Chapter 10: The Huntress
Next morning, the students and Qrow gathered around Clover, who explained their mission; needing Dust to launch Amity into the atmosphere, they were going to use Dust in an abandoned Schnee Dust Company mine. Normally, Huntsmen and Huntresses wouldn't be needed, but an old Geist had infiltrated the mine and they needed to get rid of it.
Before they left, Pietro had finished upgrading and creating new weapons. The Mandalorian had showed Pietro his blasters, so he was able to include galactic technology into some of the weapons. Yang received new types of ammunition for Ember Celica and an upgraded cybernetic arm, Weiss received modified Amban rounds that would allow anything to disintegrate at the touch of Myrtenaster (that is, if they didn't have an Aura), Blake's blade had been repaired and her pistol had been transformed into a blaster. For Team JNPR, Jaune received upgrades for his shield which allowed him to use Hardlight Dust, Ren's pistols had been transformed into blasters and the daggers at the end could be used as grappling hooks.
Nora had surprisingly gone to the Mandalorian for help with her new weapon. After talking with Ren and Jaune about her past and the Mandalorians, they were able to convince her it was time to let go of her pain and hatred towards him. Jaune and Ren knew first hand that he was dangerous, but the Mandalorian had decided to help them. While they didn't fully trust him yet, they decided to see what kind of help he could give. So, the Mandalorian described how before blasters and rifles, ancient Mandalorians were known to carry swords and battle axes into battle. So, Nora decided to have a large battle axe that would transform to a Mandalorian Heavy Repeater. At the back of her mind, however, she wasn't sure what her father would think of her. He always taught her that violence destroyed the mind, but there was a lot at stake here. If the world had to stand against Salem, violence would be needed. All that she hoped was that she could honor her father's Mandalorian heritage through her weapon, which she named Cuy'val Dar (Mandalorian for "those who no longer exist", in honor of her family).
After talking with Penny, Ruby was still unsure about getting a new weapon. But Penny really wanted to help her friend in any way she thought possible, so Ruby agreed. She and Pietro discussed how her new weapon would also be a sniper rifle. However, two scythes would appear from it, one from the bottom and one from the top. She could transform it into one scythe or two. And if she was cornered, she could twirl her blades repeatedly, cutting multiple Grimm twice as fast. She could also through it like a boomerang with both blades extended. She named it Rosenrot.
And with new weapons and new outfits, they set out for the dust mine.
General Ironwood had asked Neo, Oscar, and the Mandalorian to stay behind so they could talk. While waiting for Neo, who went with Pietro to ask for something, General Ironwood explained the concept of Dust, Aura, and Semblances to the Mandalorian. In return, the Mandalorian explained the history of the galaxy, specifically the war between the Empire and the Rebellion. He also showed Ironwood the Child and explained his quest to reunite him with the Jedi.
"Incredible." Ironwood replied. "And that's why you're here, to find out where these Jedi are?"
"Yes." The Mandalorian confirmed. "The Relic of Knowledge is my best hope."
"Well, from what Oscar told me earlier, you had the Relic but came back for them. Why?"
"…As a bounty hunter, I carried out multiple endeavors, killed many people with no regrets. But before I left this Child with the Imperials, a part of me was telling me to go back for him. I don't know why, but the same thing happened when I learned about Salem. All I know is, I can't leave Remnant until it's safe from her.
"And you're sure you can help?" Ironwood asked.
"Yes." he replied. "But first, I want to see where this 'Staff of Creation' is."
"Very well. I think Oscar and Neo should join us." As if on cue, Oscar and Neo walked in, the latter having a big smile on her face.
"Good morning, Mando!" a female voice came from Neo's mouth.
General Ironwood and the Mandalorian were surprised to hear Neo speaking. "Neo." the Mandalorian addressed her. "You can speak?"
"Pietro helped me with that." Neo replied pointing to a little black box on her throat. "He took that robot's head you had in your ship and modified its speech unit for me."
