Hey-ho once mo'! Already off to an awesome start with the return, and I'm glad people are quick to engage with the story! Won't keep you for long, so let's hop back into the show. Love y'all, and enjoy!

Fighting Rose

Chapter 20

Into position

"Alright, first and foremost, we have to be extra careful when it comes to any of us being recognized," Ruby said as she quickly looked at the clothes laid out in front of them before deadpanning, "… so why is it that these disguises just so happen to be colour-coded with our normal ones?"

"Look we're still a team, so I thought we should commence the operation in style!" Weiss whined, her cheeks going red.

"…Okay, I'll give you a pass on that," Ruby conceded, "If it's stylish then it's good."

"Thank you."

"I think they look sick, black clothes with highlights are awesome for covert ops!" Yang cheered as she felt the fabric of her new jacket, "Hey… this is High-Impact Steelweave! It's perfect for absorbing gunshots and bladed weapons-!" accidentally pressing a button on the collar, the colours of the outfit changing into a more casual creamy-beige while keeping its highlights of gold and orange. "… It has a freaking stealth-mode. Not that I'm complaining but where did you even buy this stuff?"

"Oh please," Weiss said with a smirk and the flip of her hair, "Such a thing as clothes and suitable equipment is but pocket-change for me."

"Don't have to wave your trillions at us like that," Blake said wryly as Weiss turned red in mortification, at least until Blake grinned at her, "Still… it's sweet that you'd go out of your way to do something like that for us."

"O-of course," Weiss stuttered, trying to be blasé about the compliment.

"Awww, she likes it when she gets genuine praise and affection," Yang giggled as she gently pat Weiss' head.

"Affection, how disgusting," She grumbled as Yang stopped, wondering if she took it too far, "… I didn't say to stop."

Yang cooed as she continued to pet the flustered Weiss while Ruby and Blake cooed at the frankly adorable scene before Ruby clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.

"Right, now we've got all our stuff, let's go over the plan. I'll head out with Weiss to check the CCT for extra info, Blake will check out that short-notice Fang rally to see if the rumours of more aggressive recruitment are true along with checking out any possible connections to Cinder, and Yang will NOT harass Junior for extra information at the Glass House."

"Understood," Weiss said sharply.

"Got it," Blake nodded.

"So I can scare him for information, just not harass him," Yang concluded before Ruby swiftly bopped her on the head.

"Anyway," Ruby stressed, "Looks like we're all set! Put em' up Team RWBY!"

"Yeah!" They all said as they high-fived.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Sun cheered from the balcony and promptly scaring the living hell out of everyone.

"When – no, how did you even get up here!?" Weiss shrieked.

"Oh uh, hi guys!" He laughed sheepishly, "I do it all the time."

"Excuse me, you what!?"

"Climbing trees, I do it all the time," He said entirely innocently as Weiss' eyes narrowed dangerously, trying to feel out any lie on his face.

"…so I'm guessing you heard everything?" Ruby said with a relaxed grin.

"Duh. No way I'm missing out on something so fun, plus more people equals more fun with better coverage, right?"

"More people is the exact opposite thing we need right now!" Weiss argued, "There's more chances for someone to screw the pooch on something."

"He's in," Ruby said out of nowhere, "You go with Blake to the rally and back her up."

"Ruby-!" Weiss started sharply, only to be cut off by the raw confidence in her smile and body-language.

"We can trust him Weiss. If anything does go wrong, we can count on him to back Blake up. Who knows, the rally might be the place where we need the extra muscle, it's arguably the area with the biggest possible potential for things to go wrong."

"…Hmph, very well," Weiss conceded before she whirled around to Sun, "But you'd better keep Blake safe, otherwise I don't have anyone intelligent enough to argue with."

"Hey!" Ruby and Yang cried as Sun simply grinned with a thumbs up.

"Oh yeah, speaking of intellectual, Neptune, you ready to come inside?" He called out the window.

"Did you FORGET about me!?" He cried out from the balcony, legs shaking as he stepped in. Weiss immediately had an eyebrow raised as the blue-haired boy stepped in, legs wobbling before he quickly fixed himself to look as suave as possible as if the entire room didn't just hear him squeal like a girl. "…Hey ladies."

