Black and White

Balcony cafe...

Sun Wukong and Blake Belladonna are still drinking tea.

"Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and you gave me nothing but small talk and weird looks!" Sun said, and Blake gave him a firm look. "Yeah, like that."

"Sun...are you familiar with the White Fang?" Blake asked, while she rolls her eyes before closing them, and looking at Sun sadly.

"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!"

"I was once a member of the White Fang." Blake said, sipping her tea while listening until she speaks up for the big reveal.

"Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!" Sun exclaimed, and he promptly goes cross-eyed and chokes on his drink, making him put it down and wipe his mouth as he holds up a hand to process this information.

"That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it..."

Vale…

"So, you know where Blake is." Yang said, looking at Jared.

"Yes, and no…" Jared said, looking at Yang. "All I know is Blake is telling her story to that monkey Faunus."

"So, you know what Blake is talking about. And where she is. But you don't know where she is?" Weiss asked, looking at Jared.

"I know she's somewhere here." Jared said, shrugging his shoulders. "Somewhere in Vale."

Balcony cafe...

"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 said. "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. 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 puts down her teacup in front of a stunned Sun. "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."

Blake wiggles her cat ears beneath the fashionable disguise to demonstrate.

"So... have you told your friends any of this?" Sun asked, coming to terms with this.

"Only Jared knows." Blake said, and she merely looks down in shame. "Because all this was an anime to him. Us. Beacon. And everything. The rest of Team RWBY…"

The cat Faunus then says nothing.

Vale...

"Blaaaake!" Ruby yelled.

"Blaaaake!" Yang yelled.

"Blaaaake!" Jared yelled.

Ruby, Yang, and Weiss are walking through town and calling in vain for their missing teammate with Jared.

"Blaaaaaaaake! Where aaaare yoooouuuu!?" Ruby exclaimed.

"Blake!" Yang yelled.

"Come on, Kitty Cat!" Jared said, holding the Monado. "We need to talk to you!"

"Weiiiiss, you're not helping!" Ruby said, turning on Weiss.

"Oh! You know what might be able to help? The police!" Weiss said.

"Ugh, Weiss..." Ruby said, crossing her arms in irritation.

"It was just an idea!"

"Yeah, a bad one." Ruby said, walking down the sidewalk.

"It's like you're walking to the police and try to explain aliens did something. They just won't believe you." Jared said, looking down at the Monado. "And it is a bad idea."

"Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." Yang said, following behind Ruby and Jared.

"I think that when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right!" Weiss said, following behind Yang.

"And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!" Penny said, following behind Weiss.

"I know, right! It totally represents her feelings about her family and such!" Jared said, happily, and he looked at Penny. "Hello Poppi...I mean Penny. God, I've been playing too much Xenoblade Chronicles 2, recently."

"Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from!?" Ruby exclaimed, turning around suddenly with her team in surprise.

"Hey guys! What are you up to?" Penny asked, cheerfully ignoring the question.

"Uhh..." Ruby said.

"We're looking for our friend Blake." Yang said.

"Black hair, uses a Gambol Shroud. Into a lot of books. Have golden eyes." Jared said, coming up with a description of Blake.

"Ooooh, you mean the Faunus girl!" Penny said, looking at Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Jared.

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang stare at Penny.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Ruby asked.

"Uhh, the cat ears?" Penny asked, pointing to her head.

"What cat ears? She wears a... boooohhh..." Yang said, laughing a little.

The realization leaves Ruby, Weiss, and Yang in silence as a tumbleweed blows through in the wind.

"She does like tuna a lot..." Ruby said, quietly.

"Cats do like fish." Jared said, looking at Ruby. "Why do I think I keep calling Blake 'Kitty Cat?' I call girls who act like cats in terms of personality, 'Kitty Cat.'"

"So, where is she?" Penny asked.

"We don't know. She's been missing since Friday." Ruby said.

"That's terrible!" Penny said, gasping, before approaching an uncomfortable Ruby. "Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!"

"Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, guys?" Ruby asked, doing her best to continue smiling.

She looks over Penny to direct her question at Yang and Weiss, who's blinking outlines are all that's left of their sudden departure from the company of the strange girl, and Jared is laughing a lot. A tumbleweed blows past them again in the quiet.

"It sure is windy today!" Penny said.

Alley...

Sun and Blake are then seen walking down an alley.

"So, what's the plan now?" Sun asked, his hands behind his head.

"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before." Blake said, contemplating.

