Neo woke up to an unusual feeling. She was alone in the bed. She opened groggy eyes and looked around the dorm. It feels like noon… Has the weekend already come? My first week flew by… I have been a bit distracted though…

Neo yawned and stretched and looked to the desk where Reaper was currently sitting. The skilled weapons mechanic was currently slaving over a collection of small, shining blades. A long, thin white cylinder also lay on the desk, as well as various small parts and Kevlar fabrics resting in pink and brown dye. Reaper looked as though she was working on Neo's new weapon all night, and the colorful one knew she wasn't going to get Reaper's attention easily without leaving the warm bed.

Neo frowned as she stared at Reaper's eyes. It was hard for both of them to get to sleep last night, after seeing the second crime scene. The dark woman had forced her smaller lover to stay in bed with her eyes closed until she left the wakeful world, but it seemed she didn't take her own advice. With an inaudible groan, Neo stood from the bed and walked to Reaper, draping herself over her lovers back. Carefully, as to avoid ruining whatever Reaper was trying to do.

Reaper felt the weight and looked up at the time. "Noon already?" She turned to Neo and smiled. "Hey, you sleep well?"

Neo didn't answer, instead she grabbed Reaper's hand, pulled her onto her feet, and pushed her onto the bed. 'It's your turn to sleep' she signed.

"But I want to finish your weapon… I thought I'd have it done by yesterday…" Reaper pouted.

'I want you to take your time' Neo signed, before pushing the taller woman onto her back. 'I also want you to sleep.'

"Fine…" Reaper pulled Neo down and held her tightly. "But you're not leaving."

Neo giggled silently. That's fine with me.

When Reaper woke later, she noted only a few hours had passed. She also noted Weiss and Blake were in the room now, looking over the pieces of Neo's new weapon. "Wow. I don't think I've ever actually seen you work with a weapon, other than basic maintenance…" Weiss admired the piece.

"This really is something else. It never really struck me until now that you designed and built Crescent Rose and Brutal Thorn from scratch." Blake agreed.

"It's not really any harder." Reaper told them. "There are just a lot more moving parts to most of my weapons. Anyway, what's with the fancy outfits? You two going on a date?" Reaper just realized the pair were dressed in expensive coats, with Weiss in one of her skirts and Blake wearing tall boots.

"Not exactly." Weiss answered.

"Unfortunately…" Blake remarked.

"Hush, you." Weiss lovingly scolded. "We really need an emotional break after the week we've had. So we're all going to dinner in Vale, you and Neopolitan as well. She's already in the shower, but was insistent that you stay asleep as long as possible."

"Yeah, she was a little peeved that I forced her to sleep last night, then didn't get any myself." Reaper yawned. "Are we on a tight schedule?"

"Not really." Weiss said. "No restaurant of worth will give up a table reserved by a Schnee, even if we are late. Still, don't lollygag?"

"Affirmative, Mrs. Bosswoman, the man!" Reaper told her with a salute.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I wonder if Ruby would have been better or worse than you if I had made team leader two and a half years ago."

Well, that's a matter of perspective.

"Well, that's a matter of perspective." Reaper joked with a grin.

The girls heard the shower stop and Neo soon stepped out fully dressed. She saw Reaper was already awake and shot her the stink eye. "Sorry? I just woke up, it's not like I forced myself to…"

Neo huffed and nodded. I guess…

"Anyway, I have a shower to catch." Reaper stood, stretched, and grabbed her towel.

"You know we're endeavoring to go to someplace a little nicer than a burger joint, right?" Weiss scolded halfway to the restaurant.

"Okay?" Reaper responded, not knowing what was wrong.

"Your cloak!" Weiss told her. "It's getting shabby! And your outfit is just what you normally wear!"

"So? And what about Neo? She's wearing her normal getup." Reaper complained.

"Yeah, but Neo has at least some style and grace." Weiss commented, making the small ex-criminal double-take. "Your combat boots, on the other hand, will scuff up the floor."

"Hey! Neo doesn't mind my outfit, she picked it out for me! Right?" Reaper looked to Neo, who looked between the two without answering. "Right? Come on, Neo…"

'I want to agree with you,' Neo signed, 'but Weiss just complimented me! It's a rare occurrence to pass up.'

Reaper feigned shock. "Well, then, maybe I'll just leave it on all the time to spite you two. I won't take it off for anything." She stressed the last word, looking Neo right in the eye. Neo got the message.

'Don't worry so much, her outfit is fine!' Neo quickly signed to Weiss.

