Chapter sixty-three
Freedoms, responsibilities, and lessons
Team RWBY, JNPR, CRDL, and the other third-year teams had been back at Beacon for a month. They had moved into their new dorms where all the fabrics were a sunset orange color which made team RWBY all comment on how it reminded them of Yang.
With their advancement into being upperclassmen came freedoms but also responsibilities. One of the freedoms was that their curfew which had been nine pm their first two years had been pushed until eleven pm. But they were all warned that their new curfew could be rescinded if trouble was caused. They were to help ensure that their younger classmates followed the rules with a gentle, but firm hand.
Another was the freedom to pick higher-risk missions that didn't require a Huntsman or Huntress chaperone. They finally had the freedom to pick which electives that they wanted to attend independently of each other if they chose to do so.
Ruby predictably filled her free elective hour with a more advanced weaponsmithing and engineering course, which made her very excited. Blake spent her time in high-level chemistry classes since she had found them incredibly interesting while they were at Haven.
Her experience with chemistry was more on the physical and technical aspects rather than the why's and how's of how Dust worked. Even if the reasons that she learned it were for less than noble reasons learning those lessons were still important. Those lessons were one of the very few things that she missed, especially with all the mishaps that occurred and the laughs that were had as this was before Adam's personality change.
Weiss opted for a third-year government and culture class, which was par for the course for her. She might have given up being an heiress, but as an adopted member of the Belladonna family, it was only right in her mind that she learn about the culture and government of Menagerie.
Yang ended up becoming Glynda's TA for her sparring classes. The brawler helped organize the sparring matches between the first and second years alongside occasionally participating. She pointed out to Glynda that it would take a bit off her plate while also helping with her continued rehabilitation which Glynda tried, but failed, to find an argument against.
Among the new responsibilities that were given to them were Grimm evaluation for areas where the first- and second-year students would be going. These included the Emerald Forest, Forever Fall, and Mountain Glenn, which had been added to Beacon's curriculum as a historical lesson after RWBY's expedition.
They also got told that a new professor had been added. Her name was Sapphire Song, an archeological and geoscience teacher who had taught at Oscuro Academy until last semester.
Born in Mistral but a transfer to Oscuro where she was top of her class before moving onto Shade academy where she was able to apply for and was granted, early graduation. She was young, not much older than the fourth-year students.
What stood out about this teacher, other than her rare blue hair color which complimented her even darker blue eyes, was her manner of dress. No matter what the temperature was, she wore a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and gloves as her skin included glands that contained a powerful neurotoxin. A trait that she inherited from being an amphibian Faunus and one that was common among certain Tree Frogs. Plus, she was over six feet tall. However, besides her outward appearance, the fact that stood out was that she was on the Autism Spectrum.
Other quirks that caught their attention was that the temperature had to be exactly what she set it to at the beginning of every class session or she wasn't able to focus. The fact that on her quizzes the answers had to be verbatim the way she explained them in class or she would count them as incorrect. Blake had unintentionally heard her humming the same few lyrics to a song before and after every class session, and the fact that she either stared at the floor for the entire lesson or over everyone's head.
"Miss Belladonna, what can you tell me about Vacuo's style of government?" Professor Song asked as she used her scroll to pull up a 3D map of Vacuo.
"It's a loose autocratic dictatorship. Shade Academy is seen as the seat of government and since Sunstone is the Headmistress she's often regarded as the leader of Vacuo itself. Atlas' military and academy are oftentimes used interchangeably. For Vacuo, the same could be said of Shade and the government. Shade Academy IS the government of Vacuo. And in Vacuo, what matters is survival. Whether you are Human or Faunus doesn't matter." Blake recited as Professor Song stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.
"Sunstone's style of 'rule' is one where she generally lets the Vacuoan people live their lives as they see fit. But ultimately, if she asks them to do something, they'll listen to her."
"Precisely. The reason I bring it up is because while it may not seem important how the government of Vacuo is structured it is incredibly so. The governments of the kingdoms have the power to decide what happens with archeological sites as well as the world of Remnant as a whole. Sanus, Solitas, and Anima are all connected on a level we cannot hope to understand."
She shut down the hologram and used her Scroll to turn the lights back on. "That will be all. The readings for Atlas, Mantle, and how the government affects the geoscience of Solitas will be due next week. Class dismissed."
