Disclaimer: RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth. Guildwars is property of ArenaNet
The Noble Roses: Chapter 14
Weiss and Ruby found themselves in the Beacon courtyard come Friday afternoon, dressed in their casual clothes and watching the airships come in from their seat on a bench.
Weiss had a tablet scroll open before her, tapping icons as various students disembarked, many carrying luggage. The first of the students were starting to arrive from the other academies, intending to compete in the upcoming Vytal Festival..
Oh how she loved the Vytal Festival!. The planning, the organization, the economic stimulus! It was everything a Schnee could hope for. What was really salivating to her this year was the benefits her UI was affording her: Level ranges, professions, buffs, all cleanly and neatly organized, ripe for her consumption. And consume she did, gleefully.
Weiss's eyes darted too and fro, taking in the measure of each of the newcomers and then jotting down notes about each. Sweet, delicious intelligence, all for her. And well, for her team, she couldn't win Vytal without them after all.
Ruby's eyes were also a flutter, though she was focused on the weapons the students were carrying, or at least those whose weapons she could see. The variety was extensive, and she had little idea how some even intended to fight with what they had. Her observations also took Ruby's mind off the strange giggles and out of place smile Weiss was giving off, her partner enjoying this activity a bit too much for Ruby's taste.
Weiss tore her eyes from the buffet of delicious information and checked the time on her tablet scroll . "They're late."
"Who's late?" Ruby said, jolted from her appreciation of the displayed arms.
"Yang and Blake, we were suppose to meet at 3:00. It's 3:05."
Ruby rolled her eyes. "They're on their way, as I'm sure you know, given you've been spamming party chat for updates. Yang stopped by the room to change after detention, and Blake's heading here from the library, which is quite a walk."
"The Faunus Student Union meeting holding her up beyond the normal meeting time?"
"Yep. Turns out breaking a racist bully's nose makes one quite popular with one's fellows."
"Still surprised that didn't net her a detention of her own."
Ruby shrugged, "I guess even Glynda can let some stuff slide, situation warranting." She turned to her partner, " I'm just glad the situation between you and Blake is improving, you two were so on edge the last few days."
"We are not 'on edge', as you so exasperatingly claim, Ruby." Weiss said with a corrective tone, "While Blake's history is still a mild concern, she has acted exemplary in her duties and has given us no reason to doubt her. She placed a great deal of trust in us by discussing her background with the team, and I'm doing my best to maintain that level of confidence and trust."
Blake chose this time to arrive , "And all I ask for is to keep an open mind, and extend that trust to other Faunus, and not assume anyone who breaks the occasional rule..."
"Or occasional nose" Yang helpfully added as she ran up, recalling a certain Mr Winchester's unfortunate run in with Blake's principles.
Blake nodded, blush on her face, "Or that, yes, is a vagabond destined to sign up with the extremely misguided souls who throw their lot in with the current fang." Weiss didn't challenge the description, trying to be civil and knowing Blake's stance quite well.
"On that, we can agree." Weiss said, giving one last look to the offloading students and reviewing the screen before her. "Though, I may still ruffle a few feathers in my…descriptions of certain individuals, I am doing my best to learn from our unique relationship and adjust my position to a more positive stance."
Blake smiled, "Likewise." The two of them shared a curt nod.
"So how are the Faunus students at the union handling the fallout with Team CDRL?" Yang asked, taking a seat. Blake leaned against the bench and let out a breath.
"A mix of elation that a bully got what he deserved, and some fears of retaliation if said bully takes out his aggression on them to save face. Some say fighting back is the correct path, others fear that may end with them branded along the likes of the white fang due to the violence."
"Big gulf between defending oneself against a bully and the extremism of the Fang."
"True Yang, but not every human sees it that way. To many, any violence no matter how justified is the same as extremism."
Weiss contemplated this, knowing she was guilty of such thought in the past. "I suppose the question is how measured a response is justified. Professor Goodwitch did allow you your retribution for example, I don't think the school would frown upon reasonable self defense."
"Yeah, not to mention Velvet out levels Cardin and could totally take him if she tried." Yang had seen the rabbit faunus perform in class spars, and knew as well as the others she had skill where it counted.
"And that's where the students are divided. Clearly yelling stop doesn't work, but how far can we go, or rather should we go? It was that very question that separated the old white fang from the current one. No one here wants to end up on the wrong side when the dust settles." Blake mentally sighed at the memories this all brought up, and decided to move onto another subject.
