Sorry for the wait. This may suck a little ass, but I wanted to be doing something else when I wrote this so I was low on ideas. 

     Vale, as it was, seemed to be a reasonably nice city. The usual tall structures and shopping districts were all present. Parents together, holding either hand of their child as they walked happily down the street. Men and Women on their way to work, as well as cars and buses that filled the street. The people here had it way better than they knew. It actually would have been comparable to the frontier capital cities before the IMC decided to show up, had it not been for the terrorism and Faunus hate mongering. Gangs and racism were always around. It's human nature, but street gangs never openly attacked protesters. At least, not at the level it was done here. 

     "The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Oh yes, the reason why you were here. 

*Memory One, Sequence One (flashback)*

     You were sitting in your warehouse when a knock came to the door. It made you slightly curious, as Ozpin would have called you if he needed you. Several books were laid out on a desk in front of you on the close right wall. Subjects varied from topics of Grimm behavior to Dust application. There was a little history in there as well. Your titan was crouched behind you, not really doing anything. "Osiris, did I miss something?"

"I do not know what you mean. Please elaborate." 

"Was someone supposed to come by today?"

"Nothing is scheduled for this Friday at 12:24 PM." Your titan said. Wonderful. Random visitors. Walking to the large double doors, you clicked the safety off your holstered smart pistol. The short walk over was accompanied by the annoyance of interruption, as you pondered what it was that could be so damned important. Lets just say it was not who you'd hoped for. When you opened the doors a crack, in front of you stood Ruby. "Oh. It's you." You said with a touch of boredom. 

"Yeah. I just wanted to, um, apologize for what happened in Forever Fall." She looked down to her feet as she finished. You waited a moment before answering. 

"Wonderful." As you started to go back inside and close the doors, she stopped you. 

"Wait!" Goddammit. "I was kinda hoping that maybe you'd want to go with my team and I to Vale? We could show you around some." 

"And what does your team think of this idea?"

"I kinda haven't asked them yet." Oh, this is wonderful. I'll be alone enough that Yang will just throw me out of the bullhead, won't she? You looked back to your titan to see him eyeing you. With an inaudible sigh, you stepped out and closed the doors. Ruby just looked at you, shocked. 

"So, are you just going to stand there and gawk?"

"O-Oh, yeah. Sorry." The two of you started walking towards the bullheads. "I didn't really think you'd say yes." She nervously laughed.

"Anything to get Osiris out of my ass about meeting people." 

"So you have one of those too huh?" She looked at momentarily. 

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Yang was bugging me when we first got to Beacon. She wanted me to get out, and meet new people, and make friends. Guess you have the same problem." A smile could barely be seen at the edge of her lips. 

"You sound outright anti-social." You said without looking at her. 

"Wha- and you're not?"

"No. I only 'hang out' with certain crowds, none of which that the students of Beacon fall under. Besides, you're fifteen. You need friends so that you at least have some knowledge on how to cooperate with others." 

"How do you not need that too? Aren't you in the army or something?" Your face contorted, not that she could see it under your helmet.  

"An army, yes. Though not one that you've ever heard of. And if my time in that military has shown me anything, it's teamwork. But that's also part of being a pilot. While working together is great and all, being what I am requires that I can go in alone and change the tide of a loosing battle."

"Aw. I wish I could be a pilot. You guys sound like heroes." She playfully whined.

"There are no heroes, Ruby. Especially not in war." Before she could say anything else, you had reached the bullhead, where her team was currently waiting for her. 

*End Synchronization*

     So now here you were, on the streets with team RWBY, 'exploring' the city, though in reality, you were on your way to the docks. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." Ruby said with a small frown. "It's kinda weirding me out."

"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a tournament! Oh the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"

"And like that, you've lost me." You said monotonously. 

"You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." Yang said as she crossed her arms. 

"Quiet you!" Weiss snaps. You stop by the docks as a ship starts coming in. 

"Remind why we're spending our Friday afternoon at the stupid docks?" Yang complained. 

