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Enough of that though, thank you for your continued support and enjoy the chapter!

Velvet learned something about Adam. A few things really. She supposed you were supposed to learn about one another when you go on a date. Like how she learned that Adam was quite fast for someone so tall. Or how he carried a knife around even though he already had a sword.

Just the little things really.

The two were currently running towards the docks. Upon seeing the locked gates coming up, Adam tsked and turned abruptly. Velvet was happy she was a little bit behind him instead of next to him since she knew he was turning. He ran towards a parked van and leapt on top of it, springing off and onto a fire escape nearby. She did the same, but landed one story higher than he had.

At his quizzical look she rolled her eyes but giggled a little.

"Rabbit?" she said it like it was obvious, one ear coming down and tickling his nose. She flexed a leg as well. He blinked and then shrugged, giving that one to her.

They continued up until they were at the roof. From here they could see the bullheads much better. Adam took a step back before running forth and jumping to the roof of the building ahead of them. Velvet did the same, crouching down at the edge of the roof where she saw the bull peeking down towards the loading area. She did the same when he nudged her.

Her eyes widened at the sight.

"Of all the bullshit..." she grumbled, "Er, no offense."

He shrugged it off, both of them observing the scene below them.

White Fang. A lot of them, at that. They were scrounging around the docks, clearly looking for something. The bullheads above still rumbled, the goons clearly hadn't expected anyone to hear them tonight.

The man stood right below the bullheads may have been the reason.

"Roman Torchwick," Velvet said, observing the man as he watched the grunts with thinly veiled disappointment.

"I fought him before. Not enough to get a full read on him, but enough to know he's no pushover. He's not amazingly skilled but he's smarter and more cunning than most," Adam supplied.

"Impressive," Velvet complimented, not taking her eyes off the thief, "He more than likely got a tip from a worker or paid off the whole place so nobody would catch him."

Likely. The whole dock devoid of security? Not even anyone at the gates and, if the darkened windows were any indication, nobody in the buildings either.

"But what are they doing? Stealing obviously, but what?" Adam asked. One of the grunts below gave it away.

"Hey! I think I found one of the crates! Someone help me with the doors!"

The snowflake design on the crate said it all.

"Dust," Velvet whispered. This wasn't good. The dust shortage around the city was already pretty bad. Who knew how much was in that crate?

Or the other two crates sitting beside it.

"This isn't good," Adam hissed, "If it's the Fang stealing the dust..."

"Adam," Velvet said suddenly, "we gotta do something or call someone."

He nodded, whipping his scroll out and sending a message to his team. He didn't wait for a response. Truthfully, he was confident in his team that they'd understand the severity of a message that simply read 'White Fang at dock eleven, need backup' and figure the rest out on their own.

"Do you know how to fight with a knife?" he asked. She winced and he sighed.

"I don't..." she trailed off, "But I have a way I can learn."

Adam shot her a skeptical look and she waved it off. A girl had her secrets after all. Hers may or may not have been her semblance and its ability to give her a photographic memory that allowed her to replicate the skills of others.

Coco never forgave her when she had beaten her in a cooking contest, only to find out Velvet had watched a cooking program the night before. This would be like that, except the knife was used on people instead of food.

"While you do that, send word to Beacon. Someone will know how to handle the fallout," Adam claimed as he stood from their crouched position. Velvet suddenly looked suspicious.

"Fallout? What do you me—"

Adam dropped.

"Oh you son of a bitch!" he heard as he fell. If she was as confident as she said then he needed to buy her, and by extension Beacon, time.

He landed behind a forklift and crept around the shadows of the crates. The faunus would be able to see him if he tried a more direct approach, so he had to climb the stacks of crates to stay out of sight for his plan.

And what was his plan exactly? He didn't know. He jumped off of the building before he had actually figured that out. Looking down at Torchwick and watching the grunts start working on the crates, he knew he needed a quick plan of attack.

For once, he'd take a page out of Yang's book.

He stood tall, taller than was really necessary or even comfortable. He puffed his chest out and squared his shoulders. He drew his sword and held it at just the right angle that it would catch the light of a nearby emergency lamp. He cleared his throat quietly, took a breath, and then began.

"Halt! Brothers and sisters of the White Fang!"

That seemed to have the desired effect if the multitude of guns turned towards him was any indication. Torchwick seemed to visibly deflate when he heard the faunus. At this point Adam was now faced with an issue.

I didn't plan this far ahead.

There was a reason he let Blake do the primary planning. He was no slouch when it came to setting up a raid, but his ideas were always a lot more forward than Blake's. You couldn't always go for a full frontal assault and expect it to work.