"That's good to hear." he said. "Literally."
With that, everyone took an elevator down to a large bridge. At the other side was a golden door in a wall of ice.
"It's right behind that door." Ironwood said.
"The Staff of Creation." Oscar continued.
"I hoped bringing you down here might jog some memories." Ironwood said, turning to Oscar. "After all, it was your idea to use the Staff to lift Atlas off the ground."
"I thought Gravity Dust kept Atlas afloat?" Neo asked.
'That's the public story." Ironwood replied. "But with the Staff, we have a constant, seemingly limitless energy source. Oz once speculated it could take us as high as we wanted. To tell you the truth, that served as the inspiration for the Amity Project. Get a communication tower up in the sky, higher than the Grimm can survive so we can never lose contact with each other again."
"But you're not using the Staff to raise Amity." Djarin said.
"The Staff can only be used for one purpose at a time. We're going to have to do Amity the old- fashioned way, Dust and all."
As Ironwood and Oscar continued to talk, Djarin decided to get a closer look at the door. Handing the Child to Neo, he used his jetpack to fly to the door. He learned that the door would only open for the Maidens, so he looked up to the ice above the door. "Interesting." Djarin thought to himself.
"Mando!" Djarin turned around to Neo. "We're going to the Dust mine; they took care of the Grimm." Flying back, Djarin joined the others at the elevator and left the vault.
Arriving at the mine, Ironwood stepped off his ship so Clover could inform him of the situation. Oscar, Neo, and the Mandalorian walked over to the students. Oscar immediately saw that Ruby wasn't with them. "Where's Ruby?" he asked.
"There." Weiss pointed to a rock that Ruby was sitting on alone. "She's not doing so good. While we were fighting the Geist, a piece of volatile Dust fell off its body. Ruby went to catch it but tripped. Thankfully, Harriet used her Semblance to catch it just in time."
"The mission was a success, but Ruby thinks it would have been best if she didn't come." Blake added.
"Thanks to you." Yang said to the Mandalorian, who was focused on the snowy hills.
"Hey Buckethead! Are you listening?" Yang shouted at him. The Mandalorian's only response was pulling out a blaster and shooting towards the hills. Suddenly, something at the hill exploded and Djarin flew over to it.
Rushing over, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, the Ace-Ops, Neo, Ironwood, and Oscar saw bits and pieces of a robot in the snow.
"I hit it just in the right spot." Djarin said.
"What was it?" Oscar asked.
"An Imperial probe droid. A droid made by the ones who wanted to capture the Child." he answered.
"Someone's been watching us?!" Yang asked. "For all we know, they could have reported on what we've been doing!"
"No, Amity's safe." the Mandalorian replied.
"…How do you know?" Clover asked.
"This droid is old. There are cameras, but no transmitter." the Mandalorian said as he picked up the head. "This droid would observe and then report, not at the same time." Ironwood sighed in relief. "I can see who was spying on us, give me some space." Everyone went back down the cliff. And just in time, as another ship with the 'SDC' logo landed.
Turning his attention back to the droid, he looked at the circuitry. He saw one piece that looked like a tracing module. Once this droid was done observing, it would locate the closest Imperial ship and deliver the recordings. Ignoring this, Djarin found the droid's recordings. Activating them, he saw that the droid was able to record the Mandalorian arriving with the Child and Amity approaching the tundra. Rewinding to the earliest piece, he couldn't believe his eyes. A female Mandalorian helmet was looking into the droid's camera. "Now, let's see what the General's hiding."
Everyone was inside the arena, with the students all lined up. Neo, the Mandalorian, Oscar, and the Child were all standing to the side as Ironwood spoke. "It goes without saying that this arena holds a significance to all of us. It's only fitting that we should be able to reconvene here. Now. When the world needs to be brought together more than ever. The road you traveled from our first meeting hasn't been easy. You fought for your school and your friends at Beacon. You fought for the world and the innocent at Haven Academy and beyond. You faced down terrors people can't even fathom. That's not the behavior of students. It's the behavior…of Huntsmen and Huntresses."
