Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY
Chapter 16: Fateful Night
Afternoon had come to Beacon and classes were over for the day. Most students headed back to their dorms to relax or planned to head out to the city. Teams JNPR and RWBY did neither, heading to the library to study.
Well, two of the group were studying, that being Ren and Jaune. Both had books out and were reading intently. Pyrrha was reading too, but it was of the latest issue of X-ray and Vav. She had already read through this comic several times already, but she still had a bright smile on her face as she went through it again. She was really coming to love these comic books, along with other forms of entertainment media that she had long been denied.
Nora was sleeping, resting her head on the left half of the large tome Ren was reading. When he turned a page, the paper would rest on Nora's head for a moment before she rolled to the side, letting it fall before moving back.
It appeared that she was just napping, and her movements were just natural sleep motions but Jaune had kept an eye on her. He noticed that when she moved her head to let the pages fall, her eyes flashed open and scanned the pages before resuming her 'sleep'. She was reading the book along with Ren, probably faster than he was and leaving her partner none the wiser.
He still hadn't gotten to the bottom of why Nora was hiding her intelligence, but he hoped to make better progress when he got around to telling Team RWBY about his teammates' problems later this week.
Team RWBY had planned to do some studying, but Ruby had discovered that the library contained several popular board games, including Remnant: The Game and all of its expansions. The Xiao Sisters promptly abandoned any plan to study and set up the game on the table just in front of where Jaune's team was sitting.
Despite the shared enthusiasm at the beginning, it looked like only Ruby and Yang were invested in the game. Weiss was looking bored and filing her nails while Blake was reading a book.
Appearances were very deceiving, especially in regard to the Xiao Long Sisters.
"Oh, my dear sweet baby sister," Weiss though to herself as she examined her nails. "So naïve and predictable. You're going to use the Atlesian Air Fleet now…"
"I deploy the Atlesian Air Fleet!" Ruby shouted, slamming a card onto the table and making Yang cry out in feinted shock.
"A good move to be sure," Weiss continued her internal overview, "she can fly over Yang's Ursai and attack her walls directly. However, Yang would let such an attack go unanswered."
"You've activated my trap card; Giant Nevermore!" Yang revealed her counter to Ruby's attack, just as Weiss predicted. Ruby's assault was demolished, and her army was now in tatters.
"Poor Ruby, you need to plan several steps ahead, like me."
Weiss put down her file and picked up her cards, scanning over them quickly.
She was playing Vacuo, which meant all Vacuo-based cards got a bonus. She had Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge and, oh, Resourceful Raider. She could now take Ruby's discarded Air Fleet and added it to her hand. Since Vacuo warriors have endurance against Nature-based hazards, she could disable Yang's ground force while infiltrating her kingdom. Her sister wouldn't forgive such a declaration of war but if her calculations were correct…she was just three turns away from conquering Remnant.
Weiss couldn't help but let out a mad cackle. "Yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms!"
Weiss's turn came, she placed her cards and was about to enact her master-plan when…
"Trap card."
Weiss was cut off as Yang revealed another trap card. With a flurry of her hands, removed all of Weiss's pieces from the board.
"Your armies have been destroyed," she said with a wide grin.
Weiss could only stare at the table in dumb shock before slumping back in her chair.
"I hate this game of emotions we play!" she cried. Ruby hopped onto her lap and embraced her.
"Stay strong, Weiss! We'll make it through this together!"
Weiss hugged Ruby back. "Hold me."
Yang laughed at her sisters' antics; they really shouldn't underestimate her. She turned towards Blake, who was still reading her book.
"Come on Blake, it's your turn," Yang said to her distracted sister.
"Hmmmm? Oh, right," Blake replied in a disinterested voice.
"Seriously Blake, can you please pay attention. Ugghh, at least play your last useless card so I can win the game."
"Oh, my dearest Yang, my Vale deck doesn't have any useless card." Blake put her book down and smiled. "But it does have…the unstoppable Last King of Vale!"
She held up one card, revealing to that it was the most powerful card in the card, the one that instantly won the game for the player who played it alongside the other four cards associated with it.
"W-what! That's impossible!" Yang exclaimed, with real shock this time.
"Believe it, sister dear. I've gathered the Last King and the four pieces of his regalia; all five pieces of the puzzle."
Blake set all five cards down onto the board and dramatically pointed at Yang's army.
"Last King…Obliterate!"
"NOOOOO!"
The members of JNPR looked up at their friends as the game reached its conclusion. Blake had jumped up on the table and struck a victory pose, using the tip of her foot to knock over Yang's models before returning to bask in her victory. Yang slumped back into her chair, dumbfounded before spreading her arms wide. Weiss hopped from her seat and onto Yang's left lap, while Ruby dashed around the table and onto Yang's right.
"Be strong Yang," Ruby said, tears in her eyes.
"We will rise up against the tyranny of Vale," Weiss added, equally teared up. Yang said nothing, simply hugging her sisters tightly.
Jaune let out a quiet laugh and shook his head. He thought his siblings could be over-the-top at times, but these girls really took the cake and ran with it. He had foolishly thought he had seen all they had to offer but their 'Best Day Ever' yesterday had proven him very wrong.
They had been understandably worried about trespassing onto an empty construction site just to ride on Yang's bike, but the Sisters prevailed. For the first several minutes, Yang just raced her motorcycle around the area, taking hairpin turns at top speed and using makeshift ramps to perform some very impressive mid-air flips.
While it was obvious Yang would be proficient in riding her own bike, the skill and control she displayed were amazing and certainly beyond the average motor-head. Her bike wasn't just a passing fancy and she clearly put a lot of time into it.
After she had her fun, Yang took her sisters for a ride one at a time. Each one had whooped loudly in joy as the bide sped through the area, hugging Yang tightly. JNPR were less enthusiastic when their turns came, hanging on to Yang for dear life with Jaune barely keeping his lunch down, but after it was over, they couldn't deny it had been a thrill.
Yang then took a couple of minutes to teach JNPR the basics of riding a motorcycle, letting them each take turns making a slow lap around the yard. The overall experience had been both exciting and educational, which set the tone for the rest of the day.
Jaune had to admit that poetry wasn't high on his list of favorite things to do, so he was prepared for a fairly dull time. The reading itself wasn't bad per say, but it didn't invoke anything in him or his teammates. The contest was also pretty bland and both Jaune and his team were starting to wish Blake hadn't entered at the last minute and thus was the last to go.
