Chapter 15: Interlude: Friends? Part 3

Remnant of a Worm Interlude: Friends?

Just Words

Jaune

I shifted nervously in my seat. There were bruises on my bruises, but that was nothing new for Taylor's exercises. For me, at least.

Taylor reached into the hat she borrowed from… I didn't remember his name, and pulled out another slip.

"...Alabaster." Taylor always hesitated on his name for some reason.

The white-haired boy walked over to this round's group of participants in the middle of the practice arena.

The exercise was simple. Between ten teams, eight random participants were chosen and separated into two groups for one-on-one fights.

The winner of each fight was decided by whoever hit the other first—not great for sparring, but the exercise was more about choosing who to help after you win.

We had a total of five seconds to decide which teammate to help, so, as Taylor had explained it, the whole idea was about battlefield awareness. We had to watch for who was dangerous and who needed help because we weren't entirely familiar with our teammates' or our opponents' skills.

Except, I had lost every round I went in. Every. One.

Twelve times I had been called up so far, and twelve times I had sat back down after being hit within thirty seconds of the scenario starting. That was only half a minute!

I thought I would have at least lasted like, double that!

"Pyrrha," Taylor called out and the participants flinched. From what I had seen, Pyrrha was the ultimate practice in learning to stall your opponent or dodge. Not that she hadn't ended up fighting four at once one round… and winning.

Pyrrha didn't really need the practice, she was amazing after all, but whenever her name was called she smiled, so I guessed she enjoyed it.

I sighed at the memory, because I had a front-row seat after being beaten almost immediately.

This Huntsman stuff was harder than I thought it was.

I held my breath as Taylor pulled another name. "Onyx." I sagged slightly in relief.

Only two names left for the last round of the day.

The teams were only really required to do a certain amount of hours with Taylor's extra practices for the marks in our Tactics and... something class. Hours that all ten teams here had already fulfilled. We kept coming because the scenarios were a real change of pace, and useful.

I knew the best way to handle a building that was on fire now! Like a proper Huntsman would. It was pretty cool.

As soon as the slip of paper peeked from the hat, dread ached along with my protesting muscles.

The series of creases, the slight crinkle on one of the edges; all too familiar.

I tried to stand up but couldn't muster the effort. I just… didn't want to have everyone give me the opposite look they gave Pyrrha. The opposing team would smile at the easy win, while my team would either be frustrated or show half-hearted smiles when I looked their way.

I sucked in a breath, waiting for my name, but it didn't come.

Taylor had scrunched up my paper in her fist and was already grabbing another one to replace it. Her expression didn't show a hint of what she had done.

I was relieved but… did Taylor think I couldn't do it too?

It hurt, a confirmation of my failure.

No. What was I doing?!

I knew I kept losing, but if I didn't do this, then why did I forge the papers to come to Beacon in the first place?

I stood up with forced energy and walked over to Taylor. "Um, Taylor?"

She turned and ahhhh—how does a stare make you freeze like that?

I cleared my throat, puffed my chest out, and brought out the best Arc confidence I could. "Taylor, I think you pulled my name?"

She stared flatly. "No. I didn't." What?! "Mavi, you're up."

My mouth hung open as Taylor picked out the teams then paired off everyone with their opponents.

I followed after her as she cleared the arena. "Uh, but, my name, on the slip, I saw you pull it."

She sighed through her nose. "I did, but there wasn't much point in having you participate again, Jaune." She seemed angry with me—no, more… annoyed? What had I done?

"But why?"

"Another round wouldn't help you or anyone else."

"But Taylor, I can do this—"

"Nothing has changed from the last times, Jaune."

"I know I can—"

"Your feelings don't suddenly make up for your lack of training." Ow, that one stung.

"Look, I know I'm a bit behind everyone else in terms of fighting…" She glared the flattest look I had ever seen. "Okay, a lot behind, but I won't get any better if I don't practice."

Her flat look spread into a dubious one. "Yes, you do need to practice. You just haven't been."

"What do you mean? I've been to all the classes and stuff."

"All of which require you to have the basics of combat down."

"Well, yeah, but they haven't taught us that yet."

"Jaune, you need to be the one to learn it. Get a tutor."

I froze, shocked and hurt. "...You think I need help?" She didn't think I could do it on my own?

She scowled, a scary contrast to her usual blank expression. I hoped Ren's face didn't contort into something terrifying like this. "Look at Pyrrha, right now," she snapped.

I followed Taylor's pointing finger to see my partner, shield up, blocking a hail of gunfire from… one of those guns that fired a lot of bullets really quickly.

She was amazing, someone who deserved a way better partner than me.

"Now, what is she doing?" Taylor asked.

"Blocking the bullets?"

"Look at her stance, how she holds the shield, where her weapon is."

"Uh okay. Her knees are bent. The shield is up. Her weapon in her hand…"

Taylor sighed, and I flinched. "Her stance is balanced, able to move but strong enough to hold against the gunfire. She's shifted herself so that most of her body is low and behind her shield for maximum coverage. Her weapon is ready to strike. Pyrrha is your partner, Jaune, and probably the best fighter in the school. Why haven't you asked her to teach you?"

Pyrrha wouldn't understand. She was already great. If I learned from her, wasn't I just leeching off her skill instead of being able to do it myself?

