Outside of Beacon Academy on the Main Avenue, Kai was walking underneath the hanging lampposts, slowly conditioning himself as he made his way to the pickup/drop-off point for airships and bullheads.
"Deep breaths Kai. In and out. In…and out…" Kai did as he said, inhaling through his nose and exhaling out of his mouth. Taking control of his body slowly to subdue the rampant emotions that were raging inside him.
Kai looked ahead and saw the backs of Team RWBY and Robin, all standing incredibly still in front of an airship.
"Okay Kai, pull yourself together. Nobody wants to be around you like this." Kai swiped his hand over his face, going from a serious look to a more jovial, happy one that the others were used to.
Kai took one more breath and ran up to everyone. "Hey guys! Sorry about that, hopefully I haven't kept you and the Huntsman we're shadowing waiting…" Kai paused when he finally made his way up to them. "Long?"
Each of the five girls were stuck in a state of shock. Each one having a strange look on their face of either: surprise, horror, or in Robin's case annoyance. The five of them didn't even seem to realise that Kai had finally shown up.
"What's going on? Did I miss something?" Kai asked cluelessly.
"Well, if it isn't Kai Emblem. I am not surprised that you have shown up late after your recently assigned teammates given your absent mind in my classroom. But I am still no less disappointed in you undertaking an important mission such as this one, and treating it with the same level of priority as you would when writing out one of my assigned reports."
Kai didn't have time to process where the insult was coming from when a fast-moving blur streaked in front of him. It came to a halt revealing that it was history teacher Dr. Oobleck; wearing a long brown great coat, a khaki buttoned safari shirt and a pith helmet over his regular clothes.
"Professor, I-I mean Dr. Oobleck?!" Kai reacted in surprise. "Why are-?"
Kai looked back to his friends shocked expressions, then at Oobleck's more outdoor appropriate attire. He also realised the fact that he had been expecting him at the same time Kai was meant to meet up with the professional Huntsman.
"You're the Huntsman we're shadowing, aren't you?" Kai realised.
"Well done! It appears you can piece together the situation on your own. That should save us all time of me repeating my explanation of the mission." Doctor Oobleck paced back and forth; his pace as quick as the words coming out of his mouth. "Come now, children; according to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind...schedule!"
Oobleck zipped off to the airship docked farther ahead in a split second, barely giving Kai and the others a chance to process his fast-paced speech.
"Okaaay, I know he said I could piece the situation together myself but I'm gonna need one of you to help with that." Kai confessed.
"Honestly, I'm still struggling to take it in." Blake admitted.
"Well Kai, it looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oooobleck-" Ruby's typical upbeat nature faded mid-sentence. "Okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse."
"Save the world?!"
Kai, Robin and Team RWBY turned around to see Team JNPR approaching from behind them. Nora in particular was dramatically storming forward.
"You're going on world-saving missions without us? I'm hurt! Sad!" Nora's stomach suddenly rumbled. "Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault though, Ren..."
Ren crossed his arms and turned his back to Nora and stuck his nose up in the air, silently denying responsibility.
"Sounds exciting. Where ya going?" Jaune asked.
"Oh, just outside the kingdom..." Ruby answered.
"Hey! So are we!" Nora compared enthusiastically.
"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village." Pyrrha explained.
"We set out tomorrow." Ren informed.
Ruby nervously smiled at her friends. "Well-"
Oobleck quickly zoomed out of the ship. "Four minutes children!"
Oobleck's sudden notification made Ruby flinch before he zoomed back inside the vehicle. Team JNPR awkwardly looked at Team RWBY, Kai and Robin before Ruby carried on.
"Well uh…" Ruby threw a thumbs-up. "Wish us luck!"
With that, the friends disbanded. Heading back to either Beacon Academy or going ahead towards their mission.
Kai suddenly looked toward his friends. "Okay, but seriously what exactly are we doing?"
The airship was currently flying high above the city, passing over buildings and streets amid deafening turbines. The six passengers were travelling there standing up, with the students holding onto hooks hanging from the roof to keep their balance. During the time it took to get from Beacon to here, Team RWBY had briefly filled Kai in on what he had missed. How they were essentially on a reconnaissance mission, traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations they stumbled upon.
"I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter." Yang said to Oobleck.
"I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles." Oobleck explained.
Ruby tilted her head in confusion. "Like the mushroom?"
Blake leant over to her. "Those are truffles."
Ruby scratched her head in befuddlement. "Like the sprout?"
Yang also leaned over. "Those are Brussels."
Beside Kai, Robin lurched over. Disoriented and out of the loop due to her motion sickness. "Is he talking about those hermit Pokémon?"
Kai looked over to Robin. "He doesn't mean Crustle's."
"Besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabbling's in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular...assignment!" Oobleck continued.
"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asked.