Just before it was her time to go, Jaune spied Blake scribbling on a piece of paper and realized she was writing her poem mere moments before going up, which seemed like a recipe for disaster.
His fears were unfounded, as when Blake confidently took the stage and began to recite her poem, she immediately had everyone captivated. Her poem was about being lost in darkness, of feeling pure despair and loneliness before finding the light and having love lift you up. Her prose and verse were woven together masterfully, and the way she spoke conveyed such a range and depth of emotions.
Instead of the polite claps the other contestants got, she received a received a resounding applause from everyone, not just from her sisters and JNPR. That effectively decided the contest and Blake walked way with first prize, while Jaune learned to never underestimate what the Xiao Long Sisters could pull out in short order.
If poetry wasn't high on Jaune's list of exciting activities, then stock trading would be at the bottom of his and his whole team's list. JNPR were completely baffled that they had come to the Vale Central Stock Exchange to 'have fun'. Weiss had mentioned numerous times her dream of starting her own company and that she was quite knowledgeable about economics and marketing, but this all seemed way above a mere student, even one as intelligent as Weiss.
The White Xiao Long had a confident smirk all the same and requested that they each loan her ten Lien, promising to pay them back. They did so with some confusion, Nora being somewhat hesitant to fork over her money, and Weiss quickly headed to a nearby ATM to deposit into her account.
What followed was an hour of furious and frantic day-trading, some big announcement sending everyone running around. Weiss went back and forth between various counters and desks on the main floor, making calls and tapping away on an app on her Scroll. Her sisters provided helpful and informative comments on what she was doing, along with some hilarious colour commentary that help it all move along faster for JNPR.
By the time everything calmed down and Weiss returned after closing her last trade, she had made enough to pay them all back ten-fold, giving them plenty of spending money for the rest of the day. JNPR was amazes that she had managed all that so effortlessly, but Weiss brushed it aside as mere pocket change. She said that one day she would break fully into the market and ride the stocks all the way to the shattered moon, whatever that meant.
Still, money was money, and they all learned a few things to boot, so it was still a good time.
After that, they got dinner at a Vacuo BBQ joint before heading for some karaoke, where Weiss amazed them yet again. She got a perfect score at every song she tried, no matter the style or genre. When Nora commented that she could have a music career, Weiss simply smirked and said it was in the plan.
The other Sisters weren't shabby either, doing great when it was their turn, and when all four of them sang together, it was memorizing to behold; they were completely in-sync with each other.
Jaune didn't do too bad, being able to hit quite a few high notes and he and Nora did well in a duet. Pyrrha only knew a couple of songs, and they were all from children's cartoons that aired years ago. Still, she was quite good when she got into the rhythm of it and Jaune hoped they could do more of this in the future, as it helped Pyrrha open up a bit.
Ren was the only one not to sing, saying that his throat was too sore. He had been coughing a lot recently and Jaune was beginning to worry that he some health problems on top of everything else. He would have to bring it up with RWBY later.
So, the 'Best Day Ever' ended up being just that; it had been an extraordinary experience that went beyond anything JNPR had ever done. They had learned so much while also having lots of fun, it was unreal.
Jaune was left with a sense of wonder, of just how amazing RWBY was, of how far above him in almost every way. It made it even more apparent how out of place he was in this group, that he was just mediocre in the company of geniuses. It had put a damper on his plan to talk with them about his teammates, as it just seemed to highlight how inadequate of a leader he was, but he still planning to go ahead with it in the coming days.
With girls as amazing and talented as them, anything was possible.
"Sup losers."
Everyone turned at the voice, seeing Sun Wukong walking toward them. JNPR hadn't really talked with him before, as he had booked it after the battle at the docks. He had been around, mostly talking with Blake.
"Hey Sun, what are you doing here?" Blake asked, hopping off the table. Ruby and Weiss stood up, their tears disappearing and replaced with confusion and a small amount of suspicion.
"My team finally arrived in from Mistral. Sage and Scarlett are getting the dorm set up, but I wanted to introduce you to my partner, Neptune."
The blonde monkey pointed to the blue-haired boy behind him. Neptune stepped up and looked over the group, a smirk appearing on his face as she practical slid over to Weiss.
"And what's you're name, Snow Angel?"
Weiss's eye twitched slightly, and she gave Neptune a very annoyed look.
"It's Weiss Xiao Long," she answered, trying to be polite.
"Neptune Vasilias. Sun's told me a lot about you…"
"Actually I…"
Neptune quickly cut Sun off. "But I would love to hear more from you, so what do you say we head somewhere private?"
Weiss could only stare at the sheer audacity of this guy. Only a few seconds in and he was hitting on her? That was next level scumbag in her books.
Yang and Blake had similar opinions, glaring at Neptune and the same thought passed the three girls' minds.
"A new Arch-Pervert has appeared."
Ruby had a different train of thought, mostly doing calculations on how many of Neptune's bones she would have to break to fully…educate him.
"I'm…I'm good. Thanks for the offer…" Weiss's voice was dripping with sarcasm, using all her willpower to keep things civil.
Neptune tried to lean in closer. "You don't need to be-"
Weiss pirouetted around him and took several steps away from the table and towards the railing that overlooked the first-floor of the library.
"It was…nice to meet you, Neptune Vasil-whatever. Our teams have quite a lot of studying to do…"
"Looks like you're just playing games…" Sun again spoke up and was again hushed by a wave of Weiss's hand.
"So, we really can't be entertaining guests right now. I'm sure you can find you way out," Weiss finished, turning her back to Neptune.
The blue-haired young man was puzzled; sure, he had struck out plenty of times with girls, but to be dismissed so strongly right out of the gate was bizarre to him. All girls loved to be showered with compliments and attention, and all they looked for was confidence, which Neptune had in spades, so what was wrong here?
"Come on, there's no need-"
Neptune took a step forward, which was his last mistake. Yang flicked one of the game pieces with her finger, sending it flying and hitting Neptune in the eye. He stumbled, and with Blake sticking out a leg to trip him, he ended up falling forward.
He would have collided into Weiss's back if the girl hadn't moved at the last moment, grabbing him by the jacket and throwing him over the railing to the floor below.
He landed on an empty table with a loud crash, with the only response from those nearby being a round of 'ssshhh', from the students and librarians.
Weiss took a deep breath.
"The air up here is smelling better already."
Blake chuckled at her sister before turning to glare at Sun.
"I asked him to be cool," Sun said, mostly to himself. "He promised he would be cool…"
Jaune could only look over the scene with a quirked eyebrow. It was a good thing he didn't try and flirt with Weiss or her sisters beyond that first abortive attempt in the locker room before Initiation. Knowing the, they would have though he was some sort of 'Arch-Pervert' and tried to kill him or something.
