25

  Chapter 25: V2C12: The First Mission

A/N: Volume 2 OP: "PEACE SIGN" by Jonathan Young

Ruby Rose sighed as she collapsed back on her bed, the action causing it to bump into the wall with a dull thud. It was the morning after the dance and she had just gotten back from breakfast. It had been a perfectly lovely meal cooked up by Lie Ren but the fact that a certain redhead had been completely absent left Ruby feeling a large number of emotions that she simply didn't have a name for.

"You okay there, sis?" Yang Xiao Long asked as she steadied her sister's hanging bed to stop it from swaying. She had opted to follow her little sister back to their dorm room while the rest of their team went with Team JNPR to the library to finish up their homework assignments.

"Not really," Ruby said as she laid the back of her arm against her forehead.

Yang walked over to her side of the room and hopped up on Blake's bed. "Date didn't go well, huh?"

"It was a disaster!" Ruby cried out, throwing her arms up toward the ceiling in exasperation. "Neither of us could dance so we just stood around for forever drinking way too many cups of punch! Honestly, a part of me's glad that mystery lady decided to infiltrate the tower when she did!"

"Hoo boy. That's pretty bad. You didn't talk about anything?"

"I didn't know what to talk about!" Ruby said as she sat up, draping her legs over the side of her bed. "Shirou's a really private person so I didn't want to talk about things like Dad or Patch so he wouldn't feel like he'd needed to share something similar and it just didn't feel right to talk about Crescent Rose or cooking or something on a date."

"Okay, this one's partly on me. I really should have sat you down and given you some advice. While it's good that you were aware enough to not talk about things that might make him uncomfortable, you totally could have talked about your hobbies."

"But we can talk about our hobbies any time!"

"You can talk about anything any time. Dates are special but they're not that special. They're basically just 'Hey, let's set aside some time to do something together and talk about literally whatever.' I once spent an entire date talking about the finer points of pun making."

Ruby stared blankly at her sister for a moment before saying, "Wow, that must have been a painful conversation to listen to."

"Yeah, when we heard the people at the table next to us groan, we made a bet to see who would be the one to finally make them leave.

"Who won?"

"He did, that magnificent bastard. Since he won, he got to be on top."

"On top of what?"

"Anyway, don't feel too bad about it. He's just as much to blame as you are and it's not that big of a deal either way."

"But he didn't even show up for breakfast! He never misses meals! He probably doesn't want to see my face ever again!" Ruby cried out as she covered her face with her hands and collapsed sideways back onto her bed.

"Stop being so overly dramatic, Rubes. You probably know Shirou better than I do and I'm pretty sure he's not that kind of guy. He probably has something else going on that made him miss breakfast."

Ruby uncovered her face and propped her head up on her elbow as she spoke, "What could he possibly have going on? Other than his meditation and exercise routine, he doesn't really do much that isn't classwork or whatever we're doing."

"That's… true," Yang said with a thoughtful expression, "but he did mention something about projects he had going on, right? He's not with us or JNPR all the time so he has to have other things to do."

"Maybe…" Ruby said with a doubtful expression.

"I know you feel bad right now but don't worry about it," Yang said as she hopped off her partner's bed. "You'll get over it and everything will be perfectly normal the next time you see him. Now, I know it's not fun but let's head down to the library so the others don't fuss at us. We can get our homework out of the way and then have some fun. Alright?" Yang asked as she held out her hand to help her sister down.

Ruby stared at the offered hand for a moment before smiling and taking it. "Alright. You're right. Everything will be perfectly normal next time I see him."

OoOoOoO

"I haven't seen Shirou all day!" Ruby said, more than a little worried. It was now early in the evening and she, along with the rest of her team and Team JNPR, was in their floor's kitchen for dinner.

"He wasn't even at his apartment," Blake Belladonna said as she folded her hands together on the table.

"He's no longer listed on our Aura tracking app, either," Weiss Schnee commented from her partner's side.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him, either. What about you two?" Lie Ren asked Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos as he started laying out the food.

"Can't say that we have," Jaune said. "Has anyone tried calling him?"

"We did but they went to voicemail. He's not answering texts, either," Yang replied.

"We should tell a teacher," Pyrrha said.

"Professor Goodwitch's office should be closest. If we hurry, she might still be in," Blake supplied.

"You all go ahead," Ren said as he started moving the plates around. "There's no point in us all going so I'll finish up dinner and keep the food warm."

"Thanks, Ren," Ruby said as she stood up, the others following suit. "C'mon, let's go!"

OoOoOoO

A few minutes later, Ruby found herself standing in Professor Goodwitch's office. It wasn't a large room and was fairly bare; the furnishings favoring practicality over design and the only decorations being her certificate as a Huntress from Beacon, her teaching diploma from one of the universities, and a picture on her desk that Ruby couldn't see. Given both the small size of the room and how awkward it would be if they all went in, Ruby was chosen to speak with the Professor.

"How may I help you, Miss Rose?" Professor Goodwitch asked as she looked up from the papers she was grading.

"Shirou's been missing since this morning. We can't find him anywhere, he's not answering his scroll, and he's not listed on our Aura tracking app anymore either," Ruby stated.

