Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY

Chapter 18: True Paladins-Part 1

Neptune had gotten used to getting dragged into crazy situations since joining Team SSSN. It was only natural, having such a free-spirited person like Sun as his partner and Team leader and while he had initially resented being dragged into absurd, and questionably legal situations one after another he had come to accept it and even use them as a learning experience.

This whole business with Team RWBY, which was really about Sun wanting to impress the hot cat-girl, was shaping up to be the craziest ride he had been dragged into. Sure, there were a bunch of really good looking girls around with this group, but his charms weren't working so far.

First the Snow Angel threw him off the library second floor before trying to knock him off the ledge outside their window. Then the Blonde Bombshell grabbed his junk and threatened to squeeze them to oblivion if he didn't listen to her, which was certainly something he didn't want to happen.

He was beginning to think his methods of attracting women didn't work as well as he thought.

He had dismissed those absurd thoughts as Yang's group headed to Beacon's garage, where he found out that Yang had a motorcycle. He was beginning to think his luck was turning, as what could be better then riding on a motorcycle with a hot babe?

"Isn't this the coolest?" Jaune shouted over his shoulder, his voice muffled a bit by the wind.

"Yeah…it's riveting," Neptune replied, his blatant sarcasm lost in the same wind.

His fantasy of riding with a sexy motorcycle babe was crushed by the current reality of him sitting behind Jaune in a two-seater sidecar attached to Yang's motorcycle. It was a quite an amazing thing, attaching seamlessly to the sport bike without hindering it's speed or handling.

Neptune was told that Yang had built both the bike and the sidecar herself from scratch, which was beyond impressive. She made the sidecar so she could take all three of her sisters on rides with her, but it had to be sent over separately from Patch and only arrived at Beacon recently, so he and Jaune got to be the first to test it out.

While there was nothing wrong with the sidecar per say, besides being a bit cramped, it wasn't what he would have personally wanted. He would have preferred to have switched places with Nora, who was hanging on tight to Yang on the bike itself. Even with her helmet on, it was clear she was enjoyed herself greatly as Yang drove down the street, following her own liberal interpretation of the speed limits.

At the very least, he could have shared this sidecar with Nora, as she was quite the attractive girl herself. Being close and cozy in with such a cute and attractive girl would have made this whole experience much better and make this whole excursion of following Sun into yet another dangerous situation worth it.

It hit Neptune that he was indeed heading into a potentially dangerous situation and that he should probably focus on that instead of flirting with girls. This was important, and so he shouldn't have his attention on such superfluous things. It should be for the best if he just stopped and…

Neptune shook his head, a motion not seen by the others. He needed to focus on the task at hand, yes, but he also needed to keep being a suave, confident guy. If he acted confident, then he could be confident…and if he was confident, then he could keep his Sembance under control.

That was just the best for everyone, and since he father and brother always said that all girls looked for was confidence, flirting with them was the best way to maintain his confidence and control.

He was beginning to have doubts about this approach, but he didn't have any other ideas of what to do, so decided to keep at it. It was all he could do for now.

Lost in his personal thoughts, Neptune was taken by surprise when they suddenly stopped moving. Looking around, he saw that they had stopped in front an old brick building with arched windows. There were no signs on the building and given they were located in the industrial district of Vale, made it look like no nightclub Neptune had ever seen…not that he had even been to one before.

"This is the place," Yang proclaimed, parking the bike and taking off her helmet. "I know it doesn't look like much but that's because Junior doesn't want to draw too much attention. He serves a very select clientele and you can't get in without an invitation."

"How did you get in the first time?" Jaune asked as he, Neptune and Nora disembarked and removed their helmets as well.

Yang flashed him a big smile. "I invited myself, of course."

The blonde Xiao Long walked towards the large front door, cracking her knuckles as she went.

"Just leave the talking to me and everything should be fine."

The others could only shrug and follow along, having no other option then to follow Yang's lead.

Yang threw open the door, revealing an entrance hall with another door at the end. Two men in black suits with red sunglasses stood guard by the door, looking up from their Scrolls at the sudden entrance of the group.

As soon as they saw the blonde brawler, they immediately began to panic and hurriedly exited through the door they were guarding and closed it behind them, shouting that "She's back!" all the while.

Nora, Jaune and Neptune gave Yang a hard look at this reaction, which the blonde simply waved away.

"Don't worry, I go this under control."

Walking confidently up to the previously guarded door, Yang employed Ember Cilica before punching the door, smashing it open before striding into the nightclub beyond.

"Guess who back!"

