Finding one person in a city full of people when they didn't want to be found was almost as bad as searching for a needle in a haystack. Jaune sighed as he left yet another cafe, no closer to finding Blake than he had been twelve hours ago. Yeah, that's right – he'd been at this for twelve hours! And all he had to show for it was a bunch of pitying looks as he asked time and time again if they'd seen his friend, here, this was a picture of her, are you sure you hadn't seen her?

Jaune wasn't very good at socializing. It wasn't because he didn't want to or even because he let his anxiety get the best of him. He was the one that had approached Ruby, right? And he was most definitely the one that had approached Weiss and Pyrrha. No, he wasn't good at socializing because he had a tendency to flub his words the more flustered he became.

He was beyond flustered right now. He was down right beside himself.

Pyrrha, Ren and Nora had long headed back to Beacon. The fact that they'd spent their day searching for Blake with him meant the world to him, but night was quickly approaching and someone needed to be back at the academy in case she miraculously decided to show up, or to explain his absence the next day because they knew he wasn't going to stop until he found her.

If there was one thing Jaune knew about himself it was that he could be stubborn. When he set his mind on something, come hell or high water, he would see it through. Why else had he been stupid enough to think he could sneak into Beacon with false papers and be ready for the life of a Huntsman? Stubbornness, that's why. He had enough money in the bank if he required a room for the night, so there was no problem there.

But the longer he searched, the more helpless the entire situation felt. Jaune had targeted cafes and hotels, motels, any sort of accommodation he could find because Blake had admitted during their short scroll call that she'd visited both. It was the only lead he had, and he pursued it like a bloodhound with a scent.

There were only so many cafes and hotels in the city, right? He just needed to visit all of them. Easy!

If only.

Spotting another establishment he hadn't yet visited, he jogged across the street. They were in the process of closing for the day, and he was met at the door by one of the waiting staff.

"I'm sorry, we're closing now," she told him.

"That's fine," he said quickly, holding up his scroll. "I just wanted to ask – have you seen this girl?"

She shot him a suspicious look, "Why?"

That wasn't an unusual response to his question. While some people had been happy to help without further prompting, many had been wary of helping a guy trying to find a girl. Jaune totally understood the feeling but he wouldn't lie and say it didn't fray at his nerves, constantly being questioned about his motivations, if only by implication.

"She's a Huntress-in-training from Beacon," he explained. "But she didn't come back last night and her team is looking for her. Can you help?"

At the mention of Beacon, her expression cleared. "Oh. Let me take a look."

He wasn't expecting much but when he saw her brows furrow and lean in closer, a spark of hope bloomed in his chest.

"Actually, she does look somewhat familiar," she leaned back. "She came in this morning. You're lucky I had a double shift today or I wouldn't even be here."

"She was here? Really?"

The waitress nodded. "Yeah. She was here alone for a while but then she was joined by a guy. Blond. Had a monkey tail. He ordered them tea, and then they left together. I didn't serve them myself but one of my colleagues did."

"Do you know which way they went?"

She shot him an exasperated look. "What do I look like? An information kiosk?"

Jaune brought his hands together. "Please, this is important. You're the only one that has seen her all day."

She sighed before pointing down the street. "They went that way."

"Thank you," he bowed. "That helps a lot!"

"Does it?" she questioned but he was already hurrying down the street.

That must have been the cafe she was at when he'd called her and the blond was that strange guy that had said hello over her shoulder. While it was heartening to finally get somewhere, this was only the beginning. A vague direction wasn't a lot to go on and a lot of the stores were shutting up for the night.

It was better than nothing.

He called Ruby.

Silver eyes blinked at him from his screen. "Jaune? Did you find Blake?"

"I found where she was this morning," he relayed. "Though all I have is a vague direction she left in. Do you want to meet up?"

"Sure, we'll be there soon. Where are you?"

He passed on his location before asking, "Are you with Yang and Weiss?"