He frowned at that thought, thinking that it sounded familiar before dismissing it as rubbish.
It did remind him of his poor attempt to be confident. He wasn't trying to be some lady-killer or anything, it was just being in a new place far from his family and all he knew left him very nervous, which led him to follow his father's advice of being confident with women in the worst way possible at the worst time possible.
No harm, no foul perhaps, but it still irked him that he had acted in such a brazen and disrespectful manner.
'Was I as bad as that?" he asked Pyrrha, leaning inn slightly.
"Well…" Pyrrha shrugged, "I'd say you were a little better."
Pyrrha was no expert on judging people by a long-shot but looking back, she felt that there was something more genuine and real with Jaune's overt flirting. Neptune by contrast, seemed to be putting on an act for the sake of putting on an act.
"Well, I think I'm going to call it for the day. I'm heading back to the room to get ready," Blake said, stretching a bit and starting walk away.
"No fair," Yang called out, "I demand a rematch. The Army of Mistral will rise again!"
"I'm more than happy to kick you butt again, but I need to get ready for this evening." Blake gave her sisters a sideways smirk.
"What are you doing this evening?" Jaune asked.
"Just going out of the town, nothing serious."
"If that's the case," Sun spoke up, "maybe I can-"
"Sorry, but this is a one-girl outing." Blake shot him down. She noticed that the sad look on his face and decided to mollify him.
"Maybe you and your team can hang out with us some other time; give you a second chance. Just make sure Neptune is 'cool' this time, alright?"
Sun gave a nod and a smile. She did honestly enjoy his company and it wasn't fair that Neptune should ruin the rest of his team's relationship with them all.
"Just…be careful," Weiss said softly.
Blake looked back at her twin and smiled.
"Of course."
The three remaining members of RWBY returned to their dorm after a few more games, the members of JNPR taking turns filling in the fourth player slot. Pyrrha and Ren had struggled to grasp the deep intricacies of the game, as it was their first time playing, and their Kingdoms quickly fell to ruin. Jaune, by comparison, had done very well and proved that he was a natural leader.
Nora had bee a strange case, as after a few rounds of getting use to the rules, she quickly began to dominate the game. She seemingly predicted all of their moves and planned several steps ahead that left them scrambling to just to stay in the game.
The, all of a sudden, Nora started making sub-par moves, enough that it cost her the game. It was such a jarring shift, to go from playing perfectly to almost throwing the game. It happened right after Weiss, seeing her naval invasion completely thwarted, called Nora a genius at this game.
They noticed that Nora stiffened slightly at that word before laughing it off, saying it was all beginner's luck. She then made a series of bad moves and when the game ended, she simply stated that her luck had run out before commenting on how late it was getting and that they should head to the cafeteria for dinner. She made a beeline for the exit, precluding the Sisters from asking any questions.
There was something going on with Nora; Hell, there was something up with Ren and Pyrrha too now that they thought about it. They could start acting strange to the oddest things and could from open and friendly to very guarded at a drop of a hat.
The Xiao Long Sisters would never judge someone negatively based on personal quirks, given their own very unique lifestyles, but they just had a feeling that things were wrong. They wanted to help but just bluntly asking wouldn't do any good.
They were beginning to think about approaching Jaune about this matter. He was JNPR's leader after all and seemed to have the least number of ongoing issues. They could talk to him in private later this week and maybe get to the bottom of this.
But that was for later, as they were down one Sister, so Ruby, Weiss and Yang were relaxing in their dorm for the evening. Weiss was at her desk, going over some notes from class while Ruby was again reading a comic while listening to her music.
Yang was laying on her bed and using her Scroll to look up anti-Last King strategies online; she wasn't going to lose to Blake like that again.
The blonde looked up over the screen as the door to the dorm slowly opened and she saw the silhouette of Blake in the doorway.
"Hey, Blake. You're back early, did you forget something or…"
Yang trailed off as Blake stumbled into the room. The first hint that something was off was that she was still wearing her sneaking suit, which she always took great pains to switch out of before returning home. The shocked look on her face, her eyes wide and her mouth open as she panted for breath, was another.
The biggest was, as the light of the room hit her, they could just make out that some substance was smeared across her chest, arms and part of her face, something red.
Blood.
"Blake? BLAKE!" Weiss screamed as she bolted from her desk and to his sister side, catching her as she collapsed to the floor. Yang was just a second behind her, jumping from her bunk to Blake's side almost in a single bound.
Ruby could only slowly stumble from her bunk, headphones slipping from her head as she looked at her blood-covered sister.
"Someone…hurt Blake…my sister…my sister…MY SISTER!"
"Blake?! What happened?" Yang asked, her voice shrill.
"I…my…It…" Blake couldn't speak, only stuttering out a few words as her whole body began to shake.
Team JNPR's door open and Jaune and his teammates entered the hallway, alerted by the shouting.
"What's going on?" Jaune asked, looking at scene in front of him. He stepped forward; his eyes widen as he saw the blood covering Blake.
"Oh God! We need to take her to the Nurse, now!"
"Maybe we should go straight to the Hospital," Weiss replied, her breathing quick as she reached into her pocket. "I'll call the emergency number. You guys get the Nurse or teacher and-"
"Not mine!" Blake finally got out. "It's not my blood. It's…oh god…please, just take me inside…please…"
Blake wrapped her arms around Yang, burying her face in her big sister's chest as tears began to flow uncontrollably.
The group could only stare at one another, unsure of what course of action to take in a situation like this.
"Bring her inside," Ruby said, her voice calm and collected. "We'll let her calm down and tell us what happened before going to the authorities or anyone else."
The others were a bit uneasy at this idea, but in the absence of a clear alternative, they agreed. Yang and Weiss slowly lifted Blake up and walked her to her bed, sitting her down with her face still buried in Yang's cleavage.
Yang did as she always did at times like theses, slowly stroking her sister's hair and whispering soft, comforting words. Weiss lifted Blake's shirt as much as possible at the angle and examined her body, confirming that she was indeed uninjured.
Long minutes passed as Blake's sobbing slowly faded and she lifted her tear-stained face up. Yang gave her a gentle smile and kissed her on the forehead.
She then got her sister to her feet and slowly walked her towards the bathroom. Both of them now had blood on their clothes, so Yang began to strip the dirtied clothes off and gave Blake a gentle sponge bath.
