The Commission

by CV12Hornet

RWBY AU. At the flip of a coin, good can become evil... Right can become wrong... Light can turn to dark... And the mightiest of heroes... can become the greatest of villains... (Discontinued)

12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

AN: In case you're wondering why the text changed, from feedback on the Sufficient Velocity forums I did some revising of the latter half of the chapter. Enjoy!

"Well," Yatsuhashi said as Ozpin finished his speech. "That speech was certainly more ominous than the one he gave our year."

"Why, what did he say then?" Ren asked as the crowd dispersed, students heading to the screens at the back to pick their missions.

"Oh, y'know, usual bullshit about being 'protectors of humanity', how we should give our best first impressions, blah blah blah," Fox summarized dismissively. "This plea for unity? That's different. And ominous, like Yatsu said. Anyway, good luck with your first mission, okay?"

The members of Team JNPR shared a wary glance. "That's it?" Nora demanded. "No smart remarks, no condescension, just a plain old vanilla 'good luck'?"

"Do you want smart remarks and condescension?" Fox asked quizzically, one eyebrow raised. "Because I can provide that if you want."

"We're good, thanks," Jaune hastily replied before Nora could. "But seriously, do you have any advice?"

"Listen to the Huntsman in charge," Yatsuhashi replied.

"Unless he's drunk right off his ass," Fox amended. "Our guy had skills for someone who had more booze in his veins than blood, but still. We nearly died at least three times because of that."

"Riiiight," Jaune drew out. "We'll… keep that in mind."

"Anyway, we need to get back to the dorms before Coco rips her hair out over that contract Schnee gave her," Fox said, turning around and waving. "Good luck!"

Yatsuhashi nodded, before following Fox out of the room.

"Okay… So, which mission should we take?" Jaune said, scanning over the small windows. "We can help build houses, guard a train… Oh, could be deputies! That sounds-"

"This one."

Jaune glanced over to the window Ren was pointing at. The short blurb at the bottom stated it was a short stint as guards for a village on the outskirts of the kingdom. "You sure?"

"Positive," Ren stated firmly.

"Well, alright then. I don't see any problems, so we can- Oof!"

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Nora cried out as she tackle-glomped her leader, knocking him to the ground.

"Nora, off," Ren ordered. The orange haired girl promptly sprung to her feet, snapping a salute to Ren. "Good girl. And Jaune?"

The green-clad young man shot his leader a warm smile. "Thanks."

"Uh, no problem," Jaune replied, pulling himself to his feet and tapping the accept button. The computer immediately flashed a small notice on the screen. "Uh, looks like we have half an hour before we need to meet our guy on the airship docks."

"Good," Pyrrha cut in, smiling beatifically. "Then we have time for you to tell us why you're so interested in that specific mission."

Ren and Nora traded nervous glances as the team started walking to the airship docks with their packs. "So…" Nora began, pointedly looking away from her teammates. "Did we ever mention that we're orphans?"

Jaune jerked in shock, but hastily adopted a casual expression. "You… might have mentioned it once or twice…" he started to hedge, only for Pyrrha to jab her elbow into his ribs. "Or maybe never?"

"Not surprised. It's not a happy tale," Ren sighed. "It's not a particularly notable one, either. We lived in a village outside of the walls, and things were fine until the inevitable happened."

"Grimm?" Pyrrha ventured.

"Grimm," Ren confirmed, his voice conspicuously matter-of-fact. "Lots of them. Some of the villagers could fight, but they were never good enough to do more than kill the occasional Beowolf that wandered into our fields. Naturally, the village was overrun."

"Well, until General Yang and the Dust Devils came in and wiped them all out!" Nora added eagerly, before practically deflating. "They just… didn't get there in time to save our parents."

"And… the village in the mission is the your hometown?" Pyrrha ventured again.

"Yes." Ren's fists clenched at his sides. "And this time, we will protect it."

"That's the spirit," Jaune said, slapping Ren on the back. "Now come on, let's go meet the guy we're shadowing."

~o~

"Hohoho!" Peter Port chuckled. "Greetings, students! Who's ready to act as a poor helpless village's last line of defense against complete and utter annihilation?"

Team JNPR stood, staring, in silence for a minute before Nora threw up her fists. "Yes! I'm always ready!"

"That's the spirit!" Port boisterously replied.

"Oh my lord there's two of them," Pyrrha breathed as Port and Nora laughed together.

"I didn't realize just how similar those two are," Jaune groaned miserably.

"I did," Ren said morosely. "I just forgot."

"Why would you forget something like that?"

"So I can sleep at night."

Jaune looked at Nora and Port climbing into the Bullhead, still chattering away like a couple of old friends. "Yeah, I see your point."

Slowly, and with great care, Pyrrha, Jaune, and Ren joined their two teammates, one permanent and one temporary, in the Bullhead. The two continued to babble as the tiltjet took off, and the rest were all too happy to let them continue.

Finally, after at least a few hours, the stream of blather started slowing down, allowing Pyrrha to actually get a word in edgewise.

"So, professor, why are you taking this mission?" she hastily asked before Nora could continue.

"The mission briefing made mention of an unusual Grimm," Port answered. "And you know me, always eager to meet new Grimm."

"And then kill them?" Nora eagerly added.

"Quite right, Miss Valkyrie!"

"A-And what about your classes?" Jaune cut in to head off the new exchange at the pass.

"Don't worry, I called an old friend of mine from the Army. He'll make a fine substitute!"

~o~

"ALRIGHT MAGGOTS, LISTEN UP! I AM SENIOR GUNNERY SERGEANT HARTMAN, YOUR SUBSTITUTE TEACHER FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. FROM THIS MOMENT FORTH,

YOU WILL SPEAK ONLY WHEN SPOKEN TO, YOU WILL MOVE HOW I TELL YOU TO, AND SO HELP ME IF YOU DO NOT BREATH HOW I TELL YOU TO! FURTHERMORE,

FROM THIS MOMENT ONWARDS, THE FIRST AND LAST WORDS OUT OF YOUR MOUTHS WILL BE 'SIR', OR I WILL GIVE YOU A FAILING GRADE FASTER THAN A

BEOWOLF JUMPS ON A FRESH RECRUIT! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"THAT WAS BULLSHIT! SOUND OFF LIKE YOU'VE ALL ACTUALLY DROPPED A PAIR!"

"SIR, YES, SIR!"

"GOOD GOD THAT WAS ACTUALLY BETTER! WE MIGHT MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF YOU DILWEEDS YET!"

~o~

Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune all sent a silent prayer to whoever was supposed to have classes with Port for the next few days. They weren't sure why, but it just felt right.

Luckily, before Port and Nora could start their back-and-forth again, they felt the Bullhead lurch slightly and begin to descend. Standing from his seat, Port poked his head out of the side door.

"Well, looks like we're here, students!" he announced, looking somewhat more serious. "Now, when we land, follow me and pay attention to what I do. Especially you, Mr. Arc! As leader, this will be exactly the sort of thing you'll be doing after you graduate."

Jaune nodded, despite the nervous cast to his face.

"Right! Be prepared for anything!"

And with that, the Bullhead landed, and they were immediately swarmed by a pack of-

Children. Grubby, awestruck children, the oldest of whom looked no older than seven.

"Wow, Huntsmen!"

"He's so old!"

"Wow, look at that sword!"

"Naw, look at that spear!"

"Whoa, white hair!"

"Ren! Nora!"

The two in question looked up from the swarm of children to see a young, tall, black-haired woman in simple yet colorful clothing running towards them. Smiling, Ren stepped forward and wrapped her up in a deep hug.

"It's good to see you again, Mei," he said softly.

"MEI!"

Ren and Mei deftly sidestepped as Nora went in for a tackle-hug, letting her plow into the dirt. Nora, for her part, immediately leapt back up as if nothing had happened.

"My goodness, you're-" Mei frowned slightly. "Still short. Did you stop drinking milk?"

Nora didn't answer in favor of scrunching up her face and looking away.

"You did!" Mei huffed in exasperation. "I told you once, I told you a million times: drink milk if you want to grow up to be big and strong. It worked for me!"

"I grew up plenty strong…" Nora grumbled under her breath.

"Uh, Ren?" Jaune asked as he gingerly stepped around some of the children, who were busy swarming Port. "Who is this?"

"Ah, right," Ren said sheepishly. "Mei, these are my teammates, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos. Jaune, Pyrrha, this is Mei Lin. She used to babysit me and Nora."

Jaune and Pyrrha gave Mei pitying looks. "You have our most sincere condolences," the redhead said.

"Aw come on, Nora's not-!"

"TEACH US!" Jaune wailed, throwing himself at the woman's feet and hugging her legs for dear life.

"I'm afraid we do not have time for that, Mr. Arc," Port countered as he lumbered up to the group, weighed down by a baker's dozen of children hanging off of him. "Miss Lin, would you be so kind as to take us to the village headman?"

"Of course, mister…?"

"Peter Port, ma'am."

"Right this way, then, Mr. Port."

As they walked through the village, Jaune and Pyrrha's heads were practically on a swivel, taking in the sights. As villages go, it was quite nice. The buildings were heavily decorated and well-maintained, the streets were clean, and children were constantly running about, happily laughing and playing. And the sizable animal population indicated significant wealth.

And yet, there were these niggling inconsistencies. The buildings looked a little too similar under their paint and hangings. The village felt a little too big for the people it held. And most importantly, they didn't see anyone over the age of thirty.

"Jeez, the Grimm really did a number on this place," Jaune muttered.

"Yes, I'm surprised the village is still viable," Pyrrha agreed. "They probably lost most of the adult population in that attack."

