-Chapter 14 To the Southeast of Vale!-
The next day, Ruby and I were heading to Professor Ozpin's office by elevator.
"Hey, Ellix." Ruby said. "Thank you for saving me…again."
"No problem, Ruby. It was just another vision, that's all." I said.
"I wonder who that burglar was." She wondered out loud.
"Yeah, me too." I said seldom.
We arrived at the floor as we heard voice welcoming us in. The door opened, and I saw Professor Ozpin sitting at his deck, Professor Goodwitch on one side, and General Ironwood at the other side.
"Thank you for coming you two. How are you both doing?" Ozpin asked.
"Okay, I guess. I'd feel better if my bad-guy-catching record wasn't O-for-three." Ruby stated, but in return, the adults stared at us silently.
"Okay, so that's the tone we're going for, got it." Ruby said, realizing the seriousness of the situation.
"Ruby, I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntress is all about. You recognized a threat. You took action. And you did the very best you could." Ironwood said. "The same for you, too, Ellix."
"Thank you, sir." Ruby thanked him.
"Thank you very much, sir." I said to him as well.
"Now, the general here has already informed of the events that... transpired last night, but now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add." Ozpin said.
"Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you at all?" Glynda asked us.
"I... I don't know. She was wearing a mask, and she never said anything to me. But I know she fought with glass. I don't think that was her Semblance, though. Her clothing lit up whenever she attacked." Ruby explained.
"She also seems to use ice Dust, too." I added.
"Save for the glass, that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby." Glynda stated.
"Embedding Dust into clothing is an age-old technique. It could have been anyone." Ironwood stated
"Wait. You think this girl is connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?" Ruby questioned out loud.
"It's possible. But we still lack the required evidence to link the two together." Ozpin said, pondering
"Actually, I think I remember her saying something about a hideout, or something, in the southeast. Just outside the Kingdom." Ruby admitted.
"Interesting." Ozpin wondered.
"I thought you said the intruder never—"
Ozpin interrupted her. "Thank you for your cooperation, Ruby and Ellix. Why don't you both go and spend some time with your team? You have a big day ahead of you."
"Any time." Ruby said, leaving.
"Yes sir." I said, leaving with her as well.
"And Miss Rose and Mr. Knight, please try and be….discrete about this matter." Ozpin said to us.
"Yes sir." We said at the same time.
Ruby and I went back to our dorm room, where our teammates were waiting for us. They zoomed over to us.
"What happened?" Yang asked curiously.
"Um….well, um…" Ruby said, laughing nervously.
"Yeeaaahh…." I said nervously.
We explained to the girls about what happened when we met Ozpin, Prof. Goodwitch, and General Ironwood.
"That was a risky move." Weiss commented.
"No. I think both of you handle well." Blake stated.
"I hope so." Ruby said, but looked little bit more worried.
"The talk was kind of…too serious for us." I admitted.
"I'm sure everything will be alright, Ruby, Ellix. Oh, I know what will cheer you up!" Yang said as she took out a cylindrical package.
"What is that?" I asked curiously.
"I don't know yet. Our Dad sent it to me and Ruby. I thought we could open it together!" Yang explained.
"Oooh! Something from home!" Ruby said excitedly, zooming over to Yang and wrapping herself around her, trying to take that package away from her.
Yang opened up the package, and another cylinder came out. This one was hairy and black, until it moved and transformed into a corgi. We stared at it closely.
The animal was revealed to be a dog as it barked at us twice, panting its tongue out very happily.
Blake, Weiss, and I reacted with great shock as Ruby and Yang reacted excitedly, with Ruby jumping in air with joy.
"Zwei!" She exclaimed.
"He sent a dog?" Blake asked.
"In the mail?" Weiss questioned confusingly.
"How is that even possible?" I asked unbelievably.
"Oh, he does this stuff like this all the time!" Yang said, gesturing her hand.
Blake jumped on to Ruby's bunk. "Your father or your dog?"
"Are you telling me that this mangy…drooling…mutt is going to wiv wif us, foweva? Oh, yes he is, oh yes he is! Isn't he adorable!" Weiss awed at the dog.
"This is much…unexpected." I said, sweat dropping.
"Please keep him away from my belongings." Blake stated, hissing at the dog as Ruby set it down and it go over to Blake and tried to reach her, barking at her happily.
