Kamen Rider Aurum

by Starpion

When an ancient threat reemerges in the world of Remnant, one young man rises to the challenge in order to become a hero and achieve victory! That hero's name? Kamen Rider Aurum!

8. Led Astray

It was a Friday afternoon, and a particularly busy one at that, in the city of Vale. The citizens were busily moving through the streets of the much more colorful city. Red, yellow, and green banners and balloons were hung everywhere, giving the place a festive air. And a familiar balding shopkeeper was working on a large white banner over the street, "WELCOME TO VALE!" in red paint.

And among the crowd was none other than Team RWBY. With the prep for the Vytal Festival underway and students from overseas coming to visit for said festival in a few short months, classes had been canceled to let the visiting students familiarize themselves with their temporary school, classmates, and lodgings. And surprisingly, the resident ice queen Weiss was the most excited as she looked around the city. A huge smile was on her face as she absorbed the surroundings like a kid in a candy store. And it was freaking Ruby out like nothing else.

"The Vytal Festival!" said Weiss as she stopped walking. She raised her hands in the air, gesturing to the decorations and bustle of the city. "Oh, this is absolutely WONDERFUL!"

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss," said Ruby, letting her feelings be known as she frowned. "It's kinda weirding me out…"

Weiss turned around, still smiling wide. "How could you NOT smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply BREATHTAKING!"

As the group started moving again, Yang crossed her arms and sighed. "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring."

"Quiet, you!" In one fell swoop, the wide smile of Weiss was ripped away, balance restored to the universe.

Ruby was brought out of the discussion as a loud foghorn blared. Her team stopped by the docks, a large boat pulling into the harbor. "Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" asked Yang.

Ruby took a whiff and groaned as she covered her nose, in full agreement with her sister. "Ugh, they smell like fish!"

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today," said Weiss. The reminder of that fact perked up Ruby. They'd be able to meet the students from Shade early! So many new faces, and so many awesome weapons! "And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this FINE kingdom!"

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament," said Blake just as Weiss started to walk away.

The girl in question scoffed. "You can't prove that!"

Ruby smirked as she turned around, eager to see the new arrivals in a less… odorous place. But the smirk vanished as she saw the crime scene down the road. A small Dust shop had the doors wide open and one of the windows smashed. Both openings were closed off by police tape, and the front of the store had been fenced off for investigation. Two detectives were by the shattered window, one taking notes of the scene.

"Whoa," said Ruby, getting her team's attention. The four walked up to the closer detective, one with short hair and a beard. "What happened here?"

"Robbery," said the detective. "Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." He walked up to his partner, who was looking through the window. Ruby followed his gaze to see the shop completely ransacked, not even a grain of Dust left behind.

"That's terrible," sighed Yang.

"They left all the money again," said the second detective, clean shaven with spiky hair.

"Huh?" Ruby turned to the detectives as she heard this. Leaving the Lien and taking the Dust? That sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. She listened in on the detectives, hoping their investigation would help her piece together the puzzle.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense," said the first detective. "Who needs that much Dust?"

"I don't know, an army?"

"You thinking the White Fang?"

The second detective took off his shades. "Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough." Well, that was a load of nothing.

"Hmph!" grunted Weiss. "The White Fang." She crossed her arms and snootily stuck her nose in the air. "What an awful bunch of degenerates!"

"What's YOUR problem?" asked Blake.

Weiss immediately turned to face Blake. "MY problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths," said Blake as she crossed her arms. Ruby was taken aback. She never saw Blake this angry before. Well, maybe less "angry" and more "irritated." "They're a collection of misguided Faunus."

"Misguided?" repeated Weiss. "They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"

"So then they're VERY misguided," said Blake. "Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!"

"Hmm… Blake's got a point," said Ruby. "Besides, the police never fought that Torchwick guy I ran into a couple months ago. Maybe it was him." Thinking back, everything clicked into place as she remembered a certain shopkeep thanking her profusely for saving his store. One that was only robbed of Dust. This whole thing had Roman Torchwick's name all over it!

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum," said Weiss. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

"That's not necessarily true…" said Yang, acting as the mediator. And if the growing look of anger on Blake's face meant anything, Ruby might have to get involved too before things got ugly.

"Hey, stop that Faunus!"

The cry for help from the docks ended up defusing the argument as Ruby and company ran up to investigate. Squinting, Ruby saw somebody running down the length of the boat with two sailors in hot pursuit. He had lightly tanned skin, wild blonde hair, blue eyes, and a grin that screamed trouble. He wore a white open jacket with a loose collar, no shirt underneath and his muscular physique exposed. A gold pendant with a monkey on it was dangling from a black cord around his neck. He also wore black fingerless gloves and red bracers, blue cargo shorts with a chain hanging on his right and a white belt, bandages wrapped around his lower legs, and yellow and black sneakers. But the most striking feature was a yellow monkey tail sticking out between his jacket and shorts.

The monkey Faunus leapt onto the edge of the ship right before the sailors could catch him. He turned to them with a mischievous grin. "Thanks for the ride, guys! Haha!" he said as he jumped down to the dock and ran towards the city.

"You no-good stowaway!" yelled one of the sailors as the troublemaker jumped up to a lamppost, hanging upside down by his tail.

"Hey!" said the boy as he pulled a banana out from his pocket, peeling it. "A NO-GOOD stowaway would've been caught! I'm a GREAT stowaway!"

Before he could take a bite, one of the detectives who was attracted to the ruckus threw a rock at him, getting his attention. "Hey! Get down from there this instant!"

The troublemaker gave him a flat look as he shoved the whole banana in his mouth, chucking the peel on the detective's face. He swallowed and laughed at the detective's annoyance before he twirled up and crouched on the light, still laughing as he jumped off and ran away. As he passed Team RWBY, Ruby swore that he gave Blake a wink.

"Well, Weiss," said Yang as the team watched the boy run from the cops, "you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes…"

"Quick!" said Weiss as she raised a finger. "We have to observe him!" And with that, the four gave chase.

~KRA~

"Alright, everything's in order!" said Jaune. He and his team were hanging out in the library, a small stack of books on their table. Pyrrha was reading about ancient fighting styles, Ren was reading about local plant life, Nora was looking over Ren's shoulder while reading a book of old Valean legends, and Jaune was on his Scroll with an open X-Ray and Vav comic in front of him. "We're all registered for the Vytal Festival tournament!"

"Awesome! I can barely wait!" said Nora as she jumped out of her seat. Or more accurately, ONTO her seat. "That festival is gonna be the best! The fun, the food, the FIGHTS!" A small chorus of shushing caused her to cover her face with her book and sit back down. "We're gonna crush the competition!" she whispered as loud as she could.

"And the competition will certainly be stiff," said Ren as he flipped the page, very intrigued by the native moss. "First and second year students from all four Huntsman academies, thirty-two teams total. And I've heard that RWBY and CFVY are already registered."

"I heard Cardin bragging about his team bringing home the gold," put in Pyrrha.

"Yeah, this won't be easy. Especially since I'm not gonna use my, uh…" Jaune looked around to make sure nobody else was listening in. Aside from the librarian habitually giving Nora the stink-eye, he seemed in the clear, but he couldn't be too sure. "…'secret weapon.'"

"Then we should prioritize honing our skills both individually and as a team," said Pyrrha. "Wouldn't you agree, Jaune?"

"Pyrrha's right!" said Nora. "I know she's a four-time champion and all, but I wanna show off what I'm made of! And so do you, right Ren?"

"I would like to test my skills," said Ren, closing his book. "I'm better with Grimm opponents than fellow Huntsmen, so this is the perfect chance to cover my weakness."

"You think we can actually win?" asked Jaune.

"Anything can happen in a tournament," said Pyrrha. "Besides, winning is fun and all, but with my tournament record, just having fun is enough for me."

"Then it's settled! Let's give it our all!" cheered Jaune.

"Shhhhhhh!"

"Oops."

~KRA~

While JNPR was planning for the tournament, RWBY was in hot pursuit of the mischief-making monkey. Ruby considered using her Semblance, but she wanted her team to keep up. Besides, he wasn't THAT fast.

As she chased him, her mind raced as much as her legs. He was obviously here for the tournament, but where was he from? Shade was the obvious answer, since his light outfit was definitely suited for the scorching Vacuo, but it didn't make sense for him to sneak aboard another ship when they were arriving that day. Atlas or Haven, maybe? Haven was much more likely. And his acrobatics must mean he had a wild fighting style! Oh, his weapon must be something out of this world!

As her team rounded a corner, they came to a stop as Weiss crashed into somebody, the two falling over. Ruby stopped to make sure her partner was okay, then turned back to see the Faunus running on the roof of a building. In no time, he was out of sight.

"No, he got away!" complained Weiss, still on the ground.

"Uh, Weiss?" said Yang. She pointed to Weiss, or rather the girl beneath Weiss that she barreled into. Weiss got up with a start when she saw her.

Ruby looked at the girl with curiosity. She had short orange hair with curls on the bottom that reached her neck, a small cowlick dangling from the top and a large pink bow in the back. She had light skin and freckles, and her eyes were bright green. She was smiling wide for somebody who just got knocked to the ground. She wore an off white off the shoulder blouse with puffy shoulders and elbows, frilled cuffs with copper buttons partially covering her hands. She also had a short gray pinafore dress with a golden hem, four light green spikes going from the hem to her waist, green circles with a line connecting them around her waistline with copper outlines, and a black collar with four green vertical stripes. She had black thigh-high leg pieces with light green stripes up the side, seamlessly blending in with bulky black shoes.

"Sal-u-tations!" said the girl, still sporting a gigantic smile.

"Um… hello," said Ruby, a little weirded out by the girl's behavior. She hadn't even made the effort to get herself up!

"Are you… okay?" asked Yang.

"I'm WONDERFUL!" said the girl cheerfully. "Thank you for asking."

Ruby and her teammates just looked at each other before looking back at the girl. "Do you… wanna get up?" asked Yang.

The girl seemed to take a moment to think about this. "Yes!" As she jumped back to her feet, Ruby and her friends backed up. She managed to catch a glimpse of a silver backpack on the girl. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Hi, Penny," said Ruby. The girl was weird, but then again, so was Ruby as she was often told. And there was no reason not to be polite. "I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" asked Yang. Blake nudged her in the side. "Oh, I'm Yang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" said Penny.

"You already said that," said Weiss.

Penny paused. "So I did!" she said. At this point, Ruby was wondering if her smile was permanent.

"Well, sorry for running into you!" said Weiss as the group turned away.

"Take care, friend!" said Ruby with a friendly wave as her team walked down the street.

"She was… WEIRD…" said Yang once they were a fair distance from Penny.

Weiss seemed to pay her no mind as she looked around. "Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?"

"What did you call me?"

Ruby couldn't help but do a double take when Penny suddenly appeared in front of Weiss, her seemingly permanent smile replaced with a look of shock. Weiss herself was looking back behind her and in front of her as if she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, Yang looking apologetic for what she said. "Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!"

