17
Weiss held on for dear life behind Yang on her motorcycle. While she was used to speed due to her glyphs, that was under her own control. She did not like ceding control to someone else, especially her adrenaline junkie of a teammate. Stomach sinking as Yang raced around a hairpin turn she shouted against the wind for her to be more careful but it fell upon deaf ears.
It was with great relief that she slid off of Bumblebee as they arrived at their destination, a club that looked closed.
"Uh, Yang?" Weiss asked, looking at the signage dubiously, "Who did you say your friend was?"
There didn't look to be any kind of bouncer outside but Yang confidently strode up to the doors, pulling them open, "Junior and I go way back. If there's anyone who knows what's going on in Vale, it's him."
It was a short hallway and she spotted a man in a black suit with red shades on. Really? Indoor? The man took one look at them and visibly straightened before bolting through the doors. Just what kind of reputation did Yang have around here?
She got her answer moments later as Yang burst through the double doors sporting a broad grin, "Guess who's back?!"
Only to have an array of guns pointed directly at them. Weiss activated her aura instantly, "So, define friend for me again?"
"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!" came a shout from behind the numerous what she now could tell were gangsters, "Nobody shoot! Put your guns down!"
The confused goons hesitantly said it and it was what spared them a beating as a large man in a black waistcoat pushed his wait through, straightening his tie and looking nervous in front of someone who looked half his age.
"What brings you here, Blondie?" The gruff man hesitantly asked.
"Just some questions I was hoping you could answer." She flashed him a winning smile, "Don't worry I won't pay in kisses."
To Weiss' surprise the man visibly flinched and she stared Yang down as her teammate dragged the man towards the bar in the back bny the dancefloor. Gazing around the place she spotted a DJ with the most ridiculous bear mascot head on, not even a full suit, just the head and a pair of young women their age dressed in red and white respectively who looked like twins and were staring frostily in their direction. It looks like Yang hadn't just made a splash here but had cannonballed right in.
As she approached the bar herself she caught on to their conversation, "What do you mean they never came back?"
"Exactly what I said." The growled, annoyance clear on his face, "I lent him my men and none of them came back. Never heard from them after that."
"And Torchwick?"
"Haven't seen him since the night you came in." He said pointedly. If Weiss hadn't yet picked up on their feelings towards Yang, the sheer venom dripping from the statement would have been a dead giveaway.
"Alright fine, some help you are." Yang sighed, "What about the White Fang? Got anything on their movements in Vale?"
Junior crossed his arms, jaw set as he stared them down, "I do, for some lien."
"Really?" Yang stood away from the bar top, "You're going to charge me?"
"I'm running a business, Blondie, not a charity. You want that info, you pay for it." The man was making his stand and it appeared Yang was not going to take kindly to it.
Quickly Weiss put her hand on Yang's shoulder, causing her to stop and look over, "Yang." She whispered quietly in warning before turning to Junior, "What will it cost to get that information?"
"Two-thousand."
"What?!" Yang erupted.
"It's simply supply and demand, Blondie. I supply and you demand. Or you could take your business elsewhere."
Yang growled and made to move forward but Weiss stopped her, pulling the blond back before slamming a stack of lien on the counter, a stack of his denomination lien.
Junior took the stack and leafed through it quickly, counting the money with an expert eye before nodding, "See Blondie? That's how you do business. I'll be right back."
Yang rounded on Weiss as soon as he left, "You didn't have to pay him!"
One delicate white eyebrow rose, "And what were you planning to do? Beat the information out of him like some kind of weird pinata?"
With a harrumph she crossed her arms, "Maybe."
"Violence doesn't solve every problem, Yang." Weiss rolled her eyes.
Junior came back a moment later with a manilla folder in hand, slapping it down on the counter, "Everything I have on the White Fang is right here."
"That was fast." Yang remarked.
"Would have taken longer but lucky for you, you weren't the only person asking about them. I already had all of that on hand." He replied with ease.
Someone else is looking into them? Could it be Carmine? The thought intrigued Weiss, she didn't think Carmine would need to deal with this Junior fellow if she had her future knowledge, though it could quite easily be somebody else.
A potential ally?
