Another long break, another late night upload that is likely full of small errors... an act that seems to be increasingly becoming the norm. Oh well, when in Rome...

I am deeply sorry for the length of time between uploads. A lot of stuff has been on my mind lately, things I plan to discuss within the next few chapters. Which hopefully come sooner rather than later...

Not that I've been completely absent. I have been co-writing a project with The Vigilant Spider. 'RWBY: Batwoman Beyond' can be found on Spider's FF net page.

Welp, now that the excuses have been excused and the shillings have been shilled, it's time for the actual chapter. Please, do enjoy!

"Now we're all caught up," Chloe confirmed, still seated on the bench. She looked to Ruby standing a few feet away now, seemingly deep in thought. "Look, there's clearly something odd happening around here. I won't leave until I find Rachel. I can't."

"We need to go to Max's school," Ruby decided.

"Uhh, why?" Chloe asked, confused.

"Just as a precaution. One of us needs to keep an eye on her."

"You think she'll be a target next?"

"A Target? Chloe, were you even listening to your own story? How did you miss it when I could see it through your words?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the Heartless targeting Max!"

Chloe stuttered to respond. "What? That's so… I mean, there's no… Are… are they?"

"You said you've never seen Heartless except for the times you just told about, in the last few days, right? They only seemed to show up right after Max used her rewind. You said something about having to get them away from the closet she was hiding in when they appeared in your room, and just an hour ago I saw Max use her power. The Heartless surrounded her afterward."

"But then why?" Chloe asked. "And why are they only attacking right after a rewind?"

"I don't know," Ruby admitted, "but if I'm right, and she rewinds because she spilled a drink and no one's there for the heartless right after…?"

"Holy crap…" Chloe seemed stunned.

"We need to keep an eye on her," Ruby reiterated.

"Alright, my truck is at the bottom the hill," Chloe stated. "Let's go."

"Your truck? Really?" Ruby asked.

"It's a bit less conspicuous than Gliders, don'tcha think?" Chloe pointed out.

"Fair, but let's hurry."

Max sat up in her bed, fully dressed, well after sunset. Her mind was just too busy for her to have any hope of sleeping anytime soon. She was almost thankful for the distraction of someone knocking on her window. Then she remembered her window was not on the ground level. Max stood and approached her window carefully, not ready for any more surprises this night. Seeing nothing she, perhaps unwisely, opened the window. I can always rewind if it's an axe murderer.

Chloe's face suddenly appeared with a cry of "BOO-yah!"

"AHH!" Max fell backward.

"Get it? 'Boo-yah'? Like I'm a scary punk ghost?" Chloe chuckled as she clambered through the window.

"More like a scary punk jerk!" Max scolded. "I didn't exactly have great day today trying to keep Kate from jumping off the dorm roof. I don't need you pranking me right now."

"Wait, what?" Chloe recoiled. "I'm… sorry, Max, but I had no idea."

"No idea? What about the messages I sent you?" Max pressed.

Chloe pulled her phone out of her pocket to indeed see unopened messages from 'SuperMax'. "I didn't even notice. I was a bit distracted."

Ruby pulled her head above the windowsill, locking eyes with Max for a moment. Max scoffed. "So you can blow me off for your friends, but when I try to be there for someone I know that's going through a hard time, I'm the selfish one?"

Chloe backed up defensively. "Wow, what the hell? What are you talking about?"

"At the diner? If I didn't take Kate's call, if she didn't believe that I cared, I might not have been able to talk her down."

"Max, I-"

"You always trip on me for not being there for you, but is this how you are here for me?"

Chloe was at a loss for words. The silence stretched uncomfortably until Max sighed. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm just tired, I didn't mean to explode."

Chloe frowned. "Don't be sorry. I can't imagine what's going through your head right now. But hey, you did talk her down! You're a badass, SuperMax. And by our powers combined, we'll save Rachel too!"

"Kate saved herself. I couldn't do anything. My power failed, just… stopped working, right when it really mattered…"

"You still reached out," Ruby spoke up, "and you connected. That counts for a lot."

Max looked to the silver-eyed wielder, who was still hanging out the dorm window. "You should probably climb inside."

"Right, right, I just, uh…" Ruby quickly clambered in and shut the window before continuing, "I didn't want to intrude. Things looked a little… intense, for a moment there."

"Don't worry. It's not that strange," Max assured.

Maybe it should be. Ruby kept that particular thought to herself for now, not wanting to incite more shouting. Instead, she held out her hand. "Ruby Rose, since we haven't been properly introduced."

Max smiled and accepted the handshake. "Max Caulfield."

"I'm surprised you were awake to answer the… window," Ruby said with a glance to the window in question. "You look tired."

Max sighed. "Every time I close my eyes, I see Kate falling. I know I saved her, but…"

"That's right, she did fall before you changed time," Ruby recalled.

