RWBY: Light Extinguished

Chapter 3

oxoxoxo

Team EMAD could only look in shock between their leader and the woman who had just barged into their room. All three were clearly trying to come up with something to say, but Maria was the one who broke the silence. "What... What are you doing here?" she stammered.

Julia rolled her eyes at her sister's words. "And here I thought you might be glad to see your family."

"Glad to see you?" Maria blurted. "You and dad didn't exactly leave me on a pleasant note!"

"Because you abandoned your family, Maria!"

"Ahem!"

Both sisters turned to see it was Alison who had spoken. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Julia looked from Alison to Maria and back. "You never even told them about me?"

"I did mention I had a sister." Maria replied.

Julia pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. When she looked back up, there was more than a hint of annoyance in her eyes. "Lieutenant General Julia Gaia of the Atlas Armed Forces. You must be Maria's subordinates."

"My team." Maria corrected.

"I'm sorry?" Julia replied.

"I said they're my team. I might lead them, but they don't just unquestioningly follow." Maria said.

"And just look where that got you." Said Julia, pointing out her sister's injured leg.

Maria was flabbergasted, stunned into silence as she tried to come up with a response. "You blame my team for my injury?"

"Just as a team's failings can be laid at the feet of its leader, a leader's failings can also be blamed on her team." Said the general.

"You think they did this to me?" Maria blurted out in shock.

"Just who do you think you are?" Thatch demanded, putting himself between Julia and Maria.

Bad idea. Julia barely acknowledged his presence, instead shoving the renegade to the floor and marching right up to Maria. "Control your subordinates, sister. Don't let them control you."

"They follow me with the utmost loyalty, dearest sister." Maria spat back. "They stood up to you for me, didn't they?"

"But they also allowed that to happen to you." Julia rebutted, gesturing to Maria's still healing leg. Maria merely snarled at her sister at that comment. "You should have just listened to dad, Maria. Now look where you are." The lieutenant shook her head before turning back to the door. "I came here with General Ironwood to see just what happened to you here, and I must say, I'm not impressed." With that, Julia strode out the door and slammed it behind her.

Alison was the first to Maria's side when the door shut. "Are you okay?"

Maria was still seething in rage, but managed to put most of it aside for a venom filled "I'm fine." To her partner.

"You did mention you had a sister before." Thatch grumbled as he rose from the ground.

"And I meant it when I said I hated her..." the centurion growled. "Now you see why."

"It is times like this that I'm glad my brother and I get along well." Francois muttered.

"What happened between the two of you?" Alison enquired, approaching her partner slowly, still wary of her anger.

Maria let out a sigh and turned to look each of her teammates in the eye, one by one. "I'd really rather not talk about it right now. Can I tell you later?" Her teammates shared a glance for what felt like an hour, but soon turned to her and gave a collective nod, making Maria sigh again in relief. "Thank you."

The rest of the night was spent in silence, not a word spoken from any of the hunters as they settled in to sleep that night, none of them quite lying still.

oxoxoxo

The next morning, after another dual wakeup call from both Maria and Ben, Team EMAD sat in the classroom of Professor Curtis Marlow, other teams filing in one by one and taking their seats as they waited for the red coated professor to arrive. Team VOAJ was among those exchange students who were joining this class, and when they entered, Maria beckoned them to join them, something the Mistral team gladly did, Violet taking her seat next to Maria. Onyx took his seat at the far end of his team, Alex on one side, but no seat on the other. Grasped in his hand was a slip of paper detailing their classes while at Beacon, and one of the classes he couldn't take his eyes off was Grimm Studies with Professor E Fantine. Just the professor he was looking for.

Onyx's concentration was broken, however, when an entire chattering class was suddenly silent. The black haired brawler looked up to the front of the class to see a man dressed in a black suit and cape enter the room, a bone white mask covering half of his face. "Good morning, students." He said in an oily voice. "For those of you who have joined us from outside of Beacon, allow me to introduce myself. I am Professor Erik Fantine, and some of you will be taking classes with me later on."

Hands immediately went up from across the classroom, Fantine pointing out one girl from the front row, a girl in Beacon's uniform with a red hooded cape fastened to her shoulders. "Professor Fantine, where's Professor Marlow? He isn't usually late for class, is something wrong?"