"Who asked for it?" Junior turned to see another five hundred lien in Weiss' hand, resting temptingly on the counter.
His eyes flicked from it to hers, she could see the cogs whirring in his mind before he eventually shrugged and held out his hand. When she put it in his palm he opened his mouth, "A pair of Huntress and Huntsman. Huntsman named Jack, didn't get a surname and couldn't find anything on him when I looked, I.D. was fake too. The Huntress was a known quantity though, a bandit by the name of Raven Branwen."
"Wait what?!" Yang yelled, startling Weiss as she shoved her aside, "My mother was here?!"
"Your what?" Waiss asked but went unheaded as Junior leaned backwards.
"Uh, yeah I guess. If your mother is Raven Branwen, that is. I can sort of see the resemblance." He commented.
"What was she doing here?" Yang asked.
"Exactly what I just told you. She and the guy she was with were asking about the White Fang."
"Why?" Yang muttered to herself, looking far more confused than Weiss felt.
"I don't know, didn't ask."
With a frustrated grunt Yang pushed away from the bar, stalking out of the club towards her motorcycle and Weiss watched her go, biting her lip. She turned to Junior and gave him a nod, "Thank you for the information, I will be taking my leave now."
Junior didn't say much and just nodded, watching her exit with a relieved expression on his face.
She found Yang outside by Bumblebee, pacing back and forth in agitation, "Yang?" She asked in concern, "Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?!" Yang spat out, eyes crimson before flinching back and returning to their normal lilac, "I'm sorry Weiss I-"
"Don't worry about it." She waved it off, it was clear that the blond hadn't meant it, "You wanna talk about it? I know I'm not a great conversationalist but I am here for you."
Yang smiled weakly, leaning on her bike with her arms crossed under her chest, "Sorry for freaking out like that in there. I guess you think I'm weird."
"Well yes but I know that the moment I met you." Weiss smirked at Yang's shocked expression before the girl giggled and rolled her eyes.
"Ha. Ha. Weiss-cream." The blonde sighed, looking down at her feet, "I… have two moms. My mom that gave birth to me and the one that wanted me."
Clear blue eyes widened at the genuine admission from Yang, Weiss hadn't expected her to up and tell her. Despite how extroverted Yang was, her teammate never opened up about anything that was before Beacon. This was the first time she was hearing about her parents, "I am going to go out on a limb and guess this Raven woman is your birth mother."
"She chuckled wryly, "No points for guessing the obvious. Yeah, Raven Branwen is my birth mother, and she abandoned me shortly after birth. I have no memory of her, to be honest. All I've seen is an old picture of their team from Beacon. Dad won't tell me and neither will Uncle Qrow."
"So… Why were you so angry to hear she was in Vale?" Weiss asked.
"That's the question, isn't it?" She gently slammed her fist into her palm, "She's here. In Vale. I actually know where she is for once. I've been looking for her for years, Weiss. There was a point where I was obsessed, I almost got Ruby killed over it."
"You what?!" The heiress' eyes widened in shock.
"Yeah. I found the address to where she used to live and set out to walk there with Ruby in the wagon behind me. Would have died to Grimm if Uncle Qrow hadn't found us."
"That's…" Weiss didn't know how to respond to the admission.
"Terrible, right?" The blonde looked bitter, "I decided that day that I wouldn't put my search ahead of my life or anyone else's. So yeah, my mother is here, closer than ever, and I don't even know why."
"Well-" She was interrupted as her scroll started going off, the melody, she pulled the device out to see that it was their team leader who was calling her, "Ruby? What's go-"
"We need help!" Came the cry from the other side, she could hear gunshot and what sounded like explosions in the background, "Warehouse district! Now! Roman Torchwick! Big robot!"
The scroll hung up a moment later and Weiss just turned to Yang who was already stradling her motorcycle, "Get on Weiss, looks like we gotta go save 'em."
-SY-
"Look out!" Ruby all but tackled Blake to the side, whisking them both out of the way with her semblance.
"Thanks." Blake managed to get out the one word before they were running again, dodging between warehouse buildings as the Paladin piloted by Roman fire at them, tearing apart walls, road, and anything in between as he attempted to mow them down with the massive amount of firepower the mech wielded.
