Chapter 17: The Search

April 27th

"So… You want to know more about me."

Blake's mug of tea clinked against her plate as she set it down in front of her. She was currently sitting in the outdoor patio of the Bean There Café which, despite it's "clever" name, acted more as an inn than a café. The kindly, old goat Faunus that ran the establishment rented out rooms to other Faunus for a pittance, which is why the other occupant of the table decided to bring her here. She looked up across the table at Sun, the monkey Faunus she had met the other day. He'd managed to track her all the way to Beacon, and after she ran out of the dorm, he'd offered to help her find a place she could stay. Not that she'd had a choice but to accept. After what she said, what she managed to blurt out in front of her teammates, she couldn't go back. Ever.

"Finally, she speaks!" Sun threw his hands up in mock celebration, his coffee mug dangling precariously at the end of his tail, "Nearly two days, and you've given me nothing but small talk and weird looks!"

She couldn't exactly deny it. After she'd settled into her own room at the café, she tried to hide away inside by herself for most of the previous day. She most likely would have succeeded, had it not been for Sun refusing to leave her alone until she joined him for meals, wanting to make sure she at least ate. It even reached a point where, had the owner of the café not been such a nice man, that she would have pitched her room's telephone out the window to stop him from calling. However, even if she couldn't deny what he said, she gave him an annoyed glower for calling her out when she finally gave him what he wanted.

"Yeah. Like that." A smug grin crossed his face as he gestured at Blake with his mug.

Blake couldn't help but roll her eyes, but the topic at hand was far more important than any vexation she felt, "Sun… Are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Of course! I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them. Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want." He shrugged, "Bunch of freaks, if you ask me."

Blake took a long sip of her tea, "I was… once a member of the White Fang."

Sun gagged on his coffee, "Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!"

She took a deep breath. It was something she hadn't planned on telling anyone since she arrived at Beacon, and she certainly wasn't something she wanted to share now, but at this point, she'd come to far to stop, "That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it. Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between humans and the Faunus. Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as the voice of our people. And I was there. I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference. But I was just a youthful optimist. Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect... out of fear. So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am: a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow." For emphasis, she wiggled her ears under said ribbon.

Sun paused for a moment, then gave her a serious look, "So, have you told your friends any of this?"

She looked down in shame, "No… No I haven't. I couldn't tell them. None of them even knew I was a Faunus except for Farran, and even then, he only found out because he accidentally saw me without my bow."

"They're your friends, aren't they?" Sun frowned, "Why did you think you couldn't talk to them about any of this."

"What was it you just got done saying? The White Fang are 'stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want' and a 'bunch of freaks'? That's the way you think, and you're a Faunus. Imagine what a group of humans would think about living with someone who was a part of a group that is now essentially waging war against their race! And even worse, one of my teammates was Weiss Schnee! Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company!" Blake stared at her reflection in her tea, "No matter what, they wouldn't let me stay…"

"I dunno, I think you're really overthinking it." Sun offered with a smile, "I might not have ever met them directly, but they all seemed like good people when they were with you the other day. Even the Schnee girl! I hung back a little bit after you guys lost sight of me, and overheard a little of your conversation. I mean, yeah, calling me a rapscallion and a degenerate isn't a great look, but it's a hell of a lot more tame than what I've been called before!"

"That isn't…. That doesn't really matter right now, Sun..." She groaned.

"I really think it does. You're convinced that your friends won't want you around, just cause you used to be a part of the White Fang. I get that. But is there any way you can be sure about that until you ask them yourself? So, let's just go talk with them. I can come with you if you want-"

"No!" She blurted out, cutting him off, "No… I can't just go talk to them. At least, not yet. There's something important that I have to do first. More so for my own sanity than anything else, honestly."

"Alright, that's a start at least!" Sun cheered, "So, what is it? Whatever it is, I got your back!"

"No, I have to do this on my…" One look at his face was all Blake needed to know he'd tag along, no matter what she said, "Ugh… Fine. A number of Dust shops around town have been robbed lately. The weird thing is, whoever's been doing it has just been stealing all their Dust, none of the money or anything else of value. A lot of people are starting to think the White Fang are behind it. I want to catch whoever it is behind it, or at the very least prove it isn't the White Fang."

"…Ok?" Sun raised an eyebrow.

"I just want to make sure the friends I had when I was still a member haven't resorted to becoming petty thieves!" Blake felt her ears wilt against the top of her head, "I know the White Fang are responsible for hijacking cargo and other things like that, I don't dispute that, but this is different. When I was still involved, there was at least a purpose to the things we stole. We were lashing out against companies that abused the Faunus, whether as workers, or through shady business practices, or politicking against us… I know what we did wasn't much better, but at least we weren't burglarizing small time Dust shops almost at random!"

"Whoa, I never said you had to explain yourself!" Sun waved her off, "I'm just curious how you plan to go about doing that is all."

"That… I have no idea, honestly. I was thinking of maybe asking around the shops that have been hit so far, maybe they heard or saw something that could give us a lead. If the police are convincing themselves it's the White Fang, I doubt they're too serious about looking into things themselves."

"Sounds like a good enough plan to me!" Sun downed the last of his drink. Come on, let's get going. And who knows? Maybe we'll run into your friends while we're out. I'd bet my tail that they're already out looking for you by now."

"Blaaaaaaaaaake!"

Just as they had agreed the night before, the members of Team RWBY had gotten up, eaten their breakfast together, and caught the first airship down into Vale that they could. As he was getting ready, Farran was surprised to find that, even though she could never be confused as a morning person, Weiss had already gotten up, showered, and dressed, all before any of them had even begun to stir. Evidently, she didn't want to take any chance of them leaving her behind again. Despite all that, as the three of them walked, calling out for Blake, she followed a short distance behind them, gloomy and looking as if she'd rather be anywhere else.

"Blaaaaake!" Farran called out, his voice starting to grow hoarse from all the yelling.

Fed up with her attitude, Ruby finally rounded on Weiss with a pout, "Weiss, you're not helping!"

Weiss clicked her tongue, "You know who could help? The police!"

"Weiss…" Ruby growled darkly, scowling as she folded her arms.

"It was just an idea!" She huffed

"Yeah, a bad one…" Ruby grumbled as she started walking again.

"Weiss, is it all of this really all so horrible?" Farran linked his hands behind his head, "It's not like we can sit back and do nothing…"

"I never said it was horrible. I just think it's a waste of time!" She gestured around them, "Vale is a huge city! Who knows where she could have gotten off to by now? Especially if she is what I think she is, she might have found some shady part of town where we'd never find her. If it's just the four of us, mindlessly ambling around the city, today's just going to become a wild goose chase!"

