Chapter 7

Ruby dashed into team JSMN's room, nearly running into the card game they were playing. "Guys! Guys! Did you hear? Professor Ozpin's been arrested!" Ruby couldn't stand still for a single moment.

The news had come all too suddenly. Just as everyone was easing into the fall semester, the mean Mr. Robot man had taken over Ozpin's position. Even though Ruby had only known him for a month or so, she knew he was a good guy. He would never do any of the things that man had accused him of doing. Why didn't he fight back? If I were him, I would have kicked that scrawny man's butt! That's right! It was all just part of an evil plan to take over Ozpin's position.

Julian stood up from where he was, "P-Professor Ozpin?"

Jaune dropped his cards. "Y-you're sure about that, Ruby? This isn't a joke or anything like that?"

Pyrrha soon followed. "That is terrible news!"

Emerald, on the other hand, was busy lamenting at the state the card game was in. "This is just fantastic… So, what's this about the headmaster being arrested?"

Soon after, Weiss and Ren came running in from the halls.

Once inside, the heiress bent down and reached for her knees, panting heavily. "Ruby, you need to slow down so the rest of us can catch up!" She slid down the wall and sat on the floor, looking up toward the overhead light.

"Sorry!" Ruby replied. It's just that this matter is really super-duper important and we need to all discuss this as a team especially now that Nora is missing!

"There's no need to worry," said Ren as he stepped inside.

"What do we do? What do we do? What do we do? What do…"

Ruby felt Weiss's firm palm run smack into her cheek. "Get a hold of yourself, dumbnut! Panicking isn't going to solve anything for us!"

"Hate to say it, but the girl is right," said Ren.

"Ahem! It is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, thank you very much!" She folded her arms and snapped a glare at Ren.

"Talk about bossy," remarked Emerald, who was still sitting on the floor.

"Shut it! Don't say another word."

"Sorry, your magnificence." Weiss simply growled in response.

Ren cleared his throat and began to speak, "Still, I don't like any of this either. First…"

Everyone turned to the doorway as the sounds of heavy footsteps approached. A large, burly figure stepped into view, planting his hands on the inside of the wooden door frame.

Emerald finally stood up, planted her right hand on her hip, and smiled. "Well, look who decided to drop on by."

Cardin Winchester. A bully.

The boy withdrew one of his hands from behind his body and wove it in a single graceful stroke. "Sup, everybody."

Almost everyone turned to look at the boy with marked disgust, though Ren kept his usual composure and Emerald still maintained her trademark smirk.

"You…" Pyrrha seethed, reaching her arm over Jaune's shoulder.

Cardin held his arms up. "Ohoho! What is with all this hostility in here? I've never done anything wrong to any of you!"

Ruby stepped forward. "You've been nothing but a big mean bully to Jaune!" Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Julian nod as well.

"No, no, no, you've got it all wrong! See, all of those days of bullying are long in the past! I am a reformed man! See? When was the last time any of you heard of us do anything bad, huh?" Once a bully, always a bully. No matter what people said, people like Cardin would never change. Even now, Ruby could hear the layers of deceit edging on the tip of his tongue.

On the other hand, it had been a while since Cardin and his gang did anything bad. The last time she could remember was when they tried luring Jaune into their schemes when everyone was collecting sap in Forever Fall forest. Ever since then, they seem to have stopped.

Emerald released her arms as she tilted her head to the side. "Oh? The last time I remember, you were squealing on the floor like a little pig!" Oh right! How could she forget about something like that? Sometime while everyone was eating in the cafeteria, Cardin had tried pulling at Blake's cat ears, which were really fluffy and sort of cute. When he started pulling, Blake stood up and grabbed his private parts really, really hard until he screamed and fell on the floor crying.

Cardin chuckled. "Okay, maybe it hasn't been that long. But I just came by so I could say hello to my friend, Jauney-boy! Isn't that right, old buddy, old pal?"

