It might be obvious, but because Blake's Faunus revelation is well known in the show, I will not be going into details in this story. We'll be seeing it from Ruby and Jaune's perspective. They only get the information from what their team tells them through phone calls. Maybe a bit from Pyrrha's perspective when we jump to see how her Beacon life is. There will be some MAJOR differences. Obviously Ruby won't be there to save Blake, but there's also a few other differences that will become evident here. Butterfly affects are beginning to stack up.
Special thanks to ancientdragonduelist for betaing
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
"Blake was part of the White Fang?" Ruby repeated, a little dumbstruck. It at least explained why she was so vocal against Weiss against them. All the arguing Weiss and Blake had with each other, being on different sides, was beginning to make sense to the girl. "Why… how? What happened?"
"Heh, you guessed it." Yang let out a humorless laugh that did little to lighten the mood. "When we were in Vale yesterday, we came across a student from another school. He was a Vacuo student who stole some fruit and was bragging about it. Weiss of course didn't appreciate that and called him all sorts of names, nicest one was thief. Blake didn't take too kindly to that and those two were arguing for a while, even when we got back to Beacon last night. It got pretty intense."
Yang rubbed her nose.
"Their fighting kept escalating until they were yelling at each other and in the moment Blake let it slip," The blonde continued. "Shouting that they were tired of being pushed around and that's why she was part of the White Fang. I never saw Weiss shut up so fast and grow that pale. Blake then left and vanished. Weiss refused to talk about it-…"
"I didn't do anything wrong!" An annoyed voice snapped in the background, outside the camera screen.
"Shut up, Ice Queen!" Yang growled back. "You know this is your fault!"
"I never…! H-How dare you?!"
"Stop!" Ruby shouted into her phone. "There's no point in arguing about what happened in the past! Where's Blake now?"
"No idea." Yang shrugged. "She hasn't come back. I was about to go look for her, but wanted to let you know about the situation."
"What about Weiss?" Ruby demanded, her tone growing soft.
"I'm… pretty sure she's not going." Yang turned her head off screen for a second. "Yeah, it doesn't look like it."
"Put her on." Ruby's eyes narrowed.
"I don't think…"
"Put. Her. On." Ruby repeated each word deliberately slowly.
Yang looked hesitant, but relented under Ruby's gaze. The blonde knew that her younger sister rarely got angry, and right now, she wouldn't be surprised if Ruby started spitting venom. Ruby only saw some of the dorm room floor as the camera shook when Yang went to give it to Weiss. There was some muffled arguing in the background that was hard to make out. Ruby's sister finally won and Weiss' face came into view. The pale girl didn't look happy.
"I didn't do anything wrong." Weiss repeated. "I was honest."
Ruby wanted to yell but kept her temper. Would yelling do anything? Jaune told her on their trip he yelled at Pyrrha before they left and he felt bad about it. Weiss wasn't stupid, so Ruby had to explain how what she did was in fact, wrong.
"Weiss… you can be blunt," The young leader said carefully, trying to choose her words carefully. "And words can hurt people. The person who stole stuff, he was wrong too, I'm not denying that. But when you constantly call him names, you need to realize people can get upset with that. You don't like to let things drop."
Weiss almost looked embarrassed as she pursed her lips.
"Do you know what I had to go through as a kid, Ruby?" The heiress asked instead. "Seeing people I know disappear because of the White Fang? Being forced to have a target painted on my back because a group of Faunus decided I was responsible for everything bad that ever happened to them?"
"I don't," Ruby admitted. "And no one deserves that. At the same time, do you know what it was like to be a Faunus who was pushed to join the White Fang?"
"How are they pushed?" Weiss demanded this time, narrowing her eyes. "If the White Fang continues to cause violence, of course people are going to get upset and suspicious of Faunus. They are causing it themselves and getting other Faunus mixed up in everything."
"Did you ever ask why the White Fang was formed in the first place?"
The words that came out of Ruby's mouth were rather soft, but something about her tone put Weiss on edge.
"Because… they weren't happy with the current situation."
"Yes, but it's not what you think." Ruby's face went blank and Weiss was a little unnerved. "Uncle Qrow, Jaune, and I just finished a mission last night. Here in the border towns. A bunch of people, mostly Faunus, went missing. Our job was to find them. We did, but you know what we found?"
Weiss didn't answer, but Ruby purposely let the silence stretch out for a minute before continuing.
"Slave Traders."
To her credit, Weiss did gasp, but Yang's voice in the background was plenty audible.
"What the hell?!"
"Turns out the SDC discovered a new Dust vein and was looking for recruits." Ruby added.
"That's impossible!" Weiss instantly discounted it. "My father may have few morals, but he at least follows the law. Slaves are outlawed in Atlas, Vale, and Mistral. There's no way he could get away with that if he was encouraging it."
"Yes, Uncle Qrow pointed that out,' Ruby agreed reluctantly. "It looks like the SDC requested workers and one employment group decided slaves were the best way to help out."
"Then it's another organization's fault." Weiss sounded a little relieved.
"Maybe, we don't know yet." Ruby admitted. "But we found out they were targeting Faunus specifically because they considered them animals. People wouldn't go looking for them or worry about them like if they were humans. Luckily, they were wrong and we were able to help out."
That shut up Weiss.
"While bringing them back to town, we talked to some of them," Ruby continued, her voice getting more determined. "I learned a lot of things, some I wish I didn't. One of the things I learned is why some people wanted to join the White Fang. The kidnapping was going to make several of them join if they managed to escape. But there were stories that even Uncle Qrow verified. Were you ever hunted like an animal? Being shot at for sport? Or having a piece of your body cut off?"
"Ruby, what the heck is going on over there?!" Yang's face pushed Weiss out of the way over the video. "What kind of stuff is he teaching you?"
"He's teaching us about what it means to be Huntsman and Huntresses," Ruby answered simply. Her stomach churned as she said those things, but she had to remain strong. "This wasn't something Uncle Qrow wanted to tell us, but since we encountered it, he had to. He's treating me and Jaune like adults. Like you wouldn't."