Fantine sighed and looked down, regret flashing across his features for a moment before he looked back up. "That's what I was getting to, Miss Rose. Unfortunately, Professor Marlow will not be returning to Beacon this semester. I know many of you are surprised and wondering where he has gone, but that is not my question to answer. Many of you are also likely wondering if I will be taking his place as World Cultures professor. To you I can answer, that no, I am not. We've brought in someone new for that." With those words, Fantine gestured to the door to the classroom where a woman stepped in.

She was tall and thin, a long sleeved, floor length black dress covering her body, and a black, feathered cape running down the length of her back. Her face was intimidating, yet elegant in its own way, high cheekbones but a mouth that looked like it never smiled, and a pair of green eyes that looked coldly over the class and a long head of black hair that reached the nape of her neck. "Children," Fantine resumed "This is professor Elaine Ravencroft. She will be taking professor Marlow's place. Treat her as you would treat me, after all, she is a member of my team."

"Thank you, Erik." Ravencroft said, looking to Erik, her expression still perfectly neutral. The phantom nodded and walked out. Ravencroft looked over her class. "Now some of you may not be pleased with me taking Professor Marlow's place, but I assure you I am perfectly capable. I've been to all four kingdoms in my time as a huntress, and I've learned much from each one, enough to properly instruct all of you on their cultures and values. Now, shall we begin." Not a word was spoken from the class. "Good."

As Ravencroft continued to speak, students took notes on what she said. One, however, didn't write a thing. Ben Aparte simply looked down to the new professor, desperately wracking his brain to try and recall who she was. He knew he had either seen her before or at least heard her voice somewhere. There could be no confusing her cold, uncaring voice for anyone else, but he had no idea who she was. He would have to find out after class.

Meanwhile, in another part of the class, another student was wondering something completely different. Jaune Arc could not help but wonder what had happened to Professor Marlow. The man had admitted to being on his father's team, but he had so many more questions he needed to ask him, especially now that his place at Beacon had been finalized. He wanted to know more about his father and the adventures he had as a hunter. He knew his father was a hero, but that wasn't enough for him, and now the last man to serve with him seemed to be out of his reach.

oxoxoxo

The office of Curtis Marlow had been untouched ever since he had left. It should have been cleared out. After all, the professor who formerly resided there was now gone, and it would eventually need to be used again, so why hadn't it been even opened?

The simple reason was that after what Marlow had gone through, no one had the heart to disturb what had once been his, choosing instead to leave it be as it was. Today, however, that would all change.

Erik Fantine stood outside the door to the office, a set of keys Marlow had given him clutched in one hand. Even he was hesitant about what he was about to do, even after Marlow himself had asked him to, the man reduced to a shell of his former self by the events leading to his arrest. The man had asked him one seemingly simple task, but even beginning it took what felt like an eternity.

It was with one final, deep breath that the phantom strode toward the door and with one hand turned the knob and pulled it open.

Marlow's office was dark, the lights having been off since he left, and when Fantine flicked the light switch, the first thing he noticed was the fine layer of dust that coated everything in the room. The red walls and the Grimm heads and weapons adorning them were coated with dust, as was Marlow's desk, and, as promised, the ring of keys sitting on the desk. Erik curiously approached and picked up the ring of keys. As his former colleague had promised, one had been singled out on its own separate ring, clearly differentiated from the rest.

The phantom took the key and knelt down to the bottom drawer of Marlow's desk. As he inserted the key into the lock, he paused, wondering just what was in the drawer. All Marlow had said was that it was "Jaune's Inheritance." That could mean anything from a previously unread will to money the boy was supposed to receive. Erik sighed at his former colleague's mysterious nature as he turned the key in the lock and pulled open the drawer, ready for anything.

What he found was certainly not what he had expected. Lying in the drawer were two objects. The first, an envelope marked Jaune Arc, and the second... it was something else, the light it emitted shining out from its compartment as though it were positively ecstatic to be free as it illuminated the entire dusty room. No matter how bright the light, however, all Erik could do was stare at it in wonder. Marlow kept this a secret for so long. Why?

Perhaps the answers were in Marlow's letter. Thinking he might find an explanation there, Fantine pulled the letter out of the drawer and held it up to his face. He reached out to open it, but before he could, the thought of what he was about to do flashed through him. This was another man's inheritance. In good conscience, he couldn't possibly open this letter and read it before Jaune did. Resolving not to open the envelope, Erik instead placed the letter back next to the other object.