I didn't want to be a fake, or a leech, or someone on the sidelines. I wanted to be the hero!

I had to do this myself.

"Look, if I can't do it myself, then what was the point? What good am I if I can't catch up on my own?" Some people glanced over as my voice raised.

"So, you want to be better, but you don't want help doing it?"

"Well, yes—"

"Stop being an idiot, Jaune."

My whole body tensed. Taylor looked like she did when she marched up to Cardin and kicked his butt for bullying that girl.

However, instead of being pathetically relieved that the one being bullied wasn't me, I was scared I was going to end up more like Cardin. Taylor was normally imposing, but being on the receiving end was way worse.

"What's your goal here at Beacon?" Her tone held me like chains.

"To b-become a Huntsman," I squeaked out.

Nora leapt down from the bleachers to the edge of the arena where we were. "Whatcha talkin…" Nora stopped, then looked between us, before she settled on me with tears at the corners of her eyes. "I'll never forget you." She saluted me and left.

Taylor continued, ignoring Nora's interruption. "If that's your goal, then why aren't you on your way to becoming one then? You don't want help and won't use the resources around you, so you must have found a way to get better yourself, and you must be practicing religiously to catch up—though I haven't seen any results that would suggest that."

Why had Taylor bothered to beat Cardin up when she was so good at killing with her words?

"Well, I'm, uh, still working out the kinks…?" I found less energy and fewer words to defend myself.

I had thought I was getting better, that was what Beacon was for anyway… but I was still getting beaten up and losing my fights. Something had to have changed from the beginning of the year, right?

Taylor was unimpressed. "So, it's about hurting your pride then."

"It's not about pride, it's about, well—"

"What?" she cut in, a prompt like the lash of a whip.

"It's about being able to do it for myself!" I blurted out. "To prove to myself and everyone. It's…" I sighed, defeated. It sounded so lame out loud. "It's about self-worth, okay. I want to be able to do this…"

She stayed silent for a time, the practice battles raging in the background.

"So, you won't have any self-worth in actually being able to fight? In being a competent Huntsman? In protecting your team?"

"Of course I would. What's that got to do with it?"

"When you're out in the field, and your team gets hurt or killed protecting you because you weren't skilled enough, are you still going to say that keeping your pride was worth it? That this sad attempt to claim some self-worth instead of accomplishing your dream was worth it?"

"What—no—I…" I hadn't thought of that, of what it might mean for my team.

"Here's the choice, Jaune; you either accomplish what you want, or you hold on to this misguided need for self-gratification and never become a real Huntsman." She didn't spare a glance as she walked away, straight toward the group of participants just as Pyrrha finished off the last person.

I watched numbly as Taylor went over everyone's choices. How she was able to keep track of everyone, even while talking to me, was a mystery. I should have been listening, but I couldn't focus, still wrapped up in what Taylor had said.

I wanted to be the hero, just like every Arc I had been told about growing up. To realize the dream I had pictured when I had secretly taken Crocea Mors off the mantle to play with as a kid.

But could I do it? Especially by myself?

Could 'comic relief' Jaune measure up on his own?

But, more importantly, did it matter?

We were literally being taught by another student right now, so what difference would it make if I asked for help beyond that?

I slapped my forehead. All the tension bled away, leaving the realization of how much of an idiot I was.

Pyrrha had even offered to help before, now that I thought about it.

Was it really just that easy?

"Hello… Jaune?"

"Huh? Oh!" I almost jumped in the air as I suddenly realized Pyrrha was standing beside me.

Most of the others had filed out, were helping tidy things, or chatting.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked.

"Uh, yes, well, no—I mean, can I ask you a favor?"

"Of course, Jaune. Anything you need." She smiled.

"I was wondering—if it's okay with you, that is—if you could help me with some combat stuff? The basics, I mean." My cheeks warmed in embarrassment.

She beamed. "Yes, I would love that—uh, enjoy that, I mean. Yes."

"Thanks, Pyrrha. Really."

"It's no problem…" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear almost nervously for some reason.

"Perfect." Taylor walked in, not looking up from her Scroll. "Pyrrha, send me a text when he's got his blocking down. I need someone to help Colt understand that berserk, all-out attacking isn't the only solution." That didn't sound good.

"Uh, yes. I will." Wait, what? Pyrrha, why?

"Jaune, Canna is also doing some tutoring for Dust usage, mostly because she finds explaining it a good way to study, so I'll send you the times for those."

"I don't know, Taylor. I still need to catch up with all my class stuff—"

"Ask Weiss if you need more technical clarification. Just don't expect her to full-on tutor you. Ren and I do Aura meditation in the mornings, which you can join us for."

"I don't know If I'll be—"

"I have some other suggestions that I'll text you later. Goodnight, Jaune, and I'll see you tomorrow for tea, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha waved Taylor goodbye.

"I'm going to die," I muttered.

"At least we'll be there with you when you do?" Pyrrha said playfully, but it sounded questioning.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," I said with a thumbs-up while my head sagged to stare weakly at my feet.

Pyrrha smiled, the same smile from whenever her name was called, so maybe it wasn't all that bad.

Finding another Shadow

Blake

My Semblance pushed me out of the place my clone occupied, flinging me up and over the edge of the roof.

"We saw the figure going this way!" I heard from the alley below.