As he stepped forward, Pyrrha pulled out her spear, Miló, and stepped into a fighting stance. "Enough!"

"Wait, Pyrrha," Jaune remarked.

But before anything could happen, Ren stepped in front of Cardin and pressed his palm into his shoulder. "Hey, watch it!" said the big bully, trying to shrug the hand off.

Ren got straight to the point. "So, Cardin Winchester, why are you really here?"

"Where's the rest of your crew, anyway?" said Emerald, leaning alongside one of the bedposts.

"Playing Storm Heroes. It's a good game. Sure beats picking on a bunch of scrawny little dweebs. I couldn't help but overhear you guys talking about something. And with this many people in the same place, there's gotta be something going on. You wouldn't happen to be discussing a way to break out the old man would you?" A sinister smile appeared on Cardin's face.

Ruby spoke up, "Why would you…"

"What are you up to, Cardin?" demanded Pyrrha?

"Oh, nothing really. I just figured I'd help out a few friends in need. I'm just that good of a guy. I don't like to say it, but the old man was a pretty swell guy." This sounds like a trap.

Weiss leaned forward a bit. "Ahem, why exactly are you trying to help us? Do you think we'd forgive you that quickly after what you tried to do? Well?"

"These are desperate times. Things just aren't the same any more. Quite frankly, I'm bored. I don't know if any of you ever met him, but the new man in charge is a bit of a stiff-neck." As much as she hated to admit it, Ruby could agree with the school bully on that much. "The cops? They've been a bit more tight than usual lately."

"Tell me about it," remarked Emerald.

"I know, right? I got jail-time for jaywalking across the street. You ought to know, rice-boy." Cardin looked at Ren, who gave him a stern look. "Heard your girlfriend was locked up recently."

"What of it?" said the black-haired boy.

"Well, it looks like we all have a few things against the Man. And this man, this Mister Ober-whatshisface? Nothing but bad news. For you. For me. For all of us."

Ren's eyebrow rose. "And?"

"I don't know what's going on behind the scenes, but this stuff? This is big. Let's be honest here, I didn't come here to read history books, write essays, or make potions. I came here to fight, and there hasn't been much of that lately, has there?"

"Go on," said Emerald.

"Anyway, I can't miss an opportunity like this. I'm a soldier at heart!" Julian growled at this. "I don't know what you guys are planning, but this sounds like something right up your alley. Especially you, little red." When the boy looked at Ruby, she wanted to slice him in half with her scythe. "I want in on this. I'm sure that my boys would be more than willing to tag along, if you catch my drift."

"We weren't…"

Ren waved his hand back. "Hold that thought, Julian. Truth is, we haven't discussed anything yet. Of course, that isn't to say that some of us wouldn't be willing to help out a certain headmaster in need."

"I dunno…"

"This is stupid!" shouted Weiss. "What makes you think we can accomplish something like this? We're just a bunch of first year students! Something like this is way over our heads. What if we get caught? Even if we do succeed, we'll have to live on the run, forced to live off junk food and oatmeal for the rest of our lives!" She lowered her arms. "I know we should help, but this… this is too much for us."

Ruby didn't know how to feel about any of this. She knew that trusting Cardin would probably be a mistake, yet at the same time she knew she had to help Professor Ozpin and Nora somehow. If Weiss didn't realize that, then how could they function as a team? "Weiss…"

"I'm sorry, I'm going back to the room."

As soon as Weiss stepped out of the room, Jaune stepped forward. "Ren, I know how you feel. I know it must be tough living without Nora. That's why I'm going to help." He planted his palm on Ren's shoulder.

"Jaune…" said Pyrrha.

"Look, Pyrrha, I know you're looking out for me, but our friends need our help. That is why I am going to do this, even if that means I have to work with people like you." He turned to face Cardin.

"Ohoho! Let's not get too feisty there, Jauney-boy."

"Don't call me Jauney-boy."

"Well, it looks like someone's finally decided to grow a spine for once," commented Emerald.