The phantom sighed. He should probably go, there was another class he had to teach today and he could scarcely do it from here. For some reason, however, he just couldn't move from where he sat. It was odd. He'd never had any problems with sentiment before now, what was it about this particular moment that made him not want to move? It just seemed as though there were an aura of confidence and power emerging from the drawer that just put him in awe. It made him think, just how long had Marlow been keeping this a secret? Since Ognoc? And why?

These questions running through his mind, Fantine was just unable to look away from the drawer's contents.

"And here I thought no one went in here anymore."

Fantine's head shot up from the drawer as he slammed it shut. Standing in the door to the office, the fading light of the evening shining behind him, was Professor Ozpin.

"Ozpin, sir, I didn't hear you approach." Fantine stammered. "Is something the matter?"

"You could say that." Ozpin replied. "It's rather odd that one of my teachers, one who has never missed a day of work in his entire career, would suddenly vanish without a trace for the entire day."

"What do you mean, the entire day?" Fantine asked, genuinely confused. "I've only been here for a few minutes."

"Really now?" Ozpin asked, giving the phantom a sceptical look. "Because it's currently four o'clock, and no one has seen you since this morning when you introduced Miss Ravencroft to her new class."

The full weight of what the headmaster said hit Fantine like a sack of bricks. He had spent hours kneeling before Marlow's desk, looking over Jaune's inheritance while the day went on and he didn't even realize it. He looked up at Ozpin and back down at the drawer's content's, the headmaster following his eyes, intrigued. "What is that in there?"

Fantine was about to respond when Ozpin approached, not even waiting for the phantom to speak. The green clad headmaster's eyes widened as he looked at the drawer's contents. "Is this what I think it is?"

Fantine sighed. "Yes sir. Evidently, Curtis kept it all these years."

Ozpin nodded grimly. "What will we do with it?"

Erik closed his eyes and shut the drawer before rising to his feet to join Ozpin. "Curtis asked me to give it to Jaune. He called me from the penitentiary and told me it was his inheritance, and that he deserved to have it. He wants me to give it to Jaune on the anniversary of his father's death, in just a few days."

"I see." Ozpin said, looking form the now closed drawer to his colleague. "What will you do?"

"Give it to him, of course." Fantine replied. "Marlow was right, he deserves it."

"Good." The headmaster said, placing a hand on Fantine's shoulder. "Whatever Curtis may have done recently, this is something he has chosen to do right."

"Thank you sir." Fantine said, nodding to Ozpin.

"And now that we've established what you were doing today, there's something I need to ask of you." Ozpin said, gesturing toward the door. The two of them walked out of Marlow's office as Ozpin continued. "After Miss Ravencroft's class, one of the exchange students asked for you. Elaine directed him to me, and I told him to wait outside your office while I fetched you. He didn't however, tell me what he wanted to talk to you about, I thought you might know. Does the name 'Onyx Blanch' mean anything to you?"

Fantine was silent as he thought about it. "The last name sounds a little familiar, but I've never met this boy before."

"Strange." Ozpin muttered. "He was quite insistent on seeing you, specifically."

The two soon reached the door to Fantine's office, where Onyx was waiting. Looked over the black haired youth, the phantom tried to identify just where he knew him from, but failed to recognize him in the least. Although, there was something familiar in those blue eyes of his...

"Mister Blanch," said Ozpin, gesturing to Fantine. "This is Professor Erik Fantine, I believe you wanted to see him?"

"Yes sir." Said Onyx.

"Might I ask why you asked for me?" Erik enquired. "Very few students wish to see me while in class, let alone after."

"And you already missed you class with him, Erik." Ozpin quipped.

"Thank you for the reminder, sir." Fantine muttered. "The question still stands, boy. What is it you require?"

"I'd like to ask you about a book that I heard you had." Onyx said.

"Really now?" said Fantine "And just what book is that? Are you a fan of the dramatic arts? Or perhaps trying to learn a little more about certain species of Grimm?"

"Uh, no sir, neither of those." The boy said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Then what is it, may I ask?"

Onyx took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm looking for information on something called 'The Abyss.'"

"Where did you hear that name?" Fantine demanded, the immediate area suddenly growing colder.

"I-I just heard it somewhere and was told you had a book on it" Onyx stammered "Why, what is it?"

"Tell me where you heard that name, right now." Erik demanded, the halls of Beacon growing darker as well as colder, Onyx and Ozpin able to see their frozen breath as an icy, blue light began to fill the area.

"I just heard it-"

"Where?!" Erik demanded, his voice echoing across the hallway.

"A-a man I was hunting dropped a paper that mentioned it." The boy blurted.