"No, not you," said Penny as she walked right up to Ruby, right in her face. "You!"

"ME?" asked Ruby in shock. "I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh…" She tried to speak, but her tongue seemed to be unable to form anything resembling words.

"You called me 'friend!' Am I really your friend?" asked Penny.

"Umm…" Ruby looked over Penny's shoulder at her team. They were all shaking their arms and heads, telling her to say "no." But she didn't really see a reason to deny the girl. "Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?"

It was then that her teammates fell to the ground in unison, Penny looking over the moon. "Sen-SATIONAL!" she laughed. "We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

Ruby turned to Weiss, who was brushing the dust off her outfit. "Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?"

"No. She seems FAR more coordinated," said Weiss as she walked up to her. Ouch.

"So… what are you doing in Vale?" asked Yang.

"I'm here to fight in the tournament."

"Wait, YOU'RE fighting in the tournament?" asked Weiss as she pointed at Penny.

Penny just smiled and saluted. "I'm combat ready!"

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part," said Weiss. Ruby had to agree as she looked over her outfit, an odd mix of old-fashioned and futuristic that didn't look combat ready at all.

"Says the girl wearing a dress," snarked Blake.

"It's a combat skirt!" corrected Weiss.

"Yeah!" said Ruby, high-fiving her partner.

"Wait a minute," said Weiss as she walked up to Penny and grabbed her shoulders. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed… rapscallion?"

"The who?" asked Penny, unsurprisingly confused.

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!" said Weiss as she pulled out a poorly-drawn caricature of him. When did she even make that?

"Why do you keep saying that?!" asked Blake.

Weiss turned to Blake, Ruby groaning as the inevitable argument started back up again. "Huh?"

"Stop calling him a rapscallion!" said Blake angrily as she stomped up to the heiress. "Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Weiss as she pushed Penny away, her voice completely insincere as she gestured to the objects around them. "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it!" yelled Blake.

"Stop what?" asked Weiss. "He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!"

Ruby sucked air in through her teeth at that little comment. Yeah, he did stow away on that ship and chuck a banana peel at a cop, but comparing him to a group of murderous zealots was way over the line. And Blake looked furious as she clenched her fist.

"You ignorant little brat!" snapped Blake through clenched teeth as she turned on her heel.

Weiss looked taken aback by the insult, but her look was replaced with one of annoyance as she followed Blake. "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"

"You are a judgemental little girl," said Blake.

"What in the world makes you say that?"

"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"

"Um, I think we should probably go…" said Yang, moving up to Ruby. Ruby couldn't agree with her sister more.

"Where are we going?" asked Penny obliviously, Weiss and Blake continuing their little squabble in the background.

"So you admit it! The White Fang IS just a radical group of terrorists!"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

"Ugh…" groaned Ruby as she and Yang made their way back. Surely this couldn't go on all night, right?

~KRA~

Two days later, Ren and Jaune were in the midst of brutal combat. An epic battle that would told of for generations to come by mouth or by sacred texts, a legendary fight that would shake the world itself!

"Ren, Ren, he's the champion! He won't stop till the fight is won!" cheered Nora, pumping her fists in the air and waving invisible pom-poms.

"He may have you on the ropes, Jaune, but you haven't lost yet!" said Pyrrha. "I believe in you!"

"It's been an honor, Jaune, but I'm afraid this ends now," said Ren.

"That's what you think!" said Jaune. "Because I still haven't used my strongest combo!"

"What?" With a flurry of bullets and one final barrage of missiles, the battle was decided as the loser fell to the ground, the winner posing as "YOU LOSE" flashed on Ren's Scroll.

"Oh yeah! I'm the gen:Lock champion!" declared Jaune as he raised his own Scroll in the air, holding a hand out. "Good game, Ren!"

"You beat me fair and square," said Ren as he shook his opponent's hand.

"My turn!" said Nora as she waved her Scroll. "You may have beaten Ren, but I've never lost playing as Cammie!"

"Game on!" said Jaune.

But before the second epic clash could begin, a knock on the door pulled them all out of the moment. Pyrrha was the first one to the door, opening it to reveal a nervous-looking Ruby. She was wringing her hands, looking like she was about to cry. Yang was standing in front of RWBY's door looking sad, while Weiss was next to her looking like she'd rather be doing anything else.

"I… I need your help. All of you."

"What's wrong, Ruby?" asked Pyrrha as her team crowded around her.

"It's Blake. She and Weiss got into an argument a while ago. It got heated, they said some bad things, and Blake said… something she probably shouldn't have."

"That's… that's horrible," said Ren in disbelief, his face in a rare state of shock.

"I thought… I thought she'd be back by now, but it's been two days. She hasn't answered her Scroll, nobody's seen her on campus… we have to find her."

"Do we, now?" asked Blake, Yang jabbing her with her elbow.

"You can count on Team JNPR!" said Jaune as he peeked out the door. "Let's go, guys!"

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" said Ruby as she gave Jaune and Pyrrha a quick hug. She pulled out her Scroll and pulled up a map of Vale. "Okay, we'll take this side, and you take this side," she said as she pointed to two halves of the city. "We'll meet up in the middle. Let's go!" She raced off in a trail of petals, her friends trailing behind her. The search for Blake was on!

~KRA~

Ruby sighed as she and her remaining teammates wandered through Vale. It had been an hour of searching, and neither party was any closer to finding Blake. You'd think searching on a Sunday when the city was practically barren would make things easier!

"She's been gone all weekend," muttered Ruby. It still felt like a bad dream. She thought that after the whole thing with Weiss, team issues were a thing of the past. But she was horribly wrong.

"Blake's a big girl," said Weiss, "I'm sure she can handle herself!"

"Weiss, come on," said Yang. "She's one of our teammates."

"Is she?" asked Weiss. "We all heard what she said!"

"Weiss," said Ruby sternly. However, her words couldn't help but remind Ruby of Blake's parting words, the words that kicked off this search.

~KRA~

"I don't understand WHY this is causing such a problem!"

"That IS the problem!"

Ruby sighed as she looked between Weiss and Blake, the two on their beds and still arguing. She and Yang had tried to break the two up several times, but each effort was fruitless. Even trying to split them up physically was a failure, much to Yang's chagrin. It seemed like waiting for the fight to end and acting as damage control was the only option, as much as Ruby hated it.

Weiss got up from her bed, glaring at Blake furiously. "You realize you are defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

Ruby winced as Blake stood up, she and Weiss standing in front of the bookshelf and glaring at each other. "There's no such thing as pure evil!" shouted Blake. "Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like YOU, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like ME?" asked Weiss.

"You're discriminatory!" said Blake.

"I'm a victim!" Weiss and Blake just stared at each other, Weiss leaning in real close and giving Blake a murderous glare. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang?" she asked quietly. "Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus?"

Weiss leaned against the bookshelf. "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in ACTUAL bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood." She banged her fist hard on the bookshelf to make her point.

Ruby was taken aback. While her discrimination wasn't right, it wasn't unfounded either. As much as she hated to admit it, she'd have trust issues too if she had Weiss' childhood. She walked up to her partner to try and comfort her. "Weiss, I-"

"No!" Weiss shouted as she turned back to Blake, walking up to her and glaring daggers. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

Ruby turned to Blake, who looked like she was about to attack Weiss. She was ready to intervene if things got physical, but fortunately it didn't come to that. Unfortunately, what Blake said shook the entire team to its core.

"Well maybe WE were just tired of being pushed around!"

The room was silent. One could hear a pin drop. Ruby felt her mouth hanging open. "We." Blake said "we" when referring to the White Fang. Which meant… she was one of them. But that didn't make any sense! For one, Blake was human, and more importantly, she was a good person!

She was both of those… right?

It looked like Blake realized her mistake as she looked around, Weiss backing away as though she had a weapon pointed at her. "I… I…" She never finished her sentence, instead choosing to run out the door.

"Blake, wait! Come back!" She ran out the door and sped down the hall with her Semblance, catching up with Blake. "Let's talk this out!" But she only managed to touch shadow when she tried to grab her, an afterimage courtesy of Blake's own Semblance. She turned the corner and looked around, but the real Blake had disappeared. With a heavy heart, Ruby returned to the dorm where Yang was trying to comfort a shell shocked Weiss.

~KRA~

Even now, so many questions were swimming through Ruby's mind. Was Blake really part of the White Fang? Was she a part of it when she met her, when she ran away? And if so, why join Beacon? Did Ozpin know? Just how much did she really know her teammate?

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't," said Yang. "Either way, she's missing, and we need to find her!"

"A member of the White Fang! Right underneath our noses!" yelled Weiss in disbelief.

Ruby just put her hands together. "I just hope she's okay…" she said. The sooner they found her, the sooner her questions could be answered. And she wanted nothing more than the ability to trust her friend.

~KRA~

"Blaaaaaaake! BLAAAAAAAAAAAKE! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" called out Nora from the top of a lamppost, shouting across the sleepy city in front of a local bookstore. She jumped off and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Marco!"

"I'm not sure this is gonna work," said Jaune as he watched his teammate.

"Just give her some time," said Ren. "She's usually very good at finding people."

"If you say so," said Jaune as he watched her imitating some sort of animal. "You know, I don't think that's what a sloth sounds like."

"You're telling me."

"Nobody inside has seen her," said Pyrrha as she exited the bookstore. "Another dead end."

"I just don't get it," said Jaune as he crossed his arms. "Aren't the White Fang a bunch of bomb-throwing lunatics who scream for the extinction of humans? Why would Blake ever want to be involved with people like that? And isn't she a human?"

"There are a few rare cases of humans supporting their cause," said Ren.

"And besides, she could be a Faunus in disguise!" said Nora. "She's probably got something to hide! Like a tail she uses as a belt, or cute little ears or horns under that bow! Ooh, or she could have something SUPER secret, like a long chameleon tongue!"

"And besides, I've studied the White Fang in my combat school," said Pyrrha. "They weren't always the terrorist group they're known as today."

"They weren't?" asked Jaune as he scratched his head.

"Come on, Jaune, even I knew that!" said Nora.

"Anyway," continued Pyrrha, "they were formed by the enigmatic leader Ghira some years after the Faunus War ended to combat the remaining prejudice. A good amount of humanity still didn't trust the Faunus, and vice versa. So the organization was created in order to bridge the gap. Their campaign was initially harmless. They protested the lack of rights they were given, boycotted businesses that refused them service, had petitions for equal treatment, so on and so forth. But one day five years ago, the leadership changed. And their new leader, Sienna Khan, had a very different ideology. Protests became riots, boycotts became assaults, and their quest for equality became one for subjugation. It's truly awful how one can lose their way in pursuit of their goals, to the point of no longer remembering what they wanted in the first place."

"Man…" said Jaune. "Hold on, I think I get what you're getting at. If this all happened recently, maybe Blake left the White Fang when all that radical stuff happened!"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking," said Pyrrha with a smile and a nod.

"But for the moment, this is all speculation," said Ren. "Only Blake herself can give us the answer. Which is exactly why we have to find her."