Yang's explosive entrance was greeted with a dozen armed men pointing guns at her face. Her smile faded and she tensed her body, readying for a fight. The other behind her reached for their weapon, preparing to backup their friend.

"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot," A tall man cut his way through the crowd of goons, straightening his tie as he stood in front of Yang. "Blondie, you're here! ...Why?"

"You still owe me a drink," she replied and grabbed Junior by the arm and started to drag him towards the bar, the armed henchmen simply letting this happen.

Everyone started to relax and holstered their weapon, the henchmen moving back to their posts around the club while Jaune, Nora and Neptune slowly walked into the room, looking around before making their way to join Yang.

Neptune saw that two girls, one wearing white and the other red, were standing off to the side and watching everything with an impassive look.

"Sup," Neptune said to them, giving his patented cool guy smile and wink.

The twins weren't impressed.

"Whatever," they said in unison, turning their noses at him and walking off towards the club's kitchen.

Neptune kept his smile from faltering.

Just another swing and a miss. All he had to do was keep at it and eventually he would hit it out of the park…eventually…

Beacon Tower, which housed the Kingdom's CCT system, was the tallest building in the whole city. Despite it's name and location on the plateau with the rest of the school, the Tower wasn't exclusively part of Beacon Academy and was fully open to the public.

Being the center of Inter-Kingdom trade and communicate, the CCT was busy all hours of most days, today being no exception. There was a steady flow of people coming and going; businessmen conduction trade to students calling back home. People from all walks of life were here, so no one paid much attention to the group of four young people standing off to the side of the plaza outside the tower.

"You guys all set?" Ruby asked, her voice low. They were in a shaded area and previous trips to the tower had confirmed that there weren't any cameras aimed at this spot, but she still didn't want to draw attention until they were ready.

"I'm good to go," Weiss replied, "though we may have to make this fast; binding my chest this much is making it had to breathe."

Along with her work overalls, Weiss had tied her breasts down with bandages. Combined with having her hair in a tight bun and then covered by a grey cap, along with a set of dark sunglasses on her face, both her identity and gender were made unclear. That would make it much harder for anyone to positively identify her, as what she was planning on doing was highly illegal.

Ren opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed it quickly and remained silent.

Ruby turned to Pyrrha. "You ready?"

The red-head nodded, not showing a hint of nervousness. Much of this plan hinged on Pyrrha making a big enough distraction to let Weiss slip in unnoticed, so there was a lot of pressure on her.

She was certainly a good looking distraction. Everyone had admitted that Pyrrha was a very attractive young woman but right now she was absolutely beautiful. Her green sundress and hat complimented her red hair wonderfully and would bring out her eyes once she took off her sunglasses. She had some light makeup on, which enhanced rather then buried her natural beauty. Simple black heels finished the set and Pyrrha was able to move gracefully about, turning more then one head on the journey here.

Yang and Weiss helped Pyrrha all dressed up, but it was remarkable how little they actually needed to do to bring out her natural beauty. It was a shame she didn't try to dress up more.

"Okay. You and Ren will distract the staff and security, letting Weiss get into the main server room. Once she gets what data she can, she'll ping our Scrolls to let us know she's done and then you two can make your way out.

"If you guys think you're losing the crowed or security is getting suspicious, then you send a ping to let Weiss know to grab what she can and get out quick. If things go south, double ping and I'll set off a distraction near the entrance and give cover for all of you to escape."

"What exactly is your planned distraction?" Ren asked, curious.

"Oh, I'll just use these bombs Weiss made," Ruby replied, pulling out a few small spheres from her pocket and holding them up for Ren and Pyrrha to see.

They were barely the size of Ruby's palm and seemed innocent enough, but this was Weiss they were talking about. The two members of JNPR turned towards the white Xiao Long, pulling down their sunglasses and gave a look of deep concern.

"T-they're not high-explosive or anything!" Weiss quickly stammered out. "They're just fire-crackers; loud noise and lots of smoke but nothing dangerous or anything."

Ren and Pyrrha had their doubts but decided to trust their friend for now.

"Still, best we do all we can, so we don't need Ruby to pull off her distraction," Ren said, sliding his sunglasses back on.

"Indeed. It would be a poor showing on our part if we get accused of being terrorist bombers while trying to catch the real terrorists," Pyrrha commented, a small smile on her face.

The others let out a soft chuckled before realizing what had happened.

"Did Pyrrha…just crack a joke?"

Ruby's Scroll suddenly beeped, alerting her that the afternoon rush was about to begin, and it was time to start their operation.

