Howdy Folks,

Haven't updated in a few weeks since life had me busy, but chapters done so here it is.

Hope you enjoy it

(I don't own RWBY)

VOLUME 1 CHAPTER 10 - Catch Yer Own Train

The inside was quiet, save for Libero's boots hitting the wood floor and moving down some tight space with creaky stairs on the right. Down into a basement. I was gonna call out to him to hurry up but the words caught in my throat and turned into a small huff. Instead, I strolled forward a little and wandered down the aisle, eyeing the art in the stained glass.

Once and a while, I hear references to two deity's instead of one. Some kind of dualistic religion, focused on the two humanoids that are portrayed in a lot of the artistry. One's bright, one's dark. Like Yin and Yang. Probably means something similar, or perhaps the darker one is a devil.

I tilted my head, inching to the closest depiction of the two titular figures. Golden antlers and darkened purplish horns, each held a large ring that interlocked the other. Above the ring that the lighter being held were straight lines in rows that reminded me of how children would draw sun rays. Below the ring of the darker being was much the same, but the lines were squiggly like a worm.

I glanced down to the podium in the church where a stone pedestal stood on either side of it. They didn't look like particularly grand plinths, but they seemed important. The church appeared to end with the walls converging to a point, ending with ultimately the focal point of where the congregation would be facing. A taller window on two facing sides of the trigonic sanctuary at the end caught my eye by how much they contrasted one another. One was blackened with tint and the other was colored like sulfur.

It was definitely…something.

My heart lurched in my chest and I let out an involuntary gasp as I felt a gentle tugging on my shirt. I spun around, my vacant gaze flicking down.

"Bibbo…"

A little girl, probably around three or four, holding up a large teddy bear. She had shoulder length brown hair that was about my color, but a little more vibrant. Fuzzy round ears like the bear she was holding were sitting on her head and sticking out of her hair, being much the same shade. They twitched once or twice as she stared up at my gawking face with big round inquisitive eyes.

"Bibbo…" She repeated again, hoisting her teddy bear higher as if trying to make me look closer at it. Her small yellow dress was a bit ratty and she stood on the toes of her bare feet.

"Aw hell nah…" I mumbled to myself, a little afraid. I wasn't sure I had the social skills to maneuver my way through a conversation with a young child. They just seemed…too far away. I'm not sure if that makes sense.

"Bibbo…!" She repeated more forcefully, a pout on her lips as she tried lifting her teddy bear even higher. I sighed helplessly.

"I…yeah. Bibbo. That's nice." I curled an eyebrow as I realized something. "Oh, you mean the bear…"

"Bibbo soft." Her high-pitched voice would have made any heart melt. Mine did a little. I wracked my head in silence for a moment, trying to think of how I was supposed to interact with her as she murmured childlike nothings accompanied by the word 'Bibbo' and fidgeting the teddy bear in her hands. An idea flashed into my head.

I kneeled down without thinking and shoved my face into the teddy bear, rubbing my cheek all over the stuffed animal in her hands. My eyes fluttered closed. It was soft. I let out a contented sigh as the girl giggled at my actions and nodded vigorously.

"Bibbo is soft." I agreed. It probably seems stupid, feeling like one of those moments you wish could last forever...but it was. Even if it's just an inane little thing, I did manage something right for once. The fuzzy teddy bear brushed up against the new bruise Blake had given me yesterday. I scrunched up and retracted my face with a small laugh and a smile that wasn't entirely bogus.

"Tawny?" A soft, deep voice spoke inquisitively. I raised my head as the girl in front of me turned around and clumsily rushed to the voice happily. "Sorry about that, she gets around a little too well for how young she is."

A kindly looking man, old with streaks of gray in wind swept black hair. He had a thick handlebar mustache and a wrinkly face.

"It's…fine. Just took me by surprise." I said. He turned his head to the little girl.

"Why don't you head down to the others, Tawny?"

"Buh ugly cat!" She protested. Clutching Bibbo a little tighter as if he would protect her. The man shook his head as if he expected this.

