Chapter Text
Thrown with considerable force, Blake rolled to a stop. He barely missed hitting a metal crate but his Aura healed the damage. In the distance, the whirring of more aircraft grew closer - this operation was much larger than they assumed - more troops on their way. As he shook his head and coughed, the silhouettes of Torchwick and Goodwill stalked closer through the smoke.
Torchwick aimed his cane.
Then he was flung back, a rifle shot echoing somewhere.
Goodwill turned to him, “Where-”
Before he too was sent flying into a freighter, a chunk of ice pinning him to it.
“Sniper!” someone yelled, “Take cover!”
Fang members dove behind crates. But they still scrambled to secure them for the incoming airships. Above the shipyard, Ruben clocked Crescent’s bolt. With other airships right overhead and landing heavily, it was harder to rely on his hearing. But, patient, he waited for any movements towards Blake.
A noise made his ears twitch.
‘Are those… heels?’ he sniffed and relaxed, ‘They’re close.’
Thin metal scraped the confines of a sheath with a ping.
Taking a deep breath, he dodged the blade coming straight for his neck and heel kicked to a stand. His feet were close enough to strike the neapolitan coloured attacker in the face and he backflipped off her, off the building, before she could counter.
He shot his rifle at the ground to slow his descent, dashing into the clearing smoke.
The leader skied to Blake and hauled him up.
“Come on, we can’t let them flank us!”
The older boy groaned, “Flank?”
“There’s someone else here, they brought backup.”
They ran as the satyr Faunus pulled himself out from the ice. His chest burned from the cold, ice dripping off him in chunks or cool water but his mask hid any discomfort. But not for much longer. He pulled up the lower half of his mask - making it appear more like a white rhino - unhooking the weapon resting on his hip. Well, not really a weapon but an instrument. A white flute with red accents on the mouthpiece. The keys glowed different colours, representing the different Dust types stored within the pencil chamber. He blew a low tune - it sounded like a traditional instrument despite the high-tech augments. Clicking a button on the side, the instrument extended and he lined up his sight at the running teens.
With a sharp breath, a dart flew out.
Blake and Ruben sidestepped the flaming arrow, but couldn’t brace for the explosive result.
“Did you have to drag an innocent Faunus into your shame, Belladonna?” the man quizzed erring closer.
Ruben aimed his rifle, “I’m a Huntsman, I’ll stop you with or without Blake asking me.”
“Selling yourself out to humanity, I see.”
“It’s my duty to protect all life!” The boy furrowed his brow when he added: “And my dad and sister are Humans and they’re not-”
“A half-blood?!”
“Uh…” Rose cringed and whispered to his teammate, “Should I’ve said that?”
“No,” Blake pulled out his katana, “Ruben, run!”
He obeyed but stopped when music started to ring.
‘But I’m not-’
Wisps and tones of soul and sound floated above; Goodwill ensnared all with the rhythm he was painting with his instrument. Passionate and spiteful, the White Fang lieutenant told a story with his song. Blake felt himself slow down, a little dizzy, as the music hit his sensitive ears. Head snapping up, the Lieutenant trotted closer, in time with the music. With a blaring note, he threw Ruben up and stuck a hoof in his back.
The boy flew across the field, over Torchwick’s head, and right into a metal wall. Pain vibrated in time with the agitated iron, making him wheeze. Just when he found his footing, Ruben smacked into the same wall. The iron shaft of Torchwick’s cane was poised high before striking again. A sickening crunch echoed in his mind when he hit the ground and he spat out the gravel that breached his mouth.
“Oh, little red, little red,” Roman twirled his weapon, “You’re not all that without that oversized gardening tool of yours, are you?”
Speaking of which, the boy tried to keep calm without his dear weapon in hand. The world felt like it was closing in on him, his joints and muscles locking up to a painful state. The surrounding chaos led to her getting knocked away, and he had not a clue where she could be.
Just as Roman raised Melodic Cudgel, a flame Dust shotgun bullet blasted his chest, sending him rolling.
Ruben’s ears perked up, ‘I know that sound!’
Flipping dramatically over his head, Yang Xiao Long landed in front of her charge, his weapon in hand. She chucked it to him and Ruben lept to catch it.
“Come on, Pup,” she pounded her gauntlets, “Let’s show this two-bit thief how the Roses roll.”
That existential dread that consumed him was gone - slain and tossed into the sea while the Hunter stood triumphant. Slamming the button on her side, Crescent Rose shifted into a blade with her master falling into stance.