Yang looked like she had been slapped.
"Weiss," Ruby addressed her partner. "I'm not saying you're bad or that you did anything. But please… understand that sometimes, indifference is just as bad. We all know to some degree Faunus are being discriminated against, some places worse than others. If you pretend it's not happening, nothing will be done to change things."
"So you want me to just somehow go and change everything in Atlas?" Weiss pushed Yang out of the way.
"What, no?! Of course not!" Ruby was a little annoyed Weiss was treating her as a child. "But if you see discrimination, you need to step up. Like how we all ignored Velvet being bullied by Cardin." Yang and Weiss were both in view of the camera here and were looking uncomfortable. They all felt bad about ignoring that poor girl's plight. "You two need to find Blake. Bring her back."
"She ran off on her own!" Weiss almost shouted. "After telling us she was part of the terrorist group."
"That's just it!" Ruby saw the silver lining. "She was part of the White Fang. That means she isn't part of them anymore. She's part of Team RWBY and we are all in this together. Just because we aren't together physically, doesn't mean we can't be there for each other. I'll try calling her, but you two need to find her. Search everywhere in Vale until you find her."
"Then what?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms. "Just forget everything?"
"TALK!" Ruby cried out. "Don't yell, don't go in there with the mindset you're right. Talk about what you both know, what you have gone through, and find out why she joined and what she wanted to do. Blake's not a bad person. I doubt she joined to attack people. She even focused on all of her arguments that they were peaceful protesters at first."
"She has a point, Weiss." Yang agreed, looking at the heiress. "Blake's reserved and all, but she's not the kind of person who would enjoy killing people. She came here to fight Grimm with us, as a Huntress."
A humph escaped Weiss' lips as the girl looked annoyed. Her gaze turned to the window and she seemed lost in thought. At last, she turned toward them and slowly nodded.
"Alright," Weiss decided. "Yang and I will find her and bring her back. I won't rest until I hear everything from her. Even if it takes a week. We're going to figure out what to do about this together. Ruby, you better be ready for a call because you're going to be part of this."
"Sure, I'll let my uncle know." Ruby tried to smile. It was strained because she was still worried, but at least she was able to smile a little. "Weiss… Thank you. I know it's tough and I have so much to tell you and Yang, but right now, Blake's our friend. She takes priority."
"You're right," Weiss admitted, also trying to give Ruby a small smile in return. "I'm not sure what all you've gone through, but you've changed. You're not the whining little girl anymore."
"I was never whiny!" Ruby cried out, waving her arm indignantly.
"Ah, maybe you haven't changed that much. Give it time."
Weiss left the screen as Ruby stuck out her tongue and Yang took the opportunity to say a few words.
"She's right, you know. It's already obvious you've changed and it's only been a week or two."
"We're learning about things regardless if we want to or not." Ruby sighed and leaned back against a fence. "It's… rough, but I can't deny it's working. Jaune's really grown too."
"We'll talk more once we find her and settle this," Yang promised. "Weiss and Blake will have to have their heart to heart talk then I'll call."
"I'll still try to call her first and let her know we all care." Ruby promised back. "I'll call you if I ever get through."
"Got it, we'll get through this."
"I know we will."
They hung up and Ruby slumped on the ground. Pulling her legs close to her chest, she had to resist curling into a ball in worry. Her words were a lot surer than she felt. What should have been a joyous day of celebrating, kept getting turned on its head. Now her team had problems and she couldn't be there to help find Blake. Did she make a mistake leaving them behind? Ruby tried calling Blake a couple of times, but no answer.
"Hey, Ruby! I brought lunch… are you okay?"
Ruby looked up to see Jaune walking toward her carrying a box.
"You aren't hurt are you?" Her friend asked worriedly, kneeling down next to her. "Was Qrow's training too rough?"
"No, it's not that." Ruby shook her head. "It's… my team. Something happened. Something big, and there's not much I can do from here."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jaune asked, sitting down next to her.
"Yes!" Ruby waved her hands in exasperation. "But I don't think I can… it's really personal." She wrapped her arms around her knees. "I'm not sure if I should talk about it."
"You know how I feel about it." Jaune told her, sitting down beside her. "I haven't had the best luck with people keeping secrets for me, so I'm not going to pry. If you do want to tell me, I'll listen and give advice as best as I can, but I will promise I won't tell anyone unless you give me permission."
Ruby bit her lip.
Part of her wanted to tell him everything. It was eating away at her and she wanted advice of some kind. So much so, she was thinking of going to her uncle. Qrow would probably just say there's nothing they can do and not worry about it. She needed more than that. Even if Ruby was a kickass Huntress, she was still 15 years old and was a jumble of emotions.
On the other hand, she had seen firsthand how sharing teammates' secrets could cause a lot of drama. The young girl didn't want the same dynamic between her and Blake, as Jaune and Pyrrha had right now. Blake was her friend and while they weren't as close as Ruby would like, betraying her trust could mean they never grew close. A betrayal like that could sever even strong bonds like Jaune and Pyrrha. There was no doubt the havoc it would have between her and Blake.
Ruby's mouth was already moving before she could stop herself.
She told him everything. From Yang informing her about Blake's disappearance, to what she said to Weiss. Jaune listened to her, never interrupting. The words were tumbling out and she couldn't stop and he wasn't going to try.
"… and I can't even be there to help find her and talk about everything!" Ruby finished up. "I feel like such a failure as a team leader. Was it wrong for me to abandon them? If I was there, could I have stopped it?" Her eyes were watering as stared at the ground.
Jaune looked at her in concern and then placed his arm around her shoulder in a quick hug.
"Listen, Ruby." The boy spoke softly, but with an air of firmness. "We knew it would be challenging being away from our teams. This is one of those challenges. I know it hurts, but with what you told me? You handled it perfectly. Weiss can be… direct. I know that more than anyone."
"She can be, can't she?" Ruby hiccupped.