Oobleck turned sharply to Weiss. "Why what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why history is the backbone of our very society! And the liver! Probably the kidneys if I were to wager."
"And that means...?"
"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures!"
"Mountain Glenn." Ruby finished.
"That's right! It was an expansion of Vale..." Yang's tone suddenly saddened. "But in the end, it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city."
Oobleck raised his finger. "Correct! And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder."
"And a likely place for a hideout." Blake added.
Oobleck adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Precisely!"
The airship came in over a spot of street amidst the ruined buildings and structures of the ruined area. It hovered right above the ground as: Yang, Blake, Oobleck, Weiss, and Ruby all jumped out of the craft with weapons drawn, except the doctor, who simply took a drink from his coffee canister. A couple of seconds later Kai jumped out, before lastly Robin did albeit more ropey than the others. As Robin nurtured her disturbed stomach and tried to regain composure the ship flew away from the destruction, leaving the arrivals from Beacon all on their own.
Kai looked around at the desolate ruined city, feeling a chill go up his spine despite it being summer. The land was coloured grey with cold dead concrete, formed from broken decayed buildings and silent roads. And yet mingled in with the damaged structures were undisturbed wooden frames of buildings that had yet to be made, a dark sign of not only what this ruined city was but what it could have been.
"So Velvet and her team were in a place like this…" Kai muttered to himself. His eyes fixated on the broken-up logo falling from a hamburger diner, before the wail of the wind gently sent two tumbleweeds rolling down a road further ahead. "It's so…empty."
"Children!" Oobleck called everyone's attention. "You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntresses and Huntsman has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?"
The six students nodded when Oobleck suddenly looked over to Kai and Ruby.
"Ruby! Kai!" He shouted, startling the two and making Ruby drop her weapon. "I thought I told you both to leave all of your bags at the school."
Kai hadn't noticed until Oobleck pointed it out that he and Ruby were the only ones with rucksacks on. Not even Robin who always seemed to have her berry filled satchel had hers. Only Kai's yellow backpack, and Ruby's overly filled Beacon academy rucksack were the only personal items being carried by the group.
Ruby raised a finger. "But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So we didn't."
"And besides…technically you never told me to leave my bag." Kai explained.
Weiss rolled her head disappointedly at her leader's excuse, while Robin crossed her arms agitatedly giving Kai an annoyed look. Hearing their reasons Oobleck looked to himself.
"They're not wrong..." Oobleck looked back at Ruby and Kai. "Very well, Ruby, Kai; leave your bags here, we can pick it up upon our return."
Kai started taking his backpack off doing as he was asked, however Ruby still seemed hesitant to part ways with her belongings.
"But I, well uh-" Ruby babbled.
Oobleck stepped forward. "Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with-"
The bag's zipper suddenly opened and the out of nowhere Zwei's head popped out of the bag. The corgi panted innocently and looked around excitedly as everyone else peered around Ruby to see her pet.
"Get back in the bag." Ruby whispered through the side of her mouth.
Zwei merely barked in response.
"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought...a dog?" Oobleck summarised seriously.
"I, uh..."
"Genius!" Oobleck backed away long enough for Ruby to give a confused shrug before speeding past and snatching the pet away from Ruby, who tumbled to the ground as Oobleck spun Zwei in the air. "Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!"
Zwei barked happily in his hands, while Ruby proudly pointed her thumb at her chest.
"I'm a genius!" She stated.
Weiss and Yang both facepalmed at their grinning leader, while Kai and Robin stared at Zwei with immense intrigue.
"So that's a dog?" Kai muttered to himself. "It looks so…ordinary. Normal type perhaps?"
"Doesn't look very strong. I doubt it could even learn any powerful moves." Robin judged.
"Um guys?" Yang said, getting the trainer's attention. "Zwei isn't a magic, elemental, alien Pokémon thingy or whatever. He's just a regular dog."
"Right sorry it's just…" Kai looked at Zwei barking in Oobleck's hands. "It's just so weird to look at."
"You're joking, right?" Weiss rhetorically asked, seeing the irony.
"So, what are your orders, Doctor?" Blake asked Oobleck getting back to the situation at hand.
"Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it!" Oobleck suddenly let go of Zwei, the corgi's body somehow staying suspended in the air for less than a second before dropping down. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behaviour, one of which being...Grimm."
The six students looked to each other in confusion after Oobleck's redundancy in his explanation.
"Isn't that kind of a given." Robin bluntly pointed out.
"Not Grimm as cause, Grimm as in Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment." Oobleck pointed ahead of the group.
"What?!" Yang called out.
She and the others turn to look at the lone Beowolf wandering into the street. Team RWBY brought out their weapons, while Kai and Robin readied a Pokéball preparing to fight.
"Stop!" Oobleck suddenly put his hand out to cut everyone off.
"Huh?" Blake lowered her Gambol Shroud and looked to the Doctor along with everyone else to listen.