The two students glanced at each other, an unspoken agreement passing between them. This was why they fought: so that there would be no more villages like this.

Still, despite the clear signs of the damage the Grimm had done so many years ago, one thing was clear: this village was thriving. There was no hint of despair to be found, merely a cheerful industriousness.

As they continued walking, a particular building began to stand out from the rest of its brethren. It had a small steeple poking out from above the rooftops, and as they cleared the last houses Jaune and Pyrrha could see that it was made of stone, rather than the wood of the rest of the village. This must be the headman's office.

This conclusion was supported by Mei walking up to the front door and ringing a small bell before stepping back and waiting. It wasn't long before a bespectacled, disheveled, blond-haired young man opened the door, looking mildly frantic.

"Ah, Mei!" he said, speaking very fast. "What's going on? Has someone fallen into the well again? Have the pigs gotten loose? Have-"

"Quiet, you silly goose," Mei cooed, putting a finger to his lips. For a moment, she held the position before drawing back and indicating the group behind her. "These are the huntsmen we requested. You may recognize a couple of them."

The headman blinked, before adjusting his glasses in surprise. "My word! Ren, Nora, you've grown so much!" He blinked again, looking to Nora, who seemed to be vibrating in place with a wide grin. "Nora, are you all-"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Nora squealed at a pitch not meant for human ears. "Oh my gosh! Mei, Mikkol, you didn't tell us you guys were together! Like, together together!"

The two in question flushed, while Port gave a polite cough. "Yes, well, we would like to be briefed on the situation," he said while Ren restrained Nora.

"Oh, o-of course!" Mikkol stammered, adjusting his glasses again. "Right this way, please, it'll be easier to explain in my office."

A few minutes later, they were all crammed into Mikkols' rather small office, waiting for the man in question to find a specific document.

"Where was it…" he muttered to himself before straightening out, a piece of paper in hand. "Aha! Here, take a look at this."

Port frowned thoughtfully at the rough sketch Mikkol had slid towards him. At first glance it might pass as a deer of some kind, but the malevolent, skeletal mask it sported over its spout denoted its status as a Grimm.

"And you say this has been skulking around the edges of the forest?" Port confirmed.

"Yes. We're lucky we have this sketch at all," Mikkol said, adjusting his glasses. "It prefers to keep to the shadows, watching. I'd say it's waiting, except none of the Grimm I've known have ever shown that kind of patience before."

"Well, yes, it almost has to be," Port muttered absentmindedly.

"Professor?" Ren asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, well, if this sketch is accurate we're likely dealing with a Wendigo. I believe we were planning to cover it after the Festival, but you'll get a crash course now." Port leaned back in his chair, stroking his mustache in what students liked to call 'story mode'. "This particular variety of Grimm is native to Atlas, where it is something of an equivalent of the Boarbatusk. They do tend to wander into Vale from time to time, and the ones that do are almost always old and intelligent, albeit not to the extent of the Goliath herds or Beowolf Alphas.

"Regardless, they're not any more dangerous than a Nevermore or Death Stalker of the same age; they rely heavily on ferocity, their horns, and their ability to passively lower the temperature of an area, and that is generally more a threat to unwary travelers than Huntsmen. We should be able to handle it with relative ease."

Port turned back to Mikkol. "Is there anything else?"

"No, though we would absolutely not object if you killed some of the other Grimm in the area while hunting this… Wendigo," Mikkol answered.

"Good!" Port announced, standing. "Miss Valkyrie, Mr. Lie, I know you are quite anxious to catch up, so feel free to do so under the understanding that we are leaving at first light tomorrow."

"I'll make sure she doesn't stay up too late," Ren replied.

"Good. Miss Lin, about our accommodations…"

"Of course!" Mei said. "We have a number of empty houses we can quickly furnish for you."

"Very well. Mr. Arc, Miss Nikos, with me. I believe you all have luggage with you that you need to unpack."

~o~

Back at Beacon, Coco stared down at the document spread across her desk, runningn a hand through her already-messy hair. No matter how she looked at it, it was still a damn good deal Weiss Schnee had offered her. And yet… and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, that signing that contract would be a horrible mistake.

Finally, she let her head fall down to the desk with a loud thunk before gathering up the papers and re-stacking them.

"How's it going?" she heard Velvet ask from behind her.

"Terribly," Coco groaned into the desk. "It all looks right, but I can't shake this feeling that it's not. I mean, you know the saying: if it's too good to be true, it probably is. Just as applicable to business contracts as scams." She lifted her head and let it fall to the table again. "And the worst part is, I can't even use my family's lawyers."

That comment was met with silence for a moment before Velvet responded. "And that's a bad thing why…?"

"Vel, I know nobody likes lawyers," Coco sighed, turning around in her seat. "But they're very useful when you need to cut… through… the…"

Coco trailed off, her mouth hanging open, as she beheld Velvet, standing in the middle of the room, slightly damp from her shower and clad only in a towel. Well, a towel and a decidedly cheeky grin.

"Like what you see?" she purred, jutting out her chest and wiggling her hips.

A steady blush began to spread across Coco's face, which only served to encourage her girlfriend.

"I think you do." Hooking one finger under the top of the towel, Velvet began to pull. "Maybe you deserve mo-"

Any further teasing was cut off when Coco dove onto Velvet and practically tore off the towel.

Outside, Fox and Yatsuhashi sat in the corridor, waiting - in what was increasingly clearly a futile effort - for their female teammates to finish up their sexy times.

"Do you think JNPR would mind us taking over their room for a day or two?" Fox mused.

"Nope."

"Ah, cool," Fox said. "Any idea how we're gonna get our stuff?"

"Nope."

"I was afraid of that."

The two sat in silence for a while, Yatsuhashi silently glad he didn't have Fox's non-visual sensory abilities. Finally, Fox sighed and stood up.

"What are you doing?" Yatsuhashi asked, injecting a bit of concern into his voice.

"I'm gonna get our stuff back," was the answer. Fox took a moment to clear his throat before knocking at the door.

"You have ten seconds to get dressed," Fox announced in a terrifyingly good impression of Glynda Goodwitch. The swordsman mentally counted down the seconds, Fox reaching for the door handle and only just missing his chance by virtue of Coco throwing the door open.

The fact that she was only clad in a towel did not help matters.

"Fox, you asshole!" she growled. "We were in the middle of something."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he scoffed as he shouldered past her. "We just need to grab some stuff for an overnight stay and we'll be out of your hair."

Yatsuhashi followed his teammate in, raising an eyebrow at the sight of Velvet, sopping wet and clad in Coco's usual outfit, sitting on Coco's bed and doing her best to look innocent.

"Yatsu, what are you-?" Fox started before throwing his hands up with a sigh. "You know what? I'm not even gonna fucking ask."

It took only a few minutes for the boys to gather everything up, at which point Coco bodily shoved them out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

"Let's just get set up, and pretend we never sensed anything," Fox decided.

"Don't you mean 'saw'?"

"I said what I mean, and I mean what I said. Sensed is absolutely the right word."

~o~

The next morning found Port and Team JNPR on one of the farming fields near the edge of the forest, along with the farmer who'd spotted the Grimm in the first place.

"And you said it was in there?" Port asked. "In that specific spot?"

"Near enough, I'd say," the farmer replied, shrugging.

"Well, it'll have to do," Port decided before stepping into the underbrush. "Follow me, students. We have a Grimm to track."

What followed was an impressive demonstration of what a seasoned Huntsman could do. The old professor constantly spotted small signs that something had come through: dissolved leaves where Grimm ichor had clung to plants, the minutest of tracks, scars in the bark. At one point he had to stop Jaune and Nora from going tearing off after a set of obvious tracks that to him were just as obviously a decoy.

They also had to stop periodically to kill lesser Grimm, ones not intelligent enough to know that attacking Huntsmen was suicide. Port generally let the students handle them, and blade and bullet downed quite a few. More importantly, none had the brainpower to obscure the trail, though there was a scare with one of Nora's grenades.

Finally, they came into a clearing, where the trail seemed to end. Or, rather, where the trail devolved into a complete chaotic mess clear even to the most untrained eye.

"Hmm, that's odd…" Port mused, kneeling down to examine the tracks. "I'd almost say that there's more than one Wendigo here, but… Oh, I hope I'm wrong."

"Wrong about what, Professor?" Jaune pressed urgently.

"There have been… sightings. Encounters. Of large numbers of Wendigo in company with another Grimm," Port informed them, his voice grave and Ivory Barrage suddenly in his hand. "A Qirin."

That got him nothing but mystified looks.

"A what?" Nora wondered.

"I'll explain in more detail later," Port replied. "for now, all you need to know is that I've seen the tracks here in this clearing - and that they look very similar to Wendigos."

Jaune made to say something, then stiffened and spun around as something snapped a twig behind them. "Ah... Professor? I-I-I think I just found the Qirin!"

The hunting party turned around to behold a pitch-black, horse-sized stag-Grimm. The monstrosity's head was a nightmarish skeletal rendition of its more natural counterpart, and the air around it shimmered with dropped temperature. The grass was itself slowly starting to frost over as it trotted into the clearing.

Port frowned darkly behind his moustache as he cocked his weapon. "I'm afraid not, Mister Arc. That there is a Wendigo. Pay attention, students: there are several notable differences between Wendigo and Qirin. First and foremost, Qirin are solitary creatures. You will rarely, if ever, see two of their kind at the same time."

"While on the other hand, Wendigo...?" Pyrrha asked with dread.

Ren twitched slightly before slowly turning to observe the rest of the clearing. "Wendigo hunt in packs, if they can help it, right?"

The rest of the team was saved the issue of asking what Ren meant by a chorus of twigs snapping and cracking around them. A single glance was enough to reveal the horrific truth: they were surrounded by over a dozen of the Wendigo.