"What if they did?" Sun asked, his eyes widening, and he lowered his arms and pacing in front of Blake as he continues his theory. "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?"

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be."

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

"How huge?"

"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."

"You're sure?"

Vale...

"Now that was a waste of time." Jared said, coming out of a shop with Yang and Weiss. "At least I got some ice cream."

"Only you would think about sugar at a time like this." Weiss said, while Yang waved to the person inside. "Especially mint chocolate chip."

"Thanks anyways!" Yang said, sighing. "This is hopeless." She looked at Weiss when she looks around nonchalantly. "You really don't care if we find her, do you?""

"Don't be stupid...of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her." Weiss said, walking forward, calling over her shoulder. "The innocent never run, Yang!"

Yang looks down in thought.

"So, Blake is your friend?" Penny asked.

"Yes, Penny." Ruby said, sighing as they make their way down the sidewalk.

"But you're mad at her?" Penny asked.

"Yes. Well, I'm not. Neither is Jared. Weiss is."

"Is she friends with Blake?"

"Well, that's kind of up in the air right now..."

"I never felt this happy and connected to people back home, compared to here." Jared said, looking at Ruby and Penny. "Weiss, Blake, I get that they're fighting right now. But I don't know if they're still friends. Especially with me being here to change things."

"But why?" Penny asked, trying to contemplate this.

"Well, you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was..." Ruby said, sighing again.

"Is she a man?" Penny asked, gasping.

"No! No, Penny. She's..." Ruby said,stops and sighs, looking at Penny as she talks now. "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off."

"I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things."

"Me too..." Ruby said, turning her gaze downward sadly.

"I had a lot of friends back home. But I don't know if I considered most of them friends. You could say I'm like Yang, when it came to socializing." Jared said, while he continued walking with Ruby and Penny. "I am looking forward to what's next. When it comes to us, traveling in all of time and space. And defeating Grimm in the process."

"You are so optimistic." Ruby said, looking at Jared. "Like me. So, what will we encounter next?"

"Oh, some salt shakers. Some Reapers, they're dragon-like creatures. And gas mask zombies."

"They do sound like adventures the Doctor would have."

"We'll be there. Us and Team JNPR."

"But we can't do this without Blake. Whatever she is."

Docks...

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.

"Did I miss anything?" Sun asked.

"Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there." Blake said, looking up as Sun drops down to her right.

"Cool." Sun said, holding out one of the green apples in his arms. "I stole you some food!"

"Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?" Blake asked, giving Sun a questioning look.

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun asked, defensively countering, and 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.

"Oh no..." Blake said, sadly.

"Is that them?"

"Yes...it's them." Blake said, staring at the bloody wolf on the back of the man's outfit.

"All right, grab the tow cables!" A White Fang Soldier said to he other White Fang members coming from the aircraft, motioning with his rifle.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asked.

"No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." Blake said, staring sadly at the scene.

Blake closes her eyes in despair, only to open them suddenly when she hears a new voice.

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" Roman exclaimed, as the soldiers look up at Roman gesturing widely and coming down the ramp. "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?"

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that." Blake said, standing up and unsheathes the katana of Gambol Shroud before walking off the edge of the roof.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Sun exclaimed, alarmed.

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.

"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" Roman said, as he's looking around, Blake suddenly appears behind him with her blade at his throat. "What the...Oh, for f.."

Roman rolls his eyes when he's cut off by Blake mid-swear.

"Nobody move!" Blake said, and the White Fang soldiers ready their guns and equip their swords in response.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady." Roman said.

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.

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?" Blake asked.

The White Fang members lower their weapons a little at this development, unsure of what to do, when Roman laughs.

"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" Roman asked.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"

"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.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation..." Roman said, looking up.

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.

Penny, Ruby, and Jared turn around upon hearing the noise, seeing the smoke rise from the docking bay just a few buildings away.

"Oh, no..." Ruby said.

"Blake…" Jared said, looking at Ruby and Penny. "Damn. I forgot that she would go there. I was too focused on the future adventures."

Docks...

Blake, dazed but relatively unhurt on the ground, quickly rolls and runs out of the way of Roman's continued attacks, flaming missiles destroying cargo behind her as she retreats behind more containers.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." Roman said, approaching Blake slowly.

Roman's taunt is interrupted when a banana peel lands on his head, causing him to look up and growl at the assailant.

Sun leaps from the container above Roman and drops down on the criminal's face feet-first, rolling up and readying himself to fight, "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.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" Roman asked.