"There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity: sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harbouring ill intent." Oobleck explained as he watched the Beowolf sniffing the area.
"So...What now?" Ruby asked.
"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey." Oobleck explained.
Yang put her hands on her hips. "How long do we wait?
"It's uncertain." Oobleck placed a finger over his lip as he thought. "Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months-and there's the whole pack."
Oobleck's sudden realization was true when he spotted five Beowolves already following the first into the street.
"What?" Weiss called out in surprise.
"And now they've seen us." Oobleck continued to state the obvious.
"What?!" Weiss repeated louder in shock.
Oobleck appeared larger, coming right up to Weiss' ear. "AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!"
Ruby nervously raised her hand. "I take it tracking them is out of the question?"
"An accurate assumption, yes."
"What's the plan, then?" Yang asked.
The group turns to their teacher as the creatures close in. "Show me what you're capable of."
"Cover your ears, Zwei!" Ruby swung Crescent Rose to prepare it for shooting, her dog following Ruby's suggestion and curling up into a ball.
Kai threw his Pokéball. "Alright, go Aegislash!"
"Beedrill, prepare for battle!" Robin tossed hers in unison.
The two capsules opened, bringing out the Royal Sword and Poison Bee Pokémon.
"Such a wretched sight." Aegislash quickly snapped into Blade Forme.
Beedrill buzzed angrily. "BzzZzz BzzZzz! (These guys better prepare for a lot of stinging!)"
The Grimm hoard began to howl, digging their sharpened claws into the tarmac and charge towards the training Huntsman and Huntresses on all fours.
"Aegislash quick! Shadow Sneak!" Kai ordered.
Aegislash's shadow blackened before shooting off toward the leader of the pack, knocking it up into the air.
"Finish it off Beedrill! Use Fell Stinger!" Robin co-ordinated.
Beedrill quickly ascended above the damaged Grimm and aimed at it with his rear stinger. It glowed purple and Beedrill quickly stabbed it deep into the Beowolf's chest, dragging it down to the ground and pinning it against the road. The Beowolf went silent as its body began to crumble into black smoke, conversely Beedrill seemed to grow even livelier as an empowering orange aura enveloped him.
Yang ran past Beedrill, smiling towards one of the Beowolves. The blonde and the beast locked eyes with each other as they raced to see who would deal the killing blow first, before Yang knocked it out in one fiery punch as they pass.
Several Grimm stopped chasing after Yang to focus on Blake, who stood waiting with her hand on her hilt until one of the Beowolf swiped at her afterimage. The real deal slicing her would-be attacker in half before slashing through another and cutting down on one more.
Behind her, Weiss ran from several black-coated beasts before jumping in the air and taking one down with Myrtenaster. She dashed towards the rest with her rapier held high and quickly slayed four of them in a straight line until she came to a stop.
A wave of Beowolves converged on Ruby, the scythe wielder shooting multiple bullets at the oncoming force while Zwei...was busy chasing his own tail. He stopped long enough to watch his owner fire forward herself forward leaving red petals in her stride and, after a dramatic mid-air stare-off, cut the leaping Grimm in two.
Oobleck watched his students in action while taking a sip from his thermos, mentally taking a note of their actions. He looked around at the rooftops and noticed two Beowolves perched on either side, glaring down, one at Kai and the other at Robin. However instead of issuing a warning, Oobleck looked back ahead as though he hadn't noticed anything.
"Great work Aegislash! Now finish them off with Slash!" Kai commanded.
The sides of Aegislash's blade glowed white when she floated hilt first toward four Beowolves when she spun in mid-air to adjust herself and swing toward them. Several metallic shings were heard as steel scraped against bone when Aegislash passed through all of the Grimm, their bodies left dismembered and fading into dust.
Above the ghostly sword, Beedrill had ascended to roof level, granting him a sky-high view of the remaining Grimm.
Robin smirked at him from below. "Now finish them all off! Beedrill use Pin Missile!"
Beedrill buzzed loudly when it pointed its three stingers at the stragglers, unleashing ballistic waves of green needles that rained from the sky and exploded on contact with the black beasts. Team RWBY bared witness to the chains of explosions that occurred, their force making the old buildings crack even further.
"Woah…So cool." Ruby awed, as Zwei kept his ears covered as he shuck from the sound of the explosions.
"That looked a lot stronger than I remember." Blake pointed out.
"That's because I used Fell Stinger." Robin looked toward Blake. "When Fell Stinger is the move used to defeat an opponent it drastically raises Beedrill's attack. Allowing him to defeat an enemy and increase his strength at the same time."
Yang sighed as the smoke cleared, revealing all the Beowolves were defeated. "Aw man, we're done already."
Ruby lifted her weapon and looked to Oobleck. "Heh. Piece of cake!"
"Do not celebrate yet, for I am certain this is the first bout of many." Oobleck warned, getting Team RWBY's attention as he stepped forward.