Jaune quickly exited the room at this, grabbing Ren by the arm who, after looking confused for a moment, followed suit. Weiss gathered up the bloodied clothing while Ruby grabbed the poetry book Blake had won the other game and began to recite some of its contents, loud enough so they could all hear. This helped everyone to take their minds briefly off the dire matter at hand.
In short order, Blake was cleaned up and dressed in her pajamas, with Yang walking her back into the bedroom and onto her bed. Jaune and Ren returned, each holding a tray with several cups of tea, which they handed out to everyone. Several more minutes were spent sipping the warm beverage, each alone with their thoughts.
Blake finished her tea and, after a couple of stuttering starts, began to relay what happened.
Flashback
The early night air was cool and crisp as Blake jumped from building to building. The sun had just set and the first stars just beginning to shine. She had set out fairly early, before darkness had fully fallen, as she didn't intend to stay out for long. No grand heist were planned for this night; she just wanted to stretch her legs. After what had happened last time, she wasn't going to take any big risks.
On a whim, she decided to make her way to Tukson's shop. She would pay him a visit before looping back towards Beacon.
She landed in the alley behind the store and, to her amusement, saw that there were two locks on the back door now. They were good quality, and it took Blake almost two full minutes to pick them. With that done, she quietly opened the door and sneaked inside.
She walked down the dim hallway towards the front of the store when she heard voices. That was strange, as Tukson was usually closed by this time but assumed that he just had some last-minute customers.
She was about to turn around and wait for Tukson in the basement warehouse when she heard one of the customers say something strange.
"How about…Third Crusade?"
Blake's ears twitched under the ribbon. More then the words, it was how they were said; less of a question and more of an…accusation? Coupled with Tukson's hesitant answer and the tension suddenly increased dramatically.
Blake advanced towards the storefront slowly, straining her ears to listen in. She heard a second person accuse Tukson of false advertising while the first said that he shouldn't make promises he can't keep.
Her damn ribbon had gotten stuffed into her cat ears during her jump to street level and she couldn't hear as well. She took a moment to readjusted the ribbon a bit and continued moving silently.
"We know you're going to be Menagerie soon," The first voice said, "You're planning on speaking with the Belledonnas about some very sensitive matters. Your brothers in the White Fang, the True White Fang, are very disappointed in you."
Blake froze just before the doorway. The White Fang? What was this about? Tukson was a respected member of the White Fang, so why was he being threatened by them?
"You know who we are?" the 'customer' asked.
"Yes." Tukson's voice was low and serious.
"Are you going to fight?"
Blake was shocked and instinctively took a step forward, wanting to help Tukson. The floorboard creaked under her weight, not loud by itself, but in the tense air of the bookshop, might as well have been a grenade going off.
Blake held her breathe for one heartbeat…two…
"Nightcat, get out!" Tukson yelled, guessing correctly who it was in the back hallway.
Blake only had a split second to duck low as bullets ripped through the walls, barely missing her. She rolled forward, drawing Gambol Shroud, and switching it to its gun form as she came up next to the doorway. She fired several retaliatory shots in the general direction of the assailants.
The yelps of surprise and quick shuffling around let her know she had taken the attackers by surprise. She rolled forward again, fully into the shop and switch her weapon into a blade, preparing to strike quickly before they could regroup.
The storefront was a bit of a mess, several books having been knocked off the shelves thanks to her semi-random shooting. Tukson was behind the counter, a little shaken by the sudden gunfire but otherwise unhurt.
She turned to the attackers who…were a bunch of floating blocks and lines of constantly shifting colour. She blinked several times, not believing her eyes. She had definitely heard two people, but it looked like it was real-world computer glitches before her.
The glitch-thing closest to her move forward, and it briefly took on a human-like shape, holding some stick-like object in each hand that they swung at Blake with.
Blake ducked and though her eyes said she had cleared the attack handsomely, she felt sharp blades cutting the air just above her head.
Whatever was in this person's hand were dangerous and likely were also guns. With her eyes and ears not fully perceiving her opportunity's body and movements, she had to rely on just her honed-fighting instincts, which put her at a distinct disadvantage.
Thankfully, she wasn't alone in the fight.
"Get away from her, you bitch!"
With a roar, Tukson jumped up onto the counter, extending his claws before leaping forwards towards the figure attacking Blake.
The glitch figure ducked under the attack and Blake heard a garbled curse. She suspected that they hadn't been expecting a full fight, not like this anyway.
The second figure entered the fray now, attacking Tukson with what Blake though was a high kick but with all the shifting shapes she couldn't be sure. It connected and the large Faunus was forced back.
Tukson was a strong man and a trained fighter, but it had been years since he had been in a serious fight and it showed in both his movements and Aura. His wide, sweeping attacks were easily avoided and a serious of precise blows had him stumbling backwards, Aura flickering.
Blake tried to aid him, but her opponent blocked her, swinging her bladed weapons, and managed to cut part of Blake's ribbon. Thankfully, her ears weren't hit or uncovered but she was still forced back to the front of the store, with her back to the window display.
The one attacking Tukson leapt forward with a spinning kick, clearly meaning to end the fight. Blake didn't need to see their face to imagine the look of shock and surprise on it as Tukson caught their foot in mid-air and slammed them to the ground before throwing them to the side.
The sudden reversal distracted Blake's opponent, giving her a chance to attack, kicking them in the chest and sending them backwards, where they collided with their partner and the two collapsed in a heap on the floor.
The shifting shapes and colours that covered the two intruders began to coalesce and fade and Blake was almost able to make out some details. She nodded to Tukson and the two readied to jointly attack and end the fight right then and there.
The store's window suddenly exploded in a shower of broken glass and a moment later a dark figure jumped through the broken window and into the store.
Blake turned to the new intruder, backing away in shock. They were completely black, with tight-fitting clothes and a hood. The colour was unnatural but different from the effect with the other two. Seeing the rapier in their hand and Blake knew who it was; the creepy White Fang fighter that had been with Torchwick and Adam Taurus at the docks.
Her confusion didn't go unnoticed, as her blurry opponent quickly got back to their feet and rush to attack. They were stopped as the black figure whipped the floor between them and Blake, the lightening Dust making a loud crack.
"…Fuck are you doing?!" the person said, their voice as heavily distorted as their appearance.
The dark figure didn't answer, instead just looking at Blake.
The black Xiao Long, like her sisters, wasn't easily rattled but something about this person just unnerved her. She just got the feeling they were undressing her with their eyes and their whole presence just made her skin crawl.