"…I'm sticking with Ruby," Weiss said quickly.

"I'll stay with Sun," Blake said with a chuckle.

"I-! Agh damnit too slow," Yang sighed.

"Hey, what did I do to deserve this!?" Neptune whined as the girls quickly went to get changed, Sun laughing at his friend all the while.

…Later, Sun and Blake…

"Gotta say, it's been a while since our entire 'covert-ops' thing," Sun noted with a grin, "I'm starting to think that you're tied by fate to the Fang."

"Seems like it," Blake sighed as they idly walked around Vale, "… though I still think your disguise is the dumbest thing I've seen in a very long time."

"Whaaaat!? It's fool-proof, there's nobody who's ever gonna recognize me!" He said honestly as he tapped his sunglasses and flicked at his jacket, now slightly longer, buttoned up and baring an odd far-east Mistralian symbol on its back.

"…Sun, you look almost the exact same," Blake deadpanned, though she couldn't help but hide her smile at the boy's antics.

Blake herself was dressed in a fairly subtle outfit (at least in comparison to the many, many styles that could be found in Remnant as a whole, not to mention the sheer diversity of clothing between Hunters themselves.) The outside of her hooded trench coat was white with the occasional violet highlight on the cuffs, designing the back, and running up the legs, her sneakers sporting a similar colour-scheme along with white soles. The inside on the other hand was a pitch black, a few purple lines and random patterns just barely visible from within. She opted to have her hair in a tight braid running into the coat itself, her hood up and covering her ears. Nobody would be any wiser thanks to the coming of autumn bringing a prevalent chill in the air.

"… but it looks cool though," He said with a childish pout, Blake outright laughing at how oddly Ruby-like the expression was.

"Well… we should be okay so long as Roman and the Fang members at the docks aren't at the rally, the chances of them being there are slim to none. Though I don't get why the rallies seem to be getting more and more aggressive with drawing new members in. Violence from Fang members and supporters are rising, more dust-raids… did he really just lie to me and go right back to his old ways…?" She wondered, a scowl on her face as her blood started to heat up.

"Hey, you good?" Sun asked sincerely with a gentle nudge to her shoulder. Blake took the opportunity to breathe out and calm herself down, nodding and untensing her muscles.

"Yeah, just… questioning a lot of things I guess."

"Well don't sweat it too much! Besides, thinking too hard's gonna distract you, and you can't exactly have your mind elsewhere right?"

"Mm," Blake agreed as Sun happily walked a bit ahead of her. The shock of yellow that was his tail stood out on the rest of his outfit and looking at it made Blake curious. The prehensile ability and sheer dexterity of the tail certainly pointed towards him being some kind of monkey-Faunus, but the tail's shape was simply… incorrect. Where it should have tapered off into more of a point like all prehensile-tail monkeys did, his was perfectly consistent in width right up it its rounded end. It wasn't even the fur itself that was thick, it was the tail's muscle, she'd come to realize.

'What kind of ape has a tail that muscular yet that flexible? It doesn't make any sense. Hell, there isn't a type of ape-Faunus in the world that I don't know of, but none of them have a tail like that–!' Her eyes went wide as a lightbulb went off in her head. 'No. There's no way. But… but even if he might be, his hair-colour… even half-humans from that clan are never born with blonde.'

"Hey Sun," She started as casually as possible, "What kind of Faunus are you?"

The way he physically paused, his body twitching so hard that Blake didn't even bother to check his aura.

"W-well, I'm just your regular ol' monkey-Faunus from Vacuo!" He laughed nervously.

"East, West… or Central?" She pressed, her jaw dropping as he flinched at the last option. "O-Oh my God, you're a Saiyan?"

He froze again, mouth moving in an attempt to come up with something before sighing, a rueful little smile on his face. "…Was it so obvious?"

"Not really," Blake admitted, though still in shock, "I've worked with and studied a lot of different Faunus during my time on the Fang, and there isn't any that I don't know, the differences in subspecies and unique traits. And of course since I was a higher-ranking member, there's no way I'd miss out on looking up the Saiyan Faunus. And to think-!"