Professor Goodwitch sat up in her chair and adjusted her glasses as she put her pen aside. "I see. First of all, I want to thank you for actually contacting the faculty this time." Ruby flinched slightly and gave the teacher an embarrassed smile. "As for Mister Emiya, due to his status as a teamless student, he was deemed the most appropriate for a special mission. Due to the time-sensitive nature of this mission, it was decided that he would set out for it today rather than tomorrow when the other students receive theirs. I can assure you that his whereabouts are known."

Ruby relaxed slightly at this, relieved that her friend wasn't actually missing, but now she was curious. "What sort of mission did you send him on?"

"One that need not concern you. Just a clandestine extermination mission. He should return around the same time as everyone else does. Is that all, Miss Rose?" Professor Goodwitch asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yes. Thank you very much, Professor," Ruby said with a polite nod.

"You're welcome. Have a good evening, Miss Rose."

After exiting the office, Ruby related to her friends what she had been told.

"A special mission, huh? Jeez, it must be tough having to handle things like that by yourself. I can't even imagine what it must be like," Jaune said as they started making their way back to the dorms.

"It makes sense, though," Blake said as she appeared lost in thought. "She said that it was clandestine, right?" Ruby nodded in response to Blake's question even though Weiss had to tell her what that word meant. "Then Shirou would definitely be fit for the job. He displayed some skill with stealth back on the docks and his ranged weapon of choice makes nearly no sound."

"But he's just killing a bunch of Grimm, right? Why'd they need someone stealthy just for that?" Yang asked.

"It's possible that a small nest appeared near a settlement," Pyrrha answered. "If one did, taking it out before anyone notices would be for the best. If the people knew how close the Grimm were, that might make them fearful which would attract more."

Ruby nodded in agreement, "He also probably turned off his scroll so the noise wouldn't give him away."

"Either that or he delisted himself from our groups in the Aura reading app so as not to worry us should he take damage," Weiss added.

"Well, anyway, there's nothing we can do about it so let's eat and rest up! Our first mission's tomorrow and we've gotta give it 100%!" Yang said.

"You say that but isn't this technically your guys' second mission?" Nora asked wryly.

"For Blake, this could be considered her third," Pyrrha added.

"Well, yeah, technically," Yang said, "but this will be our first official mission! We won't get in any trouble for this!"

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be a lot of trouble?" Jaune remarked with a resigned expression even as the others laughed.

That was problematic because he was being completely serious.

OoOoOoO

Team RWBY were currently standing in Beacon's auditorium in full combat gear. All around them, students from every year huddled around in team-sized clumps, anxiously discussing the events to come. The air was positively buzzing with excitement and anticipation as the day had finally come for one of the most anticipated yearly events: Mission Day.

Mission Day was the unofficial name for the Monday following the Beacon Dance, which was always held on the third Saturday of January, and was the day in which every Hunter team was sent out on a mission. For first years, this was especially exciting as this not only usually their first mission, it would also be a chance for them to see a full-fledged Hunter working up close. It would be their first real taste of what their life would be like after graduating.

To make things even more exciting, this particular was also the same year as the Vytal Festival. As such, not only did the students of Beacon fill the auditorium, there were also students from the other major Hunter academies all over the world. From the riged, uniformed forms of students from Atlas Academy to the lackadaisical members of Vacuo's Shade; just about every type of individual could be found in this room and all of them were united by a single goal: to become a Hunter.

The din finally started to settle as Professor Glynda Goodwitch took to the stage and spoke into the microphone. "Quiet! Quiet, please. Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin."

It spoke volumes that the entire room settled down as Professor Ozpin took the stage, his solemn aura and piercing gaze stilling even the rowdiest of students.

"Today we stand together, united," Professor Ozpin began, his voice controlled and dignified. "Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end." Ruby involuntarily gulped as she recalled the details of the Great War that they had recently been studying in earnest.

"It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression," Professor Ozpin continued. "A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom but about the very idea of individualism itself." Blake noticed that more than a few people turned their attention to the nigh identical students of Atlas Academy but those students didn't react if they noticed.

"We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day." Weiss shifted uncomfortably as she recalled a conversation she once overheard shortly before her brother was born: her father had been angry that her name and the name of her older sister fit this convention.

"We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it.

"To you older students, who have been with your academy for more than a year, this will be nothing new to you. Just another chance to prove your skill, to test your mettle, to see if you truly have what it takes to survive in this profession. To you, I say that you should never take any mission, no matter how mundane, lightly. The life of a Hunter is harsh, violent, and often unpredictable. Never forget that any mission could be your last." More than a few students, especially the younger ones, appeared slightly uncomfortable by the headmaster's words but Ozpin carried on, heedless.

"And to you first-year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best. That is all."

The crowd was silent for a second more as Professor Ozpin left before quiet murmurs broke out. Even for Professor Ozpin, who was known for giving rather serious speeches, this had been particularly poignant. As such, the mood was a bit subdued as the various teams went to the numerous kiosks that were in the area to begin selecting their mission.

"This is perfect!" Ruby said with an enthusiasm that really didn't fit the mood. "All we have to do is shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast!"

"Yeah!" Yang agreed with a pump of her fist. "We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip by night!"

"Let's just hope that someone's actually working near one of our areas of interest," Blake said, grounding the sisters.

"Regardless, let's check 'search and destroy' missions," Weiss said. "Those are the most likely to be near where we want to go."