Ruby's smile was odd. "Uh, not exactly."

An unfamiliar voice asked, "Ruby, who are you speaking with?"

Ruby shifted the camera and he was met with a cute girl with short ginger hair and freckled cheeks. She peered at him curiously, head tilting to the side.

"Uh – hi?"

She smiled at him. "Hello~! Who might you be?"

"I'm – uh, Jaune."

"I am Penny," she announced loudly, perking up. "Penny Polendina, Ruby's friend."

"Oh," he had never heard of her before. When did they meet? "I'm also Ruby's friend."

Penny's eyes lit up and she bounced excitedly. "Sen-sational! Does this also mean we are also friends?"

She was a little strange but her energy was infectious, and Jaune found himself going with the flow. "Sure. We can be friends."

He didn't see the harm in it.

Penny looked like she was about to burst. "I've never had a boy friend before!"

"Er…"

Ruby reappeared as she flipped her scroll around. "Sorry, she is a little…" she struggled to find the right word. "Unique?"

Jaune snickered. "Right – well, see you both soon."

He only had to wait ten minutes before he saw a flash of red round the nearby corner. Ruby waved as she skipped over, appearing pretty upbeat considering the circumstances. Penny followed behind her at a much more lackadaisical pace, each step carefully measured.

"Hello Friend Jaune," she greeted before Ruby could get a word of greeting in.

"Uh – hi, Penny," he said, a little bemused. "Hey Ruby.

"Which way did she go?" she asked, getting straight to business. Jaune pointed and the three of them began walking.

"So – is she a friend from Signal?" he jerked a thumb at Penny.

Ruby shook her head. "No, no – we kinda just met yesterday."

"Weiss ran into me," Penny chirped.

"What?"

"Yeah, literally," Ruby snickered.

"Oh," Jaune gave Penny a grateful look. "Thank you for helping us find our friend."

"No thanks needed. This is what friends do," Penny nodded, self assured. "But if I may ask – why did this Blake run away? Are you not friends?"

Ruby's good cheer rapidly evaporated. "It's… complicated."

"Are you mad at her?"

"Yeah – well, no," Ruby hastily corrected. "Not me. Weiss is the one that's mad."

"Are Weiss and Blake friends?"

Ruby grimaced. "Not really – at least, not right now."

Penny appeared confused. "Why?"

"Blake might not be who we thought she was."

Penny let out a little gasp. "Is Blake a man?"

Jaune snorted, quickly covering his mouth as Ruby shot him an annoyed look. Penny's question had been so unexpected that he couldn't help it, and it was perhaps the first bit of humor he'd felt all day.

"No, Penny – she's not a man," Ruby corrected her. "We don't really know who Blake is. Blake doesn't really like to talk much. I guess that is sort of the problem."

A sliver of guilt gnawed at him. This whole thing was about Blake being a faunus, and a former member of the White Fang. Two things he'd known about for a little while now. A part of him wondered if this entire mess could have been averted if he'd given Ruby a heads up but it wasn't his secret to share. Even so, it didn't change how he felt.

"I don't have many friends, but I would hope that my friends tell me everything," Penny declared.

It was a nice sentiment and maybe a little naive. People had secrets, Jaune knew that better than anyone – but in a perfect world, yeah, he felt the same way. It would be nice, being able to share everything about yourself and not fear judgment.

The few stores that were still open, they stopped at but none of the workers had seen Blake. He'd gotten lucky with the waitress who'd been pulling overtime. It was unlikely that anyone else along this route would have seen her, and they weren't the police. They couldn't ask to see any footage from security cameras they might have installed. Even so, they continued along their path.

"Jaune," Ruby started, her voice unsure.

He glanced her way. "What's up?"

"...did you know that Blake was a faunus?"

Jaune blinked.

"Er – why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "It's just… when I told you about what happened, you didn't seem very surprised."

Was there any point in hiding it now?

