Small Issues
AN: Howdy there folks, we're back for another instalment of Small Issues. This is going to be a fun one.
Black and White
Blake sat in the shadows of an air conditioner on a rooftop. And to be quite honest…she was bored.
Stakeouts had never really been her sort of thing, infiltration, sabotage, and scouting were.
It was odd considering how, if left to her own devices, she would gladly sit all day to read a book yet sitting here for an afternoon into evening to watch the workings of a dock was almost too much for her. It didn't help that Sun had left her to go scouting around, checking on things from different angles.
Still, even if he was back with her, they had kept talking to a minimum in case of alerting any guards but the company would have been a better way to pass the time. Better than staring at shipping containers, cranes, the dock, and the water.
It was odd to think that there was no night crew to keep things moving but she wasn't one to complain too much since that reduced the chance of her and Sun being found and increased the odds of the White Fang attacking this place for the Dust… IF they were behind the thefts.
She had to keep giving the White Fang the benefit of the doubt. She knew the organization better than most of the members and she wished for the best, that there were still those who wanted to stick to the old methods… the ideals that gave birth to the White Fang.
"Yo!" Sun announced his arrival, though she heard his feet hitting the roof from a jump. He joined her by the edge and looked down at the docks. "See anything?"
"No. They unloaded the cargo and staged it before leaving." She gave her report. "You?"
"Nobody around besides three security guards and one of them is getting his forty winks in his chair." He held out a doughnut from a box he held. "Need a snack?"
"Did you steal that?"
"Call it helping that guy's diet." He grinned.
"Do you always break the law without a second thought?"
"Weren't you in a cult or something?" He countered, getting narrowed eyes in return but no refutation.
They waited in silence, eating the pilfered doughnuts since they hadn't brought anything to eat for the stakeout. Then Blake noticed something odd.
"Shouldn't the guard have come by now?" One of the guards had patrolled this section of the docks every forty five minutes since the normal workers left.
"Dunno, maybe he's just in the bathroom?" Sun shrugged.
Blake looked ready to agree when her ears under her bow twitched violently and she winced. Before Sun could ask what's wrong, he heard it too- the sounds of turbine jet engines, their high pitched whining piercing the air as they slowed down as they approached the docks. Several Bullheads all painted matte black to blend in with the night sky were coming in for a landing, two of them perching on top of the stacks of containers.
It was bad enough that the aircraft had shown up, but painted in red on the sides was the emblem of the White Fang- three lines that looked like they were made by claws set behind a snarling cat head profile.
"Oh no." Blake couldn't help but to say out loud, only Sun being close enough to hear her over the engines that were powered down but not off. "M-maybe they are being framed?"
Her fears were only confirmed when the doors opened and a few dozen people unloaded and set to work- some spreading out to ensure the area was clear while others set about attaching cables with hooks to the underside of the Bullheads before lodging the hooks into the slots on the containers.
"You were really hoping that it wasn't them." Sun set a comforting hand on Blake's shoulder as they stood up.
"No." She shook her head. "I think deep down I knew it was them… I just didn't want to believe it." She walked to the edge of the roof as she drew her katana. "But I'm going to stop it."
"Hey! What's taking so long out there?" The new voice was loud and carried a sense of sarcasm and authority. Stepping out into the light, a man Blake recognized from the news- Roman Torchwick- black bowler hat and all. "Pick up the pace a little more, would you? We're NOT the most inconspicuous bunch of criminals right now."
Up on the roof, the cat girl was frozen in shock. Not from fear but from anger as old loyalties were battling within her. Her eyes squeezed shut as she grit her teeth. "No… this isn't right." Sun glanced at her. "The White Fang would never work for a human, especially one like him."
Sun opened his mouth to try calming her but she had already taken the last step and dropped from the roof to the ground three stories below. Tracking her path, the blonde could see her quickly but quietly making her way towards Roman while removing her ribbon. Figuring that if she was going for the ringleader, he'd entertain himself with the clowns.
—
"Hey, find anything?"
"Not yet, sorry sis."
"Ooohhh… where could she be?"
"Hey, I'm worried about her too. And Weiss."
"She is?"
"Eh, in her own way."
"Do… Do you think we should try looking all night?"
"Ruby, we have class in the morning. If none of us show up because we're sleeping it will only raise more questions than if only one misses class."
"And I thought that we agreed that we'd talk to Professor Ozpin if we don't find her tonight?" Weiss chimed in.
"I-I know. Maybe keep looking for a few more hours?"
"We will be back to Beacon by ten at latest." Yang started using her 'Mom-voice'. It was usually the best way to get her sister to listen to her when the girl was determined to do something different, things that would get the girl in trouble if she didn't change course.
"Alright… we'll be back by ten.
"Good. JNPR should be about half done with their movie by now. They'll help us look when they're done. Maybe we can group up and grab something to eat while we look for Blake."
"Okay. Good luck."
"You too, sis."
—
Roman was not having the best night. He had hoped that he would drop in, hook up, and go, taking an entire shipping container with each airship he had. It would not be the largest theft he's ever pulled off but really close to it but it would have the most value… if it wasn't all going to someone else.
Someone who has yet to tell him WHY they are focused on stealing Dust… though it has been entertaining to watch as the public worry about the supplies and rising prices and the police scrambling in an attempt to catch him.
