Chapter 15: Behind the Metaphorical Mask

Team RWBY walked around Vale with the addition of Victor, a pair of men hanging a large banner across the street saying "Welcome to Vale". Victor walked behind the group with Ruby sitting on his shoulder since she didn't feel like walking. Weiss cheered as she opened her arms to the banner "The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Ruby pointed out from Victor's shoulders "I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." Victor added "Yeah… it's kinda weird."

Weiss spun around and proclaimed "How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" Victor chuckled "Nerd."

"Someone has to appreciate the amount of work that has to go into a festival of this magnitude."

Victor and Ruby seemed to roll their eyes at exactly the same time, almost like they had rehearsed it. The group made their way by the docks, the sounds of seagulls and foghorns nearly drowning everything else out. "Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" Yang questioned as they stopped. Ruby plugged her nose and groaned "They smell like fish." Victor added "Yeah, my heightened sense of smell is telling me to get very far away from here."

Weiss turned and answered ""I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!" Blake stated as they continued to walk "She wants to spy on them so she can have the upper hand in the tournament."

"You can't prove that!"

Victor chuckled "The very fact we are here proves it." Weiss scoffed "Well, who asked you, mutt!"

"Wolf! I am a fucking wolf!

"Same thing!"

Victor growled (literally) "We are most certainly NOT the same thing!" Blake placed a hand on Victor's chest and exclaimed "Down boy, no need to cause a scene." Victor pulled back and groaned "Yes Blake."

"Good boy."

Victor shot Blake a glare while Blake smirked at him, basically forcing Victor to smile back and sigh "I'm a good boy." Ruby laughed at Victor's response and looked around, seeing the broken front window of a Dust shop with yellow caution tape all around it and the police in front of the shop. Ruby turned Victor's head and pointed it out "Look! Over there!" The group saw what Ruby was pointing at and made their way over to the crime scene, Ruby questioning "What happened here?" The detective turned and replied "Robbery. Second Dust Shop this week. This place is turning into a jungle."

The detective walked off as Yang commented "That's terrible." Ruby and Victor heard the other detective exclaim "They left all the money again." The two team leaders turned their heads as the first detective grumble "Yeah, it just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?"

"I don't know, an army?"

"You thinking the White Fang?"

The second detective removed his glasses and laughed "Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough." Weiss crossed her arms and huffed "The White Fang. What a bunch of degenerates!" Blake questioned "What's your problem?" Weiss turned towards Blake and replied in an offended tone "My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"The White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths."

Blake crossed her arms and finished "They're a collection of misguided Faunus."

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"

"Okay, very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

Ruby pointed out "Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago… maybe it was him." Weiss stated "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang area a bunch of scum." Victor noticed that Blake was growing increasingly angry as Weiss continued "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal." Yang attempted to defend "That's not necessarily true. Vic? You're Faunus-" Victor immediately acted offended and exclaimed "Oh? So just because I'm Faunus that automatically means that I was a part of the White Fang? Nah, I'm kidding. What was your question?"

"Let's start simpler. What's your thought on the White Fang since you are Faunus?"

"Well, thank you for asking Yang. My thoughts are a bit of both from Weiss and Blake. Yes, they do act more like a criminal organization than a Faunus Rights Activist group. And yes, they are a bit misguided thinking that humanity is the sole problem with Faunus not truly having equal rights."

Weiss and Blake crossed their arms as Ruby questioned "What do you mean?" Victor exclaimed "Well, I liked what they did a few years back. Peaceful protests, sit ins, petitions, and boycotting businesses that deny Faunus service or abuse Faunus labor were good ways to work towards equal rights. But now they act more like a terrorist group using fear to achieve what they want, when it has worked in the opposite direction. Some people treat me like garbage since they see all Faunus like the White Fang. But that's just my opinion." Victor looked at the irritated looks of Weiss and Blake, causing him to respond "What? I was asked what I thought and I did." Blake was about to say something when they heard a man shout "Hey! Stop that Faunus!" The group heard the cry for help and ran to the docks, seeing a guy with a golden monkey tail jump off the edge of the boat.

He wore an open white shirt that exposed his entire front and had messy golden hair. Another man tried to grab the Faunus, but the monkey jumped over the man as he barked "You no-good stowaway!" The monkey Faunus caught a light post with his tail and laughed "Hey! A no-good stowaway would have been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" Victor shrugged, accidently nearly causing Ruby to fall off, and exclaimed "Can't argue with that logic." One of the men threw a stone at him and barked "Hey! Get down here!"

