CHAPTER 8

Thin fingers of sunlight shone through and around a thick layer of fluffy white clouds as Blake Belladonna made her way down Beacon Academy's wide main avenue.

She'd planned to leave much earlier in the afternoon then this. But to Blake's quite frustration, she'd been unable to think up a good way to slip away from the rest of her team.

Likewise, she hadn't been able to come up with a reason for leaving Beacon that wouldn't have risked at least some of her Team wanting to tag along. Which would have made investigating into the White Fang difficult.

Investigations that hadn't turned up a whole lot in the two days that had passed since Blake had overheard the argument between Ruby, Weiss and Yang. Although Blake had faked being a new recruit and managed to learn that the Vale branch of the White Fang still intended to hold one of their regular meetings in the near future.

Having been to other such meetings in the past, Blake knew that it was probably her best bet to learn about what the White Fang were planning. Be it by the White Fang handing out orders or by poking around.

And maybe, if she could just stop whatever the White Fang were planning on Vale, she could have a clean conscious again. Because then she'd be one step closer to repairing the damage she'd done to human and Faunus relations. And maybe, she could face her parents again.

The only good other good news at the moment was that, like much of Beacon's vast courtyard, the main avenue that led to the airship docks were empty for the most part.

Blake had just thought this when there was a loud rustling of leaves from off to the side. She turned and saw Sun Wukong jogging out from underneath a tree towards her, a grin on his face and a stray leaf stuck in his messy blond hair.

"Hey Blake, how's it going?"

"I'm fine, Sun." Blake forced herself to remain polite. She might have not have time for this, but that didn't mean she should take her frustrations on on Sun.

"Cool, cool. So you want to hang out some?"

"Sorry, Sun." Blake said. "I have plans tonight. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get going."

"Blake wait." Sun hurried around to get in front of her. The easy-going smile on his face was gone. "I want to help."

Blake swore her heart skipped a beat. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said, forcing aside a rising panic with some difficulty. Still, she felt her throat tightening in spite of herself.

"I know you've been," and here his voice grew quieter, "looking into the White Fang again."

"Sun, you can't. Not this time."

"Why not?" Sun's face was a study in genuine puzzlement.

"Because-" Blake started, then she hesitated. "Because I don't want you to get hurt. And because this is my battle and my fault."

Seeing Sun's confused expression, Blake continued. "When the old leader stepped down, things started to change. Back then, I tried convincing myself that just one more riot wouldn't really hurt anyone, that it would be a quicker way of getting our message across. And because of that I did nothing to stop it."

Blake didn't, couldn't tell him the rest. She hadn't been open with her friends on her past and status as a Faunus for very long. So opening up about her past still didn't come naturally to her to begin with. It didn't help that most of the other reasons were too painful or too personal.

How she'd ran away from home after a spiteful and heated argument. How Adam has mastered the art of hiding or excusing the worst of what the White Fang was becoming from her. Putting her at easy with honeyed words.

Sun was quiet for a moment, stunned. Blake was about to walk away, but then he started to speak. While his voice remained low, it was more serious then she'd ever heard it before. "Blake, I don't know how things were in the White Fang, but you can't blame everything that happened on yourself."

"Besides Blake, we're your friends." Said a second, very familiar voice.

Blake jumped and whirled around to face her partner, who'd come up behind her. Her words coming out as a startled squeak. "Yang?! When did-? How did-?"

Yang grinned, but there was little humor in it or her purple eyes. "Sun-chucks wasn't the only one who realized you've been acting odd these past few days. And with your reaction outside our room a few days back, it was obvious why you started spending so much time in Vale."

Blake shook her head, feeling her heart still racing from the surprise she'd just gotten. "I just don't want any of you getting mixed up in this. This is dangerous, Yang. I don't-"

"If we get hurt," Yang said, crossing her arms, "it will be because we decided that we wanted to help. It's our choice."

