Summary: Team SYBR finally decide to put aside their differences and work together to take down the Fang. What's Weiss' motivation though? It's revealed this chapter.

A meeting with Adam presents Penny with a moral dilemma whereas the same meeting confirms that Penny is a threat to the White Fang's agenda and must be eliminated.

Adam walked through the halls of Beacon, performing one duty after another. At the moment, he had to go pick up a teacher's lunch from the cafeteria, and so he zoomed in, hardly taking any notice of his surroundings.

A decision that would prove to be a mistake as he was suddenly planted with a pie to the face.

"Sorry about that buddy," a second year, the one responsible for what just happened, "But it's a grass pie and I know how much you pullers love your grass. Don't be shy to finish it up."

The word 'puller' was offensive slang to refer to faunus who's animal features match that of beasts of burden like bulls and horses.

Although Adam was seeing red, he still managed to spot Gordo and the rest of his team at a corner of the cafeteria watching intently. He had to admit that he was impressed with Gordo's foresight; rather than taking retribution on Adam himself for testing him, he sent someone else to do it so that he could avoid the troubles that may come from bullying an underclassman and also evaluate how strong Adam was due to the conflicting testimonies of his fighting abilities.

Adam let out a small chuckle in his head as he searched for a handkerchief and started wiping his face.

"I'll give you the option between recanting that insult and receiving a beating."

"Is that so?" the second year asked, flashing his teeth in amusement, that wasn't too wise of him because well, his teeth were a pretty good target for the redhead's fist.

The very next second, he was down on the floor, hand covering his struck face. That wasn't

Adam's concern as he pulled him up and turned him over delivering a slap to his face and then another one and repeating the process.

Smack!

The sound of the strikes resounded throughout the cafeteria, and combined with the dangerous Aura of the bull faunus, the entire room remained silent in awe.

He hadn't been joking when he said it'd be a beating; thankfully though, he remembered that he

Still had an errand to run and he let the senior go and proceeded to do his work.

This was the first fight the faunus had officially been in at Beacon and it was enough to build him a reputation as one who would not be trifled with without consequence.

xXx

"Wow!" Ruby exclaimed as she stared at the CCT, "I always forget how big it is."

"You should see the one in Atlas," Weiss said proudly, a hint of patriotism lacing her voice.

"That was the first one right?"

"Correct," she said, slowly starting to look how Ruby did when she talked about weapons, "After The Great War, it was Atlas' gift to the world, it connected us in a way that we'd never been before."

"Yeah," Ruby said craftily, "Communication is the best."

"Nice try," Weiss said, catching on immediately, "But still, we are talking a lot more aren't we?"

"That doesn't count; you're just using each other."

"I don't see the problem with that," she said, folding her arms, "We both get what we want and it's not hurting anyone."

"She's your teammate," Ruby insisted, her voice cracking a little bit, "You don't see what's wrong with that?"

"Listen here!" Weiss said, "I played nice, I was patient, I went out of my way just for the sake of the team and it all blew up in my face. I did my part, more than you did, so what makes you think that you can lecture me?"

xXx

Meanwhile, Emerald was watching the pair argue from a distance while relating it to Adam, who was in another location, by text.

Emerald: Perhaps they shouldn't be fighting so publicly.

Adam: Those two have been making scenes from the first day they met.

Emerald: Lol. Can I ask you a question?

Adam: Shoot.

Emerald: About what you did earlier, was it a kind of statement?

Adam: In a sense, it was; I wanted to tell the whole school that any trouble they brought my way would be returned humiliatingly.

Emerald: So, it wasn't about faunus or anything?

Adam: No, why would it? Faunus weren't getting picked on, I was.

Emerald: But they pick on a lot of other faunus too, like that bunny girl, I honestly expected that you'd run in there from the first day it happened and break it up.

Adam: They pick on a lot of the human students too. If I thought her being bullied had anything to do with racism, then I'd be more likely to respond to it, I frankly just used her situation as an excuse to mess with them.

