"Professor! Two boarbatusks, six ursas, and a beringel!", the figure in a white bomber jacket shouted.
"How far?"
Professor Goodwitch didn't even turn around. Her attention was on the damaged aqueduct. The stones she was lifting into place were the last pieces on the inner aqueduct ring surrounding the academy courtyard. The grimm were shambling past the outer ring. The figure in the white jacket pulled out the pistol holstered at their hip.
"Outer aqueduct.", the sentry said, quickly racking the slide of the long pistol, getting ready to stop the approaching group of grimm.
"I'll have to take them."
"Careful. If I get distracted and drop this, it's on our heads.", the blonde woman warned.
"Ma'am… No disrespect intended, but I'll dodge that without much trouble."
The professor laughed wryly.
"I hope so. Remember, a beringel's weakest point is its head. A boarbatusk needs to be hit in the neck. Ursa's-"
The end of her sentence was covered by the ground-shaking boom of a projectile leaving the handgun. It was quickly followed by another, then another.
"I remember my classes, ma'am. In other news, that stopped the beringel.", the red-headed student replied hastily.
Another two shots rang out. After a short break, a further three.
"Professor! They're charging us!"
"What did I just say about focusing on this?!", the teacher roared.
The sentinel fired another couple of shots from nearly point black range before holstering the pistol and pulling out a collapsed staff from a belt-mounted sheath. The staff just barely deflected a swipe from the beast. Instead of taking the sentry's head off, the paw merely smashed the sunglasses. Clearly annoyed, the student swiped at the monster. The weapon extended to its full length, longer than the redhead. It hit the boarbatusk on the side of the head. The monster staggered backwards.
"My freaking glasses! That boarbatusk is going down, and then these a-"
A mechanical whine filled the air. After a second, a Gatling gun roared, spitting projectiles into the group of grimm. The burst effortlessly ripped through one of the boarbatusks, and one of the four ursas still standing. The sentry took the opportunity, pulled out the pistol, and fired a round into the side of the ursa's head. On the courtyard, the Gatling gun wielder "packed" her weapon back into a purse, her teammates charging on the remaining two ursas. The orange-haired young man pulled out two blades and started slashing on one the ursas relentlessly. The other charged forward and swung a rope dart at the last ursa. The grimm stopped as the blade hit it. At a better angle, with more speed, the single hit might well have taken the ursa down. As things stood, the faunus switched tactics and... took a picture of the redhead. A glowing, almost ghostly copy of the large pistol appeared in front of her. The redhead watched a copy of their own pistol sink four rounds into the last ursa.
Coco Adel was loading a new ammo belt to her Gatling-gun-turned-chic-purse. Her mocha jacket was the same as always. The black scarf she'd been wearing during the tournament had been replaced with a light charcoal one, and the beret of the day was dark brown. Fox Alistair was cleaning his tonfa blades before sheathing them. The sheaths were the same shade of dark brown as the equipment pouches Fox always wore. Velvet Scarlatina put her weapons-replicating camera back in her bag and secured the rope and blade on her belt. The redhead didn't think the faunus had had at the stadium. Team Coffee. Or rather, team C.F.V.
"You alright, mate?", Fox Alistair asked.
The redhead collapsed the staff and put it back in its pouch before holstering the pistol.
"I'm alright. Thanks for the assist."
The redhead turned to professor Goodwitch. The blonde still had her riding crop raised.
"Professor, I assume you're okay?"
"I'm almost done, and yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Yuki."
"Yuki, huh? Not sure I've seen you around before. What's your story?"
Coco Adel had caught up to the epicenter of the action and was now flashing a smile at the redhead.
"Coco!", Velvet Scarlatina exclaimed.
The faunus turned to Yuki with an apologetic look.
"You don't have to answer that. Coco can be a little… energetic at times."
Yuki sighed, then laughed wryly.
"I think we all have our war stories by now. Because this…" Yuki gestured at the nearly-demolished outer aqueduct. "This is war."
Everyone either sighed or let out a dry laugh.
"Yeah… Torchwick decided to give us our final test a little early.", Scarlatina commented solemnly.