"Okay Team, let's do this."

With a final nod, the group split up, Ren and Pyrrha heading for one entrance while Weiss want to another on the far side. Ruby stayed at this secluded spot of the plaza, where she could keep an eye on things.

Ren used all his breathing techniques to keep his pulse even. His chest was especially sore today and the sheer magnitude of what they were doing made his heart race. They weren't even halfway to the front desk, and he felt like he was going to have a panic attack. He turned his head back a bit to look at Pyrrha, wondering if she was as nervous as he was.

If she was, she gave no hint. She walked with a confident stride, a small smile on her face. With her hair down and her dress flowing around her, she looked like a big star celebrity walking down the red carpet, with Ren as her loyal bodyguard.

Which was good, as that was exactly the image they were going for,

Ren took one last deep breathe, taking strength from Pyrrha's example, before stepping up to the front desk. He cleared his throat audibly, getting the attention of the receptionist.

"Yes? Can I help you?" the young woman replied politely. She had pale skin and short white hair, a pair of pale green eyes looking up at Ren with well-practiced patience.

For a brief moment, Ren thought they may have found Weiss's lost family before the much more practical answer came to mind.

The CCT Towers had been built Atlas, or rather Mantle, after the Great War and it supplied the technicians and support staff who remained behind to maintain them. Even as the decades passed and more locals were trained to work on the CCT, there were often still those of Atlesian descent employed at this crucial job.

Another quick scan around the entrance hall showed that the receptionist next to the one Ren was talking to and one of the security guards standing off to the side, had white hair and pale skin, features not uncommon to people with ties to the cold northern continent.

Ren cleared his throat and spoke in the most confident and authoritative voice he could muster.

"Miss Pyrrha Nikos is here to make a call."

"The public terminals are on the second floor and there are staff near them that can answer any question you may have."

The answer was quick and to the point, a response she had doubtless given countless time and she barely gave Ren and Pyrrha a second look as she returned to typing at her computer console.

"We're expecting some more exclusive treatment," Ren persisted. "This is Pyrrha Nikos after all."

"Sir, no one is getting preferential treatment here and-" the woman stopped in the middle of her well-used customer service line as the name finally registered in her mind. She looked up; her eyes wide as she really looked at the pair.

"Pyrrha Nikos…the Pyrrha Nikos?"

At this, Pyrrha removed her sunglasses and took off her hat, fully revealing herself. A few months before coming to Beacon, Pyrrha had been forced to take part in a fashion shoot for a big name magazine. She had worn a dress similar to the one she had on now and that image had been plastered all over the Four Kingdoms, so she was more recognizable to many people dressed like this then in her combat gear.

The receptionist gasped and covered her mouth, shock and awe shining in her eyes.

"I…oh my…I-I'm honoured that you're here and, oh, my little sister would kill me if don't get your autograph, so…if that's okay or…"

Any pretense to professionalism was tossed aside as the white-haired woman proceed to gush on and on. It got the attention of the receptionist sitting next to her, who, at hearing Pyrrha's name, this receptionist abandoned her job and walked on over.

"You mean the famous champion Pyrrha Nikos…oh my god."

And thus, is began. Everyone on the floor turned at the sudden commotion, seeing the beautiful red-haired young woman who was actually a famous celebrity.

"Did they say Pyrrha Nikos?"

"Yes, the four time Champion of Mistral."

"She is absolutely beautiful."

"Come on, we need to get her autograph and a picture with her."

Soon, a large crowd formed around Ren and Pyrrha, a tide of people wanting to get close to this celebrity. Alongside the staff and people here on business, there was a gaggle of young people wearing bright red shirts with Pyrrha's face on them, along with other Pyrrha-theme paraphernalia. A very aggressive woman was trying to break through the crowd, a mic in hand and a camera man following behind, shouting various questions toward Pyrrha.

This was all part of them plan. Weiss had made sure to post on anonymously on various websites that Pyrrha was going to be making an appearance at the CCT around this time. The local branch of the Pyrrha Nikos Fan Club had come out in force, waiting outside until they confirmed that Pyrrha had arrived before mobbing her.

There was also more then one two-bit reporters here, those from small networks, magazines, or websites, that were desperate for any sort of big news and gladly followed the lead here in the hope of getting an exclusive interview.

They seemed to flock to Pyrrha, like moths to a flame, each eager to see this person who they believed was larger than life. Ren, who was only supposed to pretend to be a bodyguard, ended up having to do the real thing, making sure no one got too close to Pyrrha or tried anything funny.