"Shh! Don't exactly want that fact revealed too early," He chuckled a bit nervously.

"Early?" Blake prompted.

"Well, my gramps on my mom's side wants me to win the Tournament for my 'Saiyan pride' and whatnot," He said as he imitated a far older (and evidently grouchier) man, "But he doesn't want me announcing my heritage before then, something about 'not wanting to tip off that old witch?' Honestly, I dunno."

"Huh… still it explains a lot," Blake said as she inspected him much more closely, "Natural strength, durability, high auric reserves and output, a love for combat. There's still one thing I don't understand though: I've never seen any record of a Saiyan being naturally blonde. Not to mention, you're… really strong for a Saiyan that's relatively young."

"I can guarantee I was born like this," He grinned and pointed at his head. "Though… you're not entirely right about Saiyans not being blonde. See, there's this living legend among us Saiyans about a certain power that every member of our kind can unlock, some via emotional trauma and rage, others by intense training, and it looks like our hair turns into golden fire..."

Blake's eyes went even wider as her jaw almost dropped to the floor. Even she'd heard of this tale. After-all, it's supposedly the same power that helped the Saiyan hero Bardock defeat the terrifying King Kault of Mantle all those years ago, a power just as revered by the Faunus as that of Sparda.

"…You were born… a Super Saiyan…?"

"Well, that's the theory!" He laughed sheepishly before his own expression turned pondering, "Though, it's not like I feel any different. Sure I'm stronger than an average Saiyan my age, but it isn't like I'm constantly outputting incredible power, nor am I that strong compared to the rest of my family. Especially my uncle and grandfathers. My grandma theorises that it's because of my bloodline and how multiple people in it already have mastery of the form."

"Oh okay," Blake breathed a sigh of relief before what he said truly caught up to her, "Wait-wait, 'mastery'? So you're saying… the legend of the Super Saiyan… it's-!?"

"Real? Duh," He said casually. "It's not all that cracked up as it sounds though. There's a bunch of weird and hidden stuff in the world, so a Faunus tribe with a specific racial ability shouldn't be all too surprising. There's a couple of Dragon-Faunus with retractable scales, I've met a Croc named Zarbon who can sorta transform, hell, one of my teachers is a Slug Faunus, and he can stretch his limbs. Sure it gives a boost in raw physical and auric power, but it depends on how strong the user is to actually be any good. Say I'm a ten, if I could actually turn Super the boost would bump me up to… twenty-five I think? See, my gramps are one-hundred easily, so that'd be two-hundred and fifty… or something like that. That's besides the point though since there's nothing… really suggesting that I'm born as one."

Blake could see the bold-faced lie that Sun told her, but the sudden and uncharacteristic discomfort radiating from him felt all too much like shame. It was… odd to see Sun so withdrawn into himself, the pensive expression completely off on his normally cheerful face.

"Well," Blake said with a genuine smile, "I certainly feel safer knowing that I've got a Semi-Super-Saiyan covering my back."

With that, Sun was back to his usual self, grinning back and giving Blake a thumbs up.

"Heh, well you can count on me to at least do that for ya!" He laughed.

"To think that another legend is real…" She wondered in awe, having already met a direct descendant of Sparda. "…by the way, I know that Sun is your normal name, but what's your Saiyan name?" Blake asked right before they got to the building where the Fang Rally was being held. As far as her research showed, half-Saiyans normally had a 'human' name that was more regularly used, while also having their 'Saiyan' ties via a name.

"Oh, you know about Saiyan names too?" He asked, pleasantly surprised, "Well, I got mine from my grandfather on my mom's side, he wanted a strong name for a true heir and whatever," He chuckled, exasperated and amused in equal regards. "My Saiyan name is Broly."

"Broly huh? Interesting name," Blake said with a grin before she handed one of the signature White Fang masks to him. "Put this on. Should buy us a few seconds of anonymity in case they're looking out for us."

