"What the fuck?! Why do they think I did this?!"

"Hey, not in front of my sister!"

"Least of my worries, Yang!"

"Jaune... is it true? Did you do this?"

Jaune's heart, if it was possible, broke completely in half when Ruby said that. It didn't help that both her and Nora were slowly backing away. "Ruby... how could you think I could do this? What have I done to make you think that?! For fucks sake I was calling you when the explosion happened!" Ruby and Nora both looked appalled at themselves before looking at anything that wasn't Jaune.

"Jaune, calm down." Weiss, of all people, was the one trying to bring him back to earth. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that we believe you're innocent, right?" Everyone nodded their head, including Ruby and Nora, and that made Jaune calm down enough that Weiss could continue talking. "Good. But with that said, that video was very incriminating. Whoever it was that did this was clearly trying to get you to take the fall, and it worked. So we just need to figure out who and why."

Jaune couldn't think of a response at first, so he just stood there for a couple minutes in silence forming a plan. After some tense minutes, he finally spoke up. "Okay, I have a plan. We need to figure out who did this, but there are still people out there who will need our help getting back here. So, with Velvet watching the cameras, we're going to form patrols." They all nodded.

"Ruby and Weiss, you two are morning people, right?" They both nodded again. "Perfect. You guys are gonna be out there from 5 A.M. to 1 P.M. Got that?"

"Yes sir, Jaune!"

"Alright. Pyrrha and Nora," they both looked up since the ground wasn't that interesting anymore "you'll pick up at 1 and patrol till 9. Okay with you?"

"Aye aye, fearless leader!" "Nice. Lastly, Blake and Ren, you'll patrol from 9 until 5. Okay?"

Blake nodded, but Ren looked doubtful. "Yes Jaune, but out of curiosity why did you pair me with Blake?"

"Well, Blake was pretty much doomed to night patrol the moment I remembered she can see in the dark." Blake actually smiled. She must be glad that being a Faunus is an advantage right now. "And I put you on night patrol as well because of your aura control. I've seen some of the things you do with it, and am I correct that you can put it into your eyes to increase your eyesight?" Ren nodded. "Well there you go. Besides, you two have similar fighting styles. I'm sure you guys will be fine." Ren smiled at how fast his leader was at making this plan.

Everyone else nodded, except for Yang, who just looked confused. "Uh, Jaune? Why are we not in a patrol?" Realization dawned on all of them that Jaune hadn't put himself or Yang on a patrol.

"I was about to explain that. Yang, you and I will be leading the main investigation. Let me explain." Pyrrha had immediately looked ready to object, but she relaxed again. "Yang, you said that you saw Mercury attack you the day you broke his leg, right?" Yang grimaced and slowly nodded. "I saw the look in your eyes when you punched him. You saw something we didn't and that gives you a name to clear as well. And I don't think it would be fair to you guys to make you clear our names for us."

He paused to let that sink in before he continued. "The second reason is that if we were on a patrol, who would come back here? To the people out there, I'm now the mastermind behind the entire outbreak, and Yang's just some psycho who broke an innocent boys leg. For their sake, we shouldn't be on a patrol."

Pyrrha, the one who was going to fight to her last breath to not have Jaune put himself at risk like this, couldn't deny his logic. So she just sighed loudly and said "As much as I don't think that you and Yang make a good pair in the field, your reasoning is sound. I'm all for it." Jaune gave her a look that he hoped said "Thank you" and turned to the others. They all seemed to be contemplating any better options, but when they couldn't find any they nodded.

"Perfect. Now, did anyone catch where that reporter was?"

"From the looks of it, I'd say the Hotel."

"Thanks Velv. That's where Yang and I are headed then. Ruby, Weiss, you two start your patrol. Keep your scrolls on so Velvet can call if she needs to."

They both nodded before Ruby grabbed Weiss's arm and they were gone. Jaune turned to Yang: "Well, let's go."

"Jaune, before you go, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Blake's question caught pretty much everyone off guard, but who was Jaune to deny. "Sure, Blake. Privately?"

Blake nodded, so they both left the room and walked around the corner, out of sight from the others. "Jaune, I have a question."

"Why do they think I'm a member of the White Fang?" She looked surprised that he knew what she wanted, but nodded. Jaune sighed as memories flooded back to him.

"I only have one idea. About three years ago, when the White Fang was just starting to turn militaristic, I went to a meeting. Just one, but it must have been documented. My best friend, a lion Faunus, had been lynched in the park and no one was doing anything about it. I wanted to join, but when Adam gave one of his "death to all humans" speeches I...snuck out the back..."

Jaune trailed off before fumbling for his scroll. Blake, while horrified at the story, both because of the death of the Faunus and the fact that Adam's views of the world turned people away, ended up being confused as to why he didn't really finish the story until he showed her a picture. Blake was even more horrified than before at what she saw.