Ren was beginning to wonder if they were in over their heads here and if Pyrrha would be able to handled all this. A quick look at her face put his fears at ease, with his teammates having a look of almost pure tranquility as she smiled and responded to the people around her, shaking hands and signing autographs. She seemed to do it all so effortlessly and it drew the people in even more.

It was amazing and unreal to behold.

For Pyrrha, being the centre of attention was nothing new for her. She had been giving interviews and taking part in large fan meets since her first championship, and doing such things were actually easier for her then the seemingly 'mundane' actions of holding hands with another person.

She had done these things because she was told to, to enhance her family's image and prestige. Here, she was doing it to help her friends accomplish something greater, something good. When the idea of using her celebrity status as a mean of distraction, they had all ask her numerous times if she was okay with that, and if not, they would find another way.

Pyrrha agreed to it all the same, seeing it as the best and easiest methods available. Standing the middle of this small sea of humanity, she felt a sense of fulfilment she never experience in these situations before.

"I'm doing this for my friends, my dear comrades. I need to keep everyone focus on me, so look at me…look at me…look at me!"

The crowd seemed to surge forward a bit, each person completely enraptured by Pyrrha, as desperate to look and be close to her as a man dying of thirst is desperate for water.

So focus were they all on Pyrrha as a whole, that none had presence of mind to notice a brief flash of white light within her left eye. It was there for only an instant, but in the depths of those emerald eyes, the shape of a crown formed before disappearing.

Seeing the crowd form, Weiss moved quickly, getting into the elevator, and going to the basement level. Having such a commotion by the front desk would draw the attention of security, even the ones watching over the cameras. Everyone would be far too busy with the visiting celebrity to notice a non-descript technician walking along the edges of the room towards the elevator and then taking it down to the basement.

Weiss moved through the halls of the basement, keeping her face down as she made her way to the Tower's main server room. She and her sisters had visit the CCT Tower as part of a school trip and they had been shown the door to the server room but hadn't been allowed inside. There had been no significant renovations in the years since, so the route was the same.

The door itself proved no barrier, with Weiss quickly hacking the electronic lock in only a few minutes. She didn't enter immediately, instead pulling out her compact mirror and angling it to look into the server room.

Sure enough, there was a camera pointed at the door. A technician walking around wouldn't raise much suspicion, but one making an unscheduled stop in the server room would. Weiss was, of course, prepared and pull a small black device, no bigger than the tip of her finger. Using her Semblance, she created a Target on her hacking device and using the mirror, managed to put the Anchor on the camera. Extending her hand to be just inside the room, the device flew through the air and attached itself to the camera.

It began to do it's job, hacking the camera and making it loop the last minute of footage over and over, ensuring that Weiss wouldn't be seen by it. The device only had enough Dust to keep it going for a short time, so Weiss need to hurry.

Rushing into the room, Weiss began to look for the right server terminal in a room filled with identical black towers. This had been the biggest sticking point of the plan, as she had no idea which server tower was reserved for the Schnee Dust Company until she started digging around in the system, which could take more time than she had.

She was looking around frantically, trying to decide where to start her search when she saw something that stopped her dead in her track. All the server towers were the same, featureless black blocks of metal…except for one. One tower alone had something emblazoned on the front of it: a stylized white snowflake.

Weiss's eye twitched for a moment, not fully believing how egotistical the Schnees had to be to stamp their logo on something that wasn't going to be seen by hardly anyone. They just needed to make sure that everyone knew exactly what they owned, no matter what.

At the very least, it made Weiss's job easier, and she immediately got to work, pulling out the tools need to connect her Scroll to the terminal while masking her presence from the CCT's anti-hacking systems. They were supposed to be the best in the world and that was on top of the SDC own security measures, the best money could buy to protect their data from any rivals.

Weiss blew through it all like a hot knife through butter. She had to project multiple screens at once and be completely focused on all of them, but she was making steady progress. While only focusing on one small part of the CCT system, it wouldn't be much more for her to go further and hack the main system as well.

"Wait…you can just…do that?" Jaune had asked when the plan was first being drawn up.

"Oh, sure. It wouldn't be easy by any means, but if I could get direct access to the system, then I could take control of most, if not all, of the CCT." Weiss sat back, tapping a finger to her lip. "If I could get hold of the central processes, even for a little bit, I could take the entire thing down. That would throw the entire global economy and the Kingdoms into chaos and could spell the end of the world as we know it."

It took a few moments for Weiss to notice the very, very concerned looks on her sisters' and JNPR's faces.

