Here we go! This is the last chapter for Volume 1! Let's get excited for this! Anyways, last time, Blake and Nero were revealed to both be Faunus. With that, time to get to this chapter.
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*3rd Person POV*
We cut to a view of the balcony café in the middle of Vale where Sun Wukong, Nero Kristallos and Blake Belladonna are drinking tea.
Blake: "So, you want to know more about me..."
Sun: "Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and you've given me nothing but small talk and weird looks!" Blake gives Sun a firm look. "Yeah, like that."
Blake: "Sun, Nero... Are you guys familiar with the White Fang?"
Sun: "Of course! I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them. Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!"
Nero: "I've heard about them during my travels."
Blake: "...I was once a member of the White Fang."
Nero was surprised by this revelation while Sun starts choking on his drink, making him put it down and wipe his mouth as he holds up a hand to process this information.
Sun: "Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!"
Blake: "That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it... Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and the Faunus."
Blake: "Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as a voice of our people. And I was there. I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference. But I was just a youthful optimist."
Blake: "Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect... out of fear."
Blake: "So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am: a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow." She wiggles her cat ears beneath the fashionable disguise to demonstrate.
Sun: "So... have you told your friends any of this?"
Blake merely looks down in shame and says nothing.
*1st Person POV*
The six of us were walking through town and calling in vain for our missing teammates. I know I trusted Nero, but they've been gone for half a day already.
Ruby: (shouts) "Blaaaake!"
Yang: (shouts) "Blaaaake!"
Vert: (shouts) "Nero! Where are you?"
Rosa: (shouts) "Neeeero!"
Azure: (shouts) "Nero! Blake! You guys around here?"
Ruby: "Weiss, you're not helping!"
Weiss: "Oh! You know what might be able to help? The police!"
Ruby: "Ugh, Weiss..."
Weiss: "It was just an idea!"
Azure: "Not a very good one."
Yang: "Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions."
Weiss: "I think that when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right!"
Penny: "And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!" What the-? Did I hear Penny behind us? All of us turned around to see Penny. We were surprised.
Azure: "Penny?!"
Ruby: "Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from!?"
Penny: "Hey guys! What are you up to?"
Ruby: "Uhh..."
Yang: "We're looking for our friends Blake and Nero."
Penny: "Ooooh, you mean the Faunus girl and Faunus boy!"
Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Azure, Rosa, and Vert stare at Penny.
Rosa: "HUH?! Nero was a Faunus?! How come we didn't know that?" She said to Vert.
Vert: "I think that might've been the reason why he left... Azure." They all look at me. "Was the secret he told you about was of him being a Faunus?"
Azure: "Yeah... He told me that he was a wolf Faunus. Guess it's no longer a secret for you guys."
Ruby: "Wait, Penny, how did you know that?"
Penny: "Uhh, the cat ears for the girl and the wolf ears for the boy?"
Yang: "What cat ears? She wears a... booooowww..."
The realization leaves us in silence as a tumbleweed blows through in the wind.
Ruby: (whispers) 'She does like tuna a lot...'
Azure: (whispers) 'Never change, Ruby.'
Penny: "So, where are they?"
Ruby: "We don't know. They've been missing since Friday."
Penny: (le gasp) "That's terrible! Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammates!"
Ruby: "Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, guys?"
She looks over Penny to direct her question at us, and I turn to see blinking outlines of the other four who departed from the company of Penny. A tumbleweed blows past us again in the quiet.
Penny: "It sure is windy today!"
*3rd Person POV*
Sun, Blake, and Nero are seen walking down an alley.
Sun: "So, what's the plan now?"
Blake: "I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before."
Sun: "What if they did? I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"
Nero: "Maybe..."
Blake: "The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be."
Sun: "Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."
Blake: "How huge?"
Sun: "Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."
Blake: "You're sure?"
Nero: "...Only one way to know."
Over with Ruby and Azure...
Penny: "So, Blake is your friend?"
Ruby: (sighs) "Yes, Penny."
Penny: "But you're mad at her?"
Azure: "No, Penny. Weiss is."
Penny: "Is she friends with Blake?"
Ruby: "Well, that's kind of up in the air right now..."
Penny: "But why?"
Ruby: (sighs again) "Well, you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was..."
Penny: (gasps) "Is she a man?"
Azure: "No she's not."
Ruby: "No, Penny. She's... (stops and sighs) I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off."
Penny: "I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things."
Ruby: "Me too..." They continue walking.
*Back to Nero, Blake, and Sun...*
*3rd Person POV*
Amidst the chirping of crickets and darkness of night, Blake lays flat on her stomach on the rooftop overlooking the shipment of Schnee Dust containers. Nero laid down on his back looking at the stars above until Sun appeared with green apples in his arms.
Sun: "Did I miss anything?" Nero shakes his head no.