The Faunus ate a banana and tossed the peel, landing on the man's face. The Faunus lifted himself on the top of the light post as he laughed and jumped off, evading the men's capture. He sprinted past Team RWBY, Victor catching the monkey Faunus winking at Blake before continuing his sprint down the street. Yang chuckled "Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes." Weiss started running down the street with her finger in the air as she shouted "Quick! We have to observe him!" Victor cheered "I love a good hunt! Ruby, hang on."

Victor nearly dropped down on all fours as he shot forward, Ruby barely hanging on to the wolf in pursuit of his prey. Blake and Yang finally realized what was going on and gave chase to the rest of the team. Victor passed Weiss and rounded a corner, accidently slamming into someone and hitting the ground. Weiss rounded the corner and groaned "No, he got away!" Victor groaned from the ground "Oh no, don't worry about me or Ruby! We're just… peachy!"

Yang pointed to the ground and exclaimed "Uh, guys?" Victor and Ruby looked down to see they were sitting on a red haired girl wearing a strange looking green shirt and light grey pants. Victor and Ruby jumped up and Ruby apologized "Sorry!" The girl on the ground smiled widely and greeted "Sal-u- ta-tions!" Victor chuckled "I like her. She says salutations. Hello!"

Ruby questioned "Are you okay?" The girl replied "I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking." Everyone exchanged questioning looks before Yang questioned "Do… you want to get up?" The girl thought about it for a moment before replying "Yes!" She sprung up and introduced "I'm Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Everyone introduced themselves.

"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"I'm Victor."

Yang questioned "Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Blake elbowed Yang in the side, encouraging Yang to introduce "I'm Yang." Penny exclaimed "It's a pleasure to meet you!" Weiss pointed out "You already said that."

"… So I did!"

Victor exclaimed "Damn girl you're weird as hell… I love it!" Weiss apologized "Well, sorry our friend ran into you." Weis started walking off along with Blake and Yang. Ruby waved and exclaimed "Take care friend!" Victor held out his arm for Ruby to jump up as he exclaimed "Later bud."

Ruby took her seat on Victor's shoulder and they joined the rest of the group. Once they were far enough away, Yang stated "She was… weird…" Victor replied "I thought she was pretty fun." Weiss looked around and questioned "Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?" Penny suddenly appeared in front of Yang and questioned "What did you call me?" Everyone looked back and forth in confusion as Yang replied "Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!"

"No, not you."

Penny made her way through the group and pointed at Victor and Ruby, stating "You two." Victor and Ruby looked at each other with raised eyebrows as Ruby replied "Um, what?"

"You called me 'friend' and 'bud'. Am I really your friend?"

Victor and Ruby collectively replied "Uuuuuuuuuuum." The rest of Team RWBY stood behind Penny and shook their heads no and signaled for them to deny it. Ruby replied "Y-yeah, sure. Why not?" Victor shrugged and added "Sure, can always use a new friend." Penny had a wide smile on her face and cheered "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" Victor raised his arms and cheered "Hell yeah! Cute boys!"

Everyone stared at Victor with a raised eyebrow until he barked "I was raised in a house with three women! Don't you fucking judge me!" Yang questioned "So what are you doing in Vale?" Penny responded "I'm here to fight in the tournament!" That caught Weiss' attention, making her question "Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?" Penny saluted and cheered "I'm combat ready!"

"I like your spirit!" Victor laughed. Weiss crossed her arms and exclaimed "Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." Blake pointed out "Says the girl wearing the dress." Weiss crossed her arms and stated "It's a combat skirt!" Ruby slid next to her and the two low fived. Realization hit Weiss as she announced "Wait a minute! If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed rapscallion?" Victor bellowed "Who says rapscallion anymore?! What year is this!?"

Penny had a confused look on her face on her face as she questioned "The who?"

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!"

Victor drew his axe and growled "I'm starting to get tired of your shit, Schnee." Weiss turned to Victor with her hand on Myrtenaster, ready to take on the wolf berserker. Blake stepped between them and placed a hand on Victor's chest, stopping him in his tracks. Victor continued to growl as Weiss stated "That's a good dog." Victor pushed against Blake's hand, but he remained exactly where he was.

"Why do you keep doing that? You keep putting Faunus down! Stop calling the Faunus from the boat a rapscallion, a degenerate. Stop calling Victor a dog! They're people!" Blake nearly screamed. Weiss pointed to the trash can and questioned "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can?" She pointed to the light and continued "Or this lamp post as a lamp post?" Victor bellowed "SHUT UP!" Blake snapped "Stop it!"

Weiss questioned "Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!" Blake's hand actually moved a bit as Victor roared "I tried to kill Deveraux?! Should I go join the White Fang!? You need to SHUT THE HELL UP!" Blake added "Victor's right, you ignorant little brat!" Weiss shouted back "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"

"You are a judgmental little girl!"