But back to the task at hand… Some of the 'hired help' were doing well and were nearly done and ready to go. One of the Bullheads that landed on the crates was already double checking their connections.
He'd have to remember to put in a good word about them. He liked it when his help did their jobs quickly, efficiently, and with little extra direction from him.
Then there were others like the man in front of him- pretty much the only things this one has done right so far was to board and get out of the Bullhead.
"No you idiot! This isn't a leash!" He reprimanded the young Faunus in front of him. Like the others, he was dressed in black pants that were tucked into the black boots with white soles and said pants were held up by a white belt with equally white pouches for smaller items, including a holster. His upper half was covered by a black long sleeve jacket where the forearms are kept tight thanks to a white vambrace with matching straps and a black glove with a white plate that covered the back of the hand. The hoods of the jackets were pulled up to hide their heads but on each of their faces lay masks that covered their foreheads to cheekbones with slits for them to see through the white ceramic. Over the jacket, they wore white vests that buckled in the front and on the back they bore the symbol of the White Fang in red.
The only deviations from this uniform came in for compensation for their distinctive Faunus traits- tails, horns, and ears being the most prominent. And the one that Roman was talking down to has dog ears poking up through his hood.
That is until another figure in black and white materialized from the shadows and their arm hooked his neck, dragging him down to their level and back a few steps.
Roman was surprised by this but quickly analyzed the situation. Judging by the height, the size of the arm around his neck, and the chest against his back, he could tell he was being held by a woman. A woman who knew how to take hold of someone as a hostage… if the black sword at his throat was any indication.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me." He mutters, his chin against her arm making speech a bit difficult but if he was going to say more, the gleaming edge of the blade moving a bit closer to his skin provided the incentive to stop.
"Don't move!"
Sort of. "Woah-ho-ho… take it easy there, little lady."
Even so, the White Fang members didn't seem to take too kindly to the intruder as more than a dozen took positions around him and his captor with weapons drawn. Some carried simple swords- little more than glorified machetes- while others held pistols and compact submachine guns. Even the one he had been lecturing had drawn his pistol and aiming it at him, if shakily.
To be quite honest, he was pretty sure that some of them wouldn't mind shooting him if it meant that they'd hit the girl behind him.
"Brothers and Sisters of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?!" She shouts at the squad around her. Just within his field of view, he could see the cat ears on top of her head while noting that her amber eyes were full of anger and pleading… even betrayal.
But some of the weapons lowered, if slightly.
"Oh, kid… Didn't you get the memo?" He asks with a hint of snark in his voice.
"What are you talking about?" Her demand was clear and she obviously had no idea about the more… recent events. Maybe she was one of them but left a few months ago just as he was 'hired' like the White Fang were, yet she held deep sympathies for the organization, if referring to them as Brothers and Sisters was any indication.
Roman grinned, ready to get the troops to stop questioning their allegiances. "You see, kid, the White Fang and I have entered a joint business venture together." That reminder made the troops tighten their grips on their weapons and aim them correctly again.
The blade pressed against his skin just enough to feel it. "Tell me what this little operation is about and I'll let you live."
"Oh, feisty." The arm holding him tightened, making him nearly bite his tongue. But that was just a warning as the limb relaxed just enough to let him speak again. At the same time, she was so hyper focused on him that she missed the next round coming in on schedule- the spotlights on the Bullheads shining down on them and drawing her attention. "But I wouldn't call it a 'little operation'."
The wind produced by the engines keeping the aircraft aloft threatened to blow his hat off but they served another purpose for him- a distraction. The girl had forgotten one of the key things about taking a hostage- making sure that they are disarmed.
A slight bend of the wrist was all that he needed to point his cane behind himself before pulling the hidden trigger, firing off an explosive shell right at his captors feet.
Sure, he was caught in the blast as well but he was expecting it… she was not.
Turning around and only dusty from the debris that was kicked up thanks to his aura taking the hit easily for him, Roman saw that the girl was on her knees shaking the ringing from her ears and coughing from the smoke but it looked like her aura held up too.
But with down, she still had to pay for interrupting his heist.
"It's been fun, Kitty Cat, but I have things to do!" With that quip said, he aimed his cane at her with a smile.
—-
Up on the stack of shipping containers, the White Fang members had just climbed back in and were ready for takeoff when a figure hopped up by the door.
"Hey! Where are you guys going?" Sun asks as if he were talking about the weather.
Initially, the thieves drew their weapons on him but not only did he turn out to be a fellow Faunus, but had a couple doughnuts in his hands. The sheer ridiculousness of the situation made them lower their weapons in confusion.
"Beat it kid, we're working." The largest in the doorway told Sun dismissively.
"Yeah, if you wanna join up, find a recruiter at a rally." A woman shouted over the engines.
"Why not skip the middleman?" Sun shrugs, holding up the pastries. "Want one?" He glanced in the box. "Sorry Big Guy, no bear claws."
Nobody needed to see the large man's eyes to know that he was rolling them at the joke.
Sun reached in and pulled out one that looked like it was poorly made. "Ah man! They put something in the cream filled one!" And he tossed it over his shoulder.
The others were sympathetic as things like that happened at times… until they caught a glimpse of what was in the doughnut- the cartridge of a shotgun. And their sympathies turned to anger at the bakers… and then that anger turned to fear as the doughnut was sucked into the intake of the engine.
