In the hours that had passed since Beacon's ball and the attempted CCT attack, certain groups inside of Beacon were…tense to say the least. Word hadn't gotten out about the CCT hacking attempt, primarily to avoid panic, although for those who were involved panic was the only thing on their minds.
"I hope your romantic evening was worth it." Mercury groaned condescendingly.
Mercury sat with his legs outstretched on the floor in his team's dorm, donning his Haven academy's uniform. His judgemental gaze was cast toward one of the beds where Emerald also sat in her uniform. She stared back at Mercury with a defensive look in her eyes.
"How was any of what happened last night my fault?!" Emerald asked defensively.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe when you ditched me to play prom queen! Which by the way you only did because you almost blew our cover!"
"I adapted! And learnt lots of crucial information about Kai." Emerald rolled her eyes. "And isn't it hypocritical to point out my mistakes when not one but two people left the ball without you noticing. That's not even me mentioning having to use my Semblance to distract Kai from noticing you speaking to Cinder!"
"Well if you were with me instead of him that night, we wouldn't have had to worry about me talking to myself, and I would have had an extra pair of eyes to make sure no one was leaving!"
"How are your mistakes my fault?"
The door to the room suddenly opened wide making the two go silent. Emerald and Mercury looked to the door to see Cinder walking in, the atmosphere around her so tense that just watching her made them go stiff.
"You two both need to remember to speak only when spoken too. I could hear you from down the hallway." Cinder spoke sinisterly.
"We're-! I-I mean I'm sorry Cinder." Emerald quickly apologised.
Mercury leaned his upper body up, to stare seriously at Cinder. "So, how bad is it?"
Cinder didn't respond immediately, instead taking a seat on her bed. "The General's already increased security. I doubt we're going to get another opportunity before the festival."
"Just perfect." Mercury groaned sarcastically. "Please tell me we finally have an excuse to take down those trainers."
"Not us, but action is being taken against them. Apparently, our queen has already sent someone undercover in the White Fang under Xerosic's command. To take the trainer's down if they get too close." Cinder looked seriously at her two teammates. "All we've been told to do is wait, and stick to the plan."
"Seriously? Why are we still pretending that everything's going according to plan? Because correct me if I'm wrong, haven't those two already: stopped the White Fang from doing their jobs twice, arrested that creepy guy in the bowler hat-" Mercury looked seriously at Cinder. "And have seen you twice and lived to tell the tale."
"This wasn't my idea Mercury. I want the trainer's dead as badly as you do!" Cinder suddenly snapped losing her temper. The look on Emerald and Mercury's faces made Cinder quickly getting her to recompose herself. "But I wouldn't worry just yet. Once I get what's rightfully ours, not even Ozpin will be able to protect them. For now, let's just get ready, we have quite the day ahead of ourselves."
Cinder's faction wasn't the only trio frustrated over last night. At the top of Beacon's tower, in the same structure the events last night had occurred, Ozpin sat at his desk. He placed his hands exhaustedly at the sides of his head, having barely a moment of rest last night. In his company were General Ironwood and Glynda Goodwitch, who both seemed just as stressed as he was.
"They were here…" Ironwood slammed his fist against Ozpin's desk. "Ozpin they were here!"
"We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James." Goodwitch responded dryly.
"Fantastic! You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue ignoring what's arrived right in front of us?!"
Ironwood was stopped from ranting further by the sound of the elevator arriving at the Huntsman's level. An alarm sounded, prompting Ozpin to get up out of his chair to his feet.
"Come in." He welcomed.
The elevator doors opened to let Ruby and Robin into the Beacon Headmaster's office. Robin stepped out with a serious demeanour, whereas Ruby seemed much more bumbly in her approach.
"Sorry it took so long. Someone accidentally hit all the buttons on the elevator on the way up here." Ruby paused for a moment before looking around in thought. "It wasn't me."
Robin just glared at Ruby, but chose not to dignify Ruby's accidental accusation with a response. Instead she walked forward towards Ozpin's desk with Ruby following her.
"Thank you both for coming. How are you both feeling?" Ozpin asked.
"Better." Robin quickly answered. "The stiffness and aching in my body disappeared only a few minutes after that reckless last move."
"Well that is a relief, although I did not just mean your physical wellbeing." Ozpin specified.
Goodwitch looked at the girls, though focused her attention more on Robin than Ruby. "The two of you went up against a dangerous individual and fought for your lives. And if this masked assailant was the same as the one that had previously attacked you outside the kingdom-"
"I said I was fine!" Robin cut off, unconsciously rubbing her bandaged arm as though she had an imaginary itch to scratch. "Right now you need to focus less on my condition and more on this girl's. Even if I was barely able to do anything to stop her."
"That may be true, but you shouldn't disparage yourself too much Robin. After all if what you described that night is true, then that reckless last move of yours may have prevented a serious cyber-security attack." Ozpin explained. "Even if it was at the cost of some light floor repairs, and technological maintenance."