"I'm in too!" said Ruby. Julian turned to her with a look of concern on his face.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves, guys," said Ren. "We still don't have any idea how we're going to do this."

"Well, it's a first step. Anything that involves sticking it to the man earns my seal of approval," said Emerald.

"And what exactly has this man ever done to you?" Pyrrha asked.

"None of your business. I worry about my own problems, you worry about yours." Pyrrha made a sound of disapproval, and Emerald stuck out her tongue in response.

Cardin rested his hands behind his head. "So which of you is the brains of this group? You, Jauney-boy?" Everyone looked at each other but no one seemed to respond to the boy's question.

Ruby meekly raised her hand. "I guess I'm the leader of team SLVR, if that's what you're asking."

"Yeah, I know that. So, none of you have any ideas?"

Julian pushed himself off the bed. "I-I think I might know someone we could ask."

"Oh? And who's that, doggie-doo?"

"Will you cut that out!" yelled Ruby. "Sorry!"

Julian walked over to the door, just stepping up to Cardin. "Look, I really don't want to get involved in this, but I-I just feel I owe Headmaster Ozpin is all. Just follow me."

"You heard the man," said Emerald. Soon everyone was filing out the door.

"Th-this is where you were taking us?" said Cardin. "Screw this, I'm…"

Emerald grabbed hold of his shoulder as the boy tried to walk away. "Oh, don't think you're going anywhere, big boy. You're not afraid of a little kitty-cat are you?"

The big bully stopped where he was, "Of course not. And besides, how could I refuse such a sweet and gentle maiden like yourself?"

Emerald didn't really seem gentle at all. In fact, she kinda seemed more like a snake as far as Ruby was concerned.

Of course, before everyone could turn around the corner to reach team RWBY's dorm, they all saw Blake standing in the middle of the hallway, reading over some book.

The cat-girl turned towards them. "Well, look who came crawling back."

"Hey girl, don't look at me. I just got roped into this."

"Oh? That's not what I heard," said Emerald. "You were practically begging to go down on your knees and lick the bottom of Blake's boots! Isn't that right?"

Ren waved them off to the side, "Ignore them. Listen, you've heard the news right?"

"Yeah?" said Blake. "What about it?"

Jaune stepped forward and said, "We… kinda need your help."

"Why should I concern myself with any of this? Besides, it'll look kinda suspicious if I'm seen working with any of you."

"You know Reinhard von Lohengramm, right?" said Julian.

"Who wouldn't. He's the king and all."

"The two of you met while in the White Fang, right?"

The cat-girl flinched back when she heard this. "How do you…"

"Julian, what's the White Fang?" Ruby asked. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but the scarlet-haired girl couldn't attach any meaning to it.

"It used to be an organization for the advancement of Faunus rights after the Faunus Rights Revolution. It operated primarily through peaceful protests and petitioning, though, that wasn't always effective. Of course, that all stopped once the group officially disbanded six years ago, only to reform as the Jotunheim Revolutionary Council, with most of its membership still intact."

"Looks like someone's done their research," said Blake.

"According to the old records, you've been with them before even Reinhard joined the group. Most members who were originally part of the White Fang are now on Jotunheim's ruling council. You seem to be the only exception. I can't imagine why someone who's been part of that circle for so long wouldn't be granted an important position."

"So what? I'm still only seventeen. I've still got a lot of things to learn."

"I don't think age is relevant here. You've got experience that a lot of us would envy." The cat Faunus maintained her silence, keeping her eyes focused on Yang's ward. Ruby could hear whispers throughout the hall.

Jaune pointed his finger at Blake, "So, that means you're a spy, huh?"

"Way to go, Sherlock," Emerald snarked.

"That's slow even for you, Jauney-boy," Cardin added.

"Look," said Blake, "now isn't the time. Let's talk about this after lunch or something, okay?"

"Hold on," said Ren, trying to reach over to Blake's shoulder before having his arm smacked away. "Ugh, are you in this or not?"