Something that I didn't register for a moment was his clothing. He wore dark robes, but they had a gold and purple trim. Religious clothing. Maybe he's…

"Say, are you Pastor Albus?" He blinked and turned back up to me. His hand absentmindedly brushing the shoulder of his robes.

"Why yes, that's me. Have we met?" He asked.

"No, Libero told me about you. Said you helped out the community…?" He looked away sheepishly and scratched his mustache. Tawny looked between us in fascination, but without any real comprehension.

"Ah, well I take the orphans when I can and…try to help the neighborhood. It's tough right now. Families torn apart by fathers or brothers or even mothers running off to join the White Fang or different Gangs and…" He stopped himself. "Ah, what am I saying? Would you like some tea?"

"No, no. No thank you. I'm not planning on staying long, I'm just waiting for Libero to get done doing…whatever it is he's doing." I said. Vale didn't really sound like it was in a good place right now. A White Fang presence in the city (which is news to me), gangs like the Xiong family owning half the town, corrupt hunters.

"The boys down there probably have their hands full, some alley rodents get in the orphanage housing sometimes and give the young ones like Tawny here a fright." The young girl looked up at the pastor and repeated 'big ugly cat' and he nodded in agreement. "I'll be just a moment while I handle this…"

"I think I'll come with you, if you don't mind." He smiled and nodded. Ushering the young girl to the space Libero used to descend when we entered. We both followed her clumsy movements as my shoes took step after step down creaky wooden stairs. I had to duck a bit because I was tall enough that my head was bumping the ceiling above me.

"So," I started. "I haven't been to church since I was a kid, and I'm not entirely familiar with…uh…this one I guess." He chuckled for a moment, turning his head to me slightly.

"I'm not surprised. While most are Equilibrist in theory they rarely make time for practice. And they haven't for…" He turned his lips into a circle and exhaled. "A long time." A hint of weariness laced his words.

"I'm not familiar with the…sect?" I asked hesitantly and he nodded curiously as we reached the bottom of the steps, finally able to stand up straight. "Equilibrist, you said?"

"We encourage balance between the worship of the two gods. They work in harmony, after all."

"Makes sense…" I mumbled in acceptance. Yin and Yang like I thought. I opened my mouth again, wanting to learn more but was interrupted by inconsistent and disruptive chatter of tweens and young teenagers.

"C'mon, let's just kill it! It's gross looking!" A boy's voice declared.

"Shut up, she's got babies with her you asshole!" Two kids, a girl and a boy who's a little older. Around ten to twelve would be my guess. Only the boy was faunus, a set of horns on his head that curled like a ram's.

The room was large, a bit dusty. But beds a little smaller than the ones they have at Beacon line the brick walls. It wasn't the best, but if I'm being honest, it's better than the streets by a long shot.

"An orphanage in the church seems a bit strange to me…" I said slowly to the pastor as we approached the scene.

"Maybe, but I'm the only one who has the resources now…in this neighborhood at least."

"Yeah, don't see those rich pedos over in the bougie district funding places for the uhh, how would they put it? Disenfranchised." Libero chimed in, I looked over to him. He was extended an arm under one of the many beds and patted around as if searching for something. Immutable to the small commotion and the concerns of those around him.

"There you are. We've wasted enough time here, let's get going. I need to be quick or I'll get expelled from Beacon at this rate…" I tried to inject a little authority into my voice as much as I unsuccessfully tried to keep the irritation from it. I could tell by his overly dramatic eye roll that he wasn't getting spurred as much as I would like. Shit, is that racist? Do I even care at this rate?

"Woah! You're a Huntsman?!" A stray little boy's voice started. And like a domino effect, the others turned. Young, light voices chiming with queries.

"A Huntsman!"

"Woah!"

"I've never met one before!"

"What's your semblance!?"

I groaned as the slick little shit shot me a familiar toothy grin. Question after question. The younger ones came closer to me. They asked me one after the other in rapid fire, barely giving me a chance to reply. When finally there was a break in the tide I tried to intervene and attempt to put a damper on my increasing stardom.

"Look, kids, I'm only a Huntsman in training. I haven't actually…well…I'm not that impressive. Unless you like mildly amusing comic relief, but less endearing and more woeful." I struggled for a moment to find the right words. My hand coming up to my chin, as the classic thinkers pose strikes awe into the hearts of my young admirers.