"Yes ma'am," Sun chuckled as he fitted the mask over his face as they walked into the building. Neither of them noticed as their Scrolls suddenly shut off, unable to turn back on the moment they stepped foot within.

…Ruby and Weiss…

"Why are we doing thiiiiis!?" Weiss shrieked as her and Ruby rapidly pulled the newly-found Penny away from the Atlan Troops who were unsuccessful in chasing them down.

"Come on, just around the corner and we should be alright!" Ruby shouted before she fully opened up on her Semblance, petals appearing to spiral around her body as she launched straight forward through the incredibly long alleyway, Weiss barely managing to keep up even with her most powerful Propulsion-Glyphs sending her shooting forward like a bullet. Their combined windfall ripped apart the alleyway, loose bricks, crates and scaffolding flying all over the place and managing to block the soldiers attempting to chase them.

"P-Penny, you're so-!" Ruby strained, her momentum quickly sputtering out at the sheer weight of Penny in her arms dragging her down, the lapse in concentration throwing both of them wildly through the air and on a course to smash directly into the upcoming wall.

"That is not problem! Commencing landing-strategy, calibrating angle!"

"Calibrating-!?" Ruby squawked as Penny became the one to wrap her arms around Ruby, the latter wheezing as she suddenly felt all the air in her body squeezed from her in an instant. Penny sharply twisted mid-air, the bottom of her feet perfectly facing the wall before Ruby heard a faint metallic clicking sound from inside Penny. A moment later, Ruby watched with a dropped jaw as she realized the array of blades didn't just come from her backpack, but that the wires were attached directly to her back, propulsors killing the momentum and letting her plant her feet on the wall before gently floating down. She firmly placed Ruby on her feet as the blades retracted back, a bit sheepish as the girl in red stared at her, Weiss touching down soon after but equally confused at what she just saw.

"So, as you can see Ruby, Weiss…" Penny started, fidgeting in place for a moment, Ruby shocked at the sheer worry in her trembling aura. Ruby walked up to her and gently held her hands, gesturing her to sit down.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Ruby said softly, "…but if you're set on this, then whatever you say will stay between the three of us."

"You can trust us Penny," Weiss agreed, Ruby herself surprised at how gentle Weiss' voice was, pure sincerity punching through the rampant curiosity in her soul.

"I am…" Though calmed somewhat, she fidgeted a bit more before she swivelled around and undid some buttons on the back of her shirt, Weiss and Ruby realizing the backpack was literally part of the clothing itself. They were shocked to see that visible metal protruded from the skin, the artificial skin of her back acting as connections, the blades like numerous small steel wings.

"I am not a normal girl, nor am I… real," She said shakily, "I am Atlas's first Gynoid with 100% sentience along with a core from which I can produce my own aura, the first and only successful subject from the Atlan Military Project A.L.I.T.A."

"You have a soul…" Ruby gasped before smiling wryly. "…Thank you for sharing this, but you've got something wrong. So what if you've got nuts and bolts instead of guts and blood? Look over there," She pointed at a little mouse nearby looking for food before she took out a cookie from her pocket, breaking a bit of it off and tossed it to the rodent. "It wants to live, to survive, to be comfortable and happy. Do you want that?"

"…" Penny though for a moment, surprised at the warm feeling in her chassis despite no registered rise in temperature. "… I… I think so."

"Then how about this?" Instantly, the air around Ruby seemed to weigh down on Penny as her voice turned dark, the shadows on her face deeper, her expression and eyes so sharp and threatening that Penny physically reeled away, despite no actual threat registered in her system.

"R-Ruby, what was…?" She asked, her voice shaky at the phenomenon.

"Sorry about that," Ruby said sheepishly, "But you felt it, didn't you? I don't doubt that you've probably got some integrated interface, but it probably couldn't pick anything up, because I used my own soul to threaten yours. That desire to feel fear, to fight, to run, to live… that's what makes you alive. That's what makes you real Penny. Never doubt that."

"Basic as such desires are, they are the undeniable marks of something that is undoubtedly alive Penny, and the way you were created only further proves that," Weiss said warmly, "Your skin is textured a bit oddly, but not too different from human skin, your strength not… overly overt, but still within human ranges, and I assume you can taste food…?"