"Maybe. I'm interested, if that's what you're looking for. Maybe you can pay me back in return. How's that sound?"

"I'm glad we could have this arrangement." He reached out his hand, though Blake was reluctant to shake it.

Ruby stepped by the mail room, checking to see if her uncle or cousin had sent her anything. Blake was only willing to discuss things with Julian and Ren, so everyone else had gone to do their own thing, seeing as it was the weekend and there were no classes. She figured that one of them would fill her on the details later, seeing how much of this needed to be kept a secret. Not that that stopped anyone else from overhearing that the Faunus-girl was a spy. It was strange that none of the new guards patrolling around the school had done anything about it, considering how strict they usually were.

"Miss Rose, you have a package."

Oh sweet! Ruby rushed into the office and held her scroll up for display. After signing all the papers, Ruby retrieved the cardboard package from the person working behind the desk. It had her name sharpied all over it in her uncle's all too recognizable handwriting. There was no mistaking it. It even had her uncle Qrow's address plastered onto it. I wonder what could be so big as to fit in this box?

Using her semblance's speed, Ruby rushed through the halls and swerved into her team's room only a minute later. There, she saw Weiss sitting on her top bunk, reading over a letter. Although she may have initially been a bit pushy and abrasive, over time the heiress had warmed up to her.

Still holding the box in her arms, Ruby looked up at Weiss, "That's from your parents, right?"

The girl folded up the letter, resting it on the bed. "Yeah, I mean, yes it is."

"It must be nice having parents who can look out after you."

"So, Ruby, what is that?"

The girl lifted the box up to eye level. "Dunno. My uncle sent it to me."

Weiss began descending down a ladder strapped to the front of her bed. "Well, why don't we see what it is?"

"Okay." Ruby sat on her bed underneath.

Once grounded, Weiss gestured to the space next to Ruby. "Mind if I sit here?"

Ruby began peeling back the tape. "Sure thing." The heiress leaped onto the bed and scooted right up next to her.

Once the scythe-wielder had pulled back the flaps, she saw a scroll and a folded-up note sitting inside the box.

"Huh? But I already have a scroll."

"Could I see that for a second?" Weiss was pointing to the piece of paper. Ruby simply nodded in affirmation. While the girl was busy turning the device on, Weiss read the note aloud, "Twenty-four-hundred South Rust Street, Vale City. Isn't that supposed to be in the Southern districts?"

"Dunno." Even though Ruby had been to the main city on more than one occasion, she still didn't know all the ins and outs of the whole place.

Only seconds after the scroll had finished booting up, a message flicked onto the screen:

'Hello there.'
'Suffice to say, I'm not your uncle.'
'I couldn't think of any other way to contact you without drawing the suspicion of the authorities.'

"They could have just asked in person," Ruby commented. Teams SLVR and JSMN went into the city often enough that anyone could just walk up and ask them something if they knew who they were. It's not like the cops were watching them 24/7.

"Well, this seems to be a rather roundabout way of doing things," said Weiss. "Any idea who this is?"

"Not really." All of the messages she had received so far had no accompanying identification. Usually, messages displayed the name of the person who was calling or their respective scroll number. There were ways to get around this, of course, but scrolls usually had a number of systems built in to bypass some of the simpler methods for concealing one's identity.

Either way, Yang didn't seem like the type of person who would do this sort of thing. Neither was her uncle. Any of her friends could have just spoken to her in person, and it was unlikely that Ozpin had access to any outside communication since he was in jail and all. Security was supposed to be tighter for ex-hunters and dangerous criminals, such as that one guy Ruby helped capture the other night. She couldn't remember his name, but he had a cane that could fire off explosive flares.

Despite not knowing who the person on the other end was, Ruby figured she would go through with this. Considering what had happened during the past few weeks, she might as well try to get some answers, even if that meant talking to complete strangers.

She typed into the scroll, "Who are you?"