Emerald: Why do you think it isn't racist?

Adam: Because the common feature of all their 'victims' isn't bunny ears, it's that they don't fight back. Cowards get targeted; it's as simple as that.

Emerald: But it must have bothered you even a little bit right? There were tons of other students you could have targeted for your 'message', why team FROG?

Adam: They were the first team I encountered that fit all the criteria, that's all.

Emerald: I'll ask you what you mean by that later, they seem to be done. Yeah, there's a third girl there now, long, red hair, awkward body language and freckles, Ruby just started running after her.

Adam: A backpack by any chance?

Emerald: Yeah, you know her?

Adam: I do, I need to speak to her, alone.

Emerald: Got it.

xXx

"Ruby wait," Weiss called out as her partner up and abandoned her. The heiress decided to continue on her own after thinking for a few moments, she hadn't wanted her around anyway.

Weiss walked into the building and headed straight for the elevator leading to the communications room. The usually composed girl is clearly nervous as she tries, and fails, to put on a poker face.

Immediately she walked into the room, she came to face to face with a holographic secretary.

"Welcome Miss Schnee," the projection said with a smile that made her look like Zhu Li, "Your father has already reserved a special room for you. This way if you would."

She was directed into a small but comfortable looking room with a screen. "Enjoy yourm experience," the hologram said before flickering out of existence.

"I'm glad you're early," came a voice from the screen which was now on, "Take a seat and let's get started."

"Good afternoon father," she said to the man on the screen, "What happened to your clothes?" The CEO of the Schnee Dust Company and one of the most respected men in all of Remnant sat before his daughter with clothes that were tattered and stained red.

"When I said I had to make a call in private and refused to tell her to whom, your mother happened," he said with a sort of cool, mild irritation, "She was probably hoping that I'd produce one of the many mistresses she's been sure that I've been keeping but have never seemed to turn up."

"Is that blood?"

"No, wine," he said, "She was very drunk you see."

"Why do you have to be honest about these things," Weiss complained, "Most fathers would laugh it off and say 'nothing serious dear' if they were asked."

"Most fathers wouldn't be able to get this room," he said with a small smile, to which his daughter simply rolled her eyes, "How are you child?"

"Terrible," she said, leaning into the chair and revealing the only undignified posture she knew,

"Your advice totally failed."

"As I expected it to," he responded.

"You set me up to fail? That trick's gotten tired don't you think?"

"You failed because you lost your temper, right? And I'm sure the other person was doing enough to justify that, but they didn't cross the line, you did. And now your team is divided, coming together once in a while because it's required. But that's just my guess."

"Any other advice?"

"You need to do two things; exactly what I told you before and…"

"I know you like to be dramatic but could you hurry this along?"

"…Apologise, sincerely."

"That's not going to work," Weiss said angrily, throwing her face away from her father, "I don't feel sorry."

"Wait until you do then," he advised, "It'll happen eventually… but again, that's just my guess."

"Either way," he said seriously as he sat up, "You haven't told either Cardin or Whitley about what happened at the docks right?"

Weiss wasn't sure what to be surprised by, his sudden change in topic and tone or his question.

"What do you mean?" she asked, knowing exactly what he meant.

"You encountered that White Fang member," he said, "The one that-"

"I know what she did!" she shouted, interrupting her father.

"The SDC has been investigating the movements of the White Fang and have concluded that their base is somewhere to the north of Vale, in Forever Fall."

He said sombrely, unaffected by his sudden interruption it seemed.

"But you think…?" she asked, knowing from his choice of words that he had something to say.

"They're in the southeast."

"But that's just your guess?" she asked, with a cocked brow, before letting out a sigh, "Southeast it is."

"I'll give you a few days before I make the knowledge known to the authorities, James is just dying to know I'm sure."

"Why tell me though? Isn't dangerous for your daughter to go around fighting terrorists?"

"Because you need it don't you?" he asked, "You need it because you think that they need it. You're wrong."

