It had only been a few minutes since the two fugitive girls had snuck out of the shop making sure to leave no evidence of their previous presence. They kept to the shadows hoping to avoid attention under the sting of the early morning sun. Blake had told the heiress that they should be wary of who they meet. If the White Fang was still after her then anyone they saw was a possible lookout. They would appear more obvious now seeing as the city was just waking up, making any casual bystander, barring the drunk passed out on the street, suspicious.

"Alright Blake, where are we going?"

The faunus peeked around the corner of the alley into the nearby city street. The amount of people walking around were minimal. Apparently the shopkeeper was such an early riser that the the early morning traffic hadn't even formed yet.

"Not sure yet. All I know is we need to find a new place to hide and fast."

She looked around and noticed a delivery truck belonging to "From Dust Till Dawn", the name of a local dust shop stopping at a red light. Blake silently pulled on Weiss' arm directing her to the back of the truck which the faunus easily opened which they jumped into. The pair of girls settled themselves inside the truck propping themselves against the metal boxes to avoid slipping inside.

"Ok," Blake began, "this truck belongs to a local shop so it's either going to its supplier or directly to the shop. Either way we're going to have to take the long way back to the hotel."

"Then why did we bother to getting on if we're not headed in the right direction?" Weiss questioned.

"You know the White Fang agents will be waiting for us around the obvious places such as the police station and near the hotel's entrance. There's no need to wait by Vale's entrance because of the Grimm. Of course it also means that there will probably be a couple along the direct path to the hotel. By taking the long way around we're going to have more leeway to move around since they won't be expecting it."

The youngest Schnee initially sighed but accepted Blake's reasoning. "Oh well, if we need to do some exploring then who am I to complain?"

Her reaction seemed curious to the faunus.

"Is it just me or does it seem you're enjoying this?"

"Me? Nonsense! Why would I want to look around such a drab city like Vale much less its shopping district?" Weiss's cheeks showed a light redness.

"You are enjoying this!" Blake found herself involuntarily smiling.

"Be quiet you." she tried to hide her embarrassment. "I rarely get a chance to go out on my own ok? My family is very strict like that."

Blake apologized while considering her companion's last statement. "Well, if we can find a clothing shop who says we can't do a little exploring before we go drop you off?"

Weiss' smile was slightly bitter. "If I might not make it back I may as well enjoy it while I can right?"

Along the streets of Vale

"So uncle Qrow, where are we going?" Ruby asked skipping beside her uncle.

"Nowhere in particular. I just have to go check in at the Hunter's Guild."

Ruby nodded. She'd followed him to a couple of Hunters Guilds before. Qrow had explained it to her that it wasn't exactly a guild since Hunters operated in a gray area between the military and the police, sometimes as both, if necessary. He explained the way they historically formed had them originally more as mercenaries that were awkwardly integrated into the governmental systems. They also served as a kind of glue between the nations since Hunters could travel and take work from a guild in another nation baring joining their military. No matter how strange it seemed, it was that very strangeness that attracted more reckless and adventurous types into the fold.

When they arrived Ruby noted the building itself wasn't that impressive. Barring the sign indicating what it was, the two-story brick building didn't have any particularly distinctive designs although it was fairly amazing to the young girl during her first visit. As she walked up the stone steps, the older man pushed open the heavy wooden door and directed Ruby to sit in the lobby area while he conducted his business. The first time Ruby had been to one she had wanted to follow him but it seems Hunter business isn't always for just anyone to listen to.

Once he made sure Ruby was sitting at the leather couch, noting she began picking at the bowl of candy at the center of the table (it seems the head of Vale's guild was a fan of sweets), he walked up to the only attendant behind one of the counters. She was a young brunette woman in her mid-twenties not wearing any distinctive uniform for guild attendants. The only sign she worked there was a brooch in her hair with the guild symbol on it. The Hunter profession always attracted unique individuals.

"So where's your badge?" she was straight to the point.

He handed over his Hunter badge to the woman.

"Great." the woman clipped uninterestedly, "We need all the Hunters we can get. It's an emergency. All other available Hunter have already been dispatched."

"I noticed that this place was strangely empty." Qrow noted.

"Of course. The only reason I'm here is because someone has to be." He noted a slight bitterness in her voice. "Anyways here are the details." She handed him a large folder for him to paw through.

"Hmm...the youngest daughter of the Schnee company president is missing. Considering the client can hire ever Hunter who walks in the door this is fairly serious."

He looked at the picture of the angry young woman in the file.



