The very next morning, after the dance, inside of Ozpin's office was the headmaster himself, Goodwitch, and of course, Ironwood. The general looked absolutely furious, Glynda was irritated and Ozpin looked disgruntled.
"They were here..." Ironwood's voice started calm, before being raised as he slammed down his fist in anger. "Ozpin, they were here!"
"We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James." came out Goodwitch's snarky response, obviously annoyed at him.
"Fantastic!" he grumbled sarcastically. "You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?!"
An alert sounded played on Ozpin's desk, notifying them that someone had arrived from the elevator. The headmaster granted them passage, although it wasn't the one they were expecting, and instead it was the METAGEN. It beeped in greeting before its eye glowed and projected a hologram of Achroma.
"Forgive me for my tardiness, and for my absence. I'm currently recalibrating the Void Palace, and I'm almost done with it. Not to worry, I can answer your questions while I work."
Ironwood stepped forward, looking at the scientist with gratitude. "Dr. Colress, though you are not a Huntsman, you did exactly how one should act. You recognized a threat, you took action, and did the very best you could."
Achroma pushed up his glasses, his face neutral. "Such a thing is all but common sense to me, General Ironwood. Anyone with morality and a decent heart would've acted as I did. A man of science I may be, but I care for the people's well-being. Nonetheless, thank you, sir."
Ozpin then spoke up. "Now, the general here has already informed us of the events that... transpired last night, but now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add."
"Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you at all?" prodded Glynda.
The man of science sighed, looking quite ashamed. "As unfortunate as it is, I did not. I've never encountered her before. She had her face hidden well, and she might be wearing a wig too. She remained silent, so I wouldn't be able tor recognize her by voice. All I could gather is that her fighting style revolves around glass and Dust. Each time she did so, her clothes would light up."
Goodwitch strummed her chin in thought. "Save for the glass, that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby." she shared.
Ironwood shook his head, pointing out how embedding Dust in clothes was an old technique possibly done by anyone. Sighing, he stared at the scientist, asking him if there was anything else.
Achroma loudly hummed, looking down as he thought it over. "Well, it's not really related to what happened last night, but I have heard from a friend that there's been movement going down in the southeast. Far from the kingdoms."
Three looked at each other, surprised at this new information. Ozpin glanced back at the scientist and smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you for your cooperation Dr. Colress. You may go back to your work now."
With a nod, Achroma's projection flickered away. The METAGEN beeped at the three before vanishing in a stream of light and code.
Ironwood was pretty giddy, already planning on assembling a platoon of troops to deploy to the southeast quadrant to have them eradicate anything there.
Goodwitch looked away from the general, growling in frustration at how his answers always had to involve military bravo or have it be some sort of dick measuring contest.
Ozpin sighed at the choice of words but concurred with her, nonetheless, lest they risk the panic of the masses. Ironwood seemed to not be moved until the headmaster hit him with a final rebuttal.
"You're a general, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag bearers, or the scouts?"
"Alright guys, just like we practiced!"
Jaune and his team were in one of the spare training rooms, all clothed in their battle gear. The three of them nodded at their leader and got ready. Before them was a standard training dummy, capable of repairing itself any time it got destroyed. Courtesy of a joint project between Atlas and Mistral.
"Thunder's Arc!" roared out the blond.
Immediately, he suffused Red Queen with his demonic energy and sent out a Drive shockwave. Nora was quick to follow, gathering lightning into her hammer and slamming it out, joining with the energy blade as it wrapped around the dummy, electrocuting and constricting it of movement.
"Pomegrenade!"
Pyrrha got ready and raised her shield as her partner flipped back. The redhead knelt down and jumped up as Nora fired her hammer, launching her high up. The Lightning Bomber giggled, descending down. Once more, she fired it to propel herself even faster, spinning around and slammed her hammer right at the dummy, smashing it bits and pieces.
The parts started vibrating before gathering back into a singular spot, reforming itself back into its regular shape, ready to take another beating.
"Crimson Lotus!"
The test dummy found itself get heavy as Pyrrha forced it down with her Polarity. It struggled to remain standing and fell to its knees, but it didn't stop its feeble attempt. Taking in a deep breath, Ren called upon a gale of wind and twisted around the dummy, disorienting it.
"Martial Arcs!"
Jaune charged in with Ren following suit as they equipped their respective gauntlet Devil Arm. The Grandsons of Sparda attacked in complete sync, giving the dummy no room to even breathe as they inflicted it with devastating attacks.
