A few days after the attack on Haven Academy, Weiss and Neo were able to make a full recovery, their wounds having been closed thanks to their aura and medical intervention. Unfortunately, they would be left with permanent scars on their body, but the two don't seem to really mind that matter all that much, they're just happy to still be alive to fight another day. Though Neo is upset that her favorite outfit has been ruined so, with Pyrrha's help, she was able to get a new outfit that consisted of a white and pink tube top buttoned shirt that had black outlines, a grey ascot around her neck, and white form fitting khaki shorts with black leggings that ran down into white knee high boots. Over her entire outfit was a long black cloak with a pink colored interior lining. She had white leather gloves which went underneath the pink cuffs of her cloak. Of course, she still had Roman's bowler hat, never wanting to leave without it just like how Pyrrha will never leave without Jaune's hoodie.
Neo adjusts her gloves, giving a happy smirk as she clenches her fist, a hidden blade sliding out from her sleeve before she draws it back in. "I love my hidden babies!" Neo signs as she takes a happy sigh, sitting herself down on the bed of the dorm room of Haven Academy she was in. She clicks her heels and out came two hidden blades on each foot, one from the tip of the toes and one from her heel. She clicks them again and with a "shnnk" the blades slide back into their hidden compartments.
Pyrrha gives a small chuckle at how armed Neo is with weaponry as she crosses her arms, leaning against the wall. "You sure do love your hidden surprises. First on Hush and now on your clothes, what's the next place you're going to hide a knife?" She asks with a soft smile.
Neo gives the spartan a knowing giggle. "Well, you know where the best place to put surprises is on a woman~" She signs with a wink causing Pyrrha to blush.
"That's just gross, Neo." Pyrrha grumbles as she tries to think of something to get her blush to disappear.
"What? I meant my hat!" Neo signs with a devious smile, trying to act innocent. "It's you that has a dirty mind, not me."
Pyrrha gives a groan as she rubs her temples. "Just… hurry up Neo. Everyone else is waiting for us." She sighs as she impatiently taps her foot on the wooden floor. Neo rolls her eyes and takes out a makeup mirror, putting some light blue eyeshadow on before closing the mirror with a click. She hops up onto her feet and gives Pyrrha a small curtesy. "Yes yes, you look adorable." Pyrrha compliments as she starts walking out of the dorm room. Deep down, Pyrrha does wish that she could look that cute instead of what she looks like right now. Of course, she knows that she's pretty, even with her more gruff appearance, if she really tried, she could make herself look very pretty. But she can't make herself look cute for she simply lacks the proper body for it. Pyrrha shakes her head as she dismisses the thought, knowing that she shouldn't concern herself over the matters of her physical appearance. Right now, she has to focus on the goal at hand.
Neo skips alongside the taller woman, humming happily to herself. Soon the two women would arrive at the common area of the dorm building they stayed in, everyone else waiting patiently for the two. "Glad for you to join us Miss Nikos and Miss Politan." Oscar says softly, the relic of knowledge floating over his hand. From the way he spoke, it's obvious that this is Ozpin talking and not Oscar.
"I'm sorry that we're late. Neo likes taking her time trying on clothes apparently." Pyrrha apologizes with a small bow before sitting down on the sofa next to Ren. Neo gives a small shrug as everyone stares at her, looking at her new outfit before she sat down next to Pyrrha. "Anyways, what do you need to tell us? I assume something involving the lamp?" Pyrrha asks as she crosses her leg over the other.
"Your assumptions would be correct Miss Nikos." Ozpin says as he holds out the lamp of knowledge out in front of him. "The lamp of knowledge is a very powerful relic that allows anyone to ask a question and receive an answer from the spirit of the lamp." He explains as the lamp glows a faint blue as it floats up and down over the palm of his hand.
"I don't really see how being able to get a question answered can be so powerful." Nora says as she crosses her arms and leans into Ren's shoulder.
"You do know that many wars have been started because of the pursuit of knowledge." Blake questions as she looks over at Nora. "Many people have died from seeking out the greatest questions of all or to learn the secrets of what someone may be hiding. Learning things that shouldn't be known can really change the world." The cat faunus explains, her ears twitching slightly.
"You are exactly correct, Miss. Belladonna. In my many years of existence, knowledge has always been one of the major causes of wars, among other things such as lust for power, distrust and jealousy." Ozpin pauses before clearing his throat. "But that's a matter for us to discuss another time. For now, let's get back to the lamp."
"How exactly does it work? Do you just like give the lamp a rub and you can ask it questions?" Ruby wonders as she looks at the lamp curiously.
"What's 2 + 2?" Nora blurts out, asking the simple question to see if it would respond.
Ozpin gives a hearty laugh from his boyish body. "I'm afraid that's not how it works Miss. Valkyrie. First you have to call upon the name of the spirit that inhabits the lamp. There are also a few rules on what questions you can ask the spirit, mainly that you can't ask any questions that would pertain to events that have yet to happen. For example, asking the spirit "Will I win the Vytal Festival?" will result in them refusing your question as they can't decide your fate. Only you yourself can." Ozpin explains as he takes a small pause. "Another situation of the lamp is that it can only answer three questions every one hundred years."
"What about asking it for three more questions?" Neo signs with a giggle to which Pyrrha rolls her eyes.
"That's a command, not a question Miss. Politan. The spirit would simply laugh and urge you to ask a question." Ozpin chuckles. "Trust me, I've tried before."
"Well are there any questions that we can ask it now? I think I have a few possible ones, such as the next location Salem and her forces could be heading towards." Yang says, pondering over possible questions.
"I'm afraid I've used all the questions many years ago. I believe we have about… fifty-nine years left before the spirit will be ready to answer another three questions." Ozpin explains as he brings the lamp back to him. Pyrrha looks at the lamp curiously and wonders to herself what if she could ask it on what Cinder's plans are so that she can come up with some kind of strategy that would allow her and Neo to kill the witch.