"An astute observation, Mister Lie," Port nodded solemnly. "Yes, Wendigo are notorious pack hunters. However, there are other, much more prominent differences to be found between Qirin and Wendigo."

"Such as?" Jaune asked warily.

"Well for one, Qirin are substantially bigger than Wendigo."

The students froze before slowly turning their eyes towards the teacher.

"How much bigger?" Pyrrha asked quietly.

Port made to open his mouth... and froze as a wave of hot wind flowed over him.

Slowly, the hunters turned around and beheld the abomination towering above them.

"... about that big," Port solemnly informed them.

Standing serenely before the hunters was what to all appearances looked like an XXXL version of the Wendigo. But that didn't really describe the sheer difference between the two creatures. The mask of the Wendigo looked like it had been crudely glued on; the mask of the Qirin looked very much organic, engulfing its head and jaws alike and sporting a distinctly draconic edge to it. Two long, black whiskers flowed from its cheeks, and a giraffe's tail swayed from side to side behind it.

And then there was the heat. The Wendigo were reducing the temperature around them, layering frost on the leaves and grass. The Qirin was quite literally on fire. Despite that its surroundings were not, which didn't stop the Huntsmen from feeling it.

More to the point, there was the fact that something that big, that noticeable, had completely snuck up on them, to the point that it was barely six feet away, its each and every breath ruffling their clothing.

So close was it, and so fast was the movement, that none of them had time to react before it dipped its head, charged, and hit Pyrrha from below with its horns, sending her careening into the air and out of sight.

Of course, that left it open for Port to swing down Ivory Barrage. The steel axe cracked down on the Grimm's shoulder with a meaty thump, and while it didn't seem to do much, Port leapt back with a wince, his weapon and sleeve both smoking. Behind him, Port could sense the students preparing to fight, and he felt a brief hint of pride at the fact that they were standing their ground.

"Prepare yourselves for glorious combat, students," he ordered. "And don't try to fight it in melee-range! Another glaring difference between the Qirin and the Wendigo is their ability to set themselves on fire!"

Jaune blinked in confusion as he tried to process that statement. "Um... don't you mean that they can breathe fire?"

As if in response, the Qirin started snapping its jaws together, the mask's overlapping teeth clicking once, twice, three times. On the third try, a spark flared from between the ivory jaws and quickly burst into a small flame that was disturbingly reminiscent of a pilot light.

"That too, Mister Arc."

The Qirin reared up on its rear hooves and roared, an evil, keening noise that literally seared the sky alongside the inferno that belted out from between its jaws. The rest of the Wendigo threw their heads back and matched the noise in equal measure.

Which, of course, allowed Nora to fire a grenade into one of their open mouths. The explosive did its job and, after a brief moment of confusion by the Grimm, reduced the Wendigo's head to so much vapor, the body falling back and dissolving.

That shut up the remaining Wendigo, who reverted back to their instincts and charged at the students.

"Ren, herding! Nora, smash!" Jaune ordered, bringing his shield up to meet the charge. Behind him he could hear the Qirin and Professor Port clashing, and could only hope that the aging Huntsman could keep the Grimm off their backs.

Besides, Jaune had bigger worries as a Wendigo crashed into his shield, jarring him. Crocea Mors flashed out, little more than an annoyance, but enough to make the Grimm back off, allowing Jaune to step back and take the next Grimm on his shield. Another step back, as despite Ren swinging around the mob and using his machine pistols to herd the Grimm into a tighter mass he was still in serious danger of being surrounded. And, in fact, he could see the Grimm steadily creeping into his peripheral vision.

'Dammit, Nora, what are you doing?!' he mentally screamed as Grimm pressed on him from all sides.

Shortly after that thought, Nora came crashing down out of the sky like an avenging thunder god. Magnhild came down on one hapless Wendigo, crushing the center of its torso like an overripe peach. Eyes crackling, Nora swung Magnhild in an arc, catching all three Grimm battering at Jaune's Aura and sending them flying over the canopy.

"You rang?" she said, grinning.

Jaune stabbed Crocea Mors into the gut of another Wendigo battering against his shield, before pushing the still-alive Grimm off of him. "Less talking, more smashing!" he frantically ordered.

Seven Grimm remained, and with Ren harassing their rear, Nora in the middle of the pack, crushing Grimm or trees with each blow, and Jaune still refusing to go down, they were doomed. The one Jaune had stabbed went down as the blond landed additional blows. Another collapsed like a sack of meat, riddled with bullets. The remaining five took Magnhild strikes to the face, their broken bodies flying into the air.

"Whew!" Jaune breathed, wiping his brow as Nora stomped down on the neck of the last Grimm. "I think that's all of them." He glanced at Crocea Mors, which was covered in frost. "Aw, shoot, I hope this didn't do anything to the metal."

"Put some Aura into it, that should safely thaw it," Ren offered, loading fresh clips.

"Right," Jaune replied, closing his eyes as he focused the Aura onto his sword. "Anyway, we should probably go help Professor Port. I don't think even he can win against that thing, not alone."

As if to emphasize the point, Port came flying past them, slamming back-first into a large tree with enough force to knock it over. The professor hauled himself to his feet, though it clearly took an effort. His once-pristine suit was now dotted with scorched holes, and his mustache, hair, and the handle of Ivory Barrage had a distinctly black color along their edges.

The Qirin, by contrast, simply strolled out of the forest, looking no worse for the wear. And yes, strolling was the appropriate word: slow, languid, and with not a care in the world.

"Professor, please tell me that thing has a weak point," Jaune whimpered.

"If it does… then I'm afraid that modern hunters... have yet to discover it…" Port panted.

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Well, in that case we just need to hit it until it goes down!" Nora barked, switching Magnhild to grenade mode. "Eat this!"

The pink grenade hurtled towards the Qirin, which made no effort to dodge. Nora grinned as the grenade sailed into its open mouth, a grin that died a swift death when the explosion failed to do anything. Well, anything except the Grimm's belly suddenly distending slightly, followed by it snorting out twin clouds of pink smoke.

"Wow. That is incredibly unfair," Nora deadpanned.

The Grimm, evidently tired of waiting, pawed at the ground once, twice, and then lowered its horns and charged. All four Huntsmen easily dodged the highly telegraphed move; Nora did not dodge its tail slamming into her gut with all the force of a piledriver and hurling her against another poor tree.

With that, the Grimm turned its back on Jaune in favor of facing Port again. And for all that it galled him to admit it, it was the right choice. Crocea Mors was unlikely to do anything to the massive, flame-wreathed beast.

Well, mostly flame-wreathed. The fire was actually drawing towards the front of the beast, where it burned even brighter. Taking the chance, Jaune rushed forward and slashed his sword over the beast's hindquarters. To his dismay, it failed to do more than draw a thin line; it didn't even deign to look his way.

"Okay, Nora's right, that's just not fair," Jaune groaned.

Still, maybe a stab would do better. But before the blond could attack again, Ren landed in front of him, hands cupped behind him.

"KIAH!" he shouted, slamming his open palms, glowing with Aura, into the Qirin's rear. Once again, it failed to do anything. Nothing, except Ren's distinctly pink-colored Aura seeming to play out over the creature's horns.

"The horns…" Jaune breathed. "It controls its power through the horns! Ren, wake up Nora, we need-!"

"Need something smashed, boss-man?" Nora said, smirking. Despite her bravado, both Ren and Jaune could see the slight wobble to her knees, and they both knew they had only one shot.

"Right, see those horns?" Jaune said, pointing at the body parts in question. "I need you to smash those."

"Righty-o! Give me a second." Reaching into her pocket, Nora pulled out an electric stungun, and promptly jabbed it into her thigh. Her Aura blazed, crackling with electricity, and she grinned, wider than she'd done so far. And then, she was off.

"And what do we do?" Ren asked.

"Let Professor Port keep its attention?" Jaune answered.

"I like that plan."

Leaping, Nora raised Magnhild in a massive overhand smash. However, to the horror of her and all the onlookers, the Qirin's head twisted around an impossible 180 degrees, its face pointed right at her. A click of its teeth, and a stream of flame engulfed the orange-haired girl.

"NORA!" Ren shouted, rushing forward only to be stopped by Jaune's hand on his shoulder. "Let go-!"

"Look!" the blond interrupted, pointing. Ren looked, and saw the sight of Port leaping up, bringing Ivory Barrage down on the Qirin's horns. Aura-infused steel met supernatural bone, and for a moment it looked to be a draw.

And then Port pulled the trigger.

The Qirin let out a keening cry as its horns shattered, its flame aura disappearing. Unfortunately for Port, it immediately reared up and slammed its front hooves down on his back as he landed, burying him in the ground.

This did nothing for the Aura strike, identical to the earlier one, that Ren slammed into its side.

Despite a good chunk of its internals turning to jelly, the Qirin still stood, which was more than could be said for most of its opponents. Port and Nora had been struck down, and Ren was now slumped onto his knees, exhausted. He could only watch as the Qirin reared up, ready to strike the final blow, and closed his eyes-

Only for a loud clang to ring out. Ren opened his eyes to see Jaune straining to hold up the weight of the Qirin on his shield.

"Dammit, man… don't… give up on me like that," he grunted. "Ugh, doesn't this thing know when to quit?"

As if in response, Jaune sagged lower, likely from the Grimm pressing harder. Ren attempted to move, to do something, but his limbs refused to cooperate.

"I hate to say it… but I think we need a miracle," Jaune grunted.

There was a crack of air, and suddenly the Qirin slumped off to the side, starting to dissolve. Jaune scrambled to his feet to see Pyrrha's spear clatter to the ground, the girl in question standing at the tree line, looking battered and bruised but otherwise unharmed.