Fantine was silent as the hall slowly returned to normal, light and heat gradually returning. Erik turned and gave a grim look to Ozpin, who simply gave a nod and stepped in front of him, pushing the phantom aside with a gentle hand. "Young man, what do you know about this man you were hunting?"

Onyx hesitated before responding. "Nothing, sir. He's just a criminal I was tasked to hunt down. When he dropped the note, I thought it might help me track him down."

"Listen to me and listen well, boy. What I'm about to tell you will save you a great deal of trouble, as well as your life." Fantine said. "Walk away, right now. Abandon this search, and forget you ever heard of the Abyss. It will only end badly if you continue."

"But sir, I-"

"Now, boy. Leave."

Onyx looked like he might say more, but the look in Fantine's eyes told him that might be a bad idea. The two professors watched as the youth backed away slowly, before turning to walk off. Once they were sure he was out of earshot, Fantine turned to Ozpin. "How did he know about my book?"

"There must have been a record of when you took it off the shelves of the library when the Council banned all books on The Abyss." Ozpin said.

"I thought I erased that."

"Evidently it didn't work. We'll ensure it does now."

"What about the man he said he was hunting?" said Fantine "If someone is working in that hellhole, they might be trouble."

Ozpin seemed to consider this, staying completely silent as he leaned on his cane. "We may need to lead an expedition."

"If so, sir," Erik replied. "Allow me to lead it. You already know my qualifications."

"This is true, Erik." Ozpin mused. "I will consider it. Should the expedition be proven necessary, I will turn its command over to you."

Erik gave a slight bow. "Thank you sir."

"Do not thank me, Erik." Ozpin said "We both know I may have just condemned you to death."

oxoxoxo

Class had ended, meaning Teams RWBY and EMAD had an investigation to begin. Team RWBY had assembled in their dorm room, each one donning a less conspicuous outfit than their usual hunter garb. Ruby wore a red skirt and grey long sleeved shirt with a black corset and her trademark red cape, a pair of black stockings and her usual red boots on her legs. Weiss had chosen a white and black businesslike dress and jacket and a pair of long, white boots up to her knees. Blake went with a pair of black skinny jeans and a white buttonup shirt with a bare midriff. Yang, finally, apparently not understanding the meaning of the word inconspicuous, had chosen a black and white skin tight suit and black boots. When Weiss had told her it was a bad idea, Yang had merely responded with 'relax, I know what I'm doing.'

The girls were about to begin finalizing their plans for the evening, when a knock at the door signalled that their guests had rushed over to the door and hauled it open, revealing the uninjured members of Team EMAD behind it. "Hey guys!" The young reaper exclaimed. "You ready for tonight?"

"Ruby!" Weiss hissed. "It's not a secret mission of the whole school hears about it!"

"Oh! Sorry..." Ruby muttered, inviting the other team in. "But seriously," she said, closing the door behind them. "Are you guys ready?"

"What?" asked Thatch, gesturing to himself and his teammates. "We don't look ready to you?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right." Said Francois. "We've all got our weapons on us, and as much extra ammunition as we can carry without arousing suspicion, and if my lapel camera and Alison's necklace camera are working, then Maria can see all of this on her scroll right now."

"It's still working, Francois." Came Maria's voice from the speakers on the nobleman's lapel. "Once you leave Beacon, we'll switch from the speakers to the earpieces."

"Are you guys sure you want to join us?" Blake asked. "This is more than a little risky."

"Believe me," said Alison "We're ready for this."

"Well, they might be," said Yang, gesturing to Thatch and Francois "But I don't think you are."

"What do you mean?" Asked Alison.

"Look at yourself, you're still in your combat robes and your Zhua sticks out like a sore thumb." Yang pointed out.

Alison didn't say anything. She merely smirked and hit her staff twice against the ground. The claw end instantly retracted and the shaft collapsed telescopically until the artist was holding a simple black sphere.

"Okay, that's something," Yang acquiesced "But there's still the matter of your outfit."

As much as Alison hated to admit it, Yang was right. Thatch and Francois had both changed. The nobleman wore a long, blue coat, buttoned up at the front, his metal breastplate hidden beneath it, his sword buckled to his waist, and his usual wide brimmed hat swapped out for a fedora. The renegade, on the other hand, wore a more formal looking trenchcoat instead of his usual greatcoat. His swords were fastened to his waist and his trademark hat was left in their dorm.

"Come on, I have just the thing." Yang said, dragging Alison to the team's bathroom.