With matters settled, Team RWBY waited in line at one of the kiosks for their turn to sign up. Once there, Ruby scrolled through the list of available missions until she found just the right one. "Here we go! Quadrant 5 needs Grimm cleared out!" Ruby said triumphantly.

"Well, it's in the southeast!" Blake added, sounding more invigorated than she had in weeks.

"Sounds perfect!" Yang agreed.

Ruby quickly selected the mission and entered her team's name in only to be met with a screen that confused the entire group. "What? 'Team already on mission'?" Ruby said, her face full of confusion.

"That's because you all are a special case," a familiar voice said from behind the kiosk. Professor Ozpin soon appeared, a datapad in one hand and his trademark cane in the other. "You four have shown exemplary performance over the past few months. As such, it was decided that you will be given something a bit tougher."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked, slightly on guard.

"What I mean is that you four will be sent to a place called Mountain Glenn and will be exterminating Grimm there. Normally, such a place would be deemed too dangerous for first years due to the high concentration of Grimm. However, an exception is being made as we believe that you all possess the necessary aptitude to complete it."

Team RWBY looked at each other in disbelief for a moment before Ruby looked back at Professor Ozpin with a smile. "We won't let you down. Thank you, Professor."

"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far. But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission and he can have you sent back to Beacon if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. An airship is currently waiting for you at the port. You are to leave at once. Good luck."

OoOoOoO

"That wasn't exactly uplifting," Yang said a few moments later as the group were making their way to the port.

"But it's the truth," Blake commented.

"Honestly, this feels kinda wrong," Ruby said as she absently scratched her cheek and looked to the side.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.

"Well, it's just that Shirou's always been with us for our big fights ever since the school year started. Even though I'm pretty sure he's not happy about his performance, he was a big help during all of them. This will be our first time doing something major without him."

"I get what you mean," Blake said with a nod, "but this was inevitable. He's not an official member of our team, after all."

"Don't worry about it," Yang said. "Our mission is just to kill a bunch of Grimm and we've done plenty of that before."

"Besides, we'll have a professional Huntsman with us," Weiss added. "We'll be fine even if we run into the White Fang."

It was then that Team RWBY was broken out of their conversation by another student excitedly declaring the return of Team CFVY. The four girls looked around and saw a very exhausted and bedraggled Team CFVY heading in their general direction. Even the normally pristine Coco Adel, the leader of the team, looked a little worse for wear.

Upon seeing them, Velvet Scarlatina perked up slightly and made her way over to them. "Hey girls," the rabbit Faunus said. "Is Shirou around?"

"No, he left already," Blake replied. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Velvet said with a weak smile. "I had the others to look out for me."

"Your mission was supposed to end a week ago! What happened?" Weiss asked.

"Nothing happened, exactly. There were just a lot more of them than anticipated…" Velvet trailed off with a somewhat grim look on her face. Noticing the worried expressions of Team RWBY, she quickly shook her head and smiled at them. "But it's nothing we couldn't handle. And you all shouldn't worry. As first years, you'll have a professional Hunter with you, after all."

"Velvet! Hurry up, dear, we need to make our report!" Coco called out.

"Coming!" Velvet called back. "Oh, before I go, do you mind if I take a picture of you guys? To commemorate your first official mission."

"Of course!" Ruby immediately replied before bunching her team together as Velvet took out her antique-looking camera.

"Say 'cheese'! Perfect! I'll be sure to have a copy ready for you when you get back!"

"Thanks, Velvet!" Yang said with a smile.

"Any time. Stay safe, okay?" With one last wave, Velvet hurried off to rejoin her team.

With Velvet gone, Yang thumbed her nose as she turned to the rest of her team. "Well, the day's not getting any younger! Let's go!"

OoOoOoO

Team RWBY sat silently in an airship as it carried them toward their destination. Due to the specific nature of their mission, the bags that they had prepared had been left behind in favor of the one packed by Doctor Bartholemew Oobleck, the Huntsman they had been assigned to. This reveal had come as a bit of a shock to the girls due to the Doctor's eccentric nature and diminished build but their skepticism had been kept to themselves.

"Listen up, girls," Doctor Oobleck began. "Our dear headmaster likely described this mission to you as being search-and-destroy but it is so much more than that! Our primary objective is not an eradication of Grimm in the area but more of a survey! Due to the relative proximity of Mountain Glenn to the City of Vale, the number of Grimm in that area is invaluable data for us. Now, can any of you tell me what that is?"

"If there are a large number of Grimm there, that might be an indication that the people of Vale are uneasy," Weiss answered.

"Precisely! Very good, Weiss! As such, our mission is two-fold: Obtain a rough estimate of the number of Grimm in the area and eradicate as many of them as possible!"

"So that way, if there's a major accident or disaster that causes people to feel a lot of negative emotions, the number of Grimm able to make it to the city will be less," Blake postured.

"Exactly right! Our mission is one of utmost importance as a preventative measure!"

"I'm honestly surprised that they assigned you to this mission, Doc. No offense but you don't seem like much of a fighter," Yang said, much to the shock of her teammates.