"You two, circle around. Qing, Roz, down that way. Suspect spotted at area 43-A. Circle and entrap. I repeat, circle and entrap. We're not going to let another White Fang member get away."

I heard a, "Hoo-rah!" from multiple voices from the woman's mic.

I didn't have time to try and explain myself. The authorities wouldn't trust a Faunus caught skulking around a suspected White Fang warehouse anyway.

At least, it used to be a place where they held rallies. Any gatherings had stopped with the White Fang's sudden radical activities.

That hadn't stopped the VPD from staking out the building, to my misfortune.

To make things worse, I hadn't been able to find anything on the White Fang's plans or current location. The only things they had left behind were banners that had once represented equality for Faunus, instead of a rallying cry for criminals.

Gambol Shroud bit into the concrete of the large building across from me as I jumped off another roof.

The night air flew past me as I swung from the ribbon attached to my weapon, letting my Aura fill and strengthen the material to hold my weight. As I reached the apex of my swing, I pulled Gambol Shroud back to me, catching it in the air.

Flashlight beams scoured the surrounding rooftops. VPD Bullheads hummed in the distance as they approached.

As I fell, I pushed off from another clone, changing trajectory into the alley below, just in time to avoid the flashlights shining over where I would have landed.

I pivoted my feet forward to plant onto the wall as I dropped from the sky and pushed off to land in a fierce roll across the dirty, wet pavement.

The wall was my support as I fought to catch my breath, only for the ringer of my Scroll to go off.

"Damn it!" I cursed as I scrambled to get it out.

Yang, again.

I turned my Scroll off completely.

Fatigue dragged my eyelids down, and I teetered from lack of sleep.

I was so tired.

"I'm only asking you to get some rest!"

"I don't have time!"

She didn't understand.

"You're just wearing yourself down! You're gonna destroy yourself at this rate!"

"This isn't something that I can just take my time on!"

She didn't understand. Couldn't.

People were dying.

The White Fang were out there, attacking people, stealing Dust, and preparing something. All with no regard for the lives of those they robbed! Yet, no one had been able to do anything about it.

"I'm just worried about you, Blake!"

"Look," I said while bringing my volume back down to comfortable levels. "I appreciate what you're trying to do. The thing about you searching for your mom, sharing that story must not have been easy, and I agree with what you're saying. But, this is different. I can't afford to slow down now!"

"Will you at least just tell me what's going on?! You're my partner, Blake. We're supposed to have each other's back!" she shouted while her eyes flared red with emotion.

She couldn't help and hated it.

It wasn't like I wanted to keep secrets, but telling them meant revealing I was a Faunus… I didn't want to know how they'd react, or how they would treat me afterward.

"I will, Yang. Just not right now." I didn't sound confident, and it showed in Yang's reaction.

"Sure, you will," Yang grumbled sarcastically. "I just—" She stopped with a shake of her head and just shrugged her shoulders. "Fine," she bit out. "Do whatever." She stormed out of the empty classroom.

It was sweet of her to share her story, especially when I wasn't sharing, and I did see some parallels between us in it.

But the White Fang were acting now, and someone needed to stop them. Not only that, but I wanted to know why. The thefts, the Dust, working with humans. Why?

I was doing this for her, for my team, for every person and every Faunus.

Becoming a Huntress was so that I could help the Faunus in a way that I couldn't in the White Fang. That wouldn't matter if the White Fang kept going as they were.

I would make it up to them. Someday.

After I had dealt with the White Fang.

They'd only end up being hurt if they were with me. I didn't want that to happen.

A loud echo from the streets broke my fatigue.

No time for rest or regrets. I needed to go.

Flickers of light shone down the alleys and from the roofs.

I was trapped.

Trespassing, possible relation to the White Fang, running from the police, and more. Doing all that while being a Faunus, especially after everything the White Fang had done—they'd never let me go.

Expulsion from Beacon.

My team would only ever see a criminal who abandoned and betrayed them.

The White Fang's rampage would continue—

A firefly batted against my face, and I flinched away from both the impact and the spiral of consequences my thoughts had fallen into.

The bug, a single light in the dark of the alley, landed on a doorknob of a door so perfectly blended into the darkness of the wall that I hadn't noticed it, even with my Faunus night vision.

There was a slight click of what sounded like the door unlocking.

Was someone behind the door? Was it the police?

The approaching voices drew closer, just around the corner.

I didn't have time to worry about it.

I slipped in the door, but found no one. The building was an extended office space filled with cubicles. No lights, no people, and no signs of recent activity.

Who had opened it then?

I gently closed and relocked the door.

As I did, my ears caught the faintest clatter against the tile floor.

I spun, Gambol Shroud ready, only to find a spider-roach skittering away.

Nerves twitched at my fingers, but I kept my weapon in hand.

There wasn't time to investigate whether someone had helped me or if I had just been extremely lucky and my lack of sleep had me hearing things.

I hid under a desk as the VPD flashed lights through the windows. They continued, probably suspecting that I had kept fleeing in the direction I had been previously.

The front door was locked tight.

There hadn't been any cameras, and no alarms blared, but I wasn't sure if breaking the lock would set one off if there were any.

Should I just stay in here for a while?

No. When the VPD couldn't find any evidence of me running, they'd circle back to where I had disappeared and check the adjoining buildings.

I had to keep moving.

Again, I saw a firefly casually pass me, leaving waving trails of light as it dipped and curved in the air.

