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Let the record show that this transcript is an accurate reproduction of the interview tapes made by Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy, with cooperation of General James Ironwood of Atlas Academy and Glynda Goodwitch, also of Beacon.
The statements made have been verified by all witnesses present. Questions asked by Ozpin will be shown in bold type, while answers and other statements will be normal type.
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Chapter 9:
Eyewitness
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State your name for the record please. Include team name as well.
I'm, um… Ruby Rose. Leader of team RWBY.
In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened this afternoon.
Well, uh… we were all just hanging out I suppose. Yang was telling us about one of her games, Jaune and a few others were talking over on the side, um… just normal hanging out, I guess. Anyway, when Nora tossed Ku's hood up, that's when everything went just crazy. Ren went nuts first – I've never seen him that angry before. She did hurt Nora, but wow! The two of them fought for a bit, but he was quickly beaten. Carmine yelled some stuff, I can't remember too clearly, but soon after Ren was pulled away and Yang and Red fought Ku together. I tried to watch what was happening, but they moved so fast… Before I knew it, Uncle Qrow had stepped in, a group of teachers had come and collected Nora, and everything was just so… crazy… I'm sorry I didn't see more than that.
Could you explain who "Ku" is?
Oh, yeah… she's one of the Ruby Squad. She looks like a grown-up, but she normally acts like a little kid. I was there when she first showed up, and she was really different there. Really scary. Just like today. I felt like she would …kill me… if I slipped up. I think Carmine could tell you more, I don't know that much. Sorry…
It's okay, Miss Rose. You mentioned Qrow?
Yeah, Uncle Qrow showed up out of nowhere! He was so cool! Nobody actually saw him come in, but …uh… we all saw that he was drunk. Again. Carmine was worried that Ku might take his sword, but nobody can beat Uncle Qrow! He kicked serious psycho butt!
And how was the situation resolved?
Oh, uh… After Red got Ku tied up somehow, Rain showed up. I was too far away to hear anything, but it looked like she leaned close to Ku and said something. Then she said something to Carmine, she stared at me for a minute, then just… vanished.
Vanished?
Yep. 'Poof!' Gone.
I see. Thank you Miss Rose. That will be all.
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State your name for the record, please. Include team name as well.
Jaune Arc. I'm the, uh… leader of team JNPR.
In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened this afternoon.
Oh boy, where to begin? Uh… Well once Ku went nuts, Carmine just kind of… took over, really. She seemed to know what she was doing. The first thing she had us do was take care of Nora. Since I'm still having trouble with Aura, I let Pyrrha use hers to try and stabilize Nora until the medics could arrive. All I could do was keep the crowd from running over us all. Once Ren was calmed down enough to think again, he practically shoved Pyrrha out of the way to keep Nora alive himself. I wasn't doing a good job of crowd control, so Coco came over to help. The medical team arrived just as the last of the crowd died out, and I went back with the rest of them. Nora is on my team, you know. I didn't see anything else that happened.
And how is Miss Valkyrie?
Last I checked she's stable. The doctors gave her everything they had to knock her out, but she resisted it all… she's still awake. Ren hasn't left her side ever since.
That's good to know. And you, Mister Arc? How are you feeling after this incident?
In all honesty? Not good. I know I'm not good at being a leader, …hell, I'm not good at being a swordsman, either. I feel like… everything I do is destined to fail. And this only made that more clear. I wanted to stay, even though I was scared, but Carmine pretty much ordered me to go. "Your place is with your team," she said. I know she was just trying to make me feel better.
That'll be all, Mister Arc. And do try to cheer up. After all, the future is yours to write.
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Please state your name for the record. Include team name, as well.
I am Yang Xiao Long of team RWBY. You could say I'm the 'big gun' on the team…
That'll do, Miss Xiao Long. Now, in your own time and your own words, please tell us what happened this afternoon.