"Grading was a little bit too bloody harsh, though.", Fox added sardonically.
Professor Goodwitch lowered the riding crop.
"We're done here. Go ahead and get dinner. I'll clean up.
Yuki cast a glance at the airship port. Professor Port and a group of student volunteers were returning from Vale. Some of them could probably help professor Goodwitch. Staying out without guards seemed like a terrible idea, regardless of how capable Goodwitch was. Yuki and team C.F.V. bid their goodbyes to the professor and started walking back to the main building.
"So, you asked what my story is. Yuki Winterburn, age nineteen. I'm from Atlas. Yeah, you probably haven't seen me around much. I came here to watch the festival. Only…"
The trio hummed solemnly.
"Yeah. This all happened."
Coco Adel looked at Yuki curiously.
"Watch the festival? You fight like a student at least."
"I… may have gotten into a minor disagreement with Jacques Schnee's bodyguards when they were pushing around a faunus. I might have lost my temper and gone a tiny bit overboard with my, well, response. I actually think if Ironwood hadn't seen the whole thing, I'd have been deported from the city, not just expelled from the Academy."
"Wow.", Adel gasped.
Yuki could see Adel and Scarlatina give each other a look.
"Yeah. The goons all got out of the hospital in a couple of weeks. The faunus was still in the hospital when I left."
"How do you know how the faunus is doing? I have a feeling they didn't give you visitation rights. Schnee would've made sure of that.", the rabbit faunus wondered.
Yuki laughed.
"Wow. Not much love for the S.D.C. around here."
"Jacques Schnee's daughter is… or was out classmate.", Fox commented. "And she probably hates old man Schnee more than the rest of us combined."
A knot formed in Yuki's stomach.
"Was?"
Fox went quiet for a second, cursing under his breath.
"She's fine. Or… well, alive, at least. I heard a rumor her dad forced her to go back to Atlas. Sorry for making it sound like she didn't make it. I just meant, with the school like this she really isn't our classmate-"
Scarlatina giggled.
"Fox, rambling."
Fox looked away, embarrassed.
"Sorry."
"Anyway, the Atlesians pretty much headed home after the tournament was… interrupted. Why did you stay in Vale?", the young man continued.
"I just told you I made enemies with an Atlesian big shot and got expelled from combat school. They banned me from the Academy grounds so I can't even see my friends. I figured I'd have something to do if I stayed in Vale and helped people. Bumped into Professor Goodwitch a couple of weeks later, and she offered lunch if I helped her. I've been doing odd jobs for her and other Beacon staff since then."
Velvet Scarlatina looker at Yuki hesitantly.
"Do they know what… happened in Atlas? The staff here?"
Yuki smiled warmly at the faunus.
"They do. Hell, general Ironwood and I fought side by side for a moment… on that day. He said he'd been working to get me back. His hand was forced by Schnee, apparently. It kind of sounded like Ozpin had been furious that he'd caved and expelled me. Your people, Beacon staff, have mostly been sympathetic to me."
"That… Sounds like professor Ozpin. It's not like there isn't discrimination going on at Beacon, but if the staff finds out… they won't tolerate it for a second.", Velvet commented, smiling.
"Hell, one member of team R.W.B.Y. was a White Fang… freedom fighter before being accepted to Beacon.", Coco mentioned.
Yuki's eyes went wide.
"Freedom fighter, huh? How radical are we talking here, exactly?"
"I… heard a rumor she worked with Adam Taurus.", the team leader said, sighing. "Team R.W.B.Y. got hit hard. They didn't just take it personally. It was personal. Blake, the faunus… activist, was almost killed by Taurus. Someone else from their team lost an arm saving Blake."
"Holy shit!", Yuki exclaimed.
"Fucking tell me about it. Weiss Schnee was a member of team R.W.B.Y. too. It's like this whole attack was as much against that one team as it was against the school. It's bizarre.", Coco added.
"Yeah… I hung out with Ruby sometimes, the leader of team R.W.B.Y. After the attack, they all left. Can't really blame them. Yang lost her freaking arm. Ruby slipped into some kind of a coma. She was up there when Pyrrha was killed, for fuck's sake!", Velvet exclaimed.