"We need to get out of sight until Yang and Weiss get here!" Ruby flinched as a strafe of gunfire raked right near her, missing her by a narrow margin.
They ducked into an alleyway between two buildings, one not wide enough for the Paladin to fit in. It skidded to a halt as they were halfway down it and Ruby looked back as it's guns spooled up. With a frantic yelp she grabbed onto Blake, once again taking her into her semblance and speeding down the alley as bullets tore up the air around them. At the speed she was going they couldn't quite make the right angle turn at the end and slammed into the wall. The pair stumbled to their feet and out of sight of the Paladin.
Ruby's heart sank as she realized that they had gone down a dead end, but at least they were out of line of fire for the moment. They would need to leave eventually but it would buy some time.
"I can't believe he's supplying the White Fang with war machines!" Blake ranted.
"What is that thing, Blake?" Ruby asked.
Her expression soured, "Some new machine Atlas invented. Supposed to be anti-Grimm but he said he 'snagged a few before they hit the shelves,'"
"Okay. Not good." The small leader took a deep breath, "What was that back there, Blake?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me." Ruby gave her best arch look, "You didn't have to blow your cover. Maybe he recognized you and maybe he didn't. You could have gotten away."
The faunus at least had the temerity to look bashful, "I thought it was blown. I tried to cover my tracks."
"Nice cover, Blake." She replied with a saccharine voice, "We're only being chased by a gian MECH!"
Sadly neither could continue arguing as they heard a crack and a crash, the building they were stood against rumbling with footsteps.
"Move!"
They bolted as the wall exploded into dust and rubble, the Paladin crashing though it like some twisted mascot, firing its chaingun in their direction. They were forced out of the alley and back onto the road, with her scroll choosing that unfortunate moment to start ringing.
"What?!" Was all Ruby could afford to answer as she dodge the fire, a few shots pinging of her aura and causing it to dip quite a bit. Atlas certainly did know firepower.
"We're almost there!" It was Weiss, the sound of a motorcycle could be heard, "I think I can hear the gunfire, just hold out a little longer!"
The young woman stuffed the scroll into her belt pouch, not even bothering to hang up as she slid to a stop in the road.
"Ruby?!" Blake's incredulous question came from just behind her, "What the heck are you doing?"
"Going on the offensive."Ruby replied before leaping into action, "Ladybug!"
Luckily Blake knew what she intended. The mech was focused on her but with her semblance she was able to make a serpentine movement fast enough that it's guns couldn't track her, leaving an opening for her teammate to follow behind.
Crescent Rose struck at a joint in the robot's armor, leaving only a faint scratch against the thick metal. Even boosted by aura she didn't have enough cutting power. Blake followed suit, cutting into the same spot and they traded places, slashing at the joint to weaken it. Roman tried to trample them, a leg lifting and slamming down right in front of her but they were far too agile, it was a machine meant to fight Grimm, not Huntresses.
That was when the two of them heard a guttural roar of rage as something slammed into the side of the Paladin, rocking it and allowing the two of them to move out from underneath. Ruby heard the familiar telltale sounds of Ember Celica's discharge and looked up to find Yang gripping onto the side of the machine, unloading shell after shell into it. Weiss alighted next to them, Myternaster at the ready as the Paladin grabbed onto Yang, bodily throwing her to the ground, he body bouncing off of the pavement as she skipped along the road.
They needed to slow it down, blind it, "Iceflower."
Weiss nodded and moved to stand next to her partner as Ruby buried her sythe's tip into the ground, pulling back the bolt to chamber another round. A glyph appeared in front of the barrel and she began sending round after round into the mech, each encased in a volatile mixture of ice dust that burst into a massive formation of ice upon contact. It rocked the machine with each hit, slowing it down.
"Freezerburn!" Ruby leapt out of the way as Weiss slammed her rapier's tip into the ground, spreading a sheet of ice in a massive area. Yang, finally recovered, leapt past her sister to slam her fist into the newly made ice, sending a blast of heat so intense into it that the ice evaporated into a thick mist around them.
