Disclaimer: We do not own RWBY in any way. This is a fan written story, obviously, and all rights belong to Rooster Teeth Productions. Please support the official release.
…
Ch 10: Advanced Babysitting
…
"No one saves us but ourselves.
No one can and no one may.
We ourselves must walk the path"
-Buddha
"Be sure you put your feet in the right place,
Then stand firm"
-President Abraham Lincoln
…
Six Months Before the Battle of Beacon
Two teenagers walked through the streets of Vale, one female with green hair that was cut off just below her chin, wore an intricate white top over a cropped olive shirt. Brown chaps connected to a brown belt covered white pants, but both cut off just below her knees while she wore brown high heels on her feet. The other, a male with slightly unkempt grey hair, wore long black pants and black boots. A two-tone zip up jacket had sleeves that cut off midway down his biceps, leaving his arms to be covered in vambraces and rerebraces. A grey sash hung from his belt on his right hip, depicting a black winged shoe.
The girl seemed to be pointedly ignoring the boy as they walked, despite his mouth running faster than the cars that cruised the streets. The girl seemed to be searching for something that she finally found, leading the boy into a bookstore named 'Tukson's Book Trade'. Inside was a fairly well-lit bookstore that, to someone else, would have felt welcoming. The teenagers split, the boy staying near the door while the girl approached the counter and rang the bell waiting there. After a moment, a man walked out, with dark hair and amber eyes. He wore a dark brown zip-up sweater over a white shirt, and dark brown pants. His cheeks and jawline were covered in thick sideburns, and when he leaned against the counter to talk to the girl, she saw that his sleeves were rolled up to his biceps, revealing muscular and hairy arms.
"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home of every book under the sun. How may I-?" He said, with a deep voice that was filled with joy until he took a good look at the girl on the other side of the counter, his sentence stopping short. He leaned back from the counter, masking his suspicion with a smile.
"How may I help you?" He continued, after a moment of hesitation.
"Oh, just browsin'!" The boy called, slamming shut the book he was holding.
"Actually, I was wondering if you had any copies of 'The Thief and the Butcher'?" She asked, and Tukson nodded.
"Yes I do. Would you… like a copy?" He asked, and she shook her head.
"No, just asking for a friend. What about 'Violet's Garden', in paperback?" She said, leaning forward against the counter. Again, Tukson nodded his head, but didn't get a chance to respond before the boy called out again.
"He does! In hard copy, too!" Tukson's eyes narrowed when the girl smiled again.
"Oh, I do love options." She said, looking back at her friend, before swinging her head around to look at Tukson, leaning farther across the counter.
"What about 'The Third Crusade'?" She asked, and Tukson faltered for a moment.
"Uh, I don't believe we carry that one anymore." Her smiled widened dangerously, and her friend started backing towards the light switches next to the door.
"What is this store called again?" She asked, a glint in her eye.
"Tukson's Book Trade." He replied, and her tone got dangerous.
"And what's your catchphrase?" She asked. Tukson sighed.
He looked down with a heavy sigh before looking at her with a deadpanned expression. "Tukson's Book Trade. Home to every book under the sun." He monotoned.
"Except 'The Third Crusade'." The boy said, a menacing smirk playing onto his lips.
"It's just a catchphrase." Tukson grumbled, looking down a bit.
"It's false advertising!" He yelled back, mock anger heavy in his voice.
"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, Tukson." The green haired girl said with a hint of mocking disappointment in her tone before setting her feet in a wide stance, her companion moving to dim the lights. "We heard you were packing up shop, moving all the way to Vacuo." Her partner locked the door and began to black out the windows using the dial next to the door. "Your brothers in the White Fang wouldn't like that, would they Tukson?" And like that, the large store owner was beginning to sweat and back away from the counter, his eyes locked on the red orbs of the girl in front of him.
"You know who we are?" The girl asked with a cocky smirk once her partner moved up behind her, the windows were blacked and the room dimly lit by the lights coming from the doors behind Tukson and from his cash register.
Tukson opened his mouth to speak, but the doors behind him swung open, and Alexander walked out, in full military uniform, though he held his beret in his hands.
"Oh, sorry, was I interrupting something? A dramatic threatening that would end in violence, perhaps?" He said, smiling widely, though it didn't reach his eyes, which were like chips of ice, darting between the two teenagers.
"Mr. Tukson made a promise that he has no intention on keeping." The girl grit out, recognizing Alexander from the alleyway months ago. He stuck his lip out in a fake pout at her.
"Oh, you poor little girl. Don't worry, I'll just be taking Mr. Tukson here to get some cigarettes at the corner store. We'll send your daddy home if we run into him." She bristled immediately, and he saw her hands twitch to her weapons, and her friend take a step towards the counter. In a flash, Alexander had dropped his beret and drawn his pistols, pointing one at each of the teenagers. He clicked his tongue at them and they froze.
"Go home. You're not my problem today, but next time you try something like this again, you're not walking away." Both teenagers looked to be barely reigning in their anger, though the boy seemed to be doing a much better job. Alexander saw him eyeing him and Tukson up, likely trying to figure out the odds that he could take them before he huffed and turned to leave, the girl not far after him. The door closed behind them, the bell tinkling quietly. Tukson looked at Alexander with a grateful smile.
"Thank you so much." He said, and Alexander grunted in response.
"Don't thank me yet. You are still very much going to jail. How long you're there and how comfortable your stay is is entirely dependent on how much you can tell me about who those two are, what they're doing here, and what their involvement in the White Fang is."
…
"They certainly are an eyesore." Ozpin said, looking down at the Atlesian ships flocking around Beacon Academy from his office at the top of the tower. Glynda Goodwitch stood next to him, equally annoyed, but less reserved. Where Ozpin's ire was barely noticeable, Goodwitch's was palpable, her lips tight and eyes narrowed slightly as she glared at the ships. A beep from Ozpin's desk caused the two to turn around and look at the elevator doors which opened a second later. Ironwood walked in slowly, every step measured, a small smile on his face, his eyes darting around the room briefly before settling on Ozpin.
"Oz, it's been too long." He says, holding out a gloved hand to the Headmaster, who had walked around his desk. Ozpin grasped his hand with a strained smile.
"Perhaps not long enough, James, given the company you brought with you this time." He said quietly, and Ironwood's smile faltered minutely before he turned to greet Glynda, who had paused next to the two men.
"Glynda, always a pleasure to see you." He smiled genuinely. Glynda cocked an eyebrow at him, her lips pursed disapprovingly.
"I'm sure it is. Maybe if you didn't bring so many friends, I'd be happier to see you." She said, scathingly, before turning and walking out, the elevator door closing behind her, Ironwood's smile falling. Ironwood turned back to Ozpin, who had sat back down behind his desk with a cup of coffee.
"You understand why I brought those men, right, Oz? We need them." He said, and Ozpin leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk and steepling his fingers.
