Hippocrates

After having breakfast, Ruby and Weiss received a call from Calendula to come to her office. When they entered the room, they saw the cat faunus sitting behind the desk, having just tossing chocolate into her mouth.

"Come in, girls." She greeted them. "Have a seat."

Both of them took a seat at the chairs in front of the desk. As she sat down, Ruby noticed a bowl filled with wrapped food, likely the chocolate that Calendula was currently eating. She looked at the physician as she pointed at the bowl, earning a nod of confirmation. The girl in the hood happily took one and quickly unwrapped it before tossing the sweet into her mouth.

She soon regretted her decision as the sweet was revealed to be dark chocolate.

"So, what is it, Miss Calendula?" Weiss asked, ignoring her team leader who was wiping her tongue with her hands.

"We have good news and bad news." She told them. "Good news is the police managed to find your friends."

"Really?!" Ruby shouted. "Blake? Yang?"

"Yep. Which is where the bad news comes in." The faunus cat ears went down a bit. "They managed to get themselves involved in some crime scene and is currently detained until the matter is settled."

"What?!" Both girls became worried. "Is…"

"Don't worry. The bribe has been given. The police just need a few days to deal with the paperwork and everything would be alright."

While that would usually cause them to feel relieved, one fact prevented that from happening.

"You…bribed…the police?" The heiress spoke slowly, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"This is Siracusa," Calendula spoke in a tone of explaining the obvious. "You either bribe the officials or get nothing done."

"I suppose." She sighed.

While it was quite different, it reminded her about when her father ranted almost every time after a business trip to Mistral, talking about how much Lien he had to spend in greasing the system.

"But…but…" Ruby was still shocked, however. "Bribery is wrong."

"Officially, yes. Unofficially?" The faunus simply shrugged. "The social norms in Siracusa accept the existence of bribery so long as it's behind the door. Not unlike how people state that sex should only happen behind the door."

Well, that was one hell of an analogy.

"OK. Putting the bribery thing aside," The white-haired girl changed the topic. "Is that the only reason you call us? After all, you can simply go to us or ask someone to do it."

"Indeed. While I prefer waiting until your friends are released, Doctor Kal'tsit is quite insistent on both of you arriving in Rhodes Island as soon as possible."

"Why is the doctor so interested in having us there?"

"I don't know. The doctor often has something that she handles herself."

Still concerned, Weiss turned her attention towards her team leader, who remained silent for a while before shrugging.

"I don't think we have much choice, Weiss," Ruby said. "It's only a day and Rhodes Island already did much for us; they give us a place to stay, food, and also helping Yang and Blake's situation. We owe a lot to them."

"I suppose you have a point." She sighed, clearly still not liking the situation. "When will we leave?"

"At noon," Calendula answered. "We will receive a supply from the Ark. You guys will hitch the ride back."

"Gotcha." The red-haired girl replied. "When noon arrives, we will be ready."

Blake had to admit that this was quite an experience.

She had her own share of being imprisoned, what with her being a member of the White Fang, especially after it became more radical. Due to one reason or another, she always managed to get out until she finally deserted from the organization.

Thus, she knew that a sofa, comfy chair, a bookcase, a carpet, and a small TV were not supposed to be in a cell.

The faunus turned her attention to her partner. Considering her dumbfounded face, just like her, she was surprised by the accommodation. Her attention returned to the white-haired woman who was sitting on the other side of the room, silently watching the news channel.

"Excuse me."

The "inmates" turned their attention towards a warden, who was carrying a box that Blake recognized as the one for pizza.

"Ah, finally!" The wolf faunus grinned as her hand went into her pocket. "Here you go."

The huntresses-in-training watched as she gave him some blue papers in exchange for the pizza. She then put the box on a small table before opening it, revealing a pizza that was not cut into pieces like usual. The woman grabbed the edge and slowly tore it apart until it was shaped roughly like a triangle.

"So, correct me if I am wrong, but…" Yang opened her mouth. "Did we just witnessed a bribe happening?"

"Um…" Blake tried to find the word, but she was beaten.