"None taken. I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual but I assure you that I am more than capable in combat. Besides, due to the nature of our mission, my particular set of skills will be necessary," Oobleck said amicably.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Simply put, when it comes to matters of history and archeology, I am perhaps the most talented Huntsman in our academy. I didn't spend all of those years earning a Ph.D. for nothing, after all. On this mission, that knowledge combined with my analytical skills will be needed in order to determine how much of the Grimm population might be the result of the emotional state of the people of Vale."

"How can history help with that?" Weiss asked.

"Emotions are very powerful things, Weiss, and negative emotions can be even more so. In areas where a great tragedy that resulted in a significant loss of life has occurred, it is not unknown for that area to be tainted by the overwhelming concentration of negative emotions. To put it another way, that area effectively becomes cursed. The Grimm, as you all know, feed off of negative emotions and, as such, are naturally attracted to such areas. While the entirety of Mountain Glenn was the site of a great tragedy, certain areas were worse than others."

At this, the entirety of Team RWBY fell into a grim silence as they contemplated this, Blake in particular looking almost pained. The idea of curses seemed almost ludicrous to all but Blake, who had experienced such a thing firsthand, but the doctor's words carried an air of deadly seriousness to them. The mission that they currently found themselves on was far different from anything they had done before and that was without taking the possibility of the White Fang's presence into consideration.

Not for the last time, all four girls wondered if they were truly prepared for what they were getting themselves into.

OoOoOoO

Team RWBY disembarked from the hovering airship, weapons at the ready, with Doctor Oobleck half a step behind, thermos at the ready. It was difficult to tell in its current state of destruction but the place they were currently located had once been Mountain Glenn's main thoroughfare according to the map that the good doctor had shared with them. Indeed, a more detailed examination of their surroundings revealed the remains of ruined signs advertising numerous shops and there was evidence to suggest that one of the nearby buildings had been some sort of mall.

"Ladies!" Doctor Oobleck barked as the airship pulled away. "You still may be students but, as of this moment, your first mission as Huntresses has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?"

After stating her confirmation along with the others, Blake asked, "What are your orders, Doctor?"

"Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it! For the time being, we simply need to locate any large groups of Grimm and destroy them while keeping track of how many we've encountered."

"Sounds pretty simple," Yang commented as she continued to scan the area.

"Most missions tend to be simple in theory. In practice, however—"

"Target sighted!" Yang interrupted as a lone Beowolf rounded a corner further down the road. She and her team got ready to spring into action when Doctor Oobleck spoke up.

"Stop!"

"Huh?" Blake asked in confusion.

"A lone Grimm does us no good. We're after entire packs, not single specimens."

"So… what now?" Ruby asked.

"We wait. We track. This specimen should lead us to the pack."

"How long will we wait?" Blake asked.

"It's uncertain. However, given the size of the city, it shouldn't take longer than a single day. In fact, here comes the rest of the pack now and it appears that they've spotted us."

Doctor Oobleck's words rang true as five more Beowolves followed the first before charging straight toward the group. Team RWBY tensed up once more, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice, as Yang asked, "What's the plan now?"

Doctor Oobleck took a sip from his thermos before simply saying, "Show me what you're capable of."

"Let's go, team!" Ruby shouted as she took off, the others not even half a step behind her.

OoOoOoO

A few hours and numerous battles later, Team RWBY found themselves panting slightly as they came off of yet another battle with the creatures of Grimm. "Did anyone else feel that tremor earlier?" Weiss asked as she sheathed Myrtenaster.

"I didn't feel a tremor but I did feel something weird. It felt like when you stand too close to lightning Dust being used," Ruby said.

"I didn't feel anything like that but I did feel a tremor," Blake said. "I wonder what it could have been."

"The buildings in this area are highly unstable. It's entirely likely that the tremors you experienced were the results of one of them collapsing," Doctor Oobleck stated.

A slightly annoyed Yang approached the group, "Hey, Doc, y'know, I was actually looking forward to seeing a 'pro Huntsman' in action. Like, fighting or at least helping us fight?"

"Ah, but I am in action!" Doctor Oobleck corrected, not bothered by Yang's tone. "I am scouring this city for any signs of irregularity! You all are fully capable of handling the Grimm at this moment and you'll get a lot more out of fighting them yourself than you will by seeing me fight them.

"Not every mission is filled with daring and heroism, girls. Sometimes it's just a heightened form of extermination!" Seeing Yang's reluctant expression, Doctor Oobleck added, "Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that."

"Well, yeah…" Yang said somewhat reluctantly before trying to force more enthusiasm, "O-of course!"

Doctor Oobleck merely hummed in questioning acknowledgment as they continued onward.

OoOoOoO

"Tell me, Yang: Why did you choose this line of work?" Doctor Oobleck asked as Yang slid to a stop after another exchange with the Grimm. A bit further away, the rest of her team was dealing with the stragglers.

"Huh?" Yang looked back at him before answering, "Well, to fight monsters and save—"

"No, that is what you do ," Doctor Oobleck said, cutting her off. "I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a Huntress."

"The honest reason?" Yang said to herself as she considered her answer. "I'm a thrill-seeker. I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win, y'know?"

"I see," Doctor Oobleck said before making his way toward the rest of the group.

OoOoOoO

"And you, Miss Schnee? A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn't need the extra work. So... why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?" Doctor Oobleck asked Weiss from where he was sitting writing in his journal on a windowsill while the latter finished impaling a creature of Grimm with her blade. It had been some time since the good doctor had questioned Yang as to her motivations so the way he chose to start the conversation confused the heiress.

