It had been a long journey, even by airship. Weiss sat with her ankles crossed primly, watching the view. She was a picture of grace and frozen beauty. She was regal. She was fierce. She was ignoring the racket as best as she could.
"I can't sit still anymore!" Ruby complained, flopping onto the floor of the airship. "Are we there yet?"
"We've barely even made it as far as it would be to go home to Patch." Yang pointed out, a bit hypocritically. She had been tapping her foot constantly, and it had really been starting to get on Weiss' nerves.
Blake's black bow twitched as her cat ears moved towards the sudden sound of Ruby's impact on the hard floor. Ruby groaned. "Exactly. We aren't going to Patch." She whined.
Yang couldn't help but nod. She glanced around at the group. "Yeah, what does it matter if there's a rising number of Grimm in some destroyed village on an empty island? Shouldn't we be protecting places where there are, you know, people to protect?"
Blake closed her book with a snap. Her yellow eyes narrowed. "Anywhere where there are Grimm is worth checking out." She said. Her voice contained a hint of a hiss.
Weiss couldn't take it anymore. She uncrossed her ankles and planted her boots on the cold floor, feeling a rant bubbling in her throat. "Yes. It could be a hideout. There could be survivors. It could be breeding giant Grimm that will fly over the mountain and gobble up super annoying girls who don't care about protecting all of Vale. It isn't just the areas inside the kingdom that matter. It's our whole continent and the whole world. Don't you care, Ruby? I thought you wanted to be a huntress. I thought-"
"We get it, we get it!" Groaned Yang. She flopped against the wall. Ruby banged her head onto the floor, where it looked like she would be for a while.
"Excellent. Now, let's have a nice remainder of our trip." Weiss smoothed her skirt and crossed her ankles again. She smiled as she looked out the window. "To our west, You can see a dense forest. It would be teeming with Grimm, but, being so close to Beacon, I'll bet it's been cleared recently. Same goes for that swamp that you can see to the east, Yang. Now, ahead, there is Condie Petie, village of fascinating lore and customs. I've always wanted to visit but Father said it was far too unsophisticated for even faunus to paw around in."
She paused, tilting her head. "That was a rude sort of thing for him to say, actually."
"Weiss, if I met your father in a dark alley…" Blake began.
"What?"
"Nothing." She said a bit more loudly, suddenly busy in her book again.
Weiss went back to her tour guide voice. "Now, past Condie Petie, there is a mountain range that separates an ancient tree from the rest of the continent. We are going to fly just east of the mountain and then we will be-"
"-at the wasteland teeming with Grimm. Hooray."
"Why are you all so whiney?" Weiss huffed. "It's a mission. It's been a while. And we don't even have to shadow a huntsmen!"
Weiss had been surprised, but pleased when Ozpin suggested that the girls take on this mission. Many of the other teams still needed an escort. She didn't want to be babysat. Her team was capable, mostly thanks to her skill and dedication. She frowned, mid-thought, and acquiesced that it was also due to Ruby's leadership, Yang's fiery decision-making (her fists), and Blake's watchful eyes and sharp ears.
"JNPR's mission seemed cooler." Ruby said, lifting her head and trying to sound sad. Weiss curled her lip in response.
"They get to go to the front lines!" Yang jumped off her bench, fired up. "They get to pound Grimm and investigate a known enemy hideout!"
"Glynda is also there to hold their hands." Blake remarked. Weiss grinned at her. At least she had an ally.
"I doubt anyone is gonna hold Nora's hand." Ruby said.
"Except Ren." Yang quipped.
"Let's just make the best of this,okay?" Weiss said with a sigh.
Even Weiss was disappointed when she saw the village.
"This is it?" She cried, leaning against the window of the airship as it drifted around the ruins, the pilot searching for a place to land.
"Told ya." Yang muttered.
"This is an outrage! This mission is for kids!" Weiss stomped a heeled foot.
"Looks can be deceiving." Blake stood and approached the window, her ears pricked. "It looks innocent enough now, but those are vast ruins. She glanced over her shoulder. "Behind us, there is a forest too. We have no idea how long this place has been left unchecked, or what will happen after dark."
Even Ruby seemed heartened by this. She sprang to her feet. "There could be secret hideouts! There could be an ARMY OF GRIMM!" Her hands hovered near Crescent Rose.