After Ozpin finished, Ironwood walked up to the two girls. "I feel it's appropriate to let you both know that I think what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntress is all about. You recognized a threat, you took action, and you did the best you could." Ironwood placed on hand on each of the girl's shoulders. "You've both done your academies' proud."
Robin struggled to make eye contact with her headmaster, although Ruby sincerely smiled at the general. "Thank you, sir."
"Now, the general here has already informed us of the events that...transpired last night. But now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add." Ozpin asked the girls.
"Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you at all? Someone you might recognise without the mask?" Goodwitch specified.
Robin shook her head. "It was easier to see what she looked like last night, compared to the other time but…no. I didn't recognise her. But thinking more on it now she may have been talking to someone."
"Do you know who? Did she provide a name?" Goodwitch persisted.
"No. I just remember her saying something about what she was doing taking five minutes. I don't think she said anything after that." Robin added. "Her suit seemed different though. I swear there were times when it looked like it was…glowing. Maybe something to do with Dust."
"I noticed that too. Like when she was blocking my bullets, and when she was attacking me with those glass weapons." Ruby added.
"Embedding Dust into clothing is an age-old technique. It could have been anyone." Ironwood murmured.
"Well I guess that confirms things. I had my suspicions when Robin described her after their first encounter. But after last night, save for the glass, I'm certain that's the woman I fought the night we met Ruby." Goodwitch revealed.
"Hold on!" Robin turned to Ruby in shock. "You fought her too?"
"I guess. I was stopping this Torchwick guy from robbing a Dust shop, then when he tried to escape some mysterious girl tried blowing me and Miss Goodwitch up with fire. It was a whole thing." Ruby's eyes widened in a sudden realisation. "Wait. You think this girl is connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?"
"It's possible. This girl did assist both Roman Torchwick and Team Flare. The two of them do have a common link to the White Fang." Ozpin revealed.
Ruby paused for a moment. "Actually, I...I think I remember her saying something about a hideout or something, in the southeast. Just outside the Kingdom, when I was fighting her."
Robin stared at Ruby once again in surprise but also suspicion. Even if she was exhausted and hiding out on the ceiling, if this masked woman had said anything else Robin was certain she would have heard it. So, either Ruby was blatantly making stuff up, or there was something she was hiding.
"Interesting." Ozpin responded."
"I thought after Robin encountered her the intruder never-"
"Thank you for your cooperation, you two." Ozpin stepped in front of Goodwitch, quickly cutting her off. "Why don't you go and spend some time with your teams? You have a big day ahead of you."
Ruby started leaving the meeting, turning her back to her teachers. "Any time."
"And Ms. Rose, Ms. Navy." Ozpin stopped the two girls in their tracks, diverting their attention back to him. "Please try and be...discreet about this matter."
"Yes sir." Ruby responded.
Robin remained silent, leering at Ruby as the two made their way into the elevator. The last thing she saw before the elevator doors closed was Goodwitch and Ironwood looked toward Ozpin. When they shut they finally gave Ruby and Robin a chance to be alone.
"Okay, what the hell were you talking about?!" Robin accused, startling Ruby.
"I-? What?!" Ruby sputtered in surprise.
"Don't play dumb with me. All that stuff about the White Fang hiding out in the southeast. You and I both know that girl didn't say anything about that." Robin hovered her hand over her Pokéball pouch. "So, you better tell me why you said that or else I might let Beedrill cut loose."
At the thought of getting the stinging of a lifetime, Ruby shrank into the corner of the lift. "Gah! Please don't! It's just what we learned on our investigation!"
"Investigation?" Robin tilted her head in curiosity. "The one from before I came to Beacon? Kai mentioned it to me…but he didn't mention anything like a location."
Ruby opened herself up, out from the corner. "I mean, it is only a direction. All it really lets us know is that they're not working in the kingdom…which we already sorta figured out. And it's not like we could have really gone off on our own."
Robin moved her hand away and backed off, frowning as the elevator reached the bottom floor and having its doors open. She slowly exited the elevator without a word, leaving Ruby alone to sigh in relief as Robin's fist tightened.
Back in Ozpin's office, the three staff were still discussing the best course of action to take. Ironwood leant against the large window at the back of Ozpin's office, turning his head back towards Goodwitch.
"Well there we have it. We send as many troops as we can to the southeast, find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way." Ironwood decided.
Goodwitch shook her head in frustration, exasperatedly approaching the general. "Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!? You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring di—!"
"Glynda!" Ozpin rose his hand from his seat, cutting her off.
"Well, he does." Goodwitch pouted, crossing her arms.
Ozpin swivelled his chair around to face Ironwood. "She's right. As much as I too would love to end this situation once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale. Beyond Beacon. With Pokémon involved, perhaps even beyond Remnant. And if this truly is part of some master plan for which we know not the final move, we mustn't be so bold. Nor can we risk the spread of panic."
Ironwood slowly turned around and walked closer to Ozpin, pointing at him accusingly. "I have served you faithfully for years...but if you mean to tell me that your plan is to really hold the defences, and wait—!"
Ozpin abruptly stood from his chair. "It is not! You're a general, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war which do you send in first? The flag bearers or the scouts?"