Right when he did the upper Beowolves saw their chance. The two pounced from above, casting a shadow over Kai and Robin respectively when they prepared to fall on top of them with razor sharp fangs and claws. Team RWBY, Aegislash and Beedrill all seemed too wrapped up in their recent victory to notice the survivors making Kai and Robin clueless to their sudden ambush…or so it seemed.
Kai and Robin glanced over their shoulders at the same time, seeing the airborne threats coming their way. Kai quickly reached into his pockets when his eyes glowed blue, and Robin clicked her heels to pop out her Roller Skates as a dark blue outline covered her frame.
Kai rolled out of the way, dodging his Beowolf as it fractured the ground with its impact. Robin pushed herself back on her skates before shifting gravity so that she began fell backwards in time to avoid a similar impact.
Everyone heard the Grimm fall and looked to see Kai and Robin already in combat. Kai calmly weaved in and out of the Beowolfs claw swings until his Perception slowed his view of the world down when he spotted an opening.
He brought out his hands having equipped his weapon Gant Blindé and jabbed at the beast's shoulder. The metal fist cracked its bony shoulder blade when it attacked Kai with its other arm, resulting in Kai dodging and delivering another disabling jab.
With its arms unusable the Beowolf lurched its head forward hoping to sink its jaws into Kai's flesh. Unfortunately for it, it bit down on Gant Blindé's metallic hand which didn't even cover Kai's real one, he smiled and stretched his hand out from inside his weapons arm casing. Hot orange light escaped the Grimm's jaws before his head was blown up from the inside out by a concentrated blast of Fire Dust. The Grimm's headless body fell to the ground and started collapsing to smoke as Kai stood there with his weapons metal palm steaming.
Happening at the same time, Robin was leading her Beowolf as though she were the carrot at the end of a stick. Although she was falling back, her body remained straight up with her Roller Skates touching the ground, the wheels spinning back as she moved preventing any loss in speed.
She looked behind herself to see she was approaching the wall of an abandoned building, right when the beast was picking up speed. Just before Robin was about to have her back literally against the wall, she shifted her gravity again making her fall up toward the sky, leaving the Beowolf to slam head first into the wall.
With the Beowolf lightly dazed, Robin saw her opportunity and quickly returned gravity around her to its regular direction but increased it so that she fell on top of the Grimm's back with a satisfying crunch. The beast still continued to struggle weakly under Robin's weight when she raised her right foot over its head. With gravity intensified she stomped on its head, crushing it to dust under her heel as the rest of the Grimm's body went limp and started to fade.
"You know if you had a weapon like mine, you could probably have taken it out faster." Kai suggested, walking up to Robin as the glow from his eyes faded.
"Well unlike you, I clearly don't need a weapon to get the job done." Robin responded, the glow around her fading as she clicked her shoes together to retract her skates.
"I'm just saying you should consider it. We have got Weapon Crafting and Upkeep with Professor Mulberry for a reason." Kai further reasoned.
"Sire!" Aegislash called out as she floated over. "Forgive me! To let even one foul creature go past my shield and seek to-"
"Aegislash its fine. I'm fine." Kai gestured at himself to prove his point. "You got the the other Grimm and helped keep the Ruby and the rest of the group safe. You already did your job."
Kai heard the loud sound of buzzing near him when Beedrill rushed over to Robin.
"Hmph. You missed some." Robin dismissed her Pokémon passive aggressively. "Next time when I tell you to finish them all off, I mean all of them."
"Now then children." Oobleck interrupted the reunion between trainer and Pokémon, getting everyone's attention. "Shall we continue?"
Continue they did with: Ruby, Blake, and Aegislash all slicing through the air. Down below Oobleck seems unaware or rather uncaring of the commotion above his head. Instead focusing more on rooting through a plant, as several severed Grimm parts fall around him. He looked up to see Team RWBY already looking exhausted, with Kai and Robin looking more alert since their Pokémon have been doing more of the physical labour.
"Excellent work, students!" He happily announced as the newest batch of recently slain Grimm corpses faded into black smoke. "Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh, well! Moving on!"
Noticing the large number of Grimm they had slain, Kai looked over to Aegislash. "Are you tired Aegislash? If you need a break, I can tag you out and have one of the others take over."
"Your concern for my wellbeing is more than appreciated Sire." Aegislash responded. "But my blade is not yet dulled, I am more than capable of continuing this crusade forward."
"Alright Aegislash, if you say so. But only for a while longer, I don't want you to go overboard now in case we do come face to face with something other than Grimm." Kai explained.
"If that is your command, then I shall obey it without question." Aegislash decided.
Beside Kai, Robin walked over the disappearing Grimm. "Come on Beedrill. You heard the Doctor; we're still not done. So don't give up on me yet."
"Bzz! (Right!)" Beedrill buzzed in agreement.