A small bang was heard from within the housing, but that was quickly followed by rattles, grinding, and pops before the entire engine exploded.
But with the loss of that engine, there was nothing to balance the other one and the Bullhead rolled over before the pilot could correct the situation. That roll took it right off the stack to the ground below and took the crate with it, the two landing with a massive crash and filling the air with the sound of crunching and tearing metal.
Sun had wisely stepped to the side to let the wreck proceed as he watched, rather glad nothing else exploded.
"Hmm… I wonder what they packed in that one?" But his curiosity would have to wait as a series of gunshots rang out as Blake dodged explosive rounds with help of some sort of clone Semblance and that her attacker was trying to avoid hitting the containers.
Blake got away by slipping back into the shadows among the crates, giving the master criminal a moment to look at the destruction behind him.
"Oh come on!" Roman shouts as he stomps a foot. "So much for their recommendations." There were a few of the White Fang splitting up to chase after the girl and trying to see if there were survivors. Notably, the one he had initially been reprimanding seemed to be frozen in place from fear after the destruction of one of the aircraft.
That struck a nerve. "Listen up, you mutts! Find the idiots who are interfering with us and kill them quickly! Now we're REALLY pressed for time!" Most of the White Fang left in groups to search the area. The scared punk next to him flinched as Roman turned to him. "As for you… stay here and yell if ANYONE NOT in the same uniform as you shows up. And if you can, shoot them!"
Roman turned to the now landing Bullhead and hopped inside the door. "Alright, we're off to a bad start. To make up for it, hook up a container and load up this bay as much as possible before leaving, got it?"
"Yes sir!" The apparent leader of this squad pounded a fist against his chest as a salute.
"And radio your buddies to hurry up with the next wave. I want them ready to shoot at ANY resistance when they arrive!"
The squad leader turned to the pilots behind him. "You heard the boss! Move into position and call up the next wave!"
Mildly satisfied, Roman jumped out to allow the aircraft to move to a new stack where it immediately began to secure its cargo as one of the men broke open another's doors.
"Now… where is her partner?" Roman mutters as he scans the docks in search of the one who destroyed one of his airships.
—
"So… umm, what is your family like?" Ruby needed something to help divide her attention for a bit.
"Well… my father is usually very busy trying to build new things but there have been a few times where he has let me help him. We love each other very much." Penny stated proudly.
"And your mom?"
Penny took her time answering that question. "Galatea is… complicated." She saw Ruby quirk an eyebrow. "She… had been with one of Father's peers but developed feelings for Father. The other man did not like that. After some time, when I was new, there was an accident that destroyed the lab where the man and Galatea were working."
"Oh… I lost my mother too when I was young." Not wanting to delve further into the subject, both girls were largely quiet for some time.
Just a few blocks away, Ruby and Penny were still searching for Blake when they heard an explosion shortly followed by a few crashes of something metal and large.
Looking around for the source, they eventually found a plume of smoke rising from the west.
"That cannot be good." Penny said aloud. If one thing had become clear to Ruby is that despite the girl's odd quirks, she was good company. Plus, the more they spoke, the more Penny's speech became more fluid, more natural rather than the stiff and stilted pattern from Friday.
Yang and her father would be so proud of her helping someone like this. But that would have to wait as she felt the familiar draw to the problem creating the smoke.
"Come on, we need to see if they need help!" But she didn't need to shout as Penny was keeping up with her run towards the danger.
—-
Halfway across the city, Yang and Weiss couldn't hear any noise from the docks nor could they see the smoke in the already darkened sky. But they did happen to be walking by some cops as their radios crackled to life.
"All Officers! Reports of explosions have been coming from the docks- Pier six-three-six! Local security is not responding!"
"This is Officer Wallace! Patrol twenty one is on its way!" The older, bald cop called back on the radio. "Let's go, Grommet!" He made sure to secure his package of freshly bought cheese in his arms as he ran.
Yang looked to her shorter teammate. "That doesn't sound good, we better help."
"That pier… if I remember correctly, that's the one my company normally uses for shipments to Vale." Weiss said as she cupped her chin.
It hit them both at the same time that whoever was robbing Dust shops was now likely going straight for the biggest supplier of the shops themselves.
The two girls hurried after the cops who were both climbing into their squad car. Acting quickly, they jumped and landed on the roof, their impacts somewhat covered up by the slamming doors. From there, the pair held onto the light bar as the car drove to the scene, trying to not be blinded by the flashing lights or deafened by the siren when it was used.
—
Back at the docks, Blake kept to the shadows, easily avoiding the patrols. None of them were stealth specialists as she had been, in fact, the majority of them looked to be more recent recruits being led by those who had proven some level of skill. Yet all of them were just the standard troops who likely had only a few weeks worth of combat training, at best.
But looking out to the open area where some of the troops were loading up a Bullhead to capacity, she saw Roman walking around with a very fresh recruit watching his back.
The wrecked aircraft had to be Sun's handiwork as there was nobody else here who would be helping her. Speaking of whom… where was he?
"Come out, come out wherever you are, little kitty."
Splat!
"What the-?!" Roman groaned as he pulled a banana peel off his hat, his disgust for the act making him miss the pair of shoes aiming for his head obscured by the floodlights that illuminated the dock. Especially since those shoes were being worn by someone at the time.
"ARGH!" Roman yelled as he was drop kicked in the face, the only thing preventing his head from being crushed was the aura that protected him like it did from the blast that separated him from Blake.