Penny started to walk down the line, pressing a button on her Scroll each time she stopped in front of someone. Hearing his Scroll buzz, Ren took it and saw his student ID had been replaced with a Huntsman license. "Wait… what is this?"
"You are being granted your Huntsman licenses, today." Winter said to everyone.
"I know this is coming a little ahead of schedule, but Brothers know you deserve it." Ironwood continued. "I only regret that I couldn't do something a little more ceremonious for the occasion."
"I…we're honored, General Ironwood." Weiss said. "But you really don't have to do-"
"Please." Ironwood cut her off. "With the threat of Salem still out there and tensions rising in out kingdom, I certainly could use more trustworthy fighters by my side. I should be lucky to have all of you." he looked over everyone. "Also, Mando told me what the Lamp showed you. I'm sorry that you all have to carry this burden." he looked down at the floor, sighing. "That's…just about all the pomp I have in me. If you'll excuse me, I have to go see what Mando found. Well then, enjoy the cake." he turned away and left.
"Your speech outros are improving, sir!" Penny said.
Everyone started to look at their new licenses. "After everything we've been through, I almost forgot this is what I wanted in the first place." Yang said.
"When Beacon fell, I didn't think this would even be possible." Blake added.
"It almost feels trivial now." Weiss included.
"Geez guys, lighten up a little." Qrow said. "Enjoy yourselves for a change. You earned it."
"FINALLY!" shouted Nora. "Someone said it. Let's kill some cake. Huh? Because I can eat two slices before Ren even eats one! Who says I can't?"
After Penny cut the cake, everyone started to hang around and do their own thing. Nora took four slices and put them on a table. Turning around to show everyone that she could eat faster than Ren, she saw all four slices were gone. With the Child standing at her plate. "WOW! This kid can EAT!" Nora yelled. The Child burped in response and they both laughed.
Oscar decided to talk to Neo, feeling bad that everyone else was avoiding her. Djarin was standing at the side, watching everyone enjoy themselves. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned to see Yang.
"You really want to help all of us?" she asked.
"I do." he replied.
"Then start with her." Yang demanded, pointing to Ruby sitting alone at the seats. Getting the hint, the Mandalorian walked up to Ruby and sat down.
"I never got the chance to thank you." Ruby said as he sat down.
"What?" Djarin asked.
"You opened my eyes. You showed me that I'm not cut out for this. Any of it. I couldn't protect my friends, Argus, and I got someone killed." Ruby replied, tears in her eyes.
"That wasn't my intention, and that's not true. I'm sorry about what happened, but your team needs you."
"No. They. Don't. I made all the wrong choices, I'm no leader. And I'm certainly no Huntress." Ruby looked at her new license.
"Ruby, I know how you feel-"
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" Ruby stood up. "You're just a bounty hunter! I don't know why you're helping us, but I know it's not because you care! You never had people you needed to protect. There's no way you know how I feel." Ruby started to walk away, but Djarin took her hand. Ruby was wrong. He understood everything.
"Did I ever tell you how the Child and I first met?" he asked. "I took a bounty hunting job for an Imperial remnant who wanted to study him. I never knew what their goal was, but I knew they weren't up to anything good. I lived with a group of Mandalorian survivors when I took that job. After getting this armor, I decided to go back and rescue the Child. I knew I would be risking not only my life, but my clan's safety. If they found me, they could find the others. But I didn't care. Like you, I did what I thought was right. And I had my clan to help me escape. After I returned to find them, all I found was their armor. Taken off each and every one of their corpses."
"I…I'm sorry." Ruby said.
"My choice led to the destruction of my clan. A part of me will always regret that I'm the one who was responsible. But when I look at the Child, I realize they didn't die in vain. They protected us." he turned back to Ruby. "So, I do know how you feel, Ruby. Fighting to kill enemies is one thing, but fighting to protect the ones we care about is different. That's why it hurts so much when we fail."
