Soul's Reflection

by xT-Zealot

"It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget." -Soulbound Semi-AU/Pseudo-Novelization- -Completed-

10. Mountain Glenn

Author's Note: Welp, we had ourselves some RTX up in here! I didn't go to it though-

Brain: We're too poor.

-but I did see the streams, saw the concept arts, watched the badly-recorded clips made with people's phones where I could barely see and hear a damn thing, and I am HYPED! Ahaha, Vol. 3 is gonna be GREAT! Got the tournament going on so we'll get our RWBY action, already got a new team revealed, and QROW AND WINTER WOOOOOOO! Cannot WAIT! Got some really high hopes for Vol. 3 as, other than plenty of RWBY action, I am hoping that we get more Remnant world and lore-building what with Hunters all over the world attending the tournament as well as whatever political tension ends up going on between Qrow, Ozpin, Winter, and Ironwood given their connections to each other.

Actually hoping that the villains and their vague plots will be set aside for the Volume. With all the potential for all the other things BESIDES the villains, I hope they'll be taking a backseat. Roman's locked up, White Fang needs to recuperate from the failed Vale assault, and I'm sure Cinder will wait for the opportune moment to strike. I require additional lore!

Brain: And sweet, sweet White Rose! Winter in town and Weiss getting her credit card declined? There better be angst and Ruby better be there to make it better for Weiss!

With comforting, platonic examples of friendship-

Brain: Hot comfort lovings!

Wait, what? No, I'm thinking more like Ruby showing Weiss what it's like to have a nice, loving family like she has with Yang and Qrow and supporting her through the tournament-

Brain: In between the sheets between matches!

No, stop it! We don't encourage underage sex-

Brain: Not in Remnant! Fictional world so we do what we want! The laws are ours to make!

THIS IS NOT THE FIC FOR TH-

Brain: I WILL ASSAULT YOU WITH IDEAS FOR ONE!

SO HERE'S MOUNTAIN GLENN!

---

With the port hatch open, the wind came blasting into the main cabin of the Bullhead, hair and clothing of the passengers whipping about. Leaning over just enough, Yang was able to view the cityscape of Vale rushing past hundreds of feet below them. She enjoyed her thrills mounted atop her Bumblebee, but Yang had to admit that jetting around this way offered a different kind that her motorcycle lacked. This included how her foot was at such a miniscule distance from the edge of the main cabin and the significant drop beneath, the only thing keeping Yang in place being the overhead loop of leather that acted as a safety handle that she gripped loosely.

As exciting as the ride was though, Yang found herself making another glance across the interior of the airship towards where Oobleck was standing, unperturbed, next to Weiss. It had to be the latest out of a dozen that she made since the Bullhead took off from Beacon, each one followed by the question of, out of all the Huntsmen that they could've landed with, why him?

Whether he had been keeping track of her looks or not, those glass lenses came up to catch her gaze. "Why, Miss Xiao Long, I do believe that you seem to find my presence here astonishing!"

Feeling guilty at being caught, Yang shrugged and had to shout over all the noise made by the Bullhead to be heard. "I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter."

For the entirety of their semester, Doctor Oobleck had never so much as given a hint of his capabilities when it came to battle, instead always lecturing about ones long past and their significance to history – which he would then promptly assign his students to write down about in a report to be turned in at a planned date. With Goodwitch, no one would ever question her status as a Huntress and with how many stories Port eagerly regaled to his students – along with whatever Grimm he had caged on that day -, Yang was under the belief that at least a quarter of them had to be true and that was more than enough for her to be convinced of his legitimacy.

But Oobleck? He was fast, yeah, but Yang wondered how much of that was to blame for caffeine overdose. She was pretty sure she had never seen his weapon unless his wooden teaching pointer that he was usually armed with was such, similar to Goodwitch's crop. Other than that, there was his thermos and cups of coffee and, really, folding frame technology could do amazing things but that was pushing Yang's imaginations.

Oobleck sported amusement at the confession. "I admit, I fancy myself more of an…intellectual, but I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles."

Standing between Yang and Blake, Ruby scratched her head in confusion. "Like the mushroom?"

Blake leaned over to be heard. "Those are truffles."

"Like the sprout?"

It was Yang's turn to do the same. "Those are brussels." Tussles or brussels, she would be happy if Oobleck proved her opinions wrong.

"Besides," Oobleck went on, "given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw it fit to assign me to this particular…assignment!"

That didn't do anything to boost Yang's confidence and she had to agree with Weiss when the heiress asked, "What does history have to do with this?"

Oobleck whipped his head around as if he had been physically struck by the question. "Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why, history is the backbone of our very society! And the liver! Probably the kidneys if I were to wager."

"And that means…?"

The speed of the doctor's words actually slowed down a fraction, his tone notably serious when he explained, "The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves. But, it is also the location of one of the kingdom's greatest failures."

"Mountain Glenn," Ruby identified but didn't take any delight in it.

Yang started when the name unleashed a torrent of information. "That's right! It was an expansion of Vale!" Her expression fell when she iterated the rest of the history that she knew of and she understood why both Oobleck and Ruby spoke of it the way they did. "But in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city…"

"Correct!" Oobleck complimented, encouraged by the knowledge of his charges. "And now it stands, abandoned, as a dark reminder."

"And a likely place for a hideout," Blake murmured.

The man shifted his glasses against the rushing wind, a conspiratorial smile blossoming beneath. "Precisely."

It was seeing the gesture and apparently knowing of their true target that confirmed what had gotten Yang suspicious since they started out and it looked like Blake must've caught on. For what had originally supposed to be a Search and Destroy mission, how Oobleck spoke of his expertise and what they were heading out to do – specifically when he termed it as a reconnaissance mission - got Yang to realize that he knew of what their real objective was.

It was odd, wasn't it? she thought. For it being first-years who were supposed to be selecting missions, there had been one posted that was unavailable to their year. It perfectly suited our needs too.

And Ozpin had seemed to have been waiting for them. Post a mission that was located in the southeast, make it unavailable, and wait until RWBY came up to take it so that he could assign them to it with a Huntsman that he deemed suitable for them.

It made sense and when Yang looked next to her, it was to see Ruby smiling proudly up at her. She returned it and patted her younger sibling on the back as congratulations. Guess telling Ozpin was the right move.

Yang tightened her grip on the safety handle when the Bullhead unexpectedly ascended. When she took a look down, it was to see the airship clearing the top of Vale's protective walls. They were officially beyond the city limits now, the urban terrain being swapped with the forests that stretched for the miles and miles that they soared across.

And, soon, they were flying over the devastation of Mountain Glenn.

Having just viewed the beauty of Vale, full of life with well-maintained roads and buildings, Mountain Glenn was a complete reversal when they flew over another wall, this one shattered open with huge chunks having been removed with what remained possessing fissures that split along the concrete. Inside the perimeter, there was paved landscape that was cracked and cratered with what Yang could barely recognize as apartment complexes sagging to one side thanks to crumpled and destroyed supports. What had been destined to be taller skyscrapers were only partially built with one in particular she could see as being nothing more than a skeleton with beams welded in place to take the shape but nothing more.

All conversation came to an end and Yang could see how the rest of RWBY was taking their own looks through the open doors and viewing windows that the Bullhead offered. There was a tense silence, broken only by the airship's engines which tilted and changed in pitch as the pilot up at the cockpit came down for a landing.

They didn't touch down, the Bullhead instead dropping into a hover a couple dozen feet short of the ground. With Ember Celica unfolding over her arms, Yang was the first to jump out and make ready as she brought her gauntlets up. Blake landed next to her, hand on Gambol Shroud but not yet unsheathing it. Weiss fell and dropped into a crouch, Myrtenaster drawn, with Ruby the last to join them with a fully-lengthened Crescent Rose.

Oobleck was in the middle of them but, rather than setting up for combat, he took an indifferent swig from his thermos. Once they all disembarked, the Bullhead took right back off, flying away and the sound of jet engines faded with it.