It spun and twirled, heading toward a window near a large desk, then dived straight down and suddenly appeared on the other side of the glass before vanishing into the night.

I rushed to the window and found it had been left open. I pushed and squeezed out the small opening and onto the street.

Less than a minute later, I was watching the searchlights from a distance.

I let out a heavy sigh as I sat on the edge of another roof, letting my legs swing freely.

What was I going to do now? That was another lead that had gone nowhere. My last one too.

Then, someone landed on the roof behind me.

I spun into a kneel, Gambol Shroud in its pistol form, and aimed at the intruder—Taylor?

Taylor completely ignored the gun and my flabbergasted expression as she walked toward me.

"T-Taylor? What are you doing here?" I asked nervously, lowering my weapon but not sheathing it.

I stepped away as she sat next to where I had been. She patted the spot next to her.

After a moment of hesitation, I cautiously retook my seat.

"Learn anything?" she asked casually.

"What do you mean?"

"From the warehouse?"

"The ware—you followed me?!" I jumped back to a standing position, a finger on the trigger.

"No. I just happened to be there as well. You should at least wear a mask or something if you're going to be breaking into places." Her face didn't change as she casually spoke about breaking and entering. If I was reserved, then Taylor was completely restrained. I knew she wasn't cold from how she responded to Team CRDL being thugs, but nothing showed behind her mask.

She was there? How did I not notice her at all? More importantly, why was she there?

"I didn't think I would need to," I said, eyes narrowed at the first-year liaison.

"Obviously."

"Why are you here, Taylor? Are you trying to stop me? Do you want something from me? Why were you at the warehouse at all?" I questioned.

"There are a couple of reasons why. Do you mind sitting down?" I complied begrudgingly.

I'd seen her fight and was confident I could take her if this was a trap. I hadn't seen or heard any other backup. But, if she suspected I was connected to the White Fang, I knew what kind of reaction to expect.

"I…" She frowned, looking contemplative, hesitant. Then the mask was back. "A few years ago, I was in a gang," she began. "A criminal one."

I didn't know what to say. This felt out of nowhere. Had Taylor remembered her past and I just hadn't been around to hear about it? Was she trying to empathize with me for having run from the police?

Wait.

She used to be a criminal?

"I hurt a lot of people while I was in it. I had been trying to help people in my city after an attack from... Grimm," she continued. "My gang had the resources to do it, so I took control of part of the town. We were helping people when others couldn't, even though we were criminals. We broke multiple laws and even fought against the authorities. At the time, I thought it was the best way to help people." Her words puttered out at the end, like she was reminiscing.

I sat wide-eyed, fully attentive to her story. I could picture it in my head, but with me in her place.

"I ended up leaving the gang later because I wanted to continue helping people, and I couldn't do it as a criminal. And now, I know that I should have been better in how I went about things," she finished. "I wish I had done things differently…"

It was all so similar. But I didn't understand why Taylor was suddenly telling me this. Especially after finding me running from the police and searching through the warehouse. She hadn't even asked why I was there looking around—

My mind stopped, and I bolted upward. I took a few shaky steps backward as I glared at her.

"How long?" I demanded.

"Blake—"

"No!" I took a couple of deep breaths before I ground out, "How long have you known?"

"Since the first day of class," she said calmly from her still-seated position.

She had known for months?!

I tried to say something but stammered out empty air.

"Why didn't you say anything!" My vision blurred slightly from the angry tears leaking out the sides of my eyes.

"It didn't seem significant enough to bring up," she said.

Not significant?!

"I've been looking into the White Fang's activities for a while now, Blake." She had what?! "Do… do you want to help me look for them?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"I—you just… You want me to help? You don't care that I'm—" My breathing was sporadic as I panicked, chopping up my words as I tried to speak.

"I don't. Same with how you were in the White Fang," she cut in.

She knew.

My hands were on my knees, and I think I started to hyperventilate.

This was too much.

Someone knew my past, my secrets. Maybe even everything I had done.

Now, it was lying out in the open with all the impact of a comment on the weather.

I swayed a little, and Taylor was suddenly beside me. Her hand was on my shoulder, and I unconsciously leaned into it for support.

"I've narrowed my search down to the Eastern Commercial District for where Torchwick and the White Fang's base is."

"Why? Why are you looking into the White Fang?" I asked accusingly, gaining a bit of coherence after having my fears tossed to the side as seemingly irrelevant.

"We both know they've been going too far, Blake," she stated.

"That's it? No grudges against Faunus, no hidden agenda?"

"I… don't like standing by when I could help. Lots of people, humans and Faunus, are getting caught up in this."

"...And what about me. Are you going to... tell anyone?"

I closed my eyes, ready for the ax to come down.

"That you're a Faunus? No. Same with your past."

A surge of warmth flooded down my back and eased the all-consuming tension that I had been holding.

She had known for months, and I hadn't had the slightest clue. She hadn't treated me any differently than I would have expected had she thought I was a human. In our brief bouts of small talk about what we were reading and leaving books for the other, I hadn't felt anything resembling discrimination or malice. Even though she knew I was lying to all of them. I had been so busy that we hadn't really talked beyond those times, but now everything was painted in a different light.