"B-But I'm not going to do that, of course! I'll just sneak in and take what we need, nothing else I promise!"

Her friends and family slowly relaxed but continued to give her a weary look for the rest of the day.

Weiss laughed slightly at the memory. Being here now, she was far less confident of being able to hijack the entire system, as it was taking everything, she had to hack just this one section.

Still, she could use this opportunity to dig into the Schnee Dust Company's personal affairs, dig up some dirt to take them down a peg and give her own company a leg up when she eventually founded it in the future.

She shook her head, taking a brief moment to berate herself before focusing again on the task at hand. She wasn't going to lower herself to the same level as the Schnee's, using dirty tricks to beat out their competition. She was better then that and she would make the Xiao Long Dust Company a better enterprise then the Schnees ever could.

With renewed determination, Weiss continued with her part of the plan, not letting Pyrrha's work go to waste.

After a few minutes with no pings on her Scroll, Ruby was confident that everything was going to plan. That just left her to wait outside and being ready to move if needed. The problem that was emerging was that she was by herself, with no company, no comic books, and no means to tinker with her weapon, which all lead to one result: she was bored out of her mind.

She knew that this was important, and this was all her plan, but that didn't make this any easier for her. She wanted to be in the thick of the action, preferably with her sisters by her side, so this waiting was tortuous. She cast her eyes around, desperate to find anything to take her mind of the numbing boredom.

She found it, surprisingly, by spotting a familiar bob of orange hair exiting the CCT from a side entrance.

"Penny?"

Ruby moved from her spot to get a better view and sure enough, the person marching away from the CCT was indeed her newest friend, who just happened to be a robot. Deciding she could leave for just a few minutes, she took off after her,

"Penny! Hey Penny!"

The girl in question stopped and turned to see who was calling to her, looking at the approaching Ruby with a mix of surprise, delight, and apprehension.

"Oh, Friend-Ruby, what a surprise to see you. What are you doing here?"

"W-well…" Ruby hesitated, not wanting to reveal her team's plan to even more people. "I'm just out with my team for a little project now, nothing serious or illegal at all…what are you doing at the CCT Tower?"

"I was uploading the latest version of my consciousness matrix back to the main server in Atlas and…" Penny paused, letting out a small hiccup before resuming. "I mean, I was making a call to my dad back home in Atlas."

"Right…I guess that normal and stuff…wait what happened to you? You disappeared right after the fight with the White Fang, we were worried something had happened but didn't have any way to contact you."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Friend-Ruby. My minders contacted me and informed me that I had to leave the premises immediately and avoid further contact with you and, well, anyone really."

"Wait, minders?"

"Oh, their…associates of my father's." Penny let out a small hiccups before continuing to walk down the street, Ruby following beside her.

"Did you…get in big trouble for helping us?" Ruby asked, worried that she might have made things difficult for Penny by dragging her into their fight.

"Nothing too severe. This isn't the first time I've ventured outside by myself. I've never been to another Kingdom before, so I've taken this opportunity to go out and see as much of the outside world as I can. I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I can't help it; I want to see people and places beyond my father's workshop," Penny looked a bit sheepish for a moment before turning to Ruby with a smile. "I mean, I got to meet my very friend while I was walking about on my own."

Ruby returned the smile, a warm feeling filling her chest. "No problem. You did pull our butts out of the fire at the docks. Was your dad mad at you for helping us?"

"No, he wasn't mad per say. You have to understand, he's a very sweet, caring person; he just worries a lot."

"I know what that's like," Ruby said, her mind going back to all the overreactions her father had down over the years. "He won't get upset if he learns you met up with me again, will he? He did tell you to stay away from us, right?"

"Actually, he wasn't the one that ordered me to avoid your team," Penny suddenly looked very conflicted, which made Ruby worried.

Before she could voice those concerns, a loud voice filled the air and drew her attention to the centre of the square they had absentmindedly walked into. A hologram projection was set up, flanked by two large metal containers on either side. A row of Atlesian Knights were lined up in front of the containers and a number of Atlas soldiers were stationed around the plaza. A small crowed had formed in front of this display, so something must be planned.

Right on cue, the projector turned on and showed the hologram of James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy and General of that Kingdom's military. He began to speak, explaining how the new model of Atlesian Knights were here and that an even more impressive weapon, the Paladin, was on the way.

While it was odd that someone has high-ranking and important as Ironwood was effectively doing some product marketing in another Kingdom, the new Altesian Knights looked like a serious upgrade and Ruby wished she could get inside one of the Paladins and see how all the weapon systems worked.