"So how's it looking?" Blake asked, reviewing the incoming students.
Weiss looked over her results. "The general mix is about the same as Beacon's, ditto for the level range. It's pretty easy to tell the more experienced from the newer students." Weiss was quite fond of the UI's ability to rapidly classify any huntsman within view. Yang, Ruby and Blake looked over Weiss shoulder, the screen showing a list of profession icons and level ranges for each student. No names yet though, that would come after introductions in class.
"Any of the rare ones?" Yang said, eyeing the results.
"A few, again about the same as Beacon. No Reapers though, if that's what you're asking."
"Good to know." Yang said with a clap of her hands. It was almost cheating in her mind to have such a breakdown of their peers, a distinct advantage the guild offered over other students. "Now, we going to get this show on the road? Vale awaits!"
"We'd already be on the road if a certain blonde wasn't in detention."
"Worth it." Weiss shook her head at Yang's response and collapsed the tablet, stowing it in her pack. Together the team stood and started toward the airship docks themselves.
"So looking forward to this! It's been ages since we've been to the Vale Royal Library." Ruby said, arms raised in cheer. The Library was the largest and most extensive in Vale, a jewel for seekers of knowledge.
"Not since the last trip with Dad. Beacon has its perks though, no need to haul him around this time." The Academy extended checkout benefits to beacon students, as well as instructors from Beacon or Signal.
"What was the nature of your previous trips? Research or pleasure?"
"Bit of both, Blake" Ruby said, practically skipping along. "We were searching for information, but without more to go on it was a literally needle in a haystack. We also picked out some personal reading, and some stuff for signal homework."
"This time, we know exactly what to look for, or at least a more targeting area of focus." Weiss said, swiping her scroll over the airship dock turnstyle. The others followed suit.
"Yep! Art history and with any luck, what artifacts from a certain Kaspar ended up at what temples or collections here in Vale. Then it's off to see them in person! Oh I can't wait!" Ruby was literally hopping with excitement as they took their seats and buckled in for the journey.
"'S'right! So let's grab our wheels and head across town. Shouldn't take us long to get there this time of day."
The trip was a short one, the airships flying but a few miles to their landing site. Disembarking the girls walked the short distance to the garages where students and faculty stored their various vehicles. Yang typed the access code into her scroll and opened the one the sisters had reserved, which opened to show Bumblebee and Hummingbird in all their two wheeled splendor.
"How did you two come to own your own vehicles at your age, anyways?" Weiss said, as she reached for her helmet.
"Well Bumblebee was dad's ride back in the day, I started to use it after getting my license senior year at Signal."
"And I purchased Hummingbird with funds from my hunts once Yang got formally accepted into Beacon. I had been riding along with her to school, but wanted my own if she was going to be gone as it was that or ride in zippy." Ruby patted her scooter with pride in her eyes.
"Zippy?" Blake said, adjusting her new Faunus friendly helmet, a very recent purchase overnighted to her. Her ears cried out in relief that they'd no longer be subjected to the horrors of Yang's old backup helmet.
"The Xiao Long - Rose family car." Yang said with a smile, not that Blake could see it as she was sitting behind her partner.
"I love Dad, but riding around with your dad totally kills one's image of cool."
"Says the girl in a cape." Weiss said as she climbed onto the back of Hummingbird and wrapping her hands around Ruby's waist, thankful that Ruby had said cape removed for the trip. Blake similarly mounted up on Bumblebee behind Yang.
"Hey now, capes are cool." Ruby protested, "Uncle Qrow wears one, as does Glynda. Heck, even Yang has a butt cape going on."
"It's a half skirt, not a butt cape!" Yang said, mock offense in her tone.
Ruby stuck out her tongue as the scooter's engine hummed to life and she started toward the garage exit. "It's so a butt cape!" Ruby said, gunning the engine and taking off.
"Get back here! No getting the last word via dust off, that's my gig!" Yang said, taking off after her sister, Blake laughing behind her.
/-/
A few hours later Bumblebee and Hummingbird pulled up to the curb in front of one of the many temples in the city of Vale, their riders dismounting and removed their helmets with a toss of hair and a stretch of their legs.
Yang took in the sight before her, "This the place sis?"
"According to that guide we found at the library yeah." Ruby said, comparing the address with the one listed in the guide.
