The Ark

PIIIIIII

Not even three seconds after it made the sound, the alarm of the clock was turned off. After doing that, Weiss stretched her body to get rid of the drowsiness before standing up from the bed.

Wasting not even a second, the white-haired girl headed straight towards the WC. Once inside, she washed her face and brushed her teeth at the sink. After drying her face with a towel, she exited the room along with it.

While each dorm has its own WC, the only place big enough to take a bath was the communal bathrooms. From what she had heard from Grani, they used shower booths, providing some privacy for those insides.

She felt rather bad for her sister, Winter. From complaints in her letters, communal showers in the military didn't use the booth, meaning there was no privacy at all.

It was at that point that Weiss realized her leader hasn't woken up yet. Rolling her eyes, the huntress-in-training walked towards her bed, finding Ruby to be indeed still sleeping. She was about to give her a shake when she noticed something on the girl's forehead.

Sweats.

She was surprised by what she saw. Last time she checked, the temperature of the dorm was not even warm thanks to the AC. Weiss was about to put her hand on her forehead when Ruby let out a groan with her eyes slowly opening.

"You finally wake up, dolt." The white-haired girl immediately said, trying to hide her worry. "Hurry up and get ready for a bath!"

"W-Weiss…" She mumbled as she sat up. "P-Please, just a minute. I am…"

"The alarm goes off five minutes ago." She replied. "Be quick or we won't get any place in the nearest shower."

"OK, OK!"

As she watched her leader entered the WC, her mind returned to the discovery earlier. She remembered reading about it, how an infected wound could cause a fever. It was very unlikely, considering Ruby already received an inspection. Yet that was the only explanation that she could think of.

Perhaps the wound became infected after the inspection? Seems unlikely. However, as a wise man once said, better be safe than sorry.

She decided to ask Ruby to visit the medical room after taking a bath. She better saw the wound first before jumping to a conclusion.

This was not the first time she had a pizza for breakfast, Yang thought. There were times when her uncle and dad went on a mission that last several days, leaving no one who can cook in the house. They could ask their neighbors for help, boil some instant noodles, or ordered a take-out; the last one being the most often. Sometimes, the food would last until the next day after ordering it.

This was the first time she was eating what was basically a folded pizza though. According to their three escorts, the dish was called calzone.

Speaking about them…

The blonde turned her attention from her food towards them. The wolf faunus, Lappland, was the one on the wheel. The angel girl, Exusiai, was on the shotgun sleeping, taking a rest after being the one who drove earlier. In the backseat, Yang took the spot on the left window, Blake's middle, and another wolf faunus, Texas, on the right.

Penguin Logistics. That was the name of the company that Exusiai and Texas worked for. A delivery company, they said. Yet the blonde couldn't help but feel there was something more than that.

As she thought about it, her partner had another thing in her mind. Blake remembered how the trio told her and Yang that they needed to catch up if they didn't want to get left behind and thus would spend as much time on the road as possible.

They might not lie about the reason, but that was not the only one. Everything they did so far reminded her of her activities in the White Fang. If she guessed it right, then they were likely on the run.

And there could only be one thing that they would run away from.

"Hmm?" The white-haired faunus looked at the rearview mirror, noticing something. "Looks like they're here."

Behind the SUV of Penguin Logistics were three black cars approaching them.

"Huh?" The statement was enough to awake the red-haired woman. "You're joking, right? I am about to have a good dream."

"Tsk." The black-haired faunus clicked her tongue as her hand went to her pocket, picking up a pack of cigarettes.

"What?" Yang looked at their three escorts. "Who's here?"

"Likely people from the same gang as the people that she killed," Blake answered as she looked at the driver. "Am I right, Miss Lappland?"

"Don't let them hear you calling them 'gang.' We Mafioso are quite sensitive about that."

She didn't tell her that she was incorrect. That was more than enough.

"Well, you got to do what you got to do." The angel woman stated, readying her SMG. "The two of you have weapons? Ranged, I mean?"

"Yep." The blonde immediately replied. "My gauntlets have shotguns installed in them and Blake's could be turned into…machine pistol, I think."

"…I see," Exusiai said, pausing for a moment. "I am sure I don't need to explain to you what you need to do."

"Shoot the cars until they could no longer move," Blake replied.

"You got it right!" She lowered the window. "After we're done here, let's have some apple pie!"

"Why is it always apple pie?" Texas commented, receiving no answer.

The huntresses-in-training soon got into the action. Yang lowered the window on her side while Blake waited as the sunroof opened up. Once the way was clear, three people – armed with firearms – emerged from the SUV, ready to repel their pursuers.

"Take this!" Yang shouted as she fired a shot.

Seeing the incoming attack, the cars performed the evasive maneuver. It hit the road and caused some of them to almost go out of control. But in the end, it caused only little damage, causing the blonde to click her tongue.

"As expected, they are pro," Lappland commented. "If you want to get rid of them, hit the cars directly."

"I…" Blake was about to say something when her eyes widened. "Incoming!"