"Indeed I can," She confirmed. "I can use food or dust to naturally recharge my energy-reserves."

"Then whoever made you did so with the desire to be human, don't you think so?" Penny was silent at that, there was this spike of realization that made Weiss smile for a moment, "On the other hand…"

*BONK*

Ruby's head bobbled in place after Weiss knocked her fist on Ruby's noggin. "Ruby Rose, scaring Penny was a step too far! There was no need to do that to the poor girl, you boob!"

"Ooowww, so meeeeaaaan…" Ruby whined, though the cheeky grin on her face told a different story.

"Ruby, Weiss…" Penny caught their attention, "…I do not truly understand what it means to have a soul, and the answer will take some time to me to have an answer. However, this is the first time I have been given answers that go so far beyond my regular parameters, I… I feel enlightened. I think I understand myself… better now." She looked up, pure joy on her face as she pulled both girls into a bone-crushing hug. "Father was right that I would find answers out here in the wider world. You are both true friends, and I thank you."

"Anytime Penny," Ruby grunted, doing her best to breathe before she put the down, her and Weiss quickly sensing some rapidly approaching footsteps.

"I am detecting the soldiers who were chasing us now catching up," Penny stated, "They do not mean any of us any harm, but they are responsible for my safety for reasons you would now understand. It is likely that you would be brought in for questioning which may derail your investigation today."

"Mm," Ruby nodded, "Guess this is goodbye for now then Penny!"

"Farewell Ruby," She said as cheery as ever, "And may we meet again!"

Ruby and Weiss quickly hopped onto the nearest roof, both staying just to be sure that Penny was in good hands.

"Penny, are you alright!?" One of the soldiers in red asked, "We thought you were being kidnapped…!"

"Oh don't worry, there was a simple misunderstanding," She said as cheerily as ever. "Thankfully the situation has been better understood on all sides."

"Alright, that's good then," The soldier in blue sighed, "… but Penny, you know that you shouldn't be out on your own for such long periods of time."

"But General Ironwood said-!" Penny started.

"You know that he can't cover for you forever," Red sighed, "As much as he fights for your independence along with your father, you know that Warmaster Schnee refuses to let his grip from you get too loose. He's always keeping tabs on you and won't hesitate to punish any disobedience from you."

Ruby's eyes went wide as her head snapped to Weiss, a pensive and angry look on the heiress' face.

"I… I understand," Penny drooped, at least until Blue pat her on the shoulder.

"Come on Penny, let's go get you some food," The soldier attempted to cheer her up.

"That sounds like a sensational idea," She said happily as they made their way back to the main street.

Ruby took the time to look at Weiss, not in anger but in surprise and confusion. "Weiss…?"

"…You and the rest of the world knows that my Father is the current CEO of the Schnee Dust Company," She said, "But he is a monster above all else, I won't deny that. He personally fought in the Faunus Rights Wars, slaughtered many with his own two hands, and eventually he…" She breathed in and steeled herself. "Gained the position of Atlan Warmaster. General Ironwood may be the one who leads the army to the public eye, but it's my father who rules the entire military, something my older sister found out when she tried to escape his reach… by joining the military."

"…oh," Ruby said with a small voice.

"Slave camps, forced labour, debt, poor management and extreme mistreatment," Weiss said with grit teeth. "Blake has opened my eyes to… many of the things he's hid from me, things I thought were false propaganda are thing's he's encouraged, all to keep up profits for his damned military funding. He's the one who practically made the damned Atlan Knight-models in the first place, and he's definitely responsible for those new models and Paladins on display."

Ruby had only ever seen Weiss this angry when she'd provoked her during their battle, the air beginning to crackle around her as her skin shone with the patterns of cracked glass.

"Arrogant bastard…" Weiss snarled, "To think that you can control everything and everyone…!"

Ruby put a gentle hand on her shoulder and squeezed, snapping Weiss back to the present and allowing her to slowly calm herself down, shaky breaths accompanied by the slow fading of her aura.