"That was a risky move."
In Team RWBY's dorm Weiss looked toward Ruby with her arms crossed, thinking about her decision.
From the bottom bunk of a nearby bed, Blake calmly turned to face her leader. "No, I think you handled it well."
"I hope so." Ruby said glumly, with her older sister's hand comforting her on her shoulder.
"I'm sure everything will be alright, Ruby." Yang's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, I know what will cheer you up!"
Yang stepped away from Ruby toward a table next to one of the closet doors, grabbing a brown, metal cylinder the length of her forearm.
"What's that?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us. I thought we could open it together!" Yang answered.
"Ooooh! Something from home!" Ruby squealed, tightly bringing her arms in toward herself and seemingly forgetting all about her meeting with Ozpin.
Ruby briefly used her semblance to zoom over to Yang, wrapping herself legs around her waist and flailing her out of reach arms in an attempt to grab the gift out of her hand. Suddenly the package opened from the bottom dropping its contents; another black, hairy, cylinder that fell to the floor. Team RWBY stared down at the strange black object when it suddenly began to shake, making an odd almost whining sound. Then suddenly going upright and expanding into what appeared to be a small, black corgi. The four girls appeared above the animal with varying levels of excitement or shock while the dog looked into their eyes and barked twice.
"WAAH!" The four girls leaped back in revelation, Ruby and Yang in joy and Weiss and Blake in fear.
"Zwei!" Ruby posed dramatically, as thoughts of the corgi appeared around herself.
"He sent a dog?" Blake asked in shock.
"In the mail?" Weiss in a similar tone.
Ruby affectionately held Zwei in her arms like an infant, cooing him and letting them lick dog kisses all over her face.
"Oh, he does stuff like this all the time!" Yang looked at her sister and clarified.
When Yang looked back in front of her Blake seemingly disappeared, only to be seen clinging to the banister of Ruby's top bunk bed in an attempt to get as far away as possible from the pet.
"Your father or your dog?" Blake asked.
Yang crossed her arms and looked at her teammates. "I'm not sure why you both are freaking out. We've seen Kai and Robin's Pokémon go in and out of those balls for months."
"Through otherworldly technology. Not by being shoved into tight, airless, tubes." Blake specified.
Back on the ground, Weiss leaned forward to get a closer look at their new dormmate. "Are you telling me that this mangy..."
Zwei turned his head to see Weiss eye to eye.
"Drooling..."
Their eye contact intensified.
"Mutt is going to wiv wif us foweva? Oh, yes he is, yes he is!" The newly fawning Weiss scratched Zwei's nose. "Oh, isn't he adorable!"
"Please keep it away from my belongings." Blake sceptically insisted.
"Would all first-year students please report to the amphitheater?" Glynda suddenly announced over the school's intercom.
"Well, we can't exactly leave him here while we're gone for the week." Weiss acknowledged.
Ruby let Zwei drop to the floor allowing him to scurry over towards Blake, barking at her as she cautiously tried to get away.
Yang inspected the insides of Zwei's package, reaching her hand inside. "Look, there's a letter! Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang."
Yang concluded reading the letter right when Zwei rushed back to her feet. She tilted the canister over him, dropping dozens of canned dog food on top of him to form a large pile.
Weiss gestured at the pile when Zwei stuck his head out. "What is he supposed to do with that?
Yang shuck the container making a can opener fall from the package, bouncing off Zwei's head and landing on the carpet by Weiss' feet.
"Well, that settles it!" Yang tossed the cylinder and the letter aside. "Come on girls, Zwei will be here when we get back!"
Yang walked off, with Weiss slowly following after her cooing at Zwei the whole way. "Oh, I'll miss you so much, we're going to be best friends, I can't wait to see you."
Weiss' speech deteriorated into incomprehensible baby talk while Blake nimbly jumped down from Ruby's bunk and across the table, shaking a lamp and avoiding Zwei altogether.
Ruby stared down at Zwei for a moment with the corgi looking back. She hummed to herself before suddenly gasping, smiling with a sneaky idea.
Following Goodwitch's announcement Beacon's amphitheatre quickly became fully packed with all the first-year students from the four academies. The familiar formal outfits of Beacon. The black dress code of Haven. The casual attire of Shade. And the grey militaristic uniforms worn by Atlas. Although through the sea of grey was an out of place shade of blue, awkwardly making its way through them.
"Sorry. Excuse me. Pardon me." Kai repeatedly apologised, making his way past the disgruntled Atlesian students. "I'm looking for someone. Sorry again. Why do all these uniforms all have to be so identical?"
"Just what do you think you're doing?"
The familiar judging tone of the voice, made Kai look over the students around him to see Robin on her own on the outskirts of her academy, sticking out in her normal trainer attire.
"Robin? There you-Wah!" Kai suddenly got swamped by the Atlesian students, struggling to get through them as he got shoved and shunted back and forth, much to Robin's embarrassment. Eventually he was spat back out of the first years near Robin, frantically scraping himself all over in a nervous manner.
