Spark to Spark, Dust to Dust (RWBY/Hasbro)

[Faraway-R]

Debated for a bit whether or not I should tell you readers what exactly was Adam's thought process was during that bit where he tells the Autobots to leave, but I figured that's something that can be left till later within the story itself.

Click to shrink...

So. I've looked at the chapter for a bit - and now I think I can give a decent guess as to Adam's thought process. I think, Cinder's reaction is telling, here:

There was a series of strange mechanical sounds, and various exclamations of surprise from her minions.

"What on Remnant?" cursed Mercury Black.

"Cinder!" called out Emerald Sustrai.

She glanced to the side, and with great effort that never showed, contained her surprise. The tractor-trailer was gone, and in its place stood a robot of the same red, white, and blue color that towered above them all. From him emanated an old and deep power, grander than almost anything she'd felt before. In fact, Cinder had only sensed something similar in one other person before, and she had no other equal on Remnant save one… until now, it seemed.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, notice how Cinder makes note that Optimus Prime emanates an old and deep power, with but one peer Cinder ever met. No cookies for an obvious guess, that one person should be Salem.

And Adam never met Salem. So, he judges Optimus Prime and Autobots as beings who have no peers save for Decepticons. Here are his thoughts:

He pushed it aside and thought about how Cinder and her allies would sweep away all resistance. They could do it too… for a time, but the Autobots would be back. Adam may never see it, but they would always be back. For ten million years, they had fought, and they would fight for ten million more if necessary. No creature on Remnant could match that sort of persistence.

It was foolish to resist the Autobots then, so what would allying with them ultimately turn out like? Adam's thoughts bent towards this question. To his surprise, the answer came quite easily.

The Autobots would sweep aside all opposition, whether it took twenty minutes or twenty million years, and so, Adam would stand without foe as he stood by their side. Without foe... and without a way to enact retribution on the human filth. The Autobots wouldn't let him, and by that time, Optimus would have revealed himself and negotiated lasting peace between humanity and faunuskind, somehow.

Click to shrink...

And THIS is key - it doesn't matter how long it takes, The Autobots would sweep aside all opposition. There WILL be peace between humanity and faunuskind, Optimus Prime WILL see to it. Though they weren't mentioned, it's also an easy leap to assume that the Creatures of Grimm will be wiped out by Autobots, too.

The conclusion is all but foregone. Well, there's also a chance of Decepticons wiping out Remnant in a crossfire of their war, but that also kills everyone equally.

Time to figure out what he valued more: his fury… or his freedom.

Click to shrink...

And so, with the eventual peace between humanity and faunuskind inevitable no matter what actions Adam takes and what choices Adam makes...

Adam decided his people, faunuskind, will lose nothing, should he throw himself wholeheartedly into finding "a way to enact retribution on the human filth".


Or at least, that's how I can look at it. He's logically figured out that his societal endgame is secured, and so he can indulge in his emotions and desires.

Adam: "Cinder Fall, the Schnees, and all others - they had no clue that my ultimate goal was already secured. My death, my actions - nothing would change the end result. Finally, my long-held yearning could be fulfilled unreservedly."

 

[RoboRenee]

I figure Yang's resolution to do no more Autobot missions will last until about the next time Bee gets in over his head. Hopefully that happens before she figures out what little sis has been up to though, it'd be a shame to only have one encounter between Ruby and the mysterious masked Sunfire.

 

[openbookworm]

This fic could use a lot more attention. I love the way you mx up epic fight scenses with character interaction and development. It's always nice to see when fanfic authors do something more with the characters they borrow, rather than leaving them as two-dimensional reflections.
The miscommunication between Yang and the other members of RWBY is starting to feel a bit played out, but I get the feeling you're building up to something big with the upcoming revelation. Hopefully the reveal will produce more catharsis than against. Either way, I'll try to be as patient as I can until you get to the climactic moment.

 

[Cyclone]

"Summer… Summer... Summer!"

"Hmmwha?" The Huntress blinked blearily and squinted at the figure standing over her bed. That mass of black hair was unmistakable. "Raven? Wha'ss goin' on?"

"Wake up, Huntress. We've got a world to save," Raven replied with the seriousness of the grave.

​

We have just posted Act I of A Stark Divide, a RWBY tragedy in three parts. While technically a prequel to Spark to Spark, Dust to Dust, it is also intended to be canon-compliant and a standalone 'fic on its own.

 

[Cyclone]

Twigs and leaves crunched underfoot as the young woman ran through the forest, the hooded cloak she wore trailing behind her. She gasped for breath as she struggled to maintain speed. The Grimm were close, she could almost feel them gaining on her. The weapon she clutched in her sweaty hands, long and unwieldy for most but one she normally gripped with a familiar ease, felt unnaturally heavy tonight. She should turn and fight. She should face them down. She should… she should...

...but she so very much did not want to die.

She burst out into a clearing, one miraculously devoid of Grimm. Hope gave her a surge of energy, and she began pumping her legs even faster. As she did, though, her footing betrayed her, and she stumbled to her hands and knees.

Gasping desperately, she took a moment to recover, then rolled over to a sitting position. She brought her weapon up shakily.

So. This was it, then. This was how she died.

​

A Stark Divide has concluded with Act III: Red Like Roses. As a reminder, A Stark Divide, while written to be fully canon-compliant, is still a prequel to Spark to Spark, Dust to Dust.

 

[Cyclone]

(V1E13: Shatterpoint | Interlude 1-1: The Road to Vacuo | Interlude 2-2: Patchwork)




Interlude 1-1: The Road to Vacuo

* * *​

"~On the road again! I just can't wait to get on the road again!~"

"Uh, Mister Hound, I think we left the road a mile back," pointed out Spike Witwicky from the passenger seat of the Autobot's green VAMP alt-mode. Dressed in a desert cloak and work clothes, he would occasionally reach up his hand to make sure he was still wearing his hard hat.

The VAMP -- short for Vehicle: Attack/Multi-Purpose -- was an Atlesian four-wheeled light ground car that had only entered the marketplace within the last few years. Still, despite its short service life, its presence in several major motion pictures had led to its adoption by many village militias across Remnant, with several variants being manufactured for the civilian market as well. Hound had made his alt-mode based off some of the Home Guard vehicles around Vale, but the laser cannon on his back was definitely something that was vanishingly rare outside Atlas.

"Don't worry, Spike," said Hound as he cleared another sand dune. "I drove these roads before."

"Yeah, once, but I've been down them dozens of times; that's why I'm your guide, after all," pointed out Spike.

"Eh, maybe you're right," admitted Hound as he rolled to a stop atop a tall sand dune.

Spike got out, and Hound transformed into his bot mode as the pair began to look around.

"I swear, every sand dune here is moving around more than a scraplet on a hot tin roof," Hound commented as he looked out across the shifting sands. "Do you have any idea how hard it makes mapping this place? There's even enough metals in the sand to screw with my internal compass."

"It's not so bad, once you learn the tempo and learn how to navigate by the stars," was Spike's reply.

Hound looked up at the cloudless and starless daytime sky. "Well, maybe that'll be useful if we wait long enough."

"You never know, Hound. The desert's always changing," said Spike as he looked down the embankment. "Why, when we rolled up, we didn't see a darn thing, but now there's a big green rock at the bottom of the dune."

Hound looked down, and his optics caught sight of the shiny green stone. They widened ever so slightly. "That's no stone; it's glass."

"'Glass'?" echoed Spike as he slid down the dune to get a better look at it.

The green Autobot slid down after him, and together, the two had quickly uncovered the object. It was pale green and smoothed down by the sands, but still identifiable. Well, mostly identifiable.

"I stand corrected," said Hound. "This isn't just glass; it's a lump of trinitite. Looks to be a few hundred pounds."

"What's 'trinitite'?" Spike asked.

"A form of glass," Hound explained. "But trinitite is formed as a side effect of high-energy weapons, like atomics or blasters."

Spike's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you think it could be the Decepticons?"

"If I didn't, I think I'd need my processors checked," joked Hound before transforming back into his alt-mode. "Come on, make sure that thing is secured on the back, and let's hightail it back to the Ark. They're going to want to see this."

* * *​

"Well, what do you know," commented Beachcomber some time later as he stood in his makeshift lab/cargo bay and examined the pale green lump in a microscope with several bots about. "You were right, Hound. This was definitely made by a high heat weapon. A very high heat weapon."

"So does that mean the Decepticons are in Vacuo?" asked Spike worriedly.

"We already guessed at that from the information taken by Sunfire from the SDC's Vale Headquarters," remarked Optimus Prime. "Still, much of our information is on the locations of Decepticon facilities in northern Sanus. Perhaps a scouting mission is in order?"


"Should I recall the Aerialbots?" asked Ironhide.

Optimus shook his head. "No, Ironhide, I think a ground mission would be best here. I've already got a team in mind for this."

"Who do you have in mind, sir?" inquired Prowl.

"You, for starters," said the Autobot leader with a focused look at the security bot. "Prowl, I want you to lead Beachcomber, Ironhide, Cliffjumper, and Hound back to Vacuo. Investigate and report back in three weeks if you don't find any sign of the Decepticons."

"Understood, sir," Prowl saluted.

"I'm not in command, for once? Happy rotations," quiped Ironhide with a clenched fist and a smile.

Beachcomber shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, Optimus, why do you need me on this mission? I mean, the analysis I have running can complete itself, but…"

"You're along in case they need any on-site analysis," explained Optimus. "No fighting necessary."

"Unless you count having to bring Cliffjumper along," Ironhide observed dryly.

"Cliffjumper could use a chance to stretch his actuators," said Optimus, "and he's got a knack for finding Decepticons."

"I'll talk to him about joining up," allowed Prowl.

"Good! Then it looks like Team Peach is a go!" cheered Hound.

Ironhide gave the green bot an odd look. "Team Peach?"

"Yeah, Peach! P.B.I.C.H. Peach," ellucidated Hound.

"That's not how you spell 'peach,'" pointed out Prowl.

"Hey, when in Vale, do as the Valish do," said Hound.

It was at that moment that Spike spoke up again. "Excuse me, Optimus? What do you need me to do?"

"You need not do anything, Spike," said Optimus compassionately. "We Autobots can take care of the situation. We can provide you transport back to Vacuo or lodging here for now. Either way, you don't have to fight if you don't want to."

"But I do," insisted Spike stridently. "Those Decepticons hurt my friends and probably want to do worse to everyone else. Besides, I'm worried they might get lost."

"HA!" Ironhide barked out. "You got lost, Hound? When was the last time that happened?"

"Laugh it up, old man, but let's see what tune you're singing when you can't even go an astrosecond without the ground changing shape," countered Hound. "At least on Cybertron, the landmarks were still recognizable, even if they didn't always stay in the same place."

"Very well then," allowed Optimus, looking at the small human. "Good luck on the mission, Team Peaches."

"'Peaches'?" groaned Ironhide. "Of all the…"

"Told you it would catch on," cheered Hound.

* * *​

The golden eagle fluffed his feathers, staring out at the desert from his perch atop the home he'd made for himself here. Divebomb found himself surprisingly content here, actually. Compared to his high-rise back on Cybertron, this was a definite step down -- and not just literally -- but it had a certain homey charm to it that he appreciated. This certainly wasn't where he'd expected to be when he and the other Predacons had set out in search of the Nemesis... but then again, they hadn't exactly expected their search to end with an exploding moon crashing the Darksyde, either.

"Sand. Sand. Sand," he muttered to himself, scanning the horizon. His brow rose in something vaguely resembling excitement, and his optics zoomed in. "Ooh! One of those giant sand turtles! They're supposed to be good luck. Maybe we'll see something other than sand today."

"Divebomb, report."

"Sand," was his dry -- Heh -- reply. "Saw one of those sand turtles, but other than that, Razorclaw, there's nothing out there but the shifting dunes beneath a merciless star."

A few minutes later, Divebomb heard the clanking of metal on metal, and he twisted his head to peer over his shoulder, only to see the Predacon leader -- his leader -- clamber up top via the ladder he'd installed on the side. Not everyone could fly, after all.

"If you've started waxing poetic, you've been out here too long," Razorclaw declared. "I'll take over watch for now. Check on the others."

Divebomb bobbed his head in agreement and fluttered his wings before diving off his perch. Flying down was a heck of a lot easier than trying to maneuver around Razorclaw to the ladder, after all. They'd built their outpost in the tallest of this network of mesas, with their disguised communications tower on top. His own apartment -- similarly disguised -- was perched atop even that, giving them a commanding view of the surrounding desert, including a key section of the route between northern and western Sanus, and it all looked like an unusually tall rock formation.

Divebomb swooped up, enjoying the flight, and noted Razorclaw lying down comfortably -- almost lazily -- in his beast mode, gazing out across the desert like a statue. Once he got some additional altitude, he lived up -- down? -- to his name, letting himself hurtle to the ground before spreading his wings to bring him to a gentle landing on the floor of the canyon.

Transforming from beast mode to bot mode, he sauntered up to the ground-level entrance; the other Predacons had little appreciation for the glories of high altitude, so he fully expected to find them on the first few levels of the outpost, which, for security reasons, were still several defensible flights of stairs up.

The first one he saw was Rampage, seated on an oversized crate and gazing at some entertainment feed from the CCT network, some sort of cooking show. As expected. Divebomb had no desire to provoke the other Predacon's sometimes unpredictable nature, so he moved on. Rampage was good in a fight, but he grew bored easily, and his mercurial moods were difficult to deal with if he didn't have something to keep him entertained.

Divebomb found Headstrong in one of the side rooms, staring at some technical manual.

"You okay in there, Headstrong?" he asked tentatively.

"I'm fine," the other Predacon replied, shaking his head clear and blinking. He looked back down at the technical manual. His face twisted in confusion, and he began flipping through the pages again. "Scrap. Where was I?"

"I'll… leave you to it, then," Divebomb said, backing out slowly. Somewhere along the line, Headstrong had decided they needed a backup engineer in case anything happened to Tantrum -- or they needed one when Tantrum was in one of his moods -- and despite his general lack of talent in the area -- and overall intelligence -- he was still plugging away at it. Shaking his head, Divebomb kept going.

It took him some time to find Tantrum. The team's engineer was tinkering away at one of the access panels. For all his temper problems, Tantrum was an amazing engineer… unless he got steamed, and unless Headstrong received a processor upgrade, he was the only one really qualified.

Divebomb rapped his knuckles gently on the door. No need to spook the guy.

"Yes?" Tantrum asked, swiveling his head around, optics gazing sedately at Divebomb.

"Razorclaw sent me to check up on everyone," explained Divebomb. "Whatcha working on? Anything we need to worry about?"

Tantrum shook his head. "Nothing like that. Just some more routine maintenance." He gestured at the access panel. "Some of the Atlesian-sourced components are having trouble with the local environment."

"Well, it is Vacuo," Divebomb pointed out.

"I'm well aware of that, Divebomb. Not complaining, though. It keeps me focused."

That was the other reason Tantrum had been their ship's engineer. Working monotonous maintenance tasks -- of which there was an endless supply on a small ship like the Darksyde -- seemed to help him stay calm and keep from living up to his name. Where the monotony would frustrate most, it instead calmed Tantrum down.

"Alert," Razorclaw's voice calmly echoed over the PA system. "There's a convoy coming in, and it's not one of ours."

* * *​

"Those mesas on the horizon look like a good place to hide out. Let's check 'em out," ordered Prowl as he shifted direction, and the plume of sand being kicked up by his wheels fishtailed.

"Looks like it'll take us a while to reach them," said Spike from his position in the passenger seat of Ironhide's alt-mode.

"Great, more driving through the desert," complained the old bot.

"It's not that bad, is it?" asked the boy, even as he held on a little tighter.

"Spike, yer reminding me too much of Sunfire right now," complained Ironhide. "Always with the whole 'planet infested with monsters is perfectly normal' thing."

"Well, it is," pointed out Spike. "Who was she, though? I heard that she basically freed everyone the Decepticons had enslaved single-handedly, and then Optimus was going on about how she stole a bunch of information from the SDC. She seems like quite the character."

"She sure is," Ironhide replied. "Saw some people in danger and didn't hesitate ta jump in with both feet. 'Course, it's not like she did all that alone."

"She had Bumblebee, and the Aerialbots helped out a lot too, especially Air Raid," chimed in Beachcomber.

"Bumblebee and the Aerialbots?" Spike repeated thoughtfully. "So did she have a ground vehicle for an alt-mode, an airship, or was she a triple-changer?"

"Oh, she didn't have an alt-mode at all," said Hound cheekily. "At least none that I saw."

"What?!" Spike gaped. "How was she able to remain hidden then?"

"Easy," said Ironhide. "Sunfire's from Remnant, just like you."

"...Huh, neat," said Spike after a moment of thought. "How come I didn't see her before, then?"

"She's on special assignment," explained Ironhide.

"You mean she couldn't cut it," said Cliffjumper.

"I mean that Prime gave her an order, and she followed it," insisted Ironhide.

"Followed orders to guard some well armed human in the middle of a bunch of other well armed humans. Cushiest job around, and everyone knows it," scoffed Cliffjumper.

"Give her a break, Cliffjumper," put in Prowl. "She lost her partner that night."

"I thought Bumblebee was her partner?" asked Spike as they leapt off a particularly large dune. "At least, that's what I was told, back when I first heard about her."

"He is, usually, but she had another partner on special missions. They argued a lot, but they were still pretty close," Ironhide explained quietly.

"She lost her partner because he was a half-measure, a stinkin' coward who couldn't make hard choices and do what needed to be done," Cliffjumper continued as they hit the ground.

A pit formed in Spike's gut as he realized Cliffjumper was almost certainly insulting the dead. "This is getting way too awkward," he mumbled.

They let the subject quietly drop as they continued on. With their destination in sight the whole time, navigation wasn't an issue, though Spike had to caution them a few times on over- or underestimating the distance. The desert sun liked to play tricks with the light that way..

Finally, they arrived at the edge of the mesa network, the rock formations towering high above them.

"Looks like we'd better handle this on foot," Prowl observed as he transformed. Spike climbed out of Ironhide, and the rest of the Autobots also shifted to bot mode.

Prowl looked over the team. "We'll split up by pairs. Hound, Cliffjumper, you go left. Ironhide, Beachcomber, you go right. Spike and I will go down the middle. Mark anything unusual, but don't investigate yet. We'll all steer toward the center to meet up ahead and-"

"DECEPTICON!" Cliffjumper's voice rang out as he suddenly began firing. The Autobots shifted, searching their surroundings for enemies, while Spike looked over at where he was shooting, a familiar shape disappearing beneath the sand.

"Wait, hold up!" Spike called. "That's not a Decepticon!"

"That sure didn't look like a Grimm," Cliffjumper retorted.

"It's not a Grimm," Spike explained. "It's just an eastern mole crab. They can be dangerous, but they'll usually leave you alone if you don't bother them."

"You mean that thing was organic?" the red Autobot sputtered. "It was as big as I am!"

"Yeah," Spike agreed. "Pretty small for a mole crab, actually. Probably only a few summers old."

"This- this planet is insane," Cliffjumper grumbled, throwing his hands up and stalking off. "C'mon, Hound. Let's go before something else tries to eat us."

From a vantage point above, a lion gazed down on his prey. Divide and conquer, he thought, satisfied.

Prowl had picked up Spike and placed him on his shoulder, giving him a better view as they cautiously moved through the valley formed by the two nearest mesas.

"So, do you remember a time before the war?" asked the human out of the blue.

Prowl turned his head enough to glance at him curiously.

Spike shrugged. "I asked Hound, and he said he couldn't. Asked Ironhide, and he just said it was complicated, so I dropped it."

Prowl nodded and went back to focusing on their surroundings. "Understandable, considering Ironhide's… history. It's a bit of a touchy subject, and one he's not too proud of."

Spike nodded. "I get ya. I won't ask him about it then. Same with you?"

Prowl shook his head slightly. "No. Well, yes, but… it was a happier time. For me, at least. I worked with CySec -- the Cybertron Security Force -- so I knew even back then, things weren't great for everyone. But things were getting better, with firebrands in the higher castes like Orion Pax working to reform things. Or at least, I'd thought so, at the time."

"Didn't turn out that way?" asked Spike.

"The war started, didn't it?" asked Prowl rhetorically. "I guess things weren't changing fast enough. When things really started falling apart, with the central government outnumbered three to one by warlords and even the Primes splintering off and fighting among themselves, me and my partner made tracks. Traveled for a bit, and then found out the Autobots were on the field. Thought someone had finally made Orion Pax's dream a reality, but... well, we found out how bad things really were after we signed on."

"The Autobots? Bad? I thought you guys were supposed to be paragons," commented Spike in surprise.

"We're people, same as you. More to the point, the leadership before Optimus took over was a bit..." Prowl trailed off as he struggled to find the words.

"Blisteringly corrupt?" offered Spike.

"Not all of them, but the competent ones had an unfortunate habit of dying far too quickly," explained Prowl. "You may not believe it, kid, but you've got it pretty good right now on Remnant."

"Hey, cheer up, Prowl. I'm sure things'll all work out in the end," said Spike with an infectious smile.

The Autobot couldn't help but return the grin. "What do you think's been keeping me going all these megacycles?"

"Hmm," Spike mused as Prowl came to stop at the intersection to wait for the other two teams. Prowl had a point. They'd been fighting that war for millions of years. If they were going to lose heart -- did Cybertronians have hearts? -- they had had plenty of time to do so already. He glanced back over to Prowl's face, then his eyes widened.

A mole crab had somehow crept up on them and was standing stock still. That was… definitely peculiar behavior for a mole crab. What in the world…? he wondered as it drew back its right pincer...

"Get down!"

Prowl didn't hesitate, obeying the warning and dropping to the sandy ground. Spike leaped free, tucking into a roll as he hit the ground, while Prowl rolled the other way.

The mole crab focused in on Prowl, snapping at him with its pincers as the Autobot crab-walked backwards, trying to get away.

"I thought you said they were peaceful!" Prowl protested.

"'Usually'!" Spike corrected. "They'll usually leave you alone! They're attracted to vibrations in the ground! Stop moving!"

"You couldn't have mentioned that earlier?!"

Spike wasn't idle, either. Unhooking the large-bore double-barreled shotgun he had slung off his back, he brought the oversized dust-gun up, braced, and let loose with both barrels.

The mole crab staggered sideways from the shot. The noise should have bothered it and, combined with the two blasts of earth dust, should have driven it off. Instead, it shifted. No, it transformed.

"Aw, hell," Prowl muttered as he climbed to his feet, "Cliffjumper was right. We're never gonna hear the end of this."

"Hello, Autobot," the Decepticon said. "How kind of you to drop by for lunch."

Prowl quirked an eyebrow. "Glad you think so. Was thinking crab. What about you?"

"Well, I was thinking of a light energon stew, followed by… hey!"

At that, the Decepticon charged, sword in hand. The blade was a vicious-looking affair, studded with irregular spikes and serrations that aesthetically mimicked his mole crab alt-mode's shell. Prowl backed away and drew a pair of tonfas from concealed compartments on his back, bringing them up in a cross-guard to catch the crab Decepticon's downward strike.

"Rampage is going on a rampage!" the Decepticon boasted as he began lashing out with his sword at a furious pace, eyes glowing wildly.

Prowl was forced back as he parried the incoming blows. He ducked under one wild swing and surged forward, shoulder-checking Rampage. The momentum of the duel shifted as Prowl brought one tonfa -- now crackling with blue lightning -- forward and thrust it into Rampage's side. The Decepticon froze briefly, stunned as electricity coursed through his systems.

There was a tremendous blast, and Rampage was sent spinning off onto the ground. From their paths came the rest of the Autobots with ferocious beasts hot on their tails. It was the gun of the old red truck that was smoking though.

"Thanks fer the setup, Prowl," Ironhide said as he ran onto the scene.

"More Decepticons?" asked Cliffjumper rhetorically as he drove into the intersection. "Well, remember, you mess with the bull, you get the horns!"

"Finally, something I can agree with you Autobots about!" cried out the big black bull chasing after Beachcomber. It sprung into the air and transformed, even as Cliffjumper did the same to meet it. The two collided in mid-air and clashed in a grappling battle of servos and kinetic maneuvers that saw them tumbling to the ground.

One of the Decepticon beasts, a rhinoceros, transformed and faced off against Hound, only to find himself surrounded by copies of the green Autobot scout. "What the-?" the Decepticon muttered, his head whipping around from one to the other.

He shook his head. Okay. He could do this. One of them had to be the real one. He charged one, his sword passing through it harmlessly, and he began working his way around, trying to ignore the incoming blasts that struck him from various angles. He didn't want to lose track of which ones he'd already disqualified.

Outside the ring of holographic copies, Hound frowned as he repositioned, firing again and again. This Decepticon clearly wasn't very bright, but he was tough, tenacious, and methodical.

From the sky came a shriek like an eagle, terrifying and deafening in its passing. Beachcomber dove for cover and just barely avoided being blown apart by a booming bomb blast. The culprit transformed and showed himself as a black-winged Decepticon.

"These Autobots have got nothing on us!"

"Don't get cocky, Divebomb!" ordered the deep, smooth voice of a lion.

The big cat shifted, and soon transformed into a proud Decepticon warrior wielding a large sword that glinted in the sunlight. He leapt forward towards the leader of the Autobot unit, or at least who he perceived to be the leader. He did not guess wrong.

Prowl reengaged his tonfas and brought his right up to parry the downward sword strike of the attacking lion-themed Decepticon.

"Not bad," he complimented as he jumped back. "Tell me, Autobot, what is your name?"

"Prowl," said the security bot.

"Hmpf, Razorclaw," replied the leoine Decepticon.

"You know," said Prowl, "there's no way you can beat me with just a sword when I have a blaster."

"Depends on the sword now, doesn't it?" asked Razorclaw rhetorically. "Predacons! Form Predaking!"

"Autobots! Scatter!" the order from Prowl came automatically.

Spike didn't wait to see what would happen; he just ran for Hound even as he was transforming into his vehicle mode. He leapt into the VAMP and fired his weapon once more at the Decepticons even as they drove away. What he saw though... it made him freeze.

The group of Decepticons was changing yet again, forming into a massive monstrous machine of metal and madness. They became the body parts of this terrifying chimera and let out a harrowing roar. The Autobots lanced out through the canyons away from the enormous winged warrior, all save one.

"Come on, Decepti-chumps! Show me what you got!" shouted Cliffjumper as he fired his blaster at the titanic taxidermic terror.

His shots bounced off the fused aura of the combiner, and Predaking looked down on him.

"You are brave," said the Decepticon. "However, your sense of tactics leaves much to be desired."

Predaking hefted his sword and swung it in a gigantic arc that swept through the pass. Rocks and cliffs were hewn apart, and a great clamor was stirred up. Remarkably, impossibly, the red sports car alt-mode of Cliffjumper leapt out from the cascade, scuffed and dusty but otherwise unharmed.

"That the best you got?!" the Autobot shouted out.

"Ha! The hunt is on!" Predaking bellowed and rushed off after the red Autobot with thunderous steps that rocked the mesas around them with booming quakes. When Predaking had judged the distance to be right, twin blasters flipped down over his shoulders and fired bright purple beams of death and destruction which tore open the ground and sent shards of stone splintering like shrapnel. Cliffjumper juked and swerved in a desperate attempt to dodge one shot after the other, somehow barely staying ahead of the curve.

Things are definitely getting a little rocky, Cliffjumper thought as he drove and dodged through the canyons formed by the collection of mesas.

"Come on, little Autobot," taunted Predaking. "If you can't make this interesting, then at least accept your fate."

That Decepticon can think anything he wants. It's not over yet! resolved the red Autobot.

It was then that he saw that they were approaching a large overhang between two mesas. It was large enough that it was almost a tunnel. In happier times, it might have even been a tourist attraction, a landmark, even a site of great national pride for the people of Vacuo. Cliffjumper beheld it, though, and saw only an opportunity.

Yes! I can win this! he thought, and then he said aloud. "What's the matter, Decepti-chumps? Can't hit anything without using that boat paddle of yours?"

"Oh, you're quipping now?" commented Predaking.

"I'm not quipping; I'm mocking," corrected Cliffjumper before laying on the boost.

There was an explosion of blue, and Cliffjumper leapt up such that he was now driving along the side of the mesa on his left. He continued speeding up even as the natural bridge was approaching. Then, suddenly, when it came, he was rolling at incredible speed along the roof. He hit the edge of the overhang and flew off into the air to transform mid-fall and bring his blaster up.

Only got one chance, he thought even as he was continuing to fall and Predaking was running under the overhang.

He fired: once, twice, thrice. He hit the ground. He fired again: once, twice. Each of his shots hit a different part of the overhang, seemingly doing no damage at all.

"So long, Decepticon," Cliffjumper muttered as he pulled the trigger and sent out a bright blue line of white just as the combiner was fully beneath the overpass.

The rocks rumbled, and then in the blink of an eye, the natural bridge and both the mesas besides it collapsed. Predaking roared, and with one fell swing of his massive sword, he cleaved through many of the falling rocks. It was too little too late, though, and he was soon consumed by the avalanche.

Without preamble, the canyon soon found itself engulfed in silence.

"Good riddance," said Cliffjumper to the pile of stones. "That's the last we'll be seeing of him."

* * *​

"Wowzers, just look at all this energon!" commented Spike as he looked into the gigantic, and very nicely furnished, pantry of the Decepticon base.

"Well, will you look at that," said Beachcomber appreciatively. "Nice job, Spike."

"Stuff's easy to find if you know where to look," said the human as he turned his attention to the rest of the base.

Immediately visible was Ironhide, who was playing around with the giant remote connected to the equally giant television screen. "Over a thousand channels, and nothing's on. How?! I thought we left this kind of slobbery back on Cybertron! ...Okay, how did they get Menagerie Message Media on here?"

"Problem, Ironhide?" asked Spike as he walked over to the big red Autobot.

"Not anymore," he replied. "Got no problems at all about blowing this decadent abode sky high."

"It will probably be more of an implosion," said Prowl as he walked out into the living room. "Couldn't get more data than the locations of a few routes through this outpost's patrol area. Hopefully, we'll be able to get some usable locations from that, but they don't call Vacuo a good place to get lost in for nothing."

"It is very good at that," admitted Spike.

Prowl looked down at the little human. "Have you seen or heard from Cliffjumper?"

Spike shook his head, but it was at that moment that a great clamor could be heard from the stairs. The door was flung open, and there stood the Autobot in question. He looked drained.

"Woo, that's a lot of stairs," complained Cliffjumper. "Sorry I'm late, but I had to find a way around the mess I made. Predaking's dead, though, so happy days there. What's going on up here?"

"Found some energon," said Beachcomber cheerfully as he handed one of the pink cubes to Cliffjumper.

"Oh, nice!" said the little Autobot as he took the cube appreciatively.

While he was clearly happy, though, the team's leader was not.

"What the scrap were you thinking, Cliffjumper?" Prowl demanded, optics glowing with fury. "You disobeyed orders! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"What are you complaining about?" the red Autobot scoffed. "I got the job done, didn't I?"

"This time," Prowl growled.

"This time and every time."

"Keep this up, Cliffjumper, and one day, your luck's going to run out, and you or someone else is going to die for it."

"Plenty of Decepticons have already died for it," Cliffjumper sneered.

"This is not the time for jokes!" Prowl snapped.

"The only joke here is you!" Cliffjumper retorted, jabbing a finger at the former CySec bot while the other hand held onto the cube. "We've gotta be willing to take chances and make sacrifices if we're gonna win this war. You used to understand that, Prowl. What the scrap happened to you? Ever since-"

"Shut. Up," Prowl interrupted, his voice low. "You don't get to talk about that."

The smaller Autobot glowered, then spun on his heel. "Slag off, Prowl! It think it's pretty clear I get better results working on my own. Tell Optimus I'll keep in touch." With that, he took off running and dove into his alt-mode, smashing through the nearby window in the process and taking the cube with him.

Beachcomber ran over to the window and looked down. "Well I'll be, Cliff actually survived that, and he's driving away."

Prowl sighed in disappointment even as he went to look at Ironhide. The old bot just shook his head. Optimus was not going to be pleased by this.

* * *​

Some time later, the remaining members of the away team were all standing before Optimus Prime once more.

"I apologize, sir," offered Prowl, having just recounted the mission.

Optimus shook his head. "No need. A Decepticon outpost was destroyed, a small stock of energon was procured, and we've secured information on the network the Decepticons have been using to transport energon. You completed your mission; nothing more could ever be asked."

"Sir," began Prowl, "we lost Cliffjumper. Literally. We have no idea where he is now."

"He'll show up again in his own time. This isn't the first time he's gone off on his own, and it won't be the last," Optimus assured him. "Now, Spike, what are your plans now?"

The human, standing remarkably straight at attention, shrugged. "Don't know, Optimus. Was hoping to see some of Vale, but I figure I better get back to Vacuo eventually. Before I left the oil fields, they were talking about putting together a new militia to defend against the Decepticons and SDC, and being a liaison with them sounds like pretty good work."

"A new militia?" asked Ironhide.

"Yeah," replied Spike. "They even got a catchy name. They were talkin' about calling themselves the Oktober Guard."

"Hey, I'd be willing to help out with that," offered Hound.

Optimus smiled. "Sounds like there's some discussion still to be had, but why don't we break for now? Unless there's something else, that is."

Beachcomber raised his hand. "There is, sir. I had an analysis running on that chunk of glass while we were away. It finally finished, and it revealed something very interesting, something very disturbing."

"Let's hear the interesting news first," said Prime.

"Well, that's just it, Optimus. They're one and the same," explained Beachcomber. "The sample was definitely made by a blaster, a really big one, maybe a shipboard one… and it's nearly a hundred million years old."

Ironhide blinked. "What?"

Beachcomber continued. "That means that either we've been asleep for far longer than any of us thought, or we're not the first aliens to come to Remnant."

"But if it wasn't you guys, then who?" asked Spike curiously.

The question hung in the air, unanswered.

* * *​

Days prior, after the Autobots had left the site of the battle, the stone pile the Predacons were buried under shifted. Rocks tumbled down to the ground. Then suddenly, shockingly, a single pincered hand shot out into the evening air.

Momentarily, Rampage emerged fully from beneath the rubble. "Mole crabs rule!" he coughed out with a single pincer raised to the sky.

In short order, his fellow Predacons scrambled out themselves, and they took stock of their situation.

"My pad!" Divebomb cried, looking out to the horizon where a familiar spire was a fair bit shorter and smokier than normal.

"Easy there, Divebomb, it'll be all right," said Tantrum somewhat soothingly.

"Oh, come off it, you big oaf. Do you have any idea what it's like to be this angry?!" shouted the winged warrior.

Tantrum gave Divebomb a flat look before turning to Headstrong. "I think the fall knocked a few bolts loose."

"I agree. We'll have to amputate; it's the only way," nodded Headstrong sagely.

Before Divebomb could fire off a rejoinder, Razorclaw interrupted. "Easy, everyone. Save that energy for the walk back. After all, command's going to need to hear about this."

They all shuddered at that.

* * *​

The cloaked figure lowered her binoculars as she looked down across the dunes at the mesa collection, watching the Predacons as they trudged away to the northeast.

"Here? After all these megacycles?"

(V1E13: Shatterpoint | Interlude 1-1: The Road to Vacuo | Interlude 2-2: Patchwork)​

A/N 1 (Cyclone): So, this interlude really gave us some trouble. As previously established, we suck at fight scenes, and this interlude was written on a bit of a time crunch. It was a bit of a late addition to the line-up, but we had to make sure to "advertise the new toys" . Fortunately, we got an early look at some of the "toy prototypes," which helped us get this written out and kept us from having a G1 Combaticon situation with Rampage where the character models bore almost no resemblance to the toys.

A/N 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett): It shames me to admit this, but we did end up putting an explanation for Spike's presence in the chapter. The proper way to do things would be to have him appear with no explanation as to how he appeared, as it was in season 2 of The Transformers with many Autobots. I hope you guys can forgive us for this slight.

Also, this was without a doubt the hardest chapter of the story so far to write. Shout out to @Nobunagatron for basically saving this thing in the nick of time. I don't know if he knows that.

Join us next week as we see Yang actively trying to avoid becoming like her mother.

 

[Cyclone]

(Interlude 1-1: The Road to Vacuo | Interlude 1-2: Patchwork | Interlude 1-3: Blake's Seven)




Interlude 1-2: Patchwork

* * *​

"You sure you don't want to come?" Ruby pleaded. Her aura had healed up her injuries quickly enough, but the hospital had insisted on an overnight stay for observation. Right now, she was about to join her team and her father at the transport for their trip to Patch.

The Atlesian girl, however, was unmoved. "I am sorry, Friend Ruby, but I-" -- she hiccupped -- "-I'm not really interested in visiting Patch. Besides, I want to make sure I'm here when my team arrives. I…" -- she averted her gaze -- "...wouldn't want to worry them."

Ruby looked at her sadly, but then an amused smile came upon her features. "You're a terrible liar, you know that, Penny?"

"What?!" the coppertop started. "I'm not lying!"

She had barely finished saying those words before another hiccup overcame her.

"You're lying right now," Ruby pointed out, "about lying, fittingly enough."

At that, Penny let out a defeated sigh. "Well, yes. But I wasn't lying about everything."

"You don't have to say anything, Penny. We've all got our secrets," the dark-haired girl assured her friend, even as her mind drifted back to a Grimm mask and a bloody sword.

"It's not a secret," Penny explained. "It's just… uncomfortable."

"Well, do you want to talk about it? If you don't, that's okay, but I don't want you to feel like you can't," offered Ruby.

Penny paused for a moment, seeming to consider what she was going to say. When she eventually spoke, it was slow and deliberate. "Do you know how it felt, when Sun and I found you last night?"

Ruby winced. "I think I have a pretty good idea, after the lectures I got from Yang. And Dad. And Gl- Professor Goodwitch. And Professor Ozpin. And Weiss. And Jaune. And with Pyrrha insisting I wake up at five in the morning next semester for extra training too."

"Blake hasn't lectured you yet?"

"I think she's just waiting for the right words," Ruby said with a shrug. "She's almost started to, I think, a few times, but she always stops herself."

"How very odd," Penny noted, tilting her head to the side. "But that's not why I brought it up. I came to Vale early, on my own. It was selfish of me. Don't misunderstand! I don't regret meeting you, or your team, or Team Juniper, or Sun, but… well, last night made me wonder how Shadow, Mad Dog, or Farsight -- my team -- would feel if something had happened to me. Then I realized they're so protective because they're afraid that something like that would happen to me. I don't want to worry them like that."

Ruby cocked her head. "'Shadow, Mad Dog, or Farsight'?"

"Oh, yes! Most students and many of the professors at Atlas Academy have callsigns."

"Oh yeah, I think I remember that," Ruby said with a distant look off to the side as she remembered her, Jaune, and Blake's meeting with Professor Snake Eyes. She then refocused on Penny. "Do you have a cool codename?"

"Callsign," corrected Penny.

"Huh?" blinked Ruby. "What's the difference?"

"Sorry, reflex," apologized Penny, wincing. "It's just that I've been reminded about it a lot over the last semester. 'The identity of someone with a callsign is known, the identity of someone with a codename isn't.' Some people are very insistent on terminology at Atlas Academy."

"I think I can understand that," said Ruby as her mind drifted back to all the times she'd chewed people out for using "clip" instead of "magazine" when referring to a detachable container in which ammunition was stored for cyclic use in a weapon. Looking back, she thought that she should have made some of those lectures longer and more in-depth to really ensure that the people she was tearing into never made such a terrible mistake again. Though that was a drift away from the then current conversation, and so she bent her thoughts back away from the completely justified lectures she gave and towards Friend Penny and her alternative name. "So, you never did answer my question."

"So I haven't," Penny admitted before she glanced down at her feet, and what looked like a shameful blush came to her face. "I don't know if it's 'cool' or not, but I do have a callsign. I'm called Bladerider."

Ruby felt her jaw go completely slack for a moment, unable to comprehend that such a thing had been hidden from her for so long. "That. Is. AWESOME!"

Penny perked up at her friend's words. "You mean it?"

"Yes! Of course I mean it!" Ruby shouted in excitement. "How could you think that it's not?!"

The blush was back. "Well, it's just that it all seemed very plain next to callsigns like Lady Jaye, Scarlet, Cover Girl, Dial Tone, Jinx, or Bombstrike."

"Pfft!" Ruby dismissed with a wave. "Your callsign is at least as cool as theirs, if not cooler. I mean, it's your callsign, after all."

"That's… thank you for the vote of confidence, Ruby," said Penny with a little bit of trepidation.

"Anytime, Penny," Ruby said with a smile. "I should get back to getting ready to go though. Wouldn't want to keep them waiting."

"One more thing, Ruby," Penny began. "Do you think I should contact my team?"

"I think if you're asking that question, you already know the answer," Ruby replied earnestly.

"You'd think so, but General Ironwood has told us to use the CCT as little as possible, and preferably not to use it at all," Penny clarified.

Ruby blinked in shock. "That's… that's a very surprising advisement. Maybe keep it short then? If your headmaster has told you not to use… Ah! What about writing a letter and sending it with a courier?"

Penny's eyes brightened in realization. "Of course! Ruby, you're a genius!" She frowned. "On the other hand, that sounds expensive. I… don't actually have any money."

Ruby winced. She'd forgotten about that little detail; she and Sun had had to cover Penny's expenses during their tour of the city the previous day. "Right, sorry. In that case, I recommend groveling."

The Atlesian blinked in surprise. "Do you think that will actually work?"

"I hope so," Ruby moaned, her shoulders dropping. "I've been doing it all morning."

"Hey, cheer up, Reckless Leader!" called out Nora as she and Ren approached.

"Speaking of which," sighed Ruby. "You'd better get out of here before you're caught up in this too, Penny."

"Farewell, Friend Ruby!" Penny said with a wave as she began to walk away. "I will go see about composing a short message to transmit to my team through the CCT!"

"Don't disobey your teacher!" Ruby called back just as Nora and Ren stopped in front of her. "Before you guys say anything, yes, I know what I did was stupid. Yes, I know I should have waited for backup. Yes, I know that I should have called the proper authorities, my team, and my teachers, in that order. Yes, I know I should have stayed out of sight until I knew what was going on. Yes, I know that I should have retreated until I could get a better handle on the situation. Yes, I know that shouldn't have left my flank or rear exposed. Yes, I know I should have used my semblance to get away once I was hit in the back, instead of trying to block the follow up shots. Yes, I know that I've put everyone through a great deal of hardship because I was so stupid. Yes, I know that my medical bills-..."

"Stop," Ren ordered, and younger girl did so without complaint. "We're not here to lecture you, Ruby."

"You're not?" she asked hopefully.

"Nope!" Nora confirmed with a pop of her lips. "We're here to extract from your head every last detail of what you saw last night."

"What?!" Ruby asked in shock.

"We're qualified police sketch artists," Nora explained as she and Ren produced a pair of large notepads and pencils. "Start talking."

Ruby felt sweat start to run down her neck.

* * *​

Yang kept herself under control as best she could as she drove along the Patch roads in Bumblebee. She was following Zippy, her dad's car, and every so often, she could see a head of white hair visible through the rear window. It filled her with rage that she was coming to their home... and shame that she was feeling that way at all. It made no sense, she hated herself for feeling this way, and she kept feeling it all the same. She needed something to get her mind off of it.

"So, Sun," she began, "what brings you out to Patch? That's a heck of a lot of trust to put in a girl you just met."

Sun laughed lightly. "Isn't that line supposed to go the other way around?"

Yang glanced at him, and a tense silence descended on the cabin for the next thirty seconds before she spoke again in a cold matter-of-fact tone. "No."

"Ohhh-kay then," Sun said nervously. After another moment of silence, he spoke on his own terms. "Say, um, what kind of flowers does Blake like?"

"I, uh, I don't know, actually," Yang admitted. She frowned. She didn't know… anything about Blake, really. "So… flowers, eh, lover boy?"

"I-it's not like that," he stammered. "I just- I thought it'd be nice. I want to be a good friend."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Just a good friend?"

"Yeah, I mean, I don't want to give the wrong idea," Sun stammered again. "I certainly don't have any indecent intentions towards her. I mean, if she's not interested in me being around at all, that's cool too. I don't want to provide any sort…"

"Sun!" Yang interrupted.

"Yes'm?" reflexed the monkey faunus.

"You do realize that it's okay to like a girl, right?" asked Yang in a motherly tone. "I'm not going to bite your head off because you want to go on a date with Blake. She's a… very attractive young woman."

"You have no idea what she's like, do you?" Sun asked incredulously.

"We don't… hang around much, outside of class and training. We tend to keep to ourselves. She's always reading something when I see her."

"So… a book, then?"

"I guess?"

Sun shrugged. "Okay then. Guess it's too much to hope for that you know what kind of books she might like, huh?"

Yang shook her head slightly, her mind straining so much it burned in order to get some information, any information. "Sorry, Sun, I wish I could be of more help, but I…"

Then, suddenly, a flash of memory lit up her mind. She didn't know where it came from, she didn't know what it meant, but at last she finally could recall something about her teammate. Blake's voice echoed in her mind.

"She grew up on the wrong side of the tracks!" cheered Yang proudly. "Blake grew up in a bad neighborhood, and her old friends were reprobates."

"Really?" blinked Sun. "Huh, never would have figured her for the criminal underground kind of person. She seems like such a princess."

"A mafia princess, maybe," corrected Yang with a smile.

Sun laughed heartily at that, and it was a joyous and uplifting thing. "Oh, I hope not," he said when his laughter had abated. "That would be one heck of a monkey's paw."

Yang snorted involuntarily, trying -- and failing -- to stop herself from laughing at the racially insensitive joke.

"You do realize," Sun echoed with a smile, "it's okay to laugh at jokes like that. I'm not going to bite your head off. That's why I made the joke in the first place."

"It's just… it's just…" Yang tried to get out, thinking back to interacting with some of the younger White Fang recruits and some of the stories they told. She really did not want to be part of the problem.

"It's just that your mind's tapes are being wiped by my animal magnetism," he joked.

That did it. Whether it was the construction, or a simple release of tension, she could deny it no longer. The dam broke, and so did Yang.

She was doubled over, laughing hysterically. Slowly, Bumblebee was brought to a stop on the side of the road. Yang continued to laugh, long and hard for several minutes.

Finally, after she had exhausted her body, Yang lifted herself up, a smile upon her face. For the first time in weeks, she felt light and airy. For the first time in weeks she felt... she felt like her old self.

The darkness would return, this she knew, but it would not be this day. This day, the dark clouds that had kept the blue sky hidden had been pushed away by the Sun's rays. That brilliant yellow star had managed to do what her partner, and her sister, and all her comrades in arms had failed to.

"Feeling a little better?" asked Sun compassionately.

"Mm-hmm," Yang nodded, tears of joy still blurring her eyes.

"Good," he confirmed with a smile more pleasant than she thought possible.

"We, uh, we better catch back up," Yang said with a small chuckle. Blake, if you let this one go, I'm grabbing on with both hands.

"Hey, does this old radio work?" asked Sun, pointing to the device in the center console as the car started rolling again.

Yang rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Does it work? Of course it works."

She clicked over the volume dial, and instantly, a techno rock number with a female singer came on with lyrics that spoke of a forbidden love.

Bumblebee… Yang growled in her head. I do not need this while in the car with Blake's man!

"Hmm, this song's not bad," Sun commented.

Yang felt her face heat up at that as she very deliberately stared at the road ahead. Safety first, after all, right?

Then the song ended, and another song began.

"Hey, I love this song!" Sun cheered as he began to sing along. "~We're no strangers to love. You know the rules, and so do I.~"

I will get you for this, Bee, Yang promised darkly as she desperately tried to ignore the music and Sun's not-actually-bad singing.

"~Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you.~"

* * *​

"Are they okay, Dad?" asked Ruby fitfully as she looked in the rearview mirror at Bumblebee shrinking into the distance.

"I'm sure they're fine," Taiyang Xiao Long -- father of Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose -- assured her from the driver's seat of the family car, Zippy, a reliable red four-door convertible with a black detachable hardtop. "Looked like they were having some fun, that's all."

"I hope so," Ruby said, settling back into her seat. "If he can cheer up Yang, that definitely wins him some points in my book."

Taiyang gave his younger daughter a sidelong look. "And why would that boy need points in your book?"

"Oh, no reason!" she said quickly. "But… let's just say he didn't exactly give the best first impression."

"I sense a story there."

"He's a vagabond, a thief, and a stowaway," Weiss griped from the back seat.

"He's not... that bad," Blake defended.

"What part of what I said is inaccurate?"

"Well, umm… uh, the 'vagabond' part," Blake said, grasping at straws. "I mean, he's got a room at Beacon, after all."

Weiss frowned and reconsidered. "Very well, you're correct. He isn't a vagabond. The rest of my statement still stands, however, and I would like to add 'exhibitionist' to the list, considering his perpetually indecent attire."

"I... really can't argue with that," admitted Blake with a blush and a sigh.

"Still, eccentricities aside, he's a great guy, and I'm happy to call him my friend," said Ruby. "Which makes three. Jaune, Penny, Sun, in that order. Three friends at Beacon, and more at Signal."

Blake raised an eyebrow at that. "Ruby, why aren't we on that list?"

Ruby turned in her seat to look over her shoulder. "Do you want to be?"

Weiss's head collapsed into her hands. "Oh my goodness, are we really going to have to call you 'Friend Ruby' or something before you'll actually consider us friends?"

Before Ruby could answer, a yellow and black blur shot past on the road.

"Dad!" she called out.

"I see it," he said, face hardened into a determined expression as he poured on the power with the ease of a practiced racer. "They won't beat us."

"Are we racing now?" asked Blake, clearly terrified as the car surged forward.

"I think we're racing now," confirmed Weiss as she held on for dear life.

"Whee!" was Ruby's gleeful response as the terrain blurred past.

Several death-defying minutes later, Taiyang swerved Zippy to a halt next to where Bumblebee was parked in front of the house. The two blonds from the other car were leaning against its side, waiting for them.

"What took you so long, Dad?" Yang asked with a smug grin.

As he climbed out of Zippy, Taiyang opened his mouth to reply but stopped when he noticed an odd look cross Yang's face. He quickly traced her gaze to Sun, who had made a beeline for… did he just open the door for Blake?

He had, though the raven-haired girl didn't seem particularly appreciative as she just gave him a strange look before climbing out.

Oh, boy. Tai knew what that was like.

"So that's what you've been having Maple do!" Weiss said, jabbing an accusatory finger at Yang. "You've been having her soup up the engine! Or replacing it! There's no other way a Folkcar could reach those speeds!"

"Anything's possible with enough love and care," Yang declared calmly.

"Speed freaks, the whole lot of you," grumbled Weiss.

"Anyway," Taiyang interjected loudly. "Here we are. Welcome to our humble abode."

It wasn't a particularly large home, two storeys tall with an outer wall constructed from logs, but it was definitely a home. It was where the Xiao Long-Rose family had grown up, and while they hadn't expected to be back quite so soon, the sisters definitely appreciated the sight. Some members of the visiting group voiced their approval too.