"She's also caring and you know that better than anyone," Jaune continued, holding her next to him. "You mentioned before they argue about the White Fang, and both of them have sides we can't possibly fully understand. Weiss saw the White Fang attack her family's company, and Blake saw the injustice like the villagers here. I think you were right in making them realize they need to talk things out. Blake… I don't know her that well, I admit. What I do know is she isn't someone who would want to hurt innocent people."
"I hope Yang can find her." Ruby muttered into her knees.
"We both know Yang won't give up," Jaune tried to joke. It fell flat, but Ruby appreciated the attempt. "Out of all of us, she's probably upset with Blake for ditching her."
"That does sound like Yang," Ruby chuckled weakly. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Yeah, Yang realized I changed and agreed with what I told Weiss. Part of being a leader means I have to believe and trust in my team to make the right decisions. Guiding them from a distance is all I can do and I'm going to keep at it." She stretched out, indicating she wasn't as depressed. "I'll wait a couple days for news. Yang will call me for sure with any updates."
"And she's strong enough if Blake and Weiss try to kill each other to intervene." Jaune pointed out with a smile.
Ruby punched his arm.
"I don't need to worry about that now, jerk."
"No, but you need to take your mind off things or you're going to mentally exhaust yourself." Jaune pushed a box over to her. "Here, lunch. You know we need to eat. Qrow will be back and start beating us up again."
"I wouldn't mind the distractions." Ruby picked up a sandwich and grudgingly took a bite. It tasted like nothing to her. Even the chips didn't.
At least the cookies cheered her up a little. That girl they saved brought over some for them earlier today. It was a reminder that good deeds did pay off in the end and they shouldn't give up when the going gets tough. All Ruby could do was believe in her friends and sister. How much trouble could they get in for a small fight like this?
"Huh, is that her?"
Qrow looked up at the sky as a midsize ship flew overhead. The large Atlas emblem featuring a staff was clearly visible on the side of the ship.
"She was either almost to Vale or she was just that eager to see me."
"By see… Do you mean beat you for your… comments?"
It hurt for Jaune to talk as he laid on the ground after a brutal training session with Qrow that afternoon. His shield was six feet away from him, but his right hand was firmly gripping his sword. Even on the verge of unconsciousness, he didn't forget the first lesson. Twenty feet away, Ruby was in a similar position, groaning as she laid face down. They had both taken a beating once Qrow started getting a little serious.
"Maybe I went too easy on you if you can still sass me, brat." Qrow kicked Jaune lightly in the side. "But do you see now why you don't leave wide openings with your attacks? I'll just slip in and smack you around."
"Duly… noted…"
"Ruby, keep up the pattern changes, but your strength is still lacking. Have you been slacking on your wood chopping?"
"No one… needs wood!" The girl cried out weakly.
"Not now, but later, it's important to prepare for things." Qrow couldn't help laughing. If he was going to have to train these kids, he was going to have fun doing so. "It's why we train first and fight Grimm afterwards." He sheathed his sword. "Breaks over. We have to go meet our guest."
"Do you think there will be any problems with Winter being here?" Jaune asked, pushing himself to his feet. His knees were shaking a little and he flinched from the pain.
"Teal is pretty good at her job, so normally she would have everything under control," Qrow assured him. "This is a special case given the circumstances, but it's why you two need to be there." He turned and started walking to the small airfield.
"Why?" Ruby asked as Jaune pulled her to her feet. "What can we do?"
"The hero brats who saved all those people?" Qrow looked back over his shoulder. "If you're there, everyone will relax a bit. You'll stop anyone from trying something sleazy. Right?"
"You bet we will!" Ruby liked that reason and she rushed over her uncle, even as her body cried out in pain with each step.
They reached the landing platforms where the Atlas military ship had already docked. A ship like this was pretty unusual for the town, so a crowd had already formed. Once the onlookers saw the Atlas symbol, the curiosity turned to irritation and anger. The story involving the slave traders had already spread and now Atlas was stepping in. To say the Faunus citizens were suspicious was an understatement.
Didn't take much to put two and two together after that.
"Good, you're here." Teal rushed up to them. "You better know what you're doing, Qrow."
"Relax," Qrow gestured lazily with his hand. "I told you everything will be fine. She won't cause problems unless I provoke her."
"Oh no." Ruby and Jaune moaned into their hands, which did not instill confidence to the woman.
"Just… Please don't." Teal rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"None of you have a sense of humor." Qrow grumbled as the back of the Atlas airship opened up and a ramp extended out onto the ground.
A woman was the first one to step out. Ruby gaped as she looked just like Weiss. Well, not quite, but close enough. They had the same white hair, but the woman had her hair in a bun over a ponytail. Her outfit was also a military uniform, over Ruby's partner's preferred dresses. She wore a white long-sleeved coat with a single dark blue clasp around the center waist. The coat's length ran down to her ankles and the sleeves were split from shoulder to elbow. She also had a white pleated sleeveless blouse with a dark blue waistcoat, white trousers alongside a pair of gray thigh boots.
This was Weiss' older sister, Winter Schnee.
Qrow immediately sauntered up to greet her the moment her boot hit solid ground.
"You got here so quickly," The man joked with a grin. "Did you miss me that much? I have a hotel room we can catch up in."
"Enough of your pathetic excuse of a joke, Qrow." Winter snapped. "I'm here for business as you well know."
"Aww, you make up any excuse to see me."
"She's like Weiss, but bigger." Ruby whispered to Jaune.
"I'll say…" Jaune mumbled, his eyes fixed on the woman, though Ruby had a strange feeling he wasn't looking at her eyes.
Must be her imagination.
"Those must be your apprentices," Winter noticed them. "Two? That must be a challenge."
"Eh, they're okay kids most of the time." Qrow waved his hands over. "Brats, come say hi to Winter."
"Hello," Jaune greeted nervously. "I'm Jaune Arc. Short and sweet… er, ever mind."