"Phew, I thought I'd never escape that mass of grey." Kai shuddered. "Where were you Robin? When you didn't return to the room, I looked all over for you."
"And yet I had to be the one to find you, despite you being the one with enhanced super senses?" Robin bluntly stated.
"I can only use my semblance when I'm scared or in danger. Like a fight or flight reflex. I can't just turn it on or off, whenever I need it."
'Or that one weird moment during the dance. I still don't know what that was about.' Kai thought to himself.
Kai shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "That's not important right now, did everything go alright with the headmasters?"
"All they did was have me repeat exactly what I said last night." Robin groaned.
"Okay, but then why didn't you come back to the room? And what have you been doing all this time?"
Robin looked down. "…I-"
"Quiet! Quiet please." Goodwitch spoke to the whole room, cutting Robin off. "Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin." Goodwitch walked away from the podium, leaving Ozpin alone under the spotlight.
"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale." Ozpin began, looking at members of each academy including the likes of Team RWBY and JNPR towards the back. "The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: colour. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission."
As Ozpin spoke several holographic screens began to appear on the walls of the Amphitheatre, loading up a large variety of mission types for the students to undertake starting from different times and in a multiple quadrants of the kingdom. Examples including: Search and Destroy, Escort, and Perimeter Defence to name a few.
"Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."
Ozpin stepped away to the applause of the students, before they began selecting their missions and filing out of the amphitheatre.
Kai watched Ozpin walk off and "huh'd" to himself. "Huh, so there was a reason everyone's names in this world reminded me of colours. Here I was thinking I might be going crazy."
"Well to be fair, it's not like our world is too different in that regard. All the cities in Kanto are also named after colours too." Robin compared. "And for the record, you aren't going crazy. You already are crazy."
"On that I can agree with."
Kai and Robin looked behind them to see General Ironwood, standing before them.
"General Ironwood? Why are you back here?" Kai asked nervously.
"Well, you are currently standing beside the students from Atlas academy. Does it really seem that surprising to you that their headmaster would want to safely see them off?"
"I…guess that makes sense." Kai understood.
"Of course, I'd be lying if I said that there wasn't something to discuss with you. Regarding your unique position." Ironwood elaborated further.
Robin eyes stared seriously toward her headmaster. "Our unique position?"
"The fact that neither of you are in teams." Ironwood answered. "The mission boards here are designed for mission application based on a team request rather than an individual one. As such I have taken the liberty of assigning you, Ms. Navy to another team."
"And you just did this without my permission?"
"Ms. Navy, I am your headmaster and your future general. Your permission isn't required for a matter such as this." Ironwood looked down towards Robin.
Kai stepped forward. "Maybe not, but you could have at least had the decency to let her know in advance."
Ironwood looked down at Kai. "Funny you should mention that Emblem. I suppose since you're here I should save him the trouble and inform you that Ozpin has done the same for you. In fact, it was his idea to put you and Ms. Navy on another team together in the first place."
Kai and Robin glared at Ironwood when their scrolls suddenly pinged in unison. They pulled them out just as Ironwood started to walk away.
"That notification should inform you of who the two of you will be working with. You should probably try to make your way to them now." He took one final look of the trainers over his shoulder before staring over to Ozpin walking off the stage towards one of the holographic screens. "I hope you've seriously thought this through Oz."
Kai watched Ironwood leave and frowned. "I know that guy must be under a lot of pressure being a headmaster and a general, but would it really kill him to act a little friendlier."
"You think that's rough, imagine being his property." Robin remarked, flicking through her scroll.
Kai looked concerningly at Robin. "Does he really make you feel that uncomfortable?"
Robin stopped looking at her scroll and leered toward Kai. "I'm trapped in another world filled with savage monsters, stuck in a school where I'm studying a course I hate in order to fight said monster's, and being forced to wear a uniform with long sleeves that pinch my shoulders. Everything here is making me uncomfortable."
"Geez…I'm sorry I brought it up." Kai embarrassingly looked down at his scroll to properly see which team he was put up with. "Huh…"
"What do you mean huh?" Robin asked, when Kai showed her his scroll. "Huh…I should have guessed."
While Kai and Robin were receiving the notification of who they were going to be working with, in another part of the Amphitheatre Team RWBY were discussing their desired job offers.
"This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast!" Ruby happily said.
Yang stepped up, pumping her fist. "Yeah! We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip by night!"
"Let's check Search and Destroy." Weiss suggested.
A Beacon student finished up with one of the holographic job listing screens and walked off, right when Team RWBY decided to approach it.
Ruby pointed at the listed Search and Destroy job. "Here we go! Quadrant 5 needs Grimm cleared out!
"Well, it's in the southeast!" Blake confirmed.
"Sounds perfect!" Yang surmised.
Ruby selected the job and typed in her team's name on a digital keyboard. Once she hit enter the message; 'MISSION UNAVAILABLE TO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS' appeared across the screen in red text before fading back to the initial mission select screen.
"Wonderful!" Weiss commented dryly.
Blake looked toward Ruby. "Any other ideas?"