At least in this case he had a slight advantage.

"Holy shit is that Adam Taurus?"

"He's much skinnier than I expected. Everyone makes him sound giant."

"Why's he look like a made-for-girls calendar lumberjack?"

That last comment was a blow to his self esteem but he pushed on anyways. To regain their attention he shot a stray bullet into the air.

"Why are you working with this common criminal!?" Adam asked the faunus. They all shuffled and looked at each other. Meanwhile, Torchwick looked particularly offended at being described as 'common'. He was fabulous, damnit!

"We're not allowed to tell you that!" one of the grunts called.

"What? Why not?" Adam asked. What did they mean they weren't allowed!? He wasn't asking, he was demanding!

"We're not allowed to tell you that, either!"

Right, of course they weren't. Well he tried the first half of the Yang way of doing things, he may as well try the second half.

At speeds faster than any of the untrained faunus could hope to match, Adam shot from the top of the crate mountain and into the clearing, landing right in front of Roman. The thief raised his cane just in time to deflect the swing that would've opened his chest for the world to see.

Deciding that he'd rather not get cut in half, the thief jabbed at Adam, and even though he blocked it he was still pushed backwards. A flare struck the ground soon after, clouding the two in smoke. The ringing of steel on steel followed.

Adam noted that his assessment rang true. Torchwick wasn't a prodigy of combat or anything, and he definitely didn't carry the same strength that Jaune had, but Roman was smart. He didn't ever overextend, staying well out of reach and taking cheap shots at whatever exposed area he could get to.

Not to mention he had no issue causing property damage. One of the upsides to being on the opposite side of the law: who cared if you broke some things? You were already wanted, so why worry about being careful during a fight?

The crate behind him exploding was one such example. Luckily there was no dust in the crate, but it smelled like burning plastic and styrofoam. Adam ducked a swing, shooting the crook in the chest. Roman winced but didn't let himself be moved, rolling to the side and shooting a flare at the ground where he once stood. The explosion threw Adam backwards and left his ears ringing, but he was otherwise unscathed.

Unfortunately that seemed to be Roman's plan. With his ears very temporarily unusable, Roman shot another flare at his side. Adam was lucky that the projectiles were so bright, as he was able to bring Wilt up just in time to absorb most of the explosion. The rest singed his arm but he pressed on.

He dashed forward and let loose a flurry of slashes. Side to side, shoulder to hip, and ending with an upward slash that he pushed forward with to close even more distance. Roman grit his teeth from the onslaught, having been able to prevent any hits from making contact with his body, but still having to take the full force of the swings on his cane.

Meanwhile the faunus around them had finally snapped out of the stupor of both being confronted by Adam Taurus and watching him fight their temporary boss. It didn't help that each swing of his sword that met the ground or the thief's cane made a sound similar to an industrial sized hydraulic press crushing an air canister.

"Oi! Fuck-faces!"

The grunts all whirled from the two men locked in combat, guns at the ready and aimed towards the voice. Those without guns gripped their blades tighter. This wasn't in the plan, and most of them didn't really know how to fight. They definitely couldn't deal with Adam, even with their greater numbers.

The clash going on between Adam and Roman told them just how outclassed they were.

The cute girl with rabbit ears glaring them down with a knife looked like something they could handle.

"Who's this chick?" one of the grunts asked, scratching his head.

"Who cares! All she's got is a knife! Get her!" another grunt called, running forward with her sword raised.

None of them expected the rabbit faunus to whip the knife in her hand forward through the air. It struck the charging grunt's hand, sending her sword flying away behind a crate. The knife landed in front of the now disarmed grunt.

"Okay, so maybe she's okay with a knife, but now she doesn't have one! She's helpless! Get her again!" another grunt shouted, more of them moving in on her now.

Imagine their surprise when the girl darted forward and jumped, landing and sliding across the ground. She grabbed the knife and slid between the disarmed faunus's legs, kicking herself up and spinning to land a roundhouse kick to the girl's temple.

She crumpled to the ground and did nothing more than groan. Velvet turned and brushed her ear backwards.

"What was that about being helpless?" Velvet asked, a sadistic, smug smirk on her face.

The terrorists were all silent, looking between each other for a moment. None of them dared move lest the girl before them put on another display of savage ass whooping.

"Is it too late to ask you leave?" a young sounding man asked.

The handle of a knife met the center of the man's forehead, knocking him out and sending him sprawling backwards. The knife bounced off his skull and flew back towards the girl in an arch. She caught it by the blade without looking, tossing it in the air and catching it in a reverse grip.