As it stumbled from the damage that they dished out, Ren and Jaune charged up their respective attacks. With a loud war cry, the two of them unleashed two different attacks. Rising Dragon for Ren and Rising Sun for Jaune. It ended up with the dummy being flung into bits again.
As Jaune prepared to call out the next team attack, Glynda's voice rang out through the intercoms.
"Would all first-year students please report to the amphitheater?"
"Ah man!" complained Nora. "We were about to get to the good parts!"
"No use crying over spilled milk." Ren supposed, dismissing Gilgamesh and adjusting Alastor on his back.
Jaune nodded in agreement as the four of them walked out of the training room and headed over to the amphitheater. It still surprised the Devil Hunter with the amount of people inside, consisting of just first-year students from all four Huntsman academies. The blond looked at Shade's students didn't have any sort of uniform, and he could see Sun look absolutely uncomfortable in Haven's uniform.
The four of them fell in line with their fellow Beacon students as RWBY followed suit. Goodwitch walked up to the front and silenced the chatter, saying how Ozpin wants to share a few words. The headmaster approached the microphone and began a speech.
"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself."
"It's a surprise that no demons even tried to take advantage of the situation of the Great War. The people were divided, easy for the taking... Although grandpa was still alive at the time, so that could also be a reason." Jaune mused.
"We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color.
"It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it.
"As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."
Ozpin nodded, concluding his speech. He stepped back and the students began to file out of the amphitheater and head for the bulletins to pick their first mission.
"This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast!" exclaimed Ruby.
Yang definitely agrees. "Yeah! We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip by night!"
Ren quirked an eyebrow, looking skeptical. "They're experienced Huntsman, Yang. And frankly, none of you are exactly fit to be stealthy. You guys have no-"
"Let's check 'search and destroy'." suggested Weiss.
The pseudo-cambion rolled his eyes at being ignored and went back to his team. Jaune scanned the hologram bulletin for an interesting mission they could partake in.
"You guys got any preferences?" he asked his friends.
"Nothing specific." answered Pyrrha. "As long as we can get it done."
Ren and Nora voiced out their agreement with her. The devil hunter nodded and went back to looking through bulletin when the beeping noise of rejection caught their attention. Looking over they saw team RWBY looking dejected that the mission they picked was denied.
"That's unfortunate." commented Jaune.
The four of them tried to discuss on another idea that could get them there, with Ruby suggesting that they mail themselves there with no sort of exaggeration and that she was completely serious.
"Well, that's one option."
All eight of them turned to see Ozpin approach, with a Scroll in hand and of course, his ever present mug on the other.
"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 four will make your way there no matter which job you choose. "
The all-female team whistled innocently, trying to act as if they didn't know what the headmaster was talking about. Though internally, they were panicking.
"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. And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club some time ago." he continued, smirking in amusement at the reaction of his students.
Giving out a dramatic sigh, the bespectacled man shook his head. "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?"
Both of teams looked shocked at this. Ozpin inputted a few commands on his Scroll, bypassing the system to give team RWBY clearance to take the mission.
"We won't let you down." stated Ruby. "Thank you, professor.
"Do not thank me for this." he waved it off. "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." he warned. "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."
All four nodded in understanding, although Ozpin still had some things to say.
"However, I still don't feel quite comfortable in sending just you four in with a Huntsman, even you are one of the top teams here. With that said... Team JNPR, have you chosen a mission yet?"
Jaune shook his head. "Not yet. Nothing's quite caught our eye."
"If it's not too much of a problem, may I ask of you to act as Team RWBY's backup? The details are the same as theirs. Stay close to your assigned Huntsman and follow their orders."
The blond shrugged, seeing nothing wrong with the request. After all, besides being the headmaster, the man was technically his employer. "I don't see why not."
His team rounded off with a chorus of agreement, making Ozpin nod. "Then I wish you all the best of luck."
Team RWBY and NPR went ahead, with Jaune going back to the dorm to retrieve something. Ruby looked at her friends apologetically, rubbing her arm. "Sorry for getting you dragged into this, guys."
"It's fine." waved off Pyrrha. "We don't mind. There weren't any missions that really made us want them, so it'll be nice to go with you guys instead."
A smile made its way on RWBY's face, seeing how the redhead was right. Then, they heard that team CFVY had returned from one of the students. The seven of them hurried over and approached their seniors.
"Velvet? Are you okay?" Blake asked in concern for her Faunus sister.
"I'm fine. I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me." she answered, gesturing to her large teammate.
Weiss then thought to ask. "Your mission was supposed to end a week ago! What happened?"