'She can't be that much older than Ruby'

He handed the file back to the attendant."Fine. I'll do it."

Ruby stopped playing with the candy wrappers which she'd folded into little figures the moment she heard Qrow approach.

"Hey Ruby, can you make it back to the hotel on your own?" He questioned.

"Duh! It's only a few blocks away from here." Then it hit her "Why? Ooooh is it something big? I bet it's something big!"

"Yes it is and that's all I can say. Can I trust you to make it to the hotel by yourself?" Ruby noted he was in his serious mode. No matter what she said she wouldn't get anything out of him when he was like this.

She saluted him in an exaggerated manner. "Aye aye!" before dashing out the door.

Qrow watched her go and chuckled to himself. Sure she was eleven, but she'd already proven herself more than capable of something as easy as that. Besides, the hotel was usually for traveling Hunters and only a few blocks away. There's no way she'd get in a lot of trouble in that amount of time.

Ruby pranced along the sidewalk seemingly without a care in the world. Sure she wondered about Qrow's emergency and what could be happening but she also understood that it's not her place to get involved in Hunter business. Yet. Besides, she'd learned during their trip through the grimm-infested forests that he's probably feel her watching if she did try to follow.

The 11 year-old stopped at the street corner, waiting for the light to change on her short journey to the hotel. The wind from the vehicles rushing in front her ruffled her red dress as she observed the scenery of a large city like Vale with amazement. Ruby would only have to travel a couple of blocks but the tall buildings and large crowds were alien to her having come from an isolated little island like Patch.

Once the light changed Ruby, still enthralled by the scenery she was experiencing while alone for the first time, hadn't even noticed she'd finished crossing the street until a bystander grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the way thus preventing her collision with a nearby mailbox.

"Hey kid. Watch where you're going. At this rate you're going to end up roadkill." Her savior didn't seem the cheerful type.

"Sorry about that." the girl laughed, "everything here just seems so big."

"Of course everything's big for a brat." He brushed away the red hair covering his right eye.

'Looks like a country bumpkin as well.'

"Don't call me a brat!" Ruby huffed. "In fact I'm training to be a Huntress." she boasted showing off the weapon holstered behind her back.

He smirked and scoffed at her, gesturing to his maroon uniform. If she was what she said she was then it should have been instantly recognizable to any aspiring Hunter or Huntress. Judging by Ruby's squeal of excitement he was right.

"You go to Beacon Academy!?" she began gushing, "How is it? Was it hard to get in? How old do you have to be to get in? Do they let-"

"Woah. Settle down kid one question at a time." The young man cut her off.

"Yes. I am a third year so one more year and I'll be full-fledged Hunter." He wondered if he was being childish showing off to a kid. "Name's Roman Torchwick and in a few years you'll be hearing a lot about me."

"So are you the top of your class?" Her starry-eyed look seemed to pierce right through his defenses.

"Well no. I'm second in the class." She could hear him mutter "Damn Neo" under his breath though she didn't acknowledge it.

"Oh." She deflated a little. "Well second to the top is still great. I bet you've been on a lot of adventures!"

Roman couldn't help smiling at the energetic little girl in front of him.



'She is kind of a cute kid.'

He then noticed she instantly quit her childish gushing and she rushed right past him, ignoring the streetlights that luckily for her didn't have any oncoming traffic at the time. Ruby hadn't rushed back the way she came but down the other side of the street on the three-way intersection toward a local dust shop. Maybe it was his instinct for trouble or maybe it was concern for the girl, but Roman found himself chasing after the girl who had disappeared into the alley behind the gray delivery truck once the light changed back.

"Damn country bumpkin's gonna get herself killed."

"I'm sure that's her!" Ruby said to herself as she bounded across the street using the fast movement technique her mentor had taught her.

While she'd been gushing over the young Hunter student she'd noticed a very familiar figure out of the corner of her eye jump out of the back of a parked delivery truck along with another girl. Even if it had been almost a year since that day, Ruby was never one to forget a friend regardless if she was now hiding her ears with a bow. She noted the name of the shop as the other two moved behind it while trying to avoid any obvious movements.

'Dust 'Till Dawn. Gotta remember to visit here later'

Ruby circled around the delivery truck into the alley and found her faunus target who reached for her weapon in surprise. Ignoring the drawn weapon she leapt at her with a cheerful yell.

"Kitty!"

Blake, surprised to see the younger girl, lowered her weapon as she was hit by a happy little 75 lb rocket. They rolled to a stop on the ground in front of the Weiss who just had a look of shock plastered on her face at the scene.

