I have a strong feeling I'm gonna get some hate over this chapter. Feel free to hate, just please don't be a dick about it.

Sun couldn't help but feel conflicted, sitting on his bed nursing a glass of the whiskey he stole from Ozpin. Despite the fact that he had no issues with his decision, he still wished it could have gone any other way.

"Nep, I gotta ask you something." The bluenette, sitting next to him with his own glass, didn't even have to look up or hear the question to know what to say, slowly and methodically to get his point across.

"Blake's gonna hate you, but I think you made the right decision. There's nothing else to do. Believe me, I'm not happy with how things went with Weiss, but we have ourselves to think about too."

Sun nodded, not feeling any better but at least knowing his friend had his back after everything that had gone wrong not four hours earlier.

Four hours earlier

To say that the mood inside Team RWBY's dorm was somber was an understatement.

Nora and Ren had come by not long after Qrow had left, both of them looking sadder than any of them had ever seen them. From there it had spiraled out of control.

Weiss was the one who opened the door to let them in, holding onto each other's hands for dear life. Nora was quiet, something that set off the remainder of Team RWBY as odd.

Nora, no matter what the situation, was never quiet. Even when Jaune died, she put aside her sadness to try to cheer up the others. It took Ren and Pyrrha ten minutes of nonstop asking if she was truly alright for her to finally break down.

Ruby took the lead from her bed. "What happened?"

Ren didn't hesitate to tell the whole story. "Ozpin called us to his office this morning to talk about the Arkham Knight. He's making us stay on campus, but something tells me you are stuck here too." No one disagreed. "Guys, the Knight is even worse than we thought."

Weiss interrupted him, remembering the image of Cardin that Qrow had shown them earlier. "How could he possibly get any worse?"

Ren didn't say anything in response, merely pulling four pieces of paper out of his coat. All of them could clearly see their own pictures on the backs of them.

Ruby, Yang, and Blake were out of their beds before Ren even saw them move, each grabbing their own files as Weiss also grabbed hers. They all read over their own files in silence as Nora and Ren merely put their heads down in sadness, knowing what was coming next.

As they all read their files, a sense of dread washed over all of them. The files were complete, filled with their strengths and weaknesses, semblances, and even a list of people they were close to. Seeing Ruby's name on the list, much less seeing her with her own file, made Yang want to obliterate the Arkham Knight once and for all.

Unfortunately, she'd learned from their last encounter. They couldn't stop him. Not on their own, at least.

Nora got her attention again. "That's not all. Look on the back."

They all flipped their files over, and, just like Ren and Nora that morning, they all were completely shocked at the pictures on the back, much less the words over them.

Much to her anger (finally igniting her semblance after keeping everything else suppressed), Yang's word was 'bimbo', clearly saying that she had no brains. On the other hand, based on the last encounter she had with the Knight, she could freely admit that she needed to keep a cooler head.

Ruby glanced at her word, and it was enough to crumple the paper and throw it in the trash can. The Knight was calling her a 'fake', which completely reignited all the fears she had had since she became leader of Team RWBY. The last thing she needed right now was to doubt either her leadership or combat abilities.

Blake didn't think on her word for long, seeing as it was 'traitor'. Literally anyone in the White Fang would call her that if they saw her again, so she didn't let it get to her. If anything, it only made her feel validated: of all the decisions she'd made over the course of her life, leaving the White Fang was the only one she didn't regret.

On the other hand, Weiss's word left her thinking of all the wrong choices she'd made in her life. Believing the arrogant notion that she was the best in Beacon, never once attempting to sympathize with any Faunus, especially the ones that worked for her father, and even the way she treated everyone when they first arrived. 'Heartless'.

Nora cut through their thoughts once again. "According to Ozpin, they can trace one of those pictures back a whole year. The Arkham Knight's been stalking us this whole time."

Somehow, despite the fact that the other three girls all had to calm themselves at the news, Ruby remained calm. "You guys have files like this too?"

"Yeah. Pyrrha and Sun didn't take it well."

Blake perked up at the mention of her boyfriend. "Wait, Sun? He's a target too?"

Ren realized that somehow, they'd forgotten to mention Team SSSN's involvement, so he said, "his entire team has files just like this. We still have no idea why he chose us, but whatever the reason, SSSN is in danger too."

"You know, if you're gonna talk about me, you could check to make sure I'm not actually there."

Though Team RWBY was used to Sun often entering through the window, Nora and Ren were not. They both jumped in shock and almost took out their weapons before they realized who it was.