"Interesting architecture." Weiss said, unfamiliar with the Vale style but appreciative of it's detailed construction. She did see some common notes in said design that were shared with temples in Atlas, such as the circular stained glass elements.
The Temple in question was modest in size compared to some in the city. Stained glass and stonework spoke of past wealth and prestige, relics of an age where faith was far more important to the population than the current day. Despite the decline in reverence in recent years, there was a fair sized group of people milling about as the team made their way inside.
The interior was nice, with wooden pews and devotional artwork dotting the walls. The devotees were of all ages and professions, from small children with their parents buying charms for luck in school, to veteran huntsmen saying prayers for deployed or fallen comrades. Weiss mentally noted many of the clergy had professions, indicating some may have been past huntsmen themselves, or otherwise had their aura unlocked at some point.
Weiss and Blake looked around in curiosity and awe, neither having previously visited a Vale style temple. There were common elements to be sure, but given the wide variety of faiths on Remnant there were also stark differences.
"Anyone see the statue?" Yang said, looking around. There was quite the selection of art on display.
"Over here" Blake said with a wave, pointing to a stature of a winged woman along one of the walls. The group made their way to the piece in question, noting a few other persons were also admiring it.
"Look familiar sis?" Yang said, turning to Ruby.
Ruby examined the statue, taking in the details of her dress and face and comparing it to the images on her scroll of the art book's wood print as well as the grainy picture form the guide.
"It's similar, but a bit off."
"Maybe that Kaspar guy used a different model for this one?"
"Dunno." Ruby said, looking at the statues from different angles. She didn't think it was the lighting throwing her off.
"The discrepancy is likely due to the fact that this is not a work by the mistral artist Kaspar. It is in fact a reproduction by a local artist, Dominic Aeris."
Ruby turned to face the source of the interruption, a red haired young women in a gray and green dress. She noted the woman had a profession, indicated by a bomb icon.
"You sure? The guide says it's a Kaspar original."
The girl nodded her head, "I am positive. Note the sculptors mark on the base. Those are not the ones used by Kaspar.
Yang took a closer look. "Damn, she's right." Yang's language drew a disappointing stare from one of the nearby priestess. Yang mouthed a quiet apprology in response.
"You've got a good eye for detail. Are you one of the staff here?" Ruby said, turning fully to face the young woman.
"Oh no, I'm just here as part of my study of Vale culture. My occupation is that of a huntress student from Atlas Academy, I'm here to fight in the tournament"
"Here for vytal are you?" Weiss said, studying the girls details and making mental notes of her profession and level, It was comparable to her peers.
"Affirmative, I am combat ready!" she said, raising her fists in determination.
"That's...and interesting way of putting it.. I'm Ruby by the way." Ruby said, holding out a hand. The women took it without hesitation.
"I'm Penny, it's a pleasure to meet you Ruby!"
"I'm her sister Yang."
Penny took the offered hand again, "A pleasure to meet you Yang!"
"I'm Weiss." Weiss said with a smile, which Penny returned.
"And I'm Blake." Blake said with a wave, being outside arms reach. " I wonder why the guide is off, maybe we have the wrong statue?"
Penny shook her head after thinking for a second. "I do not believe so, as there are no others of this style present. Perhaps we could consult with one of the resident clergy?"
"Worth a shot I guess." Ruby said, putting away her scroll and looking around for one of the temple's staff.
After asking around the group was directed to one of the elder priestesses who served as the temples curator.
"Pardon us", Ruby began, "we are looking for a Sister Petrosinella? Is she here?"
"Indeed she is, you are speaking to her." The sister in question was an older woman with ankle length gray hair, and fine if weathered features. Her office was covered in books, pictures, and artifacts under restoration or preservation. A collapsing glaive hung on the wall behind her, which given her level and profession, Ruby reasoned it was her weapon from her huntress days.
The sister motioned for them to enter her office and they took some offered seats."Please take a seat. Would any of you care for some tea?"
"Thank you, but no." Ruby said with a polite wave of her hands. The others politely declined as well.
Sister Petrosinella poured one for herself. "It's so rare to see people your age interested in votive art or faith in general." Sister Petrosinella said with a smile, "What brings you here today my children?"
Ruby took the lead and spoke, "We were interested in one of the works we were told was a part of the temple's collection, a statue by the artist Kaspar called 'Lady of Zephyrs'. Our guide says it should be here, but it looks to have been replaced."
