Vale (Day)
After what happened two days ago, the remaining members of Teams RWBY and XISR were walking through Vale, looking for their friends.
"Russo! Blake!" Ivy yelled, hoping for a response.
"They've been gone all weekend. I hope nothing bad happened to them." Ruby said with a frown.
"They're huntsmen in training. I'm sure they're fine." Weiss dismissed.
"While I wouldn't say it like that, I agree with my sister." Welter said.
"C'mon! You heard what Blake said!" Weiss said to her older twin.
"Regardless, they're missing, and we need to find them." Yang said, trying to diffuse the situation.
Far away from the commotion, Blake took a sip from a cup of tea. She, Sun, and Russo were taking refuge in a new restaurant that opened a few weeks ago. "So, you want to know more about me?" Blake asked Sun.
"Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and all I've gotten from you is small talk and weird looks!" Sun said before Blake gave him an angry glare. "Yeah, like that."
After rolling her eyes, Blake continued. "Sun, are you familiar with the White Fang?" she asked.
Meanwhile, Russo was busy getting his order from one of the employees. "Thanks." he said to the elderly clerk before returning to the table.
"So, have you told any of your friends about this?" Sun asked as Russo sat down.
"Really? What am I, chopped liver?" Russo asked before taking a bite out of a scalding piece of sukiyaki.
"So, what's the plan now?" Sun asked.
"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before." Blake said.
"What if they did? I mean, the only way to prove it's not them is to go to the place they'd most likely appear and not find them." Sun suggested.
"Only problem is, I have no idea where that'd be." Blake admitted.
"I might." Russo said, getting the attention of Blake and Sun. "I have info on a large Dust shipment coming in tonight."
"How good are your sources?" Blake asked.
"Wikipedia hasn't failed me yet." the boy said with a grin, taking a bite out of a piece of meat.
"Is...Is he serious?" Sun asked.
"At this point, I have no idea." Blake admitted. "But it's all we have to go on."
Vale (Day)
"Weiss, you're not helping!" Ruby scolded.
"You know who might be able to help? The police!" Weiss said, getting glares from everyone.
"That's not funny, Weiss." Welter said.
"It was just an idea!" Weiss defended.
"Yeah, a terrible one." Ivy said.
"Weiss, I think we should hear what Blake has to say before we make any assumptions." Yang said. If her brother felt that she was innocent, she probably was.
"And when we hear it, you'll all realize that I was right." Weiss said, making Yang and Ivy roll their eyes.
"And I think Weiss's hair looks wonderful today." Penny said, making everyone present jump back in shock.
'How did she get so close to us?' Welter asked himself.
"Where did you come from!?" Ruby asked, a bit frightened by Penny's sudden appearance.
"Hey, guys! What are you up to?" Penny asked, ignoring the question.
"We're looking for our friends, Russo and Blake." Ivy explained.
"Oh, you mean the Faunus girl and the hot guy." Penny said, shocking everyone.
'Does she know!?' Ruby, Yang, Ivy, Welter, and Sapphire thought at the same time.
"I'm sorry, did you just say Russo was hot?" Weiss asked.
"Well, he had a very high body temperature. Was he sick?" Penny asked, relieving the boy's siblings and teammates.
"No, he's just...He's fine." Ruby assured.
"So, where are they?" Penny asked.
"We don't know. They've been missing since Friday." Ruby admitted sadly. She knew Blake wasn't in danger with Russo around, but she still worried.
"That's terrible!" Penny gasped. "Well, don't you worry, Friend Ruby. I won't rest until we find your friends!"
"That's really nice of you, Penny. But we're okay. Right guys?" Ruby asked, only to get no response. Her friends had abandoned her.
Vale (Afternoon)
"So, Blake and Russo are your friends?" Penny asked.
"Yes, Penny." Ruby said, sighing.
"But you're mad at Blake?" Penny asked.
"No, Weiss is."
"Is she friends with Blake?"
"That's kinda up in the air right now."
"But why?"
"Well, Blake might not be who we thought she was."
"Is she in a relationship with Russo!? Is that why they're gone?" Penny asked.
"No. Trust me, that wouldn't be a possibility." Ruby said, choking on a laugh. Calling her brother dense would be an understatement of biblical proportions. "But Blake didn't really talk to us much before running off."
"I don't have a lot of friends. But if I did, I'd want them to talk to me about things." Penny said as they continued walking.
Vale Docks (Night)
Atop an unused shipping crate, Blake and Russo were keeping an eye out for the White Fang. "Did I miss anything?" Sun asked as he arrived with apples.
"Nope. We've been sitting here for 17 minutes and haven't seen anything." Russo said, bored.
"Cool. I stole you some food." Sun said, holding an apple.
"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" Blake asked.
"Hey, weren't you in a cult?" Sun asked, thinking it was funny until Russo hit him in the head.
"Ever heard the term "Too soon"?" the boy asked rhetorically.
After he said that, a Bullhead descended to the Docks before opening up. The Bullhead in question had a very familiar symbol on it, that of the White Fang.