The rest of the grunts took that as a 'yes' and charged her all at once.

Velvet ducked a slash easily, kicking the grunt up into the air before turning and catching another blade in the guard of the knife. She quickly hooked her leg under theirs and pulled back, tripping the faunus and rolling backwards. The previously airborne goon landed on the tripped faunus, winding both of them.

She spun again, balancing on one leg as she kicked the gun out of another grunt's hands while throwing Adam's knife into the thigh of another gunner. They screamed and fell, clutching their leg in pain.

Most people would be amazed at the display of knife throwing prowess Velvet had displayed thus far. Coco, Yats, and Fox on the other hand would not be nearly as impressed when they saw that Velvet's search history turned up 'World record knife throwing contest'.

Sometimes, some people's semblances were just unfair. Velvet was happy that she had it and not one of the bad guys.

Off across the docks Adam was beginning to fall into a groove. Roman was slippery, but he was being pushed back. Eventually, the thief would mess up.

An advancing slash. A kick. Dodge a swing and a jab, repeat steps one and two. Roman was losing ground, and soon his back would be against a crate and he wouldn't have anywhere to run. And then what? It wasn't like he could ask the thief why the White Fang were working for him, the man couldn't even talk. Perhaps the staff at Beacon or the police would have a way to interrogate him.

Adam shoulder checked the thief, pushing both of them against the wall. Roman's arm was stuck behind him, and while his cane arm was free, he had a feeling that Adam wasn't going to let him get a swing in this close.

"Get ready to talk... Communicate... Whatever," Adam scowled as he held the crook in place. Roman rolled his eyes, both in an act of exasperation and a subtle way of scanning his surroundings for a way out.

He smirked when he saw it. Or rather, when they saw him.

Adam noticed the smirk and his instincts screamed at him to move. He pushed off of Roman, throwing himself backwards just in time as a hail of gunfire from above lit up the ground he once occupied. Roman looked annoyed at how close the bullets had come to him but didn't appear anymore stressed than that.

Adam looked up, hearing the two bullheads before he saw them. Now four in total, the two new bullheads had guns mounted on them, both aimed at him. What surprised him was that Roman just stood and watched, eyes wide as though he were... Scared? But what could he be afraid of?

In Roman's mind, he heard Cinder's voice echo. The woman had been very clear that he was not to let anyone be killed by the Fang, himself, or Neo. Why she was so obsessed with keeping her operation so clean was beyond him, but he knew she wouldn't be happy if she heard some trainee huntsman had been gunned down on his heist.

Adam grit his teeth, readying Wilt to counter and absorb all that he could. He could take a lot, that was a fact, but he could only do so from one point at a time.

He was in the open right now. Two bullheads manned by the very same organization he once shed blood for remained ready to gun him down from above. He could see Velvet holding her own at the other end of the dock, mopping the floor with the grunts even, but he knew that even if she were done with her own fight there wasn't much she could do to get him out of this situation.

If Yang were here, she'd be pissed. Ruby would likely also be pissed, but she showed it in a much scarier way. Whitley would tell him how terrible of an idea this was. Adam almost laughed. Here he was, prepared for this to be his end, and he was thinking of a Schnee. Blake would've had an aneurysm.

Was this really it? If someone had told him he'd literally die on this date he'd say that even he hadn't overreacted that much. But here he was, pinned down, open no matter what he did or where he went he was going to get shot. His aura wasn't low, but he had just come out of a fight with Torchwick that left him floating somewhere around the high sixties.

"Adam!" Velvet shouted, kicking the last faunus into a crate hard enough to leave a dent.

She broke into a sprint, covering ground with speeds befitting of a rabbit faunus. He heard the telltale spinning of guns above him and readied himself. He may fall here, but he wouldn't do it without a fight.

Just as he tensed and readied his sword to catch as many bullets as possible, ignoring Torchwick entirely to favor the high caliber rounds, he heard another shout. His eyes flicked over to where it had come from. On top of the roof was...

Penny?

"Don't worry Adam! I'm ready for combat!" the ginger yelled. He sighed. The gesture was appreciated, and while he was confused as to where exactly the girl had come from he was fairly certain there wasn't anything that she would be able to do—

The girl threw her arms above her head. As she did, a mass of... Something came out of her back. They quickly arranged themself behind her, connecting and fusing together until they formed what had to be the most ridiculously massive sword he'd ever seen. It was black and green, with a bright silver edge, and had no hilt or guard, being almost entirely blade. The blade itself was like a gladius with a slight hourglass-like shape.

"HIYA!"