"Good call." Qrow muttered as Ruby tried to stifle a laugh as she recognized that line.
"Charmed." Winter replied neutrally, shaking his hand.
"I'm Ruby!" Ruby pipped up, pushing Jaune out of the way. "Ruby Rose. It's nice to meet Weiss' sister."
"Ah, I thought I recognized that name." Winter eyed her coolly. "Weiss had mentioned you during our last correspondence."
Ruby gulped under her gaze. She felt like Winter was examining and judging her. The resemblance to Weiss was uncanny.
"Good things, I hope?" Ruby squeaked.
"She said you… showed potential." Winter assured her. "With a few minor complaints about your lax attitude."
"Phew… I mean that sounds like her." Ruby exclaimed. She had a feeling Winter was being nice in her assessment, which was another similarity between sisters. They had an ice shell, but secretly did care. It was just hard for them to show it sometimes.
"Didn't you say you had an apprentice too?" Qrow asked Winter.
"I do, though she's a bit of a special case," Winter admitted. "We were on our way to Vale and altered the course to come here since it was an emergency." She turned around. "Penny, come on out and bring the equipment."
"Right away, Specialist Schnee!"
A cheerful voice came out of the ship and then a girl came out carrying a large suitcase. The girl, Penny, had short, curly orange hair with a pink bow on the back of her head. She also had bright green eyes, light skin, and freckles. Her top was a white old-fashioned styled off the shoulder blouse with frill detailed trim and frill flared cuffs that half covered her hands. She also sported a short gray pinafore dress with golden trim on the hem alongside light green stalagmite styled stripes on the lower half of the dress. A pair of black thigh-high leg pieces seemed to be attached to black shoes.
"This is Penny Polendina," Winter introduced as she took the metal suitcase from the girl. "Penny. These people are Qrow Branwen, Jaune Arc, and Ruby Rose. My acquaintances."
"Salutations!" Penny wore a huge smile as she saluted. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Hello!" Ruby brightened up as she saw the girl around their own age. "It's great to meet you."
"Likewise." Jaune told her. "Are you also participating in the Huntsman Apprenticeship Program?"
"I am to follow Specialist Schnee to learn combat skills and proper social interactions." Penny replied. "We were on our way to Vale when Huntsman Branwen called. Our destination was changed accordingly based on the urgency of his request."
"Learning social interactions from the Ice Queen?" Qrow let out a bark like laugh and wiped his eye. "That's a good one."
"I will give you one last warning, Qrow." Winter's eyes bore into him. "One more smartass response from you and we are leaving. I'm doing you a favor."
"Favor, right." The man rolled his eyes then noticed Teal and some of the onlookers watching Winter with increasing suspicion. "I guess you're right, we've wasted enough time here. This is the chief of the village, Teal."
"A pleasure." Winter shook her hand.
"I hope you can help us out with our little situation." Teal replied diplomatically, not giving anything up in her words on tone due to being watched. "It's delicate as I'm sure you are aware."
"Of course," Winter agreed. "I'll do what I can to help. All the tools we need are in here." She held up the case in her hand. "Just show me where to set up."
"My office will be fine," Teal decided. "Please, follow me."
"Brats!" Qrow called out to Jaune and Ruby. "Show Penny around while we get to work. I'll call you when the boring technical stuff is done."
Winter looked a little worried there but quickly masked her expression.
"Penny!" The woman ordered. "Feel free to look around with Jaune and Ruby, but be aware of your objectives and orders."
"Understood, Specialist Schnee."
"I told you that you can call me Winter." Winter sighed.
"In private. As we are in public, the directive is to use your title." Penny pointed out.
"Okay, just… don't cause any trouble for the villagers." Winter relented, before glaring at Qrow who wasn't doing a good job at hiding his laughter.
"She's got a point, brats." Qrow did add, eyeing his wards. "Don't cause trouble."
"Okay!" Ruby called out while waving to their retreating forms before turning back to Penny. "Looks like we get to hang out and get to know each other, friend."
Ruby didn't expect what happened next. Even Jaune didn't see that coming. Penny zipped over in front of Ruby and leaned forward, causing the smaller girl to lean back in surprise as their faces were incredibly close.
"You called me friend," Penny pointed out. "Am I really your friend?"
"Umm…" Completely shocked and bewildered at the situation, Ruby wasn't sure what to do. She looked over Penny's shoulder at Jaune, who seemed surprised like her, but also slightly amused. The boy shrugged and gave a small nod indicating he was fine with it. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"
"Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet," Jaune added, as Penny turned toward him. "So my mom says anyways. So why not make more?"
The ginger looked between them and then smiled before raising her hands in the air.
"Sen-sational!" Penny cheered. "I have friends to do all sorts of activities with. We can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"
Ruby had no idea how to react to this and tried to get some help from Jaune, who had now gotten over his own confusion. The boy was covering his mouth as he tried not to laugh. Knowing her friend wasn't going to be any help, Ruby tried to escape this tragic end. Shopping with Yang was a nightmare and trying on clothes did not sound fun.
"We might not have time for that, Penny." Ruby explained quickly. "All of us are on a mission and while we have some down time, I don't think we can do all that yet."
"But maybe someday we can?" Penny stared intensely with stars in her eyes.
"Er… sure." Ruby smiled back. The girl seemed nice, if a little weird. Nothing wrong with that. "Maybe when we're back at Beacon. You were heading to Vale before coming here, right?"
"Ah, I was indeed, Friend Ruby." Penny confirmed brightly. "I shall be competing in the Vytal Festival this year."
"Cool, so are we!" Ruby actually enjoyed talking about this. Keep the topic off girly stuff like nails and shopping. "Jaune and I are leaders for our teams back at Beacon. Both of our teams are really strong. You'll have your work cut out for you."
"Sheesh, Ruby." Jaune elbowed his friend in the side lightly. "You're getting all competitive already. Besides, you know you guys won't beat my team."
"Please, we'll totally win." Ruby elbowed him back.