Kai and Aegislash saw the other pair continue determinedly, but couldn't help but feel concerned for them. Further ahead the others started to follow Oobleck, with Ruby sheathing her scythe and beckoning Zwei to follow.
"Hey Doc, y'know I was actually looking forward to seeing a pro Huntsman in action. Like fighting, or at least helping us fight?" Yang irritably asked.
"Ah, but I am in action! Scouring the ruins of this once-great city for any signs of irregularity!" Oobleck spoke over his shoulder before fully turning to the group. "Not every mission is filled with daring and heroism girls. Sometimes it's just a heightened form of extermination! Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that."
"Well, yeah..." Yang tried to sound more resolute with her answer. "O-Of course!"
Robin huffed, crossing her arms and looking away to keep to herself. "Well, I didn't sign up for it…"
Oobleck's brow furrowed. "Hmm..."
"Go Lucario! Power-Up Punch!"
In another section of the city Kai pointed at an isolated Beowolf, getting his newly switched in Lucario to deliver a sudden punch to the creature's face. Smashing its bony mask and leaving it to fade and die.
The sound of fired shots came from behind Kai, and he and Lucario looked to see another victory for their group as the carcasses of Beowolves lay broken or ripped apart.
"Lucario, do you sense anyone nearby?" Kai asked, seeing his Pokémon respond by raising his aura sensors and closing his eyes.
"No, we are still the only signs of aura in this place." Lucario stopped focusing and opened his eyes. "Although there is a nearby group of Grimm heading North. But I am unsure if it is the whole pack."
"Hold on!" Robin walked over, with her Beedrill hovering low behind her. "The Grimm don't have aura; how can you sense them?"
"I must admit Miss Navy it has been a challenge, however recently I have finally perfected being able to track the Grimm by sensing the absence of aura." Lucario started to explain. "It's difficult to put into words, but sensing a Grimm is like identifying a stain on a shirt. On a white shirt or a place filled with aura a dark stain is easy to notice, but the darker the shirt or the less aura there is the trickier it is to make out the Grimm, although it is not impossible. However right now I can only accurately notice the Grimm if they are within close proximity. Pitiful compared to my regular aura sensory reach."
Lucario looked down after saying the last part, only for Kai to pat him on the head. "Don't let that get you down Lucario. Remember at the beginning of the year when the Grimm lacking aura freaked you out, and now you've found a way to find them all on your own. You've done the hard part, now you just need to keep building on top of it."
Kai lifted his hand up seeing Lucario's mood lift up. Robin just shook her head and walked off back to Oobleck and Team RWBY, taking one last look at Kai and Lucario before looking down solemnly.
"Tell me Yang; why did you choose this line of work?" Oobleck suddenly asked when the two were on their own, away from the others.
"Huh?" Yang turned around to answer under Oobleck's gaze. "Well, to fight monsters and save-"
"No, that is what you do." Oobleck interrupted, cutting Yang off. "I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a Huntress."
"The honest reason?" Yang thought for a moment before coming back to Oobleck. "I'm a thrill-seeker. I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win, y'know?"
"I see."
Oobleck was now currently sitting on a high windowsill writing in his journal. A Beowolf suddenly leaped past him which Weiss fought off, along with several more below.
"And you, Miss Schnee? A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn't need the extra work. So...why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?
Weiss impaled the Beowolf on the tip of her sword, before looking up to talk to Oobleck. "It's exactly as you said, I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honour to uphold. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty."
Oobleck nodded and started getting up. "Interesting."
Elsewhere Blake slashed a door down, releasing a swarm of small Nevermore's the size of pigeons. The flocked out of the building, forcing Black to back-flip under before aiming her blade's pistol form to shoot them all out of the sky.
As their tiny bodies fell back down Oobleck appeared beside Blake to examine the inside of the doorway. "And what about you, Blake? You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose."
Blake walked up to her teacher. "There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality, corruption... Someone has to stop it."
"Very well. How?" Oobleck asked.
"I, uh..." Blake struggled, finding herself unable to come up with an answer.
Oobleck "Hmm's" to himself then dashed away, leaving Blake to bow her head in troubled thought.
"Beedrill! Fell Stinger! Right now!" Robin ordered.
Beedrill quickly stabbed left and right, impaling Grimm after Grimm and leaving gaping holes in their bodies. Each one collapsed to the ground and started to give off smoke, when Beedrill started hovering dangerously close to the ground. His wingbeat seemed slower, his buzzing quieter, and he seemed like he was out of breath.
"What?! You can't be tired yet! We still haven't found what we're looking for!" Robin angrily complained. "If you run out of stamina fighting these Grimm then how are you going to help me beat the champi-"
"And you Robin? What has brought you here?" Oobleck suddenly appeared, making Robin jump.
