#pcto

AN: I’d like to apologize to the fans of this story as I had a bit of a break from the RWBY series for a while, and by extension this story, which I still enjoy the concept for. Please note that some canon details were established before they were written into the story. Instead of starting the story over, I’m keeping what was in the story already, and moving forward. For example, Jacques Schnee is going to remain Gelb Schnee (Yellow Snow) in this story. Other details, like the Belladonnas (whom I love) being dead may be revised, depending on how this story goes.

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Blake had noticed something strange was going on with her roommate for while now. She would go out for many hours after dark and come back looking and smelling like the woods. There was a tension in her shoulders, and a searching focus in her eyes, that was very familiar from her time in the White Fang.

Yang was on alert, and it was likely that her sister and her sister’s friend were both in on it. She suspected it had something to do with the first night, when they were attacked. The staff had done something to her memory, and those of the others, but for some reason it didn’t stick with her. With that information, she began to notice that there was something more going on behind the scenes. Especially, with that damn corgi around.

Something about that dog made her skin crawl more than a normal dog ever did, and she refused to trust it. Yet, it was that self-same mutt that prevented her from following Yang after she left the room, often sitting just outside of the room, waiting, menacingly. Tonight was different though, she could feel it from the start. There was a charge in the air, and then a sudden release like some energy was contained and stored away after building up.

It was very familiar, and yet she couldn’t say why… like something from when she was really young.

While she appeared to be busy with her book, she had been watching as Yang perked up, and looked out the window with an odd eagerness. She seemed to know that there was something going on, and then had gone out to greet her sister with something that caused the younger girl to yell incoherently and another of their scuffles to break out.

They often reminded her of kittens fighting in play.

Which was something else that was curious to her, no matter what injuries they gave each other, they were completely fine. She had seen Ruby get a split lip from her sister’s elbow, and then less than an hour later there was no sign of it on her lips any more. Even the blood that had dripped onto her shirt was gone.

Something was going on with those two, and she was going to figure this out, before bringing it up to them. Tonight might just be the right one to do something about taking the steps to get the information that she craved.

The first part of her plan was to wait until Zwei had been taken by Weiss, as he would not be able to escape from her grip. Then she slipped out under the pretense of going to the library. She set up to watch the dorm exit and waited.

Once Ruby, Pyrrha, and Yang left the building, heading towards… the storage sheds on the edge of the campus? Why would they go there? Slinking along the shadows thanks to her training, she followed them a few yards back, watching as they walked along looking almost like some of the workers she saw in Menagerie going to their jobs. Well Ruby did, slumped shoulders and dragging her heels, unlike her usual energetic self. Pyrrha was trying to encourage her, and Yang appeared to be stretching like she was going hiking or something.

She didn’t dare get close enough to hear what they were saying, and they didn’t have their heads enough to be able to read their lips. Wait, is that Miss Thropp the librarian? Why is she all the way out here?

Seeing the pale woman looking around, she dropped down to the rooftop she was on and waited. Her ears were perked up as she waited, straining to catch any noises from the group. It sounded like three sets of footsteps had gone into the building, while one was heading way… towards the woods?

Peeking over the wall, she spotted Yang heading off towards the forest while stretching and the light from the doorway cutting off as the door shut. Waiting a few minutes, she followed Yang with her eyes soaking up the low light of the moon. Getting to the ground, she prowled the forest after Yang, stalking her silently as she tried to figure out why Miss Thropp would let Yang go off into the dark like that.

She had noticed that she wore those bracelets that turned into full bracers during the first night, and that they were deployed. There was something strange about them, she could feel it, but she just couldn’t place what it was. She had seen them explode not like a bomb, but maybe like a shotgun? Yeah, they just blew apart things she punched, but also helped her move around very fast.

Not as fast as the petal spewing blur that was her sister, but much faster than she could on her own.

Years of training in the White Fang had her moving as silent as her  feline reflexes would allow, which was almost as quiet as a shadow, and still her enhanced hearing could pick up the sound of cameras and sensors all over the forest. Why all this security out here? And why was Yang out walking around in the middle of the night?

Crouching low, she watched Yang scan the area from a bush near the base of a tree. The pale moonlight cast shadows which made the blonde’s eyes glow like they had some sort of light inside them. She reached up to her ear, and tilted slightly while still scanning the clearing. There was something more going on here that she couldn’t understand, but then she heard a twig snap, her ears perking up and focusing off to the right of the clearing, just as Yang turned to face it with a huge, excited grin on her face.