"You know, if you thought this was all so pointless, you didn't have to come along." Yang furrowed her brow, staring Weiss down.

"Excuse me? Farran invited me to come with you. And besides, I can hardly allow you all to go wandering off into the seedy parts of the city on your own."

"Just because Farran invited you, doesn't mean anyone forced you to accept. If you're so against all this, you could have just stayed at Beacon. And would you quit acting like Blake's definitely some criminal? She's our teammate! I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions."

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

"And I think Weiss's hair looks wonderful today!" A new, but not completely unfamiliar voice called from behind them.

They spun around to see the new arrival, a pale, freckled girl with bright locks of orange hair decorated with a pink bow, wearing a grey sweater underneath a pair of grey overalls with green accents.

"Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from!?" Ruby nearly jumped out of her shoes

The strange girl that stood before them was Penny, who Weiss had run into, quite literally in fact, the other day while they were chasing down the monkey Faunus from the boat. How she had manage to sneak up and tail the four of them for who knows how long was beyond him, but if what she had stated the other day was to be believed, Penny was actually a Huntress who would be competing in the Vytal Tournament, even if she didn't exactly look the type. Actually, the more Farran thought about it, the less her sudden appearance seemed strange. After Ruby had called her "friend" in passing, the girl had somehow maneuvered her way around a line of shops to meet them head on, wanting to confirm that she was, in fact, Ruby's friend. Certainly an odd one, Farran thought, but she seems nice enough. He did, however, find himself wishing she would stop appearing out of almost nowhere.

"Hey guys!" Penny just ignored Ruby's question, "What are you up to?"

None of them were sure how to respond, or even if they should be honest with her, but eventually Yang spoke up, "We're looking for our friend Blake."

Penny thought for a second, "Oooh, you mean the Faunus girl."

"Wait… How do you know that?" Ruby stared at her in disbelief.

"Uhh, the cat ears?" Penny pointed towards the top of her head.

"What cat ears?" Yang laughed, "She wears a… boooohhh."

Farran squeezed his eyes shut as the figurative penny dropped for the rest of his team, "So… That's a thing."

"She does like tuna a lot…" Ruby whispered.

"So, where is she?" Penny continued, brightly.

"We don't know. She's been missing since Friday…"

"That's terrible!" Penny grasped Ruby tightly on both shoulders, "Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!"

Ruby gritted her teeth, trying to force a smile, "Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, guys?"

She turned towards her teammates, looking for any kind of support, but what she hadn't realized was that once Penny volunteered to accompany them, Yang and Weiss grabbed Farran and bolted from the scene, as quickly and quietly as they could. Now, quite a distance down the street and around the corner, they finally stopped their spring, releasing Farran.

"Was that entirely necessary?" Farran grumbled.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "What, you wanted us to leave you with her?"

"No, but aren't you guys being a little bit harsh just up and ditching her and Ruby?"

"We gotta keep looking for Blake." Yang folded her arms, "And besides, she's weird."

"And you two aren't?"

"Hey!" They both screeched in unison.

"All I'm saying is it's kinda lame to just up and leave them like that." He shrugged.

"Look Farran, I'm not saying you're wrong, but what's most important right now is that we find Blake. If there's anything Weiss has gotten right so far today, it's that the four of us all lumped up together isn't going to do much." Yang grinned, "And besides, it'll do Ruby some good to get to know another girl. They're already 'friends', right?"

"But-"

"And besides, if you're so against all this, you could just stay here." Weiss parroted Yang's words from earlier, earning a short lived glare from the blonde, "You can come with us if you wish, otherwise you're free to return to Ruby and Penny."

Farran sighed, "If I was ok with the idea of leaving you two alone to claw each other's throats out, I might actually do that…"

"Good, then you're coming with us!" Yang snickered, "Now come on. We got a lot of ground we need to cover today."

"Yes, it's as the Brute says." Weiss looked over her shoulder as they started moving, "That, and I'd rather not be here if they end up deciding to search over this way."

For Blake and Sun, their investigation into the Dust shop robberies could be considered nothing short of a colossal failure. They stopped in at every single shop that had been hit within the past two months, but nobody could give them any information they didn't already know, and most had just started blaming the robberies on the White Fang. At least, that was the case with the more welcoming of the places they visited. There were plenty of occasions in which they, or more precisely Sun, had been turned away on sight. Their last stop had been to a Dust shop manned by a petite elderly woman who, upon seeing Sun's tail, grabbed the nearest broom she could find and chased him out of the store and a good distance down the street, shouting that the White Fang wouldn't get another ounce of their goods. Frustrated, and Blake growing angrier with each "No Faunus allowed" sign they passed, the pair decided it best to return to the café to regroup.

"So, what's the plan now?" Sun hummed as they walked, hands linked behind his head.

"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies." Blake brought a finger up to her chin, "They've never needed that much Dust before."

"What if they did?!" Sun stopped in his tracks, wide-eyed, "I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be."

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

"How huge?" Her eyes lit up.

"Huge." Sun spread his arms out wide, "Big Schnee Company freighter."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure that's what they said, yeah. As for whether or not it's really gonna be there, or if it's what whoever's gonna target next, I have no idea. But we don't have any other leads, do we? So, what's the problem if we just scope the place out for a while, keep watch over everything."

"Yes, cause I'm sure it'll look good for a Huntress to just sneak into a private docking bay, especially when she's not on anyone's orders." Blake deadpanned.

"Hey, I'm a Huntsman too, ya know!"

"And yet, you thought it was a good idea to sneak onto some random cargo ship on your way to Vale? What are they teaching you at Haven?"

"I don't wanna hear it, alright? You're starting to sound like Neptune." He sighed, "Look, I needed to get to Vale for the Vytal Tournament, and it's not like I have a ton of Lien for a ticket. Those guys were already coming here, so I just sort of figured, why not? But all that's bedside the point! You wanna make sure the White Fang aren't the ones swiping all the Dust, right? Well, this is our best bet. And if anyone does find us, we'll just say we were on the job and had to chase someone through there. It's no big deal…"

Blake thought for a moment. What Sun said was true, if such a big freighter had come in loaded with Dust from the SDC, it would have to be the next target. This could be their one chance to absolve the White Fang of all these petty robberies. Still, she didn't like the idea of just breaking into this place. That, and she didn't want to think about what might show up there. The thought brought back memories of her last day as a member of the White Fang, flying through the Forever Fall Forest, infiltrating the train with… She shook her head.