"Yeah," Sun commented. "Besides, we signed up for this when we chose to become Huntsmen and Huntresses. To protect people, even if it means putting our own lives at risk."

She was about to argue back when Yang cut her off. "And anyway, the three of us will be able to get more done than any one of us could."

Blake wasn't sure if it was their words or their determined expressions that won her over. Or if it was the knowledge that they were both too stubborn to give up and would probably follow her around regardless of if she wanted it or not. She sighed, tension coming out of her in a rush. "Fine, come on then. Before we miss the airship to Vale."

"Yes!" Sun and Yang exclaimed, fist bumping each other. Blake couldn't help but smile and feel relieved.

"I knew you'd come around!" Sun grinned at her as the trio started towards the airship docks.

"Yeah, the White Fang aren't going to know what hit them!" Yang added.

"So, did you have anything in particular in mind for tonight?" asked Sun.

Blake's mind flashed back to the night at the docks. "Torchwick. We need to find out more about what he's been up to."

"Well," said Yang, and Blake could hear the grin in her voice, "I might have an idea where we can start looking."

-RWBY-

The Bear Necessities looked every bit the part of a bustling nightclub, Paula Ravenwood thought as she took a long sip from her glass. Her lips glistening with the alcohol, she surveyed the growing organized chaos around her as the club started filling up more. Still, Paula bet that the club would get even busier later on and would have been busier now, if it hadn't been a weekday.

Even with her mental shields up, Paula could feel swirling drunkenness, avarice, secret sorrows and public appetites. Unsurprisingly given the location, people were just buckets of emotions, splashing all over the place.

Besides her at the bar, Shaidar Gorthule sat with a similar half-empty drink held in the metal fingers of his Dust-Gauntlet.

The pair of them had elected to dress up a little. Mostly to help them blend into the crowd of club goers. With Paula wearing a dark red and gold low-cut jacket that was more of a vest. As well as a pair of tight fitting black pants and, of course, her elbow-length opera gloves.

Around them, The Bear Necessities was filled with color, sound and motion. Up-tempo house music blared from speakers, while flashing lights flickered in time to the rhythm and onto the dance floor. Which, with its glowing lines and contrasting black, Paula couldn't help but think it looked like something out of the movie TRON.

All and all the club looked didn't at all look like it had been wrecked several months ago, according to what she'd heard.

Turning back around, Paula noticed a tall, dark haired and bearded man emerging from a door behind the bar.

A tall man by either Terran or Remnant's standards, Hei 'Junior' Xiong was the owner of The Bear Necessities nightclub. He was also what Shaidar had called a 'fixer', when he'd learned of Junior. That is, somebody one went to when they needed something; be it a bodyguard, forged identity papers, information or whatever else.

The fact that Junior was a fixer had to be one of the worst best kept secrets in Vale, which was how Paula had managed to find out about him and the nightclub while she'd been poking around. She hadn't even needed to use her telepathy to find out about him.

With all that said, none of Junior's activities could be proven. From what Paula knew, he was very thorough at covering his tracks. That and she suspected that he was bribing the Vale police department. Paula also would not be surprised if the VPD didn't go after him because they preferred the trouble they knew to the trouble they would have to track down. As someone would come around and replace Junior within five minutes if anything happened to him. Killing him wouldn't get rid of the demand for the sort of services he supplied. She'd seen similar arrangements and occurrences before.

"Mr. Blackwater, Ms. Jade." Junior said by way of greeting.

Shaidar looked up at the sound of Junior's voice and the cover names they'd given him. "Mr. Xiong," he replied in turn.

Paula, for her part, echoed him and joked, "We were starting to wonder if we should send in a rescue team."

Junior cracked a grin and replied, "Hey, inquiries like yours take time, especially about such exotic brands on such short notice."

Around them, the constant low-level chatter of the bar continued. That might have set some people on edge, but Paula took comfort from it. It meant that the patrons were immersed in their own activity and not concerned with hers or Shaidar's.

