It was past noon by the time Blake made it to her office. Sleep had not come easily the night before; a feeling of unease had kept her awake until almost dawn. She couldn't say what it was that had made her so restless, just that she had a sense of on-coming danger—an approaching threat—even now.
The door slid open as Blake held her scroll in front of the scanner and she stepped into her cool, air-conditioned office. It was simple. A desk at the back, a chair on each side of it, and a small lounge against the left wall. There was a window on the wall to the right that looked out over the grounds of Beacon Academy.
Blake stood at the window for a minute, looking out. There were students milling about, back and forth, across the courtyard directly below, on their way to and from classes or on their lunch break. Blake smiled. There was something about watching everything work smoothly and peacefully that always set her mind at ease.
She could see a hint of her reflection in the tinted glass, and couldn't resist the urge to inspect herself. There were a hint of bags under her golden, almost feline eyes from her lack of sleep the night before. Her hair hung down to the middle of her back haphazardly; she hadn't taken the time to brush it out that morning. The only thing that really looked normal were her clothes: plain white blouse, short cut black jacket and black pants.
She turned away with a sigh and scratched at one of her feline ears. She'd gotten rid of the bow over a year ago, after graduation, but sometimes it still felt strange to have them out in the open; she'd grown so used to hiding who she was that it was uncomfortable at times to be so open about her heritage.
Blake sat at her desk and put her scroll down. A holographic screen blinked on in the air in front of her, and Blake tapped in her password. She sat back with a sigh as the home screen appeared. She looked around the room for any notes for her, but found none.
Her assistant, Kelly, was always here in the morning, waiting for Blake. She would give Blake a schedule for the day, let her know what she had to do, or who she had to see, but there was nothing today. Not that Blake could blame Kelly for that, she had come in hours late.
Oh well, Blake focussed on the screen in front of her. She'll come back eventually.
Blake tapped a key and her list of contact popped open. She scrolled down until she found Weiss' name and hit the selection key. The screen went blank as the call went through. Blake scratched behind her ear as she waited.
There was a beep and Weiss' face appeared on the screen. Blake smiled; it had been a while since she and Weiss had talked.
"Happy birthday, Weiss," Blake said.
Weiss smiled. "Thank you, Blake. How are you?"
"I'm good. A little tired, couldn't sleep last night. But, other than that, I'm good."
The heiress frowned slightly. "Is everything okay?"
Blake waved her concern away. "Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know what happened. Just a restless night, I guess."
Weiss nodded, then smirked. "Looking forward to having Yang back?"
An affectionate smile grew beneath golden eyes at the mention of Yang's name. "I guess so… Wait… How did you know Yang wasn't here?"
Weiss laughed. "She came to visit me this morning—"
"Yang did? My Yang?"
"Yes, your Yang. Unless there's another Yang we both know who looks exactly like yours."
"Why would she do that?"
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "I'm glad that an old friend coming to visit me is cause for such surprise. What do people think of me in Vale?"
Blake blushed. "I didn't mean it like that, Weiss. I was just surprised that's all. Yang didn't mention that she was going to see you, and I can't imagine she'd just stop by Atlas for a social call."
Weiss sighed. "Well… No. She didn't. She wanted to talk about Ruby."
"And how'd that go?"
Weiss shrugged. "Better than expected. Nothing got broken, which is good, and no one died, which is better."
The Faunus raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really? That doesn't sound like Yang. Are you sure there isn't another Yang we both know who looks exactly like mine?"
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny."
Blake smiled. "I thought so. So what did you two talk about?"
"Like I said, she wanted to talk about Ruby, and why I… left."
"And what did you say?"
"I told her the truth. It sounded just as weak as when I told you… Just as selfish. But she seemed content with the explanation."
Blake nodded. Weiss had told her why she'd left long ago, though Blake had been sworn to secrecy. For a year, Blake had known, and refrained from judgement. She'd felt like she needed to be there for Weiss; Yang was always going to side with Ruby. She had felt that Weiss' reasons for leaving were somewhat less than ideal, but she also knew—intimately—how emotions messed with people's heads; logic was rarely allowed a foot in the door—let along a say in proceedings—when it came to relationships.