Several long seconds passed, almost like they were all in a Vacuo Standoff. The two intruders didn't move, unsure what do just as much as Blake and Tukson.
Faster then a viper, the dark assassin's whip lashed out, going between the two still-blurred figures, and hitting Tukson square in the chest. With his Aura depleted, the sharp electrified tip pierced his chest, knocking him down as blood began to spurt from the wound.
The assassin retracted their weapon, gestured to the others with her head to follow before jumping back through the broken window. The two original intruders, stunned by what had happened almost as much as Blake, followed after a moment.
It took Blake several seconds to process what happened, that Tukson had been hurt and that the assailants were getting away. She belatedly gave chase, popping her head out the window before incoming bullets made her pull back. She retaliated with a full-auto burst from her machine-pistol, but she knew they were gone before she stuck her head out again.
Her heart was beating fast, and adrenaline was pumping through her veins. She was just about head out into the streets, certain she could pick up their trail, when a gurgled cough brought her attention back to inside the store.
Tukson was on the floor, blood flowing from his chest wound, with more coming from his mouth with each hacking cough. Blake rushed to his die, holding her hands over the wound to starch the bleeding.
"Tukson! No, no, no, no, no…."
Blake had been trained to steel herself against the horrors of combat but to see her friend laying on the ground bleeding, dying, was too much for the young woman. Hot tears began to form in her eyes, and she took off her mask to wipe them away, her coloured contacts coming out as well. Her ribbon, damaged in the fight, fell off her head and onto the floor beside her.
Tukson's breathing grew weak and his vison hazy as he looked up at his cat-burglar friend, seeing her face fully for the first time.
"Ka…li…?" he croaked out. He shook his head, eyes focusing slightly.
"No…its…its you! Bla-uggh!" He coughed up some blood. "You're alive…"
"Yes, I'm fine," Blake replied, wanting to keep him talking while she frantically tried to figure out what to do.
"Must…tell…uggh-rents...Let…them know. Can…be…happy…again…" He's voice grew faint as his eyes closed, unconsciousness taking him.
"Tukson? Stay with me!" Blake shook his shoulder and lightly slapped his face, trying and failing to wake him.
Terror griped Blake as she saw her friend begin to slip away. She had been right there but hadn't been able to prevent him from being hurt. She had failed to stop the evil and to do good; she had failed both Tukson and her Promise.
Blake may have been a teenage girl, but she was a survivor of her own hardships and had been training relentlessly for years. After a few moments of being paralyzed with fear and regret, all her lessons flooded back into her and she quickly got to work.
She used her ribbion as a makeshift bandage to stem the bleeding for a few moments, before hurrying to behind the counter, where the shop's First-Aid kit was located. She took the small box back to Tukson's side and began pulling the contents out.
Blake proceeded to dress the wound, all the first-aid lessons from both Signal and her father coming to her mind clear as crystal. She cut Tukson's shirt off and wiped away the remaining blood before disinfecting the wound with anti-septic spray and wrapping his chest with clean bandages.
All in all, she had done well to stabilize the situation but Tukson was still very pale. He would need a blood transfusion and proper care of his wound, which were beyond Blake's knowledge and resources.
Thankfully for her and Tukson, one can't simply unload a full-auto burst from a gun into the streets of Vale without someone noticing. She had just finished with the bandages when her cat-ears picked up the faint approach of police sirens.
Since their slow response to the battle, and subsequent destruction, of Vale's docks, the police had upped their night patrols and surveillance. A call about gunfire near Tukson's Book Trade had the police scrambling cars immediately, with other emergency services not far behind.
Blake quickly picked up anything and everything that could connect to her, her mask, contacts, and bloody ribbon. She looked over at Tukson, debating whether leaving him was the right call, but staying would just make things complicated.
She dashed out the back door as the police cars pulled up, jumping up the to the roof of the nearby building and making her way back to Beacon at top speed with no one spotting her. The blood on her had dried enough by the time she got back that she wasn't leaving a trail of it and she got back to the dorms without anyone seeing.
She was walking down the hall when it all started to hit her, and her breathing grew heavy, and her legs became weak. All she could think about was getting back to the room, to her Sisters, where she would be safe from the horror she had just endured.
Everyone was silent as Blake finished her tale, the weight of it all hitting them. They were here to fight against Grimm, monsters yes, and they had fought against criminals, but to get caught in the middle of an attempted murder and see a friend almost bleed out in front of you, was something different.
Blake left out a deep breathe, as repeating everything had helped her process it all. She looked up ay Weiss, who was pacing in the middle of the room.
"I'm sorry Weiss", she said to her twin.
Weiss looked up, confused by what she meant.
"You told me going out was a bad idea, and after the whole fight at the docks I shouldn't have casually gone out again and…"
Blake was cut off as Weiss gently cupped her cheek with one hand.
"All you did was go out and visit a friend, who most likely would have died if you hadn't been there. I'm so proud of you." Weiss then softly kissed her sister's forehead before resting her own against it.
Jaune smiled at this, reminded of his own interactions with his sisters and assured that Blake would be alright now. That let him turned to the overall situation at hand.
"So, what do we do? Blake just witnessed an attempted murder by the White Fang; We can't just sit back and do nothing?"
Everyone nodded at Jaune's words; this wasn't something they could just forget.
"Should we go to the police? Or at least the Headmaster?" Pyrrha suggested.
"And explain to them how Blake goes out at night to be a vigilant cat-burglar," Weiss replied standing up straight. "No way, we're not letting Blake go to jail."
"Guys, maybe it would be best…" Blake spoke up before a hard look from her three sisters stopped her.
"We're not letting you go to jail," the three said in unison, closing the matter.
"Well, can the police handle it by themselves?" Ren asked. "The store must have had some security; maybe it picked up the assailants."
"No, Tukson didn't use any cameras or advance systems for the store," Blake replied. "He couldn't risk anything leading back to the White Fang and even if the store were robbed, he wouldn't go to the police, least they discover the operation in the basement. He would just deal with it all privately."
"Not to mention that Blake's being at the scene will throw off the investigation…and having her coming forward won't help that at all," Weiss gave another hard look at Blake and JNPR, forestalling any more suggestions that Blake turn herself in. "We need to handle this ourselves, or else these guys will get away, or worse, escalate even further. Is there anything you can remember about the attackers?"
"No. Like I said, I couldn't make out anything about the first two; it really looked like a glitched out computer screen in a vague human form. One had sharp blades and at least one had a gun, but I couldn't see any district features. I couldn't even tell if the were male or female."