"Blake, am I correct that that is RT handing Adam Taurus a bomb?"

She grabbed the scroll from his hands, hoping that closer inspection would show someone else, but she could only nod while barely holding back tears at how truly evil Adam had become. "That's him. Why didn't you show me this sooner, Jaune?"

"Slipped my mind in all the chaos. I just don't understand what he thinks he's accomplishing here."

"But if Adam's the one with the bomb, why are the White Fang not claiming responsibility?"

"I hoped you'd have the answer to that. Guess that's just one more thing we need to figure out. Can you tell the others about Adam while Yang and I are gone?"

Blake nodded one more time before letting the first tear fall. Jaune noticed, and on reflex pulled Blake into a hug. She finally let her walls break down and cried into his shoulder while Jaune rubbed her back. He didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything; he just let Blake silently know that she had someone to confide in while she let out everything that had stored up from having to hunt the White Fang, her former allies, and Adam, the man she'd loved for years.

After a minute or two of that, she pulled back, thanked him for that, and left to find the bathroom. He went back to the security room, where everyone gave him weird looks but didn't question what happened. "Alright, Yang. Let's do this." And with that, they both exited the security room and walked back to the air ducts.

"So, lady killer, what was that all about?"

"Blake wanted to know why they thought I was in the White Fang. Speaking of which, there's something you need to know."

The conversation about Adam's presence in the city lasted the entirety of the trip in the air ducts.

Aside from almost being surrounded once and having to fight more of those damn looters (What's up with this secret looter society? Seriously, they're all wearing the exact same thing and have the same voice) their trip to the hotel was uneventful. The only unexpected thing was when they arrived at the hotel... And it was empty.

It wasn't just empty; it was untouched. The furniture was nice and made, the walls weren't stained with blood, it was like the outbreak just never got there. Jaune walked behind the front desk, but before he could look for anything he heard Yang's voice.

"Yo Vomit Boy! Check this out!"

Yang was standing in the middle of the hotel holding something, so Jaune walked over and looked at it. She was holding a name tag that had blood on it, with the name 'Lisa Lavender'.

"So much for a lead. Got any ideas on what-" he got cut off by a gunshot and the sound of a body falling behind them.

"You kids need to pay attention out here. Could get yourselves hurt." Lisa Lavender stood in front of both of them, holding a smoking gun in the direction of where the zombie behind them stood. "Lisa Lavender, Channel 6 Action News. And you are Jaune Arc, the mastermind behind the outbreak."

Jaune just gulped and nodded, but instead of shooting at them like he thought she would, she just walked up to the two of them and smiled. "Let me guess, you've been framed and are trying to prove your innocence?" He nodded again. "Well, you're in luck. I've been looking for a good story, and this one takes the cake. A teenage huntsman-in-training framed for a zombie outbreak? I can already see the promotion."

Yang and Jaune were both pissed that she was only thinking of a story even in a time like this, but they both realized that she was their best bet for, well, anything. "Look, you said that you had an 'exclusive source' give you that video. Who is this source?"

Lisa laughed at that. She. Fucking. Laughed. "I can't just say who my source is. Though, if you want to meet them, the barbecue place at midnight tomorrow is when we meet next. I can, however, take you to a security place they told me about. It's in the arena, though, so that will be tough." She walked closer to Jaune and grabbed his arm. "Guess it's a good thing that I've got a big strong knight to protect me, huh?"

Even Jaune was smart enough to realize the obvious flirting, and he gave Yang a 'calm down' look when he could feel the room get a little hotter. He shoved Lisa away. "Flattery will get you nowhere. Let's just get to this security room, okay?" Lisa looked disappointed, but nodded. "Alright. Lead the way then." With that, she turned around and started walking.

Yang just stared at her and finally let her anger activate her semblance before Jaune pat her on the shoulder to calm her down. "Don't worry. I already hate her too. But we need her right now. So let's just get this over with and we'll never have to talk to her again. Okay?" Yang's hair extinguished, but her eyes were still red. Jaune took that as a yes. "Well let's go then."

The unfinished plaza was surprisingly empty, explaining why there was no one in the hotel. They were able to keep a walking pace to the other end of the plaza, where there was a gate blocking the path. "Better get used to that view, Jaune."

"Very funny, Lisa. Alright, we've got a couple options. I could slice it open, Yang can punch through it-"

"or I can open it with the open code?"

"Yes. That works just as well."

Lisa went over to the control box next to the gate and entered the code to open the gate and went under it as soon as it was high enough. Yang followed, but Jaune just stood there staring at both of them. She was confused so she asked "why are you just standing there? You coming or not?"

Jaune said something that Yang didn't expect from someone as dorky as him. "What? Just doing what she said and checking out the view." Where did that come from?