"It's like something out of a fairy tale," observed Blake.

"I think my family owned a dacha like this in northern Vacuo," reminisced Weiss.

Yang looked like she was going to say something, but then she bit back her reply and just sulked closer to Ruby.

Huh, that's odd, observed Tai. Then again, odd is the norm when at Beacon. Eh, I'm sure they'll work it out. It's not like Team Stark was any better after our first semester. Or year.

"The Xiao Long-Rose Household, home of the little dragons," Tai declared dramatically, sweeping his hand out before them. And maybe a little birdie or two.

He was about to head up to the house to unlock it when Ruby disappeared in a blur, leaving a trail of rose petals and an open front door in her wake. He sighed. "Go on in," he said, waving them forward, "make yourselves at home. Ruby! Show your friends the guest rooms!"

The girls filed in, but as Sun walked past, he caught the boy's arm.

"I swear, I have no untoward intentions toward either of your daughters, sir!" he snapped out reflexively.

"WHAT IS THAT THING DOING HERE!" echoed from inside the house.​

​

"That's Zwei!" Ruby protested.​

"Huh," Taiyang mused, looking over at the house. "I guess your girl doesn't like dogs."

"Uhh…" Sun blinked. He hadn't expected that. "My girl?"

"So, let me guess," Taiyang said, "she moves with a certain deadly grace that you can't help but appreciate. You're drawn to her because she's got this whole mysterious and dangerous vibe going. And maybe a bit to the challenge of pursuing someone so standoffish. How am I doing so far?"

"Terrifyingly accurate, sir," admitted Sun.

"Oh, he's so adorable!" That sounded like the heiress.​

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm." Taiyang nodded. "I thought so. Want some advice, kiddo?"

"I get the feeling I'm getting it no matter how I answer that."

"Good answer!" Taiyang said, giving him a slap on the back. "But seriously, the trick is to be aggressive but not too aggressive. A girl like that armors her heart, but if you crack that shell open too hard, she'll lash out or run away. Actually, she'll probably try to run away at some point anyway, so be ready for that, but the key is how hard she makes it for you to follow her."

"Oh, come on, Blake! He likes you! 'Cause he's the best boy in the world, and he's such a good judge of character!"​

​

"Weiss! You too?!"​

"...I'll be honest. That wasn't the kind of advice I was expecting."

"Yeah, well, trust me, kiddo," Taiyang said. "I speak from experience. And if she runs too far or fast for you to follow? Try looking around. You might find love closer than you think."

"This sounds like some very specific experience."

"Why, yes. Yes, it is."

With that, the two men followed the girls into the house.

* * *​

Weiss sighed in familiar contentment as she stepped out into the cool night air, away from the animated dinner still in progress. It was fun, it was enlightening, and it was also a bit… much. No, that was something that even in her mind sounded harsh and untrue.

They weren't "too much," Mr. Xiao Long, his daughters, even Sun. No, they were great, fantastic even, and that was the problem. She could stay, and sit, and just listen, and watch them talk for hours, just enjoying each other's company, and that was the problem. These things were problems, because they were completely alien to Weiss. She didn't know how to deal with them, and she didn't know how to deal with what was inside her.

She didn't know how to deal with that hole in her chest where a parent's love should be.

"Hey, Weiss."

The snowcapped girl looked up and found Blake looking back at her. She was sitting in a plastic chair on the lawn, and Gambol Shroud was resting on the armrests. Her fingers ran familiarly across the flat of the scabbard part of the weapon like a table, and she seemed completely at ease.

Weiss smiled and started to walk towards her. "Hello, Blake. How are you doing out here?"

"Good," replied the raven-haired girl with a smile. "No Grimm around, no wild predators, no… well, it's all very idyllic."

Weiss looked to the side and found a stack of plastic chairs identical to the one Blake was sitting in. "Mind if sit down with you?"

"Sure," Blake replied easily.

"Thank you," said Weiss before picking up one of the chairs and walking over to place it next to her teammate.

They sat there in silence for a moment, just appreciating the other's company. It was peaceful, quiet save for the light wind. There had been times like that in Solitas, when she'd briefly been let out from her father's grasp. She almost missed those moments, but she wouldn't trade them at all for her time at Beacon.

Weiss looked back into the home briefly, seeing three blonds and a bloodmop still chattering excitedly. "They are something else, aren't they?" she asked with a whimsical smile. "Like some kind of… peculiar peer group."

Blake blinked at the turn of phrase and glanced back into the house before focusing on her teammate. "I think it's called a family, Weiss."

The heiress frowned at that. "Yes, but it's not at all like my family. It actually looks pleasant to be around. Their father is… something else. He's like the complete opposite of my father."

Blake pondered those words and what they meant. Then she spoke, curious and concerned in almost equal measure. "Is your father really that bad?"

Weiss cocked an eyebrow at her. "Let me put it this way. My sister went and joined the Atlesian military as soon as she could to get away from him. I chose Beacon because Atlas Academy wouldn't get me far enough away. And I was seriously considering Shade."

Blake winced hard at the mention of the Vacuan Huntsman Academy. "I see." She paused as she recalled something. "Wait, don't you have a brother?"

"Whitley?" Weiss questioned. "Yes, but he seems to actually like spending time with Father."

"Hmm."

Silence descended upon them again, but now Weiss had gotten a taste for conversation, and she wouldn't let up: "How about you? What's your dad like?"

The question and tone were as curious as Weiss herself.

Blake's answer though, was mired in shame. "I… don't know."

Weiss's curious smile collapsed in on itself. "Oh," she said in realization, a thousand scenarios whirling around inside her head. "Orphan, or... single mother? If you don't mind me asking."

Blake shook her head briefly before explaining. "No, nothing like that. I can remember my father quite clearly, and he was a lot like Mister Xiao Long. It's just…"

Weiss held her tongue, waiting for her friend to finish her sentence. In the blank, her mind sketched in a picture of Blake's father, starting with Mister Xiao Long and giving him black hair… maybe a beard? As the features filled in, the snowcapped girl was struck by a single disturbing thought: the imagined father figure was giving her mental self a hug and telling her that it would be all right.

Luckily, Blake continued, finally getting out the dreaded thought. "I ran away from home five years ago. After that… well, I started running with people from the wrong side of the tracks."

With that said, she looked both ashamed and relieved.

Weiss nodded at the revelation with wide eyes, silently torn between disappointment that Blake would give up something so precious, and admiration that she had the courage to leave everything behind. "Oh…" Then, something registered and shock flowed into her. "Wait, you ran away from home when you were twelve? How? Didn't your parents search for you?"

"They tried, but I had help," replied Blake evasively.

"Who helps a twelve-year-old run away from her parents?" asked Weiss with clear and evident disgust.

Blake looked away shamefully. "People who I thought were friends, but… well, like I've said before, wrong side of the tracks."

Cautiously, tentatively, Weiss reached out a hand and clasped one of Blake's. The black-haired girl looked up, and there were ever so slight tears visible in those amber eyes. It was painful to behold, crying out to be wiped away.

"Hey, the past is in the past," quoted Weiss compassionately.

"But I'm-"

"Still my friend? Yes," interrupted Weiss. "Whatever happened before doesn't change that, and I hope you feel the same way about me."

Blake smiled a simultaneously sad and happy smile. "Yes, of course you're my friend, Weiss."

Before things could continue, the door to the house opened, and Mister Xiao Long stepped out. "Hey, you girls want some dessert?"

* * *​

Yang hummed a monotonous tune as her hands deftly moved across the dirty dishes and cleaned them. It was calming in a way, familiar. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed simple tasks like this.

It was a strange thought for her. After all, her plans for the last few years had basically all revolved around going out to see the world, experience new cultures, and go on crazy adventures as a Huntress. She was a thrillseeker, and she wanted to indulge that impulse as much as she could, living without plans from one day to the next. At least, that's what she had thought she wanted, but after spending so much time with the Autobots and the White Fang, she wasn't so sure.

Maybe being a homemaker wouldn't be so bad? After all, her mother had been one, and a part time monster slayer to boot! ...Except, no, that wasn't true, was it? Summer Rose wasn't her mother. As much as Yang cried out to heaven and wanted her to be, she wasn't. Her real mother was the kind of monster that Summer slew. She was a traitor, a blackguard, a parasite.

She understood now why her father and uncle had tried to dissuade her from her quest to find her. They wanted to keep secret the nature of her dark origin. They wanted to keep Yang from finding out that the blood that flowed through her veins was the blood of a monster.

"Hey, I got some more dishes."

The voice knocked Yang out of her trance, and she turned to find her standing there with a pair of small plates in her hand. She looked a little nervous, but that was probably illusory. She tilted her head slightly, and that long white ponytail bounced.

"Blake and Sun just finished their desserts," she explained. "Should I just put it down somewhere, or…?"

Yang shook her head and pointed with a soapy hand. "Yeah, just place it by the sink, and I'll get to it."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, but complied before backing off slightly. The blonde was acting a bit strange, but then, what was normal for her anyway? She was just glad the firebrand wasn't throwing veiled insults at her again.

"Hey, do you need any help?" the snowcapped girl asked, hoping not to sound too eager. It had been a while since she tried washing dishes, and she was wondering if she could practice with the Xiao Long's cutlery. Some people thought it was monotonous, but she found it fun, even if it was usually just an act of rebellion. She was in a good mood tonight, and she wanted it to continue.

"No, I can do it myself, Schnee," replied Yang icily.

And just like that, the wonderful day Weiss had been having shattered into an incalculable number of shards.

"Okay, that's it!" she hissed, slapping her hand on the counter.

"What?" said the blonde in surprise.

"I want to know why you hate me," demanded Weiss angrily. "What have I ever done to deserve this?"

"You haven't."

The blunt answer stunned the heiress. She'd been expecting insults, justifications, denials, anything but this kind of honest admission.

"I know it's irrational," Yang continued, focusing her eyes on the plate she was washing. "I know you don't deserve it. I'm working on it, okay? Just… just give me time."

Well, at least Weiss now knew it wasn't something she'd done. Buried deep had been the fear that she'd committed some terrible faux pas, that she had done something to earn Yang's ire, or worse yet, that some minor, long-forgotten whim of hers had somehow cascaded into harming the blonde personally. Gods knew she hadn't made a good first impression, what with blowing up her sister and then scolding her for it.

Still...

"I tried that," Weiss said tiredly. "I've been giving you space, giving you time, but… can you at least meet me halfway?"

Yang looked over at her again, studying the snowcapped girl's expression, but her eyes were drawn to the hem of her sleeve. The embroidery wasn't quite the same, but it echoed the snowflake she knew adorned her back. The blonde turned back to the dishes.

"With what we know… why do you still wear that snowflake on your back?"

That… Weiss hadn't been expecting that quiet, angry question. She hadn't really thought about the Schnee emblem she wore in years. It was… it was a part of her. It was a reminder of what she wanted to fix, of the legacy she had to redeem. She didn't know if she had any outfits that didn't incorporate it somehow.

"Two reasons," she said, rallying herself. "First, it's my grandfather's sigil, and I'll not have it tainted by my father's misdeeds. Second, if I'm ever going to fix this once I inherit, I need to look the part."

Yang's hands stilled, buried halfway to her elbows in the dishwater. "Weiss, you can't fix this."

"Yes, I can!" she insisted. "I have to! You said it yourself: the SDC is too big to fight. So it's either give up and let them win, or fix it from the inside. And I am not one to give up."

"Huh," Yang mused, gazing up and out the window over the sink. "You really believe you can do it." She shook her head. "I think you're wrong, Weiss. But I really hope you're right."

* * *​

It was the second night spent at the Xiao Long household, and so far for the visitors, it had been a vacation to remember, but now they were ready to turn to events that most families considered normal.

Everyone was relaxing in the living room, digesting their dinner and generally taking it easy, with a movie ready to play on the holographic screen. Weiss had pulled a chair in from the kitchen, placing it opposite the easy chair that Blake had claimed, which incidentally put Weiss next to Zwei's bed… and Blake as far away from it as etiquette allowed. Sun had opted to just sprawl on the floor next to the easy chair, while Ruby was sitting on the couch that took center stage between the easy chair and Zwei's bed. Yang had had to take Zwei out and still hadn't returned yet to claim her spot on the couch.

Taiyang returned from the kitchen, tub of popcorn in hand, and sat down next to Ruby, pulling her into a sidelong hug. Ruby leaned into his side. "So," he murmured quietly, "to poke the Goliath in the room, what the hell happened, Ruby?"

That drew everyone's attention.

"It was the White Fang," Sun said. "They must be the ones behind the rash of dust robberies the news is talking about. I saw them there."

"Yeah, the White Fang was there," Ruby agreed, "but there were also these guys in green shooting at me, and the mechs and androids too."

"Indeed," said Weiss. "You shouldn't be so quick to place all blame on the White Fang."

After all, she thought, those were SDC mechs and androids shooting at her too.

Everyone turned to stare at the heiress.

"You know," Sun said, "you are the last person I'd ever expect to hear defending the White Fang."

The heiress's eyes narrowed. "I despise the White Fang," she spat. "They've demonstrated a complete disregard for the consequences of their actions, harming my family, murdering innocent people, and in the process, justifying everything they claim to be fighting to end." She closed her eyes and forced herself to relax. "But that doesn't mean I'm blind to what's right in front of me."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked tentatively.

Weiss opened her eyes again and looked at her, then raised her scroll, tapping it meaningfully. "For what should be obvious reasons, I keep track of White Fang related news in Vale. In the last few months, they've been getting, well, better, for lack of a better word. A lot less murderous, at least. They even joined a peaceful protest recently without turning it into a riot; remember that, Blake? I have no idea what caused this, but it's a direction I think we can all approve of."

"All right, so?" Sun asked.

Weiss turned to look at her scroll and flicked through some articles. "The Vale police captured Roman Torchwick on-site," she said, "and Ruby herself encountered him robbing a dust store before the semester started. Without, I might add, any White Fang involvement."

"Yeah!" Ruby interjected, bouncing in her seat. "That's how I got into Beacon two years early!"

Sun looked over at Ruby. "Wait, you're fifteen?"

"Yeahhh…" Ruby confirmed, scratching the back of her head awkwardly.

While this was going on, Weiss began flicking through more articles. "Now, according to his record, he's never worked with faunus before, and he's been recorded making quite a few racist remarks over the years." She looked over at Sun. "You said the White Fang fought against Torchwick when he tried to kill Ruby, right?"

"Yeah," he admitted, "so they don't like the jerk they're working with. So what?"

"So... why are they working with him? He's a human who's racist against faunus. He's practically an embodiment of everything the White Fang hate." She shook her head. "No, there's something deeper going on. All the signs point to the White Fang working under duress."

Taiyang looked over at Ruby. "Was there anyone there who wasn't shooting at you, Ruby?"

She shrank down, trying to hide in her hood. Not another lecture… "Well, there was this armored White Fang lady who saved me. And, um, I didn't actually see anyone from the White Fang shooting at me, even before they turned on Torchwick."

"Yeah, and let me tell you, that lady was terrifying," Sun interjected.

"That's… strange," Blake mused aloud. She blinked at the attention her comment had drawn. "Well, the White Fang thought this one human deserved to not only live, but be protected. Why? That doesn't exactly fit their manifesto these days."

No one had an answer to that.

Well, Ruby thought she might, but she kept her theory quiet.

"Okay," Taiyang said, "so that's who wasn't shooting at you, Ruby. What about those guys in green?"

"Dunno," Sun offered with a shrug. "Never seen 'em before. Have you girls?"

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake exchanged looks.

"We have no idea who they are," Ruby admitted carefully.

"And the mechs and androids?" Taiyang asked, shifting focus.

Sun looked about ready to say something, but he was stopped by a single pale raised hand.

"They were SDC," Weiss said quietly. "Atlesian Knights, Blackguards, and the colors you described earlier match the Third Enforcer Company. My father's… personal troubleshooters."

"Are you calling me trouble?" Ruby asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Yes. Yes, you are," said her father, much to her outrage. "Please, continue."

"Are you really sure it's the SDC?" asked Blake. "I mean, it isn't that hard to buy a few buckets of paint and some snowflake stencils."

"The Blackguards cinch it," Weiss said, shaking her head. "They're in very limited production, since no one buys them, and only a few of our security forces use them. If someone outside the company had bought or stolen them, I'd have heard about it."

Especially with the digging she'd been doing recently, and what she was preparing to do.

"It's why I'm going to be visiting Atlas before the next semester starts," she added. "I want answers."

"Is that wise?" Blake asked. "I mean-"

"This isn't a decision I make lightly," Weiss cut her off. "It was an ongoing firefight, probably just a mistake, but... I need to know for sure. And get some heads rolling over poor fire discipline. Figuratively, of course."

Ruby objected. "That's great, Weiss, but I don't really think…"

"You don't understand, Ruby," the snowcapped girl insisted. "I need to make sure this was just a mistake, and that you haven't gained her personal attention."

"Sorry that you won't be staying the whole break then," said Taiyang amicably. "You'll be missed, but I guess you've got to do what you've got to do."

Weiss smiled at that, a feeling of warmth and longing creeping from her heart outward.

Sun, however, picked up on something. "So, 'her,' are you worried about your mom finding out about Ruby, or…?"

Weiss shook her head. "No. The leader of the Third Enforcer Company is a woman named Calliope Ferny. She… there's something wrong with her. Just being around her sends a chill down my spine, and I don't know why."

The snowcapped girl trailed off, leaving a spot open for Taiyang to come in.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he said comfortingly. "I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding."

"At the very least, I need to make sure the proper paperwork gets filed so the company accepts liability for the hospital bills."

Taiyang nodded. "And our family thanks you for that. And hey, if they give you any trouble, just come and get me."

Before anyone could formulate a reply to that, the door behind them opened, and Yang and Zwei Xiao Long walked in.

"We're back!" exclaimed Yang. "Dad, I don't know what you've been feeding him, but he had to go something fierce."

She looked at the group, and saw that they were all looking at her and not the movie. "Hey, I told you guys not to wait up for me. Why is the movie still on the main menu?"

At that, the blonde vaulted over the couch and came to rest on her father's other side. "Not that I mind, of course. I love this one."

And with that, the night returned to normalcy, or at least whatever passed for it in the Xiao Long-Rose household.

* * *​

The airfield on Patch was a busy affair, busier than the one at Beacon. What the island lacked in size of landing pads, it made up for in sheer number of smaller ones to accommodate the regular travel to the city of Vale, as many people commuted back and forth on a daily basis.

It was there that they had gathered to see off their friends. It wasn't just Weiss that was leaving either. Sun and Blake were leaving as well. Blake had said something vague about errands she needed to run in the city, and Sun...

"Are you sure you can't stay, Sun?" asked Ruby innocently, looking up at him with big doe eyes.

"I'm sure, Ruby," he replied with a comforting smile. "I've got to go back and make sure my team's okay. If I leave them alone for too long… well, okay, I can leave them alone for a long time, but I shouldn't. I worry about what the Beacon teachers will say."

Ruby sighed. "Nothing good, I'm sure."

"Eh, don't worry about it, you two. Beacon's pretty lax on how teams organize themselves," interjected Taiyang. "Why, I remember hearing about this senior team while we were there that had nine members. Nine! Can you even imagine that? How they ever got it to work is beyond me."

"Lots of planning and help from the teachers, I'm sure," Ruby said quickly, almost too quickly; she must have been giving that question some thought beforehand in order to anticipate all possible variables.

And to think, some parents said his daughters were weird. They weren't weird; those parents were weird. Honestly, what kind of freak of nature father wouldn't be overjoyed to read their little girl McCollum's Encyclopedia of Rare Firearms before bed? Not Taiyang Xiao Long, that was for sure! ...At least, not anymore.

"Thanks again for taking care of us the last few days, Mister Xiao Long," said Blake with what looked like a genuine enough smile.

"Hey, think nothing of it. In fact, if you ever need to stop in if you've lost your dorm or you're on the run from ninja, feel free to step on in," Tai told her with a big smile.

Blake frowned at that. "Why do those scenarios sound like they're familiar to you?"

Tai shrugged. "It's just normal Beacon life. You'll get used to it."

"Well, it'll be a little bit longer before I'm used to it, since I'll be off to Atlas in a few hours," said Weiss, and then she gave a little curtsy. "Thank you, Mister Xiao Long. I don't think I'll ever forget these days."

"Hey, same thing I said to Blake. Don't worry about it," said Tai. He noticed that his other daughter was stepping forward, and paid special attention.

"Yang, I…"

Before Weiss could finish her sentence, Yang had wrapped her in a bear hug, quite noticeably shocking the snowcapped girl.

"I'm sorry," Yang said, just barely loud enough that Tai was able to hear. "Come back safe, you hear?"

"I'm planning on it," replied Weiss as she finally got a hold of herself.

There, now what did I tell you, me? They did work it out, thought Taiyang.

The two broke apart, and soon after, the trio of friends departed for their airship pad while the family stayed behind. As they walked on, they would occasionally look back, and the first time Sun did, Yang shot him a smile and a thumbs up which he returned before turning back around and taking a half-step closer to Blake. With his back turned to them again, Yang's grin turned sad and wistful.

Tai looked at his daughter, then to Sun, then back to his daughter.

No, he thought, memories flooding back to him of when Team STRQ was still at Beacon. There's no way.

And yet, there it was, he couldn't escape it. No matter how much he tried to avoid it, the parallels were clear. The look in her eyes, the expression on her face, the way she held herself, they all mirrored the way Yang's mom looked after her mother had made her move on him, even though he hadn't recognized what it meant at the time.

After taking a few more seconds to parse that thought out in his head, Tai refocused on his daughter. He had seen himself in Sun, and seen Raven in Blake, but he had failed to notice Summer in Yang. History was repeating itself.

As the airship pulled away, Taiyang could only wonder what he could -- or should -- do about it.

* * *​

Yang crept carefully through the house. After dinner, Ruby had rushed off somewhere, obviously hiding something. As her older sister, Yang had a right -- nay, a duty! -- to stick her nose in Ruby's business (and tease her about whatever it was, obviously). After scouring through the house, she eventually found her sister in the shed out back, the one where Yang used to keep Bumblebee -- the bike, not the Autobot; it wasn't big enough for a car -- before all this started.

Had it really been only a few months? It felt like so much had happened since then.

As Yang carefully eased the shed's door open, she saw Ruby curled up in the corner, back to the shed's door, silhouetted by the light from her scroll.

"-way, we'll be heading out pretty soon." Yang quirked an eyebrow. That was Jaune's voice.

"Yeah, well, you be careful, all right?" Ruby ordered.

"Hey, you know me," Jaune replied. "'Run and live,' remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Ruby deadpanned. "I also remember that you're the guy who went one on one with an Ursa Major with practically no actual training to protect a guy you hate."

No training? Yang thought, surprised. An Ursa Major?!

This did not compute. At all. How could someone without training even get into Beacon, let alone take on an Ursa Major single-handedly? She had to have misunderstood. Surely, Ruby meant no formal training, right? Hadn't she said something about him being from a family of heroes? Probably trained privately by his parents or something like that.

"Okay, first, I don't actually hate Cardin, and in my defense, I had you, Weiss, and Pyrrha watching my back."

"Huh?" Ruby asked innocently… a little too innocently.

"What? You thought I didn't see you three lurking over there?" he teased. "I think what happened the other night establishes you'd have left Pyrrha and Weiss in the dust. No way the three of you would have gotten there at the same time, just in time to see me finish it off."

"Remember, Ruby!" Pyrrha's voice came across the scroll. "Five, bright and early, or I'm bringing out the airhorn!"

Ruby hung her head. "Did you have to bring that up?"

"Yup," he said instantly, popping the P.

Ruby sighed.

"Listen, I should go," Jaune said. "Good night, Ruby."

"Good night, Jaune," she said. "Be safe."

"I will."

By this point, Yang was practically vibrating in her boots, and as the call disconnected, she dashed forward and grabbed Ruby in a headlock.

"Aww, how sweet!" she teased as she began giving her sister a noogie.

"Yaaang!" protested Ruby.

"Really, Rubes? Slipping out at night to make sure your boyfriend's okay?"

Unexpectedly, Ruby's struggling form stilled and hung limply. "Yang. Stop. Please."

Surprised, Yang let her go. That… wasn't in the script.

"Ruby?"

"Team Juniper got a mission," Ruby said with a shrug, "and I'm just… I'm worried about them, okay?"

"Haven't they been doing extra credit missions for Ozpin for a while now?" Yang pointed out.

"Yeah, but… this is different," insisted Ruby. "More dangerous."

Yang studied at her little sister. On the face of it, it made sense. She wasn't going to pry into what the mission was -- odds are, Ruby herself didn't know, thanks to operational security needs -- and as Team JNPR's leader and Ruby's first friend since coming to Beacon, Jaune was the person to talk to. But there seemed to be more to it than that, judging from the way Ruby kept refusing to meet her gaze.

Then it hit her.

"That date meant more to you than it did to him, didn't it?" she asked softly.

Ruby snapped up, ramrod straight. "No! Yes! I don't know!" she blurted out. Her shoulders slumped. Yang waited and watched her sister begin pacing around the interior of the shed. This wasn't a topic to push. "It didn't seem to, really," Ruby said finally. "Like he said, it felt like we were just friends hanging out."

She stopped and turned to look at Yang, her face a battlefield of conflicting emotions.

"B-but then I heard what he told you on the roof," Ruby continued, "and I don't… I just don't know how I feel anymore. I mean, I hate it when he puts himself down like that, but…" She trailed off.

"But?" Yang prodded gently after a moment.

Ruby's voice was small, barely audible, and filled with uncertainty. "Does he really see me like that?"

Yang thought back to the conversation in question and replayed it in her mind. "Well, why wouldn't he?" she asked. It was the most obvious answer in the world.

Ruby blinked. "Huh?"

"Well, what he said about you, it's not like any of it wasn't true, you know," Yang elaborated.

Ruby puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Yaaang!"

"I mean it, Rubes," Yang insisted, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You are a wonderful girl, a bright ray of hope in a dark world. You're more than just my little sister. You're my hero."

Ruby stared at her for a long moment, blushing slightly, then shook her head and looked away. "You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not."

"Aren't you?" Ruby pressed, looking back at her sister. "I mean, since we started Beacon, we've been kind of... drifting apart. I actually talked to Coco about it, why no one on our team seemed to want to spend time together, and she was right, things changed, but I keep feeling like I'm leaving you behind."

Yang was… vaguely aware who Ruby was talking about. Coco Adel was the best-dressed student at Beacon when out of uniform. She led Team CFVY, the top second-year team, and they tended to sit with Teams RWBY and JNPR in the cafeteria at lunch. That, however, wasn't what was important.

"I... had some things that needed doing, Ruby, and I wanted to give you time to make new friends," Yang said. She pulled her into a hug. "Don't you worry, Ruby. I don't mind being left behind, just as long as I get to see you reach the top. You are my sunshine, and I wouldn't give you up for the world."

Of course, that still left the lingering question of Jaune, Ruby's maybe-feelings for him, and Pyrrha's definitely-feelings for him. Did she tell Ruby about Pyrrha's feelings?

With how selfless Ruby was, that was as good as telling her to give up on the guy, much like how she'd decided to give up on Sun for Blake.

Sis, we are way too much alike in some ways, she thought ruefully. Seriously, both wanting a friend or teammate's man with… blond hair and... blue eyes… Her eyes went wide. Oh god. Did we get that from Mo- Summer?

Yang closed her eyes and banished that disturbing train of thought from her mind, focusing back on the question at hand: Should she tell Ruby about Pyrrha's feelings for Jaune?

No, that wasn't the question at hand. Of course she should.

But would she?

Sorry, Pyrrha, she thought regretfully. The redheaded champion was a nice girl, and she deserved better… but between her and Ruby? There was no contest. Family always came first.

Opening her eyes again, she gently stepped back, holding Ruby at arm's length, hands on her shoulders. "Now, if you want Jaune, I say you go get him."

"But he doesn't see me like that!" protested Ruby.

"Correction. He thinks you don't see him like that and that he doesn't deserve you, so he's not letting himself see you like that," Yang pointed out. "Whether he deserves you or not doesn't matter, if you want to be with him."

"I don't even know if I do!"

"Then I suggest you find out. A second date," Yang said, then grinned, "and unless he gets fresh, I'll even promise I won't pulp him."

"Jaune wouldn't do that."

"I know," the blonde brawler agreed, still grinning, "so if he does, that means he's some Pretender fake, and we'll need to rescue the real Jaune."

Ruby giggled happily at that, a hopeful look of determination set in her expression. "Right. I'm going to give it a shot. Thanks, sis!"

"Any time, Ruby," said Yang with a smile. "Let's get back inside now."

As they walked back to the house together, their faces were all joy, but the mind was a different story.

What am I doing? sobbed Yang internally. I'm planning to sabotage the love life of the nicest person at Beacon. Pyrrha practically kisses the ground Jaune walks on, and I'm going to take that away from her? What kind of monster am I?

The kind of monster who puts the people who matter most first, a voice that sounded hauntingly like Adam said in her head. Doesn't Ruby deserve to be happy too? Doesn't she deserve that chance at happiness?

Yes! Oh, why does life have to be so hard? she wondered.

Try some whiskey! It's good for you! her uncle's cheerful voice came unbidden into her mind.

On second thought, she was perfectly happy with this and willing to tough it out.

* * *​

Yang glanced down at the piece of paper in her hands, a grocery list, and then back up at the road in front of her.

"You know," said Bumblebee from the speakers, "we are undercover. That kind of doesn't work unless you at least have your hands on the wheel."

Yang blinked, and then flopped her hands onto the steering wheel rotating on its own. "Sorry, Bee, had a bad night last night."

"Didn't you say that conversation with Sun got rid of that issue for you the other day?" asked the disguised Autobot.

"Yeah, well, Sun isn't here anymore," replied Yang snippily.

After a moment of silence, Bumblebee spoke again. "Yang, what's wrong? Come on, I'm your partner. Whatever it is, you can tell me, and I'll understand."

Yang sighed. "Can you, Bee? Can you really?"

"What are you talking about, Yang? Of course, I can."

"Bumblebee, you and the other Autobots are older than anything I know except the planet we're on."

"What's age got to do with it? I bet if anything, that means that I have experience in just about everything out there, so lay it on me," declared Bumblebee confidently.

Yang slammed her foot on the brake pedal, and amazingly, Bumblebee slid to a stop. "Have you ever experienced peace?!" she practically shouted.

The Autobot's silence was deafening, but after a few seconds, he replied, "No."

At that, Yang snarled. "No? Well, I have."

With those words, Yang opened the door and began walking away, off the road and into the forest. After a moment or two, Bumblebee transformed and followed, breaking into a brief jog to catch up.

"Yang! Yang!" he called after her, heavy steps muffled by the grass. "What's gotten into you?!"

"Everything was great until you came around!" she shouted back.

Bumblebee paused for a moment, but only for a moment. It hurt, but he'd faced worse. Even from his own side, he'd faced worse.

"I'm going to let that pass," he said without even the barest hint of the edge it should have had.

"Life was simple. Then you had to walk into my life!" ranted Yang, picking up the pace.

"Roll," corrected Bumblebee.

"Whatever," she scoffed. "I was going to become a Huntress with my sister, kill Grimm, see the world, save lives along the way. But now? Now, I've got an interstellar war on my doorstep, a war against my teammate's dad's business partners, of all people! I'm hiding so many things, secrets I'm keeping from my dad, my sister, my team... people I want to trust, people I can't afford to trust, and it almost got Ruby killed!"

"What?!" gaped the Autobot, ducking under the branch of a tree as he continued moving after her. "You're going to have to run that last one by me again, because it did not make sense."

"I should have told Ruby what was really going on. I should have been there to protect her. If I had done that, then she never would have gotten hurt," explained Yang.

Bumblebee rolled that explanation over in his mind several times before responding. "Okay, even when laid out in plain Valish, that still doesn't jive with reality."

Yang stopped, and her whole body whipped around like a scared Vandarian fuzz-worm. Her irises were red, and her cheeks were stained with tears. "What are you talking about? Of course it does!"

"Yang, think this through," Bumblebee said patiently. "Say you did tell Ruby about us, about the White Fang, about all of it. How would that have changed things? None of us even knew about Torchwick's little operation at the docks until it went south, so we couldn't have stopped him or warned her."

"Ruby shouldn't have been there," she mumbled, staring at the ground.

"And how would her knowing about us cause her to not be there?" he prodded.

Her hands clenched into fists. "Instead of preparing for the raid, I could have kept her safe at Beacon."

"Could have, sure," he allowed, "but would you have?"

"What?" Her head whipped up to look at him in confusion.

He squatted down to look her in the eyes. "What happened to being glad that she was getting out of her shell, Yang?" he asked. "Would you really have kept her from spending time with her new friends?"

"I-I still should have been there for her," she insisted.

"And you were," he reminded her. "Let me ask you something. If you'd told your sister everything, would she have let you keep working with the White Fang?"

"Huh?" she blinked, surprised at the question. "Probably not, no. Why?"

"Well, if you told her, then she'd be dead right now," came the blunt response. "Because you wouldn't have been on that Bullhead to save her when she used her semblance to rush in alone. Even if you'd been chaperoning her, you'd have been left behind, just like Sun and Penny were. And she'd be dead right now."

A horrified expression grew on her face. "I- I-"

"We keep secrets for a reason, Yang," he said gently. "Granted, this particular situation isn't exactly the sort of thing we can plan for, but it's still true. Keeping certain things secret helps keep people safe, no matter how distasteful it can be. Those secrets let you operate with the White Fang, and together, you did a lot of good."

"'Did good'? With the White Fang?" she echoed, disbelievingly. "They're still terrorists."

"Not so much anymore, actually," he said. "At least, not the ones working under Adam. They've been getting better. You were helping them be better."

"Or maybe they were helping me be worse," she fired back.

"You mean the dreams?" Bumblebee prodded.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "The dreams." Not the nightmares. "And the docks."

"You did what you had to do," the Autobot reassured her.

"I don't even remember what I did!" cried Yang in frustration. "All I remember is seeing Ruby getting shot, and then… everything's a blur after that, right up until I was staring down at Torchwick's smug face while beating it in. I killed people, Bee, and I don't even remember doing it."

"That scares you, doesn't it?" asked Bumblebee, and Yang nodded shamefully. "Good. 'Cause you can't just lose control like that again, and you won't. You won't because you never let the same trick work on you twice. For now, just focus on the fact that you saved your sister, like I said."

"Did I?"

"Well, yeah, and I bet if any White Fang see her in the future, they'll let her be," reasoned the yellow bot. "They'll remember how you helped her, and how you helped them that night, and all the other nights too."

"Will they?" she snorted bitterly. The way Adam had basically thrown them out still stung. "It didn't seem to matter when that Cinder lady showed up." She turned and kept walking, deep in thought, Bumblebee a step behind. "I don't get it. Why are they even working with her? She's human, she killed a bunch of their guys, she doesn't care about their cause… Optimus was right there! We had her outnumbered and surrounded."

"I'm sure they had their reasons," Bumblebee assured her.

"Yeah, well, I suppose it doesn't matter now," she said with a sigh as they emerged from the forest onto a clifftop, disturbing some of the native wildlife, judging from the flutter of wings and bird calls that sounded from the cliff's edge. "It's not like we'll ever talk to them again."

"You sure about that?"

"I think they'd have called by now if they were going to," she said, fishing her burner scroll out and staring at it for a moment before tucking it away again. Logically, she should just toss it, but… well, burner scrolls were cheap -- that was the point -- but why waste even that little bit of lien when she might find a use for an untraceable scroll later?

"Maybe," he allowed, "but let me ask you this. If they were in trouble and needed help… would you help them?"

"In a heartbeat," was her immediate response. She shook her head clear and walked to the edge of the cliff where a gravestone waited, a single white rose laying across it.

"Hey, um, Summer," she said, squatting down before it. "I know it's been a while, but… this has been a crazy semester. I can't help but wonder if it was like that for you. Um, this is Bumblebee, my partner. He's… not from around here, obviously."

Bumblebee shifted nervously, and then looked back towards the tree line. "If you want, I can go check the perimeter? Make sure no Grimm are sneaking up behind us?"

Yang nodded, her eyes closed, and Bumblebee walked away. She wasn't sure if he could still hear her. She chose to believe he couldn't.

A strange smile came to Yang's face as she exposited. "They're called the transformers, in case you were wondering. They're aliens from the planet Cybertron, and they're split between two warring kingdoms: the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. Bee's an Autobot, obviously." It was there that she paused, and her voice took on a strange quality. "I'm an Autobot."

She felt herself blushing a little bit at that. "I know, I know, it's probably not exactly what you had in mind for your little girl, but it's true. I got the rank patch and everything to prove it. Division: Ground -- Unit: Special Operations -- Rank: Private. It, uh, kind of looks like the White Fang's logo merged with some crosshairs. Which is fitting, because I've been doing a lot of missions with them lately.

"I know what you're probably thinking, that it's great that I've been working with a faunus rights organization, and I have! I really have, I've even spent some time volunteering at shelters and soup kitchens… but only to help pad out my cover. I need a cover because the White Fang… the White Fang have become a terrorist organization. Bombings, riots, theft, the whole nine yards, and I'm working with them, or I was. I was helping them turn themselves around. I guess it helped that we had a common enemy in the Schnee Dust Company. It was… quite a series of adventures."

There was another pause, and tears started to spring forth again. "The White Fang wear these Grimm masks, and I guess my mother thought I should match, so she went and left one of her spares with Bumblebee for me to wear. Some of the other Autobots did some digging, and that's how we found out what Raven Branwen does for a living. That's how I found out that my mother is a monster."

Her eyes narrowed then, and her voice become so much angrier than it was before. "Why didn't you ever tell me, Summer?! Did I not deserve to know who my mother was, what my mother was?!"

The headstone was silent.

"Why didn't you tell me?! If you had, then I wouldn't have risked Ruby's life after you died! If you had, then I wouldn't have wasted so much of my life looking for that... animal!"

A bird cawed, and the tears fell freely.

"If you had, then I wouldn't have gone around beating people up if I thought I could extract even the smallest sliver of information about her! If you had, then I never would have donned that stupid mask in the first place! If you had, then I could have taken steps to avoid turning out just like her! If… if… if…"

She doubled over then, and let out a sob of despair. "Why?!" she pleaded. "Why couldn't you be my mother, Summer?! I miss you so much, and I miss most of all those ignorant days when I would call you 'Mom.' I want those days back. I wish I never found out the truth about her, even the slightest hint of it. I wish it wasn't the blood of a monster running through my veins. I wish it was yours."

She sat like that for a long time, silently crying, until eventually, she picked her head up and placed her shaking hand gingerly on the epitaph. "I've got to go," she said hoarsely. "I'm the lady of the house now, and I can't dawdle. I… I promise to come by more often, and next time, I'll make sure we have the whole day to ourselves. I… Goodbye for now."

With those final words, she stood up and began walking towards where she presumed Bumblebee waited.

The song of the birds had turned into a lament.

"You know, Bee," she said sadly as she walked up to the Autobot and they began making their way through the forest back to the road, "for the longest time, I really thought she was my mom."

"Sounds like she was, in all the ways that mattered."

* * *​

Ruby smiled as Yang drove away in Bumblebee. Her sister was out, and her dad was walking Zwei, so she had her window of opportunity. It was time to get to work.

With quick careful steps, she made her way down into the basement and began searching for her prize. She found it eventually in a plastic box set aside in a corner; it was sitting upon one of those impossibly high shelves. In earlier times, this would have stopped Ruby, but she was a Huntress now, and she would not be denied.

One flash of her semblance and a drop to the floor later, and Ruby was holding the box in her hands. This was it; without a question, this was it. Written in permanent marker on some tape stuck to it was a single word: "Beacon."

Ruby opened the box and found herself looking at a collection of momentos and photo albums.

Jackpot, she thought.

Some time later, she was feeling decidedly more conflicted.

She had found so much, so many pictures that she had never seen before. Pictures of her dad, her mom, her uncle, her whole family, including the black sheep of it: Raven Branwen. Ruby had never seen so many pictures of her before.

She was... beautiful. She looked strong, fair, and confident. She looked happy. Ruby could feel herself being inspired just looking at her. This was Raven Branwen? This was Yang's mom? Why had she ever left?

More importantly, why did none of the pictures show her with the mask she apparently wore?

Ruby paused for a moment and opened up her scroll. She tapped through the menus to bring up the sketches that Ren and Nora had sent her. They showed a woman in a strange set of armor wearing an elaborate four-eyed Grimm mask, and it was her concealed face that Ruby zoomed in on.

"Where are you?" she asked, shaking her head. Setting the scroll down, she turned back to her search.

A short while later, her thoughts were interrupted.

"Ruby, where did you get this picture?"

The young Huntress shot up to her feet and spun around. "D-Dad," she stammered, seeing her father standing there, staring at the scroll -- her scroll -- in his hand, which still had up the zoomed in image of the sketch Ren and Nora had put together.

"My friends drew it for me," she answered. "They're trained sketch artists. That- that's the woman who saved me at the docks."

"You're sure?" he asked, an intensity in his voice she couldn't identify.

She nodded. "Yeah. I got shot, my aura dropped, and she just... came out of nowhere with this giant red sword and started killing anyone who got near me. She just about threatened Sun and Penny to get me to the hospital before running off." As she explained what happened, her dad's face grew more and more… distraught? Melancholy? She wasn't even sure she could put a word to it.

"Ruby…" he murmured.

She pressed on. "I've heard people talk about Yang's mom sometimes, Dad. You, Uncle Qrow, even Professor Ozpin. The mask, the sword… is that- could that- could that be her?"

And there it was, the question she'd been trying to answer.

Taiyang looked at his younger daughter for a long moment, then set her scroll down on a nearby shelf. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his own scroll, searching for something.

"It… sure looks like her, Ruby," he said reluctantly. He placed his scroll down on the shelf next to hers. "Your Uncle Qrow took this picture of her a few years ago, mask and all."

The clothing was vastly different, the sword was sheathed, and a black mane of hair spilled out, but the posture, the mask… everything else was the same. Practically identical.

Ruby stared at the sketch and the photo for a long moment. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt now: Raven had saved her life that night at the docks. This was it. This was the proof she'd been looking for, but...

"But… why?" she cried, whipping her head around to look at her father, unshed tears welling in her eyes. "If she cared enough to save me -- if she even knows I exist -- why didn't she come back?!"

Her father sighed and walked over to the stairs, sitting on the lower steps. He patted the step next to him, and she followed and took a seat. "Raven is… complicated," he said finally.

"Maybe," Ruby accepted. "But... the best things always are, aren't they?"

Taiyang nodded. "At least in our family."

"Can you tell me about her?"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"The first thing you should know about Raven is that she didn't care what people thought about her. I remember a time when..."

As he talked, his eyes grew distant, and a fond smile grew on his face as he remembered happier times.

(Interlude 1-1: The Road to Vacuo | Interlude 1-2: Patchwork | Interlude 1-3: Blake's Seven)​

A/N 1 (Cyclone): The first song Sun and Yang listen to is a matter of Cody's personal tastes. The second one… well, the lyrics really fit Sun, when you think about it (at least until his painfully crowbarred removal from the cast at the beginning of volume six, anyway), on top of which, it made an appearance in Bumblebee (the movie), so here it is, making an appearance in Bumblebee (the Autobot).

FYI, for anyone who missed it in the thread chatter, Ruby talking to Coco about the members of Team RWBY not socializing with each other is actually canon from After the Fall:

"If we're supposed to be a team, shouldn't we actually want to spend time with one another?" Ruby said. Weiss had gone back to their room. Yang was probably partying with her Signal friends somewhere. And she could almost guarantee Blake was curled up with a book. Ruby suddenly felt lost and alone.

"It takes time to become a team," Coco said. "But when it clicks, there's nothing like it. And nothing will be able to stop you."

Click to shrink...

We also did not realize until after we finished it that we wrote what has to be one of the most unusual conversations in RWBY fanfiction, in which we go from Weiss defending the White Fang to Blake defending the SDC in a single scene. Welcome to Bizarro Remnant, I guess.

Anyway, we ended up making some comparisons here that we had no idea we would be making when we started writing this interlude. Comparisons between Blake and Raven came at us out of the blue when we were thinking on how Tai would see the teenagers' interactions. Overall, this turned out to be a much more Raven-heavy interlude than we ever anticipated, especially given how little screen time she's had in the story so far.

A/N 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett): You know, we didn't actually know where Yang was walking to when we started to write that scene. She walked to Summer's grave all on her own. I guess she just needed to spend some time with her mom, you know?

Heavy stuff this chapter, without a doubt, but we loved writing this. Reading it out loud for the proofreading was almost the opposite though. Almost. We bounced off each other from scene to scene to give our throats a rest.

Also, for all those wondering why we focused on the things we did in "Shatterpoint" . . . this is not the end of that little plot thread, not by a long shot. However, hopefully people will be able to understand why we did things the way we did. As we said in the chapter, sometimes not having all the information isn't a bad thing, sometimes it can lead to something wonderful…. I mean, isn't that how we all live our lives? Trying to piece together a puzzle that's missing a few pieces?

The adventure continues next time with the next episode: "Blake's Seven."

A/N 3: For all those who missed it, ScipioSmith very generously went and created a TV Tropes page for the fic, which can be found here, with a number of entries we, ah, didn't expect, shall we say.

 

[Faraway-R]

"Can you tell me about her?"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"The first thing you should know about Raven is that she didn't care what people thought about her. I remember a time when..."

As he talked, his eyes grew distant, and a fond smile grew on his face as he remembered happier times.

Click to shrink...

And now I'm wondering if Raven was a witness to Yang and Bumblebee's heart-to-spark moment at Summer Rose's grave, because that moment makes me think about Tayang's "first thing": "Did she really not care?"

 

[Cyclone]

(Interlude 1-2: Patchwork | Interlude 1-3: Blake's Seven | Interlude 1-4: Cold)




Interlude 1-3: Blake's Seven

* * *​

Jaune Arc was worried about Blake Belladonna.

Unfortunately, he wasn't exactly close to the raven-haired girl -- he wasn't entirely certain, but he suspected he could count the number of conversations they'd shared on one hand with fingers left over -- so he couldn't exactly approach her about it, which was why he was staring at his scroll, trying to compose a message to her team leader instead.

"Jaune, is something wrong?" asked Pyrrha, watching him pace about their dorm room.

The blond shook his head even as he continued fiddling with his scroll. "No, just trying to send Ruby a text message that gives away as little as possible."

Pyrrha quirked an eyebrow at that.

Jaune caught the expression and went to explain. "Well, Ruby said that Penny's been given orders from General Ironwood himself not to use the CCT, right?"

Pyrrha nodded. "That's what Ren and Nora said."

"Right. Now, the way I see it, that leaves us two possibilities." Jaune held up a finger. "Possibility one: there's something very special and highly classified that Penny of all people knows that they're worried some random hacker might find out." He held up a second finger. "Or possibility two: General Ironwood gave this order to everyone, all the way down to the academy students. Why would he do that unless he knows the CCT is compromised? And who besides the Atlesian military is best positioned to compromise the CCT? Someone Ironwood would be well-positioned to identify as having done so?"

"The SDC," Pyrrha said slowly as the scenario painted itself in her mind.

"Exactly."

Again, Pyrrha nodded. "So you're trying to send a message to Ruby that only she will understand."

Jaune pointed at her; she was quick on the uptake. "Exactly. Now, at this point, the only problems that we could run into is that either Ruby doesn't understand at all, or she betrays us."

Involuntarily, Pyrrha gave a little laugh. "I'm sorry, it's just…"

Jaune laughed as well. "Ruby betraying us. Ridiculous, right? Could you see that happening?"

Pyrrha mirthfully shook her head. "No, no I can't imagine anything like that. I trust Ruby implicitly. The idea that she would ever betray me for any reason…"

"Anyway," continued Jaune, "I think I managed to find a message that she'll actually understand, so I'll just hit send, and… we're good!"

"What did you send her a message about?" asked Pyrrha. "The real reason, I mean."

"I'm worried about Blake," he said seriously. "She's really pushing hard for us to go on this mission right now, even though it's just recon. If they were going to move it, they've already had plenty of time to do so after they shut down Blake's backdoor. It only makes sense to wait a week so that we're all together for this, but… well, you were there."

"Professor Goodwitch will be supervising the mission personally," Pyrrha reminded him. "I think she'll be able to handle any threat we're liable to face."

"Pyrrha, good tactics rely on more than just choking the enemy out with your mind and throwing them into bottomless pits," lectured Jaune goodnaturedly. Then his face fell. "Please don't tell her I said that."

The redhead's laugh sang out. "Don't worry, Jaune. I won't."

He sighed. "But anyway, it's not this mission I'm worried about. It's just… something about this whole situation really seems to have gotten to Blake. It's like she's taking it all personally. That's… I'm worried she might do something rash."

Pyrrha's eyes widened. "Blake. You think that Blake might do something rash? I'm sorry, Jaune, but that strikes me as more than a little, um, far-fetched."

"I know it sounds nuts, Pyr, but…"

Before Jaune could finish his thought, he was interrupted by his scroll ringing. He glanced at the caller ID and answered. "Hey, Ruby."

"Jaune," she said. "I got your message."

"Any thoughts?" he asked, eager for advice.

"Calm down and stop worrying?" Ruby suggested.

"Please tell me you're joking," he said, his voice flat.

"I'm serious!" she protested. "Listen, Jaune, I know you're worried she might do something like… what I did, but she won't. She's smarter than that!"

"Ruby…"

"Hear me out," she insisted. "Remember initiation?"

"Yeah?" What did that have to do with anything?

"Between the four pairs of us, who got to the temple without anyone riding a Grimm?"

Jaune opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. She… kinda had a point. Ruby and Weiss had arrived by Nevermore, he had still been clinging to the giant Death Stalker as it chased Pyrrha, and Nora had decided an Ursa made a fine steed while Ren had just been trying to keep up. That had been a very strange day.

"You know I'm right," Ruby said, interrupting his musings.

Pyrrha gave him a level stare and a slow nod.

"Okay, fine, you're right," he admitted with a sigh. To both of them. Didn't mean he'd stop worrying, though.

An awkward silence hung in the air. The conversation didn't feel over yet, but Jaune couldn't think of anything to say. He was about to ask Pyrrha if she had anything she wanted to say to Ruby when the girl on the other end of the line broke the silence.

"Jaune?" she spoke tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"Are you having a bad feeling about Blake or about this mission?"

He pursed his lips as he considered the question. He'd just told Pyrrha it wasn't the mission he was worried about, and that was true, he thought. With Miss Goodwitch coming along, they had plenty of firepower and experience, and recon was usually relatively low-risk. He'd been focused on Blake, primarily. When Ozpin had briefed them on Huntsman reports that suggested the intel from her backdoor wasn't as outdated as they'd assumed, she'd been very insistent on following up immediately, and that worried him.

"Maybe," he allowed. It was a small lie. "Something I'll have to keep in mind. Anyway, we'll be heading out pretty soon."

"Yeah, well, you be careful, all right?"