Sun entered through the window, holding the bottle of whisky he stole from Ozpin in his hand. From the look of it, he hadn't even opened it. He crossed the room, ignoring even Blake, and went straight to the door to open it.

Neptune and Pyrrha stood on the other side, with Neptune having his arm over Pyrrha's shoulders. She'd clearly been crying, but since she'd just come back from the Jaune's grave, that didn't surprise anyone. Weiss's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything.

Both of them entered the room and disconnected, Neptune heading over to Weiss and Pyrrha going to Ruby. Ruby put her hand on her shoulder, trying to offer support, but Weiss rejected the arm that Neptune tried to put around her shoulder.

As Scarlet would summarize later, "it all kicked off".

Neptune quickly figured out why Weiss would reject him. It was obvious with their track record. "Let me guess, Snow Angel. You think that I was trying to get into Pyrrha's pants."

Weiss didn't move, but Pyrrha and Sun clearly started paying more attention to their conversation. The others seemed to try to ignore it, but it quickly became too much to ignore. Weiss nodded.

Neptune laughed, but it was a darker laugh than normal. It surprised everyone that he could even make the noise. "You've got to be kidding me. How low is your opinion of me, Weiss? Be honest. Cause if you honestly think that I'd go so far as to try to seduce my friend not only while I'm dating you, but while she's grieving for the love of her life, you really don't think much of me at all, huh?!"

The entire time he was ranting, his voice had gotten louder and louder until he was shouting at the end. Sun came behind him and said "Nep, calm down", he was too angry to let it go.

"If you're gonna get self-righteous about how much you've changed, you can't ignore how much I've changed!"

"Oh really, Neptune, enlighten me on your extraordinary changes!"

"When was the last time I flirted with another girl?!"

Weiss was about to retort, when she actually started to think about it. Now that she reflected, Neptune had a point: he hadn't flirted with anyone else in front of her the entire year. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, she wasn't thinking clearly, and responded "apparently five minutes ago!"

Surprisingly, this was when Pyrrha got involved, rather heatedly. "Neptune didn't flirt with me. He was being a caring friend. Something you've apparently forgotten how to do."

Weiss looked gobsmacked at Pyrrha siding with Neptune, believing that he must have flirted with her to get that close to her, but also at the harsh tone in her voice. Pyrrha almost never insulted anyone, much less that strongly.

Neptune gave a scoff at her reaction. "Surprisingly enough, I can be kind to others without wanting to fuck them."

After dropping off the files back in his room, Neptune couldn't handle the indoors. Even if he wasn't claustrophobic, there were some situations where you just needed fresh air, and this was one of them. Ozpin never said they couldn't go outside, just off campus, so soon enough he was walking though Beacon's courtyard.

He still couldn't handle everything he'd heard. For some reason, he and his team were being targeted by one of the strongest villains Remnant had ever faced. On top of that, he had been stalked for almost a whole year by said villain. Even worse, as though it could get any worse, the Knight had called him a 'pretender', which could only mean one thing.

The Knight knew him enough to know about his social anxiety.

The only two people he'd ever told about that, besides his team, were Weiss and Jaune. One was dead, and the other couldn't figure it out for almost a whole year, so the fact that the Knight knew scared him more than anything else.

His feet seemed to move on their own. He hadn't had a plan for when he got outside, just that he wanted out. So when he suddenly found himself clearly heading towards the grave, he wasn't truly surprised. It was one of the only landmarks on campus.

Even if he didn't come here often, he still visited the grave every now and then. Jaune was his friend, after all. He helped him conquer his anxiety the night of the dance and score the girl that had changed him in so many positive ways. Thanks to Jaune, the player he used to be was gone, replaced by someone he actually respected.

He also couldn't be surprised that Pyrrha was sobbing over the grave. Aside from him, only Ruby and Jaune's team really visited, but Pyrrha visited almost every day now. Despite that, he still was drawn to the grave, whether to comfort her or give himself a friend he didn't know.

He walked until he was a fair distance away. The old Neptune would've checked out her ass while it was up like that, but now Neptune was staring at the back of her head, wondering what to say. Finally, he remembered Jaune's advice. Just talk to her.

"He loved you, you know."

That hadn't been what he was hoping would come out of his mouth.

Pyrrha whipped her head back, trying to dry her eyes with her sleeve, but stopped when she saw who it was. They may not have been close, but they knew each other enough to not put up appearances. Instead, she spoke in a gravely voice, cracking from crying. "What was that supposed to mean?"