"What did she say to you?" Blake asked.
Weiss gave her a sad, lop-sided smile. "She told me about Ruby…"
Blake sighed.
"How is she, Blake? Yang made it sound bad but…"
"She probably didn't exaggerate. It's… It's bad, Weiss."
Weiss nodded, sadness and guilt etched across her face.
"She never quite bounced back," Blake continued. "I mean, she got a little better after a few months, but she never quite got her… exuberance back. She never talks about you, refuses to talk about any of our time at Beacon. Whenever anyone mentions you, or anything we did over the years, she either stares out the window, or at her pendant, until she starts crying, or just leaves the room."
Weiss looked down. Blake thought she could see tears brimming her friend's eyes and stopped. After a few seconds of silence, Weiss looked back up.
"I'm fine. Keep going."
Blake hesitated, and then nodded. "She takes missions almost every day. Anything. She'll take the most mundane extermination jobs—clearing Grimm out of Mountain Glenn or any of the surrounding villages, keeping the Grimm population of the forests low enough for students to go on training missions, anything at all—like she's just throwing herself into danger to avoid thinking about anything. Like whenever she has a moment to think, she always comes back to you. She's been doing it ever since you left, and I think she just can't deal with it any other way."
Weiss nodded again and her face suddenly disappeared from the screen before jolting back in. In the background, Blake thought she could hear the high-pitched whine of a airship engine.
"Where are you?" she asked. "Are you in an airship?"
Weiss looked at something off the screen for a moment before replying. "Yeah, I uh… I'm on my way to Mistral."
Blake raised an eyebrow. "Mistral? Why?"
Weiss hesitated, then spoke in a hushed voice. "There's something going on in the company. Dust going missing, or so we think."
"We?"
"Neptune and I. He did some digging around for me when I saw some numbers in our shipping logs that made me a little suspicious."
"Is it serious?"
"We don't know. We don't know anything yet. But we're going to find out." Weiss' sadness seemed to fade as she explained what she'd found, which relieved Blake. As bad as the new developments sounded, at least it was keeping Weiss from mulling over Ruby all the time.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Blake asked.
Weiss shook her head. "Neptune and I can take care of it. Although, you should probably keep an ear to the ground there. I didn't see anything suspicious on our logs for Vale, but you never know. If someone's up to no good in Mistral, there's a chance it might be in other kingdoms again."
Blake nodded. "I'll keep an eye out. I'll let you know if anything comes up."
Weiss nodded. "I'll keep you posted on the situation in Mistral as well. Actually, before I forget, Neptune told me to ask: have you heard from Sun recently?"
Blake shook her head, confused. "Sun? No. Not for a few weeks, maybe a month or so. Why?"
Weiss frowned. "Neptune said Sun up and left Mistral without a word to anyone and no one's heard from him since."
"That's odd…"
Weiss shrugged. "Sun can take care of himself. I'm sure he's alright, but maybe you could try and contact him? Just to make sure."
Blake nodded. "Yeah, definitely. I'll give him a call today; see if I can get in touch with him."
Weiss seemed to hesitate before opening her mouth. "Just… one more thing, before I go. Yang… suggested that me coming back to Vale might be… beneficial, but that I should do it gradually."
Blake nodded, but said nothing. Weiss clearly had something she was trying to get out, and the Faunus was smart enough to not interrupt.
"So, I was wondering… do you think it would alright if I called Ruby later today?"
Blake smiled. "I think she'd love that, Weiss."
Weiss' relieved smile was the most joyous look Blake had seen on her friend's face in over a year.
"I agree with Yang though," she continued. "It might be best to come back gradually. Ruby will probably want you to come straight back, but I feel like you two have some issues to sort out before you move back into her life completely."
Weiss nodded, still smiling. "That's fine. As long as I have a chance."
Blake smiled, feeling a little moved. She could see the love Weiss had for Ruby painted on her face, could hear it in her voice. A year apart had done nothing to dull the feelings they both had for each other. Something about seeing that resonated with Blake. They loved each other just as much as she and Yang did. The thought of Yang sent Blake's heart fluttering.