She shakes her head, dismissing the small fantasy as she looks back at Oscar. "So, what's the plan now? We obviously can't stay here forever, especially now that the public knows that Lionheart is dead." Pyrrha asks.
"The current plan right now is to try to take the Argus Unlimited towards Argus, and from that point forward we travel to Atlas. There we will take the lamp of knowledge and store it with the staff of creation. We can trust James to keep both relics safe from Salem." Qrow explains, taking a big gulp from his metal flask before stashing it back inside his coat pocket.
"What about Vacuo? Isn't it possible that Salem could attack there next?" Ren asks.
"Yeah, Vacuo is more primitive of a nation while Atlas is higher tech. Atlas can defend itself from a possible Grimm invasion, but Vacuo can't. At least not easily." Weiss adds on, knowing Atlas as well as the back of her hand.
"Hmm while it is a possibility that Salem could attack Vacuo, and her doing so would be even more dangerous if she's able to get the sword of destruction." Ozpin thinks aloud as the grim situation starts to become clear to him.
"What if we're to split up? One group heads to Atlas while the other heads to Vacuo, that way we can accomplish both goals." Pyrrha suggests.
"I agree. We will need as many people as we can to head to Atlas with us so that we can protect the relic. But we can send about maybe four or five people over to Vacuo to help secure Shade Academy, especially since the school is still active currently. At least from what I heard." Ruby says nodding her head. She recalls Coco and Velvet saying that their team were going to Shade Academy to continue their education, so if they could group up with team CFVY and the other students at Shade, they could stand a chance against Salem and her forces, especially if they're prepared for a potential attack.
"Hmm while I am hesitant to split us apart, I can't deny the possibility that Salem could go to either kingdom. She could potentially attack both kingdoms at once." Oscar ponders as he sits up from the chair to pace around the room while he thinks, the lamp having shrunken down and hooked on to his belt.
"Well if Salem decides to attack both, that means she will be splitting her forces as well, which could give us an advantage." Yang points out.
"Taking everything into consideration, I don't see what else we have to lose." Ren says, mind set on this idea.
"Yeah, seems like a solid idea to me. Good thinking kid." Qrow compliments as he holds his flask up to Pyrrha approvingly before taking a gulp of the alcoholic drink.
"The only argument I have about this is that we would be split up and weaker, but if Salem would be splitting up her forces as well for this, then I must agree to this idea of splitting us up." Ozpin says through Oscar as he sits back down.
"This all sounds like a huge risk. There's a very high possibility that Salem won't split her forces up and focus entirely on one place." Neo signs as she thinks over every single possible outcome.
"Yes, I know this is a risk Miss. Politan, but I feel confident in making this decision. I have a feeling that Salem will split her forces, considering that she's slowly making herself known across Remnant, she's done waiting." Ozpin says, taking Neo's words into consideration. "Now the only matters that we need to agree upon are the teams."
The group gives a small hum as they think over what possible teams they could form. "Well, how about we go with our Beacon teams? Team RWBY and Team JNPR, though I guess now it's more of Team Pandora or Team PNNR. We're all familiar fighting with each other the most, able to improvise and adapt with each other easily." Blake suggests as she looks at her teammates.
"Ah going back to our Beacon teams! This makes me soooo excited to be able to go on another adventure with each other!" Nora cheers happily, jumping into the air slightly before being sat back down by both Ren and Pyrrha.
Pyrrha gives a small sigh as she realizes that she's now technically the leader of this new team. "I'm just wondering why I'm the leader and not someone else." She asks not feeling very confident in her leadership abilities.
"Well to speak honestly, I'm quieter and have a hard time telling others what to do, Nora gets distracted easily and Neo… well we still just don't trust her fully yet. A leader should be someone that we can all trust and be able to rely on. No offense Neo." Ren apologizes as he gives the pink and brown-haired woman a small bow.
Neo feigns being insulted and starts to cry softly before Pyrrha gave her a small nudge on the shoulder to get her to stop her crocodile tears. Neo gives a small giggle as she shrugs. "None taken. I wouldn't trust me either." She signs.
"Well… I'm not sure if I can live up to Jaune's leadership…" Pyrrha trails off as she thinks about her leader, partner and lover, giving a small sniff as she clenches her fist in determination. "But I'll try my hardest to live up to what he left behind." She says confidently looking at her team.
"And that's all we ask Pyrrha. You don't need to be Jaune 2.0. You just need to be Pyrrha." Ren told her softly, a small smile on his face.
"Yeah! You'll lead us in your own way! And I'm like one hundred ten percent sure that this way is perfect!" Nora exclaims as she wraps her arm around Pyrrha's shoulder, causing the spartan to give a small eye roll at the younger ginger's excitement.
"Anyways, I guess we can take my team to Vacuo. I know that there's a boat that leaves for Vacuo in Argus so we can all stick together until then." Pyrrha says as she looks over to Ruby. "You, your team, Ozpin and Qrow can travel to Atlas with the relic. We should probably have as many people protecting the relic as possible."
"I agree. There are many risks that we could run into with the lamp in our possession. At least with General Ironwood, we would have the entire Atlas Military protecting us." Ruby thinks aloud as she runs over how her and Ironwood meeting for the first time in forever would go in her head.
"Well does Ironwood even know that we have the relic? Or that Haven was even attacked? Considering that global communications are still down." Weiss asks aloud.
"It's most likely that he knows about the attack on Haven, though his knowledge is most likely vague for the most part." Ozpin answers as he taps his cane on the floor absentmindedly.
"What are we going to tell him about Leo? Tell him what we told the public that he died a hero?" Qrow asks as he takes out his flask to take another sip, only to find it empty, causing him to give a grumble and put it back in his coat pocket.