"Think we can find a spot where nobody can find us?" She smiled meekly.

"Of course!" Sun beamed, "Between the two of us, there's no way anyone will find us there! I mean, not to brag or anything, but nobody on that ship found me until we docked. Besides, docks like this are all open air. It'll be a piece of cake. Not like we're breaking into a bank or anything like that. Come on, let's go!"

As he ran off, Blake called after him, "I really hope you're not talking from experience!"

It was Weiss's idea to head into the parts of town most inhabited by Faunus. With Blake being a Faunus herself, Weiss figured she most likely would have taken up shelter among them, and given that she had taken Gambol Shroud with her, it wasn't too hard to imagine that someone would notice a girl wearing a black bow and carrying a katana. Even so, their search had proven to be anything but fruitful so far. While most of the shopkeepers and other staff of the places they stopped to look for Blake were fairly hospitable, the moment they mentioned they were looking for someone, they all clammed right up. It was impossible to tell whether or not any of them had actually seen her or not, but Farran could tell that none of them would sell out a fellow Faunus to a bunch of humans, least of all one wearing the Schnee Family crest on her back.

"Thanks anyways!" Yang called in through the door as they left yet another store, having no more answers than when they started. She sighed, "This is hopeless!"

"We stick out like a sore thumb around here…" Farran glanced behind him, "Maybe we'd have more help if I brought out my wings?"

"Farran, I'm fairly certain that no Faunus on the planet has an animal trait made of pure silver. If anything, you'd make us stand out more." Weiss droned as she nonchalantly scanned the area.

"You really don't care if we find her, do you?" Yang's question hung heavy in the air.

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Don't be stupid; of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her." She started walking again, calling over her shoulder, "The innocent never run, Yang!"

Yang's face dropped as she fell right in step behind Weiss, "Why does she have to act like that?"

Farran clapped her on the shoulder, "Well, she doesn't know everything that we do. I'm sure she'd be acting differently if she knew about the video and all that."

"I guess you're right… Hey, speaking of that, what's our time looking like?"

Farran flipped open his scroll, "It's almost four… We promised we'd meet Viola on the other side by five, right?"

"Yeah… Dust, how are we gonna work this?" She groaned, "We have no idea where Ruby is, we still haven't found Blake, and we still need to find a way to get Weiss off our backs so she doesn't see us going over there…"

"Let's start by finding out where Ruby is." Farran offered, "We can work out the other stuff from there, ok?"

She nodded opening up her scroll as well, as Farran pulled up the messaging app. Once he was sure that it was just the three of them in the chat, he hurriedly typed up a message.

F: Hey Ruby, where are you?

R: YOU GUYS ABANDONED ME! :(

Y: We didn't abandon you!

F: Well, Weiss and Yang did. I just got dragged along against my will.

Y: Shut up, Hero. Nobody asked you. Seriously Rubes, where are you?

R: In the Commercial District. With Penny.

Y: …You guys ok?

R: Yeah, we're fine. Penny's actually a really sweet person. She's just… really overexcited about being friends.

Y: Now you know how we all felt dealing with you, sis.

R: I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS!

"So, she's ok at the very least." Farran looked up from his scroll at Yang.

She nodded, "Yeah, but she's on the complete other side of town…"

F: So, what's the plan? We agreed to meet up with Viola at 5. Any sign of Blake?

R: No… And I have no idea how I'm gonna get away from Penny. I can't really get a word in.

F: Plus we still have to deal with Weiss.

R: Well… I do have an idea. Not sure if you guys will like it, though.

Y: …I already don't if you're gonna phrase it like that.

R: Just hear me out, ok? We need someone out here so that we can find Blake, but we also need to get to the top floor of the Palace.

F: Ruby, are you telling us to go without you?

Y: Not happening, Sis!

R: Just listen to me! If we don't find Blake, we wont be able to change her cognition, which means we can't beat her Shadow! As long as you two stay out of fights, you'll be fine. Plus, you'll still have Viola!

"What do you think Yang?" Farran murmured, "Can't say I like anything about this idea."

"Neither do I." She frowned, "Saying not to get into combat is one thing, but that place is swarming with Shadows. Not only would we be down one Persona user, we don't really have much of a way to heal without Ruby..."

"But?"

"But we don't have much of a choice, now do we. We don't have any time to be wasting trying to meet up to go do this. Even if we can do this all tomorrow, I'd prefer not to have to deal with a whole mess of Shadows from the second we go in." She smiled sadly, "And besides, I'd rather have Blake back with us and safe as soon as possible, you know? I hate the thought of her being off on her own again tonight."

"I suppose you're right…"

Farran quickly hammered out a confirmation, promising that they would send word the second they made it out of the Palace, and asking Ruby to message them if she found anything. Once he received a satisfactory reply, he flipped his scroll shut, and the two of them rushed ahead to catch up to Weiss, who had gained quite a bit of ground on them during their private conversation.

"Finally done talking amongst yourselves?" Weiss asked as their footsteps grew nearer, not even turning to face them.

"Yep, all set." Yang tittered, "We were just talking about how out of place the Schnee Family heiress looks walking around this part of town."

"You're not funny." She scowled, "In any case, I don't know about you two, but after all this running around all day, I'm starting to get famished."

"Food?" Yang looked to Farran, who just shrugged, "Sure, I could go for some. You got any idea what you want?"

"It's not so much what I want, so much as what I can afford. I didn't bring any money with me today, as I didn't believe we'd be gone for so long… I don't suppose either of you brought any either, did you?"

There was an awkward pause before Farran responded, "We weren't exactly planning on needing any either…"

"I figured as much." She groaned, "That being the case, I see no other option but for us to go back to Beacon for dinner." Farran and Yang opened their mouths to speak, but she swiftly silenced them, "I'm not debating this. Whether you decide to come back and look for Blake afterwards is your choice, but I won't allow you two to run yourselves into the ground and collapse on an empty stomach. Now, do you have any idea where Ruby is?"

"We just got done texting her, actually." Yang motioned towards her scroll, "She's with Penny over in the Commercial District. I guess the two of them just got done eating at a café or something. She said they're gonna keep looking for Blake, but she'll meet up with us once Penny leaves."