"Well, I'd better go," Weiss said. "I've got to… do some work before I get to Mistral."
Blake smiled. "Yeah, I've got some work to get to as well. I'll talk to you later? Let me know how things go with Ruby?"
Weiss smiled again. "Sure. I'll talk to you then."
"Good luck, Weiss"
Weiss nodded, still grinning, and ended the call. The screen flicked to black for a moment before the home screen reappeared on the screen.
Blake slumped back in her chair with a sigh and a grin. It was about time Weiss realised that she needed to come back. Both her and Ruby had been miserable ever since she'd left, but Weiss was so caught up in her rationalisations for leaving that she'd forced herself to stay as far from Ruby as she could get.
Blake shook her head with a quiet chuckle and tapped a few keys, bringing up her messages. She scrolled through for a second before stopping on one; the name of the sender stood out. Violet Tanner. Blake had talked to the girl before, but it seemed like she was still having problems. Violet was a cat Faunus, like Blake, and—even though Blake knew it was against the rules—she'd taken an extra liking to the girl.
Blake had thought about teaching at Beacon after graduation—Doctor Oobleck had recommended her for it, in fact—but the pressure of having people's education in her hands, the pressure of her teaching being something could save their lives one day, hadn't appealed to her. She'd wanted to be a teacher to help represent the Faunus in the Beacon faculty. Though she didn't blame any of the staff for the deficit, there were definitely less Faunus professors than human ones.
So, while Blake had decided to not be a teacher, she'd done the next best thing. She'd been hired on as a Faunus student councillor. She was there to be a voice of authority for Faunus students who felt insecure, threatened or intimidated while at Beacon. Her job was to give students a sympathetic ear, help resolve issues that were making life harder for the Faunus student body and, on occasion, she took groups of Faunus students out on training missions to let them spend time to meet and make friends with other Faunus—so they knew they weren't going through troubles alone.
Violet had been a recurring case for Blake over the last semester. Students in her class were repeatedly making her uncomfortable, making life generally harder for her. There had even been a case where she'd been put into danger on an excursion to Forever Fall because of their bullying. Blake was starting to get to the point where she'd have to crack down on the perpetrators, just to keep her safe. She knew that using her authority to force them to stop bullying her wouldn't solve the problem—they were teenagers after all—but Violet's safety had to come first.
Blake typed out a reply to Violet's message, telling her to stop by after she'd finished her classes for the day. They needed to sort something out. Whether they moved Violet to different streams for her classes, or… whatever; something had to be done.
Just as Blake sent the message, as if on cue, the door to her office opened. Blake looked up, expecting Kelly to walk through the door, but was surprised to see Ruby instead.
Her surprise quickly changed to horror when she saw Ruby's face. She had a black eye, what looked like a broken nose and massive, purple bruises around her neck. Blake shot out of her chair in a heartbeat and ran towards Ruby.
"Gods! Ruby, what the hell happened to you? Are you okay?"
Ruby shrugged Blake's hand off her shoulder. "I'm fine, Blake, really. I went to the infirmary this morning, they said I should be fine in a week or so." Her voice sounded rough, like she was recovering from having lost it.
"What happened?"
"I…" Ruby hesitated and scratched her head. "It's kind of blurry. But I remember I saw someone getting chased by police last night. He got away from them, so I jumped in and tried to arrest him."
"And he did this!? Who was he?"
Ruby shrugged. "Dunno. Wasn't anyone I'd met before. I can't really remember what he looked like either. He must've really done a number on me…"
Blake blinked a few times, still shocked at Ruby's appearance. "I'll say. You look like hell, Sis."
Ruby smirked and rolled her eyes. "You've been spending too much time around Yang. I'm fine, really. Feel fit as a fiddle."
Blake raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"Yes! I'm fine, trust me."
The Faunus hesitated, then nodded. "Okay… Well, just make sure you get treated."
"I already have."
"Well go back in a few days. Yang will have my head if she finds out I let you get this beat up while she was away."