Jaune grinned, thinking back to initiation, since it was now on his mind. "Hey, you know me. 'Run and live,' remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," was Ruby's reply. "I also remember that you're the guy who went one on one with an Ursa Major with practically no actual training to protect a guy you hate."

He was losing. He was losing a petty argument to a fifteen-year-old girl. In front of Pyrrha. This was unacceptable.

"Okay, first, I don't actually hate Cardin," he stalled, "and in my defense, I had you, Weiss, and Pyrrha watching my back."

"Huh?" Ruby asked innocently. Yeah, no. He wasn't falling for that.

"What? You thought I didn't see you three lurking over there?" he reminded her, meeting Pyrrha's surprised look with a gentle glare. He wasn't the most observant guy around, but he wasn't blind either. "I think what happened the other night establishes you'd have left Pyrrha and Weiss in the dust. No way the three of you would have gotten there at the same time, just in time to see me finish it off."

"Remember, Ruby!" Pyrrha called out, an all-too-cheerful smile on her face, looking up from where she was double-checking Miló and Akoúo̱. "Five, bright and early, or I'm bringing out the airhorn!"

"Did you have to bring that up?" Ruby asked, her voice miserable.

"Yup," Jaune replied with a grin. Aha! Victory was his! His internal celebration was short-lived, however, as Pyrrha held up her arm and tapped her wrist. "Listen, I should go. Good night, Ruby."

"Good night, Jaune. Be safe."

"I will," he assured her before ending the call. He stood up and looked at Pyrrha. "All right," he said. "Let's go."

* * *​

Pyrrha Nikos was not worried about Blake Belladonna.

Fortunately, she had grown rather close to Blake over the last few weeks, and so had a greater understanding of her than Jaune did, as sweet and noble as he was to worry about her. After all, it had been the unofficial ninja who'd gone and helped Pyrrha with her… issues. She had also gone and helped the cherry-haired lady refocus onto something more productive.

"Relax, you already completed the pre-flight examination," Blake reminded her, her voice calm and collected as always.

"Yes, yes, we did," Pyrrha replied with a short shifting jump in her seat.

She was located in the copilot's chair for this flight, while Blake was in the Bullhead's pilot seat. Theoretically, the black-haired girl was in control. In actual fact, she had handed the stick over to Pyrrha, and that would continue for much of the flight.

Her first real flight also had her flying into hostile territory… just another day in the life of a Huntress.

"Start take-off procedures when you're ready."

Pyrrha was still a little bit nervous, but that even and steady tone from her flight instructor put her at ease.

"Starting take-off."

They lifted into the air and, soon enough, were on their way to the designated landing zone. On their way there, the group in back busied themselves, while Blake and Pyrrha had their own focus. Flying an aircraft of any sort was simultaneously a very relaxing and very stressful venture.

In this, she greatly envied Blake. She was always so calm and collected during those moments, bringing peace to Pyrrha's own nervous disposition. Indeed, she seemed totally unflappable.

At least, she was at the beginning of the flight...

"Huh, that's strange," Blake observed out of the blue.

"What is?" asked Pyrrha, looking over the controls.

"I calculated our fuel consumption using the weights of everyone here…"

"How did you get that information?" asked Pyrrha with a blink of surprise.

"...and according to this, we're using more fuel than we should be at this stage in the journey. Internal balance sensors are reading extra weight as well," finished Blake, completely ignoring the question. "We've still got plenty enough fuel for the mission, but either we've got a leak, or we've got a stowaway."

With a call over her shoulder, Blake relayed that information to everyone else in the Bullhead. It wasn't long after that that Pyrrha heard rooting around as Glynda and the rest of Team RRANNBW -- RANNB? -- looked for anything strange. She didn't have to wait long for an answer.

There was a loud thud and a squawk of surprise from several voices.

"Uh, hey guys!"

That snapped Blake out of her calm. Eyes wide, she twisted around in her seat to look back into the cargo bay. She sounded both shocked and appalled. "Sun?!"

"Mister Wukong, just what do you think you're doing on this airship?" demanded Miss Goodwitch.

"Oh, you know, hanging out," he quipped in reply.

Blake, expression taking on an angry quality, began to unbuckle herself.

Pyrrha saw that and decided to reassure her. "Don't worry. I can handle the stick alone for a few minutes."

Blake paused with one buckle out, then shook her head and rebuckled herself back in. "No. I'm sorry. That would be irresponsible of me. I can't leave you alone up here."

"I really can-"

"No," Blake repeated flatly. "I was going to take over anyways. It's just that now I'll be taking over sooner. Go ahead and check on our uninvited guest."

Pyrrha nodded and disconnected herself from the copilot's station. She stepped back into the bay of the flying transport; the exterior doors were sealed to cut wind resistance, as per normal procedure on longer distance flights like this one. Professor Goodwitch and the rest of Team RRANNBW on this mission had formed a circle beneath an open panel in the ceiling, from which dangled the upper half of Sun Wukong, his legs still hidden in the maintenance space he'd apparently stowed away in.

"I'll ask this again, Mister Wukong: Why are you here?" demanded the professor, her voice clear in the sealed bay.

Sun suddenly found himself yanked from the ceiling by an invisible force and slammed into deck, then lifted and pressed against the back wall. Before him stood Professor Goodwitch, riding crop pointed at his head. She did not look happy.

The poor boy seemed to take the hint and stammered out an explanation. "Okay! Okay! I stowed away because there is something very dangerous and very weird going on."

Nora quickly glanced at the others before focusing on Sun. "What do you mean? There's nothing dangerous or weird going on here."

"Yeah," concurred Jaune with unnatural calm, so different from his normal sweet and beautiful tones that were like music upon the ears. "We're just a Beacon team out on a mission with our teacher, nothing unusual going on here."

"Perhaps you're just stressed and undergoing a form of culture shock," offered Ren. "After all, Beacon does send more of its students out on missions than any other Huntsman academy."

"There's nothing untoward going on here, Mister Wukong," agreed Miss Goodwitch. "You're just letting your nerves get to you."

Sun looked around at them, fear morphing into a sort of anger. "Oh no, don't you people gaslight me! I'm no idiot. I checked around. Teams Ruby and Juniper are always going out on missions these days, joint missions, often without a full Huntsman backing you up, both of which are pretty rare for students, even at Beacon, and none of the other first year students are going on missions yet. I even checked with the upperclassmen, and none of them pulled missions until the end of their second semester. It's just you, and I want to know why. I want to know exactly why this is happening. It's... it's insane. There's no way you're ready for anything on the board, which means this has to be important. Like, super-secret important. And I want to help."

Pyrrha smiled a well-practiced smile, one she hoped didn't come off as fake, because it wasn't. "Well, there have been some concerns about how few people we were bringing along for this," she pointed out to Miss Goodwitch.

The blonde teacher nodded, then turned towards the cockpit. "Stay here," she ordered Sun.

The scandalously clad student seemed a little off put by that, so as Miss Goodwitch left, Jaune looked at Ren and Nora and ordered, projecting an undeniable presence of authority, "Keep an eye on him."

"You got it, Fearless Leader!" Nora agreed with a cheerful salute as the two took up positions flanking the Haven student. Evidently, they remembered their prisoner handling coursework from Professor Greene's class.

Pyrrha paused before she went back to her station, turning to Sun and inquiring, "Is there anything you need Blake to know?"

"Is she mad?" he asked tentatively.

"She was not precisely in the best spirits when I last saw her, no," confirmed the champion.

"Then tell her I'm sorry," was his simple reply.

Pyrrha nodded and stepped back into the cockpit where a conversation was already in progress.

"Every person we pull into this circle is another possible weak link in the chain that the SDC could find and exploit. I recommend we turn back. For both his safety and ours," explained Miss Goodwitch.

"We don't know what we're up against," argued Jaune passionately, his voice filled with concern for the welfare of the team. "I'd rather have the extra manpower and not need it."

"Thank you," was Blake's simple response. "However, I've already made my decision. We're pressing on."

"Can you vouch for him?" asked Miss Goodwitch.

Pyrrha glided past Jaune's fair and gallant form to take her place in the copilot's seat. It was from that perspective that she saw Blake's answer. There was something off in her expression.

"Penny said he acquitted himself well in what little fighting they got up to at the docks, and he… seems to have his heart in the right place," replied Blake evenly.

"That's another thing," Jaune interjected, his voice thoughtful, confident. "He's already halfway into this. He was at the docks, and he knows about our… extra credit assignments. If he was willing to stow away on a probably dangerous mission to an unknown location to find out… what's going to stop him from continuing to dig into this?"

"A short jump and a long fall into Grimm-infested woods," deadpanned Blake in reply. Just as what she was implying registered for Pyrrha, she clarified loudly, "Which we're not going to do!"

"I should hope not," Miss Goodwitch replied dryly. "I imagine Headmaster Lionheart would be rather put out if we managed to lose one of his students."

"Then it's settled," said Blake. "We're taking Sun with us."

The professor nodded, but spoke her reply in a stern voice. "Your mission, your call, Miss Belladonna. Just remember that it's also your responsibility, and that responsibility does not always end when the mission does."

Pyrrha noticed Blake gripping her cyclic stick and thrust control lever just that little bit tighter. It was a tad unnerving to see, honestly. She, like a good friend, would have to stick by her instructor in the coming mission… unless ordered to do otherwise, for obvious reasons.

Blake answered in a controlled tone. "Believe me, Professor, I understand that very well."

Miss Goodwitch nodded, then waved into the back.

"Miss Valkyrie, please bring Mister Wukong up here."

"Yes, ma'am!" was the chipper reply.

There was a short gap of time, and then the unruly-haired blond appeared.

"Um, hi?" Sun asked from the doorway between the cockpit and cargo bay.

"Despite my misgivings, Mister Wukong," Miss Goodwitch said, "it has been decided that we will continue the mission with you."

"On these joint missions, we usually go by Team Rainbow," Jaune informed Sun warmly, offering him a strong, welcoming hand, "but we're short a couple of members tonight, so I guess… welcome to Rainbow Six?"

"More like Blake's Seven, I would say, Mister Arc," Miss Goodwitch corrected. "Considering my presence and the fact that Miss Belladonna has the lead on this mission."

"Umm, good to be here!" Sun replied, shaking Jaune's strong and calloused hand.

Well, a minor hiccup, but it seemed like things were going swimmingly.

* * *​

Contrary to popular belief, Lie Ren was not a ninja. It was an understandable mistake, but he'd never received any training from any accredited ninja school, and Atlas Academy's ninja program was quite new. No formal training, that is...

He had, in fact, had some training in the art of ninjutsu. Nora had too, for that matter. However, his ginger-haired companion had found many of the lessons harder to grasp than he had.

That was the way of life though. He was good at the things she stumbled in, and she excelled where he faltered. Theirs was a balanced partnership, worked out throughout the long years spent by each other's side as the sole survivors of Kuroyuri.

Of course, this time, it was not Nora who was by his side.

"I've got a visual on the target," reported Blake.

After more than a day of hiking, they had finally reached the perimeter of their target, and if they needed any confirmation that this was an active site, they found it in spades. There were automated turrets and sensors everywhere, most of them concealed. In the distance, the sound of engines of various types could occasionally be heard, and once or twice mixed among them was a cracking sonic boom.

"I see it too," replied Ren.

The target, as it happened, was one of the less concealed turrets, a machine gun tower that idly swept its gaze across the terrain. The fact that the terrain happened to be thick forest made Ren doubtful that it could be very effective. Those doubts were wiped away however when he saw the turret transform from a machine gun tower into a multiple launch system and unleash a salvo of micro missiles swirling around to obliterate a stray Creep. That was... odd.

Through the judicious sacrifice of one of Blake's clones, they were able to approach the turret safely. The turret's access panel itself was a chore to get open only because it was meant for someone much much larger than they; they'd had to wedge Gambol Shroud under the lip and pull on the ribbon for additional leverage. There wasn't even a lock. Sloppy.

Looking inside the now open turret, Ren couldn't help but think back to their stealth and securities class. Blake seemed a natural adept at quite literally everything Professor Greene could throw at them, and more than once over the semester, the whole class had been forced to do something insane just so that their teacher could try to stump the monochromatic bookworm. It never worked, and eventually, she had stopped trying.

What was inside this though… surely, even Blake would be stumped by this, right?

The circuitry seemed conventional enough, albeit with pathing and tracery Ren didn't recognize, but glowing tubes sprawled all throughout, splitting off and branching out into tiny tendrils that sank into the circuit boards, which in turn glowed as if backlit.

"Is that… energon?" Blake asked, eyebrows raised. "Why would they use that to power something as basic as a perimeter turret?"

"A perimeter turret they saw fit to invest transformation capability into," Ren reminded her. "I'm more concerned about the power feed's design. It almost looks like…"

"Blood vessels," she finished for him. "What is going on here?"

"I don't know," confirmed Ren as he pulled out his scroll and took a snapshot of the circuitry; it might be worth analyzing later, "but we're still going to need to get past this somehow."

Blake stared at the guts of the turret for a few moments, her brow knotted into concentration, and then she acted. "Okay, I should be able to set up a sensor loop that will let us pass."

Ren stared at her as she began to work. "You can?"

"It will only be for a short time, but that might be for the best, because then the SDC won't get suspicious when their turrets fail to stop any Grimm," she explained easily. She pointed at one particular circuit board near the edge of the panel. "The main data feed is running through a standard SDC Class A security board. They're not too different from the Class Bs Professor Greene's been having us practice on."

Ren blinked, trying to figure out what Blake's definition of "not too different" was. "I see," he said, not meaning it at all.

"Now, if it was a Class J, then we might have had a little bit of trouble," Blake continued before the backlighting of the turret's innards turned green for some arcane reason. "There. The rest should be good to pass this one now, at least for a few minutes. We should let them know."

"And then on to the next, I suppose," agreed Ren.

On and on they went, leapfrogging from turret to turret until eventually they reached a partially concealed ventilation duct. There, as before, Blake was able to somehow disable any sensors that might have been on it. Unlike before, it was Professor Goodwitch that took the lead in lowering them down into the bowels of the enemy facility with her semblance.

He had to admit, to himself if no one else, that he was beginning to feel a bit useless. He had to do more. Perhaps not on this mission -- that would be foolhardy -- but when they returned to Beacon, he would have to hit the books to broaden his skillset. He couldn't let the others down because he didn't know enough.

* * *​

"These vents are crazy," said Arc as they walked along as quietly as they could. The vents in question were dark but spacious, easily tall enough for even the largest students at Beacon to walk through two abreast with room to spare. The air in the ducts was uncomfortably warm, as though it was intended more for heat exchange than air circulation.

"No arguments there, Mister Arc, but try to keep the chatter to a minimum," ordered Glynda as she followed Belladonna.

Following Belladonna. Now that wasn't something she had ever anticipated doing when the semester had started, but that was the way it turned out. That young woman running from her sordid past had turned out to be a trusted colleague and compatriot. Trusted, at least, from a distance.

This mission was the first time she was really getting to see the members of Team RRANNBW -- well, most of them -- cut loose, and to see what their characters were truly made of under stress. That second part was perhaps the most important. She'd seen them all in class and in mission briefings, yes, but apart from Ruby, she had yet to get a deep read on any of their characters.

All of that said, it perhaps would have been wiser to have her in charge. After all, she was their teacher. However, it was abundantly clear that things had progressed far beyond the point of any of Team RRANNBW needing adult supervision. They were working on their own, acting on their own… and frankly, Belladonna was the best infiltration specialist they had. Plus, from what Glynda had read in her file, she wasn't completely inexperienced when it came to leadership either.

She was broken out of her thoughts by Belladonna holding up a clenched fist. They all stopped their trek and paused. Their leader seemed to twitch, and then she spoke softly.

"Something's coming. Sounds like a mech? No, something's off."

Glynda strained her own ears to hear and quickly found it. There were large metal footsteps walking. Their cadence sounded little different from a human's footsteps, as if it was just a big person in metal boots.

Belladonna motioned them through the ventilation shaft, down one turn then another. In due time, they found themselves near a vent, but this one led into a dark, quiet room. It seemed like the perfect place to get out and look around.

They were disabused of that notion quickly when, all of a sudden, a door parted, and the lights came on. In light so bright they had to squint, they now saw clearly that the room was piled high with metal crates. A few of the crates had been stacked in such a way that they seemed to create a massive table and set of chairs.

It was into this room that stepped something that absolutely took their breath away and drove them into dead silence.

"Did you remember the cards?" an annoyed male voice asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I remembered the cards!" complained a second, gruffer voice.

There was the heavy banging of metal against metal, and into view stepped a massive thing. It was black, it was purple, it was gray, it was made of metal, and it very loosely resembled a human fit to the massive scale of the room. Glynda had seen first-hand some of the larger mechs produced by Atlas, and this robotic construct would have towered over most of them, though its comparatively slender build made judging relative mass difficult. An android would have moved with a certain efficient grace, focused toward whatever singular purpose it was set to, but this machine meandered, moving with the careless, wasteful motions of a person.

On further thought, comparing the shape to a human was, perhaps, an error. The cannons mounted to the upper arms were an obviously martial addition to whatever base it had been modeled after, but also, a pair of rigid, almost vestigial-looking fins or wings emerged from its back past its shoulders. Perhaps it was modeled after a bird faunus? And on those wings… on those wings were emblazoned the angular purple face-like insignia Team RRANNBW had recorded on their first mission.

Most curiously, though, was the fact that it had a face, one that moved with natural-looking expressions as it talked. Projecting realistic emotions onto a hologram or screen was one thing, but to do so on a physical face? What would have been the point?

"See, what did I tell you? No one here," the massive robot said with that same gruff voice and an expression of satisfaction.

"Good, 'cause the last thing I need is another lecture from our oh-so-great air commander about wasting resources," said the other voice, and as the first robot stepped deep into the room, his fellow followed.

The two were remarkably similar, both having a distinctly humanoid shape with fins coming out of their backs that almost looked like the wings on some faunus. There were differences though. Color was the most noticeable one, with the second being white, black, and red. Another distinct difference was the shape of the head, with the second robot's head tapering to a conical peak.

"Oh, don't remind me. Do you know what it's like to be assigned to a research station with him for five hundred solar cycles, Ramjet?" asked the first robot as he walked over to one of the crates and sat down.

The second robot, presumably Ramjet, carried over three energon cubes in his hands and placed them on the crate they were clearly using as a table. "Oh, I can only imagine, Skywarp, and that's enough." He frowned. "Wait, Remnant solar cycles or Cybertronian solar cycles?"

"Cybertronian," clarified 'Skywarp.'

"Yecch." Ramjet shuddered theatrically.

"Three games with an energon cube each as the prize?" Skywarp asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sounds good to me," replied Ramjet as he sat down on the opposite crate.

"I'll deal then," said Skywarp as he drew forth from a hidden compartment a giant deck of cards, scaled for the two robots.

As Skywarp was shuffling, Ramjet grew quiet while looking at the cubes before making a comment. "Hate being stuck on a planet with only this synthetic stuff. I don't care what Nickel says, I can taste the difference. It's pink, for Primus's sake."

"Some natural energon would be nice," concurred Skywarp. "Just so long as it isn't the purple drek. Spent way too long poking at that to be healthy. You know, I remember back before the civil war, when whole rivers of the all-natural blue stuff flowed across Cybertron."

"Think the homeworld's still there?" asked Ramjet quietly.

"Got to be. I don't even want to think about the alternative," replied Skywarp, dealing the cards. "Because that would mean Unicron's real, awake, and hungry. Even if he isn't, stuck on this backwards planet with the humans for the next ten million years, or however long it takes before I blow my own processor out?" He held up a hand, pointing the index and middle finger at the side of his head like a pistol, then rocked it back as if mimicking recoil. "No thank you."

It was then that Glynda saw Belladonna begin to move further down the vent, and she and the rest of Blake's Seven made to follow. Once they were some distance away, Wukong evidently felt it necessary and safe to speak. They could still hear the banging of more metal footsteps in the distance.

"Giant alien robots?!" he hissed. "You guys just said we were going up against the SDC. You never said anything like this was going on!"

"We didn't know any of this was going on," pointed out Ren, and then he looked at Glynda. "Did we?"

She saw the others looking at her and shook her head. "No, we did not. I can assure you that if either Professor Ozpin or myself had the slightest clue about any of this, you would have been informed."

"Well," Arc said breathlessly. "Can I just take this moment to point out that I was right about the aliens?"

"You can," allowed Valkyrie with a slight pout.

"Alien robots…" Belladonna murmured. "Maybe the SDC isn't involved after all."

Glynda arched an eyebrow as the rest of the team stared at her in surprise.

Arc, thankfully, kept his head enough to ask a pertinent question: "Do we turn back then? Or do we press on?"

"We press on," said Belladonna. "We still don't have a good layout of the facility, and… you all saw it. The horrors of that slave facility? That symbol we found plastered everywhere? They were wearing it. Whatever happened there, it's a good bet they're either connected or directly responsible. We can't give up now."

With that inspiring speech out of the way, they continued on.

Soon enough, though, they would find themselves at another section of the ventilation system. It was there that Belladonna's theory was quickly disproven. Her hand gripped Gambol Shroud, and her whole body tensed.

"Miss Belladonna," Glynda warned, her voice low but clear.

The temporary team leader forcibly relaxed, letting go of her weapon, and offered Glynda a grateful look and a nod.

"Come on, move it!" cried a very distinctly human foreman in the white uniform of an SDC employee.

There were half a dozen of them at least, all directing androids taking crates out of the back of a massive transport airship. There was another stack of crates nearby, and it looked like they were being readied to be loaded onboard. That removed all doubt; the Schnee Dust Company was collaborating with giant talking alien robot-... Glynda decided then and there that she would need a long time alone with a bottle of her favorite wine when she got home.

It was into that scene that another of those giant robots sauntered. Shaped much like the first one they saw earlier, but this one was blue, light-gray, and red. He approached the SDC personnel with ease and confidence, and they in turn regarded him with what looked from their vantage point as forced corporate cheer.

"I trust everything is in order?" the robot asked conversationally, his voice oozing a weaselly charm.

"Yep, just finishing up dropping off the dust for the trade," replied the foreman. "Those the containers with the energon cubes?"

"Of course," confirmed the robot. "After all, I, Air Commander Starscream of the Decepticon Seeker Corps, always deliver only the best in quality."

"I can see why the other guys couldn't stand him," muttered Valkyrie into Ren's ear.

There was the shifting of a door opening, and suddenly, there was a second robot stepping into the room. He was slightly smaller and shaped far differently than the others. He had no wings, for one thing, but what looked like wheels on his arms and shoulders instead. He also seemed quite irate.

"Starscream!" he called out.

The air commander turned to look at him, a forced smile plastered on his face. "Barricade! What a pleasant surprise… I'm in the middle of something, can it wait?"

"No," Barricade replied bluntly.

Starscream turned back to the SDC foreman with that same forced smile. "Could you give us a minute?"

"Take as much time as you need," replied the foreman.

"Thank you," said Starscream before walking over to Barricade and taking him by the shoulder to some other hallway.

Belladonna motioned to point out the track of the ventilation shaft and how one of its branches followed along to much the same point as where the two robots where going. They all nodded, and they made their way as quickly as they dared. The conversation was still in its early stages when they arrived.

"...I'm telling you, you can't underestimate them!" barked Barricade.

"And I'm telling you that you're delusional," replied Starscream. "We Decepticons cannot be defeated by mere humans."

"Faunus," corrected Barricade.

"Pardon?" asked Starscream, clearly thrown off guard.

"Faunus," Barricade repeated. "Some humans on this world don't like being called humans. They prefer the word 'faunus.'"

"Whyever for?" was Starscream's confused reply. "They're all from the same planet, they can all interbreed, they're all the same species. How would they even tell a… a 'faunus' apart from any other human?"

Belladonna's eye began twitching.

"Apparently… it's the kibble," explained Barricade, though the uncertainty was clear in his voice. "Near as I can tell, these 'faunus' have them, and other humans don't."

"That is the most preposterous thing I've heard since coming to this wretched, monster-infested mudball," deadpanned Starscream. "Even more preposterous than the idea that any of them could be a military threat to us."

"You faced off against MECH; you should know very well that their guns still hurt," said Barricade seriously.

"Pfft!" Starscream blew off dismissively. "That only proved that those green and grey buffoons fell before me like everyone else."

That got all of their attention. So, they finally had a name to put to their mysterious assailants. MECH… and they weren't the same faction as the actual mechs? Glynda was definitely going to need a drink after this.

"It's not just them, though. I'm telling you, there's a small, well-coordinated team running around after us. They're hiding in the shadows, just waiting to strike when the time is right," warned Barricade with dire seriousness.

Glynda could feel sweat beading up at the back of her neck and slipping down her spine at that. The rest of the group seemed to have similar reactions. The fear and tension hung in the air like a heavy fog, and then the air commander broke it.

"HA!" guffawed Starscream. "Do you even listen to yourself? You sound like a conspiracy theorist going on about the scary humans lurking in the dark. You've definitely taken far too many knocks to the head."

"I'm not paranoid," growled Barricade.

"You are," replied Starscream. "In truth, Barricade, these humans can only be a threat to us politically. Like that fool Ironwood."

James? thought Glynda, her breath catching in her throat.

"Sir?" blinked Barricade, confused.

"No doubt this 'strike team' you've seen hints of are his attempts at gathering intelligence on me to ingratiate himself with Lord Megatron," explained Starscream patiently. "Remember that false flag attempt on the SDC Vale Headquarters?" He snorted. "Attempting to blame some two-bit terrorist organization like the White Fang, while obviously employing Atlesian ninjas for the task? He underestimates me with such a thinly-disguised effort. He will have to try better than that to get my job!"

"But-"

"I've had enough of your prattling, Barricade. Stop inventing threats to excuse your failures!"

Glynda was seeing red. James? Involved with these… these… she had seen the footage, even the stuff the students hadn't mentioned. Indeed, she'd visited the site herself, when time had permitted, and seen there the mass graves of so many hastily buried. These… Decepticons had committed unspeakable acts of horror, and James was involved with them? He was involved enough to be part of their politics?!

She clenched her hands into fists as an ephemeral force reached out from her to shake the world around them. The bolts began to rattle, and the metal creaked. It was beginning to make noise.

A soft and noble hand reached out and gripped her own. She looked and saw Belladonna shaking her head. The quaking stopped.

"What was that?" asked Barricade, looking around. He'd heard them.

"Nothing but more of your paranoid delusions, Barricade," mocked Starscream. "I didn't notice anything, and since nothing is stealthy enough to get past my keen observational skills, the only logical conclusion… is that you're losing it."

"Gah! Forget it!" said Barricade. "I'll track these people down myself!"

It was then when something truly incredible happened. Barricade... transformed, changing from a robot into an exact replica of a Vale Police Department cruiser. The only minor difference was the presence of a small copy of the icon that all the Decepticons apparently wore.

He drove off with a squeal of tires then, but Starscream couldn't resist a parting shot. "I'm still in command!"

Blake's Seven was off after that, following the vents wherever they might lead next. And the whole time, Glynda's mind was awash with the stench of betrayal. She didn't know when it would happen, but she would have a reckoning with James Ironwood.

Her life, once again, had a focus and certainty.

* * *​

Contrary to popular belief, Nora Valkyrie could be stealthy. Granted, she generally made an effort to be as loud and visible as possible, but as a homeless orphan, she'd learned even before the fall of Kuroyuri that it was usually better to be ignored than to draw attention to herself. The hardships that came after, when she and Ren had had no one they could rely on but each other, had only sharpened that lesson.

So by the time they got to Beacon, she was thoroughly tired of being ignored. It didn't mean she forgot how.

There were others who disagreed, of course. Renny, obviously, preferred to be unobtrusive, and Blakey seemed similar, but where Renny was laid back, Blake was almost aggressively quiet and withdrawn -- most of the time -- which meant she and Nora didn't really spend a lot of time together outside missions.

Tonight, though, as she led the team through the secret evil lair, she was moving with a purpose. This was obviously pretty personal to Blake, and frankly, Nora could understand why. Jauney was worried about her -- bless his heart -- but sometimes, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

After the… unsettling scene in the airship bay, the search for more intel -- usable intel -- continued, but something was different. There was a tension in the group, as though they were suddenly on a time limit, even though, objectively, nothing had really changed.

Their journey through the labyrinthine vents led them to a promising location, some sort of computer room. The only problems were the sheer scale of it and the robot that monitored it. This one was a bit smaller than the ones they'd seen before, with dark blue plating, a jet black head, and a sinister red visor in place of eyes. He also had wheels on his shoulders, which suggested he probably turned into a car like Barricade.

That red visor, though, looked up, and Nora's own eyes widened as she locked gazes with the robot through the ventilation grate.

Crap.

His head turned slightly, scanning the grate and looking at the rest of Blake's Seven. The movements of his head was subtle, but she could tell, as he looked at them, pausing to examine each of them in turn.

Then, he spoke.

"Counterpunch to Starscream, I'm going to make a quick perimeter check." He paused. Whatever reply he received was thankfully inaudible. "The central computer is in the middle of the hidden, underground facility, sir. I'm sure it can survive unmolested for the, hmm, twenty minutes it'll take for me to check potential entry points." He paused again. "Counterpunch out."

After plugging what looked like a flash drive into the console and typing some commands into the computer, the robot -- Counterpunch -- pointedly left the room.

After a moment, Nora realized no one else was moving. She looked over at Blake. "Umm, are we not going to take that open invitation?"

"Invitation'?" Blake echoed. "You think he saw us?"

"I know he saw us," Nora corrected. "Now, come on! Time's a-tickin'!" Without further ado, she kicked the vent open and dropped down.

Fifteen minutes later, Miss Goodwitch was levitating them back into the ventilation shaft, the flash drive -- scaled for the Decepticons -- strapped to Nora's back.

"Now, we just need to get out of here," Nora declared triumphantly as she held the grate closed for Miss Goodwitch to resecure the bolts. "Or smash the whole place apart. I'm game either way."

* * *​

"I'm not sure leaving the turrets on was that good an idea!" Jaune shouted as the aforementioned turrets thundered, sending missiles, lasers, bullets, and several other, less identifiable projectiles through the air around them.

The return to the Bullhead should have been simple. Blake could bypass and temporarily disable the perimeter turrets, this time without even having to close through their field of fire. After that it would be just a simple, day-long hike. However, this was Remnant.

So naturally, the Grimm had to complicate things.

Fortunately, the turrets were prioritizing the Grimm, but the team was still in the line of fire, and the turrets were being rather indiscriminate.

"Would you rather we fight the Grimm on our own?!" Blake retorted.

"Better than being shot in the back!"

If this was what Beacon students got up to, Sun was glad he'd chosen to go to Haven. Things were much calmer there. And everything generally wasn't exploding.

Such thoughts were for later, though. At the moment, he was dividing his attention between not getting shot or eaten and watching Blake. She was poetry in motion as she darted back and forth, slinging out with Gambol Shroud to impale a Beowolf that happened to have a particularly sturdy oak between it and the turrets, before drawing it back, switching configurations, and opening fire on a pair of Creeps slinking low to the ground.

Man, he loved a woman who could kick butt. The advice Mr. Xiao Long had given him echoed in his mind. Or rather, an errant comment he'd made about mysterious, dark-haired girls who could absolutely kill you if they wanted to being super hot.

He couldn't exactly argue with that.

Still, there was more to Blake than just her combat prowess. Or the whole "dark, mysterious" vibe she had going.

She was hurting inside. He could tell. And he wanted to help her, just like he'd helped Yang.

Well, okay, perhaps a bit differently than how he'd helped Yang.

It was hard to imagine someone like Blake running away, though, regardless of how eerily accurate Mr. Xiao Long's other guesses had been. What would make someone so capable, so self-confident, run away? He couldn't think of anything… except, perhaps, whatever it was she was keeping bottled up inside.

Suddenly, he was jostled out of his thoughts as something wrapped around his wrist and yanked him aside, moments before a missile barrage passed through where he'd been standing a moment ago.

He blinked up at his savior, the sun behind Blake's head giving her the illusion of a halo, as though she were an angel descending from heaven.

"My hero!" he proclaimed dramatically, clutching his hands over his heart.

"Hmph," she snorted, then unceremoniously dropped him to the ground.

He still thought she'd look better without the bow.

* * *​

Blake stood stiffly before Ozpin's desk, taking point in front of the rest of the group. She had been in command; this was her rightful place. She'd gotten them into that mess, and now, she had to face the lashes so that they didn't have to.

"I apologize for the outcome of the mission, sir," she said respectfully. In the end, after all, she'd chosen to run, like she always had. Whatever excuses she made about the value of the information they'd acquired… that didn't change the fact that she'd ordered them to retreat, leaving the enemy to continue their misdeeds unpunished.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow over his spectacles. "Explain."

Blake felt her throat tightening but pressed on. Her burden to bear. Her burden to bear. Her burden to bear.

"Sir, the enemy base is still intact, and we were only able to partially get any usable data," she said, reporting her failure.

Ozpin smiled at that. "So, what you're saying is that you've confirmed the location of an enemy stronghold, gathered intelligence from that stronghold, discovered the identity of not one but two of our enemies, confirmed the SDC is involved with the Decepticons, found a possible asset within the enemy ranks, and gotten back to base without losing a single one of your team. Miss Belladonna, if this is what you consider a defeat, then I cannot wait to see you deliver a victory."

Blake stiffened again. "But we haven't gotten any usable evidence that can connect the SDC to the slave factories. They were just standing there, doing completely above the board trading. There was nothing that they could be convicted on. And the data from the computer…"

Blake merely gestured to the gigantic flash drive sitting off to the side, the Decepticon logo on it about as big as her head.

The headmaster looked at it before shaking his head and turning back to her. "Putting together jigsaw puzzles and watching crime dramas, two things I must remember to never do with you, Miss Belladonna. Yes, you might not have gotten everything you needed at that moment, but you have gotten many other things. Those clues that you've discovered will lead to further events which will unravel this mystery, and the data will be invaluable once we construct a way to access it. It's frustrating. I know it is. I know because I've been in the same position you're in right now more times than I can count.

"You see an injustice, you know it must be undone, but something is stopping you from doing it. You can't go around it, you can't go through it, and you're forced to just wait for it to pass while searching for some route you might have missed. It's not easy, but sometimes, it's the only thing we can do."

As Ozpin concluded his speech, Blake found herself flushing between a myriad of different emotions. Hurt, embarrassment, anger, shame, frustration, outrage, and more. He could obviously see it.

"Take some rest, Miss Belladonna, consult with your teammates. There will be another mission, soon enough."

Blake nodded, and the debriefing continued. She wasn't really into it, but she still listened and catalogued everything she could. She wouldn't let them down again; she couldn't.

It was later when they had left that Blake ran into something quite surprising.

"Hey, Bookworm, how's it going?" said Nora as she bounded up to her. Remarkably, Ren was nowhere in sight.

"Good," she answered evenly.

"I bet," concurred the ginger, getting rather serious after that. "Listen, Blake, I know we're not the closest of teammates. In fact, some could argue that outside of missions, we barely spend any time at all with each other."

"Harsh, but accurate," admitted Blake.

"Doesn't matter though," said Nora with a shake of her head. "I'm still your teammate. If you've got issues, I've got a shoulder to cry on and an arm to beat on."

Blake shook her head. "I don't think that will be necessary," she put her hand out to Nora's shoulder. "But thank you, all the same."

"Anytime," Nora said before putting her own hand out to grasp Blake's shoulder and giving it an experimental squeeze. "Hmm, scratch that."

"What?" asked Blake with worry.

"You got too much flab," said Nora seriously. "It's time to work that out."

It turned out to be an enlightening experience for Blake, several experiences actually. Nora had decided to go and make their work out sessions a regular thing, and oftentimes, other members of the team would be roped in as well. Heck, even Sun had joined in a few times, and that… well, she wasn't blind, after all.

She was getting back to her dorm after one of those sessions and a trip to the showers when the good mood that had settled in was swept out by an entirely different set of emotions.

"Weiss, you're back early." She cocked her head curiously. "What are you doing?"

(Interlude 1-2: Patchwork | Interlude 1-3: Blake's Seven | Interlude 1-4: Cold)​

A/N 1 (Cody MacArthur Fett): This chapter was a bit of a pain to write and edit. Heck, I didn't get done with the first draft until 0317 hours 10/16/2019. I did get it done though! I was able to deliver this on time.

A/N 2 (Cyclone): No kidding, it was a bear to write. Still, we did have some fun with it. As for what's happening with Weiss… tune in next time to find out as she returns to her home nation of Atlas in "Cold," the final interlude before the second semester starts.

 

[RoboRenee]

Subtle, Punch. Very subtle.

Though I do wonder how often he can communicate with the Autobots, and how much. Depending on how clearly he saw them the main team may do a couple of different things with that information if he gets it to them.

 

[Faraway-R]

"You are," replied Starscream. "In truth, Barricade, these humans can only be a threat to us politically. Like that fool Ironwood."

James? thought Glynda, her breath catching in her throat.

"Sir?" blinked Barricade, confused.

"No doubt this 'strike team' you've seen hints of are his attempts at gathering intelligence on me to ingratiate himself with Lord Megatron," explained Starscream patiently. "Remember that false flag attempt on the SDC Vale Headquarters?" He snorted. "Attempting to blame some two-bit terrorist organization like the White Fang, while obviously employing Atlesian ninjas for the task? He underestimates me with such a thinly-disguised effort. He will have to try better than that to get my job!"

"But-"

"I've had enough of your prattling, Barricade. Stop inventing threats to excuse your failures!"

Glynda was seeing red. James? Involved with these… these… she had seen the footage, even the stuff the students hadn't mentioned. Indeed, she'd visited the site herself, when time had permitted, and seen there the mass graves of so many hastily buried. These… Decepticons had committed unspeakable acts of horror, and James was involved with them? He was involved enough to be part of their politics?!

Click to shrink...

Blake's Seven was off after that, following the vents wherever they might lead next. And the whole time, Glynda's mind was awash with the stench of betrayal. She didn't know when it would happen, but she would have a reckoning with James Ironwood.

Her life, once again, had a focus and certainty.

Click to shrink...

And so the theme of the story rises up yet again.

No, I'm not complaining. I'm just noting that the story definitely loves setting up plot hooks with incomplete and/or erroneous information.
A gift that keeps on giving (unironically). Even if frustrating at times.

I mean, for me this entire sequence that Glinda overheard has all the signs of "Starscream voicing his delusions", not the least of which is that Ironwood is aware of Decepticons in general, Starscream and Megatron in particular, and is gunning for Starscream's right-hand-transformer status.

I'm going to enjoy seeing how it plays out.

 

[Cyclone]

(Interlude 1-3: Blake's Seven | Interlude 1-4: Cold | Episode 1: Welcome to Beacon)




Interlude 1-4: Cold

* * *​

Lonely.

Weiss Schnee, heiress to the wealthiest, most powerful corporation on Remnant… was lonely.

It was actually a familiar feeling, an almost perversely comforting constant throughout her childhood. Growing up surrounded by a sea of people willing -- or paid -- to do her bidding, if anything, had made it worse. Yet now, the feeling stung harsher than it ever had before.

Perhaps it was because she'd had a taste of freedom, of friendship that wasn't tainted or overshadowed by her wealth or name, and maybe… the promise of something more.

She brushed her fingers across her forehead, a featherlight touch that echoed something else, then shook her head clear, pausing to look at her hands. They were wet, her normally pale skin flushed red with mild irritation from scrubbing. She pushed the spring-loaded lever on the faucet, starting the water flowing again, but stopped before immersing her hands in the stream again.

No, Jaune was right. She had to stop doing this. She pulled some paper towels and gently dried her hands, resisting the urge to scrub them again, before exiting the aircraft's bathroom and returning to her seat.

She wished Winter were here. She'd know what to do.

But she wasn't. So Weiss banished the pointless thought from her mind and turned to stare out the window at the ocean passing far below.

This wasn't an airship, not exactly. The word being bandied around was "airplane," something about how it used its wing shape and immense speed to achieve additional lift beyond what the gravity dust lift engines supplied. The high-speed Accord air liner -- named for the Vytal Accords -- was one of the latest innovations to be churned out by Schnee Heavy Industries, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Schnee Dust Company. The Accord relied on sheer speed to evade Grimm attacks, able to break the speed of sound with jet turbines that burned a mix of combustion dust and air.

It was clean, it was fast, it was yet another symbol of the SDC's economic and technological might.

It made her wonder once again where all this technology was coming from. Her father's mysterious business partners? Who were they, and why was so much slaughter required as a sacrifice for these baubles?

Vendetta.

She had sworn vengeance against her father that day when she had first explored that data from Blake's intrusion into the SDC's Vale Regional Headquarters. She had said it once, and then never explained it. Yang's arrival had thankfully prevented her from having to do so, and no one had ever brought the subject back up again.

She had to figure out a plan of action. First, she had to make good on her word to file the paperwork to cover Ruby's medical bills. She had the necessary paperwork from Mr. Xiao Long, and a quick stop by the SDC's legal department should take care of that.

Second… information. She'd start at Atlas Academy. The odds of finding anything useful there were slim, but it was certainly a better place to start than the alternatives. Security was relatively light, and she still had a few people she was fairly certain would call her "friend" there, whereas getting access to files from the SDC directly, while certainly possible, would raise suspicions she wouldn't be able to allay. Trying to get information from the Atlesian military would almost certainly be a suicidal exercise in futility... unless she could get in touch with Winter, but she had no idea where her older sister was assigned right now.

From there… well, from there, she'd have to wing it, depending on what she found out and where that information led.

I hope Winter is home, she thought. Her sister had always been there for her before, and she had contacts and access to resources far beyond anything within Weiss's reach.

* * *​

"And there you go, Miss Schnee. It's all been filed. Those medical bills will be taken care of by the end of the next business day."

"Excellent, Mister Redding," Weiss said with a well-practiced smile.

"If I may ask, Miss Schnee," Redding said. "This all seems… highly unusual..." he trailed off meaningfully.

"Oh, I just happened to be home for the break," Weiss replied, waving it off, "and I do so worry about my team leader sometimes. I wanted to get this little matter expedited and make sure it didn't get lost in the shuffle. You know how paperwork can… disappear into the bureaucracy sometimes."

"Completely understandable, Miss Schnee," Redding replied with an ingratiating smile and nod. "Was there anything else I could help you with?"

"No, thank you. Have a good day, Mister Redding."

"And you as well, Miss Schnee."

With that, Weiss stepped out of the SDC's legal offices, humming a little tune to herself as she made her way to the motorpool. That was one task done. Now, she needed to go do some digging.

* * *​

Atlas Academy was as impressive as ever, but Weiss paid little attention to the grounds. Her focus was solely on the mission and her objective. She found her contact easily enough for that task.

Moderate violet eyes behind bookish glasses widened in surprise and joy. The figure jumped up with hand raised, waiving Weiss down while her violet, moderate sapphire blue, and brilliant rose colored hair bounced in its bun. The cry of excitement mimicked the rest of her features.

"Weiss! Weiss! Over here!"

A practiced smile formed on the snowcapped girl's face as she walked over to the slightly older girl in the Atlas Academy uniform.

"Twilight!" Weiss said appreciatively as she hugged her opposite, being careful to avoid the pack on her back.

"It's good to see you again, Weiss! It's been years," said Twilight as she pulled back to examine the heiress.

"It certainly hasn't dulled your exuberance," said Weiss.

"Well, you know what they say, friendship is magic," she said with a strange, embarrassed grin and a shrug that seemed to point at herself.

"Quite," agreed Weiss, though despite her smile, her heart wasn't in it. She and Twilight were more along the lines of acquaintances than real friends. Two young girls of similar age, though a year apart, in the same Atlesian high society circles? They were bound to run into each other, but Weiss's heart had never been committed, and her schedule had certainly left little room for making friendships that weren't politically advantageous.

Still, Twilight evidently was the friendly sort.

"Say, why did you say you needed my help?" asked Twilight.

"I need to access records pertaining to missions and finances," answered Weiss.

Twilight blinked. "That's… oh dear. You do know that a lot of that stuff is above my clearance level, right?"

"I'm not talking about the classified stuff, Twilight. I'm just talking about what you don't move off campus that's still unclassified," elaborated Weiss.

Twilight perked up at that. "Ah! I should be able to help you with that then. If you'll just follow me, we'll head to the archives. The, uh, computer archives, that is… unless you want to go to the physical archives, though! Lots of amazing older data there."

Weiss smiled politely at the older girl's extremely enthusiastic expression as they began to walk along. "I'm more concerned with data of the last two years, sadly. So let's stick to the digital archives."

"Right. Right! Of course," agreed Twilight nervously, picking up the pace slightly.

"Hey, Magic, stop walking so casually; it's suspicious," chimed in a slick feminine voice from up ahead.

Weiss looked and found three girls heading towards them. They were all dressed in the Academy's uniform and had brightly-colored hair. Most distinctively, one had glasses, one had goggles, and one had what looked like computers worn like bracers.

Twilight slowed down and her gait took on the distinctive graceful poise of Atlesian high society.

"Better, but still incredibly out of place," said in the one with glasses.

"Yo, Magic, who's your friend?" asked the goggled girl.

Twilight paused and turned to introduce them. "Weiss, these are my teammates, Radstorm," she pointed at the girl with the computers for bracelets, "Straight Shooter," she pointed at the girl with glasses, "and Daiku," she pointed at the girl with goggles. "They're my colleagues on Team Fairstar, spelled F.I.S.T. and yes, we have heard the jokes. We've heard all the jokes."

Weiss curtsied slightly at the trio now arrived. "Weiss Schnee. Pleased to meet you."

Radstorm cupped her chin thoughtfully. "Weiss Schnee, huh? I think I heard about you. You're a big time singer, right? Any relation to the SDC Schnees?"

Weiss, pleased at the inquiry, nodded. "The founder, Nicholas Schnee, is my grandfather. And I used to sing a bit, yes, but I'm training to be a Huntress at Beacon Academy now."

"Smart career move. The singing really didn't work with your voice," said Straight Shooter with all the tact of a drunk Goliath falling into a china shop.

Weiss boggled at that. "Excuse me?"

"You were overhyped compared to vocalists like Jem, and the instrumentation in your songs always clashed with your costumes and tone," she elaborated in monotone.

Before Weiss could sputter a response, Twilight took her hand and began dragging her down the hall. "Okay, it was great seeing you, be back later, bye!"

Radstorm called out after her. "Remember, Magic, you still have to pack before the move to Beacon!"

"I will!" called back Twilight.

When they were some distance away and down another hall, they adopted a more relaxed walk.

"Sorry about that. Straight has always been a bit… tactless," explained Twilight apologetically. "She just doesn't sugarcoat her words at all, ironically."

"'Always'? 'Ironically'?" Weiss asked. "You've known her for a while then?"

"Oh yes, me and the rest of Team Fairstar were classmates back at Crystal Preparatory Combat Academy," she elaborated. "She's the S in our name, and that's because her real name is…" she trailed off.

Weiss looked at her and noticed the slight blush. "Well?"

"It's just that her real name is Sugarcoat!" Twilight gasped. "There! I just came out and said it. Straight's real name is Sugarcoat, and she never sugarcoats anything. It's horribly ironic, and we all know it."

The snowcapped girl raised an eyebrow at her embarrassed counterpart, and then grew a smile. "So, why do they call you Magic?"

Twilight regained some of her poise and then straighten up. "Because any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic!" she announced proudly. She then quietly muttered under her breath, so softly Weiss almost didn't hear, "Also, I may have a bit of an obsession with the occult."

"What was that?" she asked.

Twilight perked up once more with an extremely fake-looking smile. "I said it's good to see you again, Weiss!"

Weiss blinked once. "You said that when we first met five minutes ago."

"...So I did," the Atlesian student admitted after a long pause where it looked like she was recalling her own memory.

Callsigns were such a curious new trend at Atlas, one that Weiss was honestly glad hadn't caught on at Beacon. She mentally shuddered at the thought of what sort of callsign she might receive. The thought of being known by the public at large as "Weiss Queen" or "Snow Angel" was too terrible to consider.

Soon after, they came upon a door marked for the archives, and Twilight held up her scroll to unlock it before the pair slipped in. Beyond the portal, they found two rows of computers, and it didn't look like anyone was around. That was perfect for Weiss's needs.

"Well, here we are," said Twilight. "In retrospect, not going to the physical archives was a good call. They moved that building down to the ground a few decades ago, after all."

"Thank you, Twilight," said Weiss as she took one of the seats and began booting up the computer's holographic screen.

She had barely gotten around to pulling up a query for the records she was interested in before her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Twilight opening her backpack.

"There you go, Spike. I bet it was getting cramped in there," she cooed, receiving a short bark in reply.

Eyes wide, Weiss looked over at her fellow and saw her kneeling on the floor with an adorable little dog sitting in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat, and the two turned to look at her. The snowcapped girl cursed internally; she had been made.

Twilight looked at her with worried compassion. "Oh, I'm sorry, do you not like dogs? Are you allergic? If it's a problem, I can…"

"No!" interrupted Weiss forcefully, startling them. "I mean… can I pet him?"

Twilight perked up at that and waved her over. "Sure! Just be gentle now."

Weiss got off her seat and crouched down in front of Twilight. The dog seemed to know what was happening and turned his head and leaned over with the most adorable widdle smile she had ever seen… well, okay, it wasn't that long ago that Zwei was getting belly rubs from her, but he was still cute. Why did she have to choose between puppers anyway?

Weiss began to pet him, and the little dog just ate it up. "Aww," she cooed. "And you said his name was Spike?"

"Yep," Twilight replied with a smile. "He's named after my cousin. I think he's in Vacuo right now? Him and Uncle Sparkplug are working in the alternative energy sector. Fascinating stuff really."

"What sort of alternative energy?" asked Weiss curiously, only half paying attention as she continued to rub the dog down and he slowly spun to expose every part of his body to her.

"I…" Twilight trailed off, "...really can't say."

That made Weiss pause momentarily. She knew why Twilight was withholding information, but… well, it was nothing personal, just business. She couldn't let that get her down.

She would have her revenge against her father soon enough.

On a whim, she looked up and saw that her query had completed. Giving Spike one last rub, she got up and took a look at the results. Ten minutes later, she couldn't help but notice something extremely odd about things.

"Twilight, what exactly happened during the second semester last year?"

The violet-haired girl looked up from her own work, and the dog in her lap, in surprise. "Second semester? Not sure, but whatever it was, it really messed up the schedules for missions. It also resulted in a lot more things being restricted and off-limits to us students."

"Really, like what?" asked Weiss.

"Oh, I think the biggest one was Park Place Naval Air Station. I used to go there all the time to test out new inventions and drone designs -- they had an unused section that was great for that -- but then second semester rolls around last year, and suddenly I can't go there anymore."

"Hmm," Weiss considered. "What kind of inventions did you test there again?"

* * *​

As Weiss returned to the Schnee Manor, she was unpleasantly surprised to find her father waiting for her.

"Good evening, Weiss."

"Oh, hello, Father," she greeted politely, plastering a vaguely pleasant smile on her face. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"If you could spare a few moments, I was notified of some unusual paperwork filed with our legal department," he said. "Would you care to explain?"