The elder sister's face lit up at the name. "The guide you are referencing is probably an older one. We were in fact in possession of said work some time ago. Here, let me show you." The sister walked to one of the shelves and retrieved an album before returning to her desk. She flipped through the pages, and after a minute turned the book to show the group the pictures therein. . Ruby's eyes went wide as she beheld it and she became utterly silent.
The statue was an exact match to the model in the art book, as far as resolution aloud. It was also, to her disbelief strikingly similar to the face of her own Dwayna, though such a thing was impossible. 200 years was a long time for such features to endure in a family tree, especially when you added Faunus traits into the mix.
Prying her eyes away from the photographs by force of will and finding her voice. "What became of the statue? Is it possible to see it?"
The Sister sighed. "I'm afraid it's currently out of our reach." Ths sister leaned back in her chair, a melancholy visage on their face. " It is rather a sad story i'm afraid. You see my children, some decades ago there was an attempt to build a large scale expansion of the Kingdom of Vale, a place called Mountain Glenn. It was the largest such expansion attempt in many decades, and a tremendous amount of resources and capital was invested in it. Many settlers were moved to the new city, and for a time it was prosperous."
The sister retrieved another album, this time opening it to the picture of a newly constructed temple. The Temple was similar in style to the one they were in presently, and a number of proud looking clergy and dignitaries were posing in front of it.
"As a sign of our trust and faith in the expansion, the temple moved several artifacts and artworks to a newly constructed temple in Mountain Glenn. It was thought such familiar sights would be a comfort to the new settlers. The 'Lady of Zephyrs' had a reputation as well, and was an especially symbolic transfer."
"What sort of reputation?" Blake asked.
"The statue seemed to radiate warmth, and life, where it stood there was calm and tranquility, where it traveled there was peace. This was discovered during the long passage from Mistral to Vale centuries ago. No Grimm attacked it's convoy upon the entire route, to the amazement of the ones transporting it. It was hoped this radiance would be of aid to the expansion and give peace of mind to the devoted there."
"That sounds, rather amazing actually." Weiss said. 'Almost magical' she thought.
"It was indeed, decades later I still remember it when I close my eyes."
Ruby finally recovered, "You've seen it in person?"
"Indeed I have child, though I was a huntress back then, rather than a layperson of the faith."
"What became of the expansion?" Said Penny, eyes darting between the pictures and the sister.
"The grimm happened." The group's smiles fell, knowing where this story would go.
Sister Petrosinella continued, sadness evident in her tone. "Despite the expansions significant defenses, the grimm were somehow able to breach the walls and in great numbers. Sirens flared, weapons roared, and people panicked which just served to draw more of the enemy down upon them"
"You were there, weren't you?" Blake said with wide eyes and flattened ears.
" I was indeed." Sister Petrosinella stood and ran a hand along her glaives handle before turning to face the group again. "We fought with everything we had, every last huntsmen, soldier and police but it wasn't enough to stem the tide. Entire sections of the city were overrun despite our efforts, with many people cut off from evac points and escape routes. Many thousands died before our eyes, helpless as were were to help."
She sat down and continued as the group looked on stunned silence. "The temple square was the evac point I was assigned to defend and despite the odds were held it. Wither by divine protection or some other force, the grimm made no attempt to overrun us, and we were able to hold out until the airships could arrive. We were able to take many of the smaller relics as we left, but there was no way to take the 'Lady of Zephyrs' given it's bulk. It was with sad eyes and heavy hearts we left it, and the ones we couldn't save behind. Upon my return to Vale, and joined the faith, eager to catalog what we had saved and give thanks for the lives that were spared, and to mourn those we lost."
"That's...Terrible. I can't imagine.." Yang said, shaking from the thought of it. Blake placed a arm around her in comfort.
"It was that and more, my child. We've had open requests for the retrieval of other artifacts from the temple complex, but the area is quite dangerous and the council has placed higher priority on retrieving other things, such as vital records, resources, or even lien form the bank vaults. Old statues, regardless of how revered, are not high on their priority list given the complexities of transport."
"It is a very complex matter of logistics indeed." Penny stated, mentally reviewing the requirements.
The sister said mournfully "And so she remains. I'm afraid there isn't much more I can say on the subject."
"We're sorry to bring up such bad memories, sister." Weiss said with sincerity.
"It's alright my child, it's good to remember those we saved, and those we couldn't. I've faith the lady will come back to us in time." Sister Petrosinella's voice spoke of conviction.
"Mind if I snap a few photos?" Ruby said, holding up her scroll.