"Just because I know why you brought them does not mean I agree with them being here, James. I was under the impression that, at most, we would see the Yggdrasil. Qrow's message is not an absolute. If it is true, we will handle it tactfully. But this is the Vytal Festival, James, a celebration of peace and unity, and bringing hundreds of men and women halfway across the world scares people." He was calm, unsurprisingly. In his entire life, Ironwood had never seen Ozpin be anything but unflappable.
"I'm just being cautious." There was a note of desperation in Ironwood's voice, just wanting the Headmaster to understand his concerns.
"As am I. Which is why we will continue to train the best Hunters we can." Ozpin replied, placatingly.
"You say that like I haven't been doing that." Ironwood turned and walked to the elevator, but stopped halfway.
"Tell me this, Ozpin. Do you think your students are prepared to fight and win a war?" Ironwood said over his shoulder, before continuing on into the elevator, the doors sliding shut quietly behind him.
"I pray that they never have to." Ozpin said, to the empty office.
…
Four Months Before the Battle of Beacon
Alexander walked into Ozpin's office, looking slightly battered and a bit worse for wear. His clothes, dark green denim shirt and dark brown cargo pants, had noticeable rips and tears in them. His hair was rumpled, and his beard was unkempt. Mud spattered his clothes, backpack and boots, and what looked like dried blood was splotched on his shirt. His scowl was immediately obvious, and his anger palpable as he stormed up to Ozpin's desk, behind which the headmaster sat, and Ironwood stood.
"What the FUCK is going on in this fucking city! I leave for two months, and come back to hear that my girlfriend's sister and her team fought a stolen Paladin! Not to mention the White Fang meeting they crashed that got them chased by said Paladin!" Alexander stopped his tirade momentarily, glaring at Ozpin, who remained calm and emotionless.
"How did you not even know they were off campus?! Or that the Paladin had been stolen?!" He yelled, arms thrown out to the side, staring questioningly at the two leaders, who were still silent. His arms dropped back to his sides after a few moments of silence.
"Alright, fine. I get it. Not my place to question, apparently. But next time, I'd at least like a heads up before I get back." He was back to a normal level, and he looked resigned.
"Anyway. There were some White Fang in the ruins of Mountain Glenn, but I eliminated them. I didn't get much of a chance to look in the caverns, since there were too many Grimm, but I doubt that even if the White Fang went down there, that they would be able to get out easily. Unless, of course, they have some hidden entrance I couldn't see. Beyond that, some people should probably be sent to deal with the Grimm that are still hanging out. The White Fang attracted a whole mess of them while they were camping out in the ruins." Alexander said with a sigh, running his hands through his hair. Ozpin and Ironwood looked at him expectantly for his few seconds of silence.
"Alright. That's all. Now, if that's all, I would very much like to go take a shower and relax." He said, and turned to leave, but didn't even get a step in before Ozpin's voice stopped him.
"Actually, that's not quite all, I'm afraid." Alexander turned around, his face a picture of reluctance.
"And what exactly would you like me to do now, sir?" He asked, with forced politeness.
"Professor Port was supposed to lead team CFVY on their mission, but he unfortunately came down with an illness and is unable to accompany them at this time. However, team CFVY still need a Hunter to escort them on the mission in case the mission turns out poorly." Alexander raised his hand with a sigh.
"I get it. You need me to escort them. When do they leave?" Ozpin smiled wryly at him.
"They should be loading into the bullhead right now."
…
Coco Adel nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a loud banging from outside against the side of the bullhead where her and her teammates were sitting. The door flipped open, revealing a man that, at first, she thought looked a bit like they were homeless, until she looked closer, past the unkempt hair and beard, past the muddy clothes, and saw the patches of dried blood on their shirt, and the icy, suspicious eyes that immediately darted across her and her team, sizing them up in an instant, something she had only seen veteran Hunters do.
"Great. You haven't left. I'm your glorified babysitter for this mission. Name's Specialist Wallace, and I have spent the large part of the last two months sleeping in ruins. So, don't wake me until we get where we need to be." He said, throwing his bag into a seat before sitting down next to it, buckling in, and falling asleep almost instantly. Coco gaped at him as the door of the bullhead closed and she felt the aircraft take off.
"What the hell just happened?" She whispered, more to herself than anything, but Yatsuhashi managed to hear her.
"It would seem that Professor Port wasn't available to chaperone us. I believe that he was chosen as his replacement." He said, serenely, from his position on the floor in the lotus position, his eyes closed. Coco looked around to Fox and Velvet, who both looked slightly shaken, though Fox leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes as well to try to sleep. After a moment, the female members of CFVY followed the lead of the males, falling asleep to the quiet drone of the bullhead's engines.
…
Coco was woken by the bullhead shaking, her eyes snapping open, and reaching out reflexively to steady her despite the seatbelt she wore. She looked around to see the rest of CFVY grabbing onto something to maintain balance, even Yatsuhashi, who had buckled himself into the seat next to Fox. Specialist Wallace, however, was on his feet, holding onto a handle dangling from the ceiling as he moved to a window in the door of the bullhead, looking out for a few seconds, before throwing himself backward, grabbing his backpack off it's seat with one hand, and wrapping a seatbelt around his other forearm.
Barely a second later, something slammed into the side of the bullhead, ripping the door off the bullhead, and taking some of the metal around it as well. Coco had to shield her eyes, looking away from the opening as air rushed past her quickly and violently. When she looked at the hole, she saw the engine on that side was smoking, and that the Nevermore that likely ruined the engine and ripped the door off was circling around for another attack. The pressure in the bullhead finally balanced out, Specialist Wallace stood up quickly, opening the other door, looking down at the ground rushing toward them. He turned around, and motioned for team CFVY to join him, which they did after a moment. He pointed to a large body of water below them.
"Jump out and land there! Soften your fall however you can, but even if you can't, your aura should allow you to live through the impact!" He said, bracing himself against the frame of the door before throwing himself out, falling out towards the lake. Fox and Yatsuhashi followed moments later, but Velvet hesitated.
"C'mon, Velvet, we've got to go!" Coco yelled, but Velvet still wouldn't move. Coco looked behind them and saw the Nevermore on it's way to hit the bullhead, and forcibly threw the rabbit faunus out of the door, before jumping out herself, a moment before the Nevermore hit the bullhead. The explosion caught her on her way down, and she saw metal screaming past her before something hit her head and everything went black.
…
She woke up to pain lancing through her body, and when she opened her eyes with a groan, it was to see that the ground around her had cratered violently, and she was at the bottom of said crater that was about a meter deep, and two and a half meters in diameter. Her aura sparked angrily as it tried to regenerate and help repair her injuries, but her fall must have shattered it. Coco slowly got to her feet, wobbling a bit, the heels of her boots sinking slightly in the dirt. She was looking around, slowly standing up to look over the lip of the crater, when she heard a growl. Not long after, several more growls answered it, and she saw the bone covered faces of Beowolves slowly surround her.
