Since the last chapter was... well, 'that', I'll let you have this one sooner as an apology. :P



We're now stepping into end game territory.

7. Grimm Mask

"...it had dim lighting and handcuffs, it was totally romantic. Oh and kinky too, still can't believe little sis set it up!" Yang retold with enthusiasm the events of a few weeks back, the 'romantic date' she had no idea had been a failed attempt at payback.

"Sounds like a good time, maybe we should try it out, Nora." The dark-haired boy broke his quiet demeanor to evaluate the story, and his opinion left both girls pale with astonishment.

"Huh, Ren? I think she meant it in a sexual way..." Her voice came as a frail whisper, trying to be tactful about explaining the birds and bees to the ninja.

He said nothing, but instead shrugged as if he'd known all along, not the naive kid they made him out to be. There was a barely visible hint of a smirk there, clearly glad to have cracked his partner so easily. One of the advantages of being the silent type was that anything he said was just so much more impactful, be it solid advice or mindless trickery, something he had picked up from the redhead.

Nora giggled at her unusually playful friend, and the blonde who watched them broke down with curiosity.

"Okay, now you have to tell me what happened on your trip to Mistral. Are you two together-together now?"

The Queen of the Castle opened her mouth wide to answer, eyes gleaming with amusement, but Ren covered it with his hand.

"You know what they say, what happens in Mistral stays in Mistral."

"Oh wow that sounds naughty, I wonder what kind of freaky things you guys did over there."

"We went there to talk to Pyrrha's parents, and that's what we did." The ninja was still covering Nora's mouth, but he made a disgusted expression and removed it in a flash. "Nora! Did you have to lick me?"

"No, but you taste good." She made an innocent look, which only made Yang's fire of uncertainty burn brighter.

"Something happened, I'm sure of it. You'd be better spill fast or I'll get angry, and you know what I'm like when I get angry." But neither of them bought the bluff, so she reluctantly moved on. "Ugh, fine. Where's Jaune anyway?"

"He's in his room, resting. The trip was pretty hard on him, so he needs some time."

"Which reminds me, shouldn't you be taking care of him?" The ginger butt in violently, almost like she was trying to send her partner away.

"In a bit, I was hoping we'd still get to see Ruby."

"Oh good luck with that, she's home talking with her girlfriends. Weiss and Penny had to stay in Atlas, so she spends obnoxious amounts of time on the scroll, doing Oum-knows-what." Yang vented part of her frustration towards her sibling. First Roman, and then those two, she missed having sister-time like when they were kids.

"I thought communications with other kingdoms were cut-off because of the CCT tower?"

"They are, but, well, perks of dating the heiress to the Schnee Corp. They gave her some prototype gyzmo, it takes like an hour to set up and eats all our electrical grid, but that way they can keep in touch." Suddenly, her own portable device started buzzing wildly inside her pocket, and she removed it before answering. "Speak of the devil. Hey sis, what's up?"

"I need your help. It's Roman."

Upon opening the door to their house, she was met with the disconcerting sight of pure despair inside. Ruby was pacing around aimlessly through the room, overbearing worry guiding her step and seeping into her expression. Roman was drowning himself in liquor, sitting down with a half-empty bottle on his lap, not even bothering to pour it in a glass. Neo was kneeling by her partner's side, a hand on his arm trying to console him. If even the ice-cream girl was concerned, there truly was a problem in their hands.

"All right, I'm here. What's the matter?"

The red-hooded speedster stopped with the look of a deer on the headlights. She glanced at Torchwick, and then back at her sister, pressured into being the one to explain by the silence in the room.

"It's... the White Fang."

"They want me back." The smooth criminal removed his mouth from the bottle to speak, but put it back instantly once done.

"Can't you just say no?"

"Not that simple, sweetheart. Have you ever met their leader, Adam? He's not the kind of guy that takes no for an answer. I don't want to be pulled in again, Blondie. I thought I was finally out."

"So we fight!" Yang really wasn't grasping the depth of situation.

"That's... actually the best idea so far."

"I still think we could send a puppet dressed like you." Ruby tried to pass her plan through once more, but no one paid her any attention.

"I don't get the long faces. We have a clear enemy in front of us. We go in, punch them in the face, and get out."

"Of course you'd say that, but there's hundreds, if not thousands of them. We can't take out that many."

"So we go after their leader, the what's-his-name."

"Adam."

"Yeah, that. If we kick his ass, that'll send them a message that you're off-limits." The brawler was still as straight to the point as ever, the only one with high spirits amidst the darkness. She loved a good fight, and taking on a notorious terrorist leader was sure to be a delightful challenge.

"You'd really do that for me, Blondie?" Roman placed the booze down, and looked expectantly at her. His eyes appeared defiant, but she knew it wasn't personal, they were all on edge.

"Hell no!" Every face in the room turned dumbstruck to her. "But I'll do it for Neo. She cares about you, and that's all I need to know."

The mobster nodded in approval, and faced Ruby next, skipping over the little serial-killer who didn't even need to say anything. "Red?"

"You've been there for me before, of course I'm in. You're family." That answer hit him a lot harder than he'd expected, both the words and the earnest tone they were spoken in. Family. That's something he hadn't had in a long time.