Weiss's mind raced as she took in his posture, his tone of voice, his word choice, assessing where he was going with this.

"Why, certainly," she stalled. "There was an unfortunate incident shortly after break began. My team leader was responding to an emergency at the docks and was shot. By all accounts, the shooter was a member of SDC Security."

"Ah, I see," he said, nodding agreeably, which sent Weiss's hackles up. "Most unfortunate. I'm glad you took the time to ensure she's taken care of." He offered a smile that she saw right through. "In fact, I think this is a perfect opportunity to start a charity I've been considering."

"Oh?"

"Why, yes," he confirmed. "Huntsmen operate with so little infrastructure and support backing them up compared to other emergency services. While I understand that this offers them the freedom to act as needed, it means that when they need help, there is often no one there to offer it. Now, I know charities to assist Huntsmen in need already exist, but I think something larger, coordinated on a more global scale, would be an excellent way to help support our brave protectors, wouldn't you agree?"

"I… absolutely would," she replied, relaxing slightly, her smile growing slightly more natural. Ah, so this was a PR move. He was trying to head off any possible public relations fallout if the incident at the docks reached the unwashed masses. So be it. That was something she could live with.

"And on a more personal note," he continued, "I'll see about getting your team leader a formal apology."

"That- that's not necessary," Weiss protested quickly. The last thing she wanted was someone from the SDC, let alone Calliope Ferny, poking their noses around Beacon. "It was an honest mistake."

"Nonsense!" her father retorted. "I insist. Although, I do worry, Weiss. That your leader was so reckless as to charge into a firefight… are you sure you wouldn't be safer on another team? Perhaps here at Atlas, with your friends?"

"I'm sure, Father," she replied, her voice gaining an edge to it. "Ruby's quite a capable leader, despite appearances to the contrary. I trust her with my life."

He frowned, studying Weiss's face for a long moment, then gave a curt nod and a resigned sigh. "I suppose I will have to as well, then. But do be careful, Weiss. You are the heiress, after all."

"I'm always careful, Father," she assured him.

If she wasn't, he'd be impaled on Myrtenaster by now.

* * *​

Weiss was grateful once more for her choice in apparel, as white blended well with the snows of Solitas. While spring had broken out in Vale, spring didn't exactly exist on the northern continent. They had something that was like spring, but having experienced actual spring, she found it more than a little wanting.

She lay in the snow on the side of the road, camouflage netting draped over her, waiting for the convoy she'd been tracking to get closer. The EB-885 -- not to be confused with the EB-884 half-track -- was an eight-wheeled armored vehicle with an attached seven-tube multi-missile launcher, and there were five of them rolling along the road towards her. The first passed, and in one fluid, glyph-powered movement, she rolled into the road. The next vehicle drove over her, and with careful application of her glyphs, she attached herself to the bottom of the chassis.

She stayed like that for a time, keeping her breathing controlled as she held close to the vehicle to avoid being torn apart by the pavement rushing past mere inches from the back of her head. She was glad she had decided to forgo her usual ponytail for a tight bun. The last thing she needed was to explain why she had decided to suddenly shave her hair off with a weed eater.

Soon though, all too soon, the convoy passed the gate of the Park Place Naval Air Station. The outer perimeter was manned by Atlesian troops, and security was relatively light. With only a brief pause to check paperwork and give the cargo a cursory inspection, the convoy was waved on through.

Weiss waited as the convoy continued into the compound, searching for the right moment. There! She let go and dropped down, landing on a glyph. As the vehicle she'd clung to passed over her, she created another glyph, sending herself barrelling away from the convoy through the gap between vehicles and into the natural alleyway formed between a pair of hangars.

She rose, dusted herself off, and looked around. As far as staying hidden went, this spot worked, but she needed a better view. She needed some altitude. She looked up, and with a twirl of Myrtenaster, she created a glyph that sent her up to land lightly on the roof of one of the buildings.

The sky was overcast that day, backlit by the sun far above to create a slate grey ceiling. Not only did her outfit blend well against that backdrop, it also helped conceal her glyphs as she made her way across the base, bouncing from glyph to glyph and roof to roof until she found herself atop a communications tower that gave her a commanding view of the base.

People didn't tend to look up, which was a tendency she took full advantage of.

Let's see… she mused as she narrowed her eyes, scanning the compound. There were secondary perimeters, of course -- this naval air station was a sprawling affair, rated to service any of the aircraft in the Atlesian fleet short of a Skylord-class air cruiser and any sea-going vessel short of a fast battleship -- but one of the secondary perimeters caught her attention. That area seemed to have much fewer personnel visible within it; what few people there were moved with deliberate purpose, and she saw no roving patrols. As she watched the convoy she'd hitched a ride on approach the gate, a pair of brand-new AK-200s stepped out, scanning the convoy with sophisticated sensors, including checking underneath the chassis, before waving it on through. It was the only gate not secured by human guards.

That's got to be it, she thought. Her eyes flicked back and forth as she plotted her path, then moved. The mobility her glyphs granted her made breaching the secondary perimeter almost too easy. She made a mental note: when she finally fully unlocked her hereditary semblance, she'd have to remember not to ignore the options offered by its more basic abilities.

This particular section of the base held half a dozen double-width hangars separated by a short runway passing between them. The convoy had moved to one of the hangars at the far end, and that was where she started. From the roof of the hangar across from it, she watched as a mixture of Atlesian troops and SDC personnel began unloading crates from the backs of the armored personnel carriers. As the hangar doors slid open, she saw inside the sleek fuselage of one of the new XP-14A Skystrikers.

She shook her head and directed her attention to the very hangar she stood on. She approached a ventilation grate and peered inside. The hangar was dark and silent, but she could barely make out the shape of more Skystrikers.

She shook her head again and hopped over to the next hangar, and as she peered through the grate...

Jackpot.

She could barely hear a conversation going on, but what drew her attention was the chair she saw. It was a perfectly ordinary-looking chair, save for its size, matching the giant chairs Team RRANNBW had seen on their first mission.

She carefully pried open the ventilation grate, dropping down to the catwalk below, then crept closer. This hangar had a partial wall in the middle, with a large door that was slid half-open, and the voices she heard, still indistinct, were coming from the other half. She had to get closer.

The catwalk didn't take her close enough, though, so with a certain amount of reluctance, she descended to the ground floor and continued her approach, finally leaning up against the half-open door itself to listen, though she dared not peek and risk being spotted.

"-call it energex," a suave voice declared. "It's energon cut with a few... local ingredients for our human allies. Applied orally or intravenously, it should give them a boost to their structural integrity fields with minimal short-term side effects. I can't speak for any longer term side effects, though; they're rather reluctant to allow me to perform any large-scale medical testing."

"Ya jawin' about engex?" someone drawled in reply.


"No, I'm talking about energex," the first voice replied, clearly annoyed. "There's an er in there."

"Ya sure?" the second voice questioned. "'Cause that looks a powerful lot like engex t'me."

"Listen you shuriken-slinging yokel, if you take this stuff and put it in a six-pack, I swear, I'll-"

"Silence," a third voice interrupted, deep, monotonous, and with a reverb that sounded positively unnatural.

And that was when it all went wrong. The door Weiss was leaning against suddenly slid aside, leaving her in the open as a light shone down upon her. Her heart leaped into her throat as she stared, frozen and wide-eyed, up at the trio of giant robots looking down at her. The first detail to catch her attention was that all three of their chests were emblazoned with the same purple, face-like emblem Team RRANNBW had seen before.

The one closest to her, dark blue and boxy with a yellow and red chest plate and wheels along its grey arms, declared in the third voice, "We have a guest."

One of the other two, the one to the left, sauntered toward her and leaned down to look at her. This one was red, with smooth lines and curves, in sharp contrast to its blue companion. "Hmm," it said, speaking with the first voice she'd heard, from a mouth sporting a curious expression matched by its eyes, "this one looks kind of familiar, actually. Like a smaller version of our liaison."

"How c'n ya tell?" the third and largest robot -- the second voice -- asked, its faceplate moving with each word. It was green, purple, black, and white, and it seemed to be armed with a pair of large revolvers… scaled to fit, of course. And it seemed to have a lot of joints, with tracks and wheels all over it, and what looked like claws too.

'Liaison'? Weiss thought. But… who? It- it can't be talking about-

"Soundwave!" a familiar voice called from the front of the hangar.

No. No no no no no…

Clipped, precise footsteps began drawing towards them, even as the three robots turned their attention away from her.

"There you are, Weiss," Winter said as she stopped next to her. "You shouldn't go running off like that." She looked up at the blue robot. "My apologies, Soundwave. This is my sister, Weiss. I was in the process of giving her the tour and reading her in when we got separated."

The robot's red-visored faceplate offered no hint as to whether it -- he? -- believed her.

"I see," Soundwave acknowledged. "An… understandable complication, Specialist Schnee. Still, perhaps we should table our planned meeting for later."

"That might be wise," Winter agreed. "I'll need some time to… discipline my sister."

"However," Soundwave said, gesturing to the red robot, "I believe Knock Out has a preliminary sample of the aura booster solution he has been working on for you."

"That I do," confirmed Knock Out, smiling smugly. "As I was saying to my colleagues, I call it energex. Oral or intravenous application. You'll have to do you own testing, of course. Here's a small sample." With a flourish, he pulled out a stoppered vial the size of Weiss's leg. It was filled with an amber liquid that seemed to almost glow.

"Thank you, Soundwave, Knock Out, Sixshot," Winter said graciously, nodding to each of the robots in turn as she accepted the vial and tucked it under her arm. "Come along, Weiss. Let's get you home." With that, she pivoted on her heel and started marching toward the front of the hangar.

It took Weiss a moment to snap out of her shock, and she hastened to follow.

They left in a covered white VAMP, and the next several minutes, as Winter negotiated the security checkpoints and got them off-base, were the longest in Weiss's life.

"What are they?" Weiss asked finally, breaking the silence.

"They call themselves 'Decepticons,'" Winter answered. "They say they're from the planet Cybertron, a world where non-biological life reigns."

Aliens, Weiss rolled the thought around in her mind. So, Jaune was right.

"How long?" was her next question.

"Since they approached the Atlesian Council a year ago," Winter replied. "The General doesn't trust them, and he said he couldn't trust this to anyone else."

"And… Father agreed?"

"He thought it appropriate, given the SDC's… close relationship with them."

'Close relationship' indeed, Weiss thought bitterly. Ha.. She almost wanted to laugh, but instead, her breathing accelerated as the ramifications ran through her mind. She clenched her fists, steeling her nerves for the next question.

"And the… human resources for their... projects?" she asked. "Who handles that?"

"The SDC."

"Did you know?" the words came from Weiss's lips before she could stop them. "Did you know about the slave factories?"

Winter hesitated, her expression faltering. "I... didn't have any conclusive evidence."

Weiss's world cracked. "Winter?" she begged.

"I... suspected," her sister admitted.

The crack spread, and Weiss's world shattered.

"Weiss, I-"

"Take me home," interrupted Weiss.

"Weiss, you have to understand-" Winter tried again.

"I said, 'take me home'!" This time, it came out as a shout.

"I didn't have any choice. The-"

"No excuses!" Weiss shrieked, then deflated. Blinking back tears, she said tiredly, "Just… just take me home."

She suddenly felt exhausted.

* * *​

~Mirror, tell me something…~

Weiss stood staring at the mirror hanging above the fireplace in her room. No… not her room. Not anymore. Not after this.

She closed her eyes.

Control… she reminded herself, pressing her lips tight. Mustn't… lose control.

She had already finished packing, leaving her at loose ends while she waited. That was... most unfortunate, as it let her mind wander.

There was a gentle knock on her door.

"Enter," she said sharply.

The door opened. It was her butler, Klein. Ever so reliable Klein. Had he known?

"Miss Schnee?" he called tentatively. "Your vehicle is ready."

She nodded. "Thank you, Klein. I'll be departing immediately."

Wordlessly, Klein stepped in and took charge of her luggage, and the two left the room, beginning their trek to the manor's front door.

"Did you know, Klein?" she asked several minutes later, breaking the silence in the empty halls as they neared their destination.

Klein took a moment to weigh his answer. "Miss Schnee, there is nothing that happens in this house that I do not know about."

"I see," she said, feeling her heart weigh in her chest as they stepped outside and she saw the car waiting for her.

"As a consequence of that, Miss Schnee," he added as he loaded her luggage into the car, curiosity and concern in his voice, "there is very little that happens outside this house that I am aware of."

She turned, a faint smile crossing her face. "I see. Thank you, Klein. That will be all."

"Of course, Miss Schnee. Have a safe journey."

​

Specialist Winter Schnee stood on the airfield. She ignored the cold wind blowing her coattails around, her attention instead focused on the departing airship as its running lights twinkled and shrank to disappear into the night sky. Weiss hadn't even waited for a high-speed transport to be arranged, instead taking the first available airship to Vale. She didn't blame her sister. She couldn't. Not for this.

She just wished she could explain.

A figure came up behind her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You did the right thing, Specialist," the General reassured her.

"I hope you're right, sir."

"So do I," he admitted. There was, after all, no certainty in war, hot or cold. "Take comfort in the knowledge that the more she knows, the closer she is to you, the greater the risk it puts her in."

She nodded silently. That, at least, was something she understood all too well. These were… dangerous times, after all.

That worked both ways, though. As much as she wondered what had led Weiss to discover the Decepticons… that was a question she would not ask, even if she'd had a chance to. Everyone had their secrets, after all. Not even the General knew everything; until she found evidence, he needed the plausible deniability. Winter dared not risk Weiss or her resources any more than she would expose Weiss to her own, and with luck, her sister would have the freedom to do what needed to be done.

She just hoped her sister would be able to forgive her some day.

* * *​

Weiss yanked open another drawer and looked through the clothes inside. Every time she found something she hadn't bought herself or which was monogrammed with the SDC snowflake, she threw it in the metal drum. So far, the only things she had been forced to keep were her spare uniforms.

Another tear rolled down her face. She ignored it. She couldn't break, not now, not when she was so close.

There was the sound of the door opening.

"Weiss, you're back early."

It was Blake, her friend. No that wasn't right, Blake was too kind to be friends with a Grimm in human skin. The door closed.

"What are you doing?"

She turned around with another stack of blood-soaked filth in her hands and dropped it into the drum. Blake looked confused. It was… strange to see on her. Weiss couldn't remember the last time she was confused.

"Packing my clothes to be burned. What does it look like I'm doing?" asked Weiss rhetorically.

Blake looked stunned, horrified really. She must have noticed the tears. Stupid girl, should have cleaned up. "You're burning your clothes?! Weiss are you-"

The snowcapped girl interrupted her, hands placed on either side of the drum and looking down into it at the abominations piling up. "I can't… I just can't stand wearing that damn snowflake anymore. I have to get rid of it. I have to get rid of every scrap bought with Father's blood money."

Blake advanced on her. "What happened up there? What happened to you, Weiss?"

Weiss turned, the tears welling up again. "I found out the truth."

"What truth?" asked Blake.

Weiss took a step of her own, her hands clenched into fists that were digging into her aura. "That the White Fang was right about us Schnees!"

There, she had said it. In a voice that was falling apart like her empty shell of a heart, she had spoken the truth. She'd been on the wrong side this whole time. Of course the Fang had been driven to violence, of course they killed, of course they stole, of course they did whatever it took to hurt the SDC. Against this? Against slavery and death? What else could they do? And it's not like they were harming real people either. The Schnees were too innately monstrous to be considered human.

Blake's eyes narrowed, and she reached out to grab hold of her. "That is something I refuse to accept, Weiss," she declared, a fire in her eyes and voice.

"Then you're refusing to accept reality!" shouted Weiss, having to blink away tears that were blocking her vision.

"No," said Blake defiantly. "No, Weiss. I know what the White Fang think of your family, but I know they're wrong because I know you."

"Do you?" she asked pointedly. "I'm a Schnee, after all."

"That doesn't matter!" the black-haired girl shot back. "You are not your father, Weiss. You are the one that will reclaim your grandfather's legacy."

"My grandfather's legacy is dead!" shouted Weiss, her voice going hoarse. "It's gone! It's all gone! It's just a mockery now! It's nothing but cruelty and treason! It can't be redeemed, it can only be destroyed!"

The bottom of her fist came down to pound against the lip of the drum, leaving a slight dent.

"On Patch," she got out in Blake's silence, "Yang asked me why I still wear the snowflake, even after what she told me about th-the escaped slaves. I should have realized it then. Wearing this… I'm not defying my father, I'm supporting him. Him, and the rest of my horrible family."

"What about your sister?" asked Blake, her face concerned.

"My sister knew!" Weiss screamed. "She knew about everything! She's been working with the Decepticons the whole time!"

Blake started. "Weiss…"

Weiss continued, her mental faculties becoming ever more trapped by a terrible pressure inside her head. "My whole bloodline are evil monsters! How can I possibly…?"

Blake fully reached out and embraced her totally, pulling Weiss tight into a hug. "You're not a monster, Weiss. You're my best friend."

Her mind, and her muscles, finally collapsed at that. Letting out a terrible wail, tears flowed freely down her face, and her arms desperately tried to hold on as the rest of her body lost the ability to stand. Blake gently brought her over to her bed and sat down with her.

The black-haired girl brought out her scroll, and with one hand, she deftly typed out a text message to let Ruby know Weiss was back and upset. With her other hand, she stroked her friend and tried to comfort her in her breakdown. She didn't tell Ruby how she should act or even if she should bring more tissues to help clean up the tears and mucus now seeping onto her clothes.

Let the others figure out what to do. The only thing Blake Belladonna cared about in that moment was reminding her best friend Weiss that she was more than just a name. They were both more than just names.

It was a long time before the room was quiet again.

(Interlude 1-3: Blake's Seven | Interlude 1-4: Cold | Episode 1: Welcome to Beacon)​

A/N 1 (Cody MacArthur Fett): At this point I'm convinced that Blake thinks that Weiss is the world's biggest smol woobie. It is only natural though. After all, Weiss is one of my favorite characters, and because of that she will die a thousand deaths, each more painful than the last.

Thanks again to @Nobunagatron for the art, by the way. He really did a lot to make this chapter pop.

A/N 2 (Cyclone): I feel I need to mention, we decided on the title for this interlude because it fit the themes and setting so well. It was only afterwards -- after we got it half-written -- that we realized how well the song "Cold" fit the two closing scenes.

Also, given the kerfuffle and predictions about the "dramatic big reveal" when it comes to secrets the older sister of a member of Team RWBY has been keeping about her connections to a certain group of giant alien robots... well… I feel like that Dio meme applies here somehow…

Finally, you can blame thank Cody for the cameo appearances here. That's all on him. So also is the refusal to refer to the EB-884 or EB-885 as the Snow Cat.

Next time, volume two begins with a whole new line of toys some new faces as we expand the cast and offer them a warm "Welcome to Beacon."

 

[Sethll7]

Love everything about this story. It mixes the cannon from the show I remeber as a kid and meshes it super well with RWBY. I just wish I had more to say.

 

[Faraway-R]

So, on SpaceBattles it's been suggested that someone from main cast, especially Weiss or Yang, will be likely to start doing drugs (energex), because it's a Checkhov's Gun (because their emotional state is volatile to say the least). While I do agree it's entirely possible, I have my own thoughts on the matter.

I honestly believe that Weiss will not touch it at all, not when she knows from firsthand experience it came from Decepticons and her treacherous, abominable older sister. Yang? Yang might, especially since she's been out of the loop from the rest of the team - she certainly won't be told that it comes from the Decepticons. But on the other hand, Yang had been hanging out with Autobots for a good long while - and still hangs out with Bumblebee. Energon and possibly derived words will be words to watch out for for her.

By process of elimination, that means that Team RWBY will, through Weiss or Bumblebee, be aware of energex in some manner, and possibly refrain from using it. Now, Team JNPR? Not only are they a bit removed from the issue (they certainly didn't have to calm the disconsolate Schnee heiress down), they have a very likely candidate for imbibing the concoction - someone new and inexperienced, someone seeking to bridge the gap between themselves and their more experienced friends, someone looking for an edge of their own, and who (fanonically or otherwise) already have this edge of greater Aura amount, so that additional boost will make them only better...

I'm talking, of course, about Jaune Arc.

 

[Cyclone]

(Interlude 1-4: Cold | V2E1: Welcome to Beacon | V2E2: Encounters)




Volume II: Episode 1: Welcome to Beacon

* * *​

Every revolution is built on a foundation of betrayal.

The betrayal of an ideal by a nation. The betrayal of a nation by a cause. Often, the betrayal of a cause by its leaders. And of course, the betrayal of people... by people.

And with each betrayal, a choice must be made.

...

Sic semper tyrannus.​

* * *​

Adam Taurus was sharpening Wilt's blade in the little room that had presumably once been the station manager's office years ago. Back when this subway station was still running. Back before Mountain Glenn had fallen.

He paused as he heard the door click, and the big, beefy man who served as his lieutenant in the White Fang stepped in, closing the door behind him. A different person might have reprimanded him for his discourtesy, for failing to knock, in order to reassert his dominance. Adam was not that kind of man. The sword in his hands was the only dominance he needed.

"What?" he asked instead as he returned to sharpening his blade.

Ash grabbed a chair and pulled it around, straddling it as he sat on it backwards, looking at Adam hesitantly. He paused for a long moment, then looked around, left and right. His ever-present mask concealed his expression, but his body language gave away his wariness. He leaned forward. "Why'd you do it?" he asked, his voice quiet. "Send the Autobots away? They might be a bunch of goody two shoes, but they were right there. They could have gotten rid of Cinder for us."

"Could have, perhaps," Adam allowed. "Would have? I'm not so sure." That was a lie. "Even if they did, how many of our brothers and sisters -- wounded from the battle at the docks -- would be dead right now, slain by Cinder, held hostage, or caught in the crossfire?"

Another lie, this time wrapped in a truth. He had thought of the welfare of his men, but it had been a small and distant thought next to Cinder. In that moment? In that time? It was Cinder who had dominated his mind. He had forgotten for a while what it was like to be next to her… he wished he could forget again.

Ash paused once more, then frustration echoed through his frame. "I... suppose you're right. But what do we do now?"

"Now?" Adam echoed as he sheathed Wilt into Blush and stood up. "Now, we do what we have to in order to survive."

* * *​

Ozpin stood in his office, gazing out the window at the Atlesian airships that now dominated the sky. He sipped his hot cocoa pensively. James, what are you doing? There were very few people he trusted in this world, none he trusted completely, but the thought that Ironwood may have joined the long list of people who had betrayed him…

Well, it hurt, to say the least.

His desk chirped, and he turned, noting the "Access Requested" message.

At least he'd have some answers soon enough.

He tapped the access command and said, "Come in."

The elevator doors slid open, and General James Ironwood of the Atlesian military, Headmaster of Atlas Academy, entered with long, powerful strides. "Ozpin," he said, his voice urgent, "we need to talk."

"I'd say we do, General," Ozpin agreed, sizing up his old friend. The Atlesian general looked far different from the precise and proper officer he was when they had last met. In fact, he looked positively disheveled and apparently had even neglected to shave for a while, judging by the stubble on his face.

James paused, then looked around. "Where's Glynda?"

"Running late," Ozpin replied. "A disciplinary issue."

James nodded, then withdrew a device from his pocket -- a six-inch-long electronic wand with a blinking series of multicolored LEDs on the tip -- and began scanning the area.

Ozpin quirked an eyebrow.

"Sorry," the Atlesian apologized as he finished his scan and pocketed the device again. "Can't be too careful."

For his part, Ozpin took another sip of his cocoa. "What's this about, General?"

"We have a problem," James declared. "About a year ago, the Atlesian Council was approached by a… new arrival. He struck a deal with us, and I believe CCT communications have now been compromised."

"And you don't trust them," Ozpin concluded. What have you gotten yourself into, James? he wondered.

"I trust them about as far as I can throw them," confirmed James.

"You can throw someone pretty far," Ozpin pointed out.

James shook his head. "Not these people. They're… not from around here." He pulled out his scroll. "Let me show you."

Rather than insert his scroll into Ozpin's desk, however, James simply opened it up and brought up a picture of what looked like the interior of a hangar, and standing in it was a faceless blue robot with a red and yellow chestplate. The catwalk running across the shot in front of the robot's chest with what looked like Specialist Schnee standing on it, facing the robot, gave the image a sense of scale.

"His name," James said, "is Soundwave. He represents an alien faction called the Decepticons."

"James," Ozpin said, controlling his reactions even as his mind raced, "if you don't trust these Decepticons, why are you working with them?"

James looked away. "The council made its decision," he said through gritted teeth.

"You hold two seats on the council," Ozpin reminded him.

"I was outvoted," James said simply.

Ozpin's eyebrows shot up. That was a surprise. There were five seats on the Atlesian Council. "All of them?"

"Petty little men with petty little vices and delusions of grandeur," James spat. "They don't trust the Decepticons either, but they think we can milk them for advanced technology before they turn on us. Or we turn on them. I have a suspicion there might also be blackmail or bribery involved, but I haven't been able to turn anything up."

"What sort of technology are we talking about here, James?"

"Advanced telecommunications, computer hardware and software, some sort of superfuel they call energon," James listed. He paused. "Space travel. They're offering to put a communications network in space, far beyond the reach of the Grimm, without the vulnerabilities of the CCT network."

That… that was quite the carrot. Global telecommunications relied on the Cross Continental Transmit System, which ran through gigantic primary relay towers within each kingdom. The peculiar nature of the network meant that if any one primary relay tower went offline, the entire network would collapse. More relevantly, the smaller relay towers scattered across the continents to grant more reliable signal to the parts of the kingdoms further from the primary towers were often attacked by the Grimm, resulting in significant downtime.

Even Ozpin, who appreciated the poetic symbolism of the CCT's interreliance, would be tempted by such an offer… depending on the price.

"It sounds like they're promising you the moon."

"That too," James agreed with a sigh. "And all they want… is dust."

"Dust?" asked Ozpin with an incredulous raised eyebrow. "But dust doesn't work in space. Why would a space-faring people need something that only works on Remnant?"

"Dust doesn't, but apparently, energon does, and they refine it from dust," explained James. "They're apparently stranded here for now, until they can acquire more energon. Neither Soundwave nor any other Decepticon I've seen has made any secret of their desire to get off world."

Ozpin shrugged. "Understandable."

"Yes, but Ozpin, there's more to than that. They're at war, and-..." He was interrupted by a ding, and they turned as the elevator doors opened. James smiled welcomingly. "Glynd- urk!"

There was a sudden thrusting bang, and then James found himself pinned to the wall, unable to move as Glynda stalked towards him. Her face was contorted into a look of disgust, hurt, betrayal, and absolute rage that made even Ozpin take pause. She, it seemed, would not be delayed, crossing the distance in but a moment until she was but a few feet from him.

"Ozpin trusted you," she growled, her voice strange and hateful. "I thought I could too. So why the hell does Starscream know you?!"

Glynda's voice had become a shout of fury by the end.

James blinked. "'Starscream'?" He looked up at Ozpin. "You... already... knew?"

"We've been running our own investigation," Ozpin replied, taking another sip of his hot cocoa. "You've provided far more information than we had previously, however."

Glynda's fury cooled slightly as she looked between them. "James?" she asked acidly.

"Three to two," he said simply. "The rest of the Atlesian Council... thinks Atlas can profit from this… 'partnership.'"

"Indeed," Ozpin confirmed. "The good general was just briefing me on the situation in Atlas."

"And you think that makes up for what he's been involved in?!" hissed Glynda. "He comes crawling up here with his uniform less than perfect, his face all scratchy, and tells us a sweet song about how much of a difficult position he's in, and that's supposed to smooth over the pile of corpses he helped create?!"

"'Corpses'?" echoed Ironwood in confusion. "Glynda, I don't know... what... you... think-…"

He was cut off by his throat constricting, and he started to struggle for air.

"Glyn-…"

"Glynda!" shouted Ozpin in alarm.

She ignored them both. "I overheard Air Commander Starscream name you as one of his chief political rivals, that you had arranged for some of the ninja that work under you to raid the SDC's Vale Headquarters dressed as White Fang in an attempt to make him look bad in front of his boss. The only way that would even be possible is if you were already involved in their politics. Are you saying you weren't involved? Answer me!"

"Miss Goodwitch!" Ozpin interjected sharply. When she finally looked at him, he added, "I don't believe he currently can."

Glynda started and relaxed slightly. James gasped for air. The sound of ragged coughs filled the room for a moment before he recovered enough to reply.

"Starscream…" he said slowly, his voice hoarse. "...is delusional. I'm not after his job... and I definitely didn't send in anyone... disguised as White Fang... to raid the SDC. I don't think I could... join their ranks... even if I did want to. It doesn't... take a lot of time... sneaking around... where you can hear... a Decepticon... before you notice they don't like humans."

Glynda's eyes narrowed. "And yet, here you are, going along with this abomination. I… James, how could you? How could you stay on knowing about what the Decepticons were doing to people? The factories staffed by slaves piled high in mass graves?"

"'Mass graves'?" James shook his head. "Glynda, I have no idea what you're talking about. With the CCT almost certainly compromised, I have... basically no information on any of their operations outside Atlas that hasn't been filtered through them or the SDC."

"Liar!" snapped Glynda, a look of hate on her face and tears in her eyes.

"Glynda, why would I lie about this?! I didn't know!" he said defiantly, though it was more akin to begging.

"Yes, you did!" Glynda barked. "You had to have known, because Winter Schnee knew!"

And it was then, Ozpin saw, that all the fight left James.

"...What?" the general said in a very small, stunned voice.

Glynda's voice was calm, cold, almost scholarly. "When Weiss went to Atlas, she encountered the Decepticons while they were meeting with Specialist Schnee. She and her sister left together, and she asked your right-hand woman point blank if she knew about the slave factories, and she said yes. She knew, and so you had to have known."

"No," James replied weakly, his eyes unfocused.

"That-…!"

"Glynda!" interrupted Ozpin forcefully as he grabbed his cane and advanced around his desk holding The Long Memory. "Glynda. Stop this. He didn't know."

Glynda glanced between the two men, and then released James from her telekinetic grip; he collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut and made no move to pick himself up..

"He should have," she said in disgust.

"Yes," agreed James in that same weak voice. "I should have."

She ignored him and walked briskly to the elevator and out of the room. There was a ding, and then, they were all alone. Ozpin walked over and tried to get James up as best he could.

He… he did not look good.

"I'm sorry about Glynda," Ozpin said with a frown. "She's been under a lot of stress lately, but that was completely uncalled for."

The taller man shook his head as best he could. "No, I understand where she's coming from. But… you believed me."

Ozpin nodded. "Yes."

"Why?" asked James. It was the obvious question, after all.

"Because I saw in you, James, something I've seen in myself all too often."

* * *​

"You sure you're feeling okay, man?" Sun asked as he and his best friend walked through the courtyard of Beacon.

"I'm telling you, I'm fully recovered," insisted Neptune.

"Good, 'cause I don't want you losing your breakfast all over these people, and especially not Blake," stressed Sun.

"Dude, chill, I am completely on the level. Sage was able to cure my death," Neptune said confidently.

"I... don't actually think it was called that," mused Sun.

"Hey! You didn't have it, man. You don't get to complain," he objected. "So, this Blake girl must be pretty special."

"Oh, she is," replied Sun with a smile. "She's beauty, she's grace, she can stab you in the face, and I'm half-convinced that at any given moment she's about ready to."

"Nice," said Neptune appreciatively while covertly taking half a step away from him.

"I'm telling you, man. I think she might be the one," said Sun with a dreamy tone.

"Whoa," replied Neptune with wide eyes. "That's pretty serious. …So, uncomfortable question time, but... is she a faunus? I mean, you've said before..."

"What?" Sun blinked. "No! At least, I don't think so. Well, okay, maybe. She's got this really cute bow she wears on top of her head, which honestly, I think she'd look better without, and at first, I thought she was hiding a pair of ears under there, but literally no one else has commented on it, so it probably isn't the case. I mean, what are the odds she was able to conceal a secret like that from her roommates for a whole semester?"

Neptune shook his head. "Pretty slim. I mean, it wouldn't just be her roommates either. She'd also have to hide it from the rest of the school as well. You'd have to be some crazy twelfth level ninja or something to pull that off… oh! Or using hologram projectors. That could work too."

Sun shook his head. "Yeah, but there's no way Blake could afford something like that. It's not like she's a princess or anything."

"You'd be a lucky man if she was," observed Neptune.

"Would I?" asked Sun. "I mean, that would just confirm that she's way out of my league, right? Stories where the poor Vacuan boy woos the royal lady just don't do well. Hers would be the story where she was the heir to some bandit kingdom, and then she was swept off her feet by the prince of another bandit tribe."

"Oddly specific example there," pointed out Neptune.

"I had some time to read the books she's into," explained Sun. "Anyway, the point is that it doesn't matter if she's human or faunus. I like her for her. Race has got nothing to do with it."

"Well, I, for one, am glad to hear this," said Neptune with something akin to relief.

Sun looked his extremely human friend up and down. "Yeah, I bet you would be, filthy human."

"Oh! Such cruelty from a faunus oppressor, I am slain," Neptune said dramatically with a mock swoon.

The two burst into laughter at that and exchanged good natured shoves.

After they had had their fun, Sun stopped in front of the doors to the cafeteria.

"Anyway, before we meet them, just remember to play it cool," he informed his fellow.

"Dude," answered Neptune, posing slightly with arms wide.

Sun looked him up, and a glint of light somehow caught Neptune's smiling teeth at just the right angle to make them sparkle.

"Okay," he admitted. "You have a point."

The two entered the dining hall, and soon enough, they found Teams RWBY and JNPR together. Secretly they were the combined unit Team RRANNBW -- or would that be RRANNBWW now? -- except for Yang who always did her own thing, but Sun wasn't about to tell Neptune that. At least, not intentionally anyway. Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Blake were seated on one side of the table, while Weiss, Yang, Ren, and Nora were seated opposite them.

They all looked… well, not good, exactly, but they were definitely still kicking. It was a certain win. Then again, he was from Vacuo, and not everyone shared his home kingdom's views on what constituted success.

Weiss, in particular, was looking especially out of sorts, like she'd suddenly been dragged out when she'd been planning a night watching movies on the couch… except not, because he remembered how she looked when she had been planning a night watching movies on the couch at the Xiao Long-Rose home on Patch. Instead of the usual side ponytail with elaborately arranged hair pins, her hair was pulled straight back into a simple ponytail with a scrunchie. She didn't seem to be wearing any makeup, her uniform was looking rumpled, and frankly, it looked like she hadn't been sleeping very well either.

"'Sup losers," Sun greeted them, offering a peace sign.

"Hey, Sun!" Ruby returned the greeting with a big wave.

"I never got a chance to introduce you to my old friend, Neptune," he said, gesturing to his blue-haired teammate.

"Oh, yeah," Yang said. "Didn't he pick up a nasty case of death on the flight over?"

Sun paused. Had he mentioned that to her? He must have.

"Yes," Neptune confirmed without hesitation.

"Don't encourage him," Sun said instead with a dismissive wave. "It was just a little food poisoning." He turned to his friend. "Anyway, Neptune, these are Teams Juniper and Ruby. Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang," he introduced as he pointed to each of the Beacon students in turn, who offered return greetings before turning back to what they had been doing.

Neptune scanned the group, but it was clear the white-haired girl -- Weiss -- was looking pretty miserable. Maybe he could cheer her up?

Taking a seat next to her while Sun sat opposite him next to Ruby, he offered his best winning smile and asked, "So, something got you down, Snow Angel?"

Weiss stiffened, then glared at him. "You don't get to call me that," she declared venomously.

Neptune leaned back and scooted a few inches away from her, holding his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, whoa, okay, was it something I said?"

"Yeah," called the blonde seated on the other side of Weiss. "That's Lover Boy's nickname for her," she explained, nodding across the table to where the male blond sat sandwiched between the two redheads.

Jaune, for his part, looked up from his quiet conversation with Pyrrha and held up his hands in a near-mirror to Neptune's own pose. "Hey, don't drag me into this, Yang. She made it pretty clear how much she hates it when I call her that, remember?"

At that, Weiss's gaze focused in on Jaune, and she stared at him for a long moment, but as he turned his head to look at her, she shot to her feet, stepped over the bench, and fled the cafeteria.

Blake lowered her book. "Oh, no."

"I should-" Jaune started as both he and Ruby started to get up.

"No," Yang cut him off, waving them down as she stood up, "my fault. I'll go talk to her."

With that, she left, following the white-haired girl.

Neptune looked at the rest of the group.

"I'm missing something here, aren't I?"

* * *​

It took longer than it probably should have, but Yang found her white-haired roommate back in their room, appropriately enough.

Wow. Little snowflake can really move when she wants to, she thought as she looked at her.

It wasn't a particularly cheerful sight. Her hair was still in that simple ponytail, her shoes had been kicked off, and her face was half buried in her pillow. She hadn't even bothered to take off her school uniform, which was about the only thing besides some simple synth fabric undergarments that she had worn since getting back from Atlas. She didn't know exactly what had gone wrong, but she didn't need to; there was someone in need, and she could help them.

If Ruby or Bumblebee were here, they'd be leaping to assist. They might not know what to do, but they would try their best. Heck, Ruby had tried -- repeatedly -- ever since Weiss had gotten back from Atlas, but the snow-haired girl hadn't even deigned to respond to her overtures. Now, Yang supposed, it was her turn. After all, could she do less?

"Hey, Weiss," Yang began as she closed the door behind her. There was no response. "I'm sorry for what I said. That was insensitive of me. I shouldn't have teased you about that, especially now."

"I'm just like my father," muttered Weiss with half her mouth visibly moving and the other half buried in fabric.

"What was that?" asked Yang, not quite hearing her clearly and deciding to step a little closer.

Weiss rolled over, hugging her other pillow to her chest, half-hiding her face behind it. "Professor Port was right," she said. "I grew up getting almost everything I wanted, and I didn't appreciate it. I was never satisfied, just lusting after whatever I didn't have. Just like my father, I can't appreciate what I do have until it isn't mine anymore."

"...You're talking about something specific now, aren't you?" Yang asked. Because she really couldn't see how what had happened in the cafeteria had led to this line of discussion.

"Not something," Weiss whispered hoarsely. "Someone."

Yang blinked at that, then it clicked. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back and pinching her nose. Oh, great. Why now? she wondered. "Please tell me you're not talking about Jaune." She womanfully resisted the urge to tease Weiss about "lusting."

"Why-?" Weiss cut herself off. Her eyes narrowed, and she shot upright. She jabbed an accusatory finger at Yang as the pillow dropped into her lap. "I won't lose to you."

"What?" Yang blurted out, eyes snapping open as she stared at the heiress. "Whoa, hold up, Princess," she said, raising a hand for calm as what Weiss was implying registered in her mind. "While I'm glad you've still got a spark left in you, I'm really not interested in the dork."

"Well, why not?" Weiss asked, sniffing primly. "He not good enough for you?"

Oh, God, Yang thought, her expression frozen, it's like talking to Pyrrha. With that surreal thought, she answered, "No, Weiss, but Jaune is very… safe. I don't do safe. But, I guess… you do?"

It wasn't entirely accurate, Yang reflected. After all, one of the things she liked about Sun, perhaps the thing, was that he was safe too, if perhaps in a different way. That intense loyalty of his was so incredible, so attractive, so desirable in a husband and father, but... he didn't want her, and she knew it. So "safe" -- the kind of safe she wanted -- was one thing she couldn't have.

"Maybe... I guess…" Weiss said, suddenly sounding uncertain. "It's just- I was… well, not okay that he'd moved on, but I was willing to accept it and move on myself."

Yang pressed on. "But...?"

"He made me forget," explained Weiss simply.

"Go on."

"On our date, sure, you're right, the restaurant was a misstep, but afterwards... afterwards, he treated me like I was the center of the universe," she elaborated. "He helped me forget... everything. My father, the company, my status and wealth... for one night, none of that mattered. And right now… that's important to me."

Yang knew she would be regretting this very soon, but it was a question that needed to be asked. "Why?"

Sure enough, tears sprang from Weiss's eyes, and her face became wracked with despair and… resignation. That was not good. "Because you were right, Yang! You were right. I thought I could save my grandfather's company, but… there's nothing left to save. It's gone, it's all gone! Everything my grandfather died building… it's all a mockery now. I can't even begin to tell you how bad it really is because I can't bear to think about it. Every time I do, I… I… I…"

Yang reached over and snapped her fingers in front of Weiss's face. "Hey, Weiss, snap out of it!"

"I was born in shame, and I'll die in shame," moaned the heiress, her voice rising.

"Weiss!" shouted Yang. She wasn't sure what the other girl was talking about, but she had to snap her out of it.

"I'm a monster!" Weiss shrieked.

Yang grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Stop it!" she said, leaning in to look her in the eyes. "You. Are not. A monster," she said, enunciating forcefully.

"Yes, I am, everyone in my family is," she declared heartbrokenly, and it was clear then that she was having a relapse into something terrible.

"Doesn't matter," Yang declared solidly. "You're no monster, Weiss. You're anything but. A monster wouldn't care."

"Like you have any idea," Weiss scoffed. "My father's a monster, and I've met yours, remember?"

"Yeah," Yang agreed sadly, "but you never met my mother."

That caught the other girl off-guard. She blinked owlishly at Yang in confusion. "But… I've heard you and Ruby talking about her: Summer Rose, baker of cookies, slayer of monsters…"

"Summer Rose was my dad's wife," Yang said, "but she wasn't my mother." She felt her hands curl into fists. "My mother is a woman named Raven Branwen. Summer stepped in after she… left. And after Summer died, I- we needed a mom. I tried to find her, and I almost got us both killed." She barked out a self-derisive chuckle. "You'd think I'd learn from that, but I didn't. I just kept looking."

"And you found her?" Weiss asked.

"No," Yang answered, shaking her head, "but I found out who she is. What she is." Weiss didn't say anything, and Yang looked her in the eyes. "My mother, Raven Branwen, is a bandit. A bandit queen, if you want to get grandiose about it."

"What?"

"Yeah," Yang confirmed. "Dear old mom is a bandit, leading a whole tribe of bandits somewhere over in Anima, murdering and pillaging their way across the countryside. Whole villages go dark, and civilization stumbles closer to annihilation because of her."

"I-I'm sorry," Weiss stammered. "I-I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't," acknowledged Yang. "Neither did I, until recently. But... if you're a monster because your father runs a company with unethical business practices while supplying the world with the dust needed to fight back against the darkness? What does that make me?"

A thoughtful look crossed Weiss's face as she began to run the numbers in her head.

"Yang…" she said, "how old were you when Summer Rose started taking care of you?"

Yang blinked in surprise at the question. "Um, not sure. A couple weeks, I think, according to Dad."

Weiss arched an eyebrow at that. "And when did you last see Raven Branwen?"

"I… haven't seen her," Yang said, shaking her head slowly. "At least, not that I can remember. That's why I kept looking for her, remember?"

"Yang, Summer was your mom then," Weiss said bluntly. "Shut up about Raven already."

"What?!" the blonde yelped.

"You heard me," Weiss pressed on. "Summer raised you from when you were a baby until the day she died. All Raven did was carry you to term and look after you for a few weeks. I'm pretty sure that's not a mom. An incubator, maybe. This sounds like it's been bothering you for a while. I guess you just hide it better."

"Practice?" Yang offered with a wan smile.

"Yes, well," Weiss continued, "as I was saying, it's like you said. A monster wouldn't care."

And… that was the thing, wasn't it? A monster wouldn't care. So what did that say about Yang?

"And what about you?" Yang asked. "I mean, you've said very little about your home life, but you've dropped enough hints that I think I've got, well, enough pieces to put together a rough idea what it was like."

Weiss's eyes narrowed. "And?"

"I mean, maybe I'm completely off-base here," Yang continued, "but… can you really say your father actually raised you?"

Weiss rocked back at that. "No. No, I can't really say that he did."

"So who did?" Yang prodded. "Your mother?"

Weiss flinched at that. "No." Her eyes darted searchingly around the room before settling on an empty spot on the floor. "If anyone… it was Klein Sieben, my butler."

"And is he a monster?" asked the blonde.

Weiss smiled faintly. "He is anything but," she echoed.

"Well, there you go."

"Say," Weiss broke the silence that followed, "you said you never did find Raven…?"

"I've stopped looking," Yang said. "At this point, I can't imagine why anyone would bother searching for her… except maybe to bring her to justice, I suppose."

* * *​

Leonardo Lionheart was ashamed to admit, even if only to himself, that he didn't really live up to his name. Not anymore, not in a long time. Still, he was headmaster of Haven Academy, and he had his… orders. Yes, orders. Orders from Ozpin, and this wasn't something he could risk delegating, not with how… precarious things were in Mistral right now.

So, with Stalwart, his trusty dust launcher shield, at the ready, he made his way through the forests of Anima, in search of Raven Branwen.

He stiffened and brought up Stalwart, deflecting an incoming bullet.

"You made a big mistake, old man."

The welcoming committee, of course. He'd expected that. It wasn't like Raven had what one would call an open door policy, after all. There were three of them, all armed, all with guns trained on him, but they didn't move like trained Huntsmen. Even he ought to be able to handle them. Still, the best victories were the battles never fought.

"I'm not looking for trouble," Leo said. It didn't hurt to try, after all. "I just have a few questions for Raven Branwen."

"Y'know," the one on the left said, "is it just me, or did he just contradict himself there?"

"Sure does," the one on the right nodded, stepping forward menacingly.

"Let's teach this old geezer a lesson," the center one finished.

"Hmph," Leo harrumphed as the three of them opened fire. He dashed to his right, holding Stalwart defensively until he rounded behind a large oak, immediately reversing direction while he was concealed as he chambered a dust round.

He brought Stalwart up and fired at the furthest bandit, the lightning dust sending a bolt of electricity out to strike him down. He didn't wait to confirm his target was disabled. Instead, he charged the nearest bandit, the one that had been on the right, bashing Stalwart into his face as he overran the thug.

He turned to face his last opponent.

"I'm the teacher here, boy," he declared, projecting confidence, "and it looks to me like you could use a refresher course on respect."

"Enough!" a voice sounded, and Leo turned.

"Raven."

She hadn't changed a bit. She stood atop a tree branch twenty feet up and was wearing the Grimm mask she usually affected these days, but her voice had been unmistakeable. The gigantic mane of black hair that hung from her head was identical, as was Omen, the sword she wore on her hip, her hand resting lightly on it, ready to draw it in an instant.

"Leonardo," she greeted. "Did you finally decide you have a spine after all? You seem a bit undermanned if you intend to eliminate us."

The dismissal of him as a threat burned in Leo's heart, but he couldn't dispute it. Instead, he shook his head. "Ozpin wants to know what you've been doing in Vale."

Raven hopped down and walked up towards him. She seemed to relax slightly, her hand no longer resting on Omen's handle. "What?" she asked. "A woman can't check in on her little girl?"

Leo turned to face her directly, ignoring the three sentries he'd confronted, no matter how much his spine itched. They weren't important. What was important was his mission… and her curious turn of phrase.

"And running around with the White Fang?" he pressed.

Raven cocked her head to the side. Ah, so Yang had accepted her gift after all. She ignored the warmth she felt at that. "Oh, that?" she said dismissively. "What makes you think that's me?"

Leonardo jerked his chin at her face, or rather, the mask she wore over it. "She wears your mask."

Raven tapped the side of her mask. "I wear a Grimm mask. As I recall, the White Fang have developed a thing for Grimm masks as of late." It had been one reason she'd been willing to pass the mask on to Yang. It had been a bit sentimental of her, but… well, it was just an old mask, after all. Still, if the silly girl was thinking of her as her mother, rather than Summer, it had probably been a mistake. Oh, well. Too late now. Always too late.

"I... see," Leo said hesitantly, his eyes narrowing. What was he thinking? "Then... I suppose I'll let Ozpin know what you told me." He turned to leave. Odd choice of words.

Something was off, though, and it took her a moment to realize what.

"You know what I find interesting, Leo?" she called after him.

Leonardo stopped and turned back to face her. "What?"

"You're a very busy man, Headmaster," Raven said, "yet you took the time to come all the way out here yourself. Why is that?"

She saw something in his eyes when he justified himself. "It was a request from Ozpin himself."

Raven shook her head. "Not every request the old man makes is of dire importance, and I know this isn't something he'd have asked you to handle personally. You could have just sent a messenger you trust."

Leonardo looked away. "Trustworthy people are in... short supply."

"Hmm, yes, they certainly are these days, aren't they?" she agreed. Now, I wonder why that might be?

She took the time to ensure his departure before turning and bounding back to the camp.

"Vernal!" she called as she landed.

The short-haired woman with, funnily enough, a raven tattoo on her arm nodded. "Yes, Raven."

"Get everyone packing," Raven ordered. "We move tomorrow."

Her lieutenant's eyes widened in alarm. "We just got settled in. Is something wrong?"

"I don't know," admitted the bandit queen. "Which is why we're moving."

* * *​

"Pyrrha Nikos!" a female voice rang out across Beacon's courtyard in challenge.

Jaune and Pyrrha turned. The group had split up after lunch, with Sun and Neptune off to look for Sun's friend Penny and the other half of Team RWBY wanting to check on Weiss. Team JNPR hadn't wanted to crowd the heiress, so Ren and Nora had gone off... to do Ren and Nora things. Given the manic expression on Nora's face, Jaune hadn't wanted to inquire too closely.

The two of them weren't the only ones to react to the challenge. The crowd of students parted to reveal a dark-skinned platinum blonde wearing a Haven uniform, her olive green eyes locked onto Pyrrha's vivid green.

"Arslan Altan!" Pyrrha called out as the two strode toward each other. Jaune blinked and hurried to keep pace with his teammate, only vaguely aware that the crowd had turned into an audience.

The two met and stopped, staring hard into each other's eyes, grim expressions on their faces, ignoring everything else around them.

Jaune looked between them, trying to figure out what to do, but it was like they didn't even notice him. Even the crowd had fallen silent, holding a collective breath as the tension built and the confrontation approached a seemingly inevitable breaking point.

"Um, Pyr-" he tried, bracing himself, but he was interrupted by the impact of flesh on flesh, thundering like an explosion in the silent courtyard.

Spoiler: Boom!

Like lightning, the two girls' hands had swiped out and met between them, their auras flaring, the shockwave forcing Jaune a step back as they met in intense competition. Others were not quite so prepared, and almost the entirety of the gathered crowd was knocked flat on their backs. The ground rumbled and shook, and the pavement beneath their feet cracked from the pressure of the colliding auras.

Like two arm wrestlers, their hands had clasped together, frozen in mid-air: the immovable object and the unstoppable force made manifest and clashing in a titanic struggle.

Jaune watched, eyes wide, as the muscles in Pyrrha's arm and shoulder bulged and flexed in a way he'd never seen, even when Pyrrha had taken on whole teams in Combat Course or waded through dozens of Grimm or Atlesian Knights. And yet, the other girl -- Arslan, presumably -- was clearly matching her, a fierce grin on her face equaled by the one on Pyrrha's. Neither would give an inch… and it was clear, neither would want the other to.