Coco looked for her bag around her, and her heart stopped as she spotted it, outside the crater. It lay in a small crater of its own that the Beowolves prowled past as they approached her step by step. She started looking around frantically for something to defend herself with when the Beowolves suddenly stopped, their sensitive ears picking up on the crack of thunder that shuddered through the air barely a heartbeat before she herself heard it.
A hole appeared through several of the Beowolves, and they wobbled a bit before slowly dropping to the ground, dissolving as they did so. A series of smaller cracks echoed around the forest and the pack looked around in confusion as their numbers started dropping quickly, holes opening up in them left and right, until the pack of Beowolves turned and fled into the forest. Coco finally climbed out of the crater, and walked over to pick up her bag, looking around for her savior. A minute or so later, a wet and angry Specialist walked out of the forest towards her, pistols holstered on his thighs, and what looked like a collapsed rifle slung diagonally across his back. He looked her over for a few seconds before walking off back into the forest, but stopped a few paces in, turning to look at Coco.
"Well, you coming or not?" He turned back around and continued walking, leaving Coco to jog after him, her body protesting angrily to the strain.
…
He led her through the forest for what felt like forever, but was probably no more than a few minutes, stopping every so often to scan the trees around them for something before leading Coco off in a direction, despite the fact that she could not figure out what he saw on the trees. Finally, they reached the edge of a lake, and followed the beach for another minute or so until they reached a small hut that had been constructed. She stepped in first to see the rest of her team huddled around a small but warm fire, all looking pretty wet and angry. Velvet immediately jumped up to hug her team leader, and Coco returned the embrace after a moment of surprise.
"I'm so happy you're okay!" The rabbit faunus said, and Yatsuhashi nodded his agreement from where he sat, while Fox, reserved as always, continued to warm himself by the fire. A cough brought her attention from her team to the Specialist in the doorway, who looked slightly uncomfortable.
"Sun's about to set, and you all need to rest and relax. Sleep here tonight, and we'll set out in the morning." He walked out the opening of the hut, and Coco slowly turned to face the rest of her team.
"Do you guys have any idea who he is? I've never seen him around campus before." She asked, and looked around at her team. Yatsuhashi just continued to sit there, which was about as close to admitting he knew nothing that she would get, while Fox simply shrugged. Surprisingly, it was Velvet whose shoulders tensed, and she folded her arms almost defensively.
"I didn't recognize him until I saw him fighting the Grimm." She said quietly, and Coco cocked her head questioningly.
"What do you mean?" Velvet didn't answer immediately, but she took a deep breath after a few seconds, and spoke slowly, as if each word was poison she didn't want touching her lips.
"I haven't seen my parents in a little over half a year, and for good reason. They were members of the White Fang, albeit their only real involvement was letting the White Fang have meetings in our basement. Most meetings I could usually catch some of what they talked about. Two things they always brought up every meeting were the Schnee family, and how to undermine them, and someone they simply called 'The Hunter'." Velvet stopped talking briefly, collecting herself.
"Then I got a call from one of my neighbors, telling me to turn on the news. I did, and I saw my father get thrown out on the front lawn by an Atlas Specialist, who zip tied my father's hands together before handing him off so he could go tear my house apart. It was Specialist Wallace. He fought the Grimm with the same brutal efficiency with which he and his men attacked my family and their friends." Velvet, for the first time since Coco had known her, looked angry, legitimately, uncontrollably, angry, and it scared her.
At a lack for anything to say, she just waited for Velvet to go sit down with the two boys, and turned around, citing a need for fresh air. She had barely walked ten feet when she almost jumped out of her skin when someone started talking next to her.
"Your friend is missing some key details." Specialist Wallace spoke quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. Coco looked around her for a few seconds, searching for the source of the voice, until she saw him, sitting in the branches of a tree, not far above head height.
"What do you mean?" She asked, tilting her head. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
"There's two sides to every story, and rarely is either side completely right." She just stared at him for a few seconds, her face practically screaming her annoyance for her. He hopped out of the branches and motioned for Coco to follow him, which she did, albeit a bit reluctantly.
"I'm not proud of how we dealt with your friend's parents, but I do not regret it." He paused, seeming to collect his thoughts a bit.
"Hers was not the only house we raided, but it was the most successful raid that we had. See, for a decade at least, the White Fang has openly protested how the Schnee treat their workforce, especially the faunus. That does not make them wrong, and protesting itself is not even close to illegal. However, what her parents and their friends were doing was not a peaceful protest. Her parents house was the central hub for most of the White Fang activity that happened in Atlas." Coco looked at him, confused.
"What does that mean, really?" She asked, and he stopped walking, turning to look at her.
"It means that her parents were two of the people that helped plan the murders of Schnee executives, and almost half a dozen attempts on the lives of the Schnee family members themselves. Do you get it? Anyone we connected to her house that we could prove helped plan the attacks will never see the sun again. As it was, there are a lot of people, some of whom I am very close with, who firmly believe that everybody in that house should have been killed. So, frankly, though she may not have liked how I treated her parents and their friends, had it been any other Specialist leading that mission, she may well not have had any parents at all." Alexander spoke harshly, staring at Coco and her shell-shocked expression.
"Why aren't you telling her this?" She asked, and he shrugged.
"I probably should. But, she has a specific image of her parents, and, contrary to what some believe, I do care about people. I don't want her taking that kind of hit, especially while we're on a mission. Maybe once we're back at Beacon I'll tell her, but while we're out here, I'd rather be dealing with her anger. At least that way I know where she stands. You understand?" He asked, and Coco thought it over for a few seconds before nodding begrudgingly.
"Good. Go back to the hut, get some sleep with your team. I'll start waking people when it's their turn for their watch."
…
The night passed uneventfully, and when they broke camp the next day, it was in the pale light of dawn, following Alexander through the trees. Fox walked next to him, Coco behind them with Velvet beside her, and Yatsuhashi bringing up the rear.
"So, what was your team's mission exactly?" Alexander asked, his voice low enough that Fox was the only one able to hear him as they trudged through some dense undergrowth.
"We are to defend a village from Grimm. They anticipate an attack soon, and need someone to repel it." He said, his blank white eyes staring straight ahead while Alexander nodded in understanding.
"How did your Vytal mission go last year?" Alexander asked, eyeing Fox carefully out of the corner of his eye.
"Simple recon mission. We are not incredibly skilled in those areas as Hunters, however, so it proved to be something of a challenge. We welcomed it. It was a taste of the part of the job that often goes unrecognized." From there, they walked in silence until mid afternoon, when they stopped for lunch. In the middle of lunch, Alexander looked up from doing inventory of his backpack, his lunch finished already, and leveled his gaze at Fox from across the small clearing where they had set up their temporary camp.
"How long have you been blind?" Alexander asked, and Coco, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi stiffened, looking carefully between the two.
"All my life." Fox said, quietly.
"And your semblance helps compensate?" Alexander asked, and Fox nodded.
"My aura pulses outward every tenth of a second, and relays information to me about the area around me within thirty yards." Alexander tilted his head a bit.