"And standing around won't help that," said Jaune. "Maybe we'll have to split up further. Gimme a sec."

His teammates watched with confusion as Jaune ran into an alley, only for a bright flash of light to come out of it.

ARMOR UP! STAG BEETLE! GLEAMING GOLD!

When the light died down, Jaune ran out as Aurum in his Stag Form. "HopperCycle!" he shouted as he threw the HopperCycle medal, the medal landing on the ground and transforming into the titular motorcycle.

"So that's what it looks like!" said Nora in awe. "Can I ride it?"

"No," said her teammates in unison.

"Darn!"

"I'll search the town on my bike," said Aurum as he hopped onto the HopperCycle. "I can cover more ground this way. If I run into Blake, I'll message you three on my scroll."

"We'll be sure to keep in touch," said Pyrrha as she waved her Scroll. "Should one of us come with you? It would be best if none of us go on our own."

"I'd bring you along, Pyrr, but…" Aurum looked over the HopperCycle. "I've never ridden this thing with a passenger."

Pyrrha looked at the insect-like motorcycle, then back to Aurum. "I see your point. But the next time, I'm coming with you."

"It's a promise. Good luck, guys!" The bike took off with insane speed, Pyrrha unable to keep up with it as it moved out of sight almost instantly.

"I suppose I'm in charge," said Pyrrha as she turned the other way. "Let's keep searching. Ruby is counting on us to find Blake!"

"Come on, Ren! Let's get back to it!" said Nora as she followed Pyrrha. "Ku-RAH!"

Ren couldn't help but smile at his friend's antics. "Lead the way, Nora."

~KRA~

"Blaaaaake!" shouted Ruby.

"Blaaaaaaake!" shouted Yang.

On the other side of town, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang weren't having much luck either. The three were walking down the empty street in the financial district. Ruby and Yang had been calling for Blake for hours, but it was no use. All that they had achieved was giving themselves sore throats, and only mildly sore at that.

"Blaaaaaaaaake! Wheeeere aaaare yoooou?!" called out Ruby.

"Blake!" shouted Yang.

Ruby sighed and looked at Weiss. She had been unusually silent for quite a while now. "Weiss, you're not helping!"

"Oh!" said Weiss. "You know what might be able to help! The police!"

"Ugh, Weiss," said Ruby as she crossed her arms and glared at her partner.

"It was just an idea!" said Weiss.

Ruby walked over to the sidewalk. "Yeah, a bad one," she said.

"Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions," said Yang, trying to defuse the situation before another major argument started.

"I think that when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right!" said Weiss.

"And I think Weiss' hair looks WONDERFUL today!"

Ruby spun around with a small scream, she and her teammates surprised to see a smiling Penny following them. "Ah! Penny! Where did you come from!"

"Hey guys!" said Penny with her standard cheerfulness. "What are you up to?"

"Uh…" Ruby was conflicted about telling her the whole truth. Yeah, she told JNPR, but she knew those guys for weeks! They were tight-knit friends! But she had only known Penny for a weekend. And this was a very personal matter!

"We're looking for our friend Blake," said Yang, saying just the bare minimum without going into details. Older sister to the rescue!

"Oooh, you mean the Faunus girl!" said Penny.

Ruby and her teammates just gave Penny odd looks. "Wait, how did you know that?" she asked.

"Uh, the cat ears?" said Penny as if it was the most obvious thing on the planet, pointing to her head.

Yang just laughed at her statement. "What cat ears? She wears a… bow…"

The realization hit them all like a ton of bricks, Ruby in particular mentally kicking herself in the shins for missing something so painfully obvious. It was so obvious that she never even considered it! A small gust of wind was the only noise as they took in their own obliviousness… was that a tumbleweed?

"She does like tuna a lot…" said Ruby, particularly fascinated by the sidewalk as she stared blankly at it.

"So, where is she?" asked Penny.

"We don't know," said Ruby as soon as she regained her composure, her partner and sister still stunned into silence. "She's been missing since Friday."

Penny gasped. "That's terrible!" she said as she walked up to Ruby, the girl in red a little uncomfortable at the sudden invasion of personal space. "Well, don't you worry, Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!"

Ruby gave a forced smile, the corner of her mouth twitching a little. "Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, guys!" But as she turned around, Yang and Weiss had abandoned her. She slumped over in defeat as another tumbleweed rolled past her.

"It sure is windy today!" said Penny.

~KRA~

Far from any of the search parties, Blake herself was walking down an alley in deep thought. Reuniting with her team was firmly in the back of her mind, at least until more pressing matters had been dealt with. Specifically, the string of Dust robberies that she learned was going on even before the semester started.

And walking beside her with his hands behind his head was the monkey Faunus from the docks. He was her lone companion for the past day and a half, constantly regaling facts about himself to make her talk whether she liked it or not. His name was Sun Wukong, and he was a first-year student from Haven. Specifically, he was the leader of Team SSSN (Sun). He stowed away on the cargo ship to arrive early and scope out the competition, trying to invite his teammates only for them to decline the offer. As such, he'd be giving them updates over the CCT. Oh, and he liked banana splits and long walks on the beach, apparently.

He was a bit annoying, but he was a good guy. And she did appreciate the company, enough to finally tell him the truth. That she had been a member of the White Fang since its founding, even after its radicalization. That she only left a month or so before coming to Beacon after realizing just how far it had fallen. A truth that she had told Sun rather than her teammates.

But the time for self-reflection and regrets wasn't now. Now was the time for figuring out the true culprit behind these burglaries.

"So, what's the plan now?" asked Sun.

"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies," said Blake. "They've never needed that much Dust before."

"What if they DID?" Sun walked in front of her. "I mean, the only way to prove that they DIDN'T do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they WERE to do it, and not find them there! Right?"

It wasn't how she'd word it, but he hit the nail on the head. That was exactly what she was thinking. "The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be."

"Well, while I was on the ship," said Sun, "I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

This caught Blake's attention. "How huge?" she asked.

"HUGE. Big Schnee Company freighter."

A large cargo ship filled to the brim with Dust and Schnee Company Dust to boot? If the Fang was responsible, that shipment had a neon sign inviting them. "You're sure?"

~KRA~

"Thanks anyways!" said Yang with a wave as she and Weiss left a shop. Once again, no hints of where Blake had gone. The last time the shopkeeper saw her was when she was with the team. She sighed in resignation. "This is hopeless." She turned to Weiss, who was looking around nonchalantly, and half-closed her eyes. "You really don't care if we find her, do you?"

"Don't be stupid," said Weiss with a huff. "Of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her." As she walked away, she looked over her shoulder and shouted, "The innocent never run, Yang!"

Yang looked down at the ground, thinking over everything. As she said earlier, maybe she was guilty, but maybe she was innocent. But she was their teammate regardless. With her resolve regained, she jogged over to Weiss. At the very least, she had to make sure that Weiss didn't kill her partner.

~KRA~

"So, Blake is your friend?" asked Penny as she and Ruby walked down the sidewalk.

Ruby sighed. While she appreciated the company, Penny's constant questions got a bit grating after a while. "Yes, Penny," she said.

"But you're mad at her?"

"Yes. Well, I'm not," backtracked Ruby. "Weiss is."

"Is SHE friends with Blake?" asked Penny.

"Well, that's kind of up in the air right now…" said Ruby.

"But why?" From the tone of her voice, the idea of Weiss and Blake not being friends was an alien concept to Penny.

Ruby sighed again. "Well, you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was…"

Penny gasped dramatically. "Is she a MAN?!"

Ruby almost tripped on her cape. "No! No, Penny," she said, shutting down the ridiculous claim as soon as possible. "She's…" With a final sigh, she stopped walking and turned to face Penny. "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off."

"I don't have a lot of friends," said Penny, "but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things."

"Me too…" said Ruby sadly, the two continuing their walk.

~KRA~

It was the dead of night, crickets chirping. On the roof of a nearby building, Blake was lying on her stomach and looking at the docks. The ship had been unloaded, multicolored metal crates with the SDC logo sitting around. No sign of any thieves just yet.

"Did I miss anything?" Blake turned to see Sun walking up to her with his hands full of food, dropping to her right and looking over the dock.

"Not really," she said. "They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."

"Cool," said Sun as he offered her an apple. "I stole you some food!"

Blake made no attempt to take the fruit, giving him an odd look. And she thought Nora had no impulse control. "Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?"

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" asked Sun. This little comment was repaid with a venomous glare. "Okay, too soon!"

Their conversation was cut short as the wind suddenly picked up. Blake looked back at the docks to see the source of the gust, a black Bullhead searching for a place to land. The thieves had finally made their move. As the ship landed in the center of the containers and a ramp extended for the passengers to come out, Blake leaned in for a closer look. She was finally about to catch the true culprits in the act!

But when the first passenger stepped out, her heart fell. It was a man with a white and gray mask that covered his face, only his mouth on display. There were two slits over each eye to see through and fang-shaped pieces covering his cheeks. A black hood covered his head, a sleeveless white jacket with a rectangular wave pattern on the front over the hood. A red claw pattern was visible in the top left of the jacket, three slashes across it. The sleeves of the hood went up to his wrists, and he wore metal bracers over it. A black sash was wrapped around his waist, and he had black pants and boots with greaves. He held a rifle in his hands. On the back of his jacket was a red symbol: a beast's head in profile, three claw marks over it. The Grimm-like mask, the black hood, and that ominous emblem were all marks of the White Fang.

"Oh no…" she said as more White Fang members stepped out. Some had identical uniforms to the first one, while others had sleeveless hoods and black fingerless gloves instead, the gray bracers replaced with black ones. Some were unarmed, others had swords, and others still had machine guns. And a good number had animal traits - tails, horns, scales - peeking through their uniforms.

"Is that them?" asked Sun.

"Yes," said Blake as she stared intently at the monstrous wolf on the back of the jackets, the symbol of the organization's plummet from grace. "It's them."

"Alright," said the first soldier as he motioned with his rifle, "grab the tow cables!"

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" asked Sun.

"No," said Blake as she watched the acolytes spread out in despair. "I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." She closed her eyes, unable to look at the scene any longer. Seeing the depths the Fang had sunk to was too much.

"Hey! What's the holdup?!" Blake's eyes shot open as she heard an unfamiliar voice, watching the White Fang soldiers turning back to the Bullhead. And out came the very last person she expected, a human she recognized from the news as Roman Torchwick. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

"This isn't right," said Blake. "The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that." Unsheathing Gambol Shroud, she jumped off the roof of the building.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" asked Sun.

Blake paid him no mind as she crouched down and moved behind one of the containers, keeping herself out of view. As she looked around the corner, she saw Roman berating one of the acolytes, holding a coil of rope.

"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" snapped Roman. Narrowing her eyes, she sped over and grabbed the criminal, the blade of her katana an inch away from his throat. "What the?! Oh, for f-"

"Nobody move!" ordered Blake as she looked around. The White Fang soldiers didn't follow her orders, drawing their swords and pointing their guns at her.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady!" said Roman.