"We mail ourselves there!" Ruby suggested, with a dramatic wave of her arms.
"Well, that's one option."
Team RWBY all looked to the side where they saw Professor Ozpin appear behind the mission board. He walked up to them while holding a black tablet scroll, commenting on their situation and approaching them about it.
"Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students." Ozpin looked up from his scroll to address the four girls directly. "It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that you four will make your way there no matter which job you choose."
Weiss, Blake, and Yang glared at Ruby, who nervously rubbed the back of her head. "Whatever makes you say that?"
"I'm still curious how you all found yourself at the docks last semester. I'm interested to know how you really learned about a hideout in the southeast. And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club some time ago." Ozpin insinuatingly answered.
"Um...well..." Ruby rolled her head, unable to look Ozpin in the eye while she tried to come up with a plausible excuse.
Ozpin smirked knowingly at the young huntress. "I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for. So how about this, instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?"
The holographic job board booted back up with the list of available jobs. Ozpin began tapping his black tablet-like scroll, selecting the Search and Destroy mission, and processing Ozpin's overriding command with a satisfactory beeping.
Ruby looked over to her headmaster gratefully with the rest of her team. "We won't let you down. Thank you, professor."
"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far. But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory." Ozpin walked off leaving the four girls of Team RWBY to look to one another as they contemplated the seriousness of what he just said, before leaning his head back over. "Oh, and I've taken the liberty of delegating some extra students under your care. Good luck."
Ozpin suddenly disappeared again, leaving Team RWBY with that last bit of news.
"Why would Professor Ozpin pair some extra students with us?" Blake asked.
"Who cares, we'll just ditch the dead weight along with our Huntsman." Yang decided.
"That's a little harsh, isn't it?"
Team RWBY looked behind them, to see Kai and Robin. The former holding his scroll up, showing that the two of them had temporarily been assigned to the team.
The newly assembled 'Team KRRWBY', left the auditorium and were walking on their way to the airship that would take them to Quadrant 5. Passing by all the other students who were either on their way to or preparing for their missions.
Kai noticed the girls down expressions. "Are you still thinking about what Ozpin said?"
Weiss looked toward him. "You heard that?"
"It was pretty hard not to. In case you haven't noticed, subtlety isn't any of your strong suits." Robin pointed out.
"Well, what Professor Ozpin said wasn't exactly uplifting." Yang said, getting back on topic.
"But it's the truth." Blake commented.
"It's gonna to be tough, but I know we can do it!" Ruby encouraged.
A student suddenly brushed past Ruby, excitedly pointing ahead. "Hey! Team CFVY is back!"
A large number of Beacon students began to gather around the Main Avenue to witness the return of Team CFVY from their recent mission. Fox and Coco led the way their heads held high, but behind them Velvet's head was low unable to make eye contact with the crowd of students around them. For some reason when Kai watched them walking away, he felt something about them was off.
Blake walked up to Velvet Scarlatina. "Velvet! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me." Velvet gestured to her partner who walked behind her, flashing him a quick smile
"Your mission was supposed to end a week ago! What happened?" Weiss asked.
"Nothing happened. It was just ...there were just so many..." She looked up and noticed Team RWBY's worried expressions. "Oh, but don't worry. You first-years are just shadowing Huntsmen, so you should be fine."
Yang squinted. "Riiight."
"I should go." Velvet backed away and watched her leave. "Be safe, okay?
"We can do this." Ruby gathered her team's attention. "We've never backed down before, and we're not going to start now."
"Right." Blake agreed.
"Besides, it won't only be us out there! We'll be fighting alongside a genuine Huntsman!" Ruby continued.
"Yeah!" Yang cheered.
Team RWBY continued walking off toward the end of the Main Avenue where their transport would be waiting. Robin followed them from behind when she noticed Kai wasn't following her, she looked over her shoulder to see Kai looking over at Velvet with a concerned look on his face.
Robin sighed, walking back up to Kai. "Well, aren't you going to go after her? You've got that look on your face again."
"Look?" Kai looked at Robin. "What look?"
"Your, I'm about to temporarily forget what a social mess I am, and am going to help out someone with their problems look." Robin poked fun at.
"That's…a very specific sounding look." Kai pointed out.
"Well it's the look on your face right now, and I know that if you don't try and help out this person right now, I'm going to be stuck looking at that expression for the next few hours." Robin dismissively waved her hand at Kai. "So go already. If the Huntsman we're shadowing asks where you are, I'll just tell him you suddenly needed to use the bathroom or something."
Kai paused for a moment, before smiling at his fellow trainer and going after Velvet. "Thank you, Robin. I promise I won't be long."
Robin turned around and started walking off. "Just do what you need to do, and make sure you come back without that stupid look on your face."
Velvet was on her own, making her way towards the gardens where she often went to think. She had originally planned to stay with her team and check out one of the many pop-up restaurants being set up for the Vytal Festival, but after her team didn't wait up for her while she was speaking with Team RWBY she decided she needed some time alone.
"Hey Velvet! Wait a minute!"
The rabbit ears on Velvet's head prickled when she heard her name be called out unexpectedly. She turned around to see Kai quickly running towards her.