"Oh no." Blake said.
"If it's any consolation, I gave them an 80/20 chance of showing up." Russo told his sisters' teammate. She responded with a silent glare. "Yeah, that time was my bad. Sorry."
"Hey, what's the holdup?" Torchwick asked his henchmen.
"Now that's odd." Russo commented, tilting his head.
"What's odd?" Sun asked.
"The White Fang wouldn't take orders from a human." Blake explained. "Especially not one like that."
"Does this mean we can FINALLY do something?" Russo asked excitedly. "I've been itching for a good fight for the last two days, and I refuse to be denied that now."
"Sure, if you want." Blake said, knowing that even if she said no, nothing would stop the blonde from following her. She jumped off the crate, with Russo hot on her tail. After locating Torchwick, Blake instantly ran towards his back and raised her weapon to his throat.
"Woah, take it easy there, little lady." Torchwick said, not threatened. Several White Fang Grunts appeared, raising their weapons at the Faunus girl.
"Brothers of the White Fang!" Blake said, removing her bow. "Why are you aiding this scum!?"
"Haven't you heard? The White Fang and I have a joint business venture together." Torchwick said.
"Tell me what it is, or I'll put an end to your little operation." the girl said, raising her blade by half an inch.
Suddenly, multiple Bullheads flew in. "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation." Torchwick said, discreetly aiming his weapon at Blake's feet. When he fired, it launched the girl a few feet away. She quickly got back on her feet but wasn't able to guard in time for Torchwick's second attack.
The sound of a sword being drawn, followed by an explosion, alerted Blake to what happened. "Yarara. So, this is the guy who gave my little brother and sister such trouble." Russo said, standing in front of the Faunus girl. "I'm not impressed."
More Grunts fell from a Bullhead, joining Torchwick in the battle and surrounding the blonde. "You're not too bright, are you kiddo?"
Russo simply gave a grin. "I'd rethink that if I were you." The boy's sword opened up right before he plunged it into the ground. "I'm the brightest there is!" The following explosion sent shrapnel flying in every direction, hitting many of the Grunts around him while also creating a large cloud of smoke.
From within the smoke, Sun was finishing off what Russo started, eliminating the Grunts. 'Geez, what kind of monsters does Beacon create?' he wondered to himself as he used his weapon to take down two Grunts at once.
"He's mine!" Blake shouted as she rushed towards Torchwick. She, Sun, and Russo all unleashed a flurry of relentless attacks.
Unable to keep parrying the countless blows, Torchwick shot at a cable holding up a shipping crate, snapping it. Blake and Sun were able to get out of the way in time, but the same could not be said for Russo.
"Oh beans." the boy said before he was crushed.
"RUSSO!" Blake shouted.
"Hey!" Ruby shouted from the roof of a nearby building, getting everyone's attention.
"Well, if it isn't Red." Torchwick said, turning away from Blake and Sun. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"
"Are these people your friends, Ruby?" Penny asked from behind the hooded girl.
"Penny, stay back." Ruby said, not wanting to put her new friend in danger. Unfortunately, that meant that she didn't see Torchwick fire at her.
A bright red light illuminated the entire area as a molten fireball blasted through the shipping container that crushed Russo. It flew at unseeable speeds towards Ruby, blocking the shot that Torchwick fired. When the Dust round hit it, the flames dispersed to reveal Russo, cloaked in fire. "Yarararara! Now this is gonna be fun!"
Laughing maniacally, Russo brought a vial of Burn Dust from his pocket. He emptied the bottle on his sword, coating it in red. With a savage swing, Russo shot a crescent-shaped beam of fire at the Grunts below, detonating on contact with the ground and leaving behind a molten crater several feet in diameter. Grinning, the blonde jumped into the crater, unfazed by the searing heat.
The sound of propellers alerted him to more Bullheads arriving at the scene. They each fired at him with excessive force, raining bullets down on the boy. Grinning, Russo slashed horizontally with such force that it blew the bullets off-course. "Now, time for something I've been wanting to use for a while." The blonde stabbed his weapon into the ground, then produced copious amounts of fire energy focused in his palms. He raised his arms to the Bullheads, and with a grin, he fired.
A beam of pure fire energy erupted from Russo's hands, searing through two of the Bullheads without any resistance. Everyone present saw the crazed smile on the boy's face as he watched the aircraft crash to the ground.
"These kids just keep getting weirder." Torchwick said as he entered a Bullhead, fleeing from the scene with some of his Grunts.
"Wow, that was exhilarating!" Russo said, grinning. "Shame it's over, though."
"RUSSO!" Ruby yelled, using her Semblance to tackle-hug her brother. "Tell me next time you disappear for two days!"
"Sure, I'll be sure to let you know the next time I inexplicably ditch school for a whole weekend." Russo said sarcastically.
"You'd better!" Ruby said, holding her brother even tighter than before.
"Uh, they do realize that there's no point in ditching school on the weekend, right?" Sun asked Blake.
"At this point, I have no idea." the Faunus girl admitted, sighing in exasperation.