Blake: "Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."
Sun: "Cool." He holds out one of the apples in his arms. "I stole us some food!"
Blake: "Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?"
Sun: "Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Blake delivers an angry glare at him. "Okay, too soon!"
Just as he says this, the winds blows all around them, and they look up to see a Bullhead's searchlights flashing around for a landing spot, descending in the middle of the cargo containers and extending a ramp for a black hooded individual with a metallic fanged mask to come out of.
Blake: "Oh no..."
Sun: "Is that them?"
Blake: "Yes... It's them."
Sun: "You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?"
Blake: "No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right."
She closes her eyes in despair, only to open them suddenly when she hears a new voice.
Roman: "Hey! What's the holdup!? We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"
Nero: "Roman Torchwick?"
Blake: "This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that." She stands up and unsheathes her katana before walking off the edge of the roof.
Sun: (alarmed) "Hey, what are you doing?!"
Blake falls to the ground in a crouch, then continues on to hide behind one of the containers, peeking around the corner to see Roman berate a White Fang member holding a coil of rope.
Roman: "No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" As he's looking around, Blake suddenly appears behind him with her blade at his throat. "What the- Oh, for f-"
Blake: "Nobody move!"
The White Fang soldiers ready their guns and equip their swords in response.
Roman: "Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady."
As the White Fang closes in on her, Blake uses her free hand to go for her bow and remove it, causing the ribbon to fall away as her Faunus ears are shown to the world.
Blake: "Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"
The White Fang members lower their weapons a little at this development, unsure of what to do, when Roman laughs.
Roman: "Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?"
Blake: "What are you talking about?"
Roman: "The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"
Blake: "Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation."
Suddenly, the air is filled with more turbines blowing the wind wildly around the holdup. Roman looks up.
Roman: "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation..."
Two more Bullheads are hovering above the heist, and as Blake watches in horror, Roman smiles and manages to fire his cane at Blake's feet, resulting in a large explosion.
Over with Penny, Ruby and Azure, they turn around upon hearing the noise, seeing the smoke rise from the docking bay just a few buildings away. They ran towards the smoke.
Blake, dazed but relatively unhurt on the ground, quickly rolls and runs out of the way of Roman's continued attacks, flaming missiles destroying the cargo behind her as she flips and uses her semblance to dodge then retreats behind more containers.
Roman: "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." His taunt is interrupted when a banana peel lands on his head, causing him to toss it aside then look up and growl at the assailant eyes widening.
Sun: "Woohoo!"
Sun leaps from the container above Roman and drops down on the criminal's face feet-first, rolling up and readying himself to fight.
Sun: "Leave her alone!"
The Bullheads open to let more White Fang members descend on the scene, standing by Roman as he gets up and surrounding Sun. Nero drops down from above, landing behind Sun and holding his sword in front of him.
Roman: "You kids are not the brightest bananas in the bunch, are you?"
With that said, the White Fang charge at the monkey and wolf Faunus. Nero slashes at some and freezes their feet to the ground, while Sun manages to dodge slashes and get some of the frozen soldiers with his fists and kicks until he rolls out of the way of someone's sword, laughing.
Pulling out a collapsible red staff. He quickly uses this to beat down on each opponent that nears him, felling each one in a single flaming blow. When he twirls his staff around, Nero slides down to dodge a scorching shockwave that beats the last of the White Fang.
Blake peers around the corner of the container to watch Sun jump around and beat another White Fang soldier, landing on his back and causing him to fly over toward Roman's head. The crime boss ducks then growls in annoyance and aims his cane at Sun, firing a shot, but Nero defends him using his sword covered in ice when Blake leaps into the action.
Blake: "He's mine!"
Blake goes in close and becomes a blur of afterimages as she slashes both blades at Roman, who backs away and deflects each would-be blow with his cane at unbelievable speeds. Blake continues to dash, hop over, and slide around Roman to try and find a weak spot. Finally landing a blow after using her Semblance but he quickly recovers, deflecting several more attacks before attempting to punch her in the face. Only to hit a clone as she flips away. The two clash weapons again, then Torchwick jabs her in the side.
He lands a few more hits on Blake until one final beating to the head with his cane causes her to go down. After dealing with her, Nero leaps over Blake and pushes Roman back with his sword. He shoots explosives at Nero, who blocks each one. Nero dashes over and they get into a sword-cane fight, swinging their weapons rapidly at each other. After that, Roman swings his cane at him, but Nero jumps back and dodges the hit.
Sun appears right behind him, vaulting over Nero. He kicks Roman in the chest and disconnects his staff into two spinning circles of flame-firing shotgun nunchucks. Sun swings each gun at Roman while firing everything he has at him, but even with the rapid series of shots and flying bullets, Roman manages to defend himself against every bullet and hit until a millisecond-long pause allows an up-and-ready Blake to get a slash in and knock him back.