"And you're still helping me do it." She stated dryly.

"You're wrong, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it either way. But in exchange, you'll have to tell them everything."

"Why not tell them yourself?"

"My, my, you're full of questions today aren't you?" he said, letting his first complaint loose, as he stroked his moustache playfully, "I feel that you'll know exactly why when the time comes."

"As helpful as ever I see."

xXx

While the Schnee's were having their cordial family discussion, Ruby was running, as she had been for the past few minutes, and she was pretty sure that she was lost and more importantly, that she had lost Penny.

It was the strangest thing, she had seen Penny and kept on following her for a while but then she suddenly disappeared and Ruby was in an alley she had never seen before.

xXx

Penny was running as fast as she could, she had to run, she had just seen Ruby, she couldn't see Ruby anymore, General Ironwood had told her to avoid any more trouble and she was sure that trouble was Ruby's last name.

Suddenly though, she ran into something and fell down because she had been looking back to make sure that Penny didn't follow her.

Ow, thought Adam, the thing she had just run into, Why is she so heavy?

Immediately she noticed him, she jumped backwards and pulled out her weapons, letting a few of them loose as she aimed the faunus.

"What are you attacking me for?" he asked as he pulled out his blade and tried combating hers that were attacking him from multiple positions.

"You were the person that aided the White Fang member I was trying to detain."

"You were going to kill her," Adam said as he liberated himself and tried to run her through, "Not to mention the rest of us if that blast hit any of the shipment."

"Do you know who she is?" asked Penny angrily, as she dodged him and released more blades, she was taking the opportunity to analyse his fighting style and Semblance if possible.

"She's a dangerous criminal and an enemy of Atlas."

Atlas eh? He thought silently, That would explain a few things, maybe that crazy blast was some

sort of new weapon.

"That's a good a justification as any," he said mildly, as he flipped in between two blades that were trying to slash him but was nicked by the third.

"What do you mean by 'justification'?" she asked, "I don't have to justify myself."

"If you insist," he said, surprised that she had stopped her attack to contemplate his statement.

Penny was almost shocked by his statement, her eyes widened for just a fraction of a second. Killing wasn't right, both the General and her father had told her that. She still had to take down enemies of Atlas though, she was trying to resolve this contradiction in her logic; how could both be right if one of them could mean doing the opposite of the other?

Adam watched nearly dumbfounded by the fact that she had ceased her assault suddenly to think about his casual statements.

The ideal thing would be to kill her now, he thought to himself, she seemed fairly vulnerable now that she wasn't concentrating on him, still he doubted that he would be able to finish her off before help would come, if he could defeat her at all.

As though being shocked out of her contemplation, she suddenly looked upwards.

"I'm sorry, I have to go now," she said as she ran away, "I'll answer your question later."

Adam was surprised, but it wasn't like he could keep her or would gain anything from doing so, so he just watched her go, frustrated at himself for having let the Schnee go and following the other girl rather. He hoped that Neo was having more luck than he was.

xXx

"Oh there you are Penny," said General Ironwood as Penny walked up beside him, "You almost had me worried for a moment."

"General," she asked as the two walked into the limousine that was transporting them, "I have a question."

"Mhm," he mumbled as he stared at his scroll, trying to get some work done before they arrived at their hotel.

"As the future defender of Mantle, I should strive to defend the kingdom and its people at all cost shouldn't I?"

"Yes," Ironwood answered in an almost questioning manner, his attention no longer on his scroll.

"Even if it means killing the enemy?"

"There are sometimes it will."

"But one of the things both you and father told me was that killing was wrong and that I should always avoid hurting people."

"Where's this coming from Penny?" he asked, surprised at her line of questioning.

"I met someone," she said, "And he got me thinking on whether protecting Mantle was justification for… ending a life."

"I didn't have an answer sir," she said as she looked up at him hopefully, "I was hoping that you would."

"This is no easy question," the general said, "Someone more romantic, and probably wiser, than me would tell you to follow your heart."