"That's what I thought." Reaper smiled smugly.

"Good lord…" Weiss shook her head.

'It'll look even better on the floor.' Neo signed with a wink towards Reaper.

"TMI!" Weiss shouted. "At least keep the conversation kid-friendly while we're in here, please!"

"Well…" Reaper led.

'Since you asked nicely…' Neo followed up.

Weiss gave up the moment they arrived at the restaurant. They all stepped inside and got the usual assortment of looks the group got whenever they went anywhere all together. Most of them looked at them dumbstruck, as motley crew of mismatched colors. Others who knew the news reports looked at them as delinquents and criminals, and scowled. Still others knew them from the papers and respected them as Detective Black did. To those, Neo gave an appreciative nod. Their waitress was thankfully of the latter variety, and treated them very well.

It was halfway through a pleasant meal when Reaper got up to use the restroom. The meal had served its purpose, gotten all their minds off the past few days. Reaper was smiling as she stepped out of the bathroom stall, and saw her small lover out of the corner of her eye. "Hey, Neo."

When Reaper's eyes met the mirror she got a proper look at the woman in the bathroom with her. It looked like Neo, but there were small differences. Little 'this's' and 'that's' that most people wouldn't even noticed. But Reaper knew Neo better than anyone, and she knew…

"You're not Neo." Ember turned and told Mimic, riding the onslaught of rage all the way to the front seat of the scythe master's body.

The doppelganger wore a vicious smile and lashed out with a familiar umbrella. Ember jumped backwards and reached instinctively for Brutal Thorn. Crap! Weiss makes us leave it behind…

Watch her fight. If she's using Neo's style as well, we can make this work.

Ember agreed. With Mimic between her and the door, they couldn't run and warn anyone. Mimic stood her ground, waiting for Ember to make her move.

She won't attack first…

Just like Neo…

How does she know her so well?

Ember decided to go for it. She attempted to rush past Mimic, who caught her and stopped her in place, twirling around and grappling until she had the leverage to throw the taller woman. Her legs clasped around Ember's neck and she threw herself backwards, taking the scythe master into the air and into the mirror above the sinks, shattering it. Mimic landed upside down on her hands and sprung back up.

Ember used her considerable strength to push herself straight into the air, spinning and bringing her foot down. Mimic stepped back, and the hooded girls foot missed by mere inches, slamming on the tile and causing a small crater in the floor. Ember's momentum left her on one knee, the perfect height to be kicked in the face by the pint-sized impersonator.

Ember staggered. A flash of steel was her only warning that Mimic drew the umbrella's blade and swung. The scythe master felt the sting of the blade a few times before she opened her eyes. A streak of color told her the imposter flipped beside her, once again blocking her path to the door. The black clad girl swung her fist, and it was met by the open parasol. Her fist retracted, and Mimic folded the umbrella and twirled it, springing the second blade out of the end.

The blade was thrust forward in this state, and Ember side-stepped it easily, tapping into the speed semblance. She smirked and grabbed the blade, surprising Mimic, who until now had been confident about the fight. Ember's left elbow came down on the joint where the blade jutted from the umbrella, her knowledge of weapons telling her this was the weak point. The thin sword easily snapped off of the rest of the tool.

Ember used her free hand to grab the umbrella half Mimic still held and yanked, pulling the small girl in. While the imposter was off balance, Ember swept her feet and threw her into the air, where she grabbed Mimic. She let go where colorful imposter would suspend in the air long enough for her swing to hit true, and the small woman flew across the bathroom and slammed into one of the stall walls, denting it and ricocheting off the edge of the doorway part and into the stall, where she still flew with enough force to crack the porcelain reservoir.

Ember stood over her opponent, who had fallen still. Her mismatched eyes opened suddenly, and the girl sprang up with her hands. Her heeled feet met Reaper's face, and she kicked off of the taller woman and back-flipped, landing on her feet. Ember looked to her with surprise that quickly melted into a smirk. Mimic raised a confused eyebrow until she saw the bathroom door… behind her opponent.

Ember turned to run, and Mimic reached out to grab her cape. Fingers closed around the cloth, and she pulled. It seemed to come off too easy, though… Mimic saw the clasp wasn't torn… it was undone. She barely had time to register the tactical disadvantage of being unable to see Ember through the black shroud before the middle of it grew toward her rapidly, and Ember punched her in the face through the cloth. Mimic hit the far wall and felt it crack with the force.