"You keep your memories too? I guess you are magic like Chloe is."

"What happened to Kate, anyway?" Ruby asked. "I don't think I caught her in Chloe's re-telling of the last few days."

"Some prick made a video of her at a party doing things that… don't exactly match her values. She feels bad enough, and she's been getting harassed and bullied about it all week." Max added with a scoff, "she doesn't even remember doing it."

"No shit," Chloe spoke up again, "I watched that vid. Not to bash her, swear," she hastily added at Max's glare, "just morbid curiosity. But man, she was smashed."

"She had one drink," Max insisted.

"Are you sure about that? She seemed pretty out of it," Chloe argued.

"I'm sure." Max put her foot down. "She had one drink. Given to her by Nathan."

That made Chloe shut up. Ruby parsed the mass of information she was provided an hour ago to find out why that name was already familiar. "Wait, wasn't Nathan the one with the gun? The one you think drugged you?"

"He did drug me," Chloe said adamantly.

"Exactly," Max continued. "He drugged you, he drugged Kate. Chloe, I've been thinking… all night… If you weren't the last, what if you weren't the first either? What if he drugged lots of girls?"

"What if he drugged Rachel," Chloe finished the thought.

"What's Nathan's motive here?" Ruby asked.

"People like Nathan don't need one," Chloe told her. "He's psychotic and rich. His parents practically own Arcadia Bay. The cops, probably the principle too. In fact…"

Ruby could pick up the mischief in her friend's tone. "In fact what?"

"We're in the perfect spot to look for clues," Chloe clarified, gesturing around them.

"Don't you think that's a bit of a leap?" Max questioned.

"He's been living the dorms and studying here for how long?" Chloe elaborated. "There's no way Nathan's as squeaky clean as his parents want him to look. There's gotta be something in Principle Well's office."

Max thought for a moment before crossing her arms, her face becoming determined. "I guess I'm not sleeping tonight either way. And I want to find out what happened to Kate, and make sure it never happens again. I'm in."

"Yes! Ruby?" Chloe looked to her fellow wielder expectantly.

Ruby looked away. "This isn't why I came here Chloe…" Ruby spotted Chloe's smile failing, and sighed. "But… You were right, at the lighthouse. Something strange is going on in Arcadia Bay. These druggings, Max's power, that tornado… And I can feel Darkness in the streets. Kate, Rachel, maybe even this whole town is in danger. I can't in good conscience turn a blind eye."

"So you're in?" Chloe asked, hopeful.

"Let's just try not to get Max expelled, okay?" Ruby said in answer. "So what direction to the Principle's office?"

Getting into the Principles Office was easy. In another reality one might have to steal keys or blow up locks with improvised explosives, but thankfully the power of the Keyblade opened all doors. Max did find it curious that Ruby's hard moral stance didn't seem to mind breaking and entering. Just what are they trained to do with those things? Max tried to ask, but Ruby and Chloe remained evasive on the subject. She decided not to dwell on that subject. Within minutes of leaving Max's room the trio crossed the threshold into the Principles Office, and there were more important things to focus on now.

Chloe wasted no time jumping behind the Principle's computer. "So, what do you think Wells's passs… Nevermind. He seriously doesn't lock his computer?"

"Well, the computer was behind two locked doors," Ruby reminded her. "Wild theory, he didn't think he'd need one?"

"Drunk, old, and an idiot. This'll be easy," Chloe joked.

"Just be careful," Ruby warned. "You and I may not care about being caught, but Max still has to go to school here beyond tonight."

"Don't worry, I- Damn it!" Chloe suddenly shouted.

"Seriously?" Max scolded.

"What? No, we're still fine… it's Nathan file. It's squeaky clean. Nothing so much as a late assignment."

"Is it clean, or too clean?" Ruby asked.

"Too clean," Chloe nodded.

"Do you think a more truthful file still exists somewhere?" Max theorized.

Chloe sighed. "I'll keep digging here, why don't you two search the room? Might find an actual paper file somewhere…"

The girls got to work. Ruby and Max found files for Max, Chloe, and even Rachel Amber, but no trace of a file for Nathan. All the while Chloe combed the computer, eventually resorting to opening untitled documents one-by-one. Finally, the punkish wielder stumbled onto gold. "Jackpot!"

"You found the real file?" Max asked hopefully.

"Hell yeah, I did! Teacher complaints, missed assignments, backtalk… this is the Nathan we all know and hate! Jeez, he gets 'secret probations' and I get expelled? The difference money makes…"

Ruby and Max crowded around the monitor to see what Chloe had pulled up. An image drawing that at first glace appeared to be little more than a mass of dark swirls. Though as Max would point out, upon looking closer, "it's words! 'Rachel in the Dark Room, Rachel in the Dark Room'… the same thing, over and over…"

"This is it!" Chloe cheered. "The proof we needed! I should have known Nathan had something to do with Rachel's disappearance…"

"He seems deranged…" Max pointed out, "are we sure he's stable enough to pull this off alone?"