"No. We tell him the truth. Ironwood deserves to know the truth about Leo, as does Corvy."
"Corvy?" Ren asks, this name being unfamiliar to him.
"Corvy Straw, she's the headmaster of Shade Academy. A bit eccentric and clumsy at times, but a masterful genius. She's even beaten me at chess many times over." Ozpin chuckles softly remembering all the chess matches he would have with the fellow headmaster. "Pyrrha, when you and your group arrive in Vacuo, she will most likely ask you how you got here. Tell her that you took the yellow brick road. She will know that I sent you."
"She is very… well how do I put this… friendly." Qrow says with a groan, remembering how this woman can be at times.
"I'll keep that in mind." Pyrrha says before looking back at Oscar. "Is there anything else we need to discuss?"
"No, that will be all. Get ready to leave in the morning. For now, enjoy some time amongst yourselves." Ozpin says with a gentle smile before Oscar's eyes flash and soon the young farm boy is back in control of his body.
"I didn't expect there to be a person that could be smarter than Ozpin, well smarter than me? I'm still not sure how to describe our situation." Oscar mutters as he scratches the back of his head.
"We get what you mean." Blake smiles warmly as she stands up from the couch and gives a stretch, her cat ears twitching softly as she stretches. She looks over to Ruby and takes a quick glance at Ruby's hand, seeing the metal cap that rested on where her pinkie finger should be. "Are you going to get a new finger Ruby? It's still a surprise to me that you lost it from a Grimm of all things." Blake asks, not knowing the truth about Ruby's finger.
"No, I don't think I will. It serves as a good reminder." Ruby says happily, taking a look at her hand before clenching it with determination. "It reminds me what it truly means to be a huntress." She says fondly before looking at Pyrrha briefly. Yang looks over at Ruby and then to Pyrrha, remembering everything that Pyrrha said last night when she was fighting Cinder.
Pyrrha avoids eye contact, giving a small sigh before getting up from the sofa. "I'm going to pack my things; not like I have much to pack." She says as she starts to leave the room.
Yang gets up from the sofa her team occupied and follows Pyrrha. "Let me help!" She calls out, causing Pyrrha to look at the blonde with a small expression of shock. She thought Yang never wanted to see her face again.
"Sure, knock yourself out." Pyrrha sighs as her and Yang leave the common room. Once they arrive at her room, Pyrrha turns around and closes the door. "What happened to you not wanting to see my face ever again?" She asks, taking out a small duffle bag to pack some of her clothes and supplies away.
"Well… it's what you said last night. Do you really mean it?" She asks, holding open the duffle bag so that Pyrrha can put away some spare pieces of her armor.
"I said plenty of things last night. You're going have to be more specific."
"I mean the part where you said that your life doesn't matter and that we're the important ones. Do you really mean that?" Yang asks, clarifying her question.
Pyrrha pauses for a brief moment as she tries to think over how to best word this. She gives a small sigh and continues packing, folding a t-shirt. "Yes, I do. By all accounts, I should've died at the Battle of Beacon, but as we all know, that's not what happened." she says as she zips up the duffel bag and puts it on the side of her bed. "I'm just a dead girl walking. I'll die soon enough."
"Pyrrha… don't say that. You being here has helped us immensely, hell if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to make it to the vault and take the relic. Emerald would have stabbed me through the leg, and we would have suffered another defeat like at Beacon." she says trying to make Pyrrha feel better about herself.
"I know but… Jaune should be the one here. Not me. He should've lived and helped you guys. I accepted the fact that I was going to die that day, but I didn't because he made the sacrifice himself." Pyrrha says coldly as she's trying to not let her emotions get the better of her and keep a cold façade in front of Yang.
"Maybe in some other timeline Jaune is here with us, but all of that is in the past now. We have to move forward. Even if it does hurt Pyrrha, we have to continue forward." Yang comforts Pyrrha, putting a hand on the Spartan's shoulder.
Pyrrha gives a deep sigh as she looks up to Yang, her emerald eyes meeting lilac. "I'm surprised that you're so quick to forgive someone like me for taking your sister's finger."
"Don't get me wrong." Yang pauses as she gives Pyrrha a small glare. "I'm still pissed at you for what you did but, I'm trying to look past that and move forward. Ruby tried to defend you by lying about how she lost her finger, and she doesn't hold any grudges against you so… perhaps I shouldn't either. I'm sorry for all the things I told you yesterday. I would still like to try to be friends with you." Yang says softly as she takes a deep sigh, her glare softening and becoming a small smile.
Seeing Yang take the big step and to apologize for her anger showed Pyrrha how much the blonde has changed during Beacon and now. She was silent for a moment, having not expected to hear all of this from Yang before giving a soft smile to the bruiser. "Apology accepted. You've really changed a lot, haven't you? And I mean this in a good way."
"I have. Losing an arm helped me turn out "all right" in the end!" Yang says with a cheesy grin and a finger gun.
"Aaaand the Yang I knew is back. It was a pleasure for her to be gone for a while." Pyrrha groans as she hears the terrible pun, face palming herself.
"Hey! It's not my fault that I'm such a "magnet" for amazing puns~" Yang chuckles heartily as she points at Pyrrha, causing the red head to give another groan. "Now don't give me that look! There's no need to view us rekindling our friendship as a "Pyrrhic" victory!"
"Yang… for the love of god please shut the fuck up." Pyrrha growls, getting sick of the blonde's terrible puns, only causing the blonde to laugh even harder at the Spartan's misfortune.
"Alright alright, I'll get out of your hair. But if you ever need someone to talk to, just let me know. I "gauntlet" you brood by yourself!" Yang says as she quickly brings out Ember Celica just for the sake of the terrible pun. Pyrrha responds by slamming her head into the pillow and lets out a loud scream of annoyance. Yang gives one more laugh before finally leaving, allowing the Spartan to finally get some peace and quiet.