The whole process had taken five seconds from when Yang had leapt to the airship taking to the skies again. Quick, precise, and all of them prepared to meet whatever dangers would come pouring out. Yang found it rather anti-climactic when all that stood in front of them was a one-story building, what few letters that hadn't fallen from the top naming it as some kind of burger joint or diner. Holes had been busted into one wall, some small that Yang wondered if it was gunfire that made them but the bigger ones spoke of something else having done the deed.

When the Bullhead disappeared from sight and hearing, there was nothing but silence.

"Ladies," Oobleck said and they all relaxed and lowered their weapons to face him. "You still may be students but as of this moment your first missions as Huntresses has begun. From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?"

They all nodded wordlessly.

"Ruby!"

The girl in question jumped.

"I thought I told you to leave all your bags at the school!"

Finally did Yang notice the backpack that Ruby was carrying. She remembered seeing Ruby with it when they boarded the airship but had assumed that she was going to leave it on the Bullhead to send it back to Beacon.

Yet there it was, with Ruby moving to hide it behind her while she awkwardly addressed Oobleck. "But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. …So I didn't."

Yang stared at her, deadpanned, but Oobleck brought a hand to his chin and she could've sworn that she actually heard him murmur to himself, "She's not wrong…" Louder, he said," Very well, Ruby, leave your bag here. We can pick it up upon our return."

"But I…uh…"

"Young lady!" he sharply reprimanded. "What in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with-?"

The top of the bag flipped open and out popped Zwei's head who immediately began looking around excitedly at their surroundings.

Ruby went completely stiff, her eyes going huge at the panting at her ear. She looked to her teammates, Blake and Weiss as bewildered as Yang knew she was at seeing the dog with them.

"Get back in the bag," Ruby whispered over her shoulder to Zwei.

He barked in reply.

Oobleck was stock-still, thermos gripped in front of him, and face completely neutral. But it had to be the slowest that Yang had ever heard him when he said, "We're here to investigate an abandoned urban-jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought…a dog?"

Ruby was reminiscent of a deer caught in the headlights, uncertain of what she should do or say to prevent the disaster that was coming right for her. "I…uh…"

"GENIUS!" She fell over when Oobleck suddenly sped over and took Zwei from her pack to spin him around high over his head as he eagerly praised, "Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!"

The way that Zwei kicked his legs within Oobleck's grip told of how he absolutely loved the attention, getting him to release another happy bark.

Ruby picked herself up from the ground and joined her team in watching Oobleck spin around with her dog. It dawning on her that she wasn't in trouble, she grinned broadly and pointed towards herself, holding herself high as she said, "I'm a genius!"

Yang and Weiss's palms came smacking into their respective foreheads.

"So…" Blake cut in, face barren of emotion at this turn of events. "What are your orders, doctor?"

Oobleck ceased spinning. "Ah, yes, straight to the chase. I like it!" He let go of Zwei who yapped at being dropped. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being – Grimm."

They all stared at him. "Uh…what?" Ruby asked.

"Grimm," Oobleck repeated, looking past the four of them. "A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment."

"What!?" Yang spun around, reengaging Ember Celica.

Around the corner of one of those skeletal complexes came a Grimm. A Beowolf. Only one but Yang cocked her gauntlet in preparation and she heard similar reports from the others.

"Stop!" Oobleck hissed urgently. "There are a number of reasons why Grimm would congregate in this particular area. The most likely of which would be their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred - all qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent."

On closer inspection, it was for Yang to see that the Beowolf wasn't moving in any kind of aggressive manner. It walked around on its four legs, unhurried, its skull-plated head staring at the road that it traveled on. At certain points it paused and lowered to take what Yang assumed to be a sniff at the ground before it scanned the area, searching for something that kept it from noticing the four Huntresses and Huntsman.

"So what now?" Ruby questioned.

"We wait," he replied. "We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey."

That didn't sound like fun and Yang planted her hands against her hips while continuing to watch the Beowolf. "How long do we wait?"

"It's uncertain. Hours. Days. Weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months – and there's the whole pack."

"What?" Weiss cried just as one, three – five Beowolves appeared to join the first. Two of them did see the group of Hunters and their growls got the attention of the rest of their brethren.

"And now they've seen us."

"What!?"

Weiss nearly leapt out of her boots when Oobleck shouted in her ear, "AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!"

"I take it tracking is out of the question?" Ruby timidly said.

"An accurate assumption, yes."

"What's the plan, then?" Yang asked.

The news had spread amongst the pack, and not just the Beowolves that they could see. A few lifted their heads and howled. Those calls were answered, more howls reverberating around the destroyed area and more Beowolves came to the scene. What had been half a dozen became a dozen with more arriving amongst the ruins. Even as the first group began charging towards the Huntresses, there were still additional Beowolves arriving and coming up behind them, their numbers growing enough that Yang could feel the collection of pounding feet causing the ground beneath to begin trembling.

"Show me what you're capable of," Oobleck ordered.

That was all Yang needed to hear. Cocking her gauntlets, she was already running to meet the charging monsters.

"Cover your ears, Zwei!" Ruby said, leveling Crescent Rose towards the incoming pack. The corgi lowered his head, ears flattening just as Ruby began firing.

Her heavy rounds were joined with Blake's lower-caliber bullets and Beowolves along the front line jerked and fell, their collapsed bodies sliding across the ground and coming to a dead stop soon after. A ball of fire flew past Yang, Weiss's Dust spell hitting and consuming one Beowolf in flames which sprang to a couple others that were near it, setting their fur on fire and turning them into running torches that howled crazily.

There were plenty more left, all of them running past or over their slain packmates. Yang wasn't bothered, eagerly running headlong into the pack while her team maintained their supporting fire.

Going right into the thick of these monsters with bullets and spells flying all around her, the thrill of combat took over. A pair of Beowolves dropped and over their corpses came a third, its murderous gaze of red locked onto Yang who eagerly met it. When it was close enough it pounced and Yang swung her fist at it without breaking her stride, her knuckles meeting its bonemask with satisfying impact which was followed by the roar and heat of Ember Celica. While she sprinted on ahead, the Beowolf slammed into the ground where it remained there, entirely limp.

The next creature attacked in the same way, leaping forward but with its claws extended. Yang ducked under them, delivered a swift but mighty uppercut into its chin, and beneath the shadow of the now sailing Grimm she claimed her third kill with a more gratifying one-two punch, one fist hammering into one side of the Beowolf's head before the other came swinging around to connect from the opposite side.

She was breaking further into their ranks and was being surrounded in the process, but she wasn't worried. A dropkick with both feet planted into a furred chest flung a Beowolf into its fellows and off to Yang's left came another, paw raised to swipe at her from her flank.

A black-and-white streak cut across it and the lifted paw fell away, severed at the wrist. A second later and the head made the journey down, the now decapitated torso being the last to drop.

Blake appeared at Yang's side, dual-wielding blade and sheath of Gambol Shroud. A diagonal cut with her sword split a Beowolf, caught off guard by her sudden arrival, from shoulder to hip. Her sheath cut across the legs of another, bringing it down so that she could properly behead it. While Yang barreled on into the center, Blake covered her left with her quick bladework and shadow clones that had her intercepting any Grimm that tried to strike at the blonde.

The right flank was taken by Weiss. With close-combat achieved and the application of ranged spells and projectiles as hazardous to allies as it was to enemies, the fencer had joined in with the ninja. A group of Beowolves were skyrocketed by a glyph materializing at their feet and Weiss flipped towards the airborne Grimm, her rapier slashing and stabbing amongst them. When she landed, it was with a rain of dead lyncanthropes.

The only gun to be fired was Crescent Rose and only for Ruby to enter the fray. The curved blade of the scythe caught a Beowolf around the waist, cutting cleanly through it without pause which gave Ruby plenty of momentum to immediately spin her body and scythe around to cleave through another pair.

The pack had its numbers but the advantage did little to make up for the skill and teamwork of the four. Scantly a minute went by before RWBY was standing over the disintegrating pieces of the Grimm and Ruby hefted her scythe upon her shoulder. "Piece of cake!"

Oobleck didn't share her enthusiasm. "Do not celebrate yet, for I am certain this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?"

As it turned out, truer words have never been spoken. Despite how it appeared now, Mountain Glenn had once been an extravagant piece of territory. From the air, Yang figured that it had to at least be as big as Vale's largest district.