"Kai? Why are you following me?!" Velvet cried out, more defensively than she intended.
"Oh sorry! I just…" Kai came to a stop and nervously struggled to make eye contact. "I didn't mean to spook you, but when you were talking before it felt like…like something happened. Like maybe Cardin, or someone else like him said or did something to you again."
Catching on to what Kai was implying, Velvet held her hands out. "Oh, no, no. Nothing like that's happened!"
"Well then what did happen?" Kai asked. He immediately saw the colour on Velvet's face drain as she started beginning to well up. "Oh I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you-! You know what I should've just minded my own business. I'll just leave you to-"
"It's okay Kai. You don't need to apologise." Velvet took a quick breath to keep her eyes dry. "It was just…We failed."
"Failed?" Kai looked up to finally see Velvet at eye to eye. "Are you talking about your mission?"
Velvet weakly nodded. "We were sent to Lower Cain after they sent out a distress signal. We were meant to find survivors and bring them back to Vale. But when we got there, there was nothing left. No houses, or shops, or restaurants', not a single building was left. All that was left…were the Grimm."
Kai fell silent, the weight and the severity of what Velvet went through beginning to weigh on him. As unfortunate as Kai was to end up in Remnant, in some ways he was also incredibly fortunate. Having arrived just outside the capital city's limits he never has to deal with the reality of the world inhabited by Grimm. How outside the safety of the City of Vale, there was no guarantee that a village defences would keep you alive from one day to the next.
"That's…awful. Really awful." Kai knew he couldn't understand the full weight of Velvet's pain, but tried his best to try and comfort her without insulting her. "But…If you only arrived after the attack then everyone was already-"
"But there were people!" Velvet shouted, her eyes starting to go misty. "A family. A father, a mother, and their four children. We were searching for survivors for ten days and they were all that were left. Scared, thirsty, and trapped in a dark cave."
At the mention of the survivors trapped in a cave, Kai suddenly felt his stomach churn and his face go cold. The mere mention bringing up something Kai so desperately wanted to leave behind.
"We tried to get them out but then…a Goliath came from the other side of a stream. We couldn't stop it. The family was still in the cave. It crushed the cave entrance and everyone inside…" Velvet seemed on the verge of breaking down. "I wanted to fight! I wanted to save them! But they were already…"
Velvet choked back a sob. She was so lost in the horrific memory that she nearly forgot that Kai was there. She went to look at him when she paused at the sight.
Kai seemed to look even more broken and defeated than she was. He looked as pale and as stiff as a statue with the same amount of life and stiffness. His eyes seeming distant, as though instead of looking ahead they were looking back. Velvet wasn't even sure if Kai was still breathing anymore.
"Ms. Scarlatina. Welcome back. Are you all right?"
Velvet and Kai were both surprised by the sudden arrival of Glynda Goodwitch walking up to them and greeting Velvet.
"Oh! Pardon, me Professor!" Velvet blinked back tears while avoiding eye contact. "I'm alright, thank you."
"We're all relieved that you made it back safely to Beacon. I know you could use some time to recover, but Professor Ozpin would like to see you in his office." Goodwitch explained.
"Me? What for?" She blurted out, her face beginning to flush. "I mean, of course. What time?"
"Now."
"Now?" Velvet swallowed, looking around with a false hope that her teammates might suddenly be around.
"Now hold on a second." Kai suddenly stepped up, finally out of whatever trance he was under and beginning to stand up for Velvet. "With all due respect, surely this can wait. Velvet needs-no, deserves to have some time to relax and process everything after what's she been through."
Goodwitch shifted her attention toward Kai. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Mr. Emblem."
"It can wait. This seems more important at the moment." Kai defended.
"Mr. Emblem, this matter does not concern you. Me and Ms. Scarlatina just have important business for Professor Ozpin." Goodwitch looked over to Velvet. "There's nothing to be worried about. We just need you to tell us everything that happened."
"But-!"
"I'm fine Kai!" Velvet cut Kai off. "I can make my own decisions, and Professor Goodwitch is right. This is important."
"If that's really what you want. Then I have no reason to get in your way." Kai stepped down before looking at Goodwitch. "I'm sorry for speaking out of line Professor Goodwitch."
Goodwitch held up her palm to stop Kai. "It's quite alright. You were only looking out for the safety and wellbeing of your friend. I assure you me and Professor Ozpin only want the same. Ms. Scarlatina, if you would follow me please."
"Right. Lead the way, then." Velvet started marching behind Goodwitch toward Beacon tower, when she looked back at Kai one more time. "Kai if you and the others really are about to head out into the field, please…Be safe."
Velvet repeated the same words she had said to Yang back to Kai, but this time they seemed less empty. But they were not filled with hope, it would be more accurate to say that after seeing Kai's reaction to her experience, they were filled with a warning.
Kai slowly saw Velvet and Goodwitch walk off into the distance, and for the first time in minutes Kai took a breath. It was shaky and hitched.
"What was that all about?"