Weiss glared at her, her hands on her hips. "Hey, didn't I say the same thing earlier?"
Ruby smiled at her, wide-eyed and fake innocent.
"Hey driver, land this thing!" Yang called out. She loaded her Ember Celica. "Let's get those Grimm!"
They scrambled to grab their equipment as the airship lost altitude and made contact with the bone-dry terrain. The girls stumbled a bit with the shock of the landing. Weiss immediately fluffed her skirt and tossed her hair before she reached for her equipment again. She was not so clumsy and unrefined as to fall from that small impact. She was…
"OW!" Ruby rubbed her butt as she was helped up by an expressionless Blake. "What a landing!"
Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Ladies," The pilot addressed them. "I'll be waiting here for your return. If you aren't back by nightfall tomorrow, I will have to call reinforcements."
"We'll be in touch!" Ruby called with a friendly wave.
Weiss slashed Myrtenaster through the empty air, rotating the dust to select ice. The dry island looked like any hint of fire would lead to disaster. "36 hours."
"Let's do this!" Yang hit her fists together.
"Madain Sari, here we come!"
The girls charged through the opening door, eager despite all previous whining. It had been quite a while since they had a mission.
The airship had docked a decent distance from the village, which sat on the coast of the island. It was slightly raised, or else Weiss was sure it would have fallen into the ocean by now. As they ran through the plains, she racked her brains, wondering why she had never heard of this village. She had studied Vale extensively before attending Beacon. She had studied not only the kingdom, but the entire continent. It seemed odd that she had never heard of it.
The girls were on alert as they leapt through the plains, Ruby taking the lead. The sun had risen an hour or so before and was climbing in the sky. Weiss glanced around, alert for Grimm. Blake's ears twitched.
They were all shocked when they reached the edge of the ruins with no sign of Grimm.
"Uh, this has been a quiet mission so far." Yang remarked, looking around with an eyebrow raised.
"So much for hordes of Grimm." Ruby's shoulders fell.
"They could still be inside." Blake drew her Gambol Shroud. "Be on guard."
Weiss looked at Ruby. "I could take the lead if you don't feel up to it." She said, a bit snarky.
"No way!" She straightened, and charged forward. The other three chased, with Yang laughing at her competitive little sister.
She came to a halt just inside the ruins. Piles of rubble twice as tall as them towered on either side. To their right, They resembled a building. To the left, they didn't resemble anything besides destruction. The air was still and full of dread, despite the bright sunlight and the nearby crash of waves.
Weiss shivered. "What in Remnant happened here?" She asked.
"You mean, our straight A student doesn't know something about history?" Yang asked, mocking.
Weiss' face flushed. She was about to defend herself when Blake cut her off.
"Actually, I haven't heard of it, either." She said. Weiss tucked a stray hair behind her ear, regaining her composure.
Ruby and Yang looked surprised that their well-read friend didn't know. A moment later, Ruby shuffled her feet, glancing around anxiously. "Does something feel… I dunno… off here?" She asked.
The group nodded, tightening their grip on their weapons.
"Let's get this over with." Blake stepped forward. The group followed her lead, even Ruby falling behind. They trailed past the dusty brown bricks, piled haphazardly. Ruby tripped over several, muttering under her breath.
They stopped at a cracked fountain in an area that looked like it might have once been a nice courtyard. There were several narrow paths through the debris. The fountain was still running. Weiss' eyes narrowed.
"Is it just me," she began. "Or does it look like someone organized these paths?"
"They're not natural." Blake agreed, having seen many villages destroyed by Grimm.
"And the fountain is still running." Ruby observed. She stepped a bit closer and squinted. "The water looks clean."
"The question is, who moved these paths, and who is maintaining the fountain?"
They looked at each other, feeling more and more like this mission was about to get interesting.
"We'll attract less attention if we split up." Ruby said, authority back in her high voice. "Weiss, we're besties, so you'll go with me. Yang, Blake, you guys take the right path. If there's any trouble, contact us right away on your scroll."
Blake and Yang nodded and broke off from the group. Blake ran a tentative hand along some of the more secure rubble and leapt up, scanning the area ahead.
"We're not besties." Weiss muttered. Ruby pretended not to hear her as she investigated the fountain further. Suddenly, she reached in.
"Hey!" Weiss called. "That could be dangerous."
She stepped closer. Ruby was holding a shimmering coin.