On his back, Roman notices a container hanging by a crane right above the three warriors, and gets up to fire his cane at its supports. Blake and Nero leap behind it, but Sun barely misses when he jumps forward, ending up right below the nozzle of Roman's cane. Just as he's about to fire, his attention is drawn to two familiar voices.
Ruby/Azure: "Hey!"
Ruby and Azure appear on the rooftop overlooking them. She gets Crescent Rose extended and ready for action. He gets his sword out, surging with electricity.
Roman: "Well, hello, Red, Blue! Isn't it past your bedtime?" Penny appeared behind Ruby.
Penny: "Ruby, are these people your friends?"
Ruby: "Penny, get back!" While her attention is diverted to Penny, Roman snarls and fires his cane at her. Azure sees this and pushes Ruby out of the way, which ended up with him getting hit and launched back from the explosion's force, sending his sword away from him.
Ruby: "Azure!" She goes over to check up on him.
Roman gives off a professional-level evil laugh at his attack on the young boy. Penny turns her head toward the criminal and gives her first glare, walking forward while Ruby supports a dazed Azure.
Ruby: "Penny, wait! Stop!" She raises her hand in a futile attempt to stop her.
Penny: "Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!"
Her backpack mechanically opens up, and from its dark depths comes a single sword that extends and multiples into several blades hovering over Penny's back. Leaping from the rooftop with the weapons acting as wings, she sends three of her swords to knock two White Fang soldiers down before even landing on the ground, where she proceeds to fling the swords at one enemy, impale another to a wall, create a barrier of spinning steel against a running attack, leaping over a goon with her swords in tow, and finally making a wheel that she throws to knock multiple Faunus off their feet.
Sun: "Whoa!" He watched in amazement, but runs off to get to safety.
Three Bullheads come from the skies and open fire on the battle, but Penny merely forms a shield and launches two of her swords into the wall behind her, which in turn pull their wielder back with their strings. When her swords swirl around her again, she commands them to open their points and build up a large glowing ball of green light. With a punching action, several bright lasers crack the pavement when they fire at the transports and slice each one in half, causing several of the White Fang members inside to fall and letting Ruby watch as Bullheads fall in pieces behind her. She hears Azure snapping out of his daze.
Azure: "Hey Rubes, are you okay?" She quickly hugs him.
Ruby: "Azure!!! Thank Oum you're ok! Please don't do that again." He hugs back.
Azure: "No promises, Ruby. I'll do anything to keep you safe. I just hope you can do the same for me, okay?"
Nodding to Azure with a smile, she turns back to Penny as she aims her swords at the remaining Bullheads holding the crate of Dust and pulls back on their wires, tugging the aircraft with them.
Ruby: (stunned and amazed) "Whoa... How is she doing that?"
Seeing the Bullhead's flight fall under Penny's control, Roman grimaces and turns to run towards the last transport.
Penny, after her large green pupils dilate for a second, pulls with all her might on the strings, and the aircraft crashes into a stack of crates, causing an explosion as a result. Roman watched all of that happen from the safety of his getaway transport.
Roman: "These kids just keep getting weirder..." With his observation made, he uses his cane to close the doors, and the jet lifts off, flying away from the lost battle.
Later, a handful of police cars are at the docks, where Ruby, Azure, Blake, Nero, Sun, and Penny are sitting on boxes in silence. That is, until Weiss, Yang, Vert, and Rosa appear.
Ruby: "Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute..." Weiss ignores her and stares at Blake. She returns the gesture.
Blake: "Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"
Weiss: "Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you? Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided... I don't care."
Blake: (surprised) "You don't care?"
Weiss: "You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"
Blake: "No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-"
Weiss: "Ah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not some..." She starts looking at Sun behind her. "Someone else. And you..." She points at Nero. "Don't run off without at least telling all of us the reason why. Got it?"
Blake: (nods) "Of course."
Nero: (smiles) "I'll keep it in mind."
Weiss smiles and nods. The moment is serious for a second more until Ruby screams:
Ruby: "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!"
All of Team AVRN walk up to Nero.
Azure: "Welcome back to the team, Nero." He hold out a fist towards him.
Nero: "Great to be back, Azure." He bumps his fist against Azure's. Meanwhile, Team RWBY gather and huddle closely, with Sun behind them.
Weiss: "I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!" She points to Sun, who laughs nervously. Ruby looks around for Penny.
Ruby: "Hey, wait a minute... Where's Penny?"
Nobody knew where she went. After that, everyone returned back to Beacon and rested for the night.
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And there we go! Volume 1 is done! Thank you all for reading this chapter and stay tuned for the next one. I heard it is going to start with a 'bang'! See you soon!