"Uh, what? I'm here because my headmaster decided to put me with-"
"I do not mean what has brought you on this mission! I mean what has brought you down this path. The path to attending a Huntsman academy, to becoming a Huntress, what has brought you here?"
"Here?" Robin carefully thought for a moment, she didn't think Oobleck knew about her and Kai being from another world so she had to say enough of the truth without giving all of it. "I wanted to get stronger. I want to be the best. I want to crush anyone who I find myself up against."
"And do you honestly believe the path you are currently on will take you there?" Oobleck followed up.
"Well obviously I-"
"Bzzt-!" Beedrill suddenly fell onto the road before hovering back up, jabbing the air even though it was obviously running low on energy. "Bzzz…"
"I…" Robin repeated more unsure than she was before.
Oobleck zoomed away leaving Robin alone with her Pokémon. She paused for a moment to finally get a good look at what she was doing to Beedrill, receiving a painful reminder of when she tried to abandon Flareon and Beartic back when she was alone in Vale's mountains.
"You've done enough for today. Return for now." Robin muttered returning the Bug/Poison type.
As she returned him a familiar masculine raven-haired silhouette appeared behind her. "You still haven't changed at all. All you do is take from those around you. Despite everything you still can't give back. You still can't achieve anything."
Robin violently turned around to face whoever was talking about her, but saw nothing. Heard nothing. All that was around her was the ghost town she was traversing through, and yet the only ghosts seemed to be the ones in her head.
Three Beowolves prowled inside what looked like the remains of a hotel room, their claws tearing up the bare floorboards.
"Oh, this is so embarrassing but I think you three are in my room."
The Beowolves looked behind themselves to see Greninja, lazily lying down on an old dirty mattress that had its springs and filling spilling out.
"I'mma need you three to kindly and politely, get the hell out of here." Greninja mocked gesturing to the non-existent wall. "Oh and don't forget the close the door, this room has a terrible draft. I really need to take it up with the manager."
On the outside, Kai looked into the room from below and frowned disapprovingly. "Stop messing around Greninja! Just use Aerial Ace and take them out so we can move on!"
The trio of Grimm growled at Greninja, while he just rolled his eyes. "Fine. Fine. Forgive me for trying to liven up this grinding spree."
Greninja got up and his limbs began to glow sky blue. He swung his legs at the Grimm, knocking them out of the room and into the air in a gust of wind. Greninja streaked through the air as a blur, delivering a swift mid-air strike to each of them before he landed on his feet.
Each of the defeated Grimm slapped against the ground while Greninja looked at Kai shaking his head. "And here I thought the Lost Hotel on Route 16 had terrible service."
"Greninja. Not the place." Kai reprimanded.
"Whatever…" Greninja stretched his front legs over his head and yawned. "Phew, been a while since we had a training day like this though. I swear not even the prep we did for the Gym Leaders was this repetitive."
"Because we're not just here to train. You and I both know that." Kai seriously reminded.
Greninja lowered his limbs and stared blankly at Kai. "What is with you today? You're never this uptight…well you're never this uptight normally."
"It's nothing. I just…" Kai looked away from his Pokémon. "I just want to stay focused on the mission. That's all."
Kai stared at Ruby who was using her using her weapon in only the most practical fashion, by lifting a whole turkey on the sharp end of her gun to tease a jumping and flipping Zwei with. That is until she spotted her teacher watching, quickly sheathing Crescent Rose.
"Sorry! Uh...Are we ready to keep going?" She asked Oobleck.
"Nope! I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon." Without looking Oobleck threw his bag over to Yang; with Weiss, Blake and Robin beside her. "You four, set up camp in that building. Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those...creatures. Your leader and your friend are going to help me secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby, Kai."
Oobleck, Ruby and Kai begin walking away from the others with Greninja agitatedly watching them.
"I'm here too you know. Not like I ever get mentioned or appreciated." Greninja grumbled, crossing his front legs as he followed Kai with Zwei barking beside him. "You too huh? Humans just don't seem to appreciate what they've got."
As the five walked away, the remaining WBY each looked at their leader, knowing what question Oobleck will probably ask her. Whereas Robin seemed distant, heading inside of the building ahead of the others on her own.
Elsewhere Oobleck started leading the others around the corner of a building. When they get there, Ruby, Kai and Greninja started slowing down, staring at something far into the distance.
"Whaaaa..." Ruby gasped in awe.
"Are those?" Greninja finishes.
The three slowly made their way to the edge of the city, the remaining signs of civilisation nothing more than a large pile of rubble that they were at the top of. However, because of that, they all had a clear view of the outside landscape.
They stood on a high enough level to stare at the steep mountains in the distance, the same mountains that Robin had looked at for weeks although from the other side. Below them the pile of rubble led to a luscious green forest below, a sight which was overshadowed by the line of marching giant elephants that were taller than the trees. But these were no ordinary animals, these ones were black and white with jagged bony spines coming out of their backs.