Ruby realized that he was right. He did understand. Maybe she wasn't so alone after all.
"Your team misses you, Ruby." Djarin continued. "I heard them talk about how worried they are about you multiple times. And Yang sent me up here to talk to you. Does that sound anything like people who believe they would be better off without you?"
With this, Ruby walked down to her friends. Djarin couldn't hear what they were saying, but when he saw Yang hugging Ruby and the rest of the new Huntsmen and Huntresses gathering around her, he knew things were back on track. It would take a while for Ruby to get back to her old self, but this was a good start.
Seeing that the Child was getting tired, the Mandalorian took him to a room that General Ironwood provided for them. After putting him in bed, the Mandalorian heard a knock on his door. Opening it, he saw Yang standing on the other side. "Ruby told me what you said." Yang started. "Thank you for helping her."
"You're welcome." he replied. Before he could shut the door, Yang stopped him.
"Mando, I know you want to help, and I want to trust you. But I have some more questions for you."
"Alright." Djarin replied. "But can we talk somewhere else? I don't want to wake the Child." Nodding, they left the room and Yang started to talk. "Mando, when did you first come to Remnant?"
"That was about three days ago." He answered.
"How did you find out that we had the Relic?"
"I tracked down someone who attacked Haven Academy, Cinder Fall. That's how I met Neo. We captured her and she told me about the Relic."
"Wait." Yang stopped walking. "You're telling me Cinder's alive?"
"You know her?" the Mandalorian asked.
"Yeah, she tried to capture the Relic and destroy Haven, but we were able to stop her. We thought she was dead. Why wasn't she with you and Neo?"
"I turned her in to the Atlesians at the base. Before that, Cinder helped us find you and your friends at Argus. We would have taken the Relic from you sooner, but Cinder stopped us."
"Why?"
"She spotted a woman watching you and your friends. She said that woman had something she needed. Come to think of it, I think she was another Maiden."
"Another Maiden?" Yang asked.
"Yes." Djarin answered. "She convinced me to ambush her in the forest, but Cinder took over and wounded her. Cinder was somehow able to…feed off her with her arm. Apparently, her left arm is Grimm. I stopped Cinder though."
"Why?"
"It wasn't right. Cinder was enjoying what she was doing. I may be a killer, but I'm not a savage. What Cinder did was wrong."
"Who was this 'other Maiden?' And why was she watching us?" Yang started to get an idea but needed confirmation.
"Let me think…her name was…Rachel? No, wait. Ramble? No, that wasn't it. It was…"
"Raven?" Yang asked.
"Yes, that's it." the Mandalorian said. "Did you know her?"
"I do." Yang asked. "Where is she now?"
"…She's dead."
Yang froze. "Dead?"
"Yes." the Mandalorian confirmed. "Whatever Cinder did to her, she did it for too long. The Child tried to help her, but there was nothing we could do. Except…"
Tears started to form in Yang's eyes. "Except what?"
"…End her suffering."
A million emotions filled Yang. At that moment, she ran away crying. Leaving the Mandalorian alone in the hall.
"I'm sorry."
The next morning, Ruby decided to test Rosenrot before doing official Huntress work. Luckily, Oscar and Neo were around to help her spar. Going to a training room, Neo decided to show Ruby and Oscar her fighting skills. Which she learned outside of combat school. Turns out combat school didn't know everything about fighting.
"Owww…" Oscar said rubbing his head.
"Come on, it shouldn't hurt that bad." Neo said, extending her hand to Oscar, which he took.
"Wow…" Ruby said out of breath. "And you said you learned how to fight outside of combat school?"
"Yep." Neo said. "But you're not so bad yourself. I gotta admit, you almost had me there."
"It's the new weapon." Ruby said. "It's not Crescent Rose, but it's got some perks."
"Especially the two scythes. I think you almost broke my umbrella." she said.