On foot, it seemed that much bigger. They were supposed to be searching after all and this had once been a city. Under Oobleck's guidance they spread out in a line but always made sure that they kept each other in visual range. It had started out fine, them having been dropped at the northern end of the area; plenty of open space that they just strolled through, pausing to take a peek inside one of the few buildings that were around.

Once they went from beyond the edge and into the interior of Mountain Glenn's territory, things slowed to a crawl. True to any other human city, there was block after block of densely-packed structures ranging from housing to shops and other complexes. They went through each one and with almost every block there was another Beowolf pack that needed to be exterminated. There were few other common variants of Grimm in the area, Yang not spotting any Ursai or Boarbatusks which made sense.

Beowolves tended to be known the most for their hunting and scavenging ways. They were one of the weakest specimens with very few of their numbers ever managing to live and evolve enough to become the more fearsome Alpha variants. Yang suspected that the population that currently inhabited Mountain Glenn were young, recently-spawned wolves. Reckless, desperate for prey, and attracted to not only what negativity that any bad guys here may be giving off – if they were here, that is – but also because of how Mountain Glenn had once been a human settlement. Abandoned, but they still congregated here in the hopes of finding lingering signs of their mortal enemies amongst the remains of their creations.

Just how long ago was this? Going further into the heart of Mountain Glenn, it was when they exterminated another pack that Yang asked herself that question. In their searches between the combat, a very eerie silence would descend upon the area where not even a distant Beowolf howl would break it. It made the dirt and debris that their boots kicked up, the creaking of whatever doors they pried open, the wind that blew through the remains of the city, and just their footfalls on the broken roads louder than usual.

Taking long looks at the destruction, there were specimens that were just enough intact that Yang was able to compare them to the whole, sustained structures back in Vale. The basic shape, materials, and engineering were more or less the same which led to Yang thinking that, if she had been here when they had been erected, she'd find little difference between walking through these streets and the ones in Vale. This wasn't like the ancient outpost or temples that they would find in the Emerald Forest that dated back thousands of years. This had been recent.

As to how recent, Yang finally became brave enough to ask. "So when did all this go down?"

Like her, Weiss had moved from inspecting the bases of the structures to further up, possibly imagining what they had been like before the catastrophe. "I can't remember the exact year. Sometime after the war."

"Forty years, in fact," Oobleck informed them, the Huntsman out in front as he led them to the next sector of their search. "Forty years after the war was the proposal brought to the council and another three before it was approved. After the rebuilding, recovery, and restoration that occurred, we went to the next natural step: expansion and development. Peace had made us complacent. Confident. Eager."

He pointed eastward, towards one the broken sections of what had once been a solid wall. "This area was deemed as most suitable. If you noticed when we flew in, this was built on a plateau. While not impassable like a mountain range or an ocean, the elevation that it offered, combined with the construction of the walls, was theorized to be adequate as a barrier that would keep the city protected as, at the time, Grimm activity had been at an all-time low. Once the walls were built and perimeter defenses established, the migration of the first settlers began. Contact with the Grimm had already begun at this point but the specimens encountered were deemed as wandering rogues that were easily vanquished.

Two months later, the number of settlers had reached into the thousands with construction struggling to keep up with the influx. The future looked bright. Grimm incursions continued in frequency and numbers reaching to that of standard groups but were fended off. It was believed that the city was impenetrable and it would only be a matter of time before the Grimm realized this."

Oobleck's hand fell back to his side. "Unfortunately, not even another month had passed before Grimm activity had escalated to what it had been during the Great War. Attacks became a daily event, each one more intense than the last, the panic that spread amongst the populace attracting more powerful Grimm and in greater numbers. It took one week for perimeter defenses to be overrun. Mountain Glenn was surrounded, completely encircled by the Grimm. The walls were breached a day later. Six hours after the report of multiple breaches, all contact with the city was lost."

Yang examined their surroundings again; at the broken streets they traveled on, the debris that was scattered about, all having come from the buildings that were mangled if not outright pulverized. Beowolves didn't do this.

She imagined Deathstalkers scuttling along the streets, pincers clacking and smashing into what they could. Boarbatusks rolling and bashing on whatever was in their way while Ursai flipped over vehicles and broke through doors, in search of prey. Up above, Giant Nevermores that crashed through apartments and sent storms of razor-sharp feathers into crowds of frightened people.

And yet the destruction still seemed too tame even when she added them. To her right was a line of outlet malls and something drew her towards them. Within the center of the line of short buildings, one had completely caved in and she ventured towards it.

It had not simply collapsed into a heap of rubble. At the center of the wreckage was a depression that was several feet deep with a diameter that exceeded that of the structure itself.

No, it hadn't collapsed. It had been crushed. The depression that Yang was looking at was, in reality, a giant footprint.

"Wasteful." She hadn't noticed Oobleck having come up behind her, the doctor looking over her shoulder to examine the same thing. "Utterly wasteful."

---

It wasn't just the Grimm that they had to worry about. With the fighting that occurred during Mountain Glenn's fall, the years of neglect had significantly weakened the supports of the buildings. This was something that Blake experienced when she came across what Yang could only guess was a half-completed skyport. The automatic doors out of power, the faunus forced them apart and was about to take a step inside until there came a shower of dust and dirt from a roof that shook.

Her Semblance got her out of the way when the roof not only collapsed but was followed by the entire skyport tumbling down.

They exerted extra caution after that and Yang wondered just what they were supposed to be looking for. A hideout, obviously, but what did that actually entail? She figured one of the abandoned buildings that were converted for such a use but she was really growing skeptical. How could any of these death traps be sufficient to store an army and their mechs, Dust, and weapons?

Not to mention being able to deal with all these Beowolves. Yang never really thought she could actually get tired of fighting but against the latest pack that they encountered, her motivation was expiring along with her endurance. After the hours that they had been scouring through the city and this being the seventh…eighth pack? At this point, they were a nuisance and one that Yang didn't bother to close with anymore as her last kill died to a volley of her shells.

She wasn't the only one. After dispensing with the rest of the Grimm, she saw Ruby setting Crescent Rose down in order to lean heavily against it. Weiss stuck Myrtenaster in her sash, attempted to stand tall, but ended up hunched while she caught her breath. Blake was fairing little better and Yang had to surrender to her gauntlets that had become weights that caused her arms to hang down. The only one who still had an abundance of energy was Zwei, the corgi wagging his tail energetically as he watched the slain Beowolves disintegrate.

Oobleck was crouched in the middle of the defensive ring that RWBY had formed, poking at some weeds that had managed to grow out from beneath the street. He stood up and conducted a casual survey that ended with a sip from his thermos. "Excellent work, girls! Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh well, moving on!"

The reminder of how Oobleck had done little except nudge and inspect whatever minor thing that caught his interest while they did the fighting and urging them onto the next part of their search when they were done to repeat the process strained what little patience Yang had left. "Hey doc, you know, I was actually looking forward to seeing a pro Huntsman in action. Like fighting or helping us fight."

"Ah, but I am in action!" Oobleck returned brightly. "Scouring the ruins of this once great city for any signs of irregularity!"

That wasn't what Yang would consider as action, the frown she made saying as much.

"Not every mission is filled with daring and heroism, girls. Sometimes it's just a heightened form of extermination! Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it." He stared directly at Yang. "I do hope you understand that."

"Well, yeah," Yang replied offhandedly, shrugging. "Of course."

Instead of moving on, Oobleck oriented himself to better face Yang and she heard him hum deliberately. "Tell me, Yang, why did you choose this line of work?"

Yang blinked, unprepared for this question that came out of nowhere. "Huh?"

But he didn't repeat. For once, he appeared comfortable with just standing there as if Yang's answer to his question was all that interested him.

Her agitation momentarily forgotten, Yang hesitantly responded with, "Well…to fight monsters and save-"

"No, that is what you do. I want to know why you do it; the honest reason as to why you want to be a Huntress."

"The honest reason?" Yang echoed, mulling over what he meant by that. Honest reason? When she thought about it, there was only one thing that came to mind that was so intimately linked with honesty. "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, you know?"