"So you can see, just not in the conventional sense. Interesting." Alexander murmured, and Fox shrugged.
"I suppose."
…
They reached the village late the next day, emerging from the treeline to see a large lake. There was a single wooden bridge that extended from the bank to the floating city, which was also made entirely of wood, with high walls of wood surrounding the entire complex. As they made their way across the bridge, they saw people grouping up on the walls, watching their approach. A thin man with greying hair and a stressed expression hurried out to meet them right outside the doors of the city, wringing his hands worriedly.
"Hurry up, hurry up. You were supposed to be here yesterday. Ooooh, the mayor is not going to be pleased." He spoke hurriedly as he ushered them through the doors, two people shutting the doors behind them.
"Right, well, take us where we need to be then, man." Alexander said, quirking an eyebrow at the man. He led them through the town, past row after row of single story houses and stores until they reached the largest building by far. A single story like the rest, but wider and longer than the others by a fair margin.
"This is the town hall. I'll take you to the mayor's office right now. She has a meeting in a few minutes, but she'll postpone it for this." He said, more to himself than anything else as he led them through some hallways to the back of the building, where he knocked on a seemingly unassuming wooden door. When he opened the door a moment later, leading them in, however, it was revealed that while the door may have been simple, the room it hid was anything but. Wall to wall glass cases held and displayed pictures, souvenirs, and artifacts, likely brought back by the mayor herself from travels abroad. The desk was ornate, as was the chair behind it, while the ones in front were far simpler. A small table near the door was ringed by more simple chairs, while an antique tea set sat on the meticulously decorated tray on the fairly simple table.
The mayor rose to her feet, confusion written on her face, her pale green eyes honing in immediately on the weapons that they carried, and her expression cleared. She was a shorter woman, and in her younger years was a stunning beauty, if the pictures in the cases were any indication, and time had done little to dull that beauty. Well into her middle-age, her once forest green hair was streaked through with grey, and the laugh lines next to her eyes stood out like beacons. Small scars dotted and lined her arms, telling a tale of her hard fought journey through life. Her eyes locked onto Alexander's scar and tattoo almost immediately, looking between the two briefly, before extending her hand to clasp his.
"Glad you all made it safe and sound, albeit a few days late." She had a slow, deliberate way of speaking, and spoke softly. Alexander grimaced at her greeting.
"In a manner of speaking. Some of the Grimm you're worried about decided to assault our bullhead on the way here, and our pilots died in the crash." He replied, and she shook her head sadly.
"Such a tragedy. Well, I'm glad you're here. I don't anticipate that the Grimm will wait too much longer to attack, but I don't know for sure. We appreciate that you are willing to help us." She said, and Alexander nodded, turning on his heel, and leading CFVY out of the office. He walked them through the city back to the doors into and out of the city. He spent a minute or so silently looking around the doors, pacing back and forth on the ground and on the walkway above them before he finally stopped and motioned for Coco to join him.
"Alright, team leader. Your team, your call. Where would you put people to best defend the village?" He asked, once she was next to him.
"Are you helping?" She asked, and he shook his head.
"Only if you guys are about to fall. This is your mission. Last year, you were shadowing a Hunter, but this time, I'm here only as a supervisor. So, what do you do?" He asked, and watched the wheels in her head turn for a few minutes. She pointed at their feet, still looking out at the beach.
"I stand here, shoot at the beach, try to get as many as possible. Anything that makes it to the bridge has to be dealt with by Fox, Yatsu, and Velvet." She spoke with little confidence, looking at Alexander for reassurance, smiling when he nodded.
"And why don't you want to shoot the bridge?" He prompted.
"Because my bullets could destroy it, and we don't want the civilians rebuilding the bridge into a beach of waiting Grimm." He nodded again.
"Good. I'll watch from here during the night, but during the day, all four of you will have to be here, ready to go at a moment's notice. Understood?" He asked, and when she nodded, he motioned for her to leave.
"Go. This is likely the last free time you'll have for the next few days. Take advantage of it." He said, and watched CFVY walk away into the village before turning to gaze at the treeline past the beach. He slung Uranus' rifle off his back, and looked down the scope, seeing a single pair of red eyes. A slow squeeze of the trigger later, and a loud crack exploded through the air as the eyes ceased to exist. Alexander slung the rifle onto his back again with a smirk.
"Assholes."
…
Two days later, Coco was standing on top of the wall when she saw shadows moving in the darkness of the forest. When dozens of red eyes started lighting up, gazing hungrily, she quickly turned and ordered the other three members of CFVY onto the bridge. A few moments later, Alexander joined her on the wall next to her, hands clasped behind his back.
"Have you four ever fought a horde?" He asked quietly, staring at the forest, but he saw Coco shake her head nervously.
"Well, today's as good day as any." He said, before falling silent once more, watching the beach just like her. Coco pressed a button on her bag, and it quickly morphed into her fifty caliber auto-loading, spinning barrel, machine gun. Alexander pulled a pistol from it's holster, and when a beowolf stepped out onto the sand, a bullet took it's head off immediately.
"Good luck." Alexander said, and Coco didn't have a chance to reply as Beowolves started streaming from the treeline, and she started firing, the slight vibration of her gun running through her body as her bullets ripped through the Grimm, kicking sand up into the air, obscuring her vision slightly. A large majority fell before they even reached the bridge, but those that survived were taken care of by Fox, Yatsuhashi, and Velvet, who, despite their leader's best efforts, were still fighting a steady stream of Grimm. Alexander watched with a straight face until he saw shadows on the horizon that made him curse.
"Keep firing on the beach. Leave the Nevermores to me." He unslung Uranus' rifle off his back, and, looking down the sight, counted thirteen Nevermores.
"Motherfuckers. Can't fight fair." He muttered, pulling the trigger, smirking when one of the Nevermores dropped from the sky following the crack of thunder, screaming, flailing, and spinning as it dissolved into ash on the way down. He kept squeezing the trigger, watching the Nevermores fly closer and closer, dropping one after the other. Finally, there was only one Nevermore left, and when Alexander pulled the spent magazine out, it pulled to a halt before flapping its wings, sending a hail of deadly sharp feathers flying towards the bridge. A heartbeat later, the Nevermore dropped, a head sized hole punched straight through its torso.
The hail of feathers caused the members of CFVY on the bridge to dive and dodge around the deadly hail coming for them, and Fox took a nasty smack from an Ursa that threw him onto his back, sliding a few feet, before Yatsuhashi ended the Ursa with a single slash. Alexander waited a few seconds for Fox to get back on his feet before he slung the rifle back onto his back, and continued watching. The Grimm assault was constant, a steady stream of black and white peppered with red emerging from the cloud of sand that was constantly refreshed by Coco's bullets. He watched CFVY slowly get more and more tired, Coco's arms starting to shake from the effort of holding her machine gun for this long. The team on the bridge started to look fatigued, sweat dampening their clothes, clinging to their hair and dripping from their faces. They started to take more and more hits, gradually slowing down, unable to dodge Grimm strikes anymore.