"Would all first-year students please report to the amphitheater?" Professor Goodwitch announced over through the intercom.
"Well, we can't exactly leave him here while we're gone for the week." Weiss stated.
"Look, there's a letter!" Yang exclaimed as Zwei arrived in front of Yang and she began reading the letter. "Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang."
Dozens of cans of dog food piled up around Zwei.
"What is he supposed to do with that?" Weiss asked.
The last can fell off from the package, bouncing off on the dog's head.
"Well, that settles it! Come on girls, Zwei will be here when we get back!" Yang said, leaving out the room to head to the amphitheater.
"Oh, I'll miss you so much, we're going to be best friends, I can't wait to see you, I can't believe how cute you are." Weiss baby-talked to the dog as she was leaving out the room.
Blake jumped down from Ruby's bunk and then jumped across the table, avoiding Zwei.
"It's been nice to meet you, Zwei. We will see you in a week." I said, patting on his head before I left the room.
Ruby stared at her dog for a moment, before smiling slyly.
We went to the auditorium. We placed our bags at the side with everyone else's bags. Ruby was carrying a huge backpack. I wondered if we needed a lot of stuff for our mission.
Everyone listened to Ozpin's speech. His speech was very inspirational and hopeful, talking about diversity and this Great War that pretty almost ended the importance of individualism, self-expression, and unity through diversity. It really touched me, and I really respected him for that.
Today, all the first-year students will be going on a real mission. It was the way for the school to allow us to feel an experience for what it likes to be a real Huntsman or Huntress in the outside environment.
"This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast!" Ruby stated excitedly.
"Yeah! We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip by night!" Yang said enthusiastically.
"Let's check "search and destroy"!" Weiss said.
We approached to the hologram screen, and checked the search and destroy section.
"Here we go! Quadrant 5 needs Grimm cleared out!" Ruby stated, pointing at the hologram.
"Well, it is in southeast!" Blake exclaimed.
"Sounds perfect!" Yang said excitedly.
Ruby picked the mission, but the hologram stated we can't accept it.
"Wonderful!" Weiss moaned.
"Now, what are we going to do?" I asked worryingly.
"Any other ideas?" Blake questioned.
"We will mail ourselves!" Ruby suggested.
"Well, that's one option." A familiar voice said. We turned and realized it was Professor Ozpin.
"Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students. It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that you five will make your way there no matter which job you choose." He explained.
Weiss, Blake, and Yang glared at me and Ruby as Ruby nervously rubbed her head while I whistled to myself innocently.
"Whatever makes you say that?" Ruby asked nervously.
"I'm still curious how you all found yourself at the docks last semester. I'm interested to know how you really learned about a hideout in the southeast. I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club some time ago. And, I am also curious to know why the construction lot was a mess at the downtown part of Vale." Ozpin stated as we looked at him nervously.
"Um... well... I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for. So how about this: instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?" He said as he touched something on the screen, making the system to register us, the team for the mission.
"We won't let you down. Thank you, professor." Ruby thanked him kindly.
"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far. But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon, if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck."
We were outside, in the school plaza. We commented how un-uplifting Professor Ozpin said to us. Then, we met with one of the members of Team CRFY. Blake went up to Velvet, who is a Fanus with the rabbit ears. We gave a worried expression to her, but she said to not worry about her and wished a good luck. We then went to meet the Huntsman who will supervise us for this mission, but boy, were we surprised who he was.
Each of us had a different stunned expression. The Huntsman who will supervise for this mission was none other than Professor Oobleck
"Why, hello girls and boy! Who's ready to fight their lives?" He said very quickly, drinking a cup of coffee, which he always does.
"Professor Oobleck!" Weiss stated.
"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, ladies and gentleman, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now a reconnaissance mission…" Dr. Oobleck babbled on and on as he explained what our mission was about.
So, Dr. Oobleck will be the one who will shadow with us for this mission. As much I find this guy talking about history during his class interesting, he talks a little too….well fast and maybe too much.
"So any questions?" Dr. Oobleck asked.
Weiss looked over to Blake, unequally disturbed.
I raised my hand. "Yes, Mr. Knight, what is your question?"
"Um, so how does this whole shadowing thing work?" I asked, which all four girls looked at me, disbelieved.
What? It is just a question.