"Pyrrha, you're alright!" Jaune exclaimed, rushing up to her and wrapping her up in a hug. "Man, you came at just the right time!"

"I… will admit to waiting a bit," Pyrrha confessed. "There weren't any good openings until that creature tried to squash Ren."

"So not complaining…" Ren managed to get out from where he was still slumped to the ground.

"Oww…"

Jaune and Pyrrha broke their hug at the twin groans of pain behind them. Nora had pulled herself into a sitting position, looking red as a cooked lobster, while Port was still lying on the ground resembling nothing more than a beached walrus.

"Professor!" Jaune exclaimed, running up to the senior Huntsman. "Are you alright?"

"Well, my poor back is unhappy about the abuse, but I believe I shall recover," Port replied, his joviality still intact. "In fact, would you be a dear and give me a solid thump right on my fifth vertebrae?"

"Wait, which-"

Pyrrha sighed and gave the aforementioned bone a hard thump. There was a low crack, and Port let out a contented sigh. "Oh, that's better," he moaned as he got to his feet, twisting and bending his torso to loosen up the back muscles. "I'm really getting too old for this."

"I'm fine too, if anyone's wondering!" Nora called out.

"I'm not…" Ren added.

"Well, students, let this be an object lesson in proper target identification," Port said, dusting some dirt off of his horrendously burned and torn suit. "That, and a lesson in how insidious the Grimm can be. Sadly, this sort of situation cannot always be avoided, which is why we must always be ready for the worst."

"Yes, professor," Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren chorused.

"That's great and all, but can we go back to the village already?" Nora groused. "I feel sunburned, and I'm really hungry."

A sudden growling from her stomach only served to punctuate the point, a growling so out of place that Nora had to fight down snickers. Then Pyrrha had to fight down a case of the giggles, and soon they were all laughing heartily, as much at being alive at anything else.

~o~

"Oh, that was so much fun!" Nora chirped as she circled around the rest of her team, arms held out like an airplane's wings. "Well, getting blasted with fire wasn't fun, but the rest of it was!"

"And your hometown is a very nice place, Nora, Ren," Pyrrha added with a smile.

"Thank you," Ren replied, nodding. "Still, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd still like to sleep for the rest of the day."

"No kidding," Jaune groaned, reaching out for the handle of the door to their dorm room. "That day of rest back at the village helped, but I just wanna lie in bed and do nothing."

Jaune opened the door to the unusual scene of Fox and Yatsuhashi quite literally camped out in their room. The only thing missing was a campfire, and a scorch mark on the carpet indicated that they'd at least tried to start one.

"Uh, guys?" Jaune said in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"They just… won't stop," Fox shuddered. "I'd thought the whole thing about rabbits was just mindless bigotry, but no, it's very real."

"What are you-" Pyrrha began before blushing in realization. "Oh. Oh! Ooooooh..."

Around her, Jaune blushed, Ren sighed and cradled his head in his hands, and Nora simply looked confused.

"I don't get it…" she whined.

"I'll explain later," Ren sighed. "Suffice to say that they're more than welcome to stay until their teammates, ah, get it out of their system, so to speak."

"Thanks, man, we owe ya one," Fox sighed in relief. With that, he grinned widely, clapping his hands. "So! Tell us how your first mission went!"

~flashback~

Blake Belladonna strode through the Beacon library, scanning over the titles on the shelves. She needed some books on the Color Wars, and she also wanted to try and pick up a new book series. Ninjas of Love, if they had it; she'd heard good things about the first book from the reviewers.

Her search eventually took her to a series of partitioned desks set against the wall. Currently empty, in a few months' time they'd be full of students frantically writing essays and cramming for exams. Blake smirked. She could honestly say that it was an experience she'd never had to go through, and quite frankly didn't ever plan on going through.

The faunus would have continued on her way after that idle thought had she not seen a blob of red slumped at one of the desks. There was only one person at Beacon who wore red in that bright a shade.

Walking over to the prone form, she paused to take in the sight of Ruby's sleeping face. Even at the age of eighteen, the younger girl was absolutely adorable when she slept. And she knew Yang and Weiss agreed, no matter how much the Schnee heiress protested otherwise. Asleep, her face seemed to regain that childlike softness that had slowly bled away with maturity.

Still, best to find out why Ruby was asleep at a random desk in the library. Blake reached out and gave Ruby's shoulder a rough poke.

"Mmrrgh…" Ruby mumbled, waving ineffectually at Blake's hand. "Stupid blue thing… don't take my cookies…"

'Of course that's what she's dreaming about,' Blake thought, smiling to herself. That didn't stop her from reaching down and giving the other girl a rough shove.

"Waugh!"

Ruby promptly fell off the side of her chair, falling to the floor with a thump.

"Owie…" she whined as she stood up, rubbing her head. "Who did tha- Blake!"

"Hey, Ruby," the cat faunus replied. "So, why were you asleep at a desk?"

"I was just- Ow, ow, neck cramp." Ruby lolled her head from side to side, rubbing at the tender flesh. "I was just going over my part of the plan again. I must've fallen asleep after the… thirteenth time?"

"Ruby, take it from someone who's done it before," Blake said sardonically. "Falling asleep at your desk only gets you a sore neck."

"I know, I know. I just wanted to make sure it was airtight."

"So, what brought this on?" Blake asked, leaning against a nearby bookshelf. "I thought we weren't going to move to that step for a while yet."

"Well, that was always predicated on when Weiss got control of the SDC," Ruby replied, flicking through her Scroll and then offering it to the other girl. "And guess what happened yesterday?"

Blake took the proffered gadget and read the headline, her eyes widening in shock. "She's CEO already?!"

"Yeah, she must have cleaned house faster than we expected," Ruby said as she took back her Scroll, a hint of a grimace on her face. "Are you ready to go?"

"I'll need to double-check my supplies, but I'm pretty sure," Blake answered. "So, when do we do this?"

"My team has a mission to the Emerald Forest in a few days," Ruby replied, standing up and gathering some papers. "You should probably go as soon as I leave the building."

"Understood." Blake stood from her leaning position, taking a deep breath and releasing. "This is it. After this, with what we've got planned, there's no turning back."

"I know," Ruby said, not looking at Blake.

"We're going to have to kill people in the next week," Blake pressed. "I don't like it, but I know I can do the deed. Are you absolutely sure you can?"

Ruby sighed, before turning to Blake and giving her a wan smile. "It's not a question of can. I have to. It'll get done, Blake, don't worry."

"Okay. Just checking."

That seemed to satisfy the red-cloaked girl, and she swept past Blake, presumably heading back to her dorm room. Blake waited for her to vanish from sight before sighing and going back to her search.

"That's not what I'm worried about, Ruby…"

~o~

Sienna, leader of Team SVRN, slowly crept through the Emerald Forest, senses on high alert. The silver-haired, dark-skinned girl and her team were on a search and destroy mission, checking rumors of a Beowolf Alpha. Beside and behind her, just out of sight, Verdigris and Napier attended to the flanks, ready to intercept any Grimm they stumbled on. Though the fourth member of their team was ahead scouting, it was best to stay moving on these search and destroy missions, outside of the daily camps. Besides, Ruby wasn't about to get lost that easily.

The dark-skinned girl's lips quirked up at the thought of her partner. The first impression back in initiation, that of an overeager kid in over her head, had been dashed upon actually talking to her and seeing her fight. And despite some inexperience and immaturity, Ruby had progressed by leaps and bounds into a brilliant Huntress. And with her eyesight and Semblance, she had been well-suited to assuming the role of the team's scout.

As if summoned by her thoughts, Ruby blurred into existence in front of Sienna, the usual shower of rose petals landing around her.

"The mission briefing was right," Ruby said without preamble. "There's a Beowolf Alpha camped in here. Luckily, it looks like it hasn't had time to draw in too many other Beowolves; twenty, at best."

Sienna nodded. Decent odds, if they played this smart.

"Alright. We'll go with the usual plan for this sort of opponent." Standing, Sienna unslung her weapon, the bladed halberd folding into place. Behind her, she could hear Ruby move into position, Crescent Rose unfolding into its War Blade mode. "Ruby, how far was the-"

Sienna barely had time to widen her eyes at the sudden sound of flying viscera before a searing fire swept through her right leg. She toppled to the ground on her back, barely noticing her missing leg in favor of the gruesome scene in front of her.

Verdigris and Napier were in pieces, heads and limbs removed from their bodies and their blood splattered all over the trees and brush. In the center stood Ruby, blood dripping from her scythe and one small drop on her cheek.

But what caught Sienna's attention was not any of that. It was Ruby's expression, her face twisted in a terrible amalgamation of horror and guilt. And as the silver-eyed girl turned her gaze on Sienna - and oh how terrifying those strange eyes were now - her face became studiously blank. The kind of blankness seen in soldiers returning from battle. Soldiers about to execute a prisoner.

About to kill someone in cold blood.

"Ruby, what are you-!" Sienna's plea for answers was cut off by Crescent Rose shifting into its rifle form, its wielder pointing the barrel straight at Sienna's forehead.

The Huntress felt herself start to shake and her eyes blurred, whether from tears or blood loss she didn't know. "P-Please, no, don't do this! I-I don't know what I did wrong, but- GRK!"

The plea was cut off by a heavy boot landing on her chest, shoving the air out of her lungs with a whoosh as several of her ribs collapsed.

"I'm sorry, Sienna," Ruby said softly, her aim not wavering a millimeter. "I wanted to do this quick, but now you're suffering." Ruby's finger tightened on the trigger. "Don't be afraid. Your life is being exchanged for millions of others."