Still, she didn't doubt that Junior had chosen his words carefully, just in case anyone was eavesdropping. Besides, it would have been the height of stupidity to admit that they were here to buy information on the White Fang.

"Anyway, here's the merchandise," Junior said, pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper from his black vest, which was of a surprisingly Terran cut. Upon seeing the expectant look on the fixer's face, Shaidar smiled and pulled out a stack of Lien.

"And here's your well-earned compensation," Shaidar said as he slid the money across the counter.

Paula's eyes tracked the gesture. Her gaze though was focused on what appeared to a particle atop the stack. Most would assume to be a grain of sand or a flea. It was something intended to serve as both safeguards against Junior selling them out and a...cost-saving measure of sorts.

A microprobe that jumped and attached itself to Xiong, it, as well the one the techno-mage left on the counter would let them eavesdrop on the fixer's conversations. Far more efficient than repeatedly paying for his services as far as she and Shaidar were a neat way to ensure that he didn't betray them, on the off-chance he chose to do so. Most fixers and information brokers wouldn't betray their customers without very good reason, but one could never tell.

She couldn't help but note it was only sheer dumb luck that there'd been a handful of probes in Shaidar's pocket when they'd arrived on Remnant.

As she thought this, Paula saw Shaidar open that neatly folded slip of paper. Before passing it to Paula, who scanned the contents. There had to be over two dozen names and addresses of members of the White Fang in Vale on it. Some of which caught her eye. Harold Bress, Samantha Quinn, Perry Cerule, Earl Cole and someone who was just noted as 'Tuckson'.

It'd only been a short while since she and Shaidar had finally come to the decision to join in against the White Fang. By then it'd become obvious beyond doubt that the White Fang were just the symptom of the larger problems the Kingdoms were facing. Problems that would only grow as stressors in and outside of the Kingdoms ramped up.

It was true that they didn't think they had the full picture yet. But between the various fault-lines in Remnant's society they had noticed and the White Fang, she and Shaidar had enough to know that what was to come would affect Remnant on a grand scale. Trying to stay out of the coming conflict would be like burying their heads in the sand. And while they could not, would not fight Remnant's battles for it, the best way to predict the future was to create it.

Slipping the paper into a coat pocket, Paula noticed that Junior had gone over to speak with one of his black-suited henchmen. It had not escaped either Shaidar's or her notice that Junior's men matched the reports in the police files of Roman Torchick's failed robbery on the dust shop several months prior.

However, they'd decided not to ask Junior about that incident. There wouldn't be much point to it; given Roman was working with the White Fang now, they didn't think he was connected to Junior anymore. Plus, there was no need to risk needlessly antagonizing Junior by poking into his personal doings.

Paula took a moment to take another long slip of her drink.

That, and they wanted to play a little dumb. Which was why they hadn't bothered with any real disguises or illusions to change their appearance. Should they attract any unwanted attention, anyone who tried to spy on them would become another lead for her and Shaidar to follow. It was a bit risky, but potential rewards could easily be worth it.

"Not to count our chickens before they've hatched, but it's looking like you did an excellent job finding out about this place." Shaidar commented from besides her.

Paula was about to answer, when, over the swirling background emotions of the club came an acrid stab of fear.

Sensing it was coming from behind her, Paula turned smoothly, her hand going to the butt of the energy pistol at her side. Besides her, she sensed more than saw Shaidar take notice and do the same.

Across the dance floor and up the flight of glowing white steps that led to The Bear Necessities' massive metal doors a trio of Junior's men were hurrying inside. It was they who were the source of what she'd sensed. Over the pulsing beat of house music Paula could hear one of the black-suited men cry out to his companions, "Hurry, close the door- she's coming!"

Fear was now radiating off them in waves. Around her, other people were taking notice of the commotion. Concern, confusion and fear were starting to spread in ripples. More and more people began to stop what they were doing as the buzz of voices rose.