"It's not exactly a bribe." The wolf faunus explained. "Bribe means making someone do something for you – likely something illegal – in exchange for money or others. What happened just then, well, let's just say 'accepted' is the word that is used."

The blonde raised an eyebrow, confused, before looking at her partner, who sighed as she rubbed her forehead.

"She means that bribery is an open secret." The black-haired woman replied. "You can do it, everyone can do it. It's just not something discussed because it's an uncomfortable topic."

"What?!"

"Welcome to Siracusa." The woman said before eating the pizza.

Blake simply let out another sigh. Her time in the White Fang had introduced her to some of the darker aspects of society, including the nature of bribery. There was always one in place that has law enforcement, just a different degree of severity. From little that she had gathered, it seemed that in this region, Siracusa, bribery was so common that people had accepted it as part of daily life.

After all, how else do you explain the accommodation in the cell and the willingness of the warden to buy pizza in exchange for more bribe?

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, the faunus walked towards the bookcase, wondering if there was a book that interested her. It was when she read some of the titles that she noticed it.

Codice da Vinci

Racconti di Uomini d'Onore

Come Evitare di Essere Mafioso

She didn't recognize any of them and by that, she didn't mean the title. These titles were definitely written in a certain language; one that she had never heard of. While the Four Kingdoms shared a similar language, there were still some differences between them, like how a word in one kingdom has a different meaning in another. This, however, was on a whole another level.

"Um, excuse me, Miss…" Blake turned her attention to the wolf woman.

"Just call me Lappland." She said, currently licking the sauce on her fingers.

"Lappland…" She rolled the word in her mouth. "Anyway, are the books here written in this language only?"

This caught the attention of Yang, who looked at her partner in confusion.

"Well, if you ask 'nicely,' you can get a book written in Victorian, Iberian, or maybe even Yen."

The blonde became even more confused, causing her to look at Lappland before turning her attention back to Blake.

"Blake." She asked. "What is she talking about?"

"I-I-I don't…" The black-haired woman was in the same boat. "I don't know."

Inside the airplane, there wasn't much that Ruby and Weiss could do until they reached their destination. The former was eating a snack that she took from the clinic before they departed while the latter decided to take some nap.

It was not like the bullhead that they were more familiar with, but it was also an aircraft with VTOL ability. Judging from the floor of the plane, along with the chairs that were attached to the wall and could be folded, this airplane was likely a primary cargo ship that could be used to transport people as well.

PING

The sound caught their attention, waking up the white-haired woman as well. They looked at the speaker, where the sound came from.

"Attention passengers, this is your pilot speaking." The voice announced. "We're about to reach the Ark. Please prepare for the landing."

The huntresses-in-training looked as personnel of Rhodes Island strapped their seatbelts, preparing for landing as they had been told to. Seeing that, they decided to do it as well. While they couldn't see the outside world, the students could still feel the sensation of the plane slowly descending.

When it finally landed, both of them were surprised, thinking that it was still long before they landed.

"That was quick," Ruby commented.

"We must have landed in a place with high altitude," Weiss suggested. "Anyway, that's not important. Let's go, Ruby."

When the backdoor of the aircraft was opened, they exited the vehicle along with others. They looked around and – upon seeing the "H" of the helipad – realized that they were currently on the rooftop of a building.

That was until Ruby looked at the scenery.

"H-Hey, Weiss." She called her partner. "Is it only me…or is that hill moving?"

The heiress was about to roll her eyes at the joke before remembering that her leader wasn't the type to make that kind of joke. Thus, she decided to look at where the hill was. She blinked several times before rubbing her eyes, wanting to make sure she was not seeing a thing.

"Yes, it is indeed moving." She said.

"That's because the Ark is a mobile city."

The huntresses-in-training turned around to look at the person who told that. It was a grey-haired faunus with a pair of long ears. The length reminded them of Velvet, but the shape indicated that those were not rabbit ears.

Before they could guess further, Weiss finally realized what they had just been told.

"Wait, mobile city?" She repeated the words.

"Well, it's more like a mobile base since it isn't that big." The spearman replied. "Though, yeah. This thing's moving which is why we see that hill moving."

