The streets of Vale were bustling with activity that morning; multicolored streamers were hung across each building, different colored balloons strung on each street, and shopkeepers delicately decorated and cleansed their shops to be more presentable. But the most eye-catching thing had to be the one by the entrance of the docks, a beautifully colored banner that said "Welcome to Vale!".

All the commotion meant only one thing…

"The Vytal Festival! Oh this would be absolutely wonderful!" Weiss said with a surprising amount of enthusiasm.

With the date of the Vytal Festival just around the corner and the preparations nearing completion, it was no wonder that Weiss Schnee dragged brought her teammates to venture off into the city to check it all out.

"Well, someone's certainly got ants in their pants." Yang joked from behind.

"How can you not? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world!" Weiss exclaimed. "There will be dances, parades, and even a tournament! All the planning and organization that goes into the event is simply breathtaking!"

Yang rolled her eyes and sighed at the Schnee's 'excitement'. "You really know how to make something cool sound boring."

"Oh, quiet you!"

Their trek eventually stopped by the docks, with various sailors unloading cargo from their ships. A combination of the putrid odor of fish and the saltiness of the sea reached their noses as it reeked the entire area. It was not a pleasant thing to smell.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon HERE of all places?" Yang grumbled.

This time it was Ruby who answered, and similar to Weiss, she too had a smile on her face. "I heard from a little birdie that students from Vacuo would be arriving by ship this morning."

"And as representatives of Beacon, it is our solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom." Weiss finished before continuing their trek into the docks.

Blake blankly stared at both them before explaining to Yang. "They want to spy on the competition to gain an advantage in the tournament."

"No comment / You can't prove that!"

Yang snorted at her teammates' antics. But before they went any further, something caught all of their attention.

Not too far down a nearby street was a crowd of people surrounding the front of a building. Being ever so curious, team RWBY made their way towards the commotion. It was when they were close did they start noticing the yellow tape that held back the crowd. It turned out to be a Dust Shop turned crime scene investigated by the VPD.

"What happened?" Ruby immediately asked.

"Robbery," One of the detectives on scene answered. "Third Dust Shop to be hit this month. Damn city's turning into a jungle."

Third this month? "Anything in particular stolen?"

"Oddly enough, money was always left untouched. The only thing ransacked in every incident was the Dust." Another detective answered as he approached. "Doesn't make a lick of sense. For what reason does someone need that much Dust?"

"Maybe an attack?" The first detective suggested.

"What, you thinkin' the White Fang's got anything to do with this?"

"What I'm thinking is that we might be in over our heads."

While the detectives continued on with their discussion, Weiss scoffed at the possible perpetrators. "Hmph. Of course the White Fang would be involved."

That got Blake's attention. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean is that the White Fang are nothing but psychopathic terrorists who cause chaos in and outside of the Kingdoms."

Blake shot back. "The White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths, let alone terrorists. They're simply a collection of misguided faunus."

"Misguided!? They advocate a faunus dominated world with humanity at their feet!"

"Then they're VERY misguided!" Blake defended before looking back at the crime scene. "Either way, we can't say for certain that the White Fang were behind this."

"Blake might be onto something." Ruby added. "These robberies do match Roman Torchwick's recent change in MO."

While Blake appreciated her team leader's support, Weiss merely brushed off her suggestion. "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of lowlife scoundrels. They only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

Ruby had to keep herself between Weiss and Blake as the latter appeared to be fuming at the heiress, ready to snap back. Yang attempted to play devil's advocate. "Come on, Weiss. That's not necessarily tru-".

Before she could finish her sentence, a man shouted aloud. "Hey! Stop that Faunus!"

Running across the decks of one of the cargo ships was a smirking monkey faunus with sailors trailing not too far behind him. Once above a pier, the faunus yelled out towards the chasing crew members before leaping off the ship to continue his escape. "Thanks for the ride guys!"

"No-good stowaway!"

"Hey! If I was no-good, you would've already caught me by now!" The faunus quipped as he continued on running. Just as he passed by team RWBY, he gave a quick wink towards Blake before running off towards a street corner.

Team RWBY could only blink at the interaction. It was only when Yang spoke did most of them finally break from their stupor. "Sooo…are we just gonna stand here or-"

"After him!" Weiss yelled out before giving chase to the faunus. Ruby wasn't too far behind the heiress whilst Yang followed by jogging, leaving Blake to her own lonesome. It took her a second or two to stir back into reality and catch up with her team.