Blake glared at the scum, then looked back at the Fang. If they wouldn't listen to her now, maybe they'd listen if they knew she was one of them. Grabbing her bow, she pulled the ribbon and undid it, letting it fall to the ground. With the absence of the bow, two small cat ears with black fur were on full display. "Brothers of the White Fang!" she said. "Why are you aiding this scum?"

The White Fang members lowered their weapons, hesitant to harm a fellow Faunus. And a former White Fang member at that. But Roman just laughed, even with a blade to his jugular. "Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" asked Blake.

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!" said Roman.

"Tell me what it is it I'll put an end to your little operation," threatened Blake. Suddenly, she felt the wind pick up again, the sound of roaring turbines filling the air.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation," said Roman as he looked up. Blake's eyes followed his, and she was horrified to see two more Bullheads hovering over her. And who knew how many more were on their way? Suddenly, she felt the ground explode under her as she was sent flying. She rolled away and caught a glimpse of the criminal pointing his cane at her, hand on a concealed trigger. She ran away as he fired another blast.

~KRA~

Aurum thought that the speed of his HopperCycle would help him cover more ground and find Blake. But he was only half right. He had probably searched half the city and found nothing. But just when he was about to call it quits, he saw a Bullhead flying up to the docks, coming in for a landing.

"What's going on there?" he said to himself as he sped over as fast as he could. Once he reached the docks, he returned the HopperCycle to its Huntsman Medal form, then climbed the fire escape of a nearby warehouse to get a better view. But when he reached the roof, he almost fell off the edge. White Fang members were everywhere, along with one Roman Torchwick.

'Roman Torchwick and the White Fang?' thought Aurum. 'That's a combination that can only end in disaster. I better deal with… what the?!' He saw a figure in black dash behind Roman and put a sword up to him. Said figure being the target of their search, one Blake Belladonna. And if her appearance was a surprise, her taking off her bow and revealing cat ears was a bolt right out of the blue.

Pulling out his Scroll, he immediately typed out a message to his team: "Found Blake at the docks, trouble, get here as fast as you can!" A quick response from Pyrrha gave an estimated time of arrival of thirty minutes. Must've been on the other side of town.

Aurum put his Scroll away and saw two more ships flying over, then an explosion from Roman's cane gun. As the crime boss started firing a barrage of explosive shots, the Kamen Rider jumped off his perch and ran towards the crowd. Superheroes didn't just sit around when people needed help, they rose to the occasion!

~KRA~

Blake gasped as another flare whizzed by her and struck a crate, exploding on contact. She flipped out of the way of the burning shots, creating clones with her Semblance to absorb any hits she couldn't escape from. Once she reached another stack of cargo, she hid behind it to catch her breath.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty…" taunted Roman. She looked behind her hiding spot to see him approaching the containers with a sinister grin. But before he could get close to her, a banana peel landed on his head. The criminal grumbled as he picked it up and tossed it away, looking up at whoever threw it. But his eyes, and Blake's, widened as Sun jumped off a nearby container.

"Woohoo!" cheered Sun as he landed feet-first on Roman's face, rolling off and getting into a fighting stance. "Leave her alone!"

The Bullheads opened their doors, more White Fang members jumping out as they surrounded Sun from all sides and standing beside Roman. "You are not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" asked Roman.

"Then let's make it a fair fight!" Blake peered out from behind the container again, eyes widening as she saw Aurum run into view and get into his own stance.

"Aurum?" she asked.

"Golden Boy?" said Roman with confusion.

"Who?" asked Sun.

"This doesn't concern you, human," said one of the soldiers.

"I'm afraid it does," said Aurum. "I'm a defender of justice! And that means shutting down this operation!"

"And who are you to get in the way of our noble cause?" asked another White Fang grunt as he pointed his gun at Aurum.

"The name is… Kamen Rider Aurum!" said Aurum with a peace sign.

"Boys, sic 'em!" said Roman as the White Fang acolytes charged forward, closing in on Aurum and Sun. But neither of them had any concern.

Sun was the first to make a move, punching at one of the goons. His opponent dodged, but a side punch from his other arm sent him flying. He dodged a sword slash from another and countered with a punch, spinning around to kick another in the face. As he jumped up and kicked another from behind, he rolled under a slash from one of the goons.

"Haha!" he laughed as he pulled out four red rods with gold trim from behind his jacket, connecting them to form a quarterstaff. He spun around and slammed his staff into one of the goons, knocking him into a container. As he was surrounded on all sides, he spun his weapon, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, and smacked several around before he slammed it into the ground, a burning shockwave knocking two more off their feet before he spun around and knocked over another.

Not far away, Aurum was dealing with his own group of goons. He quickly backed out of the way of a sword swing, the grunt that slashed at him snarling and going for a tackle. Aurum dodged out of the way and kicked his opponent in the back, knocking him to the ground. Blocking a kick from another by crossing his arms, Aurum grabbed his leg and swung him around, throwing him into another soldier that charged him. One White Fang goon came at him with wild slashes, leaving the Kamen Rider without an opening until he went for a thrust. Aurum was quick to land a right hook in the gut to knock the wind out of him, then punched him in the side of the head. Turning around to see a grunt charging at him, he kicked him into the support of a burnt orange dock crane.

Aurum heard the click of a gun before he saw two White Fang members pointing their rifles at him. He gasped as he sprinted out of the way of rapid fire, forming and expanding the Beetle Sheald on his right arm as he brandished the Stag Saber. The bullets didn't even dent his shield, each shot bouncing off as he charged forward. Once he was in range, he slashed one of the guns in half, following up with a bash with his shield. A slash of his sword sent the other to the ground. Four more grunts surrounded Aurum and started slashing at him with their swords. He did his best to parry and block each attack until they were all in range, spinning around for a three-sixty degree slash that left them down for the count.

Blake looked from behind her cover as she saw Aurum smack the top of his shield into the chin of a White Fang member, then Sun flip around and kick another over Roman's head.

"Dude, you're awesome!" said Aurum as he ran up to Sun, the latter moving his staff behind him.

"You're not too bad yourself!" said Sun.

Roman growled as he pointed Melodic Cudgel at the two, firing a flare. Sun quickly jumped into action and spun his staff, deflecting the blast.

It was at this moment that Blake decided to get involved. Jumping out of her cover and in front of Sun and Aurum, she glared at Roman. "He's mine!" she shouted as she unsheathed her sword, holding it in a reverse grip. The other hand held her sheath by an exposed handle, one edge sharpened like a cleaver.

She was quick to slash at Roman, but he blocked her attack with his cane. Landing on her feet and ducking under a swing, she followed with an upward slash from the sheath with the same result. Blocking a hit from Roman with her katana, she swung her sheath and backflipped, creating a clone and propelling herself forward. As he swung to block the first hit, her rapid speed let her slash him with her katana as she landed behind him, the clone fading into shadow. Having finally landed a blow this way, Blake repeated her clone tactic three times to let her dash towards Roman. But it looked like it only worked once as each blow was parried. For the third time, she spun around for a double slash and followed with a crouch to cut at his legs with the katana, but he blocked and moved to strike her with his cane. She blocked the move with a clone and backflipped to gain some distance.

Noticing Roman moving to strike her midair, she blocked the hit with Gambol Shroud before landing. He quickly closed the gap and tried to punch Blake, but she used another clone to take the hit and did a back-handspring. Once firmly on the ground, she swung her blades again, and was blocked again. Growing annoyed by her inability to land a major blow, she swung her katana with extra force. But not only did he block this one, but he hooked her blade and kept her from pulling it back. As she tried to force it away, he spun his cane around and smacked her in the side, causing her footing to shift.

Roman freed her sword, only to swing his cane up and hit her in the chin. "Hahaha!" he laughed as he spun around and hit her in the face, turning her around and disorienting her. Blake grit her teeth as she flared up her Aura and gripped her blades. She refused to lose to somebody so greedy, so rude, so vile! But when she spun around to counter, a strike to the head knocked her onto her back. She looked up to see the smug expression on Roman's face as he moved to finish her off.

But luckily for her, Sun and Aurum jumped over her to intervene. Aurum had collapsed his shield into a sheath and put it on his hip, holding his sword in both hands. Sun had split his staff in half, the two pieces each becoming two ornate shotguns connected by gold chains to become twin nunchucks. Aurum was swinging his sword with precision and speed, while Sun was wildly spinning his chucks and going for fast strikes. While he spun his chucks, he was also firing off shotgun rounds and pumping the lever for the next blast as fast as the bullets were fired. But Roman was faster as every swing, slash, and shot were stopped by his cane.

Getting back onto her feet and crouching, Blake watched as the two tried and failed to break through his defenses. But nobody could guard forever, especially with those two wailing on him. All she needed was an opening, no matter how small. After blocking the barrage, Roman took a moment to laugh. Just what she needed. Sprinting past Sun and Aurum, she slashed at Roman's unguarded side with her katana, knocking him away and leaving him on his back. She couldn't help but smile a little. After the beatdown she had received from that poor excuse for a human being, getting in a hit like that made it all worth it.

~KRA~

Roman growled as he looked up at the three brats. The monkey boy was smirking as he spun his chucks, the cat girl was holding her swords out, and Golden Boy had his sword pointed at him. "Your plan's in shambles, Torchwick! Surrender now, and there won't be any more trouble!"

Oh, please. Another pretty speech from some kid playing the hero. He had no patience for these punks, he had a quota and a schedule to meet. And failure to meet either of those meant his ass was scorched. Of course, that didn't mean he was arrogant or stupid enough to take them all on at once. Right now, he needed to get away from them and think of a way out of this mess.

Looking above him, he saw a crane was still holding one of the containers. And as luck would have it, none of his opponents realized that they were standing right below it. Pointing Melodic Cudgel at the supports, he fired a flare and tore them apart, dropping the container. The three jumped back to avoid it, giving Roman the opportunity to get up and make a run for it.

The fourth and final Bullhead flew over the three interlopers and dropped another squadron of White Fang members, keeping them busy for the moment. Meanwhile, Roman ran under the crane, noticing one of the grunts that Golden Boy sent flying was leaning against one of its legs. He was breathing heavily and watching the curb stomp his friends were receiving.

"How dare they do that to my White Fang brethren," he muttered. "How disgusting. I'd give anything to make them suffer for their actions against us."

Roman smiled wickedly as he heard those words, walking into the henchman's line of sight. "Anything?" he asked as he adjusted his bowler hat. Hooking his cane on his arm and reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out the box of syringes Cinder gave him and opened it, pulling one out before stuffing it back into safekeeping. This was just the distraction he needed. "What about giving up your morality in exchange for great power?"

The White Fang mutt looked at the syringe, the black gunk moving around inside. "What on Remnant is that?"

"Just a little something that'll give you more than enough power to slaughter our uninvited guests. But you've gotta be willing to give up your morality for it, even in your very soul. Think you can handle it?" said Roman as he dangled it like a treat.