"I understand wanting to do something to help, fixing mistakes, and even having a goal consume everything else," Taylor continued. "I'm not here to argue against you doing that. Though, if you aren't in your best condition, then you might have just ended up failing, even if you had found them.".

"I-I know, I just—I couldn't sit around doing nothing." Something we have in common, apparently.

Taylor nodded, to herself and to me.

I let her lead me back to where we were sitting.

"So, you were a criminal too?" I asked.

"Yeah, ruled part of a city for a while." There was almost a hint of pride in her voice, but maybe I imagined it.

"Why didn't you work with the authorities?" The White Fang couldn't because of our race, but Taylor didn't have that problem.

"A lot of reasons. They didn't want to associate with criminals because of how the public would see it, my issues with others, them being limited in what they were willing to do against the other gangs in the city, etcetera," she listed.

"Sounds complicated."

"Most things are."

I wanted to ask more, to find out the details, to expand on this feeling of… empathy? Shared hardship? But I stopped myself.

I hadn't shared the details of what I had done, so it wasn't right if I asked for more from her.

"Back to my question from before, did you find any leads on the White Fang?" Taylor asked.

"No..." I said defeated, my ears pulling my bow down in a droop. "I haven't been able to find out anything. I have no idea what they're planning or how to stop them and—" I stopped as I noticed I had slowly been raising my voice. "I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. I'm no closer than I was at the start of school."

And I was tired, tired—tired of failing, tired of lying, tired of not finding anything.

"If they're in the city, I'll have the location for their base within the month. I'm going after them with or without you. But, I wanted to ask: do you want to help?"

"Yes," I said immediately.

"Good. That does mean you can get some rest and catch up on school a bit, so you know," Taylor said.

"But—"

"I can locate their base on my own. There isn't really anything you can do to help in that. Having you prepare for the eventual raid is more important."

I guess she was right. If what she was saying was true, then… then there was no need for me to be hunting them like I had been.

"You, you aren't lying to me just to make me slow down, right?"

"So, you're aware you're being somewhat self-destructive," she pointed out.

"Yang mentioned it…"

"No, I'm not lying to you. If you want, we can scope out some of the places together if that will ease that worry."

"I would appreciate that. Not that I don't trust you, it's just that—"

"Blake, I understand. Now, come on. We should get back to Beacon before the airships stop running."

"Taylor," I blurted out, taking a breath to steady myself. "Thank you," I said sincerely.

She nodded and stepped off the edge of the roof to land on the street below.

This was all too good to be true. There has to be something wrong or false about this.

Taylor understood what it was like to have a criminal past, to want to move on from it, and to want to be better than before.

She knew I was a Faunus and never treated me any differently than someone else.

Even going as far as to trust me with helping her against the White Fang, all while knowing that I used to be one of them.

I never thought that I would meet someone who just accepted me and my past so easily.

I wasn't sure if I could believe that so much could go right in such a small conversation.

All I knew was that I didn't hesitate to step off that roof after her.

Operation: Party Poppers

Ruby

'More Guns Would Be Better: An Essay by Ruby Rose'.

Hmmmm, it doesn't quite catch the 'it would make it cooler', as well as the 'more guns equals more dead Grimm' vibe I was going for, but I think it sums it up the best.

With a sigh, I set down my Scroll. The essay was finally ready for me to give it to Taylor. Which meant I could start working on my other important project.

It had been a long time coming but 'Operation: Party Poppers' was a go! Because it's like 'party poopers' but it's not…

I made a note to explain the joke to Weiss; she was kinda humor-challenged. Maybe Blake too… but I didn't know if she didn't get my jokes or just didn't laugh. I hadn't really gotten to talk to her much with everything that she'd been up to, whatever that was. I doubted I could get Taylor to laugh. At least Yang would enjoy it.

But first…

"Weiss, do you mind looking over this for me? I want to make sure it's ready for me to submit," I asked, giving a polite bow, my Scroll held out with both hands for her to take.

"We don't have any papers due right now." She flashed her patented 'icy-Weiss stare'. "What is this for?"

"Taylor said I had to do it." Well, Taylor said I needed it to properly lay out why my reasoning was better than hers, but it still counted.

"I will, if you promise not to gorge on cookies at night when the rest of us are trying to sleep."

That was a steep price. I hummed in thought.

"And you have to vacuum up the crumbs so they stop falling onto the floor and my bed!" she added.

"I can definitely do one of those!" I stated enthusiastically.

The Weiss-glare doubled. "I suppose that's all I can expect." I nodded cheerfully. "Hand it over, you dolt."

I passed my Scroll over. "I'm trying to convince Taylor I'm right, so it needs to be airtight." It was also another chance to try and talk to Taylor. How could we all be comic-level superheroes together if we never hung out?

"Good luck with that. Taylor is rather unyielding on her stances when it comes to arguments of logic…" She trailed off as she began to read through my essay. "Ruby, what is this?"

"It's a paper about—"

"I can see what it's about," she cut in. "Why did you write such a pointless paper in the first place?"

"It's not pointless! Taylor wouldn't accept any of my suggestions for her weapon—"

"Probably for good reason."

"—but after some… convincing"—I definitely hadn't latched onto Taylor's leg until she finally relented—"Taylor told me that if I had logical reasons as to why her weapon design wasn't as effective as some of the things I wanted to add to the weapon, then she would let me change it."

"And your idea to do that was with an essay?" she asked incredulously.

