out there whenever we want and if the White Fang does have a hideout somewhere, you can bet it's hidden from not only us but any Grimm wandering around the area. Searching for it and fighting off said Grimm while we do so will take more than a night on the town and people will notice."
"You can't possibly be saying we should wait!"
Weiss frowned at her darker teammate. "We used up every resource that we have at our disposal unless you're saying that you want to try sneaking into another White Fang meeting. After what happened, they'll be more careful and if you do try and sneak into one – if they decide to have one like that again - they'll probably be looking out for you specifically. Likewise, me trying to contact my company again is out of the question. They were already uneasy about the records they gave me and to call them again so soon to ask for information even more sensitive than that would draw too much suspicion."
Blake stood up from her chair, gripping the edge of the table as she stared down Weiss. "You were the one that just went over what the White Fang could be planning and what it may mean for Vale and possibly the entire world. There has to be something else we can do or uncover!"
Weiss matched her stare, about to say something, but a figure of red-and-black dived between them, sprawling herself on the table and disrupting not only their argument but the floating hologram of Remnant that became a static-ridden mess as the projector tried and failed to compensate for the obstruction.
"We can still do something!" Ruby exclaimed, holding a palm out to each of her subordinates to quiet them. "All the first-years will be able to choose and go on their first mission soon! All we have to do is select a mission within the southeast and we'll be able to investigate as much as we want! Right?" Her head whipped to each of them, appearing a bit frantic to prevent any more bickering. "Right?"
Her partner's shenanigans alone were enough to get Weiss to sit back in her chair as did the sensibility of the plan. "Right, exactly. By doing that, no one will question us going outside Vale as we'll have a perfectly legitimate excuse."
Though Blake had loosened her grip on the table, she stayed standing and remained unhappy. "That's nearly a week away. Do you think the White Fang is going to sit around and wait until then? What if they decide to start with their plan before then?"
A valid concern and one that Weiss shared, nodding slowly. "They could, but I don't think they will."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I'm not but I think there's a reason to believe that they won't. For one, they're conducting themselves very differently than they did in Atlas. With all the thefts they've made in Vale, not once had they gone public or taken credit for any of them. Until we came in, no one knew that they were involved. They want to keep a low profile. If I had to guess, it's because they don't want a repeat of Atlas. When they do decide to strike, they want to be well prepared for it."
Blake's silence and how she was quietly analyzing the theory made Weiss feel safe to go on. "They're recruiting, stockpiling on Dust and weapons, and then delivering them all to the southeast. That'll take time and with our interference last night they may be working slower and more cautiously to keep their heads down. And, as violent as they may be, they do seem to have a sense for the theatrics. Just like how they wanted to show their power by attacking Atlas, if they decide to do so with Vale they want to make a big show out of it. I can think of only one event that's taking place here that'll have the desired effect."
"The Vytal Festival."
"Which is even further away. Whether they decide to do it in the middle of the festival or the start of it, either way they'll have to wait several days until after our mission is over."
"We can prepare until then," Ruby chimed in. "Yang still needs some rest before she's all better and we can spend the time training and getting stronger."
Something flashed across Blake's face at the mention of Yang's name but it was there and gone before even Weiss could identify what it was. The faunus pushed herself from the table to straighten, her jaw set as she looked at the two of them. "Then I guess that means we're all done here."
"For now," Weiss admitted with the thought that offering that much would placate her, if only a little. Whether it did any good or not she didn't know with how rigid Blake's steps and body were when she stepped away from the table and left, disappearing down the flight of steps to the ground floor of the library. She and Ruby watched her go with the latter being the first to make a move, sliding off the table and back into her seat. Weiss unhooked her scroll from the holoprojector and turned both off.
"That went…well," Ruby offered.
Weiss turned enough away from her to hide the small smile that came up while she pocketed her scroll. "You think?"
"I mean I haven't done this before but we managed to come up with some stuff, right?"
"More questions than answers though," Weiss replied. "We have our next step planned but when it comes to figuring out the overall situation there's a lot we don't know."
Ruby shrugged in turn and Weiss was taken aback to see her staring at her with a satisfied smile. "It was still nice to see you and Blake working together like that."
"Well…we were able to keep it civil. I did say that I didn't hate her and that we could work together. With how we've been acting since then...we've still got some rough spots but I do feel better about our situation considering what's involved."