"That traitor…" Weiss grumbled. When she realized Farran and Yang heard her, she cleared her throat, "Well, I guess it can't be helped if she's already eaten. Send her another message, and tell her we'll be heading back to Beacon for the time being."

By the time Blake and Sun had found a suitable place to hide, where they could still keep watch over the docking bay, the evening sun had already started its journey down towards the horizon, casting a burnt orange hue across the water. From their vantage point atop one of the many storage buildings lining the perimeter of the bay, Blake could see a number of burly sailors moving to and fro, directing the transportation of the cargo off the deck of the ship. On the side of each of the gigantic, metal containers being unloaded, she could see the unmistakable snowflake that served as the Schnee Dust Company's logo.

Sun took a seat next to her, "So, what do you think? Was I right, or was I right?"

"Well, the SDC logo's definitely on those containers. And it looks like they won't be done unloading that freighter for a while." She muttered, not taking her eyes off the busyness below, "So it would seem your intel was right. Good job, Sun."

"You say that, and yet you seem more annoyed than happy to be in the right spot."

"Not annoyed, just… This isn't the first time I've dealt with the SDC before." Blake rubbed her temples, "I'm not proud of it, but I did take part in a number of raids when I was still with the White Fang, and some were after SDC cargo. Including my last one…" She froze for a second, then shook her head, "The problem is, every time we raided them, the SDC had gone above and beyond with security. Yet here the two of us are, sitting on a roof right above such a huge shipment, and I don't know about you, but I didn't see any guards or cameras… or much of anything really on our way here."

"Eh, you worry too much Blake." Sun laid back on the roof, lazily, "I'm sure all that stuff was there. We're just so good, we managed to sneak on up here without them seeing us or vice versa!"

"Can you be serious for just a second?" She snapped, "A Dust shipment this large should have armed guards or some sort of mech units or something! Their whole setup down there just feels wrong…"

He sat up with a frown, "Look, I know you're right. Something's fishy about this whole thing, and it isn't just the bay. But that just means we're in the right spot, doesn't it? Either the group that's been doing this have people on the inside, or whatever idiots that are running this place just don't have security set up, I don't know. But the whole place is just one huge sitting duck for whoever's been stealing all the Dust. Even if they weren't planning on hitting this place tonight, I gotta think they're gonna be showing up now. Which means, all we gotta do is camp out here and wait."

"That's a good point… I guess you're right. Thanks Sun, and sorry for yelling at you."

"Hey, no problem. I know this you're completely on edge from all this, I don't blame you. Just try and calm down, ok?" Sun kipped-up back to his feet, "Now, I'm gonna go on a food run, grab us something to eat. I should be right back, but if anyone shows up while I'm out… I dunno, you do you, but try to not start the party without me, ok? Don't try and take on these guys alone."

She nodded, and Sun ran and leapt from their spot on the top of the building. She watched as she left, waiting until she saw him leap over the chain link fence surrounding the perimeter, landing out on the street and giving her a wave. When she looked back to the cargo being unloaded, her heart skipped a beat as she saw a brief flash of bubblegum pink on the opposite side of the docking bay. She slammed her binoculars up to her eyes, scanning the area for the blur, but by that point it was gone. Seconds went by, which turned into minutes, and the pink flash never reappeared, nor was there any sign it had ever been there. Chalking it up to a trick of the setting sunlight reflecting off the water, she gave up her search for the odd phenomenon, turning back to her watch.

Yang stormed into the dorm room, slamming the door closed behind her, and forcing Farran to quickly duck into the room to prevent himself from being crushed in the doorway. She had been steaming from the second they left the dining hall, almost bowling over another student who hadn't been paying attention. Towards the tail end of their meal, Weiss popped up out of her chair without warning. At their startled glances, she simply stated she didn't have any more time to be messing around with midterms fast approaching, and that when they were done playing hide and seek, they could find her in the library. With that, she strolled out of the dining hall, without another word or a glance back at them. Yang had sat there, dumbstruck, for quite some time, her hair glowing bright gold. At some point, Farran was convinced she would rip the table off the ground and hurl it at Weiss. Thankfully, she kept her temper mostly in check without incident. That is, until they made it back into the dorm room.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" She exploded once the door was closed, her hair glowing to the point Farran could swear it actually became a wreath of flames.

"Look, I get it Yang, but please calm down!" Farran pleaded, hands out in front of him, defensively, "I'm not any happier about this than you are, but it all works out, doesn't it? We had to figure out how to get away from her, and we did!"

"I don't care about all that!" She cocked her fist back, looking for a moment as if she would blast a hole through the wall. After a beat, and then another, she finally lowered her hand, "I get what you're saying Farran, but… Gods, she just pisses me off so much! We're supposed to be teammates! We're gonna be going out there and fighting Grimm and maybe even dying together! And yet she's got the balls to sit there, look me in the eyes, and tell me she'd rather go study than go making sure her Gods damned teammate is alright."

"I know, Yang. Believe me, I do. But we have to keep focused. Right now, we have to get to the top of the Palace. It's gonna be hard enough without Ruby, and it'll be impossible if you start flying off the handle." He grabbed her tightly by either shoulder, "So please, just take a deep breath, and calm down. We can deal with Weiss once we have Blake back, safe and sound. Ok?"

"Ok, ok. I'm fine" Yang took a deep breath, and smiled, "I'm calm. Thank you, Farran." She peeled his hands off her shoulders, "Hero, I know I'm good looking and all, and I know it must be really hard for you, but please don't touch me. I don't really consider cafeteria food 'taking me out for dinner', you know. Gonna have to do a little bit better than that."

"There she is. There's the Yang I know. Come on, you. Let's get moving."

Even as he said that, Farran felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Ever since they had left Vale, he'd been trying to keep an overwhelming sense of dread from spreading over him. As they entered the storage closet, he could feel his stomach twisting in knots, and his heart threatened to pound out of his chest, these sensations belying the calm smile he was forcing himself to put on. They got into position, and he pulled out his scroll, flipping it open to the Metaverse app. With palms already slick with sweat, he went to press the button to transport them into the Metaverse, and hesitated. He tried to take a breath to steel himself, but his body rejected his commands. No matter what he did, he could not bring himself to press the button.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go… Oh shit, Farran. You ok? You're so pale!" She moved in front of him, a worried frown scrawled on her face, "…You're really that scared of going underground, aren't you?"

"What? No, no, I'm fine. I'll be alright. I mean, we got through last time just- Ow!" He tried to play it off, but she biffed him on the head.