There was a loud bang, and Sienna knew no more.

~o~

Ozpin sighed as he looked over the site. He had seen many like it over the years. Too many, and too familiar.

A large clearing had been made in the ancient forest, but it was clearly not natural. The trees and brush had been cut and sliced too cleanly for that. As well, the blood and flesh scattered over nearly every square inch added to the feeling of artificiality, at least compared to the forest around them.

"Headmaster!"

Ozpin turned around to see the head of the forensics team sent along with the medics and protective detail. "I trust you have something to report?"

"Yes. This is all preliminary, mind you, but I don't think any of it will change." The man reached to his clipboard and flipped through some of the pages. "We have positively identified Sienna Waltz, Napier Green, and Verdigris. As you might guess, this was not easy." At Ozpin's nod, he continued. "We have so far found only one expended round, large-caliber anti-material. At this point our working hypothesis was an unexpected ambush that killed them before they could effectively respond."

Ozpin frowned. Something about that seemed… "Have you found any traces of Miss Rose besides that one round?" he asked.

"Nope, but I'm not completely surprised," the forensics head replied. "You've seen that mess out there. We were lucky enough to find enough evidence to ID the other three."

"I see," Ozpin said placidly, taking a sip from his nearly-empty mug. "Miss Rose was the one who alerted us to this... this tragedy in the first place. Is it possible she was taken, or simply ran and pursued?"

"Well…" the forensics head hedged. "It's possible, I suppose, but- Did Miss Rose sound panicked when she radioed for help?"

"Yes."

"Well, then in my professional opinion, it's highly unlikely. Someone panicked like that would have let loose with a lot more rounds than what we found."

"I see." Ozpin took one last sip, and then idly tossed the mug back into the Bullhead behind him. "Would you mind if I looked over the scene myself?"

There was a quiet crash congruous with shattering ceramic from behind, prompting the forensics head to look oddly at the grey-haired man. "Uh, sure, I guess. Just don't disturb the remains. Gonna be closed casket funerals, but I think the families would like something to remember their kids by."

Ozpin nodded, before skirting around the man and entering the scene. He ignored the squelch of blood underfoot and the unpleasant coppery tang; both sensations were familiar, if not necessarily welcome, companions. It didn't take him long before he reached the edge of the site, and without any hesitation he plunged onwards.

A few steps later, something caught his eye. Small, innocuous, and away from the scene, he couldn't fault the forensics team for missing it. At his feet lay a rapidly fading red rose petal. Taking a deep breath, Ozpin glanced down the trail, and dashed forward at speeds he hadn't needed to achieve in years.

The trees blurred by him as he pursued that oh-so-faint Aura trail. A lesser Huntsman would have missed it entirely, but even after restraining himself to academic duties for several decades Ozpin was still leagues beyond your average Huntsman.

After about thirty minutes, the green of the Emerald Forest gave way to the red-orange of Forever Fall. He began to get flashes of familiarity - a deformed tree here, an oddly-shaped rock there - and a terrible possibility began to make itself known. He roughly shoved it back; that was not something he could consider. He couldn't be wrong about her. He couldn't!

Finally, he burst from the trees into golden grass growing on the top of a cliff. Though the view was spectacular, the clifftop itself was sparse. Just two stone plaques, words carved into them-

Summer Rose

Taiyang Xiao Long

And in front of them, one red-cloaked figure, hood up and hem slowly swaying in the breeze. For a moment, neither of them moved, until Ruby turned slightly to present part of her face, showing one eye and an impish smile so reminiscent of Summer that it almost physically hurt.

Ozpin opened his mouth to call out to her, to ask her what had happened. And yet the words wouldn't come out. It was her eye, the normally shining silver now… different. Duller, perhaps.

'Quicksilver,' came the answer, unbidden.

Transfixed by her eye, Ozpin almost didn't notice Ruby's figure dissolve into rose petals that blew away on the breeze.

"Ruby-!" he cried out, surging forward, but she was gone, his arms meeting only air. The only proof she had ever been there were the ephemeral rose petals - and a bloody handprint on each gravestone.

He knelt down, and poked a finger at one of the prints. The finger came away wet. Sighing, he pulled out a pair of vials and scraped some of the blood into each one for later analysis, before pulling out his Scroll.

"Ozpin to Beacon 3, requesting immediate pickup."

"Roger that. ETA five minutes."

As he waited for the transport to arrive, Ozpin knelt down and touched each headstone in turn.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Sorry for what, he didn't say.

He stayed like that for a few minutes before the roar of jet engines alerted him to the return of his ride. And as he climbed aboard, a terrifying thought occurred to him.

'How am I going to tell Qrow?'

~o~

The answer, after the question had been brought to Glynda (that woman had all the makings of a very fine second-in-command), had been rather simple.

"And here I thought you were my friend," Qrow groused from where he was strapped to his own bed with Aura-inhibiting cuffs.

"I am your friend, Qrow," Ozpin insisted. "As such, I need you as sober as I can make you so that I can ensure you don't make a mistake by killing me."

Qrow quirked an eyebrow at the bespectacled man. "That bad, huh?"

"Worse."

"Well, as much as my liver thanks you for the respite, could you unstrap me?" Qrow continued. "I think I'm as sober as I'm gonna get."

"Very well." Ozpin flicked a finger, and the cuffs popped open.

"I don't know why you're worried about me, of all people, actually managing to kill you," Qrow said as he sat up and rubbed his wrists. "Meh. Lay it on me. I can take it."

"Ruby's gone, Qrow."

Qrow's practiced apathy shattered, replaced by cold rage. "What."

"Ruby has disappeared," Ozpin repeated, his voice dripping with pain and regret. "And God help me, I wouldn't even know where to start looking."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Qrow roared, slamming a fist down on the bed and shattering the wooden frame. "My niece, one of the last good things in my life, vanishes, and you tell me you don't even know where to look?! Bull fucking shit. Either you're lying out your ass, or-"

"Qrow, please," Ozpin pleaded, holding up his hands for calm. "I'm not finished."

Qrow snorted before plopping down on the ruined bed. "Talk fast."

"She...was on a mission," Ozpin began. "To the Emerald Forest. They were supposed to kill a Beowolf Alpha before it got too strong. Barely a few hours after it started, we received a distress signal from her, and arrived to find the rest of her team massacred. Of Ruby herself, the only evidence was a trail leading away from the site, which I followed. And… I saw her, standing over her parents' gravestones, before she dissolved into rose petals. All that was left were two bloody handprints, in her teammates' blood.

"That is why I don't know where to start, Qrow. I don't know what happened there; I don't even know if she's still alive. And I can't go searching for her myself, I have too many responsibilities. I'm sorry."

For a moment, Qrow was deathly silent. "If I'm going to do this," he finally said, staring Ozpin right in the eye. "If I'm going to find her, then I need to do this alone. Completely. No police, no other Huntsmen, nothing. Flat-out block them from investigating if you have to."

"I see," Ozpin said placidly before nodding. "Granted. Do what you need to do."

With that, the headmaster turned and left the room. Qrow waited for the door to his apartment to slam shut, before standing up to his feet and walking into the kitchen. Opening up one of the cabinets, he grabbed a bottle of liquor and a shot glass, before sitting down at the table and pouring a shot, downing it in one gulp.

He was pouring the second shot when a framed picture on the counter caught his eye. Picking it up, he saw a thirteen-year-old Ruby, proudly holding up her first version of Crescent Rose, with himself standing behind her and looking inordinately pleased. Removing the back of the frame, he pulled out his wallet and slipped the picture in.

"Don't worry, Ruby," he whispered. "I will find you."

~o~

"I-I see…" Yang said dully, sniffing and breathing laboriously. "I- no, thank you. Just... just find her, okay? Please, find my sister..." Another nod, and Yang hung up. The second the connection ended, Yang grimaced and ran her fingers through her disheveled hair with both a groan and a sigh. "Son of a- that was the sixth call so far! How many phone calls does a poor, grief-stricken sibling have to go through?!"

"'ppar'tly- ulp!" Ruby swallowed the mouthful of ice cream she was eating, scraping the bottom of the carton she was holding as she reclined on Yang's couch. "Apparently half a dozen? Probably more. Losing a loved one is complicated! Oh, and by the way!" Ruby held up the carton and shook it expectantly. "This lost loved one could use some more Chunkey-Junky-Monkey and Gusher Cola. We're all out again."

"Are you kidding- Ruby!" Yang growled, tugging at her locks in aggravation. "That's the third time this week! Slow down, will you!? You're starting to eat me out of house and house and home!"

Ruby pushed herself up into a sitting position as she shot a look at her elder sister. "Okay, first off? This?" She twirled her finger to indicate the peeling wallpaper, creeping mildew, and discarded clothes, cups, and food wrappers littered all over the room. "This is not a home, this is a bachelor pad. There is a marked difference. And second?" Ruby turned her long-perfected puppydog eyes on and directed them at Yang. "I just killed my entire team, all of them innocent, and became a murderer. A murderer, Yang! Don't I have the right to eat in an effort to assuage the grief that's gnawing away at my heart? To stave off the sins I can feel covering me like the blackest of tar?"

Yang shot a flat look at her sister as she picked up a book from a nearby table and held it up for Ruby to see. "A few things. To start?" She flared her aura and incinerated the book in an instant, an action that was met with Ruby's dismayed wail. "No more published fanfiction. I don't like the vocabulary you're starting to pick up. Next, while that excuse might have been valid the first time, it wears out after a dozen cartons of ice cream. And finally, if you don't like the way I live, then you can go out and get your own hideout."