"Roman, are you crying?"

"Of course not, don't be an idiot. It would ruin my eyeliner." His voice nearly betrayed the lie, but no one called him on it.

The four of them started to prepare for the upcoming mission, sharing an unspoken promise to never again mention the time a mastermind of the criminal underworld had lost his composure because of being called family.

The compound was engulfed in darkness. The sun was just beginning to dawn on the horizon, offering some light to counteract the White Fang's natural night vision. The four trespassers quietly reconvened at a safe distance, to report the results of their reconnaissance.

They had all switched to a darker palette on their uniforms. Ruby was wearing the exact same thing she always did, between black and blood-red she was more than camouflaged. Neo had the same outfit she had used at the Vytal Festival, looking like the most murderous doll in existence. Roman had a black tuxedo on, giving him the distinguished look of an old spy movie villain, ever overdressed for the occasion. Yang had struggled the most with the trend, large portion of her wardrobe was bright yellow and orange. Yet she was the one with the most appropriate apparel, a form-fitting pair of black cargo pants and matching sweater, from which she had ripped off the sleeves. On the head she had a dark beret to hide her long hair.

Ruby was the one commanding the troops.

"All right, here is the plan. Their security is not as tight in the east sector."

"Yeah, but Adam is on the opposite side of the facility." Torchwick interrupted her, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Doesn't matter. We just need an opening to get in. Once inside, I'll be covering you from a distance with Crescent Rose. Yang and Neo are the Horns..."

"Hehehe."

"Have something to say, Yang?"

"You just said we're horny." The blonde chuckled while receiving death stares from everyone else.

Ruby sighed loudly before continuing.

"Yang and Neo will be the- will be moving in from the sides to catch any patrols off guard. But remember, no fighting unless absolutely necessary. We need the element of surprise. And sis, for the love of Oum, no explosions."

"I make no promises."

"Good to see you're taking this seriously. What about me?" The mobster was still feeling very uncomfortable about the scheme.

"You're going in through the front door."

"WHAT?"

"You're the only one who can get us access! Just walk in and say you're here to report to Adam. They'll let you inside without a second thought. Probably."

"So I'm gonna be bait, Red? And I thought I was family."

"You're not bait! Well, technically yes, you are, but you'll be safe! I'll be scouting ahead with my sniper, and the two lovebirds will make sure you don't run into trouble."

"I don't know, this sounds pretty fishy..."

At that point, Yang cut them short, eager to get the meeting done and go punch something.

"Damnit Torchwick! You can either be bait or work for the White Fang. Make your choice."

"Ugh, fine. But I'd better not get any blood on this jacket. Especially not mine."

"All right, then we're set!" The scythe-wielder squealed with excitement. "Team Rhino, roll out!"

"...team what?"

"'Rhino. It's our names put together, like in Beacon? R - R - Y - N. Rhino!"

"Wow, you're even worse than Ozpin at this. I would've gone with Team Ryan."

"I'm with Blondie on this one. Or Team Rain, way better than whatever a Rhino is supposed to be. Also, to clarify, I'm the first R in that, right? Cause I clearly deserve to be team leader."

"Why are you fighting me on this? Just go, we have a mission to do!"

Inside the base, Ruby hurried over to the rooftop so she could get a bird's eye view of the area. Activating her semblance, climbing the wall was a breeze compared to the massive cliffsides and towers she had run up, not even needing glyphs to help. Once up there, she unleashed the weapon in gun form, and kneeled down at the edge, looking through the scope.

It was a large fenced off complex, with various industrial buildings. There were searchlights and patrolling guards across the entire length. Numerous vehicles, cars built for any terrain, were parked throughout, offering a faster route between each part of the base. At the furthest corner was a small administrative building, with windows unlike the surrounding ones. That was where they'd find the target. Luckily Roman had worked with the faunus closely enough to have that information, otherwise they'd be royally screwed.

She spotted her teammates sneaking past security, and the criminal mastermind being allowed in. Everything was going according to plan. She turned the sights to further along to look for stray White Fang members that could make their life harder.

Before she could find any danger, it found her instead.

She didn't notice the approaching presence until there was a blade to her throat. She slowly began to lower the gun, trying to come up with a way to escape. And then, the attacker spoke.

"Who are you and why are you here? Talk fast and maybe I'll decide not to slice you open."

Spoken against her ear, Ruby could've recognized that voice anywhere. But she wished she hadn't. She didn't want to believe.

"B- Blake?"

The sword was removed from her neck, and the other person stumbled a few steps back in shock. When the youngster turned around, she saw a woman dressed in all back, except for a white Grimm mask covering her face just below her dark cat ears, which were not hidden under the usual bow.

"Ruby?"

In the distance, there was a roaring sound of something exploding. Somewhere across the base the plan was going southways, and the speedster could do nothing to help them.

The dark-haired terrorist looked towards the source of the noise. She removed the mask, revealing golden eyes that shifted to stare back in panic at the girl in the red hood.

"And Yang too? You... No! You're not supposed to be here!"

Remember when I said there would be more canon divergences? Well, I wasn't just talking about Weiss and Penny.