Remnants of a World I Once Knew: Volume 2

Chapter 13

"Blake! Come back!," Yang was about to go after her when Fives stopped her. "Yang. Stop," Fives placed a hand on her shoulder. "But Blake!," Yang looks at him. ".....needs to take a breather," Fives replied. "But...," Yang replied. "As much as she is a teammate, Blake was a White Fang member and a Faunus. She kept it a secret and it has taken a toll on her. Give her some space to work things out," Fives told the girls. "Y...Yes sir. But it doesn't make me worry any less," Ruby replied. Weiss scoffed. "No it doesn't," Fives acknowledged. "This wouldn't have happened had she ran," Weiss replied. "Those who run are guilty at heart," she berated. "Not everyone agrees with you," Fives got up from the bunk and began to leave. "I had a....friend who ran once. Not just because she was knew she was innocent, but because those pursuing her judged her guilty without all the facts," Fives replied, remembering Ahsoka and the Jedi Bombing. It pained many of the clones to see her walk away. Even more so to those closest like Anakin, who went to Ventress and led to Barriss Offee, revealing herself as the culprit, Padme, who fought as Ahsoka's lawyer, Rex, who decided to look at the lower levels, and Fives, who hacked into the Judicial security cameras and found the audio of the moment Letta died. "Weiss, don't judge a book by its' cover," Fives sighed. "Sir, with all due respect, I still stand by what I said. The innocent never run. The innocent aren't cowards if they don't run," Weiss shot back. "You have a lot to understand," Fives told Weiss before leaving the room. Fives looked to his left to see a raven, squawking at him. "More than you realize, Branwen. More than you realize," Fives replied. The bird flapped its' wings and flew off into the night sky.

"So, you want to know more about me," Blake began. "Yes. For like, two days now," the faunus replied. "You know who the White Fang are, right?," Blake asked. "A bunch of extremists bent on making humanity suffer," the faunus answered. "Close enough, Sun," Blake replied. "How do you mean?," Sun asked. "The White Fang used to be a group dedicated to peace between the Faunus and the humans. But as usual, not everyone sees us as equals. 5 years ago, their leader stepped down and a new one took place. Suddenly, people began to respect us. Not out of respect but out of fear. And I was at every rally of it," Blake replied. "Wow," Sun replied. "Yeah," Blake got up from her seat. "Where ya goin?," Sun asked. "To find the White Fang members," Blake replied. "If it makes ya feel better, I heard some conversations about a stick-up op in the docks," Sun suggested.

The first day Blake had disappeared had the team waste no time in trying to find her. Team JNPR and even CFFVY helped. The only one sulking and found the search and rescue a waste of time was Weiss. The second day went by with no results. Due to Team JNPR and CFVY being busy, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang found it hard to search the city of Vale. Luckily, they had Fives come along. "Weiss?!," Ruby called out. "Oh where could she be?!," Ruby moaned. "Thanks again for helping! You really didn't have to," Yang told Fives. "No worries," Fives replied. "I know where should she be," Weiss replied. Everyone turned to her. "In the police station," Weiss answered.

"Weiss, you're not helping," Ruby replied. "Oh, do you need help, Ruby?," Penny appeared right in front of Ruby. "Ahhhh Penny! How did you find us?!," Ruby jumped back. "Salutations!," Penny smiled. "Oh....hello there, Captain Fives," Penny smiled. "Hey Penny," Fives waved. "You two know each other?," Weiss asked. "Captain? Of what?," Yang asked. "Why Professor Fives used to be a Captain of the Atlas Forces," Penny replied. "I thought you were Head of Security?," Ruby asked. "Short period of time," Fives answered. "So what are you all doing here?," Penny asked. "We're looking for Blake," Fives nodded. "Blake? Oh you mean the Faunus girl," Penny replied. "How did you know?," Ruby asked. "Uhhh the cat ears," Penny smiled. "Cat ears? She wears a....oh a bow," Yang realized. "We should get going!" Ruby replied. "Of course! I will help you find Blake, Ruby my friend!," Penny announced, much to Weiss's disgust and Yang's chuckles. "Oh....thanks," Ruby smiled. "So...your friend. What happened to her after the trial?," Yang asked Fives. "She was.....offered her ranking back. I was there. But she turned it down," Fives sighed. "Why?," Yang asked. "Despite proven innocent, the fact that backs were turned on her so quickly was enough for her to leave," Fives continued. "That's depressing," Yang replied. "For a 17 year old girl, yes," Fives nodded. "Huh. Same age as me," Yang replied.  As the sky turned to a orangish evening, they saw an explosion in the distance and the sound of men screaming, followed by Blake's yelping. "It's Blake!," Yang darted. But she barely took a step forward when Penny flew up into the air. "Woah! Did Penny just...?," Weiss began. "No time, kiddies. Your friends need help. Let's go," Fives told the girls. The three nodded and sprinted towards the docks, with Fives in tow.