"Here, look at this," Ruby pointed to another document. "'David M. always asks what's going on in my head.' 'David M. always helps me follow those he follows.' Do we know a David M.?"

"Yeah… David Madsen, my resident step-dictator," Chloe fumed. "I saw a file earlier where Nathan accused Rachel of bringing drugs onto campus, and David supported him. Apparently, she's a bad influence…"

"David works here?" Ruby forgot whether she had already learned that or not.

"Head of security," Max answered. "He was stalking Kate, hassling me, and now we know he was all over Rachel as well."

"I guess we know where we'll find our next clue. Does David have an office?" Ruby asked.

"We'd have better luck in his garage at Chloe's," Max suggested. "I've been in there already, and saw some sketch stuff."

"Alright," Ruby nodded. "Then I think we found everything we're going to find here. We should get going."

"Right behind you," Chloe announced and started examining random items on the desk.

"Chloe! If we mess with stuff, he'll know someone was in here!" Ruby pointed out.

"Nobody had to break in for him to misplace a few things from his desk to this drawer here," Chloe argued while opening said drawer. She froze when she looked inside it. "What is this… holy crap!"

"What now?" Max asked.

Chloe pulled out a brown envelope labeled 'handicapped fund' and quickly counted its contents. "Five grand, that's what! I can pay back Frank and still have spending money after!"

"That is a lot for a handicapped fund," Max commented.

Ruby looked between the two girls, surprised. "Are you two seriously considering this? I thought we were keeping a low profile! Info we need is one thing, but this is just stealing! And from a handicapped fund?"

"You really think that's what this is? In a hastily written envelope in a shady principle's desk?" Chloe argued. "C'mon, Max, back me up!"

"I mean, I haven't seen a student with so much as a limp here," Max agreed.

"There has to be better way…" Ruby moved closer to Chloe and lowered her voice, "I mean, it's not like we can't just leave without Frank knowing…"

"So you don't want me to steal, but you do want me to ignore my debts?" Chloe frowned.

"That's not what I-! ughh…"

"Look, Ruby, I'm not just trying to steal here…" Max explained.

"I am," Chloe interrupted.

"Not helping!" Max cut her friend off quickly before resuming, "Frank had Rachel's bracelet. So maybe he knows something? Paying him off might put him in a more talkative mood…"

Ruby leaned onto the desk, hesitating to answer. As much as she didn't like it, Max's logic did sound somewhat reasonable.

"Ruby?" Chloe asked, money still in hand.

Ruby sighed. "I don't like it."

"That's not a no!" Chloe took it with gusto, pocketing the cash quickly. "Alright, now let's get out of here!"

Chloe left the office, leaving Max with Ruby, who was still leaned over the desk. "Ruby?" Max reached out.

Ruby let out another sigh as she pushed herself off the desk, standing straight. "I'm fine. I guess I shouldn't be surprised… Chloe always did play by her own rules. Back at our school, she didn't have any chances to go this far, so I never really thought about how far she could go…"

"I'm sure it doesn't help that Rachel is involved," Max replied. "Ever since we hooked back up, Chloe has been kind of tunnel visioned on her…"

"I've noticed that it's kind of hard to argue with her," Ruby carried on. "In a bad way…"

"You're not wrong, but there's more to her, you know?" Max defended.

"Maybe…" Ruby shook her head. "Let's get after her, before she starts thinking we're talking about her."

"Aren't we?" Max pointed out with a smirk.

"Yeah, but her ego really doesn't need the boost…"

Chloe was already sitting on the courtyard fountain waiting for them by the time Ruby and Max left the school building. "Hey, girls. Talking crap 'bout me?" she joked.

"Just getting to know each other," Max deflected. "The world doesn't revolve around you, Chloe."

"Yeah, so I've heard," Chloe shrugged the comment off. Her attention panned over to a nearby building plastered with flyers for a school swim team. "Hey, doesn't this place have a heated pool?"

"Seriously, Chloe?" Ruby immediately jumped on her case.

"Come on! We just had a big win, we're done for the night, and I'm literally sitting on a fat stash!" Chloe said, gestured to the money in her back pocket.

"I'm with Ruby on this one," Max meekly countered. "We shouldn't push our luck…"

"Max, if anyone needs to relax after today, it's you. You deserve a dip more than anyone," Chloe tempted.

Max smiled, the temptation winning her over. "I suppose we have earned it."

"Guys…"

"Oh, unclench already!" Chloe complained. "I know there's serious stuff going on, but you're going to give yourself an ulcer! Even Makoto knew when to loosen up. And the three of us, with all our skills, it's not like we're gunna get caught?"