"Speaking of which, why do you fight with an umbrella? Seems kind of simple." Oscar asked.
"Says the guy fighting with a stick." Neo said as Ruby laughed.
"Point taken." Oscar said.
"Actually, this was a gift from a friend of mine. Roman."
"Oh…" Ruby said, the atmosphere suddenly changing.
"Ruby, do you mind if I ask you how Roman died?" Neo asked.
"Oh…sure." Ruby replied. "He almost killed me, actually. Before he could strike the finishing blow, a Griffon came and…swallowed him whole."
"I see." Neo said, a tear going down her cheek. "Thanks for telling me."
Ruby suddenly felt mixed emotions. Sure, Neo tried to kill her, but she decided not to at the last second. Ruby suddenly saw a different side of her. Not as a sadistic assassin, but a girl who lost her only friend.
"Look, Neo." Ruby said. "I know you and Roman were criminals and we don't see eye-to-eye on a lot, but it looks like we'll be working together now. I know Roman meant a lot to you, so I'm sorry for your loss."
Turning around, Neo smiled at Ruby. "Thank you, Ruby. And sorry for the whole 'trying to kill you' thing. Truce?" she held out her right hand, which Ruby eagerly shook. "Truce." Seeing an opportunity to celebrate her new friendship, Ruby asked Neo if she wanted to go grab some lunch.
"I'm actually pretty tired after that match right now. But maybe you and Oscar should go." Neo replied grabbing Oscar by the arm and dragging him towards Ruby.
"Okay, maybe another time. Come on, Oscar." Ruby took Oscar by his hand and started to walk towards the exit. Oscar blushed and mouthed "thank-you" to Neo as she winked back.
"Ah…kids." Neo said.
Ironwood needed a shipment of supplies delivered to Amity. He asked the Mandalorian to accompany Qrow and Clover, saying that this would be a good opportunity for him. An opportunity for what, the Mandalorian didn't know. He offered to fly them to Amity, but Ironwood said they would do that next time. This made the Mandalorian suspicious, but he agreed.
On the ride to Amity, with Clover driving, Qrow broke the silence. "Yang told me what happened last night."
The Mandalorian turned to Qrow. "Who was Raven to her?" he asked.
"Her mother." Qrow answered. "My sister."
"…I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Qrow said. "Cinder's responsible. Besides, we weren't family anymore."
"Why not?" the Mandalorian asked.
"She abandoned us, abandoned Yang. She turned against us at Haven."
"If that's true, then why was Yang upset?"
"All her life, Yang wanted to know why Raven left us. A part of me always thought she was protecting Yang by staying out of her life, but I don't know."
"Does it matter?" the Mandalorian asked.
"To her, yes." Qrow replied. "You sound like you wouldn't care."
"Those who abandon you shouldn't be thought as part of your family or clan."
"It's that simple to you?"
"This is the Way."
Before Qrow could ask what that meant, Clover cut them off. "Heads up, we got trouble."
Looking out the window, Djarin turned to Qrow and Clover. "Stay here, I'll take care of it."
"Are you sure?" Clover asked. "There might be more."
"Stay here." he repeated.
Stopping the vehicle, Clover watched as the Mandalorian jumped out and looked behind him. After a few seconds, he walked a few feet away. Standing in front of him was a woman wearing green armor with a green helmet that looked a lot like his. Only, the visor in the middle was narrower and it had an antenna on top.
Looking at the woman in front of him, the Mandalorian spoke. "I travelled a long way looking for you."
"Well good news, stranger. You found me." the woman replied. "Now, maybe you can help me understand why this truck that's supposed to be taking construction materials to fix Mantle's outer wall is on its way to the middle of nowhere."
"If your probe droid survived, it would have shown you this matters more than Mantle." he replied.
Djarin was shocked to see the woman take off her helmet, revealing a woman with pale blonde hair tied in a pony tail. "So, you found that piece of junk? How about you tell me what it saw?"