Finally, the horde of Grimm started to thin, and a minute or so later, the members on the bridge were fighting the last few beasts. Everything looked fine until a wild swipe from a Beowolf caught Velvet under her chin, breaking her aura, and throwing her into the lake. Alexander ripped the rifle off his back, dropping it next to his pistols on the walkway, kicking off his boots as he ran before diving off the top of the wall, slicing into the water next to the bridge as the last Grimm got it's head cut off by Fox. The water of the lake was dark and cold, but not quite cold enough to be dangerous. It the darkness, it was hard to find the rabbit faunus, but the sunlight breaking through glinted off the gold armor that Velvet wore, and Alexander grabbed her hand before dragging her up to the surface with him.
When they broke the surface, Velvet gasped for air, her eyes snapping open, having squeezed them shut reflexively when the Beowolf hit her. He guided her over to the bridge, where they were both helped up by the other members of CFVY, dripping water onto the bridge. Alexander stood silently for a moment before walking off while the members of CFVY fussed over their faunus member.
Alexander came back a few minutes later with dry clothes on, carrying his weapons once again. He looked out across the bridge, looking at the forest carefully, spotting a few red eyes waving through the encroaching darkness. He put a hand on Coco's shoulder, making her follow his gaze to the forest.
"Look alive, guys, we're not done yet." She said, and the members of CFVY moved back to their positions, the three sitting down cross legged on the bridge, watching the forest while Coco rushed to the wall. For a few minutes, they just sat there, watching, until Alexander walked out with a brown paper bag onto the bridge and threw it at Fox.
"There's your dinner. Sleep in shifts, with two people awake at all times, alright? You'll need the rest, but you also have to stay vigilant." He walked away, leaving them to eat their dinner, instead joining Coco on the wall, where she was finishing the second of the sandwiches he had gotten for her.
"This fucking sucks." She muttered, glaring at the Grimm slinking around in the forest.
"Waiting is always the worst part." Alexander said, and she looked at him, expecting him to elaborate, but he didn't.
"Get some rest, lass. I'll wake you if you're needed." He said, and she nodded, lying down on the wood of the walkway while Alexander leaned against the wall, his eyes watching carefully through the darkness.
…
The next few days went similarly to the first. Around mid afternoon, the Grimm would stream from forest, rushing for the village, only to be rebuffed time and again by the efforts of team CFVY while Alexander watched, ready to step in if one of them made too large of a mistake. Fortunately, nobody made too large of a misstep, and Alexander didn't have to step in to stop anything too bad from happening. On the fourth day, Alexander noticed a significant drop in the Grimm that were assaulting the village, though he doubted any of the four students noticed until the next day, when there was almost no Grimm attacking. They spent another day there, during which no Grimm came out of the forest, and Alexander called a bullhead for them. On their eighth day in the village, and their eleventh day outside Beacon, their bullhead finally took off, leaving the small village behind.
Team CFVY slept almost the entire flight back, only waking up when the bullhead hit some turbulence about ten minutes out from Beacon. They waited silently as the bullhead landed, disembarking into what looked like a massive crowd of students.
"Ah, they must be done choosing their missions. Happy you got yours out of the way?" Alexander remarked, watching the students mill about. Coco shrugged her shoulders.
"It made us miss the dance, which I'm not exactly happy about." She said, and Alexander looked at her for a few moments before nodding.
"Well, you guys did really well. I'll go talk to Ozpin, see what I can't do about getting you guys a few days off from classes as a reward." He said, walking off, disappearing almost immediately into the crowd of students, leaving Coco to stand in confusion before Fox's hand on her shoulder brought her back to her senses.
"Is something wrong?" Fox asked, and Coco shook her head.
"No, actually, I think I'm really glad Port couldn't make it to our mission."
…
"Team RWBY is going to Mountain Glenn." Ozpin said, his head raising to meet Alexander's gaze as he walked in. The Specialist nodded, continuing to approach Ozpin's desk.
"Thanks for keeping me up to date." He replied, and Ozpin shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
"Well, anyway, CFVY was able to rebuff the Grimm assault, though they did work themselves half to death in the process. I recommend that you let them take a few days off of classes so they can recharge. They deserve it." Alexander said, and Ozpin thought for a few seconds before nodding.
"That should be fine, but I'll have to give it a bit more thought. I'll talk to them tomorrow. Is that all?" Alexander nodded, and walked all the way to the door before stopping.
"What landing pad does RWBY take off from?" He asked.
"Pad four. They're leaving with Oobleck in a half hour, from what I understand."
…
Alexander waved to Oobleck as he approached the landing pad, the historian throwing him a jovial wave back before he chugged more coffee, taking a last inventory of everything in his backpack. Alexander walked over to meet team RWBY, who were just leaving the company of team JNPR, Sun Wukong, and a boy with blue hair that Alexander didn't recognize. Alexander ran over, and lay a hand on Weiss' shoulder, causing her to turn to look at him. Her initial annoyance evaporated almost immediately when she recognized him.
"Be careful." He said, and when she opened her mouth, he raised his hand to stop her.
"I know you can take care of yourself, but your sister and I have seen what can happen when a mission goes wrong, and it would destroy us if something bad happened to you. I almost killed your father when you got this." Alexander said, lightly poking the end of her scar. Her expression softened, and she nodded.
"I'll be careful." She said.
"That's all I ask for. Good luck." He said, waving to her as she got on the bullhead, shooting Blake a salute that she returned with a small smile, and turned to walk away.
…
A little over a day and a half later, just before dawn, Alexander was woken up in his hotel room by the loud ringing of his scroll. He picked it up and saw a picture of Weiss on the screen, and answered quickly.
"Weiss, is something wrong?" He asked, and sat up in his bed when all he heard was static. After a few seconds, the call dropped, simply static. Alexander shot out of bed, dressing quickly, grabbing his weapons, and calling Ozpin.
"C'mon, Oz. Pick up." He muttered, pumping his fist when the headmaster finally answered.
"Yes, Specialist?" He asked, as Alexander walked out his door.
"I just got a call from Weiss. Something went wrong with their mission. I don't know what, I don't know how, but something went wrong. I'll be at Beacon in less than an hour, and I suspect I'll need, at the very least, to borrow team CFVY from you for a little bit." He said, and heard Ozpin sigh on the other end.
"I will see you here soon, Alexander, and we will discuss this then." He said, hanging up, and leaving Alexander cursing at his Scroll when the elevator door opened, revealing an old woman, who looked at him in shock. He glared at the old lady.
"Oh, c'mon, I bet you've said worse, you old bird. Don't look so offended."
…
Alexander stormed into Ozpin's office in a fury, his anger palpable. The headmaster sat behind his desk, calm as ever, watching the angry Specialist walk up to him, completely unfazed.
"What the hell, Ozpin? Do you not believe me?" He asked, and Ozpin shook his head.