"I'll have you know that I can be authenticate when I want to," I stated proudly.

"You mean articulate?"

"Gesundheit."

Weiss's eye twitched, something she should have looked at since it happened so often, then she sighed. "So, you wrote an essay?" she prompted.

"Yup! I decided that an essay was the best way to address all the points Taylor made as to why she wanted her weapon the way she did, and to prove that she should totally let me put a gun on her sword." I threw my fist in the air to better show my determination in my righteous quest.

"Well, I approve of your choice." Aww, she was proud of me.

"Also, Taylorkindatoldmethatapaperwouldbethebestwaytodoit, but that's not important!" I remained in my heroic stance, fist in the air and foot on an invisible box.

Any approval drained from Weiss and was replaced by a flat look, like, ruler flat… if that ruler was parallel to the ground to show how flat it was.

The seconds ticked by; my pose started to wobble a little. "Will you stop posing and leave me alone to study if I get this done quickly?"

"Yes, and I won't tell anyone you draw happy doodles on your assignments when you get a hundred percent—"

She clapped her hand over my mouth. Hehe, she thought I hadn't noticed. Her venomous glare sent her message loud and clear. I nodded and returned to a neutral stance.

"Good. Now let me read this over."

I shuffled around the room as Weiss read over my paper.

Two minutes went by. Two whole minutes! Weiss was a bit of a stick-in-the-mud, but she was super-smart, so shouldn't she be a super-fast reader too?!

Ugh, I'm bored! I want to go work on 'Operation: Party Poppers' so that it's ready to pop! Hehehe.

"Wait, this was what Taylor wanted to do for her weapon? Does she realize that nobody uses this design because of how inefficient and dangerous it is to use in combat? It basically leaves you open to attack any time you use it," Weiss stated as she gestured at the paragraph where I talked about that.

"I know!" Ha! Weiss was on team Ruby! And Team RWBY! "She said it was to make sure that there would be someone who was able to get through an older Grimm's armor, so we wouldn't have problems like during the fight against that Deathstalker during the initiation."

"Well, technically, for whatever team Taylor was working with, it would be beneficial to have someone that could pierce that much armor, and this design would allow for that. The downsides though… It wouldn't be safe for her at all."

"That's what I said! Actually, almost word for word in the third paragraph. We're so in sync that we're even starting to think the same things!" I exclaimed happily and hugged her.

Okay, you don't have to look that horrified, Weiss.

She pushed away from my embrace and gathered her composure. "Anyways, you wrote here that Taylor argued that a gun barrel would possibly be damaged or become useless anytime that she activated the weapon, which is true. Your response to that is…" She squinted as though she was having trouble reading the words right. "You wanted to make it so that the barrel separated and acted like a mounted machine gun?"

"It sounds just as cool with you saying it as it does when I say it."

Crescent Rose was the only weapon I had designed myself from step one to step… however many it had taken. I had made some suggestions to some of my friends and helped a little with the shift-plates on Yang's Ember Celica. Beyond Taylor's plans for what she wanted her weapon to do, I was fully in charge of making the idea reality. I wanted to go all-out and give it my best!

"That would be very heavy and bulky and would be wider than the blade, which would have the gun part get caught any time you cut into something." She would probably be happy if I told her she sounded just like Taylor had when she made that point.

"I can make it work, and besides, the benefits to a mounted machine gun far outweigh the downsides."

"Ruby, this paragraph is… just you restating over and over that it would be cooler with a gun." In different ways! It's what I do for my other papers, and I'm doing pretty well!

"An extremely valid point, in my opinion. Also, having a ranged weapon on hand at all times is factually better than not having one." I puffed my chest in triumph at my undefeatable logic.

"Couldn't she just carry another weapon that was ranged?"

"Yes, and that's Taylor's plan. But, she would have to switch weapons all the time, and having one arm would make that slower on the battlefield." I didn't like to bring up Taylor's missing limb, but some things were just realistically more difficult with only one arm, and this was one of them.

"But Taylor said she put in her order for a prosthetic arm. She was finalizing the details of it yesterday, in fact."

I froze. I hadn't heard about this at all. Had I been too focused on writing this paper for the last three days that I missed it?

"Wait, she told you that she put an order in for a super cool robot arm and didn't tell me?!"

"I could never guess why," Weiss stated sarcastically.

"I don't think I like what you are insinuating," I accused while crossing my arms and puffing my cheeks out.

"Taylor told me explicitly not to mention it to you until after she had ordered it. I believe it was because she didn't want a 'bazooka-shotgun-rifle' for an arm," Weiss said with a slightly amused smile.

"You may laugh, but I could have made that work… and it would have been really, really cool." I stopped and tilted my head in thought. "How did you know she ordered it? Taylor doesn't tell us what she does when she goes into town." Or maybe that's just me? No, she didn't talk with anyone, she just talked especially little with me.

"She told me because she wanted some advice for some Dust integration for it."

"Oh, oh! Is it because she wants the arm to be able to light on fire—no! How about a rocket fist that shocks its target—wait! Maybe a grappling arm fist, with rockets, that has super sharp fingers and spins so that it drills straight through Grimm." I acted out each different design, showing off how amazing they would be.

"It isn't any of those… I think." Boo. I'd have to get Taylor to tell me later when she got back from… Taylor things? Coaching one of the other teams, training, stuff downtown. What did Taylor do besides school stuff and whatnot? Besides reading, she… drank tea?