"Those things make the rental Mamoswine on Route 17 look like Swinub." Kai commented.
Ruby turned to Oobleck. "What is that? It looks awesome!"
"That, my dear girl, is a Grimm." Oobleck calmly answered.
Ruby stared at the lumbering mass of monsters in amazement and awe before cocking her gun. "Let's kill it."
"I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size."
"But...What if it attacks us?"
"Fret not Ruby; those Goliaths are not concerned with us." Oobleck looked to Ruby, his tone becoming softer. "Ruby not every Grimm is mindless, or rather not every Grimm is still mindless. You see the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years, and in that time between killing humans and attacking our borders they have done one important thing; they've learned. They've learned that when they attack our borders they're likely to die, and what we lack in strength we make up for in will, and that killing one human will only bring more."
As he says this, one Goliath swivels its thick neck to look at the figures watching their procession, eyes glowing as fiery red as any other Grimm.
"Then why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?" Ruby asked.
"Waiting."
As Oobleck said this, the Goliath turned its head forward again and moved on with its kin. Oobleck turned around and began walked away as well, with Ruby putting away her weapon.
"A Goliath…those were the things that Team CFVY had to-" Kai suddenly gasped realising something. "Hold on! Doctor Oobleck you just said that the Grimm can think. That they're intelligent right?! If that's true then maybe...maybe we don't need to kill them. Maybe if we just try to understand them, try to work with them, then maybe we can work togeth-"
"Cease that train of thought right now!" Oobleck shouted, much more intensely than previously. "Having a survival instinct is not equal to having sentience! Deadly poison in certain species of fungi, thorns on the stem of roses, even the high quantities of spice contained in the seeds of a red-hot chili pepper are examples of survival mechanisms despite belonging to natural organisms lacking complex awareness of their existence! Do not make the misconception, not even for even a moment, that the creatures of Grimm are anything more than a very real threat to humanity. Because if you do, you and others around you will die."
Kai flinched from Oobleck's outburst, and looked back at the wild. "I'm-I'm sorry. I just thought…that there was a better solution to all of this. A solution where nobody had to kill and nobody needed to be killed."
Oobleck gently put a hand on Kai's shoulder. "That is quite alright. You are still new to truly understanding how this world works, and honestly I would much rather have you questioning and seeking better ways of living for the future than simply accepting things as they are now. That is how humanity has progressed this far. But you must be aware that a little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing in misguided hands. Especially when the rest of that knowledge comes from potential bias and unconfirmed speculation. As much as you may wish to believe it, the Grimm are not like your Pokémon. Far from it." Oobleck sighed. "You have not been the first person to consider the prospect of co-existence with the Grimm. I am sure there were many before you and there may well be people after you. In fact I can say with certainty that at least one man did, and he had the curiosity and resources to make strides in that particular study."
"He did? What happened?"
"What happened?" Oobleck repeated as he looked away from the Grimm, and started walking back into the city his eyes behind his glasses staring at a tall tower in the centre of the city with an 'M' like logo inside a hexagon on it. "You've spent all day exploring what happened."
Kai stayed quiet, looking out at the Goliath's minding their own business. With how peaceful they looked Kai had almost forgotten just what they were.
Ruby looked back at Kai and Greninja before turning to Oobleck and folding her weapon away. "Doctor Oobleck?"
Oobleck looked back at Ruby. "Hmm?"
"I was wondering..."
Oobleck stopped walking and turned fully back to her. "Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?"
Ruby walked up to Oobleck, along with Zwei. "A-Actually, I was wondering... Why did you want to become a Huntsman?"
Oobleck gestured at the ruins. "Look around and tell me what you see."
Ruby took a look around. "Lots of old buildings, uh, empty streets..."
"I see lives that could have been saved." Oobleck continued with Ruby beside him, and Zwei at their heels. "As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it in the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could have been saved, but I also see an opportunity. An opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger. I am a Huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be."
Oobleck continued walking on his own, leaving Ruby to turn around and call out to Kai. "Kai! Greninja! Are you two coming?!"
"In a minute!" Kai replied, looking to his partner. "We probably should be heading back."
"Yeah, we should." Greninja agreed, taking one last look at the mountains. "Being out here, it almost takes me back to that night. When we first showed up in this freaky world."
"Does it, I don't feel like that. Although, I was a little knocked out at the time." Kai look determinedly at the grey sky and reached his hand out, comparing the view to the sky that night when he saw Remnant's moon for the first time. "Hopefully if we're right. If the White Fang and Team Flare are hiding out here, then we can finally put this whole thing behind us. Go home and…never think about having to kill a Grimm with my bare hands again. Or force you guys to do it for me."
Kai looked back down and pulled out Greninja's Pokéball. "Come on Greninja. You've battled a lot of Grimm today, return for now and we can start back up again tomorrow."