"Yeah, I knew," he confessed. "I – uh, also knew about the White Fang stuff."

Ruby stopped dead. "What? How?"

"You know how I had to do some extra credit work for History?" she nodded. "Well, it was about the White Fang. I sorta accidentally came across some information that may have led me straight to her," Jaune sighed. "I confronted her about it because I read some stuff about their conflict with the Schnee Dust Company."

"You what?"

He laughed awkwardly. "Yeah. I wanted to make sure that Weiss wasn't in any danger. If I thought she was bad news, I would have come straight to you but… well, I was convinced that Blake was harmless. She was just here to become a Huntress, nothing more. After that… well, it was her secret to share."

Ruby perked up. "That's why you've been hanging out more."

"Oh, you noticed that?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Of course I noticed. Blake hardly speaks to us and all of a sudden, she was getting all buddy-buddy with my best friend. It was a little hard not to."

"Ah, right," Jaune felt stupid. "Yeah, I guess we sort of… became better friends because of it."

Penny leaned between them and Ruby jerked away, having forgotten about the ginger haired girl.

"You didn't know Blake was a faunus?" she asked, shocked. "But it was so obvious."

"Huh? Penny – you knew?"

She nodded, giving Ruby a very serious look. "Ruby – Blake has cat ears."

Penny was right, of course – but how did she know that? If they'd only met yesterday, wouldn't Blake have been wearing her bow?

Ruby appeared aghast. "How did you notice and I didn't? Wait a minute – she has cat ears under her bow?" her eyes lit up. "Ohmigawd – I bet they are the cutest things~!"

"Penny," Jaune waited until he had her undivided attention. "How did you know about her ears?"

Penny blinked. "What do you mean? They were right there."

Jaune opened and closed his mouth, speechless. Were they just stupid? They'd spent weeks around Blake and Jaune had only found out because of happenstance, and Ruby hadn't known anything until Blake blurted everything out, while Penny met her one and just… saw them?

Were they really dumb? Or maybe just blind?

"Oh…"

Maybe they were just bad friends.

"I want to see them, I want to see them," Ruby wiggled on the spot before calming down. "But we have to find her first. We have to convince her that we don't care about her past."

Jaune had to ask. "What about Weiss?"

Ruby looked pained. "I – I don't know… I can't say Weiss is wrong for being mad. The things she said… about the White Fang attacking her family…"

For Weiss, this was a lot more complicated. Jaune understood that much. He'd seen the articles.

A sudden loud bang rattled the nearby storefront window, causing Jaune and Ruby to flinch. Spinning around, they noticed a plume of smoke rising above the skyline of the nearby shops. It wasn't far.

"Aren't the docks in that direction?" Ruby asked, frowning.

Jaune nodded. "Yeah. Just on the other side of those buildings."

They shared a look, no words needed. When in doubt, run towards trouble.

"Let's go," Ruby said before she exploded in a stream of rose petals.

"Ruby—wait," but it was too late, the red streak that was his friend vanishing around a corner. "God damnit, I can't run that fast!"

He went to follow before remembering he wasn't alone. "Oh, uh – we gotta go, Penny, sorry. You should probably head back to where you're staying."

"Can I not come?" she asked, confused.

"It might be dangerous," he told her. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Oh," she smiled brightly. "There is no need to worry, Friend Jaune. I am combat ready!"

"Oh, uh – wait a minute, Penny – are you a Huntress?"

She nodded happily. "Huntress-in-training, Penny Polendina at your disposal!"

Jaune gave her a quick once over but didn't see any weapons, though that didn't mean anything. Some Huntsmen were more than capable of fighting with their bare hands, and some like Yang had weapons that weren't so easily discernible until they were deployed. Penny didn't look like a Huntress… but he supposed he didn't look very much like a Huntsman either beyond the armor and sword.

"Oh," he said lamely. "Okay, uh – you can come, then."