The young weapon enthusiast turned to ask Penny if she knew any more about these new Atlas projects and noticed the melancholy expression on the usually upbeat girl's face. She was looking at the older models of Atlesian Knights, laying on ground like discarded toys while the newer versions soaked up all the attention. Ruby didn't need to be a genius like Weiss to realize what was upsetting her.

Before she could say anything, one of the soldiers on guard looked over to where they were staying and began making his way over to them.

"Miss Polendina? Miss Polendina!" the soldier cried out, a couple of the other soldiers looking over as well and started to move.

Penny's face went from sad to panic at the approaching soldiers. Ruby didn't know what was going on but understood that going with those men was the last thing Penny wanted to do right now.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Ruby said, pulling Penny by the arm down a nearby ally away from the approaching soldiers. The other girl was so startled by this sudden motion that she didn't resist, simply following along.

The soldiers began to run after them, so Ruby decided to get some distance between them quickly. Luckily, there was another ally right across the street from the end of the one they were in. Moving fast in a straight line was something Ruby was eminently capable of, so she wrapped her arms around Penny's waist and activated her Semblance.

The problem that emerged was that Penny was far heavier than she appeared. That wouldn't have been an issue, as Ruby was far stronger than she looked but the problem was that she wasn't expecting to be carry such a heavy load and so lost her balance. Instead of zipping across the road, Ruby stumbled and rolled, ending up in the middle of it.

Ruby only had a few moments to collect herself before seeing that a large truck was barrelling towards her. Time slowed to a crawl and to Ruby the vehicles seemed to be replaced by another danger, of a snarling Grimm lunging towards her.

She wasn't afraid, either now or then, as Ruby didn't really feel fear, at least in the face of mortal danger, the same way most people do. Instead, there was just…understanding, that there was a danger and that something had to be done. Completely automatically, her body shifted to a crouch, and she prepared to dodge to the side, though at this distance it was unlikely she would do so unharmed.

But like in events past, someone came to save her from the deadly beast, stepping in front of her and vanquishing it in a moment. Ruby looked up at the figure who had saved her and was confused for a moment that it wasn't her uncle or one of her sisters, but a girl with orange hair and green eyes…Penny…Penny…

Reality came flooding back to Ruby and she fully realized what had happened. Penny had gotten in front of her and stopped the truck with her bare hands, not moving an inch backwards and cracking the road beneath her feet. She turned to look at Ruby, worry written all over her face.

The red Xiao Long could only stare up at Penny with awe, confusion, and something that Penny couldn't identify, even with all the information stored in her head.

The full situation began to dawn on them as the people around began to shout and call out; seeing a girl stop a truck dead in it's track was unbelievable even in a city home to a Huntsmen Academy. Penny looked around, seeing all the people looking, staring, pointing at her and began to hiccup profusely before taking off running at top speed down a side street.

"Penny, wait!" Ruby cried out, getting to her feet and chasing after her.

For the next several minutes, the pair races through the city, dashing in and around the back alleys and streets of the city. Ruby prided herself on her speed, but Penny was really booking it and all the sharp turns were making it impossible for her to catch up.

They finally entered a long, straight alley way and Ruby used her Semblance to catch up, tapping Penny firmly on the shoulder.

"Penny, please, just hold on a second."

The girl finally stopped at this, and Ruby discovered they were in a small open space in the middle of the ally, a couple of dumpsters off to the side. The red-head turned, not breathing heavily at all, her face a mix of emotions.

"D-Declaration: N-nothing is wrong…everything's fine…" Penny said, any attempt to sound calm ruined by her persist hiccuping.

"Please, you can tell me anything, we're friends after all," Ruby said, placing a hand on Penny's shoulder. She looked straight into Penny's eyes, convey her sincerity as best she could.

Penny began to pace back and forth, keeping her hands close to her chest and hiccuping constantly.

"Mournful Proclamation; Oh, Friend-Ruby, it's not that simple. This is a serious issue, one that could cause irrevocable harm to our friendship, the very first friend I've ever had. I've been told over and over never to let it be known who I am, what I am. Every synapse is telling be to not tell you the truth, but I don't want to lie either. This is such a mental quandary that I don't know how to solve and-"

"Is this about you being a robot?" Ruby blurted out.

Penny stopped in her tracks, full stopped, and for the next few moments one could have mistaken her for a statue. She slowly, very slowly, turned her head to look at Ruby.

"…. what…how…?"

"It's…kinda obvious, when you put all the clues together," Ruby replied, scratching one cheek with a finger. She decided to not mention how she didn't know right away while her sisters did.