Ruby rolled her eyes with a huff as she collapsed back onto the couch, her cloak's hood falling over her eyes. "I will, I will. Just give me another week, alright? I want to wait until I'm sure Ozpin isn't looking for me before I go." The young woman ground her teeth in aggravation as she folded her arms beneath her head. "Ugh, he wasn't supposed to actually find me. This would have been so much more convenient if things had gone off without a hitch! Then I'd just be dead and the plan could keep going, instead of this 'what does he know' guessing game bullshit!"

"I told you that we were underestimating the old geezer..." Yang sighed wearily. "First he managed to tank a faceful of my fist and now this? I'm telling you guys, that bastard and his friends are going to be more of a pain in our necks then we first thought..."

Yang's musings were cut short as her Scroll began ringing again.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" She glanced at the caller ID and promptly gave out a weary groan. "Rumplestiltskin Insurance Agency, should have seen this coming... Alright, let's do this. Little help, Rubes?"

Without looking up or even moving the rest of her body so much as an inch, Ruby shot her left hand under the couch, withdrew a collapsed Crescent Rose, and fired a low-velocity round at Yang's head, bouncing the bullet off of her sister's aura.

"Mother-!" Yang hissed as she slapped a hand to the stinging area, gingerly touching the bruising skin as she groaned experimentally in pain. "Ah-AH-ah-ahhhh... there it is!" Keeping her voice at around the same pitch, she flicked her Scroll open and held it to her ear, panting and sniffing heavily. "Y-yes? T-this is Yang Xiao Long, how c-can I help you?"

~o~

Joe Perry, alias "The Fridge", sat in a bar nursing a cheap, watered-down beer. It was all he could afford, and the bartender couldn't be intimidated, since they both worked for the boss known only as "Gentleman Johnny".

At least he was being left alone, the 6-8, 335 pound bulk that earned him his nickname being thoroughly intimidating for most. He was an enforcer for Johnny, and a very good one: between his intimidating bulk and the fact that he could punch through bricks, most ordinary people were very happy to do whatever he wanted.

Key word being "ordinary". There had been a recent uptick in the number of Aura-wielding criminals entering the marketplace, and Perry was finding himself between jobs. The work would return - the Aura guys tended to think themselves invincible right up until they were disabused of that notion with fatal consequences - but in the meantime, he was stuck with this horse piss.

As such, it was quite a surprise to see a tall mug of foamy, dark stout suddenly placing itself on his table. He looked up. Correction: placed there by the absolutely gorgeous young lady sitting down in the chair across from him.

His eyes roamed over her, taking in the long brown hair with red tips, a face more on the cute side than beautiful, a bright red tank top exposing her midriff and plenty of cleavage (and quite obviously no bra), and just a glimpse of a tight denim miniskirt before she sat down. And best of all, she looked old enough for plausible deniability in case she was underage.

"Hey," she said, grinning. "I saw you sitting all alone over in the corner here, and I thought 'You know what. I'm gonna do my good deed for the week.' Plus, I saw what the bartender was pouring you, and no one deserves that."

"Thanks," he grunted, grabbing the mug and taking a deep sip. The cold beer slid down his throat, assaulting his taste buds with the flavor of hops and sugar. It was smooth, foamy, and oh-so-good.

"Woo!" he cried out as he finished, his mood rapidly brightening. "Damn that's some good stuff. And the good stuff's expensive, so forgive me if I'm skeptical of you doing this outta the goodness of your heart."

The girl gave a light giggle before leaning forward on her arms and looking him in the eyes. "Well, it broke the ice, didn't it?"

Perry grinned as he got a good look at the valley of her breasts, despite the shiver that ran through him at her eyes. Oh, yes, tonight was looking up, mercury eyes notwithstanding. "That it did, sweetheart," he said, testing the waters by surreptitiously running his hand on her bare leg under the table. "So. You offering what I think you're offering?"

So focused on the girl's breasts was Perry that he didn't notice the brief flicker of disgust and disappointment on her face. "Mm, I believe so, but where am I going to find whipped cream in that kind of bulk?"

The two laughed, a deep chuckle for Perry and another giggle from the girl.

"No, but seriously, meet me out back," the girl said, dropping her voice an octave and winking at him. "Don't keep me waiting."

And with that, she stood and strutted off, giving Perry a very nice look at her legs and butt, outlined by her skirt. He quickly finished off the beer, and slipped out the back of the bar, finding the girl standing in the alley, smiling cutely and holding her arms behind her back.

"Oh, you and me are gonna have some fun tonight," Perry said as he reached over and wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulders. "So, your place or-"

Perry heard the tell-tale click of a gun, and looked down to see the girl pointing a distressingly large revolver at his junk.

"Ah, I just love the Armando series," the girl sighed blissfully, even as Perry began to sweat. "Only five cylinders, but that just means they can cram a .45 cartridge into a .38 revolver." She twisted the muzzle slightly, and Perry resisted the urge to whimper. "And with good old hollowpoint, it won't just render you sterile, which will be a blessing to the world in and of itself, it'll also tear open some of the lovely arteries that flow through there. Kinda like cutting out the bottom of a cup."

The enforcer gulped audibly. "W-What do you want?" he said. Always best to see what the crazy lady with the gun wanted.

"Oh, nothing much," she said sweetly. "Just who you report to, and I'll be on my way."

Perry thought furiously. Joe was one of the local bosses, a collector. He also owned a machine gun and plenty of guys with assault rifles. If he could warn him, then Joe could spring a trap for this crazy bitch. And to do that, he had to play along.

"It's Joe, up in that video game rental place," he grunted.

"Well, that was easy!" the girl chirped. Perry relaxed fractionally as the pressure of the gun eased off of his crotch. "Just for the record, I'm sorry I have to do this."

The gun rang out, and Perry fell over, clutching at his ravaged groin. Dimly, through the haze of pain, he could hear the click of her heels start, then stop.

"On second thought, no, I'm not."

*BANG!*

~o~

Gentleman Johnny sat calmly at his desk, listening to the sounds of heavy gunfire from deeper within his home. The intruder had arrived barely two minutes ago, and already he or she had torn through half his security forces like wet cardboard.

Despite this, and the knowledge that the intruder was almost certainly here to kill him, he remained calm. After all, this sort of thing was an occupational hazard in this business, and he'd long since made preparations. His family, estrangement notwithstanding, would be safe.

And, he had a little trump card up his sleeve that might even the odds.

Finally, the gunfire stopped, and his two suited bodyguards reached for their swords. A brief pause, and something sliced through the door and a good chunk of the wall to either side, leaving it to clatter to the ground in pieces. The bodyguards flashed forwards, hands on their blades and ready to slice the intruder to bits. Johnny blinked, and suddenly both were bisected neatly at the waist, falling to the ground in a shower of rose petals and blood.

Standing in front of him was a young woman, likely just past the age of majority. Her hair was long and a deep, dark brown, with red tips. Young people and their obsession with dying their hair. She wore a long, flowing dress, in black with gray trim and red lace on the ends, the sleeves flaring out at the ends. Her skirt rose up to knee height in the front, revealing dark brown and eminently practical boots.

What caught his attention, though, was the massive red war scythe she was carrying.

"You are a hard man to find, Gentleman Johnny," she said, smiling.

"I suppose I should take that as a compliment." He sighed through his nose, and then closed his eyes. "I know what you're here for. Get it over with."

And so it was a complete surprise when he felt a hand grab the collar of his suit jacket and lift him up.

"Unhand me at once!" he demanded, glaring straight into her eyes. He suppressed an involuntary shiver - they were like quicksilver, cold and deadly.

"Nah, I don't think so," the girl said cheerfully as she walked out the door, dragging Johnny along with her. "You and I are gonna go on a little stroll first. After all, it wouldn't do to get blood all over my new office."

~o~

Inspector Earl Grey watched as the forensics team fished the body out of the sea. They were damned lucky that the current had actually washed the body up on the shore; most of the time the riptide would take it straight out to sea, where it would be eaten by fish with nobody the wiser.

"Do we have an ID on the vic yet?" he asked the detective next to him.

"Yup," the detective replied, glancing over the clipboard he held. "John Ware, officially a moderately wealthy businessman currently estranged from his wife and kids. Unofficially…" The detective grimaced in disgust. "Gentleman Johnny, one of the seven crime bosses of Vale."

"Hmph. Been wondering when someone would off him," Inspector Grey grunted. "We have any idea who?"

"Nope. Inspectors are still determining the time of death, but all we know is that he was shot in the forehead by an Armando-series revolver in .45 ACP, and that whoever killed him left a red rose in the breast pocket of his suit."

Grey resisted the urge to sigh. Armando-series revolvers were probably the most common type of gun floating around the market, legal and illegal. And all the rose told them was that the murderer liked roses. Hardly useful information. No, most likely this was the result of a takeover and they could simply blame the new crime boss that would almost certainly announce their presence relatively soon. Open and shut, at least, that's how he would report it, and not something to expend much time and resources over.

With that in mind, there wasn't much more for him to do here; forensics could handle the rest. The inspector glanced out over the crowd of onlookers rubbernecking on the docks to the reporter standing across the street. "Okay, time to feed the vultures."

"Uh, Inspector?" the detective said, following after him. It occurred to Grey just how young the man was. "Shouldn't we stick around, just to see things through?"

"Word of advice, kid," he grunted. "Nobody gives two shits about what the criminals do to each other. As long as no civilians are involved, they can slaughter the lot of each other and all we police need to worry about is making sure that all of them are dead. That clear?"

"Crystal, Inspector," the detective sullenly replied.

~o~

'Hmm…' Blake mused as she stood outside the headquarters tent of the White Fang camp she was in. Just slip on her old mask and she'd been able to stroll right in. Sloppy, that. 'What kind of an entrance should I use?'