Any doubts he had about her vanished when she easily kept up with him. While Jaune wasn't the fastest or even the fittest at Beacon, he was well beyond the scope of all but the most elite athletes without aura. Sprinting down the street, Penny remained by his side, effortlessly matching his pace. When they reached the nearby intersection, they made a left turn and followed that street right down to the docks. More explosions sounded as they approached and with a roar, several bullheads flew by overhead.

Penny frowned. "Those airships appear to be unauthorized."

How she knew they were authorized or not, he didn't bother asking. Penny was a strange girl. Not in a bad way but he didn't have time right now to try and figure her out.

"Come on, let's get moving."

Jaune followed the very clear sounds of fighting. The unmistakable sound of gunfire grew louder as they approached and when they arrived at the main loading area, it was utter chaos. Dozens of people in white sleeveless coats and metal masks brandished rifles, firing at a black shadow that danced through the hail of bullets. Jaune saw a ribbon trail in her wake and knew instantly that it was Blake, her slender form vaulting through the air before she took several of them out in a series of bone shattering kicks. From the familiar red symbol on the backs of their coats, it was obvious who these people were.

The White Fang.

"I don't think so, Red," a masculine voice called and turning, Jaune saw Ruby hastily back peddle as a man in a handsome white suit coat and black dress pants attacked her with what appeared to be a cane. Crescent Rose had the clear reach advantage but the man was fast, stepping inside her guard and delivering punishing blows that sent Ruby reeling.

"Ruby!" Penny called.

"You help her," Jaune said before he charged in, unsheathing his sword. "I'll help Blake!"

He didn't hear her response, targeting the nearest White Fang grunt. The man didn't even see him coming, Jaune shoulder charging him in the back. Jaune heard him grunt in pain as he was smashed aside, dropping his rifle as he hit the ground hard.

"Hey!" one of them noticed his presence, swinging his rifle around to face him. "Who are you?"

"The guy that is about to take you out," he said, though it sounded much cooler in his head. Jaune dashed in, deploying his shield as the White Fang grunt opened fire. He felt the rounds impact his shield, rattling his arm and then he barreled into him, lifting the masked figure off his feet. Jaune slammed him into a nearby shipping container, the man's mask coming loose as his head banged against the steel, knocking him out.

These people didn't have aura.

"Jaune!" Blake shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"Why do you think?" he yelled back as more of the White Fang turned his way, opening fire. "Looking for you!"

Blake scowled and flipped through the air, looping her ribbon around the necks of several people before pulling them off their feet, sending them slamming into the ground. When one of them tried to sneak up on her, a blond blur appeared, a long red and gold staff swiftly taking care of them.

"Oh, hey," the monkey faunus greeted him with a wide smile. "You're that guy from the scroll call."

Jaune blinked. "Er – yeah. You're Sun, right?"

"That's right. And you are… uh, Jon?"

"Jaune. Jaune Arc."

Sun gave him a thumbs up. "Sweet."

"If you two are finished," Blake snapped. "Ruby needs help!"

Jaune turned just in time to see Ruby get smacked aside, the handsomely dressed man in the bowler hat tutting as he swung his cane around before resting his weight on it. If nothing else, this villain was certainly stylish.

"Red, what's the matter? Things aren't going so well this time, are they?"

Jaune frowned. "So who is this creep?"

Blake's voice was grim. "That is Roman Torchwick."

Roman Torchwich – the master criminal? Even Jaune had heard of him!

Wait a minute, where was Penny?

He'd sent her to help Ruby but she was nowhere to be seen. That was until an ominous green glow began to build up, drawing his attention away from Torchwick and over towards the nearby crane. Penny stood at the base, a dozen or so blades forming a circle as they spun rapidly. The airships above head opened fire with machine guns, tearing up concrete and asphalt but before they could do much more damage, a beam of green energy fired from Penny's spinning swords. It sliced through one of the bullheads like a hot knife through butter, cutting it in half effortlessly.

Jaune gaped.

What the hell was that!?