Sun rolled out of the landing with a few flips and turned to the thief defiantly. "Leave her alone." There was no humor in his tone, making it clear that this was a warning.
"Ah jeez! What is it with these kids popping out of nowhere?!" Roman grumbled but was soon joined by a dozen of the White Fang members with weapons drawn. "Take care of this punk."
The Faunus charged in, the first swinging his sword at Sun as those with guns spread out to surround the melee.
The blonde almost casually backhanded his opponent's wrist, redirecting the blade as a result, before his other fist was slammed into the solar plexus. With the breath ejected from his opponent, Sun grabbed the wrist of the arm still holding the sword and twisted that until the grip was loosened and the man was disarmed. At the same time, the monkey boy spun on his heel while driving a knee into the man's waist and pulling on the captured limb, effectively throwing the man away and into one of his comrades.
Another came at him with a sword, looking to stab Sun in the back, only to miss as the target spun with the momentum from the previous throw while jumping, ending with a kick to the back of the man's head, knocking him out.
Sun's next victim barely got to move to attack because as soon as he landed from the last jump, he sprung up into a backflip and kicked her between the shoulders to send her sprawling across on top of her fellows.
Another came at him, this one having grabbed one of the dropped swords and attacking.
This time Sun stepped back to dodge the twin slashes and reached back under the back of his shirt and withdrew four red rods with gold detailing. As it turned out- as one pair was jabbed into her stomach- each pair were connected by a golden chain, and in a flash the chains retracted on both pairs to connect the halves and each newly connected part had their ends slammed into each other where they clamped together to form a staff.
Said staff lashed out and struck the duel wielding woman, disarming and throwing her to the ground even as the staff continued and smacked the nearest gun from the hand of the closest man. He barely flinched before the staff swung around again to connect with his head.
The rest of the White Fang group didn't last long as Sun flipped and spun to deliver punches and kicks as much as he struck with his weapon, the uniformed fighters barely able to do anything thanks to the sheer difference of skill and the speed of his blows.
The beat down finally ended when Sun gave a particularly small man a kick to the backside that sent him flying towards Roman who merely sidestepped his hired help, scowling at the blonde.
This time, Torchwick had nothing snarky to say, simply raising his cane gun and firing.
Sun had his attention on the thief and countered the explosive round by rapidly rotating his staff, detonating it at a fairly safe distance and redirecting some of the force.
From the shadows, Blake stopped being an observer and leapt out to land next to her partner. "He's mine!" She shouts before jumping at Roman with both blades in hand, too focused on the lone human in the vicinity to notice that one of the White Fang had grabbed onto Sun's ankles.
While the monkey boy dealt with the anchor which was joined by others and some had retrieved weapons or brandished claws in their fingers, the cat girl rushed the thief.
The stab aimed for his face was deftly dodged but that was followed by the cleaver half going for his arm. That was blocked by the cane as his fist struck for her head, only to hit a Shadow clone and phase through it as it faded away.
The real Blake appeared just behind the clone and slashed at the man with her sword thinking that he was open in that position. Roman proved to be fast with his cane, not only blocking that attack but seamlessly transitioning to deflect the cleaver as well.
Trying for a different tactic, Blake exploded into a flurry of attacks from multiple angles using her Shadow to near instantly reposition herself whenever her attacks failed to land… and none of them landed.
Roman shifted slightly during the exchange and stomped on her toes to keep her in place, making the girl flinch from the unexpected move and leaving her open for the canes quick strike to her chin before the thief used both hands to swing it back down into her shoulder, forcing her to stumble away.
And throughout the exchange, he laughed.
Yet as soon as she was out of the way, Sun jumped in to land a solid kick to Roman's chest, forcing him back away from Blake as she recovered. And the blonde gave the redhead no time to recover as he pressed the attack, his staff swinging for Roman's head and barely blocked by the cane.
Still, that hit carried enough force to push the thief back another step, giving Sun the moment he needed to split his staff in half and each half split again to remain connected by the golden chains.
The staff was now a pair of nunchucks. Weapons that were now swinging at Roman in tight arcs and at high speeds. And while said thief was able to deflect some of the strikes with his cane, others had to be taken by his free arm.
Roman's unobscured eye widened as he noticed the slight change in grip by Sun on the nunchucks- instead of holding the half by the shaft so the other end could swing freely, he now held it in a reverse grip by the oddly angled part where the chain connects the halves.
It was at that moment when he noticed that the other end of the shaft Sun was holding was hollow to form a barrel. A barrel aimed right at his face and the blonde smirked as his finger squeezed the trigger set into the grip.
BANG!
The shot just missed his ear as he leaned his head to the right. But then came the other gun in the left hand.
BANG!
Roman just barely used his cane to push the barrel to the side, enough to only graze his arm. And then came the other shotgun again.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Despite the intense assault and distracting swinging weapons, Roman came out of the exchange relatively unscathed, having just managed to keep up enough to avoid being shot.
The same couldn't be said of the container behind Roman, as it was now filled with holes… with the dog Faunus scared stiff in the center of the ring of holes around him… with pants that are wetter than when he arrived.
Roman let out a laugh once Sun stopped the intense combination of attacks, but he had let himself open for Blake to use Shadow over Sun's shoulders and drop kick the human in the chest.