'Someone who can help.'
'Is there anyone else in the room?'

Ruby turned to face Weiss, who shook her head horizontally. "No," she typed in.

'You're lying.'

Weiss jumped back a bit. "Th-They can see us?"

Ruby leaned forward on the bed, looking out of the window. "Probably." It wasn't all that hard to imagine. Most scrolls had built-in cameras, so it was likely that whoever they were talking to had hacked into the device and was using it to observe them. On the other hand, they could have been watching from somewhere outside, though Ruby couldn't see anyone from this angle.

"Okay," she typed. "there is someone else with me."

'Figures.'
'Anyway, I've got some information you might want.'
'Can't go into specifics cause people might be watching.'
'Go to the address on the note.'
'I'd prefer if you came alone, but I guess your girlfriend can come along if she wants.'
'People are going to find about this sooner or later.'

"What did that man just insinuate?" said Weiss, her voice tense.

'Lol.'
'Anyway, leave your actual scrolls here.'
'Otherwise the authorities will be able to track us down.'
'Also, smash this scroll and dump it somewhere on the way.'
'Catch you later.'

The device crunched in her hands as Ruby tried bending it in half. She then removed her own scroll from her pockets.

"You're actually going through with this?"

"Yeah. We gotta do anything to help Professor Ozpin out, right?"

"I suppose. Still, I'm coming with."

"No need to worry, Weiss, I can handle this myself." She took the note from the heiress's lap.

"Hmph. Well, don't blame me if you get kidnapped or something like that. It's not like I care about you or anything." The heiress looked away for a moment, crossing her arms in front. "Just… come back, okay?"

"No problem, Weiss."

"Dolt," the heiress muttered under her breath. Soon after, her cheeks started to flush. "C-can I hug you, Ruby?"

"Sure thing, why…"

The heiress had latched onto Ruby within a second. The scythe-wielder had struggled to return the gesture as the white-haired girl had her in her tight embrace. Ruby could feel her partner's arms feeling their way all over her back, accepting every inch of her body. Ruby thought nothing of it, except for how tightly Weiss's body clung onto her own. She usually isn't this affectionate. Maybe this is how Zwei feels whenever I bring him into my arms.

Soon, the heiress's arms began making their way down her back, toward the edge of her skirt.

"Weiss, what are you doing?"

After about a second, the heiress seemed to lapse back to attention. Once she realized what she was doing, Weiss jumped right back, her face now fully red. "I-I-I'm sorry! I-I just got carried away is all! Idiot! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She crossed her arms. "Just don't mention this to anyone, okay?"

"Okay. See you later, Weiss!" Ruby got back up and began heading out the door.

Ruby stepped off at the corner of Rust and Harvest, roughly three blocks from where she needed to be. Compared to central Vale, this area was much quieter, though cars and motorcycles still zipped on by. While there were still numerous shops lined on Rust street, most of the buildings only went up to two stories high, with the skyscrapers of the main city only a distant silhouette. Each little shopping outlet had a small lot for cars, much smaller than the gigantic parking structures of the main city. At the edges of each little strip stood a bush carved in a perfect ovular shape.

Soon enough, the girl was approaching the next corner, and the buildings had begun to run flush with the sidewalk, where they would turn to face the streets ahead.

As soon as Ruby passed by a little alleyway going into a back lot for shop employees, she heard a voice come from her left. "Psst! Hey, you!"

Ruby turned to face this new presence, drawing out Crescent Rose. The man in front of her was wearing a gray hoodie and a pair of sunglasses.

He pulled out a folded-up slip of paper. "Someone came by and told me to give this to you." As soon as Ruby accepted the slip the man turned around. "Can't stay much longer."

"Wait! Did you see who it was?"

"I couldn't see who it was. You know those mailbox drop-off things they used to have at the old banks? The person had one of those things on the back of a limo. When he drove by, he gave me your picture and this slip, and then he told me to deliver them to you. I got paid good money for this too. Listen, I've gotta go. Can't stay here for too long. You might want to watch your back while you're at it too. Take care, Red."