"It must have been some kind of Semblance," Ren said. He's Semblance drained the colour out of people, so it was possible for one to change the colour completely to camouflage them. "But you heard them talking before the fight, could you make out their genders or regional accent or anything?"
"I…no, I can't. I'm trying to remember but beside the words and the threatening tone, I can't recall any identifying traits from their voices before that obscuring Semblance activated." Blake couldn't hide her frustration with herself. Usually, she was good at picking up subtle things with her ears, but the shock of the situation was affecting her ability to recall those little details.
Weiss began to pace again, one hand under her chin as the gears in her head began to turn.
"You said Tukson called one of the attackers a 'bitch', right? Assuming he wasn't throwing out random insults, then the one attacking you was female. That means that he could see them clearly, that this Semblance was only affecting you and your senses. If he pulls through, he could give a full description, but I doubt that will be anytime soon given his wound."
"They said they were from the White Fang, and that same black whip-user from the Docks was with them, so they were probably Faunus," Pyrrha hypothesized.
"Maybe not," Nora countered, her face focused, "This group of White Fang were willing to work with Torwick, a human. They seem remarkably opened-minded about hiring 'outside' help for whatever plans their cooking up.
"You're right, this group could have easily hired someone else to do their dirty word," Weiss commented before looking at Nora, "That's a pretty sharp observation, good job."
Nora hastily said that it was nothing before sitting back down on one of the desk chairs.
"Why would the White Fang attack one of their own?" Pyrrha asked. "I know this is a radical group, but I thought their violent actions were directed against humans, not other Faunus?"
"Tukson never said much, but I got the impression that he was a very respected member of the White Fang," Blake answered, letting go of Yang for the first time since returning and sitting up straight. "He was very moderate in his viewpoint and followed the line of Ghira Belledonna to a tee. The biggest threat to a radical agenda is a moderate voice, and if this Adam Taurus wants to take over the White Fang, then he'll need to silence his internal opponents."
"You mentioned that the attackers said something about Tukson leaving for Menagerie, about that he was going to talk to the Belledonnas. Maybe he knew something that could have hurt Adam's position?" Yang suggested.
"Maybe, Tukson did have a pretty good information network and plenty of contacts within the White Fang. He may have come across something that could have been a threat to Adam Taurus and his band of fanatics, something that would have turn the greater body of the White Fang fully against them. Again, only Tukson knows, and he won't be in any condition to tell us or the police anytime soon."
Blake folded her arms as she finished, anger at the attacks fully setting in now. Tukson had given everything to the White Fang and the cause of Faunus Rights, and he was being targeted by a group of radicals because his methods weren't violent enough? That he stumbled across their dirty laundry? It was the height of injustice to her and again she felt that Ghira Belledonna should be doing a better job at his own organization in line.
Ruby had been sitting on the window ledge, silent the entire time. Now, she stood up and looked over all those present.
"The facts are that this group of White Fang is going around hurting people and the police haven't been able to stop them yet and won't anytime soon. We can't go to the authorities without implicating ourselves and we won't be doing any good if we're the ones behind bars. We also can't just sit back and do nothing, as Jaune said, because that not what real Huntsmen do."
She looked each one in the eye before a smirk appeared on her face.
"Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses and Huntsmen to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale... say aye."
"AYE!" Her Sisters answered enthusiastically, raising their hands into the air. They smiled at one another before looking over at JNPR expectantly.
Jaune looked at his teammates, trying to gauge their thoughts on this. Nora seemed on board, a determined look on her face. Ren and Pyrrha seemed less certain, doubt and unease clear from their expressions.
"I know this is a big step up for students," he said, picking his words carefully. "But this is what Huntsmen and Huntresses have to deal with. We can't wait around and hope someone else will handle it, not if we have the chance to do something ourselves. I'm not saying we charge in blindly or recklessly, but we can't just turn away."
"But this is more then just a controlled fight against Grimm or other students," Ren countered. "For all our training, we're still novices and if we're not careful we could make things worse."
"But we're training specifically to deal with situations like this," Nora argued. "We chose to be here to stand against evil whenever it showed itself, it's the path we chose, it's our job."
Pyrrha nodded at those words but the sheer reality that they were just children in a very adult matter. They couldn't let it lay idle, but they shouldn't be carelessly taking matter into their own hands. She didn't want to cause trouble to Blake, of course, but they should still inform the proper authorities in some way. She was just about to speak up in suppose of Ren when Nora continued taking.
"I mean, we're here to fight against bad guys and bad guys have just popped up in front of us. It's like this is our destiny or-"
"YES, IT IS!" Pyrrha shouted, her voice shrill as she stood up straight.
Everyone was taken back by the sudden outburst and looked at Pyrrha in surprise. The Mistral Champion shrunk back a bit as she realized what she had done but couldn't simply back down now. That would be admitting defeat and she…just couldn't do that.
"Ummm…it's our d-d-destiny…to fight against evil and injustice, with all the power we have." She took a moment to collect herself before nodding towards Ren. "But we can't be reckless and endanger ourselves or others needlessly. I propose that we conduct our own investigation but the moment it becomes too much for us, we alert the Headmaster…in such as way as to not negatively affect Blake or anyone else."
The Xiao Long Sisters nodded at the suggestion, as it made sense and was reasonable. They had been afraid that Pyrrha would oppose this plan, but it seemed she was fully onboard, which made things easier. Both their Father and Uncle Qrow were busy with Huntsmen missions and they didn't want to simply run to them like children, but if things got to a critical point, they would call them. They trusted them more then the Headmaster when it came to keeping Blake's involvement out of the spotlight.
Ren could only sigh and nod as well. If everyone else was on board, then he couldn't stop them. At the very least he could try and make sure things didn't go off the rails…and to make sure Nora didn't do anything foolish.
"Okay, if that's all settled," Ruby went to one of the desks and picked up a binder; the same one she had made all the plans for their 'Best Day Ever'. She held it up and looked over at everyone.
"Let's hatch a plan."
Team RWBY's dorm wasn't the only place where a heated debate was taking place, as in an 'abandoned' warehouse in Vale, a very vocal argument in progress.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Emerald shouted at Ilia, her voice echoing through the building, which was filled almost to the brim with stolen Dust. It had been impressive that he and the White Fang had made good their losses from the debacle at the Docks in such as short time, but that achievement was currently lost on the irate pickpocket.
"I was cleaning up the mess you made," the chameleon replied. She had reverted to her natural colouring and taken her hood down, but her mask was still on and her overall expression and body language was stiff and controlled.