"Alright team!" Ruby called out, the fog cover was thick but they could use the precious time to strategize, "It's fast and durable but inaccurate. We need a powerful blow to bring it down."
"Heh, you can count on me, sis." Yang slammed her fists together.
"Yup. You and Blake work on building momentum, Weiss and me-"
"Weiss and I." The heiress corrected.
"-will slow it down and keep him distracted."
"Uh guys?" Blake interjected, "You hear that?"
They all stopped to listen but didn't hear much, just the sounds of the mech running.
"I don't hear anything, Blake." Ruby answered.
"Does it sound like it's getting further away?"
Their eyes all widened at the same time, darting in the direction they could hear the thundering sound of the Paladin's steps. They had lost sight of it and when they cleared the screen they had made, it was nowhere in sight, the sounds fading. Blake stood still for a moment, eyes closed as her ears twitched.
"This way!" She shouted, running down the road. The team ran after the Paladin, desperate to catch the criminal but they skid to a halt when they rounded the street corner.
The Paladin was on it's side, cockpit wide open and a lone figure standing atop it. The figure turned to see them and they suddenly grew very pale at the sight.
Carmine holstered Bloom and Scatter, single silver eye locked onto team RWBY as she hopped down from the Paladin. Even from a distance they could tell she was angry. From the way she stalked towards them to the thunderous look on her face, they were suddenly well aware of just where they were and what they'd been doing.
Professor Rose came to a stop in front of the four girls, arms folded across her chest as she slowly looked between the four of them, her gaze finally resting on Blake, who looked at her defiantly.
"You four are in a lot of trouble." It was a quiet statement that belied the severity of it. She didn't shout like they had expected and in a way it was worse.
-SY-
Carmine was angry, livid even. Once upon a time people had believed that Ruby Rose did not have a temper but that just wasn't true as Yang could attest. No, she had a temper, it just festered and built up though over the years her fuse had grown shorter and shorter. Understanding was something she had had before, so was compassion, but neither had saved her friends. Instead she found herself face to face with the image of her younger self, of the younger selves of everyone and it frustrated her.
How could we have been so stupid? The thought made her want to cringe and only served tom exacerbate her mood. These four were nothing like her team, even if they were the same people. Was it fair? Not in the slightest but she couldn't help but compare them to the memory of her own team. Blake, so rash and obsessive, Yang equally reckless and headstrong, and Weiss with her pride.
They had all changed over the years but seeing it like that put it into perspective just how different they had all become. Not to mention her own self, so meek and unconfident. Ruby Rose at the age of fifteen was not someone capable of leading a team.
But it was Blake who earned her ire the most that night. Blake who instigated all of this and not only put herself and her team in danger but did so without need.
"What do you all have to say for yourselves?" Carmine asked.
It was Ruby who spoke up, because of course she did, "We found evidence of White Fang activity and investigated. Roman caught us and tried to kill us."
"Oh?" Carmine raised and eyebrow, "And why, exactly, were the four of you out in Vale to get caught up in this kind of activity?"
"C'mon, Prof, we were just out having a night on the town. You know, team bonding, when we caught wind."
With a roll of her eyes she showed how much she believed that, "Yang, don't insult me by lying to my face. You think I don't know why you're here?"
"Well why don't you tell us?" Ah, Blake the ever defiant, the one most opposed to authority. The young woman's face wa glaring back at her, so sure she was in her own justification.
"How about looking for trouble? I'd say you all decided to infiltrate a White Fang rally. Let me guess Blake, because those in charge aren't doing anything?"
"No!" Blake protested, "Because I wanted to help?"
"And I told you it wasn't needed." Carmine spat back, "I told you we had a plan. That we were looking into the White Fang and that we were preparing but nooooooo. Blake Belladonna has to get involved."
"Don't make me out to be some spoiled brat!" She yelled back, "Especially not when I refuse to be a bystander in this."
"What you are doing is putting the lives of yourself and your team at risk!" The professor roared, stepping forward and coming into contact with Yang who had stepped between them. Her sister's eyes were red.
"She didn't put us at risk, Carmine, we all volunteered." The blonde growled.