"Ugh, they smell like fish." Ruby covered her nose.

"I've heard that the students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And as a representative of Beacon I feel as though it is my solemn duty you welcome them to this fine kingdom." Weiss stated. Blake started to walk away before speaking. 

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have an upper hand in the tournament."

Weiss scoffs. "You can't prove that!" Though you said nothing, you respected her a tad bit more than you did before. 

"Whoa." You look in Ruby's direction to what appeared to be crime scene. A storefront window was shattered, the glass shards on the street in front of it. Yellow police tape surrounded the area as two detectives mulled about, one of which was writing something in his notepad. "What happened here?" Ruby asked. 

"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." The first detective said, walking over to his partner. 

"That's terrible." Yang said with sad sigh. 

"They left all the money again." The group turned their heads to the second detective. 

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" The first one asked. 

"I don't know. An army?"

"You thinking the White Fang?" The detective on the left removed his sunglasses. 

"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough." The two of them walked off to continue their duty (or go get donuts; truly, you had no idea). 

"Hmph! The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates!" Weiss stated. Je-zus Christ. Even her 'I'm stating the facts I don't like' face screams punch me, you thought, referencing her current position. She had her arms crossed while she pointed her nose into the air, closing her eyes. 

"What's your problem?" Blake snaps.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss replied. 

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus." Blake crossed her arms as well, seemingly in a challenging way.

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" The heiress shot back. 

"So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!"

"Is that not obvious?" You interjected. They turned towards you. "The White Fang are fighting a war. When you fight a war, you need supplies, and what better place to get them, then the unguarded stockpiles just sitting all over the city." 

"Maybe." Ruby started. "The police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago... maybe it was him."

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal." Weiss earned a royally pissed off Blake when she said this. 

"That's not necessarily true..." Yang said. Before the argument could escalate further, another voice is heard. 

"Hey, stop that Faunus!" You, along with the others, ran to the sound to see a ship with two sailors chasing a monkey Faunus. He hopped onto the edge of the boat before turning back to the ones chasing him. 

"Thanks for the ride guys!" He then jumped off and hit the dock running. 

 "You no-good stowaway!" One of the sailors yelled. 

"Hey! A no-good stowaway would have gotten caught! I'm a great stowaway." The Faunus said, using his tail to climb onto the top of a lamppost.  

"Hey! Get down from there this instant!" The Faunus looks towards one of the detectives before dropping a banana peel onto his face. While he was removing it, the Faunus jumped off the lamp post and ran past you, though you could have sworn you saw him wink at Blake. 

"Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes." Yang watched as he ran further away. 

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss held up a finger, and the four of them gave chase. Ugh. Why do I even- You cut off your own thoughts as you too chased after them. It didn't last long, as Weiss had a sidewalk accident and landed on top of some other girl. The Faunus could be seen rounding another corner. "No, he got away!" Weiss whined. 

"Uhh... Weiss?" Yang gestured to the girl the heiress was unknowingly laying on. It startled her, leading to Weiss hastily getting up. 

"Sal-u-ta-tions!" The girl in question had short ginger hair, light skin, and a weird-ish grey skirt with green lines down the left and right sides. Her smile was... interesting. 

"Um... hello." Ruby starts, though she too is confused. While they were doing their thing, your titan spoke to you. 

"Pilot, I am getting interesting scan data coming from the one in front of you." He said. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I am detecting an aura, however, scans indicate there is nothing organic within her body. It would appear that she is some kind of machine."

"A machine with an aura? I didn't think that was possible."

"Neither did I, Pilot." You started listening to the conversation in front of you again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" The strange girl said. 

"You already said that." Weiss pointed out. 

".... So I did!" She was definitely an odd girl. Ruby was antisocial but this... This was a goddamn social abomination. 

"Well, sorry for running into you!" Weiss apologizes, and they walk off. 

"Take care, friend!" Ruby yells as they walk out of sight. You start walking with them for a minuet. 

