DISCLAIMER: This will be the last time I put up a disclaimer, because you all get it by now, what are the chances of someone like me owning freaking RWBY?

New chapter, yay! This chapter was kind of fun to write, so I hope it will be just as fun for you guys to read! :D

Real quick though, I want to say something before the chapter begins, which is just to thank you guys, even though that isn't at all what you guys deserve, because to me, you guys deserve much more, but a mere thank you is all I really got to offer unfortunately. First of all, I want to thank you guys for being patient, I know that lately chapter updates have been pretty erratic for the most part, so I'm thankful you guys have been patient with that, I know it's very disappointing only getting mere updates in place of actual chapters.

Second, and most importantly, I just want to thank the those of you that follow, favorite, and review this story, and read whenever there's a new chapter, even though there aren't many of you that do so, but I honestly don't care how many of you there are that read this, because I don't care about becoming some famous dude on here that feels like they're to good for you guys, I only care about making and releasing these chapters, and entertaining those of you that care about it, whether that's one person, or two, or a hundred, which will probably never happen, but like I said, I don't care about that, I just care as long as at least one person reads my stories, and enjoys them. So thank you all!

Now, enough of that mushy stuff, let's get on with the chapter!

The second semester of team SMOK's first year had finally arrived, and the shared excitement between the four girls was easy to sense.

After Silver's skirmish with Coleen, she had made a simple and quick recovery without much trouble, her ribs had healed quite rapidly, and she was back to training like herself in just a few days, even though she made it clear she didn't want to wait at all.

Her ribs healed just in time for the new semester to begin as well, and after much anticipation – and impatience for that matter – that day had arrived.

Silver was a bit more taciturn in showing her own excitement, she wasn't saying much about having the chance of going on a real mission for the first time, but if someone was observant enough, they could see how the chance was enlivening her. Being from a family that was filled with great huntsmen and huntresses, she felt like she had her own expectations to live up to, and she knew this was her first real opportunity to do so.

Marriott on the other hand was the complete opposite in showing her enthusiasm, as you would probably expect. She was practically bouncing off of every wall around in her excitement. It all just felt so surreal to her! She was going to go on her first mission ever as a huntress (well, in training, but don't ruin the moment for her!), and she was ready to just go already!

Olivia was more like Silver, she was quiet, but you could see in her sky blue eyes that she was no less happy to go on a mission. She had poised herself to getting ready for a moment like this for years now, and now that the time had finally arisen, she was not only ready to take a huge step in being a true huntress, but also doing something that would have made her parents proud of her.

Koel, as you could imagine, was obviously excited, and also a little nervous, but didn't say much of anything. She expected that her teammates were nervous too, at least somewhat. There's no telling whatsoever of what could happen out there, and being the normally shy and kinda paranoid girl she is, she was a little edgy, but she was going to do her best not to show it; she didn't want to dampen the mood her teammates had.

They had heard and seen teams from the other academies of note, namely the first year teams, all of them coming to join them later in the day to get their own missions. Today was a great and exciting day for all beginning teams, and they felt silly for only truly describing said day as just 'exciting', but there was hardly a better word for it. Today was the springboard of sorts for their careers, where they could put what they've learned, both in the classroom, and the training room, and put it all to use for real now.

Currently, team SMOK was making their last minute preparations, just in case they chose a mission that warranted them to begin immediately, which is what they wanted anyway, and as they were doing so, Marriott, predictably, could not keep her keep herself in check, as she was practically jumping all morning. "Come on guys, get finished quicker, I wanna go already!"

Olivia giggled at her fellow human, and shook her head. "We're almost done Marriott, just control yourself for a few more minutes."

Marriott pouted a little, something that looked strangely entertaining to the other three for some reason. "A few minutes will feel like years at this rate!" She complained, sounding like a little kid, which was also entertaining to them. It was odd seeing Marriott, someone who had accomplished so much in Vacuo, and someone so strong, act like this.

"Now you're just being dramatic."

"What else would you expect from her at this time?" Silver said jokingly.

Marriott pouted at them further, crossing her arms across her chest, and turning away from them. How dare they take so damn long, she was done and ready to go around five minutes, but they still say she has to wait a 'few more minutes'!? She grumbled something unintelligible under her breath, and the three girls giggled and chuckled further.

After those few tortuous minutes, the wait finally came to an end. "Alright, we're all ready I believe!" Silver announced. "Let's get to the auditorium quick!"

Marriott threw her arms up in exasperation. "Finally, you guys took forever!" She exclaimed.