Djarin said nothing. "Hey, Garbage-Can. Cat got your tongue?" the woman asked.
"Who are you?" Djarin asked.
"I'm Robyn Hill, Mantle's Hometown Hero. Leader of the 'Happy Huntresses.' And Atlas' next councilwoman." she said with a smug grin.
"Where'd you get the armor?" Djarin asked.
"A friend of mine gave it to me. I can see you like to get to the point. So, here's my point; one way or another, these supplies are going to where they're supposed to go: Mantle."
Djarin understood the situation he was in. So, he used three words to make Robyn understand the situation she was in. "Hand it over."
"Excuse me?" Robyn asked.
"Take off the armor. Or I will."
"I earned this armor, Mandalorian. It's mine."
"You do not hide your face. You are not Mandalorian."
Robyn understood what he was talking about. But she stood her ground. "Come and take it."
The Mandalorian took out his blaster, but didn't point it at her. Instead, he turned towards the truck and fired three blue rings. Only, they didn't hit the truck. They hit the thin air and disappeared. In their place, three women fell to the ground. Djarin could see them behind the truck with the thermal vision in his helmet, and knew one of them was using their Semblance. While Aura could offer protection against blaster bolts, stun rays would be able to disorient people for a little while. He learned about this after General Ironwood allowed him to test his blaster against his Aura.
Turning around, he saw Robyn fly into the sky. Before he could react, he lost sight of her in the gray clouds. Moving the women aside, he got back in the truck.
"Impressive." Clover said.
"Let's get going." the Mandalorian said.
As the truck left, Robyn came back down and checked on her fellow Huntresses. Seeing they were fine and standing back up, she looked back to where the truck had gone.
"So, a Child of the Watch on Remnant. Interesting."
Author's notes: hope you enjoyed this chapter. Before you say anything, yes, I'm a Rose-Garden shipper. I know a lot of people will say that the ship's weird with Ozpin in the mix. However, if I recall correctly, Ozpin had a wife while he was joined with another man (not talking about Salem, but someone else). So, I genuinely think the ship could work. If that upsets anyone, please don't drop the story because of it. With the way this story is going and the way I have the end planned, I think the rest will be enjoyable. Before anyone asks, Mando is developing a plan, but I can't say too much at the moment. All I can say is that it's something I thought of while watching RWBY and he'll be sharing it with others next chapter. Also, I hope you like that Robyn is the Huntress in Mandalorian armor. How did she get it? How does she know Mando's a Child of the Watch? You'll have to wait and see. However, I may be busy for a little while so I may not be able to update as often. But I'm not giving up on the story. Please forgive me for the possible delay.
To barerra2009, thanks for the support, glad you like it. There may be other Star Wars characters, but if there are, they'll only be from the Mandalorian, not from the movies or anywhere else.
To NeoConVAL, thank you very much. I appreciate your support.
To RedRat8, thanks for the support. But you may want to watch Volume 7 again. There's Grimm in Atlas.
To GojiraFan455515, glad you like the name. I'm sorry about your disappointment with Maria in this story, but I'm glad you were able to accept this. Thanks for liking my answer.
To Mandalore the Survivor, good to hear from you. I'm glad you like my chapter and the Guards. You actually gave me that idea, thank you for doing that. And I'll be getting more into Ruby's character with Penny next chapter. She may start to feel better now, but she has a long way to regain her confidence. Thanks for all your help, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. PAR KOTE BAL IJAAT BE MAND'ALOR!
To gogo bananas, thank you, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
To Agent 48, you're absolutely right.
To an unknown guest, thanks for responding. I'm glad I was able to clear things up for you. And you're right, the Gods are tied with the Force. Because the Jedi value peace and order (like the God of Light when he maintains order and beautiful things) and the dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be…unnatural (the Grimm and resurrecting the dead).
Anyways, thank you for reading and reviewing. Again, sorry if you see any weird grammar mistakes or anything else that looks weird. Proofreading is hard. See you all next time!