Hearing of the losses made it sink in again. Yuki had been there, seen a member of team Ruby shoot an unarmed competitor in the leg, and watched as team Juniper's contestant tore an android to pieces in a horrific accident. The girl, the legend, Pyrrha Nikos, was now dead. Beacon had lost good people. Vale had lost innocent bystanders. Hearing it time and time again over the weeks didn't make it much easier to hear.
"Feel like having dinner with us?", Coco asked.
The question pulled the redhead up from the dark thoughts.
"I don't want to intrude on your team, miss Adel-"
"Coco. Never miss Adel. Please.", the young woman commented coldly, before softening up. "And we want to hear more about you."
"Sure… Coco. I've been standing outside in the cold for hours, watching Goodwitch's back. And again, thanks for the backup.", Yuki replied, offering a handshake.
"Come on. You took the big ones. You'd have taken the ursas in six seconds.", Fox commented. "Fox Alistair. Nice meeting you."
"And they'd have piled on Goodwitch in three. That would've gotten messy, and I kinda like having her trust me. It's… useful.", Yuki replied, shaking the young man's hand.
"You're talking like some kind of an outlaw.", Velvet commented.
Yuki gave her a pointed look. The faunus' ears drooped, and she blushed slightly.
"Okay, point."
Yuki looked around, feeling unsure.
"I don't usually flip out and beat people up. I hope you can trust me to be… sane."
Coco gave the redhead an incredulous look.
"Another member of team R.W.B.Y. Another friend. Yang Xiao Long. The one whose arm was chopped off. She saved her teammate with an enraged charge. Can't stand injustice and takes it down by any means necessary. Sound familiar?", Coco pointed out.
"Also, we just told you we're friends with a pro-faunus terrorist. You're not even the most controversial.", Velvet giggled.
A chill ran down Yuki's spine. Being more or less compared to a terrorist was a bit hard to hear. Aside from that, team C.F.V. was welcoming a complete stranger with open arms.
They sure are friendly… I guess we all feel lonely in the middle of this.
"Shit… Things have sure gotten grim around here.", the redhead observed.
Team C.F.V. shot Yuki a disapproving glare. The Atlesian grinned.
The academy was mostly in one piece. Mostly. Coming into landing at the airship port, the building complex looked flawless apart from the aqueducts. Repairing the academy's facade had taken priority. Looking from the opposite side, the true scope of the attack would've become clear quickly. Walls had collapsed. On the walls still standing, windows were shattered. As if on Salem's command, rain and storms had beaten the exposed classroom over the days and weeks following the attack. Now the exposed rooms were at risk of being entirely frozen by the colder and colder weather.
"The campus looks… sad. Depressing.", Velvet commented quietly.
"Like a war zone.", Coco added.
"Can you imagine if the grimm had hit the dorms?", Fox commented.
"People would be homeless.", Yuki said bluntly. "I've helped the professor and others rebuild people's homes all over the city. If Beacon hadn't taken in some students' families..."
"I wonder how many students are still here. Yatsu's family probably still thinks Atlas attacked Vale, and this is a war zone. We don't even know if he made it home safe. I heard Blake disappeared too. Team Juniper, what's left of them, left after Pyrrha's funeral. Team Cardinal disappeared during the attack. They were...", Velvet pondered.
"Arseholes. But I hope they didn't get themselves killed. Would've been a waste to teach them a lesson for them to just drop dead.", Fox cut in.
Sometimes the only way to unite people is a common threat. If you can call that 'united'.
The dining hall was lively, but by no means full.
"I still can't get used to this.", Coco commented.
"Hmm?", Fox inquired.
"The atmosphere here. Almost no uniforms. So many students and staff eating in their combat gear.", she explained.
"Most of the staff is out there, either rebuilding or guarding all the time. Hell, I think most students are too.", Fox offered.
"This is a base, not a school now.", Velvet lamented.
"These schools are always bases. Atlas makes it a lot more obvious than you guys, but… we're all here learning how to fight so we can protect people.", Yuki commented.
Fox laughed wryly.
"Doesn't really matter if it's Ironwood or Ozpin, they'd be proud of that spirit."