"However," he continued, "The little I've experienced has taught me something… the heart lies, if you've really ever listened to your heart, it'll tell you to run away from danger you must face, give in to anger that you must overcome and surrender to desire you must tame."

"Don't get me wrong," he said as he leaned back in his chair, "The heart still has an important place; one that cannot be substituted with anything else, but its place is certainly not in these type of decisions."

"What else would I use sir?" Penny asked as she placed a hand on her chest wondering if she even had one.

Ironwood replied by pulling out a pair of pistols from his pockets, and handing them over to Penny.

"Do you know what these are called?"

"Uh, guns?" she asked, unsure of what exactly he meant.

"True," he said with a small chuckle, "But specifically, it's called Due Process, you know what that is don't you?"

"The limitations of law and legal proceedings to protect a person's rights, freedom and liberty."

"Not just the limitations of the law," he said as he turned the safety off, "But its enforcers."

After saying this, he turned the safety back on and slipped it back into his pocket.

"Men follow their principles," he said as he put his hand on her shoulder, "But soldiers follow the law. We don't let our personal feelings get in the way of doing what's right for the people in our charge. You may have killed or severely injured that boy at the docks because you were angry at that White Fang member. Your heart would have made you a traitor to the very cause you believe in."

The very cause she believed in?

Why's the General speaking like this? She asked herself as she bent her head and placed her hand on her chest once more, As though he doesn't know I'm made of metal, that my chest is hollow anytime I knock, hoping a heart will answer, as though he doesn't know that all these things are programmed into me?

"Penny," General Ironwood called, breaking the girl out of her contemplations, "Feel my hand," he said as thrust it towards her.

The android obeyed, surprised to find that it felt differently than normal.

"There's more metal than bone in my body," he said sadly, "There are days I look myself in the mirror and can't tell whether I'm a man or a machine."

"However, so long as I look even deeper, I can tell that it doesn't matter; I'm the General, tasked with the safety and future of his people. My constitution doesn't have any effect on that."

"You're not like other girls, I can assure you of that, but that only means that you're different. You'll do good soldier, no matter what identity defines you. You are the Defender of Mantle and regardless of what you're made of."

"Oh we're here," he said happily, "Can't wait for some of that mint chocolate."

xXx

"Okay, you've had your ice-cream," Blake said impatiently, "Now tell me how you know how to get into a Fang faction meeting."

"Well," Sun responded uncomfortably, "It happened a few days ago…"

"And?"

"I had just gotten out of… trouble, and I met some guys who said they worked for Mig Royston?"

"Who?"

"Look at me Blake," Sun said as he looked her straight on, "Haven't you ever wondered how a guy like me was able to get into an academy like Haven?"

Blake didn't answer and instead took a bite into her ice-cream and looked away, not prepared to say anything about that.

"Mig Royston was supposedly some rich philanthropist who helped faunus get on their feet," Sunsaid, "I found out that it's just an alias for a White Fang subsidiary, they run various charities all over Remnant, including my hometown, Huago.

"When I arrived in Vale, some of their members tried to recruit me, I told them to screw themselves, but they gave me a way to contact them, I can find out what they're up to and tell you about it when we meet later."

"You're not going alone," Blake said seriously, "There's no way you think that I'm not following you."

"Except the Fang know who you are," he responded impatiently, "There's no way that they won't be able to recognise you."

"...Let me worry about that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, somehow having the state of mind to keep the entire conversation in terse whispers.

"I need you to trust me Sun," Blake said, staring straight into his blue eyes, "Please."

"You're asking me to put your life in danger by doing this," he said.

"It's not in any danger, I promise you."

xXx

While the two conversed, Neo sat a distance away from them, making sure she wasn't within sight or earshot of them. Although, no one would have associated the burly, hairy man on the other side of the street with the ice-cream themed waifu that the entire fandom loved.

She was using her Semblance, Overactive Imagination, to follow them stealthily.

xXx

In the seedier parts of town, Bumblebee (not the transformer) sped through the streets smoothly as they approached Junior's Nightclub.