Even Sun appeared at a loss for words, staring as Penny proceeded to cut down two more airships like they were nothing. One of them crashed into the wharf before erupting in a fiery blaze while the other careened into the water with a massive splash.

Roman Torchwick shook his head in disbelief. "What the hell are they feeding kids these days? Sheesh."

Blake was the first to recover.

"It's over, Torchwick," Blake declared, mecha-shifting her weapon into its pistol form and taking aim. "You're outnumbered and outgunned. Give up."

Torchwick scoffed. "If you really think that a bunch of punk kids can capture me, you're dumber than you look – and trust me, you look pretty dumb."

Blake opened fire while Sun dashed in, a pair of yellow clones erupting from his back. Torchwick's cane flashed through the air, intercepting her bullets before he was forced to defend against Sun's sudden assault. The pair exchanged rapid blows while his clones ran misdirection, Sun's unusual staff weapon breaking apart, swinging around and unleashing shot after shot from unpredictable angles. They were almost like nunchucks, the force of each blast causing them to swing even faster. Despite his strange weapon and fighting style, Torchwick was more than up to the task, tanking the last few shots on his aura as he hooked the curve of his cane around the back of Sun's neck and pulled, slamming him face first into a brutal knee.

Sun reeled back with a shout of pain, aura flickering. It was the only thing that prevented him from having his nose caved in.

"Sun!" Blake called, dashing in to help.

"Blake, wait!" Jaune saw Torchwick spin, aiming his cane like a gun and moved without thought.

She tried to avoid the shot but her reckless charge put her much too close. Blake managed to summon a clone and backflip into a handspring but Torchwick had accounted for her potential evasive maneuver. A multi hued mote of light fired from the end of his cane, aimed right where she planted her hands. It whistled through the air and at the very last second, Jaune managed to place his shield between it and them.

"Jau—" Blake managed to get out before something powerful slammed into the pair of them. Jaune felt his ears pop as he was lifted off his feet and flung through the air like a ragdoll, end over end. The world spun wildly and it felt like he spent an age in the air. He didn't even feel anything when he hit the ground, rolling several feet before coming to stop, facing the sky.

What the hell just happened?

His ears were ringing and vaguely, he could feel a pain in his shoulder.

Jaune tried to breathe and felt that he couldn't, almost like he'd been winded. No, it wasn't almost – it was exactly like he'd been winded. He gasped and wheezed for breath, slowly turning onto his front and lifting himself up onto his hands and knees. His vision swam into focus, blinking rapidly as he tried to fill his lungs with air.

Just breathe, he thought frantically. Just breathe!

Looking to his right, he saw Blake sprawled on the ground. She wasn't moving.

"Blake," he said, though he couldn't hear his own voice. "Blake!"

He crawled across the ground, quickly reaching her side. Her eyes were open, though she appeared dazed and confused, lashing out at him when he loomed over her.

"Hey, hey!" he grunted as she slapped him across the face. "Oi, Blake – it's me!"

Amber eyes blinked at him. Her mouth moved sluggishly but he couldn't hear her.

"I can't hear you," he said. "My ears are ringing!"

Whatever Torchwick hit them with, it packed one hell of a punch. Some sort of dust explosive? In any case, he didn't want to get hit with it again. Jaune found his sword nearby and scrambled for it. Turning to face the enemy, he saw Ruby was engaging him in battle alongside Sun.

Another airship carrying one of the shipping containers filled with Schnee Company Dust hovered overhead. Realizing the problem, Penny didn't shoot this one down. Instead her blades flew through the air, piercing the steel plating easily. Jaune watched as something glinted in the air and with some shock, he realized that they were thin wires.

The airship tried to bank away but no matter how hard the thrusters burned, it couldn't pull away. Seemingly without effort, Penny began to reel them in, walking backwards and dragging the airship with her.

Just who in the world was this girl?