"You guys were really cool - especially you! The hologram and the reports and all the other real official-like stuff! It was awesome to see you working like that!"
Weiss found her gaze straying, unwilling to look Ruby in the eye and felt an uncomfortable stirring of embarrassment at her partner's praise. It was different from the 'good jobs' of her professors and the high scores of her test papers or, before that, the compliments of her trainers and tutors hired to teach at the Schnee estate. Such things had always felt more impersonal; like it was expected to not only hear it from them but her efforts as a whole were expected with the results holding nothing special. It was always different with Ruby, to not only hear but sense the admiration that the younger girl held for something that just seemed natural and nothing exceptional.
"It was nothing..." Weiss murmured almost inaudibly.
"It was really professional!" Ruby said with that radiant smile that always seemed so bright. It was why it surprised Weiss when it suddenly dimmed. "I don't think I could ever do something like that." Lowering her gaze to her lap, that discomfort that she exuded during the briefing came back. "Seeing you like that - not only for here but other times too -...sometimes I think that maybe you should've been the leader of team RWBY instead of me."
If this had been back during the beginning of their first semester, Weiss knew what she would've said. She would've not only agreed with Ruby but tried to convince her to step down from her position and get Ozpin to make it official. During then she had been offended, even angry, that she got passed over by someone who she thought to be her inferior in every way and she had tried to get her professors to see that to no avail.
Since then, she not only learned to settle in her position but see why it was that Ruby deserved to be leader. So, with a shake of her head, she said, "Don't ever think that, Ruby. It was you that was picked, not me, and I'm sure our professors know more about what makes a good Huntress than either of us."
"Yeah, I know, but...I do think back to what you said before and I can't help but wonder that maybe you were right. I mean...I'm just Ruby and you're Weiss Schnee. Ozpin did let me attend early and I really really appreciated it but I never thought of myself as anything special. If I hadn't been there to stop Torchwick and his men, I'd probably still be back at Signal with everyone else and waiting until I completed there before enrolling into Beacon. I just wanted to be a hero and fight monsters - I didn't even care about being a leader."
Appearing more dejected as she went on, Ruby finished, "Maybe it really was just all about being lucky."
Weiss knew that Ruby hadn't meant to but she nonetheless felt a bit of shame with the knowledge that she was partly responsible for this doubt that was hanging over her partner. She wished she could take everything that she had said back but, alas, that was another mistake that she made that she now saw she needed to work hard to make up for.
"It's not luck," she stated and was relieved to see Ruby lift her chin up. "I said that you'll make a great leader one day and I meant it. It's only our first year and I doubt you were expected to take on something like this so soon. Blake and I just happen to have a certain interest in this subject and this just now..." She gestured to the inert projector. "This was just something that happened to be related to what I was taught. I looked at the White Fang as I would a business venture; their interests, what their ultimate goal is, how they would achieve it, things like that. That's something anyone can learn given time.
What can't be taught is what you've done with this team. We all work together so well because of you despite our differing backgrounds. Yang's your sister so that's a given but you have Blake and I who are as different as can be yet we can fight or sit and plan together despite everything between us. We trust you and are willing to be led by you because of how you see us as equals." She smiled genuinely. "I only agreed to this craziness and all the other plans you've come up with because I trust you that much."
"Weiss..." Ruby was fidgeting with a lowered head but in a very different way. Her face had begun to better match her color scheme, cheeks so enflamed that it was hard to differentiate between them and the red tips of her bangs that hung over them.
Payback, Weiss thought ruefully for all the times Ruby would get her embarrassed although her every word had been sincere.
She had thought of what RWBY would be like if she had been leader. Other than perhaps calling it WRBY, Weiss knew she would've remained as...difficult as she had been when she first met them. Maybe Ruby and the others could've still managed to draw her out from behind her icy walls but with her added authority she would've felt justified to be as strict and uncompromising as she needed to be. No bunk beds, would've kept social outings to a minimum, demand everything and more out of her teammates which would frustrate everyone - her for setting her standards too high, them for being unwilling to meet them.
And if we found out about Blake during then...