There were maybe two people Jaune knew that he considered stronger than Pyrrha, but both Nora and Yang's strength was an explosive power, not this… inevitability. He wasn't sure he'd bet on either of them against her in a contest of strength like this one. Of course, he'd always known Pyrrha was holding back, but he'd had no idea she was holding back this much.

The knight was the first to see it. A tremor in Pyrrha's arm, barely visible, nor borne from the shaking ground. He'd seen it rarely, only during their late night training sessions on the roof, and even then, only after the longest and roughest of days. Slowly, inexorably, impossibly, Arslan began forcing Pyrrha's arm back.

"You've... gotten stronger," Pyrrha noted, her voice straining with effort as she tried to hold back the impossible.

"Have I?" Arslan questioned, her voice equally strained. "Or is Beacon… making you soft?" With a grunt, she finally forced Pyrrha's hand down completely.

"Ah!" Pyrrha cried, finally letting go and stepping back, shaking her hand to restore circulation.

Arslan shook her head as the tremors in the ground finally stopped. "You never did know when to quit, huh?"

"Of course not," Pyrrha agreed. "Why do you think I always won in the arena? Good to see you, Arslan! I should have known you'd come for the Vytal Tournament."

"Yes, you should have," confirmed Arslan, rubbing her own shoulder. She nodded to Jaune. "This your boyfriend?"

"Um…" Jaune said eloquently, feeling his cheeks heat up.

Pyrrha blushed and ducked her head. "I, um, uh, actually, this is Jaune, Jaune Arc. He's the leader of my team, Team Juniper."

"Pleased to meet you," Jaune said, extending a hand… and fervently hoping Arslan wasn't the sort of person to "test" people during a handshake.

"I see." Arslan gave Pyrrha a sidelong glance, raising an eyebrow, then gave Jaune a measuring look as she accepted his hand and shook it with a firm but not crushing grip. "There must be something very special about you, Jaune Arc."

Jaune scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Ah, well, I dunno-"

"Arslan's an old friend, my sparring partner back at Sanctum," Pyrrha interjected hurriedly. "In last year's tournament, she broke my Invincible Girl streak."

"Wait." Jaune frowned as he let his hand drop. "I thought Weiss said you won the last four tournaments?"

Arslan threw her head back and laughed, before maneuvering around and draping an arm over each of their shoulders. "She did. When she says I broke her Invincible Girl streak, she means I was the first person in four years of tournament fighting to actually land a hit on her. You know, before she beat me like a drum."

Pyrrha blushed again. "Arslan!"

"Come on, you two," Arslan said, ignoring Pyrrha's protest as she began steering them onwards. "I've got to introduce you to my team. Hey, guys!"

Three Haven students stepped out of the crowd that had been far enough away to stay on their feet to join them, two guys and a girl. One of the guys had dark hair and amber eyes, while the other was darker-skinned with blue eyes and pink hair, with a black-haired undercut. The girl's shock of mint green hair and green eyes rounded out the colorful ensemble.

"Arslan," the pink-haired boy said, "I can see why you told us to stand back. You okay? I saw you rubbing your shoulder a minute ago."

Arslan waved it off. "It's fine, Nate. Just a little muscle strain, nothing to get worked up over. You probably recognize the famous Pyrrha Nikos, and this is her… team leader, Jaune Arc. Pyrrha, Jaune, this is my team, Team Auburn." She pointed first at the dark-haired boy, then the girl, then the boy who'd spoken. "Bolin Hori, Reese Chloris, and the worrywort is Nadir Shiko."

"Oh!" Pyrrha cried out in surprise. "You're team leader? Congratulations."

Arslan shrugged. "Yeah. Not sure why they put me in charge, but they did. Pain in the butt, if you ask me."

"It has its moments," Jaune acknowledged with a shrug in return, "but I find it pretty rewarding."

* * *​

The two ninja squared off, their whole bodies covered in white and grey cloth save for their eyes, one pair a raw umber, the other a moderate cerise, both twisted in focus. Together, they moved as one, and when the dust settled, one stood, and one fell.

"Match! Shadow wins!" cried the instructor.

"Urgh, did anyone get the number of that truck that hit me?" asked the figure on the ground.

"I am flattered by the compliment, Boomer," said the winner, Shadow, as she reached down her hand.

The defeated foe took it and was pulled to her feet . Once she was up, the instructor brought an end to the class, and the two took off their hoods. Both had their hair tied up tight in styles meant for ease of wear under the mask, but that was where their similarities ended, for Shadow's hair was as black as her namesake on the far side of the moon, while Boomer's hair almost naturally fit her real name, with six of the seven colors of the rainbow.

"Hey, just remember to give me a rematch sometime, will ya?" asked Boomer with a competitive smile.

"There are other students in the class," replied Shadow icily, and then a smile by her own fashion came to her lips. "I'll see what I can do."

Shadow walked back over to where her team was kneeling in wait.

"Wow, they're really something," said Neptune appreciatively. "I mean, they're just… wow!"

"They're not bad," confirmed Sun reluctantly. "I've seen better." Actually, that black-haired girl looks and fights a lot like Blake. It's kind of freaky… though, not as well, of course.

"Wonder which one's Penny," said Neptune.

As if in answer, one of the ninja-clad students that were standing up took off her hood to reveal a ginger bob cut, bright green eyes, and a million-watt smile. She straightened up and waved enthusiastically. Sun waved back with a smile, while Penny's teammates took notice of them. All their eyes narrowed.

Oh no, worried Sun.

As a group, the four of them began walking back across the mat and towards the pair from Haven.

The two besides Penny and Shadow seemed to be formed by the same molds they poured to make those stereotypical Atlesian soldiers from movies. The girl had dark skin, an asymmetric cut of navy blue hair that was longer on the left, blue eyes, and what looked like a yellow sun symbol embedded in her forehead. The boy was big, angular, and sported red hair cut very short. Neither seemed particularly happy to see them, in contrast to Shadow's guarded disdain and Penny's exuberance so great she was actually skipping.

"Friend Sun!" the peppy Atlesian called out as soon as they were close. "It's so good to see you! Who is this?"

"Friend Penny," echoed Sun with a smile as he reached out and grabbed Neptune's shoulder. "Let me introduce to you Neptune Vasilias, my oldest friend."

"'Sup," the buddy said coolly, much to the frigid reception from the other blunet.

"Salutations, Mister Vasilias. My name is Penny Polendina, though I'm also known as Bladerider," Penny greeted. "Allow me to introduce you to my team. First is my team captain, Aska Roku, callsign Shadow."

She gestured to the black-haired girl, who was still watching them inscrutably.

"Next is Ciel Soleil, callsign Farsight," she continued, gesturing to the girl with navy hair.

"And finally, there is Rufus Madison, also known as Mad Dog," she finished with a wave to the lone man amongst them.

Sun's eyes instinctively darted to the top of the guy's head, and he couldn't mistake the grin that spawned on the redhead's face.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Rufus said. "But no, I'm human. Got the callsign for how I act when I get ticked off." He paused. "And I'm not even the one you should be afraid of ticking off."

Well, that was reassuring. Not.

"So, this is the boy you ran off ahead and spent the day with, Penny?" Ciel asked, giving Sun a critical eye. "You didn't say he was so… profligate."

Well, wasn't that a word and a half? She was probably insulting him, but how was he supposed to come up with a comeback to something he didn't understand? Ah well, sand on the dune.

"Well, technically, we met the Friday before our little adventure," explained Sun.

"Oh yeah, didn't you say your abs collided with her face or something?" asked Neptune in recognition.

With that, all three of Penny's teammates, and even some of the few other Atlesian students still in the room, turned their gaze upon him with a curious glare that threatened to incinerate Sun where he stood.

"To be fair," said Penny to Neptune, ignoring the glares around her, "he had no control over where he was going, since Yang was rocket-kicking him in the back at the time."

"Riiight." Neptune nodded. "They were chasing you over the whole stowaway thing. I still don't get how you ended up on a boat coming to Vale from Vacuo. That's, like, on the opposite side of Vale from Mistral!"

"Skill," Sun replied seriously. "Pure skill."

Aska quirked an eyebrow and seemed to allow herself a smile. "A stowaway, hmm? My, you certainly do lead an interesting life, don't you, Sun Wukong?"

"I like to live dangerously," the monkey faunus declared.

"Clearly," coughed Rufus loudly.

"Still…" Aska began before pausing and then humming. "Hmm, now that's an idea."

"What?" asked Penny curiously.

"Oh, nothing, just had a thought for a future team-building exercise," said Aska with a faint smile. "Come on, Team Apricot, we have things to do right now."

The group of four Atlesian students brushed past them, Aska in particular getting awfully close, and then they were gone.

"Bye, Friend Sun! I'll see you again soon!" called Penny as she waved goodbye even as she passed through the door.

"See ya!" replied Sun with his own wave. "Dang. Thought we'd get to know them a little better."

"Dude, I think she likes you," said Neptune.

"Who, Aska? Ciel?" asked Sun as he turned to face his friend. What the...? Was there something off about him?

"No, idiot, I mean Penny," Neptune said as he turned to him.

Sun was taken aback. "What? No, that doesn't make any sense. She's… she's Penny, man."

"That doesn't actually refute what I was saying," pointed out Neptune.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Hey, listen, you got something in your hair," said Sun as he reached up like a striking viper and snatched a tiny little origami swan from behind the strap of Neptune's goggles.

The blue-haired boy boggled. "What?! How?! ...Oh, they're good."

"Eh, just ninja things," said Sun nonchalantly as he unfolded the paper. "Huh. 'Wait. Hide. Heat. Burn.' Any idea what it means?"

Neptune shook his head. "Not a clue."

* * *​

Coco glanced over her aviator sunglasses at the strangers facing them on the path. They were all very impressive-looking, all dressed in Atlas Academy uniforms. They also looked like they were trying to reorient themselves.

"Hey," she said finally, tipping her shades back up, "you boys lost?"

"Something like that," rumbled one of them. He was a faunus with a runner's build, his head topped by a pair of panther ears that blended into his black hair. His grey eyes looked at her warmly, and his uniform was impeccable. "I'm Rain Bailey, callsign Vanguard, captain of Team Ruffle," he introduced himself, extending a hand.

"Coco Adel," she replied, shaking his hand, "leader of Team Coffee." Letting her hand drop, she jerked her head behind her, careful not to dislodge her designer beret. "My team. The redhead's Fox Alistair, big guy's Yatsuhashi Daichi, and Velvet Scarlatina's the one hiding behind Yatsu."

"Coco!" the rabbit faunus complained from behind their seven-foot-tall teammate.

Rain chuckled, then stuck a thumb over his shoulder at his own team. "The twins are Reg and Ferris Rogue -- Reg's the one with the nuts -- and the wings in the back belong to Lavi Stall; Thunder, Lightning, and Black Out, respectively."

Sure enough, Coco could see a pair of black feathered wings poking up from behind the twins, and one of the twins was munching from a bag of peanuts. In contrast to their leader, the twins' uniforms looked pretty disheveled, like the twins had slept in them. Both had black hair, though Reg's hair had a blue tinge, while Ferris's had a red tinge, and Reg had red eyes to Ferris's blue. Both looked at Team CFVY and nodded in greeting, with Reg holding out his bag of peanuts in an obvious offer to share.

"Uh, hi?"

The voice drew her attention to the last member of Team RRFL -- a redhead with amber eyes and the aforementioned wings -- sticking his head out to peek out from where he hid behind his teammates. Coco raised an eyebrow as she noted the fancy-looking camera hanging from his neck.

The redhead squeaked and vanished behind his teammates again. Well, mostly. There was no hiding those wings.

Were all photographers that shy for some reason? Or did photography just attract the same type of people, people who were more comfortable behind the camera lens than in front of it? Rather than comment on it, though, she simply turned her attention back to Rain.

"So, not lost but 'something like that'?" she prodded.

"More like trying to familiarize ourselves with the grounds," Rain explained. "We'll be here all semester, after all; might as well get to know the place first. It would be embarrassing to get lost because we didn't take the time to make sure we knew our way around."

Coco grinned. "Well, we're not busy at the moment. Care for a tour?" she offered.

"We'd very much appreciate it," Rain accepted.

As she took the lead, Coco cocked an ear to the back of the group, from where she heard Velvet ask tentatively, "Is- is that... the new Kodiak XLR-800?"

"I wish," came the wistful reply. "It's a 750, but I've made some… special modifications to it."

"Oh? Like what?"

As the conversation quickly grew far too technical for her to follow, Coco grinned. With how small recent class years had been, it had been hard for shy little Velvet to make friends outside the team. Coco had even been steering her team toward spending their lunches in the cafeteria with a couple of the firstie teams, though the less said about her attempts to set Velvet up with that dork knight she seemed to like, the better.

* * *​

"Hey, Sun? Can you sleep?" asked Neptune as he lay awake in his dorm room bed staring at the ceiling.

"I could," muttered Sun as he blearily blinked himself awake. "What's the matter?"

"It's just… do you think we'll actually be able to make it here? At Beacon and at the Vytal Festival, I mean," asked Neptune, keeping his voice as quiet as he could.

"I'm pretty sure we'll make a fairly good impression," answered Sun positively in that same quiet volume.

"I hope so," Neptune muttered forlornly.

"What's the matter, Nep?" ask Sun as he turned to look at his friend.

Neptune bent up and brought his knees in. "It's just… That girl, Weiss, I couldn't help her. I just made things worse."

"Man, is that it?" asked Sun somewhat sarcastically. "Weiss has her own issues going on. They all do. Even Yang's got her own private little traumas. They try to keep it under wraps, but… look, Weiss comes from a broken home or something, from what I hear. And she went back there during the break, so something terrible probably happened there between her and the rest of her family that's just made her a little sore. Doesn't excuse what she said, it's just… well, give her time, and try to be there if she needs it. I'm sure things will work out."

Neptune nodded. "Okay, thanks, man."

"Anytime," Sun said with a wave. "Now, get back to bed."

The blue-haired teen made to do just that, but when his head hit the pillow, it collided with paper instead. "What the-?"

Quick as a spinning dog, he brought himself back up on his hands and looked down at his pillow. There, nestled in the center, was a crumpled piece of paper. Obviously, it hadn't been there when he had first laid his head down that night.

Suddenly, in a flash, he knew what was going on. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the piece of paper and got out of bed. Then, quietly, he woke Sun back up. Again.

"Wha-?"

"Get up. We have a message to decode," whispered Neptune as he held up the seemingly blank piece of paper.

Sun's eyes widened, and he got out of bed to follow Neptune as he rummaged around and found a tiny burn dust crystal held in a small transparent steel case in their luggage. It was frankly amazing they didn't wake Scarlet or Sage. Indeed, they didn't wake anyone as they carefully entered the bathroom.

"What's the code?" asked Sun as he locked the door and turned on the flashlight function on his scroll with his other hand.

"No idea," admitted Neptune as he held the paper out over the toilet. "But that's what the burn crystal is for."

Then, with practiced ease, Neptune fed a little of his aura into the crystal, and it began to heat up. He ran the crystal beneath the paper, and then, suddenly, shockingly, words began to appear. The whole time, Sun watched with incredible fascination.

"That is so cool," the monkey faunus observed. "How did you know to do that?"

"I read it in a book once," Neptune replied with a shrug. "I mean, they're ninjas, right? Why not use invisible ink like this?"

Now revealed by the heat, the message could be read in the illumination of the flashlight.

My step is slow

the snow's my breath​

I give the ground

a grinding death​

My marching

makes an end of me​

Slain by sun

or drowned in sea.​

I march before armies

a thousand salute me​

My fall can bring victory

but no one would shoot me;​

The wind is my lover

one-legged am I​

Name me and see me

at home in the sky.​

Beneath the two riddles was a date and time, normal by contrast.

The two looked up at each other in mutual bafflement. "Riddles?" Sun complained. "Why riddles?"

"Obviously, it's a test," Neptune pointed out. "To see if you're worthy of fair Miss Polendina's affections."

Sun groaned and facepalmed. "I told you, Nep, she's not into me like that."

"Yeah, well, you got a better theory?"

"They're ninjas," Sun suggested. "They're just being inscrutable because that's what ninjas do."

Neptune opened his mouth, then closed it again. He didn't actually have an argument against that. Instead, he asked, "Sooo, what does it mean? The first one, I mean, is that supposed to be talking about us?"

"Nah." Sun shook his head. "Look. There's a date and time, so these must be riddles telling us where to go." He paused, then added, "Unless they're saying I should kill you."

"Or they're saying we're to compete at killing something," Neptune pointed out. "It does say 'slain by sun or drowned in sea.' We'll come back to that one." He looked back at the paper. "The second one, though, that's obviously a flag."

Sun cocked his head. "Huh. Now that you mention it, that does make sense. Okay, so they're talking about a flag, and… what? Something related to the cold?"

"Too bad we're not from the coldest climate around, huh?" asked Neptune jokingly.

"No, but… something seems familiar about it," Sun paused, brows furrowed in thought. "I've got it! It's a glacier. When we were on Patch, Weiss mentioned how beautiful they were, and I was so confused, I just had to look it up on my scroll. I got to admit, they're pretty cool."

"Okay, so…" Neptune mused. "Glacier and flag? What, like the Atlesian flag?"

Sun snapped his fingers. "The Glacier Lounge! It's a bar and restaurant in Vale. They serve Atlesian cuisine and have this gigantic Atlesian flag hanging from the back wall. Ruby warned us about it, said they got terrible service when she ate there with one of her teammates."

"Huh. So they want to meet us at the Glacier Lounge at this time?" asked Neptune as he looked at the message intently.

"I think so," Sun said with a smile. "We got it, man."

"Good," replied Neptune.

With that word said, he flipped open the canister of burn dust and poured more of his aura into it. Fire leapt from the cylinder and struck the letter. The dry paper began to incinerate.

"Dude!" hissed Sun. "What the heck?!"

"What?" asked Neptune as he dropped the burning letter into the toilet. "They told us to burn it, remember? I'm pretty sure part of the test is whether or not we can remember a basic instruction like that."

"But what if we need a reminder of what we're actually supposed to do?!"

"I'm pretty sure we have good enough memory that we'll be able to remember all that… right?" reassured Neptune, getting less sure himself as he continued.

Sun sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You are so lucky that I snapped a picture before you burned it."

* * *​

As Yang settled into Professor Greene's classroom for the first class of the semester, she had to admit, she was feeling pretty good. The talk yesterday seemed to have helped Weiss -- she still hadn't bothered with her usual, more elaborate hairstyle, but she wasn't looking like a half-dead zombie either -- and it had certainly helped Yang. Now, she could finally put her biomom behind her and move on.

Though the smile Weiss gave Jaune as they came in worried her, mostly for Ruby's sake. She didn't think either of them knew about the other's… intentions toward the dork knight, nor Pyrrha's. Pyrrha's awareness of theirs, she couldn't get much of a read on, but no matter what, it was likely going to come to a head at some point.

She was honestly glad to have put the Autobots and their war behind her. It meant she had more time to help her sister and her team. It gave her time to figure out how to limit the damage when the situation around Jaune eventually blew up.

And it was better than the blow ups around the White Fang, who were now officially the problem of the professionals and not her.

The sound of the door opening and a crowd filing in broke her out of her musings. The Haven exchange students had arrived, and…

Rowr.

...Sun looked good in a uniform, even if he seemed a little uncomfortable. She shook the thought out of her head.

Down, girl, she reminded herself as she watched the Haven students file in. Neptune flashed Teams RWBY and JNPR a charming smile as he took a seat near Sun, followed by presumably the other half of their team, a piratey-looking redhead and a boy with green hair and brown skin.

It was as the last of them filtered in that Yang felt the blood drain from her face, driving any thoughts of romance -- comedic or otherwise -- from her mind.

For she recognized the last three Haven students entering the room.

Cinder Fall, she thought, trying to clamp down the panic rising within her. What is she doing here?!

(Interlude 1-4: Cold | V2E1: Welcome to Beacon | V2E2: Encounters)​

A/N 1 (Cyclone)

Dun dun DUN!!! So, I'm honestly surprised no one seemed to have predicted this at all. Not here, not on SB, not on TVTropes, not in private Discord communiques, nowhere. Back in "Shatterpoint," Yang met Cinder, who introduced herself to her by name then. This is someone who, in all of canon through volume six, has only ever bothered to don a disguise twice (raiding the CCT and after Raven beat her down in Haven), and this was neither of those times. Seriously, how did no one see this coming? How?

Raven probably would have been a bit more careful with her choice of words if she knew what Leo was actually asking about. I'm sure this won't have any long-term consequences whatsoever…

You might be wondering why Raven seems a bit... different from what you might normally expect and why she doesn't consider herself Yang's mother. For that, I'll point you to A Stark Divide, our standalone prequel. It's complete and only three chapters long.

Really enjoyed writing the Arslan scene, BTW. Sometimes, you just want to go full cheese. Side note, it was originally conceived as a much more subdued "Han and Lando" style meeting, with a switch from fake-out anger to friendly hug.

You may notice that Boomer's real name is alluded to but not mentioned. That's because… well, figuring out how to bring it up in the scene was more trouble than it was worth. As we mentioned earlier, we had some difficulties figuring out this character's callsign, but eventually, we stumbled across this guy's TF Wiki page and decided that the name fit rather well, and it also works from the meta perspective of continuing Hasbro's tradition of slapping an old character's name on a new character who has nothing to do with his or her namesake in order to keep the copyright active. Just ask Wheeljack.

Also, it turns out, according to the Official Companion, the ship Sun stowed away on really was coming from Vacuo. Somehow. I'm chalking that up to a hilarious noodle incident during which hijinks ensued. Presumably, said hijinks also explain why the crew of that ship were expecting to unload a shipment of dust from Atlas, despite not sailing from Atlas themselves. Maybe there's some prevailing currents that make sailing from Mistral to Atlas to Vacuo to Vale the most efficient trade route, even when you're lugging cargo from Atlas to Vale? That just makes volume four's nonsense even more nonsense, though.

We really wanted to do something with Team FNKI, round out the other half of the team, but… well, Flynt and Neon were created from internet memes and music themes, and neither of us could figure out any point at which those intersected well, let alone with appropriate initials. We couldn't even figure out if Neon was the N or the K in FNKI.

A/N 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett)

You know, writing that Sun and Neptune scene was incredibly difficult, with four different versions being cooked up, and none clicking. Then I had a brainwave, and then I belted both scenes out in a few hours. So… yeah, now there's seven plot threads in this season. The amazing thing about this is that it really does solidify these first few chapters and work towards the ultimate objective we had planned.

Spoiler: Working on this be like…

A beautiful combination of this….



And this…

Never been involved with a protect like this before, but it feels fantastic. The whole writing process is just clicking all over the place. And if I sound enthusiastic and happy it's only because I am.

Bit of a note about the characters though, specifically in this case, Team APRC. Aska's name looks a little strange to me (it's Asuka, darn it!) and I'm betting it's for copyright reasons, but if you're wondering where she's from it's actually from a little Takara franchise called CyGirls. (And since that's really obscure, here's a YouTube playlist of footage from the tie-in video game starring Aska.) Rufus Madison is actually from an even more obscure (as in, we can't buy it) Transformers: Prime comic. Ciel Soleil is from canon RWBY but everything else about her character is listed straight out of SAPR with @ScipioSmith 's permission. Penny is Penny, and she is very similar to herself.

And I think I'll join Cyclone in asking "Hoooooooooow?!" We got a fair amount of criticism for not changing much in "Shatterpoint" when we had Yang meet Cinder, and that was nine chapters after Yang first heard Cinder named as the mastermind of the whole criminal scheme in Episode 4. How? How did no-one see this coming? It was the most telegraphed derailment of the entirety of the plot of Volumes 2 and 3 that we've ever seen. I mean, I know we didn't say anything about it, but we didn't think we had to. Except now it turns out that even our closest friends and confidants didn't see this coming? I don't think we've ever been this confused.

Tune in next time to see our heroes start to get back in the saddle when they have some unusual "Encounters."

 

[Cyclone]

(V2E1: Welcome to Beacon | V2E2: Encounters | V2E3: Trust-Building Exercises)




Volume II: Episode 2: Encounters

* * *​

Professor Greene called an end to the class, and another day began for Blake Belladonna. She was empathetic enough to realize that not everyone felt the same way she did, especially on a Monday, but she also just couldn't help it. Miss Greene's class was just so relaxing, giving her a chance to do an extended warm-up with something that was familiar to her before moving on to the more trying classes of the day.

Still, today was different, as the dark specter of Weiss's experiences in Atlas still hung over the girl like a foreboding cloud. Granted, she had cheered up significantly since Yang's talk with her the previous day, but she still was in a state of depression, and that just wouldn't do. Even so, Blake felt like she should thank the blonde for her efforts, especially since she seemed somewhat uneasy ever since the class began.

Did she have a bias against Mistrali or Atlesians? It was certainly possible. The few times the subject had come up, Yang had expressed an advocacy for faunus rights that bordered on the fanatical, and Blake knew all too well from her history as an activist just how quickly a "love of the faunus" could transform into a "hatred of the human." Indeed, even that meek little second year with rabbit ears who sometimes ate with them had apologetically related to Pyrrha how she had grown to hate all Mistrali and assume they were racist and cruel until she had met her big-hearted -- and big in general -- teammate.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Professor Greene covertly flagging her down as the class dispersed. Not drawing attention to herself, Blake made her way over to the front desk. Hopefully, whatever it was wouldn't take too long; she was worried about Weiss. When the last student left the classroom, the redheaded teacher began to speak.

"Miss Belladonna."

"Yes, Professor?" asked Blake in reply.

Greene looked up at her with a neutrally curious expression. "Why are you here?"

Blake blinked in confusion. "...because I want to be a Huntress."

Greene shook her head. "I don't mean 'why are you here at Beacon,' Miss Belladonna; I mean 'why are you here in my class, wasting both our time.' This coursework is beneath you, and we both know it."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "It's... on my schedule?" she tried. Get to the point already! she thought impatiently.

"You could easily test out with top marks," the professor pointed out. "Better, if I were to grant you extra credit for your intrusion skills with Atlesian security networks."

"I..."

"I'd offer to transfer you to a more advanced course," she continued, steamrolling over Blake's half-hearted protest, "but your other classes would conflict with the schedule."

"So what do you suggest?" Blake asked. Professor Greene wouldn't have brought it up if she hadn't had something in mind.

At that, the professor picked up a notepad, scribbled something on it, then tore out the page and handed it to Blake. "When you're tired of treading water," she said, "go to this address. You'll find an old friend of mine there. He's a graduate of an accredited ninja program."

Blake accepted the note and glanced at the address. She cocked an eyebrow curiously. "Really? I didn't think anyone lived there."

Greene tilted her head to the side in acknowledgement. "I'm not entirely sure he does."

"I… see," Blake lied. "Well, I should go."

"Think about what I said," the professor urged her.

"I will," Blake agreed, turning to leave.

She had to check on Weiss.

* * *​

This post, Bumblebee reflected, had got to be the most relaxing one of the war. Oh, sure, there'd been ones far from the front he'd been to, but the presence of the Great War was still inexorably there. Here on Remnant, though? Here, there was no war.

Oh, sure, the people of Remnant had the Grimm to deal with, and they certainly were a unique and ever-present threat, but… Well, Yang had been right when she'd screamed at him that he had never experienced peace. He was barely four million years old, not counting however long they had been in stasis on Remnant, and had been protoformed at such a point that not only could he not remember a time when the Autobots and the Decepticons weren't duking it out, he also couldn't remember a time when Optimus wasn't leader of the Autobots.

In fact, the only reason he had any idea what peace was defined as was because of the occasional imported media from other alien races and a little bar back on Cybertron called Maccadam's. At that bar, no one fought -- even Optimus and Megatron observed the truce there -- and they could all drink together. It was… a good place. Yang would probably love it there. Why, he could even remember the first time he walked in there, clear as when it first happened.

B-127 crouched low as he snuck behind his leader, sticking to the shadows. Optimus Prime, on the other hand, was pointedly not walking in the shadows. In fact, he was striding with strong, powerful steps down the center of the street, seemingly without fear or worry.

It was kind of infuriating to the young scout. Here they were, on a blasted and cratered street, with snipers possibly around every corner, and Optimus didn't seem to care. B-127 couldn't help but growl in frustration at the sight of his leader being so lackadaisical.

"Relax, B-127," rumbled Optimus in that kind baritone of his. "No one will harm us here."

"Forgive me, sir, but I severely doubt that," said the scout as he sucked up next to a wall that was missing half its supports.

"Have a little faith, B-127," said Optimus as he stopped in front of a door beneath a flickering neon sign.

The big red 'bot motioned for him to come over, and the little yellow 'bot obliged. He rolled from cover and transformed into his vehicle mode to shoot across the street. In no time flat, he had transformed next to Optimus and was searching the surrounding skies for Decepticons.

Optimus placed a big hand on his shoulder, and B-127 looked up.

"Put your weapons aside and come on in. You won't need them in there," said Optimus.

"Why, what's in there?" asked B-127.

"Only what you bring with you," said Optimus sagely.

B-127's optics flashed in confusion, and he looked up at his leader.

"And the best energon on Cybertron," added Optimus with a smile.

"All right!" cheered the little 'bot as he holstered his blaster and transformed his arm back from its weapon mode. "Why didn't you say that to begin with?"

"Because I didn't think you would believe it, especially when I explain the special conditions of this establishment," said Optimus gravely.

B-127's cheer died away. "What conditions?"

"Only one: no fighting. Autobot, Decepticon, this is neutral ground," explained Optimus.

B-127 paused. "Okay, so if I'm understanding you right, there might be Decepticons in there?"

"Correct," replied Optimus.

"So... how am I supposed to kill them if I can't fight them?" asked B-127.

"You don't. This is neutral ground," repeated Optimus.

"Right. Right. I got it," said the smaller Autobot. "So…"

"Neutral ground means that it isn't involved in either side of the war," Optmius explained patiently.

"...I don't understand," said B-127 finally.

"No, and I fear I may not be able to explain it. Some things can't be explained; they can only be experienced," said Optimus wisely. "Just keep your weapons offline, don't engage in melee, and stick close to me."

"All right. I trust you."

With that, the two entered the door, and… well, it was like nothing he had ever seen before. Autobots and Decepticons, sitting about, and not shooting at each other! Why, there was Sixshot glaring at Prowl from across a big table, and they hadn't even drawn shuriken or katana! What even was this madness?

The two continued to walk along until they reached a counter at the far end opposite the door, behind which was a big brown bot with big blue optics that kind of looked like the spectacles some organics used to correct faulty optics.

"Greetings, Maccadam," said Optimus jovially.

"Optimus!" said the 'bot. "It's been too long."

And then he turned to look down at B-127.

"Hello, Bee! It's good to see you as well. You know, I think Yang would like it here too. I even cooked up a special brew here that's safe for faunus to drink, with a bit more kick than a Strawberry Sunrise. No, wait, that wouldn't work; she's not a faunus. Ah well, back to the old drawing board."

B-127 looked up at Optimus in confusion, and his leader gave him a good-natured shrug mixed with a smile. Ah, a joke then. Well, it had certainly put him more at ease.​

Bumblebee was not at ease, and that wasn't a joke! That was… what even were those memories? He must have been imagining or misremembering something.

He was further snapped out of his thoughts by a text message coming in on his burner scroll from Yang.

'Cinder Fall + henchmen = Haven students'

Bumblebee balked at the message and quickly sent out a response.

'Do you need evac?! Backup?!'

The reply was painfully long in coming.

'No'

Bumblebee checked his chronometer and resisted the urge to break cover with a curse of frustration. Yang would have just started her class, which meant she couldn't afford to say anything, just like he couldn't. She was trained for this, she'd done this before, she could stay safe, no matter what Cinder did…

He was getting on the Autobot comms frequency as fast as he could.

"Come on, come on, pick up!" he hissed under his breath.

"Bumblebee?" came the accented answer over the audio only line.

"Ironhide? Where's Optimus?" asked Bumblebee.

"Out on a mission. Ah'm on comms duty raight now," explained the faux pick-up truck from what was presumably the Ark.

"I'll tell you then. We got problems."

"Oh, did that li'l spitfire Yang get inta trouble again?"

"No! Yes… Maybe," said Bumblebee rapidly. "Cinder Fall is a Haven student, and she's in the classroom with Yang right now!"

"Has she been made?"

"I don't think so."

"Then there's no need to panic. Just take it slow and tell me what ya need."

"Backup! No, wait, not yet. Run a background check on her first. See who she could be posing as at Haven."

"Okay, Ah'll see what Ah can do."

The next few seconds were consumed by a tense silence, broken once again by Ironhide's drawl.

"Bee, yer not gonna believe this, but Cinder Fall's alias at Haven Academy is… Cinder Fall."

"Wait, what?" stumbled Bumblebee.

"Yeah, no disguise at all. Everythin' Ah can find -- which, Ah might remind you, is only stuff Ah can find over the CCT without a direct hack into their central mainframe -- says she's completely on the level. Same for her teammates too, though I don't like the look of that fourth girl; there's something about her optics that just feels too familiar."

"So what are you saying, Ironhide? That some teenaged girl is going around moonlighting with terrorists while training to be a Huntress? Do you have any idea how nuts that sounds?"

"...have ya been payin' attention the last few months, Bee?"

"Hey… well… that's different," protested Bumblebee.

"How?" asked Ironhide with deadly seriousness.

"Yang's fighting to save the world, while Cinder's clearly fighting to destroy it."

"Again, how?" repeated Ironhide.

"Well, just look at her interactions with the White Fang," insisted Bumblebee.

"Ah am."

Bumblebee continued on without stopping. "We've been interacting with the White Fang because we happen to have similar goals, shared enemies, and we both care about faunus in trouble. Typical alliance stuff. Cinder, on the other hand, killed a bunch of people as part of her opening pitch, and she's just using them for her own nefarious purposes. She's no better than the Decepticons!"

"Bee, Ah've read Sienna Khan's book; the White Fang basically are the Decepticons these days."

"Not all of them," insisted the yellow Autobot. "And the ones that are? Well, they can change. I mean, you did, right?"

There was a long pause before Ironhide replied with a sigh. "Ah'd like to think Ah did, kid. Ah'd like to think Ah did, but… Ah, what can Ah say? Ah'm attached to them too. Can't let that affect mah judgment none, though. Look, just hang tight, and Ah'll try to come by as soon as Ah can get Beachcomber to cover me."

"Thanks, Ironhide," replied Bumblebee.

The line went dead, and the little yellow robot settled into an uneasy silence. He was left with no other choice but to fall back on his millions of years as a scout... and wait. For hours afterward, he had no choice, but to wait… and wait… and wait…

If he ever got the chance to talk with whoever did the landscaping for Beacon, he'd be sure to mention that the parking lot could be a lot more aesthetically pleasing than it was, at least in some way to take the nervousness off.

Cinder Fall was from Haven. Wait a minute. Sun was from Haven too! Did that mean-? No, that was ridiculous. Just because they came from the same school didn't mean anything; it wasn't like Haven's headmaster was evil, after all. And besides, Sun was a decent guy -- kind of why he was pushing Yang to make a move on him; he was good for her -- and not someone who would truck with the kind of girl who would take over an organization like the White Fang.

His thoughts were interrupted, thankfully, by the sight of Yang coming out of the academy. She walked with relaxed, unhurried steps, steps that let Bumblebee know that she had something to hide. It was a remarkably common sight when she was around him.

"Miss me, Bumblebee?" she asked as she climbed into the cabin.

"Miss you?" he replied. "I was worried sick all day. What happened in there? What's going on?"

"Nothing, at least, not right now. We ran into Cinder and her team in the halls, but… they didn't recognize any of us. Well, except for Weiss, of course. We'll have to be a lot more careful, but… I don't think we have to rush, not yet."

"Good," said Bumblebee. "Plenty of time to get the dirt on her then."

"Yep," agreed Yang, and then her face became pensive. "Do you have any ideas there? 'Cause I'm stumped."

"Not a one!"

* * *​

Ruby Rose was in a good mood as she walked through the parking lot of Beacon, though that was perhaps a foregone conclusion. Indeed, how could she not be happy? She was finally going to learn how to drive!

It was the end of the first week of the second semester, and her dad was arriving that day with Zippy, the family car, to teach her the ins and outs of driving. Ostensibly, this was so that she could drive Bumblebee if Yang was unavailable. Secretly, it was so that Jaune would see her as a mature and responsible adult when she took him out on a date.

That was something the woman was supposed to do in the relationship, right? Take the guy out on dates in her car? Ah, well, no sense fretting over it now. That bridge had already been crossed, and there was no turning back. There was nothing for it but a full charge straight ahead!

She was broken out of her thoughts by the sight of Zippy pulling into the parking lot.

"Yeeeeeeeees," she said to herself with a grin.

The red vehicle pulled alongside her, and her father, Taiyang Xiao Long, rolled down the window with a grin. "So, you ready to drive?"

"You know it!" said Ruby with good cheer.

Tai smiled at his daughter's enthusiasm. That was good. After all, she had been the one to call him over, demanding -- practically begging -- to learn how to drive.

She jumped on in with a million-megawatt grin on her face. Ostensibly, this appointment was so that she could learn how to drive in case Yang was out of commission and they needed to use Bumblebee. Secretly, teaching her how to drive was a clever ploy to make sure that when she went out, she would always be with friends and wouldn't run off ahead to get caught in a crossfire again.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied. "After all, what could possibly go wrong?"


Despite Ruby's horrified expression, he was sure nothing could happen to them this time… unless his good-for-nothing brother-in-law showed up. Then they were all doomed!

Leaning out the window, he searched the sky for any black birds.

"Um, Dad?" inquired Ruby with worry.

"Nothing, Ruby," said Taiyang as he pulled his head back inside. "We're safe for now. Now, let's find an empty lot to practice in."

* * *​

"Blake, are you well?" asked Pyrrha out of the blue as they entered the simulator.

"What?" replied Blake blearily. "Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just that you've been rather... preoccupied the last couple of weeks," elaborated Pyrrha. "You still seem a bit preoccupied now, in fact."

"I'm fine. Just... thinking about the mission," assured Blake with a smile that Pyrrha knew from long experience was completely and utterly false.

"Very well," she acquiesced. "Still, you should know that I'm your friend, and that if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you."

"Weiss is my friend too," muttered the black-haired girl.

Pyrrha tensed in realization. Of course it had to be that. Ever since Weiss had returned from Atlas, Blake had hardly allowed the girl out of her sight for more than a few minutes, always doting on her and trying to help her along. Even when Yang had followed along after Weiss the previous weekend, Blake had only waited till the blonde exited the room to covertly chase after them with speed such that Pyrrha would not be surprised at all to learn that her flight instructor had been able to eavesdrop on whatever conversation they had had that made Weiss just that little bit happier when they next saw her.

Of course, it hadn't just been Blake and Yang seeking to help the distressed white-haired girl in her time of need. Nora, Ruby, Ren, and even Pyrrha herself had contributed as well. Jaune, wise and caring Jaune, had stayed back, perhaps fearing his presence was unwanted by the Atlesian girl. Not that she hadn't given him plenty of reason to think that.

They sat in the simulator couches, but Pyrrha caught Blake's wrist as she reached out to activate the simulation. "Stop, Blake," she said.

The dark-haired girl blinked. "Stop? But we just got here."

"Not this," Pyrrha said, shaking her head. "I mean… with Weiss."

"With Weiss?" Blake repeated. Her expression turned combative. "Stop… what, Pyrrha? Stop caring?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "No. Stop trying to box her in. She came to Beacon to get away from that."

Blake's hands curled into fists. "I am not like her family," she spat venomously.

"No, you're not," the champion agreed, "but you're still trying to box her in, give her limits. Unlike Weiss, I was blessed with a loving family. They let me make my own choices, only demanding that I excel at whatever I chose to do. But as I got famous, I found that freedom slipping away. It's why I came to Beacon. It's a refuge where I can avoid my fans, ignore my PR… for the most part, at least. For Weiss… I suspect it's similar. And you're taking it away from her."

The other girl seemed at a loss at that. "But… I'm not… I just want to make sure she's okay."

"I understand, but trust me, it's all too easy to get so caught up in helping someone that you drive them away." Pyrrha offered a sad smile. "Before I went to Sanctum, my best friend was a boy named Prasinos Epitheus. One day, I realized that his grades in combat class were falling, badly enough that if he didn't improve, he wouldn't be accepted into Sanctum, so I… well, I dragged him out to spar."

Blake winced. "You didn't hurt him too badly, did you?"

Pyrrha shook her head again. "No. He was actually quite good. But he kept failing in class, so I kept dragging him out, pushing him harder and harder."

Blake frowned as she turned the thought over in her mind, then slowly shook her head in confusion. "I don't get it," she admitted. "If he could keep up with you, why would he be failing combat classes?"

"Because he didn't want to go to Sanctum," Pyrrha answered. "He didn't want to become a Huntsman."

Blake blinked at that. The idea was so alien, it took her a moment to wrap her head around it.

"But he was from a long line of Huntsmen," Pyrrha continued, "so there were… expectations."

"But I'm not trying to push Weiss to follow what her family wants," Blake insisted.

Pyrrha began some subtle breathing exercises to banish the frustration building up within her. Maybe a new tactic. "No, but… compare that to Jaune."

"Jaune?" Blake echoed, further confused.

Pyrrha nodded as she considered how much she could say without revealing secrets that weren't hers to tell. Jaune was kind and understanding, and to help a friend, he surely wouldn't mind, but… Pyrrha couldn't stand the thought of betraying him, even that little bit. "Like Prace, he also comes from a long line of Huntsmen, but his family wanted to protect him. They smothered him to keep him safe. And it nearly killed him." There, that was circumspect enough.

"Pyrrha…"

"I know you want her to be safe, Blake, but you have to remember something," Pyrrha pressed on. "Weiss came to Vale to get away from her family's influence, but she came to Beacon to become a Huntress, and while you can use many words to describe the life of a Huntress… 'safe' isn't one of them."

Blake drew her arm up and brought it down, redirecting it at the last second away from the control panel in front of her and onto her own thigh. "What do you want me to do?"

"The hardest thing in the world for people like us to do: nothing." After all, people who were willing to stand by and do nothing… they weren't the sort of people who signed up to be Huntsmen.

"I… Pyrrha, that's… Are you even listening to yourself?" Blake sputtered. "I'm not just going to abandon Weiss!"

"I'm not telling you to abandon her," Pyrrha corrected. "Just… let her find her own way."

"And if she can't?"

"Then be there for her," Pyrrha answered gently. "Just like the rest of us are."

"...all right," Blake agreed with a resigned sigh.

* * *​

"Weiss! Weiss!" called out an intellectual voice as the snowcapped girl, Yang, Ren, and Nora walked through the halls on their way from their dorms after getting resettled following the last classes of the week.

The group turned and saw a lavender-themed girl with glasses in an Atlas Academy uniform running up to them with a frazzled expression.

"Twilight?" asked Weiss as the Atlesian came to a stop in front of them.

"Weiss!" she gasped out, her expression worried. "I was worried about you. Are you all right? Heard something happened at Park Place… did you find something?"

Weiss's face took on a dark and disturbed quality to it when she answered, "Only death, and dishonor, and…"

Yang picked up Weiss in a bridal carry and ignored the tiny punches to her chest. "Nora, Ren, distract the interloper!" she barked.

"You got it, Yangarang!" cheered Nora as the blonde carried Weiss away.

Twilight boggled at this. "Distract me? You can't…"

She was cut off by Ren throwing a smoke bomb at her feet.

"Gah! Ninja tricks!"

Yang ignored the shenanigans as she carried Weiss over the threshold and into the courtyard, heading towards the parking lot.

"Yang! Put me down this instant!" yelled Weiss.

"Sure, just as long as you promise not to go into another episode," said Yang, ignoring the looks from other students as she briskly walked.

"I was not having an episode," huffed Weiss.

"She brought up what screwed you up, and then you started ranting about death or dishonor," pointed out Yang.

"Death and dishonor," corrected Weiss.

"Even worse," said Yang. "Listen, I know I was just going to ferry Ren and Nora around while they looked after you today, but I think it's better if we just leave now and save time."

Weiss crossed her arms. "I like Ren. He makes me calm."

"I thought that was Jaune?" asked Yang.

"Jaune makes me forget, that's different," pouted Weiss.

"And creepy," admonished Yang.

"Hey!"

"I'm just saying," continued the blonde, "you might want to lay off that description when you're trying to put the moves on him."

Weiss frowned, then sighed. "Point. Thanks, Yang. I'll try to remember that."

Oh, no. Please tell me I did not just give her advice on chasing after Jaune, Yang mentally shouted.

"Or you could try for someone who hasn't shot you down yet," the blonde amended.

"Like who? Who could ever want a girl like me?" she asked sarcastically. At Yang's stunned expression, Weiss elaborated, "That I would actually want to date."

"Ah, okay, important distinction," admitted Yang before dropping the snowcapped girl unceremoniously to the ground, which elicited a squawk of protest. "Oh, come on, Weiss. You're not nearly as fragile as you look, and we're at the parking lot anyway."

Grumbling the whole way about childish roses and cheeky dragons, Weiss followed after Yang into Bumblebee. Together, they then drove out of Beacon and into the city of Vale. The route became familiar soon enough though, and it drew a question.

"Yang, where are we going?" asked Weiss in a tone that made it clear she already knew the answer.

"Tukson's," replied Yang easily. "You looked like you could use a pick-me-up, and you like books, so…"

"Hmm, a surprisingly astute observation," admitted Weiss. "I don't have any money though."

That... was a surprise. Had her father cut her off? No... thinking on it, Yang could make a few guesses what she really meant.

"Don't worry, I'll spot you," offered Yang with a reassuring grin.

"That's… thank you, Yang," said Weiss with a soft smile.

They arrived at the panther faunus' store soon after, and as they entered the establishment, a sudden poisonous thought occurred to Yang. Tukson was White Fang, she was on the outs with the White Fang, Tukson knew her secret identity, if Tukson wanted to, he could call in a goon squad right then and there, and to top it all off, she had just brought Weiss Schnee into the establishment. Really, the only possible hope she had of getting out of there without a fight was that Tukson somehow wanted a fight as little as she did.

The man of the hour was stocking shelves when he noticed them come in. "Yang, and uh, Miss Schnee, it's good to see you both again."

He was speaking with a smile, but that wasn't lessening her worries.

"Please don't call me that," replied Weiss with a frown, and then she attempted a small smile of her own. "Call me Weiss instead."

Tukson seemed confused, but still nodded. "Very well, Weiss. We've still got the biggest selection around, and if you don't find what you're looking for, we can order it."

"Thank you, sir. I think I'll just browse for now," said Weiss with a slight bow of the head before moving on through the store.

Yang watched her go for a moment and then walked up to Tukson. The shop owner was putting the last of the books away when she got there. He looked at her curiously, and then spoke in a quiet voice.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"Family troubles," said Yang simply. "Didn't want to poke at it."

"Neither do I," agreed Tukson.

"Hey, Tuck, are we… you know, still good?" asked Yang.

Tukson's face grew conflicted briefly, and he glanced around before coming a bit closer to Yang and whispering, "You mean, with the big bad boss coming back?"

"If you want to phrase it like that, sure," agreed Yang.

Tukson nodded. "We're good. Got a message for you, actually."

"Really?" asked Yang with a raised eyebrow.

The two walked back to the counter, Yang glancing to the side to see Weiss kneeling next to the history books. When they got there, Tukson crouched down himself and came back on the other side of the counter with a small envelope. He slid it across to Yang, and she carefully took it and put it in her pocket.

"What is it?" she asked hopefully, patting its hiding spot.

Tukson glanced at where Weiss was still occupied, and then leaned in close to her. "I don't know. Adam gave to me and told me to track down Sunfire and give it to her. I was hoping to find a way to do that without exposing her… and then you step into my door."

Yang's heart and breath froze, but her smile stayed on. Adam? Adam had a message for her? That was… all sorts of things really. Uncertain, mostly. Why didn't he just send whatever message to her burner scroll? And the timing was... suspicious, to say the least. Had Cinder recognized her after all? She didn't know what he wanted, and so, that letter could be anything from a plea to talk to a delivery method for something nasty. She'd have to have Bumblebee look it over, make sure it was safe, but that was something he had experience in.

"And does he know…?"

Yang trailed off, and Tukson shook his head.

"No. I didn't say anything about you being my contact, and he wasn't asking," explained the panther faunus, keeping the same quiet volume but obviously growing more worried.

Yang was about to reply when she noticed Weiss finally stand up and begin walking toward them. She kept her mouth shut instead, and just watched as the… well, one would imagine that she wasn't the heiress anymore, in spirit if not in fact. However, that did leave the question of what she actually was.

It was then that Yang realized with shocking clarity that the person least capable of answering that question was Weiss herself.

The short girl with white hair put four books on the counter, a growing blush spreading across her body. "Here, I… I don't know if this is too much, but…"

Yang looked over and felt her eyes widen at the first title: On the Necessity of Racial Reconciliation by Quinze Quarante. It was the book published by the founder of the White Fang shortly following the Faunus Rights Revolution. It was a rather stunning purchase for her in particular, but it definitely fit with the titles below it in the stack: Mantleite, Not Menagerite: The FRR in the North, Founded in Principle: A History of the White Fang's First Twenty Years, and Fighting for Home for the Second Time.

The last title was one she recognized, as she'd had to write a book report on it when she was still back at Signal. It was the memoir of a Valish soldier who had fought first in the Great War, and then in the Faunus Rights Revolution. She couldn't quite remember the author's name -- A. Dodd, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember what the A stood for -- and couldn't see it from her angle, but she remembered that she had found it to be quite enthralling. The sheer betrayal Dodd had felt after being told his reward for serving his kingdom was deportation to some continent he'd never seen halfway around the world had been utterly heartbreaking. It stuck with her, it all stuck with her.

The other three books, on the other hand, were more recent additions to her library of knowledge. Which was to say that she had read Quarante's after forming an alliance with the organization he had founded, and then skimmed the two history books because she'd been browsing at the time and was looking to kill time. Of course, after she'd read Quarante's book, she'd read Sienna Khan's Freedom Through Fear, and holy smokes, had that been a mood whiplash.

"Quite an interesting selection you got there," said Tukson conversationally as he began to scan the books for payment.

Weiss seemed to flinch at that, then shrunk back in shame. "I… I just want to see what the other side has to say. Is that so wrong?"

"No," answered Yang without hesitation. "No, it isn't."

"She's right," said Tukson with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry if I came across as insulting. That was never my intention. These books are quite good, and I'm sure you'll learn a lot of interesting things from them."

"Yep. Just make sure you read this one first," said Yang, reaching out to tap the cover of Fighting for Home for the Second Time and noticing with slight annoyance that it was one of the covers that didn't give the author's full name like the copy she had at home. "It gives context to basically everything else."