She swung her arms down quickly and the giant floating sword whipped forward, spinning vertically his direction. The wheel of death put on an impressive lightshow as it spun. It neared and Adams eyes widened as it made contact above.

And completely cleaved the two bullheads above in half.

"HOLY FUCK!" Velvet swore, accent on full display as she watched the wreckage crash around them. Roman had gone pale, cane falling limp in his hand and his mouth hanging open. Adam was much the same, almost dropping Wilt in surprise.

"Nice shot Penny!" they heard another voice congratulate. Next to Penny, the bright hair of Neon was very visible against the light of the now burning docks.

"Worry not Adam! We have arrived to rescue you!" Penny cheered as she and the cat girl jumped from the roof and started rushing towards him.

Utter destruction. The oddball girl had managed to completely carve not one, but two bullheads in half. With one throw of her sword. Speaking of which, said sword was now spinning back, much like a boomerang.

It slowed in its cycle as it neared Penny before stopping completely and floating behind the girl, blade pointed down at an angle behind her. She smiled sweetly as the giant sword separated. Now that she was closer, Adam could see that the smaller parts that had made up the giant sword were, in fact, a large array of floating guns.

Because of course they did.

He was about to thank the girl when his world went white and his back burned. He had forgotten about Roman, who had just fired a flare into the center of his back. His red aura went thin, only just holding as he went flying. It broke completely when he bounced off the ground. He skipped, crashing into a stunned Velvet and sending both faunus tumbling across the pavement.

Roman figured that the man could live a single shot as long as he didn't aim for the head. Just because he couldn't kill anyone didn't mean he wasn't going to do whatever he had to in order to get the hell out of here!

"Adam! Velvet!" Neon shouted, rolling to a stop in front of them, kneeling and checking on them.

"Are they alright!?" Penny asked, concern painting her face.

"I'm fine..." Velvet grunted, sitting up and making sure not to accidentally toss Adam off of her.

"Adam's unconscious," Neon informed, helping Velvet get out from under the man. They laid him gently on the ground and turned towards Torchwick.

Who was now on one of the ropes connected to the original two bullheads. It took off flying out towards the sea, likely to lose any police that were en route.

"That son of a bitch," Velvet muttered, "Can you do that sword thing again?"

"Unfortunately at their current velocity and growing distance, it is unlikely," Penny said apologetically. She rubbed her left arm with her gloved hand, digging her toe into the ground.

Such a shy gesture from a girl who had just destroyed two military grade aircrafts with ease. Velvet made a mental note not to get on the girl's bad side.

"We can't worry about that now," Neon sighed, "we have to make sure the police round up our friends over there."

Velvet preened a little as they all looked at the squadron of White Fang troops who all lay unconscious and in heaps around where they had fought. She silently thanked Rob 'The Blade' Johnson for uploading his winning knife throwing techniques online.

"Ngh..."

"Adam!" Velvet grabbed his head and dragged it into her lap.

"Guh... It feels like... I was a firework..." he wheezed.

"You practically became one for a second there. Took an explosion to the back and flew across the dock like a sandbag," Neon recounted.

"Was it... cool?" he asked.

"It was the coolest, Big Guy. It really was," Neon smiled soothingly.

"That's good..." he coughed, wincing as he felt his scorched and burned back. He idly wondered if he was still smoking.

Sirens sounded and the four looked over towards the docks entrance. The lights came next and they knew that the emergency services had arrived. Adam sighed deeply. What a night. He felt like he owed Velvet for turning their date into a brawl. Torchwick had escaped, and unfortunately he was working with the White Fang.

"Oh thank goodness! The emergency services have arrived! We're safe!" Penny cheered.

"FREEZE WHITE FANG! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!"

"Penny?"

"Yes Neon?"

"Why are their guns trained on us?"

"That is a very good question!"

"Oh my god," Adam growled, "They think we're part of the Fang because we're faunus."

Velvet's ear twitched slightly and they heard the safety on multiple guns click. Neon's tail flicked to the side and the loud sound of officers stomping forward could be heard.

"Fucking hell..." Velvet hissed. She was about to whip out the knife again, but Penny stood quickly.

"Wait! These faunus are not members of the White Fang! I am human! They're my friends!" Penny said, hands out as she tried to placate the officers.

A bullet pinged off of her right shoulder. She didn't even seem fazed as the round rolled on the floor, dented and smoking.

"We're from Beacon!" Velvet shouted. They heard shuffling before a single officer came forward, gun holstered.

"ID," he said, as he came up to them.

Velvet held up her own Beacon student ID, Adam grunting as she searched him and pulled out his. Neon and Penny presented their Atlas IDs and the officer looked over all of them. He rubbed his temples and grumbled.