The heiress looked around for a bit, still trying to comprehend what she had just heard. The idea of a mobile base was not unheard of. After all, Atlesian warships were often used as mobile command posts. However, judging from that particular sound and their altitude, the mobile base of Rhodes Island was likely on wheels or rather, treads.

"Ah, where are my manners?" The boy suddenly said. "Name's Grani, operator of Rhodes Island. I have been tasked by Doctor Kal'tsist to escort you to her office."

"Oh, I see," Ruby replied. "Then we will be in your care."

"Great!" He then showed a face that indicated that he remembered something. "Oh, almost forgot. I need you to hand over your weapon."

"What?!"

"It makes sense, Ruby," Weiss said. "In some places, the presence of weapons is restricted to prevent an…incident."

"Yep, that's right!" Grani stated before offering his hand. "So, your weapon, please!"

The white-haired girl handed over Myrtenaster. However, it took some time for her leader due to hesitation before finally handing over Crescent Rose. The operator nodded his head as he strapped the weapons into his belt.

"Well, with that settled," Grani turned around and raised the spear. "Follow me!"

The first thing that both of them noticed was that the majority of the people in Rhodes Island was faunus. There were so many of them that they saw the variety that they had never seen before, like a crocodile, bear, deer, mouse, and more.

There were some humans, though. They saw a pink-haired woman in a blue hoodie carrying a plate of blue-colored cake. They also saw a brown-haired woman with white stripes carrying an old-style camera, accompanied by a pair of drones.

It was quite strange and unusual seeing so many faunus in one place that the humans were the minority instead. The only place that they expect for that to happen was Menagerie, which was considered to be the safe haven for the Faunus.

It took them at least fifteen minutes before they arrived in front of a door.

"Here we are," Grani announced. "Just step inside. The doctor is already waiting for you."

Both huntress-in-training looked at each other and nodded before entering the room. Upon doing so, they were greeted by the sight of a rather plain office. A desk with a computer, a stack of files, a cup, and small decorations. There were also a hanger, a wardrobe, and a bookcase. Nothing special beyond that.

Their attention, however, was focused on the individual that had her back turned on them, currently seeing the scenery outside through the window. The two of them looked nervously at each other, unsure what to do next when she turned around.

"Welcome to Rhodes Island." The woman, Doctor Kal'tsit, greeted them. "I trust it that there is no disturbance on the way here."

"N-No, Doctor!" Ruby replied. "E-Everything's alright."

"Good to hear." One of her hands went into her pocket. "Before we started, can you tell me what do you think of this?"

The cat faunus put a black crystal on top of her table. Weiss slowly approached the table and picked it up. Close inspection revealed that the crystal was actually an imitation; one that was made from glass. She then showed it to her leader, who simply stared at it with her hand on her chin.

"It's…quite a good imitation." The white-haired girl commented. "Looks like Gravity Dust in its raw form."

"Dust…I see." She said before offering her hand.

Weiss gave her the crystal back. Rather than putting it back in her pocket, Kal'tsit instead played with it for a bit.

"It's confirmed; things have indeed become more complicated." She suddenly said.

"Um, Doctor?" The red-haired girl asked, confused. "Is everything alright?"

"Not exactly." The faunus replied. "To start with, both of you are very far from home. So far that the people here have no clue regarding your home."

Both of them blinked several times. Of all the things that they expected, that was certainly not one of them.

"Well, that could explain why Miss Calendula…" Ruby muttered before remembering something. "Hey, if that's the case, then why you…"

"I don't know your home. I know of your home."

"Oh." She lowered her head. "Well, that's…a bummer, I suppose."

"Perhaps," Kal'tsit stated. "In any case, what is the norm in your home might not be the case here, and vice versa. For that, I am offering help in integrating with the locals."

"Eh?" Both of them were – once again – surprised by the statement.

"Not only that," The doctor continued. "I am also offering you a place to stay, a monthly stipend, anything that you need to live here."

"What's with generosity?" Weiss asked suspiciously.