Well after I spent some time enlightening my fellow gamers on some secret knowledge… just kidding… Ku decided to 'snap' …sorry that was bad. Ren tried fighting her first – and damn was he pissed! – so there really wasn't anything I could do at first. Carmine jumped in to get us all organized, but it was mostly chaos with the crowds running and screaming. She had me and Red get ready, since Ren was running down. Once it was time, we rocked! Honestly I didn't think the two of us would fight so well together. We seemed to be in sync right off the bat. Ku still held her own, though – actually, she called herself "Thorn" like that – and we didn't gain any ground. Once Qrow showed up, though, that's when things got interesting. Hoo boy. Long story short, 'Thorn' got all tied up and Rain showed up to give her a spanking she wouldn't soon forget.
You say "things got interesting…" Could you elaborate?
*sigh* Okay, I'll try. Qrow was his usual drunk self, which seemed to throw Thorn off. She tried talking to him like she knew him, but he just kinda… shrugged it off. She was dangerous and a threat. That was all he needed. I honestly thought it would be more one-sided since he had his weapon, but boy was I wrong. After that it got weird, though… Red started looking around at everything… and nothing… and then he did something I still don't get, which led to Thorn getting tied up. I really tried to follow it all, but… damn.
Do you have anything more to add about what Red did? Any more details?
Sorry, professor. I told you everything I could.
Very well. That will be all, Miss Xiao Long. Thank you for your time.
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Let the record show that Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee are excused from the interviews as they were not present for the incident.
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State your name for the records, please. Include team name as well.
I am Pyrrha Nikos from the Kingdom of Mistral. Of team JNPR.
In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened this afternoon.
At around 3:30 this afternoon, the Ruby known as Ku became hostile and violent. She attacked Nora Valkyrie and left her for dead. Lie Ren became enraged and engaged in battle, but soon used up too much of his aura to continue. Yang Xiao Long and the Ruby known as Red… a male, by the way… took over the battle. I was assigned to guard Nora along with my team leader, Jaune Arc. I focused on keeping Nora alive with my Aura. Ren soon joined us, along with Coco Adel of team CFVY. I made sure no hostilities occurred in the immediate vicinity while we waited for the medical team. Once they arrived, I departed the scene with my team.
Why do you think Carmine kept you on the sidelines? Wouldn't you have been a major factor in winning the fight?
I… don't think that would have worked. My specialty is with melee combat – mainly with my own weapon and shield – and Carmine expressly forbid their use. She claimed that if Ku even grabbed a butter knife, everyone would be dead within minutes. Besides, I was worried about Nora.
What can you tell us about the battle itself?
Well, I can tell you that I've never seen Ren so angry. Normally he fights with a calm, serene state of mind. Like a dance, really. I often enjoy just watching him go through his forms for exercise or sparring. This was different. He was fully enraged. I believe he thought Nora to be …dead. Once he realized she lived, he abandoned the battle to remain near her. Yang and Red fought next, and it was quite a sight to behold. They fought like age-old partners that knew each other's moves inside and out. I would have liked to have stayed and watched, but I had to go with the medical team.
Thank you Miss Nikos. That will be all.
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Let the record show that Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie are excused from the interviews due to Miss Valkyries injuries. She was admitted to Vale General's intensive care unit with severe spinal trauma.
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State your name for the record, please. And clarify your …position in the current circumstances.
Uh… okay. My name is Ruby Rose, but I'm the one they all just call "Rose."
In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened this afternoon.
I saw my life flash before my eyes, is what… *sigh* But that's not important. You're asking about Ku. Okay, so, after making a few agreements for some …uh, 'inter-team training' I think she called it… Ku just went nuts. It was Nora that did it, but it was a total accident. Apparently putting Ku's hood up makes her go a little coo-coo. Since I have exactly zero hand-to-hand combat skills, Carmine had me on crowd control the whole time. About the only useful thing I did all day was find Qrow and point him in the direction of the fight. I guess that helped…
You found Qrow? Where was he?
In a bar getting drunk, where else?
Of course. You mentioned Ku's hood. What did you mean?
Well Carmine tried to explain it, but even she didn't know the whole story. It had something to do with Ku having …uh, "multiple personality disorder" …or something like that. I've never been able to follow fancy talk… like that…
…Is something wrong Miss Rose?
Could you, um… ask Miss Glynda to stop… staring at me like that?
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Thank you.
No, thank you Miss Rose. That will be all. Let the record show that Glynda Goodwitch apologized and agreed to stop staring when asked.