With that said, the White Fang charge at the monkey Faunus, but he manages to dodge slashes and get some of the soldiers with his fists and kicks until he rolls out of the way, pulling out a collapsible red staff. He quickly uses this to beat down on each opponent that nears him, falling each one in a single flaming blow when he twirls, even creating a scorching shockwave to beat the last of them.

Blake peers around the corner of the container to watch Sun jump around and beat more White Fang soldiers, causing one to fly over Roman's head. The crime boss growls in annoyance and aims his cane at Sun, firing a shot that he defends himself from just when Blake leaps into the action.

"He's mine!" Blake said, and she 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, but her enemy, while barely deflecting the attacks, lands a few hits on Blake until one final beating with his cane causes her to go down.

Just as Roman deals with one opponent, Sun appears right behind her and disconnects his staff in two spinning circles of flame-firing shotgun nunchucks that only slow down once to show the audience what they are before becoming twin arcs of offense again. Sun swings each gun at Roman while firing everything he as 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 Blake to get a slash in and knock him back.

On his back, Roman notices a container hanging by a crane right above the two warriors, and gets up to fire his cane at its supports. Blake leaps 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 and Sun's attention are drawn to a familiar voice.

"Hey!" Ruby said, appearing on the rooftop overlooking them with Jared, Crescent Rose extended and ready for action.

"Don't you dare touch Blake Belladonna!" Jared said, taking out the Monado and is thinking about which art to use. "Monado Enchant!"

"What did you just do?" Ruby asked, looking at Jared and the Monado that has a black icon forming around the sword.

"Oh, I just strengthened the power of your Crescent Rose, the Gambol Shroud, the Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang." Jared said, smiling, with the Enchant Monado art still active.

"Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime? And aren't you too young to be around a guy like that?" Roman asked, losing interest in Sun, waving.

"Ruby, Jared, are these people your friends?" Penny asked, approaching Ruby and Jared.

"Blake and Sun are." Jared said, looking at Penny, while holding the Monado. "I don't consider Torchwick a friend though."

"Penny, get back!" Ruby said, looking behind her.

Jared looked down at the Monado and change its art, while Ruby's attention is diverted towards Penny. Roman snarls and fires his cane at Ruby, launching the young Huntress-in-training back from the explosion's force and sending her scythe flying away.

"AAAAAH!" Ruby said, as Jared ran towards her. "What Monado art did you choose?"

"I was aiming for Monado Shield. Or at least Monado Buster to slash away the bullet." Jared said, sadly. "But I messed up…"

"You got Monado Speed." Ruby said, looking at the art the Monado has up, it being dark blue. "You showed me how the Monado worked once…"

Roman gives off a professional-level evil laugh at his attack on the young girl. Penny turns her head toward the criminal and gives her first glare, walking forward while Ruby tries to get back up.

"Penny, wait! Stop!" Ruby said, and she raises her hand in a futile attempt to stop her.

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!" Penny said, while her backpack mechanically opens up, and from its dark depths comes a single sword that extends and multiples into several blades hovering over her back.

"Man, that is gonna kill me later." Jared said, watching Penny leap from the rooftop with the weapons acting as wings. "Yes, Penny is amazing."

"So, you knew that this would happen. These past two days." Ruby said, as Jared watched Penny sends three of her swords to knock two White Fang soldiers down before even landing on the ground. "Why didn't you stop it?"

"Because Penny, she's amazing too. Like your team, Ruby. Teams JNPR and CFVY are amazing too." Jared said, watching Peny proceed 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. "Don't know about Team SSSN though. I can finally talk more about you guys. But if there is one person I would love to meet. It's your Uncle Qrow."

"You like Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked, looking at Jared. "Uh, I get that he's cool and all. But why him?"

"He's probably the best person anyone could face against. And I would love for him to be one of my training partners."

"Whoa!" Sun said, observing the spectacle in amazement before running off 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.

"You should have told me she could do that." Ruby said, stunned, and 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. "Like you really should have."

"Sorry, it crossed my mind. And Weiss said not to give anything away." Jared said, happily. "Which I was happy with, this time."

"Whoa...how is she doing that?" Ruby asked, watching in awe.

"Oh, you'll find out someday." Jared said, walking towards Ruby with the Monado in his hand. "I didn't have to fight today."

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.

"These kids just keep getting weirder..." Roman said, watching rom the safety of his escape.