"It took us three minutes." Koel said plainly.

"Felt like three years to me!"

Silver rolled her eyes at the redhead. "Okay, enough whining, we're ready to go, so let's just go already."

They arrived at the auditorium, seeing several students from Beacon, but also from the other major academies around the world, all of which being first years. They also found Ozpin and Glynda on the stage conversing about something before everything started, just like all of the students on the floor. They walked over to the Beacon side of the room, and after a few minutes of waiting and more students from different academies filing into the room, Glynda found it time to start. "Listen everybody, quiet now!" She said into the microphone over everybody, immediately catching their attention, and the room suddenly went completely quiet as all the students awaited for further word.

As the room went quiet, the blonde professor then stepped aside and away from the microphone, and Ozpin took her place behind it, cane in hand as always, but no coffee, which was a first for probably every student in the room. He cleared his throat before starting. "A long time ago, the Great War was fought. It was a war that was fought for reasons that went beyond where territory stood, what rules were made, and despite the name given, it was anything but great." He subtly shook his head at the final part. "It was a war that was fought for reasons that should be considered trivial, it was fought for the idea of individualism, and for what we thought we should have been, regardless of the birthplace, or past. It was fought for what we thought the word individualism stood for, or rather, what it SHOULD stand for, something that should never be argued over, or fought for."

He looked over the room, and all of its occupants. "Now, over eighty years later, individualism is one of our greatest treasures, and the way we proved this is in the way of our very identities; naming through colors, and because of this, we can both be different, but share the same thing at the same time. We have made peace in this way, and we have found ways to live together, and beside each other. And as huntsmen and huntresses alike, it is our job," He gestured his free hand in a sweeping motion to all the students. "YOUR job to keep this peace."

Around the room, screens appeared, and different types of missions came up on them. "Starting today," Ozpin continued, a small smile starting to appear on his face. "You all will begin your defense of this peace, while shadowing another experienced huntsman or huntress. Some of you will be taken far away, beyond the walls, while others will work inside of them. You will defend in different ways, but will do so to achieve the same thing, and no matter what you choose, just remember to be safe, remember your training, and do you very best." He concluded his speech, walking away from the microphone, and off the stage, the students applauding as they then searched for a mission that will kick-start there careers.

Marriott was practically bouncing… again. "Ooooh this is going to be AWESOME!" She exclaimed. "We get to go on a mission, and do it with another hunter!"

"But what are we going to choose?" Olivia asked.

Silver hummed quietly in contemplation, looking around the room, and observing the screens and the different missions they had, until one caught her eye. "Hey," She addressed her team. "Let's go look at that one over there." She said, pointing over to one screen in particular.

They walked over to the screen. "What about search and rescue?" Silver suggested, directing their attention to the top mission selection.

The mission selection itself said that it was in quadrant 4, but all the description said was 'razed village'.

"A razed village huh?" Olivia said, pondering the choice. "I mean, that's fine with me."

Marriott nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sounds good!" She said, though they were sure she would've agreed with anything they offered. "What about you Koel?"

"Well, I-I guess that's fine. "She said timidly. "Though it seems a little dangerous, don't you think? I mean, if that village was destroyed, you'd think there's a lot of Grimm around."

"Actually Miss Marceleine," a voice behind them spoke, making them, specifically Koel, jump a little, and they turned around to see Ozpin, now with a full mug of coffee in his hand. "That village was attacked a week or so ago, and since then the Grimm activity around that area has gone down dramatically, probably from hunters who came in and cleaned up the area after the attack." He explained, taking a sip of his coffee at the end.

Olivia raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Wait, if that village was attacked a week ago, why is up here as a search and rescue? That's an awfully long time for any survivors after a Grimm attack."

Ozpin nodded. "Indeed, but the village was a rather large one, and we want to know if there is anything salvageable from the destruction, or, by chance, if there are any survivors AROUND the area. You never know." He took another sip of his coffee. "But it is a good mission for first years. It is pretty basic, but it can also be difficult at times, a lot of beginning teams choose this one as their first mission."

Silver thought about it. If many other first year teams before them had chosen this one as their first, she supposed they could follow along with it. "Well, I guess we can go along with the trend as well." Her team nodded in agreement, and then Silver thought of a question of her own. "By the way Professor Ozpin, who is our hunter going to be?"

Ozpin chuckled quietly. "You will find out once you get going, which you better do quickly, because your mission," he gestured to the start time. "Begins ASAP, so there's no time to waste. But I assure you that you will be quite… fond of your instructor. They will meet you at the front doors. Good luck to you four." He said, then walking over to another team it seemed.