"Don't be stupid, you idiot. I don't know if you can lose your Persona for something like this, but the last thing we can afford is for your Shadow to pop out again cause you're too big of a moron to admit you're still scared. Now spill it."

Farran wanted to deny it, but her glare told him he had no choice, "Alright, fine. I know it's stupid, but… You know how I was chucked off the top of a building? And that it almost killed me? But I can fly just fine! If anything, I just feel excited when I'm up in the air. So why the hell would I be afraid of something so dumb like being underground? You'd think I'd be more comfortable down there…"

Yang stood there, silent for just a moment, "…I wouldn't say it's stupid. Most people are afraid of shit that doesn't make sense when you first think about it. I mean, you said Pyrrha's afraid of snakes of all things right?" She shrugged, "You know, I remember learning something in school, back before I went to Signal even. Way back when, the Dust miners would bring caged birds down into the mines with them. Cause of all the deadly gasses and stuff that can leak out in the mines, the idea is that the miners would check if they were still making noise, cause if they weren't, then the gas had killed them so they knew to turn back. That just sorta stuck out to me, cause I thought it was cruel. The poor things must have been so afraid to go down there, when they were used to flying around free. I know you're not really a bird or anything, but maybe it's the same with you? I mean, if I had your Semblance, I'd be up in the air all the time."

"Yeah, maybe…"

"Oh, come on! I'm trying to be deep and philosophical and caring here! The least you could do is try and humor me." She sighed, "Fine, come here. I'm gonna show you a trick to try and calm you down, but if you make this weird, I'll end you. Now close your eyes, and lean your head forward."

"Ok…?" He did as she asked.

"Alright, good. Now…" He felt something warm press against his forehead. He opened his eyes to see Yang's purple irises right in front of him, her forehead pressing against his, "I said to shut your eyes, dumbass." Reluctantly, he did so, "Ok. Keep your breathing steady, and focus on my voice. Every word, every syllable." As she started talking, Farran started seeing something, despite his eyes being closed. Above him, just out of his field of view, there was a yellow light, bright as the sun, "Do you see that? That's my aura, Farran. I want you to remember what you're seeing right now. The light of my aura. Never forget it. Whenever you're afraid, I want you to remember this light. Remember that, no matter what, I'll always be there for you, and whatever it is that's making you scared, I'll help you." He heard her take a step back, and opened his eyes to see her beaming in front of him, "And there you go! Feel better?"

Farran realized that his breathing had slowed considerably, and his heart was no longer frantically thumping. He nodded, "Tons. Thanks Yang, although that was a little more…"

"Don't. Don't even say it. I learned that trick from my stepmom, thank you. The context was totally different." She stamped her foot, "Gods, what's wrong with you? You go telling me to calm down, then you start freaking out yourself!"

"Well, if I'm screwed up, at least I'm in good company with you around!" He snickered.

"Uh, no. I'm a perfectly normal, sane person, and would have been living a normal, sane life, at least as much of one as a Huntress can have, if you weren't around." She shot him a wink, "I swear, Ruby should have left you out on the streets."

"Hey, you all wanted me to join, and you know it!"

"No, that's all on Ruby, Hero. I said I didn't want you back then, and now… Well, I'm still not too sure I'm happy about it."

They shared a brief laugh, and Farran raised up his scroll, "Alright, what's say we get going. The two of us got a date with Blake's Shadow."

"Oh, I like the sound of that! After you, Hero."

He took a deep breath, and with the image of a bright, yellow sun in his mind, he hammered the button on his scroll. Seconds later, the blue light emanating from the scroll swallowed them, and all sound was lost to the furious gales of the blue void. After all their trips between the real world and the Metaverse to this point, Farran had become far more comfortable with the process than he ever would have been comfortable with. The ground coming up to meet them before the light even faded, the sounds of the Palace replacing the torrent of winds, it had all started to become routine. What was new, however, was the sound of a familiar scream and a loud splash that rang out when they started to hear the otherwise normal crashing of waves. When their eyes finally adjusted from the blaring light coming from the scroll to the relatively dark cave, they spun around to a sight that filled them both with dread. A good few feet away from them, furiously and confusedly thrashing about in the water, was the unmistakable form of Weiss Schnee.

"Weiss?!" Yang yelled as they sprinted down to the water line, "What the hell- This way! Swim this way!"

At the sound of Yang's voice, Weiss began to swim, in a way that could be considered anything but graceful, towards the beach. She dragged herself up onto the sand, desperately sputtering and trying to catch her breath. When she finally got her wits about her, she turned to them with a look full of rage, confusion, embarrassment, shock, and fear, "Explain."

"Wha- Explain?! You explain!" Yang shot her an accusatory finger, "Why are you here?! You said you were going to the library!"

"That was obviously a lie!" She huffed, "You two are honestly nowhere near as clever as you apparently think you are. You really don't think I noticed you two and Ruby have been hiding something? You think it didn't strike me as odd that you would just fall behind and talk amongst yourselves when you had been oh so focused on searching for Blake? It was so obvious you two were planning something! The only reason I said what I did is because I knew you would go flying off the handle, and Farran would be too busy trying to calm you down, so neither of you would bother trying to check and see if you were being followed!"

"You had that all planned out?!" Farran furrowed his brow.

"But this!" She threw her arms out to the cave around them, hysterically "Where are we?! A cave…? Is this a cave?! How in the world did we get into a cave?! We were at the dorms! There's no caves anywhere near the Academy! Then that light… and I fell… and… and… Farran Park, what did you do?!"

"Weiss, now isn't the time! You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous! We need to get you back home before-"

"Absolutely not!" She cut him off with a glare, "I refuse to go anywhere, until you two give me a satisfactory explanation as to just what in the world is going on here!"

"Will you keep it down?!" Footsteps echoed from the tunnel leading into the Palace, as Viola emerged running into the cave, "Something's wrong. All the Shadows are… Oh." Her eyes widened as she noticed Weiss, "You are… new? I haven't met you before. I must say dear guest, it's a rather interesting move to bring someone new along while we're on such a tight timeframe. And, where's Ruby? Shouldn't she be with you?"

Weiss stared at the new arrival incredulously, "W-Who are you? Farran, who is she?!"

"We weren't planning on bringing her with us, Viola." Farran shrunk, "Weiss just sort of… tagged along, I guess."

"It would seem you are far more irresponsible than I had imagined, Farran…" Viola grimaced, "This makes the second time you inadvertently led someone into this world. Actually, if you include your first foray here with Ruby, this would be the third."