And man wasn't that the understatement of the century? It wasn't something she had considered until just then, but reading that book when she was younger really helped Yang understand even things like the Cybertronian Great War. She got what the Autobots were fighting for, why they continued to fight after all these millions of years even though they could have easily just packed up and left for some other planet. They were fighting for their homes, scuff marks and all.

Weiss nodded somewhat nervously. "Okay, I will, then."

Yang paid for the books, which Tukson put into an opaque bag, and the two Beacon students left the store.

As they were leaving, though, Weiss whispered to the blonde. "Thank you. I don't think anyone else would have let me get these. Blake certainly wouldn't have."

"Why's that?" asked Yang in an equally low whisper as they were leaving.

"Don't get me wrong," elaborated Weiss. "She's still my best friend, and I am very grateful to her, but… but I think she's got some kind of grudge against the White Fang, and even besides that, she's been kind of... smothering lately."

"She probably just wants to make sure you're safe," reasoned Yang comfortingly.

Weiss nodded. "She does. It's just… Yang, listen, there's something important about what I saw in Atlas that I need to tell you."

"No, there isn't," objected Yang.

"No, you don't understand," pressed the snowcapped girl.

"And I don't want to, Weiss," insisted Yang. "Every time you start talking about that, you freak out. I don't need to know a darn thing if telling me hurts you."

Weiss pouted. "I'm not made of glass, you know."

"I know," answered Yang with that same comforting smile, one she'd given Ruby plenty of times over the years. "That's the other reason why I know I don't have to hear it. You're strong, Weiss, far stronger than even you give yourself credit for. I don't need to know what hurt you, because I already know that it won't stop you, and whatever else the universe throws at you will fail as well."

There was about enough time for Yang to notice the slight tears into Weiss's eyes before the little girl hit her like a sack of potatoes. The blonde's eyes widened, and then she hugged the smaller Huntress in turn. Not too hard, not too soft, but just right. Tukson, thankfully, seemed to have disappeared into the rear of the store.

"Thank you," muttered Weiss into Yang's chest.

"You're welcome," replied Yang in both confusion and humor. "Let's get back to Bumblebee now, though, all right?"

Weiss nodded, and they left. They had just about reached Bumblebee when the strangest thing happened. Luckily, they had good reflexes, so they were able to dodge the red and black car swerving onto the sidewalk.

"What the-?!" started Yang, and then her eyes narrowed. "Zippy? Dad?!" Then she remembered why he was in town. "RUBY!"

As she raced off with Weiss following behind her, another pair of students -- these two from Haven -- rounded the corner from the other direction.

The silver-haired boy cocked an eyebrow in curiosity at the two racing off. "Wonder what that's all about."

"I'm trying hard not to," his mint-haired companion replied dryly. She recognized the pair running off as half of one of Beacon's first-year teams, but aside from the fact that the team leader -- if her boasting was to be believed -- was the same girl who had foiled one of Torchwick's dust heists a while back... they just weren't important to the plan. She shook her head. "Focus, Mercury. We're here for a reason, remember?"

"Right, right, Emerald," Mercury waved it off as he continued slouching toward their destination.

The front of Tukson's Book Trade was empty, and so with a shrug, Emerald walked up to the counter and rang the service bell.

"Be right there!" a voice called from the back room as its owner backed out with an armload of books. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun! How may I...?" he greeted as he set the books down and turned around. "How may I help you?"

"Just browsing," said Mercury, closing the book he'd had open.

"Actually," Emerald said, "I was wondering, do you have any copies of The Thief and The Butcher?"

"Yes, we do," Tukson assured her.

"That's great," she said excitedly.

"Would you... like a copy?" he asked hesitantly.

"No," she denied, "just wondering. Oh, oh! What about Violet's Garden? In paperback?"

"He's got it," Mercury said. "Hardback too." He held up the book in question.

"Ooh, options are nice."

"Eh, no pictures." Mercury closed the book. "Hey! Do you have any comics?"

"Near the front."

"Oh, no, wait!" Emerald interjected. "What... about... Third Crusade?"

There it was, the moment of truth. Tukson's muscles tensed, but he kept his best salesman smile on his face regardless. "I think I have exactly what you're looking for in the back," he said woodenly. "Give me a moment."

"Of course!" Emerald agreed cheerfully.

Tukson ducked back into the back room for only a moment before returning with a large briefcase and setting it on the table.

"Thank you so much," Emerald said, accepting the briefcase.

Mercury walked up and slapped a comic down on the counter. "How much for this?" he asked. At Emerald's look, he shrugged. "I like the pictures."

"Five lien."

Mercury rifled through his pockets, then frowned and glared at Emerald. With a cheeky smile, she produced his wallet and extracted the five lien.

"Would you like a bag with that?" Tukson asked as he rang up the sale.

"Nah," Mercury said, shaking his head as he took the comic. "I'm good."

Tukson watched the two leave his shop and then let out a sigh of relief. With Adam's ever increasing radicalism, he'd been considering skipping town, going to Vacuo, but with the... more recent changes in the Vale White Fang, he'd been hopeful for a new direction, a better future, so he'd stayed.

And then Cinder and her lackeys had returned.

He thought back to the message he'd passed onto Yang just a moment ago. He didn't know what was in it, anymore than he knew what was in the briefcase he'd given to the pair that had just left. He just hoped Adam knew what he was doing.

Tukson wasn't exactly a fan of playing with fire like this.

* * *​

"Ruby! Stay on the road!" Taiyang cried from Zippy's passenger seat as the car swerved back and forth, narrowly missing a civilian.

"I'm trying!" his younger daughter retorted. "Don't you think I'm trying?!"

Zippy overshot the road again and barely swerved away from hitting… was that Yang?

Taiyang shook his head. Not now! "Slow down! Use the brakes!"

Ruby made a mistake. She glanced down.

"That's not the brakes!" he warned, his voice rising as she turned on the windshield wipers.

"Well, you're making me nervous!" she accused him, tearing her eyes off the dash and back onto the road. "Oh, no, Jaune!" she cried as she swerved the car again to avoid hitting a pedestrian couple, a blond boy and a red-haired girl.

"You're making me nervous!" was the only thing Taiyang could think of to say.

"This was all a horrible idea! Why did you make me do this?!"

"Make you?!" he asked incredulously. Okay, granted, he'd had an ulterior motive for agreeing, but... "It was your idea!"

"Well, I've changed my mind!" she snapped, turning her head to glare at him.

"Don't let go of the wheel!" he shouted as he reached over for the now-unattended steering wheel.

It was too late. The front of the car slammed into something unyielding, and the tail end of the car rocked up toward the sky before gravity took over, and Zippy crashed back to the ground with an impact that shattered the chassis.

Ruby stirred and looked up. Her eyes widened. "J-Jaune?!" She felt her cheeks heat up and struggled to free herself as she realized he was holding her in a bridal carry.

"Hey, Ruby, careful," he said. "You took a bit of a bump to the head there. Are you sure you can stand?"

"I'm fine!" she insisted.

"All right," he said, lowering her feet to the ground. "If you say so."

Ruby took an uncertain step before regaining her balance, then looked around and saw Pyrrha helping her father out of Zippy's passenger seat. Standing frozen in front of the car was a familiar figure, staring down at her hands.

"PENNY!" Ruby cried as she bolted to her new friend. "Oh my God, Penny, are you all right? I'm so sorry! Let me see!" she babbled as she tugged on Penny's hands. That seemed to snap the Atlesian out of her stupor.

"Friend Ruby…" the carrot-topped girl murmured, her gaze swept up to meet Ruby's as she yanked her hands away. An unfamiliar expression that took Ruby a long moment to recognize as fear crossed her Atlesian friend's face before she turned and fled.

"Penny!" Ruby called out again, running after her.

"Ruby!" Taiyang shouted.

"I'm fine, Dad!" she yelled back over her shoulder, not slowing down. "I need to make sure Penny's all right! Jaune, Pyrrha, make sure Dad's okay!"

Taiyang sighed as he watched his daughter run off. He looked over at the blond boy speculatively. He hadn't missed the way Ruby had reacted to him. As he studied the boy, however, the other redhead surreptitiously sidled up to him.

"Are you... all right, Jaune?" she asked. "That was an... awfully close call."

"I'm fine, Pyrrha," the boy replied, instead walking up to Taiyang. The downcast look on the redhead's face as he brushed off her concern and walked up to him was unmistakable.

Oh, no, Taiyang thought. Oh, no. This can't be happening with both of them.

"Are you all right, sir?" the boy asked, snapping him out of the growing horror.

Taiyang shook his head clear. "Yes, I'm fine. So... you two know Ruby?"

"Oh! I'm sorry," the redhead apologized as she walked up to join the blonds. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos, and this is Jaune Arc. We're on Team Juniper."

"Yeah," Jaune confirmed with a nod. "Our team rooms across from Team Ruby."

Jaune Arc… Jaune Arc… he'd heard the name before. Ruby had mentioned him, her first friend at Beacon, fellow team leader, and leader of Team RWBY's sister team…

Come to think of it, he really should have seen this coming. Well, half of it, at least.

A familiar voice rang out. "Dad!"

He turned as his older daughter rushed up to him and began checking him for injuries, a subdued-looking Weiss trailing behind her with a bag full of what looked like books. "Dad, what on Remnant were you thinking, letting Ruby on the actual road for her first driving lesson?"

He winced.

* * *​

Ruby loved her semblance. True, lately, she found the name she'd given it, Petal Burst, to be a bit too cutesy, but she couldn't deny it was descriptive. And it certainly helped when it came to keeping up with Penny. Why was she running?

"Penny! Come back!" she called as she rushed through yet another alley, only to find her friend at the other end, looking back and forth at the busy street uncertainly. "Penny! Please! What's going on?!" she asked. "Why are you running? Are you okay?"

Penny turned to look at her. "I-I can't!" she said. "Everything's fine!" She hiccupped. "I-I don't want to talk about it!" She hiccupped again.

"Penny, I just want to make sure you're okay!" Ruby begged. "There's no need to run!"

The other girl backed away, shaking her head. "No! No, no! You wouldn't understand…"

"Understand what? Tell me! You can trust me!"

Penny seemed to come to a decision and leaned in close. "You're my friend, right? You promise you're my friend?!"

"I promise," Ruby agreed. What would make her doubt that? Still, rather than ask, she waited, giving Penny time to collect her thoughts -- or courage -- to answer.

Penny looked down at her hands, then led Ruby back into the alleyway. "Ruby…" she said, once they were deep enough into the alley for some privacy, "I'm not a real girl." She turned to face Ruby again and raised her hands, palms up. Ruby looked. The skin on her palms had been torn away from when she'd slammed her hands into and through Zippy's hood, and beneath it, Ruby could see metal glinting through the torn flesh.

"You have prosthetic hands?" Ruby blurted out in confusion. Then Penny's words clicked. "Oh."

"Most girls are born, but I was made," Penny continued. "I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an aura." She looked away. "I'm not real..."

Ruby reached out and grabbed Penny's hands. "Of course you are," she insisted. "You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?"

Penny seemed startled. "I don't... um..." She leaned in close to study Ruby's face carefully. "You're... taking this extraordinarily well."

"You're not like an Atlesian Knight," Ruby said with a shrug. She tapped Penny on the chest. "You've got a heart, and a soul; I can feel it!"

"Technically, I have a fluid pump," Penny corrected.

"What's a heart if not a squishy fluid pump made out of meat?" Ruby argued.

Penny raised a finger, then lowered it. "You... raise an excellent point."

Before they could talk any further, Ruby's scroll rang, and she answered.

"Hello?"

"Ruby!" It was Yang. "Are you all right? I saw the crash."

"I'm fine, Yang," she said. "I was just worried about Penny. We hit her pretty hard, and then she ran off."

"If she could run off, I'm sure she's okay," Yang assured her. "I mean, it takes more than a little car crash bring a Huntress down. It's not like Zippy had aura, after all."

"Yeah, but she's still a little shaken up," Ruby… not exactly lied. "Can you make sure Dad's okay and get Zippy towed to Maple's or something? We'll make our own way back to Beacon."

"Dad's fine, and sure, I'll do that. Take care, Rubes."

"You too, Yang."

As Ruby closed the connection and pocketed her scroll, she looked back at Penny and tilted her head quizzically. The other girl seemed pensive about something.

"There's… one more thing," Penny said apprehensively.

"What?"

"I'm also a gun."

Mustn't squee. Mustn't squee. Mustn't squee.

"COOL!" Ruby totally did not squee. "Can I see?"

Penny looked around. "This… really isn't the right place for that."

"Oh." Ruby thought about that, then her eyes widened in realization. "Ohhh. Right. Top secret. Hush hush."

Penny perked up. "I know! Follow me! I can introduce you to my partner and show you there!"

"Huh?" Ruby blinked. "'Partner'?" Professor Ozpin had mentioned partners back before initiation, but no one had ever brought the concept up again, not since their teams had been formed.

Then she realized Penny had already started moving. She shelved the thought and hurried after.

"Wait up, Penny!"

* * *​

The Glacier Lounge turned out to be pretty typical of Vale buildings on the outside, all brickwork and bannerless. Inside, though, was a different story entirely. The center was taken up by a large pool where several arctic animals could be seen swimming around, while around the edges were three floors of tables and chairs, though by far, the most noticeable feature was the gigantic Atlesian flag hanging in the center above the water. The hostess who greeted them -- like the rest of the wait staff -- was wearing an outfit that resembled a black one-piece swimsuit, with hose and a bowtie, all topped off with a black trilby.

"Your party is waiting for you at Table Twenty-Three," the hostess said. "When you're ready to order, just press the call button on the touch screen."

"Impressive place," commented Neptune as he and Sun stepped into the room.

Sun nodded, but kept his arms crossed with a slight tremor in them. "They really need to lay off the AC though."

"Or you could have just buttoned up your shirt," pointed out Neptune with a glare.

"Dude, my shirt doesn't have buttons, remember?" Sun reminded him.

"Fine, fine," relented Neptune. "Come on, let's go find their table."

Sun looked around and saw a woman with opaque glasses and a long black ponytail on the second floor next to a man with short red hair. Navy blue eyes caught his. They knew they were here.

"Come on, I've got them," said Sun.

With quick steps, the pair made their way up the stairs to the second floor, and soon, they were approaching the table of Team APRC. Well, three-quarters of Team APRC at least. Penny, for some reason, wasn't there. The two girls were seated on the far side of the table, while Rufus was sitting side on to the two Haven students as they approached.

None of them were dressed in their school uniforms. Aska was dressed in an almost stereotypically burgundy ninja gi over what looked like a fishnet body stocking, with metallic armor plates on her arms and shoulders. She also wore a headband on her forehead with a metallic plate engraved with the Atlas Academy symbol on it and a dark grey neck warmer. Ciel was wearing a single-breasted white T-shirt with gold buttons and black fingerless gloves that ran past her elbows and almost to the yellow fringes of her shirt, with a blue beret perched atop her head. Rufus was dressed in… a grey Atlas Academy sweatshirt and sweatpants with white sneakers?

"Impressive. You got the message," said Aska as they approached. "Tell me, why didn't you go to Glacier Park instead?"

Sun and Neptune took the two open seats opposite the Atlesians, and the blond started to talk with a serious look. "Could have been that, but you don't seem like the types to meet under a Valish flag in a public space. Besides, the two riddles together could give the impression of the Atlesian flag, and given the setting of this little bar, it seemed like the safest bet."

"'Little bar'?" quoted Rufus in amusement, raising his hand and letting Sun see that he was wearing some sort of black glove.

Aska smiled appreciatively at the Haven students. "Good work," she said before turning her head to her stoic companion. "See, Farsight? I told you they would be able to pull it off. They're smarter than they look. Though I suppose they'd have to be."

Ciel glanced them both up and down, lingering for a moment on Sun's open shirt and the goosebumps on his skin. "Current evidence aside, you do seem to be correct."

A chuckle came from Rufus as he noticed their expressions shift slightly. "Congrats, Neptune, you managed to pass the 'will they wear shirts?' test."

Sun sulked, and Neptune cocked a confident smile. "Hey, I always dress to impress, and are you not impressed?"

"No," deadpanned Ciel.

Aska shook her head. "Not really."

Rufus shrugged. "Better dressed than I am, but that's not saying much."

Sun let out a short laugh at Neptune's expense, and the blue-haired boy scoffed. "Hey, at least I managed to pass a test. What have you managed to do?"

"To be precise," interrupted Ciel, "you both managed to pass two tests prior to this. The first was a basic background check, the second was your ability to find the meeting location."

"I considered the second test a bit of a gimmie, but Mad Dog wouldn't let me go all out," complained Aska with an obviously fake pout.

Neptune thumped Sun in the arm. "See! Told you they were testing you to see if you were smart enough to win Penny's heart."

The Atlesians raised a collective eyebrow at that.

"Dude, stop it. This clearly isn't anything like that," insisted Sun.

"Oh, and why is that?" asked Ciel coldly. Not emotionlessly, coldly. There was a protective and dangerous edge in her voice that wasn't there before.

Sun raised his hands in placation. "Hey, Penny's a nice girl, and I'm sure she'll make some guy very happy one day, but I got someone else on my mind. And even if I didn't, she's… she's Penny."

Ciel closed her eyes and nodded. "Very true, and acceptable, Mister Wukong."

"Bladerider has that effect on people," agreed Rufus.

"Indeed, but that's not why we called you here," said Aska.

"Why have you called us here then?" asked Sun seriously.

"First of all, to eat," said Aska with a smile as she pressed the call button on a solid-looking touch screen built into the table. "Secondly, for a mission."

"A mission?" inquired Neptune.

"Indeed, a mission, to be conducted as soon as we leave this building," confirmed Aska. "By this time tomorrow, you'll either have earned some trust from us, or... you'll be dead."

* * *​

The forest south of Vale was odd in Yang's estimation: porous ground that was littered with caves, towering trees, steep hills, and every so often, there was a small concrete fort slowly being worn down by time. Not the sort of terrain that favored driving a car, not unless you utilized the abandoned highway from Vale to Mountain Glenn, and even then, decades of neglect had allowed nature to reclaim much of the old road.

It was in this terrain that Adam had sought to meet her. His note had been remarkably simple, just a location and instructions to come alone as stealthily as possible. It was the sort of message that made Yang wonder if he had any idea who she was despite working with her on many an occasion, because apparently, the control freak just couldn't let anyone else take top billing on a single job, and of course, that just let him be the big ol' hero that everyone…

Yang rubbed her forehead over her glasses. She hadn't even met the guy yet, and he was already driving her up the wall like he always did. Really, the glory hound should just count himself lucky that she showed up at all, given that the meeting time was on Friday, and it had been delivered to her on Friday, not to mention all the time she had to spend with Weiss and her father cleaning up Zippy.

Maple had her hand to her chin for a long moment, looking at Zippy, before she turned and looked at Yang and Taiyang. "Two questions, in no particular order," she said, displaying one hand with two fingers raised. "First is how you thought that this could be fixed without charging more than the car was worth, just from depreciation alone. The second is whether or not I should worry about why there's a human-shaped and human-sized hole in the front with handprints on the engine block."

The two blonds looked at each other, and then Yang answered, "We did not crash it into ourselves for laughs."

Maple stared at them, glanced back at the giant dent, and then back at them. "That's a very specific denial."

"But a very true denial as well," assured Yang's father.

"Yeah, and one that doesn't actually reassure me," Maple said. "I'm more worried that whoever made those handprints or their friends might come looking for you."

"It was an accident," the man insisted. "She's apparently a friend of Ruby's."

"Huntsmen," Maple muttered, shaking her head slightly, then went about getting her tools ready, stepping past the chair Weiss had claimed to read one of her new books. "I'll talk to some dealers I know. In the meantime, I've got to ask you two, since you both look and act so similar, would I be wrong in guessing that the mother of the family looked and acted like an older Ruby?"

The blond man scratched the back of his head. "That's... not an inaccurate statement."

"Of course it isn't," sighed Maple.​

That had just sucked up time, but she had managed to get out here all the same. Here being defined as the middle of nowhere, and allegedly alone to boot…. What was she doing with her life? When did her idea of a good Friday night change from dancing at a club to trudging through the muck? When did her idea of a stylish outfit change to be some one-size-fits-all mechanic's uniform? When did her idea of good tactics change from a fist to the face to a knife to the back? When did her friends change from fellow Huntresses in training to giant shadows in the dark? When did she start repeating the same questions over and over to herself? Was it really all since that jerk walked into her life? Or jumped, she supposed.

She hoped he was all right. He might have been… well, a lot of things she could rant about, but there was still some part of her that hoped he was okay, and that he was calling this meeting to defect to the Autobots. With hopes like that, she could only guess that Optimus was rubbing off on her more than she thought.

"Yang, you've stopped moving," observed Bumblebee over the radio in her earbud. "Are you ranting about Adam in your head again?"

"...Noooo," she fibbed. "I'm just getting my bearings again. How close am I to this alleged meeting point?"

"You can be there in five minutes, assuming you pick up the pace," answered the yellow Autobot. "Please do, so we're not out here watching you hike all night."

"Yeah, yeah," groused Yang as she started to run.

Several minutes later, she stopped.

"Not bad. Best guess I got, you're in the right place, and you won't find any guesses better than mine," said Bumblebee in her ear.

There was another of those concrete forts in the distance, and she could feel something in the dark. It looked like this was the place, or at least near the place. She really hoped that the Autobots would be able to set up a planetary positioning system like they had back on Cybertron once things got more secure; it would make meetings like this so much easier.

"I walk in the shadows," Yang said to where she could sense a powerful aura.

"I fight for the light," replied the smooth voice of Adam Taurus before he stepped into view, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. A sensible precaution -- they were outside the city walls, after all -- or a prelude to an attack?

He didn't seem all that different, but she could tell that there was something wrong.

"I didn't think you would come," observed the bull faunus as he walked closer.

"I almost didn't," admitted Yang truthfully before lying. "You've got to get a better way to ferry me messages than a dozen go-betweens."

"I couldn't be sure you didn't delete my number or throw away the burner scroll altogether. That would have been the smart play. Besides, it looks like things worked out in the end," Adam almost joked. "This meeting, it seems, was fated to happen, Sunfire."

Yang stiffened at that. "What do you want, Adam? Why did you call me here?"

"I want to survive," he said bluntly, "and I called you here because there's only one way that's going to happen."

* * *​

The personnel door to the hangar burst open as a certain coppertopped student of Atlas Academy strode in cheerfully.

"Sal-u-tations, partner!" Penny declared.

The hangar appeared devoid of life. Nonetheless, she received a reply: "Penny, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I thought you might be lonely, all alone in this hangar all the time, since you can't exactly go outside much while we're in Vale," she explained.

"Oh," the voice replied, surprised. "Well, that's… kind of you, Penny."

"So I brought someone to meet you!" Penny continued. "This is my friend, Ruby Rose!"

The crimson-themed Huntress cautiously stepped out of the setting sun and into the hangar... then her eyes widened, and she vanished in a Petal Burst.

"Ohmigosh, is that the new Atlesian XP-14A Skystriker?" she asked excitedly as she darted around the sleek, blue and grey aircraft parked in the hangar. "Soooo coooool! I heard about these things! They say they don't use gravity dust at all and are fast enough to outrun Lancers!"

"Faster than sound, actually," Penny informed her.

Ruby paused and looked at her, then looked up at the aircraft. "That's a fast airship." She scrambled up onto the fuselage for a better view.

"Actually, the term is 'airplane,'" the Atlesian girl corrected.

Ruby turned to look down at Penny. "What's the difference?"

"I don't know." Penny shrugged. "I'm programmed for combat, not linguistics."

"Huh, okay," accepted Ruby. "So where is your friend anyway?" She started walking toward the obvious cockpit. "Is he in the airsh- ah, airplane?"

"No, silly!" Penny said. "He is the airplane!"

Ruby barely had a moment to process that when the airsh- airplane began to move beneath her feet. It changed, transformed, and she lost her balance briefly, but before she could tumble to the ground, something caught her. The next thing she knew, she was no longer on top of an aircraft, but instead cradled gently in the hands of a robot that genuflected in the hangar and yet still towered over both her and Penny.

"Penny… you do understand the concept of 'classified,' right?" the robot asked patiently.

Ruby was only vaguely aware of his words. Her attention was occupied by something else, something that sent a chill running down her spine. Her gaze was locked onto the all-too-familiar purple face emblazoned on the wings sprouting from the robot's back. The very familiar robot's back, as she'd seen the footage Blake's Seven had taken on their mission while she was on Patch.

There was no mistaking that symbol. Sharp, angular, and stern, it was scorched into her memory. She had made sure it was.

At long last, Ruby Rose was face to face with the enemy, and it was her new friend's partner.

(V2E1: Welcome to Beacon | V2E2: Encounters | V2E3: Trust-Building Exercises)​

Author's Note 1 (Cyclone)

Now, see, this is the twist we didn't expect everyone to see coming: Surprise! Sweet little Penny Polendina is a Decepticon! Dun dun DUN!

By the way, the title of Sienna Khan's book is a reference to one of Tarkin's lines in the comics, in which he advocates achieving "order through power," not a reference to Command & Conquer.

There are a number of additional crossover references here. See if you can spot them. And if you can figure out whether they count as Homages, Pastiches, or Shout Outs -- we're honestly not sure ourselves -- we'd appreciate it if you added them to the TV Tropes page.

Author's Note 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett)

For all those wondering why Ruby was staring so intently at the Decepticon logo back in "Aftermath," this is why. And for those going to check the threadmarks, yes, we did have this planned out since about the time we started. Indeed, the little conversation where Penny is revealed has actually been written out since July I believe.

Hope people enjoyed reading this, since it was a pain to get out, not because of any inherent difficulty, but simply because I was suffering through shingles at the time and the pain meds were making me loopy. Cyclone stepped up to write much of this chapter though. Hopefully this will all be gone in time for the meat of the writing on the next chapter.

Also, to all those reading or editing the TV Tropes page for the fic, that's three cliffhangers one right after the other in this chapter. Why so many? Well, the cliffhanger is one of my favorite literary tools, and sometimes you just have to indulge some base urges.

What mysterious and deadly mission awaits Sun and Neptune? Where do Adam's loyalties truly lie? Can Ruby escape from the literal clutches of a Decepticon? Find out and join us next time for some "Trust-Building Exercises."

 

[floppy_seal99]

So which of the Seekers is this? Or did one of the Autobots sneak into Decepticon ranks as a double agent?

 

[RoboRenee]

So which of the Seekers is this? Or did one of the Autobots sneak into Decepticon ranks as a double agent?

Click to shrink...

Blue and grey means Thundercracker, which tracks with the relative friendliness - he's generally a reluctant Decepticon, and in IDW he's a full-blown defector, throwing his lot in with Earth and his dog Buster.

 

[Nealend]

Jetfire maybe? Though I don't remember him ever having a targetmaster if that's what Penny is in this continuity.

 

[Hell on Strikers]

We're going to need a chart for all these ships and conspiracies soon.

 

[Cyclone]

So which of the Seekers is this? Or did one of the Autobots sneak into Decepticon ranks as a double agent?

Click to shrink...

You say that as though those two are mutually exclusive...

Blue and grey means Thundercracker, which tracks with the relative friendliness - he's generally a reluctant Decepticon, and in IDW he's a full-blown defector, throwing his lot in with Earth and his dog Buster.

Click to shrink...

Jetfire maybe? Though I don't remember him ever having a targetmaster if that's what Penny is in this continuity.

Click to shrink...

To me, Jetfire will always be the red, white, and black VF-1S Valkyrie. I can't explain it.

<_<

We're going to need a chart for all these ships and conspiracies soon.

Click to shrink...

You have no idea. We've actually discussed the idea of making a chart to keep track of who knows what when, just to help us keep them straight, but we couldn't figure out a format that would actually be legible. Any suggestions for spider-web chart-making software would be great.

 

[Cyclone]

(V2E2: Encounters | V2E3: Trust-Building Exercises | V2E4: Interrogations)




Volume II: Episode 3: Trust-Building Exercises

* * *​

Terror filled Ruby's heart as she unconsciously reached behind her and groped for the comforting weight of Crescent Rose... except the weapon wasn't there. A day out driving with her father within the city limits? She hadn't foreseen a need. If Grimm had somehow breached the walls, her baby was only a scroll message and a rocket locker away, after all.

And why would she have needed Crescent Rose to meet Penny's partner? Penny was Penny. She was strong, kind, and trustworthy. There was no way she could have been a Decepticon the whole time.

...Except, that's exactly what she was. Penny Polendina, one of her newest and closest friends, was the enemy she had sworn to destroy. And now, Ruby found herself unarmed in the literal clutches of a giant alien robot. She had to think fast to avoid death.

"Heh, so how did you two meet?"

Not that fast!

"Oh, that was such a wonderful day!" Penny cheered.

"A wonderful, classified day," the big robot clarified.

"Really, you don't say," Ruby said quickly. "Well, you do seem to make an odd partnership, so I'm not surprised you don't want to talk about it."

"It's not that we don't want to," corrected the robot. "It's that we can't. I'm already dreading the amount of paperwork I'll have to fill out just for talking to you," he grumbled. He paused and looked down at his partner. "Unless, of course, she's already got clearance, Penny?"

Penny opened her mouth, but whatever she was going to say was interrupted by a hiccup.

Ruby wouldn't have expected a giant robot to be able to sigh, but sigh he did. "Oh, what am I going to do with you, Penny?" he asked, both exasperated and worried. "You can't keep doing this!"

"But Friend Ruby is my friend, Thundercracker!" Penny said tautologically. "We can trust her!"

Thundercracker -- and my, wasn't that an evocative name? -- gave Ruby a skeptical look, then lowered her to the floor off to the side and leaned in close to Penny. "I believe you, Penny, but you have to be more careful who you trust." He poked her in the chest gently. "I don't want anything to happen to you because you misjudged someone."

Ruby stared at the exchange, wide-eyed and in disbelief. Of all the things she'd anticipated for when she finally met the enemy... this certainly wasn't one of them.

"Is something the matter, Friend Ruby?" Penny asked, breaking her out of her reverie.

Ruby's eyes darted around, and she hurriedly pointed to one of the purple emblems on Thundercracker's wings, the one that was seared into her mind. "What's that symbol mean?"

Thundercracker blinked. "It's- um, it's the symbol of my people, the Decepticons," he said, surprised.

Ruby was already familiar with the word "Decepticon" from the briefing of how Blake's Seven's mission had gone while she was on Patch. She was still a little annoyed at Blake for not waiting for her to get back.

"Where I'm from," Thundercracker explained, "there was a tyrannical government that oppressed the people, lied to us in order to keep power. Dissidents called them out on it, coined the name 'Decepticon' as a reminder that we were being deceived, and this symbol served as our rallying cry."

"I see," Ruby stalled. That was... again, not what she had been expecting. "So… like in the Great War?"

Thundercracker cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. "Kinda, I guess? We call our war the Great War too, actually. I suppose every society has their own Great War." He frowned and shook his head. "Kinda sad that, if you think about it."

"I guess?" Ruby hazarded.

"To call something that, you have to know what war is," Penny interjected somberly, "and for it to be a 'great' war, it has to be bigger, more terrible than any other war your people have known."

"Some people like to think there are rules in war," Thundercracker elaborated, his voice distant, his eyes unfocused, "rules that make it 'civilized,' rules to limit damage to the people, the land, the infrastructure. But a thing I've noticed is... those rules never seem to apply to 'great wars.'"

It was strange, Ruby reflected, how in that moment, two robots -- two machines -- seemed so... so undeniably human in some undefinable way.

Thundercracker shook his head. "Sorry. I'm getting maudlin," he apologized. "Stuck in here, I get a lot of time to think and not much else. You kids have no idea how good you have it here. Enjoy the peace. You'll miss it when it's gone."

His phrasing had not gone unnoticed. He'd said "when," a choice of words that sent a shiver through Ruby, and she couldn't help but wonder about the enemy the Decepticons fought. Who were they, and how terrible were they that the Decepticons felt they needed to resort to what she'd seen to fight them?

"So, um, what brings you to Vale?" Ruby piped up curiously. "I mean, I know Penny's here for the Vytal Tournament, but..."

"We're partners," Thundercracker repeated. "It's... well..."

"I'm his Targetmaster partner!" Penny declared proudly. "Thundercracker?" she asked, looking up at her partner expectantly.

"No, Penny," Thundercracker said, shaking his head. "She already knows too much. I'm pretty sure she's not cleared for that."

Penny's face fell.

"And no pouting," he warned, wagging a finger at her. "You know that doesn't work on me anymore."

"But I really wanted to show Friend Ruby!" Penny pouted.

"No," the... the Decepticon said, his voice clearly exasperated. "Sparklings, I swear," he muttered, rolling his eyes. He looked down again and said patiently, "Penny, you do not show off highly classified, top secret information just to impress your friends."

"But… but…" Penny stammered, seemingly on the verge of tears. "She's Ruby. She's my best Valish friend, and she really loves guns. Can't we show it off just a little bit?"

"No," repeated Thundercracker bluntly. "And if she's worth your time, she isn't going to care about your cool powers. She'll care about you for you."

"Penny, it's all right, you don't need to go and show me everything right now," assured Ruby kindly. Rubes, what are you doing? This is some valuable information you're just passing up.

The ginger-haired gynoid sighed. "What's the point of having that meanie Starscream mess around with us if we don't get to show it off to our friends?"

"Keeping him quiet. Trust me, spend a few million years with the guy, and that will be its own reward," said Thundercracker confidently. "Penny, your time will come," he assured her.

That… well, it wasn't something they had planned to reveal, clearly, but… Penny had been modified by Starscream? Ruby had seen the footage, and that guy was, well, a meanie. Penny was right, he just came across as a big fat… What was that about millions of years?!

"No need for you to keep quiet, though. What's going on with you, Ruby? Penny's already told me a lot, but I'd like to hear it from you."

The words from the big blue bot knocked Ruby out of her shock, and she saw then that Thundercracker was sporting a friendly smile. She couldn't let herself be drawn into that. Yeah, he was a cool guy, but he was also a Decepticon. He could be deceiving her for all she knew.

Heh. Decepticon. Deceiving. That was a good one. Yang would be proud.

"I'm curious," Thundercracker added with a shrug.

Ruby hemmed and hawed at that. "Well, I'm, uh, Ruby Rose. I'm fifteen years old. I'm from Patch. I'm currently studying to become a Huntress at Beacon Academy. I like books, and my favorite food is strawberries."

Thundercracker whistled. "Fifteen, huh? That's right, Penny mentioned something about you getting in early. Congratulations."

"Oh, it's no big deal," Ruby replied humbly, decidedly not wanting to spill her entire backstory to a Decepticon.

"No big deal?!" cheered Penny excitedly. "Thundercracker, Ruby was just telling me -- and other exchange students in the crowd -- the other day how she got into Beacon by helping stop the infamous Roman Torchwick from robbing a dust store!" She paused. "Wait, Roman Torchwick. Wasn't he the guy that shot you at the docks a few weeks ago? You really should be more careful about running in like that."

"Penny, you said you weren't going to lecture me about that!"

"Oh. So I did," admitted Penny in stunned embarrassment. "Apologies, Friend Ruby."

"Well, I didn't," said Thundercracker. "Ruby, what were you thinking, running in like that?"

"I wasn't, all right?! I admit it!" she shouted. "I. Wasn't. Thinking. Okay?! I rushed in because I saw danger, and I just assumed that Penny and Sun would be right behind me without considering they wouldn't be able to keep up. I didn't look behind me, I just Petal Bursted onto the scene and tried to figure out what was going on, and then everyone was shooting at me, and then the next thing I know, I'm being saved by some heroic woman, and Penny and Sun have to drag me off to the hospital."

"'Heroic' is not how I would have described her," mused Penny. "She was more... terrifying beyond all rational thought."

"You didn't say she tried to scare you, Penny," observed Thundercracker with a concerned tone.

"Oh, she didn't try to scare me; she was just innately horrifying," Penny elucidated.

"That's… worrying," said Thundercracker. "Which, I suppose, makes sense. So! Ruby, will you be taking part in the Vytal Tournament?"

"Thundercracker!" admonished Penny. "You may not ask Ruby to throw the fight."

"Whaaaat?" he scoffed in denial. "I wouldn't do that!"

"Good," said Penny with a nod. "Because I'm looking forward to going all out in a tournament of champions!"

"Oh. So... Pyrrha," Ruby concluded.

"Yes!" cheered Penny. "I have watched many of her fights, and I am quite the fan. Fighting against her would be the greatest honor, but also I think I can win. It's not a fight unless you're going all out, after all."

Ruby tried to imagine how that would go.

Pyrrha cackled maniacally as she lifted Penny into the air on ephemeral strings. "Dance, my pretty, dance!"

Penny pouted as she was yanked in all sorts of directions about the arena. "Oh, fiddlesticks. Betrayed by my metal body before I even entered the arena. Woe is me."​

"It would certainly be a tough fight," Ruby agreed carefully. "Are you going to enter the tournament as well, Thundercracker?"

She hoped not. Fighting against the SDC's public relations was already proving to be a nightmare, and they had yet to even get to the point of telling anyone about this. The last thing they needed was for the Decepticons to reveal themselves in a festival of peace and gain the love of millions. Who knew how many they could hurt then?

"Unfortunately, Thundercracker won't be participating in the Vytal Tournament," Penny said sadly.

"That wouldn't be entirely fair," Thundercracker pointed out. "I'm a bit too big to fight effectively in those little arenas."

Ruby, of course, realized that he was right.

"And we're off to the first fight of the day," called the announcer.

"Transform!" called out Thundercracker as his body shifted from his robot mode into his XP-14A Skystriker form.

For a split second, he hung in the air, and then he was off with a rocketing start. Fire leapt from his engines, and he shot through the air towards his opponent. His opponent, Mercury Black for some reason, ducked, and Thundercracker flew over his head. There was then a tremendous explosion as the flying robot collided with the hard light shields around the arena at terminal velocity and was reduced to a quite impressive fireball.

"Oh! That's gotta hurt!" the announcer winced.​

"Still, Rufus did say it would be hilarious," mused Penny. "Maybe we should…"

"No! Nope! Not happening!" insisted Thundercracker. "I'm quite happy watching from the sidelines, thank you very much."

It was at that particular moment that the conversation was interrupted by a horrific growl. Thundercracker looked about in worry, Penny looked around in confusion, Ruby looked down at her stomach. The Valish Huntress chuckled.

"I guess it is getting kind of late," she mused.

"Why don't you head along home then?" said Thundercracker compassionately.

"Oh! I'll check to make sure the coast is clear," Penny proclaimed before discreetly exiting the hangar.

She had no sooner left the building than did Thundercracker crouch down low such that he was almost at eye level with Ruby, almost. His head was bigger than she was. Still, there was something in his expression, and it wasn't malicious.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you for being Penny's friend," Thundercracker said happily. "She... doesn't have a lot of friends, not really. She gets... kind of lonely sometimes, with everyone trying so hard to keep her safe."

"I..." Ruby paused, then glanced over at the door through which Penny had disappeared. "I kind of got that impression." She looked back at him. "She has you, though, doesn't she? And her team?"

"I can't exactly hang out with her most of the time," Thundercracker pointed out, "and her team... well, you'd probably best ask her about them. They're good people, but..." He trailed off with a noncommittal shrug. His gaze shifted past her, and he said, "Looks like the coast is clear. You'd better get going before someone comes along."

Ruby looked over and saw Penny leaning in through the door, waving at them. "Right. I'll, um, see you later?"

"Probably best if you didn't," he warned.

"Right..." Ruby murmured as she dashed toward the door.

A few minutes later, Ruby and Penny found themselves walking through the streets outside the airport after sneaking out. It was quiet, too quiet. The kind of quiet that begged to be filled with questions.

"So, Penny!" Ruby said, breaking the silence. "Why don't you tell me about your team?"

Penny smiled, but it was an odd smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Oh, they are quite the cast of characters. Like Ciel, she's the smartest girl in the academy. She has a mind like a computer!"

Ruby stopped in her tracks, confused. "Don't... you have a mind like a computer?"

Penny pivoted and shook her head. "No, not that kind of computer, silly. A computer-computer."

Ruby blinked, now even more confused. "Oh, okay." What did that even mean?

The ginger seemed to grow a bit disappointed. "Unfortunately, she's kind of a robot."

"Like you?" Ruby asked.

Penny shook her head. "Oh, not that kind of robot. She's more of a robot-robot."

"...okay?"

"Anyway, my team leader is Aska," Penny plowed on. "She's quiet and serious. Like Blake."

Ruby perked up at that. "Oh! Does she like books too?"

"She likes living on the edge and not following the rules," Penny contradicted.

"Oh. So exactly like Blake." Seriously, that girl was scary in Professor Greene's class. Those weren't the kind of skills you picked up living on the straight and narrow.

"Rufus..." Penny paused. "Rufus is nice, if a bit of an insane hothead. Still, I much prefer having him maintain my systems. Nickel was very good, but she doesn't like it when I try fitting in better. She even once said she was worth at least five of me, which I thought was very rude."

Ruby couldn't help but agree. Whoever this Nickel woman was, if she couldn't tell that Penny was just as much a person as anyone else, with the same wants and needs, just because she was a robot, well... Ruby didn't think she'd like her very much.

"What about Thundercracker?"

"Hmm?" Penny hummed curiously.

"What is he?" Ruby clarified.

"Oh! That's an easy question to answer," she cheered. "Thundercracker is a transformer -- that's the species -- from the planet Cybertron. His people can live for an extremely long time because they don't age like we do, and Thundercracker himself is at least eleven million years old."

Ruby felt her breath be taken away. That… that was a long time. That was a very long time.

"'At least'?" the crimson-themed Huntress asked, unable to find anything else to comprehend.

"Yes, from what I hear, when their ship crashed on this world after a battle with their mortal enemies, their clocks were all broken. No way to tell time, no way to tell how much time has passed. Then they wake up from stasis one day, and... here they are," explained Penny with a shrug. There was then a distant look in her eyes as she turned and looked up at the shattered moon rising above the city. "The only clue they have is that before they crashed, the moon was still whole."

That… was very melancholy, and interesting, and again showed just how old the Decepticons were. Sure, in this case, they had some way of putting themselves in stasis, but Penny's explanation did raise several points that bore further inquiry. There was one point though, above all others, that she and all of Team Rainbow needed to know about.

"'Mortal enemies'?" asked Ruby. "Who are they?"

"I don't know," admitted Penny, closing her eyes briefly and turning back to face Ruby before opening them again. "Thundercracker doesn't like to talk about the Great War. It's like he's protecting me, but…" and here, the ginger gynoid grew very cross and puffed herself up. "But I'm a big girl, and I can handle myself! But no one treats me like that. They're always trying to protect me, and never telling me anything, or letting me go out in combat, or… or…"

Penny fumed and looked at Ruby in anger, though she somehow knew it wasn't directed at her.

"Do you know what that meanie Starscream said after he got done with the modifications to make me a Targetmaster? He said 'an interesting curiosity, but I don't expect it to perform under fire.' He turned me into a gun! Fifteen hours of grueling painful, surgery on me and Thundercracker, and at the end of it, he says that I'm not going to be useful at the one thing it was all about?!"

"Penny," Ruby whispered, and gestured down the street where someone was stumbling out of a building with a wine bottle in their hands.

The little robot girl who seemed so very human looked, and then her face fell with a shame-filled blush covering it.

"I'm sorry," she apologized quietly.

"It's okay, I understand," Ruby comforted, taking Penny into a gentle hug.

"I just want to be a Huntress," moaned Penny sadly. "I just want to help people, but…"

"But everyone's trying to protect you from your dream," finished Ruby empathetically. "They say you're too young, or that it's too dangerous, that you should treasure your childhood while you can."

Penny nodded, and while Ruby wasn't sure, she could swear that she felt tears on her face.

"It gets better," Ruby assured her, thinking of Glynda. "I can't tell you when it will happen, but I can tell you that there will be a time when people will look you in the eye and trust you to do the right thing." Yang's smiling face flashed in her head. "Then you'll be looking at others and trying to protect them from all the horrors of the world. Life's ironic like that. And then you'll look at yourself in the mirror and wonder how you became the stuffy grown-up."

"But why does that time have to take so long to come?" lamented Penny, but it was clear that good cheer was returning to her, if slowly.

"It might not," Ruby reminded her. "You never know when that moment will come. It just does, so you'll have to always be ready."

"I will," declared Penny resolutely.

Ruby nodded. She would be too. She would be ready when the day might come that she would have to kill her friend and the good people with her to save the world.

She wanted to go back to Patch.

* * *​

The things I do for my friends... Neptune pondered as the Skyray flew to the village of Sumire, the sun hanging low in the sky. When Sun had dragged him along to introduce his new friends -- even as late as when he helped him with the riddles -- he hadn't expected that to lead to him going on a mission to hunt a rumored new type of Grimm.

Because, apparently, that was what they had gotten wrapped up in.

"How?" he asked aloud, drawing the attention of the Atlesians, or at least Rufus. Ciel had donned a pair of opaque sunglasses much like Aska had, and it was hiding where their eyes were moving.

"How what?" asked Aska in that accented voice of hers which, he had to admit, was much more attractive than her attitude.

"How did I get roped into this?" he asked. He thought it was a reasonable question. He'd barely even met Penny!

"I don't know. I've been meaning to ask you that for a while," replied Sun from beside him as he double-checked the fit of the five-point harness keeping him in his seat. "You didn't have to help me solve those riddles, or come with me to the lounge."

"Hey, I'm not going to leave you out to hang, man," declared Neptune. "What kind of friend would I be then?"

"The smart one?" pointed out Sun.

"Hey, hey, hey," Neptune objected, raising a finger and offering the ladies a wink and a grin that sparkled in the reddish light of the setting sun. "Intellectual. There's a difference. A smart person can be an intellectual, but most intellectuals aren't smart."

A strangled snort of laughter came from the cockpit. No doubt it was their pilot, Bob from accounting, who apparently owed Aska a favor. How an accountant knew how to fly, Neptune could only guess at, but it was apparently something everyone on Team APRC knew how to do anyway.

So why rope a dedicated pilot into this? "Tactical options" was Aska's answer. Which, Neptune supposed, he could understand on some level.

"Wordplay and insults aside, it is admirable that you came, Neptune. Loyalty is one of the most desirable traits for anyone to have. Huntsmen, perhaps, moreso than others," said Ciel in a voice that sounded both cold and warm even as she kept her hands delicately clasped on top of her blue skirt.

That… must have been the most that the stoic woman had said to him that night. He must be warming her up! A little more time, and she would be melting all over him like an ice cube on the Vacuan sands.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to stand calling them that through the whole mission," interjected Aska. "Sun and Neptune? Using their actual names? It just feels wrong."

"Agreed," nodded Ciel.

Rufus snapped his gloved fingers. "I've got it! 'Monkey King' and 'Sea King.'"

"Cool!" Sun grinned.

"No," Neptune disagreed. "Not 'Sea King' or 'Ocean Master' or anything like that. Large bodies of water are death and destruction wrapped in darkness and desolation, and I'm way too cool for that."

Rufus nodded slowly. "Ohh... kay. 'Iceberg' it is."

Neptune's face fell while Sun knocked him in the arm. "Hey, it's probably the best you're going to get, Nep."

"Uh, Shadow, we have a problem," the pilot said worriedly as night took hold. "The CCT relay tower in Sumire just went offline."

"Can you fly us in manually?" called out Aska.

"You know it," the pilot replied.

"Then do so, and transmit our logs back to the fleet," she ordered before turning back to look at them. "Congratulations, newbies. This little reconnaissance in force just became a rescue mission."

The Skyray flew through the darkened skies as quickly as it dared, and Neptune put on a smile as best he could to ward off the tension. If things got too bad in the cabin, then out there in the black, things would start to look very, very good for the monsters of their nightmares. So he'd keep up a happy face and play the cool guy.

Maybe if he did that enough, he'd stop being a useless sack of nothing.

"I see lights," reported the pilot, and the students in the passenger bay looked out the wide front double canopy to see a town off in the distance on the plains lit up by what looked like every light they had available.

"If they've got hit by Grimm, then at least they've still got power," said Aska before turning to the rest of them. "Okay, boys, Farsight, suit up."

Neptune unbuckled his harness and got up to access the weapon racks. He would be, as always, wielding Tri-Hard, his pole-rifle. Sun would be carrying his pair of gunchaku, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, and probably combining them along the way into that staff form he loved. Aska would be carrying… well, Aska would be carrying a lot of weapons, almost all of them concealed with the notable exception of her sword: Magorox. Ciel would be lugging around a gigantic sniper rifle that was probably bigger than any of them when fully deployed. Rufus was the last of them to get a weapon, having instead taken off his clothes to reveal that he was wearing a skintight, black, one-piece body stocking underneath.

"Okay, I'll bite. What's with the getup?" asked Sun.

Neptune glanced over and saw that the girls were both looking away, their backs turned to them, presumably to maintain their privacy.

"This is my battle undergarment," answered Rufus with a cocksure smile as he brought out a very thick suitcase.

He pressed a button on it, and the thing seemed to spring apart. Rufus reached down and grabbed onto two newly visible hand-holds and lifted them up, bringing with them the rest of the suitcase. He spread his arms out in a T-pose, and the case seemed to spread rapidly across his entire body. In seconds, the metal had encased him in rust red armor, with its most prominent features being two gigantic angular packs on his shoulders and a helmet with a gold visor that hid his face completely from view.

"Alrighty then, I'm good to go," Rufus said cheerily in a slightly distorted voice.

"Dude! That's awesome!" Sun exclaimed.

"Awesome? That's totally rad!" agreed Neptune.

"Is it safe to look then?" asked Ciel politely.

"Well, I mean, King's still topless, but other than that, it's all good," answered Rufus.

"Thirty seconds! Looks like there's still people moving around down there!" the pilot reported.

The airship hit the ground, the doors opened, and the team streamed out. They were greeted by a group of people led by a man with a big iron on his hip and a halberd over his shoulder. He did not look happy, but he did look relieved.

"You know, I'm not going to even ask what you Atlesians are doing so far south, I'm just happy to have some backup," he said curtly before offering his hand. "Alfred Caspian. I'm the mayor of this town."

Aska offered her own hand, and the two clasped in greeting. "Shadow. I'm the leader of Team Arson. That's Farsight, Mad Dog, King, and Iceberg. We picked up your contract about a suspected new type of Grimm."

The two parted, and then Alfred gestured for them to follow him. "You can scratch off the 'suspected' part off of that. Two of the little freaks snuck past our perimeter defenses and ate straight into the CCT tower. Chewed through a good part of the vitals before we could kill them too."

"They didn't go after the people first?" asked Aska curiously.

"Oh, once our people showed up, they did try to take a bite out of us, but they're not the biggest things around," Alfred confirmed. "Besides, there were only eight of them."

"I thought you said there only two?" inquired Sun.

Alfred turned to face them with a dire look. "I think it's best if you see for yourselves."

They ended up in a small room in the CCT relay tower, looking over a woman's shoulder as she replayed the relevant footage from the security cameras for them. Apparently, she was Alfred's wife, Kanene Caspian, and they lived there in Sumire with Alfred's father, Edward, and their son, August. Not a bad life, especially if you were the guy in charge, but maybe that was just the Vacuan in Neptune talking.