As they rounded the corner, Weiss was unfortunate enough to have crashed into someone without looking. The accident forced them into an immediate halt, allowing the faunus to slip out of their sight.

"Damn, he got away!" the Schnee grumbled before realizing that she had landed on top of the person she had crashed into, a curly orange haired girl dressed in white and gray.

While Weiss quickly picked herself up, the rest of the team had finally caught up to find the girl still laying across the floor, still smiling. Said girl then gave a quick wave and greeted, "Salutations!".

"Um…are you okay?" Yang asked with uncertainty.

"Yes. I am wonderful!" She answered with much enthusiasm, no indication of any malice or annoyance. "Thank you for asking!"

Team RWBY looked amongst each other, unsure of what to make of her. She literally got knocked to the ground hard, yet acts like nothing has happened.

"Do you…wanna get up?" Yang suggested.

The girl squinted at her, as if deciphering the meaning behind her words. She looked at herself before looking back towards the blonde. "Yes." was all she spoke before jumping back onto her feet. "My name is Penny! It is a pleasure to meet you all."

"Hi, I'm Ruby."

"Weiss."

"Blake."

"You sure she didn't hit her- Ouch! I'm Yang."

Penny beamed at the introduction. "And I'm Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"You've…already introduced yourself." Ruby pointed out, her brow raised at the girl.

Penny blinked, as if to now only realize her mistake. "...So I did!."

The interaction started to creep most of them out. That was their queue to leave. "Well, sorry for running into you." Weiss apologized as she turned the other way, along with other members of team RWBY.

"Take care, friend." Ruby added as they continued to walk away.

Once they were sure for sure out of earshot, the girls had begun to breathe easier.

"Well…she was weird," Yang commented. Blake and Weiss nodded in agreement, but Ruby merely shook her head.

"Eh, not the worst first meeting I've had." Although, I could've sworn I heard the name Penny before.

"Ruby Rose, I swear that if you bring up our first interaction at Beacon, I will-"

"Did I hear you correctly?"

The Schnee heiress was caught off by the sudden miraculous appearance of Penny, who seemingly teleported right in front of them. While the majority of the team (especially Weiss) gawked and wide eyed at her sudden appearance, Yang was quick to apologize, having assumed she heard their conversation. "Oh, I'm really sorry! I wasn't trying to sound rude!"

"No, not you." Penny said before she pushed everyone aside to get up and close to Ruby. "She called you 'Ruby Rose'. Are you who she says you are?"

Ruby started to get uncomfortable at the girl's sudden invasion of personal space. "Um…yes? Have you heard of me before?"

Much to everyone's shock, a wide smile formed onto Penny's face before she gave a bear hug and lifted Ruby into the air, much to the chagrin of the girl's lungs. "C-Can-n't b-breathe-e"

"I am so happy to meet you, friend Ruby! Victor has told us so much about you! With your help, my assignment would be finished quicker and I would be able to fight in the tournament!"

"Victor?" "Assignment?" "You're here to fight in the tournament?"

Everything then clicked to Ruby at the mention of Victor. "W-Wait, you're Victor's sister?"

"Affirmative!" Penny answered as she dropped Ruby back onto her feet.

"~Sooo, who's Victor?" questioned Yang, a sly tone dripped from her words.

"A friend from Atlas," Ruby heaved while she caught her breath. "We met a couple years ago when I was doing some…homework. First of many other friends I made when I was schooled there."

Weiss was quick to change the topic. "You said you were here to fight in the tournament?"

"Yup!" The girl in question stood straight before giving a salute. "I'm combat ready!"

"Wait, didn't you mention something about an assignment?" Blake commented.

Penny, once again, merely blinked in response. "Did I? *Hiccup*"

"You did. In fact, you said that it was important to complete it before attending the tournament."

Blake's suspicion grew when the girl remained silent for a few moments before giving a somewhat forced smile. "O-Oh, t-t-that I did. W-Well, I was tasked with scoping out the city before the start of the festival *Hiccup*"

Ruby as well noticed the girl's odder than normal (from what she had already observed anyway) behavior. She too was suspicious of Penny's purpose in the city, but knew that whatever it was had to be of much importance. However, if she were to interrogate Penny about it, she would need to do it alone.