"by all means." Petrosinella said, pushing the album toward Ruby.
Ruby took several pictures of the album's contents, and then with thanks the group departed the office, thoughts swirling around. They stopped at the temple stairs, and took a seat.
"Well, that's one major downer but at least we have some new information out of it." Yang said, leaning back and looking up to the sky.
"It is indeed a distressing turn of events. You all seemed surprised by the news of the expansion, is it not something well known here in Vale?" Penny said,
Ruby shook her head, "I've never heard of it before. Yang?"
"Me neither sis, first time I've heard the name Mountain Glenn in that context. An entire expansion, and all those people wiped out. How is that not something they teach us?"
"Mass grief could attract the grimm, the council may have turned to downplaying the loss to minimize the effects." Weiss reasoned. It was not unheard of for bad news to quickly be forgotten on Remnant, no matter how painful. Tragedies fell off the news rapidly, the fallen all but forgotten by the kingdoms, their memorials quiet and there were few graveyards on Remnant, cremation and scattering being preferred by most. What few grave markers there were were often scattered or isolated.
"So where do we go from here?"
"Well Blake, not much we can do. I suppose we look into Mountain Glenn and those mission requests, may be something we could attempt in the future. We can also dig more into the effect that statue had, maybe someone documented more about it." Yang played a bit with her hair as she spoke.
"Worth a shot I suppose."
"You all seem rather focused on this piece of art, does it hold some special significance?" Penny, said, tilting her head.
"Well, " began Ruby, "You could say that. It reminds me of someone from my past who I've been searching for."
"I wish you luck on your search then, Ruby." Penny smiled and gave a thumbs up.
"Thanks. Oh, speaking of luck, almost forgot, be right back!" Ruby said before vanishing in a cloud of rose petals.
"Quite the interesting semblance." Penny said, eyeing the cloud.
"Interesting is a good way to describe my sister." Yang said as she snatched a petal out of the air. Within seconds it decayed back into dust, leaving no trace behind.
Ruby reappeared a minute later. "Okay I'm back! That comment about luck reminded me I needed to pick up some charms myself."
Ruby handed charms to Yang, Blake and Weiss, who accepted them gracefully. Weiss noted that the charms actually had stats, clearly the temple staff was doing something right with them. Ruby pocketed one herself, and to Penny's surprise offered the last to her.
"Here, as thanks for your help in there."
"For..for me?" Penny said as she accepted it. She held the charm up to her eyes, examining every last detail she could perceive. Her smile was positively radiant.
"Well yeah, it's the friendly thing to do. You know, reward people who help you."
Penny was absolutely still. "Friendly as is like something does to a friend? Are we...friends?"
Sweat rolled down Ruby's head, "ah, sure why not?"
"Sensational!" Penny said, throwing her hands up. "I've made my first friend in Vale! Oh the things we can do together" Penny paused a second as she compiled what she knew about her new friend. "We can visit local museums, discuss art and history, or more typical activities such as discussing cute boys, trying on cute and fashionable clothing, or other shared hobbies or activities!"
Ruby didn't quite know how to respond, not being the best with social situations as she was.
[Party: Ruby: Help….]
Weiss stepped up the the plate. "While those do activities do such interesting, they will have to wait for some other time. We've got a number of other errands to run today, but I'm sure we will see you around campus in the common weeks and months."
[Ruby to Weiss: I so owe you.]
[Weiss to Ruby: thank me later. Intensively.]
Penny calmed down somewhat, "Can I assist you in any of your other endeavors today?"
Ruby shook her head. "We should be good, and well, not enough room on the bikes for you. But yeah, I'll see you back at Beacon, and thanks again for the help in there."
"It was my pleasure. Thank you for the thoughtful gift, I shall treasure it."
"Till next time Penny."
"Till next time friend Ruby!"
With a smile and a wave Penny turned and left, walking down the street toward whatever objective was next on her agenda.
"Strange girl. Interesting, but strange." Yang said as she put on her helmet and remounted Bumblebee.
"Perhaps, but she was a big help, though no doubt we would have discovered the issue in time ourselves." Weiss was sure of that, though Penny had saved them a considerable amount of time.
"So what is the plan for the rest of the evening, seeing as our primary objective is shot?" Blake said as she mounted up behind her partner.
"Not to mention you looked a bit shook up when you saw the photographs, and that was before the bad news about the expansion." Weiss said, holding onto Ruby.