"Wha- This world?" A vein started to rise on Weiss's forehead, "Would one of you, any of you, please just explain what on Remnant is going on?!"

"Very well then…" Viola acquiesced, "First, allow me to introduce myself. I believe you are Weiss, correct? My name is Viola, attendant of the Velvet Room, and guide to Farran Park, our guest. As for your question, well… The easiest answer is that nothing on Remnant is going on here, as we are no longer on Remnant to begin with. What you see before you is another world, the world of the conscious of all human and Faunus-kind, more commonly known as the Metaverse. To be more specific, we are currently standing in a portion of the Metaverse belonging to your teammate, Blake."

"Metaverse? Another world? Blake…?" Weiss started to look like she might topple over, prompting Yang to give hold onto her to help keep her balanced, "I-I don't… I don't understand…"

Farran, Yang, and Viola did their best to bring Weiss up to speed on their adventures through the Metaverse thus far. Farran described his first night in the hospital, where he met Igor and Viola, as well as his first experience in this new world. He and Yang went on to recount when they awakened to their Personas, as well as when Ruby awakened to Lupa, while Viola gave her a brief rundown of exactly what Personas were. Finally, they gave her an overview of their fight against Richards, from exploring his Palace, to setting up the video in his office that changed his cognition, to finally toppling his Shadow once and for all, culminating with them explaining what they knew about Blake's Palace and her disappearance, as well as showing her both of the videos they had received to that point. During their exposition, Weiss stood there, her initial shock wearing off surprisingly fast, her eyes closed as she meditated on everything she was being told.

When they had all said their peace, Weiss finally opened her eyes with a curt frown, "So, if I were to believe you all, and that is still very much up in the air at the moment, I would like to summarize what you have just told me. For almost a month, you have been traveling to another world, fighting with the manifestations of humanity's cognitions, forced a highly dangerous and violent member of one of the most powerful gangs in all of Remnant to confess to his crimes by defeating the physical forms of his desires, and worst of all, almost managed to get yourself expelled. All the while, the two of you and Ruby thought it best to hide all of these facts from your teammates who, might I remind you of your own repeated words, you are supposed to trust completely. Is that the case?"

"Well, not quite…" Farran rubbed the back of his neck, "I mean, we weren't planning on keeping you and Blake in the dark about this forever. We were going to fill you in as soon as we were sure Richards's Palace was safe, but we weren't expecting the whole place to just collapse the second we beat his Shadow. And then with Blake disappearing, and with such a short time to work with, we just wanted to focus on getting this done."

"I suppose I can't fault your logic on that…" She gave a forlorn look around her, "I don't think I would have believed you without seeing it for myself. Everything you've just said sounds like nothing more than someone's delusional fantasy. And yet, now that I'm here, there's no way I can deny it's existence."

"Yeah, yeah, ok. You believe us about this place now, great." Yang waved her hands, "Now we gotta get you back home! If you stay here any longer, who knows if the Shadows will find you."

"Actually, that's the thing Yang. That's why I came looking for you guys." Viola frowned, "All but one of the Shadows in this Palace, save for the Palace Ruler, are gone!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Farran and Yang blurted out simultaneously.

Viola took Farran's scroll and opened it to the map. Just as Viola had stated, the entire Palace was devoid of any sign of Shadows, save for one small blip of red emanating from the top floor, "You see? Something happened. I have no idea why, but all of the guard Shadows have disappeared!"

"Excuse me, if I may interject for a moment… Viola, was it?" Weiss pointed at the sole red blip on the screen, "If what you're saying is true, then there are four whole floors between us and the nearest enemy, correct? If that is the case, then wouldn't this be the perfect situation for me to awaken to a Persona?"

"Wait, are you serious Weiss?" Yang stared at her, dumbstruck, "You want to awaken to your Persona?"

"I don't see why not. Do you think I plan to just sit by and allow you two to run off and get yourselves killed on your own? Not on your life. And besides, if this really is Blake's Palace, then we could…" She trailed off for a moment, looking at the pool of water beside her, then shook her head, "Anyways, it's not that big of a deal. If there's no danger around, then all I have to do is accept that this Shadow of mine is a part of me, correct? Simple."

"It really isn't as easy as you think it is, Weiss." Farran pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking back to his own Shadow, "It's not just any part of you that you have to accept. Your Shadow is all of the parts of you that you hide away. Anything you're ashamed of or afraid of… Looking that dead in the eye and saying, 'Yes, I accept you're a part of me.' really isn't easy."

"So you say, Farran. Yet you three seem to have made it through just fine. I'm hardly mentally weak, you know. If there is a problem that I need to address, then I am certainly capable of accepting and overcoming it."

"Regardless, I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay here." Viola rubbed her temples, "The Shadows disappearing isn't the only problem with all this. Yesterday, I could sense the Palace ruler just fine, but now… I can't get a bead on it at all!"

"It's just gone? You're sure?" Yang furrowed her brow, "But how can that be? It's not like someone just came in here and beat the damn thing while we were gone… Right?"

"That's impossible. You guys are the only ones with access to the Metaverse! And besides, even if that was the case, if someone managed to beat her Shadow, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. The Palace would be gone."

"But then where-"

Before Yang could finish her question, a shadowy figure, their form distorted by a cloud of pitch black haze billowing around it, came flying from the tunnel to the Palace like a bat out of hell. Before they could even react, the figure came at them and sent Farran and Yang flying across the room, before engulfing itself around Weiss. It scooped her up within its darkness, and just as soon as it came, it retreated back within the Palace, Weiss's blood-curdling scream echoing behind it. Farran and Yang scrambled to their feet, and they and Viola made a mad dash after the mysterious figure. Weiss's fearful screams were their only guide as they ascended through the Palace. Just as Viola had said, the Shadows were nowhere to be seen, but beyond that, the Palace itself had changed. The walls, floors, and ceilings of the corridors they passed through had been carved out by something with massive claws, their mark left deep within even stone and steel as if it were paper.

As they clambered through the, now destroyed, third floor barracks, Weiss's screams finally ceased. Farran found himself taking the stairs to the fourth floor two at a time, ignoring the pangs of pain that started flaring up in his bad knee as he sprinted forward. He and Yang threw open the doors to the fourth floor, coming out into a single, circular room. Much like the lowest floor, the walls of this room were all lined with prison cells made of steel bars, yet that was where all the similarities ended. While not lavish by any stretch of the imagination, the cells were much more sensibly decorated, with actual furniture fit for use, and rather than rusted out bars, the steel that lined the cages looked brand new and freshly polished. And inside all the cages were…

"Faunus…?" Yang muttered, as they tentatively entered the room.