"Yeah… Honestly, I've seen a lot of people admit that helping people is a nice bonus, but the real reason they're doing this is something else.", Coco added.
"Call me a dreamer, then.", Yuki replied.
Velvet sighed, her eyes cast down.
"If this is a dream, I want to wake up. We were supposed to fend off occasional attacks, not defend a city from an invasion."
"Hell, I thought we were supposed to have a childhood. You know, be teenagers. We weren't supposed to worry about this shit until years from now.", Fox commented.
"Yeah, I don't think anyone saw this coming when we decided to enroll.", Yuki added.
Velvet carefully glanced at Yuki, then at Fox. Coco's eyes were shifting between her food and Fox's plate. Yuki looked at the two and froze. The orange-haired fighter took off his tinted glasses and held them in his hand as he turned to Yuki. The milky white eyes were facing the Atlesian.
"Sh- Sorry. Fox, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I'm an idiot.", the redhead stammered.
Fox burst out laughing.
"Got me there, mate. I really didn't see myself doing this on year two.", he howled.
Yuki decided it was safe to breathe again, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Seriously, don't tiptoe around my vision stuff. I can hold my own. If people treat me like I need protecting from the big, bad world, I'll never get anywhere in life. I don't want to speak ill of the dead, and I love this team but… I still wonder why Ozpin put us together. Most teams balance kick-ass fighters and people with learning potential. And here we are. A faunus who's been abused her whole life just because of who she is, a blind guy, a-"
Coco cut her off, laughing quietly.
"Fox, rambling."
Yuki chuckled.
"You're probably right. I looked up the tournament teams. You're one of the best teams at Beacon. Easily the best second-years. Professor Ozpin focused too many good hunters in one team. You're overpowered,", the redhead dead-panned.
"That's so not what I meant, and you know it.", Fox replied, shaking his head.
In less than fifteen minutes, everyone's plates were empty. Velvet put her scroll back in its pouch.
"Do we always eat this quickly?"
Yuki hummed.
"From what I've seen, probably. Everyone here eats quickly. Wasn't really used to seeing it when I got here. At Atlas, meals were one of the few times we could relax for a minute and catch our breath."
"Makes sense. You're trained like soldiers. We're trained like hunters. Until this whole insanity happened, school life was fairly calm. Not relaxed, but calm.", Coco explained. "More opportunities to kick back. But the cafeteria? This place was always so full you wanted to eat and get out as soon as you could. Probably the least relaxing place on campus.", Fox explained.
"Makes you appreciate the goofy, annoying stuff. And the small things. Can't exactly go take a stroll around the grounds after lunch to relax.", Velvet lamented.
"Not to relax, no.", Yuki agreed.
Even if the grimm weren't a constant threat, the grounds were a mess of damaged architecture and unkept, grimm-ravaged greenery.
The four young huntsmen and huntresses walked out of the cafeteria.
"Soo… Any plans, anyone?", Velvet asked.
"I think I'll bribe you into giving me a massage today. Those stones were probably heavier than my weapon. I mean, does Oobleck think I'm Yatsu or something?", Coco scoffed.
Yuki raised an eyebrow.
"Welcome to 'everyday life with team Coffee'. I'm your host, Alistair Fox, and on today's episode-", Fox narrated.
"Oh, piss off.", Coco laughed, poking Fox's ribs.
"Grimm! We have grimm at the port! My team is down there. Please, anyone! The teachers don't even know they're out there!"
A student, likely a first-year, was calling for help in the cafeteria. He was wearing a wrinkled uniform, and his black hair was a mess. A cast covered his right arm. It looked like he had a call going on his scroll. Without time to discuss options, Coco took action.
"I can cover them from the skywalk between A and C buildings!", she shouted, running back toward the cafeteria, and the stairs to the fourth floor.
Velvet hesitated for a split-second
"It's already dark out. She'll need a spotter with perfect night vision.", Fox said, pointedly nodding at Velvet.
The faunus took off after her team leader.
"Dammit, normally Yatsu and I would get close with those two cover-"
Yuki didn't need another hint. The redhead was already rushing to the door. Fox followed.