"This is going to be a long journey…" Pyrrha grumbles as she lays down on the bed to think to herself.
The next day would find the group at the train station, waiting patiently to board their train as it hasn't arrived yet. Blake was busy talking to Sun really quick before she regrouped with the rest of the group. "Sun's not coming with us?" Ruby asks the cat faunus.
"Unfortunately, he isn't. He said that he and his team are going to Vale to volunteer for the reconstruction as well as defend the people from any potential Grimm attacks." Blake explains with a longing smile on her face.
"Vale huh? To think that's where we all started this journey." Ren says with a reminiscing sigh, remembering when they were all students at Beacon. "We've all grown in so many ways. We're not the same people we were back then."
"Well some of us hasn't changed at all. Such as the blonde bimbo over there." Neo signed with a teasing grin. She knew that Yang has changed quite a bit since Beacon but that doesn't mean she won't make fun of her.
Yang looks at Neo and then over to Pyrrha. "What did she say? I don't understand hands."
"She said that you've changed a lot since Beacon." Pyrrha lied, a smile on her face as well as she goes along with what Neo signed for the small little joke. Everyone else besides Nora knew what Neo actually said but they had a feeling that Neo didn't mean it. Well at least they hoped she didn't mean it.
"Man, remembering what I was like back at Beacon is making me realize…" Nora trails off as she gives a small nervous laugh. "I haven't really changed much heheh."
"Nonsense Nora! You've changed quite a bit! For one, you're much more determined!" Ruby says trying to tell the ginger that she's grown quite a bit too.
"Correct. I've also saw you be much more mature when the situation calls for it while still saying small little quips to cheer us all up. If this was Beacon Nora, you would've gone on and on about some random joke that you think is funny while we all discussed our plan of attack." Weiss explains as she's impressed with how much Nora has matured while also still being her cute goofy self.
"Well, I do have Ren to thank for that." Nora says happily as she drapes her arms over his shoulders, hugging him softly. Ren gives a small smile as he leans back into the hug.
"To be fair, you'd be lost without me, both literally and figuratively." Ren says with a sigh.
"Hey! I can get my way around places!" Nora shouts, trying to defend her honor.
"You got lost in the dorm rooms at Beacon." Ren says flatly, causing Nora to shrink down in embarrassment.
"You also got lost in Vale, literally a few streets away from Beacon itself." Pyrrha chimes in with a smile.
"Hey! You don't need to remind me of that…" Nora grumbles as she gives a pout, causing the group of friends to give a small laugh.
The group of hunters in training would soon see Qrow and Oscar approach them as Qrow motions for everyone to get up. "Come on everyone. The train will let us board soon. I can trust that you can guide Nora to the platform?" He asks with a cheeky grin, having overheard the last part of their conversation.
Nora's jaw drops as a red blush graces her face. "Curse your semblance Qrow!"
"Normally I would curse it alongside you, but I have a feeling that wasn't my semblance this time." He laughs as everyone walks with Ruby's uncle to the sleek looking white train.
Everyone would board upon the train with little issue, with team RWBY, Qrow and Oscar resting in one lounge area while team PNNR rest in another. Nora gives a small sigh as she looks outside the window. "Man… there's nothing to see except for snow. It's making me hungry." She laments as she leans back in her red velvet chair, putting her hand on her stomach as she makes a terrible stomach growl noise with her mouth.
"Did she just try to imitate a stomach growl to prove her point?" Neo signs with a quizzical look.
"Yeah, she did. This is something that you'll get used to." Pyrrha says with a tired smile to which Ren nods his head.
"Nora and I have spent our entire lives together so trust me, this isn't anything new." Ren adds, appreciating the odd, yet interesting nature of the person that is known as Nora.
Neo gives a small hum as she decides to do something nice for her new team. "Well do you want me to get you something to eat? Like ice cream or some other kind of treat?" She signs with a kind genuine smile.
Nora looks at Neo, her too not knowing sign language but getting the feeling that it had something to do with food. "If you said something about getting me food then YES PLEASE! I'm so hungry that I could eat anything! But looking at all this snow is really getting me in the mood for a snow cone or ice cream!" She says excitedly, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of food.
Neo gives a small giggle as she gets up from the chair and motions for Pyrrha to come with her, to which Pyrrha responds by getting out of her chair. "Do you want anything Ren?" Pyrrha asks, looking at the raven-haired young man.
"I'm good. Though if they have tea, then I would like a cup." He says softly before looking over at Nora, noticing her getting lost in her dreamland of food as she starts to drool. Ren gives a sigh as he takes out his handkerchief and wipes away the drool.
With a small laugh at Nora's Noraness, the two women leave the compartment they were in and travel down the aisles to look for some kind of concessions stand. As they would walk down the aisles, Pyrrha would feel a small gentle tug on the fabric of cloth that was wrapped around her hip. Turning around she would see a small brown-haired boy, appearing to be no more than seven years old. He looks up at Pyrrha excitedly as he bounces up and down in place. "You da lady that's on the box of Pumpkin Pete's!" He exclaims as his eyes sparkle at meeting the celebrity.
Pyrrha gives a small blush as she knows exactly what this kid is talking about. Are they really still selling boxes of cereal that has her face on it still? She gives a small gentle smile to the kid as she kneels down to get to his height. "I'm sorry little one, but I'm afraid that you're mistaking me for someone else." She says softly, not wanting to get recognized all because of a dumb cereal box.
"But I'm positive dat you're her! You sound like her too! Can you pwease do the commercial!" He asks excitedly.