Fortunately, Weiss had changed the line of questioning once more. "Wait, if you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed criminal?!"

"The who?"

"That felon from the boat!"

"Why do you keep saying that!?"

All eyes turned towards Blake, her teeth grit as her eyes narrowed towards the heiress.

"Stop calling him that! He's not a criminal or a felon!"

"I'm sorry, but are we seeing the same picture here?" Weiss answered sarcastically. "He snuck and stowed away on private property then evaded police custody! For all we know, he could be part of the White Fang!"

"Misdemeanor hardly makes him a criminal, let alone a felon!" Blake defended.

"Why are you so defensive of him?!"

"Why are you so derogative of him!?"

"Uh, guys? How about we all just calm down-" Yang attempted to calm the situation, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

While the majority of team RWBY argued, Ruby used the opportunity; she grabbed onto Penny's hand and snuck off to somewhere more secluded. It pained her to leave them in such a state, but she knew that Penny's situation had to be of utmost importance.

Once she knew that they were at a reasonable distance from the team, Ruby finally turned to her companion. "You're a long way from Atlas, Penny. So what really brings you here?"

The girl's smile faded upon being asked. Instead, her face shifted into one of worry as her eyes pleaded for help. That can't be good.

"I shall explain to you on the way"

Gods, she hated being right.

Wherever Penny was taking them, it was certainly a far reach from the docks. They had been speed-walking for the past half-hour and yet saw no end to their venture. The Girl Wonder had started to worry about where they were going.

"You know, it was quite a shock to see you here in Vale" Penny spoke so suddenly during their trip.

Ruby was confused at Penny's question. "Why's that?"

"Because up until a few months ago, you and your mentor had always secluded yourself to the Kingdom of Atlas. Both of you have been off the grid ever since."

The Girl Wonder was quick to turn towards her companion. "You kept track?"

"Victor has kept track of all of you since the disbanding of the Titans. Father had to stop him from dropping everything to come and find you during your disappearance."

Before Ruby could ask anything else, their venture took a sudden stop when they came across an alley crossed out by police tape. "We're here."

"And it seems we weren't the first ones" Ruby commented. Having ensured the coast was clear, the Girl Wonder ducked beneath the tape to investigate the scene closely, with Penny not far behind.

To say the alleyway was trashed was an understatement. The area was comparable to a battlefield; scorch marks were etched across both the floor and walls, a sudden putrid smell reeked the moment they entered, debris was scattered everywhere, and a hole was made in a nearby wall with the bricks collapsed inward. Suffice to say, Ruby was gonna have a field day with this.

To start, she first took a look at the hole in the wall. Obvious that it got caved in upon impact of something heavy and fast. What that was is still up in the air. Speaking of, she may have a possible source to it, a thick black liquid that's sprayed across the open hole. Feeling the texture of it between her fingers, Ruby realized what it was: Oil, burnt oil to be more specific. And the hole wasn't the only place that had it. Different areas of the walls were sprayed with it as well. What the hell is oil doing here?

Upon closer inspection of the bricks and the ground, the scorch marks were far too similar to one another and left no dust residue. Only thing hot enough to do that were Victor's plasma weapons. Was he in a scuffle?

"When did you say this happened?"

"A week ago," Penny answered as she joined to help analyze the area. "He was sent out to investigate anomalies that were popping in and out of Remnant".

Ruby shouldn't have been surprised. She too was familiar with the anomalies through Victor and was just as intrigued as he was. Nothing in Remnant was capable of matching the energy signature and output of Victor. And yet, the anomalies were able to match both simultaneously, seemingly at random too. She and Victor always spit balled what they could've been; Rifts in the fabric of reality? Portals to other worlds? Signals from a higher life form? The possibilities of what it could've been were endless.

Would've been an extraordinary research, had they not disbanded not too long after.

She shook the thoughts out of her head for now. Best to get back to the crime scene.

With how long it's been since the incident, police must've already collected any sort of evidence around the crime scene. She would be proven wrong when a glimmer from underneath the debris caught the Girl Wonder's eye. As she kneeled to unearth the item, she found 2 distinct shell casings:

One was the standard odorless .45 Auto Dust Round, common ammunition for light automatics. Common exporter for the bullet would be the Kingdom of Atlas, and with the abundance of oil on the scene, she already knew few of the perpetrators.