It continued to cause her pain and time had yet to prove to be a good healer. From when she decided to apply to Beacon to Blake, everything here had been a means to an end. A farce that she was willing to drop at any point that she would deem as convenient. And finding out about Blake's heritage and her ties to the Fang...Weiss had been on the verge of giving it all up.
Ruby saved this team. If I had been leader, I would've torn it apart.
It was because of Ruby that the team remained intact. She stood up to Weiss and got her to search for Blake with her and Yang. It was only because of the cracks she made in the heiress's armor and their friendship that got Weiss to see sense and turn away from the path of damnation that she had been too willing to follow. And after she had been injured, it was for her sake that Weiss and Blake both managed overcome their harsh childhoods thanks to generations of racial prejudice in order to see each other as friends.
I'll make a leader out of you yet, Ruby. It was the least Weiss could do and she didn't miss how that was exactly what Pyrrha had said to her. A team required the efforts to be made by all of its members. She'll support Ruby and make her a better leader and, in extension, make their team better in order for them to triumph over whatever may be sent their way next.
A crinkling sound caught Weiss's attention, the culprit being a package that Ruby had pulled out from beneath her cloak. She knew what it was before she even read the label. "You brought food into the library!?"
"Well, yeah!" Ruby said, not so much as pausing as she opened the package. "I brought them just in case and it's a good thing I did! We're not going to have enough time to go to the cafeteria to get something to eat."
"Cookies don't count as a lunch!"
Ruby swiveled her head around with a cheeky grin. "I don't see any other food around here." She took out one cookie and held it out to Weiss. "Come on; it has birthday cake filling~"
Weiss wrinkled her nose, having thought it was just a normal chocolate chip cookie - it looked like one anyway - until she heard that. "How is that a thing?"
Ruby leaned over the table in order to hold it further out to Weiss and waved it playfully in front of her. "Only one way to find out~"
Weiss angled her head around the deceptive sweet in order to show Ruby how her eyes were narrowed severely. Then, with a sigh, she took it. "Dolt."
They may be done but that didn't mean Blake was. That can't be all we can do.
It was that thought that got her to procure a terminal for herself in order to do her own investigating. It seemed so inadequate compared to going out into the city and searching as she had done previously but she had to relent to Weiss's logic that the White Fang would be prepared for another infiltration and any future attempts would not only prove fruitless if they had chosen to cease any more extravagant meetings but dangerous if they were and her face was one they were sure to familiarize themselves with.
It was why she was reduced to bringing up news articles in order to find any scrap of intel that could point her to the White Fang. She had done so before and a few of the articles - those of robberies made by 'unknown persons' - she recognized as having perused through previously but she was expanding her criteria. Any disturbance, big or small, that had been put aside as ordinary but could, in her mind, actually hold some kind of hint to the White Fang and their movements.
There were still questions that needed answers. What were the White Fang doing while they waited for their chance to strike? How were they getting their resources to the southeast? Where in the southeast could they be? How was such an attack on Vale, as that was clearly what they had to be preparing for, be conducted? They couldn't just be sitting around and doing nothing - they never had before.
Despite that, it seemed that that was what they were doing. There weren't any new reports of a Dust robbery having been made since the last time she checked. There was, however, one article that had her staring hauntingly at the title.
[Highway Pileup Involving Dozens]
Blake couldn't recall passing her finger over the title but a moment later she was reading through the paragraphs that made up the article and she had to check the date and the exact highway that was being featured in the article to be sure that it was the one she was thinking of.
It was, but the story wasn't how she remembered it. For one, there was no mention of Torchwick or a battlesuit with White Fang markings. What was reported instead was a 'power lifter' that malfunctioned while in transit to Vale's industrial district, disrupting traffic and leading to the pileup of dozens of vehicles - fifty or more. No fatalities had been reported yet but Highway Patrol did say that 'multiple injuries were confirmed, several serious'. It was too early for an accurate number for such a thing but it didn't stop Blake from thinking of a different explanation for it.
Keep the body count as vague as possible. It was a strategy that Blake knew well. She wasn't sure if Valeans were always so prepared to put their own spin on such things but she knew that the Atlesian government became experts at it with the White Fang. Whenever there was a bombing or a shooting or any kind of attack of such nature, the casualties were always a number that was portrayed as inconclusive to diminish any sense of success.