"Oh, you two are both leaders?" Penny clapped her hands together. "That is very impressive. But why are you two here and not with them back at Beacon?"
Instantly the two students sobered up at the girl's question and a heavy atmosphere fell over all of them. Penny looked between the two and frowned as Jaune suddenly grew depressed and Ruby anxiously glanced at him.
"Did… did I say something wrong?" Penny asked, worry etched in her voice.
"No… not really…" Ruby struggled to tell her. The truth really shouldn't be said, but what else could she answer with?
"It's complicated." Jaune answered instead, taking over. "Mostly involving a decision I made that resulted in a fight between me and one of my teammates. I would prefer not to talk about it, but I'm here now doing this apprenticeship with Qrow because of it. Ruby took the chance to come along to learn."
"Y-Yeah!" Ruby hopped on this excuse. If Jaune didn't want to tell the full story, she wasn't going to offer that information. "Learning from a real Huntsman on duty? I couldn't pass up the opportunity."
"I see," Penny tilted her head. "That is true. Apprenticeships used to be used before the academy started so it is rare for people to continue it. Are you learning a lot?"
"More than I expected." Ruby admitted. "Not just fighting Grimm, but interacting with so many people."
"That's the reason I'm with Specialist… I mean Winter." Penny corrected herself. "My father believed I should get out and interact with people to learn proper social interactions."
"Why?" Jaune jokingly asked. "Were you born in a lab?"
At his words, the ginger girl stopped in her tracks and her eyes went wide.
"W-what are y-you saying?!" Spluttered Penny, as she took a step back. "I am a r-real…hic… girl that grew up in a normal… hic… home! W-why would you say a lab?"
"It's a joke, Penny!" Ruby quickly assured her, stepping on Jaune's foot. Obviously Penny was a lot like her and kind of socially awkward. Something Jaune should have been able to tell. "When someone is sheltered when they are young and don't get to experience a lot because of things like overprotective parents… or sister… Some people say they were raised in a lab because they seem to have been isolated. Like someone created in a lab who hasn't gotten to meet people growing up."
"Oh, I see!" Penny quickly calmed down. "That was very funny, Jaune."
"R-right…" Jaune wasn't sure if she was mocking him or not. Penny didn't seem like the type, so he assumed she didn't have many friends her own age and wasn't sure how to interact around them. "Listen, if we say anything you don't like, just tell us. Even friends make mistakes and it's important to apologize when you do…" He bit back the irony in his words.
"I shall keep that in mind, but I don't think my new friends would say anything bad," Penny replied innocently. "I can misunderstand things easily. As Ruby said, my upbringing was… different from yours."
"And that's fine!" Ruby threw her arm around Penny's shoulders. "Everyone's different and a little weird. Nothing wrong with that."
"Am I weird?" Penny asked curiously.
"No more than anyone else." Jaune smiled at her. "Well, let's show you around and we can get to know each other. Got any hobbies? Ruby here is a weapon's nerd."
"Hey, don't put it like that!" Ruby cried out, punching Jaune in the shoulder. "I just enjoy designing and engineering weapons used to beat Grimm!"
Penny smiled at their antics and seemed to be enjoying herself as Ruby and Jaune showed her around.
"Any idea how long this is going to take?" Qrow asked, as he sat across Winter at Teal's desk and watched her work.
"You want the data intact, don't you?" Winter snapped. "Then you can be patient."
The Scroll Qrow had confiscated was connected to a computer inside the briefcase. Countless numbers were running across the screen as Winter typed on a keyboard. He knew this would take a while and as much as he wanted to annoy Winter a bit, he had held back. This information was something they all needed. Qrow doubted he would actually be the ones to arrest these groups, but he could leave them to Ozpin if they were located in Vale, or Winter if they were located in Atlas.
General Ironwood hated slave traders and wouldn't overlook them operating so openly.
The door to the office opened and Teal walked in, an exasperated expression on her face.
"Ugh, I knew this would be trouble, but you would think that if I vouched for everyone, they would at least pretend to believe me." The annoyed chief pulled over a chair and sat down, slammed her head on the table.
"That bad?" Qrow asked rhetorically.
"I know my presence out here is… unwanted by many due to the situation between my father and the White Fang," Winter slowly said, choosing her words carefully. "All I can do is give you my word that I do not support slavery, kidnapping, or forced labor of any kind. My father on the other hand… while he doesn't do it openly, I know he would use it if he could."
"You haven't given me a reason not to trust you," Teal admitted back. "If it wasn't for Qrow needing Atlas technology, you wouldn't have even known about the situation."
"No, but I appreciate you not forcing my father's sins on me." Winter smiled at her.
"Wonder why that is?" Qrow's expression could not be any smugger as he looked toward Teal. "Did someone teach you, Teal?"
"Probably some smart kids got upset at me." Teal replied. "Who knows? Couldn't have been a drunk."
"No, I doubt a drunk could help you with much outside swinging a sword." Winter agreed and the two women shared a smirk.
"Very funny you two," Qrow rolled his eyes. "I know you both want me."
"Like a rash." The two replied in unison then looked surprised. They shared a quick high five and then went back to looking at the monitor.
"Almost through the firewall." Winter reported. "We'll have the information soon enough."
"Feel free to use my printer," Teal told her. "I want a copy of everything."
"I'm going to step outside," Qrow stood up. "This computer shit isn't for me. Let me know when you're done."
"Good, that's one less headache down." Winter muttered.
"I'm going to tell Ruby and Jaune about the hammock incident," Qrow said in an almost sing-song tone. "They are sure to get a laugh-…"
BANG!
Winter slammed her hands on the table.
"Don't you dare!" The white haired woman hissed with venom.
"We'll see~." Qrow laughed as he stepped outside of the mayor's office. He hadn't been lying. Being stuck inside a building watching a computer do technical work wasn't for him. Getting out and physically solving problems was more his forte. He leaned against the wall of the building and looked up at the clouds. "Not sure where to go from here though. The Grimm in the area are cleared for a while, so if I want to give the brats some practice, we'll either have to really escape civilization, or grab a flight to another area. Which would be easier?'