Neo looks at the exchange going on and gives a gentle smile as she crosses her arms. She never expected Pyrrha to be so good with kids. Though considering what she was like back at Beacon, it should be no surprise. It's more of her having her be more familiar with what Pyrrha is now that it's a surprise to see her be so tender and sweet to a kid. It makes Neo feel happy inside, she herself having always liked kids as well, never wanting to harm a young innocent child. Now teens on the other hand, are an exception.
Pyrrha gives a small sigh, seeing as she has no way to get out of this without disappointing the kid. "Alright, it's been a long time since I did this commercial so please forgive me if I say anything wrong." Pyrrha smiles as she clears her throat. When she would speak again, her voice would go back to how it once was during her days at Beacon, purposefully speaking in a higher pitch so that the kid can be even happier with her performance. "Everybody knows that a prefight meal is the most important. That's why I always turn towards Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes before a match!" Pyrrha says happily before eating an invisible bowl of cereal, letting out a happy hum. "Mmm taste that? That tastes like victory!" She says giving a very cheesy grin as she gives a thumbs up. As Pyrrha recited this, Neo was having a hard time keeping in her silent laughter. Seeing the edgy and cold Pyrrha acting so cheesy and reciting a commercial humored her more than it should. Pyrrha knew that Neo was clearly enjoying herself as she gives a small grumble inside her head, holding the cheesy smile so that the kid doesn't get disturbed.
The kid let's out a long wow as his eyes sparkle at the marvel that was in front of him. To him, this is the coolest thing he's ever seen! The lady that was on the box for his favorite breakfast cereal just recited his favorite commercial! This truly is a dream come true for him! "Wow! Dat was sooooo awesome! You're da best cereal box lady!" He says excitedly as he gives Pyrrha a big hug, which caught her by surprise before returning the hug. Neo let's out a silent coo of adoration at the sight, seeing this soft spot that the cold-hearted huntress has. Soon enough the little boy broke away from the hug. "I gotta go back to my mommy! But I'll see you later cereal box lady!" He says happily before running back down the aisle to presumably go back to his mother.
"Stay safe little one!" Pyrrha calls out, her voice going back to the deeper and rougher tone she's gotten used to talking in.
Pyrrha turns around and sees Neo giving a small grin. "I had no idea you had such a soft spot for children." She signs, to which Pyrrha blushed a little.
"Well… I've always had one. They were one of my biggest motivations to become a huntress, so that I can protect them." Pyrrha says softly as she continues walking down the aisles with Neo.
"Well, it's good to see that you're not frozen inside Cereal Box Lady~" Neo signs with a shit eating grin.
Pyrrha gives Neo a glare as she holds the small woman by her ascot. "You tell no one of this, you hear me? And wipe that smug grin off your face." Pyrrha growls as she points her finger at Neo, to which her smile only grows wider. The spartan gives a small sigh as she lets the tiny woman go. "Let's just go get Nora's snack." Pyrrha grumbles before continuing the trek. Neo gives a small giggle as she follows after Pyrrha.
As they would make their way through the aisles however, the two women would feel the entire train shake as if something landed on top of it. Their suspicions would be confirmed as they hear a monstrous roar from outside. A Grimm attack, figures that this wouldn't be a short and easy trip. Without a second thought, Pyrrha and Neo run back towards their cabin to grab their weapons, only to see Nora and Ren already running towards the back of the car, already holding Milo, Akouo and Hush. Ren tosses Pyrrha's weapons towards her as Nora does the same towards Neo. "Let's hurry up before the Grimm are able to cause any serious damage." Ren says in a calm yet urgent voice. With a nod, team PNNR exits out the back door of the car and climb up the ladders that were on the outside of the cars.
Upon reaching the top, they would spot team RWBY as well as Oscar and Qrow dealing with several Manticore Grimm as well as one giant Chimera Grimm. Before they had a chance to prepare themselves, one of the manticores swoops down in an attempt to stab Pyrrha with it's scorpion like tail. With quick thinking she was able to block the blow with her shield before grabbing the tail with her freehand and slamming the large beast down on to the train car in an impressive feat of strength. As soon as the beast went down, a loud bang would echo through the air as the manticore's head explodes into black ash before the rest of it's body followed. Looking up, Pyrrha would see Neo flourishing her parasol as she gives a small nod towards Pyrrha. Pyrrha nods back as she grabs Milo, holding it with a firm grip as team PNNR spots a large swarm of Grimm flying towards them.
"Ugh we can never have a moment of rest!" Nora complains as she side steps out of the way from a claw swipe before back flipping to avoid a stab from the scorpion tail. As she back flipped, she shifted her hammer into a grenade launcher and took a few shots at the beast before shifting it back into a hammer and crushing it's skull during it's stunned state from the smoke grenades.
Ren gracefully dodges out of the way from two flying tackles from the manticores before taking out Stormflower and slashing one of the manticore's side when he dodged. He pivots around and fires six shots at the injured Grimm, dispatching it before bringing up his duel guns to block a claw from another Grimm. He cuts off the claw, using his guns like a pair of scissors before stabbing the beast through the skull with the long sickle like blades that rested on his emerald guns. "This is what we signed up for Nora. We have to protect the defenseless no matter what." He tells his childhood friend.
"I know that! It's just that I can't fight Grimm on an empty stomach!" Nora complains before smacking a Grimm in the middle of it's face, causing it to be launched into another one, as both are sent flying into the large mountainside wall.
"Let's focus on the Grimm that are trying to kill us before talking about why we want to become hunters." Pyrrha tells the group as she shatters into glass from a manticore pouncing onto her and stabbing the roof of the train car with it's tail, the stinger piercing through the thick metal. From behind the manticore, Pyrrha jumps on top of the Grimm, stabbing it in the neck with her shield before shooting it with Milo, which was in it's handgun configuration. She gives another nod to Neo before having to refocus her attention on a manticore as it fires spurts of venom from it's tail at Pyrrha, who blocks it with her shield.