"Back off men!" he called back, "Someone grab a paramedic, we have a wounded one over here."

The next half hour or so was a blur. Questions and statements were asked for and given, and the paramedics checked Adam for any possible signs of a concussion or internal bleeding. After being told he would be okay with a few days of rest, he was given a prescription for a burn salve.

He thought that he could finally breathe easy now that the storm had passed. Velvet, Neon, and Penny were walking his way after being told they could finally check on him by the medics. Before they reached him however, a red blur shot between them and crashed into him, sending him backwards into the ambulance and sending spit flying as he was winded and still very much without aura.

"ADAM!" the furious and concerned face of Ruby came into vision.

"Hey Ruby... You're crushing my ribs," he coughed. She stood quickly, but fixed him with a glare still.

"What were you thinking!?" she shouted.

"Would you believe me if I said I was trying to think like your sister?" he asked.

"Oh my god..." she mumbled, dropping her head into her hands.

"Hey what the hell is that supposed to mean!?" he heard from behind the reaper. Yang and Whitley came into view, the brawler looking at her sister in annoyance while Whitley looked at him in disappointment.

"I'd say that it was a smooth brained idea to try and take on a docks worth of criminals on your own but that would insinuate that you had a brain at all," Whitley scowled at him.

"Love you too Snowflake," Adam drawled.

"You better! We had to come down here after we saw your vague call for help," he huffed.

"Yeah, seriously Adam! You can't just do the things I do! They work for me because I'm awesome!" Yang chastised.

"Thanks Yang," he deadpanned.

"Anytime jerk," she smiled proudly. Ruby rounded on him again.

"You, sir, are the only person I know who can turn something as normal as a date into a section of the city being on fire," she jabbed her finger into his chest.

"Actually," Neon said from behind them, "the fire is mostly from Penny."

"My apologies!" the ginger blushed and bowed quickly.

"Yeah seriously, I've never seen such a ridiculous amount of destruction," Velvet shivered at the thought. What a scary weapon. She had wished she could've gotten a picture. That would be so cool to use.

"Well," Yang started, "I just assumed the whole 'Bull in a china shop' thing applied here."

"You didn't think 'Adam is responsible enough not to cause thousands in property damage'?" the bull asked, unamused.

"Of course I didn't think that! Why would I call you by your actual name?" the blonde asked curiously.

As the two started to argue, Velvet, Neon, and Penny were about to tell the others what had happened. Before they could, a very murderous looking Glynda Goodwitch showed up and demanded answers.

Their night had just gotten longer.

From a lamp post, a lone raven was perched. The bird watched the two bullheads fly off towards the ocean. As she was, Raven knew she wouldn't be able to catch up to two speeding ships at once. Instead, she thought about what she'd just seen.

Roman Torchwick was working with the White Fang, and what's more, they were stealing the dust and taking it... Somewhere. None of it was adding up. Her search around the city hadn't turned up much. Torchwick was a lot smarter than she had given him credit for. He must've had multiple safehouse and storage locations, and what's more, he must've hidden them under paperwork to cover himself up.

Even then, there was no way he was hiding all of the dust in the city. There was just too much to be able to successfully hide. He must've been moving it out of the city somewhere but where could it be? No village would just randomly take in shipments of unmarked dust from some shady crew in hooded uniforms.

Raven dropped and shifted into her human form. She hated finding nothing. She was given her power because she and her brother were skilled at finding things and gathering intel. That she wasn't finding anything was frustrating, but did help prove one thing.

This was definitely Salem's doing. It was too perfectly done. She had someone in the city calling the shots, and that meant bad things for Vale. Raven needed to shift objectives a little. She couldn't be looking into Roman because that's probably what they wanted.

No, Raven needed to look for Salem's agent. The issue was that finding whoever that was would be harder than finding Torchwick. She didn't have anywhere to start!

Thwunk!

"What the hell?" Raven whispered to herself. That noise sounded suspiciously like an... Arrow? She knew it well enough, the tribe had used them for hunting and she knew the sound after years of hearing the bandits who hunted practicing their aim.

So who had shot an arrow near her? Had they been aiming for her, they could've hit her. She was surprised honestly. Nobody had snuck up on her in years, so that this assailant was able to launch an arrow at her without her knowing was impressive at least.

She found the arrow pinned to a stone wall. Not only were they quiet, but they were strong and precise. The arrow had been lodged in a tiny crack in the wall, they had used the small hole to lodge the arrow in the stone.