"We had it under control," Mercury countered, stepping up beside Emerald.
"Oh, looked to me like you were getting your asses handed to you," Ilia quirked a small grin, "You two would have been in serious trouble if I handed stepped in. You're very fortunate that I decided to follow you on your impromptu errand."
"We would have handled it," Emerald reiterated again, "And it was thanks to you that the girl in black got away. Why did you stop me attacking? Why didn't you kill her like you did to Tukson?"
"I…have my reasons. And they are no concern of yours."
Before Emerald and Mercury could respond to that, Roman Torwick exited the small office space and walked out to the main warehouse floor where the three were standing.
"What is all this racket?" He demanded before seeing who it was. "Oh…it's you. What are you doing here?"
"We're cleaning up a mess that should have been your job," Emerald replied, pointing a finger at Torchwick.
"Oh well, aren't you diligent, like the kids I never wanted," Torwich said sarcastically, "But your fire-spewing 'mommy' told you stay put."
"Please, spare us the imagine of you procreating," Emerald replied, turning her nose up into the air.
Torchwick ignored the quip and turned to Ilia.
"And you weren't supposed to move from your observations of Beacon without direct orders from Adam. You didn't get bored and wander off, did you?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you," Ilia took a step towards Torwick, not willing to take any criticism from a human, especially scum like him.
A loud clinking sound echoed through the warehouse and everyone turned to the pile of Dust crates in the centre of the room. There, sitting on the top crate, was a short woman with hair that was half pink, half brown. She had a white jacket and brown pants and a light pink umbrella rested across her lap.
She had bowel in her hands, with the spoon inside being the source of the clinking. She put the bowel down and slowly licked a small drop of ice-cream from her lips before leaping off the small mountain of crates. She opened her umbrella and drifted slowly to the ground, landing gracefully next to Ilia.
She folded her umbrella and looked up at the masked Faunus, a small smile on her face.
"Ilia, meet Neapolitan. She's a long-time associate of mine and will be working with us from now on," Torwick explained, a smile appearing on his face as well. "I'm sure you two will get along just great."
"You're both psychotic, homicidal bitches, after all."
Torwick left that observation unsaid, as while Neo had her own quirks he had to navigate carefully, he did fully trust her to watch his back, which was invaluable in this line of work.
The two assassins continued to stare at each other, the tension rising between them and even Torchwick was beginning to worry thing might get out of hand when another clinking sound, this time from a pair of heels, brought everyone's attention to the now open doorway.
"What," Cinder Falls asked, her voice hard, "is going on here?"
"Cinder!" Emerald exclaimed, jogging to her side like a little puppy.
"Just getting everyone introduced, though it seems your little 'helpers' spent the night on the town," Roman said, gesturing towards Emerald and Mercury.
"We were out dealing with Tukson while you were sitting on your butt counting Dust crystals," Mercury sneered.
"The White Fang operator who caught part of a transmission between Sienna Khan and Adam?" Cinder asked, receiving a nod from Emerald and Mercury. "I thought I told you to take care of it," she looked at Torchwick, eyes blazing.
"I had it under control," Torchwick reiterated.
"Packed bags and a ticket to Menagerie would say otherwise," Emerald said with a smirk.
"That's what I was counting on!" Torchwick roared back, taking the others by surprise. "I was waiting for him to get on the boat and then kill him, where I'd have the body dumped overboard. No body, no crime, which is the probably the opposite of what you did. Let me guess, you went right into his store and attack him there, leaving a crime scene that the police will have to investigate and if they do their jobs properly, then they'll connect all the little dots back to the White Fang and to us."
Torchwick pulled out a cigar and put it in his mouth. "You may not like me, but don't disrespect me. I'm a professional who's been in this business a lot longer than you."
Emerald glared back but couldn't come up with a response before Cinder turned to her.
"Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?"
"We thought-"
"Don't think…obey."
"Yes ma'am. It won't happen again," Emerald said, head hung low. Mercury simply looked away, not trying to be apologetic.
"There were no complications, I assume."
Cinder's question was met with an awkward moment of silence before Emerald spoke up.
"There was…some trouble in the bookstore," Emerald admitted hesitantly.
"There was a second person in the shop, a girl dressed in black with a mask on," Mercury interjected. "She honestly looked like some kind of thief, but she fought alongside Tukson, so she must have been a friend or something."
"I used my Semblance right away, she never got a good look at us or anything," Emerald added hastily, hoping to cover up their misstep.
"You took care of her as well, I trust?"
Cinder's question brought another round of silence.
"We…we…" Emerald faltered under Cinder's gaze, before finding her resolute. "We would have taken care of her, if Ilia had stopped me!"
Cinder looked over at the chameleon girl, who didn't seem to flinch at all.
"I have…my reasons," was all she had to say on the matter.
Ilia had gotten wind of both Tukson's plan to leave Vale and Emerald and Mercury's plan to stop him. Anything involving the White Fang should have gone through Adam, and thus onto her, but Cinder wanted to keep as much under her own personal purview as possible.
She had followed Cinder's two lackeys to Tukson's Book trade, taking a spot on the rooftop opposite the store, with a clear view inside through the large store windows. She almost laughed at their fumbling attempts to be menacing, though it seemed effective on Tukson. When the girl in black suddenly showed up and a full on brawl began, she made no move to intervene, happy for the show.
It was only when the mysterious girl was pushed towards the front of the store, back to the windows, that Ilia got a good look at her, at her butt specifically.
She recognized that ass anywhere. It had been there on repeat in her mind since that night at the docks and had seen it in her dreams over and over in the past weeks, everything little bit of it burned into her brain.
She had also stared at it for hours on end through binoculars as she staked out Beacon Academy.
Adam had ordered her to observe the Beacon students that had fought them at the docks, wanting to know as much as possible about that group of teenagers managed to hold their own so well and even thwarted their plans. He didn't single any of the group out, beside the freakishly strong girl with the hammer, but he had subtlety mentioned that he wanted information of the red-haired girl he had dueled.
For the first time in her career in the White Fang, Ilia had disobeyed. She still got info on all of them but beyond the base facts that hammer girl, Nora, had a strong Semblance and the red-head, Pyrrha, was some kind of Champion from Mistral, there was nothing interesting about them.
Not interesting to Ilia, at least, as her attention was firmly placed on the cat Faunus she had fought that night. Blake Xiao Long…it had taken no time or effort at all for the experienced spy to find that information out and she had spent the last few week watching from afar, taking in every aspect and movement of her.