"While Rhodes Island has a noble mission, I am someone that can barely be called a 'good person.' I am willing to do all of that in the hope of you helping the company in completing its mission. And even if you don't join us, at least you won't be joining our enemy."

It seemed that being surprised would be a frequent occurrence here. The heiress did expect that all the offers were to manipulate her and Ruby into joining Rhodes Island. She just didn't expect that Kal'tsit would be so upfront about it.

It was a…fresh breath of air if she had to admit. Her position as the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company meant that ever since she attended the party of the high society, she was always approached by people who tried to be her "friend" in the hope of gaining a connection with her family. The doctor did no such thing; she told her upfront that she wanted something from her and in exchange, she would give her something valuable.

"Um, you said that Rhodes Island has a 'noble mission.'" Ruby opened her mouth. "What is that mission?"

"I believe that's a question you should ask my superior, the leader of Rhodes Island." She replied. "I may have an important position, but still in the end just a doctor."

"OK." She nodded. "As for the offer, Weiss, what do you think?"

"Accept it, of course." Her partner shrugged. "It's not like we have any other choice, right?"

"Hehe, yeah, you're right."

"Very well then," Kal'tsit stated. "We will discuss this further, preferably after your teammates are out of prison. For now, I believe it's time to replace your bandage, correct, Miss Rose?"

"Ah, I almost forgot!" The red-haired girl said, touching at the place where she was wounded.

"Grani will escort you to the medical room. Along with the checkup." The doctor told them. "Don't worry, just standard procedure. As a company that dwells in medicine and treatment, we need to make sure that everything's sterile."

"That's acceptable." The heiress stated.

They then walked towards the door. However, just before they exited the room, they were called by her.

"Ah, almost forgot." She suddenly said. "Because many make the mistake, in case you're wondering…"

The huntresses-in-training wondered what she was talking about. What was it that many had made a mistake about?

"Grani is a girl."

They couldn't help but awkwardly look at each other, revealing their mistake.

"Welcome, dear guests. Please make yourself comfortable."

When Ruby entered the room, she was surprised to see the physician was staring at her. Though looking closer, she realized that that was simply how her orange eyes were. That, along with her hairstyle, reminded her about the owls that she saw back in Patch.

Putting that aside, She went towards an empty bed and took a seat on it. She then rolled up her shirt as the physician lady picked up cotton with tweezers, which has been soaked with some kind of water.

As she waited for her leader to be treated, Weiss looked around the room in curiosity and due to having nothing to do as well. She set her eyes on the cabinet where the medical items were stored. She noticed that there was barely any perishable item inside, like a bandage, saline water, etc.

She wondered if something big had happened. Something that caused a lot of them to be used.

"There." The physician stated. "The bandage changing procedure has been completed."

"Thank you, Miss…" Ruby was about to thank her when she noticed something. "E-Eh?! What?!"

It caused the heiress to turn her head and saw the cause of her shock; the physician was crouching on the floor, letting out a sound that sounded a lot like a snore. Actually, that might be indeed a snore.

"She…falls asleep?" Weiss stated, unable to believe her own word.

"Um, Miss?" The red-haired girl decided to poke her, causing the physician to suddenly stand up. "Waaah!"

"Ptilopsis is awake." She suddenly stated, just as sudden as her sleep. "I am very sorry about my conduct. The situation in Chernobog caused a drop in my performance due to my body being more frequent in entering sleep mode."

"Chernobog?" The white-haired girl noticed that it was another unfamiliar name. "What happened there?"

"It is not of your concern," Ptilopsis replied. "To return to the more important subject, it is time to take some blood sample."

"Aw, man..." Ruby groaned.

"Finally, we're out!"

While Blake was not outspoken about it, unlike her partner, she agreed that it was nice that they were finally out of prison. As comfortable as the cell was, it could not beat the feeling of being free, able to go anywhere you want.

"Don't forget to fill the form, Yang." She reminded her.

"I know, I know. I am just waiting for Lappland to finish." The blonde assured her. "She takes quite a time."

After a while, the white-haired woman approached them.

"Alright, I have filled the forms." She told them. "Since everything is…"

"Whoa, wait." Yang raised a hand. "Forms? Plural?"