The other round, however, would prove far more interesting. It was 9mm round with a custom casing and a particular smell from its shell. Ruby recognized the smell as she has used the mixture far too many times when making her explosive pellets, Gunpowder.

Easy to craft and incredibly difficult to track. Finding materials and crafting it can all be done in a simple school science lab. However, with how common and easy to use Dust is, not many people use it nowadays, and even fewer know the proper ratio to make it. Creating custom ammunition from it would require both well-honed skill and good enough knowledge in chemistry.

"That face tells me you do not have satisfying news for me" Penny commented, breaking her train of thought.

Ruby sighed before explaining her findings:

"Victor had been ambushed the moment he got here. Based on the ammunition and the oil, I'd say he was attacked by Atlesian Knights. The how and why are still unknown to me, so you are going to have to check for any offline robots during that night. There was also a third party here. Purpose and reason for being here are also unknown, but ,homever that person was, used custom gunpowder-based 9mm rounds. Harder to track the last guy so you're gonna have to focus more on those robots first."

"What of Victor? Are you able to determine what's happened to him?" Penny asked, her eyes yearning for any type of hope.

But Ruby shook her head. "I'm sorry, but not a lot of evidence here can tell me his whereabouts."

Penny's shoulder slumped at the prospect but was quick to return when an idea hit her. "What if you were to join the investigation full time? I'm sure that father would have no issue with a joint operation!"

Ruby's muscles stiffened at the suggestion. "Penny, I-"

"With the proper instruments and the Atlesian army's support, perhaps we'll be able to find something we've missed!"

"Penny, plea-"

"General Ironwood might have some issue with working with vigilantes, but I'm sure he can-"

"PENNY!"

Everything was quick to turn silent in the alleyway as Ruby, whose eyes were completely covered by her bangs, gripped the shoulders of her gingerhead companion. Once she was sure Penny had stopped talking, the girl finally spoke.

"I'm sorry Penny, but I can't….Not anymore."

"But-"

"Please Penny. I just, can't "

The ginger was surprised to hear the conviction out of her friend's mouth and even more so by the strength of her grip. Nonetheless, she complied with her demands and nodded.

Having calmed down, the ex-vigilante removed her grip from her companion and turned towards the exit of the alley. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more Penny. I hope you find Victor soon."

As she made her way to the exit, she heard Penny speak once more. "Is it why you disappeared months ago?"

The ex-vigilante stopped in her tracks at the question. She made no visible reaction, other than gripping her fists till white. With one final exasperation, Ruby answered before she left.

"See you at the Vytal Festival, Penny"

Her journey back towards the dock and her team had been less tiresome, but more of mentally exhausting. It hadn't occurred to the Girl Wonder the fatigue that washed over her after exiting the alleyway. Each step she took weighed heavier and heavier the closer she got to her destination.

There was no excuse for her outburst at Penny earlier. She had faith that they'd make great progress in the investigation. She was optimistic they would find any lead in regards to Victor's whereabouts. She had hope that Robin would've helped in finding her brother. But everything that she thought of had been crushed by her reluctance to put on the suit.

Can anyone really blame us? After everything we've done, did anyone really think we'd just put it back on just because they asked?

Yes, the needs of others outweigh the needs of our own. Have you forgotten everything Bruce has taught us?

Of course I remember. How could I not remember? It hurts whenever we're reminded of him. Reminded of how much we've failed him.

Then why are you still wallowing in your own self-pity! We need to act! If Batman were still here-

But he isn't, is he!? And who is to blame for that!?

Dwelling on our past mistakes will get us nowhere.

So will Ignoring it all together.

So what are you going to do about it?

Ruby's thoughts were then interrupted by the loud sounds of ship horns from the nearby boats. She hadn't even realized she arrived at the docks already. It was around midday so numerous ships were already making their way to port. Hopefully the rest of team RWBY hadn't already left for the airship.

As the Girl Wonder made her way through the docks, she had an irking suspicion that she was being watched. However, a single glimpse of a blonde monkey tail got her to ease. She'll deal with him later.

It didn't take too long for her to find the team, who were still arguing amongst themselves.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!"

"That IS the problem!"

The Girl Wonder was surprised that they were still at it. As she approached the rest of the team, it was only Yang who registered her arrival. Her slumped shoulders made it obvious she had given up to try to break them up. "Hey Rubes- "

"You realize that you're defending a terrorist organization that promotes violence against non-faunus, correct?"