Blake's ears twitched as the class filed out and she heard Professor Song humming the song lyrics again, her face had a small smile on it. The Cat Faunus felt guilty that her senses enabled her to unintentionally eavesdrop on what was clearly a private affair, but she wasn't able to help it.
She sighed softly to herself before letting the door close behind her as she headed to her advanced science classes. Yang and Ruby had already headed off to their own electives, evident by the rose petals that covered the floor and the fact that Yang was nowhere to be seen. Weiss had stayed behind though.
"Guess our girlfriends couldn't wait to get to their own classes, huh?" Blake asked and Weiss smiled a bit.
"You should know by now that sometimes those two have no patience whatsoever," Weiss said as she rolled her eyes.
"I do know that. I'm just surprised that you didn't decide to follow them with how much of an academic you are."
"Hey! Wait… was that a compliment?" Weiss' mouth twisted in offense before she tilted her head questioningly. The annoyance in her tone was replaced by curiosity.
"Yes. Yes, it was. Why would that be an insult?" Blake asked as she rolled her eyes.
Weiss shrugged before she decided to actually answer. "I don't know… don't you have a class to go to?"
"I could ask the same to you. C'mon, we can walk together," Blake said as she adjusted her chemistry books in her arms before she started walking next to Weiss.
"How's your science class going?" Weiss asked curiously.
"Oh, it's incredibly challenging, but it's so interesting. Did you know that if you combine Gravity, Hard-light, and Lightning Dust, you can fly… kind of."
"Kind of?" Weiss asked while her eyes widened a bit. She learned a lot as the heiress of the SDC, but that was around the basic types of Dust. Not the more in-depth intricacies of the combinations.
Blake leaned in and whispered into her ear. "Not like Pyrrha and Amber can…" before she pulled away.
"Oh, well that makes sense," Weiss said.
Blake nodded and pulled away from Weiss. "Yeah, Professor Flare is a genius when it comes to Dust." Blake's ears flicked as she spoke and turned around so she was walking backward. Her ears helped ensure she didn't accidentally run over anyone
"So I've heard. I think I remember that he worked for the SDC when my grandfather was in charge of it," Weiss replied with a faint smile.
"He's never mentioned it. I don't want to bring it up though. It's not my business. Can't change the past, so it doesn't matter much." Blake sighed softly before shaking her head.
"That is true. We just have to keep moving forward into the future hand in hand." Weiss stopped walking as they approached the lecture hall where her class was about to start.
"Well, this is my class. I'll talk to you later." Weiss gave her adopted sister a smile that Blake returned.
"Yeah, enjoy your class," Blake said as she turned around in a half-circle so she was facing the hallway she was going to go down again.
"You too, now get going," Weiss told her before she opened the door and leaving Blake alone.
Blake smiled before walking to her own class which was just down the next hallway.
Vacuo
Theodore was on his way to Sunstone's office; it was almost three in the morning but the former Headmaster knew that his successor had a tendency to work late into the early morning hours… especially around this time of year. The nightmares always came back with the first scent of rain on the horizon and Sunstone would stay up for unhealthy stretches at a time before collapsing into bed.
Every year, like clockwork, she'd stay up until she physically couldn't take the strain anymore and had pushed herself far beyond her breaking point. Theodore or Ebony were always there for her, one would take care of her while the other ran Vacuo until she woke up. then the cycle would repeat year after year…
Not that he could blame her, she had wanted to stay with them but they had overruled her. The first tattoo that she had gotten after she had recovered was their names and the date they had fallen right below her right breast.
"If you're looking for Sunstone, she's not there… probably at Mirage either drinking, dancing, or participating in one of the matches." Theodore heard the sultry voice from his right and saw Ebony standing there, her arms crossed.
"Then why are you standing outside her office like a ghoul… shouldn't you be asleep?" Theodore shambled over to her and leaned his head back for just a second.
"Looks like she's not the only one who's having nightmares… maybe it's something in the air this time of year." Ebony took out a cigar from the pouch on her hip and lit it. "Want one?"
"No thanks, you know I don't smoke."
"Couldn't hurt to offer," Ebony murmured.
"I'm going to check on her." Theodore moved forward a single step away from his associate and stopping, brought his heels together.
"She's not our student anymore… she's a grown woman. Sunstone doesn't need you… or anyone to protect her," Ebony whispered; dark brown eyes even darker than usual.