Yet again, Kai had been surprised by a familiar voice interrupting his thoughts. He turned around and saw Sun and Neptune walking up to him.
"What are you guys doing here?" Kai asked the two members of Team SSSN.
"We saw Velvet and came to ask her how her mission went." Sun answered. "But we lost her in the crowd. When we remembered that she liked to go to the gardens we came this way, and that's when we saw Goodwitch taking her away."
"Yeah, it's a real bummer. I was gonna ask her if she wanted to do something with us tonight." Neptune asked suggestively.
"Wait when you say her do you mean Velvet or Professor-?" Kai immediately shut up. "You know what, I don't wanna know! Besides wouldn't you be too busy to do anything because of your mission."
"Not until tomorrow. Crime scene investigation in Vale." Sun revealed.
"We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges." Neptune explained.
"We normally go to the city with you and the others, which means stuff's always exploding and junk, so we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, you know...normal." Sun elaborated.
Kai sheepishly looked away. "Given my track record, that's probably for the best."
"Yeah, it's gonna be sick. Scarlet heard a rumour that we'll be looking into a cold case from earlier this year about these seemingly random attacks. Apparently, they're all linked by supporting evidence, and accounts from the victims suggesting that someone attacked them with trained animals." Neptune energetically proclaimed.
"And not just any animals too, apparently these ones did crazy things like scream so loud people's eardrums would blead, or kick so hard they could knock people out with one blow to the head. Crazy right!" Sun added.
"Ha-ha! Yeah…" Kai awkwardly chuckled, well aware of the fact that the so-called criminal Sun and Neptune wanted to find was him. "Ha-ha! Definitely…crazy!"
'It's a good thing these guys aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.' Kai earnestly thought.
"Anyway, what about you Kai? Do you wanna hang with us tonight?" Sun asked.
"Sorry I can't. I've got a mission-" Kai went quiet, quickly remembering Velvet's story, forcing him to feeling a traumatic twinge in his head. "A mission outside the…"
Sun and Neptune looked to each other, then back to Kai concerningly. "Uh dude. You feeling okay, you don't look so good."
"I'm fine I just-!" Kai quickly brushed past Sun and Neptune, heading back to where he was meant to meet up with the others. "I've got somewhere to be and I'm already late. I'll see guys later."
Kai's head lay low with his fedora casting a shadow over his eyes. The rest of the world seemed to become white noise as he quickly made his way back to the Main Avenue. On his way there an image from his nightmare persisted in the forefront of his mind. Of the dark-brown haired figure he saw lying at the bottom of the cave, and how he called out to him for help. With Velvet and anyone else of interest finally out of hearing range, Kai finally said the words he wanted to say.
"It wasn't your fault Velvet. You didn't cause those people to die. You couldn't save them, but you weren't the one that put them in danger. All you did was try to get them out of it. You aren't the one to blame." Kai's tried to control his hitched breathing and raised his arm and wipe his eyes with his sleeve.
"You aren't like…No. I can't think like that right now." Kai started taking deep breaths, repressing his thoughts and fixating straight ahead. "Just focus on the mission Kai. Just the mission. This isn't only about destroying the Grimm."
Kai moved his arm away from his eyes and put it to his side. It had been pushed further up his arm from, revealing his black Mega Ring and the shining rainbow keystone. "This might finally be my chance to take him out for good."
The him in question was hidden far away from prying eyes, in a dark room lit only by a single blinking lightbulb, with the only piece of furniture being an old wooden desk that he was slouched over. This man being the leader of Neo Team Flare and the head of the White Fang's rogue Vale branch; Xerosic.
Xerosic currently seemed to be deep in thought, fiddling with an orange remote capable of bending and shape the space-time continuum. He neatly and surgically unscrewed the faceplate and gently lifted it off, revealing the inner intricacies of the device.
He stared at the complexity of the inner design, marvelling at his own handiwork. The backs of the keys that when punched could input specific data that the user wanted. Data that would be processed thanks to the fast-processing chips, that were seamlessly connected to a high-quality circuit board. It was a high-quality piece of art, worthy of Team Flare's standard of beauty. But what drew his eye the most was the apparent battery of the remote. This was powered not by something as pitiful as a pair of double AAs. What was hooked up, and responsible for the bridge between worlds was a shining, rainbow coloured keystone identical to the one in Kai's Mega Ring.
"To think that even after the Ultimate Weapon was destroyed and was buried under all that rubble you would still survive. And because of you we have now ascended to greater scientific heights than ever thought possible." Xerosic gently stroked the keystone with his bare, pale finger. "I had just about given up my scientific endeavours. I had no regrets. Ready to turn myself in. But then you appeared."
Xerosic's mind suddenly flashed briefly to a scene a few years ago. How in the dead of night on the way to Lumiose City's train station, he and a mysteriously handsome man in a brown trench coat were ambushed by a rainbow light.
Something suddenly started to make a knocking sound behind Xerosic, knocking him out of his thoughts.
"Dr. Xerosic. May I speak with you?" A female voice said, through a door.