"Nothing happened. It was just ... there were just so many..." she started trailing off, noticing the worried expressions of RWBY and curious stares of NPR. "Oh, but don't worry. You first-years are just shadowing Huntsmen, so you should be fine." Velvet tried to reassure them.
She looked at her juniors with a smile and went to catch up with her team, wishing them the best of luck. Feeling quite nervous, Ruby tried to cheer up her teammates of how they'll be having a Huntsman with them.
"And don't forget about us!" piped in Nora. "We'll crush anything that stands in our way!"
All six girls let out an excited cheer, pumping their fists into the air with Ren joining in with a semi-enthusiatic cry. When they got to their designated Bullhead, all of them had varying reactions. Though RWBY was mostly shock and horror. Ren and Pyrrha was surprise. Nora was disappointment.
"Why hello, boys and girls, who's ready to fight for their lives?"
Their assigned Huntsman was Oobleck, their History professor.
"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss uttered in horror.
As per usual, he spoke fast, pacing in front of his students. "Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, boys and girls, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship. And... " he zoomed right up to Weiss's face. "It's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!"
He backed away, and noticed that they were a member short.
"Where is Mr. Arc? According to my schedule we are already three minutes behind as it is!"
Speak of the devil, Jaune came jogging up. "Sorry, just forgot something back at the dorm."
That something being a guitar... Oobleck stared at the item in question for a couple of seconds before nodding and zooming towards the Bullhead without any sort of question. His coffee must have speed in them.
Ruby approached her fellow leader, pointing at the musical instrument. "What's with the guitar?"
Jaune shook his head. "IAnd where's the fun in saying? It will spoil the surprise." He placed Nevan on his back, along with Red Queen, and motioned to his friends. "Come on, wouldn't want the good doctor to be mad at us."
"Cool, you guys heading out?"
The two teams turn to see Sun and Neptune approaching them. They flashed their badges, explaining how they'll be shadowing crime-specialists. That, and how it'll be a great opportunity for them to actually explore the kingdom without anything trouble happening.
Before any of them could respond, Oobleck popped from out of the airship. "Ladies, gentlemen, we're four minutes late!"
The two teams smiled at their friends, wishing them luck as they boarded the Bullhead, taking them to their designated mission area.
"We never did see you much of a fighter." admitted Yang.
The spiky-haired professor was not offended, and smiled, even. "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."
Ruby seemed confused and was about to open up her mouth, until Oobleck beat her to the punch and continued.
"Besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular... assignment!
Weiss raised a hand and asked a question. "What does history have to do with this?"
Oobleck turned sharply at the heiress, as if her question wasn't even necessary. "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..?" she continued.
"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!" explained the history professor.
"Mountain Glenn..." Nora spoke out in an uncharacteristically soft tone.
Ren solemnly nodded, taking her hand into his. "It was planned to be an expansion of Vale... but it failed, and was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city."
"Correct!" agreed the good doctor. "And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder."
"And a likely place for a hideout." realized Blake.
Oobleck smiled, adjusting his glasses. "Precisely!"
Soon, they slowly approached their destination. The Bullhead flew over a clear spot and hovered over the empty street and allowed the occupants to jump off. Both teams landed down in battle ready positions, though Ooblex seemed lax and calm, taking a sip from his canister as the airship left them.
"Ladies! Gentlemen! You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntresses and Huntsmen has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?"
Everyone nodded in understanding. Then, Oobleck looked over at Ruby, startling her.
"Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all of your bags back at school."
The Rosette immediately tried to stammer out a flimsy excuse. "But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't."
Her teammates internally smacked facepalmed while JNPR snickered at her reasoning. Oobleck seemed to actually accept it.
"She's not wrong..." he mused. "Very well, Ruby; leave your bag here, we can pick it up upon our return."
Ruby tried to protest the rider, but all that came out were nervous stammers. "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..."
Oobleck stopped himself as the zipper on Ruby's bag opened up, revealing the head of a black and white corgi. Everyone stared at the uninvited guests, with JNPR surprised at the fact that Ruby, and Yang by extension, had a dog. The young girl leaned in at the corgi, telling it to go back inside.
The adorable doggy barked in response, looking around in curiosity.
"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought... a dog?" asked Oobleck in a deathly calm tone, before doing a complete 180. "Genius!"
Ruby shrugged in confusion before the speed-talking teacher snatched the pet away, causing her to tumbled down while he held up the corgi in the air, spinning him around.
"Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!"
After being stunned for the unexpected reaction, Ruby could only look smug and proudly stated. "I'm a genius!"
While Jaune mostly enjoyed the light-hearted and fun moments, they had a mission to do. "So, what's the action plan for this mission, doc?"
"Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it!" He released the corgi, letting him run back to his owner while he adopted a serious pose. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being... Grimm."
Most of them were confused. Ren had a feeling and craned his head to look behind him, his cousin following suit as Oobleck resumed speaking.
"Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment." he explained.
He nodded at his two male students in approval for already noticing. The rest followed their lead and saw a lone Beowolf prowling the ruined streets.
"Ooh! Let's break it's legs!" suggested Nora. Everyone drew their weapons and went to charge in, until the history teacher told them to hold, bringing more confusion to them.
"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."
"What now, then?" asked Pyrrha.
"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey." he answered simply.
Blake asked how long they would have to wait, to which Oobleck responded swiftly.
"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 cut himself off, seeing that more Beowolves had joined its comrade.
"What!?" shouted Weiss in shock.
"And now they've seen us." he stated, seeing how the pack were now running towards them.
Weiss repeated her words loudly, causing Oobleck to do the same, slightly deafening her. Seeing as tracking was no longer an option, he was about to order the teams to attack when he looked at Jaune.
"Mr. Arc! There's a reason you brought along that musical instrument, correct? Now would be an optimal time to show it off!"
The Devil Hunter smirked, drawing out the lightning Devil Arm as he readied to play. "Alright. Time to make this party crazy! Boy, you might wanna cover your ears."
The corgi nodded, lowering his head and ears. Jaune started riffing it out on Nevan, creating a pleasant reverb. Around him, a large flurry of bats were summoned, coated in lightning. Drawing back his fingers, the bats zipped towards the oncoming Beowolves and electrocuted them, stopping the Grimm in their place, allowing the bats to feast on their inky flesh, overwhelming them.
Jaune jammed out another session, but kept it up for longer, summoning out more bats and generating more powerful lightning and sending them at the Wolf Grimm that came their way. Deciding to end things, the Arc Devil ran up to the remaining Beowolves and furiously strummed Nevan's strings, lightning striking down around him as another flurry of buts were summoned, easily slaying the creatures of dark.
"Well, how's that for a demonstration?" he asked rhetorically.
The bats dispersed as the monsters were slain. With no more danger, Ruby charged in and tackled her fellow leader, looking at the guitar with starry eyes. "That is so cool! What else can it do? Is it also a gun? How did you make this? How hard was it? H-"
Oobleck cleared his throat, cutting off Ruby's excited rambling. "Ruby! While I agree that that was quite a display, we sill have pressing matters to take care of. I am certain that this bout will be the first of many. Now then, shall we continue?"
The group nodded and trudged forward. Yet again, they encountered another pack of Beowolf, and this time, Jaune gave the others the spotlight, letting them deal with the Grimm quite easily. Meanwhile, Oobleck seemed to be inspecting a lone plant and didn't make a move to intervene in any of the fights.
Once the Grimm were extinguished, he pushed himself up. "Excellent work! Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh, well! Moving on." he concluded and walked away.
Ruby put away her scythe and beckoned for her corgi to follow them. Yang complained to their professor, wanting to see him in action, or at least help out. Oobleck spun around, rebutting that he was, indeed, helping, by scanning for signs of life or any movements of such. And then told her that not every mission included heroism and daring action.
Yang seemed to accept the answer, but the spiky-haired Huntsman could still see doubt. He pondered about this but ultimately remained silent for now.
As the nine of them walked further into the city, Oobleck was curious and surveyed his students of their true reasoning for becoming Hunters. He approached every member of both teams, barring their leaders.
For Yang, it was the thrill the adventure provided. For Weiss, to uphold her duty and legacy as a Schnee. For Blake, to stop the injustices of the world...though she didn't really know how. Oobleck couldn't deny that he was slightly disappointed on their answers but when he got to NPR, he was more than surprised.
They answered as one - make sure that no one ever has to suffer badly from the negativity, and to inspire others to become strong. Just based on their answers, he knew that the experienced through some sort of trauma. But their answers... There was no doubt, that they would make fine Hunters.
Staring up at the sky, Oobelck could see it was getting dark. He called out to his students and tossed his bag to Yang, telling them set up camp and clear out anymore Grimm that came while he, Ruby and Jaune would secure the perimeter.
The duo followed after the good doctor, rounding off a corner to see a forest in the distance, numerous elephant-like Grimm trudging through the foliage, unminding of their presence.
Ruby pulled out her weapon, suggesting they kill it, with Oobleck responding that it would only agitate the Goliath and that it wasn't necessary. He took the time to lecture the two that not all Grimm were mindless. Over time, they would grow to learn to become wise and patient, knowing when to attack and when not to as killing one human, would bring in more.