The bruised and battered woman laughed, an odd sound coming from her. "You'll have to do more than that to get Yang mad at you, you know that."
Blake smiled. "Yeah, I guess. Well, she won't be happy."
"Do you know when she's getting back?"
The concerned Faunus shrugged. "Probably later today, maybe tomorrow. So I'm screwed either way; no time for you to heal up."
Ruby smirked. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I feel for sorry for the guy who did it. When Yang gets her hands on him…"
"So I take it he got away?"
Ruby raised an eyebrow and pointed at her face. "What gave that away?"
Blake couldn't help but chuckle. "Good point. So do you remember anything about him? Anything we could use to track him down?"
Ruby shook her head. "Not really. It was dark, raining, I couldn't see him well to begin with. And everything's just… a mess. I can't remember many details. I'd probably recognise him if I saw him though."
Blake nodded. "Well let me know if you remember anything. I'll put a notice on the board."
Ruby nodded and looked out the window for a few seconds.
"So were you looking for anything?" Blake continued. "Or did you just stop by to see me?"
Ruby smiled. "As much as I enjoy your company, I did want to ask you something."
"Fire away."
"Have you seen Jaune around? I can't find him, and he's not answering any of my calls."
Blake frowned. "He's been out on a mission with Pyrrha for the last week or so. He didn't tell you he was leaving?"
Ruby shook her head.
"That's odd," Blake said with a frown. "Why did you want him? Going out on another mission?"
Ruby nodded. "I thought me might want to tag along…"
"Well Nora's gone with Yang, but Ren's still here. I'm busy this afternoon but, if you feel like waiting until tomorrow, I can go along with you then."
Ruby shook her head. "That's alright. I'll go and ask Ren; thanks though."
Blake nodded and watched as Ruby left without another word. She sighed and sat back at her desk. Ruby's façade was always a little painful to see. She smiled and joked and laughed, but all the while, Blake could see the pain hidden away. Ruby probably didn't know she was letting any of it out, but it was there.
She really did need Weiss back. Anything to help her break out of that shell she'd been building up over the year.
Oh crap, Blake thought. Weiss was going to call Ruby tonight… and Ruby looked like she'd just been beaten half to death. What was Weiss going to think? Maybe I should call Weiss back and warn her...
There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Blake called.
Kelly peeked her head into the room. Her light brown hair, with streak of green, framed her face, and her brown eyes were filled with a concerned wariness.
"Kelly! Good! You're back," Blake said with a smile.
Kelly smiled nervously. "Uh, Miss Belladonna, you have a visitor."
Blake raised an eyebrow. She didn't have anything scheduled. Who would be visiting her unannounced like this?
She waved a hand. "Let them in."
Kelly nodded and pushed the door the rest of the way open, letting the visitor in.
All thoughts of Weiss and Ruby were wiped from Blake's mind when she saw the man who entered the room. He was the single most impressive, yet intimidating man she'd ever seen. He was huge, taller than even Jaune, and covered in hulking, rippling muscle. He had shoulder length red hair and bright blue eyes, wore what looked like a large black shield strapped to his back and, perhaps his strangest quality, he wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Blake Belladonna?" he asked. His voice was rough, harsh.
"That's me," Blake answered. "How can I help you?"
"Nice to finally meet you," the man said with a smile. "My name is Raud Geisa; I'm from Vacuo. I've come to speak to you about a…" He glanced at Kelly. "…sensitive matter."
Blake raised an eyebrow and nodded to Kelly, signalling that she should step outside. Raud watched her leave, and only once she was gone did he face Blake again.
"May I sit down?" he asked, pointing at the chair in front of her desk.
"Please," Blake replied. She switched off the holographic screen so they could see each other clearly across the desk.
Raud swung his shield off his back and leant it against the chair as he sat down. "My thanks."
"So what is this 'sensitive matter'?" Blake asked.
Raud took a breath and glanced around the room again before starting. "There are a group of officials in the government of Vacuo who have sent me here to both seek aid and lend it. They also send a warning: someone is smuggling Dust out of Vacuo, and we don't know who or why."
Blake perked up. Could this be related to what Weiss had told her about?