"You can get rid of the rat for us!"

"It's not a rat, stupid!"

"Whatever, it's as ugly as one."

"No it's not!"

My ego boost depleted fast, and I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed heavily. The pastor saw and decided to step in.

"Alright young ones, how about we all go up and continue your studies." They all groaned. "I will deal with the animal that got in, the rest of you, please head into the backroom." Responses were varied but echoed much the same: Yes Pastor Albus. And then they filed out with small whispers of me and unenthusiastic comments of the soon to be teachings the pastor would soon bestow upon their young and malleable minds.

"That includes you, Libero." He looked as if he was about to object but I answered for him.

"Actually, he's helping me with something."

"A Hunter in training needs help from a boy? Hold on a moment, how did you two even meet?" He asked exasperatedly.

"The latter isn't important, the former is, and quite frankly I need his help today whether you like it or not." I brooked no quarter. I needed his help, he had the connections, no matter how small to get me a weapon. I needed his help. His jaw set and his stache bristled as he gave me a long look.

"I should hope this is important…"

"It is. If he doesn't help me I could get expelled." He raised a brow.

"Is it really that serious?" I nodded. And he sighed, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Libero…you've skipped your studies far too much recently. Is everything alright with your mother? Your brother?" The boy in question looked uncomfortable with the topic at hand. And a moment passed as he rubbed his neck and pointedly avoided the gaze of the pastor.

"Listen, he'll get back here in no time. I'll do you a favor even, I can get rid of the rodent down here, no big drama. And you can just get to teaching those other little snots." I joked. He looked at me for a moment. Then hummed.

"I would appreciate that. Just…" he hesitated for a moment. "Just get this boy back here in a few hours. Please." He asked.

"Hey, uhh, I'm right here dudes." Libero said as he raised his hands in vexation.

"I will. Don't worry." He nodded and Libero glanced at me, before Albus ambled over swiftly to the back room where all the other young kids, the door shutting softly behind him.

Libero turned to me as I walked over to where the small upheaval was over intruding rodents.

"You can't just make promises like that, umano!" Now it was my turn to give him a shit eating grin. He bristled a little.

"Aww, that's too bad you little jit. Guess you'll have to keep it. I get the feeling Pastor Albus isn't the kind of man you wanna cross." He stuck his tongue out at me, the mature boy he was.

"Hm, looks like a possum…" I commented offhandedly as I moved a bed off to the side with a grunt. Libero came up next to me. The creature had its jaw gaping open like it was pissed out of its mind, its wiry hair standing on end, but it didn't seem to move when we spotted it.

"Nah bro, that's an opossum. There's a difference." I glared at him.

"They're interchangeable terms, aren't they?"

"Pfft, who the hell told ya that, dumbass?"

"Ugh, you're joking…" I muttered.

"I'm a pillar of stoicism and this is the Gods' honest truth." Small furry movement atop the reasonably sized…opossum provoked me to study more closely. leaning in, I saw little baby opossums clinging to the fur on their angrily gaping mother's back.

I huffed and scooped up the critter casually, but carefully enough so that none of her kids fell off. Libero brow raised and he backed up a step, eyeing the marsupial and giving me a repulsed look.

"Eww! Don't those things have diseases and shit?! You better wash your hands when we're done." I grinned and playfully tickled the opossum with a smug look.

"Shit dude, I got some things too, maybe this little guy should wash its hands!"

"Ugh!" He made a grossed out face at me before I turned a little more serious.

"In all seriousness I think they're immune to rabies. Also, I think these things don't bite no matter how much you instigate them."

"I wouldn't have been so eager to test that if I were you, human." I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, let's go put'em back behind a dumpster or something and get this show on the road." He shrugged and followed me as I went up the stairs, ducking my head the whole way. Once I reached the top of the stairs, I lingered for a moment to look down the aisle again before turning fully and leaving out the doors we both entered from. A gust of wind blew through my hair briefly, further untidying my already messy hair.