"I see." With a short nod, Oobleck turned and walked off.

That was weird. While her friends passed her in order to follow after their teacher, throwing looks that asked what that was about, Yang had no idea what to say.

She stayed where she was, even when Zwei brushed up against her leg when he went by. Though Oobleck hadn't said anything else, she couldn't help but get a sense that her answer hadn't been the one that he had been looking for. Or maybe it was that he had been expecting more but moved on when she couldn't deliver like how, in class, when a student gave an incomplete answer, he would switch to another to give him the rest.

But how could it be incomplete when the question was about her and her answer was nothing but truthful? She knew, even at a young age, that she enjoyed activities that got her heart pounding with adrenaline. She liked the excitement and whenever she thought of being a Huntress, what came to mind was what she just said: experiencing new places, have adventures, and fight. Helping people was the bonus.

Frowning at her use of 'bonus', Yang took in the abandoned city once again, thinking of the thousands who had lived but hadn't been saved. In their place of residence were monsters, the last of which had fully dissolved at this point, leaving Yang alone but the desolation was unchanged. Disturbed, she broke into a jog to catch up.

---

"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?"

Weiss didn't reply right away because she was busy ducking under ravaging claws and avoiding being pinned down by the snarling beasts that leapt at her. In between their lunges, Myrtenaster struck like a serpent, ending movement and life with stabs that pierced the vitals that even Grimm needed to possess to function. One Beowolf came to a dead stop from such a blow, its red eyes dimming and the arms that had been poised to strike going limp thanks to the length of steel that was embedded in its throat.

Yanking her weapon out, Weiss turned to look up at Oobleck and felt a flicker of irritation when she found him lounging around on a ledge, scribbling something in a notebook. She didn't act on it like Yang, keeping her image as the dutiful student who answered any question voiced by a professor with politeness. It helped that the topic being touched upon was essential to her pride. "It's as you said: I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life."

The unconscious faunus at her feet, hood drawn back with those bear-like ears on display. Blood trickling down his neck, the skin nicked by Myrtenaster which Weiss drew back with a trembling grip in preparation only to scream and throw the rapier away from her.

"It was my duty," Weiss managed to state evenly despite how the memory unnerved her.

Like Yang, all she got from Oobleck was another slow nod. "Interesting." Sliding off his perch, he landed on the ground and then ambled off, saying nothing else.

And it was Weiss's turn to be hit with a feeling of inadequacy. Upholding the legacy…?

It had come out naturally and it was the reason that got her here in the first place. She dove into her training, her studies, all with the opportunity to get into Beacon to 'uphold the legacy'…even when it turned out to be nothing more than an obsession for bloody revenge.

Casting her gaze down, Weiss twisted her wrist around to better admire her rapier. The new one that Ruby had helped her build to replace the original that had been the last scrap of her previous intentions. This Myrtenaster was a symbol of her renewed ambitions to better herself and, in extension, to better her family and company. Not taint it or herself with baseless murder but to hold it high with the honor and valor that she would bring to her name.

That was admirable. Anyone would commend her for that.

So why had Oobleck just brushed it off as 'interesting'?

The landscape of Mountain Glenn was just as empty of answers as it was of life.

---

The Beowolf lunged forward, tackling Blake – and then going through her. It didn't have a second to consider what had happened before the real Blake was twisting in the air above it to bring Gambol Shroud around, bisecting the creature.

Her feet barely touched the ground when they sprung up, striking the chin of the next Beowolf and lifting it up with another pulse of her Semblance propelling her towards the exposed belly where she repeated the process, and then again when she jumped towards a third to split it across its back and through its spine.

Though she retained her grip on Gambol Shroud, she soon saw that she had created some breathing space which she readily took. Until we run into the next batch, anyway.

Switching to investigating, Blake went to a squat, concrete structure. What it had once been she couldn't tell as there were no obvious markings on it, but it was still in relatively one piece. She was still careful as she remembered what happened at the skyport. A pair of quick slashes did away with the door while she stood back.

Sunlight streamed in and a mass of small feathered bodies flew out towards her, shrieking. The faunus flipped back away from the talons that clawed at her face and hair and raised Gambol Shroud, the blade flipped back, to fire several shots from the built-in pistol into the flock of Nevermores, the combination of a steady hand and quick aim putting a bullet in each. Her way clear, Blake sheathed her weapon and saw Oobleck already peering into the doorway.

"And what about you, Blake?" he asked when she approached to take a look. "You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose."

She had expected her turn to come up and she already had her answer prepared. "There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality, corruption – someone has to stop it."

He nodded patiently. "Very well. How?"

"I…" Blake broke off and her mouth closed shut when she realized that she hadn't prepared enough for that.

"Hmm…" With nothing to find in the doorway or his pupil, Oobleck left both behind.

The privacy that was established in the wake of his departure didn't do much to help as Blake contemplated what had always been her aim ever since she had been a child. That inequality, that corruption – she knew all too well how real that was and she had fought it…once.

What am I doing about it now? she asked herself.

If there was one thing – one – that she could say about the White Fang, it was that she had been doing something in it. That was the biggest lure of the group. What they were doing was wrong, the things that they plan to do were horrible, but that prejudice and racism was what they had been acting out against.

The more they accomplished, the greater the terror they spread - it was progress and that was what the hundred or so faunus that she witnessed at the rally saw and wanted to be a part of. Despite her personal experience of what was involved, there was still that yearning deep inside that Roman had drawn out of her with his speech that had led her to her former place in the White Fang and had her staying in it for so long.

Even though she separated from them, her choices and actions since then had been influenced by the White Fang in some way. She had become a Huntress because of the skills that they had given her. She was here, now, because of her knowledge and experience of how they operated and wishing to make up for what she had done.

But if a day does arrive when the White Fang is no longer involved and it's only up to me to decide what to do next, what will I do? When it came to that, she was completely and utterly lost.

---

This was the milestone that she had always dreamed about. Going out beyond the kingdom, doing battle with monstrous beasts, and foiling evil plots in order to save the world.

And yet even Ruby couldn't help but feel slightly bored.

Wandering through yet another street surrounded by more buildings in another deserted section of the city, Ruby sighed when there was no sign of a hideout to be found again. Ahead of her, Zwei was strolling aimlessly, sniffing and exploring to satisfy his curiosity of this new area.

Struck with an idea, Ruby took a quick scan to make sure they were alone before looking to her dog. "Hey, Zwei."

His ears twitched and Zwei performed an about-face to see Ruby with Crescent Rose in hand, the shaft fully extended, and a piece of turkey stabbed at the end.

"Get it!" Ruby coaxed, waving both in front of Zwei. "Come and get it, Zwei!"

Barking, Zwei jumped up, teeth snapping, but Ruby lifted the turkey just out of reach. She giggled and said, "Come on, Zwei. You know what you have to do!"

In response, Zwei stood up on his hind legs, balancing on them while his eyes remained locked onto the turkey. When Ruby made a twirling gesture with her scythe, Zwei obeyed the order to flip backwards. He stood up a second time, hopping and barking for the prize.

Ruby was about to give it to him until she saw Oobleck at her peripheral. She immediately collapsed her scythe, returning it to her back. "Sorry!" Fidgeting under his attention, she asked, "Are we ready to keep going?"

"No, I believe that will be enough for today," he replied. His heavy pack had been unshouldered and was hanging in his grip while he surveyed their surroundings. "It's going to be dark soon."

His lenses landed on a taller but no-less wrecked structure. Without warning, Oobleck tossed his pack over where the rest of her team had gathered nearby, Yang barely reacting to catch it with a surprised grunt. "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."

Ruby followed behind him, taking a moment to stare up at the sky to see it having grown darker. The temperature had become lower as well and Ruby shivered before rubbing her hands to relieve the chill that was slowly accumulating at her vulnerable fingers. This would usually be where she and her friends would go back to Beacon and into the safety of their dorm where they could take hot showers and change into clean clothes to remove themselves of the daily grime and retire to warm, comfy mattresses and blankets to start the next day anew. But for this night, they would be camping out in the middle of these ruins miles away from the nearest center of civilization, sleeping in the same clothes that they fought in all day with.