"It's exactly as you said: I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty," Weiss said automatically with practiced ease.

Doctor Oobleck simply nodded with an "Interesting" as he continued to write in his journal as a somewhat self-conscious Weiss rejoined her team.

OoOoOoO

Blake slashed down the remains of a door before immediately falling onto her back and letting loose a hail of bullets at the flock of Nevermore that flew out.

"And what about you, Blake?" Doctor Oobleck asked as he examined the inside of the room and Blake flipped back up to her feet. "You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose."

Despite his odd start, Blake wasn't thrown off by the question, having expected it thanks to her teammates. "There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality, corruption... Someone has to stop it," she said resolutely.

"Very well. How?" Doctor Oobleck asked as he gave her a pointed look through his opaque glasses.

Almost immediately, Blake's black bow twitched as her cat ears drooped, the question bringing her up short. "I… Uh…" Before she could formulate a response, the good doctor hummed in acknowledgement before taking off, leaving a troubled Blake in his wake.

OoOoOoO

Hours later, Ruby Rose sat on a ruined wall with her notebook in hand, absently doodling the scene before her as the setting sun bathed the ruined streets in shadows, the jagged edges of the partially collapsed buildings creating weird lines that, to the young leader, seemed to invoke the gaping maw of a hungry beast.

Hearing someone approach, Ruby looked up to see Doctor Oobleck. "Sorry!" she said as she hopped down and put her notebook and pen away in one of her pouches. "Are we ready to keep going?"

"Nope!" Doctor Oobleck said cheerfully. "I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon." He removed the large pack from his back and casually threw it Yang who caught it with an "Oomph!" "You three, set up camp in that building. Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those... creatures. Your leader and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby."

As the two started walking away, the remaining members of Team RWBY could only share a concerned look before carrying on with their assigned task.

Ruby and Doctor Oobleck remained silent as they walked down the street, Ruby's silver eyes constantly scanning the area for any indication of more Grimm. The young leader had to admit that her first official mission wasn't quite what she was expecting but she couldn't complain. She understood the importance of eradication missions and of the survey. This was the life she had chosen to live, the life that her parents had lived for a while, and she was excited to finally be having a taste of what that life was truly like.

Besides, she'd be lying if she said she hadn't been having a certain amount of fun fighting alongside her entire team. Outside of practice fights, this was only the third time she had gotten that chance and was the first where they were fighting regular Grimm. While she was still somewhat saddened by the fact that Shirou couldn't come with them, she couldn't complain.

As the duo rounded a corner, Ruby gasped at the sight that spread out before her. They had come to the edge of the city and thus had come to the remains of a low wall that blocked off a massive cliff. Some hundred or so feet down below, a copse of dead trees spread out in every direction across the rolling foothills of the region all the way toward the towering, snow-capped mountains that loomed in the distance. What had drawn her attention, however, had not been the view but rather the small group of truly massive Grimm marching through the woods a couple hundred yards away.

These creatures of Grimm were unlike any other that Ruby had seen before. To call them gargantuan would be an understatement. The trees in this area were at least three times the height of Ruby and those elephant-like monstrosities were twice again the size of the trees. Ruby estimated that their massive curved tusks, which were about the size of their heads, were longer than the fully transformed Crescent Rose and that the row of spike-like protrusions that ran down its spine were as long as she was tall.

"What is that? It looks awesome!" Ruby said in awe after a moment.

"That, my dear girl, is a Goliath," Doctor Oobleck answered.

Ruby stared at the lumbering creature for a moment longer before pulling out Crescent Rose in its expanded form, "Let's kill it."

"I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size," Doctor Oobleck said with a hint of amusement.

"But… what if they attack us?" Ruby asked, legitimately concerned.

"Fret not, Ruby; those Goliaths are not concerned with us. Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless, or rather not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm change over time; they evolve as they live longer and feast on more negative emotions. As they evolve, they begin to do something that is most dangerous: they learn . They learn that when they attack our borders, they're likely to die and what we lack in strength, we make up for in will and that killing one human will only bring more."

As Doctor Oobleck spoke, the lead Goliath turned its head to face their general direction and Ruby could have sworn that it was looking directly at her. "Then why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?" she asked.

Doctor Oobleck remained silent for a moment more as he observed the Grimm move its head back and resume walking. "Waiting." A moment more passed before Doctor Oobleck turned around and started walking away as Ruby put away her weapon but didn't move otherwise.

"Doctor Oobleck?" Ruby called out.

"Hmm?"

"I was wondering…"

Doctor Oobleck stopped walking and turned around to face his student, "Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?"

Ruby turned around to face him as well, "A-Actually, I was wondering... Why did you want to become a Huntsman?"

Doctor Oobleck paused for a moment before answering, "Look around and tell me what you see."

Ruby did as instructed, "Lots of old buildings, uh, empty streets…"

"I see lives that could have been saved," Doctor Oobleck said before turning around and continuing on his way, Ruby following after. "As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it in the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland and I see lives that could have been saved but I also see an opportunity; an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy and therefore become stronger." Doctor Oobleck stopped and looked at the awed Ruby with a gentle smile on his face, "I am a Huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be."