"It's just...she looked just like her, like Dwayna."
"Well yeah sis, she did model for it."
"Not that one, my Dwayna. It like like someone had carved the face right from my memories. Even the wings were the same."
"Are you sure Ruby? I mean, there is no way it can be the same person. The model was a human after all, and it was ages ago." Her partner said as she mounted up herself.
"I'm not sure what to think Weiss, it's just another mystery." Ruby keyed the ignition and Hummingbirds motor came to life. "Not much we can do about it now though, so I'm thinking Mistralian food and frozen yogurt, might as well turn this into a team outing. We'll hit the books tomorrow and see what we can dig up about the 'Lady of Zephyrs' and the events of Mountain Glenn."
"Works for me. " Yang said as she started the ignition on Bumblebee. "Any preference on restaurants anyone?"
"I know a good one, it's not far. " Blake said, adjusting her gear and wrapping her arms around Yang.
"Cool, lead the way partner'"
The team sped off, eager to enjoy the rest of the evening and mentally making plans for their research to come. Questions were piling upon questions, and no one was quite sure what to make of it yet.
/-/
Beacon's library was as busy as it ever was, which is to say it wasn't. Given it was the weekend, most students were off in Vale seeing the sights ,shopping, or seeking entertainment. The transfer students were busy orientate themselves to the campus, and undergoing the move in process. Other students were off training, taking side missions, or otherwise advancing their skills as huntsmen and huntresses.
RWBY was more or less alone in their corner of the library, sitting at one of the longer tables, a stack of books before them. A few students were sitting at adjacent tables, mostly playing board games or reading leisure books and comics. Each member of the team had paper and scroll in front of them as well, both for taking notes and for cross referencing stuff on the local network.
Yang leaned back in her chair and let out a breath. "Well, after two hours of reading I can say some things for certain. First off, I'm starting to get hungry here. Second, casualty reports from a major disaster are probably the most depressing thing ever to read. And last, after reading them, I really want to bash a few grimm skulls in."
"Do tell." Weiss said, setting down her tablet.
Yang sat up, "Sister Petrosinella wasn't exaggerating when she described it, Mountain Glenn was an absolute disaster. The sheer loss of life was just staggering, fewer than a third of the population survives, most of them from the group who was airlifted out or took refuge in the transit tunnels, sealing them from the surface before those too were breached. The council itself had to order the main tunnel sealed to prevent a full on invasion of Vale, resulting in a whole lot of civilians and huntsmen being forced to use emergency access routes to try to escape, and few survived the trip through the forest those lead to. Even the airships had to be called back in time, as the sky became choked with smoke and flying grimm. It was horror, pure and simple."
Weiss nodded, "Matches what I've been able to find. Hundreds of rescue missions were launched in the days, weeks and months that followed, each turning up fewer survivors. Eventually they turned to asset recovery and straight up grimm extermination, missions that are still on the books as open today, including the ones the sister told us about. The entire expansion area is still labeled as grimm infested despite decades of culling."
"Anything we could take on?"
"Afraid not Yang. Most are reserved for upper class men or professional huntsmen, depending on the area. While we are...uniquely suited to retrieval missions, we'd need a dang good reason to get approval for even a recon mission at our grade level."
Yang contemplated that. The guild could bring some awesome powers to bare, and Mountain Glenn was isolated enough that they could go all out profession wise, but it would be a dangerous proposition and would require more than an afternoon to complete. They needed more of a hook to get the headmaster on board.
"Hmm, what about you Ruby? Any luck?"
Ruby lowered her book and checked her notes on the tablet scroll. "Beacon's library of course doesn't have much on art history so I messaged Doctor Oobleck for advice, and he pointed me toward the biographies and memoirs section." Ruby tapped the book before her, "Turns out we did have a memoir from one of the huntsmen companies that provided inter-kingdom caravan protection back in the day. As luck would have it, it does reference the transport of the statue as an especially proud and memorable moment in her career."
That got Yang and Weiss's attention, Blake was looking at her scroll attentively but turned her cat ears toward her team leader. "Though they were approached by grimm numerous times during the transport, the grimm always backed off before contact, literally recoiling away from the group. The few who did approach closer seemed to cower as they drew near and were easy prey for the huntsmen. It also mentions how serine the caravan itself was, with little infighting and high spirits all around, something that extended to every village along the way. Some even left the company and settled in Vale after the journey's end, not wanting to leave the statue's new home."