Her gorgeous ass got most of Ilia's attention, but she took in all of her; how her long legs moved, how her hair flowed in the breeze, how her back arched when she back-flipped, she took in everything.
She had even mentioned to get a glimpse of her coming out of the shower once. Ilia had almost fallen out of her perch, a stream of blood coming from her nose as she uncontrollably began to giggle.
This amazing girl…her Blake…
Seeing her at the store made Ilia jump into action, as she couldn't risk Blake getting hurt while also letting Tukson get away. She had stopped Emerald attack, protecting Blake while also finishing the job against Tukson. There was no way he would survive a wound like that, so she was content to take Emerald and Mercury and flee the scene before things escalated further.
Cinder looked harshly at Ilia, not liking her explanation at all but having no recourse as she wasn't technically under her authority.
"Were you followed?" She asked, looking at Ilia but directing the question at Emerald.
"No, we split up and took separate, non-direct paths back here. Made sure we weren't being follow each step of the way."
She had been thorough at least, and despite misgivings she was sure both Mercury and Ilia had been careful as well.
"Good. Make sure it doesn't go sideways like that again," Cinder said.
"Maybe we should take this as a lesson that it's best when you let me do my job," Roman quipped, point at everyone with his cigar. "It would also be a good idea to let me in on the next step of your master-plan…it might help my next set of robberies go along more smoothy and prevent any more missteps like tonight."
Emerald and Mecury glared at him but kept their mouth shut for now.
"Oh Roman," Cinder said, approaching him, "You'll know what you need when you need to know it." She place a hand on his face and Torchwick seemed transfixed for a moment before turning away.
"Besides," Cinder continued, walking away, "we're done with Dust. Have…Request Adam to have the White Fang clear out the building. I'll send you details and coordinates shortly."
"Coordinates?" Roman asked. Coordinates, instead of an address, would imply they were going outside the Kingdom.
"We're proceeding to phase 2," Cinder replied looking back at Roman with a smirk. She turned towards Ilia, her face hardening.
"This girl in black…she needs to be dealt with. I don't care if she didn't see your faces or knows who you are, I won't allow any loose ends."
"Don't worry about her," Ilia said calmly, before a wide, unsettling smile graced her face. "She…she's all mine…"
With that, Ilia walked away, out the door and back into the night. Everyone was silent for a moment before a sharp gesture from Cinder got everyone moving again.
Emerald didn't have a good opinion of that girl in black, she had interrupted their hit and in doing so made her look foolish in front of Cinder. She wanted nothing more then to get her hands around their neck but seeing that smile from Ilia, she couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for them.
Having that creepy girl's attention was something she wouldn't wish on anyone.
That's it for this chapter, with the plot of Volume 2 in full swing now.
I can't say that Sun and Neptune are my favorite characters, but I do have some plans for them. I feel it is in keeping with the show for Neptune to be a bit of jackass who tries way too hard to be smooth and charming at first, with more layers being revealed later. He'll be the butt of a couple more jokes for a while, but it won't be for too long.
Moved the murder attempt on Tukson from the middle of day in the show, which makes no sense to me, to the more realistic option of them going at night. Emerald and Mercury are supposed to be somewhat experienced with this sort of thing, so committing murder at night is far more sensible then in broad day light. I also gave more reason to why Tukson was targeted, as nothing is given in show as to why his leaving the White Fang was serious enough that he had to be killed. Here, I made it that he was a direct threat to Adam and Sienna Khan, and thus to Cinder's plan. His survival brings a unique element to the story now, with Blake's connection to him serving as the reason why she, and the rest of her Team, decide to take on the White Fang in Vale.
I don't know enough about medicine to know if what Blake did would actually work or just kill Tukson outside, but for the sake of this story, she was able to save him. He's going to be in a coma, so unable to help identify his attackers but Cinder's group thinks he's dead for now, so he'll be safe for a while.
When Qrow interrupted Cinder's attack on Amber, we see her face have some obscuring lines from Emerald's Semblance masking her face. I don't feel the small effect we saw wouldn't really stop Qrow from potentially recognizing her. In my Story, Emerald can obscure entire bodies in these static lines, making it impossible to make anything out. While she can also make her and others appear invisible as well, I'm going with that it takes more time and focus to pull that off, while the static effect is something she can pull out almost instantly. Because of it, Blake couldn't make out anything about Emerald or Mercury, not their bodies, clothes, or weapons. Thanks to the shock, she also won't immediately recognize their voices but that might change in the future.
As this story goes on, I'm discovering new way to develop characters and add to their quirks. Case in point, Pyrrha has a nervous tick in regard to the word 'Destiny'. I just thought it while writing that section of the chapter, but it just seems to fit this version of Pyrrha well. This could potentially mean that characters differ from what they were in earlier chapters and I apologize.
Adam's White Fang is a bit more separated from Cinder's control in this story, as Adam doesn't fully trust her. I felt it was a little off how Adam was willing to give complete control over his faction to a human. I know he was forced to, and he was already more then a little insane at that point, but still odd that he was willing to be an obedient servant to a human, even if it meant destroying all other humans, at least at the beginning. Cinder will have to be a little more diplomatic, acting as if this is an equal partnership and so has no direct control over Ilia.
Ilia is not a good person in this story. I'm very much going with a reversal of the show, with a redeemable Adam and an irredeemable Ilia. I know she's a very popular and I like her too, but I feel this adds a very unique aspect to the story. She will be an important part of the story, of that I can assure you, just different from how she ends up in the show.
The next chapter will be more set-up with characters, particularly JNPR, before moving onto the group's plan to find the White Fang and the fight against Torchwick and the Paladin.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading and please leave a review or PM to let me know what you think.
P.S. Only realized as I was posting this chapter that it's almost been 5 years to the day since I posted the first chapter. Doesn't seem like it's been that long but it's certainly been a journey. It all started as a little side-story brought about by a Youtube reaction to the end of the Yellow trailer, where they wonder if all four of the girls were sisters, which set my mind moving. It wasn't going to be very big or anything, but as grown to being the primary story I'm been spending my time on. I like to think I've improved somewhat as a writer in that time but I've certainly haven't gotten as many chapters out as I would have liked. I do hope to finish this story, no matter how many years or how long after RWBY ended it may be. Life, School, Jobs and my desire to write a full novel one day are all thing impacting my ability to write this story, but I still hope to see in through to the end. I thank you all for sticking with me this long, as all the reviews and messages help make my day when things get tough and help me keep going.
Here's to another 5 years of Sisterhood. Cheers.