Libero tagged along as we walked a block, the afternoon sun beating down on us when we finally turned into an alley. The opossum was tame, making a small hiss here or there but barely even flinching. Although, she kept her jaw unhinged like a snake, showing a single row of teeth that might at first glance seem sharp.

I set the marsupial mother down behind a dumpster where she remained unmoved, her frame still and mouth still hanging open in an attempt to scare off predators. I huffed and brushed my hands off.

"Well, I guess it didn't bite you, umano."

I looked at the opossum for a moment. Then turned and gently nudged Libero along.

"Let's get this thing done. And then you're coming back here, slick." He groaned out a begrudging agreement. "What the hell were you trying to get anyway?"

His eyes lit up, then he pulled out the whole reason why this little detour existed in the first place.

A poker chip. Black and gold.

Blake cracked her neck stiffly as she sat on the bench near her locker. Finally changed out of her stifling uniform and into the very same clothes that the Schnee seemed to think made her look like a slut because it showed her midriff or something equally old-fashioned and idiotic.

She's such a fucking arrogant little…

Gripping Gambol Shroud tightly, finger twitching near the trigger. Blake breathed slowly, she needed to be focused if she wanted to bring this racist bitch down a keg. The locker door's clang seemed to follow her even as she stepped out of the room, her faunus ears pained against her skull, aching to be free, even as the eyes of spectators waiting quietly seemed to follow Blake.

She walked, Her brow furrowed and her pupils shrunk. In service to a single purpose. When she finally found herself standing in the arena, frowning at her opponent. Weiss Schnee. Heir to the Schnee Dust empire. The exact type of POS she swore to reign in all those years ago when she left home with Adam. She could feel herself beginning to snarl.

The Schnee herself was unaffected. Unblinking. Holding her rapier weapon pointed to the ground in front of her. Elegant, angrily so.

"The spar will last until one of your Aura's go in the red or one of you forfeit. Please keep it clean, this is just a spar." Goodwitch said that last part a little tiredly. As if she sensed the way Blake's disdain seemed to radiate to her opponent. They stood from each other at a distance.

"This feels a little more tense than it should be." Blake's cat ears strained and ached beneath her bow as Jaune whispered quietly through the crowd of surprisingly silent and attentive spectators.

"Not surprised. Blake has always been sorta heated at Weiss. Which is…well, I get it. But…" Yang hesitated. Blake could feel her soft lilac eyes on her.

"I can't say I was expecting someone outright requesting to spar first. She always struck me as someone who kept to herself." Another voice spoke. Friendly. A bit sheepish when appending to the quiet whispering conversation.

"Well, Pyrrha, beats me too…she's been really really weird today. More than the usual loner quiet girl stuff anyway." Yang whispered back.

Blake angrily huffed out of her nose hard enough that a small dose of snot sprayed out to coat her upper lip. She wiped it away quickly, trying to block out all the distracting conversations around her. The Schnee remained stone faced and shifted slightly on her feet. One of them was moved forward a bit as her gun metal gray rapier's cylinder rotates with a distinct clicking sound. Blake narrowed her eyes.

"Alright…you may begin."

The calm proclamation felt like a shot from a starting pistol at the racetrack, and Blake's muscles tensed as she bolted forward. The Schnee reacted almost instantly it seemed, as her rapier was thrusted in her direction in a strange motion. When it came to a fight, Blake had always attested to momentum being the most important aspect. The second most important would have been adaptability.

A wall of ice seemed to form in front of her, emitted from a glyph. The Schnee's semblance in play, it appeared. Momentum, Blake. Keep the momentum.

She made a coarse adjustment. Then used her own semblance. Her clone rushed ahead of her to skirt around the wall, while blood was pushed to Blake's legs as she long jumped upwards. Her form perched easily at the top of the ice wall just in time to witness the Schnee stabbing at her clone. Blake's copy dissipated with little resistance and the Schnees's brilliantly confused face almost made her smile. Instead, Blake took advantage of her faltering form and barreled down at her with Gambol Shroud.

It wasn't enough, the Schnee pivoted her attention quickly at the sound and raised her rapier with a sneer, blocking Blake's downward slash. A clang reverbed through Blake's hands but she remained steadfast in keeping the Schnee on the backpedal.