The Fang did the same whenever there was ever a raid on a hideout. If they could, they would retrieve and hide the bodies - theirs mostly, but any Atlesian soldiers or police involved may also vanish. Not knowing was always worse than knowing and though the authorities may see it as a victory, they'd never know how badly they hurt the faunus if at all.
Blake read through the rest of the article and found something else that was missing: no mention of any kind of RWBY or the members of SSSN that were with them.
That was all that the night was being written up as: an accident caused by a runaway lifter and nothing else. It just made everything worse, the weight growing heavier and heavier upon Blake's shoulders as she wondered how many other such incidents had occurred and been written off as nothing. Certainly not a sign of a growing army of terrorists plotting to bring down the kingdom and cause as much mayhem as they could.
Closing out of the article, the faunus typed in another search. If the White Fang were keeping their actions a secret and VNN was making out anything that got into public eye as nothing serious - whether on purpose or not - then who knew how many clues were hidden within these news reports that could help point her in the right direction to another piece of their plans.
There came a bell chime, signaling the beginning of another class. Blake was deaf to it, skimming through the latest results and finding another candidate far sooner than she expected.
[White Fang Ties Suspected Of Murdered Store Owner]
It wasn't as recent as RWBY's battle on the highway but Blake didn't remember seeing this the last time she checked. She double-tapped the title.
According to this one, the faunus store owner of Tukson's Book Trade had been found murdered by a customer who regularly made purchases there. Only recently had the police chosen to reveal that the owner - Tukson - had been suspected of being a member of the White Fang going by the evidence found at his residence which was later confirmed by a source who wished to remain anonymous. There was an image of one such piece of evidence and Blake's breath caught in her throat upon seeing it.
It was slightly worn but it was unmistakably a miniature version of the original White Fang flag with the blue background and white wolf head.
Blake wracked her brain, trying to think if she ever heard the name Tukson before but came up empty. To possess that flag though, he had to have been a member for longer than five years. She checked the rest of the article for answers and, finding none, pulled up the initial report of the man's death and any others that mentioned him. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything that could tell her who Tukson's killer was...such as the White Fang itself.
Blake tabbed back to where she left the image of the original flag open. It was just as she remembered it, the doodle she drew in her notebook based on her memories an exact match.
It's gone, she thought. It's gone and there's no going back. Sun was right: there's no hope for any of this anymore.
With how this symbol of peace had transformed, Blake couldn't see how it could ever go back. It was irredeemable, something that she accepted at the docks. But the rally enlightened her to something else: it was not only irredeemable but corrupting. She was ashamed to admit it but she could still feel the lure of it; the temptation that even she wasn't immune to after experiencing for herself what the White Fang was all about now.
It needed to be stopped. It needed to be brought to an end. The longer the White Fang existed, the longer it was allowed to remain, the more others would be drawn to it. If it wasn't stopped, there would only be more pain. More lives that would be lost. Another kingdom that would be changed for the worst by the violence.
Ruby's life had nearly been lost and now Yang had been hurt with Vale being threatened with conflict. Blake buried her face into her hands, fingers rubbing away at the itchiness of her eyes, and saw the map of black and blue bruising that was her partner's back.
She couldn't wait. She wasn't going to sit back until it was convenient. If she woke up one day to find another tragedy having taken place and it was something that she could've prevented...
She only gave herself a few seconds of respite. After that, she removed her hands from her face and returned them to the keyboard while her attention went to the screen. As the saying went, there was no rest for the wicked.
When Yang awoke again, she didn't feel an overwhelming desire to close her eyes as soon as she opened them so she considered that as a good sign. Like before, the window was the first thing she saw and it was daylight that she witnessed coming through the curtains and glass. She did feel stiff and she stretched where she lay, making the typical noises one would make when their tight muscles were allowed to flex after so long.
There was no pain which she labeled as another plus although she felt a degree of soreness at certain parts of her body. Nothing serious and she was confident to sit up, swinging and stretching her legs over the side while she lifted her arms as high as they could go before she touched the mattress above her head, arching her back to complete the stretch and sighing in relief.
She reached around and touched what of her back that she could, expecting and finding no signs of any of the bruising that had been there before. She could feel her Aura having been recharged and it hadn't wasted any time in healing her injuries. To make sure, Yang shifted her attention to her front, lifting her top from over enough of her stomach to see her healthy, peach-colored skin.