It took everything in Neptune not to chuckle. Despite the tense situation, he couldn't help but think that it would take a lot to prove someone loved her. It took more than wearing a dress, at least. "I meant it literally. He loved you, whether he knew it or not."

Pyrrha didn't know what to say to that, so she just turned back towards the stone. Neptune took the opportunity to walk up to the stone and crouch next to her.

"I still remember the night of the dance." She looked up at him, wanting to hear the story. "I walked up to the balcony to get away from Weiss and you passed me. You looked like you were on the verge of tears."

"You're the kind of guy I wish I was here with."

"I made some kind of lame joke about ballroom dancing and he got pissed beyond all belief. I never saw him angry before or after that. He really hated my guts for turning Weiss down."

"Do you even care about the girls you're hitting on? How they feel about you?"

"When I told him that I couldn't dance, and how hard it was to act so cool all the time, he didn't even flinch. It's like all hatred in his body disappeared. He gave me the advice I needed to get my head out of my ass and talk to Weiss, and the rest is history."

"No pickup lines, no suave moves, just be yourself. I've been told that's the way to go."

"It didn't take much to put the pieces together and realize that he wasn't completely talking to me. He was talking to himself too. We fist bump and I leave, and the next thing I know he's strolling in, wearing a dress, heading straight for you like a man on a mission."

"Hey, an Arc never goes back on his word. Now, do you want to stand there and laugh at me, or do you want to dance?"

"The fact that everyone would think of him as nothing but a joke for wearing that dress didn't even faze him. He really just didn't care about what other people thought about him as long as he made you happy. I could never be that brave. And from what I've heard, that wasn't the only time he was brave for you."

"God damnit, run!"

Neptune finally looked her in the eyes, and almost wished he hadn't. She wasn't even trying to hide the tears that were pouring out of her eyes. Despite how much he hated it, though, he needed to finish.

"He loved you, Pyrrha. Even if he never said it or knew it himself, he really did."

At that point, Pyrrha couldn't take anymore and hugged him. She always asked herself if Jaune had ever had any feelings for her, but was too scared to ask anyone else out of fear that the answer would be no. Now, though, if Neptune was telling the truth, then it was obvious how much he cared.

Neptune hesitated for a moment before returning the hug, letting Pyrrha cry on his shoulder. He could barely hold it together himself when he heard her saying "it's not fair" over and over again. Instead, he gave his honest reply.

"No. It's not fair at all."

Whether it was ten seconds or ten minutes they couldn't tell. Neptune stayed there with his arms around her until she finally stopped crying, putting on the mask of the strong warrior that she needed to be for her team. Even with the tear streaks that she didn't bother to get rid of, she still looked fiercer than Neptune had ever seen her.

It made him smile wider than he had in a while. "There's the Pyrrha we all know. Now come on. We've got three teams waiting for us."

Pyrrha got confused for a moment before she realized he must have been talking about Team RWBY as well as their own teams. Mustering up the resolve to stand, she began the walk to the dorms before Neptune put his arm around her shoulder. Recognizing the gesture as a friendly one, Pyrrha leaned into him as they walked back to the dorms.

"I can be somebody's friend without wanting to sleep with them, Weiss. I'm tired of having to prove that to you."

That was a breakup if Sun had ever heard one. Unfortunately, as if to make everything worse, Nora's scroll went off right at that moment.

Giving a sheepish smile to everyone as they turned to her, she pulled out her scroll to shut it off when she got a look at the caller ID. Instantly, her blood turned to ice.

Jaune Arc was calling her.

Ten minutes ago

Still clad in his Arkham Knight uniform without the helmet, Jaune listened intently to the bug in the gravestone as Pyrrha cried with Neptune. There were many interesting developments from Neptune's little speech, but there was one thing that Jaune took from it.

Neptune was angry. Very angry.

That was something he could use. Roman would understand if they had to bump up their plans a little bit.

He sent a short message to the thief, telling him to meet, and almost immediately there was a knock at Jaune's door. Roman didn't wait for a response before entering, shutting the door behind him. "What do you need, Jaune? If it's about the job tonight, I was literally just getting ready for it."

Jaune turned around to face him, natural smile on his face. "I have no doubt, Roman. However, the job has changed."

Roman looked intrigued, and merely said "explain that sentence."

Jaune thought his words over for just a second to make sure his point got across before speaking. "I'm sure you remember that we had two jobs planned? I want you to combine them into one."