OoOoOoO

Blake, Weiss, and Yang all sat huddled around a fire on the second floor of a ruined building, a massive hole in the wall giving a good vantage point on the sprawling streets below.

"I can't believe we didn't find anything ," Yang complained as she held her hands out toward the fire. Going on a mission like this during the winter was the worst.

"We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side," Blake said.

"That's not what I meant," Weiss said suddenly, apropos of nothing.

"Huh?" Blake asked with a tilt of her head.

"Earlier, about... upholding the legacy. There's more to it than that," Weiss clarified.

"Yeah... No, me too. I mean... I don't know," Yang said as her eyes scanned her thoughts.

"I don't know, either," Blake agreed. "I know what I want to do but I figured I'd always take things one step at a time."

"Well, it doesn't matter," Yang said as she attempted to wave off her concerns. " We know why we're here. Right?" Despite her feigned enthusiasm, the others said nothing as they all stared morosely into the fire.

Until Doctor Oobleck came bursting into the room, anyway. "Ah, wonderful; a textbook campfire!" he said as he examined their handiwork.

"Fire!" Ruby called out as she zipped over to it, a trail of rose petals left in her wake. "So… warm…" she said as she scooted as close as she safely could to it and held out her hands.

"Very good!" Doctor Oobleck said. "Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for the first watch?"

Ruby casually raised her hand, "Yo." Acknowledging her decision, Doctor Oobleck rushed off as Ruby stood and stretched for a moment before making her way toward the hole in the wall.

"Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress? I mean... what did you tell him?" Yang asked her sister as she passed by.

Ruby hummed in thought for a moment before answering, "No, he didn't. Weird. Oh well. Good night, guys!"

As Ruby cheerfully started her watch, the other members of her team shared a worried look before half-heartedly eating their dinner and turning in.

OoOoOoO

Later that night, about an hour into her watch, Ruby stared through the scope of her weapon at a lone Beowolf, her finger resting on the trigger. She almost pulled it, knowing that it'd only take one shot right to its head to take it down, but decided against it, sighing as she put her weapon away.

She really couldn't complain since she had volunteered and it needed to be done but keeping watch was easily the most boring part of this whole experience. All she had to do was make sure there weren't a lot of Grimm heading their way. However, because that task required her to pay attention to her surroundings, that meant that the only thing she could do to pass the time was think about things which is something she didn't tend to do too deeply.

Still, with nothing else to do, Ruby thought about the day so far. Everything had been pretty much fine but one thing that bothered her was that weird electric tingling she felt when the others felt that tremor. She didn't bring it up after then but she felt it a few more times throughout the day, once before another tremor and the rest without. She had no idea what it was but the others didn't bring it up so she chose to ignore it at the time.

Now that she had time to think, however, Ruby realized that she had felt something like it before. She had a similar feeling when Shirou had created that giant rock sword thing to use against Roman and his Paladin. Come to think of it, she felt something similar whenever he created his twin swords as well but that had been a lot weaker. She never commented on it as she had usually been too busy with other things at the time but it was really strange now that she thought about it. She didn't feel anything whenever the others used their Semblances so why was Shirou different?

Unable to come up with an answer on her own, Ruby resolved herself to ask Shirou about it when she saw him again and shifted her focus back to her watch right as she heard Yang speak up from near the campfire.

"Blake, are you awake?" Yang asked as she looked over at her partner.

"Yeah," Blake replied.

"Why do you think he asked us about being a Huntress? Like, what was he trying to say?" she asked.

"Maybe he was just curious," Blake replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"You think?"

"No."

"Weiss, you awake?"

"Of course I'm awake!" Weiss snapped as she leveled a glare at the blonde. "You two are talking. And I think he... When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it. But, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid. I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a... moral gray area."

"That's putting it lightly," Blake said wryly.

Weiss ignored her and carried on, "Which is why I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name and I refuse to let him be the end of it."

Blake decided to speak next, "All my life, I fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner named Adam. More of a mentor, actually. He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be not perfect for everyone. I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsmen and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy, what will I— How can I undo so many years of hate?"

"I'm sure you'd figure it out," Yang said encouragingly. "You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake."

"But I am!" Blake nearly shouted as she shot up to look at her partner. "I do it all the time! When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran! When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my Semblance! I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself; an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away!"

Yang sat up as well, "At least you two have something that drives you. I've just kinda of always gone with the flow, y'know? And that's fine, I mean, that's who I am. But how long can I really do that for? I wanna be a Huntress not really because I want to be a hero but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won't know what tomorrow will bring. And that'll be a good thing. Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that. I'm not like Ruby, she's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she'd dreamt about being the heroes in the books. Helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she knew that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get where she is today."

Weiss decided to sit up, too, not wanting to feel left out. "Well, she's still just a kid," she pointed out.

"She's only two years younger. We're all kids," Blake countered.

"Well, not anymore," Yang said. "I mean, look where we are! In the middle of a warzone and armed to the teeth!"

"It's the life we chose," Blake pointed out.

"It's a job," Weiss continued. "We all had this romanticized vision of being a Huntress in our heads! But at the end of the day, it's a job to protect the people! And whatever we want will have to come second."

As they all agreed to Weiss' words and made the effort to turn in, Doctor Oobleck, from where he sat leaning against the wall on the floor above by the hole, smiled to himself.

