Ruby and her friends made their way to class. Today marked the first day of the shift in education that Beacon's staff had implemented. From this day forward they would learn how to more effectively fight demons.
The students slowly filed into Professor Port's class. Looking at the blackboard there was a diagram of different elements and how they interact with each other. There were also newspaper clippings of stories about demon attacks throughout Vale.
Ruby looked around the room and saw Jaune and Pyrrha sitting in the seats behind her. No one had seen Ren or Nora since the day Mara appeared.
"Have you heard from them yet?" Ruby whispered.
Jaune shook his head. "They're not answering any calls, and none of the other students know where they went."
Pyrrha tried to be optimistic. "They're still in Vale, at least. They're bound to turn up eventually."
Jaune sighed. "I guess. I just wish I could talk to them. I'm supposed to look out for them but they're still shutting me out."
"Everyone has something they'd rather not talk about. They'll come back when they're ready."
Professor Port loudly cleared his throat and the class went silent. He looked much more serious than normal. That put the students on edge. Usually he had a positive air about him, even when he was throwing his students into danger.
Port looked around at the class as he addressed them. "As you all know, our school suffered an assault by the demons recently. As a result several of our students, your friends, lost their lives. Afterwards, several more decided to leave school and return home to be with their families, or what remained of them. You all, however, have chosen to stay. That tells me that you are willing to fight. I won't lie to you, the battles you will soon face will not become any easier, and many of you will lose your lives. But you will give your lives for the good of your kingdom, which is the highest honor a hunter can achieve. Today marks a new day for all of you. You will begin a new curriculum, designed to better prepare you for fights against the demons. You will learn to use your demons' abilities to their fullest potential."
A low murmur went through the room. The students all looked at each other. There were a few who looked almost afraid, but others looked positively excited.
Port scanned the room. "The first thing we are going to cover is how to more effectively use your demon partners. Many of you have failed to bring out their true power. To that end, I would like one of you to come down for a demonstration."
A low murmur went through the room. The students looked at each other, none of them moving. It seemed that no one would be willing to volunteer, until a hand shot up.
Professor Port smiled. "Very good, Miss Rose. If you would."
Ruby went down to the floor. She stood in front of her teacher wondering what he intended to teach.
Port grabbed his scroll and summoned his demon. Appearing before him was a leopard that stood on its hind legs. It held two long swords and had a green cape draped across its shoulders.
Ruby's eyes throbbed as new information flowed into her brain.
Ose
Fallen race
"There are two aspects of demon combat that you must learn to use effectively," Professor Port said. "The first is how to effectively use certain abilities." He gestured toward Ruby. Ose drew his sword and let out a loud roar. At that moment a dark blue orb enveloped Ruby's body before breaking apart.
Ruby examined her body but didn't find anything wrong. She gave her teacher a quizzical look.
Port chuckled. "It seems you don't understand what just happened. Perhaps a demonstration is in order."
The back of Port's fist slammed across Ruby's face. It hurt. It hurt worse than anything she had ever felt. She didn't understand it. She could definitely remember being hit much harder than this, but that simple blow felt like it would split her face in two.
Port looked down at Ruby. "What I have just done is reduce your effectiveness in combat. A slight reduction in your defensive abilities caused this result. I noticed many of you use such skills to augment your own abilities, but it is also important to hinder your opponents as well. A simple spell is enough to bridge what might seem like an unbridgeable gap."
Up in the stands Jaune nodded in agreement. He had used similar spells to assist his team in battle. He hastily jotted down notes, making sure to remind himself to fuse more versatile demons.
port addressed the class again. "Proper application of your demon's abilities may spell the difference between life and death. However there is another matter that must be addressed: your fear."
The low buzz of conversation filled the room.
Port laughed. "It seems that some of you are confused by what I mean."
At that word, Ose drew his swords and swung at Ruby's neck faster than she could react to. The blades stopped short of removing her head. The cold steel scraped against her neck. Ruby gasped, her face breaking out into a sweat. She was completely frozen, unable to lift a finger.
Port sighed as he looked at Ruby. "Fear has completely taken hold of you. That is unfortunate. The foes you will face in the future will be far more frightening than a mere Ose. That will be the basis for your ongoing and never ending education. We will purge the fear from your minds, until you can face any foe without hesitation. Now then, let us continue the lesson."
xXx
After the day's lessons had ended Team RWBY along with Jaune and Pyrrha took a moment to rest in Team RWBY's dorm.
Pyrrha wound bandages around Jaune's arm.
"Ow, not so hard." Jaune complained. "The teachers really hate taking it easy on us."
All of the students were covered in cuts and bruises after their grueling training. They were thrust into fight after fight with barely any rest. If they showed even the slightest hesitation they were sent into even fiercer battles.
Ruby held an ice pack against her swollen cheek. "It wasn't anything we aren't used to. I got something out of it at least."
Ruby jumped at the chance for further training. She knew that her eyes would be the deciding factor in future battles, and she'd be a fool not to learn to use them as soon as possible. Through her training she could analyze enemy demons on sight, learning their weaknesses in the process. She could feel that the eyes had other functions, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't discover what.