"It's not that, Alexander. I know that you are probably right, and that something has probably happened to them. However, I also know that team RWBY performs exceptionally in the field, and that Oobleck, while he may not seem it, is also incredibly capable. I fully believe that they will be able to make it through whatever problems they have run into." Alexander's anger now slightly abated, he pursed his lips, thinking through what he wanted to say.
"I understand that everyone on that mission is incredibly capable. That's not my issue. My issue is that Weiss absolutely would not have called me unless it was dire. They're skilled, yes, but Weiss is very proud, and for her to call me, for her to admit that she's in over her head, takes something seriously bad." Right as Alexander finished talking, he spotted a massive plume of smoke rising from the center of Vale, causing him to rush over to the window behind the Headmaster, Ozpin following him, barely a step behind. For a brief second, neither did anything, until a klaxon alarm started blaring, shocking them both into action. Alexander sprinted towards the elevator, pulling out his scroll as he ran. Ozpin, behind his desk, did the same thing, and their hurried chatter quickly filled the airspace of the office.
"I need all birds off the ground. Send them to defend Vale. We have a Grimm assault." Alexander said before stepping into the elevator, riding it down. When he reached the ground level, he had finished talking, and sprinted out across the grounds of Beacon. A minute or so later, he reached the landing pads right as team CFVY and Professor Port loaded into a bullhead. Fox's semblance must have sensed his approach, because the ginger reached out a hand, stopping the door from closing long enough for Alexander to jump in.
"Cheers, Fox." Alexander said, taking a brief look around the cargo bay of the bullhead, inclining his head to Professor Port.
"Professor Port, been a while, good to see you though." He said, and the man laughed heartily.
"Indeed, my boy, it is good to see you as well, though I wish our reunion was under more favorable circumstances." His boisterous voice filled the cargo bay before the bullhead faded to silence, but for the drone of the engines. A few minutes later, the bullhead stopped in the air, lowering a bit, and the gullwing doors opened up. Team CFVY jumped out one side, Port and Alexander the other.
When they landed, Alexander quickly dashed for the nearest Grimm, drawing his pistols as he did so. The Beowolf took a swipe at him as he neared it, but Alexander dropped into a slide, firing his pistols as he slid between the Grimm's legs, shooting to his feet as the Beowolf fell to the ground, turning to smoke as it did so. He spun his pistols as another Beowolf attacked him, ducking under a swiping paw, and slamming the ends of his escrima sticks into it's stomach, discharging the electric dust. The Beowolf was blown off it's feet, flying easily a dozen feet backward, slamming into a few other Grimm on it's way down before it turned into smoke, giving Alexander enough room to take aim with both pistols and start eliminating Grimm with prejudice until he heard an Ursa run at him from behind.
Holstering his pistols and taking off at a sprint, Alexander heard the Ursa chasing him as he shot towards a wall. Planting a foot into the wall, he flipped up onto the head of the Ursa as it slashed again, taking a chunk out of the stonework. His weight pushed the Ursa's head down before it pushed up again, and Alexander used it as a springboard, jumping off at the top of it's buck, throwing him into the air. While he was in the air, Alexander unslung Uranus' rifle and put a shot through the Ursa's head.
The recoil of the shot kept him up in the air for a few moments longer, and in those moments, Alexander spun, took aim, and put a shot through the head of a King Taijitu that was slithering out of the hole in the ground that the Grimm were pouring through. When he landed, Alexander tucked into a roll, and came up with the rifle pointed at the hole again. He took another shot and dropped a Creep before Goodwitch waved her riding crop, and all the rubble around the hole in the ground floated up into the air before the train was forced down into the hole, and the concrete and stone assembled together to cover up the breach.
He straightened up, slinging Uranus' rifle across his back as he walked over to where one Roman Torchwick was lying on the ground, having been thrown through a hole in the train when it crashed. Alexander leaned down, and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him up onto his feet with a smirk.
"Hey, asshole, long time no arrest." He said, and Roman rolled his eyes.
"Really? That's the best you could come up with?" He asked, and Alexander shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't really come up with one liners when I'm only dealing with cannon fodder." Alexander snarked, before pushing Roman by the back of his jacket to a bullhead, where Atlesian knights were waiting.
"Roman Torchwick, you are under arrest for conspiring with a terrorist organization, committing an act of terror, attempted murder, and actual murder. You will be charged with murder for any deaths that resulted from this invasion." Alexander handed the slightly pale faced thief off to the Atlesian knights as he turned and looked around the square. As he was standing, he caught sight of what he thought was a red dress and black glass heels. He whipped his head to look for it, but couldn't find it, and brushed it off as a trick of the eyes. When he looked back, he saw Weiss leading the rest of team RWBY over to him, a tired smile on her face.
"I knew you'd be here." She said, and he smiled.
"I do always seem to show up right when you Schnees are in greatest danger." He replied, and she barely stifled her laughter, something that made Ruby look at her with no small amount of shock.
"So, how do you know the Ice Queen?" Yang said, jabbing a thumb in Weiss' direction, while said Ice Queen looked indignant.
"I live with her older sister Winter. We've been dating for about three and a half years, but I've known the two of them much longer." Alexander said with a smile, while the half sisters looked at Weiss in shock.
"You never told us you have a sister!" Ruby yelled, and Weiss huffed exasperatedly.
"You never asked." She said, as if were obvious.
"Well, I'm glad to see you all safe, but I have to get going. I need to talk to a few different people about a lot of different things. Weiss, I do want to catch up, give me a ring when you're free, okay?" He said, and when Weiss nodded, he looked pointedly at Blake, who nodded as well, before he started walking away.
…
"Oz, I wanted to apologize. I was freaking out a little bit earlier." Alexander said, scratching the back of his head as he walked into Ozpin's office. When he didn't hear a response for a long while, he looked up to see Ozpin spun around, staring out the window of his office.
"Something up, Oz?" He asked, and the Headmaster spun around in his chair, looking displeased.
"The council has appointed General Ironwood as head of security for the Vytal festival." Ozpin said, staring down at the coffee in his hands.
"That's foolish of them." Alexander said, crossing his arms. Ozpin's head shot up to look at him, confusion written across his face.
"Anyone with half a brain can see that all Ironwood is going to do is bring more troops down. Not that there's much anybody can do, but it's all he can do to at least look like there's literally anything anyone can do. That's the problem with terrorist organizations, right? Unless we happen upon something by pure luck, there's no real way to predict what they're going to do next with any realistic accuracy." Ozpin nodded.
"Indeed, though it does not help the fact that he has been reporting to Vale's council for several months about my actions." He said, and Alexander shrugged.
"I'm not here to make excuses for him. He's his own man, and I don't always approve of what he does. But he is still doing what he thinks is right. That has to count for something." Alexander said, and Ozpin hummed thoughtfully.
"Well, I've got to get going, Oz. I've said what I came to say." Alexander said, but stopped halfway to turning to the door when Ozpin held up a hand.
"Come back here later. I want to talk to you about Autumn's condition." He said, and Alexander nodded, looking grim.