“Two-bit?!” Roman squawked, dusting off the soot on his chest, “You know what? After that, and ruining my outfit, you’re gonna regret ever being born, blondie!”
A sunny grin bloomed on her face. The siblings shared a knowing look and co*cked their weapons. Synced, the Roses taunted:
“Bring it!”
Blake, seizing his freedom with the momentary lack of music, used his clones to push into an offence. Goodwill jerked his flute, extending it into a full quarter staff, and blocked his attack. The larger man used his muscular frame to dominate the fight: the hard strikes of the cleaver didn’t so much as rattle his flesh. Blake aimed downwards, and Goodwill broke the staff apart into two batons and backflipped away. Clips of his fur flew off in the act, but he blew the instrument - a dart flying out to blast Belladonna away.
Landing more gracefully than a person of his build should, he chuckled and shook his head.
“I expected better of you, Blakey.”
The boy shuddered - the nickname felt evil coming from his lips.
“Brother of the great Adam Taurus, the heir of the Belladonna legacy - a legacy of fighting for justice-”
“Which you are destroying,” Blake cut in, standing once more, “I’m only left because you dragged this division to the ground, I’m only here because you are turning the Fang into criminals!”
Twisting his weapon back into a staff, he sneered, “Is that what helps you sleep at night?”
“The thought of stopping you does.”
The deer Faunus yelled, charging to beat the boy into submission. Blake phased through the wild attack, parrying and evading better than before, dealing chip damage (slices, jabs, etc). Goodwill flashed-stepped, the feint making Blake overexert, and he trapped the staff around the boy’s neck. The teen could barely stop the metal from resting on his throat or worse, giving the man leverage to snap his neck.
“What are they teaching you in that school, hmm?” the Lieutenant growled, “To be weak?! Subservient trash?!”
Arms burning like hellfire, Blake’s golden orbs watered with the pressure. Frantically, he kicked and spun but the heavy weight on his back and crushing pressure on the staff were too much. But in the blurry reflections, the glow of the Dust darts appeared brighter. Survival instincts were kicking in.
“Let me teach you a lesson, Blake,” Goodwill shouted, “This is what happens to traitors of Faunus kind!”
In a desperate, split-second gamble, Blake let go and squeezed all the keys. The end sparked and brightened, catching Goodwill’s eye.
“Wha-”
The teen ducked and shadow-dashed out of the weakened chokehold.
And the weapon exploded.
The others ran into the Dock yard, watching more bulkheads land and the White Fang grunts load up the cargo.
Nora popped out Magnhild, “We gotta stop them!”
But Ren held out an arm to stop her, “We cannot use too much force - they are civilians.”
“But-!” Weiss cried but the Mistralian’s stern glare silenced her.
“They have little to no Aura, Wiess - you are a Huntress first, Schnee second - that means not using lethal or extreme force on low-level combatants. That is the law and what is right.”
She clenched her jaw and nodded.
They all turned to Jaune, and he nearly buckled under the pressure.
“W-well, there’s seven of us and…”
“Exactly thirty–four combatants,” Penny said blankly as she stared at the battlefield, “twelve of which have sufficient Aura, three landed bulkheads, and four more inbound.”
“Woah, you got all that?” Nora gasped, “Is that your Semblance or something?”
Penny’s eyes stopped glowing, and she was jolted back into her lively persona, “Uh… yes?”
They ignored her hiccup.
“Alright!” Jaune started to down the steep hills, into the yard, “Go on pairs, take on no more than five people, set all you weapons to stun,” he turned to Weiss, “No powerful glyphs,” she rolled her eyes but said nothing, “Once we-”
An explosion interrupted his commands. When they honed in on the source, they saw two shadowy figures - one large and a smaller one - get blown back from the blast.
Penny’s eyes glowed again, “It seems to be two Faunus: a Panther-Maine Coon mix and the other’s a deer. The smaller one is struggling to breathe and his weapon is knocked away.”
Pyrrha gasped, “That might be Blake - what weapon do they have?”
“A katana and a cleaver.”
Jaune took charge, “Weiss, go!”
This time, she didn’t hesitate; forming glyphs to speed-skate across the field with no interruption.
The next set or airships were closing in on the horizon, while the other three were prepping for take-off.
“Someone has to stop those ships,” the leader announced.
Penny stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder, “You can count on me.”
Pyrrha, concerned, asked, “Are you sure?”
“Don’t worry, friend Pyrrha!”
She squinted at her targets.
“I’m combat ready.”
