The crickets chirped softly as Beacon Academy, the birds and other wildlife slumbered for the night. It appeared that all the students and faculty were asleep too, or at home, but one window in the office area was slightly illuminated from the inside. Inside the office, pulled up on a computer screen, was an email with the subject line: Recent Revelations Betray Late Archeological Findings.
2 Years Earlier...
Teotihuacan, 30 miles North of Mexico City, 0730 hours
The early morning sun reveals what appears to be the remnants of an ancient ruined city, complete with brick streets, and step pyramids. Nearby structures are randomly spotted with moss and decorated naturally with other vegetation. "We've found it!" one man in his 30's excitedly turns to another, who is still transfixed on a monitor. "Will the robot be able to make the turn?"
"Of course it will!" Replied the jubilant one.
They continue to watch as the second man steers an remote controlled robot deep inside the giant pyramid. A beam of light from atop the robot splashes over the strange curvy subteranean structure, but quickly freezes in place to reveal what they were looking at: yellow stonelike spheres.
The view now changes to show the spheres changing hands, men in a line, forming a chain to pass down until all the spheres are counted and stacked inside one truck at a time.
Reaching it's final destination, one of the spheres is carried by a white male wearing a labcoat through the corridors of a modern concrete and metal complex. He uses an id hanging from his coat to open a door, and passes through. It's a dark labratory with a table in the middle surrounded by strange electronic instruments.
"First observations are that this sphere seems coated in either oxidized metal, or perhaps unknown dust from inside the temple excavation site." He speeks into a mp3 recorder, then sets them both down. The sphere is now obviously balanced somewhat on the tabletop, one end appears to taper upwards slightly. It appears more like an egg now from this angle than a sphere.
As his gloved hand releases the sphere the clatter of something brittle sounding catches his attention from the tabletop, instantly sending him into a frustrated state.
"D-_-_!" He fumes rather loudly noticing a small two or three inch section from the sphere has broken away and lies on the table beside it.
Snatching up the mp3 recorder, "Dangit, I mean... A small section just fell away from the sphere, but it's not too deep thankfully. I guess we'll find out what the interior of this thing looks like sooner than later. By the way, it is a creamy er-uh, pearl or ivory white color inside. I'm starting to think this outer layer was just a coating to protect the inside. Maybe... maybe it's not even supposed to look like that naturally. It honestly reminds me of an egg for some reason."
The man tucks the mp3 recorder into his pocket and walks out of the room. However, on the table the outer yeloowy oxidized layer of the sphere continues to disentegrate, cracking, almost melting away. The tapered top of the sphere violently shakes and erupts, strewing debris across the table and floor. A shrill screech emerges from inside what is now obviously an egg.
The view now returns back to the present, of the email on an computer monitor which concludes the last of the letter and pictures of gore:
"The insueing chaos from isolated massacres was nearly impossible to keep hush hush. There still are some posts in blogs, and forums on the deep web mostly on conspiracy sites, no doubt.
In conclusion, good headmaster, we request you're sending your most talented team to inspect this new pyramid, not yet publicly reported, in Antartica with our team of scientists. We appreciate your usual discreetness in this matter, and professionalism. On behalf of the DHS we will guaruntee an $30MM endowment to your institution split up among several anonymous donors."
Headmaster Ozpin couldn't help but smile at the challange for the team he had in mind, and also for what could be done with the large donation too, of course. "Note to self, brief team NOT to touch eggs." he said out loud as he wrote and laughed.
The next day Team RWBY found themselves in the headmaster's office standing lined up in front of his desk. Shifting back and forth nervously.
Each of them wondering which one had gotten them all in trouble, and for what exactly.
Prof Ozpin lay down a paper on his desk, interlaced his fingers and looked up. "Refresh my memory. Do we list survival training for arctic conditions as a requirement for students?"
"I don't think so," was the general reply, as they looked to one another for the answer.
Ozpin hit the intercom button to his executive assistant. "Donna, add 'arctic survival' to our list or requirements."
"Yes sir," replied a voice sounding like it had came through a can over the intercom.
"On second thought, add desert training, jungle, sea, We might should even do joint training with NASA just in case." The headmaster thought out loud.
"Yes sir." *click*
"Anyway, girls, a very generous donor notified me that they would be more than happy to make a contribution to our humble establishment if we could just send a team to..."
"The beach!" Ruby interjected.
"No."
"the mountains!" Weiss asked.
"Nope."
"An amusement park?" Blake asked.
"Antartica." Ozpin stated dryly.
"Oooh." They all sighed.
"Can we bring a penguin home?" Yang asked.
"Yes-I mean no! No penguins here."
"Aahhww!" they all groaned.
"It'll count for extra credit." Ozpin grinned wolfishly. "And besides, I'll fail you if you don't. Aheh!"
They all nodded in quiet sour faced assent.
"All you have to do is protect the scientists if you can, but mostly keep from freezing. Oh, and don't touch the eggs. Whatever you do don't touch the eggs."
The next thing team RWBY knew they were all on a ship headed for antartica. There wasn't much to do onboard. Much of the day was obsessing over trivial things, or going over their plans, once again with the scientist.
Basically, they were there as security, chaperoneing a group of phd types as they measured the pyramid with their instruments and made observations.
"Glad I double layered my undershorts." Yang scoffed staring out a porthole at the water and listening to the icy wind outside.
Ruby, Weiss, and some of the scientists were sitting around a table at a card game. A tv rambled on in the background.
"Would anyone like hot coacoa?" Blake asked as she walked in.
They had been a few days at sea now, and as they continued further south hot coa coa was the go -to fix for coldness.
She poured hot water from a pot into their styrefoam cups.
A few hours later an announcement broke over the ship intercom. "Attention everyone. This is the captain speaking. I think you'll be glad to hear we've spotted your destination. Thank you for sailing Chuckabo Cruise Line." He joked and abruptly hung up.
Everyone excitedly popped up from their chairs and hastily covered themselves with their jackets to go outside and try to see what they could.
"Watch out. You don't want to fall over the side." One of them said as they all looked over the rail, stepping across ice and snow on the deck.
It was only a few hours before dark. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow to make landfall." Another of the scientists said.
As they all stared out in admiration of the natural beauty, none of them noticed or care about the hunter's moon, hanging low, in the night sky above them like a giant pizza cutter.
Ok, that last part was just a joke.