"I'll be back around midnight, I think."
…
Alexander took a deep breath before dialing a number, standing on one of Beacon's landing pads for bullheads, eyes watching everything around him carefully. After a few seconds of silence, he heard ringing, and a few seconds after that he heard someone pick up with a gruff 'hello?'
"Qrow, good, you picked up." He said, and said man cut him off quickly.
"Alexander? What's wrong? Why are you calling? Is Autumn worse?" He asked all of these in quick succession, and Alexander waited for a few seconds to make sure he was done before the Specialist spoke.
"Nothing is wrong as of now, though something terrible is going to happen. I'm not sure what, when, or how, but I know it's going to happen here at Beacon. Those two teenagers that were with the woman that attacked Autumn? They're both here. I don't know where their boss is, but I'm sure she's here as well. You need to get back here to Beacon as soon as possible. We're going to need everybody, I'm sure of it." Alexander said, and he heard Qrow curse under his breath.
"I'm really out here in the boonies, right now, Alexander. I need at least a month to finish up here, and another month to get out. Until I get back, just hold out, alright? What else is happening?" He asked, and Alexander looked around for a second before taking a deep breath, preparing himself for Qrow's outrage.
"Ironwood has been sending reports to the Vale council for the past few months, and through a combination of those reports, and the Breach that happened a few days ago, the council has seen fit to appoint Ironwood as head of security for the Vytal festival." He heard Qrow's growl of anger over the scroll.
"That no good lousy, traitorous… AH!" He yelled, and Alexander pulled the scroll away from his ear in shock, wincing. After a few seconds of loud and colorful cursing, as well as what sounded like a lamp shattering, Alexander brought the scroll back up to his ear.
"What exactly does that mean, then?" Qrow asked.
"It means, among other things, that three additional cruisers are going to be joining his flagship Yggdrasil here in Vale. That in itself means thousands more infantrymen, and thousands more Atlesian Knights on top of that, at least." Alexander said, and he could practically hear Qrow's mind spinning as he thought about the repercussions.
"Alright. I'll get back to Vale as soon as I can. Don't you go anywhere. Between Ozpin getting neutered by the council, and my general distrust for Ironwood, I think that the two of us will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting to prepare for whatever is going to happen." Qrow's harsh tone made Alexander wince slightly.
"Alright. I'll be here, Qrow." He said, and hung up with a heavy sigh, looking out at the lights of Vale, lit up even at this time of the night, before turning to head towards Ozpin's tower.
…
Ozpin and Alexander stood in front of the pod that Amber lay in, grim looks on their faces. The pale green lighting of the vault did nothing to help the mood of the room, casting strange shadows all around them.
"She has not been getting better." Ozpin said, and Alexander huffed.
"Well, yeah, no shit. You wouldn't call me down here if she was making a miraculous recovery." Alexander snarked, drawing a deadpan look from the headmaster, which he shrugged off.
"Nonetheless. Given her current condition, I think we need to start planning for the worst case scenario. As the person who was closest to Amber, I thought that you should have some input on who we try to get to replace her." Ozpin said, and Alexander shook his head in disgust.
"This whole thing feels so wrong. Stealing some of a soul, talking about transplanting souls into people… This whole thing is so fucked up." He said, looking at Amber with pained eyes while Ozpin stood quietly, watching the Specialist. After a while, Alexander took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he looked at Ozpin.
"Pyrrha Nikos. She's the best one to replace Autumn." Alexander said, and Ozpin nodded.
"That was what I thought as well. We will approach Miss Nikos should the situation require, and hope she says yes." Ozpin said, and Alexander looked at him disbelievingly.
"She's not going to say no."
…
Three Months Before the Battle of Beacon
"Have you talked to her?" Alexander asked, looking across the table to Weiss, who nodded. It was a rare day off for the Specialist in the middle of preparing for the rest of the Atlesian force that would be arriving in just over a month. He wore a short sleeved black shirt and black jeans, with dark reflective aviators resting on top of his head. His face was free from stubble, the thick white scar across his cheek standing out and drawing more than a few glances from the other patrons of the coffee shop. A new addition, to his person, however, was the line of Ancient Atlesian runes that wrapped around his right forearm just below the elbow that, to those that could read it, said 'Light in Darkness', with the letters 'W, W, B, A, Q' below the line of runes.
"Yes, though she seemed, colder that she has in the past." She said, looking legitimately worried. Alexander smiled sadly at her.
"You hurt her a lot, but she still really cares about you. Remember, however mad she may seem, she is very proud that you are doing well, very happy that you are enjoying this, and ultimately still very worried. You're her little sister. That will always mean a lot to her. But, if you see her before I do, give me a call so I can be there." He said, and she smiled slightly, about as close to actual laughter Weiss would actually get while out in public.
"You always were good at thawing her out, softening her up." Alexander smiled, giving her a mischievous smirk.
"Oh, Snowflake, I would be careful about accusing your sister of being cold. You're not exactly warm and cuddly yourself." He said, and she scowled a bit.
"Though you are much better than you used to be. I'm glad that you like your team." He said, and her uncharacteristic smile almost caught him off guard.
"Yes, well, it did take some time for me to come around." She said, and he smiled.
"Admit it, you hated them." Her slight blush told him all he needed to.
"Well, I didn't understand them the way I do now. I thought that Ruby was some hyperactive girl who got let in too early, that Yang was a brute who didn't know when to be serious, and that Blake was standoffish, and slightly rude. Now I know that their first impressions aren't really who they are." Alexander smiled wider, leaning forward slightly.
"And who are they, really?" He asked, and she looked down at her hands, a small smile spreading across her face.
"They're the best friends I could have ever asked for."
…
Later that day, Alexander was walking to his hotel room when he heard someone join him, walking just outside his periphery. The almost inaudible tapping of heels tipped him off to who it was, and he smiled.
"Have your teammates asked you to wear a bell, yet, Blake?" He asked, and she took a few quick steps, walking into his eyesight.
"They may have mentioned it once or twice." She said, and he chuckled.
"Well, tell them to clean out their ears. I can hear you just fine." He said, and spied a curling of her lips into a smirk.
"Just you and my mother." She said, and he shrugged.
"Nothing wrong with that. The only two people that can reliably keep track of you are your mother and an Atlesian Specialist whose job description literally includes finding people that nobody else can. It's a testament to your skills in stealth, really." He said, and she laughed quietly.
"Does Weiss know that we know each other?" He asked, and he saw her shrug.
"She probably suspects, but after what happened when I told them about my being a faunus, I don't think she wants to pressure me into saying anything, especially since my past is already obviously… checkered." Blake said, and Alexander nodded his understanding.
"You should probably tell her, maybe tell your whole team while you're at it. If you're comfortable with it, that is. I am literally legally not allowed to tell them, but you should feel free to tell anyone anytime you feel ready." He said, and he saw her nod.
"I might just do that." She whispered, more to herself than anything else, but Alexander heard her, and was sure she knew he heard her.