"Come on," she said as she parked the bike, and took her helmet off, "My friend is just over here."

"And where exactly is..." Neptune asked with trepidation as he got down, "...here."

xXx

Inside, Mercury had just finished his drink and was headed to the back of the club. "Remember what you have to do Junior, its time you got some balls on you."

xXx

"Guess who's back?" Yang shouted as she busted into the room, "Junior, long time no see."

"Oh," he said miserably, "It's you."

"Come on," she said, "No need to act tough just 'cause all your men are here, I know that you missed me."

"What do you want?" he asked tensely, genuinely scared that she was going to hurt him now that

Melanie and Militia weren't here with him. Heck, if they were with him, they'd probably just get drunk like the last time.

"Straight to the point," Yang said cheekily, "That's what I like about you. I'm trying to find someone."

xXx

"I'm glad that you came," said Tilling the rat faunus as he walked towards Sun, "You even brought a friend."

"Don't be glad," he said as he pulled Blake against himself, "I never said that I'd be joining, I just want to... understand you."

"That's all we ask," he said as he led them towards the meeting point.

Sun was surprised, he was sure that they would have needed to fight their way in once they recognised Blake whose only change was the fact that she was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans.

"Here," Tilling said as he passed them a pair of Grimm masks.

"I don't get it though," Sun asked as they walked towards the vehicle that was going to transport them to the location of the faction meeting, "If you believe that what you're doing is right, then why wear masks?"

"Our leader said something like this: 'The things needed for freedom cannot be achieved by people, only monsters can walk the path that is necessary'"

"You actually believe that?" Sun asked.

"Not at all," he said with a shrug and a smirk, "Everyone knows people are much worse than any Grimm, still it's a cool concept."

At the meeting point, several faunus filed in, eager to hear the message of the White Fang.

Amongst them, Neo discreetly followed Blake and Sun prepared to intervene and make sure they didn't do any serious damage.

xXx

"So," Sun shouted as he and Blake run out of the White Fang faction meeting, a couple of Paladins on their tail, "You wouldn't happen to have, I don't know, some backup?"

"Everyone," Blake shouted into her scroll, "If you're out there we nee-"

"Help!" Sun said, completing her sentence. Weiss who had just found Ruby in some alley responded to the call and ran to Blake's aid.

xXx

Ironwood's scroll rang suddenly and he picked it up.

"Sir," one of his subordinates said from over the call, "We just got a tip from a Blake Dellarobia, she says that she infiltrated a White Fang faction meeting at these coordinates. What would you have us do sir?"

"Order all local Huntsmen and police to stand down," he said as he turned to the android next to him, "Penny, it's about time you go make a name for yourself, take the new Atlesian Knights and handle the situation."

"Are you sure General?"

"Yeah, but make sure that no one knows it's you, go into stealth mode and make sure that you don't reveal Floating Array."

"Yes sir," she said as what looked like a sort of black fabric emerged from her backpack began to wrap around her form, concealing her identity, "I will do my best."

"I have no doubt about that."

xXx

"How exactly did you get a group of mechas chasing you?" Weiss asked angrily as the team was slowly being surrounded by them.

"Team leaders are supposed to make plans and not irrelevant conversation."

""What do you propose we do about it?"

"The only option is to fight," Blake said, "Yang and I will engage, while Ruby should get some range and use her rifle to back us up. Weiss, we'll depend on you the most, your Glyphs are going to be the difference between life and death for us."

"Nothing about that statement made me feel pressure at all, thanks," she said as she followed readied Myrtenaster, prepared to battle for all she was worth.

A mech rushed at them suddenly, accelerating in seconds and arriving on Yang before she could even react.

Luckily, a Glyph spawned in front of her and reduced the Paladin's momentum giving her enough time to dodge out of the way.

"Thanks for that," she saluted at Weiss without taking her eyes off their opponents.