"You…you know?" Penny asked softly.

"Yeah, me and my sisters. Oh, and we told Team JNPR, right after the fight with the White Fang, but no one else, I swear! Your secret is safe, I promise!"

Ruby's assurances did little for Penny, who's mind was over come with the fact that the truth of her being artificial, the one thing she was supposed to keep hidden at all cost, was known to several people without her knowing. The hyper-intelligent and deadly combat android could only say one thing to all this.

"…Oh…"

With that, Penny's eyes went suddenly blank as her cognition system hard crashed and began to reboot.

"Penny? Penny?" Ruby waved her hand in front of the motionless girl, not certain what had happened. All she knew was that she was in the middle of the city with an unmoving robot-girl with Atlas soldiers probably still on their tail.

"Oh…cookies…" Ruby let out in frustration, hoping the others were having an easier time then she was.

The warehouse looked like any other found across Vale, but the address Sun had been given indicated that this was where the White Fang would be holding their meeting this evening. Blake wasn't willing to just trust that this wasn't a trap and so she and Sun staked out the building for several hours.

There had been nothing of note for the first half of their watch and Blake began to think this was all a bust when a group of vans started pulling up. A group of Faunus, both male and female, existed the vehicles and began to unload sound equipment and bring it into the warehouse.

Outwardly, there wasn't anything that identified them as part of the White Fang. They wore plan clothes while outside and Blake only caught a glimpse of a box full of White Fang uniforms before it was quickly covered and hauled inside. Without that and a few other clues, Blake would have assumed that this was just an underground Faunus indie band preparing for a gig.

That was…disturbing, that a violent group could look so normal.

After everything was unloaded and brought inside, the vans were moved and parked in a more secluded place, leaving the warehouse once again looking abandoned and unused. The pair continued their watch from across the street and it was only hours later that more people began to arrive.

It was mostly individuals or small groups, not a stream of people for obvious reasons. Some looked like rough customers, looking around with suspicious eyes before entering the building, but others looked like regular people. A couple looked like students, watching videos on their Scrolls, and laughing with each other over something as they entered the warehouse, as if this was just an ordinary day for them.

Counting them all, it was disheartening to realize just how many Faunus were willing to throw their lot in with an extremist group and it was sickening to see so many of them being not much older than her. Either things were worst in Vale then she thought or there were a bunch of bored teenage Faunus out there who thought playing terrorist was a fine way to pass the time.

It wasn't that she was sure, but Blake still didn't know why so many were choosing to join a proven violent group. She hadn't seen anything on the news lately about a major incident Faunus being discriminated against, nor large businesses refusing service or local politicians making racist comments. No single big event to motivate violent anger in the Faunus community for what she could tell.

It hit Blake that it often wasn't a single event that drove people to such acts, but a hundred little ones piling on top of each other. It had been after suffering years of Old Man Rubar's racist taunts that eventually led to her attempted robbery when she was fourteen, his comments the day before just being the final straw. For all those entering the warehouse, they were certainly subjected to countless little acts, off-hand comments, or sideways looks, all to remind them they were different and 'inferior'.

It made the choice they were making understandable, though it still wasn't right. Violence like this group was advocating never worked and it certainly bring these people, or their loved ones, any happiness.

Blake cursed the Vale Council for letting things get this bad, Adam Taurus for leading these people astray and Ghira Belladonna for letting the White Fang grow out of his control.

The black Xiao Long took a deep breathe to calm herself. There wasn't any point in getting worked up about thing she couldn't deal with right now. She had the task in front of her and she would focus on it; everything else could come later.

They waited several minutes after the last person entered before leaving their hiding spot and approaching the warehouse themselves, being as inconspicuous as possible. They made sure to keep their head down, so any lookouts wouldn't get a good look at their face, though given Sun's invitation to this meeting, their appearance from the fight at the docks hadn't been circulated among this group. They still made sure to put on the provided Grimm masks as soon as they entered, to make sure no one got a good look of their faces.

As she entered side door of the warehouse into the dark halls beyond, Blake remembered the worry her sisters had expressed over her mission.

"Going into a room full of White Fang fanatics with just Sun as backup is…dangerous," Weiss said as they went over the plan on last time before leaving. "I…I really don't think you should do this. Maybe we can rig up some surveillance equipment and you can eavesdrop outside or something."

"You know we don't have time for that. We need to get the information now and this is the best way to do it," Blake placed a hand on Weiss's shoulder, forestalling her and her other sisters' incoming protests. "I'll be perfectly fine, I promise. I won't do anything reckless or crazy; I'll just stick to the back and listen in. If things go south, we'll book it as fast as possible."