The screens in front of them changed to show an empty hallway, and then the wall started to come apart from the outside in a round, twitching mass. Suddenly, a tunnel opened up, and out from it emerged a multi-limbed monstrosity the size of a large dog, covered in oily black fur with a gigantic mouth that seemed to be filled with blades that spun around as if attached to a series of wheels. It was bloated and swollen like a fat tick, and then the most incredible thing happened: it split apart, with the weight seeming to melt off its body into a protrusion on its back that became a copy of itself, reducing them both to the size of a cat or small dog.

"By the hidden sanctuary of the Mother's Embrace," muttered Sun. "Are you seeing this?!"

"That… that is unexpected," admitted Rufus, clearly stunned.

Another one of the little terrors came through the tunnel, and then the trio went on a rampage, eating the building and everything in it, especially the oh so vital equipment needed for transmissions. Along the way, they managed to reproduce five more times as they consumed more and more, lasting until some of the town's militia rushed in and killed them. It didn't take much to kill them, but…

"They're using the metal to make more of themselves," realized Aska aloud. "Blast. Of all the… Mayor Caspian, where was the intrusion first detected?"

"Small swarm of them attacked the east side of town, but the sentry guns took care of most of them. We took care of those that got past them to get through the walls, or at least we thought we did," Alfred reported. "Patrols spotted a few of them in the distance days ago, but it looks like they've been multiplying since then."

"Could have hit that convoy that passed through," offered Kanene. "You remember that one, right? The one without any people?"

"Did you see where that went?" asked Sun.

The husband and wife shook their heads.

"What are your orders then, Shadow?" asked Rufus.

"We're going to send the pilot back to pick up a repair team for the CCT relay, and then…" -- at this point, Aska grew a smirk that Neptune had to admit to himself looked really, really cool with her glasses -- "...we're going hunting."

* * *​

"I want to survive," Adam said bluntly, "and I called you here because there's only one way that's going to happen."

Yang's hands curled into fists, and she prepared for the fight. This was it. Adam had… Adam had finally betrayed her. He was afraid of Cinder, and he had been told that the only way to get into her good graces was to off the competition, and that meant killing Sunfire. That meant killing Yang.

She prepared to defend herself, but she didn't strike first. She didn't want it to come to this, didn't want to fight Adam, not like this. She wouldn't be the one to burn that final bridge.

But... why? Adam was a terrorist. He'd killed and maimed and hurt people, innocent people, people Yang had sworn to protect. She should have ended his life as soon as they met, but… but he hadn't done any of that since they had met. She didn't want to kill him now, not after all they'd been through.

Then again, he could kill her too. If he did, then Bumblebee would have to return her remains to Patch to be buried alongside her mother. Her mother. Weiss was right, Summer Rose was her mother in every way that mattered, and if Yang could not marry and bear children of her own to be buried alongside, then she very much would like to be buried with her mom.

Of course, if Adam killed Bumblebee, then what would happen to his remains? Recycled for spare parts because they couldn't afford to waste anything? Buried with honors because they wouldn't stoop to the level of the Decepticons? Launched into the heart of the sun because normal means of cremation just weren't awesome enough?

They hadn't come alone though; there were other Autobots around, and if Adam killed them too… well, if he did that, then he had officially been holding back this whole time and was the most powerful person on Remnant. Really, it wouldn't surprise her if after that, Ruby and her father ended up swearing allegiance to the White Fang alongside the rest of humanity, because they had clearly overprepared for this fight.

Adam put out his hands, palms up, and spoke. "I need your help."

"...What?" Yang muttered in shock.

"I need your help," Adam repeated.

Something clicked in Yang's head, an answer to Bumblebee from weeks ago. "Of course. What do you need my help with?"

"Getting rid of Cinder," he explained. "She's going to get us all killed."

"I'm not going to let that happen," Yang assured him.

"Then we're on the same page," said Adam with a nod.

"Yeah, but… why did you wait so long to contact us?" inquired Yang, both curious and hurt.

"This week has been the first time since she's come back that I've had any time to myself. I don't know where she's gone to, but I know she's occupied for most of the day, and that gives me space to work."

Yang paused, considering her words. "I know where she goes to. She's a student from Haven Academy."

Adam's mouth dropped at that, stunned. "She's a student?!"

Yang smiled sheepishly. "First-year Huntress-in-training. Yep."

"First-year?!" he balked. "What the heck are they teaching in the Huntsman academies if she's a first-year?" He shook his head. "No, that's got to be some sort of cover."

"For what?" asked Yang bluntly.

"I don't know, but considering the bomb she had us smuggle to her two henchmen, I doubt she intends for Beacon to still be standing when she's done."

"Remember that lead case I saw Emerald and Mercury leaving Tukson's with? That's probably what was in it," said Bumblebee over her earbud.

"Or she's developing her insurance policy," reasoned Yang aloud. "She has someone near the bomb at all times. If we make a move on her… well, there's a lot of valuable things at Beacon that people wouldn't want broken."

"And of course you care about them more than you care about stopping her," accused Adam.

"Excuse me?!" objected Yang.

"If so, then it's not ready yet or she's reluctant to use it as anything more than a last resort," Bumblebee mused. "Because otherwise, we would have been threatened with it already. A deterrent only works if the people you're deterring know about it."

"You heard me," replied Adam hotly. "You're not committed enough to stopping Cinder."

"Of course I'm committed!" barked Yang. "I'm more committed than you ever were!"

"Okay, so you guys lasted… two minutes, twenty-five seconds. Longer than I was expecting, honestly," Bumblebee observed.

"Oh, puhlease!" sneered Adam. "You're still not willing to make the tough decisions to seize victory."

Yang was aghast. "'Victory'?! If Cinder destroys Beacon, then the only people who win are the Decepticons!"

They both paused, mid-gesture, mouths agape as all the events of the past few months clicked into place.

Yang put her hands up to her face. "Oh, no. Of course she is."

"It does explain… quite literally everything she's done," said Adam pensively. "But what human could hold such power?"

The blonde parted her hands just enough to allow herself room to speak. "She could just be an actual Decepticon using a Pretender Shell. Then they wouldn't have to work with local agents. Just develop a good cover story, and she'd be good to go."

"I've overheard her and her minions speaking sometimes about their 'mistress.' Are there female transformers out there?" asked Adam.

Yang nodded. "There are. Well, kind of. I mean, transformers don't actually have any reproductive organs, so it's just a cultural abstraction based off kibble after meeting organic species that later got tied to Cybertronian legends."

Adam blinked. "'Kibble'?"

The Huntress in training pointed up at the well-maintained and slicked back horns poking out of the bull faunus' blood-red hair. "That's kibble. It's a slang term for all the extraneous fiddly bits on the body."

Adam seemed to have something to say about that, but he stopped and reconsidered. What he was reconsidering, though, Yang couldn't say. That she was able to pick up even that was strange.

"If Cinder is a Decepticon, then it doesn't actually change much. We still need to kill her, and we still need to stop her plan, whatever it is," he said finally, a finger on his chin.

"Yeah," agreed Yang, and then she smiled. "So, gonna apologize for running us out that night?"

Adam gave a small smile of his own, as if he had been waiting for this. "Nope."

The word, said with a familiar pop, threw Yang off. "Come again?"

His smile was now a full on guano-devouring grin. "I said 'nope.' I'm not going to apologize for not starting a fight between two incredibly powerful people in the middle of a warehouse full of wounded."

Yang made to make a furious reply at the implication that she would, and then stopped. She tried twice more from different angles to make an attack. It wasn't working.

"Shoot. You actually got me. I can't argue with that," she admitted sourly in surprise.

His reply was an insufferably smug smirk.

"Then again, you won't be able to argue with this," said Yang with a smirk of her own. "You need to get us evidence of Cinder's wrongdoing."

Adam balked. "What?! Why?"

"Because, if you get evidence that Cinder is a baddie, and then Headmaster Ozpin just so happens to get an anonymous tip…" Yang trailed off, but she could tell she didn't need to finish the thought herself.

"Then we won't have to lift a finger to stop Cinder," realized Adam. "She'll get buried beneath all the hundreds of Huntsmen there."

"There you go," cheered Yang. "Work smarter, not harder."

That insufferable smile was back before Adam replied, "So is that why your muscles are so big?"

It turned out that Adam had anticipated Bumblebee coming along, and so did not consider it a breach of trust when the yellow Autobot came out of the tree line to pull him and Yang off each other.

* * *​

Team ARSSN had found tracks in the grass near the section of the walls where the battle had taken place. From there, they were able to trace signs of the little Grimm back more than two miles until it hit a wide moat filled with punji sticks; the gaps chewed through the barbed wire were pretty obvious. The wooden little spears, as it turned out, were spaced just far enough apart that the little Grimm could avoid them.

Normally, these things would be hidden from her when not looking down the scope of her rifle, but since joining Team APRC(T), Farsight had been supplied with the latest in eyewear, with a variety of vision modes that made it so she could see in the dark almost as well as she did in the light. The Haven students, sadly, had to make due with merely having flashlights.

"Mad Dog, can you get across that?" asked Shadow with a pointing finger extended towards the moat.

"The portable version of Vulture still doesn't have jump jets, so no," answered the armored techie.

King puffed up at that. "Don't worry, guys. I got this."

With those words, King slammed his palms together, and two glowing gold clones of himself sprung forth. Unburdened by things as pedestrian as mass, the constructs of the soul picked up Mad Dog and Shadow in bridal carries to lift them through the air to the other side, only to disappear when they had been set down. Likewise, the same was done with her and Iceberg.

It was all very gallant, and it might have softened Farsight to him if it hadn't been for the fact that he still refused to wear a proper shirt. She supposed it was inevitable. He was, after all, a foreigner, and still just a kid. However, it still felt uncouth to so much as look at him.

Which was why she was pointedly searching the slightly taller grass ahead of them for the presence of the little Grimm when he floated on over in the hands of his clones.

Iceberg was a little better in her opinion, but he had his own issues.

"Hey, cool breeze, how'd you get into this crazy team?" he asked in a voice that seemed ripped straight from one of those vapid modern blockbusters where the male lead would bed more than one woman over the course of the film.

She didn't answer, but it was a valid question. How did she end up on this team, taking orders from a kid a year younger than her while slogging through cloak and dagger antics up to her armpits? It certainly wasn't what she'd had in mind for her life, but when she considered what had delayed her chosen path and put her on this course, she wouldn't have had it any other way.

After that battle, she had needed some... recalibration, and though none of them knew it, the kids on Team APR needed a veteran looking out for them who wouldn't be confined to a hangar all day. The Blessed Lady of the North had seen fit to provide for all of their needs, it seemed. Well, except for the secret T in their name, that was to say. Then again…

Farsight knew what her orders were, but she still wasn't precisely comfortable with them. Spying on one of her teammates? It just didn't feel right, even if he was… well, there was no point waxing poetic about it around the Haven students. After all, they weren't involved in any of this yet, they shouldn't be, they were just kids.

A long time passed as they followed those tracks in the dark. The Grimm had not been subtle, and there were a lot of them on the freshly beaten path. Though, strangely, none of the grass was eaten in any way, just trampled. It seemed they only had a taste for the artificial.

It was a statement that was amended in Farsight's mind when they suddenly came across what was left of the convoy mentioned by the mayor's wife earlier.

"You know, the most shocking thing about this is that they left anything at all," observed Mad Dog.

They all had to express their agreement with that. After all, the convoy had been rather reduced in size. The only things left that weren't mostly-eaten scraps passed over -- because the Grimm, on top of all their many other sins, were wasteful -- were the rubber tires of the trucks. So rather than the artificial, they had a taste for metal. Of course, it wasn't the Grimm that had destroyed this collection of vehicles. No, that honor went squarely to whoever made the craters filled with glass, the giant footprints, and the extra vehicle tracks.

Farsight looked into Mad Dog's visor, and he nodded in affirmation.

It didn't make any sense for their so-called allies to attack an SDC convoy -- and it was an SDC convoy, the scattered fragments of SDC identification certainly proved that -- since they were so close. Nevertheless, they wouldn't have been the first people in history to get too greedy for their own good. It was something to note for her mission report, and while she didn't know what Rufus would make out of it, the simple fact of the matter was that the Havenites couldn't be allowed to comprehend what they had stumbled on.

"Hey, trail picks up again over here, smaller this time!" called out Shadow, thankfully ending any speculation as the hunt resumed.

That hunt brought them in time to a fairly large hole in the ground which appeared to lead to an intricate tunnel system. It was occupied. Farsight could sense it, they all could. There were Grimm down there.

It was the perfect trap. With something like that, the best bet they had was to mark it with a beacon and come back later with a detachment of troops and a mobile sensor array. Androids could be used to chase what was down there while sonar on the MSA tracked it. It was the smart play, but it wasn't necessarily the play that Shadow would make.

Their team had been put together by General Ironwood himself, and he had good reason to trust Shadow and put her in command. Farsight got that, she really did, and in a situation as important as the circumstances under which Team APRC(T) had been formed, she'd be severely tempted to put family in command as well. However, the issue that came into play with Shadow was -- and there was no easy way to put this, even in her own head -- that she was a loose cannon on the edge who didn't play by the rules. Indeed, she seemed to take special delight in finding new ways to be insubordinate while following orders, and if she wasn't reined in soon by command, Farsight was going to pop like a shook wine bottle.

"Mad Dog, do you still have that drone?" asked Shadow.

"Indeed I do," he replied before a small bump on his back was launched into the air and transformed into an adorable little flying camera.

A holographic screen appeared above his wrist, and he began piloting the little thing with gestures of his hand.

"Let's find out what dwells beneath, eh?" said Mad Dog with what she was sure was a joking smile.

They watched the screen, either passively or fully, as the cute optic flew down through the tunnels. It went this way and that, never quite finding the targets. There was something down there, though.

Suddenly, the camera was yanked about, and the image started to dim and flicker.

"Battery's losing power!" reported Mad Dog.

The camera was rotated enough that the glowing red eyes and armored hide of a Grimm sudden came into view. It went dark a split second later. They were left in silence.

"Well, that was ominous," commented King.

The ground shifted beneath their feet. Shadow looked about, and pointed one hand out. Farsight followed it to a sizable enough rocky outcropping.

"There!" she called out. "Follow me!"

They were all in a run then as the ground shifted behind them.

"Oh, man, Magic's going to go up the wall when she finds out I lost her drone!" bemoaned Mad Dog in a bizarre non sequitur.

"She's going to be even more peeved when she finds out I borrowed it to begin with," Shadow said shamelessly.

Wait. What was that? Did she just admit to stealing a fellow student's equipment?!

The ground shifted again, and Farsight picked up the pace. Right, running now, castigate later. She'd have to mention that in her report to General Ironwood on the mission.

As she ran, she reached back and removed Distant Thunder. The familiar weight came into her hands, and she unfolded the barrel and locked it into its firing position. Her weapon was now at its full seven-foot length, and with a flick of the safety switch and a pull of the charging handle, it was ready to fire.

The rumbling of the burrowing Grimm raced toward the rocky outcropping Team ARSSN had fled to... and not a moment too soon. The Grimm burst from the ground, giving them their first clear look at it. A corner of Farsight's mind compared it to a Vacuan Blind Worm, but it had two eyes instead of one, and a lot more teeth arranged in two rows in its circular mouth. The Grimm's outer surface was similarly encased in segmented bone armor.

She rolled to the side as it lashed out with one of its clawed tentacles. Because it had four of those too, in contrast to the limbless Blind Worm. All in all, she really could have done without having her name listed among those credited with discovering two new kinds of Grimm.

Distant Thunder cracked, living up to the latter half of its name as she fired, but the bullet ricocheted off the Grimm's armored shell, leaving a barely-visible scratch.

"That armor's too strong for bullets," she observed.

"It's not armored everywhere," King suggested. He spawned a pair of glowing clones who then gave him a boost as he vaulted toward the Grimm, his gunchaku firing at the Grimm's mouth, but the outer row of "teeth" closed like the petals of a flower, rendering the shots ineffective.

As he landed, though, one of the clawed tentacles lashed out at him. He danced out of the way, but it still grazed him, sending him stumbling to the ground. A surprised Iceberg caught him and laid him on the rock.

"Sun, you okay?"

King didn't respond. Iceberg checked the other boy's scroll and shook his head. "His aura's down. That doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe it drained it, like it drained the drone," Mad Dog offered.

"So we're fighting a giant tunneling Grimm that's bulletproof and drains aura," Iceberg summarized.

"That would seem to be the case, yes," agreed Shadow.

Farsight shifted her focus away from the interplay and closed her eyes, clicking her watch on instinct. Three minutes.

Precognition on!

She opened her eyes, now glowing with the light of her soul, and brought Distant Thunder up. The Grimm reared back, twisting as Mad Dog pelted it with measured salvoes of micromissiles from his shoulder pods and lasers from his gauntlets. A spectral "beforeimage" appeared in her mind's eye, and as she aimed not at where her target was but at where it would be, she fired.

The round struck the Grimm in the upper left tentacle, near the root, exactly where she'd intended. The tentacle went limp, and the Grimm shrieked in pain, its mouth wide open.

"Mad Dog!" Shadow ordered. "The mouth!"

A blistering storm of micromissiles swarmed from the shoulders of Mad Dog's armor at the mouth of the Grimm as he unloaded a full salvo, but the teeth slammed shut again, granting only a few of the micromissiles entry. The Grimm flailed in apparent pain before stabbing down with two of its tentacles at Mad Dog, who dove to the side, scrambling frantically to avoid one tentacle only to be caught by the other.

Aiming his gauntlets at the six-clawed tentacle that was lifting him into the air, he fired all four of his suit's gauntlet-mounted lasers, scorching the bony plating and filling the air with the smell of burned Grimm flesh. The Grimm shrieked and let go, allowing Mad Dog to tumble to the ground.

"Crud!" he swore. "That thing just ate thirty percent of my suit's charge!"

"Farsight," Shadow hissed. "We go for the tentacles, you finish it off."

"Copy," she replied, swapping the magazine for high explosive dust rounds and pulling the charging handle to cycle the chambered armor-piercing round for the new ammo. She glanced at her watch, even as her hands automatically changed the settings on the recoil system. Two minutes, thirty-four seconds.

Shadow bounded forward with an ease that spoke of years of training, Magorox in hand... only to land on nothing as the Grimm retreated underground. Shadow leaped back to the outcropping, and the group of Huntsmen began looking around warily.

After all, Grimm did not just leave.

The Grimm's spectral image flared again in Farsight's gaze. "Iceberg, behind you!" she warned.

"Gah!" Iceberg cried out, spinning around and dancing back as the Grimm reemerged on his side of the outcropping they were taking refuge on. Tri-Hard fired, striking the Grimm and sending electricity arcing, seemingly harmlessly, over its protective shell.

Shadow charged again. "Yah!" she let out a wordless battle cry as she struck down with Magorox on one of the tentacles at the shoulder. The blade burst into flames as it passed through the lightly protected tentacle, severing it.

Time seemed to slow for Farsight as she lined up the seven-foot anti-materiel rifle on the ghostly image of the thrashing Grimm's face, and just as the mouth flared open, she fired.

The .80 Colton round punched clean through into the Grimm's mouth, and the spectral foreimage faded. There was a muffled thump as it detonated, and the Grimm stiffened suddenly, then collapsed. Farsight let her semblance go, clicking her watch's timer and glancing at it. One minute, forty-seven seconds.

As the fiend dissolved, they all breathed a little easier. Well, most of them did. They were still down a man.

Blessed Lady of the North, I beg you, forgive my lapse, she prayed in her mind as she checked King's vitals. Blessed Lady of the North, protect this soldier of the light as we bring him to safety.

"Just got a report over the short-range radio," reported Mad Dog. "Sumire says the little terrors are back."

So, it was to be a trial then. Very well. This wasn't the first that Ciel Soleil had faced. She brought victory to Atlas a year and a half ago; she would bring the city victory once more.

Went unthought was what was self-evident. A victory where these kids didn't make it out in one piece wasn't a victory at all. She'd get them all home safe, even if she didn't get to join them.

* * *​

Ren listened as closely as he could to the conversation between Weiss and Pyrrha. Granted, as closely as he could was not as close as he would have preferred. It wasn't the fault of either of the speakers, but purely an issue of the subject matter. Put simply, he was bored out of his skull.

"I'm perfectly willing to change my name if that's what it takes," declared Weiss, which was both unhelpful and unhealthy.

"...Let's call that option J," said Pyrrha diplomatically. "After all, it's not just a matter of names, but branding."

As the discussion shifted again, Ren slowly turned his head and looked down at Nora, who was leaning into his side. She turned herself and looked up at him with an expression that was positively desperate. She opened her mouth and quietly begged, "Kill me."

And he looked down at her and whispered, "No."

"Ugh, spoilsport," Nora whined.

It was a sad fact that neither Nora nor Ren were particularly well-educated on matters of branding and licensing; they'd never had any need for or, indeed, any opportunity to learn. They had been literal starving orphans, at least for a little while. That tended to breed a different mindset than those who not only knew that they had their whole lives ahead of them but lived in the spotlight, like Pyrrha and Weiss.

In this case, what had sparked this line of discussion was simple. Weiss had come to Team JNPR's dorm looking for financial advice that wouldn't involve using money wrapped up in her daddy issues. While she would eventually be able to make a living as a Huntress, she had more immediate financial needs, such as replacing her wardrobe. Although Blake had managed to convince her not to actually burn her clothes, she still had them all packed away and locked up, incidentally leading to Team RWBY's dorm suddenly becoming a lot more spacious.

Ren had suggested that she instead rely on the money generated by her singing career. That had resulted in a bit of an argument, since the snowcapped girl had apparently been convinced that her singing career was all her father's doing to begin with.

Nora had interceded then, pointing out one simple fact: While her father may have engineered the opportunity, it was Weiss who had turned that opportunity into success. Or, as Nora put it, "Daddy dearest may have put you on the stage, but you did the singing, girl, and it's the singing people paid for."

Of course, that then led to Weiss and Pyrrha trying to work out how much of Weiss's money was truly hers -- minus the promotional expenses her father had paid for, plus any compound interest earned -- and then to the current topic of exploring how Weiss might continue to monetize the fame she had from singing, whether or not she chose to actually return to it.

Thus, branding and licensing, something Pyrrha was intimately familiar with and which Ren and Nora lacked even the beginning of an understanding of.

There was a click as the door unlocked and slid open, revealing Blake and Jaune.

"Weiss," Blake said, her expression troubled.

"Uh, hey," Jaune greeted, blinking in surprise.

"Oh, hello, Blake, Jaune," Weiss greeted, a warm smile on her face. "Pyrrha was just helping me figure out how to get my finances in order."

Blake blinked, and Ren could see her connect the dots. For his part, Jaune seemed a little awkward and anxious as he made his way to take a seat on his bed. "Yeah, Pyr's a great help at... just about anything."

Pyrrha blushed at the compliment. When he was looking for it, Ren could see what Nora was talking about.

"You look like you've had a good day, Weiss," Blake said finally, a hint of something on her face.

"Oh, yes," Weiss agreed. "Yang took me out to the city. It felt good to stretch my legs, get some air. Oh! I saw Maple again. She seems to be doing very well."

Blake flinched at that, though she hid it well. Ren doubted anyone else saw it, except maybe Nor- no, she wasn't even looking at Blake; her attention was on Pyrrha. Blake's eyes also flicked over to Pyrrha, who seemed a little confused by that, before she looked back at Weiss and blurted out, "Have I been smothering you, Weiss?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Ren saw Pyrrha's smile turn plastic as Weiss started at the question. "Well, um, I wouldn't say... 'smothering'... exactly..." Weiss hedged awkwardly.

"Oh," Blake acknowledged. "What... would you say?"

"Maybe... a little... crowded? Maybe?" Weiss offered tentatively. "It's fine! Really!" she rushed the words out. "I'd rather be crowded than be left to stew on things alone."

"You are not alone," Pyrrha assured her. "We're here for you."

"You said it, sister!" Nora chimed in. Jaune and Ren both nodded in agreement.

Weiss looked at Team JNPR. "I know. Why do you think I came here to ask for ideas? I just... needed some time to think today."

"Well," Blake said, "I'll, uh, I'll try not to crowd you so much anymore."

"A little crowding wouldn't be amiss," Weiss replied, a teasing smile on her face.

"Right, I'll keep that in mind," Blake said, a half-smile crossing her own face that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Ren frowned. Hopefully, Blake wasn't making things more complicated than they were or needed to be.

* * *​

It was still dark when Sumire came back into view, but the sky was turning blue. This would normally be cause for delight, but it brought Neptune no comfort. His heart was too beset by fear and worry to take joy in anything.

His best friend had been laid low by the Grimm, and even now seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness. He had been carried, as best he could be, by Rufus the whole way back from that rocky outcropping where they had fought that which had dwelled beneath. They had not bothered to trace their steps back to the village, instead just fixing a path straight by the transmission of the radio and running as fast as they could without getting separated.

That lasted until the signal cut out, and then they just ran as best they could on what they presumed to be a straight line. Worry had grown, then, but fear had not yet taken hold. No, that came when the sight of the village reached him, and he saw the land.

The killing field had been turned into a mass of craters, churned up by missile strikes from the defenses, pockmarked and black. That hadn't stopped the Grimm though. It hadn't stopped them! There were so many of the hated black things, and they were still coming. In the distance, over the fields, he could see then, against the lightening sky, the terrible black wings of a murder of Nevermores.

A terrific boom sounded even over the sound of gunfire in the town, and one of the Nevermores fell to the ground in death. Neptune looked to the side and found that Ciel had redeployed Distant Thunder. Her muscles were tight, and she seemed to speaking under her breath as she moving the gun in an almost ritualistic fashion to fire another one of those gigantic .80 Colton rounds she favored. It split the air once more, and another avian of darkness fell as one of those big, matte-black casings rocketed out of the side of the weapon.

"Farsight, take care of King," ordered Aska hoarsely as she took Sun from Rufus and laid him on the side of Ciel opposite Distant Thunder's ejection port. "Mad Dog, medium range support, move in after you've spent your missiles on the small fry. Iceberg, you're with me; let's try to give them a hand."

He ran as best he could, crossing a vehicle drawbridge over the moat, the gate on it broken and smashed like the hinges keeping it up. He tried to follow her, he really did, but Aska used some ninja trick to become like a blur, and the terrain wasn't having it. It was two miles of hell, blasted and broken like the shattered moon.

He lost track of Aska; there was noise everywhere, the baying howls of the Grimm mixed together with the booming cracks of guns. He still kept running. He felt like his bowels would loosen in fear, yet still, he kept running. He kept running. He'd never been so afraid in his life. He kept running. He didn't think he could make it. He kept running. He stumbled and fell into a crater. He got back up and kept running.

Finally, he reached a breach in the walls and ran on through. He was in the gap in the defenses. There was another hole in the wall ahead of him, and there were Grimm beside him, those small and hairy things with their mouths like garbage disposals and limbs like a bug. They were chewing on a gun tower as if they meant to bring it down. He raised Tri-Hard and brought them down instead with blue bolts of electricity.

He ran on into the town. There was fire. Screaming. More gunfire.

He saw a Beowolf and transformed Tri-Hard into its guandao form. He swung, and it fell in twain. He kept moving.

There was an Ursa breaking into a house after that. The blade of his weapon split into three prongs, and he stabbed it into the beast's back. It roared in pain and fell to the ground in a heap as electricity coursed through it. It didn't die and tried to recover. A shuriken dug into its eye before exploding.

Neptune looked away from the headless dissolving corpse to see Aska come around the bend. Magorox was still drawn, but it was shaking like a leaf at the tip. She was as scared as he was.

Another group of the small Grimm came into view. Aska did something with her arm, and a fireball shot out to explode amongst their number. They howled in pain and burned like pitch on a torch.

"They're vulnerable to fire. I told Mad Dog to switch to inferno missiles when he could," said Aska, a quake in her voice. "We need to keep moving. There's still so many."

"Where are the defenders?" asked Neptune desperately.

"Scattered," reported Aska. "Terror has taken hold in us all."

A King Taijitu reared up over a building, and its black head exploded into a misshapen mess. The white head wrapped around and hissed to attack. Aska and Neptune both moved, and once more, he pinned it in place while she dealt a fatal blow.

There were still so many, and even as they cleaved through their number, one after another, they were still so, so afraid. There would be more Grimm coming. There had to be. How could they not be drawn by this feast of fright?

Suddenly, in the din of battle, Neptune noticed something behind a barrel in the alleyway. No, not something, someone. There was a child out in this maelstrom.

Without thinking, he ran towards them with bounding steps.

It was a boy, maybe ten or eleven years old. He was shaking worse than any of them, and there were tears flowing out of his shut eyes. His hands were over his ears in a clearly futile effort to block out the riot of noise around them.

Standing over him, Neptune felt like he was about to vomit from panic. Such fear… but he'd been afraid his whole life; it was terrible, but he was used to it. This kid didn't need to see him afraid too. What he needed was a Huntsman to tell him that everything would be okay, but a Huntsman that strong and valiant was nowhere to be found.

So Neptune did was he always did in public: he lied.

"Hey, buddy," he said with a confident smile as he genuflected next to the boy. "Don't you think it's a little late to be out and about? Shouldn't you be back home in bed right now?"

"Doesn't matter," the kid muttered. "Nowhere is safe."

A spike of dread shot through Neptune, and he wanted so badly to turn and run. He didn't. He couldn't. Not without the boy. Instead, he kept smiling. He didn't know what else to do.

"Now, if I wanted to hear talk about that, I would have stayed in Vacuo instead of going to Haven," declared Neptune.

That seemed to break through the boy's mind a little, and he opened his eyes to look up.

"You're a Huntsman?" he asked, seemingly confused by the question he was asking.

"That's what my business card says," he said, flashing some teeth.

The boy frowned. "My grandfather is a Huntsman. He told me to run. What makes you different?"

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" asked Neptune with a shrug before offering his hand. "Name's Neptune Vasilias. What's yours?"

The boy looked at him in confusion. "G-Gus."

"Well, Gus, you shouldn't be worrying here. After all…"

Neptune was interrupted by a grinding snarl from the other end of the alley. It was another of those little Grimm, its eyes wide in hunger. Gus screamed. Without thinking, the blue-haired Huntsman in training drew Tri-Hard and blew the fiend into a gory mess with an explosive burst of electricity.

"Rude," said Neptune dismissively as he turned back to look at Gus. "Trying to have a conversation here, and people keep interrupting."

Gus was looking up at him in shock, and in that face, Neptune could feel a strange growing confidence. "You're... not afraid?"

"No. Why should be?" Neptune lied through his teeth. "It's just a few Grimm stumbling around like idiots, and I got the best team in the kingdom backing me up. They're out there right now, kicking butt, and I know that with them on the battlefield, victory's already in the bag."

Gus was looking up at him with wide eyes now, and though Neptune couldn't explain it, the fear was slipping away. "Who are they?"

There was a crack of lightning, and Neptune glanced down the alley he had come down to see Aska at the other end slice an Alpha Beowolf in three parts before delivering a vertical strike from Magorox that delivered a terrific, dust-infused explosion of electricity.

"That's Shadow," he said with a nod in her direction. "She's a ninja, and scary good at it."

At the other end of the alley a power armored fist smashed one of those little Grimm into the head of a Beowolf before the rest of Rufus joined the melee.

"That's Mad Dog," Neptune said, continuing with the introduction. "The dude's got this awesome armor that transforms into a suitcase."

Another boom echoed across the land. "You can't see her, but Farsight's the greatest sniper I've ever seen. Girl's lugging around this seven foot monster of a gun just so she can poke the eyes out of a Nevermore at three miles."

Then there was a sound Neptune had almost given up hope of hearing again. Sun bellowed a battle cry, and leapt onto the roof of one of the houses next to the alley. He was smiling in joy too, framed by the light of the dawning sky.

"Hey, loser, what you doing down there?" he asked jokingly.

"My job, like you should be doing right now," called back Neptune.

"Yeah, yeah," Sun complained lightly before jumping back into the fray.

Neptune got close to Gus and whispered conspiratorially to him. "He's Sun. Don't let him know this, but the guy's my best friend."

That got a proper smile from the boy, and joy and confidence seemed to flow into them both.

"Do you think we'll win?" he asked.

That made Neptune shake his head. "Man, I already told you. I know we'll win."

A cheer unprompted went up from all about them as the scattered defenders seemed to rally in full.

History would prove Neptune right that day. Sumire was saved by their actions, and perhaps with the help of the Atlesian gunships that came in soon after. Its long term fate was still up in the air, but no one cared for that, taking what pleasure they could in the now.

"Gus!" cried Kanene as she caught sight of her son hand-in-hand with Neptune.

"Mom!" cried Gus in turn as he rushed forward to embrace his parent even as she did the same.

Of course. Gus was short for August. Neptune felt a bit embarrassed for not making the connection earlier. The mayor and the man whom Neptune presumed was the boy's grandfather, Edward, were there too, and the latter approached them in curiosity.

"Thank you for saving my grandson, you five," the silver-haired man said appreciatively.

"You should be thanking Iceberg," corrected Aska with a slap to Neptune's shoulder. "Crazy guy stopped in the middle of a battle to make sure the tyke was okay."

Edward's eyes widened slightly at that. "Really? But… how? Gus's semblance only manifested when the attack began, and you were gone at the time. How did you know that he could amplify emotions?"

Neptune blinked. "I didn't. I mean… I wasn't even really thinking. I was just doing what I signed up for."

"Emotion amplification?" asked Rufus in concern. "Are you telling me that the reason the Grimm were going so nuts was because August couldn't control his semblance?"

"I'm afraid so," nodded the old Huntsman.

"That's quite a dangerous ability," observed Ciel. "He'll need special training sooner than usual then."

"I think I know someone who can help with that," said Sun suddenly, bringing out his scroll as he did so. "His name's Taiyang Xiao Long. He's a teacher at Signal Combat School on Patch."

"'Xiao Long'?" Edward echoed in recognition. "Hmm. I can't be certain, but I think I remember a young whippersnapper by that name back years ago."

Sun gave them the necessary contact numbers to begin the process of moving over to the island of Patch, and with that, Team ARSSN began their journey back to the waiting Atlesian airships.

"Well, everyone, I say that mission worked out brilliantly," stated Aska with a smile.

"Indeed," observed Rufus.

"Quite," concurred Ciel.

"Congrats then, you two, you passed," Aska told Sun and Neptune.

"'Passed'?" asked Sun. "Hey, what even was our mission to begin with anyways?"

"Yeah, you told us we might die at the end of this," remembered Neptune. "Did you know all this was going to happen?"

"Oh, no," replied Aska. "Certainly not. This night was one unexpected turn after the other."

"Then what was the mission?" pressed Sun.

"Oh, to test your characters," answered Aska as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Neptune paused mid-step. "What?"

"Was that not obvious?" asked Ciel in her average emotionless tone.

"Yeah, I mean, we could have gone with a more thorough background check, but when doing that on Vacuans, it takes a lot of legwork and questionnaires," explained Rufus.

"Wait," Sun began, stunned. "You mean to tell me that all of this," he gestured to the ravaged town, "was to save on paperwork that you probably didn't need to file in the first place?"

Aska looked at her team. "Well, when you put it like that, it almost sounds silly."

"You people are insane," observed Neptune succinctly. "Why can't I decide whether or not that's a good thing?!"

* * *​

The elevator doors parted, and Ruby hesitantly stepped out and into the office atop Beacon Tower. It was an unusual place to spend her Saturday morning, but...

"You wanted to see me, Professor?"

"Ah, yes, Miss Rose," Professor Ozpin confirmed with a nod. "Thank you for your time. Please, have a seat."

"Do we have another mission?" she asked, taking the offered seat across from his desk. Since Blake's Seven had retrieved the gigantic flash drive, missions for Team RRANNBW had been put on hold until they could access the data... unless something time-critical came up, of course.

"Not at this time," Ozpin said, shaking his head. "This is actually a more personal matter. It's about your stepmother."

Ruby blinked. She blinked again. "My... stepmother?"

"Technically, your father never divorced Raven Branwen," he informed her. "While the timing is a little backwards, that does arguably make 'stepmother' the most accurate term. I admit, I am, perhaps, stretching the language a bit to cover your family's... unique situation."

"I... see." She didn't. "So, what about her?"

"Your father contacted me," Ozpin explained. "We... discussed the matter of what happened at the docks, and he asked that I reach out to Raven. I would have done so, anyway, to be honest. Her overt presence in Vale is somewhat unexpected. I asked Headmaster Lionheart of Haven to send someone to check in on her; instead, he chose to go himself."

"And?" Ruby asked apprehensively.

"Leonardo asked her about the docks," Ozpin said. "She indicated she was, and I quote, 'checking in on her little girl.' She tried to play off the White Fang connection as unrelated and coincidental, bringing up the White Fang's recent preference for Grimm masks... but she did not deny it, and the mask in question is quite distinctive from the Grimm masks the White Fang favor."

"'Her little girl'?" Ruby repeated in a small voice, blinking rapidly as her vision started getting blurry. She felt... odd. Lightheaded. Confused. It felt like the world had suddenly turned 90 degrees sideways, and she'd been left hanging. "You... you're saying she..." she trailed off, not trusting her voice.

"I am only relaying what Leonardo reported to me," he reminded her, "but I trust him with my life. On the other hand, Miss Rose... you are aware of Raven's current... career choice, yes?"

She nodded and swallowed, regaining her composure. "Yeah. Dad mentioned it. He did say she was... complicated."

"That's putting things rather mildly," Ozpin agreed. "I trust Leonardo, and Raven Branwen... she's a very direct person, but I cannot fully comprehend her motivations, either in trying to deny her presence at the docks... or doing so in such an inept and obvious manner."

"So, I shouldn't trust her," reasoned Ruby. It made sense. After all, Raven was… she'd done some digging with Glynda's help. It wasn't good.

Ozpin gave a her a sad look. "No, Miss Rose, that's not what I'm saying at all. She is family, after all, and trust... is a precious thing, one that shouldn't be spurned or withdrawn without careful consideration. I am, however, saying you should proceed with caution. She comes from a background with very different values and mores, and even if she does mean well, her idea of helping may prove... troublesome."

"I- I see," Ruby said, suddenly uncertain. "Is that... everything, Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Rose," he said. "Enjoy your weekend. Try not to let this weigh you down."

"Thank you, Professor," she said, rising from the chair and heading back into the elevator.

As the elevator descended, she pondered what she'd learned. The smartest course of action -- the right course of action -- would be to forget it ever happened, to ignore Raven Branwen and get on with her life, like Yang had. To just focus on the mission. And yet...

She couldn't help but feel a flutter in her heart, a flicker of hope in the darkness. Ever since they'd gotten involved in this, it seemed like everything was falling apart. They'd taken human lives. Weiss was almost inconsolable at times. And Penny...

She clenched her hands into tiny fists. Yes, she knew what the smartest course of action would be. That didn't mean she'd take it.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. To Ruby's surprise, she saw Glynda walking towards her. She looked… well, normal to most, but to the dark-haired Huntress, she realized that her friend was suffering under a great burden and much stress.

It hadn't just been the students who had been made worse by this struggle, this shadow war.

"Hey, Glynda!" said Ruby with acceptable cheer.

The bespectacled blonde smiled. "Morning, Ruby. Meeting with the headmaster?"

The younger of the two nodded. "Yeah. He was just updating me on a... personal matter."

"Raven?" asked Glynda sadly, and at Ruby's nod, she continued. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be more help in that regard. I fear I have only burdened your heart unnecessarily."

"No, no," repeated Ruby. "It's… it's bad. I mean, I wasn't expecting her to be a bandit, or to have killed so many… villages. Ohhh... it's bad, but I'd rather know than remain ignorant."

"I suppose," mused Glynda sadly.

"How about you? What are you off to see the headmaster for?" inquired Ruby.

"I need to talk with him about an issue that's cropped up regarding some of the Atlesian students, Team Jasper," said Glynda simply.

Ruby cocked her head. "Wouldn't it be easier to talk to General Ironwood about that?"

Glynda scoffed. "If that fool manages to even remember who Team Jasper is, I'll be shocked."

Ruby frowned in concern. "Glynda, it's been a week."

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "The time makes a difference?"

"You're right," agreed Ruby. "You should have forgiven him that same day."

"Why are you suddenly sticking up for him?" she asked, an edge in her voice and eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm not. I'm sticking up for you," insisted Ruby. "You're not putting this behind you, and it's tearing you up inside. You have to work with him, so it's better to just forgive and forget. More importantly, he's your friend."

A sharp exhale came through her nose, and Glynda glanced away. "He was a fair bit more than that."

"All the more reason to kiss and make up." At Ruby's words, both Glynda's eyebrows shot up, such that it looked like they were going to pass into her hair. "Metaphorically, I mean. Listen, Glynda, it's not right to hold these grudges. It's hurting you, it's hurting him, and it's hurting the mission. He made a mistake, and yes, that mistake cost lives, but... don't most mistakes cost lives in our line of work?"

"They shouldn't, but... they do," admitted Glynda. "They do. Still, I'm not sure he will forgive me even if I forgive him."

"I'm sure he will," said Ruby with a smile. "What would he need to forgive you for anyways?"

A blush of shame came to Glynda's features. "I threw him against the wall and almost choked him to death."

Ruby shrugged. "So? You made a mistake."

"I see your point," sighed Glynda. "Very well. I'll talk to James and see if he can help me. Perhaps he has some personal relation to the team or something."

"See?" said Ruby with a grin. "Maybe he's got a problem he could use your help with too?"

A veil of darkness seem to descend upon Glynda's countenance. "I hadn't considered until now, but he and Winter were close. Her betrayal has likely hit him as badly as it hit Weiss."

"Then you haven't a moment to lose."

None of them did. They were all suffering in their little conspiracy of light, all bearing fresh scars. Even the slightest bit of hope to light the bonfire was what they needed. It was why this waiting was so frustrating, why Ruby had been so hopeful for a new mission.

Lost in thought, she wandered back to her dorm.

"We've got a mission," Blake declared as she entered.

Ruby blinked, then looked over at Weiss, who seemed equally confused. She looked at Blake again. "Um, no, we don't. Ozpin called me about some... personal matters."

Blake shook her head. "No, I mean... I've got a mission for us."

"Okayyy..." Ruby waved for Blake to continue.

"Torchwick," the monochromatic Huntress said. "He's in custody right now, and he was there, with the White Fang, the SDC, and MECH."

"So?"

"So, we already know two of those three have some connection to the Decepticons," she continued. "I'd say that puts the odds pretty high up that Torchwick and the White Fang are too." She looked over at Weiss. "You said it yourself, Weiss. The evidence points to the White Fang working under duress. Who do we know is powerful enough to force a terrorist group like the White Fang to do their bidding?"

"It... does make sense," Weiss allowed. "And I'm sure the Vale police would understand our personal interest in the matter." She glanced at Ruby but tactfully didn't elaborate. "For multiple reasons."

Ruby had to agree. It did make sense. There was a possible thread here, and if they could pull it just right, they might have a lead. A lead not just to their enemies... but perhaps also to something else that could help them.

Like an unstoppable heroine of legend.

Ruby nodded. "Let's do it."

(V2E2: Encounters | V2E3: Trust-Building Exercises | V2E4: Interrogations)​

Author's Note 1 (Cody MacArthur Fett)

The first section was without a doubt the most emotionally taxing section of the fic to write yet. The rest of this monster was no easy ride either, though for different reasons. The Team ARSSN sequence was without a doubt the toughest, and took the most time, but man when I woke up on Thursday with the final third of that blank and only five hours of sleep? I powered through that whole thing in one long jam session, and for that I give thanks to God.

Truly, I do give thanks to the Almighty. For it was later that same day that I found out that my stepfather put one of the family's dogs down (we're all still quite close), and a wave of depression settled in. Had I delayed at all, had I found out the news sooner, I would not have been able to finish the chapter. As it is I don't know how I'm going to continue on with the next chapter, only that I must. For the second time in as many years I learned the harsh lesson that you must spend more time with those close to you, for you never know when they'll be gone.

Then again, it turns out that the next chapter has a scene in it that we've had written half a dozen ways since the story began, and which was originally slated for posting in "Aftermath." So maybe there's still some spirit left. I'm sure you guys will like this in some fashion.

Author's Note 2 (Cyclone)

I want to take a moment to point out that Ozpin was not lying to Ruby, nor did Leo lie to Ozpin about his meeting with Raven. There's a difference between what Leo thought he asked and what Raven heard him ask. With my love of dramatic irony, unintentional misinformation is the best misinformation.

Props to Cody. He wrote the vast majority of chapter while general fatigue and minor injuries from work were kicking my ass. Given I work retail, and it's that time of year, there may be interruptions to our update schedule until the holidays end.

As we said before, this version of Ciel is pretty much lifted -- with permission -- straight from SAPR by ScipioSmith, including her weapon, her semblance, and her faith.

Tune in next time as loyalties are tested and shocking information revealed during a series of "Interrogations."

 

[Trilobite]

Okay, sometimes the disconnect between what Yang knows and what the rest of her team known just makes me want to beat my head against the wall.

I mean it's great to get the two different sides of what is going on, adds more depth to the story. But I really don't get why they haven't shared with each other yet. Sure Yang wants to keep Ruby safe and out of it but if so why isn't Yang also freaking out and insisting to know everything about all these secret missions that her younger sister is doing as part of rainbow. Also, it just doesn't seem right that all 7 of them are just happy to exclude yang and leave her completely in the dark about it all. There are conspiracies and giant killer robots running around and Ruby doesn't seem to think that warning Yang about it would be a good idea.

I mean Yang just found out that there is a bomb in beacon, the same place that Ruby spends lots of her time, Yang should be isn't freaking out about it and either telling Ruby or just trying to forcibly ship her back to patch in a crate. And then the moment Ruby knows about it she can just tell ozpin and the problem is halfway to being solved

So far nothing has gone completely wrong yet but I just hope that they talk sometime before something irreparable happens that they could have solved if they were open with each other.

 

[Faraway-R]

"Rufus..." Penny paused. "Rufus is nice, if a bit of an insane hothead. Still, I much prefer having him maintain my systems. Nickel was very good, but she doesn't like it when I try fitting in better. She even once said she was worth at least five of me, which I thought was very rude."

Ruby couldn't help but agree. Whoever this Nickel woman was, if she couldn't tell that Penny was just as much a person as anyone else, with the same wants and needs, just because she was a robot, well... Ruby didn't think she'd like her very much.

Click to shrink...

I'm amused (and not at all surprised) that Nuts and Dolts duo haven't made the connection to Penny as 0.01$ and Nickel as 0.05$.

"No," the... the Decepticon said, his voice clearly exasperated. "Sparklings, I swear," he muttered, rolling his eyes. He looked down again and said patiently, "Penny, you do not show off highly classified, top secret information just to impress your friends."

"But… but…" Penny stammered, seemingly on the verge of tears. "She's Ruby. She's my best Valish friend, and she really loves guns. Can't we show it off just a little bit?"

"No," repeated Thundercracker bluntly. "And if she's worth your time, she isn't going to care about your cool powers. She'll care about you for you."

"Penny, it's all right, you don't need to go and show me everything right now," assured Ruby kindly. Rubes, what are you doing? This is some valuable information you're just passing up.

The ginger-haired gynoid sighed. "What's the point of having that meanie Starscream mess around with us if we don't get to show it off to our friends?"

"Keeping him quiet. Trust me, spend a few million years with the guy, and that will be its own reward," said Thundercracker confidently. "Penny, your time will come," he assured her.

Click to shrink...

Firstly, I find the Thundercracker-Penny mentorship endearing, and for some reason I'm drawing associations as a Qrow-Ruby duo, of a world-weary uncle and adorably precocious niece.

Secondly, I'm calling it right now - Penny's time will come, and one of the better opportunities will be for her and Thundercracker to shoot down the Grimm Dragon.
EDIT: Don't give us foreshadowing with robot girls that are also (transformer-fitted) guns if you don't want us guesstimating a suitable target for them.

 

[Cyclone]

(V2E3: Trust-Building Exercises | V2E4: Interrogations | V2E5: Capture the Flag)




Volume II: Episode 4: Interrogations

* * *​

Sun and Neptune both tried not to slouch as they made their way through the Beacon campus after getting off the Atlesian VTOL.

"I can't wait to catch some beauty sleep," stated Neptune.

"I think I got enough of that last night," replied Sun, trying to avoid talking about the fact that he had almost died just a few hours earlier.

He couldn't let it show, but what happened had really freaked him out. He had come just a hair's breadth away from finding out what the afterlife was like. Seconds away from being eaten by a Grimm. That probably wouldn't have been so bad -- it was what he'd signed up for, after all -- but when you suddenly woke up to find yourself on a battleground and scared out of your mind for no reason? What about that situation wouldn't have an effect on someone?

He wanted to see Blake. No, more than that, he needed to see her. He couldn't explain it -- he didn't have the words -- but he felt a longing in his heart to see her again and... and... and just be with her. Maybe hug her or something.

Then again, him and Blake weren't actually a couple. Sometimes, it was hard to get her to acknowledge he was there at all, if he was being honest. He'd say he didn't know why he even tried… but there was something there. Maybe it was the way she looked at him, or the way she actually gave him the time of day when she didn't do it for anyone else outside her team, or maybe it was just the fact that she had stopped Miss Goodwitch from tying him up and leaving him back at Beacon during the mission where they found out about the Decepticons.

The Decepticons. That was another reason he had to see her and her team. He had to let them know what he had found out in the dark. The Decepticons had attacked that SDC convoy, he was sure of it. The question was: Why? Why had they done that? Had they turned against each other, or was it some sort of ruse?

He didn't know what the answers were, and that was why he had to tell the others. Many hands made light work, and it was always good to bring your friends along. That had been a phrase that made him want to bring Neptune in on this, but... but Miss Goodwitch had made it clear that Blake's fate was tied to his. Letting Neptune in on the secret would be risking her position on Team Rainbow. He couldn't do that to her.

By unspoken agreement, they made their way to the cafeteria for an early lunch. After they retrieved some food, Sun swept his gaze across the cafeteria and quickly found Teams RWBY and JNPR, offering a wave as he and Neptune approached. Blake quickly gave them a look before turning her attention back to her food, while Yang returned the wave with a warm smile.

His blue-haired teammate nudged him with an elbow. "You sure you don't have your eyes set on the wrong girl, man?" he whispered.

"Huh?" Sun blinked. "What on Remnant are you talking about?"

"Dude, have you seen how Yang looks at you?" inquired Neptune in bewilderment.

"You're dreaming," Sun scoffed as they took their seats next to Team Rainbow. "Hey."

"You guys okay?" Ruby asked, her voice concerned.

"You look worse than usual," Blake observed, this time not even bothering to look up from her food.

Sun tried not to wilt at that. "Well, we just got back from an overnight mission," he said. "Things got pretty hairy out there." He opened his mouth to continue, to fill them in on what he'd seen at the remains of the attacked convoy, but his eyes flicked over to his teammate, then to Blake, then he closed his mouth again.