"I know, but we both swore to help guide her when she took over," Theodore replied before he clicked his heels together three times and vanished.
"That's weird no matter how many times I see it," Ebony muttered as she took a puff from her cigar before stalking off.
Theodore battled the half-second of vertigo that using his Semblance always gave him before he blinked. He had traveled the mile and a half from Shade in an instant to Mirage, Vacuo's most well-known… and only club.
It was hard to miss either because it jutted out of the desert landscape with the gaudiest display of neon lighting that was more of an eyesore than an advertisement, or because the construction was a domed cylinder of stonework four stories tall and so wide that it was said that chariot races had once been held inside.
The top floor held the management offices while the second floor and third floors were the club and bar respectively.
The first floor was separated into two halves by design, the outer ring led to the other floors while the inner led out onto the viewing platform that overlooked the sublevel below it which is where Theodore ended up.
Dubbed "Abyss" it was home to a massive fighting pit that took up almost the entirety of the large excavated space. It seemed that his arrival was one of excellent timing as the match was about to end rather abruptly, given his successor was driving her knee into her muscular opponent's face. She then pounced upon the fallen man like a Beringel, sitting on his chest and landing a series of blows.
Her ghostly white skin glistened with the sheen of sweat and the red of blood. A large black patch covered the skin from her left shoulder to her elbow. As these bouts were about pure physical skill, endurance, and ability instead of contests of Aura, which was so uniquely varied and reflexive by trained fighters that it was impossible to regulate beyond enforcing a complete ban on 'pure' fights. Those who competed were not also forgoing their weapons but also volunteering to use suppressant medication to ensure the fighters kept to the spirit of the match.
The barbed wire that was wrapped into the chain link fencing had cut into Sunstone's body. None of the scratches looked deep though. She panted heavily as she stood up, stumbling only a little as she did so.
Sunstone raised her arms as the onlookers on the levels above erupted into shouts of applause and boos as Theodore saw a lot of Lien change hands. He knew that in one night, thousands of it could be won or lost here depending on how the matches went.
Thankfully, there was some modicum of safety since lethal injury was forbidden and he knew better than most when Sunstone was holding back.
A loud buzzer sounded as the gates on either side opened and her opponent was carried out. "Theodore, what are you doing here?" she asked softly as she stumbled out of the arena.
"Looking for you, because I assumed… correctly, that you'd be unable to sleep."
"You know me too well, my teacher… I can't sleep." She whispered as her eyes clouded over.
He knelt so he wasn't towering over her. "Let's get those cuts dealt with and then we can talk…" Theodore whispered. "How long have you been here?"
"Two… three hours? I don't know… I don't care."
Theodore picked her up and clicked his heels together three times and, in an instant, they were back outside of her office. He opened the door and moved to set her down on the ratty old blue couch that was in the corner that she refused to get rid of.
The former Headmaster set his protégé and successor down before slowly removing the patch from her arm before moving to the antique tea set that was even older than he was. "Is this your way of punishing yourself? For not having died with your team? Punishing yourself year after year for something that wasn't your fault?"
"They were my team! My friends!" Sunstone shouted before her voice broke. "My family... and I let them die…"
"You couldn't have done anything to save them," Theodore whispered quietly.
"You don't know that…" Sunstone whispered back with a halfhearted glare at her teachers back.
"Yes… I do. You and I both read the after-action report. There were too many Grimm… why do you think we abandoned the push after that? Because those valleys are deathtraps. The regular Grimm are bad enough, but the Shamblers… those alone don't make the push worth it." he turned around and walked to the couch.
She scowled at him and accepted the cup he offered. "Don't remind me of those… parasites."
"The point is, that the most you would've done is died alongside them. Your team is still alive inside your heart."
There was a very long silence after that as Sunstone gripped her cup without drinking anything. She just stared into her tea before finally, she spoke softly.
"You may go, you're dismissed…"
Theodore opened his mouth to protest but she simply pointed to the door. "As you wish, Headmistress," he whispered before he set his cup down and got up.
Once he was out of her office, and she could no longer hear his footsteps, she finally dropped the act and burst into tears.
Team RWBY is back at Beacon after their stay at Haven, but this time as upperclassmen. They've come along way but have longer still to go as their gazes turn to Vacuo.
Meanwhile, deep in the desert Sunstone struggles against her own inner demons.
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Until the next chapter, stay safe everyone
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