Neo, meanwhile, parries a tail stab from one of the manticores as she smacks it across the head with Hush before parrying a vertical claw swipe, using the opening to slam her parasol on top of it's head and using the momentum to leap over the beast and getting behind it. She quickly takes out the large hidden blade from the parasol, holding both the blade and the parasol that acted as a sheath in her hands. She cuts off the tail of the Grimm before lunging the tip of her blade through the open wound. With a flick of her wrist upwards, the blade cuts the monster like butter as it lets out a pained roar before turning into dust. She puts the sword back into it's sheath and then hears a loud burst of fire coming from her right. She quickly opens up Hush to block an incoming fire ball before feeling the wind sweeping her away. She gives a grunt as she quickly closes Hush so that she can drop back down onto the train. "I am not letting that happen to me again. How I hate you wind." Neo thinks to herself as she was thankfully able to dodge the fire ball from the wind sweeping her away. She points her parasol towards the flying manticore and pulls the trigger that was on the handle of her parasol, firing large canon like shots of fire dust towards the beast. Her aim hits true as the monster falls down into the forest below before dispersing into black dust.
Team PNNR all back into each other as they take a survey of the area around them. There are still numerous amounts of Grimm flying towards them, at least thirty of the beasts. It's very rare for there to be this many Grimm during one attack, so there has to be something that's attracting them. As the team of four stand back to back, they use their guns to shoot down a few approaching manticores before Pyrrha shouts. "Thunder Blossom!"
Without thinking, Nora quickly launches herself towards one of the Grimm that were on the top of the train. She would then use her hammer to lunge herself over the large beast before swinging her hammer, hitting the Grimm from it's rear and launching it towards Ren. Ren slides underneath the flying Grimm, using his gun blades to slice it's underbelly before shooting it in the wounds, causing the manticore to land on top of the train with a thud before becoming a pile of black dust.
Pyrrha would look at Neo as she gives another shout. "Cherry Sundae form 1!" On que, Pyrrha would hold out her shield in front of her with Neo jumping onto it. Pyrrha gives a strong push as Neo jumps up into the air, getting launched as she twirls, before flipping around, Hush pointed at the back of the Grimm. Neo would then spin rapidly in the air as she descends like a drill towards the beast, piercing straight through it, causing it to turn into black dust like the others. Pyrrha would hear a thud from behind her followed by a roar before she quickly shifts Milo into a spear and lunges the point behind her, stabbing the manticore through the chest before flicking her wrist and slicing it in half.
After the group would perform their attacks, they would notice the Grimm spread their wings out and float away from the train, confusing the hunters. They would turn around and spot why. Coming straight towards them was a cave, and there wasn't enough space for them to stay on the roof. "CAVE!" Oscar shouts from a distance as everyone starts to rush towards the ladder to get back into the train.
Nora would start to run only for her to find her foot getting stuck in something and falling to the cold metal top of the train. She looks down and spots that her foot is inside a perfectly sized hole in the ceiling, having come from one of the Grimm's attacks earlier. With a worried look on her face, she tries to take her foot out. "My foot's stuck!" She cries out in desperation. Ren, upon hearing this, rushes over to help Nora get unstuck.
As Pyrrha looks at her team, she notices the cave entrance getting closer and closer. She closes her eyes and holds out her hands, enveloping the train car in a black aura as she lets out a loud growl in pain. She's never had to use her polarity on an object as big as this going at such high speeds. She gives a scream of determination as the train starts to slow down from Pyrrha trying to fight against it's momentum. "HURRY! I CAN'T KEEP THIS UP!" She shouts towards Ren and Nora, her aura flashing green briefly as she attempts to keep her focus. With a deep breath, Ren yanks Nora's foot out from the hole, causing her to give a small yelp in pain before helping her get off the top of the train where Neo was waiting. Pyrrha, upon seeing Ren and Nora in safety quickly releases the train cart as it picks up it's speed, with Pyrrha being able to get into safety just in time.
Upon getting back inside the train, Pyrrha throws herself down onto one of the train seats, her aura flashing green rapidly before settling down. Using her polarity to such an extent really took a lot out of her. She takes out her scroll to check on her aura and notices that she's in the red, cursing as she puts it away. Everyone was looking at Pyrrha in amazement causing her to raise her eyebrow curiously while panting heavily. "What?" She asks.
"You slowed down a train with your polarity! That was soooo cool!" Nora exclaims excitedly despite the mortal danger she was in just a few seconds earlier.
Pyrrha rolls her eyes at Nora's excitement before looking over at Ruby and Oscar. "Why are there so many Grimm? I would only expect like maybe five or six but not over thirty of them." She asks, confused on why there are so many. Everyone on the train was in a good mood from what she saw so there has to be some reason.
"I believe I might have the answer." Chimes in Oscar, who is being controlled by Ozpin in the current moment. "I believe the Grimm are attracted to the relic." He says, gesturing towards the lamp on his hip. "I have no idea why the Grimm want any of the relics or if it's Salem having created the Grimm to look for the relics, but the point of the matter is that this is attracting them." He says in a calm voice.
Yang gives Oscar a small glare as she crosses her arms. "That information would have been good to know beforehand!" She shouts as she taps her foot on the ground.
"I'm sorry Miss Xiao Long, I wasn't confident in my theory but this incident all just proved it." He says, trying to keep things calm.
"It would have still been useful to tells us so that we were prepared in the worst possible scenario!" She retorts as she stands tall over Oscar.
Ruby goes up to Yang and tries to gently push her away from Oscar. "Yang calm down, we can't get too emotional or else we will attract even more Grimm." Ruby reminds the tall blonde huntress who gives a sigh and grumbles, crossing her arms. "But Ozpin, if we're to be traveling together from now on, then you have to promise us something."
"And what would that be Miss Rose?" Inquires Ozpin.