"Ahem!"
Yang jerked her head up to find Weiss with her fist to her mouth to better imitate the forced clearing of her throat. Her eyes were closed and there was a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks. Next to her, Ruby was holding a tray and taking an interest in the ceiling.
"Sorry," Yang apologized, grinning sheepishly and letting her top settle back down. "It's safe now. How long was I out?"
"You slept through the rest of yesterday," Weiss informed, having waited an extra second before daring to bring Yan back into sight. "It's morning."
"We brought you breakfast!" Ruby said, stepping forward with the tray.
Yang could smell it and her stomach growled hungrily. Calories were something else that her Semblance burned up along with her energy and she would typically be left with a voracious appetite after its use. Ruby made sure to come prepared: the tray full of plates topped with piles of eggs, bacon, sausages, and a couple rolls.
"I can always count on you, sis." Putting it on her lap, Yang wasted no time in scooping up a bunch of everything and slapping it on a roll to take a huge bite out of. She chewed only a little before swallowing it all down and going in for another bite, most of the sandwich having already disappeared while bits of food dropped from her mouth. "Sho vat I miff?"
Weiss frowned at her and shot Ruby a look of disproval when the younger girl giggled. "I can see where Ruby gets her table manners."
"Sorry," Yang apologized once she forced down her second bite but wasn't really sorry.
It did little to appease Weiss, the princess's frown growing deeper and more disgusted when, instead of repeating herself, Yang stuffed what was left of her sandwich into her mouth and wiped her hand on her clothes. "At least use the napkins!"
Yang ignored her, grabbing the glass of orange juice that was with the food and taking several needy gulps. Weiss threw her hands up in surrender when a line of it dripped from Yang's chin which she once again wiped with the back of her hand. "So what did I miss? Don't worry, I can listen while eating."
"Since you proved that you can't talk while eating," Weiss shot back but complied. While Yang ate, going slower and using the provided knife and fork to make the Ice Queen feel better, Weiss went over what she, Ruby, and Blake had discovered and talked about while she had been out: Vale's popularity when it came to Dust robberies, Roman and his mysterious employer, and a hideout in the southeast.
"We were hoping that you may've found out anything from your friend," Ruby spoke once Weiss was finished. "Otherwise, that's really all we have."
Yang used the draining of the rest of her juice as an excuse to bide time in answering. After setting aside the glass and the tray, she gave a helpless shrug. "I didn't really find out as much as I wanted to. My friend wasn't that big of a help. He mentioned that a lot of his criminal associates have vanished or turned up dead and that there's been a lot of weird things going on like cargo disappearing from boats and airships traveling around that shouldn't. Other than that..."
She thought of the raven woman that Junior mentioned with the red eyes and feathered hair. White Fang or not White Fang, Huntress or not a Huntress. Involved or not at all.
"Other than that...?" Weiss coaxed.
Yang shook her head. "Nothing." For now, she'll keep that information to herself unless it proved to be a concern. Right now, there was really nothing concrete to link this mystery woman with everything else that was going on and there was no need for her teammates to be chasing at what may end up be what she said to Junior: a product of some Grimmdark story.
Lacking it may be, Weiss nonetheless pondered over the information. "It may give us an idea of how Roman is getting those weapons into Vale and sending them to their hideout. If he went to your friend before to ask for men, he could've gone to some other criminals for other services."
"Like unloading ships in secret and sending the cargo to wherever he needs them."
"Right, and then being killed when they're no longer useful."
"And that leaves us with...?" Ruby asked.
Weiss sighed. "Nothing that we can go on without specifics."
At the heiress's quiet questioning for just that, Yang turned her empty palms up while silently cursing Junior's misleading reputation. "Sorry, but that's all I was able to get."
"Well we did come up with something that can be considered as a plan of action. We're going to be able to select our first mission soon and we'll just choose one that's in the southeast."
Yang winced, remembering when that was. "That's a bit of a wait though."
"I think we can all use a bit of a break," Weiss reasoned. "We'll use the time to rest up and get everything in order for when we head out. Besides, I have something to keep us busy."
"What's that?"