As soon as Weiss' initial reaction wore off she gave her companion a look to question whether the girl in front of them was dangerous. Blake shook her head no as she turned her attention to the girl and gently pushed her off.

"Ruby? What are you doing here?" The young faunus couldn't hide her surprise and confusion.



'and at this of all times.'

Ruby ignored the mood as she happily recalled the immediate events from arriving to the Hunter's Guild to finding Roman to spotting them from across the street. As she told the story, Blake paid close attention, trying to find anything to get rid of the younger girl. She was glad they had finally met again, but there's no way she could allow her to get involved in their problems.

"So you're telling me not only is your uncle a Hunter but the Hunter's Guild is just a few blocks away from here?!" Weiss seemed to have a different idea altogether. Her suddenly hopeful eyes looked toward the bow-clad girl.

"You think we can send her there to get help?"

Blake instantly disagreed. "No. There's no way I want her involved in this."

"but she could be our ticket out of this mess!"

"Absolutely not. What if she gets kidnapped?" Blake tried to reason.

"Oh like anyone's going to know she knows us." Weiss rolled her eyes.

Ruby asked staring innocently as the two of them argued among themselves.

"Hey guys. What are you talking about?"

The pair of fugitives struggled to find an answer that wouldn't excite or alarm the younger girl.

"Yes. What are you talking about?"

All three of the girls' eyes shot toward the origin of the voice to find the figure of a young Beacon student leaning against the back of the truck while tipping his black bowler hat nonchalantly. Apparently he'd been listening to a good chunk of their conversation and waited for the right time to show himself.

Ruby instantly jumped between them the moment she noticed Blake reach for her weapon.

"Woah! Blake this is the guy I was telling you about."

"Roman Torchwich. Pleasure." He interrupted the small girl. "and it seems like you two are being chased by someone."



'He's annoyingly perceptive' Blake thought.

"Great not only do we have this little brat but we also have this walking fashion disaster of a Beacon student." Weiss groaned while gesturing to his hat.

"Hey this one may be a brat but I'm the oldest here so show some respect."

"Stop calling me a brat!"

"Everybody stop for a second!" Blake yelled at them, "I need to think."

"Well from the sound of it it looks like you kids could use some help." Roman began, "and if you ask nicely enough I just might think about helping you all out especially since it seems you can't go anywhere."

Blake thought about his offer for a moment. She had to admit, right now they could use some help. Even if Roman didn't seem like he was helping out of some sense of concern for them as much as amusement, he probably had a lot of experience in combat as a student of Beacon. That's something they desperately needed right now.

"Oh yeah, and who said we needed your help?"

Weiss didn't seem to share her opinion.

"Weiss, wait a second." the faunus reasoned, "Remember what you said about sending Ruby. I'd feel a lot more comfortable sending someone like him than just Ruby alone. We can't exactly have you running down the streets like that."

Weiss looked down at the condition of her ruined dress. Since last night she'd been put through the ringer and it showed. Can't exactly hide that she'd been blown up, torn up, and slept in a dirty storeroom in what was originally a beautiful white dress.



'She's got a point'

"Fine." She huffed. "Maybe we can hide back in that truck again while he goes and gets us rescued."

Weiss wouldn't admit it but the thought of her adventure ending so quickly had her a little disappointed.

"How boring! You're saying all I have to do is go to the Hunter's Guild and play delivery boy?" Roman was disappointed with the outcome as well. "Fine then. Just sit your butts here and I'll go get you all out of this situation. Let the brat stay here as well." He walked away from the group, waving back as if to say 'leave it to me'.

He didn't even get the chance to leave the alleyway before nearly being run over as an unmarked, black van stopped in front of him.

The side slammed open as a half-dozen fully armed men walked out to close off their exit. Their black suits and red ties and glasses gave them the distinct message of being part of a gang though Blake was surprised they weren't faunus. She instantly grabbed Weiss' arm to lead her to the other end only to find it that escape closed off as well.

'Humans? Why are humans after us?'

One of the men in he group stepped forward and cleared his throat to get their attention. After that he simply pointed upwards. It was then they noticed men dressed identically pointing rifles down at the group.

The message was clear: they were caught.

Inside a Locked Room

"Well isn't this great." Weiss said sarcastically.

"Oh be quiet you little brat and let me think." Roman was leaning against the wall of what appeared to be a storage room.

The four of them hadn't put up much of a fight after being shown they were surrounded. They had been summarily stripped of their weapons, blindfolded, and locked in this place. Blake wondered if it was on purpose or if they were just being underestimated in being left without being tied up.