In a single bound, she leapt over most of the battleground, right in front of a Fang member. They startled but recovered quickly, and threw a fist towards her face. Penny blocked it with a smile on her face and tossed the attacker into another White Fang grunt, barely twisting her body.
“Great baby Mysti!” Nora cried, “She just- I mean- wow!”
Arc had to force his jaw off the floor, “Uh… r-right, everyone else, stop the thieves. Chip in with the others when you can, alright?”
Ren and Pyrrha nodded, running into the fray with the others. Just as the ginger was about to follow, she turned back to her leader.
“What are you gonna do?”
“Me? I’m gonna do the honourable thing,” Jaune looked up, proud, “Call Ms Goodwitch.”
Nora’s eyes watered, “So brave.”
With that, she left him while he braced himself for the phone call.
It took Blake a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the sudden flashbang. He coughed the soot and Dust residue from his lungs, wincing at the way they tore his throat. Barely, able to stand or stop coughing long enough to do so, Blake crawled backwards.
Muffled hacking drew closer to him, a dark figure shrouded by smoke following suit.
No matter how far he shuffled, the larger Faunus’ slow strides kept up with him. Ash covered his tanned skin, the edges of his suit singed, and the burns on his arms healed slowly. His lips were pressed thin as he raised his staff above his head - a shiv popping out of the tip.
Blake reached for his katana, eyes widened with terror.
Goodwill cried out - bang of metal following.
The younger Faunus turned over, seeing Weiss Schnee pointing her blade at his aggressor. Her ice blue pair flicked over and she frowned for a moment before offering him a hand.
Blake twitched, “W-Weiss, you-”
“Let’s deal with him first.”
Nodding, Belladonna took Schnee’s hand, picking up his cleaver and katana along the way. Both lowered into a battle stance as Goodwill got up.
“Does your shame know any bounds, Blake? A Schnee? What will Adam-”
“Shut up!”
Blake fired a bullet into his shoulder, the man grunting in response. The two Hunters fought alongside each other - their shared agility giving them the edge against the slower opponent. Working together, Belladonna and Schnee were a nimble hurricane of quick strikes, jabs, slices, and flash steps.
And it made Goodwill furious - the race treachery occurring right before his burning eyes.
When Blake threw Gambol Shroud as a kusarigama, Goodwill grabbed the weapon and swung him away over the harbour. Thankfully Weiss formed a Glyph for Blake to land on while rushing to the man.
She jumped onto another Glyph to leap overhead, and whipped her blade at him. He blocked it and the two engaged in a dance of parrying. Goodwill’s heavier attacks continued to strain against Weiss’ agility - even without her partner supporting her. But a misstep ended in the heiress being locked in his chokehold.
“I made a mistake that night,” he hissed, squeezing her in his muscular arms, “Wasted time with the sheep when I had the farmer - I will not make that mistake again.”
While her face turned red, vision blurring at the edges, Weiss’ heart pounded - letting out precious air at the implication. The man lowered himself to one knee, bringing Weiss closer to the ground.
“Your father will see more than a scarred child for his wrongs - daughter for a daughter.”
She slammed her palm onto the concrete and absently reversed the pull of a gravity Glyph. Goodwill yelled as they were launched up high.
Nearby, Blake shook his head and aimed at the vulnerable target. Round after round of bullets and shrapnel struck the Lieutenant's back until he shadow-dashed forwards to catch the falling heiress. She nearly threw him to the ground, but the young Faunus caught her. Behind them, Goodwill crashed through a freighter, the resulting flickering sound indicating his low Aura.
“Su-” Wiess flustered against the harshness of her voice, “S-surely that will stop h-him.”
Blake put her down and supported her weight.
“Don’t count on it.”
The moment the words left his lips, the deer Faunus roared the hollowness of the giant crate accentuating the sound.
“SCHNEE!”
The doors and bolt were torn off their hinges.
The visage of Goodwill’s cracked mask, showing a frost white pupil with massive lacerations surrounding the eye. They clearly didn’t heal well, it happened recently, for they were still deep and scabbed over.
Bile rose in both teen’s throats at the applications.
The mutilated eye twitched towards the ravenette, seething with hate seeing them support themselves by leaning against each other.
“TRAITOR!”
Goodwill huffed, his powerful legs kicking out, unable to keep in his rage. They leaped out of the way of his charge but weren’t fast enough to avoid his hands grabbing their clothes. Holding their chests, he raised them high and smacked them into each other before slamming them into the ground.