Ruby wasn't bothered by it. If anything, she was excited, and her lips morphed into a grin, her steps being broken with a skip. This was the kind of experience that had been confined to her dreams and here she was living it out. The dirt and Dust residue that stained her disheveled clothes, the newly-formed callouses at her hands from swinging her scythe around, and even the exhaustion she was feeling was…it felt good; a different kind of satisfaction that was better than completing another day at school.

Their situation of spending a night in such a dangerous environment was something else she took as a boon. We'll take watches, sleep under the stars with a campfire, and oh this is so much fun!

Away from their cities, past the protective walls, and out here in the wilderness, they were in dangerous territory but Ruby didn't let that frighten her. She felt unbound. Free.

She had never experienced a truer feeling of being a Huntress as she did right now.

The day wasn't over yet though and still had chances to bring her to awe. This was made abundantly clear when she and Oobleck rounded a corner and brought a portion of the destroyed wall into full view. Beyond one of the huge gaps, an expanse of forestry stretched from the base of the plateau to what would be the horizon if it wasn't for the collection of mountains that blocked it from view.

What wasn't hidden was the herd of massive forms that rose above the forest. Six of them, in single file, that produced thundering steps with each one felling and crushing trees underfoot. They took on the appearance of elephants with their low-hanging ears, long trunks, and curved pair of tusks.

However, normal elephants don't typically grow to twenty stories, nor do they possess bony spines that created a field of spikes on their backs while other protrusions were formed into plates lower on their black hides and legs.

Ruby stood there within the destroyed wall with her mouth hanging open and eyes wide with wonder. "Wooooah. What is that? It looks awesome!"

"That, my dear," Oobleck calmly informed from his position next to her, "is a Grimm."

The revelation returned Ruby to her awestruck state and she could see that each of these Grimm had their heads covered with the familiar bone masks, Ruby able to see each twist and curve of the red outlines along their surfaces despite the distance. At her feet, Zwei was watching them with a tilted head, ears erect.

She had never seen a Grimm as big as these behemoths. Grabbing Crescent Rose, Ruby pointed it towards them, the stock sliding out with the scope poking up. "Let's kill it."

Oobleck had to be holding back a chuckle. "I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size."

Ruby didn't lower her weapon. "But what if it attacks us?"

"Fret not, Ruby." Oobleck reached over and gently pushed the muzzle of her weapon down. "Those Goliaths are not concerned with us."

Goliaths. Ruby didn't disagree with the name, deciding that it suited them perfectly.

Goliath: a name that needed no other addition to it. It was the name of a creature brought into existence with a form that was already monstrous and could only grow to become more monstrous.

"Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless," Oobleck spoke. "Or rather, not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years. And in that time, between killing humans and attacking our borders, they've done one important thing: they've learned. They've learned that whenever they attack our borders, they are likely to die. What we lack in strength, we make up for in will, and killing one human will only bring more."

Within the middle of the herd, one of the Goliaths stopped. While the rest continued stomping ahead, it turned its large head until it was looking at the teacher and student that stood there watching. Upon those red eyes landing on her, Ruby felt her skin prickle beneath the sheer amount of menace that set off her danger sense. Size was not the only difference that the Goliath had with the other Grimm. Whereas the Bewolves that lurked within Mountain Glenn had given off the presence of beasts on the hunt that transformed into mindless aggression, this was different.

What Ruby caught the attention of was a titan. A living, breathing monolith of unstoppable size and power that the Beowolves were nothing but vermin to. The malice was of the same magnitude that filled and festered within that gargantuan body.

Nonetheless, there existed an intelligence that had been absent from the Beowolves. An intelligence that was not lost to the madness but was able to overcome and restrain it, keeping the Goliath in its place. It could've stomped over, easily ascended the meager elevation of the plateau, and assaulted them. That's what every other Grimm that Ruby encountered did, but this one didn't.

"Then…" Managing to break away from those red eyes, Ruby turned to Oobleck. "Why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?"

"Waiting."

Down below, the Goliath turned away and rejoined the herd.

Ruby didn't take her eyes off them, not until Oobleck took the Goliath's example and stepped away from the edge of the plateau. She remained a little longer, it eventually dawning on her that the Grimm really weren't going to attack, and then she went to rejoin him, Zwei at her heels. "Doctor Oobleck?"

"Hm?"

"I was wondering…"

"Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?" he asked, stopping and waiting for Ruby to catch up.

That was what Ruby had been thinking about until it led her to think about something else. "Actually, I was wondering…why did you become a Huntsman?"

Ruby believed that she caught a smile on his face before he motioned around them. "Look around and tell me what you see."

She did as she was told. "Lots of old buildings…uh…empty streets…"

"I see lives that could have been saved," he said as they began traveling down one of those empty streets. "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 into 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."

With the utmost conviction, he declared, "I am a Huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be."

What a coincidence, Ruby thought with a smile. There's nothing else I would want to be either.

---

Yang could detect the tension within the room that they prepared for the night. Mindful of the coming cold and the dark, they had gathered enough wood that would last them the night. After throwing a couple logs in the center, Weiss used a minor Dust spell to ignite them.

True to his word about packing the essentials, the bag that Oobleck left them with contained everything they needed. Bedrolls that they spread around the fire, canned and dried food that would serve as their dinner, and bottles of water and purifiers to keep them hydrated. Happily, they currently had no use for the first aid supplies.

They had done it all with that tense silence which Yang tried to dispel. "I can't believe we didn't find anything."

Blake was crouched near the fire, pale features aglow in the light of the flames. "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."

Weiss didn't contribute, the heiress standing off to the side, appearing lost in thought. Yang didn't expect it when she said, "That's not what I meant."

"Huh?" Blake queried.

"Earlier. About upholding the legacy. There's more to it than that."

They had each shared what they told Oobleck, including the short responses he gave them in turn before moving on to the next. When Weiss and Blake recollected it, Yang got the feeling that they were second-guessing their answers just as she was. Or maybe not second-guessing, but wishing that they had been able to supply more to the doctor.

Yang nodded in agreement. "Yeah. No, me too. I mean…" She exhaled slowly through her nose. "I don't know."

"I don't know either," Blake admitted, sounding as lost as they were. "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 smiled with what she hoped was encouragement. "We know why we're here. Right?"

It was weaker than she intended it to be because even as she was saying it, Yang realized that she couldn't say with certainty that she knew why they were here as Huntresses. She saw that it was mutual, the three of them standing quietly around the fire expressing doubt.

"Ah, wonderful!" From a corridor, Oobleck sped into the room and inspected their handiwork. "A textbook campfire."

A gasp came behind him and Ruby entered a second later with Zwei. "Fire!" She knelt down, holding her hands out to the flames. "So…warm!" She pressed her heated palms to her face in an attempt to rub it all over.

"Very good. 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 first watch?"

Ruby raised her hand. "Yo."

Oobleck dashed off once that was done, possibly to examine the rest of the building before he would settle down to sleep with the rest of them. Ruby only stayed at the fire for a little longer before she stood up and wandered down another corridor, this one missing a wall on the one side that gave anyone who took position there to have a commanding view over the area.

"Hey," Yang called when Ruby was passing her, getting her to stop. "Did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress? I mean…what did you tell him?"

"No, he didn't," Ruby replied. "Weird." She wasn't troubled by it at all though. "Oh well, goodnight guys!"

He didn't ask her? Yang thought, surprised, as her sister took a seat in the hall, resting Crescent Rose across her lap. Zwei had followed her and placed his front paws on top of her knee, his attempt to garner attention being rewarded with an affectionate rub on his back.

Eating and settling for bed was done in that same uncomfortable silence. Yang hardly cared about the dry taste of a biscuit that she consumed, her mind elsewhere. Weiss and Blake each took a sleeping bag that they prepared, setting their swords down within easy reach. At intermittent points, they would become motionless, staring sightlessly at whatever was ahead of them with Yang able to guess what they were thinking about. Eventually they all lied down on top of the bags, resting their heads on flat pillows.

Sleep wasn't coming to her. In spite of all that they went through today with Yang having wanted to do nothing more than sleep in between the packs of Grimm and hours of searching, she laid awake.