That actually got Yang to blush. Jaune, of course, didn't notice as they entered the arena and saw the zombies, just as packed together as they were the first time they were there. It stunned them both into silence again, but not as long this time as Lisa was still running right into the crowd. So, both internally sighing, they sprinted after her until they were all at the other side of the arena in the maintenance area.

"Alright, the security room should be at the end of this hallway."

They ran to the end of the hallway, but when Jaune tried to open the door it was locked. He gestured to Yang, who took the hint and punched the door off the hinges.

One swift movement from what appeared to be an umbrella and Lisa Lavender was dead from decapitation.

The perpetrator was gone before Jaune and Yang could even react. Naturally, they were both horrified at the now headless body now laying at their feet and just stood there frozen in their spots until Jaune's stomach voiced it's objections and he ran to a trash can to puke. Surprisingly enough, Yang followed suit, and what followed was what could only be described as a "vomit session."

After a few minutes of puking up everything they'd eaten since the outbreak started, they both managed to calm down enough to back away from the trash can and clean out their mouths at a nearby water fountain. "When I said that we'd never have to talk to her again, that's not what I meant."

"Neo" was Yang's only response.

"Neo? Who's that?"

"The name of the girl that killed Lisa. I'd recognize that damn umbrella anywhere."

"Why? You two know each other?"

"More or less. She's the one that led the attack on Vale. You know, the breach? She was the commander of that entire operation. How she does it without talking I don't understand, but it's her. We fought in the train, and she kicked my ass, so that's how I know her."

"Wait, you two fought and you lost?" She nodded. "Jeez, we need to avoid her if we can. Unless she's a part of all this, which if what you're saying about the breach is true than I wouldn't be surprised to find out."

With that out of the way, they walked back to the security room, stepping over Lisa's body on the way in, and what Jaune saw dashed his hopes completely.

The room was completely trashed. Burned, smashed, ripped, everything in the room had something happen to it. But there was something else that got him interested enough to start recording on his scroll. "Yang, look at this." Yang walked over to Jaune, who was recording a dead body slumped back in a chair with a single bullet in his head. "Zombies and Neo don't use guns, do they?"

The realization hit her that someone they don't know about was responsible for the cover up, and she nodded. "And according to Blake, Adam prefers his sword over his gun." Before they could say anything else, Jaune's scroll rang and he picked it up. "What's happening?"

"Jaune", he could hear Weiss's voice on the other side. "You need to come back here right now."

"Why?"

"Qrow. He saw the report and is threatening to kick your team out. If you don't come back here he'll do it."

"On my way."

Yang wasn't even able to question what happened before Jaune sprinted out of the room and made her follow him.

Pyrrha was waiting for her patrol to start when Qrow burst into the security room and held her at scythe point. Everyone else, except for Weiss who immediately left the room with her scroll, pointed their own weapons at Qrow, with Velvet using a copied Stormflower, at which point he put his scythe down and stared directly into Pyrrha's eyes. "Get out. Right now. You too" he said, pointing to Nora and Ren.

"What? Why?!" She was minding her own business, and now her and her team are being kicked out?

"I saw the news. How stupid do you think I am if you thought that I wouldn't figure out that you're working with him?"

"Jaune? He didn't do anything! It's a setup! He's out there trying to clear his name!"

"Sure, or he's out there killing everyone he finds. Did you ever think about that?"

"He's with someone else! They'd report back if anything happened!"

"And if that someone else is dead? What happens then?"

"They're in the arena! I'm looking at them right now!"

"Stay out of this, bunny!"

"Everyone stop shouting!" Ren, to everyone's surprise, had dropped the stoic demeanor and looked genuinely angry, holding both of them at gunpoint. Qrow and Pyrrha both backed up from him. "Now, explain to us why you want us out?"

"I thought it was pretty clear. Or are you just too stupid to see the obvious." Nora actually turned Magnhild into a grenade launcher with that, until Blake held her back.

"Needlessly antagonizing us does nothing but hurt your own apparent intelligence. Now, explain why you want us out?"

"Let me guess, because of me?"

Jaune was standing just outside the security room with his sword drawn. Yang was right behind him with her semblance activated and gauntlets ready to fire. When Qrow saw them, he pointed his scythe at both of them. "You!"

"Qrow, I'm being set up."

"I saw it on the TV with my own eyes! Explain how that little trick works."

Jaune sheathed his sword in an attempt to be peaceful. "There's something bigger happening here, Qrow. Aside from the evidence of a cover up in the arena, Neo, the assassin who's been working with the White Fang, is here in the city. Why, I don't know, but she's here. And that's not even mentioning the fact that I have a video of RT handing Adam Taurus a bomb thirty seconds before the explosion!" As he said that last part, he pulled out his scroll and played the video. Qrow looked stunned, but didn't say anything.