A smile slowly spread across Weiss's face. "Goodwitch came to me yesterday and asked for a favor. There's a school-wide dance taking place on the weekend before our mission and she asked if any of us would like to help plan it out. Team CFVY was originally supposed to do it but they got called for an away mission and their last transmission that they sent to the school said that their mission might take longer than expected."
That got Yang a little worried. "They okay?"
"Goodwitch said that there was nothing to worry about and they didn't seem to be in any danger."
"Besides, it's CFVY!" Ruby exclaimed, tone full of admiration for one of the more veteran and reputable of Beacon's Hunter teams. "They always get their missions done with fabulous style!" She jutted out one hip, placing a hand against it while she brought the fingers of the other up to hook them onto imaginary glasses in an attempt to copy a trademark of CFVY's leader. "They're a bad dream, rad scene, and a tad mean~"
"Anyway," Weiss cut in before Ruby could gush any further. "I told Goodwitch that you and I would be up for it. We can plan it all out and make sure we have some fun and relaxation before our mission. Would that be acceptable?"
Yang thought it over although she already knew what her stance would be. A chance to plan out a kickass dance for all of Beacon? She remembered her graduation dance at Signal and imagined how something like that could've used a couple fog machines to really spice things up. "Acceptable doesn't even begin to describe what we're going to turn it into!"
"Yes, we should probably go over just what you think we should do and what we'll actually do."
Ignoring the jibe, Yang looked around the dorm room, only now realizing that there was someone missing. "Did you ask Blake? What did she think about it?"
How none of the joy was present in the glance that Weiss and Ruby sent to each other told Yang that there was something wrong and her good mood quickly followed.
"That's...something else we need to talk to you about," Ruby hesitantly said.
Author's Note: Part of the influence in this chapter has to be the Working Through Pain animated short from Batman: Gotham Knight. I was listening to the episode and the soundtrack while writing parts of it, specifically with the Yang flashback. Shoutout to Tear of Light for the nicknames Yaya and Ruru as featured in her collection of oneshots titled In a Land Far, Far Away where some of them feature the diabetes-inducing bitty baby team RWBY.
Brain: When you need inspiration, always look to Batman and other authors! Never fails!
I could be mistaken in my recollection but I think it was mentioned somewhere before the start of Vol. 2 as to how the writers find Blake to be the most difficult to write about. I don't know why that is because, personally, I find Blake to be one of the most interesting characters to get into the head of and write about. It was such a treat when I got to my Velveteen chapter in Soulbound because I think that was when I was finally able to realize how engaging it was to write about her given her situation. Not that much different in Reflection.
For the sake of argument, you have to remember that by the time Blake goes to Beacon, let's say that it was a few months to a year since she left the White Fang. Until then, the White Fang was all that her life was – again, let's say sixteen of her seventeen years. She's already gone through one semester of Beacon, seeing for herself how good people can be and how humans and faunus can work together. Now, not only is the White Fang coming back, but with its darkness is all the gray that comes with normal, everyday life for ordinary people who can find it in them to hate each other which will seriously test her limited time at Beacon to see if it'll really hold up to her years of experience. It's funny that the trailer for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – another influence for this chapter - decided to be released recently as I found a lot of similarities between it and RWBY.
Brain: Except, ya know, White Fang instead of augmented human terrorists, Blake instead of Adam Jensen, and Blake not needing augmentations to be badass! If you haven't seen that awesome trailer yet then you should be ashamed! Also, Chips Ahoy cookies with their birthday cake, fudge, and brownie filling! We appreciate baked goods here.
Blake's external and internal conflict with the White Fang is something else I felt like the show itself kind of delivered weakly here and there with the one major instance of that being her duel with Torchwick on the train and his little 'We're on the same side!'. It just felt very out of place. I'll try to focus and work a bit on that angle whenever I get to it. Another angle that I visited not only this chapter but last chapter was to make RWBY appear a bit more capable in terms of tactics and planning. I had Ruby giving orders and using her scroll for tactical use along with more tactical thinking during the fight with the Paladin, and here I had Blake and Weiss each putting their knowledge and training to what they know best when it came to planning. People have appreciated it and I hope you do the same with some more of the world building I decided to implement. If so, I will be sure to continue with it…whenever I get the chance to after inventory.
Brain: We are not gonna get this done by-
DON'T YOU DARE!