Why do I want to be a Huntress?

Whenever she closed her eyes, the question came to the forefront to foil her attempts at sleep. Each time she asked herself it, she thought back to when Oobleck had done so and tried to think of what she should've said instead or what she could've added.

It had seemed to be the natural thing to do. Her father was a Huntsman, her mothers – Summer and her real mother – had both been Huntresses, and her uncle was a Huntsman. Following in her family's footsteps was the logical thing to do.

It was the convenient thing to do, that word making a reappearance and it was as improper to her as it was then.

But when she thought about it, how could she describe it as anything other than that? She never entertained a more worthy cause or motivation to be a Huntress. The last time she acted on something that she believed to be of a greater cause – to bring her family back together -, it had nearly ended in disaster. Since then, she never tried to link any kind of noble purpose to her decisions and actions – just living in the moment and pursuing whatever was fun and exciting.

Was she cheapening it, then? Huntressing, that is.

She opened her eyes and tilted her head to glance over. Weiss was resting on her back, hands folded over her stomach. As for Blake, she was on her side, her sleeping face in view.

Or was she sleeping? Yang couldn't be sure about Weiss but for the faunus… "Blake, are you awake?"

Her eyes remained closed but there was no hesitation when she replied, "Yeah."

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

"Maybe he was just curious."

Yang rolled onto her side to better bring Blake into view. "You think?"

Two glittering ambers stared doubtfully at her. "No."

Yang fell back down, sighing. So Blake couldn't sleep either. She looked over to Weiss again. "Weiss, are you awake?"

"Of course I'm awake!" was the irritated response that had Yang grimacing. "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 commented.

Weiss sat up to send an agitated look across to Blake. "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."

The faunus couldn't come up with a counter to that, Yang quietly relieved that there wouldn't be a renewed clash between the white and black teammates. The sullen expression that Blake had on her face was little better though, her girlfriend's gaze having dropped to stare forlornly at the floor.

"All my life, I fought for what I thought was right," she said. "I had a partner named Adam." For Weiss's benefit, she explained, "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 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'll figure it out," Yang replied. "You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake."

"But I am! 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…" Her arms came up, hugging herself when she shook. "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 turned over, wishing she could embrace Blake but settled with extending a hand and touching what she could, that being her partner's leg. "At least you two have something that drives you," she said when she got Blake's attention, smiling thinly. "I've just kind of always gone with the flow, you know? And that's fine, I mean that's who I am, but how long can I really do that for? I want to 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."

Convenient, it came again. Her hand sliding away from Blake, Yang spotted Ruby out in the hall, still at her perch. She had deployed Crescent Rose some time ago, had probably been using the scope of her rifle to keep watch, and though it was across her body, it didn't take long for Yang to notice that it was lying against Ruby rather than being held by her. Her head was lowered, her bangs almost making it impossible to see how her eyes were closed.

Yang's smile gained a bit more energy. "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 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."

Nothing had been convenient for Ruby, the sight of her sister having valiantly tried to keep awake but coming up short triggering those old memories of her early years at Signal when she hadn't been able to perform like the other students. No matter how many days that went by with scant results, however many hours she would stay at the training rooms swinging a weapon only to realize it was incompatible, or the number of carefully-worded suggestions of how Huntressing may not have been for her, she had kept at it. Not for the adventure or the excitement, but because it was what she wanted to do because of all the good she could do. A job that she pursued like there was no other option – and there probably wasn't. Not to Ruby.

Yang had to admit, she was kind of jealous of her baby sister.

"Well, she's still just a kid," Weiss said.

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

"Well, not anymore." Chuckling, Yang indicated their dwelling. "I mean, look where we are. In the middle of a war zone armed to the teeth."

Blake smiled. "It's the life we chose."

Weiss nodded. "It's a job. 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. Whatever we want, will have to come second."

She took the words right out of Yang's mouth. All day they had been traveling through Mountain Glenn, all of them worried about what they wanted, but not seeing what was right in front of them. So concerned by their own desired, they couldn't see how civilization had attempted to rise but ended up falling, leading to the deaths of thousands. That was what they were supposed to protect. That was what they were supposed to do.

The blonde picked herself up from the floor. "I think I'll take over watch now."

Weiss pulled out her scroll. "There's still about an hour left."

"Eh, what's another hour?" Yang stretched as she moved. "Thanks for volunteering to be the nice girl to take over after me by the way."

"What!? But I didn't-!"

Ignoring the rest of the fencer's protests, Yang went to Ruby, sparing a moment to kneel down and scratch Zwei's head, the corgi having apparently remained awake and taken over Ruby's watching duties when she nodded off.

Her leader was slow to wake up when she shook her gently by the shoulder. Lids slowly raising, all Yang saw were bleary silver eyes that stared up at her while Ruby mumbled, "Yang?"

"Hey, sis. Time's up. My turn to take watch."

"Watch…?" It took another second but then Ruby suddenly jolted, coming to full wakefulness and scrambling to pick up Crescent Rose when her scythe nearly fell over with the action. "I fell asleep! I'm sorry, don't tell Oobleck! I didn't mean-!"

"Woah, woah, woah," Yang shushed, patting her on that same shoulder. "No worries. You did your best, Ruby, just like always. But now it's my turn."

---

The shame of having fallen asleep on her first time on watch on her first mission hung over Ruby when Yang shooed her away from her lookout position. It didn't last long when she laid down on the sleeping bag that was left empty, Yang's warmth lingering, and the exhaustion came clawing back up to claim her. When Zwei curled up next to her, his fluffy body just as warm and soft as the pillow under her head, Ruby let her consciousness drift and vanish.

It was Zwei who ended up waking her again, Ruby opening her eyes when she felt movement against her to see him on his feet and staring at something she couldn't see and was too tired to care about. "Zwei, it's late. Go back to bed."

When she yawned with every intention of returning to dreamland, Zwei took off.

"Zwei!" Ruby hissed quietly, mindful of her sleeping teammates. "Zwei!"

He didn't come back, disappearing down the corridor that would lead to the stairs. Ruby took a quick look around, seeing Weiss and Blake still asleep. Yang was still on watch, unaware of what was going on and with the fire having been reduced to glowing embers, it made Ruby think that she hadn't been sleeping long.

Groaning, Ruby forced herself to get out of bed, making sure to grab Crescent Rose before leaving to locate Zwei. She didn't bother telling Yang, not wanting to worry her with something that could just be Zwei needing to do…doggy things.

They had set up on the second floor of their chosen building and with the flight of stairs leading to the third floor being in a mixed state of unfinished/demolished, there was only the ground floor that Zwei could've gone to. After descending down and seeing no sign of Zwei, Ruby stuck her head out the door, praying that he hadn't gone far. "Zwei? Zwei, where are you?"

She was looking across the street where the building there hadn't gone any farther in construction after having its support beams put in place and she did a double-take at one in particular. Zwei was standing at the base with leg up.

"Zwei, this is a wasteland," Ruby said but couldn't help but smile a little when she walked out to retrieve him. "You literally could've done that anywhere!"

Zwei padded up to her when he was finished with his business, issuing an apologetic bark. She bent down to pick him up.

"What was that?"

Hers arms immediately went tight around Zwei and Ruby fell back within the shadow of the building, nerves suddenly on edge.

"What was what?"

Zwei went still in her grip, picking up on her anxiety that doubled when she heard a second voice. Quietly, Ruby edged towards the corner of the building and took a peek to see where the voices were coming from.

"I thought I heard a Beowolf or something."

The white tunics. The hoods and masks. White Fang soldiers!

They were standing meters away, the pair of them cradling rifles and scanning the area. Ruby ducked back when one swept a little too close to where she was hiding, the leader remembering that if they were White Fang, then they were faunus. They would be able to see her easily, even in the dark, if they looked over. With her back pressed against the wall, Ruby strained to hear them while making sure to not make a sound of her own.

"Let's just finish our patrol and get back to base," she heard one grunt out. "This place gives me the creeps."

She counted to five and then leaned back out to see them walking away from her.

Patrol. Base. Ruby put two and two together and recognized the opportunity that she had just been given.