The White Fang member looked at the needle, then held out his bare arm. "I joined the White Fang willing to die for the rights of Faunus. And I'll do anything to make that dream become reality. Do it."

Roman smirked. "Good boy," he said as he jabbed the needle into his arm. His thumb pushed against the syringe as the black sludge seeped into his body. As he pulled it out, he backed away as the effects began, but he couldn't resist the smile on his face.

~KRA~

As the black liquid was injected into the White Fang soldier's arm, he gasped as the empty syringe was pulled out. Roman backed away as he clutched his arm, black veins sprouting through his arm. He screamed as his body became covered in a pulsing, pitch-black substance from the inside out, even his clothing transforming. Black smoke was rising from his body as it twitched. He took several steps back and gripped his head as he screamed to the heavens, his voice becoming deep and distorted as he felt a searing pain in his throat.

As Blake looked away from the White Fang acolyte she just kicked to the ground, she gasped as she saw the writhing White Fang member, his body seemingly melting into that black substance. She glanced behind her to see his colleagues backing away as though whatever was happening to him was contagious.

"What the hell is happening to that guy?" asked Sun, pointing at the man. He was shrieking a garbled mess of words, most likely a cry for help.

"I have no idea," said Blake as she turned to Aurum. "Have you seen this?"

"No, I haven't," said Aurum as he deployed his shield. "And whatever this is, it can't be good."

As the soldier stumbled around screaming incoherently, he bumped into the crane. Things went from bad to worse as he started to melt into it, his entire body phasing into the structure. A black shadow covered the entire structure, starting at the legs and spreading all the way to the arm and hook. The shadow throbbed and writhed before it slid away, forming a massive shadow that almost covered the entire port. The shadow suddenly started to condense, forming a thick, concentrated, pitch-black shape the size of a person beside the crane, something crawling out.

The thing that emerged had black legs covered with burnt orange armor, said armor having a crisscross pattern like a crane's tower. Its feet had the same orange color, blocky boots covering them. The torso was solid orange with a muscle-like pattern on the front and silver axles embedded in its sides. The arms had the same color and crisscross pattern as the legs, winches with black cables inside the forearms of the monster and large gray hooks sticking out from its wrists, right above the back of its hands. An orange jib stuck out of its left shoulder, a dark gray gun barrel inside. Thin black tentacles stuck out of the back of its head, each ending in a hook-shaped barb. But the worst was its face, or more accurately its mask. It mostly looked like a White Fang mask, albeit with a mouth cover displaying a sharp-toothed frown and the "fangs" curving a little more than usual. However, the rim was covered with white hooks that dug into its head, pinning the mask to its face.

"He… he turned into an Umbra!" said Aurum in disbelief.

"Is… this how they're formed?" asked Blake, horrified at the idea of former humans and Faunus being destroyed.

"No, they're usually made the same way as other Grimm! I've never heard of people turning into them, or them forming bodies from objects that big!"

"For the White Fang," muttered the Umbra in a deep voice, his words getting the attention of the Huntsmen in training, "I will slaughter all who get in our way!"

"Okay, somebody tell me what THAT is before I lose it!" said Sun as he pointed at Crane Umbra.

"An Umbra," said Blake. "Really bad Grimm."

"And only I can kill it," said Aurum.

"Let's test that!" said Sun as he ran up to Crane Umbra, spinning his nunchucks. He bashed the Umbra in the face with both of them, but he didn't move an inch as his Nether blocked the strike. Sun took notice of this, but he was determined to defeat this monster. He dodged a swipe from one of the hooks and jumped behind his opponent from the side, landing a kick in the process. Pointing Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang at the monster's back, he fired both at the same time, then cocked them simultaneously. He started swinging his nunchucks just as Crane Umbra turned around, each of his strikes parried by the hooks. Sun started firing his guns and rapidly reloading, but while most of his shots landed true, a brief flinch was the most he got.

"Kill it… will we really have to do that to what was once a person?" asked Blake as Sun and Crane Umbra clashed their weapons, the former landing a blow on the latter's face.

"I don't want it to come to that, but we can't really put a Grimm in prison," said Aurum. "Either way, I won't be holding back."

"Right," said Blake as she put Gambol Shroud's sheath on her back. Hopefully they'd be able to return the Umbra to normal. He may have been a misguided thug, but that wasn't a reason to be destroyed.

Just as Sun dodged a swipe from one of the hooks, the other one grabbed his upper arm. He let out a cry of surprise as Crane Umbra lifted him off the ground and spun one-hundred-eighty degrees, throwing him towards the others. But Sun was able to catch his hands on the ground, letting him pull off a handspring and using his tail to help spin himself around.

"Okay, he's tougher than I thought," he said as he cracked his neck, putting Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang back together in their staff form. "But I'm just getting started!"

"Sun, I really don't think you know what you're getting into!" said Blake.

Snarling, Crane Umbra moved one of his arms back. "This is what happens to those who attempt to stop us!" he shouted as he swung his arm inward. The hook on his arm shot out as the cable extended. The three Huntsmen in training ducked as the hook scraped the crate behind them, then retracted back to the monster's wrist. When they turned around to look at the crate, a giant gash had been torn across the length of it.

"Okay, your turn," said Sun as he tapped Aurum on the shoulder.

"Right! You're going down, Crane Umbra!" shouted Aurum as he ran towards the Grimm. His opponent scoffed and began to fire bright green blasts from his shoulder cannon. Aurum held out the Beetle Sheald to block the blasts, each one with the force of a cannon. He stopped running and trudged slowly forward, not giving up. But once he was in reach, the true fight began.

Aurum slashed at the shoulder cannon before Crane Umbra could fire another shot. Slicing through the Nether, he was surprised when he didn't make a dent in the cannon, though the Umbra grunted in pain. His opponent was quick to counter by bringing both hooks down, Aurum's knee feeling like it would buckle as he blocked the strike. He took the opportunity to swing his sword to the left and strike his opponent's stomach. The Umbra retaliated with a blast to the chest, knocking Aurum back. The two began to clash blades, sword and hook striking each other as they both tried to land a decent blow. Aurum landed a thrust to the chest and followed with an upward diagonal slash. But when he tried a slash from the side, his blade was caught by a hook and ripped from his grip, flying across the port and landing twenty feet away. The Stag Saber fell to the ground, clattering against the stone.

Aurum held his shield out and pushed against it with his other hand as Crane Umbra swiped at him furiously with his hooks. Aurum lowered his shield to throw a punch, but both hooks raked across his chest before it connected. The Umbra followed up with a kick that sent him stumbling back. He then shot out both hooks like grappling hooks, grabbing onto Aurum's shoulders. Reeling him in, he kicked him square in the chest.

"Aurum is getting pulverized," said Blake as she held out Gambol Shroud. The katana folded up into its gun form as she turned it around, attaching the ribbon on her left arm to it and forming a kusarigama. "Come on, we have to get in there!"

Sun looked at Aurum kicking the Umbra in the face to little effect, then sighed as he spun his staff. "Okay, round two it is!"

The two sprinted towards the Umbra, who turned his attention away from Aurum and fired a blast at the two. They jumped away from it, Blake going left and Sun going right. Blake swung Gambol Shroud at Crane Umbra, the blade slashing across its chest before she pulled it back, catching it with ease.

"So that's how you want to play?" asked Crane Umbra. He held out his hands as the cables for his hooks extended, grabbing them and swinging his hooks around. They scraped across the ground, sending flecks of stone into the air. "Fine by me!" He threw one of the hooks, the cable extending. Blake jumped it as it hooked onto a crate behind her, landing on the cable and jumping off. The Umbra ripped his hook out of the crate and fired a blast that she dodged with a clone, and she threw her sickle once more. It spun through the air towards the Umbra's head, but he tilted it to the side and dodged it. Or so he thought. Pulling on the ribbon, the sickle fired a shot that pulled it back, digging into his collar as a large chunk of Nether prevented it from ripping into his body.

While Blake was busy with Crane Umbra, Aurum had grabbed his sword and was running back to the fight. As Gambol Shroud was pulled away, he swung his sword down in the Umbra's blind spot. Crane Umbra growled and swung one of his hooks at him, only for Sun to jump over and swing his staff into the monster's back. Spinning it to build momentum, he smacked the side of the Umbra's head with it. The Umbra swung his hooks around as Sun blocked them with his staff, allowing Aurum to land a jumping kick to his back. Blake ran up and spun Gambol Shroud in a vertical circle, each revolution slashing at the Umbra.

"Enough!" shouted the Umbra as he spun around, his hooks knocking the three back. "I'll rip you all apart!" Spinning his hooks, he threw them both at Blake. Using a clone, she flipped to the side as it took the hit, returning her weapon to sword mode and sheathing it midair. As she landed, she planted her feet on the ground and grabbed one of the hooks before it could retract.

"Let go of me, you filthy traitor!" shouted the Umbra as he retracted the other hook, then extended it as he pulled it back for an attack.

But Sun was two steps ahead of him as he put his staff away and grabbed the other hook. "I don't think so, buddy!"

Crane Umbra snarled as he tried to pull the hooks back. Both lines were tight and the winches were struggling to retract them, but neither Blake nor Sun let him go. Aurum jumped over him and turned to face the Umbra, willing his shield and sword away.

"I can't hold him much longer!" said Blake as she tried to pull the hook further back. "Act quickly!"

"No problem! Victory is in my sight!" said Aurum as he pushed the lever on the Aura Driver.

VICTORY STRIKE!

Aurum jumped into the air as his foot glowed with power, ready to kick the Umbra into pieces. But Crane Umbra wasn't about to let that happen. Loosening his cables, Blake and Sun stumbled as they kept pulling, giving him just what he needed. He grabbed the cables and swung them forward, his hooks and the Huntsmen in training along for the ride. Just as Aurum started to move forward, he was sandwiched between the two as they crashed into him like a pair of cymbals. The golden energy fizzled away as the three fell in a pile, any momentum gone.

The three climbed back to their feet just as Crane Umbra pulled back his hooks. He crossed his arms in an X-shape, the hooks glowing a light blue. He uncrossed his arms and sent two curved blades of energy flying. The blades spun around and sliced through the air before they hit the three. They all screamed in pain as the slashes knocked them off their feet.

Crane Umbra breathed heavily, arms hanging at his side. He turned as he heard a slow clap, Roman walking up to him. "Bravo, bra-VO! I knew those needles would be powerful, but you're in a whole other league!" He turned to the other White Fang members, who had been watching the fight dumbfounded the entire time. "And what are you mangy morons doing? I'm not paying you to stand around! Start loading the Dust!" They were quick to get to work, though a few of them gave Roman dirty looks behind their masks. "So hard to find good help these days…"

"Time to finish these three," said Crane Umbra.

"Whoa there, Crane Umbra. Don't forget who's in charge here. And I say I want first crack at these absolute pains in my-"

"Are you really trying to order me around like some animal, human?" spat the Umbra as he scraped his hooks against each other.