"Do you like your team?" He asked, and smiled when she nodded.
"I wasn't sure about them initially, especially Weiss, but after a little while I've grown to really trust them." She said, and he watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye.
"Then I think they should know. Besides helping bridge the gap between you and Weiss, it will help build trust from Yang and Ruby. And who knows. Maybe when they trust you enough, they'll open up about some of the things that they struggle with, and some of the hardships that they've faced." He said, and she eyed him a bit suspiciously.
"Why do I always feel like you know far too much?" She asked, and he gave her a sad smile.
"This is something that worked with my team. Once we started trusting each other, we started telling each other things, which of course only served to strengthen the trust that was already there. But that's not really what you asked about." He said, and stopped walking, looking up at the overcast sky. He took a deep breath and breathed it out slowly before he looked at Blake.
"I've seen a lot in my relatively short life so far, Blake. Some of which I wish I hadn't, like Grimm abominations, or friend's deaths. Some of which I wouldn't want to forget if I was offered the world, like my first real mission with my team during our second year, where we were assigned a Grimm hunt on the small island of Patch. We were escorted by one of the happiest women I have ever met, her husband is and was an incredible man, and their two daughters were adorable. No matter how many times their mother and father said they didn't want them to, the two girls would talk endlessly about how much they wanted to be Huntresses. They wanted to travel the world, saving the damsels in distress, killing Grimm, and getting involved in huge missions to save humanity." He spoke quietly, but his words struck a chord with the girl, who looked shocked. He smiled sadly when the recognition flashed in her eyes.
"They were still pretty young the last time I saw them face to face, so I wasn't surprised when, years later, a friend of mine went to visit the family, and told me that the girls didn't remember me. I was sad that two fewer people would remember being a part of one of my favorite memories, but oh well. I'm glad to see that the four of you care so much for each other. Reminds me of my own team." He said, and when his smile widened at the end of his little speech, it was a smile of genuine joy and happiness. He kept walking away, turning to look at her as he did so, so he was walking backwards away from her.
"I wish you the best of luck, Blake. You've got a good thing going with your team. Hold onto that for as long as you can."
…
Blake walked into the room she shared with team RWBY, well after dark, a pensive look on her face that Yang immediately spotted from her top bunk, where she was lying down, playing a game on her phone, while Ruby and Weiss were studying together at the desk next to the door. The blonde jumped down from her bed with a thud, cocking her head questioningly at Blake.
"Something wrong, Blake?" She asked, and Blake didn't answer for a long second.
"No, nothing's wrong. I want to talk to you guys about something." She said, looking up at the brawler, who looked over at Weiss and Ruby, both of whom looked as confused as Yang.
"Okay, what's up, Blake?" She asked, and Blake looked shockingly nervous as she walked to sit down on the edge of her bed.
"I want to talk to you guys about the White Fang." Weiss' mouth opened to say something, but she thought better of it quickly, and shut it after a moment.
"What about the White Fang?" Ruby asked, looking concerned. Blake laced her fingers together on her lap, staring at her hands as she spoke.
"I left my home on Menagerie to join the White Fang without the knowledge of my parents. I knew that my father would hire someone to try to find me, but I had faith that I would be able to outsmart whoever he sent, and hide from them, especially since I didn't stay in Menagerie, but instead came to Vale. Unfortunately, my father managed to get the one person who would have found me if I had literally tunnelled to the bottom of the ocean." She said, and Weiss' eyes widened in shock, her suspicions finally confirmed.
"Alexander." She said, slightly breathily, still a bit shocked. Blake nodded.
"Specialist Wallace found me, I was told by my father, several days shy of two weeks after my father asked him to find me. But he didn't just find me. He and a friend of his managed to get the drop on me not even twenty feet from a highly populated White Fang camp. When he confirmed that I would not, in fact, be going back home without being forced, he offered me a decision. Either I help inform him of various White Fang plots, and face at least a decreased prison sentence, if not a clean record outright, or if and when I get arrested for corroborating with the White Fang, I go to prison. Even then, when I thought that the White Fang was still doing the right thing, it wasn't a difficult choice." She said, and almost didn't look up in fear of finding disgust on teammates faces. Instead, she found Yang and Ruby smiling proudly at her, and Weiss looking at her in a new light.
"So, for the vast majority of the time that I was with the White Fang, I would give Alexander as much information about what the White Fang was doing as I could manage, telling him locations of safe houses and camps, and generally doing all I could to undermine the group that I had started to realize was no longer a rights group, but rather a terrorist organization that was rapidly militarizing. The last time he asked me for information he told me that he owed me a few really big favors. But, at the time, I didn't really realize the scope of what he could do if he pulled the right strings." She said, and Weiss looked at her, shocked.
"He's how you got into Beacon." The heiress said, and Blake nodded, making Ruby and Yang look between the two of them in shock.
"He can do that?" Ruby asked, and Weiss smiled proudly sitting up a bit straighter.
"Alexander is on very close terms with Headmaster Ozpin and besides my sister, there is nobody that General Ironwood trusts more than Alexander. I have no doubt that he could get most anyone he wanted into Beacon. The fact that Blake could easily get in without his recommendation I'm sure made her an obvious choice." Weiss said, and Yang looked at her for a long second, a searching look on her face, while Blake looked slightly shocked and embarrassed by Weiss' compliment.
"Did he get you into Beacon?" Yang asked, and Weiss shook her head.
"No, but I was able to apply normally, a luxury I don't think Blake was afforded, living with the White Fang in the wilderness as she was." Yang nodded in understanding, but it looked like something was bothering her.
"What're you thinking, Yang?" Ruby asked, and Yang waved her hand dismissively, a wide smile forcibly plastered on her face.
"Ah, don't worry about it. Just something I realized I want to talk to Specialist Wallace about." She said, and everybody but Blake jumped a moment later when said Specialist spoke from the doorway.
"Well, you'll have plenty of time to do that. Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood want me to take you four out on a mission tomorrow." He said, before adding offhandedly, "You guys were supposed to go on a mission with Port and Oobleck to the Emerald Forest, but Oz shifted some teams around at my request, so I've got you guys now, and the good Professors get JNPR." Weiss smiled, as did Blake, while Ruby immediately fell into leader mode.
"What will we be doing?" She asked, her face far more serious than earlier, something that made Alexander smile.
"Oz wants me to take you guys out to learn how to do protection detail. It's a larger part of a huntsman's life than you would think. We'll be meeting our charge tomorrow in a village in the Forest of Forever Fall. You accept the mission?" He asked, and Ruby nodded.
"Fantastic. I will see you all tomorrow, then. Get a good night's rest. Given how often you four manage to find the worst trouble, you'll need the rest."
…
A/N: Hey everyone, hope you all liked the chapter. Thanks as always, to Bulba Fett, a great friend and beta. Thanks for reading, and if you're so inclined, I would really appreciate a follow, favorite, and review. They make me feel warm and happy inside. See you guys next chapter. PEACE!