Sparks flew and Blake gritted her teeth as they traded blades. Slashes and counters and pierces and ripostes. The Schnee, much to Blake's dismay, was much more elegant and practiced.

But that in itself isn't everything…

Blake's scabbard in her off hand rammed into the Schnee's gut. She couldn't help the hiss of satisfaction that escaped her mouth as the white haired heiress's Aura flickered briefly and she made a guttural oof, the wind knocked out of her. Of course, she recovered quickly. Swinging her rapier in an upwards motion, Blake jumps backwards and then re-engages in another dance. This one more vehement, more fierce.

Blake snarls. Feeling herself push back more and more. The Schnee's face contorts throughout the fight, becoming more and more tense and far less assured then it was at the start. When their blades locked again, the Schnee's rapier ticked as the cylinder moved. Blake's eyes widened and she latched a finger around the trigger of Gambol Shroud and shot at the Schnee's shoulder while their blades were still locked together. She let out a small cry of pain and her Aura flickered again as a rush of satisfaction hit Blake, her teeth still bared.

The Schnee, however, infused her blade with fire dust and attempted to push Blake backwards with a grunt. A surge of her light blue Aura lit her opponent's arms up, enhancing her strength in the effort and ultimately forcing Blake to backpedal.

Then the Schnee swiped her blade in the air and a wave of fire blasted at Blake.

Of course she's using up lots of dust! Nevermind how expensive it is for the rest of the people here! Or the cost that was paid just for her to be using it so greedily.

Blake growled. Loudly. And her legs bulged as she jumped and flipped over the fire, making two clones in the air that made to attack the Schnee with her.

Throughout it all, she could feel the snarl still on her face, still contorting her features into a rage. Her ears ached again beneath her bow. Then it felt like everything was going in slow motion.

"Hmph, she really fights like an animal huh?"

"Uh huh, crazy how this chick fights, Cardin."

Animal? Blake? The ache was nearly unbearable. Her thoughts became a maelstrom. Cardin, Jack, the Schnee, Ilia, Adam, Mom…Dad.

She remembered once, when she was much younger, something her father had told her. She remembered the salty sea air, the shores of Menagerie. "Listen to me, Blake." He said. His voice powerful but gentle. "The world isn't all gloomy. Humans as well as faunus are not races driven by rage and hatred." She felt it then, his large hand on her shoulder as they both looked out to the lapping waves, the sun setting and painting the sky in colors scarcely any poets could even explain. "They are driven by desire, so they are easily led astray. But, in that, they can also be led home…"

She looked up to her Dad, feeling a vague awe at his wisdom at a younger age. Then her shoulder felt cold again.

She faltered midair. The Schnee saw this, her own surprised expression morphed back into an icy focus as she stabbed at Blake. Pain bloomed in Blake's abdomen as her Aura flared in response, trying to protect her. She hissed, her defense temporarily lowered from the shock of the pain. Then she froze, literally, due to the Schnee's glyphs paralyzing her as she hit the ground immobilized. The Schnee's mechashift weaponry clicked again in the moment it took Blake to escape from the hold. Once she broke free, she bolted at her with Gambol Shroud to strike at her again. But she felt slower, her blood cooled almost to the point of lethargy as she desperately tried to work up more momentum in the fight.

The Schnee kept her rapier low and once Blake was close enough, used it to hook Blake's leg and caused her to trip up unexpectedly. Using her own momentum against her. Blake stumbled but flipped in the air and landed on her feet again.

Part of being a cat faunus means having good balance. The secret to this is in the ears themselves, due to the special feline vestibular organs. Unfortunately, due to having them squished against her skull with the ribbon she would usually use with Gambol Shroud, well, everything was spinning from the sudden movements.

She stumbled once her feet hit the ground, a dizzy spell. The Schnee, of course, pressed the advantage. Rapid, elegant stabs aimed at Blake caused her Aura to flicker purple and go into the yellow. Blake had to act, and in haste and a bit of desperation, she swung her weapon at the Schnee in a wild manner. Like an animal.