Ruby raised her hand as if to hold up the man, but it was unlikely she would get any more answers out of him. Not without doing bad-guy stuff anyway. Ruby leaned back onto one of the walls flanking the alleyway, unfolding the slip of paper.

Along with the picture, which was an older type of photo with a white frame and a blackish-brown square on the back, the note had a map of the surrounding area. A path had been drawn from Ruby's current location to some place a few blocks away.

"1297 West Baker Street," Ruby read off the note. It was obvious that whoever had sent her the scroll through the mail had switched the address in case someone was following her.

The dark-crimson-haired girl quickly memorized the location and began to head off, trying to avoid drawing too much attention to herself. While using her weapon or her semblance would get her to her destination quicker, there was still a chance that it would attract nearby cops, which was the last thing she wanted. Dusting police.

Soon enough, Ruby's destination had come up on her right. It was one of the city's many Jerry Raspberry's ice cream shops, bordering a grassy lot on the corner and a furniture store.

Once Ruby stepped inside, she found the shop mostly empty save for the sole woman working behind the counters. Half of her hair was pink with a few streaks of white while the other half was a dark brown, both curled up inside her hair net. The employee had an unusually fancy white suit concealed underneath her apron, but the girl reasoned it was probably because the woman had a penchant for style.

The woman made an elaborate bow, gesturing to the various flavors of ice cream underneath the glass.

Ruby awkwardly stepped up to the counter, trying to decide among the various flavors. "Uh, I'll have two scoops of strawberry ice cream. In a cone, please."

The woman nodded, and then typed something out on the cash register. Once finished, the woman gestured to the display screen, now showing the listed price.

Ruby began reaching for her pockets, but then remembered that she had left her scroll back at Beacon. Instead, she had pulled out some spare cash she kept with her for whenever something like this happened. The woman smiled and accepted it.

The woman then began working on collecting her treat. Ruby found it a bit odd that the woman didn't ask to confirm her order, but she simply brushed off her concerns.

Once finished, the woman passed the cone to Ruby over the counter.

"Miss," said Ruby, "is there some reason that you don't talk?"

The woman simply tilted her head to the side as if Ruby had asked something completely alien. Without warning, the woman raised her finger up, and then acquired something from her pockets. Another slip of paper. She handed it over to Ruby.

The crimsonette began to open it up, sitting on a nearby counter while occasionally licking at her ice cream.

It read as follows:

Hello there, Ruby Rose,

I do apologize that we've had to go through all this secret agent bullcrap, but you can never be too cautious with these sorts of matters.
Listen, I know you and your friends have been a little bit down ever since you've lost your headmaster, along with one of your teammates. I can help with that.
I've hacked into the government databases and I've got info on Ozpin and Nora's cell numbers. I've gotta say, they've got that information locked up tight. Here they are:

Nora Valkyrie: B924752
Ozpin: C387620

I don't really know how you're going to get them both out. Security's packed at Alpha complex. I'm just good at getting information; I don't do heavy lifting. It's going to be up to you and your ragtag group of misfits to figure just how the hell you're going to get them out of there. You're going to need to act fast too.
Anyway, I think we should keep in touch in case the situation changes, like if Alpha complex switches the cells on us. Next Saturday, go to the address listed on the bottom of this page. Hope to see you soon.

Once finished looking at the letter, Ruby folded it back up and put it in her pocket as she walked outside to finish her ice cream. She'd have to remember to write everything down as soon as she got back to Beacon. She wasn't sure whether this source was trustworthy, but she'd see what her friends would have to say. Especially Julian or Ren, since they seemed to know what they were doing.

"Hey there, little sis."

"Huh?" Ruby briefly turned around to see where the voice had come from.

There was no one there.

Ruby started walking backwards, but then turned back around when she felt sure that no one had been following her.

"Huh, I wonder what that was."