Yang laid back on her bed laughing. After fighting for the entire day she was completely unharmed. The other teachers couldn't hold a candle to her. The only one who could give her a real challenge was Glynda, though she fought with her own magic in lieu of using demons.
Yang felt a hollow feeling in her stomach. She wanted to fight more, and against more powerful enemies. Stomping foes beneath her level wasn't any fun.
"I tried calling Ren and Nora, but they wouldn't pick up."
Yang spent days wondering what she would say to Nora. Despite knowing her for so long she knew next to nothing about her. That day in the infirmary was the first time Nora had said anything about her past. Yang wondered how much of Raven Nora saw in her. Did she think that Yang was just like her mother? Was there a doubt in the back of her mind? Did she think that Yang was heading down the same path?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Ruby got up to open it and saw Ren and Nora on the other side.
Ruby gasped. "Nora? Where have you been?"
Nora let out a nervous chuckle. "Hey guys."
Ren pushed her inside and walked in behind her. Nora sat on a bed next to Ruby, feeling eyes all over her.
"Where have you been?" Jaune asked.
Nora sighed. "I've been in the city. I'm sorry I worried you, but I needed some time to think. A lot has happened and my head was a mess for a bit."
Nora looked up at Yang. She felt a tightness in her chest. She shook her head vigorously.
"I never told anyone what I did before I came to Beacon. I grew up in a small village. I had a family, friends, a life. It was alright. Then one night I woke up and the entire village was on fire. Raven and her bandits came and started killing people. My parents, my friends, everyone I knew was dead. Raven took everything from me in one night. If I hadn't met Ren I don't know what I would have done."
The room was deathly quiet. The other students looked at each other, searching for the right words. None came.
Nora took a deep breath and kept talking.
"Yang, you're nothing like Raven. I know that. I know that you'd never do what she's done, but I saw those eyes and all I could think of was her. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."
Yang hopped down from the bed and wrapped Nora up in a tight embrace.
"You don't have to apologize."
The other students joined in on the hug.
"It must have been hard," Jaune confided. "But you don't have to take it all on by yourself."
"We're your friends," Pyrrha added. "You're like our family. We'll always be there for you. If you feel like you can't stand it alone, you can rely on us."
Nora relaxed in her friends' embrace. She felt closed her eyes and sighed with relief. She couldn't remember the last time she felt like this.
Her moment of peace was interrupted by another violent earthquake. This one was even longer than the last. The girls were thrown from their beds as their belongings fell from the shelves and crashed into the floor. Once the shaking had stopped a chime played from their scrolls.
"A new Sector has appeared," a voice said.
"It has been a while since the last one," Blake observed.
Yang sighed. "And here I thought I'd get more time to relax. Oh well."
Ruby looked at her scroll. This Sector had appeared near Mistral.
"We'll head out in the morning."
XxX
Once they had everything prepared the two teams were on their way to the hangar.
"I wonder what this Sector will be?" Yang asked.
Weiss shuddered. "As long as its not another hospital."
"Maybe it'll be a beach, or maybe a nice little cottage," Nora said, excitedly.
"That's not happening. It's gonna be another dungeon filled with demons that all wanna eat us," Jaune complained. .
Pyrrha gently nudged Jaune's shoulder. "Don't be like that. We're more than capable of handling anything we find."
"I hope your confidence is not misplaced," Ozpin interjected.
The other students jumped. Ozpin seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Nonplussed, Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "It's good that I caught you. I'm glad to see you well, Ms Valkyrie."
Nora's face turned a slight pink. "Thanks. Did you need something?"
"As a matter of fact I did. I received a communication from a village a fair distance from Vale. I had planned to send Team RWBY on this mission, but the appearance of the next Sector waylaid those plans. However, you are the the next most capable team, so the task will fall to you."
"Hooray for second place," Ren said.
Jaune elbowed Ren in the side. "Anyway, what do you want us to do, Professor?"
"Nothing complex, just travel to the village and rout the demons that have taken it over. I've already sent the coordinates to your scroll."
Ruby raised her hand. "I understand that this is important, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable with Team JNPR coming with us. Or at least another team."
Ozpin smiled. "No need to worry about that. General Ironwood has already dispatched one of his agents to the Sector. He says that they can easily fill the role of an entire team."
"Wow, they must be really strong," Blake said.
Weiss placed a hand on her chin. There was a chance that the person Ironwood sent was her sister, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.
"If the general says that they're reliable, then we'll trust them."
"Very good," Ozpin said. "I with you all success with your respective missions."
After travelling to the hangar the two teams prepared to board their airships.
"You guys stay safe," Ruby said.
Jaune shrugged. "We're just doing a quick in and out. It's you guys I'm worried about. It takes guts to march into the enemy stronghold over and over."
Blake sighed. "I'd be lying if I said it got easier, but it's not like we have a choice."
Yang nudged Blake with her elbow. "Don't be such a downer. We're gonna be fine."
"See, Yang's got the right idea," Nora said.
Jaune waved Team RWBY goodbye. "See you guys when you get back."
Ruby waved back. "You too."