The four girls stood a little puzzled at his answer. What did he mean by saying they would be "quite fond" of them? Well they will find out soon enough they supposed, so after making sure they had everything ready for the final time, they walked out and to the front doors, both excited and anxious for what awaited them.

They walked outside, and immediately noticed all the bullheads, and the students that were either boarding them, just about to board them, or teams that were bidding others farewell as they boarded, but they didn't notice any huntsman or huntress yet.

"Where are they?" Marriott questioned, tapping her foot on the ground repeatedly in impatience. "Professor Ozpin said they'd be here when we came out."

"Y-yeah," Koel concurred. "Our mission starts right away, so I hope they'll be here soon."

"Don't worry, I'm here." A female voice spoke, a voice that sounded very familiar to Silver and Koel, and they turned around to find the source of the voice, and the two sisters quietly gasped. "I'm sorry for the wait, I got a little hung up on talking with Glynda."

"Alex!" Silver and Koel exclaimed in unison, and they ran forward to embrace their older sister.

"You're coming with us?" Silver asked, her red eyes shining with happiness that both Marriott and Olivia had never really seen before from their leader.

Alexandrite nodded, a big smile on her face as she looked down on her younger sisters, and returning the embrace. "Yeah, Ozpin gave me a call that all the first years were going on missions soon, so he gave me the chance to go with you and your team for your first one." She then looked beyond her sisters at the other two girls. "And I assume this is them, correct?"

Silver and Koel broke off from the hug, both smiling brightly. "Yeah," Silver confirmed. "This is my partner Olivia, and that's Koel's partner Marriott." She introduced them.

Alexandrite looked them over, making them a little uncomfortable from the hard gaze coming from her emerald eyes, and the two younger faunus' noticed it as a similar look to the one she gave them from the night they were accepted to Beacon; a kind of 'sizing up the situation' type of look.

But she quickly relented on her fixed look, and offered a friendly smile. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet the ones that will help my little sisters for the next few years. My name is Alexandrite Porcello." She stuck out her hand.

Marriott grinned vividly, stepped forward, and took her hand in a firm shake. "Nice to meet you too!"

Olivia gave off her own smile, albeit a much smaller one, but nonetheless there. "It's my pleasure Alexandrite." She said, shaking her hand as well. Olivia wanted to be as respectful as she could be, she felt bad for treating Silver the way she did at the beginning of the first semester, and she certainly didn't want to go back to that phase, especially someone like their older sister. That would end badly on so many different levels, she was sure of that.

Alexandrite continued smiling for a few more seconds before she looked out towards their bullhead, then she took on a more serious facade as she looked back at them." Alright, well Glynda informed me of the mission you guys chose, and as you would already know for sure, we leave immediately for it. Now, let me just tell you a few things before we get going." She told them, and they nodded, giving the older huntress their full attention. "First thing, this will be your only mission this year for you as first years, but as your time here at Beacon goes on, you will go on more and more missions, and some of which will take far longer than the one we are about to embark on, so for this mission, take it as a learning experience alright? Don't go for perfection, go for experience. Do you understand?" They nodded again, making her smile once more before she continued. "Good, now for the second thing; this particular mission is a dangerous one for beginning teams to go on, but I'm sure Ozpin already told you about that, but when me and my team went on our first mission, we chose this one as well, and… well, let's just say it could have gone better." She said, chuckling bitterly, and rubbing her right hip, making the four wince a little, Silver and Koel from the memory of that day, and the other two from the realization of what she meant. "But," she continued further. "I will be here for you all of you so that won't happen, and I will show and tell you everything else you need to know as we're on the mission. Do you have any questions before we go?"

They all shook their heads, and Alexandrite nodded at them, her smile returning. "Alright then, if that's the case, then let's get going shall we?" She said, walking by them, and to their bullhead. The four huntresses in training smiled at each other, and they followed Alexandrite to the airship that would take them to their first official business as huntresses.

There you have it, team SMOK is going on their first official mission, and Alexandrite, someone who only appeared in the first chapter until now is going with them! Who knows what will happen... besides me of course.

And I will say again here, just like I said up top, thank you guys so much for taking the time to read my story, and thank you to those of you that enjoy it enough to follow, favorite, and review. You guys have no idea how happy all of it makes me!

Anyway, I hope you guys are just as excited for the coming chapters as I am. Favorite, follow, review, and I'll talk to you guys next chapter!