"Could have just been an overly positive attitude due to transporting a holy object or votive work." Yang said.
"Or it could be a sign that something special was going on, perhaps in the area of you know what." Weiss suggested, subtly frosting a small patch of the table, which evaporated soon after. Though they knew little about magic's full effects, the team knew it existed and thus couldn't discount it. "After all, grimm don't feel fear, so they shouldn't recoil from anything."
Ruby let out a small breath. "Sadly that's all I've solidly been able to find about the statues effects, most other texts I've found mostly deal with it as a local sight to see or news about it's transport to Mountain Glenn. There were a few references to other transport companies who carried similar statues to other locations from Mistral, but the references are vague at best. Some don't even describe the same style of statue."
Weiss was intrigued, "Kaspar created works with other models?"
"Apparently so, though this doesn't mention much about them. We'll have to wait for the headmasters results to know more, or maybe hit the Royal library again and see what we can dig up." Ruby said with a rub of her temples. "How about you Blake, anything interesting?"
Blake didn't answer, still absorbed in her reading.
Yang waved at her, "Remnant to Blake, you there Blake?"
Blake's eyes snapped up at that, "Oh sorry I was just .distracted."
"Something caught your eye?"
"A lot of things actually, Ruby. But on the subject of Mountain Glenn, I did find a number of news articles that backed up much of what you already know. Survivors stories fall into what we already know about the city being overrun and how they managed to flee. The stories about the temple complex match the effects from the caravan, with far more people rescued from that area than any of the other aerial evacuation points."
"More signs that something is definitely up with that statue." Ruby said, making note of Blake's information.
Blake continued, "No formal explanation was ever given for the defense failure, speculation was everything from materials failures and personal error to sabotage, industrial accident or deliberate enemy action. Inquiries were held, but no formal judgements made. There are still open investigations, though progress depends on retrieved records or footage from the attack, which are sparse at best. Merlot industries comes up a lot, but that's about it."
"Not much to go on there." Weiss said, playing with her hair as she considered the information. "Company name ring any bells to anyone?"
Yang shook her head. "Not here, must be before our time, I suppose it's one more thing to look into. So what's got you so distracted Blake, it doesn't sound like you found too much of interest."
"It's not the Mountain Glenn news that distracted me, it was this." Blake said, flicking a new story on her scroll to send it to her teammates."
'Crime wave continues as second dust store hit this week' the headline read. "Been hearing a lot about that, Ruby herself disrupted one. Torchwick, wasn't it?" Yang asked, looking to her sister.
"Yep, Roman Torchwick, along with some unidentified huntress that Glynda and I fought. So what do you find so interesting about that, Blake? They hit your favorite shop?"
"Yes actually, or at least one of the more faunus friendly ones. The details of the robbery are what really concerns me."
Weiss's brow raised, anger apparent on her face. "The White Fang?"
Blake nodded, "So it says. Faunus in grimm styled masks taking only dust and leaving the money."
Yang's confusion mirrored the others, "I thought they only hit places that were anti-Faunus, why attack this one?"
"Why indeed. It's counter to their normal operations, and well, they have never needed dust in this amount before." It just didn't make any sense Blake thought. 'Adam would never hit somewhere fanus depended on like this.'
"Copycats maybe? Maybe Torchwick's goons trying to deflect the blame or misdirect the police?" Ruby suggested.
"He's never needed to before from what I've read, but it's not something we can rule out."
"It's concerning at any rate, "Weiss interjected, "I can't see them putting stockpiles of illicitly acquired dust to any peaceful use."
"If they are responsible that is. " Blake reminded Weiss, who looked unconvinced. "The only way to know for certain would be to catch them in the act like Ruby did with Torchwick. And frankly, there are far too many dust sources in Vale to cover them all, especially if Faunus friendly ones are on the table. Even the police haven't been able to manage it."
"Which means even if we wanted to investigate, which for the record should be the Vale Police departments job, we wouldn't even know where to start."
Blake slumped back in frustration. "It's just…aggravating." Blake swore to herself that she'd left this all behind, but she couldn't sit back and do nothing. If the Fang was a threat, she needed to know why before her past literally caught up to her and her friends.
"Couldn't help but overhear you fine ladies predicament"
Blake's ears perked up. "And you are?"
The blond haired monkey Faunus from an adjacent table put down his comic, pulled out a chair at the the team's table with his tail, and sat down. "The names Sun, Sun Wukong."