A red laser came out of the button on the ball enveloping Greninja and returning him inside of it. Kai then took one last view of the landscape now that all the Goliath had walked away, before turning and following Ruby and Oobleck back to camp.
Back at the building the dim light of the sunset peaked through the cracks and holes in the wall, doing little to illuminate the remainder of the group inside. However they had managed to do as as instructed and built a fire in the centre of the room, helping to solve the lack of light and heat the night will bring.
Yang walked up to the campfire. "I can't believe we didn't find anything..."
Blake sat crouched near the fire. "We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side."
"…That's not what I meant." Weiss said randomly.
Blake looked to her teammate. "Huh?"
"Earlier, about...upholding the legacy. There's more to it than that." Weiss clarified.
"Yeah...No, me too." Yang said truthfully before becoming unsure. "I mean...I don't know."
Blake stood up. "I don't know either. I know what I want to do, but I figured I'd always take things one step at a time."
Yang looked to her partner. "Well it doesn't matter. We know why we're here. Right?"
The girls merely stared in silence, until Weiss looked over to Robin alone on the other side of the room. "What about you Robin?"
Robin heard her name and looked over to Team WBY. "Huh?"
"I know you're not in the same position as us, but did Dr. Oobleck as you why you became a Huntress?" Blake asked.
Robin's posture suddenly became more defensive. "Despite us being put together, remember that I'm not on your team. So whether the Doctor asked me or didn't ask me something is none of your business!"
Robin suddenly walked off, going through a large hole in the wall to spend some time alone in a room parallel to the one the others were in. The remaining girls just looked at each other, unsure not only of why Robin reacted like that, but of their very purpose and reason for being here.
Oblivious to the current mood Oobleck suddenly came rushing into the room. "Ah wonderful, a textbook campfire!"
"Fire!" Ruby came in from behind Oobleck and immediately sat next to the flames next to Zwei, raising her hands to its infrared glow. "So...warm..."
"Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode." Oobleck zoomed over, and mimicked using a pair of binoculars with his hands. "Any volunteers for first watch?"
Ruby lifted an arm while still looking into the fire. "Yo."
With the first shift covered Oobleck suddenly rushed off, and Ruby got up from the fire and went to over to her lookout point, passing Yang on the way.
"Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress?" Yang asked as stopping Ruby. "I mean...what did you tell him?"
"Hmm...no, he didn't. Weird. Oh well, good night guys!" Ruby innocently answered before continuing on without a carefree thought.
On her way out, Kai brushed passed her as he came in. He saw everyone's disappointed looks and grew troubled.
"Um…did I miss something?" Kai looked around the room puzzled. "Where's Robin?"
"She went into the other room on her own. I think she needed some alone time." Blake answered half-heartedly.
"Oh…okay. Well I'll give her some space." Kai said as he pulled out a Pokéball.
Weiss suddenly went over to Kai. "Kai did Oobleck…?"
"Did Oobleck what?" Kai repeated in confusion.
"…Nothing. It's nothing Kai." Weiss looked away, unable to finish asking the question.
"Alright then…" Kai tossed the Pokéball up. "Come on out Slurpuff, we could use a hand with dinner!"
The opening of the Pokéball briefly filled the room with light, overpowering the orange sunset behind the mountains outside. When the light from the flash faded that same view had suddenly turned black, time having passed to go from dusk to night.
Blake still seemed troubled as she started unrolling her mat. Weiss tried lay her head down on a comfy white pillow but didn't seem tired enough to get to sleep. Yang apathetically ate some bread rolls that were part her dinner before she joined her teammates, lying down and staring aimlessly at the ceiling.
From the other room Robin sat alone all in the dark, the faint light that crept in from the other room casting a dark shadow behind her, that looked like the judging silhouette in her in her thoughts.
Kai pulled out a white tissue and neatly brushed the sides of his mouth, making sure not a crumb or stain from dinner was upon his face. He looked out of a nearby broken window into the night sky.
"Just stay focused on the mission Kai. We're almost home." Kai muttered to himself.
Ruby meanwhile, was sitting in the vacant windowsill of the room as Zwei goes over to her upon hearing the howling of Beowolves.
She petted her pooch on the back. "Don't worry. Things will be better tomorrow."
Zwei and his Master looked out onto the rubble and stare in silence. The response to her hopeful statement being the cold, uncaring whispers of the night's wind.
Happy Pride Month to my LGBTQ+ watchers, followers or casual Fanfic readers!
So Kai and the others are finally at Mountain Glenn, and we even had a brief moment to see how Kai and Robin's experiences and Huntsman education have helped them take on at least some Grimm without any assistance. Even Lucario's grown a little, in how he can no sense Grimm to some extent.
I know that this chapter and the previous one haven't really changed all that much from the cannon, but hopefully moving forward things won't stay that way.
So until next time, this is Kallerston signing out!