"Yep. I filled yours as well. So…"

"What?" Blake joined in. "Miss Lappland, if this is another form of…"

"Can you let me finish?" While she only raised her voice a bit, both of them still remembered their first meeting and decided to close their mouths. "Look, in normal circumstances, I won't care about whatever you do. However, my employer ordered me to help you in dealing with the locals and getting you two to Rhodes Island."

The huntresses-in-training couldn't help but feel suspicious. They silently prepared themselves in case a fight occurred.

"What business your employer have with us?" The black-haired girl asked.

"Dunno. Didn't ask further." The wolf faunus look-alike shrugged. "Anyway, our ride's arrived."

As if on cue, someone entered the police station. They turned their attention towards the door and saw that it was a red-haired woman. The students blinked several times, unable to believe what they saw. It might be some part of an elaborate costume, but it was too "real" for that to be the case.

"Yo, Lappland!" She greeted her with a small smile. "Still causing problem wherever you go, aren't you?"

"This from someone that is of Penguin Logistics." The white-haired woman sneered back. "Just asking, but where's Texas?"

"Delivering to another part of the town. She really tries her best to avoid you."

"Yeah, that's her. Oh, speaking of which, these are our guests."

"I see." She turned her attention to them. "Hello there, the name's Exusiai of Penguin Logistics. We've been tasked to escort you to Rhodes Island. Not exactly a delivery, but it's a close second."

"Um, hi…" Blake replied while her partner remained silent, still not believing what they saw.

"What's wrong?" Exusiai tilted her head. "Never seen a Sankta before?"

"Yep, that confirms it." They thought as they watched the halo following her head.

Indeed, the red-haired woman in front of them was someone that could only be called an angel with the halo on her head and wings of light on her back. The cat faunus thought of the possibility of them being the manifestation of Exusiai's Semblance, but that would mean it's continually active, which possessed its own set of problems.

"Eh, those two are not exactly the sharpest tools in the toolbox. They likely come from a backwater region or something." Lappland stated. "They lack knowledge about common stuff."

Normally, Blake and Yang would retort harshly about that, especially the former considering her home. However, they were still dumbstruck by the new person in the room.

"Is that so?" The red-haired woman then shook her head. "Eh, it doesn't matter. Just to confirm, you are friends of Ruby Rose and Weiss Schene, right?"

"W-Well, Rubes' my sister, but yeah." The blonde was finally able to talk. "How do you know those names?"

"They're currently in Rhodes Island, under the care of Dr. Kal'tsit."

"And what exactly is 'Rhodes Island?'"

The black-haired girl wondered if it was just her or if the light of the halo and wings just dimmed upon that statement.

"Man," The angelic woman scratched her head. "Lappland's not kidding."

"Told you~"

Kal'tsit was working on a file on her computer when she received a notice. The doctor moved the cursor towards it and clicked the button, revealing an announcement that the blood test of Ruby Rose and Weiss Schene has been completed.

It took quite an effort to convince the laboratory to make those two a priority. As irritating as it was though, she didn't regret making the decision, for it confirmed the fear that she had after receiving the report from Skadi and Calendula.

[Name] Weiss Schene
[Race] Unknown

Clinical Analysis:

Imaging tests on this subject show clear outlines of internal organs, with no abnormal dark spots or shadows. No unusual traces of Originium particles present in the circulatory system, no signs of infection, confirming this subject as uninfected.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation] 0%
No Oripathy.

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.01u/L

The Feline stopped reading there and instead rubbed the bridge of her nose. She already knew that she needed to take care of the more "eccentric" members of the medical staff. In any case, she already expected that. It was the other report that concerned her more.

[Name] Ruby Rose
[Race] Unknown

Imaging tests have shown the outlines of her internal organs to be indistinct due to abnormal shadows. Originium granules have been detected in her circulatory system, confirming her to be infected with Oripathy.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation] 8%
She presents no obvious external symptoms of Oripathy.

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.21u/L
Degree of infection is minor and physical symptoms are not yet present.

And it's done.

If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.

Review, please!