"No more secrets. You need to tell us the truth and not hide anything." Ruby told Ozpin firmly.
Pyrrha gives a small scoff as she looks at Ozpin. "You told me to keep the knowledge of the Maidens a secret, as well as me being chosen to be the next Fall Maiden and look at where that got us. Many deaths and the destruction of Beacon." She points out.
"Take it from me. Keeping secrets only pushes people away and will hurt them more in the end. While the truth may hurt in the present, in the future it will bring people closer as they feel closer to you." Blake tells Ozpin gently, trying to be a calm voice of reason as she more than knows what it's like to keep secrets.
Ozpin pauses for a moment as he thinks over a response. He would then give a small nod as he looks at everyone. "Alright. No more secrets. I won't hide anything from you anymore." He says with a gentle smile. If only everyone knew how many more secrets Ozpin had and refused to share with the others.
"Thank you, Professor Ozpin. We trust you so you need to be able to trust us." Ruby says with a gentle smile.
Weiss looks out the window from the back of the train and spots a few manticores running on foot towards the train. "They're starting to catch up on us." Weiss warns them as she spins the barrel in her rapier before thrusting it down on the floor, creating a wall of ice between the end of the train and the Grimm. It won't stop them forever, but it'll at least slow them down for a while.
"We need some kind of plan. Some way to keep all the Grimm isolated from the passengers." Ren says as he tries to come up with something.
"Hey, can't your semblance allow you to dull out the emotions of people? Why not use that?" Qrow suggests.
"That would only work for the passengers, the Grimm would still be attracted to the lamp unfortunately." Ozpin retorts as he thinks of something.
Neo taps her parasol on the floor to get everyone's attention. "What if we split up? Team RWBY, Oscar and Qrow stay behind while PNNR stays with the passengers and hide them from the Grimm with the use of Ren's semblance."
Pyrrha gives a small hum. "And once we're separated, we can split off the last train car, allowing us to get away with the passengers while the relic stays behind." She adds to which Neo gives a nod as that's what she was thinking.
"That could actually work. Good thinking Neo!" Ruby compliments as she gives the woman a thumbs up, causing Neo to lean back into the chair and put her arms behind her head in pride.
"We'll need to evacuate the passengers from the back up to the front first. We need to be quick too, who knows how much of this tunnel we have left." Blake says as she prepares herself for the plan.
"Then let's get started team." Ruby shouts as everyone rushes in to set the plan in motion. Team RWBY goes into the back, along with Pyrrha and Neo, who help usher the passengers into the front parts of the train as well as trying to help them with their luggage working as fast as they can.
Once everyone was near the front half of the train, Ren kneeled down amongst the crowd and prepared himself. He's never had to use his semblance to such an extreme extent before so he isn't sure if he can do it. But he has to try so that everyone would be safe. Nora gives Ren a reassuring shoulder rub, believing that he can do it. With a smile, Ren touches the floor as the train and passengers around them start to become grey and lifeless looking.
Seeing Ren using his semblance, Pyrrha goes over to the last train car entrance and looks over at Ruby. "Be safe Ruby and meet us as soon as you get to Argus." Pyrrha told her as she gives a friendly squeeze on the shorter woman's shoulder.
"Will do Pyrrha. You stay safe too." She says as the train finally exits out of the cave. Taking out Crescent Rose, she slices the joint that connected the two train cars together causing her start falling behind from Pyrrha. She gives a small rave to the red head before firing herself on top of the train in a burst of rose petals to fight the oncoming Grimm.
Pyrrha gives a small sigh before turning around to go back inside with a small look of concern. Neo spots this and gives Pyrrha a small nudge. "Try not to worry. They'll be fine going against all of those Grimm. They did just fine when they went against the Grimm during the attack of Beacon." Neo signed with a reassuring smile. "Besides, taken from my experience, they're hard to kill."
Pyrrha gives a small chuckle as she walks back over to Ren and Nora with Neo in tow. "Heh, for better or for worse." She says as she takes out her scroll to check on her aura levels. She's now three quarters back to full thanks to the rest. She checks on Ren's semblance and notices it going down at a steady pace. "Try to hang in there Ren."
"Shh let me concentrate." Ren scolds before taking a deep breath to go back to a neutral state.
A few moments would pass as Nora starts to notice the grey colors starting to disappear, their surroundings starting to be filled with bright colors once again. She looks over at Ren and notices him breathing heavily before being forced to drop his semblance due to exhaustion. Nora goes over to his side and helps support him to his feet. "Are you okay Ren?" She asks in concern.
"I'm fine… I'm just not used to holding it out for that long nor in that big of an area." He pants as he wipes some sweat from his forehead, his aura flashing.
Soon however they would feel a large crash on the train cart as they hear a lion's roar from outside. Quickly getting back on top of the train, they spot a few manticores trying to break in from the top. There aren't as many as last time but there are still a good few that they need to take out. Pyrrha and her team ready their weapons before noticing Ren was among them. "Ren go rest up. We can handle it from here." Nora tells him gently to which he shakes his head.
"No. I still have some energy left in me. I don't want to stand idle while you three put your lives at risk." He tells them before firing pot shots at some of the manticores. They turn around from the piercing sensation they felt and charge towards Ren. From their tails would shoot out even more of the purple venom as Ren jumps out of the way. He dives kick towards one of the Grimm, his foot meeting it square in the face as he jumps off of it's head, twirling in the air as he lands on the ground, the blades from Stormflower slicing through the Grimm's body.
Nora rushes past Ren as she smacks the underside of a Grimm's jaw, launching it upwards towards which a golden shield flies through, slicing it's midsection before returning to it's owner. Pyrrha grabs her shield and then shifts her spear into a rifle, aiming down the sight lines and shooting the manticores in the eyes and joints of the wings with expert marksmanship. They let out a roar of pain as they get grounded, to which Neo greets them with a cartwheel of death, using the hidden blades in her boots to slice up the Grimm in half. Performing a handstand, she would bring down her feet down on top of the skull of the finale manticore before splitting her legs, causing the beast to be ripped in half.