I jumped up onto my bed and began swinging my feet.

Well, I'll just have to keep inviting her to some video game sessions to help her lighten up! She'll eventually take me up on the offer! Then we can finally talk!

"Okay, okay. So, that paragraph won't work," I continued, focusing back on Weiss. "But the others are still good, right?"

"I will admit that some of your proposals are well-thought-out. I'm… impressed with your level of engineering knowledge when it comes to weapons," Weiss said, turning her head to hide her expression. "But shouldn't you have already given this to her? She said she was going to put in her order for fabricating her weapon at the same time as ordering her arm."

I stared at her for a solid minute.

Taylor, you tricked me.

"It makes sense considering she has her mission with Team CRDL coming up. She needs a weapon for that," Weiss added.

"Oh, I had completely forgotten that was this week. Why couldn't her first mission have been with us? She's basically part of Team RWBY! Why would they even give missions out as punishments anyway?" I moaned.

"Missions aren't fun, Ruby. They're hard work and dangerous. Taylor and Team CRDL will have to work together to accomplish it, and that's the point. Besides, while it would be nice to have her on the team, she isn't. Taylor is a liaison for all of the first-year teams, so, in a way, she's on all of our teams."

"I know, but Team CRDL are a bunch of jerks! Yeah, Taylor was a bit…" Scary? Super scary? Someone I never wanted to have guilt-trip me? "…violent. But, putting her on a mission with the team she got in a fight with is just asking for trouble!"

"Well… You are right on that. But Professor Goodwitch will be going with them. So I'm positive nothing bad will happen. Besides, Taylor has surely shown she can handle them. You're the only one in trouble if you think this paper is good though."

Oh no. Weiss's turned to nag mode.

"I just remembered, I have something I have to do, elsewhere. Bye!"

My Semblance surged, making my body feel like a rush of wind, and I bolted. Rose petals flew past me as I grabbed my binder—which was definitely not Weiss's—and shot down the hallways.

I heard a faint "Hey!" echo from Weiss.

It was time to start planning.

My new top priority was 'Operation: Party Popper'!

I needed to have that be successful so that I wouldn't get left out of something like this.

Also, so that I could convince Taylor to get an arm-cannon and/or a machine gun sword. Or at least get her to let me make the full blueprint for her ranged weapon instead of just having me create the design she came up with.

Then, we'd finally start hanging out.

It's going to be perfect.

"Everyone, I have an announcement!" I proclaimed to my team and Taylor at the cafeteria.

"What's up, Ruby?" Yang asked with an eyebrow raised in interest.

"We have a crisis on our hands! Something that we have to fix or else we might lose everything we've worked toward!" I continued.

"What is it?" Taylor inquired in a very serious voice, giving me such intense focus that I almost faltered in my speech.

"It is something that has the potential to ruin the rest of our time here at Beacon," I added ominously.

"Is there a point you're getting to?" Blake questioned. The bags under her eyes were still heavy, but not as bad as before. I was glad she'd been getting a full night's rest for the last couple of days.

"A battle so important that I've been strategizing for days on how to tackle it," I all but whispered.

"Will you just spit it out!" Weiss said.

"The problem is, we all have to get to know each other better!" My arm raised and I pointed skyward. "All Weiss does is nag." My hand came down to point at her before moving to the next person. "Blake is always in the library or in town. I've barely even seen her!" Blake looked away, guilty.

At least she was having lunch with us for once. I thought she had been skipping meals to do whatever it was she did, and had told her where my secret stash of cookies was in the dorm if she was hungry; after she promised not to tell Weiss or Yang, of course.

I continued my crusade as I turned to my sister. "Yang just sits there looking all judgy." The same look Yang had been making for a while now, in fact. "And Taylor is always busy with work and training. The only time we hung out was to design your weapon, and I didn't even get to put a gun on it!" Which I wasn't still mad about, no sirree.

They were all looking at me with various levels of exasperation, but at least Yang looked amused.

"So, that is why"—I raised my hand and slapped the table for dramatic effect—"we will be having a slumber party team building night!" I pumped my fist into the air in triumph. This plan would surely bring victory.

"Ruby, we live in the same room," Weiss stated blankly.

"Yeah, we're already having slumber parties every night," Yang said, hands on the back of her head.

"You know that's not what I mean!"

"I'm busy," Blake said quickly, glancing at Taylor for some reason.

"I don't know, I might have plans already. Sorry, Rubes. Not that it wouldn't be fun but..." Yang added, looking over the rest of the team. My own sister, a traitor.

"Exams are coming up, and I want to get a head start on studying," Weiss stated.

"I'm going to be away on my mission with Team CRDL, then I'm supposed to be working with Team TIGR (Tiger)," Taylor stated. "Besides, isn't this more of a team only thing? I can find somewhere else to sleep for the night—"

"Nope!" I commanded. "Nope, nope, nope, nope!" I pointed to each of them in succession as I noped them.

"Blake, you're always busy, and I want to be friends with you. Yang, you're always hanging out with your other friends so hang out with your team for once. Weiss, you're already smart so one day won't hurt, also, you need to learn to loosen up. Taylor… all three of those things actually. And you're a part of every team, so technically you're part of Team RWBY! Not just a coach or something! So, no saying no!"