Ruby thought things over for a moment, looking over to the pool house. In retrospect, her muscles did feel a little tense… a warm soak might feel nice… "Oh, fine…" Ruby finally gave in with a smile of her own.

"There it is! It was so weird seeing you not smile," Chloe cheered and excitedly took off to open the pool building's door.

Max slid next to Ruby once Chloe was out of earshot. "See what I mean now? Yeah, you sometimes have to remind her when it's time to be serious, but the heavy stuff we're dealing with? It can be hard to remember when not to be."

"I just hope I don't regret this…" Ruby deadpanned.

"I so do not regret this…" Ruby commented wispily. Lacking swimsuits, the three girls simply stripped to their underwear to get into the pool. It wasn't much longer before all three girls were floating on their backs, lazily gliding across the surface of the heated water. It was all very relaxing, and Ruby was coming to realize just how long it had been since she had last slept.

"I wish Rachel was here," Chloe spoke out of the blue. "She would have totally loved being in here at night. I wish you guys had met. Even you'd like her, Rubes. She's like me, but actually stable."

"If she's stable, is she really like you?" Ruby smirked.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's just saying that being unstable is part of your charm," Max joined in.

Chloe sighed. "When I said I wanted to be double-teamed, this isn't what I meant."

"Gross, Chloe!" Ruby scolded. "Was that necessary?"

"Sorry," Chloe immediately offered. "Sometimes I forget you're only fifteen…"

"Wait, Ruby's younger than us?" Max questioned. "I totally wouldn't have guessed that…"

"How old did you think I was?"

"Not fifteen…"

"Well… my hometown can get… rough. Sometimes people have to mature before their time," Ruby explained carefully. "That, on top of being a Keyblade Wielder…"

"What is it you guys actually do with those things?" Max asked again.

"I told you before, we fight the Darkness," Ruby answered.

"And it's just as vague now as it was an hour ago," Max argued.

"Sorry, Supermax, I really wish we could tell you more, but it's not our call…" Chloe said solemnly.

"Well, when you and Ruby are actually on the same page, I know it's serious."

"Have we already argued that much in the short time all three of us have been joined up?" Ruby wondered aloud. "No wonder you called my out for being 'clenched'…"

Silence fell back over them.

"We will meet."

"Huh?"

"Rachel, I mean," Max clarified her comment. "We will meet, I'm sure of it. The deeper we go, the more it feels like everything is connected. And I want to find out. For Rachel, for us… and for Kate."

"We're going to," Chloe promised.

The silence only returned for a brief moment before Ruby spoke up next. "Alright, I need to get out or I'll fall asleep and drown."

"Me too, actually," Max agreed.

They climbed out of the water and Ruby carefully used fire magic to dry them (and their underwear) off before putting their clothing back on. It seemed their timing couldn't be better, because no sooner than Ruby clasped her armor switch over arm had a guard burst through the back door of the pool hall. All three girls simultaneously cried "hide!" and took off in different directions. Ruby and Chloe met up right by the front door barely a minute later.

"Where's Max?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know, I thought she was with you?" Ruby replied.

"Hey! You there!"

Ruby and Chloe turned and saw a flashlight shining on Max through the window of a door. Ruby watched Max raise her hand.

"Oh no."

"Here we go again…"

The headache flared and faded, and Ruby realized that she, Chloe, and Max were all standing in the school's parking lot, safely away from guards. But safe for how long?

"Welcome back," Max greeted. "We were on our way to Chloe's truck? We decided I couldn't sleep here tonight."

"Right, I remember," Ruby shook her head to parse her dual memories. "But Chloe…"

"What?"

Before any of them could respond further, a group of various Heartless manifested around them.

"Oh. Right. That." Chloe summoned Rebel Soul. She dashed forward, using her broad, powerful swings to eliminate the smaller Heartless quickly.

"These monsters again!?" Max began to raise her hand.

"No!" Ruby jumped and grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Is there a problem?" Max asked.

"Just… let us handle it real quick," Ruby told her. She turned around and summoned Crescent Rose to her hands. "We've got this."

Ruby elected a more careful approach, letting the Heartless gather around her before using the Vicinity Break technique to launch them. She followed them into the air, striking with more continuous spins. Chloe stayed on the ground, easily throwing Heartless around with her training supernaturally enhancing her strength. Chloe launched one Heartless up to Ruby, who batted it right back down. It fell like a meteor at the last few creatures, the impact taking them all out.

Ruby landed with a satisfied grin. "See? Quick and easy."

"Good thing it was," Chloe said, pointing back toward the school, "because we still have them to worry about." Ruby and Max followed Chloe's point to see the guards rounding the corner. Sufficiently motivated, the three girls jumped into Chloe's truck and sped off.