Ember used her speed semblance and grabbed the cloak, put it back on with a spin, and jumped. A split second where she was in the air dragged on forever for Mimic, who stared. The dark woman was posed in the air, arms out, legs bent underneath her, chest and head bent forward, and surrounded by the spread of the cape and the hundreds of sudden rose petals.

With her hood up and her eyes burning red, Mimic was easily reminded of the hooded figure this woman had named herself after. With her tight clothing and (if Mimic was being completely honest) gorgeous frame, along with her cute face, taken into consideration, it changed the scene entirely. Add the rose petals, and the picture Mimic was left with was as beautiful as it was terrifying.

And then she was being kicked in the face and sent completely through the back wall, falling among the debris in the back alley. Mimic had severely overestimated herself, and stood shakily. She utilized the dust cloud from the 'deconstruction' to make a run for it. By the time Ember stood in the alley, she couldn't see the small impersonator. She ran down the alley, turned a corner, and was shocked by what she saw. A random beggar, he used to be… before he was used to be ink in Mimic's latest artwork.

He lay on the ground, posed to appear as though he held the scythe painted on the ground in his own blood. A bullseye was painted behind his head, where a puncture wound was still leaking. Ember looked up to read the lettering Mimic left. This one wasn't for Neo.

SHE'S MINE

Ember pulled out their scroll and sent two messaged, one to Weiss and one to Detective Black. When she saw the other three of team WBRN appear, she ran out and grabbed Neo, wrapping the smaller girl in her arms. "Hold up, Neo… I don't think you want to see this one."

She doesn't need to know we're at the top of Mimic's hit list…

I don't know…

Trust me.

Weiss and Blake took a curious look ahead. Their stunned faces told Neo all she needed to know there was a new murder. She looked up to Ember. I want to see it.

"No, this one doesn't need it." Ember assured her. Neo didn't buy it. She couldn't think of a good reason for Ember to hold her back.

"I'll call Detective Black." Weiss stated.

"I already did." Ember told her. "He's on his way."

"Speak of the Devil." Blake nodded toward a black car that was pulling into the alley, lights flashing and bathing the scene in blue and red.

Black got out and walked toward the group. "So much for staying out of trouble."

"We didn't go looking for it this time. Mimic attacked us." Ember told him.

"Attacked us?" Black asked. "As in the four of you, or us as in you and Reaper?"

"Just… me." Ember clarified. "The scene is back there."

Black took a long look at it before returning to Ember. "Tell me what happened."

Neo heard everything except what the scene looked like. She didn't know why everybody was keeping it from her, but she could feel everybody's tension. Black had gone off to look for more evidence while the girls waited in the blown out bathroom. Weiss had tried to charge repairs to her card as an apology, and was surprised when the establishment told her Reaper/Ember had already done so out of her own pocket. She looked to the damage in awe. Ember is strong… I'm not even sure Yang would have pulled this off without taking a lot more damage first. Weiss thought as she looked through the hole to the alley.

Neo didn't mind being held by Ember, but she wanted to see the scene. Every time she tried to get up, Ember's hold tightened for just a second, holding her in place. It was really starting to get on the colorful ex-criminal's nerves. Black soon returned, distracting them all with his news. "Well, there is another dead man, and that is never a good thing. However, there is one small silver lining to this incident." He held up a disk. "Security tapes clearly show two Neopolitan's. The one that arrived with you, and the one that snuck in soon after and followed Reaper into the bathroom. We finally have incontrovertible evidence of Mimic's existence." He slipped the disc into a folder, adding it to the case file.

A weight lifted off Neo's shoulders. 'Can I see the scene now?' She signed.

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Ember persisted. Black raised an eyebrow to Weiss, who nodded.

Oh, now you agree with Ember! Neo huffed. 'She'll have left a message for me though?'

"Not exactly… she left a message, but not for you." Blake told her. Ember shot her a vicious look.

Neo only wanted to see it more now. Who was this new message for? What had changed? Her curiosity burned.

Detective Black drove them all back to Beacon. The girls walked back to the dorm quietly. Their nice night was supposed to give them a day off from this mess, and they only ended up deeper in it for their efforts. As they settled for sleep, Neo slipped something out of her jacket and hid it by her and Reaper's bed. Satisfied she wasn't seen doing it, she readied herself for bed.

After her lover's breathing settled into an obvious sleep pattern, she slipped her arm out and grabbed the folder she swiped from Black's car. She would give it back, but she had to know. She flipped to the back, and saw he indeed already printed pictures from the recent scene, probably using the restaurant's printer to save time. She looked over the new pictures, and her eyes widened with realization.