"Wait," came Maria's voice "Turn off my camera before you do that!"

"Oops, sorry." Said Yang, taking off Alison's necklace camera and throwing it to Thatch, the renegade catching it and muttering something about Yang overreacting.

It didn't take long for Yang to emerge with Alison, and when she did, Thatch's former complaint died in his throat. The artist was dressed in a green version of the outfit Ruby wore, with a slightly longer green skirt, a grey shirt black corset and a longer, green version of Ruby's skirt that covered her down just past her knees. She looked a little nervous, but the looks form her friends and teammates seemed to quell those nerves. "How do I look?" she tentatively asked.

"You look great." Thatch answered.

"Vraiment." Francois added with a nod of his head.

Alison smiled and turned to Yang. "Where did you get this?"

"Eh, I have my sources." The blonde responded. Alison looked like she was about to respond, but Yang cut her off. "So, everyone know what they're doing?"

Weiss began the explanation of the plan. "Ruby and I will head to the CCT to check the Schnee records for any other dust robberies or inconsistency. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members." Said Blake. "If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town who typically knows everything going on in Vale." Said Yang. "Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard."

"I've made a contact in Vale who hears things every so often." Francois said. "I'll pay him a visit and see what he knows."

"Great!" Said Ruby. "Alison, you and Thatch can go with Yang. It's better to have some help on that side of town." The artist and renegade nodded in approval and moved to stand by the brawler. "Alright, we'll meet up tonight by Yang to go over what we found. Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" said a voice from the window. The two teams jumped back in surprise when they saw Sun hanging by his tail from a tree outside the window.

"How did you get up there?" Asked Yang.

"Oh, it's easy." The monkey responded. "I do it all the time!"

"You do what!? Weiss demanded.

"I climb trees all the time." Sun clarified, not wanting to further anger the heiress. Weiss still glared at him. "So," Sun continued, jumping in the window. "Are we finally getting back at hat Torchwick guy?"

"WE are going to investigate the situation." Blake explained "As a team."

"What about them?" Sun asked, pointing at Alison, Francois and Thatch.

"Sorry Sun," said Ruby "We don't want to get too many friends involved."

Sun scoffed. "Please, that's dumb. You should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune." He said, gesturing out the window.

Team RWBY looked out the window to find the blue haired boy in question clinging for dear life to the edge of the building. "Sup?" He said, confidently.

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked.

"I have my ways?" He replied, smoothly. His facade soon dropped, however. "Seriously though, can I come in? We're like, really high up right now."

After pulling Neptune through the window and Thatch demanding to know just how crazy Sun really was, Ruby re-adjusted the plan to fit its new members. "Alright, Sun, you can go with Blake, and Neptune, you can go with Francois since he doesn't have a partner. Everyone good?"

"Actually, Ruby, why don't you go with Yang?" Weiss said, somewhat awkwardly. "After all, she is your sister."

"Oh, but of course not." Francois said with a chuckle. "Ruby should stay with you. After all, Yang has more than enough people already, and someone needs to go with you."

"Exactly!" Ruby said. "Come on Weiss!" With that, Ruby grabbed Weiss by the back of her coat and dragged her off, the heiress trying feebly to escape at first, but eventually resigning herself to her fate.

"I have one question." Thatch said after Ruby and Weiss left "Those two can get to the CCT with a short walk, but how are we going to get to the shady side of town?"

"Oh, mon ami, don't you worry." Francois said, patting his partner on the back. "I have a plan." With those words, the nobleman led his companions out of the dorm rooms and onto the Beacon grounds. Outside, the sun was just beginning to touch the horizon, bathing the grounds in a slight orange tint as more and more students began to turn in for the night. One student, however, was seeking a certain member of Team EMAD.

"Francois!" The nobleman turned in the direction of the voice to see Velvet running towards him.

"Velvet, mon cherie." Francois said, catching the faunus in a close embrace. He was about to say something poetic, but before he could speak, he noticed the look in her eyes. "Is something the matter?"

"Francois, I've been given a mission with my new team." Velvet said, pausing for a moment before she continued. "It's an away mission, and I leave tonight."

The nobleman didn't respond at first, his mind trying to process just what she had said. "When do you leave?"

"In two hours." The bunny faunus admitted. "I just wanted to see you before I go to make final preparations with my team."

"You don't have time to perhaps, get a coffee with me first?" Francois asked, his eyes never leaving hers.

Velvet shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. Coco told me I could say goodbye, but that I was needed for final preparations with my team soon."

