Sorry for the long wait for new chapters! I got caught up with finally producing more chapters for my Fairy Tail series and on top of that, Midterms are this week. Don't expect there to be a lot of chapters at all this week. We're starting to get back into the heat of things during volume 2. Right now, i'm trying to decide on which RWBY members Amber and Drake should go out with. I feel like I've made the best choice, we'll just have to see. Also, if you have an idea for an OC that I should add for when I start volume 3, please leave your suggestions below! I read all comments sent to me at any time and I take anything as advice or a compliment. Thank you if you've read up to this point! Enjoy!

-Time Skip: 3 Days-

After waiting long enough, the day finally arrived when we would head out and investigate. We didn't have classes the next day so we had all the time we needed to figure everything out. Me and Amber explained to Leena and Temair what we were doing, but yet they didn't want to join us this time. They wished us luck as we left our room and headed over to team RWBY's room. We entered and then we all went over the plan one more time. "Alright guys, today's the day! The investigation, begins!" Ruby said as she jumped off of her bed. "Glad to see you're taking this so seriously." Weiss said sarcastically. "Hey! We've got a plan. That's... moderately serious." Yang said as she was reloading her weapons. "Right. Everyone remember their roles?" Ruby asked as we went over the plan. "You, myself, Drake, and Amber will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies, or inconsistencies. Seeing as i'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." Weiss said as me and Amber stepped over to her side. "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning." Blake said as we all looked to Yang next. "I've got an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard." Yang said as she grabbed her motorcycle helmet. "Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we've found. Let's do this!" Ruby said as we all raised our arms into the air.

"Yeah! Let's do this!" Someone else said as we all looked around. To our surprise, Sun was hanging outside the window upside down. "How did you get up here?" Yang asked. "Ah, it's easy. I do it all the time." Sun said as Weiss got a little nervous. "You do what!?" She said to him. "I climb trees all the time!" He explained as he jumped into the room. "So... are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?" Sun asked us. "We, are going to investigate the situation. As a team." I said to Sun as he just crossed his arms. "Sorry Sun, we don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby explained as Sun looked to me and Amber. "Then why are those two here? Last I checked, they're not members of your team." He asked. "Different situation. They volunteered a while ago and helped organize our plan. We might need their help too." Ruby explained. "So you are getting friends involved. And if that's the case, then me and Neptune will be joining you." Sun said as I grew curious. "Wait... Why'd you say Neptune? He's not even here." I asked Sun as he started to laugh. "Sure he is. He's just out there." Sun said, pointing out the window. We all looked out and saw Neptune just barely clinging to the edge of the building with his feet. "How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked. "I have my ways. Seriously though, can I come in? We're like, really high up right now." Neptune said nervously as I helped him inside. "All right. Me, Drake, and Amber will go with Weiss. Sun, you can go with Blake. And Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner. Everyone good?" Ruby asked but almost no one spoke up. The only one to say anything was actually Weiss. "Actually Ruby, why don't you go with Yang? After all, she is your sister." She said as Ruby pushed Neptune over to Yang. "Nah, I think i'll stay with you and the others. Strength in numbers." Ruby said as I just looked at Weiss. It was written all over her face what she wanted. She was hoping that Ruby would go with Yang and that Neptune would join our group. Ever since the day she met him, Weiss had been blushing like crazy. She really couldn't hide it. "Anyways, let's go team!" Ruby said as she pulled Weiss out of the room, followed by me and Amber. We finally put our plan into motion. 

Everyone at this point had headed out and started their sections of our plan. The four of us were off to the CCT tower so Weiss could gain info for us. "Wow! I forgot how big the transmit tower really was!" Ruby said, full of energy. "You should see the one in Atlas." Weiss said with pride. "That was the first one, right?" I asked her as she gave me a nod. "Correct. Atlas developed the cross-continental transmit system to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the great war." Weiss explained as Ruby started to giggle. "Ooo, look at me, my name is Weiss, I know facts, i'm rich!" Ruby said jokingly which made me and Amber laugh. "Don't be such a pest! Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much. We could've just as easily made a call from the library." Weiss said as she did have a point. Coming to the tower really wasn't necessary at all. "I know but it's so cool! Oh! I'm gonna take a picture!" Ruby said as she quickly went to take out her scroll. However, she pulled it out to fast and dropped it. The scroll bounced along the ground and stopped at someones feet. The person picked it up and brought it over to us. We were all shocked to see who it was. "Excuse me, you dropped this." Penny said to us. "Penny!?" Ruby said. Penny looked stunned herself to see us standing before her. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you since the night at the docks." Ruby asked. "S-Sorry. I think you're confused. *hiccup* Uh, I've got to go." Penny said as she handed Ruby her scroll and walked away. "What was that about?" Weiss asked as Ruby went after her. "I don't know. But i'm going to find out. You go make your call, i'll meet with all of you later!" Ruby said as she took off. I decided I would head off with her just to make sure nothing happens. "I'll go with her. I'll make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." I said as I left Weiss and Amber to make the call from the CCT.