As the man contemplated which route to take, his Scroll began to buzz.
"Of course he would call now. He loves adding stuff to my plate."
Qrow pulled his Scroll open.
"Hey, Oz. You'll never believe what just happened."
"Tell me in a moment, Qrow." Ozpin looked tired and something didn't set right with Qrow. "Something happened in your vicinity recently and it just got back to me. One of my contacts near your location was killed."
Qrow stood up straight.
"I need details, Ozpin. Who was it? How did they die? Where did it happen? Depending on those answers, I'll have to change my plans for the brats' training."
"It was Manny."
Qrow instantly froze as he tried to process that information.
"Manny… is dead?" The man choked out. "Are you sure?"
"It just reached my ears," Ozpin replied solemnly, looking older and frailer than he normally did. "Our relationship is not known to most, so I had to hear it from a third party."
"When was he killed?" Qrow growled. "Tell me!"
"About a week ago," Ozpin replied. "His house was burned down, but an autopsy showed there had been a struggle and fight."
"What the hell!?" Qrow blurted out and quickly looked around. "Give me a second Oz. I need to make sure I won't be overheard." Qrow pocketed his Scroll and slipped away from the middle of town. Once he was well out of sight and far away from anyone who might happen to walk by, he pulled out the Scroll again. "Okay, I'm definitely alone."
"You mentioned in your earlier communication with me, you left shortly before he was killed." Ozpin pointed out. "This leads me to believe someone is investigating the same thing you are."
"Shit…" Qrow cursed his bad luck, in more ways than one. He slumped against a brick wall. "Manny may have gotten on in years, but he wasn't weak by any means. If someone killed him…" He punched the wall and grimaced from the shock. "Damn it!"
"Did you discover any leads that would point you to her attackers?" Ozpin asked. "Besides what you sent me earlier?"
"No, just that the glimpses I caught were verified by him." Qrow rubbed his hand. "A young woman leads them and she's the one we need to watch out for. I wish I had more to go on."
"It might be too dangerous for Mr. Arc and Miss Rose to continue with you." Ozpin pointed out.
"As much as I'm inclined to believe in you, I don't think it will do them any good to end now." Qrow grumbled. "Since we arrived, no one else has shown up that hasn't been vetted by me personally. That includes Winter Schnee and her personal guards."
"Winter is there?" Ozpin sounded a little confused.
"Right… haven't gotten a chance to tell you."
Qrow explained everything related to the slave traders and how he had persuaded Winter to assist with cracking their Scroll security.
"I want a copy of that information when you finish, but the assassin is more of a pressing concern." Ozpin replied once Qrow had finished. "Now, do you really think you three will be safe?"
"We weren't the only Huntsmen passing through that town," Qrow explained. "It's a popular hub for people in this line of work to go to before spreading out. Manny was investigating for us and we made sure to stay out of sight. Jaune and Ruby were pretty much living in his house. We also weren't there long enough to draw attention. If anyone did see us, who would suspect a Huntsman with apprentices? A lone one sure, but a group? Nah. The kids make good cover, which is the reason you gave them to me in the first place."
"Yes, but we can't dismiss the fact she might have eyes everywhere." Ozpin muttered.
"No, I'm not stupid enough to let that happen." Qrow agreed. "It's just that… if someone is attacking us, those brats would make easy targets… Going to have to watch their backs a little more closely."
"Do not put those kids in danger, Qrow." The man's words grew sharp. "More than we do normally. We have enough deaths on our hands."
"You left those brats in my care to help with my mission. We have no idea who is possibly chasing after us. Unless you want me to end this and head back to Beacon, there's only one real option left for us. Lure the asshole out."
"That is true…" Ozpin rubbed his eyes on the other end of the screen. "Do you have a plan?"
"Not yet," Qrow admitted, clicking his tongue. "I'll come up with something. If I can avoid involving the brats, I will. If not… I'll do what I can to make sure they aren't in danger."
"Qrow… listen." Ozpin was deathly serious. "Whoever killed Manny is a professional. He burned down the house to cover his tracks. We have no way to track who did it. You need to be careful."
"I know, I know!" It was Qrow's turn to rub his eyes. "I'll tell the chief here to keep an eye on anyone who attempts to come into town. So we can monitor them. It's not like anyone comes out here anyways. I'm not even following her tracks anymore since I was waiting for Manny. Until I find another clue, I'll be focusing on training the kids and doing what I normally do."
"Just keep an eye out. If they don't follow you, keep up the good work. If someone's following you…"
"…I'll take care of it."
The bitterness couldn't be kept out of Qrow's words. Manny had been a close friend and finding the guy who did him in wasn't going to end nicely. Ozpin understood this and bid farewell, as they couldn't keep their conversations going very long without the possibility of being tracked. The headmaster said what he wanted and Qrow gave him a progress report. Not much had to be said after that. They both hung up and Qrow kicked the ground.
"Manny… you asshole. You just had to go and get yourself killed. Don't worry. When I find the bastard, I'll get revenge."
Few people were considered friends to that man, which made those who were a very rare breed.
Revenge wasn't a Huntsman trait Ozpin encouraged, but Qrow was more than a Huntsman. He was a person. Someone who already lost people close to him throughout the years. Now some killer decided to take one of his few remaining friend's lives? There was no way he was taking that lying down. He would do whatever it took to bring that bastard down.
Taking a few deep breaths, he headed back to the mayor's office as he contemplated what to do about this. He heard excited muttering, but it stopped when they heard the door slam shut.
"It's just me, I'm back." The man informed them.
"Guess what I just finished," Winter's smug tone told Qrow all he needed to know.
"Getting a boyfriend? But I'm right here."
He ducked as a pen flew toward his eye.
"She cracked the security," Teal informed him, blatantly ignoring the attack on his life. "We're currently downloading all the information we got. "There's several shell companies, but one is pretty well known. Reformation Inc."