The Schnee angled her weapon just right, as if pierced through a gap in the hilt of her weapon, then she twisted and Blake's very own katana was wretched from her grasp. As it clattered to the floor, she attempted to hit the Schnee with her scabbard again. The Schnee frowned and a few more blows were exchanged. Blake felt herself swing more ferociously. Desperation clouded her mind and she felt a well of fear spring up in her. But she couldn't quite put her finger on what she was afraid of…

Then a small glyph formed in the air, repulsing the scabbard from her hand with a burst of force she wasn't prepared for. At that moment, she was dumbfounded. And then tripped up again by the Schnee, this time falling to the floor. She huffed and puffed breathing heavily with the Schnee doing the same. Her rapier pointed at her face.

"Seems I win, Belladonna. How's that for earning my way into Beacon?"

She roared and sprung to her feet, her fist coming close to breaking the Schnee's jaw. But halted, as Goodwitch's strength far exceeded hers. The grip on her trembling arm, inches from the Schnee's wide eyes, was like a vice.

"That is quite enough, Ms. Belladonna. Your Aura is in the red and the spar goes to Ms. Schnee." The professor said calmly. A sharp contrast to the harsh breaths escaping Blake's snarling face. It was like her lungs were on fire. She couldn't stop shaking. Couldn't calm down. The Schnee backed away a few steps, worry plastered on her stupid face.

Blake couldn't take it anymore. This! This feeling like it's all just fucking hopeless. Like she can't grab at the ideas that kept her going for so long. The world isn't all gloomy. Yeah. Maybe it's just her. Maybe she can't think any other way. Always expecting the worst in people.

After years of mentoring and partnership with Adam and walking with the White Fang? Maybe that's all she's really capable of anymore…

So much for bringing light to the world.

Dad was wrong in a way. Sometimes, the world is just too gloomy for her to look past it all. She fucked up her own life the moment she left with Adam and now there's no home for her to be led back to.

She left a clone, escaping Goodwitch's grip (probably because she let her). And ran out the door with no one the wiser.

Weiss flinched as the copy Blake left in front of her dissipated. Her head jerked around in search of her. Finding nothing.

"Ms. Goodwitch-" The professor sighed before Weiss could fully finish her query.

"I don't know, Ms. Schnee. But it seems your teammate has some things they need to work out." She spoke, her softer than usual gaze fixated on the exit. Then she spoke up once more. "Alright class, everyone is dismissed early today. Remember to continue sparring on your own times and to build synergy with your teammates. Try your hardest." She spoke that last bit while looking at Weiss before the clicking of her heels receded with her.

Weiss blinked. Staring at Blake's discarded weapon.

"Holy shit…" Yang said, as eloquently as ever when she approached her. "Helluva fight…"

"Are you ok, Weiss?" Ruby asked, just to the side of her sister. The usually overactive child now a little slower than usual, like she had a sugar crash. Ruby rubbed her arm nervously, the rest of her team in tow. Weiss hummed for a moment.

"Don't concern yourself with me. I'm just fine." She rolled her eyes, but tried to keep the bite from her voice as she kneeled down to pick up Blake's weapon. Jaune exhaled slightly before speaking.

"She seemed really intense, didn't think she was so pissed at you, Weiss."

Weiss kept a hold of the weapon in her hand, putting the blade back into the scabbard. She rolled her shoulders, feeling the impact of the dust bullet a little and hissing with pain. Her Aura was in the yellow and she very nearly lost the fight. But something changed…

She looked up to the exit Ms. Goodwitch was eyeing earlier.

While it was true Blake was distant from everyone on the team…the way she was fighting…

She was beyond simple anger. She went berserk the moment she lost the spar. While they have their differences, and certainly have made their acerbic comments towards one another, was it really something as strong worded as hate?

"Neither did I…"

"Heh, don't know what the fuck that was but it was kinda hot!" One of the spectators, a freshman boy, said loudly to his teammates. Yang deadpanned at them as they high fived each other and Weiss barely had the energy to sigh.

yo, so, since my other story went back into the planning room, I'm gonna try to update this bad boy once a week. hopefully. you know how things is sometimes.

but yeah, leave a review if you'd like.

I'll catch ya next update.