The arrow looked like it was made of... Glass? Strange material aside, there was something more pressing about it.

There was a note tied to it.

This screamed bad idea. She knew for a fact that anyone who shot a message arrow was likely a criminal of some sort. She looked around, cautious and ready for another arrow. There were no figures on the roofs above or in the windows of the buildings around her. The streets were empty and she couldn't see anyone in any of the cars around either.

This was meant for her. Whoever had shot it wanted her to read this. Her instincts told her that this couldn't be anything good, and that she should either leave it or take it to Ozpin.

But if she was going to take it to Oz, then she'd have to read it first.

Against all the voices in her head telling her not to, she tore the message from the arrow and opened it. The entire message was written in green ink.

Five-one-one-four, Two weeks from tonight. Don't tell the wizard. Come alone.

Don't tell the wizard. Ozpin, they meant. Not to mention the request to come alone. Alarms went off in her head already.

And the address? Maybe it was an area code. No, that would've been useless, it had to be an address. But there was no street name. How was she supposed to find it in two weeks?

She scanned the whole note. There was nothing else. Just the address of an undisclosed building, and the request she had to keep it a secret. She hissed. This cloak and dagger rubbed her the wrong way. She had a terrible feeling about this. And yet she was suspicious not just of them, but now of something else too.

Why did they specifically say not to tell Ozpin? They must've known Raven would do so, and were making a precaution to flee if there was even the slightest sign of a threat. Raven had to follow the request if she wanted to see what this was about.

She needed to figure out where to go, and how to prepare for an ambush. She wasn't leaving anything up to luck. She would be ready.

And she would find answers for both Ozpin, and herself.

"This is entirely excessive."

"Shush you! You're grounded!" Ruby turned and glare-pouted at Adam, the man currently being escorted through the halls of Beacon like a maximum security prisoner. Yang and Whitley stood slightly behind and to the sides of him.

"I'm not gonna run away you know," he raised an eyebrow at the reaper, who now was walking backwards as they spoke to each other.

"Says you! We let you go on one, hear me, one date, and whaddya do?" she leaned forward, her long hair swaying with her as she continued walking backwards.

"I didn't do anything," he corrected, "the White Fang just happened to be around and I, being the gentleman that I am, refused to let them anywhere near my date."

"Phooey!" Ruby prodded his chest, "Velvet told us you ran out of the restaurant after seeing the bullheads!"

"They were a threat to my night."

"YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T CARE ABOUT DATING!" Ruby flailed her arms up and down, growing more and more frustrated with the man's taunts and jokes.

"Ruby," Yang said, grabbing the older girls attention, "I think he gets it."

"Aht aht aht! Nothing from you Miss 'I stopped an armed robbery when Raven told you not to get in trouble'!" Ruby gave her a stern look.

"Technically Adam and Whitley were also there for that," Yang threw the two to the dogs. Both sent her a scandalized look.

"And they get excused because you dragged them into it," Ruby said motherly. Both sagged in relief, but the bull quickly jolted when Ruby pinched him.

"You're not off the hook!" Ruby pinched him again. He grunted.

"Stop that," he swatted her hand away, but was caught off guard as her speed outmatched his own and pinched his other side.

She continued her onslaught until Adam had enough and pinched back, getting a yelp from the girl. She sent him a murderous look, and the towel was thrown down. The two entered a vicious battle of pinches, neither giving in no matter how many blows they took.

"What are they doing?" a voice asked from behind. Yang and Whitley turned to see Neon, eyebrow raised at the strange fight taking place before her.

"Wasting time," Whitley grumbled. Neon rolled her eyes but smirked. The guy really was like his sister. Except Weiss wasn't nearly as easy to talk to sometimes. Whitley at least could hold a conversation.

"So now I have to compete with Ruby for Adam's affection too? How cruel can fate be?" she daintily lay the back of her hand across her head like a damsel in distress.

"WHAT!?" Ruby immediately threw herself away from Adam, sending a scathing look towards the faunus girl. She grinned and slid up next to Ruby.

"Or we can just share him? Or maybe that's not your style? Maybe you want him all to yourself," Neon's eyes held an evil glint. Ruby felt like a bird being stalked by a cat.

"Enough of that," Adam's hand came down on the skater's head in a firm chop. She yelped and rubbed her head.

"Prickly," Neon grumbled.

"Was there something you needed with my team? Or are you just here to make us all uncomfortable?" Yang asked, doing nothing to hide her feelings for the girl. Neon stuck her tongue out at the brawler and pulled her eyelid down a little.

"Don't be such a sourpuss," Neon groaned, "but also I wanted to ask Adam if he got questioned by the headmaster too."