"We only need to stall them for a while," Blake said as she charged towards one of them, evading its projectiles all the while, "The authorities will be here shortly."

"Blake," came Sheena's voice from the bridge above them, "I can't believe you'd call the cops on us. You're really vying for that persona non grata status aren't you?"

Immediately she completed her sentence, a large spike of ice appeared in front of her, threatening to take her head along on its flight.

Suddenly though, she moved her head backwards at an impossible angle, evading the spike.

"I'll kill you!" shouted Weiss as she rushed towards her. Unfortunately, a Paladin jumped before the General, ready to strike Weiss down.

Luckily though, a sniper round from Crescent Rose changed the trajectory of the blow and saving the heiress.

"I have a friend that you remind me of," she said as she fired a dust round from a firearm on her waist, sending the heiress flying, "I at least imagine that he looked something like that."

However, this distracted Ruby from the Paladins that Blake and Yang were trying to evade, since aid from neither Weiss or Ruby was provided, the two girls were taken down a few seconds later and the Paladins surrounded the last two members.

"That wasn't well thought out," Sheena said, almost disappointed in her manner, "Oh well, the

Schnee and the traitor will suffice as hostages, kill the other two."

"You won't get away with this," Weiss whispered somberly, tears pooling in her eyes, "I promise you, I promise you that I'll make you pay!"

Suddenly, a flash of red light appeared, striking one of the Paladins and sending it flying backwards.

"Red Rain," came an automated voice from behind the large, still smoking muzzle of the Atlesian Dust Subcannon, Violent Prayer, "You are under arrest for your crimes against the Kingdom of Atlas."

Once she said this, the new Atlesian Knights appeared, surrounding the entire scene.

"Am I really? I seriously doubt that."

"Your faction meeting has already been surrounded by Atlesian Knights," she said, "Surrender, don't make it any more difficult for yourself."

"I'll tell you what is going to happen; you'll either keep me here and I'll kill the Schnee, an Atlesian citizen, or you'll let me go and call off your men. I promise that I won't say this twice."

"It's okay Penny," Ironwood said over her com link, "Your priority is the students, stand down and give her what she wants."

"I agree, let them go and I'll call them off."

"Sure," she said as she signalled the Paladin riders to unmount from their mechs, "We'll leave these with you as a parting gift."

As she said this, a bright light engulfed the entire area, and the next second, they were all gone.

"The paramedics will be arriving shortly; I'll make sure all of you are treated properly."

Ruby, the only one awake at the time, nodded as she scrambled to check on the others. She had been in a daze of sorts; they had all set out, ready to face evil and come home victorious, but they had failed spectacularly. It was a humbling kind of feeling, it tasted horrible; nothing like chocolate.

xXx

In the ambulance that was transporting them, the atmosphere around team SYBR was familiarly tense.

It was much different now though; there was a hint of shame to it, every single one of them had lost.

They'd gone in headfirst and face planted, it was a terrible feeling.

"What was wrong with you?" Blake asked angrily, "We had a plan, all you had to do was follow it and maybe we wouldn't all have nearly died!"

"I-I'm sorry," Weiss said humbly, recoiling into her seat, "You're right, it was all my fault."

"I don't need an apology, I want to know why you did it."

Blake was pretty confident that she was using this avenue to dump all of her feelings on this girl that she had despised for a long time, why shouldn't she?

She always ruined everything. So what if she wasn't just shouting out her anger at Weiss, even if she took out her frustration at the White Fang, her inability to gather information, the fact that she still wore that damned bow on her head to hide who she was really on her, it was okay.

"Red Rain," came Penny's still robotic voice from inside the car with them, "She is a terrorist with allegiance to the White Fang, charged with multiple events of arson, kidnapping and murders, including-"

"Stop," Weiss whispered, "Please stop."

"Including," Penny continued, not understanding why she was told to not answer, especially since the other person had asked first, "The murder of Castrum Winchester, the second born of the Valean Red Castle Winchester family."

The statement sent all of her teammates into shock; Winchester?