"'Coach', I can see it," Yang said bemusedly.

"We've been together for months now, but I don't feel like I really know any of you. We're a team and you're my friends. I want to spend more time with each of you. I want to work better together."

Please say yes. Pleeeeeease say yes.

To my surprise, Taylor spoke first. "…You're right, Ruby. I technically am part of every team. I should be trying to get to know people better, even if it's just to work better with everyone in the field." That was a… way to put it, but I liked where it was going. "If it's after I come back from my mission with Team CRDL, I should be able to make it," Taylor said.

YES, YES, YES! I thought Taylor would be one of the hardest to convince, but she's leading the charge!

Even when we had worked together to design Starfall, it was like a business transaction. Taylor had even tried to pay me for my time!

Now, I had her, and the rest would follow… hopefully.

Blake looked slightly shocked at Taylor's speech. "Are you sure? Don't you—don't we have that thing we have to look into when you come back?" Blake asked Taylor like she was hinting at something else. An inside joke?

"What thing?" Yang questioned, her eyes darting between the two. Yang seemed strangely uneasy, not just because she didn't get whatever Taylor and Blake were talking about. Weird.

"We'll be able to spare a day. This is important too," Taylor answered Blake, who nodded in return after a moment. Yang slumped down, looking troubled by the exchange. I made a mental note to ask her what was wrong later.

"Well, if everyone else is doing it…" Weiss said, giving in.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan, Ruby," Yang said with lackluster energy.

"Right on! We can make it a celebration party for Taylor's first mission as well!" I exclaimed. I needed to get a cake now.

"I think it would be best if I looked over the itinerary for this event," Weiss stated.

"Itinerary? For a party?" I asked.

"Of course. Surely you have a timetable for the event?"

"No one does that, Weiss," Yang said. "Were you planning on making us sit around a table covered in doilies and discuss… Actually, what kind of slumber parties did you have, Weiss?" Yang asked, regaining a measure of her usual attitude.

"I—uh—well. I don't see how that's relevant." Weiss's blush was making a run for 'most frequent Weiss expression'. Though glare, scowl, and nag were already so far ahead...

"Weiss, have you never had a slumber party before?" I asked cautiously.

"N-no. I wasn't allowed to partake in such childish ventures."

"Taylor, Blake, what about you both?" I asked.

"Not since I was a kid," Taylor stated blankly.

"I also haven't had one before…" Blake said hesitantly.

I gasped. "Then this will also be Blake and Weiss's first slumber party! Ohhhhh, this will be great! We'll have games, and snacks, and talk about stuff." I clapped in excitement. The stars were aligning to make this as special as it could be.

"What, you want us to play truth or dare or something? I didn't think you were going that far with the slumber party thing," Yang said.

"Well, the idea is to get to know more about each other... So, how about we play truth or truth!" That could work. Things were just getting better and better!

"Wait, just truth or dare without the dare part? Where's the fun in that?" Yang said.

"The idea is to learn about each other. Not scare each other. You think Weiss would last one round of truth or dare with you, Yang?"

Yang glanced at Weiss, who now looked very cautious. "Good point. I don't think she's at that level quite yet."

"I can be spontaneous and wild if I want. I just choose not to," Weiss huffed unconfidently.

"I'm eighteen years old, and I'm going to be playing slumber party games…" Taylor stated to herself with closed eyes, as though she was rethinking all her decisions.

"It could be interesting. At least, the ones I've read about seemed fun," Blake said quietly.

"Perfect! I'll have it all ready for when Taylor gets back! 'Operation: Party Poppers' is a go!" I called out, adjourning the meeting.

"Wait, what did you call this?" Weiss asked, but I chose to ignore it.

I couldn't wait. Team RWBY-plus-Taylor were on their way to becoming super-besties.

Then, we'd be on track to being like those heroes from the stories. Not just me, but everyone.

It would all work out. I just knew it would.

Interlude Friends? End

Author Notes:

Praise be to Orbital Oracle, Majigah, Biophosphoradelecrystalluminescence (Enop), Michael V, Juff, Breakingamber, and Chris C! Glory be to thy names and thy houses!

Just Words

This one got changed completely. Covers the same stuff but in a better way that shows more. Much better than the one I salvaged from my slightly drunk ramble of Taylor traumatizing Jaune.

Also, this means that Jaune never reveals he forged his papers to get into Beacon, and probably won't for a long while.

Finding Another Shadow

Also, I accidentally wrote it as her having projected a 'cone' before I got corrected. So, imagine if Blake's manifestation of her very soul was that she projects cones, which sounds like a way better story than this one.

Also, yes; that was Yang's talk with Blake from Volume 2 Chapter 6, just way earlier in canon and not working.

Operation: Party Poppers

This chapter was going to start with Ruby proposing her desire for more team bonding, but then it turned into this.

The cafeteria scene where Ruby calls out everyone for being naggy, judgy, and such was in the manga (Blake was originally only for reading all the time), and I thought it was a good moment to use for more team bonding.

Though, the slumber party thing is entirely me. I want it to actually feel like everyone is becoming friends rather than just off-screen time passing that brings the characters closer together… I can't fucking believe I'm writing a slumber party...

Ruby's grades are usually in the mid-eighties, sometimes dipping into the seventies for some subjects, but that isn't good enough for Weiss.