Luckily, a hand clamped down on her shoulder, volunteering the owner for said entrance.

Blake turned around to see a towering specimen looming over her, trying to look intimidating. She was silent for a moment before nodding firmly. "You'll do."

"Wha-ARGH!" the water-buffalo faunus screamed in agony as the Blake he was holding evaporated, all while the real specimen appeared behind him, unloading Gambol Shroud's full clip into his limbs and wrenching his arm around hard enough to snap his shoulder-blade in a mere second.

Within moments, the camp was filled with dozens of uniformed White Fang soldiers, with some in the trees and others poking their heads out of the tents. Not all had a gun, but all were staring at her display. Her, and the black ears poking out of her hair.

Blake waited until as many White Fang as possible were watching her before proceeding. Specifically, she waited until one with horns and a black trenchcoat showed up.

Once Adam was present, she relinquished the hold on her captive's arm, using her own hand to remove her mask.

"As of this moment," she stated loudly, her voice calling out to the whole of the camp. "I am taking command of the White Fang as a whole."

And with that, she flipped her grip on her weapon's blade and drew it across the captive soldier's throat, opening it wide and spraying blood everywhere, going so far as to splatter across her own face.

She watched the soldier choke on his own blood for a moment before looking back at the assembled troops. "Does anyone have a problem with that?"

There was the sound of a hundred guns cocking, only for Adam to hold up a hand. "No," he grinned, dropping to his knee. "There won't be."

Slowly but surely, the rest of the White Fang followed suit, falling to their knees and bowing their heads before Blake. Those that did not do so willingly were hastily forced to do so by whoever was closest to them.

Once arrangements were made and the soldiers had wandered off, Blake jerked her head towards a space between two tents, and started walking. Adam followed with a barely audible grunt.

"Glad to have you back, Blake," he leered eagerly. "I've missed having you at my side. As a matter of fact, your attitude seems to have, dare I say, improved. With any luck, things can be just like old times..." His grin became outright sadistic. "Maybe even better."

Blake rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Yeah, see, that's the thing..."

Before Adam could react, Blake spun around and rammed her fist into his gut, forcing him to double over. She then grabbed one of his arms and forced his head back so that she could glare down at him.

"A few things, actually," she continued coldly. "First, things will never be like old times again. There are going to be a lot of changes around here."

"W-what are you-!?" Adam started to say, before wincing as Blake twisted hard enough to make the bone creak.

"Second," Blake hissed, shoving her face up next to his. "I am not 'at your side'. As a matter of fact, I'm not even working for the White Fang any more. As of this moment, you and every other member of the White Fang work for me. You will do what I say, without question, when I say it and how I say it, or I will rip you apart. Is that clear?"

Adam's hand snapped to Wilt's hilt... and promptly stilled as Gambol Shroud's barrel pressed against the underside of his chin.

"I asked," Blake growled viciously. "Is. That. Clear?"

Adam remained tense for a moment longer... before releasing the grip on his blade. "Crystal," he ground out.

"Good." Blake shoved Adam away, sending him tumbling to the ground.

The bull faunus took a moment to work his way to his feet, rubbing at his arm. "Anything else?" he bit out, his tone far less cordial than it was before.

Blake opened her mouth... then slowly shut it as she reconsidered. "Now that I think about it... yes, there is. I have some... friends I want you to meet. Later, however. For now..."

Blake slid her mask over her face and cast a sidelong glare at Adam. "Tell everyone to arm up and get ready to move. We're going to give Vale a night it'll never forget."

~o~

Weiss looked out over the city of Vale from one of the board rooms in the local SDC branch office. It was located high enough to clear many of the city's buildings, affording her an excellent view of downtown.

Behind her, she could hear the nervous shuffling and throat-clearing of her new board of directors, and decided that she'd let them stew long enough.

"Gentlemen, I'm sure you're all wondering why I chose you as my new board members."

The uncomfortable shuffling intensified, and Weiss slowly turned around, looking each and every one of them in the eye. None of them held her gaze for more than a few seconds.

"Part of it is that I am quite confident you can do your jobs," Weiss said, her face still carefully neutral. "I am rarely wrong about such things. Do not prove me otherwise."

There were a few flinches here and there from the younger members, but otherwise no reaction.

"Miss Fall, be a dear and bring in the dossiers, would you?" Weiss said, snapping her fingers. Heads turned to the stunningly beautiful woman who had been waiting near the door, and gazes fell on the thick manila folders held in her hands.

Cinder circled the table, dropping a folder in front of each man with an ominous thump.

"Go ahead and read them," Weiss said. "I'll wait."

There was some shuffling hesitation, but each board member opened the folder and began to read through. Before long, the table was filled with wide eyes, shocked flinches and gasps, and more than one man biting his nails.

"I see you grasp the essential point," Weiss lectured, starting her own circuit of the room. None of the board members said anything, preferring to stare at the papers and stew in their own nervous sweat. "Let me make one thing clear: I own all of you now. If any of you resign from this board, if any of you refuse or resist my orders, and especially if I hear so much as a hint, a whisper of the words 'vote out' - and believe you me, I will be watching your every last movement, so I will know - then you will... how should I put this delicately, Miss Fall?"

"I just hope their life insurance is up to date, Miss Schnee," Cinder said sweetly.

"Ah, yes, that works. Thank you, Miss Fall," Weiss smiled beatifically.

If the board was nervous before, now they were flat-out terrified.

"Now now, it's not all doom and gloom," Weiss reassured them. "Stay behind the line, do a good job, and… well, let's just say that the stock you all hold will be very valuable by the time you're ready to retire."

That calmed them down a little bit. At the very least, there was less shivering and chattering of teeth.

"Anyway, you're all free to go home now," Weiss said dismissively, waving them towards the door. "We can discuss the state of the company at the next meeting. Don't be late!"

The board promptly stood and began packing their bags and briefcases with almost unseemly haste, and practically bolted out the door. As soon as the last one was gone, Weiss pulled out a small remote and increased the circulation in the room. With the ventilation steadily removing the stench of fear from the room, Weiss sat down in her chair at the head of the table and looked out over the city.

She felt, more than saw, Cinder stride up next to her. For a moment the two sat there in silence before Cinder spoke up.

"A nice display back there," she said smoothly. "But I still doubt you will achieve anything meaningful. The rot… runs too deep. You try to preserve as much as you can, not realizing that the whole edifice is rotten and crumbling."

"Perhaps you're right about that," Weiss conceded. "But I do think I can achieve something meaningful. After all, I'm not exactly working alone. Now, watch. Something interesting is going to happen soon."

As the two women watched, a plume of fire and smoke rose up in downtown Vale, followed by another, and then another, and soon there were a baker's dozen plumes rising over the buildings. Red and blue lights flashed as police, fire, and medical vehicles rushed to the center of the disturbance.

And more importantly, approaching down the street towards the office park the SDC branch was located at, was a solid mass of fire and white signs.

"I would suggest leaving now, Miss Fall," Weiss said, smoothly rising to her feet and snapping Cinder out of her shocked stupor. "Tell the driver to pull around and wait for us at the north sub-parking exit. It should still be clear for the next, oh... five minutes."

"Y-Yes, Miss Schnee, right away," Cinder hastily replied as she scrambled with her tablet, no small amounts of both awe and fear coloring her voice.

~o~

Vale burned.

Shortly after dinner hours, thousands of faunus had taken to the streets. Many carried signs, and were airing specific grievances. Most had merely taken the opportunity to vent their frustrations on their oppressors in an orgy of looting and burning.

The police had immediately mobilized, naturally, but the sheer number of bodies overwhelmed any possible response. Fire units with water hoses helped, but even they could not keep the massive riot contained. And the police were not helped by the Vale council banning any sort of lethal munitions. A sensible precaution, but the faunus rioters had absolutely no such restrictions. The police were pelted with bricks, bottles, Molotov cocktails, and even occasionally gunfire from shoddy, homemade weapons.

And at the center of the madness, visible only to the orbiting news choppers, stood Blake Belladonna, her mask conspicuous in its absence and her ears fully visible. The bodies of several policemen, all of whom had shot and killed a faunus in the last year, hung crucified from the makeshift crosses arranged around her. And though the news choppers couldn't pick up any audio, it was clear that the crowd was loving her speech.

"Faunus of Vale!" she shouted, arms wide and hair whipping in the wind. "Thank you for coming tonight. Tonight, we send a message to all who oppress us! We say this: that we will no longer stand injustice from those who call themselves 'superior'! We say this: that we will no longer stand by while the cowards in the council speak their pretty words and then turn their backs on those who need it most! We say this: that we, the White Fang, will not stop, until every faunus, be they man, woman, or child, can walk down the street with his or her head held high, knowing that they are free, and the equal of any citizen!

"But I caution all of you: tonight is only the beginning. We have much work ahead of us if our dream is to be realized. I am not going to lie to you; it will be hard. Most of you will likely die. But I promise that these deaths will not be in vain. That we will build a better world for all of us!

"Now tell me, faunus of Vale. Do you want to see this happen? Do you want to see justice served for all who came before us?"

There was a pause, before the crowd roared as one.

"I thought so! And now, we will take another step towards our liberation!"

Gambol Shroud was unsheathed and pointed at the SDC building looming over the city.

"There is our greatest enemy. There is the one point that would topple our enemies, should we only take it down. Tonight! We shall march on that building, and send another message to the Schnee Dust Company! That you shall not have the privilege of reform!

"Only destruction."

The crowd roared, and began to surge down the street towards the SDC building. Blake smiled, and hopped down from the semitruck she had been standing on for the speech.