"Very good, question, lad! Well, you see…." He babbled on again as the girls looked displeased to hear him talk long again.
"That was a bad question, no offense." Ruby whispered to me.
"Sorry. I just feel very…awkward about this." I whispered to her back.
"However, as much as I want to explain it now, I think it is better off to explain this more in detail when we head to our destination. Let's go ladies and gentleman!" He ran off to the Ballhead.
When we were about to leave, that was when we were interrupted and approached by Team JNRP.
"You're going on world-saving missions without us! I'm hurt…sad! Maybe a little hungry? That one's not your fault, though, Ren…" Nora said, making no sense.
Ren just crossed his arms and turned away from her.
"You guys going on a mission, right? What is it about?" Jaune asked curiously.
"Oh, just outside the Kingdom…" Ruby stated.
"Hey! So are we!" Nora exclaimed.
"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village." Pyrrha explained.
"We set out tomorrow." Ren added.
"Then you can party with us tonight!" We saw Neptune and Sun approaching us. "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We got junior badges."
They both showed off their badge, causing Jaune to awestruck.
"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk, so we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, you know….normal." Sun elaborated.
"That sounds very important and admirable of you guys." I said.
"Thanks, Dude." Sun smiled. "We'll do our best!"
"Well" Ruby was about to say something until Dr. Oobleck called us.
"4 minutes, ladies!" He goes back inside until he leaned out again. "And gentleman!"
"Well, uh…" She threw a thumb-up. "Wish us luck!"
We disbanded from each other as my teammates and I flew off to our mission.
As I watched from the helicopter, I saw a lot of buildings and streets.
"I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter." Yang said to our teacher.
"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." Dr. Oobleck said.
"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Those are truffles." Blake said, leaning over to her.
"Like sprout?" Ruby asked more, scratching her head in confusion.
"Those are Brussels." Yang stated.
"Besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabbling in the archaeological survey, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular…assignment." Dr. Oobleck continued.
"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asked.
He turned sharply at her, looking quite serious. "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..?" Weiss continued to question him.
"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures!"
"Mountain Glenn." Ruby realized.
"Mountain Glenn?" I titled my head, never heard of the name before.
"That's right! It was an expansion of Vale... but in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city." Yang remembered, explaining to us and especially to me.
" And a likely place for a hideout." Blake added.
"Precisely!" Dr. Oobleck exclaimed.
The airship came over an empty spot of street, surrounding with abandoned buildings and ruined structures. It hovered over the area as we jumped off with all weapon drawn out, except for Dr. Oobleck who was just holding his coffee canister, before the airship flew away.
"Ladies! And gentleman!" Dr. Oobleck called out attention. "You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntresses and Huntsman has begun!" Gulp! "From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?"
Each of us nodded to him until he looked at Ruby, startling her. "Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all of your bags back at school!"
"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't." She said.
"She's not wrong..." Dr. Oobleck said to himself for a moment. "Very well, Ruby; leave your bag here, we can pick it up upon our return."
"But I, well uh-"
"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with..." That was when Zwei's head popped out of the bag, barking at us happily as we started at the uninvited guest surprisingly.
"Get back in the bag." She whispered to him.
"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought... a dog?" Dr. Oobleck asked, sounding like he will burst in anger.
"Um! Sorry, I just can't leave him alone back at our dorm…"
"Genius!" Dr. Oobleck exclaimed as he speed past the confused Ruby and snatching her pet away from her, who tumbled to the ground as Oobleck spun around Zwei in the air. "Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!"
Zwei barked at him happily as it stick its tongue out.
"I'm genius!" She got up fast, excitedly.
Weiss and Yang both face palmed at their grinning leader.
"Well, at least Zwei is a good dog, so he will most definitely be useful for this mission…I guess." I said, sweat dropping and looking little bit unsure.
"So, what are your orders, Doctor?" Blake asked.
" Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it!" He let go of Zwei by dropping him down softly to the ground, before he put his hands behind his back for a serious pose. "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."
"Um, what?" Ruby asked in confusion.
"Grimm! A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment." He stated.
"What!?" Yang gasped. We turned to the lone Beowolf wondering into the street. We got our weapon ready.
"Stop!"
"Huh?" Blake asked.
We lowered our weapon to listen. "There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity: sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent."
"So…what now?" Ruby questioned.