Now it was their Aura that flickered.
They couldn’t think before the man did so again, and their Scrolls beeped in alarm.
“Excuse me, sir!”
Goodwill stopped and looked up: it was a ginger human girl with a beaming smile. Eight jagged swords floated behind her.
“It’s in your best interests to put those two down and surrender.”
He sneered.
“Like Hell!”
With that, the girl’s weapons floated into a circle, spinning like a washing machine. She crouched and clocked her arms back - a ball of green energy igniting between the swords - before punching the air.
Like a solar flare, a blast of green energy zoomed out of the circling weapons. Goodwill’s eye widened as the light came straight for him. His slackened grip gave the disorientated teens a chance to roll out of the way while their attacker was hit, smashing through corrugated iron - a blackened, steaming path burned into the concrete.
Weiss stumbled against a wall, “Great Atalan.”
Blake keeled over, hands on his knees, “You said it.”
“Did I overdo it?” Penny turned to them, looking a little bashful, “All my systems were set to stun.”
“Nah,” Blake threw his thumbs up, “He’s got a large Aura reserve - he’s probably fine.”
“Sen-sational!” she cheered, “You two get some rest - my sen… ah, I mean - I sense that you need some rest. I need to deal with those ships.”
They nodded absently, as Blake unwound his ribbon and hunted for their almost-killer. Weiss slumped to the floor, lost in thought as she watched him walk away.
The sounds of battle didn’t rile her.
Roman’s spittle flew, as Yang threw a heavy punch into his face and elbowed his stomach. Even in his stumble he wasn’t afforded relief as Ruben stormed around him, slicing at his legs and stomach faster than any eye could see. Just as he righted himself, the Rose children ran up into a dropkick, flinging the criminal way.
With a careless smile, Yang co*cked her fist and through a punch - a flaming shotgun bullet streaked through the air. But a blur of white, pink, and brown dropped right in front of the bullet. The fire curved and when the smoke cleared, it was a pink and brown parasol that blocked the shot.
Yang tilted her head, “Okay…?”
Ruben narrowed his eyes at the woman, recognising her in the better lighting. Her eye colours switched when she blinked and an evil little grin.
Yang pursed her lips, ‘I think I’m gonna hate her.’
The taller man brushed himself off, “Right! Now that my partner is here, we can do things a little more fairly.”
Xiao Long bolted forwards but her fists couldn’t even skim the slight woman and her killer evasive manoeuvres. When the parasol popped in her face, Yang stumbled back, leaving her exposed to a series of hits. Ruben sprung to action, but a blast from Melodic Cudgel halted his assistance. But now Ruben had his Crescent and retaliated against the attack- back to back with his sister. Interwoven like a woollen jumper, the duos dived in and out against their combatants - Yang tanking attacks from Roman while Ruben kept up with Neo in ways that she couldn’t.
But with age came skill. Even with their bond, the siblings couldn’t match the teamwork of Roman and his mysterious companion. The two worked with advanced synergy, with her lighter jabs and his heavy smacks and the way they bounced off each other. Before they could even blink, Ruben was - again - slammed into a freight whilst Neo flipped Yang hard into the ground. A crack in the concrete formed around the girl’s head and she needed to blink away the blur.
Vague smudges of red and gold or pink and orange moved in the background while the sounds of yelling and metal was watered down. Something bloody filled her mouth as Neo came close, smirking and switching the colour of her eyes.
‘Okay, I know I hate this bitch!’
“Neo!” Roman shouted, now far away from the both of them, “Time to go!”
The smaller woman frowned, and gestured at her parasol and the teen at her feet. Roman couldn’t reply before the sirens of the police rang from down the street. With a saddened huff, Neo stomped Yang’s stomach and ran after her boss.
The wiring of a couple engines, much less than had entered, resonated through the dockyard before zooming away over the sea.
Penny ran up to Pyrrha, her cannon spinning into place.
“Should I shoot them down?”
Pyrrha shook her head, grimacing at the twelve freights of Dust flying off.
“No, the fallout and casualties would be too risky.”
Nodding, the girl powered down her swords. Each blade folded into a rectangle, the green power button going black, as the thin wires drew them back into the metal pack on the upper half of her back. Nikos watched her with fascination but the screeches of police cruisers stopped any questions from being asked.
The proceeding hour was rather tedious but rewarding. The White Fang members who were left behind were arrested and taken to the local penitentiary. Belladonna ignored the pure hatred coming off the silent Lieutenant as he was hauled into a van.