"Back door?" she asked, as the trio of men began shoving the main ones shut. An unpleasant sensation had started to crawl along her spine. If this was the start to some sort of mob hit they needed to get out of the club. As any criminal willing to hit a public spot like a club tended not to care about who got caught in the crossfire.

"Too far and too crowded. We'd never make it." Shaidar answered. He was already darting forward and to the left, weaving his way through the thickening crowd. By now, people were starting to make their way towards the bar or those of Junior's men that were scattered around the club. From what she could pick out telepathically, many of the black suited men seemed just as confused by these events as everyone else.

Paula found herself following his example before she was aware of it. Now taking her first willing steps forward, she noted peripherally that Shaidar was making sure to keep his right arm, the one with the Dust Gauntlet, remaining free. Allowing it to come up in an instant and preserving the illusion that he was using Dust in the fight that was sure to come.

"What are you three idiots doing?!" Junior demanded from behind her at his men. Paula didn't bother glancing back, but she guessed he was trying to make his way free from the gathering crowd.

Among the babble of replies and glimpses of frantic gestures from the men holding the door shut with their bodies, Paula thought she caught the words 'the golden demon bitch is here again!'.

She didn't have time to wonder at that as she slipped through the crowd to join Shaidar Gorthule. He'd positioned himself at the bottom of a flight of stairs. It was one of a pair located on opposite sides of the dance floor which led up to The Bear Necessities' second and third levels.

Moving alongside him, Paula felt a slight tingling sensation dance across her skin. Recognized that Shaidar had created an energy shield and extended it to cover her as well.

Now sheltered behind the solid slab of polished black stone which served as a handrail, Paula slid her pistol from it's holster and reached out with her mind. If this was some sort of mob hit, she wanted to know what was going to be coming through that door beforehand. Doubtless Shaidar was doing the same with his own abilities, if he hadn't already done so.

In an instant, she had them. And found herself raising a delicate red eyebrow in mild surprise. She only sensed three people almost right outside the door to the club- although all three of them had their Auras unlocked. Emotionally, two of them were giving off a distinct feeling of trepidation. The third however, was more worrying.

For a moment, Paula thought what she sensed was blood-lust. Then she recognized that the hot eagerness was a playful glee. One so intense that Paula could imagine the person skipping.

Paula's golden eyes narrowed, but she didn't have a chance to dwell on that. At that moment the three men holding the door were sent sprawling as the heavy metal doors flew open, doubtlessly thanks to an Aura-infused kick or punch. Her pistol was leveled at the door before she saw the person walking through it.

Only to pause, feeling an echo of shared surprise from Shaidar. A blonde-haired teenage girl had stepped from the darkness beyond into the light and music of the club with a carefree swagger. Music that had, by some strange quirk of fate, changed to a cheery, upbeat tune.

"Guess who's baaa~cck?" Yang Xiao Long sang out with a grin, her purple eyes dancing with a glint of playfulness.

Chapter Note:

And...here. We. Go.

My apologies for such a short chapter, but a lot of stuff that was supposed to take place here got moved to either earlier in the story or, in two cases, incorporated into later chapters. Which is why the last few chapters have been a bit on the slow side.

Speaking of which, in response to recent feedback, I've taken the liberty of going back and tweaking a few things in previous chapters. Which I hope will help clear quite a few things up and make the story flow better.

Guest:
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. I thought it was a nice way to show how much things have already started to diverge from canon and just a nice scene for Ozpin and Ironwood in general. As its always great to see two character that are on the same side getting along and behaving like adults instead of squabbling like children.

Thank you! And I fully plan on doing just that.

Lord Jaric:
Can you really blame Neo though? I'm pretty sure most people would get fed up pretty quickly if they had to work with Cinder for any real length of time.

Well, it wouldn't be much fun if they were right all the time, now would it?