That was Cardin's last name, suddenly, they understood why Weiss and Cardin thought the way they did about faunus.

"Please," Weiss said, pulling her teammates out of their thoughts, "Don't tell me you understand, don't apologise. I'm barely holding myself together as it is, I wouldn't be able to bare any of that.

Please, just ignore what she said for now."

xXx

"How did they get their hands on my Paladins?" Ironwood asked as he paced around Ozpin's office furiously.

"You were wise to cordon off the area," Ozpin said as he offered a mug to his friend, "The panic that would have been spread if citizens saw terrorists using Atlas' latest tech has been reduced to a minimum."

"It doesn't do much for my panic," Glynda said tiredly, "If they could get their hands on James' toys, there's no telling what else they may be have a backdoor into."

"We may just have to wait and see."

"We'll do no such thing; I'll contact Lieutenant Schnee and have her make proper inquiries, whoever's responsible for this will meet the consequences."

xXx

"Why would you take the Paladins out onto the field?" Banesaw asked angrily, "They were supposed to be an ace for us."

"Just calm down," Sheena responded, "The level of panic and distrust that will result will be worth it."

"Hardly," he grunted, apparently dropping the matter, "Next time, don't fail to consult me."

"Okay, okay," she said, "Did you make any more chocolate?"

"Of course I did," he said annoyedly, as though it was obvious.

xXx

"It would seem that you girls just can't stay out of trouble," Ozpin said to team SYBR, who were assembled in his office, "There are a number of things you've done that deserve a suspension at the very least. However, General Ironwood saw it fit to reward you for not only searching out the criminals of the White Fang, but reporting them to the authorities, but I don't listen to everything that James says, if not we'd have Atlesian Knights guarding the bathrooms."

"As for now, you're prohibited from leaving the school premises until a further decision is reached about all of you. You can occupy your recuperation time with the dance and whatever other activities planned. You're all dismissed."

xXx

The girls walked out of the office and into their rooms despondently.

"We haven't much time," Weiss said sternly immediately their door was shut, "Tell me what you were all able to learn."

"Mine was a bust," Yang said depressedly, "I know he knew something, but before I could even really get into questioning him, he pulled out a restraining order. He's sleazy, but there isn't much I can do when he basically has the backing of the court."

"Same here," Blake reported, "I was naive to think they'd give out any helpful clues in a faction meeting that could be full of undercover agents. Not to mention that somebody spotted us before halfway in, some large, hairy guy, we needed to clear out instantly."

"Disappointing, but expected," Weiss said, "Either way, I know one thing for sure, their base is somewhere in the Southeast."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"My father told me," she responded, frowning suddenly at Blake's change in expression, "I've said it before, Jacques Schnee isn't a liar."

"Still, how does he know that?"

"He's also hardly ever wrong," she responded, "Besides, it's the closest thing to a lead we have."

"We're basically grounded, will we be able to go out and investigate for ourselves?"

"Perhaps we should report this to the Atlas military or the school," Blake suggested.

"That isn't going to happen," Weiss said as she locked her eyes with her faunus teammate.

"I... understand."

"Thank you," she said, although lacking any sincere gratitude. In this awkard atmosphere, the members of team SYBR tried to formulate a plan.

xXx

{You couldn't discern anything about her?} Adam asked Neo, who had watched the entire clash between team SYBR, Penny and the White Fang.

{Nothing.}

"What are you thinking?" Emerald asked him, after watching him contemplate for a few seconds.

{It's just a hunch, but I think that Penny might have something to do with it.}

{How come?}

{No reason,} he signed with a shrug, {Either way, killing her would be the safest option for us.

She's a very powerful enemy, I'm not confident in my ability to defeat her.}

{How do you plan to do it then?}

{Neo, you got the virus from Watts didn't you? Good, when you try to infect their systems with it, you'll help me set up a little present for her.}

{How will you get her there?}

"I invited her to the dance," he said with a sly smile, "And she accepted."

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