I should… Ruby glanced up to where her team was resting, and then to the White Fang members who were walking further away. No, no time! If she ran back and got her team, she might lose them.

She made a decision. Setting Zwei down and signaling him to be quiet, Ruby began tailing them. If they did lead her to their base, she could call her teammates and direct them right towards it.

She brought Crescent Rose out but didn't activate her scythe, keeping it on hand in case she needed to take them down quickly if they spotted her and tried to alert the rest of their comrades, wherever they were. She made use of her Semblance instead, waiting until the pair were far enough away and a quick burst of speed brought her to the pillar of another building or a debris pile that would shield her from their sight while she watched them.

Not once did either of them take a glance over their shoulders to see if they were being followed. They were as relaxed as they could be in a place like this, confident that nothing but the Grimm were around and Ruby hoped that that would make them want to hurry on back to the safety of their base.

They must not know we're here, even with all the fighting we did, she thought with some amazement. They had spent most of the day fighting Beowolves, making all kinds of ruckus. Their hideout must still be pretty far off if they weren't able to hear any of it.

It turned out to be pretty close. They rounded a corner and Ruby waited before speeding over to that same corner, quietly tiptoeing out-

There was no cover. Ruby saw the White Fang soldiers heading to what appeared to be the entrance of a subway tunnel that was closed off with a pair of solid gates but the area was too exposed for her to follow. She hopped back behind the building.

Zwei's head poked around the corner a moment later, Ruby holding him up. It wouldn't be suspicious if they saw a dog, right? Right.

"Did they go in yet?" she whispered. "One bark means yes."

During the silence that ensued while anxiously waiting for an answer, Ruby thought she could hear a gate swinging open and then closing. Zwei barked once.

Ruby had to quell her excitement to whispered shouts. "This is it! This is it!" She put Zwei down and fetched her scroll, dialing her team, only to be interrupted by a window that appeared.

[LOW SIGNAL]

"Aw, man!" Cursing at the notification, she repocketed it and retrieved her scythe. "Come on, we got to get the others."

She and Zwei retraced their steps together, crossing over a street. The delay aside, Ruby was elated. She found the hideout! Her knack for encountering bad guys in the middle of the night was actually paying off for once!

The unexpected rumble beneath her feet interrupted her celebrations. She looked down, saw the fissures that had ruptured within the middle of the street, and before she could react, a hole opened up right under her.

Ruby fell back, Crescent Rose flying from her grip, and it was instinct that saved her when she managed to grab onto the edge of the hole. Startled yelping notified her of Zwei tumbling forward, falling off the edge and over her head, and Ruby barely managed to shoot one hand out and grab him by the scruff of his neck.

They both dangled over darkness, Ruby unable to see anything below them. She swung her arm that held Zwei, gathering enough momentum for the heave that flung him back up to the street, away from the chasm. With him safe, Ruby gripped the edge with both hands and started to pull herself up.

The concrete crumbled beneath her grip and, with a short scream, she fell.

For a brief second, she saw her dog's silhouette standing over the edge of the hole, heard his calls, but both vanished from sight and hearing as gravity pulled her down into the abyss. Ruby concentrated and a brief flash of red encased her form, her Aura activating, and she drew it around her to help cushion her for the inevitable landing.

She did it just in time, said landing occurring soon after she activated her Aura, air rushing right out of her lungs while the back of her head struck the ground, knocking her into a daze. She laid there for some needed recovery, sucking in deep breaths while she tried to center her vision, her fingers gingerly touching at the throbbing located at the back of her skull.

She allowed herself to remain there for a short while before she forced herself to stand, stumbling a little when the world swayed in front of her. She closed her eyes and shook her head, palm rubbing to soothe the pain. When she opened them again, it was to see everything having settled.

And just what is this? she wondered when she finally saw her surroundings.

She expected to find herself having fallen into an underground tunnel or a cave. What she did not expect to find was an underground city.

What moonlight that managed to get through the break in the surface granted enough illumination for her to see that that was exactly where she was. She had fallen onto the roof of one large multi-level structure and from this vantage point she could see what she could best describe as a subterranean version of Mountain Glenn, housed within this enormous cavern.

A door was flung open behind her, light streaming in. "Freeze!"

Ruby spun around, and held up a hand to block the bright light that stung her eyes. Squinting past it, she saw two figures standing in front of them. A bit more squinting and she could see the rifles of two White Fang soldiers being pointed at her. She backed away but only accomplished in taking a couple steps before she stopped, nearly falling off the roof.

"You're a long way from home, little girl," one of them said threateningly, he and his partner closing in on her.

Were they the same ones that she had been following? No, when Ruby took another look with her eyes having adjusted, it was to see that they were different. One of them was wearing glasses over his mask, something which she might've found funny if it wasn't for the gun he had on her.

No choice, gotta fight. Ruby reached behind her for Crescent Rose and gasped in shock when her baby wasn't there for her to grab. That's right, I dropped it before I fell!

There came a painful grip on her arm, one of the faunus using the distraction to grab her.

"Hey, hands off!" she yelled, wrenching her arm out.

It was nothing to worry about; she had taken out people without her scythe before, just like those guys that Torchwick had been with. Surely she can handle these two! Mustering up her strength, she made a fist with the hand she just freed and, doing her best to imitate Yang, Ruby threw a punch.

Her knuckles hit a very solid abdomen, her target barely flinching.

…Oh these guys are much stronger.

Ruby desperately punched again, aiming for the unprotected chin, but the faunus caught it and she winced at how her fist was painfully squeezed within the hand that easily enfolded it. It left her vulnerable to the return punch that connected with her cheek, stars exploding in front of her eyes, and when they cleared it was for Ruby to see that she had dropped to the ground, her vision swimming anew.

"The boss is going to want to see this one."

Ruby weakly lifted her chin, saw the sole of a boot coming down right towards her face, and then nothing.

---

Ruby!

Weiss awoke with a start, gasping with eyes wide and searching, feeling like that she was under attack. She instinctively reached for Myrtenaster, fingers clutching the hilt, but she didn't raise it.

Recognizing where she was lessened the pounding of her heart but she remained on alert, her grip tight on her rapier. Her sense of danger that had previously been screaming at her died down but didn't go away fully, reduced to a sharp, biting sensation that had her twitching in expectance for an attack that wasn't coming.

Nor would it. Everything around her was calm, the only noise that she heard being the crackling of charred logs of a dying fire. Blake was near her feet and she could see her resting peacefully, which meant that Yang was still on watch and the brawler wasn't sounding any kind of alert.

Still she did not relinquish her weapon, actually dragging it a bit closer, experiencing a need to keep herself armed.

A bad dream? Weiss couldn't recollect such a thing. When she tried, all that came to her was…darkness. Not that of slumber. It was just…dark, with a sense like she was falling from somewhere high up. Then that unexpected rush of alarm and perceiving a threat that was directed at her

No…no, not at me. It hadn't been an attack against her that Weiss had tried to defend against. It hadn't been her name that she had been calling out.

"Hey, Weiss, it's your-" The heiress saw Yang arrive, the blonde's arms high in a stretch before she froze, staring at something on the other side of Weiss. "Ruby?"

Ruby. Her partner's name reignited that sense of dread and Weiss looked to where Ruby should be. All she saw was an empty bed.

"Where's Ruby?" Yang asked.

There came a knocking somewhere down below, something rushing up the stairs. It woke up Blake, the faunus sitting up, and Oobleck stuck his head down through a hole from the floor above, the doctor having situated himself there. "What?"

Nails scratched along stone as Zwei ran in, barking as soon as he saw them and coming up to Yang. He pawed at her legs, his barks turning into whines.

Yang knelt down to the panicking dog. "Zwei?"

Blake stood, Gambol Shroud at its spot on her back. "What's going on?"

Oobleck quietly viewed Yang trying to placate the whining Zwei and then switched to the empty sleeping bag. His expression became grim. "Grab your weapons. Your leader may be in trouble."

Grabbing their weapons was all that they did. They left their makeshift beds unrolled and what remained of the campfire burning, Oobleck only taking what supplies remained in his pack when he grabbed it on their way out. As soon as they were outside, Yang pointed in a random direction.

