Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.
I am having way too much fun writing this story.
"I can't believe our first field trip is tomorrow!" Rachel squealed excitedly. "We're going to have so much fun!"
"Rachel, we're just going to Forever Fall to collect sap." Lily said. "They do this every year. It's not that interesting."
It was now week six of classes at Beacon. I was lying on my bed working on an essay for doctor Oobleck comparing the current Schnee Dust Company's practices and those of the industrial barons of the Industrial Revolution. It was hard work, mainly because I had exactly zero primary sources to work from, only my own memory. Unlike my first essay comparing and contrasting the Faunus War with various revolutions throughout history, the Industrial Revolution was not a topic I was particularly interested in. Frustrated, I decided to leave the essay for later.
"I'm certainly interested in going." I said. "Maybe I'll find a way home."
"I still don't believe you're from another world!" Lily shouted, more out of habit than anything else.
"And I still don't care if you believe it or not." I countered. "So there."
"You can be so childish!" Lily said.
"Youthful, not childish. Besides, I spend all day dealing with you guys. Associating with young people keeps you younger yourself."
"You're just making this up as you go, aren't you?" David asked.
"Guilty as charged. But does it matter?"
"I guess not." David said, grinning. "You're pretty good at making things up as you go."
"Finally, someone appreciates my talents!" I rose to my feet and gave an elaborate bow in David's direction. "I thank you, kind sir, for recognizing the greatness of both myself and my skills."
"I didn't say anything about greatness." David said, his grin widening.
"What? Are you saying I am not the epitome of greatness?" I demanded in a mock-offended voice, gesturing dramatically. "I am hurt by your lack of faith sir! My heart has been mortally wounded by your cruel words!"
The room deteriorated into laughter at my antics. I smiled. Six weeks had turned our team of strangers into a group of friends. I had gotten to know each of them a bit better, and for the most part I liked what I'd seen.
Lily and I had developed into a pair of bickering friends. We argued over everything, sometimes seriously, sometimes for the sake of argument, but in the end we had a mutual respect and trust for each other that I never would have expected when I first met her. Her occasional bouts of what I referred to as "Weiss-ity" were still annoying, but she was a valuable member of the team.
David was basically our anchor. Whenever Lily and I got to heated in an argument, when Rachel attached the beds to the ceiling (don't ask), when I got too caught up in my own little world, when Lily went off on tear about Rachel's antics, or anything else got out of control, David always brought us back to ground. He still enjoyed life with the rest of us, but he always kept both feet planted firmly on the ground, something the rest of us badly needed.
Rachel however was still something of a mystery. Every now and again she would do something out of character for both of her personas, but whenever I tried to talk to her about it she would brush me off, ignore me, or change the subject. I still hadn't gotten a good answer on what it was she was so afraid of. I tried asking her, but she never answered. I asked David, but he knew even less than I did, mostly because, unlike me, he wasn't the type to pry. Charlotte was even more mysterious, mostly because she was so seldom seen.
Charlotte had shown herself on precisely two occasions since Initiation. The first was when she was called up in Professor Port's class for one of his hands-on lessons. The poor Boarbatusk never even knew what hit it. The second was when CLVR decided to try cornering her. I arrived just in time to see her demonstrate why she doesn't carry a melee weapon. She doesn't need one. She doesn't have Yang's raw power, but the elegance and precision of her technique more than made up for any lack of strength. I ended up helping Wallace drag the other three unconscious members of CLVR to the infirmary. Neither incident had given me a chance to speak with her.
I was hoping this field trip might change things.
"Well hopefully you won't die on us just yet." David said. "We still have to make it through Beacon first. I'd rather not lose our leader after a month and a half."
"It was just my heart. The rest of me is fine."
"I don't think it works that way." Lily said, struggling to control her laughter.
"Okay, maybe my appendix then."
"Your what?" Lily looked at me like I'd just said something absurd.
"My appendix."
"What is that?"
"Um, it's a pretty much useless vestigial organ found in humans. Do you not have it here?"
"That sounds like the annigland."
"The what?" It was my turn to look confused.
"The annigland. It's pretty much exactly what you described."
"Huh. I wonder if it's the same thing with another name or something else entirely." I shook myself to clear my train of thought. "Either way it's a completely useless organ, so I should be fine." I glanced at the clock. "However, if we don't get to sleep soon, none of us are going to be any use tomorrow. Good night."
"Good night." My team chorused back. My team. It was going to be hard leaving these people when I finally did make it back to my world, but for now at least I was glad they were here.
For once I managed to wake up early. I switched off the second and third alarm clocks, leaving the first to wake the rest of the team as I made my way over to the shower. It was nice having actual hot water for a change.