"Hmm, fair enough," said Roman, hiding a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. "How about I take out the one who annoys me the most and you do whatever you want with the others?"

The Umbra didn't say anything, which Roman took as a yes. Walking up to Sun, he pointed the nozzle of Melodic Cudgel at his head. The monkey Faunus stared back at him in defiance, trying to get up. "Consider this payback for the banana peel," said Roman, finger hovering over the trigger.

"Hey!" called out another voice, getting Roman's attention. He looked over to a nearby rooftop, Ruby Rose looking over him.

~KRA~

Once Ruby noticed the smoke rising from the docks, she was quick to make her way there. Whatever was happening, there was a good chance somebody needed help! And to her surprise, Penny was able to keep a reasonable pace. Ruby considered using her Semblance, but she felt bad about the idea of leaving Penny in the dust. And once she made her way to the roof, it wasn't a pretty sight. Roman Torchwick was standing in front of Blake, Aurum, and the guy from the docks with a new Umbra, pointing his weapon at the monkey boy. White Fang members were crawling everywhere, and three Bullheads were hovering over the port. Not exactly the "everybody hugs and makes up" reunion with Blake she had imagined.

After getting Roman's attention, she grabbed Crescent Rose and unfolded it into its scythe form, piercing the roof with its tip.

Roman stepped away from the Faunus and waved at her. "Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Ruby, are these people your friends?" asked Penny as she walked up to Ruby.

"Penny, get back!" warned Ruby as she turned to face her friend. But while her back was turned, Roman fired a flare at her, sending her flying as her scythe slipped out of her hands. "AHHHHHH!"

As Ruby hit the ground, she heard Roman laughing from below like a maniac. She looked up to see Penny glaring at the thief, angrier than she thought she was even capable of being. She started walking forward to the edge of the roof.

"Penny, wait!" shouted Ruby. She held out her hand, trying to reach out to her friend. "Stop!"

"Don't worry, Ruby," said Penny. "I'm combat ready!"

Suddenly, her backpack opened up, the back of it sliding up with a mechanical hiss. A high-tech weapon floated out before it suddenly unfolded. It was a black sword with a silver edge and tip, a wave pattern to the blade with concave edges, a copper piece that looked like a sight in the middle, and a green line leading to the hilt. The hilt was circular, black with a copper rim and a green power symbol in the center. The hilt was two different shades of gray.

Ruby was taken aback by the floating sword that came out of Penny's backpack, and her surprise multiplied along with the sword. What she thought was one weapon was actually ten stacked alongside each other. Gobsmacked, she watched as Penny spread her swords out like wings and jumped off the roof. Shaking her head, she grabbed Crescent Rose and ran behind her. There was no way she was gonna sit out of this!

~KRA~

As Penny jumped off the roof, she held out a hand like a commander ordering her troops. Three of the swords shot forward, stabbing two White Fang members. Their Aura protected them from being skewered, but the impact alone knocked them unconscious. As she landed, she pulled the swords back to her as more henchmen rushed her. She waved her hand to the right and slashed at one of the goons, taking him out of the fight. A swing to the left sent her swords forward as they pinned the other to one of the Dust crates.

Three more White Fang members rushed at her as she retracted her swords. Turning her body to the side, the ten swords arranged themselves into a circle and spun around in a razor-sharp pinwheel, knocking the front two back. Penny jumped into the air above the third one and brought her blades down, smashing him into the ground. Noticing a much larger group of soldiers coming her way, she launched the wheel at them and swept them all off their feet in a single blow.

"Whoa!" said Sun in disbelief. Getting up, he grabbed Blake's arm and pulled her to safety. Aurum shakily got up, but he made no move to follow them.

"You dare interfere?!" asked Crane Umbra as he aimed his cannon at Penny, only for a slash from Crescent Rose to throw off his aim and have him fire a shot into the ocean. He turned back to see Ruby glaring at him.

"We dare," she said.

"Careful, he's a lot stronger than any Umbra I've faced!" said Aurum as he walked up beside her, Stag Saber and Beetle Sheald deployed.

Crane Umbra snarled as he extended both hooks, spinning them around and swinging them forward. Aurum and Ruby blocked the strikes as he kept swinging, using his hooks like twin kusarigama.

"Well, you seem to have the situation well under control, so I'll be over there where I won't get killed," said Roman as he backed away from the fight, requesting aerial support immediately.

As the order came in, the circling Bullheads flew over the docks and opened fire on Penny, machine guns screaming as lines of lead tore through the air. But Penny simply spun her blades around to form a makeshift shield, deflecting the bullets. Her backpack slid open again as two more swords shot out, impaling the wall of the warehouse behind her. It was then that nearly invisible strings in the hilts, strings that let Penny control her swords and made them appear to float, started to retract, pulling Penny back.

Upon landing, she held her hands out as the wheel of swords changed arrangements. They were still forming a circle, but the tips were pointing forward rather than outward. Each blade folded up, the tip retracting and the front half folding up and sliding back while the hilts were tilted, each sword now resembling a gun. The guns started to spin, a high-pitched charging sound filling the air as a green glow filled the cylinder and Penny pulled her hands back. Thrusting her hands forward, a giant green laser was launched forward, splitting apart as the recoil cracked the pavement beneath her.

Two of the Bullheads were sliced clean in half by the lasers, their pilots jumping to safety as the wrecks fell over the warehouse and into the sea. Ruby looked behind her in shock, only for a swipe from Crane Umbra's hook to knock her back.

Ruby shook her head as she recovered, watching as Aurum struggled to parry a barrage of hooks. Looking back at Penny, she watched as she launched several of her swords into the last flying Bullhead, which was carrying a crate of Dust underneath it. She backed up and seemed to be dragging the vehicle down. "Whoa… how is she doing that?"

Turning back to the Crane Umbra, she folded Crescent Rose up into its rifle form and fired a few rounds at the Grimm. Each shot made it stumble back a bit, giving Aurum a window of recovery.

The Kamen Rider was quick to take it, slashing at the Umbra twice in quick succession before he jumped into the air for a more powerful downward slash. But to his surprise, Crane Umbra shot one of his hooks to the side. The surprise turned to horror as a White Fang member came into view, taking the full force of the swing.

Aurum took a step back as he heard the White Fang acolyte scream, his Aura flaring up and fading away. "B-Brother, why?" he asked the monster, his former companion, that just used him as a meat shield.

"Consider yourself a sacrifice to the cause," said Crane Umbra as the acolyte passed out, throwing his unconscious body to the side. Aurum just watched the scene while petrified, leaving himself open to a blast from the Umbra's cannon which sent him flying.

As this was going on, Roman was muttering profanities under his breath as he ran to the grounded Bullhead, the White Fang members that were still conscious loading smaller crates of Dust on board. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the pilot of the airborne ship jump out as it was pulled over to a shack of crates. The crash caused the Dust inside to activate, an explosion blowing the wreck sky high.

"These kids just keep getting WEIRDER," he said as the last of the grunts climbed aboard. He turned his attention to Crane Umbra. "Crane Umbra, kill them all!"

"I don't take orders from filthy humans, but I'll make an exception," said Crane Umbra as Roman closed the door, the ship taking off with their paltry haul.

"Do you require assistance with your current battle?" Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to Penny, her cheerful smile contrasting heavily with the floating swords behind her.

"Yeah, but we'll have to get to cover first!" She looked around and saw Blake's foot peeking out from behind a stack of crates. "Follow me!" Right before a flying hook could grab her, she sped over to Aurum in a burst of petals and pulled him over to the crate. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Penny turn her swords back into guns and fire them behind her, using the recoil from the energy blasts to rocket forward. Once they were all behind cover, she leaned against the crate next to Blake.

"Blake! You're okay!" she said.

"That's up for debate," said Blake. "Now what do we do about that Umbra?"

"Umbra?" asked Penny. "Is that the Grimm you were fighting, Ruby?"

"Can't Aurum blow him up?" asked Ruby, giving Penny a brief nod.

"Easier said than done," said Sun. "The three of us got taken out like yesterday's trash, even when we hit him all at once!"

"I'm guessing that turning a White Fang guy into an Umbra made him way stronger," said Aurum as he willed his weapons away.

"Wait, run that back! That thing was a person?!" asked Ruby.

"Which is why we should find out how to restore him," said Blake.

"About that… I think it's too late," said Aurum. When he noticed all eyes on him, he started to explain quickly, considering that Crane Umbra was no doubt getting closer. "I don't know much about the White Fang, but I don't think they're callous enough to use each other as human- er, Faunus shields. Whatever humanity he had in him died when he became that monster."

Blake turned her head, Ruby watching as she wiped away a stray tear. "Then we don't have much choice. As much as it pains me, we have to destroy him before he destroys the city."

"I bet the five of us can take him down!" said Ruby. "You up for this, Penny?"

"Most definitely!" said Penny with a salute.

Just as she did this, the group heard the sound of holes being punched into metal. "Move, move!" said Blake as she jumped to her feet, the others running away from the crate. They turned around to see it get pulled to the side by Crane Umbra, who threw it to the side with a loud crash and retracted his hooks.

"Traitors and humans alike!" shouted Crane Umbra as he held out his hooks. "The moment you crossed the Fang, your lives became forfeit!"

"We only have one chance to take this guy out," said Aurum as he pulled out the Rhino Beetle Medal, flipping it into the air. "Let's make it count!" Catching it with his right hand, he pulled out the Stag Beetle Medal and put the other medal in his Driver.

RHINO BEETLE!

The trumpet fanfare blared from the Aura Driver as Aurum grabbed the lever. As he tightened his grip, he glared at his opponent from behind his mask. He didn't feel good about this. What stood before him was a person just a few minutes ago, but now was a monster with no remorse or compassion, and no way of turning back. This had to be done, no matter how much he and his friends hated that idea. He only wished he had Ironwood's Semblance to help him through this. "Henshin!"

ARMOR UP! RHINO BEETLE! GLEAMING GOLD!

With a pull of the lever, the golden rhino beetle appeared and split apart, white and gold armor replaced with red and gold in a flash. Aurum, decked out in his Rhino Form, materialized the KabuTrigger in both hands.

With a mighty roar, Crane Umbra crossed his arms. The hooks started glowing again as he swung his arms out, blades of energy spinning through the air. But everybody was prepared for that attack this time, even the two who arrived after. The five jumped over the blades as they hit the ground, a small explosion behind them as they hit the ground and charged forward.

As soon as he landed, Aurum started blasting the Umbra. The Umbra grunted as the energy bullets struck his body past the Nether, swinging his hooks around to deflect the shots. Ruby and Blake took the opportunity to get in close, Ruby unfolding Crescent Rose into its scythe mode and Blake using the sheathed Gambol Shroud as a single sword. The two swung with all their might, a frenzy of fast slashes inching their opponent back as he attempted to block each hit with his hooks. But despite Crane Umbra's efforts, he felt multiple hits land and winced in pain.