Thatch watched the couple talk for a short while before turning to the others. "Let's give them a bit of space." He said, gesturing away from Francois and Velvet. The other teams nodded and stepped away from the couple.

Francois saw this and made a mental note to thank his partner, something he never thought he'd do in his life. "I'm glad you came to see me."

"So am I..." Velvet said, somewhat awkwardly.

The two of them stood in silence, the slowly setting sun bathing them in a bright orange light. The view from Beacon at sunset may have been amazing, but at the moment, all the couple could focus on was the eyes of the other. No words passed between them, their eyes saying everything for them. As one, they both began to lean in towards each other, eyes closing as they grew closer until finally their lips met. The kiss didn't last long, but it conveyed everything it needed to. Neither one would fall, so long as they had the other to return to.

When the couple separated, their eyes opened and met once again. Velvet was the first to break the silence. "I should go. My team will be waiting for me."

"I will be here when you return, mon cherie." Francois replied.

"You never did tell me what that means."

"Je m'excuse." The nobleman said. "I will tell you when you return."

Velvet gave him a coy smile. "I really should go. And when I get back, I'm holding you to that." With that, the faunus planted a kiss on his cheek and broke the embrace, walking to her dorm with a spring in her step.

Francois watched her leave as his friends stepped into place behind him. Thatch put a hand around his partner's shoulder. "Nice work Noble Boy." He said.

"I don't need you teasing me right now, mon ami." Francois responded, turning to face the others. "After all, we've got a mission of our own." With that, the group resumed walking, Francois leading them to the student parking garage. "After our last, shall we say, excursion into Vale, my parents contacted me, and I may have made the joke that after walking all around Vale that my feet hurt. Apparently, they did not see it as a joke." Leading them into the building, the group found that it was full of what appeared to be storage units, some small, but some large enough to make people wonder just what kind of vehicles some students owned. "I was called down here to accept a package, but was un petit peu confused, since I did not order anything." The nobleman led them to one of the smaller rooms, and pulled a key out of his coat pocket. Unlocking the door, he threw it open, the lights inside illuminating the contents of the room. "Apparently, my family sent me these."

Inside the room was a pair of gleaming, streamlined motorcycles, both painted silver with blue accents and polished to a shine. Emblazoned on the bikes were the words 'SDC Stallion.' Each one looked just the right size to hold two riders, but not much else. "A note was placed on one of them." said Francois "It said that 'two should be enough for my team.'"

"Francois," said Maria "From now on, you tell me when you get a delivery this amazing."

"I apologize, fearless leader," Francois said, completely unapologetic. "How would you have ridden one on your leg?" Maria didn't respond for a while. "I rest my case."

"Yes, well, you forgot to turn your camera off when you spoke to Velvet." Francois was silent as his face reddened.

Thatch was the first one to approach one of the bikes, an ear to ear grin on his face. "Noble Boy, I suddenly have a whole new respect for you and your family."

"No you don't" Francois countered.

"Respect or not," Said Yang "It's time to saddle up. My bike's also parked here. I'll grab that and meet the four of you downstairs. "She said, gesturing to Thatch, Alison, Francois and Neptune. "Blake, Sun, You two should probably not make too much noise on the way in. You don't want to attract too much attention."

Blake nodded, but Sun looked crushed as he gazed longingly at the bikes. He opened his mouth to speak, but Blake covered it quickly. "Understood." The cat faunus said. "We'll head down to the White Fang meeting and meet up with you afterward."

There was a collective nod and the hunters all went their separate ways, Yang going to collect her bike, Blake and Sun, who gave one last fleeting look to the Stallions, leaving for the White Fang meeting, and Francois, Neptune, Alison and Thatch getting on the Stallions.

"You do know how to drive one of these, right?" asked Francois, putting on a silver helmet and climbing on his bike, Neptune getting on behind him.

Thatch donned his own helmet and climbed on the other bike. "I've piloted a similar sized airship with similar controls. This shouldn't be too bad." Alison climbed on behind him, donning a similar helmet. Thatch turned to her. "Ever been on something like this before?" The artist just slipped a helmet on and shook her head. "I'll try and make this easy on you then. Hold on tight."

Alison nodded and wrapped her arms around the renegade's chest, both of them turning scarlet under their helmets.

"Whenever you two are ready." Francois called.

"Ready when you are." Thatch replied.

As one, the two of them gunned the ignition, the bikes rolling out into the fading light of the evening.