"It's engraved." She said. "I can't read it."
"Probably because you don't study, Ruby. Illiteracy is no joke."
Ruby stared at her, eyes narrowed. "Weiss."
"Ruby."
There was a pause. The air was still and the heat was rising with the nearly midday sun.
"I meant, it looks like it's in another language."
Weiss turned away, rolling her eyes for show. She had actually enjoyed all of the group's banter today. It had broken the monotony of the trip. "Unless it grows teeth and starts attacking, I believe we have other things to worry about."
Ruby huffed, sticking the coin in her skirt pocket. Yang and Blake's footsteps had faded. "Fine, let's get moving."
"About time."
Ruby fell into step beside Weiss. They continued down the path, dust drifting up below their feet.
"I hope we don't find any people." Ruby said quietly. Weiss knew that she didn't mean live people. She meant bodies.
She glanced at her, determination in her eyes. "Whatever we find, we will be here to do whatever is right, even if that is to avenge."
Ruby nodded. Weiss' heels clicked on the cracked stone beneath their feet. It echoed a bit as they neared what appeared to be an opening in the debris. Their eyes squinted as they stepped out.
"I hear the ocean!" Ruby said, a bit loudly.
"Shh!" Hissed Weiss. The roar of the ocean was suddenly very loud, but something else had caught Weiss' attention. She had stuck her arm out in front of Ruby, who took a step back, reaching for Crescent Rose.
"What is it?" She whispered.
"Do you smell that?"
Ruby paused. Weiss' eyes darted around. Ruby's stomach growled loudly. "Uhh, it smells delicious."
"Ruby, I swear…" Weiss huffed, trailing off. "Is it normal to smell a delicious meal in the middle of abandoned ruins?"
"Um, maybe it's like a mirage? Except we smell it."
Ignoring her, Weiss stooped down and moved close to the edge of the bricks. At first, she thought she was just looking at more ruins. As she skirted the rounded edge, she saw a large, intact opening. She realized that the empty space she saw in the oddly curved stone was a window, and the opening was a large doorway.
"It's a house." Weiss said as Ruby crept up behind her, also stooping. "I have a feeling it isn't Grimm cooking us dinner."
"That would be so considerate." Ruby whispered.
"Well, leader? Are we going in?"
"Can you see in the window?"
Weiss slunk below the window and straightened, peering in. "I don't see anyone, but the smell if stronger in there. It looks like a really sad dining room."
"Let's go." Ruby and Weiss crept along the edge and stopped at the doorway. They nodded at each other, weapons at the ready.
Ruby peeked inside and waved Weiss in. The two slipped to the left side. There was a stone table in the center of the room. It was set for a meal, and nothing on it was dusty. There were shelves of ancient books lining the far wall. Ahead of the girls, farther to the left, there was another archway.
"The smell is coming from there." Ruby's voice had lowered even further. Weiss barely heard her. Weiss felt anticipation in her chest. She stepped closer, just behind Ruby. She started when she heard the click of a heel. Ruby's head snapped back at her and they both stared at each other with wide eyes.
"It wasn't me." Weiss hissed in a low tone. "I was being careful."
There was a clatter, and both girls jumped as the sound of heels clicked from the archway. They raised their weapons and took a fighting stance, unsure of what would come next.
"Who's there?" Came the high voice of what sounded like a little girl. Weiss raised an eyebrow at Ruby, who nodded. The two stepped out into the archway.
Against the backdrop of the ocean beyond the cliff stood a tiny girl. She was holding a flute, which Weiss immediately guessed was her weapon. She did not lower hers. Neither did the girl. The girl's hair was a strange shade of bluish purple. Her clothes were dusty and strange, and her green eyes were unearthly flames. Somehow, despite never having seen her before, Weiss felt that she was familiar.
"Who are you?" The girl demanded. Weiss felt a strange power from her. Her instincts were screaming to get away. "Why are you intruding in my home?"
"Home?" Ruby said, appalled. She looked at Weiss, whose eyes were glued to the girl. In her peripheral vision, Weiss could see a well kept kitchen. Her eyes trailed above for a split second, where there was no roof. It appeared to have been destroyed whenever the rest of the village had. Her eyes landed back on the girl as she took a step forward, acting very menacing consider her size and apparent solitude.
"I will not ask again." She said, and raised her flute to her lips.