'Just take it as a bit of good luck within the bad.'

"So, Blake...what's going on?"



'Ah crap. Ruby.'



In all their confusion Blake had forgotten that Ruby still had no idea what was happening. The girl in question was sitting on top of a wooden box marked 'FRAGILE' casually swinging her legs. For a girl that had just been kidnapped without understanding why, she was remarkably easygoing.

"Oh sorry Ruby. I don't think we've even introduced ourselves."

"Well except for mister ego over there." Weiss pointed a thumb at Roman who was leaning against the wall farthest from the door.

"Hey always make a point to let people know who you are. Never know who'll need to know you someday." He said matter-of-factly.

"Riiight. Anyways," Blake interjected, "I'm Blake and this is Weiss."

"Weiss Schnee. The youngest daughter of the president of the Schnee Dust Company." For all intents and purposes, she was still proud of who she was.

"Heard you got blown up last night."

Weiss growled at Roman's offhand comment.

"and I'm Ruby! Blake and me are old friends!"

Weiss looked at her before throwing an uncertain look at Blake who caught her implication. Blake shook her head.

"Oh no. Not in that way. We met somewhere else. We met in Patch."

That seemed to assuage Weiss' worries for the moment.

"So the point is" Roman pointed at the heiress, "you're a runaway rich girl trying to find her way home right?"

"Basically."

The conversation died soon after into an awkward silence with only Ruby's humming to break the monotony. Weiss, from atop her own box, looked at the younger girl wondering exactly how she got involved with them.

"Ruby was it?" She began, "If you're from Patch, how exactly did you end up here anyway?

"Oh I just came back from an awesome adventure with my uncle Qrow! Oh you don't know my uncle Qrow but he's an AWEOME hunter and he even taught me to fight. He even helped me choose Crescent Rose."

"Crescent Rose?" Blake was interested.

"Oh yeah that's my weapon. It's a high-caliber sniper-scythe. Or at least it will be when my uncle lets me add the sniper rifle to it."

Blake was surprised at the girl's description of her future weapon. She'd remembered Adam telling her Qrow was strong and if he was able to teach Ruby to use a weapon like that then his skills really were as impressive as her mentor said. Not to mention Ruby who at 11 he was already training to use something like that. She'd probably grow into something formidable herself in the future.

Roman just laughed. "You're kidding. How could a shrimp like you swing around something like that?"

"Hey I can! I've even taken down Grimm with my Crescent Rose!" Ruby boasted her accomplishments.

"You've already fought Grimm?" Weiss raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Of course! But I am kinda new to it. I did just come back from a 3 month training trip."

After Blake asked for the details, Ruby regaled the 3 of them with tales of her first training adventure with her uncle complete with all the animated gestures only an excited 11 year-old could provide. The faunus girl was both amused and impressed at the descriptions of Qrow's training program while Weiss sounded horrified at the conditions they had lived in.

It was about an hour later they heard movement from the other side of the door followed by two identical heads poking up from the small window of the door.

"Look Miltia." said one bored girl.

"What is it Melanie?"

"It's the princess." They were looking at Weiss.

"She doesn't look like much does she?"

"I'm right here!" Weiss yelled at them. Both girls just turned toward her.

"So?" They echoed.

"We just came to see what the big deal was before they took you away." Miltia said uninterested. "By the looks of it we wasted out time."

"Stay here and collect dust with the rest of the junk in the storeroom."

Weiss looked like she was about to explode at the girls.

"Just what I needed. More annoying kids." Roman growled in frustration. He was beginning to regret this little adventure.

The girls just looked at him with the same bored look on their faces.

"Whatever."

With that, they left the group alone, the tapping of their heals slowly disappearing. Weiss, left to her own devices after meeting the girls was fuming.

"All right I'm so sick of this!" She charged at the door, "Since last night I've been blown up, cut my feet running, been chased by the White Fang, had to sleep on a dirty storeroom floor, been captured by this gang of nobodies, and now I'm being humiliated by some annoying twins I've never even met!"

With one violent pull Weiss ripped off her sleeve, then jamming the cloth between the door right above the latch.

"You!" She commanded the cocky hunter student. "Hit that as hard as you can!"

Roman looked at her like she lost her mind.

"Just what are you on about princess?"

Weiss ignored him, turning to Blake instead.

"Blake, remember when we were in the back of that truck?" The faunus nodded. "Well I gathered some dust from the shipment back there and since this thing doesn't have pockets I laced some of my dress with it."