Blake was there, a blade around Roman's neck, halting the White Fang from making any movement. "Brothers and sisters of the White Fang. Why are you aiding this scum?! We're supposed to represent peace! Not fear!," Blake hollered. "Heh. Wrong idea," Roman smirked and elbows Blake in the stomach. Blake didn't have time to react before Roman spun around and did a frontal kick to her back, sending Blake stumbling forward. The White Fang members then charged towards her, ready to fight Blake. Blake used her Gambol Shroud to evade most of the White Fan as she swung towards Roman. Roman chuckled at the lousy and predictable tactic and brought his cabe for a swing. One moment, he began to to swing down, and the next, his arm and cane were both frozen by the sculpture of Blake. Blake appears behind him and kicks Roman hard in the back, sending him stumbling and knocking into three White Fang members. Another White Fang member tried to surprise Blake but was kicked away by Sun who began to spin his weapon around. A collapsible staff that could separate into two pairs of nunchucks made of guns that Sun calls called Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. Sun kept spinning the staff around to repel the bullets. All the while Blake was clashing it out against Roman. Roman continued to fire his Melodic Cudgel, a cane that was also a gun at the foot of it. Blake continued to block it with her blade and returned fire. Roman also blocked the shots with his cane. Blake tried to charge at Roman. Instead, Roman used his cane and tripped Blake. Blake landed on the floor, her weapon sliding away. "Alright kitty," Roman looks down at her, his cane aimed at her face. "Playtime's over," he smirked. "Not today," a voice interrupted him. Roman looks up to see several blades and before he knew it, he was sent hurtling back. Blake opened her eyes to see Penny standing there with her hand outstretched. "Hi Blake Belladonna! I believe Ruby Rose is looking for you!," Penny smiled. "...Thanks....but...," Blake took her hand and Penny helped her up. "Don't worry, Blake Belladonna. I'm combat ready!," Penny saluted. Roman growled and was about to shoot Penny when Ruby came out of nowhere and kicks him further back, wielding her Crescent Rose. "Another time, kiddies," Roman retreated towards an airship just as two more began to fire at Penny. Penny's blade began to spin around, aimed towards the ships firing as the bullets pierced the grounds. Then a green laser shot out of the blades, destroying the two ships. The distraction allowed Roman to escape into the night.

30 minutes later, Weiss, Yang and Fives showed up. "Weiss! Wait! Blake's not who you...," Ruby began but Weiss walked past Ruby and towards Blake, stopping a few feet. "Do you know how long we've been looking for you?," Weiss asked. "Weiss...I..," Blake began. "2 days!," Weiss interrupted. "And during that time....I had a lot to think about and I've decided....that I don't care! You're no longer with the White Fang, right?," Weiss asked. "Not since I've joined Beacon Academy," Blake replied. "That's good enough for me. But the next time something big like this, you...come tell us. Instead of running away and telling....a stranger," Weiss looks at Sun, who waved. "I'm still not sure about you!," Weiss points at Sun, who chuckled nervously. "Aww yeah! Team RWBY back together!," Yang smiled. "Hey wait. Where's Penny?," Ruby asked. "Penny, you were warned about this," a voice replied. "I know, sir," Penny replied. The window rolled up and the car drove away. "Your time will shine,"

"Well? What's the casualties?," Fives asked the officers. "Casualties? Dust. Of the 30 containers of dust here? All 30 have been taken," the officers replied. "What doesn't make sense is the White Fang and Roman. The White Fang hate humanity and Torchwick's just another racist scumbag. So what's he doing working with the White Fang?." Fives asked. "Who needs that many dust anyways?," the deputy replied. "Something big's going to happen soon. The question is what and when?," Fives replied.