OoOoOoO

Later still, partway through Yang's watch, Ruby's eyes suddenly snapped open as she once again felt that tingle run through her body, stronger than ever before. Suddenly wide awake, she looked around at the sleeping forms of Weiss and Blake before looking at Yang, who was still absently keeping watch. After a moment's thought, she grabbed her weapon and made her way outside, determined to try and find out what that sensation was.

After a few minutes of walking, Ruby suddenly stopped as the rubble she was walking on gave way and she heard something that she absolutely didn't expect.

"What was that?" an unknown male voice said from somewhere nearby. Acting quickly, Ruby readied her weapon and hid by the corner of the nearby building.

"What was what?" another voice asked. Ruby could tell that they were close, likely somewhere beyond the corner she was hiding behind.

"Thought I heard something fall. Probably just part of the building crumbling."

The other man harrumphed before saying, "Let's just finish our patrol and get back to base. This place gives me the creeps."

Using her free hand, Ruby pulled out her Scroll and activated its inward-facing camera before carefully sticking it past the corner. She could see two men wearing White Fang uniforms walking away. Having finally found their target, Ruby carefully and quietly tailed them for a few blocks before watching through her camera as they entered into a metal double-door.

"Oh! This is it! This is it!" Ruby said excitedly once the coast was clear. She quickly switched from her camera app to her phone app but groaned when she saw that she had no signal. "I've got to tell the others!" she said resolutely before starting on her way back.

Not too long after she started back, however, Ruby shivered as she felt another, even stronger tingle run through her body followed immediately by a powerful tremor. The ground soon gave way under her feet and it was only thanks to her heightened reflexes and keen instincts that she managed to grab onto the edge of the sinkhole she now found herself dangling over. She looked down the seemingly bottomless pit below her before gulping and tossing Crescent Rose up to safer ground. Just as she started to pull herself up, however, the ledge she was holding on to gave way and Ruby screamed as she was sent plummeting into the darkness below.

Acting quickly, Ruby flipped herself over and went spread eagle to slow her descent as she scanned her surroundings. Spotting what looked like a building jutting out of the wall, she angled herself toward it and tucked herself into a roll as she hit the roof, grunting as the force of the impact threw her out of it. She shook her head to clear it before slowly pulling herself into a crouch just as a nearby door burst open.

"Freeze!" one member of the White Fang said as another, bespectacled one followed after.

"Where'd she come from?" the bespectacled one asked as the other one came closer. Ruby let herself act dazed as she slowly rose to her feet but, once the guard was close enough, she quickly launched herself towards him and jumped, twisting around in midair so she could wrap her legs around his neck in a headscissors. As he was stunned, she twisted around him and jerked her legs closer, taking the guard off of his feet and sending them both to the ground.

Recovering quickly, Ruby got up and charged at the other guard, redirecting his panicked right jab with her hand while sidestepping it and grabbing his extended arm by the wrist before sending a palm strike into his right shoulder. As he screamed out in pain, Ruby swept his legs out from under him while maintaining her hold on his arm, the result being that his arm was now twisted painfully behind him. With a foot on the man's shoulder, Ruby gave his arm a solid twisting jerk, dislocating the joint completely and causing the man to pass out from the pain.

Letting go of the man's arm, Ruby saw the first guard charging toward her. With a burst of speed, Ruby dropped to her back and let the man charge stomach first into her feet before using his momentum to toss him over the side of the building and screaming into the abyss below.

Now out of danger, Ruby took stock of her situation. Climbing back out wasn't an option as the hole she fell from was good seventy feet above her. Similarly, calling for help was still out as she still had no signal. With no way out and no way to get help, Ruby turned toward the door the guards had come from and swallowed thickly before walking through.

OoOoOoO

Yang stretched as she rose from her spot, grateful that her watch was over. She couldn't even imagine how Ruby had managed it given how hyperactive her little sister was. As it stood, she had actually zoned out for a minute there. Still, nothing bad had happened so it was all good. No one needed to know.

"Hey, Weiss, it's your tur—" Yang's voice caught in her throat when she saw that a very important someone was missing. "Ruby? Hey, where's Ruby?" Yang asked, panic starting to rise up in her.

"What?" Doctor Oobleck asked as he jumped down from where he had been staying. At this commotion, the others started to stir as well.

"Ruby's gone," Yang said evenly. Despite her tone, her face had gone completely pale and her eyes were as wide as saucers. Blake and Weiss were instantly alert and on their feet, Blake rushing over to lay a comforting hand on Yang while Weiss whipped out her Scroll.

"No good," Weiss said with a growl. "It went straight to voicemail."

"I saw her step out a few minutes ago," Doctor Oobleck said. "I had assumed that she had gone to relieve herself and came back while I was preoccupied."

"We need to find her. Now," Yang said resolutely, her eyes flashing red.

"Right you are. Grab your weapons, girls! Your mission has from search-and-destroy and search-and-rescue. Your leader did not pass by the road in front of the building so that drastically narrows down our search area. Let's move!"

A few minutes later, the remainder of Team RWBY along with Doctor Oobleck were standing over a large hole in the road, Crescent Rose laying beside it.

"Ruby's scythe!" Yang cried out as she grabbed it.

"Oh no," Blake said morosely as her bow twitched.