Okay, why was that hot? She’ll have to answer that later. Because right now, she had to figure out what the hell was with that bear that had just padded into the clearing. It was massive, looked like it had bone armor with glowing red lines and symbols, spikes along its spine, and giant bone-white claws, and… oh yeah about four times the size of Yang.

The glow of Yang’s eyes went from purple to almost the same crimson as they looked to almost flare with fire. The girl surged forward with a blast from her gauntlets, and the other one arched back to slam down on the front of the masked the bear was wearing, almost in the glowing red dot.

Just like the first night, there was an explosion at the impact site, and the bear slammed down to the ground, before getting up and shaking its head like it was nothing more than a mosquito bite. Yang bounced back, letting the slash of the claws pass her with inches to spare, before surging back in and slamming her fist into the thing’s chin with an impact that caused a squelching sound before it spat out a length of something pitch black that faded into nothing before her eyes. Of course, that would explain why there were no remains of the creatures. They turned into black mist and disappeared.

Because of course they would.

She watched as Yang continued to pound the creature into pieces as it tried ineffectually attacking and trying to hit her back. It was slow and lumbering, while her impacts were quick, sharp, and powerful. But it seemed that the bear thing got a lucky blow in, sending Yang int- no through a tree. She bounced back up, wiping her nose with a smirk as she bounced back into the fight with what seemed to be even more force and energy.

Listen, when she is slamming punches that lift the massive beast off the ground and continues to juggle it like it was a balloon, there was little that she could think otherwise. Well, there’s also the thought that it was hot, and not just from the… was that fire surrounding her? Yeah, okay, something’s going on here, and she was suddenly stuck in an action anime of some sort.

Seeing her finish with a double-handed blow that looked like she was chopping wood, only for the creature to impact the ground and explode into so much smoke.  When it cleared, Yang was standing there, staring directly at Blake, her eyes glowing crimson as she gave a smile. “Hey, look at that, a curious cat.”

Standing up, Blake held her hands up moving slowly to try and not set off the blonde’s aggression. “I think we need to talk a bit…” she offered as she moved out, silently and carefully getting free of the underbrush.

Meanwhile, unknown to Blake, two girls shared a look as they realized what was about to happen. Maybe they shouldn’t have told Miss Thropp about the detection, but it seemed like they would have to get Zwei from his detention with the headmaster. Turning to where their mentor was sitting, they noticed her brooding with a small smile on her face. “Most interesting girls… Let’s go cover the border while Miss Xiao-Long and Miss Belladonna have their discussion.”

The two moved to comply, activating their cameras along the path, and overlaying the magic filters. “Ruby… The ears? You saw them move, right?”

“Oh yeah, she’s a Faunus,” Ruby confirmed with a shrug. “I know a few of them that prefer to keep it secret. We were in a very progressive village that treated them normally, but there’s a lot of bigots out there.”

Pyrrha paused to consider that, before nodding and moving on. She could understand that logic. Faunus were not unusual, she had even met a few while working on films, and she knew the bigotry in some people. It was sensible to protect oneself until they were sure about things.

“Strange that she wasn’t already in the program though,” Ruby continued with a shrug as she focused on the screens watching the next section of the patrol path. “Most Faunus are raised in magical areas, or taught about magic from an early age.”

“That is true Miss Rose, and the Belladonna family is not… unfamiliar with the magical arts.”

“Belladonna? Like the nightshade plant?” Pyrrha asked curiously turning to look at the librarian.

Elphaba let out a small laugh as she nodded. “Actually the plant was named after them,” she clarified while looking at the private monitor by her seat. “I haven’t heard of the latest mages of that family in a while. Wonder if she can shed a light on what old Ghira and Kali have been up to. She looks like the spitting image of Kali…”

Ruby paused, and slowly looked at the camera with her sister and Blake in it, before looking back to Miss Thropp, and then back at the camera. “. . . Do you mean those Belladonnas?”

“Yes, Miss Rose, the former leaders of the White Fang. I know they had a round up overseas of a lot of their key members,” the librarian answered with a wide smile curling her lips. “It’s good to see that she got out of that mess, and is not trying to turn her life around here.”