One of the many Goliaths turned to look over them with clear disinterest, eyes glowing just as bright as any Grimm.
"So that's why they're still close to the city?" brought up Jaune. "They're waiting for the right time to attack?"
"Indeed." confirmed Oobleck.
With the group of Goliath gone, Oobleck turned around, signaling his students to leave. As they left, Ruby decided to ask a question. The professor thought it would be about why he was interrogating their teammates, she, instead turned it around. At this, he couldn't help but smile.
"Look around, and tell me what you see." instructed Oobleck.
Jaune and Ruby did so. The latter went with the obvious, being buildings, while the former answered it was a great tragedy.
"Very close, Jaune. I see lives that could have been saved. As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it in the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could have been saved, but I also see an opportunity; an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger. I am a Huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be."
Having said his piece, Oobleck walked away to let the two sit with this newfound knowledge. But something's for sure, their respect for their teacher shot up, and for Jaune, so did the work of a Huntsman.
The both of them were taken out of their musings by the corgi's little barks, reaching up to Jaune's right hand, sniffing it.
"What is it, Zwei?"
"Zwei, huh?" repeated Jaune. "That's his name?"
The blond knelt down and lowered his hand, letting him lean into it, asking for a head rub. The Arc Devil chuckled and gave what the corgi asked for. Zwei enthusiastically barked, nuzzling his head against the hand, liking the heat it exuded.
He rolled over on the ground, showing off his stomach. Jaune smiled, giving the good boy a belly rub. Ruby smiled, walking up to her pet and her fellow leader.
"You're pretty great at handling Zwei. Did you have any pets back home?"
Jaune felt his smile turn somber as memories of the good times with Fenris resurfaced. "I did, but... He's gone now."
"Oh." simply said Ruby, slightly regretting even saying the topic.
The blond noticed her reaction and shook his head. "Don't be sorry, Rubes. Fenris. He was a great doggo...and a good friend. I'm lucky I got to have him."
Shaking his head, the devil hunter stood up and smiled at the Rosette.
"Come on, let's get back to the others. They're probably done with setting up camp."
At the makeshift camp, Ren had set up a bonfire as the others laid out sleeping bags or fortified the walls in case any sort of enemies attacked. Once done, they laid down with Yang expressing her disappointment of them not being able to find any clues.
"We've just been always fortunate to be at the right place, at the right time." supplied Blake.
"Yeah. Luck can't always be on our side." commented Ren.
"That's not what I meant." Weiss blurted out all of a sudden.
She explained herself on her answer to Oobleck not being completely true. Yang and Blake agreed with her. The trio looked at Nora, Ren and Pyrrha, asking them about their own responses.
"There's nothing to tell about." said Pyrrha. "We stand by what we said - protect the people and serve as inspiration for others to join in. Others lost their lives to make sure we can have peace, and I think it's only right that we honor them by upholding said peace."
Ren and Nora added, affirming their support for their teammate. Silence reigned over the group until Oobleck and their team leaders came back. The good doctor nodded in approval at the bonfire, with Ruby immediately sitting in front of it, Zwei laying besides her, enjoying the warmth.
The Huntsman told them to eat their dinner and asked for any volunteers for the first watch. Jaune raised his hand, making Oobleck nod as he rushed up to another section of the building. The devil hunter grabbed a few biscuits and headed up to the vacant windowsill, giving a perfect view of the outside.
Zwei walked up to the blond, deciding to accompany him on his shift. Jaune smiled and scratched behind the corgi's ear, making him pant in delight. The others soon fell asleep as Jaune silently strummed Nevan's guitar, continuously gazing around the premises.
And cut! That's a wrap! We're slowly coming to Volume 2's end. Now, for any of those who were wondering how was it that Achroma knew of the White Fang activity down in the southeast despite not being present when it was said is simple - Ruby shared the info with Jaune, who discreetly told his sister, who shared it with a select few others, Achroma being one of them.
...Did that make sense? I hope it did. And finally! I utilized Nevan. Don't worry about Alastor. I'll use him in the next chapter, I promise. Now, I'm unsure if I should cram the finale into one chapter or write it as two separate ones. That's still up for debate.
Anyway, something to be brought to your guy's attention is Grimm Eclipse. I'm still if I'm gonna go completely faithful, or add some of my own spins too it. But considering what I've been doing, I might as well go all out.
That's all for this week. Remember to review if you have any questions or criticism regarding this story. Otherwise, I'll see you all around. Keep safe. Keep sanitized. Peace.