"Get back!" shouted Crane Umbra. Even if they didn't physically hurt him, the constant pain and annoyance was driving him mad. Extending his hooks, he spun them around before swinging them down in an overhand spin. Ruby and Blake sidestepped the attack, the hooks only hitting the ground and embedding themselves in the stone. The Huntresses took the opportunity to dash past Crane Umbra and slash at his legs, making him cry out.

As he ripped the hooks out of the ground, Crane Umbra spun around and lashed out one of his hooks, the girls dodging with their Semblances. Spotting an opening, Sun leapt into the fray and smacked the Grimm upside the head with his staff. Crane Umbra spun around and slashed at Sun, but he blocked the attack with his staff and landed a kick to the Umbra's side. He spun Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang like a flag in a parade as he countered every hit. When the Umbra swung down both arms to try and force his weapon down, he simply split it into its nunchucks form and let the hooks miss his abs by a hair. He struck the Umbra twice with his gun-chucks, then landed a double-barrel shot to the chest at point blank.

Crane Umbra snarled as he stumbled back a bit, launching one of his hooks towards the container he threw. Ripping a hole in it, he pulled out a crate of Dust about one cubic yard in volume, pulling it towards the monkey Faunus. Sun activated his Aura a split second before the box slammed into him and knocked him off his feet. He landed a good distance away, landing on his tail and balancing on it.

Crane Umbra felt several small hits against his left, turning to see Penny. She had converted three of the swords of her weapon, Floating Array, into blasters and was peppering her opponent with precise shots to the cannon. And Crane Umbra wasn't having any of this. Moving his right arm back, the Dust box still stuck on his hook, he swung his arm like he was pitching a baseball. The cable in his arm extended as the box arched over him. Penny quickly fired two of her blades into another crate and used the strings to drag herself away. Looking where she stood, the crate that was evidently filled with Fire Dust smashed into the ground like a hammer, bursting open with a towering pillar of fire rising from the wreckage.

As Crane Umbra retracted his hook, Penny turned all of Floating Array's swords into guns and propelled herself forward, rocketing towards her opponent at a breakneck speed. He fired a blast at her, but she maneuvered half her blasters below her for a quick altitude increase and dodged the shot. Once she was above Crane Umbra, she converted Floating Array back into swords and positioned five of its blades in front of her, creating a claw of sorts. She let gravity take over as she fell to the ground, landing on both feet with a heavy thud while bringing down her claw and raking the blades against Crane Umbra. The tips of the swords scraped against the ground as she recalled them, leaving thin marks in the concrete.

Crane Umbra rushed towards Penny and swung one of his hooks at her, but she caught the attack by trapping it between two swords positioned like a pair of scissors. She held out a hand as four more flew over and stabbed the Umbra in the gut. Recalling her swords, she formed two makeshift "wings" with six blades each, slashing at the Umbra with each. As she went for a third attack, he held out one of his arms and fired a hook, the back of it striking Penny in the face. Staggering from the makeshift punch, she left herself open for a swipe from the other hook, one that scraped against her chest from the shoulder down. She blocked another swipe with four of her blades, but Crane Umbra pushed against them with his whole body weight, causing her to lose footing. She used the other eight, pushing him back a bit, but she saw the cannon charging.

Seeing the dead heat between the two, Aurum jumped into action and kicked Crane Umbra in the right side of the head, inching his cannon enough to whiff past Penny and blow a crater in front of the warehouse. Penny used the opportunity to shoot herself back, Crane Umbra swinging his hooks at nothing. He turned around just in time for the muzzle of the KabuTrigger to be thrusted into his face, the strike followed by a trio of rapid shots. Aurum followed by swinging his gun to hit the right shoulder, but he was blocked by the Umbra's arm. He grunted as Crane Umbra kicked him in the ribs, but he stayed firm as he retaliated with a punch. He quickly ducked under a swipe from a hook and shot the Umbra in the chest.

Having recovered, Penny got back into the fight as she swung three of her blades at Crane Umbra's side. The Umbra snarled as he turned to her and punched her, but the hit whiffed as she jumped to the side. This let Aurum land a kick on Crane Umbra's leg, causing it to buckle and leave him open for a barrage of energy shots. Crane Umbra got back up and swung his hook, but only managed to graze Aurum's shoulder. A sniper round striking the back of his head caused the Grimm to whip around, Ruby running towards him and firing shots from her rifle. Holding back Aurum and Penny with his hooks, the Umbra fired a shot from his cannon. But Ruby just pointed Crescent Rose at the ground and blasted herself into the air, evading the blast as she switched Crescent Rose back into its scythe mode. She let out a battle cry as she hefted the scythe over her, the recoil of another shot propelling her down and letting her slice at the Umbra.

"We need to get in there," said Blake as she turned to Sun. "Can you give us an opening?"

"No problemo!" said Sun as he clasped his hands together, both index fingers sticking up. His body started to glow with a bright yellow aura as he activated his Semblance. Two figures emerged from his body. They looked like two clones of Sun, albeit made out of his Aura and without any face to speak of. One was unarmed, and the other had a copy of his staff.

The clones sprinted towards the brawl, Crane Umbra noticing them as he parried a hit from Aurum. Spinning around, he extended his cables and swung the hooks as the clones jumped into the air. He hit them both at the same time, the razor-sharp tips impaling them.

But that was exactly what Sun was counting on. The moment the hits connected, the clones exploded in a burst of light. Crane Umbra gasped as he stepped back, hands over his eyes as he stumbled around blind. When he moved his hands, he saw the tip of Sun's staff coming at him, smacking him in the face. The monkey Faunus gave the advanced Umbra an audacious grin before swinging his staff into his neck, then his waist.

Crane Umbra lifted both hands over his head and swung his hooks down, but Blake got between the two and blocked the blades with Gambol Shroud. Feeling the Umbra pushing down on her with immense strength, she fired a couple shots from the hilt, each to no effect. Quickly, she drew the katana from the sheath and slashed at the Umbra's stomach, giving her a small opening to pull away and strike him with the sheath.

With all five Huntsmen in training surrounding Crane Umbra, they gave him everything they had. The monster snarled as he moved as fast as he could. Each time he blocked one attack, two more hit him in his blind spots. Fed up with their onslaught, he spied a container not far from where he was. Holding out an arm, he fired one of his hooks and managed to grab the edge of it. He quickly started pulling back the cable, but rather than using the winch to move the container closer, he jumped up and grappled towards it. The five struck the ground he stood on at the same time, turning with confusion to see him climb on top of the cargo.

Crane Umbra turned around and snarled, on his hands and knees as he gripped the edge of the metal crate enough for his fingers to dent it. "Bring as many of you as you'd like! Even an army can't halt total human subjugation! Now bow!" He started firing a barrage of blasts from his cannon. The Huntsmen dashed around the docks as they dodged the shots, each blast leaving a smoking crater in the ground.

"We seem to be at a disadvantage!" said Penny, deflecting a blast with a windmill of blades. "What should we do?"

"We need a plan, and fast," said Blake as she returned fire with Gambol Shroud until the cartridge ran empty.

Aurum and Ruby looked at each other, nodding as they both thought of the same idea. "Ruby and I are best with long-range, so we'll stay here and give support," said Aurum, holding up his KabuTrigger for emphasis and blasting at Crane Umbra.

"You guys get in there and show him who's boss!" said Ruby with a thumbs-up.

"Right," said Blake. She quickly reloaded her gun and attached the ribbon. "Just leave it to us!" She bolted towards Crane Umbra, bobbing and weaving through each blast with superhuman agility. Only one blast came even close to hitting her, and a clone courtesy of Shadow let her escape unscathed. Jumping above one last blast, she threw her kusarigama and snagged onto the edge. She jumped up and summoned a clone behind her, giving her a boost in height. She landed gracefully, pulling her weapon back to her hand and firing a few shots at Crane Umbra.

While Blake distracted their opponent, Sun and Penny sprinted over. Penny used Floating Array to leap over the crate and swing three of her blades at the Umbra, just barely missing and leaving a slash mark on the top. Sun jumped off the side of another crate and flipped onto the container, sweeping at the legs of the Umbra. He failed to knock him over, but he did get his attention as he found himself ducking under a literal left hook.

Crane Umbra grunted as he felt something slash his back, turning around to see Blake return Gambol Shroud to her hand and shift it into its katana form. The Umbra fired one of his hooks. Blake dodged the hit as it pierced the crate, ripping a gash in it as it was pulled back. Blake and Penny ran in with a barrage of sword swings, half being blocked and the other half cutting against the torso of the Umbra. But when they tried to hit him at the same time, he caught their blades with his hooks and pushed them to the side, letting him kick the two back.

Sun quickly summoned a clone that jumped over to kick the Umbra, only for him to catch it and throw it into the air. The Umbra fired a shot from his cannon, obliterating the clone before it could get close enough to cause any damage. But that just left him open for Sun to run in and hit him with his staff.

"Gotcha!" said Sun.

"Annoying piece of-!" snapped Crane Umbra as he grabbed Sun and threw him once again. But this time, Sun's horizontal body slammed into the girls and bowled them over, the three collapsing into a pile on the edge of the crate. "DIE!" Crane Umbra crossed his hooks once again, the edges glowing with indescribable power. One direct hit was all it would take.

But the Umbra's strongest attack was interrupted by an energy bullet to the temple. The energy vanished as he turned back to the docks, blocking a sniper round with his left hook. Crane Umbra was caught off guard by the crackling sound until he looked at the hook, a fine layer of frost covering it. He turned back to see Aurum and Ruby pointing their guns at him, the clip of Crescent Rose now sporting a black snowflake.

The two kept firing, every shot a direct hit. Crane Umbra finally retaliated by throwing one of his hooks between the two. Aurum jumped to the monster's right, and Ruby to his left. She also fired a few rounds of Ice Dust on the hook after it pierced the ground, trapping it. Using her Semblance, she sped around to the right side of the container while Crane Umbra ripped his hook free. Using the recoil of Crescent Rose, she blasted herself into the air, then shifted it into scythe mode and launched herself towards the Umbra with another shot.

Crane Umbra screamed in pain as the blade scraped against him. While he was still recoiling from Ruby's blow, a recovered Sun jumped over with his spinning staff and hammered him upside the head. Blake moved between the two, positioning her blades into a X-shape and slashing at the Umbra. The monster snarled as he looked back at them, only for the three to move aside. Now Penny was before him, six of her blades turned into guns and spinning. A powerful green blast of energy crashed into Crane Umbra with unimaginable power, the sound of the laser matched only by the Umbra's shriek. He was blasted off the container and into the side of another by the dock's edge, denting it and landing on the ground.

Crane Umbra got up shakily. His entire body felt sore from the battle, but he refused to stand down. Not until everybody on the docks that stood in the way of the Fang was exterminated. Human subjugation wasn't good enough. Extinction was a more suitable fate!

A blast to his hip caused the Umbra to turn to Aurum. The Kamen Rider was running up to Crane Umbra, shooting him as he ran up. Each bullet hit dead-on, the gap becoming smaller and smaller. Crane Umbra reared both arms back and swung his hooks out, Aurum leaping over them as they only hit each other.