Exhausted, teams RNBY and ARSN sat down on the only wooden crates in the yard. Then, Goodwitch and a police officer came up to them.
“Should I even ask what compelled you to do this?”
Ruben shrugged, “Uh… wanting to do the right thing?”
The officer tipped his hat, “And we thank you for that.”
“Do we, now?” The vice principal crossed her arms.
“If it weren’t for these kids, Vale’s shortage would have gotten much worse.”
The blonde conceeded, “That’s true but I must add another hundred hours of community service to your current punishment.”
“WHAT?!” the teens cried (save Pyrrha and Blake).
“But Professor-” Nora began but she cut her off.
“No buts about it,” she ignored the Roses’ snorting, “You tried to stop a crime without licences - you’re lucky you aren’t getting kicked out. You broke both a civilian law and a Hunter Law. But… you helped prevent a national crisis from getting worse so on that, I will commend you and tell the Headmaster of your efforts. Hopefully, he won;t go overboard with your reward.”
With the threat of expulsion or even arrest no longer hanging over their heads, the group sighed collectively and slumped their shoulders. But the adults weren’t done yet.
“So,” the officer started, “What happened exactly?”
The tension of Blake and Weiss (and everyone else as a result) returned in full force.
Blake opened his mouth first, “Well-”
“It was Roman Torchwick, sir,” the Heiress announced, “He’s been using the White Fang’s likeness to divert attention from himself.”
Everyone gaped at her. Their teacher noticed and asked the others to confirm.
The officer wrote notes, “Are you sure? Torchwick has been rather underground for a while.”
“Yes!” Ruben was the only one to recover fast enough, “Roman used a couple of non-White Fang goons in his last hiest, on the night you met me. Maybe he’s using different groups of crooks so it’ll be harder to find him.”
Weiss nodded, “Considering the…” she glanced at the shocked Belladonna, “controversial situation with the White Fang, it would be easier to pin the blame on them and keep attention off himself.”
The Officer noted down what they said, and, after getting more detail from everyone else, they thanked them for their help. Glynda gave them a pointed look before walking away.
“Why did you do that?”
Wiess turned to the Faunus, face blank. He didn’t miss the way her icy blues flicked over to his partner for a second.
“I’ve had some… perspective,” she closes her eyes, “My conduct towards you left much to be desired. It’ll be hard to… comprehend your past with a group that tried to kill me but your choice to be a Huntsman means I’m wrong. I do not expect you to forgive me. I have no doubt ruined any possibility of that, but I want to be better. I want to understand you and other Faunus - the White Fang better. If you or anyone else sees me failing in that regard, do not hesitate to call out my behaviour. But Blake, I must say… I-I am s-sorry.”
Blake sniffed, wary and not at all forgiving - not yet.
“I’ll hold you to it… Weiss. And I’m sorry too - your attitude needs some improvement but I shouldn’t take my anger out on you. Especially with Goodwill… you know.”
She nodded at him. He assumed that she was holding her head up to hide the tears.
‘When we have time alone, when we’re ready, I’ll ask and so should she.’
Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder, his trusty cap in her other hand.
“So,” she began, “Are you coming back to Beacon?”
Tiredly, he grinned, the hopeful face of his leader - his friend - in the corner of his eyes, “I have to take a nap somewhere - I’m sure my ‘landlord’ is getting tired of babysitting.”
Before the Mistralians could brace themselves, Yang and Ruben squeezed them into a massive hug, cheering that their team was back together again. Nikos giggled at their antics while Belladonna melted into the warmth of the care around him.
Smiling at the scene, Weiss saw Jaune watching her intently.
“What?”
“C-Can I get an apology?”
She didn’t face him as she said, “The night has been emotional as it is.”
“Weiss,” Nora chided.
Her head bowed, white bangs falling over her eyes, “He deserves a proper apology - not one that he had to ask for. When I’m ready, alright?”
“Fine with me,” he smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Weiss returned the expression as they saw Team RNBY come apart.
“Wait,” Ruben surveyed the area, “Where’s Penny?”
While everyone looked around, the ginger girl looked through tinted glass in a car. Her face was downcast and the armoured men sat beside her. One put a hand on her shoulder, as the vehicle pulled away into the deep of the city.
Elsewhere, Professor Ozpin sipped his mug when his ScrollTab beeped. Upon opening, the displayed showed something that made his stomach jerk by the slightest margin:
Qrow B.
The Queen has pawns.
He put it down slowly.
A little chuckle left his mouth.
“What else is new?”