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State your name for the record, please. Also clarify your position in the current circumstances.
...S-Sapphire Schn-… Um…
It's alright, Miss Sapphire. General Ironwood already knows your details. This is just a formality.
Very well… *ahem* I am Sapphire Schnee, specialist of the Atlesian Army under General Black.
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My apologies, Miss Sapphire. In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened.
At around 1530 hours, Ku became hostile and engaged in battle with Lie Ren after inflicting heavy injury to Nora Valkyrie. Soon after he was replaced by Yang Xiao Long and Red. Qrow Branwen also engaged Ku some minutes later, leading to her binding and eventual defeat. Rain came in and gave Ku some harsh words before taking her away for punishment. During this time, Nora was being tended to be the other members of her team until a medical unit could be brought in. As Carmine is my temporary field officer… of sorts… I followed her orders to stand by and provide occasional ranged support with my glyphs as needed. The battle was concluded at 1548 hours.
Temporary field officer? What does that mean?
Classified.
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No further questions, Miss Sapphire. Thank you. Let the record show that I had to calm General Ironwood twice during Miss Sapphire's interview.
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State your name for the record, if you please. Also please clarify your position in the current circumstances.
Um… current circum… stances…?
How are you related to Ruby Rose?
Oh that. My name is… um… actually it's just Red. And I seem to be the only guy on the Ruby Squad. I guess… that's it. I'm the guy.
I see. In your own words and your own time, please tell us what happened this afternoon.
Crap… okay. Uh… We all talked about a lot of things today. Future plans, stuff like that. But then that Ku girl went nuts and started fighting Ren. I was… well to be honest I was ready to run away with the crowd. I was scared. But Carmine kept me there. She told me that once Ren wore down that I would be the key to getting the win. I knew what she was talking about, but I didn't know she knew about it… but I'm getting ahead of myself. Once Yang and I started fighting together, it was… magical. That's the only word I can think to describe it. Even training back home I never felt that comfortable so close to… uh, anyway… After that I used my semblance and found a way to get Ku tied up. Having Aunt…er, Uncle Qrow there was a big help. Never been so scared in my life.
Could you explain what your semblance is and how it helped you win?
Oh here we go. My semblance is rather …different from Ruby's. From most of the others, actually. When I focus on something hard enough, my mind just kind of …goes into overdrive. I end up looking at literally everything around me and I can somehow calculate exactly what has to happen and how to achieve what I want to do. In this case I saw things like a loose rope, a ragged piece of canvas, a random drink with lots of ice… I have no say in what I see or use, but I know it always works. That's how I got her tied up.
Interesting. And Carmine knew about this?
Somehow, yes. I don't know how, since I didn't tell her. I assume her big fancy scanners somehow found out.
And could you touch on these so-called "future plans?"
Oof… I'm not supposed to say anything. Kind of a group secret. Hell, I shouldn't have mentioned them at all.
Very well, that will be all Mister …Red. Thank you.
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Let the record show that Coco Adel is excused from these interviews.
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State your name for the record, please. Also clarify your position in the current circum-
No.
Um… Miss Rain? Please don't interrupt me.
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Miss Rain?
What?
Could you tell us who you are?
You just did, so why should I?
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Fine. I am called Rain. That's all.
Can you tell us what happened today?
Those children ignored my warning and played around with what I told them not to. They paid for it. I came in after it was over and took Ku away. She's currently sulking in the Ruby Squad room because I forbid her to wear anything with a hood from now on.
Do you mean to say you could have stepped in at any time?
Yes.
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And why didn't you?
I didn't feel like it.
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Wait, what's…
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Something has …shifted… …?
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We're done here.
So it would seem. Thank you Miss Rain.
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Let the record show that Carmine refused to answer our summons to the interview, citing "too much work to do" as her reason. She instead sent us a 5-page written report that is, for the most part, illegible and loaded down with technical jargon.
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The below signed have claimed responsibility
for the accuracy and legibility of this document.
By the authority of the Headmaster of
Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale,
Glynda Goodwitch
James Ironwood, Gen.
Professor Ozpin
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=^w^=