"Huh, I've heard of them." Qrow mumbled, thinking hard. He had to focus his thoughts on the task at hand over the future. "They are supposed to find jobs for former criminals, right? Something along the lines of 'if they have a job and can earn money, they won't be depressed,' which lowers Grimm attacks. Seemed like a pretty good gig."
"Well, that's the official story, but there were rumors they were using less than stellar means to get workers," Winter admitted. "Encouraging judges to give minor offenders longer sentences so they would have a harder time getting new jobs and get forced to turn to them. People don't like hiring criminals."
"And now they still don't have enough people and are targeting Faunus who they hope people won't question too much." Teal growled, slamming her hand on the desk.
"Enough information to get them?" Qrow asked, looking between them.
"I doubt it will be enough to corner them, but it would be more than enough to allow us to dig deeper." Winter gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "They operate in all four kingdoms, but their largest operations are in Atlas and Vacuo. If we move fast, we might be able to prevent the executive from escaping. I'm already sending a copy to General Ironwood so he can start an investigation."
"I need a full copy to send to Ozpin," Qrow told her. "He's interested in working on this too."
"And I want a copy to warn some of the other villages." Teal held out a hand. "In case they start their activities up again."
The three of them made sure to comb the information as they sent it to their respective sources. There was no way the company was going to get off unscathed if they were besieged by both Vale and Atlas. Some people might get away, but it would be a powerful warning and many would get put away for a long time. Or worse, depending on how complicit they were.
Kingdoms could only imprison so many people, due to the negativity it generated.
A couple hours had passed before they finished everything they needed to do and it was early evening. At this point, they heard a knock on the door and Teal opened it. Outside was Ruby, Jaune, and Penny who had returned at last.
Honestly, Qrow thought they would take a lot longer. Didn't kids like to talk and hang out nowadays?
"What do you brats want?"
"Do you mind if we take Penny on a patrol for Grimm?" Ruby asked quickly. "Just for a bit. Jaune and I are getting a little stir crazy."
"Heh, already feeling weird when things are too peaceful?" Qrow smirked. "I could beat you three up for a bit in a spar again."
Jaune and Ruby's face paled quickly as the blood rushed out in fear. Penny didn't seem fazed, but she also had not been on the receiving end of the training.
"We were just thinking and talking about the current situation," Jaune offered a more detailed explanation. "While some are happy the missing people returned, once word gets around about the slavers, there's going to be a lot of negativity. That might attract Grimm. If we take care of them early, it won't cause more problems down the road."
"And I would very much like to go on patrol with my new friends, Specialist… I mean Winter." Penny corrected herself.
"You could handle it, Penny." Winter admitted slowly. "But we really should be heading to Vale now that our business is finished."
"I see…" Penny's expression dulled and she looked at the ground. "I understand."
"It's not that I don't want you to have some patrol practice," Even Winter felt bad seeing her expression. "There's just a schedule we need to keep and you're… in a unique situation…" Penny's expression seemed to fall a little bit more as Jaune and Ruby looked at her with pity.
"Actually…" That one word was all it took for everyone to stare at Qrow. "Why not let the brats hang out a little while longer? They are all apprentices and probably want to share stories of how bad they messed up. While not let them patrol the northern area of town. I doubt there will be any Grimm but if they find one or two, they should be able to handle it without issue."
An idea came to Qrow the moment the kids asked to go on patrol. One that made him a little sick to his stomach, but it had to be done. Ozpin would disapprove, Winter would disapprove, shoot, even he disapproves of this plan. It was just the best option at the moment to get Ozpin's problem settled quickly.
Winter looked like she was about to argue but then her eyes met his. There was no amusement in them, in contrast to his words. Something was up and it looked like he wanted to tell her what privately. The woman knew she had to play along for now.
"I suppose a couple hours delay won't matter." Winter admitted. "Penny's not required to be at Beacon for a couple weeks, but we planned to arrive early and familiarize ourselves with the new environment."
"Because Vale isn't as uptight as Atlas." Teal had a smug smirk on her face as she said that.
"Quite." Was all Winter would give up in her response.
"Yay!" Ruby cheered. "Hear that, Penny! We get to hang out some more."
"I am most excited, Friend Ruby." Penny jumped up and down too in imitation of her.
"I told you, Ruby is fine." The girl sounded exasperated, like it was a struggle to get Penny to do that simple request.
"Okay, should I call Boyfriend Jaune just Jaune then too?" Penny.
There was a bang as Winter kicked the desk with her knee.
"Jaune is f-…" Jaune tried to tell her.
"No, you should only call him Boyfriend Jaune!" Qrow interrupted. "He's a boy and your friend, so it fits."
"Hey!" Ruby and Jaune protested, rounding on the man.
"Ah, I see I was correct in assuming that!" Penny clapped her hands together excitedly. "It made sense."
"Just… head out and be back before sundown," Winter buried her face in her hand. "North side of the city if you would. It's closest to the Wilds."
"Understand, Winter!" Penny saluted. "Let us be off Ruby and Boyfriend Jaune!"
As they left, Jaune flicked Qrow off.
"You're an asshole, you know that?" Winter told him when the door closed as she crossed her arms.
"Yes, pretty sure we all knew that." Qrow glanced over at Teal, who was nodding in acknowledgment.
"Penny is… different due to her upbringing," Winter continued. "She's not familiar with proper social etiquette. You lying to her and making jokes about it will confuse her. So knock it off." Her eyes bore into his. "Now, why did you want those kids to leave?"
"You discovered something else?" Teal raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, I talked to Ozpin when I stepped out…"
He told them what happened to Manny. About someone possibly investigating them. At first Qrow wasn't sure how they would deal with someone like that, a person strong enough to kill an ex-huntsman at the very least. It was very hard to defend against something you couldn't see. But if you were to set up a trap and lead the hidden enemy into it? It would be a lot less riskier. The brats asking to go on patrol arrived at the perfect moment.
It seemed the two women didn't share his view.