Blake just looked surprised.



'So that's what she was doing behind the boxes'

"You can lace things with dust!" Ruby was giving the heiress a starry-eyed look.

"Of course! Dust is my family's business after all. If I didn't know how to do this at least I'd be a failure." She boasted. "Besides, it's just a crude lacing so it can't do anything too sophisticated beyond an enhanced effect."

"Well alright then!" Roman was digging through the box Ruby was previously sitting on. He pulled out an unopened bottle of vodka, his spirits renewed.

'I guess this really is a storeroom.' thought Blake as she watched him with the bottle.

"Stand back kiddies and let's get this show on the road!"

Roman threw the bottle at the door, hitting the scraps of cloth with practiced precision. The resulting blast was neither powerful nor precise but it was enough to force open the door which really was all they needed.



"Well that was disappointing." Roman frowned. "I expected the dust to create a bigger blast."

"Less complaining more running come on!" Blake was the first out the door followed by the the other two girls. Roman just shrugged and followed from behind.

"Ok first order of business is finding our weapons." Blake called to those behind her.

The hallway was longer than they initially expected, poking their heads into each room quickly for any sign of life or their weapons. Strangely they found no sign of enemies nearby, the echoing footsteps of their running was the only sign of life. It wasn't until the end of the hall when they heard chatter coming from the final room. In it, they noticed two bored henchmen playing cards in a seemingly empty room. Blake guessed they were the supposed to be guarding the hallway.

The guards didn't even have a chance to react as the faunus girl jumped on the table gaining enough leverage to kick one henchmen in the chin while the other was sent sprawling off his chair by a right hook from Roman who had instinctively followed Blake in. Roman looked at the unconscious henchman on the ground by the girl.

"You're not a normal kid are you?" He commented. Blake just shrugged.

"Stupid kids. I swear if one of my teeth is loose I'll..." The guard Roman punched apparently wasn't knocked out completely. Before the guard was able to stand the redhead stepped hard on his chest while Blake pointed one of their discarded swords at his throat.

"Alright you poor excuse for a flunkie. You're going to tell us everything we need to know or else my friend here" He gestured to Blake, "might have an accident with that sword. Kids aren't exactly good with heavy swords."

The henchmen growled in frustration at the thought of being held hostage by children but responded with an amused expression.

"Doesn't matter what I tell you, it's not like you're going to escape."

Roman applied more pressure to the guard's chest. "Alright then so you shouldn't have any trouble telling us where our weapons are being kept as well as how many of you guys are here now."

"Hey you guys?" Ruby called from behind them.

"What is it you brat can't you see we're busy here?"

"Our weapons are here." The youngest girl noted as she opened a storage locker.

"Well perfect! Hand me my cane." Ruby threw him his weapon that he pointed at the henchman's face. The sights appeared on the end of the cane along with revealing the barrel hidden within. Roman held a devilish grin as he touched the top to the man's forehead.

"Now about the amount of people you have here..."

Apparently from the man's information they'd escaped at the right time. During midday the club they were apparently under had to keep the impression of being normal so it was operated at minimum capacity: about fifteen henchmen in total. Any later and it would start filling with more people.

"You think a bunch of kids can escape from us even with those numbers you're kidding yourselves." He would have boasted farther but Blake knocked him out with a swift kick to the head.

"Took you long enough. I was tired of listening to him." Weiss sniped.

The heiress didn't seem worse for wear at the news. She dug through the locker, looking for any vials of dust just in case. Ruby, having gotten her Crescent Rose back, seemed almost ecstatic at the thought of getting into a fight.

Roman looked at the pair before turning his attention to the Blake.

"Hey kid. You seem to have experience doing this. I doubt the shrimp and the princess here will be of much help but by the looks of it they're going to try anyway."

Blake frowned, as worry showed clearly on her face. She had the same concerns when as she looked at the two of them. Ruby was still young while Weiss was unarmed. They were essentially civilians with little experience.

"Ruby. Weiss." She called to them. "I want you two to watch each other's back. We don't know what's going to happen out there ok?"

Weiss complained but eventually relented. She knew the essential weaknesses with both of them and realized maybe together they'd be a decent fighter. There really was nothing else that could be done.

"Don't worry Weiss, I'll protect you!" Ruby said confidently.



'Don't get mad she's just a kid' Weiss told herself.

With that they left the guard's room and headed up the stairs prepared for battle.