"There was something... off about her." You started. 

"Gee, ya think?" Yang asked without looking at you.

"Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?" Weiss started to look around. Are we seriously still on this? You mentally asked yourself. Seemingly out of nowhere, Penny is in front of a surprised Weiss. 

"What did you call me?"

"Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me." Yang said, looking apologetic. 

"Not you." Penny walked through the group. "You!" She said, looking down at Ruby. 

"Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh..."

"You called me your friend. Am I really your friend?" She asked. 

"Ummmmm..." She looks back to you and her team. Weiss, Blake, and Yang were all shaking their heads vigorously. When she looked at you, you simply shrugged as to say 'your funeral'. "Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?" Penny suddenly goes from zero to sixty. 

"Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" Ruby seemed to have a revelation as Penny said this.

"Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?" She asked Weiss. 

"No - she seems far more coordinated." Weiss answered. 

"So... what are you doing here in Vale?" Yang changed the subject. 

"I'm here to fight in the tournament." Penny brightened up as she said this, obviously excited. 

"Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?" Weiss sounded skeptical. Penny saluted before responding. 

"I'm combat ready!"

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." The heiress said back.

"Things aren't always as they look, Weiss. You'd be surprised where I've seen some soldiers hide their knives." You said, shuddering at the last part. 

"Wait a minuet." Weiss walked over to Penny. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed rapscallion?"

"The who?" Penny looked somewhat confused. 

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!" This made you frown, and Blake felt similar. 

"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake yelled. Weiss turned to her.

"Huh?"

"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!" Blake walked up to Weiss angrily. 

"Oh, I'm sorry." Weiss said, releasing Penny. "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?" Weiss sarcastically asked. 

"Would you like me to stop referring to you as a good person? Oh wait-" You started. 

"Stop it!" Blake snapped. You sighed, knowing that this would last for a while. 

"Um, I think we should probably go." Yang said to Ruby. She was right, and as afternoon went to evening, the five of you were back in RWBY's dorm. You were there because you had nothing better to do at the moment, much to Yang's dismay. At the time, however, you were the least of her worries. 

"I don't understand why this is such a problem!" Weiss walked into the dorm. 

"That is the problem!" Blake walked in behind her. 

"You realize you are defending an organization that hates humanity right? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" Weiss exclaimed. 

"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!" Blake yelled. She had a point as well. There's no such thing as evil at all. 

"People like me?" 

"You're discriminatory!" 

"I'm a victim!" Weiss said in such a way that just screamed self sympathy. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus?" Weiss started. This better be good, you thought.  

"It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed." She was starting to piss you off, as she was now entering the 'I'm about to rant about the tragedies of war' category. Something that she really had no knowledge of. "My Grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood." The room was silent. That was, until the sound of laughing could be heard. They turned towards you, to see you with an arm over the lower part of your helmet as your stomach pumped with every exhale. 

"Was that supposed to evict some sort of sympathy from me?" Weiss looked at you, shocked. She would have spoke again, but you stopped her. "And I bet your mother had a role in this too huh? She left, didn't she? After what your company had become..... Stop talking about your 'difficult childhood' as if you actually understand."

"Wha- How dare you! I am-"

"NO! HOW DARE YOU! You talk about tragedy like it's something you've experienced! You want to know what actual suffering is!? You want to talk about who's father is the more twisted shit!? My father killed my mother! Over a war she didn't even want to be a part of! And I watched him walk through that door with a twisted smirk on his face, before he'd go on a rant about how happy he was for getting to gun down a group of school children suspected of smuggling information! You have no idea what actual warfare is! You have no idea what a difficult childhood is because you've never had to deal with the blunt of it! Talking about it and making yourself the victim, just sucking up all the sorrow. You think you're a victim, Weiss!? You're a goddamn bystander... And you've got it way better than you think." When you finished, you walked towards the door before speaking again. "Let me ask you this, Weiss. Who's worse? The 'evil' shits, or the ones who make them?"