"The White Fang was created in response to faunus mistreatment! Their violent response was the only way to bring change!"

"Bring change?! It's because of faunus like them that people are afraid of faunus in general! Others like Velvet can't defend themselves without being branded a terrorist!"

Ruby attempted to intervene. "Alright that's enou-"

"They're being misguided by troubled leadership. It's because of people like you that the majority of the faunus had to turn to them to get results!"

"Excuse me!?"

Now it was Yang who tried to cut in. "Hey! Break it up now-"

"It's discrimination from the likes of you and your father that practically made people like Sienna and Ad-!"

*SLAP*

Every participant was shocked when the Schnee Heiress immediately slapped Blake at the mention of the Schnee patriarch.

"Don't you dare compare me to my father." Weiss said through her clenched teeth. Her eyes narrowed and continued its glare at Blake. "My father is a cruel and unjust monster, but I have my own reasons for disliking the White Fang"

"I've seen family friends disappear; People I personally knew executed; I have been kidnapped! and held for ransom to a man who doesn't give a damn about his own blood!"

Weiss's hand had subconsciously touched the scar over her left eye before returning back to her side. With much unbridled rage and conviction beneath her eyes, the Schnee stared down her team member.

"I don't care if they are misguided by troubled leadership or did it with the best intentions! You can't justify their violent actions-!"

"Well maybe it's because we're tired of being pushed around!"

It took a bit of time for Blake's mind to have caught up with her words, but by then, it was already too late. Her eyes widened as she caught glimpses of team RWBY's frozen faces, Weiss especially. The heiress slowly backed up, her body trembled with each step. "W-What?"

"I-I…I-I didn't…" Blake fumbled over her own words. No full sentence was able to come out, unsure what to say next.

Ruby was shell-shocked at the revelation. Sure, she suspected her teammate to be a faunus, but never did she think that Blake was connected with the White Fang.

Before any of them could say something, Blake made a break for the inner city. She didn't care where she went, just how far she was from her team.

Leave her be.

Chase after her

Yang yelled out to her partner. "Blake! Wait-!"

Much to her astonishment, a red blur ran past the blonde bombshell as it went after her partner.

"I'll take care of her! I'll message you when I find her!" Ruby shouted back before giving chase to her newly revealed faunus teammate.

Blake already had a long headstart from her so tracking her would be difficult. Luckily, she knew who to ask just to help.

Blake wasn't sure how long she had been running or how far. All she knew was that the moment she stopped, her lungs were ready to give out and that she found herself by a fountain. To catch her breath, the girl let herself rest by the fountain's edge.

Looking over the water, it was as clear as air, allowing her to see just about everything; the loose change underneath the surface, the ripples caused by the flowing stream at the center, but most importantly, her own reflection.

In the water's reflection, she saw Blake Belladonna, Huntress-in-Training. But that wasn't all of her, now was it?

She carefully removed the bow that rested on her head. Instead of seeing a huntress-in-training, she saw the grimm mask and cat ears of Blake Belladonna, the right hand woman of Adam Taurus and member of the White Fang.

Blake was quick to swipe at the water, her reflection becoming distorted by the ripples. That wasn't who she was, not anymore.

"You know, I suspected you were a faunus during our first day at Beacon."

The faunus girl turned to voice's origin to find her team leader, Ruby Rose, leaning on a nearby lamppost.

"How did you find me?" Blake asked.

Her answer came when Ruby pointed above herself where the monkey faunus from earlier hung.

"She kinda bribed me with food to help track you down." The monkey faunus said before taking a bite out of a possibly stolen banana. "I'm Sun, by the way."

Blake politely waved at Sun's introduction before her gaze shifted back towards her team leader.

Ruby gave her a stern, but relaxed stare before speaking.

"Blake, we need to talk."

Sorry for the long wait. I have re-edited almost the entire story (Omakes included) by fixing some errors, rewrote some scenes, and even adding more scenes to enhance aspects of the story. Volume 1 of the story is almost about to wrap up so I hope ya'll enjoy this in the mean time. I would like to thank you all for the support, please leave a review or a comment on the story, and I hope you enjoy.

I do not own any of the characters. All characters and names used are owned by either Rooster Teeth and Detective Comics (DC).