"You're using kids as bait?!"
Two smacks followed as Qrow was slapped in the face by each woman. He knew he deserved them and so much more.
"Please just call me, Jaune." Jaune begged, as he, Penny, and Ruby left the city.
"But why do you not want to be called my boyfriend?" Penny tilted her head. "Are you not my friend or a boy?
A snort followed Penny's words and Ruby quickly covered her face with her hand as Jaune glared at her.
"Boyfriend is not the same as a boy who is also a friend," Jaune explained. "Society considers them differently. Boyfriends and girlfriends are considered in a relationship… intimate relationship, like moving to marriage."
"Oh, I see!" Penny looked thoughtful. "Relationships are complicated. Very well, I shall call you Jaune and introduce you as my friend. I hope you will do the same for me?"
"Sure thing, Penny." Jaune assured her, relieved this wasn't going to cause more misunderstandings. He needed to find a way to get back at Qrow.
"Same," Ruby beamed at her. "It's great to have more friends. I didn't think we would have any time to make any with all the traveling we're doing." She paused. "I miss my team back at Beacon."
"Ah, it must be hard being so far away." Penny consoled her. "I'm sure they are eagerly awaiting your return."
"I'm worried Nora will break my bones with her hug when I get back." Jaune muttered, rubbing his arm worriedly. With that absurdly strong girl, it was a very real fear.
"On the plus side, no more bad Yang jokes." Ruby giggled, trying not to think about Blake's predicament. All she would do is worry herself to death. She was going to trust her big sister and partner to handle it. As much as they all complained about each other, they were close.
"When we eventually return to Beacon for the Vytal festival, could I meet your teams?" Penny asked.
"Why wouldn't we introduce you?" Ruby asked. "You're our friend so of course you can meet them."
"I don't know," Jaune pretended to consider the request. "You're also a red head like Nora and Pyrrha. I might get you all confused."
Ruby covered her mouth as she tried to stop herself from laughing again.
"Ah, you do not have facial recognition scanners… not that I do either… hic!" Penny hiccupped.
"Nope, well, I don't think I do." Jaune was already getting used to her… sense of humor? Part of him wondered if Penny was purposely saying weird things to get a laugh. If she was, it was working. "I was joking about not recognizing you all."
"A bad joke." Ruby pointed out, even if her eyes were flashing with amusement.
Ruby and Jaune continued to banter a bit while Penny watched and followed them outside the city. No matter what they talked about, the ginger was perfectly happy to listen. Everything seemed to interest her, even the mundane. The terrain was a lot less cluttered then on the way to the village. There were plenty of trees as they were far from the center of Vale, but with wood needed for the village, trees were a lot more scattered than in the woods they passed between towns. Noise from insects and birds surrounded them as they hiked on.
"I don't see any recent foot prints!" Jaune called up toward Ruby, who had climbed a tree to get a read of the land. "Looks like there aren't many Grimm here."
"You two seem to have a lot of experience hunting Grimm," Penny commented, as she had been monitoring them. "I take it you two have been out here for some time?"
"Not too long." Jaune assured her and then flinched.
"Uncle Qrow has a… philosophy about us learning from our mistakes," Ruby elaborated as her arm shook. "He lets us make mistakes and we deal with the consequences before showing us the right way."
"We ran into a lot of Grimm that way." Jaune shivered. "Don't take chances and always pay attention to your surroundings."
"A very good lesson!" Penny exclaimed. "I also did not detect… see any Grimm nearby. The sun is beginning to set too. Perhaps it is time to head back?"
"Yeah, I think we should," Jaune agreed. They always set up camp at night as wandering around when you couldn't see made everything exponentially more dangerous. "No point in taking unnecessary risks. I don't know about you two, but being in a city is nice, but I felt…"
He couldn't find the right word but luckily, he had a partner to help.
"Confined?" Ruby offered.
"That's it!" Jaune pointed to her. "I guess while it feels nice to have all the amenities, it feels weird after being in the field for so long."
"Hehe," Ruby couldn't help giggling. "Same. Even with the training, I wanted to go out and move around."
"Think this is Qrow's diabolical plan to stop us from playing video games back home?" Jaune joked a bit and Ruby faked gasped.
"That monster!"
The two of them shared a laugh as Penny looked on in confusion. It was an inside joke they shared that someone they just met wouldn't understand. Not that she tried. The girl was more than happy to hang out with them and learn new things. The three of them were about to head back to the city, when a weird clattering reached them. They turned around to see a man approaching them, kicking a rock.
"Hello!" Penny greeted.
"Oh!" The eyed man with a brown ponytail braided tightly and hung over his shoulder waved to them. A white sleeveless jacket with leather belts and white pants were under his cloak. His chest was exposed and bare, revealing a couple prominent scars in a crisscross shape. The man's arms were covered in bandages and leather vambraces. Overall, he didn't look like a helpless traveler. "Is the town up ahead? I got a little lost."
"Yes, just head south and over that hell," Penny replied helpfully. "You should have no trouble reaching there before nightfall."
"Why, thank you miss." The man bowed to her. "You've been most helpful."
"What brings you out here?" Ruby asked.
"Oh, just investigating some things." The man shrugged. "Have you three seen anything strange out here?"
"Some disappearances, but that has been resolved." Jaune replied. "We took care of it, the roads should be safe… safer than before. Most of the Grimm around here have been taken care of too."
"Your doing?" The man asked.
"Yep!" Ruby proudly declared. "We're students from Beacon and Atlas helping out."
"It's so good to see the young generation working so hard," The man smiled at them. "Well, I'll be on my way, but let me say one more thing." He reached out and Penny began to shake his hand.
"What's that?" Penny asked interestedly as she eagerly shook his hands.
"You upset the Queen, and that is a crime worthy of death!"
At superhuman speeds, blades resembling scorpion pincers came out as he brought up his left hand into Penny's chest.
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish to ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
Poor Penny, that definitely normal girl is probably dead. Looks like Qrow's plan worked a little too well.