"Zwei, find Ruby!" she ordered. "Bring us to Ruby!"

He was already sprinting down a street, all of them following his lead.

Ruby's in trouble.

The thought reverberated within Weiss. There was no maybe or might. Somehow, Weiss knew that Ruby was in trouble, it having been her name that she had been calling out in fear.

Dammit, first the CCT and now this. Can't she ever just stay out of trouble for at least one night? Or at least make sure she has proper backup before getting into trouble?

She was angry at Ruby but that was what she'd rather be right now when all they were doing was following Zwei. She didn't want to think about what kind of trouble that she could've ended up in – of the only kind of trouble that that dunce could've possibly found in this destroyed city. The kind that only Zwei returned from, whimpering, and not her.

"Ruby's scythe!"

It was Yang who identified the weapon of red and black that Zwei stopped at. It lay there, stock and scope extended, but the blade remained folded. It lay there alone, abandoned, when, once, its wielder had claimed that she would never part with it, even in de-

No, Weiss was not going to let herself even think of that word, no matter how distressing it was to see Crescent Rose on this deserted street and not at Ruby's side.

The dread that Blake breathed out did not help. "Oh, no."

While Yang picked up Ruby's scythe, Blake hovering at her shoulder, Weiss went past them, her need to find clues to locating Ruby leading her to the huge hole in the street. "Do you think she fell?"

Oobleck was at her side in an instant. "Fell?"

"Down there." Weiss craned her neck, trying to make out anything down below but only getting darkness.

Darkness. A sense of falling. An attack.

"Oh my." Oobleck withdrew from the hole. "Of course. Of course, of course, of course!"

"What is it?" Yang asked.

He didn't seem to have heard her, the man pacing around them. "How could I be so stupid!?"

"Dr. Oobleck, what's wrong?"

"Mountain Glenn!" he shouted into her face. "Yes!" He gripped his chin, deep in concentration. "An expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by the Grimm! Previously home to thousands of people!"

He was whizzing between the three of them, his movements and words delivered with haste. "Working people, commuting to the city – the main city! Developed a subway system to the inner city! Grimm attacks increase! Population in danger, now desperately searching for shelter! City evacuated into metro tunnels, and what do they find!?"

He revealed it directly to Zwei, finger wagging in front of the dog. "The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!"

Zwei licked his finger.

"Doc, what are you saying?"

Oobleck grasped Yang by the shoulders. "My dear, we're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an underground crime network!"

"They've been working in caves?" Blake questioned dubiously.

Oobleck shook his hands and head in negative. "No, no, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion! It worked for a short period of time, thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense and unique transportation! The city developed an elaborate subway system to carry citizens safely from the new territory into the main kingdom! Sadly, without the many natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the start!"

He drew back to the chasm, peering into its depths. "As the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival. They took up shelter beneath the city, in the massive caves they cleared out for the subway, and they had cut themselves off from the surface."

"An underground village?" Yang asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. A safe haven. Until…an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern…filled with subterranean Grimm. After that, the kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb."

Weiss's imagination was prompted by Oobleck's grave tone to conceive the thousands of terrified voices that screamed and echoed deep within the void, overpowered and then silenced by the roars of the Grimm. A mausoleum that had become the home of the slaughtered, resting and waiting for when another would fall amongst them.

Ruby's down there?

"If Ruby is down there…" Oobleck revealed his thermos. A shake encouraged a conversion, a long, thin handle sliding out from the bottom while the body elongated, a nozzle appearing at the top. Taking the handle, he held his torch-like weapon at the ready, a flame lighting at the tip of the nozzle. "We must find her."

---

She was being dragged.

The first thing Ruby saw when she regained consciousness was her feet sliding along the ground, her arms being held by the two faunus who had clearly captured her. There was a bunch of noise everywhere, getting her to try and find the sources.

"Take it over there!" a faunus ordered, directing the pilot of a Paladin to grab and deliver a container to where he wanted it.

"Hey, what are you trying to do?"

Her captors had been dragging her alongside a motionless train with the angry shout guiding her to a car that was open. Another pair of White Fang members were inside, fussing over a round hunk of machinery. It was cylindrical in shape, capsules and tubing connected to it.

"What are you trying to do, blow us to the moon?" the one shouted again.

"Sorry, sir!"

For some reason Ruby's interest became focused on the device and the capsules attached to it. They were filled with grounded Dust – Burn and Freeze – with the tubing connecting them to the device itself.

Burn and Freeze Dust…mixing them? She was reminded of one of Weiss's Dust lectures; of how mixing Dust of such opposing elements like those two without proper equipment could be bad. As bad as…getting blown to the moon, really.

She couldn't wonder about it anymore as her captors came to a halt in front of another car. The one with the glasses over his mask called, "Hey, boss! Found something you might want to see!"

Someone answered from inside. "Is it good or bad, Perry, because let me tell ya, I have haaad a day."

That frighteningly familiar voice had Ruby looking over just as Perry awkwardly informed, "Uh, it's a little girl?"

Silence, and then Roman Torchwick stepped out of the car. Upon seeing Ruby, air hissed in between his teeth and cigar. "That would be bad…"

---

Author's Note: So, Mountain Glenn and Search and Destroy. As I said previously, for the disappointment I felt at getting so little from Ozpin's speech and the lack of lore during the episodes before it, these two episodes more than made up for it in both lore and character development. Mountain Glenn gave us a look at what failure against the Grimm means and that for all the measly Beowolves, Ursai, and Boarbatusks that our heroines have faced so far, the Goliaths are a hint to far more terrifying specimens out in the wilds, not only when it comes to size but in intelligence. I know it's been praised by the fanbase but, whooo boy, that scene with the Goliath just staring at her. Chilling, and I hope my written words added to it.

I tried to add my own things here and there to provide better impact like Oobleck breaking down Mountain Glenn's destruction. I'm ballparking it though on the years that such an event would occur and I think I might not have been generous enough with how fast the Grimm decimated Mountain Glenn.

And, as you can see, I added a few things from Soulbound, particularly on the Weiss side of things. Having already seen what it was like to nearly lose her partner and now Ruby's found herself in another dangerous situation? Yep, it'll be affecting her. And, yes, her remembering her failed attempt at revenge while justifying being a Huntress to Oobleck was too good to pass up. I was tempted to change the dialogue a little between Yang, Blake, and Weiss, particularly with Weiss perhaps hinting that coming to Beacon to make things better had not been her original intent in this Soul AU. But I doubt she would've wanted to reveal that to her teammates and, to be fair, wanting to better her company and the faunus is her goal now.

I know I focused a lot on Yang for this…but that's simply because I think we needed more Yang. Out of all the characters in RWBY, Yang was the one that I think could've used more screentime and development in Vol. 2, given to what she reveals about her and Ruby, her reasons for being a Huntress, and how Ruby really, really isn't like her. And, yes, Raven. Mountain Glenn just seemed more perfect for Yang to me. She was a lot more fun to write about anyway. Ah, and in case anyone's worried about the missing scene between Goodwitch and Ironwood, I actually saved that for next chapter.

So, up next is No Brakes. It's not Breach but No Brakes is an episode that I've been dying to pseudo-novelize because I think this is where the written word can provide a lot in the fighting that goes on, particularly with Neo and even the White Fang Lieutenant. I hope you see what I mean when I do it. And that original scene I mentioned all the way in the first chapter? Yeah, I have a little surprise in the next chapter that I hope will go over well.

Just a little note, I am hoping to get No Brakes done before September 1st. What's happening on September 1st, you ask? Why, Phantom Pain of course! Other than Halo 5, Phantom Pain is another game that I've really, really, really been looking forward to. Considering Kojima's departure, it's just made me want to play it more. I may actually take a week off to play Phantom Pain to not only play through and experience what could very well be the final chapter of Big Boss but enjoy the online shenanigans that'll occur with online play with my friends.

I can't promise it considering my track record with following my schedule, but my tentative plan is post No Brakes, play some Phantom Pain, and take that week to not only play it but prepare for what is to come: Breach. I hope to see you all again before September 1st!