"You may Aliana." Xerosic quickly pulled his finger away and screwed the faceplate back on the remote. The sound of a door opening behind him creaked, right when Xerosic finished re-attaching the top of the device.
He turned around and saw a woman with short orange hair and technologically advanced glasses covering her eyes. She sports a red and white, long sleeved shirt, a small orange tie, a belt with Team Flare logo on it, short red and black skirt, as well as having red gloves. Light orange stockings with the knees missing can be seen under her red and white, high heeled boots.
"I apologise for interrupting, but I felt it pertinent to update you on our current…compatibility issues." Aliana explained.
"I assume that the White Fang are still not too keen on working with a human organisation." Xerosic sighed.
"Regrettably. If it wasn't for the Lieutenant keeping them in check, they may have tried to rebel against us. And the same goes for the little assistant who worked under the boring man before you. If working with us didn't provide her the best chance of going after Kai Emblem, she may have left us too." Aliana explained. "To be honest I'm not sure why we don't just continue on our own. Our own grunts are already useless, but everyone else is just taking up space!"
"Because as regrettable as it is, Neo Team Flare is nothing but embers compared to the righteous flames of destruction we were before. Without support from the locals on this world, we may not support ourselves long enough to achieve our desired outcome." Xerosic looked seriously at Aliana. "On that topic, have you had any word or notice about a new addition to our ranks. I had been informed that we would be expecting them sometime soon."
"Nope. No one interesting on my watch." Aliana bluntly answered. "Not that it would matter. Given all of the others whose parts of the grand plan have been thwarted by the trainers, I really must question the competency of whoever is sending them our way."
"You dare question our queen!"
A third voice suddenly interrupted Aliana, putting her and Xerosic on high alert. The two reached for their Pokéballs when the lightbulb above them flickered off for just a second, cloaking the cramped space in shadow.
"Gaaack!"
The light came back on, giving Xerosic the shocking sight of Aliana's body tightly wrapped up tightly by what appeared to be a scorpion tail. In front of her neck was an unfolded blade coming from the side of a vambrace.
'How did this person evade the sensors in my glasses?! Has he been following me since before I entered the room?!' Aliana thought in a panic.
Xerosic couldn't see much of the man since he was behind Aliana but he could surmise that he must be the member of the White Fang that was sent to their aid. This was for two reasons: the first was the obvious scorpion tail that was seemed to be a part of his. The second was that he had on a Grimm mask similar to those in the White Fang, but his was much more detailed. It bared a striking resemblance to a human skull: with dark slits over the eyes, a prominent row of teeth clenched together, and red markings all across the left side of the face.
"To commit such a sin and speak ill of our saviour." Behind Aliana, the skull-masked faunus leaned in over her shoulder so that his breath tickled the insides of her ear. "Is truly an act of blasphemy."
"Please, forgive Aliana." Xerosic stepped forward. "She has not been in this world long enough to see and hear of your Grace's glorious works. If you end her life now, she won't be able to atone and assist in her plans for this world."
The skull-masked faunus gave a shallow sigh in response. The sound of his breath was like bones rattling, a sound horrid enough to make Aliana shiver. He didn't release his grip right away continuing to stare at Xerosic.
Though eventually pulled his weapon away from Aliana's neck. "Of course, after all I was sent on her behest to assist in your…Trainer problem."
The skull-masked faunus uncurled his tail, allowing Aliana to drop to her knees and start gasping for air. He ignored the hyperventilating woman and did a ceremonious bow in front of Xerosic, slowly stepping back toward the door.
"It is a pleasure to be working with you, my friend. For as long as you are in Her Grace's favour…" The skull-masked faunus looked up, staring through the dark slits on his mask with an unnerving pair of amber eyes. "I shall happily eradicate all those who attempt to sully her desire for paradise."
The lightbulb suddenly flickered off again. Then back on, to reveal the skull-masked faunus had vanished as quickly as he appeared.
Xerosic went back to the table at the end of the room and picked up the remote he had fiddled with, placing it inside his pocket.
"Well Kai Emblem, it seems our final face to face is approaching soon." Xerosic walked out of the room, to be greeted by the view of White Fang members and Team Flare grunts walking around the apparent ruins of a city. "I do hope this time you are prepared."
So we're finally starting the Mountain Glenn arc, after a rather long, long, wait. Which I am sorry about, I planned for this to come sooner but well I gave a full reason on my DA account but the short version is that I had to put life first this year and wasn't in a writing mood. But not I am, and hopefully I'll be able to finish this arc before another long gap happens. I know that this chapter might not seem worth the long wait especially since no Pokémon showed up but I'll try to aim for my best here and going forward. If the end of this chapter is any indication I still have lots of personal twists to add going forward.
Also for those wondering where the stuff Velvet said came from it came from the spin-off story RWBY: After the Fall. Personally while I didn't find the story too engaging it did flesh out and give proper character to Team CFVY and expand many facets of the world of Remnant. Funny looking back at when I first introduced Team CFVY in Chapter 35 and now here I am all these chapters later covering their first Canon appearance.
Anyway enough of that, until next time this is Kallerston signing out!