Ruby squealed as she was nailed in the stomach, Torchwick jabbing her with cane before tossing her right into Sun. The fact that Jaune heard that made him realize his hearing was returning, though only somewhat. The pair hit the ground, limbs tangled and the master criminal picked that moment to attempt his escape. Jaune hesitated, looking down at Blake who was still out of it.

He was getting away.

But he wasn't willing to leave her alone, not in such a vulnerable state. Especially when there were still White Fang skulking about, though Penny's display of firepower was giving them all second thoughts.

Torchwick boarded a bullhead and soon it was airborne, quickly pulling up and away while Penny dealt with the remaining ship by pulling it to ground. Thankfully the container full of Dust didn't detonate, uncoupling from the underside the ship before it flipped over and crashed into the wharf, engines sputtering and dying.

The remaining White Fang that were still conscious chose that moment to flee, scattering in all directions. So much for being a brotherhood. Dozens of their comrades were left behind, and dozens more were dead.

It was over.

Still rattled and half deaf, Jaune sheathed his sword and knelt by Blake's side.

"Blake," he said and those beautiful eyes peered up at him, a little clearer now. "Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly. "I – I see double."

Jaune grimaced. "You might have a concussion."

In the distance, he could hear the beginnings of police sirens.

When she tried to get up, he placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place.

"You shouldn't stand," he said. She glared at him half-heartedly. "And don't think I'm going to back off just because you're giving me the stink eye."

She looked away, sagging. "...I told you not to come."

"And I told you that wasn't happening. You'd think with two sets of ears, you'd hear better."

Blake blinked, giving him a surprised look. "...I've never heard you so snarky before."

Jaune huffed. "Well, if you're going to be stupid like this, be prepared for more of it."

"I wasn't being stupid."

"Yeah?"

"I wasn't!"

"Sun," he suddenly called out, looking around.

"Right here," the monkey faunus waved, approaching with Ruby in tow. "What's up?"

"Whose idea was it to engage the White Fang?"

Blue eyes darted to Blake and Jaune already had his answer, even without him saying anything. He turned back to her.

"I rest my case."

Blake glared at Sun. "He was the one that figured out they would be here!"

Sun raised his hands. "Hey, woah – I mean, she isn't lying but I didn't mean for you to jump in and start threatening Roman Torchwick when you were outnumbered one to twenty."

Ruby sighed, shaking her head. "Blake…"

When even Ruby was disappointed in you…

"I just… I couldn't not do something. I was the only one who could!"

"You have a team!" Ruby implored. "That's why we are on a team in the first place! So we don't have to do things on our own!"

Blake opened her mouth furiously but Ruby cut her off.

"No, now you are going to listen and listen good," Ruby said firmly, stamping her foot. "I don't care that you're a faunus or you were in the White Fang or whatever! I only care about what you do now, got it? And what you do now – no, I mean, what you've been doing… argh! My words!"

Jaune couldn't help it, he started laughing.

"Jaune, no," Ruby sulked, shoving him weakly. "It isn't my fault!"

He understood completely. They were kindred souls in this way. Socially awkward for life!

"What Ruby is trying to say is the Blake we know isn't that Blake," he said, meeting Blake's eyes. "The Blake we know is the Blake that fought with us against a giant Deathstalker and Nevermore, who groans whenever her partner tells bad jokes but then offers her own bad jokes in return. She might have made some bad decisions in the past but she told me she is trying to make up for them, that she wants to become a Huntress to help people. Isn't that right?"

Ruby nodded along. "Yup~! And the Blake we know is the Blake that likes to read naughty books in our dorm room and pretends they are normal books, but we know better."

Blake's face lost all color. "Ruby…"

Sun laughed loudly. "She what?"

"There you are!"

They all flinched.

Walking through the destruction as if it wasn't there, Weiss Schnee marched over with a very cross look on her face. Yang trailed behind her, wearing a conflicted expression.

"Uh oh," Ruby muttered.

Uh oh was right.

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