The small yell of pain felt satisfying to the Faunus pair as they watched the man lay on his back trying to catch his breath.
All around them, the White Fang had recouped and either began to surround the pair or helped to load up other Bullheads so they could at least have something to show for their efforts when they retreated. Even now, the sirens of police could be heard approaching.
Roman looked up to find the arm of a crane swinging around thanks to one of his men behind the controls, and with it came a container.
Acting quickly before his adversaries could notice the crate above them, he aimed his cane and shot the cable suspending it.
Blake and Sun looked up at the explosion and the falling container, acting on instinct to dodge the tons of metal and its load with Blake leaping backwards and Sun diving forward.
As soon the cat landed on her feet, unheard over the crashing container on the concrete, she found herself surrounded with several swords inches from her body and a few guns aimed between them.
Sun rolled out of his dive only to be kicked in the side by Roman, sending sprawling on the ground much as the thief had been only seconds earlier. To top it off, the criminal made sure that his cane was jabbed into Sun's bare chest to force him back down and held there.
"Now you have been a major pain in the ass blowing up my stuff. Now… I'm going to return the favor." He pushed the cane deeper into the skin.
"HEY!"
The shout echoed across the dock, making everyone look for the source- a girl standing on a building near one of the floodlights. With the red cloak blowing in the ocean breeze and the large scythe given a near effortless twirl by her side and its tip slammed into the edge, the effect would have been more intimidating if she wasn't so small and voice high from adolescence.
Roman laughed at the absurdity of the situation but he was always ready with a quip. "Hello there, Little Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"
The glare of the lights and the distance made it hard to see how much he irritated the girl, but he could feel the contempt. Another figure moved on the roof, distracting the old annoyance and Roman took advantage of the situation by firing at her.
Ruby realized her mistake too late, the explosive round hitting the edge of the roof where she stood and the blast threw her for a loop, landing on her back with a groan of pain even if her aura took the brunt of the damage.
"Are you alright, Ruby?" Penny asked the downed girl as the laughter of the one who shot her friend carried up to her ears.
"Y-yeah."
"Then I shall make them feel the same pain." Penny states as she marches to the edge.
"Penny, wait!"
The ginger looked over her shoulder. "Do not worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!" And she jumped.
Down on the ground, Roman wasn't the only one capable of taking advantage of a distraction- Blake used Shadow to throw herself above her captors and slammed a man to the cement under her feet as she landed. A moment later, her blades began making short work of the rest of the group.
As for Sun, he kicked out at the laughing man's knees, causing him to crash on his back before the monkey boy kicked his legs up with a spin, his flare landing him back on his feet and with weapons in hand. Some of the White Fang had gathered around him during his short capture and he struck out at them with his gunchucks.
With the Faunus keeping each other occupied, the human made a break for it as a trio of Bullheads dove low and slow, their bay doors opening to allow two dozen Faunus to drop to the battlefield from each one. With their troops deployed, the aircraft began circling the docks and firing down on the police cars and military vehicles that had surrounded the area. That included a military aircraft which found itself fired upon by all three.
Back with Penny, her arrival drew the attention of the fresh troops. The girl's backpack opened up like a pair of barn doors and from within the confines, eight daggers emerged.
Daggers that were apparently floating.
Then the blades doubled in length thanks to their telescopic features and they began to move as Penny moved her hands… like a puppeteer.
Several of the White Fang charged her with their melee weapons, only for the floating blades to be motioned in front of their master to create a circular saw formation that spun rapidly. Not only did the maneuver deflect their weapons but Penny made it move to hit the Faunus with the blunt spines of the swords. And with all of that metal hitting them repeatedly so quickly, it sent the men flying where they hit the hard ground.
Others with swords tried to flank the shield but Penny seemed to be prepared for that- the Floating Array of blades spinning rapidly in the opposite direction before she swept her hands to both sides like parting a curtain. The swords divided their numbers in half as they flew to either side where their blunt sides slammed into the Faunus and continued until they hit the shipping containers.
Many of the remaining Faunus with melee weapons decided to go after Blake and Sun instead as those with guns opened fire on the girl.
Penny responded by crouching down and having her swords form a shield in front of her much like a plow as two more deployed from her pack and with a flick of her hand, hurled like spears towards the gunmen.
With a pair of swords flying straight at them, the White Fang formation scattered to dodge, subsequently stopping their long ranged assault. And before any of them could get a bead on Penny again, her raised hand flicked two fingers back and the swords that she had sent out came back with a spin, further interrupting the Faunus. Capitalizing on their distraction and keeping those two swords twisting through the air, she sent the others out like a large buzz saw that mowed down most of the targets in the first pass.
Penny heard footsteps behind her and turned her head to find some of the swordsmen had snuck around the crates to flank her. With a wave of her hand as she twirled herself out of the path of a blade swung at her, five of her own swords flew back to her and arranged themselves like a fan just before striking the man from below, shredding the chest of his uniform as his weak aura was torn through easily.
A few more waves of her hands made sure that the swords with each group of enemies not only had their own problems to deal with but were dealt with quickly.
A Bullhead nearby began to take off with a hastily strapped container slung underneath, swinging loosely as the craft rose in the air. Turning her attention to it, Penny thrust her arms at the aircraft and four of her swords were launched into the hull where they embedded deep into the metal. A quick sweep of her arms behind her and the other swords hurled themselves a short distance away and stuck themselves into the cement.