With his observation made, Roman uses his cane to close the doors, and the jet lifts off, flying away from the lost battle.

Docks…

"You kept saying that you wanted to meet Penny." Ruby said, looking at Jared. "And here she is, in between you and me."

"Well…" Jared said, letting out a sigh, and he looked away for a moment. "Everyone loved Penny and Pyrrha back home on TV. They loved pretty much everyone on your show. The heroes, the villains. All the weapons."

"So, this show of yours." Sun said, looking at Jared. "Am I in it?"

"Yeah. That's why I kept mentioning you and your team. Team SSSN. If Yang could, she would totally join your team. She's in love with your abs." Jared said, laughing a lot.

"No, no, no, no." Ruby said, raising up her hands, and she looked at Jared. "Team SSSN? She is not joining that team."

"What will you be doing next?" Penny asked, looking at Jared, Ruby, and Blake. "You guys said that you travel across time and space."

"Well, I invited them to come along with me. The Doctor, he's got a broody personality. Rose Tyler, she reminds me a lot of Pyrrha. Or was it Yang? I can't remember."

"Wherever you're going to next with Teams RWBY and JNPR, I want to come." Sun said.

"Sun Wukong traveling across time and space…" Jared said, looking at Ruby and Blake. "What do you think?"

"I don't know. Sure. I guess." Blake said.

"I want to come. I'm combat ready!" Penny said, as Jared nodded his head. "Does that mean I can come?"

"Yeah, you can. I would like that a lot Penny Polendina." Jared said, smiling. "I am getting tired of Weiss sometimes, anyway."

Later, a handful of police cars are at the docks, where Ruby, Blake, Sun, Penny, and Jared are sitting on boxes in silence. That is, until Weiss and Yang appear on the scene.

"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..." Ruby said, speaking quickly to explain the situation.

Weiss ignores her and squares off with Blake.

"And Blake is my second favorite cat-like lady." Jared said, smirking. "Number one being Nia from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Their version of a Faunus is a Gormotti. They're all cat-like. And Nia, god, she's amazing."

"You call every girl you meet amazing." Weiss said, looking at Jared.

"I know. It's always my hormones kicking in. I just like girls, okay?"

"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the…" Blake said, calmly looking Weiss down.

"Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?" Weiss said, pausing before thinking about how much time has passed. "Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided..."

Yang, Sun, Ruby, and Jared look on, worried.

"I don't care." Weiss said.

"You don't care?" Blake asked, surprised.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, I...I haven't been since I was younger..."

"Ah...bah...bah...bah...bah!" Weiss said, silencing Blake. "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 looks At Sun behind her as she catches herself."Someone else."

"Of course." Blake said, looking at Ruby, Yang, and Jared grinning at her, and she wipes a tear from her eye, nodding.

Weiss smiles and nods. The moment is serious for a second more until Ruby screams.

"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby said, waving her arms wildly.

"After all that." Jared said, running up to Ruby for a hug. "I've got my girls with me. I got Teams JNPR, CFVY, and SSSN by my side too. Also the badass robot Penny. And I got my box. My work here is done."

"You're definitely in love with all of us." Weiss said, and the the six gather with each other, she points accusingly at Sun. "I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!"

Sun laughs nervously.

"Hey, wait a minute...where's Penny?" Ruby asked, looking around.

Limo...

From the darkened back seat of a limo, Penny watches the group of friends reuniting with each other.

"You should know better than to go running around in a strange city." Penny's Driver said.

"I know, sir." Penny said, lowering her head, sadly.

"Penny, your time will come..." Penny's Driver said, as the car drives away from the docks.

Ozpin's office...

Meanwhile, Ozpin is seen holding a Scroll showing a "LIVE FEED" of Ruby at the docks. He closes the video and opens up a communication with Qrow, whose team name and other information is left blank and his only message is: "QUEEN HAS PAWNS."

"Hmmm..." Ozpin said.

The scenes cuts to a view of Beacon Academy bathed in the light of the nearly-full moon.

Beacon…

"So, we're going back to the Doctor now." Ruby said, walking towards the portal that's in the middle of the courtyard. "All of us. Teams RWBY and JNPR, and you, Jared."

"Yeah. We can come back here at any time." Jared said, looking at Teams RWBY and JNPR. "Wish Penny was here with us, though."

"Me too." Ruby said, and she walked into the portal with Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jared, and Team JNPR. "Let's see what the Doctor has in store for us next."