Blake could tell that Weiss wanted to be more forceful in her protest, to 'forbid' her again. It didn't upset her this time, as she now knew it was because Weiss cared so much for her, and she was doing her best to trust her twin this time.

"It will be okay," Blake soothed her, "There will only be a bunch of civilians recruits and a few full White Fang goons there, nothing me and Sun can't handle. They would need to have some giant death robot for there to be a real threat, and if there is on, I'll call you for backup, I promise."

Weiss smiled at Blake's little joke and nodded, placing her trust fulling into her.

Blake took comfort from that memory now, as walking through the dimly lit hallways made it easy for her mind to conjure up a host of terrible threats waiting for her. She reminded herself that this was just a meeting, and it was unlikely the White Fang had any serious weaponry on hand, let alone a giant death robot, so there shouldn't be anything she and Sun couldn't handle.

They reached a partially opened door with light pouring through and quietly opened it, finding the main area of the warehouse, filled with the young Faunus who had entered before they. Everyone's back was to the door, so the duo were able to sneak in without anyone noticing. They inconspicuously entered the crowed, ensuring they had a good view of the stage set up at the front while not standing out by hanging in the back. Everyone was wearing Grimm masks, so no one noticed two more people suddenly showing up.

The White Fang members were all standing near the stage, where a large blue banner bearing the group's emblem was hanging just above it. That symbol used to mean a just cause for equal rights and freedoms but was being co-opted for this violent group. Blake felt herself staring to feel a bit sick to her stomach, the message that the noble White Fang she had idolized was truly gone was really hitting her now.

Staring at the stage, she noticed that, along with some impressive lighting setup, there was a lot of rigging around the banner, more then should be needed just to hold one banner. She also saw that a curtain was set up at the back of the stage, concealing everything along the backwall from view.

Her observations were cut short as one of the White Fang took the stage.

"Thank you all for coming. For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours! I can assure you; he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for so long!"

The White Fang then moved to the side, allowing another figure to step out of the shadows and take centre stage.

Blake's eyes widened as she saw it was none other then Roman Torchwick.

"Thank you, thank you!" The criminal said, giving a mock wave to the audience.

"What's a human doing here?!" A deer Faunus shouted from the crowed, which was beginning to murmur with discontent.

"I'm glad you asked, "Deerie"! Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans... are the worst," Roman gestured to himself, "Case in point. So, I understand why you would like to see us all locked away, or, better yet, killed!"

Sun leaned over to Blake. "So, is he going somewhere with this?"

Blake could only shrug, still not sure what Roman deal with the White Fang could even be, let alone what he was doing here.

"But, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!" Roman continued his speech, surprisingly sounding passionate. "Government, military, even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life! And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... No offense to any rodents in the room."

Roman's words started to get the crowed going, and Blake and Sun could only look around nervously.

Torchwick then dramatically snapped his fingers and the curtain in the back lifted up and more stage lights lit up, revealing a large robotic weapon.

Blake's eyes widened and her jaw dropped: they had a giant death robot. While not the towering mecha she had envisioned when she said the phrase to Weiss earlier, it was small consolation as those large cannons on it's arms made it very clear what it's job was.

"Oh…shit"

Roman continued his speech, soaking up the growing cheers of the crowed. "As some of you may have heard, this right here is Atlas' newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my "employer", we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, "hit the shelves". Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast."

Blake's ears perked up. They had a location; nothing specific but it was the best they were likely to get. It was high-time they left and got this, and the information that the White Fang had stolen Atlas tech, back to the others.

"If you'd rather stay in the city and let the Belledonnas talk and debate for your right, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you." Roman looked out at the crowed, where at least some were still on the fence. "If you have any questions or concerns, then our… glorious leader…should be able to address them."

Roman dramatically waved to the side and Adam Taurus strode out of the shadows, with the hooded assassin from Tukson's shops following close behind.

Blake's immediate flash of rage at seeing Tukson's attacker faded quickly as she realized just how dangerous the situation was.

"Oh…SHIT!"

This just got a lot more complicated.

That's all for this chapter. Next chapter will wrap up each groups task before heading into the battle with the Paladin.

Thanks to all who left reviews and comments. Special thanks to Shadowhell1992, who gave me a really interesting new idea for this story that I will be incorporating. There is a small bit of it in this chapter, with a more detailed explanation coming in the next couple of chapters.

Thanks for reading, have a Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year.