I came out and got dressed. I checked the clock again. I still had a good fifteen minutes before the alarm went off. Well, no sense waiting around. rather than wake people up by traipsing through the halls I instead focused on my Semblance. An unfamiliar city landscape flashed before my eyes as I vanished from the dorm, only to reappear in the armory. I located my locker, keyed in my combination, and pulled out my weapons. I strapped on Molnair, then hesitated for a moment before deciding to bring Talon too.
Over the last few weeks I'd transformed the skeletal prototype into Molnair's mirror twin. Armored plating covered the mechanism from shoulder to wrist. The pneumatic ram that was Talon's purpose for existing poked out from under the sheathing, shining duly in the light. On either side of it a pair of machine gun barrels stuck out like fangs. I cannot tell you just how awesome it is to be a walking four machine gun battery, but suffice it to say that it was well worth the extra effort for getting Talon ready. I flexed my arms, pleased by the smooth whirs I heard from both weapons. I double checked the safeties before testing the functionality for the control gauntlets and weapons. Everything worked smoothly. I did a quick practice punch with my left hand, activating Talon as I did so. My punch reached its limit just as the ram struck with blinding speed. It was finally ready.
It was time for Talon's first field test.
I teleported back to the dorm just in time to hear the alarm clock go off.
"Kevin, turn that thing off!" I heard Lily exclaim. Groans of assent were heard from David and Rachel, although neither of them were fully awake yet.
"Sure thing." I said, walking over to the alarm clock and hitting the switch. There was a moment of silence as they stared at me in sleepy confusion.
"You're up before we are." Lily said in a stunned voice.
"Is it the end of Remnant already?" David asked.
"You're never up this early!" Rachel said.
"What can I say, we have a big mission to deal with. So let's get going!"
"I think I like the alarm clocks better." Lily muttered. "At least they can be turned off."
We gathered outside of Beacon to prepare for our trip to Forever Fall. It would be my first time outside of Vale since I arrived three years ago. Maybe I would find something?
My thoughts were interrupted by my scroll going off. Suddenly the group was serenaded by part two of Red Like Roses. I pulled it out and muted it before checking the screen. Ruby? What did she want? "Got to take this, be right back." I said to my team as I moved away from the group before answering the call.
"Ruby?"
"Hey Kevin, I wanted to talk to you before you go on your field trip."
"About what?" She sounded oddly serious, almost worried. "Is there something wrong?"
"It's probably nothing, just rumors, but you should be careful in Forever Fall. There's a lot of people saying the Grimm are getting more active. Stay safe and keep your team safe. I still want to meet them!" Her usual cheer was back in full force.
"Will do, thanks for calling. I'll let you know how it goes. Talk to you later." I hung up, troubled. Ruby wouldn't have called if she really thought it was nothing. Or at least, she wouldn't have called like that. She was worried, and that worried me. She had good instincts. If she thought there was a problem, then I definitely needed to be careful. I sighed. One of these days the world was finally going to cut me a break. I just hoped I lived long enough to see it. I made my way back to my team.
"What was that about?" Rachel asked.
"Ruby called. She wanted to warn me about the field trip. Apparently there's a rumor going around that the Grimm are acting up."
"A rumor?" David asked.
"Ruby said it was probably nothing, but she didn't sound so sure."
"What do you think we should do about it?" Lily asked.
"I don't know if there's anything we can do. We'll just have to be careful while we're out on the trip. David, I'm going to want you to keep an eye and an ear out for the Grimm at all times. If there's a problem, let me know immediately."
"Sounds like a plan." David said.
"Then let's go." I said, gesturing towards the trio of tilt jets waiting to take the class into Forever Fall. It's probably nothing. I thought to myself. Just a rumor. Nothing worth worrying about. The jets took off, bearing us and five more student teams into what might very well be harm's way.
A/N: As Yang would say, the situation looks Grimm. Ow. Okay, that pun hurt even me. Moving on.
Quick question for you guys. This story is going to feature a bit of Whiterose in the background, although not for a while yet. Yes, I ship it. (Note the character listings for this story.) My question for you guys is: should Bumblebee also be a thing in this story? I'm kind of on the fence about this one, to the point of planning out two different versions of some scenes. It won't have major impact on the story, but it will affect some of the character interactions. What do you think? Leave a review or PM to let me know.
To the anonymous guest, Rachel's not getting any more sensible, although there is a scene planned where Charlotte grabs Kevin by the neck and throws him against a wall for...reasons. Reasons which will be explained later. However, there will be an explanation as to why she/they is/are the way she/they is/are. And now I've confused myself. Anyways, that's all for now.
See you all next chapter.