Victor growled "And a world class bitch." Yang groaned "This is not going to end well."

The arguing didn't end in Vale, it carried to Beacon and into Team RWBY's room with Victor staying just to fight. Weiss barked "I don't understand why this is such a problem!" Blake replied "That is the problem!" Blake had to be the buffer the entire time between Weiss and Victor since he was starting to become more and more enraged.

"You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

Victor barked "There is no such thing as pure evil! People like you just make Faunus into pure evil because we're tired of you!" Weiss replied "People like me?" Blake answered "You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim! You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? It's because they've been in war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed. An entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood."

Victor growled "So that gives you the right to treat us all like scum? Like we all want to eradicate humans? Well guess what!? I'M HALF HUMAN!" Everyone looked to Victor as he explained "My mother, Lidia Roman was a wolf Faunus while my father, Zekar Roman, was a human. Not every Faunus is the monster you make us out to be."

"The White Fang are! You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

Blake snapped "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" The room was dead silent as everyone but Victor looked at Blake with shocked expressions. Blake realized what she said and stammered "I-I…" She broke for the door and ran down the hall. Weiss looked to Victor, whose predator stare pierced her as he exclaimed "I'll deal with you later."

Victor bolted out of the room, nearly going down on all fours again. He caught up to Blake, who was standing by the statue at the center of the school. Victor stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder as she pulled the bow from her cat ears. Blake nearly sobbed "How long did you know?" Victor answered "I assumed since you were so passionate about the White Fang."

"Does it bother you? That I was a part of them?"

"No, I tried to become part of them myself."

Blake turned to Victor, who had a sad smile on his face. "I wanted to be a part of something bigger, something better." Victor explained. Blake looked at her feet, thinking that she was alone in her plight. Victor reached over and wiped a tear from her face, proclaiming "There there kitten. There is no crying among my pack." A familiar smell drifted into Victor's nose; bananas. From somewhere unseen, a familiar voice stated "Isn't that sweet?"

Ruby woke up the next morning, hoping that everything had fixed itself. She looked to Blake's bed to see that it was still empty, causing her to sigh. Ruby jumped out of her bed and put her slippers on, slipping out the door without a sound. She knocked on Team VAND's door, hoping that Blake just decided to stick with Victor for the night. Deveraux answered the door wearing a wrinkled shirt and basketball shorts while rubbing his eyes.

Deveraux yawned "Hey Ruby. What's up?" Ruby answered "Is Victor or Blake here?"

"No. We haven't seen the big guy since he left with you girls last night. Why? What happened?"

"Weiss and Blake got into a fight last night and Victor naturally sided with Blake. She ran out and Victor went after her but it looks like neither of them are back."

"So what do you want to do Ruby?"

"We should go out and look for them. Make sure they're okay."

Dev rolled his neck and groaned "Sounds like a plan. Give me and the guys a minute to get ready."

Most of Teams RWBY and VAND walked through town in hopes of finding their lost friends. Ruby groaned "They've been gone all weekend…" Weiss stated coldly "They are both adults, I'm sure they can handle themselves." Dev joked "Well, Blake is. I hope she's got that big puppy on a leash though." Nigel sighed "Honestly Deveraux, is now truly the time for jokes?"

"Well we can't laugh at Victor so we need some comic relief."

Yang proclaimed "Weiss, come on, Blake is our teammate and Victor is our friend." Weiss questioned "Is she? We heard what she said! And for all we know Victor could be with her!" Ruby, nearly mimicking Victor, growled "Weiss…" Yang added "Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. Either way, they're missing and we need to find them!" Alexi leaned towards Nigel and questioned "Are any of us on Vanguard clear on what the hell happened?"

Nigel groaned "Not in the slightest, my dear boy. All we know is that there was an altercation between Weiss and Blake and our leader sided with Blake."

"No surprises. Either way, let's just hope they are okay."

Elsewhere in Vale, Victor and Blake sat with their new friend, Sun Wukong the monkey Faunus. Blake sipped her tea and sighed while Sun held the tea cup with his tail as Victor glared at the microscopic cup compared to his massive hand. "Damn these tiny cups." Victor grumbled as Blake set her cup down. She stated in her usual tone "So, you want to know more about me…"

Chief A/N: MORE VANGUARD! GUITAR SOLO! MEDELYMEDELYMEDELY MOWOWWOWOW! Sorry, it is really fuckin early in the morning and I am tired as hell. All of you know the deal, PM or review with any questions comments or concerns. Until next time!