As the Bullhead rose higher, the ultra thin wires that connected Penny's backpack to her swords became visible as they were pulled taut and caught the light. And with those wires pulled tight, the aircraft was pitched her way as it couldn't rise any higher. And with the wielder of the swords firmly anchored and her hands gripping the wires, her pack began to wind up the wires and pull her back, bringing the struggling Bullhead with her.
And with the more the Bullhead struggled to pull away, the more it became unstable, only worsened by the loose load below it. Finding the right timing with the swaying container and aircraft, Penny gave an extra hard yank on the wires and the pilot lost control. Moments later, a second Bullhead and its load had crashed onto the dockyard.
While that was happening, Blake and Sun had finished up with their sets of antagonistic Faunus and Ruby had recovered and jumped down to join them.
"Blake!" The younger girl nearly tackled the cat girl to the ground if it hadn't been for Sun bracing her back. "We've been looking for you everywhere!" Silver eyes threatened to shed tears as she looked up to her taller teammate.
"Wha-! Ruby?" Needless to say that Blake was surprised, not just that she had been missed like this but that her team had been looking for her.
"Well… I think that shows that there are others who care about ya." Sun comments from the side, drawing the cloaked girl's attention.
"Wait, aren't you the guy from the ship?"
"Hehehe… yeah. Funny story about that."
"Tell her later!" Blake heard Bullheads approaching from behind them, her ears having swiveled backwards to focus on the sounds.
They turned to see that the aircraft were indeed coming and swooping in low with their guns revving up to fire, Sun jumping in front of the two girls and began spinning his staff as a shield. Unexpectedly, Penny landed just in front of him with her swords forming twin circles already spinning fast with the edges of the rings interlocking like gears in a wedge formation as bullets were fired upon them.
Thanks to the trio of rotating shields, none of the bullets hit the teens and the Bullheads soared by overhead.
That didn't mean that everyone was spared of the bullets; the Faunus that was scared stiff from Sun's shotguns putting holes all around him now had more bullet holes in the container… though his pants now had more than urine staining them.
The weapons stopped their rotations as the enemies needed to circle around for another pass, though in that time a loaded Bullhead was able to take off and get away, shortly followed by a second.
"They're getting away!" Blake glares at the retreating thieves, clenching her swords with a white-knuckle grip.
Sun turned to her. "Unless you can fly, you're gonna have to let them go." That was further reinforced that every exit that required land now had the flashing lights of police cars and other emergency vehicles. If one looked carefully, they could see soldiers of the Vale Defense Force moving in and searching, presumably having already ascertained that the four were Huntsmen that were dealing with the worst of the White Fang attack.
To further emphasize that, another Bullhead began taking off a few rows away only for several firearms to shoot the engines before it could rise too high, disabling the craft and forcing a rough landing. Another White Fang group appeared to be assaulted on the other side, the telltale sound of a massive amount of Ice Dust freezing something echoing across the docks accompanied by shotguns.
Another Bullhead took off over the water, barely rising high enough to clear the stacks of containers but this one now had the cover of the two that were shooting at people.
"Everyone, stay back!" Penny warns as she assumes a stance as though she were going to push something heavy and all ten of her swords moved to form a ring with their spines facing inward and points at the incoming aircraft.
The tips of the swords retracted to reveal a small barrel within the spine and the hilts cocked so now that each blade resembled a gun. Penny twisted her hands and the ring began to rotate quickly, the barrels all dipping inward. As they spun, a whining noise was created like something was being charged.
That turned out to be some sort of green energy within the barrels of the sword/guns, the rotation and the dust being kicked up making it give the impression that there was a ball of light in the ring. Then Penny clenched her fists and pulled them back to her hips.
And for a brief moment everything seemed to go still and silent.
Then the girl thrust both fists forward and each barrel shot green lasers that coalesced just in front of the ring before the collective blasted out and swept across both approaching Bullheads, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter.
Said aircraft fell apart in pieces with the cut areas glowing red from heat, luckily falling into the water as what remained of the crews either went down with the cockpits or fell during the separation for a hard, wet impact.
Sun and Ruby were stunned as they looked on in awe. "Woah." Blake shared the sentiment even if she was silent about it.
Well out of range, Roman saw what just happened to his cover and ran back to his aircraft. "These kids just keep getting weirder!" He mutters as he closes the loading door and takes a seat on some crates of the rarest and purest Dust that the boat had transported from Atlas, ensuring that he had at least something to show for this operation. His Bullhead took off flanked by one other with its own load, though the hull was scarred from battle.
—
Over with Yang and Weiss, they saw the Bullhead coming and the bullets creating a trail of destruction heading right for them and the car they were on. Acting quickly, Weiss drew Myrtenaster and created a thick shell of ice over them, anchored at the bumpers.
While the sudden weight bottomed out the vehicle and blinded the driver, the ice took the brunt of the bullets that would have ruined the car and either killed or injured everyone in/on it.
Still, the rain of bullets was short and the ice crumbled apart in chunks over the now stopped car, leaving the two girls to get off and leave the surprised officers behind.
"Thanks for the ride guys! We'll take it from here!" Yang gave them a quick wave and smile, the cops waving back out of habit.
"Hurry up, Yang!" Weiss called as the blonde dropped back.