"Penny! Where have you been!? It's been weeks!" Ruby said to her as she kept walking away. "There seems to be a... misunderstanding." Penny said as she didn't even turn her head to look at us. "What? Is everything okay, Penny?" I asked her. She just kept on going though. "Penny, please stop!" Ruby called to her. Penny finally stopped and faced both of us, putting her head down. "Look, I don't know what's wrong. But you have to listen to us. Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big. Something bad! We need you to tell us what happened to you that night. Please. As friends." Ruby said as Penny let out a heavy sigh. She then looked around the are and then back over to us. "It isn't safe to talk here." She explained as she took both of our hands and walked us out of beacon. 

-Point of View: Amber-

"What's their problem? They were the ones who came up with this whole plan. They're putting it in jeopardy." Weiss said as I just stayed silent. "Come on, Amber. Let's get this over with." Weiss said to me as I nodded to her. We headed into the CCT and entered one of its elevators. "Hello! Welcome to the CCT! How may I help you?" The elevator said to us. "I'd like to go to the communications room, please." Weiss said back. "Absolutely. Could you please place your scroll on the terminal to verify your identity." Weiss said as she did just that. "Perfect. Thank you Miss Schnee." The elevator said as we started rising to the top. In about a minute, we had arrived at our floor. We exited and went to find an empty calling station. Weiss found one, sat down and began to make the call to Atlas. A woman with long orange hair appeared on the screen in front of Weiss. I stood to the side so I wouldn't be noticed. "Thank you for calling the Atlas- Oh! Miss Schnee! Good Afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well." The orange haired lady explained as Weiss just shook her head. "No thank you. I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list." Weiss explained as she inserted her scroll into the terminal. "I see... If you don't mind... What may I ask is this for?" The other lady asked. "...School project." Weiss said as she shrugged her shoulders. "Um, there are some sensitive documents on this list ma'am." The other lady said. "Well then, i'll be sure to treat them with care." Weiss said with a big smile on her face. "Right... Very well. The data is being transferred to your scroll now." The lady explained. "Wonderful. That will be all then." Weiss said as she removed her scroll from the terminal. "Are you sure you don't want me to patch you through to your father before you go?" The lady asked as Weiss closed her eyes. "Yes... i'm sure." Weiss said as she grew an even bigger smile. "Very well. Have a nice day, Miss Schnee." The other lady said as she closed the call. All the while, I just stared at Weiss and watched her struggle to talk to this other person. 

"What're you looking at?" Weiss asked me with an angry expression on her face. "I-I'm sorry! It's just that I c-couldn't help feel like you have negative emotions towards your f-father." I explained to her as she let out a sigh. "It's not like that. It's just that I don't have the time. And... What's up with you? The other day you sounded full of confidence. You were actually yelling. Why do you seem so scared again?" Weiss asked me as I put my head down. "I'm sorry. It's just from the way I was treated for most of my life." I said to her as she walked over and put her hand on my shoulder. "What happened?" Weiss asked me. "I guess it all started when my parents got married. My father was a human and my mother was a Faunus. My father wanted nothing more than to have a human child that he could call his own. I'm sure you can figure out what happens next." I said to Weiss as she nodded. "When I was born, and my father saw I was a Faunus, he burst out in rage and nearly killed me before I even received my name. But... he accepted me eventually and I was part of the family. Or so I thought. My father would constantly abuse me, beat me, everyday of my life. I became so afraid of just... people that I tried so hard to shield myself from them. My mother was the only person to give me any support throughout my life." I explained to Weiss as she now had a sad expression on her face. "Oh my... i'm sorry, Amber. For everything. But if I may... Why did you want to become a huntress?" She asked me as I lifted my head back up. "I figured it would help me be seen as someone who can help. And that it would also help me break out of this scared little shell that I live in. And when I did make it in, I met my teammates... and all of you." I said, looking right into Weiss's eyes. "So why have you gone back to your timid self then?" Weiss asked me. "It's Drake. He reminds me of my mother. He's just so encouraging and uplifting. I want to be someone like him. Someone who doesn't run away, who's not scared of anything." I explained to Weiss as she started to giggle. "It's the way he talks, isn't it?" She asked me as I grew confused. "The way he talks?" I asked. "You love how he speaks to everyone, so high and mighty. Like a true leader." Weiss said as I grew a small smile. "Yeah... I guess so." I said as Weiss started to pull me along with her. "Come on. We have to go, otherwise we might be late." She said as I gave her a nod. We then made our way back to the elevator, and continued to head out of the CCT.