Oblivious, Neptune picked up the narrative. "Yeah, ran into some new Grimm with one of the Atlesian teams."

"'New Grimm'?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah," Neptune confirmed, his smile turning genuine.

It seemed Sun's friend hadn't given up on befriending Weiss, despite them getting off on the wrong foot. He launched into a retelling of what had happened, for once, not exaggerating his own role in the battle, and Sun took the opportunity to quickly jot a note -- "Important info. Can't talk here. Meet?" -- on a napkin and slip it to Blake.

The girl looked at him suspiciously as she discreetly checked the note, then scoffed, crumpled it up, and began studiously ignoring him even more thoroughly than she had been before.

His attention focused on the hopeless cause, he didn't notice Yang's frown.

He did, however, see Ren discreetly picking up the note without Blake's notice. A few minutes later, Jaune was tapping him on the shoulder and asking for his help with something. He left, they talked, and when he thanked Jaune for listening to him, the fellow blond had only one thing to say.

"Hey, what are teammates for?"

Teammates… how did these people stand all these secrets without exploding?

* * *​

Yang silently fumed as the group made their way back to the dorms after lunch. It galled her that Blake had blown off Sun so obviously. What crime had he committed that caused her to be so dismissive of him?

When they were close to Team RWBY's room, she made her move, grabbing Blake's wrist in the process.

"Can you guys give us a bit of privacy for a few minutes?" she asked the group before turning to her captive. "Blake, we need to have a talk."

"Wha-!" the black-haired girl yelped as she was half-dragged into the dorm room by the blonde.

Yang closed the door behind her, leaning against it and glaring at her teammate. "Okay, Blake, what's the deal with you and Sun?"

Amber eyes blinked in a mixture of denial and confusion. "Deal? What deal? There is no deal."

"That's… kinda my point," Yang said with one hand splayed out, palm up. "I mean… look, the guy's clearly head over heels for you, but you barely give him the time of day. And don't lie to me and say you're not interested, because I'm not blind."

Blake looked away, refusing to meet Yang's gaze. "I… look, Yang. It's complicated. And private."

"Fine," Yang accepted. "Then acid wash the names of the people involved and use metaphors for the circumstances. It's not that hard."

"Yang..." Blake trailed off, closing her eyes.

"Come on, Blake, I'm your teammate," the blonde reminded her. "Even if I can't help, I can at least offer an ear to listen."

Blake sighed, her shoulders slumping in resignation. "I suppose… I haven't exactly had a good track record with relationships."

"Bad boyfriend?" It was the obvious conclusion.

"I guess?" Blake shrugged. "Things were... complicated."

Clearly.

"You keep using that word," Yang noted.

"Because it's accurate," the dark-haired girl insisted, looking up at Yang and meeting her gaze. "He was… listen, I've said before that I hung out with people from the wrong side of the tracks, right?"

Yang nodded.

"There was a guy, I thought he was different," Blake said, clearly struggling to get the words out. "He was kind of a mentor to me, taught me how to fight, taught me a lot of things. We grew… close."

"But...?" Yang prodded leadingly.

"But he… changed," Blake's eyes drifted, distant. "Not all at once, but bit by bit, and..." She shook her head. "I left. I had to."

"And you're worried it might happen again," Yang murmured. What Blake didn't say was as telling as what little she did. At least she didn't seem to have any delusions about her ex like Adam had.

Seriously, why couldn't he just accept that his old partner was a bad influence? In fact, now that she thought about it, the White Fang's terrible reputation had set back support for faunus rights in Vale quite a bit before she'd linked up with them; how much of that had been her influence on behalf of the SDC? And that was just what she knew about the woman right then! Who knew what sort of dark secrets had yet to be revealed?

Honestly? It sounded to her like Blake and Adam's exes deserved each other. Let those two abusive jerks have at each other and leave everyone else alone.

"I know it's irrational, Yang," Blake admitted, "but I can't help it. Maybe I'm worried that my luck is really that bad, or that my taste is that terrible, or maybe I'm just a bad influence. I'm not really sure."

Yang bit her lip. Blake had obviously had a hard life before coming to Beacon. She could only imagine what her childhood must have been like, probably growing up on the streets, unsure when her next meal would be, without a home or loving family. Her hands twitched, but she had a feeling pulling Blake into a hug right now would not be well-received.

"Have you told Sun any of this?" she prodded finally. Honestly, this had just cemented her decision. As much as Yang wanted Sun, Blake needed someone like him, and she wasn't going to take that ray of sunshine away from her. Or her away from him.

Blake's head whipped back around, her eyes focused on Yang in a panic. "No! How could I?"

"Because communication is important," Yang lied. More truthfully, she continued, "Because you can't let your ex control your life forever."

There was a long silence, the two of them staring at each other, eyes locked.

Blake lowered her gaze and sighed. "I guess you're right. I'll- I'll talk to Sun."

"Only if you want to. This is your life, Blake," Yang said softly, and then she grinned. "After all, you could always make a play for Jaune instead. That'll just leave Sun for me!"

Blake closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "Yang, please."

"All right, all right," relented the blonde brawler. "Although I do have one suggestion."

Blake looked up curiously. "What?"

The elder Xiao Long sister brought one of her hands up in a fist. "If you see your ex again, punch him in the face."

An involuntary smile crossed Blake's counternace, and soon, it morphed into a giggle. "I'll be sure to do that," she laughed.

Yang joined in the laughter, glad she could help her teammate out of her funk, and gave into the urge to pull a startled Blake into a hug. "Seriously, though," she said joyously, "Sun's basically the perfect man. If you don't want him, the next time he's opening his mouth, my lips are his."

Amber eyes widened in alarm.

Blake did not know how to feel about that last sentence. She supposed, on some level, she should take that as encouragement to take Yang's advice. After all, if she didn't take Yang's advice, Yang would take Yang's advice.

She had to seize the day, literally and figuratively. Carpe diem! Mmm, carp...

"Oh!" said Yang suddenly, breaking the hug. "I just remembered that I have something I need to take care of."

The blonde opened the door to leave, but turned around and looked back at her with a concerned expression. "You good for the rest of the day?"

"Yes, Yang, and… thank you," answered Blake with a matching smile.

"Any time," the blonde declared with her own heroic grin.

She left, and Ruby, Nora, and Weiss popped their heads out.

Weiss, perceptive and empathetic as ever, raised an important question: "Is it just me, or is Yang acting kind of... strange?"

Blake shook her head softly, unable to deny it at all. "Not just you. Her behavior has been nothing short of bizarre lately."

After all, what other words could be used to describe her giving them relationship advice? Listening to their woes? Hugging them?! Yang was a loner, more at home with machines than people, and ridiculously defensive of the few relations she had, which didn't include Weiss, Blake, or indeed anyone on Team RRANNBWW besides Ruby... and apparently Sun. The first semester had made that all very clear. What had happened to her over the break?

Ruby balked at their words. "This isn't Strange Yang! This is Normal Yang!"

Nora, for her part, just shrugged. "It is pretty weird, but I'm not going to complain as long as she stays out of our plans."

The dark-haired leader of the group bristled. "You guys… You know what? I'm going to go see what she's doing."

Ruby stomped away in a manner that was, for once, very much her age. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? She had adopted quite the serious attitude since this journey had begun, and her closest friends these days seemed to be people like Glynda who were three times her age.

"So," Weiss began, "what is it that teenage girls usually do when left to their own devices?"

"No idea," answered Nora honestly. "Want to grab Pyrrha and find out?"

* * *​

Ruby awoke with a sudden gasp and a pain in her neck.

"See, I told you this was the right dose."

She blinked and looked up, finding herself tied rather securely to a chair in the middle of a pillar of light surrounded by darkness.

"Who's there?" she asked blindly.

"We're asking the questions, Miss Rose," came a cold and robotic voice that somehow Ruby pegged as belonging to a woman.

"First off, what were you doing at the hangar yesterday evening?" asked a heavily-accented voice.

"Pfft! What? I wasn't at any hangar last night!" Ruby denied outright, really hoping that…

A gloved hand came out of the shadows with a scroll that came alive to display a picture of Thundercracker handing over a gigantic stack of paperwork in a comically oversized folder.

"Oh," said Ruby simply in realization and defeat. "You guys haven't switched to paperless yet?"

"Too traceable," came the emotionless reply. "What did you discuss with Penny?"

"Penny?" asked Ruby right back, her mind whirling on the proper response. If Penny got hurt because of her…. She couldn't let that happen. "Don't you dare hurt Penny! It's me you've got a problem with, not her!"

There was a pause, and then the emotionless voice replied, "Perhaps we have misjudged you, Ruby."

"Don't let her Valish tricks fool you," a male voice stated. "She's trying to lead us off the trail. She's too well-trained to do otherwise."

"'Well-trained'?" Ruby repeated incredulously. "I'm a first-year student at Beacon."

"A clever ruse," that male voice replied. "You're a sleeper agent for the Valish government, trained since birth by one of their top enforcers, Qrow Branwen, to infiltrate our defenses to bring them down from the inside. Naturally, you've enlisted the aid of your Vacuan allies in this venture, giving them the pitch to remember the bonds of the Great War instead of dwelling on the pillaging of their homeland by your ancestors. Your allies, naturally, provided a valuable distraction while you slipped in and used your already established connections with Penny Polendina, taking advantage of her naivete, to try and steal Atlesian secrets. You would have gotten away with it too, but you bit off more than you can chew. Now, here you are, getting ready to spill all the secrets your little spy ring has."

"We don't have any, because there is no spy ring!" she insisted, silently hoping that definitionally that might be the case, so that it would hopefully hold up under a lie detector test. Her team, after all, was a tad on the clandestine side.

"Oh, really?" asked the accented female again in a curious and somewhat sarcastic tone before cracking her knuckles. "Well, there's one way to make sure of that."

"We can't mark her," insisted the emotionless voice.

"There's plenty of ways to hurt someone without marking them," said that accented voice matter-of-factly.

Ruby felt a twinge of nervousness flood into her system at that. "Really? You don't say. Would you believe that Weiss said the same thing the other day?"

"Yes," said the emotionless voice. "Circumstantial evidence says that she has a great deal of experience with such methods."

Before Ruby could find out exactly what was going on, the door opened, and light poured into the room. She saw now then the figures of her captors, three of them, fitting what she had seen before of Penny's teammates. She would have to apologize to the ginger girl later, because clearly, she had been right: her teammates were insane. Behind them, framed by the light, was…

"Oh, hello, Professor Snake Eyes!" she called out with a smile, trying to wave one of her shackled hands as best she could. "It's good to see you again!"

The black-suited ninja gave her a single wave and stepped aside to reveal the towering form of General James Ironwood.

"Sir!" barked all three students in unison, snapping to attention as the lights came on in full to illuminate the whole room.

The general stepped into the room and took in the situation. He then spoke a clear, cold command: "Untie her, students."

"Sir, yes, sir!" they replied, and immediately, they went about unbinding their erstwhile captive.

Ruby rubbed her wrists down when they were free and took stock of the situation. The students' faces were all masks. Professor Snake Eyes was as stoic as ever, even leaving aside how his outfit covered every part of his body. General Ironwood looked… disappointed, not just in his students, but in himself.

"Miss Roku, explain yourself," he ordered.

It was the woman with the accented voice who replied, and there was an odd sense of familiarity to her tone, like she had been there before and thought to be there again. "After returning from the joint mission with half of Team Sun from Haven…"

"The unauthorized mission," Ironwood corrected sternly.

"...after we came back from the mission," Roku continued, and Ruby made the connection then that this was probably Aska, given her familiarity with rule-breaking, "we were contacted by Thundercracker and informed of Ruby Rose infiltrating his hangar. After retrieving his report and handing it over to you, I felt it best to act to secure her before she could escape. Once we had subdued and sedated her, we brought her back here for interrogation."

Ironwood shook his head. "You should have contacted myself or one of your teachers first. She's already been cleared for everything. Go with Snake Eyes for now. We'll discuss this later."

"Sir, yes, sir," the trio replied stiffly before walking out of the room with Snake Eyes following close behind.

Ironwood stayed, made sure the door was locked, and then pulled up a chair so that he could sit in front of her.

"I apologize for the actions of my students, Miss Rose. As their headmaster, their deeds reflect on me. This is doubly so, given the personal nature of my relationship with Team Apricot's leader. I am responsible for what they did to you," he said sincerely, and Ruby absolutely believed him.

"General Ironwood, it's okay. I'm fine, just confused," she replied comfortingly.

Ironwood nodded before replying, "I'm guessing you're referring to Team Apricot. Who are they? Why did they kidnap you? Most importantly, why do they have a Decepticon on their team?"

Ruby nodded. "The Decepticon part is what worries me the most. Thundercracker… Have you told Ozpin about him?"

"I have," replied Ironwood somberly. "He wasn't happy, and neither was Glynda."

"Did she hurt you again?" asked Ruby with worry.

"No," he responded. "No. She would have had every right to, but she didn't. Granted, Ozpin was the one who actually briefed her. I'm sorry. You should have been let in on this too. Maybe if you had, then today's events wouldn't have happened."

"They did though," she said self-evidently. "There's no sense beating yourself up about stuff that you can't change."

"You, Miss Rose, are wise beyond your years," he observed, and Ruby merely smiled and shrugged. "Still, about Thundercracker… it started not long after the Decepticons came to the Atlesian Council. They offered a technological exchange, and the council approved it. Agents of the other council members then went to Doctor Polendina. He didn't want his daughter being worked on by them, but when they made the pitch about 'peace and harmony,' Penny volunteered herself. That's when Starscream got ahold of her."

"Penny said that it was pretty painful," remembered Ruby.

"It was," observed Ironwood with his right hand clenching. "I was too late to stop them, and the scientists present… I saw the recordings afterward. They just stood by and watched while Penny screamed; they both screamed. Starscream actually used the point where she and Thundercracker started screaming in unison as a milestone for the progress of the surgery. All for the sake of this 'Targetmaster' technology, this 'binary bonding' which is supposed to be oh-so-great a force multiplier."

"And Starscream just let them go after that?" asked Ruby in slight disbelief.

"He seemed to lose interest in them as soon as the surgery was over and they didn't explode. He's a bit of a mad scientist that way," Ironwood said scornfully. "The other Decepticons would have to be fools not to take notice though, and they're not fools. I have managed to gain one political victory in all this, though, and that's that all of Thundercracker's reports go through me first."

"'Through,'" quoted Ruby. "Does that mean the Decepticons know who I am now?"

And here, Ironwood smiled. "Believe it or not, Thundercracker personally requested that I scrub the report from record."

"Really?!" Ruby practically jumped in surprise.

"Really," repeated Ironwood. "He says he doesn't want any of Penny's friends hurt because of him. I think she's starting to rub off on him, personally. I worry, though, about how much the reverse might be true."

"You don't trust Penny," Ruby realized aloud.

"Miss Rose, it's not Penny I don't trust. It's whatever Starscream did to her," explained Ironwood. "You can't go through an experience like what she did unchanged, and we don't know what kind of subliminal messages or kill switches he could have implanted in her during the procedure. Her father checked her over thoroughly to make sure there wasn't anything of the sort, but this… 'binary bonding' with a Decepticon? Would you trust something like that?"

"No, but I know Penny, and…" Ruby trailed off, realization and grief seeping into her. "I don't know. Which, I suppose, answers the question, doesn't it?"

Ironwood nodded. "Hence the formation of Team Apricot. They're a group of trusted specialists who have compartmentalized knowledge of what is going on, and unique orders."

"Should you be telling me this?" asked Ruby seriously.

"I think so," replied Ironwood. "Penny told you a lot, more than she's told anyone else, I suspect. That puts you in a unique position, a position that I admit is sorely needed. The position of being the sole person who knows everything that's going on."

That answer, combined with the previous comment about 'compartmentalized knowledge,' made something click in Ruby mind. "What doesn't the rest of Team Apricot know?"

Ironwood inhaled deeply, as if preparing for a great speech.

"Aska Roku is the leader, and she's like a daughter to me. I took her in after… well, it's a long story. She's the leader of the group, and she doesn't know that Penny is a gynoid. Her mission is to monitor Penny for any signs of disloyalty."

Ruby tried to parse that in her mind. Monitor her for disloyalty? But she didn't know Penny was a robot?

"Ciel Soleil is a sniper, and she entered the academy a year late due to recovering from injuries sustained holding the line almost single-handedly against the Grimm swarm that overran several villages near the inner sea of Solitas. Her loyalty and patriotism is beyond reproach, and she's been tasked with monitoring the Decepticons. She's not cleared on Penny's nature either, but I suspect she knows more than she's letting on."

Maybe she's a gynoid herself, but a less advanced version? mused Ruby as she thought about how Penny described her and how she acted.

"Rufus Madison is the team's technical expert," he continued. "He's the only human member who's been briefed on what Penny is, and he handles most of her maintenance. He is not, however, read in on the... security issues regarding Atlas's new 'allies.'"

Ruby felt herself going cross-eyed as she fit all the new information together. "But... why keep everything secret like that?"

"I know Aska. She would be distracted and second-guessing herself, wondering if anything suspicious she sees is disloyalty or Penny being, well, a robot. Ciel, similarly, isn't the best suited to dealing with questionable loyalties, and having her watch Penny would likely only result in alienating her. As for Rufus... he's a good kid, but he's too close to remain objective. All he sees when he looks at the Decepticons is new technology to play with, new envelopes to push."

She wasn't going cross-eyed; she was getting a headache. "Aren't you worried I might tell anyone about this?"

Ironwood blinked in surprise at the question. "Should I be? You haven't revealed any of our secrets yet."

She considered it, and the promises she had made to Penny. "No," she replied. "No, I won't tell a soul. And because of that, and how I happen to know about everything that's going on, you want me to… what? Become a double agent?"

"Not really, no," answered Ironwood easily. "This would only be if you accept, mind you, but… but I would like you to just keep an eye on them, make sure they're all right. Be their friend, and let me know if anything is going wrong and what can be done to correct it, or not. A lot of times, just being there for people is all that's needed."

Ruby was silent for a long moment, her thoughts whirling, but eventually, she realized that there was only one answer she could give. "I'll do it."

"Good!" said Ironwood in relief, slapping his palms against his knees. "Thank you. I suspect I've just cleared you to do something you were probably going to try and do anyway. Now I just have to discipline Aska, Ciel, and Rufus, and convince them to let you into their little group. Did you have any plans for the day? I feel I should make up for their delay."

Ruby shook her head. "No. Blake had the idea of interrogating Roman Torchwick, and we put in a request with the VPD to go do that, but that will take a while to go through."

Ironwood blinked. "Roman Torchwick? The man who shot you? I still can't believe someone like you was so reckless."

Ruby flinched at the familiar chastisement.

"Still, I think I have some clout with the Vale Police. I'll call them up and see what they can do to fasttrack your request," he offered. "In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your Saturday, Miss Rose."

"Thank you, General Ironwood," she said, getting up.

"And Ruby," he said, catching her off-guard with the use of her first name. "Ozpin and Glynda already know everything. If you want to talk, or vent, or argue, we're all free to do so."

"Thank… thank you, sir," she allowed. A thought occurred to her. "Actually, General, I think there's something you should know..."

* * *​

The view from the observation deck overlooking the Emerald Forest was incredible, in Ozpin's opinion. Of course, that had been the point when it was originally constructed. It was a room that had been set aside so that teachers could use it to watch for Grimm as well as monitor the progress of any student activities in the forest, such as the little exercise Peter was doing with some of the second-year teams at that moment. However, the advent of miniaturized camera technology and the extensive use of it in the Emerald Forest itself meant that the room had become redundant, and so it was only used in modern times as a teacher's lounge for those teachers who could be bothered to go so far out of their way.

Glynda, as it turned out, had some free time that day, thanks to James bringing over so much of his teaching staff. They were able to cover for her Saturday responsibilities… at least for a little while. That left a gap in her schedule in which they could have a meeting. Ozpin, though he loved his office dearly, felt it was time to stretch his legs, and so had chosen the old observation lounge for their gathering.

He was glad he did so, as it felt once more like they were old friends instead of the beleaguered leaders they were. Sitting around a small table, drinking their preferred drinks, the light of the day about them. It brought to mind happier times.

"Where's Qrow?" James asked.

"He's still out of contact," Ozpin informed him. He brought up his scroll. "This is the last message I received from him."

It read: 'QUEEN HAS PAWNS'

"Well, that's singularly unhelpful," James muttered. "We already suspected that much."

"I suspect Qrow may be concerned with communication security," Ozpin defended the absent Huntsman. "You've expressed similar concerns regarding CCT communications."

"Yes," the Atlesian general confirmed. "As part of our... 'arrangement' with the Decepticons, Soundwave was given basic user-level access to the CCT network. However, given the nature of what he is, I suspect he's likely fully compromised the network. I'm not about to bet on even our best computer security experts against a being with a literal computer for a brain that's been around many times longer than civilization as we know it."

"And you allowed that?" Glynda questioned, arching an eyebrow.

James spread his hands helplessly. "How could I argue against it? One of the things the rest of the Council wants is that communications satellite network they're offering, and I think even they realize how compromised that would be."

"Expecting it to be made of back doors?" asked Ozpin.

"Yes," replied James immediately. "In anticipation, I've had Atlas and Mantle switch to more complex, rotating encryptions and deployed one-time pads to all critical commands. I've been quietly having all Atlesian military hardware modified with manual network cutoffs that will physically force a disconnect and updated training accordingly. Even the Atlesian Knights are being downchecked to increase their autonomy and respond only to verbal commands. I've even insisted that all our source code be completely overhauled from the ground up and randomly updated. I've also issued a warning to all personnel, including students, not to use the CCT unless it is absolutely necessary. Even with all that, though, I don't think it will be enough."

"You have become remarkably paranoid since you last visited," observed Glynda with a melancholic twinge. "Sadly, I think you're right to be that way. If the Decepticons are fighting a war, and if they have a concept of mass telecommunications, then they must have hackers on their payroll."

"How do you think all this will affect Amber?" asked Ozpin delicately.

"All data related to the aura transfer technology has been classified at the highest level," James assured him. "It's been scrubbed from any system that isn't air gapped. I can't do anything about the various component technologies or the shipping schedules, but unless they already have that kind of technology, they're as unlikely to put it together as I can make them."

"The first Dingus was already stolen by MECH," pointed out Ozpin. "Then, apparently, they had it stolen from them. Whether it's true or not, we still have to accept the fact that there have been some security leaks on the project, and components are falling through."

"MECH has been a thorn in our side for years now," admitted James. "They've likely got at least one spy of their own somewhere in Atlas, but so far, we haven't been able to track them down. I'd like to say we've been lucky in that they've mostly just been targeting the SDC, but that would not be entirely accurate. We've lost whole squadrons of Skygraspers, vital components, and most recently, a train carrying prototypes of our new Paladins, which were in turn used at the docks battle that Miss Rose stepped into the middle of. This is all within the last year too, which can't mean anything good."

"The Decepticon emergence, the uptick in MECH operations, the attack on Amber, the new Grimm... all likely unrelated, but it feels like things are racing toward a breaking point," summed up Ozpin succinctly.

"Do you think we'll be able to weather it?" asked James seriously. "Do you think we have a chance? Do you have your guardian?"

"I do." Ozpin nodded. "At least, I think I do. She's a member of Team Rainbow."

"Ozpin," Glynda interjected, "are you seriously intending to bring them into a second shadow war?"

"Who else can we trust?" Ozpin asked, shrugging helplessly. "They've proven themselves, in ways no one else has, in this fight against the Decepticons. Indeed, Glynda, in a very real way, although this is our world too, this is their war."

"Rainbow…" James repeated. "Who are they? I mean, who are they really?. It's not exactly normal for two teams of student Huntsmen to be fused into one and then given such grand responsibilities."

"They were not given these responsibilities; they had already taken them upon themselves when they chose to allow us into their circle of confidence," explained Ozpin, leaning back in his chair and bringing his mug of hot chocolate to his lips. "I wasn't joking when I said that this was their war, James. We give them missions, yes, on occasion. However, time and time again, it was them choosing the objectives, setting the time table, making the plans, and fighting the battles. They'll usually tell us about it before they do it these days, but they hardly need to."

James nodded. "I met Ruby Rose earlier after an altercation with some of my students. She said that they were going to interview Roman Torchwick as soon as the Vale PD approved their request, and I ended up calling them up in order to try and get them to fasttrack it. They're probably on their way right now."

"Ruby..." Glynda murmured. "That girl has a lot of weight on her shoulders right now. I'm worried about her, especially if we add one more."

"I noticed," agreed James. "She's strong, so very strong for one her age, and she's got a mind like a steel trap. She picked up on a slip of wording Thundercracker made that pretty much confirms the Decepticons' intentions. Very impressive, but… still so young."

"Things are trying enough for us, and we have experience that she simply lacks," observed Glynda. "We shouldn't forget that at the end of the day, she's still a young girl who misses her mother."

The last bit was said with a meaningful glance in Ozpin's direction that he quickly took notice of.

"You disapprove of my informing her of what Leo found," he stated more than asked.

"Raven Branwen might have been one of us once, but now, she's a murderer," pointed out Glynda. "Not just of people, but of entire villages. The list of crimes she has committed or been party to are almost beyond count. Whatever her intentions are towards Ruby, they are guaranteed to be neither pure nor innocent."

"We've all made mistakes, Glynda," Ozpin said quietly. "We've all failed people. What would you do if you saw an opportunity to correct one of those mistakes, save one of those people you'd failed?"

"I'd seize it with both hands," James answered, his thoughts... elsewhere.

The room fell into silence for a moment.

"Ozpin, you mentioned new Grimm," Glynda said. "What new Grimm?"

"Team Apricot went on an unauthorized mission last night with a pair of Haven students," James answered for him. "I've only just read the report myself, but they encountered two entirely new types of Grimm. Including one capable of breeding."

"Breeding? How?" asked Glynda, aghast.

"By some form of budding," explained James. "They eat metal, and when they reach a critical mass, they split the excess mass off into a copy of themselves. Because of that behavior, Team Apricot proposed the name 'Recycler' in their report. Fortunately, these 'Recyclers' aren't much of a threat and easily dispatched, even by village militia."

"And the other?" Glynda asked.

"Some sort of large, tentacled burrowing creature, heavily armored on the main body, with an ability to drain batteries or aura by touch," James answered. "Apricot's proposed name for it is 'Sapper.'"

Glynda put a slender hand to her forehead. "Dare I ask who the Haven students who accompanied Team Apricot are?"

"Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias, why?" James answered and asked curiously.

"I was afraid of that," she said. "Sun is a member of Team Rainbow. He stowed away on a mission, but Miss Belladonna vouched for him. I don't know whether they plan to involve him in the future, but he knows as much as any of them. Which, of course, means that they likely know as much as he does now."

"...at some point, I'm going to want a full roster of who's actually on Team Rainbow," James requested. Shifting tracks, he asked, "So, do we have any leads on Amber's attacker?"

"Not yet," replied Ozpin, "but I'm sure one will turn up soon."

* * *​

"I still can't believe they're storing the blasted thing in their room," whispered Yang as she looked through her binoculars at the dorm where Cinder's team -- Team CMSN -- was staying and cycled through the various vision modes on the device. All under the cover of an active camouflage cloak from some distance away, of course. Ratchet still wasn't sure about the long-term effects of cloaking device use on humans, but the Autobots had collected a lot of options in terms of technological defenses over the years.

"Was that a pun?" asked Bumblebee over the comlink in her ear.

"You've known me for nearly half a solar cycle by now; you should be able to tell," she replied. Then she added, "Yes."

"Just checking," said the yellow Autobot. "So, any chance we could just walk in and snag the thing while they're out bossing the White Fang around?"

"Don't remind me that's happening," lamented Yang. "They deserve better than that. Better than to be under Cinder's heel."

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say that you'd actually gone and signed up," pointed out Bumblebee. "I mean, it's not like that's actually possible, after all. High Leader Sienna Khan made that 'no humans allowed' rule pretty ironclad. In fact, wasn't the last human who tried to join the White Fang executed for espionage?"

"In Mistral, they thought he was a cop. Yeah, I remember," answered Yang in disappointment. "I don't like their methods, Bee, and Khan is definitely not someone I'd want to be my sister's best friend, if you catch my drift... Still, I admit that I might have some personal biases that make me more amenable to their goals, or what they used to be. Besides, I've come to know them on a personal level, even if I hadn't already liked faunus generally."

"Faunus like Sun?" asked Bumblebee leadingly.

"You could say that," Yang muttered, blushing. Her heart ached as she thought back to the conversation she'd had with Blake earlier. As much as she wanted Sun, he didn't want her. He wanted Blake, and she needed him in a way that Yang didn't.

It was strange to ponder what her mom would have done. Either of them. Raven had swooped in and snagged her father, but Summer had stepped in when Raven had walked out and left him hurting. She wasn't 100% sure they would do any different from each other.

Even if both of them would have taken advantage of Blake's inability to let herself reciprocate his feelings... those were footsteps Yang refused to follow, not after she'd realized how much they needed each other.

"Still, doesn't exactly answer my question," said Bumblebee, dragging the topic back to the business at hand. "Do you think we'd be able to steal that bomb? Maybe replace it with a forgery?"

"No," replied the blonde simply. "They were fiddling around with the door before they left. Best case scenario, they set up a stronger wireless lock. Most likely scenario, they set up a security system that will go off when we try to break in. Worst case scenario, opening the door sets off the bomb. Guess which one we're not taking a chance on?"

"Wild stab in the dark? It's the option that risks your sister being hit in the head with flying shrapnel," Bumblebee answered.

"Yeah, it's that one," Yang replied bluntly. "Do we even know how powerful this bomb is?"

"Not really," Bumblebee replied. "Probably pretty powerful, assuming it works, but MARS has pretty good data security when it comes to their experimental tech, and they've had everything related to this project locked down even tighter since the prototype got stolen."

"Right," Yang sighed. "Any solutions for how to disarm it?"

"We've got good bots working on that," her partner assured her.

"And ideas on containing it?"

"Two, actually," replied Bumblebee. "First, we let Ironhide at the problem. He's already scoped out their place, after all, and I'm sure he could set up some shielding system to get the thing to explode without too much collateral damage. Might be a bit intrusive, though, and definitely not subtle. That leaves the second option: We get Wheeljack."

"Wheeljack?" she asked. "Isn't he the guy with all the wacky mad science inventions? Bee, we want to save Beacon, not destroy it more thoroughly than the bomb will."

"He can do that too," Bumblebee replied, and Yang had to raise an eyebrow at how he said "too" and not any sort of denial. "Or, you know, just let Adam know where they're storing that thing so he can include it in his report to Ozpin."

"Right, I'll get right on that," said Yang, reaching for her burner scroll.

"Already done."

Yang paused, her hand inches away from her device. "Wait, what?"

"I texted Adam," the yellow Autobot replied simply. "He can't exactly blow his cover by getting into an argument with you right now."

Yang pouted. "We don't do that every time."

"You kind of do," was Bumblebee's rather succinct response. "Now, let's talk about something else, like how you're going to win Sun over from Blake."

The blonde groaned. "Bee, I kind of already told Blake to get to it this morning, and even if I didn't, it's her race to lose. What could she possibly do to drive Sun away?"

* * *​

The accommodations in prison were actually pretty cushy. Perhaps better than the warehouse he'd holed up in before he got captured, Roman reflected as he was led through the hallways. It was only common sense. After all, prison inmates tended to be a resentful and rowdy lot to begin with, and no one wanted to light a Grimm homing signal by cranking those negative emotions up with any discomforts beyond those necessary for security.

Still, orange was so not his color, even if it did match his hair.

That luxury, however, clearly did not extend to the interrogation rooms. Obviously. One needed a different atmosphere for that, after all. The room he was led to was bare concrete, with one wall mirrored -- obviously a one-way mirror -- and a simple steel table bolted to the floor, flanked by a pair of steel chairs. Seated in one was a black-haired young lady with a bow on top of her head and a look of determination on her face.

Roman's escorts manhandled him into the other chair, manacled his legs to the chair's legs, and handcuffed his wrists to a ring in the center of the table. They left him alone with the girl after that.

"State your name for the record," she ordered.

"Roman Torchwick." No harm in that. He studied her for a moment, then commented, "Well, this is a surprise."

"Really?" she asked. "After all you've done, you're surprised at being questioned?"

"Oh, that?" He shook his head dismissively. "No, I expected that. But I certainly didn't expect to get the kiddy gloves."

He saw her twitch at that. Inexperienced. Amateur. Probably here for personal reasons. He gave her an insouciant smile, the better to annoy her with.

"Enough," she snapped. "Tell me about the White Fang leadership."

"And why should I?" he asked, making to stifle a feigned yawn.

"Why not?" she fired back. "They beat you up and left you there. I can't imagine there's any love lost between you."

He offered a casual shrug. "Risk of the business," he said, waving it off. "Sometimes, these joint ventures don't pay off quite according to plan. You know how it goes."

"I don't," she said. "Enlighten me."

His smile broadened to a full-on grin. She'd asked for it. "Well, the thing is, in this line of work, there aren't any contracts to bind you, and if you want to lawyer it up, well, let me tell you, you'd better hire some of the more heavily armed lawyers from Mistral. In this business, the only two currencies you've got are strength and rep, and you need both if you want to survive. Why, I remember a time when-"

"Enough!" she snapped, slapping a hand down on the table, leaning over it to glare at him. "Tell me about Adam!"

That was when it clicked. This girl already knew about the White Fang. His gaze flicked up to the bow on her head. Ahhh...

"What'd he do?" he asked conspiratorially. "He kill your daddy or something, little girl?"

"I'm asking the questions here," she hissed, rage seeping into her words.

Oh, that struck a nerve. I was sure, but now I've got options, and each one is better than the last, Roman thought. "Fine, fine," he said insincerely, "but you asked me about the White Fang leadership and about Adam. Which one do you want first?"

She backed off, taking a deep breath, and said, "Our latest reports indicate Adam Taurus is in charge of the Vale White Fang."

He guffawed. "Oh, man, now I feel embarrassed at getting caught if you're that out of date." He shook his head, letting the laugh die down to a chuckle. "Adam, that boy, he's totally whipped. Like -- wha-pish! -- if you know what I mean. Got a lady on the side who's calling all the shots."

Her hands clenched into fists briefly. Oh, yeah, direct hit, he thought, smirking.

"And so what does that make you, then?" she retorted. "Another good little boy, following orders?"

"Yes," he admitted gleefully. "Have you met her? She's terrifying. Ever see a woman burn someone alive? I have. It's not pleasant, and Sunfire isn't the sort of person I want to cross."

After all, Little Miss Huntress -- what else could she be? -- did have at least one thing right: Sunfire had beaten the crap out of him and left him for the cops. If messing around with his captors like this let him screw her over... well, that was just a bonus. After all, while he probably would have done this anyway just to spite the so-called "good guys," Cinder had been very clear on what he was to do if he ever got captured. As he'd just told the little lady here... he was just following orders.

"'Sunfire,' huh?" the little Huntress said.

"Yeah," Roman confirmed with a lazy nod. "I guess our boy Adam likes 'em hot."

The one-way mirror seemed to shake a little, as if someone had just hit their head against it. Oh, come on! He was still allowed some pleasures, wasn't he? And anyway, that was a great pun.

His interrogator seemed about ready to kill him for a second, and then she calmed down almost forcefully, very clearly being talked down by someone in her ear and trying to get a handle on the situation. "Was she the one who told you to rob dust stores?"

He snorted. "What do you think?"

"So why leave the lien?" she pressed.

"Listen, Little Miss Daddy Issues, when the scary lady tells you to take the dust and leave the cash, you know what you do?" he asked before narrowing his eyes slightly in a dramatic fashion. "You take the dust, you leave the cash, and you don't ask questions."

"And the regular White Fang?" she asked with clearly forced evenness.

Roman shrugged. "The animals and me didn't agree on much, but we agreed on that."

That comment seemed like it set her off again. Then she blinked in surprise and seemed to flinch away from her own ear. She then focused back on him, and she seemed to have regained her center a bit.

"Is Sunfire an employee of the Schnee Dust Company?"

Roman blinked at that. "...okay, you lost me."

The admission seemed to have given the girl some confidence. "Stealing dust makes sense," she explained. "Leaving the lien does not. Whatever their reasons for the dust -- terrorist bombings, equipping an army, selling on the black market -- the White Fang has operating expenses. Even if you really needed nothing but dust, the stolen lien could be used to buy more dust. Leaving the lien only makes sense if whoever you're working for is assured they already own the money you're leaving behind. Like if they controlled the supply of the very thing you're stealing from them."

Roman pursed his lips at that. The logic did pan out. Personally, he thought Cinder might just be an idiot, but that was a theory he kept locked in a very tiny box in the back corner of his mind, just in case she could somehow read his thoughts; he wasn't about to underestimate her, of all people. Still...

"So, let me get this straight," he said, a note of disbelief in his voice. "You think our little venture is all about... corporate insurance fraud?"

"Or something else," she said with a shrug. "The SDC has a lot of black projects, after all, and an off-the-books dust supply to feed them would be... useful, to say the least."

"Kid, you're suggesting that the SDC and the White Fang are in cahoots to control the illicit dust trade to do... what? Take over the world?" Roman deadpanned.

"Of course," the black-haired girl replied as if it was the most obvious thing there was.

Roman felt his jaw unhinge. What she was talking about was… insane. It was utterly and completely insane, and yet... what had happened to his life that this lunacy actually made more sense than reality?

Because, really, giant alien robots? Who would believe that nonsense? No, she was the crazy one here, not him. He was not going to get drawn into being sent to the happy house just because the coppers sent in a girl with a wild imagination.

"What kind of crazy conspiracy theories are they teaching you kids in the Huntsman academies these days?" he asked with the exact tone of disbelief this situation called for.

She cocked her head and looked at him in pity. Pity? Why was she looking at him with pity?! ...Oh yeah, that was right. She was insane.

She shook her head. "You really don't have a clue what you've gotten yourself wrapped up in, do you, Mister Torchwick?"

"I mean, I thought I did, but clearly, somewhere along the line, I stepped through the looking glass and didn't know about it," he observed dryly.

She waved her hand, and soon after, the door opened to reveal his escorts once more.

"I'm sorry, Mister Torchwick," she said with sincerity that had to be faked. "It appears there's been a mistake. You're just a low-level flunky, not the mastermind we've been looking for."

"Yeah, yeah, heard it all before," he replied.

He really hoped Neo would be able to arrange a breakout for him soon. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. What was next? Faunus royalty?

* * *​

"'Animals'!" fumed Weiss as she stomped into Team RWBY's dorm room. "He called them animals! Of all the hogwash he was spewing, that had to have been the most vile!"

"I've heard much worse," Blake noted, following behind.

"That doesn't make it any more acceptable!" Weiss declared.

Behind the pair, Ruby leaned toward Ren and asked, "I thought you said you used your semblance to calm her down?"

"I did!" he insisted.

"Weiss, he was a criminal trying to get under our skins, and throwing everything at the wall to do it," echoed Blake, repeating something that Weiss had said to her during the interrogation before the snowcapped girl had flown into her own rage at Roman's racist quips.

"I know that!" Weiss snapped. "More than anything, this just underscores that the White Fang are working under duress. How else could they stand someone like him?"

"Money?" offered Ruby, to which Weiss raised an incredulous eyebrow, and the dark-haired girl flinched back from it. "Okay, yeah, that would probably be a lot more plausible if they were, well, actually stealing any money or selling any of the things they stole."

"Indeed," agreed Blake. "This has 'nefarious scheme' written all over it, which makes their motivations pretty obvious. They're willing to work with a reprobate like Torchwick now in exchange for the promise of killing a much larger number of humans later. This 'Sunfire' woman must have promised them quite the slaughter."

"I don't believe that," Weiss retorted. "If they really were that bloodthirsty, I can't imagine they wouldn't have started with him already."

"You'd be surprised what people will compromise in pursuit of their goals," Blake said softly, a note of melancholy in her voice.

Weiss turned and walked over to her bed before throwing herself into a seat upon it. "I don't think I'd be that surprised. I saw it all the time growing up."

"Then you should know what I'm talking about," insisted Blake, sitting down on her own bed.

"I mean, it makes sense, but I think it's missing a few steps," offered Ruby. "I mean, it's a long way to go before you make the transition from stealing dust from stores to genocide."

"Thank you, Ruby," replied Weiss with a nod as she began to rock her feet back and forth. "See? Ruby agrees with me."

"Well, that's…" Ruby began before a knock at the door drew her over to it. She opened it up to reveal… "Friend Sun! You're not dead on your feet anymore."

Sun stood alone in the hallway and offered her a friendly wave. "Hey, Friend Ruby. Doing much better now that I've gotten some rack time."

"'Rack time'?" asked Ruby curiously.

Sun rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, it's what Team Apricot call sleeping. Guess they rubbed off on me a bit."

"Hope it wasn't too much; you're nuts enough as it is," Ruby joked.

The blond brightened at that. "Oh! You've already met them, huh? Hey, mind if I come in? I need to talk with you about what I told Jaune earlier."

"Sure, come on in," offered Ruby, stepping aside and letting him pass. "Just be careful now. Weiss and Blake are having a moment."

"We are not having a 'moment,'" protested Weiss before focusing back on her opposite. "Anyway, I know you seem to have a problem with the White Fang, Blake, but... anyone who upsets Father as much as they do can't be all bad."

Sun's eyes widened, and he leaned in to whisper into Ren and Ruby's ears. "You guys weren't kidding. This is one heck of a moment."

"Do you have something to add?" asked Weiss of Sun somewhat curiously. "You're the only faunus here, after all."

"Oh no!" the blonde objected. "I am not getting in the middle of this."

"'The enemy of my enemy is not my friend,'" Blake quoted with a frown, wincing slightly as the back of Weiss's feet hit a stack of books in a bag under her bed. Then Blake's eyes seemed to catch something, something she appeared to find wrong, as far as Ren could tell.

"Weiss, what did you say you did yesterday?" the black-haired girl asked suspiciously.

"Yang took me out into town, and then we saw Maple after Ruby destroyed her family's car," explained Weiss steadily.

"Yeah, let's just skip over that," muttered Ruby.

"Oh?" asked Blake with a raised eyebrow. "Then how do you explain this?!"

With a sudden and surprising spring, Blake shot out like a bullet to dive under Weiss's bed. The snowcapped girl squawked in disapproval and tried to stop her with a well-placed foot. It hit only shadow though, and soon, her black-haired friend was up and away with a bag of books in her hands.

"Blake!" complained Weiss, standing up in fury. "Give those back! They're mine!"

"Founded in Principle? Mantleite, Not Menagerite? On the Necessity of Racial Reconciliation?!" Blake read off the titles as she pulled them out of the bag and put them back in, stopping at the third book and holding it up. "Do you know who wrote this?"

"Quinze Quarante, founder of the White Fang," Weiss answered proudly. "I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!"

"That is the problem!" Blake declared, holding the book as if it was a live grenade, a poisonous tome wreathed in fire. "Do you know how many people died because of this book?"

"So some of the White Fang have... strayed," Weiss allowed with a shrug and a deep blush. "That doesn't make their cause any less worthy."

"You realize you are defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you?" reminded Blake hotly through narrowed, disbelieving eyes, dropping the book and bag on her bed beside her. "That almost certainly wants you -- you, personally -- dead?"

"Why do you think they hate humanity so much?" Weiss shrieked, sweeping and gesturing with her hand. "It's because of people like my father, people like me, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

Blake rocked back at that, utterly stunned. "People like you?!"

"You know what I was like!" the Atlesian girl said, tacitly reminding them of her imperious attitude when she had first come to Beacon Academy. "You know what my father is like, my mother, my sister, my brother! I'm a symbol of all their suffering!"

"You're a victim, Weiss!" Blake argued passionately, her hands balling into fists. "How many people have they killed? People you knew? And how did your family react? They may not have directly targeted you yet, but that doesn't change what we did to you! Your childhood was made into a living nightmare by the White Fang!"

"I won't have you blaming them for my family's actions!" Weiss retorted.

Ruby tried to go and calm them down. Ren felt he had to do so too, he had the power, but… but they needed to work this out. Blake and Weiss both needed to vent everything out now rather than letting it simmer. It was only then that they would get over their disagreement regarding the White Fang, and maybe… in the future, he would be able to actually bring them some peace for once.

Sun seemed to silently agree, knowing that this was a battle he couldn't fight.

The crimson-themed Huntress reached out a hand to her teammate's shoulder. "Blake, I-"

"No!" she shouted, shrugging away from Ruby's hand and redirecting her gaze to Weiss. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

Weiss stood up as best she could at that, face red with anger, back straight. "Well, maybe they're just tired of being pushed around!"

Blake exhaled angrily, barely controlling her breathing, and she seemed to calm down somewhat. "...I know what I'm talking about, Weiss."

"How?" Weiss demanded in a rage. "How could you possibly know when you're trying to censor what they have to say?"

"Because I was one of them!" Blake declared, hooking a thumb back at herself. "My father is Ghira Belladonna, High Leader of the White Fang until just five years ago!"

"...What?" The anger and rage had died in Weiss, clearly replaced by stunned confusion. The other three members of the room were just shocked.

Blake, for her part, seemed confused at her friend's confusion. "You… you really didn't know?"

Weiss shook her head vigorously. "No! How was I supposed to know?"

"Oh, come on!" belted out Blake in frustration, the anger coming back. "I didn't even change my name! How could you not know?"

"I never studied that period of White Fang history. I've only just begun to learn," Weiss admitted shamefully. "And even if I did, it's not like you're walking around wearing your family's crest like I did."

The black-haired girl twisted around such that the side of her leg was toward Weiss, and she pointed at her stocking, or more precisely, the symbol on it. "...have you seriously never looked at my stockings?"

Now that Ren noticed it, he had to admit that it did kind of look like a stylized belladonna flower… or a grey flame. Or a paw print? Actually, really examining the symbol in detail made him wonder exactly what went into the thought processes of Blake's ancestors when they created the symbol.

"Oh." Weiss blinked in curiosity and embarrassment. "Well, to be fair, it's not like I knew what your family crest was. Even if I did, it would have been a bit out there for the old me to think that the High Leader of the White Fang had a human daughter, and that she somehow wound up on my team."

Those words, said with the best of intentions, set Blake off again, such that when next she spoke, her voice was filled with frustration renewed and fury reignited. "'Human'? You think I'm human?!"

She pivoted, and came to stand with her feet apart as if at attention. Her hand shot up with a sudden quickness and undid the ribbon upon the top of her head with forceful abandon. As the strip of cloth came off and fluttered to the floor, revealed in their full glory then were two black, triangular, furry ears much like a cat's.

Blake Belladonna was a faunus.

"How could you miss these? They're just like my mother's!" she asked with her rage unabated.

Weiss looked up at the ears briefly, and then her gaze dropped to focus on Blake's face once more, as if the new information was deemed only tangentially relevant. "Well, I've never seen them before, so you can't blame me for not making the connection there."

"That's it?!" asked Blake with the frustration greater than ever before. "You don't even seem to care that I'm a faunus."

"No, why would I?" asked Weiss with what Ren quickly realized was fear.

"Because you're a Schnee!"

The moment, indeed, the precise picosecond the words entered the air and registered in Blake's mind, her expression changed. The rage and frustration were washed away to be instantly replaced by a thick mixture of horror, shock, revulsion, and most of all... shame. Not since the elder days when the warriors of legend walked the land and the light and the dark were joined in union had anyone been so thoroughly and completely repelled by their own words and actions.

The expression that spread on Weiss's countenance was much simpler, much more familiar. It was a mien Blake knew all too well, for the guise the snowcapped girl adopted was an exacting mirror to that she had worn mere weeks prior when the true depths of her family's treachery had been laid bare. It was like a light in her eyes had just gone out.

"Is… is…?" stammered Weiss, tears flowing now as her voiced struggled for purchase.

Blake backed away, shaking her head in disgust at herself as she found only two words she could choke out in despair: "I'm sorry."

With that, she bolted from the room, and after a few seconds, Sun followed. He had been shaken from his shock by her departure, and he called out then for her to stop. No one could find the strength to join him in chasing her down.

Weiss collapsed to her knees, her voice finally finding itself in a heartbroken sob. "Is that all you really think of me?"

Sun never did find Blake that night. She was gone. All trace of her swallowed up in the darkness that had overcome them all.

(V2E3: Trust-Building Exercises | V2E4: Interrogations | V2E5: Capture the Flag)​

Author's Note 1 (Cyclone)

Oh, what a tangled web we weave,

When first we practice to deceive,​

And at the center, in silent pose,

Waits its mistress... Ruby Rose?​

Here, we see... just how crazy Team APRC is. And Rufus lets his inner paranoid come out just a little bit. Too bad he's paranoid about the wrong things.

So, should it still be called "dramatic irony" when we keep using it for comedy instead of drama? Wouldn't "comedic irony" make more sense?

Anyway, this last scene here is the culmination of a lot of edits, rewrites, and repositioning. Parts of this were originally planned for as far back as "Aftermath" but was cut for length and time (ironic, we know) and the fact that we hadn't firmly established a White Fang connection for Team RRANNBW yet. It's also one of the clearest examples of one of the other things I really like to do in fanfiction: invert canon while trying to remain plausible. And if we also got out of it another chance to highlight the absurdity of Blake actually keeping her faunus nature a secret for so long from her roommates, so much the better. Seriously, Team RWBY must be the most incurious group of teenagers I've ever seen.

Author's Note 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett)

OK, show of hands here, who was caught off guard by the revelation of Blake's true nature? We have readers who aren't familiar with RWBY canon, so I know there will be at least some of you. Come on now, don't be shy.

Also, I have said before that an author's favorite characters will die a thousand deaths, each more painful than the last. When I said that I had this scene in mind, especially in relation to "Cold." Though this time it's a murder/suicide thanks to Blake.

A bit more of specifics for this scene though. Originally, Blake was supposed to tell them she was a member of the White Fang after they left Ozpin's office in what ended up becoming "Aftermath," and after a brief argument they would have reconciled and gotten on with it without her running away. The problem at first was actually one of time, as that chapter was running quite long as it was, and we were looking for stuff to cut, so we cut it even though we thought it would be a really cool subversion of canon. (The initial kernel for the conversation was jotted out on June 19th, but it wasn't until the 22nd of that same month that we started expanding it into an actual back and forth.) It worked out wonderfully though, as it was allowed to mature and develop, being rewritten multiple times, until it got to this near perfect state which not only is emotionally involving, but also ties into the greater plot in… well, that's classified, but you'll see in a few weeks. Though, yes, Blake is acting a bit like a teenager, isn't she?

And Yang? Oh yes, Yang, Adam totally isn't responsible for White Fang's bad reputation, it was all his wicked SDC spy of a partner. I totally bet that you'd be able to keep that opinion for five minutes if you were standing right next to Adam too. Oh wait, we already timed that and proved that you can't even last half that time before you start bickering with him and calling him the worst thing since reality television.

After so many shocking revelations, we think we could all use a bit of a break, so join us next time, as Teams CFVY, RRFL, BCHT, and NDGO play a friendly game of "Capture the Flag."