"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey." Dr. Oobleck said.
"How long do we wait?" Blake asked.
"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."
He was right. There was now five Beowolves following the first one.
"What?" Weiss stated plainly.
"And now they've seen us." Dr. Oobleck said, continuing with the obvious.
"What?!" Weiss said louder.
"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!" Our shadow shout into Weiss's ear.
The pack of Beowolves noticed us, thank to our teacher's shout.
"I take it tracking them is out of the question?" Ruby asked, with her weapon ready.
"An accurate assumption, yes." Our teacher stated.
"What's the plan, then?" Yang brought her fist together, feeling ready to fight.
"Show me what you're capable of." He said.
We got our weapon out, ready to punish these monsters. However, strangely, the pack of Beowolves didn't even approach us. We just stared at them as they stared at us, not moving at all.
"Umm… should we attack them first?" Ruby asked.
"I…I am not quite sure about this. This is quite odd and fascinating! Apparently, this pack doesn't want to attack us, and by looking at their body language from this safe distance, they are shivering…in fear of something!" Dr. Oobleck hypothesized.
He was right about that. They were shivering like if they are afraid of something or someone.
"Heh, they should be! We're going to kick their butts!" Yang declared as she was about to run up to them until she was stopped by Dr. Oobleck.
"Hold it, Miss Long! Can you see this is a very interesting, delicate phenomenon we are experiencing now! This pack of Beewolves in our presence is afraid of something, which is the cause of their current state right now! Usually, they will attack us or anyone in their presence, but they are not. Hmmm." Dr. Oobleck said as he hummed to himself when he looked at me and my gauntlet.
"Ah ha! I have an idea!" Dr. Oobleck snapped his finger.
"What is it?" Blake asked.
"You, Mr. Knight, approach the pack of Beowolves by approximately 50 yards to them!" He ordered me.
"Say what!?" I gasped.
"Dr. Oobleck, what are you saying!? Ellix will get kill!" Ruby yelled.
"Do not worry, Ruby and ladies! I have a hunch that those pack of Beowolves is afraid of something that we or at least one of us possess. Mr. Ellix Knight, please go and confront this pack of Beowolves while we watch your action from the safer distance." He said.
"You got to be kidding me!" I looked at them disbelief until I realized everyone hide around the corner of the building as they watched me.
Yang gave me a thumb up while the rest of the girls and Dr. Oobleck watched me, anticipating what will happen.
"Great…" I sighed. I turned to face the pack of Beowolves. I walked closer to them as some of them back off.
"Ah ha! I knew it! They are afraid of Mr. Knight! That explains why they have not attack us!" Dr. Oobeck proclaimed.
"But, why?" Ruby asked, wondering.
"Yeah, like what she said. Why those Grimm afraid of Ellix?" Weiss said curiously.
I approached and stopped about 50 yards spot from them. "Okay….so, which one of you guys want to fight with me first!?" I said strongly at them.
Few seconds later, they scrammed away from me as one of them tripped until it got up and ran off.
My teammates and I came out of their hiding spot as I laid down on the street.
"Phew! That was scary as hell!" I exclaimed.
"Good job, Mr. Knight! You have proven my theory well!" Dr. Oobleck said.
"What theory!? I thought I was going to die and get eaten by those pack of Beowolves!" I complained to him.
"Never mind about them! There will be more of them out there, so we must be diligent and careful! Let's begin our search!" Dr. Oobleck declared, completely ignoring me.
This day starts off in a weird, terrible, and abusive way!
Author's Note: Another chapter, another well done job I have to say. This chapter is based on the episode "Field Trip" from Volume 2. So far and from previous chapters, it seems that Grimm are afraid of Ellix's gauntlet as you can tell. Why? More mysteries raveled around him as it become thicker, but more mysterious will come in the next chapter soon. I want to give credits to RWBY wikia for the character's dialogue, and Monty Ohm for the creation of this series.
Recommendation; this is not RWBY-related fanfiction, but please and go check out OPFan37's Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V fanfiction. It is based on the Arc-V anime series, and it is own interpretation just like this story, but Yu-Gi-Oh related of course. If you like that series or even the current anime series for the lovable children card game series that some of us may have grew up with, then I am sure you will like his story, so go and check it out.
Next time in Tales of Ellix, Ellix will meet a terrifying beast...see you all in the next chapter.