"It just had to be ice!" She yelled back as she reached into her shirt to retrieve a chunk of frozen water that had dropped down her chest.
A man in a White Fang uniform jumped out from behind a container with his sword drawn. THUD Only for his mask to take most of the hit from a fist sized chunk of ice thrown by a blonde.
The man fell to the ground and the ceramic mask shattered, Weiss making sure to kick the sword well out of reach as she ran by.
The heiress heard the sound of turbine engines from a Bullhead nearby and followed it to the source. "There they are!"
Of course, the shout to her teammate also drew the attention of the pilfering Faunus who dropped their loads and drew guns. Though said teammate had found another sizable chunk of ice in her hair and threw that, hitting a woman in the chest and distracting the group long enough for Weiss to close the distance and disarm them of their weapons.
While the Faunus were busy trying to hit the Schnee, Yang barreled in, punching one man straight into a container where he was knocked out upon contact with the metal. One man drew a sword from his waist and slashed at the brawler, only to miss as she leapt and used the container to kick off of so she had some extra force for when her boot hit his head. The woman she'd hit with the ice was grabbed by the wrist thanks to a poor punch and pulled into a rising knee to her stomach.
Down the row, Weiss bound off a Glyph to kick a man in the chest, using him as a springboard to jump on top of a container where a uniformed Faunus had opened a crate and was about to throw a large Fire Dust crystal to the cement. No doubt that it was being done in desperation as such an act would burn his fellow Faunus in the area and potentially set off the Dust all around them, ensuring that they'd all be killed.
Her rapier lashed out and struck the armor on his arm, forcing him to drop the crystal before he could hurl it. Her free hand caught it even as she spun on her heel and kicked the man's knee so it buckled and he fell from the container to the concrete.
With so many of the squad taken down, the pilots of the Bullhead decided to cut their losses and take off even as one last woman jumped in with a smaller crate in her arms.
"Yang! They're taking off!"
The blonde didn't bother deploying with words, simply firing her gauntlets at the aircraft as rapidly as possible, scoring its hull with holes and burn marks. Weiss followed suit, freezing the ground to catch the rear landing wheel to hold the craft down before using the Fire Dust in her hand to add the element to her Glyph and pelting her target with fireballs.
Unfortunately for her, between the rattling provided by their assault and the thrust of the engines, the Bullhead was able to break free and flew away.
"No! We almost had them!"
"I know, Weiss, I know." The taller girl patted her on the back. "But hey, we got these guys, right? No way they got as much as they were hoping for either."
"That is… one way to look at it positively."
Yang began grabbing the downed Faunus by the collars, preventing them from trying to slip away but as she passed by a gap in the containers, she caught sight of a very familiar red cloak blowing in the ocean breeze.
"Ruby?!" The girl turned when she heard her name. "Ruby!" The second time was much happier and she began running towards her sister, noticing that she wasn't alone.
"Yang!" The younger sister ran to meet her part way but then stopped with an odd look on her face. "Yang?"
Stopping just short, the elder sibling grinned. "I should've known that you'd be here somehow." She lifted her arms. "Now give me a hug."
"I don't mind but do they need to be involved?"
Yang blinked as she looked at her hands, realizing that she was still holding four Faunus by the scruffs. "Oh." And she dropped them before stepping in for the hug. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine sis."
Penny stepped up to the siblings. "If Roman's aim had been one degree higher, you would have taken that explosive round to your torso rather than the wall at your feet."
Immediately, Ruby shrank under the scrutinizing eye of Yang while muttering "Traitor."
Over with Blake and Sun, they began gathering up White Fang members and using whatever rope, cables, and wires they could find to bind their hands, Sun doing his best to empty their pockets as well. The pile of ammunition, small tools, knives, and wallets grew quickly.
"Hey, I know that they got away but at least we stopped what we could rather than sit in the hotel room." Sun tried to cheer her up.
"But they got away!"
"Some of them."
"They stole the Dust!"
"Not as much as they thought they would."
The cat girl growled at the monkey, only for him to stonily stare her down, his points slowly hitting home for her.
Her ears swiveled up again as she heard familiar heels coming her way. "Blake Belladonna!" And the voice confirmed it, making her ears droop.
"Weiss!" She spun around, though surprised that the girl was dragging along some deer Faunus girl by the ear over to them, much like a disappointed mother with their child.
The heiress walked the girl over to her compatriots. "Now wait here until the authorities arrive!" She spun on her heel and marched up to the taller Faunus.
"Weiss! I-I can explain! I-I-I didn't want people to think less of me for not being hum-" She was cut off by a cold hand covering her mouth.
"You can tell me later. Right now, we've spent this entire weekend combing over the city looking for you instead of getting ahead on our studies and training." Nobody bothered to tell her that they wanted to use the extended weekend to relax, at least not now. "And during that time I've had a LOT of time to think and I've decided that…" Blake squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the worst. "I don't care!"
"Hmmm?" Weiss' hand over her mouth made speech difficult at best but it wasn't hard to tell what she meant to say.
"I don't care that you're a Faunus and you're clearly not with the White Fang." They shared a glance at the group that they had rounded up so far. "Right now, I just want to call it a day and go back to the dorms with my whole team so we can get some sleep for tomorrow." It was only then did she remove her hand.
Despite the impediment no longer covering her mouth, Blake was shocked speechless… at least until Ruby jumped in and brought the two in for a hug.