-Point of View: Drake- -Time Skip: 1 Hour-

"I wish I could help you, guys. But I don't know anything about those men." Penny explained to me and Ruby as we walked through the streets of downtown Vale. "Well what happened to you that night? We were all together and then you just disappeared. Were you kidnapped?" Ruby asked her. "Oh no, nothing like that!" Penny said. "Then where did you go?" I asked her. "I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but... Oh you have to understand. my father loves me very much. He just worries a lot." Penny tried to explain as I saw Ruby roll her eyes. "Believe me. I know the feeling." Ruby said. "But, why not let us know you were ok?" Ruby asked Penny. "I... was asked... not to talk to you. Or Weiss... or Blake... or Yang... Or Drake. Anybody really." Penny explained as I grew very curious. "Was your dad that upset with you?" I asked her. "No, it wasn't my father..." Penny said as we all started to overhear something around the corner. We peared around it and saw an Atlas expo going on in a small square. People were gathered around and it looked like they were unveiling some new combat android. There was a hologram of a man standing in the centre of the square. He was dressed in a white suit, and he had black hair with a small bandage over his right eye. 

I recognized the man in the hologram. His name was Ironwood, and he was the general of the Atlas armed forces. He was also the headmaster of Mantle academy. Well, I think they're actually just calling it Atlas academy now. Regardless, me and Ruby continued to watch the unveiling. "Now, the Atlesian military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that undoubtedly require, a human touch. And so, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust company are proud to introduce, the Atlesian Paladin!" Ironwood explained as his hologram disappeared. Taking his place was a hologram of a huge mech suit. Indicating that this was what he was referring to. 

I looked to Ruby and it looked like she was drooling over the sight of this mech. I then looked to Penny and saw she was slowly walking away. "What's up, Penny?" I asked her as I also saw a worried expression on her face. "We should go." Penny said as I turned back around to see two armed guards running in our direction. "I think you're right! Come on, Ruby!" I said as I grabbed her arm and pulled her along with me. We ran across the street into an alleyway but the guards continued to follow us. We rounded many corners but the guards were slowly gaining on us. "Ruby, try and stop them from following us!" I said to her as she looked around. There was a wooden platform ahead with several large crates on it. Ruby quickly unsheathed her weapon and slashed one of the legs of the platform. We all managed to pass it before the crates could fall. The crates blocked off the alleyway we were running through, ensuring that the guards could no longer follow us. Now we just had to get Penny to stop running. She was just ahead of me, running around a corner. I tried to pick up the pace and catch her. I was slowly making ground, and I began to reach out to her. "Penny stop! They're not following us anymore!" I yelled to her but she just kept running. I decided to stop her using force since she wasn't listening to me. I leaped forward, tackling Penny to the ground. However, what I didn't realize was that we were both now laying in the middle of a road. A large armored truck was rushing towards us, pressing hard on its horn. Neither of us could get up fast enough to get out of the way though. But as I was thinking that this was the end, Penny quickly stood up and held both of her hands out. Without even moving an inch or flinching, Penny stopped the armored truck dead in its tracks. The back end of the truck lifted itself into the air and then crashed back down to the ground. "Are you okay?" Penny asked the driver as he gave her a scared nod. Penny then looked around, looking to Ruby and then to me. She then took off into another alley. Ruby came over and helped me up, and all the while she had the same shocked expression that I had on my face. We both continued to chase her and we found her standing just around the corner in the alley. "Penny! Please! What is going on? Why are you running? How did you do that?" Ruby tried to ask. "I-I can't. Everything's fine! *hiccup* I-I don't want to talk about it. *hiccup*" Penny said as she crossed her arms, lowered her head and turned away from us. "Penny, if you can just tell us what's wrong, we can help you." I tried to explain to her. "No, no, no, you wouldn't understand." Penny said to us. "Let us try. You can trust us." Ruby said as Penny walked right up to our faces. "You're my friends, right? You promise you're my friends?" Penny asked us. "We promise." Me and Ruby said as Penny opened up her hands to us. "Ruby... Drake... I'm not a real girl." Penny explained as she showed the palms of her hands. Her skin was torn off and underneath was metal and circuitry. "Oh..." Was the only reaction me and Ruby could give as we were both absolutely stunned. "What the heck is going on here?" I thought to myself as our investigation just got a whole lot more complicated.