"Let's take this one step at a time," Ruby said calmly, "From what you found at the CCT, it seems like some valuable, classified cargo was stolen from the Atlan Military but definitely funded by the SCD, something that was in…" Ruby started to become a little less calm. "… in its prototype phase."

"…Ruby, you don't think…?" Weiss caught on before her face darkened, "…that cargo was being transported here in Vale…"

"Where a sudden Fang rally is being held…" Ruby slammed her fist into the ground, cursing a storm as she leapt to her feet, "Shit shit shit, this just got way more dangerous! Call Blake and Sun-!"

"Already am, but I can't reach them!" Weiss said, her tone shaky.

"Damnit!" Ruby shouted, "Call Yang and tell her the situation, she should be done with Junior by now, we still have a solid idea where she is and Yang should be closest to her. Send her the picture you took of the Paladin-hologram and let's meet up there before she gets squashed!"

…Yang and Neptune...

"Seriously, nothing at all?" Yang sighed as she leaned back in her seat.

"…You're being oddly calm about this," Junior said with a mildly nervous tone.

"Yeah, well, thank my sis' for that," She chuckled, "Made me promise not to rough you up too bad this time."

"Ruby eh? Well in that case I do extend my thanks to her," He said wryly, "That girl's been a pretty good help, clearing out the area around the Glass House and making it safe for customers to come in and out."

"Hey, she isn't the only one who did that for you!" Yang cried.

"Ah-ah-ah, that was after you found out what she was doing," He shot back triumphantly, "And you're technically still one job away from clearing your debt from trashing my place."

"Hrmm…" Yang whimpered jokingly, "…fiiiine. But, really though, there's been no word on the street about the Fang aside from the Rally? Like, at all?"

"Not a damn peep…" He confirmed, "Funny too, considering most of their ops are intentionally loud in order to draw attention and rally support for the cause."

"Still, thanks for the help though Junior," Yang sighed, "All this quiet does kinda point to something worrying happening behind closed doors. Oh, speaking of which!" Yang remembered, "I know you told me about Torchwick taking some of your men, but did he say anything about working with a chick named Cinder? Ebony hair, orange eyes, less Mistralian features than me, killer curves?"

"Sorry, he never said anything about working with anyone," He said with a shake of his head.

"Ah well, s'not like this didn't yield some useful info," She said as she finished off her Strawberry Sunrise, "Thanks again Junior."

"I'd say anytime, but that's kinda your thing, ain't it blondie?" He chuckled.

"You already know big-boy. Thanks for the drink as well Diluc, you never miss when you're mixin'!" She laughed with a little wink at the aforementioned bartender, a tall and lithe man in a snazzy black and white suit, pure red hair framing an almost beautifully handsome face with amber eyes.

"Your company is as… enlightening as ever," He drawled, though his own little smirk was not to be missed.

Yang laughed before she and Neptune made their way out. "Peace out M&M!" The contrast-coloured twins simply looked at Yang down their noses, but their smiles were hard to miss.

Hei watched the pair go before he sighed and rubbed his face, Diluc raising a brow at the man. "Quite the handful as per usual," He noted, "Though, something about her seems calmer this time around."

"Yeah," Hei agreed, "That's what's got me worried. For me to have absolutely nothing on whatever's going on…"

"Worrying about it too much isn't going to help," Diluc said sternly, "Besides, if Yang is in on this, than so is Ruby Rose. They got things done, granted in a way that's a bit too… loud for my tastes, but they get it done."

"Haaah… that's fair," Hei sighed before a sly grin made its way onto his face. "…So how's Jean?"

"Busy as ever with Military business," Diluc replied evenly,his expression the same but his cheeks pink. "But doing well enough. Still needs to lean how to relax from time to time though, it's no wonder her and Winter Schnee get along so well."

"Kettle calling the pot black when it comes to relaxing," Hei chuckled.

…

"So… nothin' huh?" Neptune spoke up.