They had expected there to be resistance upon reaching the main dance hall and were more than pleasantly surprised to have caught them unaware. What henchmen there were relaxing at the bar or walking around the different ends of the club as the place was still being set up for tonight.

"Everybody gun it for the door!" Yelled Blake as they rushed down the center of the dance floor toward the two henchmen blocking the large steel doors to the outside. The two had time to notice their approach and prepared for the group headed their way.

Blake, being the fastest of the four, reached them first while immediately ducking under the swing of the right one's blood red sword, following up by swiftly jumping toward and grabbing his head, taking advantage of the momentum to knee him in the face, driving his head against the door behind him and knocking him out in an instant. The second turned to attack her but a glyph appeared beneath him, lunching him into the air before Ruby quickly dispatched him with the back of her scythe.

"What was that?!" Ruby asked in a mix of confusion and excitement.

"That's my semblance. I can make glyphs to control movement." Weiss said proudly.

"Oh that's so cool! Why didn't you tell us you could use it?"

"I never had a reason to use it until now." the heiress shrugged.

Meanwhile, Blake had been trying to force the door open only to find the heavy steel doors unable to budge. The front door was locked.

"You didn't think it would be that easy did you?"

The group turned around to see that the group had indeed been preparing for them. The henchmen, still dressed in their same uniform were beginning to form around them, swords trained on the four of them. The center of the group parted as a man began approaching the group. His lack of red glasses and black vest in liu of the rest of the group's standard suit seemed to denote some position of authority.

"My Name's Hei Xiong but the call me Junior. I'm the one in charge here. I'd appreciate if you could return to the room where we left you now."

"pfft. They call you junior?" Ruby giggled, breaking the tension he was trying to build. It only served to anger him.

"Laugh all you want. You're not going to leave here without this key."Junior showed off the door key in his hand before shoving it in his pocket.

Wordlessly he signaled the group forward to capture the four fugitives. All of them with the exception of the unarmed Weiss raised their weapon in anticipation of the coming attack.

"Wait a second Junior."

"Yeah Junior, let us defeat them for you."

It was those twins, Miltia and Melanie if Blake recalled correctly. They'd been watching the events unfold from the club's viewing platform and decided that it might be amusing to get involved now that they had a chance to fight. Junior just shook his head at the twins' antics before agreeing.

"Fine then. You need more live combat anyway. It's not like they're getting away."

Junior pulled out his weapon, what looked to be a bright red club. The end of it looked like a sealed barrel for some kind of projectile weapon.



'Sometimes I hate having to fight these hybrid weapons.' Thought Roman to himself.

"Alright no one interfere until I say so." Junior told his followers.

"I'll take the the one with the tacky bow." The white twin, Melanie, chuckled as she stepped forward, "She looks strong."

Miltia just gave an annoyed sigh. "Fine. I'll take the little girl. You can bring the princess along if you want to make this fun for me."

Blake, Weiss, and Ruby looked between each other and nodded, agreeing with their choices of match-ups.

"Oooh this looks like fun!" Ruby took some distance for her fight.

"We're going to have to fight them anyway so may as well do it while we have some sort of chance." Weiss reasoned before following the small scythe wielder.

"Let's just get done with this quickly." Blake had been staring down Melanie the whole time as she approached her.

"I guess no one wants to fight me?" Roman seemed amused as he pointed the end of his cane at Junior. "Sounds good to me. Fighting a bunch of brats seems boring. I'd much rather fight the big boss."

Blake was the first to charge at her enemy, Gambol Shrowd finding her initial swing blocked by a Melanie's heel with a loud clang of metal on metal. She took note of the blade sticking out of the back.

'So she fights with heels.'

They jumped back to gain some space and got into their respective stances. From then on Blake found herself on the defensive under the flurry of Melanie's attacks. It wasn't that they were particularly strong or fast though she was agile but her liberal use of feints. She couldn't very well counter without knowing where the kick would come from and it was getting annoying since neither would land a blow.



'This is getting us nowhere'

In that moment Melanie changed gears as Blake ducked under a crescent kick to the head followed by a forward kick to her face that the faunus was forced to avoid with her semblance, leaving a shadow as she dodged to the attacking girl's right only to find a back kick headed in her direction. She instinctively leapt back to the get some distance and rethink her strategy only to be followed by the other girl who followed with a roundhouse kick that Blake rolled away from.

"If you think that vanishing act will save you you have another thing coming." the girl taunted.

Blake thought for a second what she would do before charging in again with renewed determination. If Melanie was going to abuse feinting to throw off an enemy then Blake would too.