"Yes! Team RWBY is back together again!"
"Ah, Ruby?!"
"You dolt!"
"Come on, Weiss! Look at those cute kitty ears!" Blake blushed as she became the focus of attention, especially once Ruby reached up and stroked the fine hairs on the back of one, the appendage fluttering to beat away the finger.
"They are pretty cute." The heiress admitted with a smile.
"Yang?" Ruby looked around for her sister's opinion only to find her by the Faunus surrounded by bullet holes… but not one injury that she could see.
"Yeah, yeah, cute ears and all. Always been more of a dog person but… what do we do with this guy 'cause I'm not touching him." She held her nose, recognizing the smell from his pants and the guy was pale under his mask… and drooling.
Sun walked a bit closer to check on him. "Yeah, let the cops take care of him. Though, this guy didn't really do anything, like at all." He poked him with his staff but the man was unresponsive.
"Nobody move!" And now the cops showed up with a few VDF troops from either side, though some of them seemed glad for the rounding up of White Fang already done.
Blake held her hands up, having just tied her bow to cover her Faunus trait as Ruby slumped. "Awww… not again." The cloaked girls whine made the other two girls share a questioning glance even as they heard Yang let out a similar groan.
But then Ruby noticed something off. "Hey, where's Penny?"
—-
Just outside of the police perimeter, the girl in question closed the door of a black car she had just gotten into.
"Do you know how worried your father would be if he knew that you were sneaking out on your own?" The driver asks.
"I'm sorry." She kept her head down.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, sir."
"Very well, given your actions helped to save lives and prevent further theft, your discipline will be waived so long as there is no further disobedience."
"Yes sir, it won't happen again."
—
Team JNPR came walking out of the theater ready to search for Blake again, though the movie had put them in the mood for some candy, even some gum for Nora.
"Any good news?" Jaune was curious as the store had a television in a corner that switched to the local news channel.
"Breaking news! A theft at the Vale docks by the White Fang was interrupted by several young Huntresses and Huntsman. While an unknown amount of Dust was stolen by those who got away, several dozen of the radicalized Faunus were arrested and taken away to await trial. We do not have more information quite yet but we have heard that Roman Torchwick was at the scene of the crime"
Lisa Lavender was replaced by short video clips of the White Fang members in handcuffs being loaded into transports, a mugshot of Roman, and a still picture of five teenagers.
"That's Team RWBY!" Jaune pointed at the holographic screen.
"And look!" Nora jumped and raised her hand. "They found Blake!"
"That is certainly one way to find her." Ren shrugs.
Pyrrha's scroll dinged and she checked the message, finding that it was from Yang. 'Hey! We found Blake and it looks like we don't have to worry about her and Weiss fighting anymore. See you back at Beacon.'
"It seems that things are back to normal and they will meet us back at Beacon." The redhead tells her team.
"Think we should get some for them?" Jaune suggests as he gestures at the shelves of treats around them.
"I'm sure they would not say no." She replies. A short time later, they left the shop with a few bags of snacks and candies and made their way back to their dorm to wait for their friends.
It would be a long wait.
—-
At the police station, the four girls of Team RWBY and Sun sat together as they waited. Professor Ozpin had come down personally to handle things regarding their involvement and had taken each of them in for questioning. Apparently, he knew full well that Blake was a Faunus all along and hinted that he knew more about her past than she shared but was willing to overlook that given the motives and circumstances… so long as that was all.
Meeting the sisters, AGAIN, in a police station was something that he expressed was a trend that he was growing not fond of, letting them go with a warning. With Weiss, he listened to her story about the weekend before advising her to keep questioning things in the world, especially biases, and strive to adjust them to help others so that others can be inspired to change their own for the betterment of society.
And with Sun, upon learning why he was here in Vale early rather than back in Mistral for the next few weeks before the rest of the students would come for the Vytal Festival and Tournament… There was a small amount of frustration but he would be calling the Headmaster of Haven Academy to inform him of what happened. At the same time, Ozpin was grateful for Sun's role in not just helping one of his students but for being a key factor in thwarting the bulk of Roman and the White Fang's attempts at the docks. For now, Sun would be provided a dorm and added to the class schedules until the Haven students would leave after the Tournaments conclusion.
All in all, punishments were limited to the four girls having missed doing their weekend assignments for classes and having gotten little sleep. Sun would also begin attending classes with them but would have some extra work to make up for what he missed since he left Haven early.
—-
Ozpin sat down in his room, ready to get at least some sleep himself when his scroll chimed. Normally at this time of night, technically morning, he'd ignore the message until he'd wake up but this was a chime that was unique.
One that was only used for a highly trusted friend.
Looking at the message, it was minimal and cryptic… to anyone but him.
'Queen moved her pawns.'
AN: So... how did you all enjoy this? A few small tweaks to the fight from the original, some references to other shows, and a bit of elaboration. Plus JNPR got to see their final movie in the list, almost hard to believe that it took three chapters to get through those.
At the same time, this part of the series will be winding down in a few chapters so that it can tie in nicely with where Big Issues begins. Then I'll be able to focus on continuing Larger Issues and another project that had been in the works for a while that still needs a few tweaks of its own and a bit of research to make sure I'm getting things right. Don't worry, it's still RWBY related, if that helps but it won't be tied to this series.
Until next time, I welcome your reviews and stay safe wherever you are!