"No shit Sherlock," Yang shot back wryly before she sighed in a bout of frustration, "That said, it's still so weird that there's just been nothing. Hell, from what it seems, central-city crime's just been dropping out of nowhere, and you don't even see small-time criminals anymore. Sure, Ruby and I cleaned out a good deal a few years back when we were just vigilantes, but still…"

"You were vigilantes!? That's awesome!" He squealed at first before he coughed into his hand and smoothed his hair out, "I-I mean… that's pretty cool dude."

"You can geek out if you want," Yang chuckled, "Enjoy being yourself before you get swallowed by whatever bullshit life throws at you. I'm glad that Ruby's really starting to understand that, even if it ain't been said."

"Ooh, a warrior and a philosopher," Neptune clapped, "Very impressive, Miss Sun-Dragon."

"You flatter me," Yang tittered before she felt her Scroll vibrate in her holster. "Oh, hold up, it's Weiss. Lemme take this."

"Yang, make your way to Blake's last location right now!" Weiss' voice instantly blasted through the Scroll, "If she and Sun get caught, there's no way they'll be able to deal with the firepower they've got there!"

"Firepower, wha-?" Yang startled before she saw the picture Weiss sent her. "Alright, I'll be parking half a block south of the building. You and Ruby meeting up with me there?"

"We'll be covering you from up-top on one of the roofs, so we won't be far!" Ruby shouted.

"See you there then!" Yang said back before she quickly tapped the special button on her outfit, the fabric bleeding into black. "Hop on big-boy, gotta feelin' this one's gonna be a doozy!"

(TWBY Continued...)

*ADDENDUM, Nov-19th* Please be aware that I put out this chapter on this cliffhanger due to the original being FAR too long, hence it is split up into two chapters, the second of which containing the mech-fight is already 100% complete. It WILL be coming out VERY soon, so don't worry too much!

(!Mildly important, I suggest you read!)

Mech-fight, mech-fight, mech-fight upcoming! Also, yeah... Sun's a Saiyan. Anyone who has had ANY significant interaction with the Dragon Ball series might've seen it coming from a mile away, but ah well, here's the reveal right on schedule. His 'Saiyan name' miiiight also be familiar to anyone who's watched or heard of the recent Dragon Ball Super movie, and it should give you a fair idea of what I've got planned for Sun. However, I'd like to stress for those who are worried about the powerscaling: NO PLANET-BUSTINNG. Yes characters will get stronger, yes they ARE gonna be capable of some whacky shit, but outright destruction of celestial bodies is WAAAY too much, only an option for full deity-level beings (Eg. The Brother Gods).

In addition to that, yes you heard me correctly, WARMASTER Schnee. No longer is Jacques gonna be this whiny little bitch who sits in his office gobbling money like he's riding cock, he's here to be a LEGITIMATE threat, and yes, he WILL be throwing hands with the cast when we get to the Atlas-arc. There's nothing necessarily wrong with his mannerisms and the way he acts most of the time, it's just disappointing to see someone who's such a massive source of suffering in Remnant get offed so suddenly without any real weight.

Like, I'm shocked that Weiss and Blake never got the chance to directly confront him in Vol 7-8. While the Volumes weren't outright BAD, there were still a lot of inconsistencies and plot-points that were never covered, the big one being Faunus inequality... something that was built up since THE FIRST FCKING SEASON. And again, if ANYONE tries to bring up that BULLSHIT excuse that Miles used about 'oh we couldn't write about it properly because we're white' as a VALID REASON need to SHUT UP. It's not because tHeY'Re WhITe, it's because they're SHIT WRITERS (who have BARELY improved since then).

...Sorry for going off like that, I'll admit that the stupidity surrounding the lead writing just makes me genuinely angry, along with the blind part of the RWBY fandom who just worship everything the show produces while attacking anyone who DARES to look at it critically. I'm curious, both newcomers and longtime readers, what are your thoughts on that? I mean, you probably saw my opening message at chapter 0, so if you're still here, I assume you'd agree with me to SOME degree. Hey, if not, that's your business and I'm not trying to insult you, though I'd be happy to debate with anyone in a PM.

Rant aside, I hope I've got you hyped up for the upcoming chapter! Peace ouuut!