Unlike the over cramped cells containing humans that appeared half dead on the second floor of the prison, these cells each contained a single Faunus, and of those present, though some looked a bit sickly and pale, they seemed no worse for wear.

"But, if this prison is run by the White Fang…" Farran's eyes scanned the area, "Then why are there Faunus in these cages as well?"

"Blood traitors." A new, calm voice called from across the room. From out of the darkness, the figure of a girl with brown hair that came back in a long curl stepped out, her already tanned skin marred with even darker splotches. Much like the Shadows they'd encountered thus far, she wore the mask of the White Fang as well, "Every last one of them."

"What do you mean?" Farran pulled Silverbreak free of its sheath.

"Simple. There are those that, for some reason, would abandon the plight of their own race and stand against the White Fang. They claim our methods are too violent, and that they don't actually work in their favor. Ignoring, of course, all the respect that we've forced people to give us. For that reason, they are our enemies." She let out a short laugh, "Of course, they're still above humans. So even if they need to be punished for their crimes against Faunus, they still deserve better than your pathetic race."

"Sounds to me like you're all a bunch of psychos that will take out anyone who doesn't agree with them." Yang growled, preparing Ember Celica.

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about. How could a human like you possibly understand anything about the White Fang? Your race is too stupid, and your minds to clouded with bias and hate."

"Oh, just shut up and give us Weiss back already!"

"Weiss? Oh, I suppose you mean that Schnee girl." The Shadow let out a mirthful chuckle, "I'm afraid you're too late for her. She's already fallen victim to our most dangerous Prisoner. The very same prisoner that managed to slaughter all of our other guards. I'm afraid her death is guaranteed now. Except, well, she is a Schnee after all, so I guess I'm not afraid at all! Anything she gets is exactly what she deserves."

"That's enough! I've heard all I can stand out of you!" Yang roared.

With her hair shining a bright gold, Yang charged forward, readying a devastating punch for the Shadow, but it was far too quick. The Shadow ducked out of the way of her punch, and using her momentum, tossed Yang clear across the room, her back slamming into the bars of one of the cells with a loud clang. With one last laugh, the Shadow wrenched the Grimm mask off her face with a horrific squelch. Her body shuddered and wretched, stretching and turning in on itself, her whole form becoming the black mass that usually accompanied a Shadows transformation. However, as she changed, the room began to darken, not from the lights going out, but almost as if the darkness itself was rising from the floor. The entire room filled with the darkness, making it near impossible for Farran to see Viola, even though she stood right next to him, let alone either Yang or the Shadow.

Farran turned to ask Viola to scan the Shadow, but before he could even open his mouth, he heard a quick rustle to his left, as something leapt at him from the darkness. He brought Silverbreak up, just barely catching a set of claws before they could reach his throat. For a brief moment, he could see his opponent, right in front of his face. The Shadow had taken the form of a gorgeous woman, her entire upper torso covered in fur, a pair of cat ears replacing normal human ones. Her golden eyes gleamed in the darkness as she swiped at him, once again trying to slice him with her claws. Farran forced her back, taking a swing at her with Silverbreak that caught nothing but the pitch-black air. Before he could recover, he felt his entire body jolt, a streak of white hot pain shooting down through his torso, as the Shadow called down a bolt of lightning on top of him.

He fell to one knee, the Shadow standing over top of him with a predatory sneer, her razor sharp claws sliding out from her paws. She reared back, looking to claw out the throat of her foe, only to be sent flying by the flame covered fist of Pele. Farran heard footsteps coming from the darkness, Yang appearing in the light offered by Pele's flames shortly after.

"Don't worry, Hero. I got you." She pulled him back to his feet, "Won't let you die on me that easily."

"Wasn't gonna die. Damn thing just fried my spine for a second." He muttered through clenched teeth. If he was being honest, his nervous system was still feeling the effects of that zap, but he couldn't falter. Not while Weiss was still being held captive, "Thank you, Yang. Alright Viola, what is this thing?"

A soft light spread out around them before she answered, "It's a Nekomata, of the Hermit Arcana. You already saw that it uses strong electric attacks, as well as its claws. As far as weaknesses go, the only thing I can sense is that it's weak to wind."

"Of all the times for us to not have Ruby!" Yang growled.

"I still have Kijimuna though." Farran grimaced, "Although, with how weak it is defensively, I don't know if I'll be able to take another hit from that thing's lightning. Can you keep her off me, Yang?"

She nodded, just as the Nekomata came screaming out of the darkness. She lunged at Farran, looking to strike, but was met by Pele once again. The Shadow and Persona traded blows, the Nekomata's speed matched by Pele's. The two seemed to be at a stalemate of speed and strength until Farran summoned Kijimuna, the small Persona unleashing a gale of wind beneath the Shadow that swept it off its feet, allowing Pele to gain a temporary advantage, beating down on the grounded Shadow until she managed to break free. They continued to take advantage of their numbers, Yang using Pele to keep the Shadow occupied, while Farran used Kijimuna's wind magic to knock her down, and give Yang an opening. After quite some time of following that pattern, just as the two felt a heavy fatigue start to set in, the Nekomata finally collapsed, allowing Farran to take her as a Persona.

As the light from the ethereal chain around his wrist faded, Farran slumped down on the ground. He tried to force himself back up, but his muscles burned and ached, revolting against his commands until Yang finally pulled him back up. The darkness around them started to give way to room's lighting, slowly but surely until they could see the whole room again. That was when they heard the faint sound of clapping coming from the stairwell leading to the final floor. The door swung open, and out stepped the figure from earlier, wisps of shadows cascading off its form. With a flick of what Farran guessed to be its arm, the figure dispelled the shadows around its face, causing Farran's skin to crawl. What stood before them almost appeared as if Blake had a twin, who had just been picked up off the streets. Her long, black hair that would normally appear silky and smooth, now dangled down her back, unkempt, matted, and in some spots it appeared as if it had been ripped out. Her ears looked mangy, and one even had a large chunk torn from the side, and her normally amber eyes now glowed gold.

"Very well done. I thought she would be more than enough to handle the both of you." Shadow Blake smirked, "Although I have to admit, I'm disappointed in you Farran. This is the world of my desires. It's a very personal and private place. You should know better than to come digging around in here."