“Excuse me Miss Thropp, and I am sorry to overstep, but we should probably verify she has left the group before assuming? She has been nothing but a good student and friend as far as we know, and I don’t want to think the worst of someone, but…”

“She has been cleared of involvement on the first day, though we have some more to investigate. We have been monitoring the communications in and out of the school since that day, and she has isolated herself, which is a few red flags in and of itself, but that is not on you to worry about.” With that, she waggled her finger towards the monitors, where they had to cover for Yang currently handling the exposure of magic to Bake.

Back in the forest, Yang smirked as she leaned against the tree that she had gone through only moments earlier, “So, what’s new pussy cat?” she asked, only to duck as a book came flying through the air at her head. “WOAH! OKAY! I get it… no need to throw the book at me.”

There were multiple facepalms, and one exasperated felinoid, at that statement, and Blake really wished she had brought a second book. “Just… give me my book back,” she demanded as she approached, holding her hand out.

Yang smirked as she flicked her hand over towards the book. “Levitatio,” she muttered while moving her fingers, lifting and floating the book over to Blake’s hand. Somewhere deep in a hidden section of the campus, a younger sister begged, pleaded, and cajoled her sister to just leave it there, where she looked cool, smooth and suave… sadly there was no chance for the blonde to hear her, so instead she did a double finger guns and winked at Blake.

Pyrrha put a hand on Ruby’s shoulder as she watched her sister fumble her roommate in a manner that even she could recognize as being horribly cringe. She did not want to see this, but for some reason she couldn’t look away from the train wreck before her. “Maybe she should remind her that her mic is on?” the redhead offered to try and salvage some dignity for the blonde, but it was too late.

“Cute Yang… so want to tell me what’s going on?” Blake stated in a tone that was anything but impressed, and just tucked her book away.

Yang sighed as her moves failed, and looked around cautiously. “Umm, right now, I’m patrolling to keep an eye out for those things, and anyone else like that… can we give you a more in depth run down after I finish? I think they’ll want to ask you some things and probably have a welcome booklet or something for you.”

“Can you at least tell me what that thing was? It looked like the things from the pizza party.”

“Oh, yeah… Creature of Grimm,” Yang explained casually, trying to regain her mojo. “They’re basically magically formed shadows that look like beasts… annnnd you remember the first night.”

“Yes, I do.”

The word that escaped Yang’s mouth has been scrubbed from the transcripts due to profanity. She took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. “So, I’m thinking that there’s going to be a lot of paperwork when we get back.”

“Yes there is Miss Xiao-Long, please keep the radio free from profanity,” Thropp’s voice stated calmly in the ear piece, causing the blonde to pale as she reached up to turn off the comm unit. “No, leave it on. We will review your performance during debriefing.”

“Yes, Miss Thropp,” Yang answered with a defeated slump to her shoulders as she realized just who had all heard her flirting on the clock, and striking out. Her bruised ego would not take this humiliation easily.

“Bring her in,” the librarian stated firmly as the blonde tried to salvage what remained of her ego.

Yang sighed and waved for Blake to walk with her back towards the campus. “Come on, let’s go get this squared away and see what needs to be done.”

“Are you done checking meow-t?” Blake offered lightly before they left the clearing, laughing at the look of confused adoration and betrayal that crossed Yang’s face. “Sorry, the book was more because I do not like that song, and you very likely just got it stuck in my head for the next while, and not because of the pun. I’ve been your roommate long enough to develop a tolerance for your terrible puns.”

“Though you flirting with me was a surprise, I had thought we’d have to have a long talk.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that you were giving off some loud and proud energy, and I’m not talking about magic,” Blake explained with a slight laugh to her voice. “Also… the Achieve Men poster you have.”

“What’s wrong with the Achieve Men?” Yang asked her head titling to the side in confusion as she tried to figure out what her favorite band had to do with… oh… right… they were a polycule…

“It’s queer signalling, and I support it. Though I am flattered, I am not particularly interested in dating at this time. Perhaps would could stay friends for the time being, and see if a relationship develops from there? I cannot guarantee anything more than that, but it’s a start, isn’t it?” she offered warmly as she watched Yang walking beside her, slowly blinking at the blonde

“Sure, I guess we can be friends, and roommates.”