"Oh? You volunteered? Well then that's all fine and dandy. I'll be sure to tell dad that when I give him the news that two of his daughters died." Both Ruby and Yang flinched back at that, "That's right. Not much consolation, is it. Was it any for us when Mom didn't come back?"
Yang looked stricken, her red eyes snuffing out to lilac instantly and she could see her younger self with her hand to her mouth. Instead of backing off, she looked over Yang at Blake, "And what about your parents, Blake? Are you so consumed by your guilt over not listening to them that you'd throw yourself at terrorists?"
"Don't bring them into this!" The girl shrieked, "You're just mad that we got results!"
"Roman works for ME!" Carmine finally snapped, before reigning herself in. It looked like she'd really put her foot in her mouth, given the way the four of them were staring at here, equal parts shock and the beginnings of anger, "That's right. Roman's on our side. Sort of. He's acting as my double agent."
"You're working with a criminal? With Torchwick?!" Ruby was aghast at the idea, still reeling over the conversational whiplash.
"How could you?!" Blake accused, it looked like Yang was back to being angry and even Weiss was glaring at her. She looked from one to the other before shrugging.
"Quite easily. I just threatened him a little and then offered him something he wanted. Torchwick is a small fry."
"Compared to what? Are you after Adam? Sienna?" Blake asked, trying to figure out her angle.
Carmine snorted, "While I would love nothing more than to put a bullet into Adam's head personally," Blake flinched, "The White Fang are a symptom, not a cause."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
Had the girl really not thought it through? Who was she kidding, of course she hadn't, "Tell me something Blake. How likely is it that the White Fang would choose to work with Roman Torchwick? To reach out to him?"
The faunus looked confused by the question but shook her head, "They wouldn't."
"Are you confident in that answer? Even with how things are?" She asked.
"Yes. Torchwick is a racist, he's everything we were supposed to fight against."
"Exactly." And Carmine drove her point home, "Given how Torchwick is so clearly racist, would the master thief of Vale reach out to work with a terrorist organization?"
"Well he must have." Blake still didn't get it.
"Say he did reach out. Would the White Fang listen to him?"
That made her pause and think, finally think. Carmine could see the cogs turning even if the others hadn't quite reached the same conclusion yet. Of course they hadn't, they didn't know the White Fang like Blake did. Weiss thought they were bloodthirsty killers, and while she was right, it was a bit more complex than that. Yang appeared to be reserving judgment though she knew her sister was smarter than she pretended to be. Her younger self didn't look like she was comprehending it at all, but that just went to show how black and white she had viewed the world as a child.
"No. They wouldn't. Roman doesn't have anything they want, at least not bad enough to listen to him, and he doesn't have the muscle to force them to." Blake finally worded it out and it looked like Weiss finally got the picture.
"So then how did they end up working together?" Weiss asked.
"'My employer.'" Blake quoted, "Roman said his employer is the one who got the Paladins for the White Fang. I missed it at the time but is that what you meant?"
"And finally she uses her last brain cell." Carmine started clapping, "Bingo kitten, I'm not after Roman I'm after the person who is pulling the strings."
"Who?" She asked.
"Ah, now that I don't know yet. Which is why I've got Roman in my pocket." Carmine lied, "Now if you all are done interfering we can get on to your punishments."
"What?" Ruby asked.
"Oh, did you think you were going to get off like nothing happened?" Carmine smiled a little cruelly, "Oh no no no. By all means the Headmaster is well withing his rights to expel the four of you," They started sweating, "But I don't want that to happen and neither does he."
The four girls breathed a sigh of relief.
"However that could change if you keep butting in." The four of them straightened again but luckily the Atlas forces started to show up, headed by Winter herself who stared reproachfully at her sister. Though they were happy to reclaim the lost Paladin and Winter told them she would escort them all back to Beacon once initial preparations were finished. The team glumly filed onto the bullhead but Carmine snatched Blake by the shoulder, pulling her away from her team for a moment.
"Blake," She whispered, "I know your heart is in the right place and you don't have a lot of trust in other people but I need you to trust me. I will handle this. The White Fang will not succeed, you have my word. I also want to tell you that if you break into my office again I will make your life miserable, understood?"
Without another word, Blake hurried onto the bullhead.