"Yeah, well… You know me." Farran shrugged, trying to keep himself calm, "I stop giving a shit about personal boundaries once I know something's wrong. We only came here to help you, Blake."

"Help me? Oh, I'm sure." She glared down at him, "Just like you helped me when you tried convincing me to trust the team. Just like you helped me when you tried telling me to trust Weiss. Like you helped me by trying to get me to believe that not all humans are scum. No, Farran. You haven't helped me one bit. All you managed to do was get my hopes up so that when Weiss decided to show her true colors, it would hurt even more."

"You don't know what you're talking about, Blake!" Yang growled, "Weiss spent all day trying to help us look for you! Give her back!"

"Tch. Don't worry your little head about her, Yang. She's safe. For now." The billowing darkness in front of Shadow Blake dispersed even more, allowing the two of them to see Weiss. She was being held tightly against Shadow Blake's body, her fingers wrapped tightly across Weiss's neck as their teammate struggled for air. Shadow Blake turned back to them, her face riddled with scorn, "But you won't be getting her back. The Schnee family heiress dies by my hand tonight."

"What?! Blake, this is stupid! I know what Weiss said, and I know it pissed you off, but you wouldn't kill her… would you?"

She sneered, "How many people do you think I've killed with the White Fang? Do you really think being put in some inane group of 'teammates' is enough for me to not kill her?"

"So you really are…?"

"A member of the White Fang? Try asking my other self in the real world. Assuming the coward hasn't run off by now. She's starting to run out of places to hide." With one last whimper, Weiss disappeared back within the darkness surrounding Shadow Blake, "This conversation is over. Say goodbye, you two. This is the last you'll see of either of us. At midnight tonight, the daughter of Jacques Schnee dies."

Before either of them could react, Shadow Blake shot out of the room, retreating up the stairs and out of sight. Yang charged after her, angrily spewing obscenities in her wake. However, once she crossed the threshold of the door, thick, black ribbons shot out from the wall, tangling themselves around her neck, arms, torso, and anywhere else they could grab ahold of her. She tried to steamroll past them, but the more she forced her way through, the more ribbons tied themselves around her. Viola ran after her, grabbing the choking, gagging blonde from behind, and pulling her back into the room with them. The second Yang had crossed back through, the ribbons released her, retracting back into the walls they came from. Once she was free of their grasp, Yang tried to bolt for the door again, but Viola held on tight.

"Yang, stop it!" She pleaded, "You won't be able to get through! That's a defense mechanism caused by her cognition. She doesn't want anyone to see what's beyond this point."

"So what are you telling me, Viola?" Yang snarled, "Just leave Weiss here to die?! You heard what she said!"

"No, of course not! But until we find your friend in the real world, we won't be able to save her!"

"I don't like it any more than you do, but Viola's right." Farran frowned, "We have to go find Blake. If we don't, Weiss will…"

Yang held up a hand to stop him, "Alright, I get it. Sorry, I just… Gods, we don't even know where she is! How are we supposed to find her?"

"Well, Penny and Ruby have been looking for her since we left Vale. I gotta think that, even if they haven't found her, there's a lot less room that she could be hiding by now. But first things first, we gotta get out of here and go look."

With one last curse, and a glower towards the stairwell, Yang followed Farran down through the empty Palace, making their way towards the entrance.

Blake's heart skipped a beat as she watched two searchlights sliced through the foggy night air over her head. Sun had just returned with an armful of stolen apples, and the two watched as an airship descended through the fog, landing down in the docking bay. Blake could feel her nails digging into her palms as the door to the airship opened, hoping against hope that it wouldn't be occupied by members of the White Fang, but her prayers went unanswered. As a group of figures descended down the gangplank, she could see the crimson Beowolf skull that served as the White Fang's symbol emblazoned on their backs. Her heart sunk, as fury, sorrow, and confusion began to well up inside her.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun looked at her with a frown.

Blake sighed as she watched more White Fang troops exit the Bullhead, "No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right."

Before Blake could say or think anything else, a new voice called out from within the Bullhead, "Hey! What's the holdup!?" A red haired man in a white suit came strolling out of the ship, furiously gesturing with his cane, "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

Blake glared at the new arrival, unsheathing Gambol Shroud, and stepping towards the ledge, "This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that."

She leapt off, vaguely hearing Sun call after her as she fell, but she paid him no mind. What mattered most to Blake now was finding out what was going on. Adam, why…? What happened to you that you would work with someone like this? She snuck around in the shadows, making her way around crates and shipping containers, until she was in a good enough position to strike. She lunged, getting right up to the man's back, and bringing Gambol Shroud's blade up to his throat.

"What the-" The man almost sounded annoyed, "Oh, for f-"

"Nobody move!" Blake cut him off mid-swear.

The White Fang troops looked at her, readying their weapons as the man snickered, "Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady."

The White Fang troops started to move in, until Blake reached up behind her with her off hand, pulling her bow free, and exposing her ears to them. Once more she called out, "Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"

The man laughed as his troops lowered their weapons, "Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?"

"What are you talking about?"

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

Blake brought the edge of her blade right up to the skin of the man's neck, "Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation."

Just then, strong gusts of wind whipped all around them, blowing dust and dirt into Blake's face. "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation..." He sneered.

Two more bulkheads, no doubt loaded to the brim with White Fang troops began to descend into the bay above them. Blake watched in horror at their arrival, her attention diverted from the man for just long enough for him to adjust his cane. She heard the click of a trigger being pulled, as the ground exploded out from below her, the uproar leaving both sets of her ears ringing as she flew through the air, uselessly.

Author's Notes

RWBY is back! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :D

Hey guys!

Sorry for the lack of an update last week. Hit a bit of a funk in real life and everything, so the fic had to go on the backburner for a little bit. Everything's fine now, and I'm back to my normal writing schedule, so hopefully I can update more consistently like I did in Act 1!

Want to give a quick shoutout to the always awesome LVR6. They agreed to be my Beta reader/editor for this fic, so there should be a hell of a lot less typos going forward. If you guys get a second, definitely go give them some love. They got a bunch of awesome fics up on their page, so I sincerely recommend you give 'em a look.

The Persona Farran got in this chapter was a Nekomata: Japanese legends state that cats which live long enough, or which grow a long enough tail, will end having their tail split into two tails, and become a Nekomata. Nekomata have a variety of powers, including the ability to take human forms.

Anyways, that's all I got for this week. Hope to see you in the next Chapter!

Inferno :D