The next series of attacks had the henchgirl in the white dress kicking at air as Blake left hadows of herself and disappeared with each successive kick. She kicked forward, the faunus would appear behind only to disappear again and reappear beside her.

"Running away isn't going to get you anywhere you know? Now stand still." she said as she delivered another high kick to another shadow.

'There!'

Blake reappeared crouched directly beneath her kick, grabbing her leg with one arm and sweeping her support leg with her weapon as she used her leverage to throw her backwards. The faunus followed Melanie forward landing directly on top of her. Without a moment's hesitation she swung the blunt edge of her weapon at the henchgirl's head, the force of the impact multiplied with Melanie's head against the ground, knocking her out.

Said Blake as she got off the unconscious girl.

"That's gonna hurt when she wakes up."

Meanwhile Ruby seemed to have trouble with Miltia who was easily able to avoid the younger girl's wide swings. With each swing the other girl easily jumped over, sidestepped, and sometimes even countered her movements. That was a lesson Ruby learned the hard way when she swung down only for the henchgirl to move inside her weapon's range, push her weapon away with her left arm, and deliver a right straight with her claws. If the Ruby hadn't had practice fighting Yang that may have been the end of her.



'There's no way I can win like this. I need speed!'

All of a sudden an idea popped in her head.

"Weiss!" she called her partner between swings, "I need your glyphs!"

"What?" Weiss said confused.

"My weapon is slow and relies on extra speed and power from the recoil of the sniper rifle which I obviously don't have yet! Give me the speed I need to beat her!"



'She didn't even ask if I could. Oh well here goes nothing.'

She tried to time her glyphs with Ruby's attack which worked as the increased speed of her attack had Militia rolling to avoid but also sent the attacking girl flying farther than she intended to.

Weiss used another glyph to provide a platform for her to land on before she crashed into one of the tables around the dance floor.

"Good! Use both!" Ruby called no worse for wear.

It hadn't taken long after to get the hang of each other's movements overwhelming the other girl who could now only avoid in desperation at the little red rocket that kept charging at her.

"Stop being so annoying."

She signaled one of the henchmen who threw his sword at her. She timed her next attack perfectly by jumping over the attacking Ruby and throwing the sword straight at the heiress who had no time to form a glyph as she dodged the sword as it planted itself in her previous position. Miltia didn't even have to look at Ruby to know she was probably on the other side of the room by now. She turned her attention toward Weiss.

"Now to take out this little annoyanc-"

The henchgirl didn't have to think before a red rocket crashed into her with a force so strong she was instantaneously swept away flying over the tables next to the dance floor and crashing into the wall unconscious. Weiss looked astounded at the scene and turned back to the spot where the impact happened only to find Ruby cheerfully celebrating her victory.

"Just what in dust was THAT?!"

Ruby just smiled and rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I just found my semblance."

Roman and Junior had been watching the fights around them as they exchanged blows not really gaining an advantage over each other.



'I wonder if I was that strong at their age.' Roman thought to himself as he blocked another blow from Junior's club.

"You realize that their winning doesn't matter." Junior stated. "I've already called the rest of my men who should be here in minutes."

Roman just smirked. "Normally I'd agree but winning isn't the name of the game here and I'll show you why."

Junior swung down as hard as he could, expecting the feeling of impact against the young man's cane only to find it phase right through. Roman took that split second to point the end of his weapon at the gang leader's chest and fire sending him sprawling into the ground in a firey explosion in front of his men. Junior seemed to have trouble catching his breath even as a couple of his men helped him up.

"What the hell was that?"

"My semblance. Every Hunter needs one." He boasted. "Very subtle and sadly only good once or twice in a fight before the enemy catches on. It's much better for stealing."

As he said that he pulled what appeared to be Junior's key from his pocket before twirling it in his fingers. The sight threw Junior into a panic patting his vest down for proof he still had it.

"Hey kid catch!" Roman called out to Blake before throwing her the key.

Understanding his intentions, she caught it and made a break for the door. The other two girls who saw the scene also ran for the door.

"No way I'm letting you out of here." Junior muttered to himself as he transformed his club into a rocket launcher positioning on his shoulder before pointing it just above the door.

"Alright we're getting out of here!" Ruby cheered following the other girls out of there.

Just above the exit the youngest girl stopped, remembering Roman hadn't crossed yet. Just as she turned around she noticed the group of missiles headed their way as the older teen ran towards her.

"Come on you can make it! We all need to get out together!" she yelled out.

"Of course I'll make it you brat just get out of my way!"