Granted, Ozpin had said that Headmaster Ironwood would be the one to decide anything for her and Penny. Speaking of Penny, she hadn't seen the ginger since last night. She had just up and disappeared on all of them.

Adam nodded to the girl's question. Ozpin had wanted to see all four of them individually. Velvet had said he didn't ask her much or give her any form of punishment, so when Adam had gone he wasn't expecting much.

To his surprise however the man seemed oddly... Intense when he had been questioning him.

/\/\/\

Adam stepped out of the elevator, looking around the headmaster's office as he did. The room was large, and windows on the opposite side of the room overlooked both Beacon and Vale. The headmaster sat at his desk, a single chair in front of it.

Adam walked in front of the chair but didn't sit. Instead he stood and watched as the headmaster appraised him for the moment. His eyes held a strange glint to them, and while he didn't look angry, he hardly looked happy either.

"Please, take a seat Mr. Taurus," he finally said, waving his hand towards the chair. Adam nodded and sat, resting his hands on his legs as he waited for the headmaster to address him further.

"You had quite the date last night, I see," the man said, a hint of amusement in his tone.

"I see Velvet told you what we were doing beforehand already," Adam answered, not answering the question directly.

"Yes, and what a story it was," Ozpin said tiredly. Adam felt for the man. Velvet was quite the... Detailed storyteller.

"I assume you're going to ask me about the White Fang," Adam stated.

"You assume mostly right," the older man replied, leaning forward slightly. Adam waited for him to continue.

"It would appear that your old colleagues have a presence in Vale. Based on what you and your fellow students witnessed last night, it would seem they do not have the kind intentions of peace that many would hope for."

"No, it would appear not," Adam sighed. The Fang causing problems in Vale was already bad, but the fact that he didn't know what they were doing upset him more.

He knew he had left and was trying to do better now, but they still felt like his problem. Like it was his fault they were here.

"We also have it down that Roman Torchwick is in leagues with them as well. Is that true?"

"It is. Velvet and I saw him ourselves and I fought him."

Ozpin hummed. He was making sure everything was accurate, which Adam didn't mind. But he also had a strange look that said he wanted more. And not only that, but that what he wanted was something only he could give the man.

"Is there... Something else, headmaster?" Adam ventured. Ozpin let a little huff of air from his nose and leaned back into his chair.

"Very perceptive Mr. Taurus. There is something I'd like to ask you that I wouldn't be able to ask Ms. Scarlatina."

"You want to know if I know what the White Fang is doing."

It was a statement, not a question. Ozpin didn't seem surprised or annoyed that Adam had interjected. Instead he tented his fingers in front of him.

"Make no mistake Mr. Taurus, I am not accusing you of anything," he started, "but as one who only just recently left the group, I was wondering if you could shed some light on the situation."

Adam sighed and hunched forward. That had been eating at him. He didn't understand what the Fang was doing. They hadn't been stealing this much dust before, only directly from the Schnee mines, never local businesses or the like. What they were doing now was just... Confusing. What were they preparing?

Ozpin could see from the look on his face that he didn't know anything and sighed lightly himself. He looked towards the ceiling of his office, watching the gears tick along.

"I see..." that was unfortunate but not unforeseen. If this was all the plotting of Salem, then it had started after Adam had left and that meant he didn't know anything.

That woman. Once upon a time they had believed in working towards the same goal. Now however?

That simply wasn't possible.

His thoughts must've been showing on his face, as Adam was sending him a confused look. He reigned his thoughts in and sent the man before him a thankful nod and a smile.

"Well Mr. Taurus, that is enough. Believe me when I say, I do believe I'm sick of stories right now," Ms. Scarlatina could certainly talk when you asked her too.

"I fully understand," Adam slumped when he thought of the girl's habits.

"If I have any more questions for you, I'll be sure to notify you beforehand," Ozpin said as he turned in his chair.

"Right..." Adam answered, standing and taking his leave. The elevator dinged and a moment later the doors closed.

Ozpin's eyes narrowed as he thought. He'd yet to hear from Raven, though that was somewhat normal for the woman. Ironwood was bringing an army to his kingdom and would not be swayed on the matter. The White Fang and Roman Torchwick were working together, unlikely as it was, and they seemingly weren't the ones planning everything.

All in all, it appeared the war was coming to Vale. While many would be cowed by such a thought as someone like Salem making a move so lofty, Ozpin was instead feeling something he hadn't felt in a long time.

In chess, there were so many pieces to think about. No two were more notable than the queen and the king, however.