"Are you transfer student? I don't recall seeing you in class." Blake asked.
"Sure am, I'm here from Haven Academy for the Vytal festival." Weiss took immediate note of his level and profession. It was one the guild didn't have as of yet, symbolized by a winged boot. She marked down his information in her notes.
"How long were you listening?" asked a somewhat nervous Ruby. They hadn't said anything compromising, but she made a mental note to perhaps discuss things a bit more subtle next go around.
"Since the part about the magical sounding statue and the thing about the horrific disaster."
"So basically, the entire time?"
"Pretty much". Sun said with a smile.
Blake sighed, "So what do you bring to the table, Sun?"
[Party: Yang: Besides those abs.]
The rest of the team shot Yang a side eye, with a giggle from Ruby. At least Yang hadn't commented about Blake's unintentional pun.
"I think I know where you could find the Fang's next target."
"You know about the White Fang?" Sun now fully had Blake's attention.
"You mean besides the fact they are a bunch of holier than thou freaks with an itch for violence?"
Weiss tried to force down a smile and maintain a neutral face at that, and wisely remained silent. Blake gave her a small appreciative nod, clearly Weiss was trying to remain civil.
Blake continued "Yes, besides that."
"Well, on the voyage to Vale from Mistral I overheard some sailors talking about a big shipment of dust arriving today, a large Schnee freighter at that, probably to stock up for Vytal. It's being offloaded as we speak."
Weiss smile fell. "That would be a desirable target for them, to be sure." One that Weiss couldn't allow to fall into their hands.
Blake leaned forward, "Do you know what berth the ship will be at?"
Sun leaned back, hands behind his head. "Sure do! I'll be happy to guild you there myself, after all, can't let you have all the fun here."
The team exchanged a look.
"Excuse us for just a second." Team RWBY all leaned in close.
[Party: Blake: I know this is asking a lot but…]
[Party: Yang: Oh we are so doing this! ]
Blake was taken back. [Party: Blake: ..What?]
[Party: Ruby: Yang's right, we can't pass up this opportunity. Fang or not, we can't allow someone to steal that much dust. ]
[Party: Blake: ..Ruby?]
[Party: I'm not opposed to this, but perhaps we should involve the authorities as well."
[Party: Yang: But what if there is a leak in the VPD? If they get spooked here, they'll just steal it from the shops and we'll never get the confirmation we need.]
[Party: Ruby: Not to mention I busted up one of these solo, how much harder could this be? We'll have five people this time!
[Party: Yang: It's a regular smash and grab. They show up, we smash them, the VPD grabs them, and everyone is happy.
[Party: Weiss: I suppose we can always message Glynda or JNPR if things get too hot to call in backup.]
[Party: Ruby: IT's not even lunchtime yet, so we have plenty of time to plan before this evening, I doubt they would be brazen enough to rob the docks during daytime.]
[Party: Blake: I expected this to be a more difficult sell.]
[Party: Yang: You do remember who you are talking to, right partner?]
"So ah, are you having some sort of telepathic conversation or something?" To Sun the situation looks positively odd. The girls were exchanging looks and facial expressions, but no words.
Team RWBY froze, and all slowly turned their heads as one to face him.
Ruby answered with a unconvincing tone. "um...No?"
"It's cool, I've heard close knit teams can do that sort of thing. Still working on it with me and the guys. though. I'll send a look all like 'attack on the left flank' and they'll be like 'you want pizza for dinner?' and i'll be like 'well yeah, but this isn't the time.' "
"That's...great. Keep working on that." Ruby said with a thumbs up.
"Thanks!" Sun said, leaning in himself. "So we doing this?"
RWBY exchanged one last round of looks and nodded at Blake.
Blake smiled and turned back to Sun, "Yeah, we are doing this."
Author's notes:
Hello everyone! Enjoying the story so far I hope?
First off, thanks for all the reviews, it's great feedback and it's nice to hear from you all.
To clear up a few questions:
RWBY's 'mission gear', which Ruby crafted for Weiss and Blake, and Yang made herself are based off the Manga outfits. Yang's has some riveted on armor as well, something she commonly does to outfits in this story.
Pyrrha's is based off her original concept sketch, and was a PVP reward for her four Mistral area tournament wins. We'll see some other PVP gear as well as time goes on.
I'll describe the other JNPR outfits in more detail when they they appear.
Most of the other big questions will be talked about in the next few chapters, so stay tuned.