"I'll admit," Adam said as he stepped up next to her. "This is going far better than I'd hoped."

"As I said, this is merely the beginning, Adam," Blake replied, her smile turning downright predatory. "There will be much more to come."

She slid on a feline mask, the fires raging around her reflecting off of the white ceramics.

"Of that, I assure you."

~o~

"Romaaaaaannnn…"

Roman Torchwick, petty gang leader, sighed and turned to the source of the noise. "What?"

"Do we really gotta do this?" said an orange-haired, freckled kid everyone simply called Carrot Top. "I mean, this is Crimson Thorns territory! D'you know how many people they've killed?!"

"Yes, I do. Which is why we're doing this the stealthy way, and I have a band of mercs waiting back at home," Roman sighed, rolling his eyes. "Not to mention that I went to Beacon for a year. I think I can handle any two-bit mooks a new gang like the Crimson Thorns can scrape together."

"But- Yow!"

Carrot Top slumped to the ground, clutching his chin, as a small girl in a white sundress and carrying a parasol, her hair a mix of pink, brown, and one bit of white, stuck her tongue out at him.

"Thank you, Neopolitan," Roman sighed. He turned to the rest of the small gang hiding in the dingy alleyway next to a battered warehouse. "Now, you all know the plan. We sneak in, grab as much Lien as we can carry - no merchandise! - and get out. And remember, I won't hesitate to leave any of you behind. Clear?"

The gang members all nodded, except Carrot Top, who just whimpered.

"Good. Now, the loading bay is usually deserted this time of night, doubly so with that riot going on downtown. We'll get in that way."

Ten minutes later, Roman was running down Vale's back alleys and side streets, Carrot Top panting behind him. The small part of his brain that wasn't gibbering in terror was busy wondering how it had all gone wrong. At least Neopolitan had gotten back to the hideout okay.

The rest of his gang, though, had been steadily picked off by… something. All he could see of it was a red blur, a red blur that sent limbs flying whenever it touched someone. Most of his men had met their ends, and it was only him and Carrot Top, running for their lives.

Carrot Top screamed, and Roman turned just in time to see a red blur take off the upper half of his torso.

Roman immediately pressed himself against the nearest wall, wincing at the moisture he felt seeping into the nice dress shirt he was wearing. His cane went up, sweeping across the alleyway. His pride and joy, he had cobbled it together from scrap after his Signal-made weapon had been confiscated, but it still shot grenades at people. That was enough for him.

Then the red blur knocked his cane out of his hands, and materialized in front of him. He blinked. It was… a girl, a few years younger than him, and rather pretty. She was also carrying a massive goddamned red scythe taller than she was, so he kept that little thought to himself.

"Roman Torchwick," she said, and Roman couldn't help but widen his eyes at that. "A small-time gang leader who nonetheless put together a plan that allowed him to rob the biggest fish in the Vale underworld. Successfully, I might add. Had the boss of the Crimson Thorns not been inspecting the goods that night, he might have even gotten away cleanly."

She reached down and picked his cane up, inspecting it. "You made this?"

Roman nodded, not trusting his voice.

"Well, I'm impressed," she chirped with a smile, tossing the cane back to him. "Consider yourself hired!"

Roman fumbled with his weapon for a moment before grabbing its shaft with both hands. "A-And if I refuse?" Roman managed to ask with barely a stammer.

The girl smiled, and then he was staring down the barrel of a very large-caliber rifle.

"G-Gotcha," Roman managed to get out with far less discipline. "I'll take the job. Er, what is it, anyway?"

"Well, Roman," she said, before folding up the massive scythe and slinging it onto her back. "First, call me Ruby. And second, I could use someone with solid thieving skills and leadership experience. How would you like to be a second-in-command?"

Roman blinked, and then grinned. "Do you really need to ask?" His smile faltered at the look on her face. "The answer is yes, by the way!"

~o~

Yang confidently strode up to the tenement apartment and stopped in front of the door. Looking it over, she rubbed her chin in thought.

"Nah," she decided. "Way too pedestrian."

Walking around to the side of the building, she tapped the brick wall with her fist. It didn't take long for her to find a spot she was satisfied with, and then she hopped up, braced her legs against the other wall, and pushed.

The blonde slammed fist-first into the brick wall, the fragile material shattering under the force of the blow. Yang strode through the dust, letting out a cry of "Oh yeah!"

"Yang is in the house, bitches!" she announced. "Prepare to have thine-!"

Roman, Ruby, and a stunned man in a military uniform standing in the corner of the room froze, staring at her in awe, fear, and in Ruby's case, more than a little exasperation. Not to mention the former two were apparently just in the middle of eating some cup ramen.

"Uh, sis?" Yang said, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Me?" Ruby spat incredulously. "I'm checking out my new hideout! Which you just put a hole in, I might add!"

"Whatever, I'll just take care of this, and then I'll be out of your hair." She turned to the mercenary. "You! Are you the douchenozzle in charge of the merc-band known as the Brass Mirages?"

The man hesitated slightly before straightening his back and marching forwards, cocking his gun menacingly. "Yeah, that's me. What do you-GRK!"

Yang effortlessly lifted the merc-chief a foot off the ground by his neck as she fished his scroll out of his pocket and held it up to him. "Call back to your base of operations. Tell your men that they have a new chief commanding officer."

"W-who-HRK!- GOT IT, GOT IT!" the merc wheezed pitifully, dialing as fast as his trembling fingers allowed when Yang's grip on his throat redoubled.

The Scroll rang a few times before the call went through. "H-Hey, it's me. … N-No, things are… fine. Yes, fine. We've just got a new commanding officer. … Y-Yeah, the old-fashioned way. … Who put that clause in?! Ugh, never mind, I'm pretty sure she'll be in to confirm it soon. … Yeah, she. … Look, you want your balls crushed? Because that's how you get your balls cru-!"

"Oh for the love of- screw this."

"Wha-NO NO NO-!"

CRUNCH!

Yang caught the Scroll that fell from the merc's limp fingers and held it to her ear while she wiped her other hand off on the cooling corpse. "Yeah, hello? Yeah, I'm your new boss. What was that noise? Oh, just the sound of your old boss's skull and gray matter collapsing under my fingers... No, no robotics or cybernetics, my weapons enhance my punches, I did that with pure grip. ...Uh-huh, uh-huh, I see... Alright, just a quick question, did he mention anything strange happening during this job? ... Uh-huh, just the squad that was with him, I see... and they haven't talked with anyone else? Perfect, perfect. Make sure that they hold at about a mile out of the base without and that they don't have any further contact... Of course I'm going to kill them, what kind of obscure take-over do you take this for!?... Uh-huh, uh-huh, yup... Alright, that's perfect, thank you!"

"Ugh, Yaaaaang, do you know how hard that is to clean up?" Ruby whined as Yang hung up, shifting back and forth in her seat as she watched the blood drain from the not-nearly-headless enough corpse. "Plus, I was eating!"

"Ruby, sis, I love you, but could you please stop talking and offer me some of those noodles?" Yang groaned, rubbing her forehead as she slumped into a seat. "I'm trying to preserve what little fantasy I have of your innocence while I still can."

"Yang, I've racked up a higher body count in the last month than most Huntsmen manage to achieve in a year, and I'm hunting humans."

"Just gimme the damn noodles!"

"Alright, sheesh." Ruby rolled her eyes as she snatched Roman's noodles from his hands and tossed them to her sister.

"Hey!" Roman started to protest. "Those noodles-!" KA-CLICK! "Are nice and warm, enjoy!" he seamlessly transitioned as the sisters jabbed their weapons at his face.

"Thank you. Now, I-" Yang frowned as a kitchen knife skittered off her Aura. Sighing, she reached out and grabbed a handful of pink-and-brown hair, lifting Neo up to eye height.

"That was very, very stupid of you," Yang commented. "I have half a mind to-"

The parasol in Neo's left hand arced up and broke itself over the blonde's skull. Neo didn't even wait for the two halves to hit the floor before planting her foot in Yang's ribs. Sadly, all that did was cause her to grab the offending limb, clutching it in obvious agony.

Yang watched the display with a befuddled expression that quickly morphed into a full-on shit-eating grin. "Ooooohhhh, I like this one," Yang cooed. "She's feisty. I'll take her."

"Alright sis, but be careful," Ruby replied absentmindedly as she scraped her fork around in her cup of noodles. "She looks like she might be fragile."

"Awww, Sis, don't you know?" Yang crooned as she watched Neo struggle in her grip. "The best part of new toys is pushing them as far as they can until they break."

Neo frantically looked at Yang, then at Ruby, then back to Yang, and then to Torchwick, who sighed and turned to Ruby.

"Don't I get a say in this?" he groused, before grinning. "Which is what I would say if I gave a fuck. Buuuuut I don't."

Neo's glare said all that was needed on what she thought of that.

~o~

"Ruby… Hey, Ruby!"

"Mwaaaah…"

Slowly, Ruby lifted her head up off the desk, looking up at the person who had violated her beauty sleep. "Blake?"

"Yeah, it's me," the cat faunus confirmed, a look of curiosity on her face. "You were dreaming about something."

"Just…" Ruby's jaw practically unhinged as she yawned. "You know. Simpler times."

Blake nodded wearily. "Yeah, I know the feeling. The parts hulk got possessed by another Grimm about an hour ago, and we need you to help us get it out without wrecking the thing."

"Again?" Ruby groaned, rising from the chair and working out a crick in her neck. "That's the third time this week!"

"There's gotta be something we can do," Blake muttered to herself as the two set off for the main cave complex. "Maybe if we…"

Ruby let her friend's words wash over her. Simpler times they may have been, but she wouldn't trade her current moments for anything in the world.