He dove through the doorway, grabbing Ruby and rolling through just as the missiles hit above it, collapsing it and sealing the entrance. Roman collapsed on the ground in front of the rubble staring up at the setting sun.

"Well that was a rush."

It had only taken a short minute before they were surrounded by police pointing weapons and asking questions about the successive events. Soon after the girls were taken to the station for processing and releasing to their specific parents or guardians. Blake never made it to the station, having disappeared sometime between being left in the police cruiser and the drive to the station. The girls, learning once they reached the station, were sad they never got to say goodbye to the girl but of the two, Weiss understood just why she couldn't.

Junior's Club: That Night

Junior sat behind the bar nursing his drink as he watched his men clean up after the disaster of a fight that happened a few hours ago. He'd sent the Malachite twins home to nurse their wounds and think about why they lost. They may have lost but they'll be a lot stronger for it.

"You seem to have had a hard day." A tall, thin man sat beside him. The man wore an expensive suit that just screamed 'everything involving you is above my pay grade'. He wasn't particularly old. Mid-thirties probably with only a few white hairs beginning to show in his still jet black hair.

"I hope you think this job's worth it." Junior grumbled. "Like you said I ordered my men not to use firearms."

"Yes and they preformed moderately. Just about what I expected for their type." He pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"I'd offer you but you don't seem the type to drink this." Junior poured more vodka into his empty glass.

"Of course not. I wouldn't serve that swill to the family dog."

The gang leader snorted. "You have a family? I'm surprised anyone can stomach you."

The tall man ignored the comment and continued on.

"Let's get back down to business shall we?" He pulled out a check and placed it on the countertop, pushing it slowly toward Junior. He didn't pick it up.

"For both services rendered and compensation for the..." he looked around at the state of the club, "damages."

"I assume the police was your doing too?"

"Your failure to keep her secure forced our hand. Don't worry about them coming after you. We've taken care of that."

The man stood up looking down at Junior. "It was a pleasure to do business with you. I look forward to hiring someone to come instead for out next meeting. Now if you'll excuse me I have one last order of business for tonight."

"What you still have to put a hit on someone?" The gang leader sniped at the man.

The man merely chuckled. "Something like that."

Vale Police Station Interrogation Room



"Hey let me out! I've already told you everything I know!"

Roman Torchwick had been sitting in the interrogation room for hours since he had been brought in. He'd been interrogated once and then simply left to rot and it was getting on his nerves. At first he understood that they had more important things to take care of, what with the situation with the gang and the princess in general but anyone's patience could only last so long.

"You can't hold people this long. Hey is anyone out there!" He knocked on the one-way mirror hoping to get attention from anyone behind it.

"You can sit down now Mr. Torchwick."

The door slid open as the man in the suit walked in with a manila folder in hand, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table in the interrogation room.

"So who are you? You're not a cop."

He slid the folder towards Roman.

"This is the police file on you. I'd like you to read it so you can understand the situation you're in."

Roman picked it up and read through it his anger quickly boiling over the more he read. He slammed the file on the table in a fit of rage.

"Vandalism, theft, murder? What is this garbage?! I didn't do any of this!"

The man sat there unperturbed.

"The Schnee Dust Company has a vested interest in keeping all of today's events secret. Our stockholders wouldn't be happy to learn about the assassination of one of our managers nor an attempted kidnapping of the daughter of the president. That commotion at the club made that significantly harder so we had to make some adjustements."

"So you're blaming me for kidnapping!"

"Of course. It wouldn't be hard to believe someone with your record attempting to kidnap the youngest Schnee daughter for a ransom. Much better than announcing the White Fang was behind it."

"What about Beacon! They won't believe you. A prestigious school like that probably does extensive background checks for students."

The man in the suit just smirked. "Well looks like they're going to have to revise their method of doing background checks now won't they?"

"What about the limousine explosion! You cant hide that it happened!" Roman had already lost his composure completely.

"Oh that? Truly a tragic accident. Poor Mr. Verdant was hit by a drunk driver on his way home from a long night at the office."

With that said, the man stood up and walked toward the door.

"I do appreciate your time and do have a nice day. We won't be meeting again." He said as he shut the interrogation door behind him, ignoring the enraged yells of the occupant inside.

That night, Roman Torchwick mysteriously vanished from his jail cell. At the same time, Beacon lost Roman and Neo, two of its top students.

AN: This Chapter turned out far longer than I intended. If you read tell me what you thought of the fight scenes. Next chapter looks into what Yang's been up to with special guests Nora and Ren.