"Do you think she fell?" Weiss asked as she peered down the hole into the darkness within.

"Girls, there's something I must tell you," Doctor Oobleck said, his expression one of deadly seriousness. When he had their attention, he continued, "Our mission had additional parameters that I kept secret from you. Mountain Glenn is not just a Grimm hotspot, it is also the location of a White Fang outpost."

"What‽" Blake cried out in disbelief.

"You mean the White Fang are here ‽ Why didn't you tell us‽" Yang shouted.

Doctor Oobleck ignored the outbursts and carried on, "Our secondary objective was to provide support to the operative in charge of their eradication should he require it. Since there were no signs of his activity on the surface, I can only conclude that the White Fang are hidden in the undercity."

"Who's this operative they sent?" Weiss asked.

"It's someone you know quite well. The operative tasked with the eradication of the White Fang in this area was none other than Emiya Shirou."

"WHAT‽" all three of them exploded.

"How could you send Shirou to handle this by himself‽" Blake asked.

"Yeah, Shirou's good but he's not that good! We could have been helping him!" Yang exclaimed.

"I assure you that Shirou's capabilities far exceed that which he lets on. Even without Professor Ozpin telling me as much, it was obvious from my observations of him. Those tremors we experienced throughout the day are likely signs of his activities.

"My point is, ladies, that it is impossible for me to determine if Shirou has exterminated the White Fang in this specific area or not. It is entirely possible that Ruby is now in enemy territory by herself without her weapon."

"Then we need to get down there right now!" Yang said with fervor.

"Precisely. Ladies," Doctor Oobleck held out his thermos as it elongated into a shape more befitting a club, "follow me."

A/N: After reading some reviews and thinking about it a bit, I have to agree that Penny's creation still isn't basically the Third Magic. It's getting awfully close, though. However, I stand by what I said about Archer. While his performance against Berserker seems good, it's not when you take everything into consideration. Specifically how Archer is the perfect counter to Berserker. Archer is an archer up against someone who can only fight from melee and UBW makes God Hand a minor annoyance at worst. He also has access to at least one weapon capable of taking seven of Berserker's in one attack (Shirou could use that attack on his own as seen in his "fight" against Gilgamesh and thus so could Archer). Yet, despite his overwhelming advantage, he still lost. The only conclusion is that Archer is a garbage Servant since Rin is a fantastic Master (Nasu has stated that she would handily win the HGW if she had summoned Saber instead).

Another pretty same-y chapter but there wasn't a lot I could do here and I did everything I could. I changed some things up to make more sense (Why does Oobleck know about the White Fang being there and why do none of Team RWBY find that suspicious?) and a few more things to account for a certain someone's absense but that was pretty much it. The reasons the others have for being Hunters haven't changed and thus all related conversations wouldn't really change. There's only so much I can do if I want to keep the changes logical and not changing them for the sake of changing them. I also tweaked Oobleck's dialogue in a few places to keep his general level of intelligence.

Speaking of that certain someone, I have removed Zwei from this volume. I fully expect to receive complaints about that but he adds absolutely nothing of value and would only make this chapter be even more same-y. He still exists and will be making appearances if we ever check in at the Xiao Long household but that's it. Seeing as how he vanishes after V2 and isn't seen again until V4, this change felt reasonable. It also makes Oobleck less of an idiot since he apparently didn't notice Ruby's large backpack until after the flight to Mountain Glenn.

Anyway, next chapter is the Volume 2 finale and it's jam-packed with all the everything. I hope you look forward to it and I'll see you next week! Oh, but have the last omake of the volume before you go:

Omake 8

Trust

During V2C12

General James Ironwood sighed deeply as he stared out at the City of Vale from Beacon's airship port. The lights of the city twinkled like stars as Atlesian airships hovered protectively above. It was a glorious sight that signified the unity the two great nations had and James took great pride in this fact but the sight also left him feeling uneasy. The fact that the ships were here under these circumstances was a sign of how desperate things had become. Instead of a show of strength and unity as everyone rallied together to defeat Salem, it was instead a not-so-subtle attempt by James to basically strongarm Ozpin into actually taking action.

"Trouble sleeping?" a familiar voice called out from behind. James turned slightly to see Glynda Goodwitch approaching him.

"Arm was acting up," James said as he gripped his left bicep.

"Of course, so logically, you got out of bed, dressed yourself completely and decided to gaze menacingly out into the distance," Glydna said wryly as she came to stand by his side. "What's wrong?" she asked with a concerned look.

James gave Glynda a long look before speaking, "I've trusted him for years. We both have. I just… I can't help but feel like he's keeping us in the dark."

"Don't be ridiculous! You know very well that we are not the ones in the dark," came Glynda's immediate retort.

"Can you be sure of that? Ozpin has been doing a lot of things that make no sense and, whenever asked, he just gives vague answers. I just refuse to believe that a man that I've trusted for so long would act so… passively."

Glynda put a reassuring hand on James' shoulder before saying, "You're a good person, James. You've always done what you think is best for the people, even against strong protest. It's admirable. But it's high time you stopped talking about trust and started showing it." She dropped her hand and joined James in looking out over the city lights. She was quiet for a moment longer before saying, "Ozpin has experience that the rest of us lack. And I think that's something worth remembering."