Upon spotting that all of the Grimm are dead, the team put away their weapons as they start to head back towards the ladder to get back inside the train. However, as they would make their way, the train car would jump up into the air before slamming back down onto the tracks, having hit something. The four of them didn't expect this and combining the sudden motion with the metal roof that was a little bit icy, it caused the four of them to slide off of the roof and towards the forest below them. Neo closes her eyes as she creates illusions behind them in an attempt to break their fall. As they shatter through the glass illusions, they would feel their speed decrease ever more slightly before they finally feel themselves land in the fluffy snow. Pyrrha sits up from her back as she looks around, wincing in slight pain from the impact. "Is everyone okay?" She asks as she looks around, spotting Nora headfirst in the deep snow. Her legs kick wildly around as she tries to pull herself out, screams being muffled by the snow. Ren trudges through and pulls Nora out from the snow by grabbing her from the waist.
"Whew, I really need to stop getting stuck." She sighs as she shakes her head, wiping the snow out of her hair. Ren puts Nora down as the two of them look for Neo. "Where's Neo?" She asks only to hear a small clearing of a throat from above. They would spot Neo hooked onto a branch of a large tree. Nora gives a cheesy smile as she looks up to the mute. "Stop hanging around and let's get going!" She laughs softly at the pun which causes her to get glares from everyone around her. "Yeah… that was pretty bad." She whimpers.
Neo gives a small sigh as she flips herself around, unhooking herself from the tree before opening her parasol and floating down to the ground. She lands with a "pomf" as small bits of snow fly up from the impact. "There are to be no puns at all or else I will stab you in your sleep." Neo threatens causing Ren to hold Nora closer to him.
"Uh… what did she say?" Nora asks Pyrrha.
"She said that she doesn't want to hear any more puns or else." She translates, leaving out the "stab you in your sleep" part on purpose.
"Hey! I just wanted to try to lighten the mood after we got thrown off the train!" She grumbles crossing her arms.
"At least it seems we're all right. I just hope the passengers will be okay." Ren sighs as he looks up towards the mountain cliff at where the train tracks would be.
"I think they will. I didn't spot any more Grimm from the top of the train, so it seems like they're more interested in the lamp than the passengers." Pyrrha said as she motions for everyone to follow her. "Let's try to find a path and some place for shelter. We shouldn't stay out in the cold for too long."
Walking together, team PNNR would soon find a small trail that lead down through a small clearing in the forest. Looking at the compass, they would figure out that this path most likely leads towards Argus, or at least it's general direction. As the four would continue down the path, Neo would look around and spot some small structures amongst the woods as well as noting a few markings. To her, this all feels very familiar to her. Ren notices Neo looking around and asks her. "Is everything okay Neo?"
She shakes her head as she looks back to the raven-haired man. "Yes everything is fine. It's just… I feel like I've been here before." she signs as she looks around once again.
Nora looks at Ren to which he tells her what Neo just said. She gives a small "Ah" as she thinks on what to say. "Well maybe you saw it in a dream? You know how dreams usually are, predicting the future and all that." Nora suggests as she hugs closer to Ren to try to stay warm while the snowfall picked up, slowly becoming a blizzard.
Pyrrha shivers slightly from the cold but refused to let it bother her. "Maybe you've been in a snowy forest before. There are plenty of them around Remnant so perhaps you're getting confused with one of them." She says.
"No... it's not that. It feels like… I know this place." Neo signs as she looks around. A thought starts to cross her head as she starts to piece together where she is. She quickly dismisses the thought as it's impossible for her to be there. It wasn't near Argus, was it?
"Well I don't know what else to tell-" Pyrrha cuts herself off as she holds up her fist to get everyone to stop moving.
"What is it Pyrrha?" Ren asks as his hands slowly reach down for his weapons.
"Do you guys hear that?" She asks them.
The group would stand in silence as only the whistling of the wind blowing through the forest would surround them. "I don't hear anythi-" Nora suddenly gets cut off as she hears a loud squeaking coming from down the trail. "Is it a squeaking sound?" Nora asks Pyrrha, to which she nods her head.
"I hear it too, maybe we're close to some kind of settlement." Ren says as he starts to walk quickly down the trail.
Neo's eyes widen in shock as she can't deny the possibility any longer. She was stunned for a moment as Pyrrha and Nora run after Ren before she too started running after them. The four of them would soon find themselves in front of a large arch way, a red metal gate squeaking everytime it moved thanks to the wind. Neo's worst dreams have come true. She's back. She's so lost in a sudden overflow of memories that she doesn't notice the others talking amongst each other as they start to walk into what appears to be a small farming community.
Pyrrha notices Neo trailing behind and goes up to get her. She would call out to the woman only for Neo to remain motionless. The spartan gives the criminal a small shake of the shoulders, snapping Neo out of her trance as she stares into her pink and brown eyes. "Neo, is everything okay?" She asks.
Neo takes a deep sigh as she looks up towards the arch way. On the metal arch stood the letters "Brunswick Farms" in fading white paint. She returns her gaze towards Pyrrha, looking at her and signs. "I'm back home…"
Author's notes
So I wasn't aware of the existence of Headmaster Theodore until the recent RWBY episode name dropped him. Then I learned that he was introduced in the books starring Team CFVY, which I myself have never read and only knew of their existence. It kinda makes all the planning I had for the headmaster of Shade Academy and her arc null, but then I remembered that this is my story and I'm free to do what I want with the lore. I will probably still have Theodore in the story, but he won't be the headmaster, instead that going to Corvy Straw. Hopefully RWBY doesn't throw anymore wrenches into my plans.