"Victory… is in my sight!" shouted Aurum midair, pulling the lever on his Driver.

VICTORY STRIKE!

A large image of the Rhino Beetle Medal appeared behind Aurum as he dematerialized the KabuTrigger, getting into his finisher position. Golden energy coated his foot as he shot forward like a rocket, locked onto Crane Umbra. His flying kick struck true and sent the Umbra into the air, body overloading with power as he fell into the sea. He exploded under the surface, sending seawater flying into the air and raining down on the dock. After a long, grueling fight, the Umbra was finally defeated.

"What a spectacular finale to a well-fought battle!" congratulated Penny. She jumped off the crate and positioned Floating Array into a makeshift staircase. "Oh, allow me to assist you down, Ruby and friends of Ruby!" Ruby took the offer and the stairs, while Blake and Sun just hopped down.

"That was awesome, Aurum!" said Ruby, speeding over to Aurum with her Semblance. "We kicked his butt!"

"Yeah…" said Aurum. His voice was strained as he was breathing heavily. "We sure… showed…" Before he could finish his sentence, a flash of light turned Aurum back to Jaune. The Aura Driver fell to the ground, Rhino Beetle Medal popping out and rolling over to Ruby's foot before falling over. Jaune followed suit, back hitting the ground as he passed out.

"Aurum? Aurum!" said Ruby, picking up his gear and speeding over to his side. Penny, Blake, and Sun ran up to the unconscious Jaune.

"What happened to Aurum?" asked Sun.

Penny bent over and felt his pulse. "Vital signs are slow, but stable. Exhaustion, perhaps?"

"Jaune!"

The four turned to see Jaune's teammates running over to them. Pyrrha was quick to move to his side, Ren and Nora standing with the others. "What happened?"

"He just used that kick of his, blew up the Umbra, and passed out!" said Ruby.

Pyrrha's mind immediately went to something that Jaune told the team earlier. "He must've used two finishers."

"He did attempt one earlier," said Blake.

"Wait, Aurum's name is Jaune?" asked Sun, Pyrrha blushing as she realized she just blurted out his identity.

"More importantly, we missed THE WHOLE FIGHT?!" said Nora as she gestured to the holes in the dock, wrecked containers, and unconscious White Fang members. "What a disappointment!" She kicked the ground and crossed her arms with a little huff.

With a small sigh, Ren pulled out his Scroll. Two things were to be done. One, let Weiss and Yang know that Blake had been found. Two, call the police. Somebody needed to take care of all these White Fang guys.

~KRA~

A short while later, police cars were surrounding the entrance to the docks. The White Fang members were being hauled away to custody and questioning, while the detectives asked for information from the others. Fortunately, being Huntsmen in training had its perks, namely minimal legal repercussions for getting involved with the situation. Though some of the damages were another story entirely, namely the Bullhead that had been dragged down.

Jaune had woken up since then, but he was still exhausted as he sat down on the street. His teammates and Penny were nearby, while Ruby, Blake, and Sun weren't too far away. Yang and Weiss still hadn't shown up, and Blake had put her bow back on before the authorities arrived.

"How are you feeling?" asked Pyrrha as she held out her hand.

"Still a little out of it," said Jaune as he let her pull him to his feet. "This isn't the first time this happened, you know. I just have to be more careful." He sighed as he lay down, hands under his head as a support. "I'm more worried about what happened to that White Fang guy."

"I'll say," said Ren. "People being turned into Grimm… it's a terrifying concept."

"Well, now he's gone," said Jaune. "But I still wish I could've done something. Even if I can't turn them back, maybe stop it from happening."

"Don't beat yourself up!" said Nora. "It's that jerk Torchwick's fault for making him all Umbra-y! Umbra-y, is that a word? Well, now it is!"

"Glad you're taking this well," said Jaune with a small smile.

"Just remember that you can always count on us," said Pyrrha. "Whether for a battle or simply talking things out."

"Thanks, guys," said Jaune.

"How sensational! It's wonderful to see such good friends getting along!"

The group turned to Penny, who had joined the group and was crouching down right in front of Jaune. "Oh, yeah," said Jaune. "I need to ask you for a favor. The whole Aurum thing… can you please keep this a secret?"

"Absolutely!" said Penny.

"Awesome. You're a good friend."

"Oh! Are we friends now?!" Penny leaned in until her nose was almost brushing against Jaune. He had to lean his head back to nod. "Oh, stupendous! Two friends in only three days! I'm making phenomenal progress!"

"Hey, we're your friends too, in that case!" said Nora.

"Sen-SATIONAL! We should celebrate! But first, a question for my friend Jaune. That belt of yours is unlike anything I've ever seen, and yet familiar. Who designed it?"

"Uh, one of Atlas' top scientists," said Jaune. "Dr. Pollen, or something along those lines."

"Dr. Polendina? Pietro Polendina?!" asked Penny as she grabbed Jaune's shoulders and started shaking him. She had a surprisingly strong grip.

"Y-Y-Yeah," said Jaune, hitting the ground as Penny released him. She put her hands on her face and gasped excitedly. "Do you know him?"

"Know him? Of course I know my own father!"

"What?!" asked Jaune. "I didn't even know he had a daughter!"

"Well, now you do!" said Penny with a little spin. "Penny Polendina, pleased to make your acquaintance!"

Everyone was silent for a moment. "Today is just full of surprises, huh?" said Nora with a smile.

While JNPR and Penny continued their chat, Yang and Weiss finally arrived on the scene. As soon as Ruby laid eyes on the latter, her heart started racing. "Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing," she said quickly. The ideal scenario was to defuse the situation before one of them attacked the other. The docks had enough punishment for one night. "See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kinda cute-"

Weiss just ignored her, looking right at Blake. The two stared at each other for a moment. If Blake was worried, she didn't show it. "Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"

"Stop!" said Weiss, cutting her off. "Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you?" She paused for effect. "Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided…" She paused again. Her teammates and Sun looked on, worried about what she would say next. It could either mend their friendship, or obliterate it. "I don't care."

Blake's eyes widened. "You don't care?" she repeated.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?" asked Weiss.

"No," said Blake, "I-I haven't been since I was younger-"

"Ap-bup-bup-bup!" said Weiss, shushing her with a raised hand. "I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up, you'll come to your teammates. And not some… someone else." She looked at Sun when she said this.

Blake looked at her other teammates, then back to Weiss. She wiped a tear away and nodded with a smile. "Of course." Weiss returned a smile and nodded back at her. With that, all was forgiven.

"Yeah!" cheered Ruby as she threw her hands into the air. "Team RWBY is back together!"

Weiss then turned to Sun, pointing at him and giving him a sour look. "I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you!" she said.

Sun just laughed at the accusation. "Fair enough. But man, meeting a superhero! The guys aren't gonna believe this!"

"Whoa there, monkey man," said Yang with crossed arms. "How much are you gonna tell them?"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sun.

"It's just that Jaune is trying to keep his identity a secret," said Ruby.

"To varying degrees of success," said Weiss bluntly, earning a nudge from Yang.

"Come on, my team is trustworthy!" said Sun. "They can keep a secret! Well, probably, anyway…"

"Please, for a friend," said Blake.

Sun sighed. "Okay, okay. I won't say a thing."

"Hey! You're the stowaway from the other day!" RWBY and Sun looked to see two very familiar detectives, still wearing their sunglasses in the dead of night.

"Oh shoot, look at the time!" said Sun as he looked down at a nonexistent watch. "I've gotta get going! Catch you later!" He gave Blake a wink before he ran off.

"Well, that was a thing," said Yang.

"Hey, wait a minute," said Ruby as she looked around. She saw her teammates and JNPR, but somebody was missing. "Where's Penny?"

"She left a minute ago," said Jaune as he and his team walked up. "Not sure why."

"Weird…"

Unbeknownst to them, Penny was watching her new friends from the back seat of a limo, looking at them longingly.

"You should know better than to go running around in a strange city," said the driver, looking at Penny in the rear-view mirror.

Penny could only bow her head in shame. "I know, sir," she said. She was so caught up in the wonderful new sights and faces that she couldn't help herself, even showing off her capabilities earlier than expected. Though she'd be lying if she said she didn't have the best night of her life.

"Penny, your time will come," said the driver as he hit the gas, the two driving away to parts unknown.

~KRA~

In his office, Ozpin was watching a live feed of RWBY and JNPR. He was relieved to know that they were all okay, but the attack was unexpected for sure. The White Fang working with a human crime boss, a new type of Umbra… it all had to be connected. And one other thing was on his mind as he closed the feed on his Scroll. Pulling up an old message from his longtime ally Qrow Branwen, he once again read it: "QUEEN HAS PAWNS."

"Hmm…" hummed Ozpin. A silent war had been raging, and now it was no longer a cold one. The enemy was getting bolder, unveiling new forces and gathering supplies. For now, all that he could do was wait until he knew what they were planning. Hopefully it wouldn't be too late to stop it by then.

~KRA~

Damnit. Damn those kids, damn the White Fang, and damn that woman! Damn everything!

Roman was fuming as he walked into his warehouse, carrying a container of Dust. It was a small piece of their small bounty. He let out a tired sigh of frustration as he set it on the table.

Everything was supposed to go off without a hitch. They'd show up, snag everything that wasn't nailed down, and take off before anybody even knew they were there. But no, nothing could ever be easy, could it? The ninja girl and monkey boy were annoying enough, but then Golden Boy and Red showed up along with a girl of mass destruction and blew up his ships! And though he was certainly impressed with the power of that Umbra, the fact that the city was quiet meant that they must've destroyed it. Freaking wonderful! And no doubt that witch was gonna have his head now!

"How very disappointing, Roman."

Speak of the devil. Roman felt his skin crawl as he turned around to see Cinder and her goons right behind him. Oh yeah, there was one other reason why he followed her orders. She scared him senseless.

"Whoa!" he said as he chuckled nervously. "I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon…"

"We were expecting… more from you," said Cinder.

"Hey!" said Roman. "You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang."

Cinder chuckled. "And you will continue to do so," she said as she spawned a fireball in her hand. "We have BIG plans for you, Roman. All we ask is… a little cooperation."

"Of course," he said. "I do have some good news for you. That needle worked like a charm! If it wasn't for the cavalry showing up, Crane Umbra would've disemboweled that golden thorn in your side."

"Excellent," said Cinder. "Let them have their glimmer of hope while they can… because it will be snuffed out soon enough." She chuckled as she closed her hand, the fire dying out and the warehouse going dark.

---

Hoo boy, this was a long time coming! But now Volume 1 is finished! The next few chapters won't be following any episodes of RWBY, just some breathing room to give other characters the spotlight. But don't skip them, since I have something very special coming up soon! Now for guest... review.

Guest: Glad you like the new form! It's a simple one, but still unique. Kinda like Kuuga and Agito in that regard.

Next time, we'll be following the one member of the main eight who I haven't had in a badass fight scene! Starpion out!