Roman chuckled. "What made you finally change your mind? I've been voting for that this whole time, but you always said that we should get the robots separately. Why include them both?"

Jaune also chuckled, but this one was much darker than Roman's. "It looks like we might be able to get an extra helper. Neptune Vasilias."

Roman only looked confused, seeing as he recognized the name. "Isn't that one of your targets? Why would he help you?"

He gave Roman a knowing glance. "It won't be voluntary."

"Ah. Got it."

Jaune pulled out his scroll as Roman started to leave the room. Having a sudden idea, he called out again. "Actually, Roman, why don't you listen in? I have the feeling that this is going to be something you won't wanna miss."

Roman chuckled, making sure the door was locked before walking back to Jaune. "I thought you'd never ask."

Nora looked up, fear and trepidation on her face. She immediately answered the call, only slightly disappointed to discover that the call was audio only. "Jaune?!"

If she didn't have everyone's attention, she got it then. Unfortunately, the moment of hope was crushed into fear as she heard a familiar voice on the other end, but not the one she was hoping for.

"Hello, Nora."

The Arkham Knight was calling her. From Jaune's scroll. She didn't even try to hide the terror from her face as the others clearly heard the voice.

"Speechless? I'm shocked. I expected more from you."

Before Nora could even reply, Yang yanked the scroll from her hand, eyes redder than anyone, even Ruby, had even seen them. Nora only whimpered, prompting Ren to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She collapsed into his side, all life gone from her body.

Yang, meanwhile, was thinking of nothing except the fact that Ruby was one of this maniac's targets. "What the fuck do you want from us?!"

The Knight only chuckled, something that made her flashback to the docks for only a moment. "Hello to you too, Yang. If it's any consolation, it is very good to hear your voice again."

Yang only paused for a moment before getting even angrier. "What do you mean again? Who are you?!"

He chuckled again, and this time it took everything in her to not crush the scroll in her hand. Pure condescension was all it was. "Now now, Yang, that's part of the game. However, if you're willing to forget about that, then this could end right now."

One sideways glance at Ruby was all it took for her to immediately want him to go on. "What do you mean this could end?"

"It's very simple." It was like he was talking to a third grader. 'Bimbo' immediately went through her head. "All I want is the remains of Team JNPR. Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, and Pyrrha Nikos. If those three are at the docks at 7:00 tonight, I will leave you all alone. For all intents and purposes, I will completely disappear."

Yang went silent.

"I understand that this is a tough decision, so it's best that you make it quickly. Oh, and make sure Nora gets her scroll back to call me when the time comes. It will be delightful to hear the disappointment in her voice when it isn't her fearless leader that answers."

With his final piece said, The Arkham Knight hung up the scroll.

Roman was laughing hysterically. Hearing the blonde sound as angry as she did was hilarious to him, especially when he knew exactly why she was angry. She was terrified for Little Red, and it showed.

Jaune, on the other hand, set down the scroll with a small smile on his face. He knew exactly what would happen in the next few minutes, so now all that was left to do was call back at 7:00 and confirm everything.

In the meantime, however, he had another job to worry about. "Whenever you stop laughing like the studio audience of a sitcom, it's time for the biggest job ever pulled in Remnant. You ready to make history, Roman?"

Roman wiped a tear from his eye before standing up and grabbing his cane. "You bet I am."

With the reassurance of the thief, Jaune stood up, grabbed Roman by the shoulders, and teleported, leaving the room empty except for a large cloud of smoke.

At the same time, Neo smirked before she seemed to break apart where she sat on the couch, leaving the Safe House completely empty.

Meanwhile, outside a remote base in Atlas, a cloud of smoke appeared in a dense forest as an airship approached overhead containing three special individuals.

The first was General James Ironwood. Most would consider him to be the biggest threat to the operation, but in this case, he was being used as nothing more than a statement.

The second was Specialist Winter Schnee, oldest child of the current Schnee generation. Normally, that name brought either respect or absolute hatred. Now, it was a means to an end.

The third and final person that actually mattered was Penny Polendina. Atlas's secret weapon in the form of an innocent teenage girl.

The three individuals in the smoke, meanwhile, smirked at each other as the airship touched the ground. Over the noise of the engines, the Arkham Knight's voice rang out.

"Now!"

With the simple command, the three thieves sprinted towards the airship, ready to do everything in their power to achieve their objectives.

Nothing would stand in their way.