"All I'm asking for is a chance here, Qrow. Give me until the military shows up. If I don't clear my name by then, I'll turn myself in. And either way you are for damn sure not kicking my teammates out. Even if the world thinks I did this, they aren't involved and shouldn't be treated like they are. So what do you think?"

Qrow thought it over for about two tense minutes, until he finally sighed, sheathed his scythe, and said "Fine. But I'm gonna enforce my side. If you can't prove your innocence, I'm not gonna stop the military from taking you in. You're on your own kid." That was good enough for Jaune, so he stepped forward and held out his hand. Qrow shook it and left the room, and everyone let out the breath they didn't realize they were holding.

Yang broke the silence. "That was way too close to comfort. What's gotten into him recently? He still got the job done, but he used to be more laid back than me."

"And that's really saying something!"

"Nora, what have I told you about saying things that might be offensive?"

Nora actually looked down at the ground like a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. "If it could offend someone, don't say it. But how am I supposed to know what's offensive?"

Ren smiled. "I can't do everything for you Nora. That's for you to figure out."

"Awwwww, but it's so hard, Renny! Why does it have to be so hard?"

"I don't know Nora. I wish I did."

Jaune was barely keeping in his laughter at the way his teammates behaved, and it looked like everyone else was in the same situation. Even Blake let out a small chuckle.

Before he could say anything, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking down, he saw Ruby looking up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. He didn't get to ask why she was crying before she yanked him out of the room.

Yang saw all of that, but decided not to follow. If there's something she doesn't want me to hear, I won't hear it.

Ruby dragged Jaune across the hall into the bathroom, shoving him inside before locking the door behind her. Immediately after, she launched herself at him, hugging him with all her might. Completely used to how Ruby hugged people, he immediately hugged back. The only thing that threw him for a loop was the sound of her crying.

Since he didn't understand why she was crying in the first place, all he could do was whisper sweet nothings into her ear and hope they were relevant. Even then, it was still about five minutes of her soaking his hoodie in tears before she let go.

She saw the curious look in his eyes and knew what he wanted. "I need you to promise me something."

He was surprised, but tried not to let it show. He nodded.

"I need you to promise me you won't think I'm a monster."

That's when his surprise was too much to hold in, and it showed. He got on one knee to get more on her level and grabbed her hands. "Ruby, I would never think you were a monster."

She clearly didn't believe him. "B-but I..." she trailed off, clearly deciding whether or not she should tell him. "I killed someone, Jaune."

Jaune was smart enough to realize there was more to the story. "Ruby, start from the beginning, okay? If you ever get uncomfortable you can stop."

She nodded, and took a big deep breath before she started the story. "W-we were patrolling a-and we saw this guy. His name was T-ted. He had a pet tiger a-and he was feeding it with people! H-he wanted to feed us to it too, and h-he attacked us. I swear I didn't know he didn't have aura! I just reacted on instinct!" She started crying again.

As vague as it was, he didn't need to hear anymore. He hugged her again. "Ruby, who attacked first? You or him?"

He could barely hear her say "He did."

"Would he have killed you if you didn't fight back?"

"Yes."

He started rubbing the back of her head. "Ruby, the fact is as hunters we might have to kill people at some point. It's part of the job. That doesn't make it good, and the fact that you're sad is a good thing. But you have to be ready to do it again. Not every situation can be fixed peacefully."

He hoped his words worked, but couldn't really tell since she was still crying. However, when she finally pulled away, she had a genuine smile on her face. She didn't have any other words to say, only hugging him one more time for a couple seconds before walking out of the room. Following her, he saw her and Weiss walk down the hallway, with him and Weiss sharing an understanding look between them.

Entering the security room, he saw everyone give him a look, clearly hoping he'd tell them what happened, but he shook his head.

Unfortunately, as much as he just wanted to sit and talk, he needed to rest in case a lead came up, even if he wasn't also deathly tired from being awake for so long, and it looked like Yang had the same realization.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've just had a day. So, Velvet, if you see anything, come wake Yang and me up." Velvet nodded, and the blondes looked at each other and left the room.

"Alright, Vomit Boy. Let's find us a room."

Jaune checked to make sure the others were out of earshot before continuing. "Can you please call me something else? It's not like I'm gonna call you Vomit Girl after what happened in the arena."

"Hey, that was different and you know it. I threw up after I witnessed a decapitation. You threw up because we were in an airship. On me, no less."

"Look, I said I was sorry. Is that enough?"

"It's fine, I guess. At least you didn't get it in my hair. Actually, you know what? Sure. I'll call you something other than Vomit Boy..."

Jaune got so excited...

"Lady killer."

...and then sighed. "Guess I should've seen that coming, huh?"

"Probably. Hey, think anyone's sleeping in here?"