"We know very little, as a matter of fact," Raud continued. "They've covered their tracks incredibly well, which has led my… employers to believe that it's part of a conspiracy within the government. My employers are a small group of loyal officials and politicians, as well as trusted Huntsmen and Huntresses, who are seeking to get to the bottom of it and stop it. We don't know what these supposed conspirators are planning, but we know it can't be any good."
"You said Dust was being smuggled out of Vacuo?" Blake asked.
Raud nodded. "That's right. That's why I'm here. They were afraid the Dust was being moved overland to Vale. They've found no evidence that would suggest that, so we might be chasing a red herring, but they sent me here to warn you just in case, and to lend any aid I can, should you need it."
Blake rubbed at her chin as she thought. It sounded too similar to what Weiss had mentioned; it couldn't be a coincidence. Speaking of coincidences…
"Why are you telling me this?" Blake asked. "If you're afraid something similar is happening here, how do you know I'm not part of the conspiracy?" She couldn't believe that someone would just happen to tell her about another conspiracy not half an hour after hearing about one in Mistral.
Raud smiled. "I was given your name by a friend of yours, Sun Wukong." Blake raised an eyebrow. "I've spoken to no one else since I got here, and I'm not trusting anyone until I get your word that they're trustworthy."
"Sun sent you?" Blake asked.
Raud shrugged. "Not him specifically, but he's helping my employers investigate."
"Right…"
"You don't trust me?" Raud asked.
Blake shook her head. "I'm a little sceptical. I haven't heard from Sun in weeks; I find it strange that he'd send you without letting me know."
"Last I saw him, he was busy with his investigation. Maybe he didn't want to risk contacting anyone in case it got intercepted; we don't know who may be involved in this, or what means they have at their disposal."
Blake hesitated. It made sense…
"Alright," she said with a nod. "What do you know?"
"Like I said, very little. We don't know if anything is actually happening in Vale, but we should be on the lookout. Investigate Dust shipments to and from the city, check Dust stock levels in your city's warehouse. If there's any missing, or any more than there should, it could indicate something similar happening in Vale."
Blake nodded. "It's as good a starting point as any. Who else knows you're here?"
"Just you and your assistant."
"I doubt that," Blake said. "A man walking around with no shirt on like that? People will notice."
Raud shrugged. "I'm from Vacuo."
"I can tell," Blake sighed in resignation. There was nothing they could do about it now. "Have you got a place to stay in the city?"
Raud nodded. "I've rented a room in a hotel nearby."
"Good. You should probably head back for today. Though I'd recommend you walk around the city for a few hours, to try and get your bearings, learn the scenery."
"I've already started getting the lay of the land. When do we start the investigation?"
Blake thought for a few seconds. "Tomorrow, hopefully. My… partner is on her way back to Vale as we speak, and I have another friend going out on a mission this afternoon. When they get back tomorrow, we can fill them in on it and get their help."
Raud nodded. "Having more eyes will help, though I'd advise against telling too many people. The less people who know the secret, the less likely it is to get out."
Blake agreed. "I'll be careful, don't worry."
Raud got to his feet. "I'll take my leave then."
Blake nodded. "Come back here this time tomorrow. I'll have everyone I trust enough to help us waiting here."
"Until tomorrow, Miss Belladonna," Raud said with a bow. He left the room, treading strangely quietly for a man his size.
Blake watched the door for a few seconds, running over everything that had just happened. Everything seemed to have flipped on its head today: Yang was speaking to Weiss, Weiss was coming back, and all of a sudden, all four kingdoms could be involved in a vast conspiracy to gods knew what nefarious end.
Blake's feeling of unease was returning, and she couldn't help but feel that this had been the cause of it. Nothing had happened to bring the feeling about, so Blake had been convinced it was an oncoming threat; apparently she'd been right.
Blake sighed as she pressed a key on her scroll. Kelly walked in a moment later from her office across the hall and stood in front of Blake's desk, her face a mask of curiosity.
"What have I got planned over the next week, Kelly?" Blake asked. "We're going to have to shuffle some things around. I need to clear my schedule for the next few days."