The queen was strong, versatile, capable, and the single strongest piece in one's arsenal. The queen could be lost, but regained, making it a threat even after it is initially taken. In many ways, the queen was unkillable. Immortal, some would say.

And yet it was the king that the game hinged on. Losing the king meant losing the game. The king couldn't move very far, and while it could move in any direction, it was a risky move to move your king towards your opponent. But that was just it.

You were still at risk if you were to bring yourself just outside of the kings reach. Ozpin smirked. It was small, and it looked almost out of place on him.

If she wanted to put her pieces in reach of the king, then he would happily take them all.

And that's a wrap!

We finish season one here, and enter the two week period between seasons. Expect the next two or so chapters to be a little less story driven and little more character based. Not quite filler, but nowhere near the amount of plot in these last few chapters.

It's great seeing everyone speculate in the reviews. Lights a fire in my heart. Remember to follow to see more and leave a review telling me what you think!

Please be safe out there and have a wonderful time!

Omake: Giant swords and cutting boards

Ruby listened as Velvet and Adam retold the story of their fight at the docks, Neon chiming in every so often with another detail from when she'd shown up. They were sitting in the library at the moment. It was very cool and heroic and all, but one thing had stuck out to the reaper more than anything.

"Where is Penny and her giant sword," Ruby demanded, grabbing Neon by her shirt and hauling her across the table right in front of her face.

Neon blushed. That was kinda hot.

"U-uh, she kinda just disappeared after last night," Neon said.

"Then I'll find her," Ruby stated, determined to study the giant sword made of guns.

It sounded like her wildest dreams. Never would she have thought such a magnificent thing could exist.

"Well she's around, I just don't know where," Neon explained, still held by the Rose. Ruby hummed, letting go of the faunus and bolting from the library.

She had a giant sword to hunt down.

Penny, it turned out, was in the student lounge, using the small kitchen for something.

She hummed happily, cutting something on a board methodically. Weiss would be proud! She was so much better at cooking now than she was when she had first met her team!

She still remembered their pained groans as they had tried her food for the first time. It was a sign she needed to get better!

It still didn't stop Weiss from keeping a strict eye on her when she was around a kitchen.

Penny froze in her cutting as she felt a presence. She turned quickly, looking around the small room. There was nothing there and nobody around. Was she hearing things?

She turned and started cutting again, slower this time. She yelped when she felt something graze her back.

Turning again she scanned the room. There was still nothing. She felt around towards her back with her left arm, but couldn't feel anything but her normal weapon-pack.

She sighed. Perhaps she was simply tired. After all, she had embarrassed herself at the docks, and didn't want to see Neon, Adam, or Velvet after causing such a scene.

Not to mention how she'd lit half the docks on fire. That was pretty bad too.

She gasped, this time dropping what she was doing completely as she felt someone pull her backwards by her backpack. She turned, this time determined to see who was stalking her.

She didn't expect to see Ruby Rose looking up and down her backpack intensely, much like an animal would a piece of food it found on the floor.

"Um, Ruby?" Penny asked. Ruby yelped and darted back a step.

"I wasn't doing anything!" Ruby shouted. Penny blinked.

But she was definitely doing something! Why was she lying like that?

"Why were you searching my weapon?" Penny asked. Ruby flushed and dug a booted toe into the floor.

"Heh heh, well..." Ruby looked down, her hair and hood covering her face for a moment. Penny leaned forward, trying to see what she was hiding when Ruby sprung back up.

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOUR GIANT SWORD!" Ruby screamed. She heaved, as though she'd just conquered a fear. Penny tilted her head.

"Was that all?" she asked curiously. Ruby nodded silently.

"Why did you not just say so!" Penny beamed.

A moment later the two were sat outside while Penny showed the reaper each of the many parts of her weapon.

Turned out her giant sword was made up of a ton of small guns! Only some were bladed, and Ruby learned that those were the ones that went on the outside last out of all of the guns when forming the sword. It used strings and gravity dust to hover and be controlled. It was all so complicated and intricate.

Ruby was ecstatic.

"I love you..." Ruby whispered as she caressed the giant sword. Penny didn't know what one was supposed to say in this situation, so she responded the way she'd seen pet owners reply to others.

"And she loves you too!" Penny said happily.

Ruby's squeal was that of a girl who had just been given the world. Penny didn't understand, but was all too happy to make such a great friend! Ruby seemed to care greatly for her weapon.

That was the sign of a reliable friend!

Ruby, meanwhile, wondered if it was possible to breed weapons, and if so, whether Penny would allow Savage Rose to mate with her giant sword.

It would be a holy matrimony indeed.