After the attack by the brawler, several people emerged from the pursuing cars, crossbow in hand, making their intention clear. The gunner trio avoided the bolts fired by the Mafioso with some of them got embedded into the SUV.

"Oh, come on!" The angel woman complained. "We just have it fixed!"

"If only we could just punch them," Yang stated.

As they commented about the condition, the cat faunus turned her weapon into a grappling hook and threw it at one of the crossbowmen. It entangled his arm, allowing Blake to pull him out of the car, which she did.

The man got pulled from the car, screaming as he was being dragged behind the SUV. She turned Gambol Shroud back into its pistol form, letting the man rolling on the road and being left behind. It was a good thing that the Mafioso didn't run him over; she didn't need another man's death in her consciousness.

"Deo Volente!" Exusiai shouted as she rapidly fired at one of the cars.

The sheer amount of firepower managed to break through the front window, hitting the driver and causing the vehicle to lose control. Unfortunately, it didn't hit another car and taking two birds with one stone.

"One down." She smirked. "Two to go."

"That would be 50 LMD."

"Here."

"Thank you. Enjoy your breakfast."

After paying for the food, Ruby and Weiss walked towards an empty table. The latter decided to have a Victorian-style breakfast, consisting of bacon, poached egg, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans, toast, and grilled tomatoes. It reminded her of the food back in Atlas.

The former, on the other hand, had a Yen food called hot dry noodles, which looked like food from Mistral. Both of them had to admit that it was kind of strange that the cultures between Victoria and Atlas along with Yen and Mistral would be quite similar, at least regarding the culinary.

They decided to not think much into it.

"So, after this," Weiss asked, referring to their breakfast. "What should we do next?"

"Well, I think we should get back our scrolls," Ruby suggested. "They should've finished replacing the software."

Because of different technology, their scrolls were unable to be used for anything that required a signal, even a phone call. Doctor Kal'tsit suggested for their devices to be installed with the local software so that they could use the signal.

"Hmm, I suppose that's not a bad idea." The heiress stated. "Unlike some of your previous ideas."

"Hey, it's thanks to my idea we managed to pass the entrance exam!" The red riding hood retorted.

"That's why I said 'some.'" She retorted back. "Others, like your ideas of making the team closer to each other, well, let's just say it's like you 100% following what's written in 'How to Make Friends for Dummies.'"

Ruby folded her arms and turned her face away, pouting. She usually didn't joke like this, but thanks to that, Weiss managed to confirm something; her leader was – more or less – in a good condition. Whatever caused her to sweat during her sleep didn't show any sign of ever existing.

Perhaps it was just a nightmare.

When they entered the tech room, the huntresses-in-training had to avoid an out-of-control drone, which was chased by a brunette-with-white-streaks woman. They simply watched as both of them exited the room, continuing the chase at the corridor.

"Well, that is…something." The red-haired girl commented.

They continued their business, looking for the Rhodes Island staff that was responsible for their scrolls. After a few minutes of searching, they saw their devices being inspected by a blue-haired woman with a stick of sort in her mouth. The tail that she possessed indicated that she was a faunus, though this was the first time they saw one with a tentacle for a tail.

"Excuse me," Ruby called the woman as they approached her.

The faunus woman turned her eyes towards them before looking lower at their ID tags.

"Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee?" She said their names, received nods from them. "I am Glaucus, the one responsible for updating your devices."

"Glaucus…" Weiss muttered the name. "Is it only me or does everyone here only has one name?"

"That's because we're using our codenames," Glaucus explained. "That's simply how it works in this business."

"I-I see." She looked at her leader, both of them realizing just how different this place was compared to Remnant. "By the way, about our scrolls…?"

"It is done." She replied. "Right now, you should be able to use them again."

After they received their scrolls back, they checked the devices in their hands. Seeing that everything was working perfectly, along with the return of the signal icon, they agreed that it was indeed done.

"Thank you, Miss Glaucus." The heiress said, receiving a nod.

"Um, Miss Glaucus, if you don't mind," Ruby asked. "What kind of…animal is your tail?"

"Sea slug." She answered.

"S-Sea slug?" The girl flinched a bit.

"Glaucus sea slug, to be precise. That's where my codename comes from."

"I-I see."

With that, the two huntresses-in-training left the room, feeling that they needed to wash after receiving certain information.

"Do we really have to go to the library, Weiss?"

"Ruby, we're very lacking regarding the information about the locals. Until we have adequate information, we will keep searching for it."

The red-haired girl pouted, causing her partner to sigh. Ruby was by no means stupid, she had witnessed her strategic thinking and saw her homework. It was likely that she didn't like learning something from the book, preferring to use experience.

While Weiss admitted that experience was the best teacher, it was also the harshest one.

When they entered the library of the Ark, they saw that it was a mix of bookcases and computer booths. It was mostly empty with only a few people inside. Likely because it was afternoon when most people were working.

They looked around for a while and saw a stand, where a librarian should be. Seeing that it was empty, the heiress' hand went towards the bell on the desk, likely to call the staff.

DING

As they waited for someone to come to them, Ruby's eyes wandered around before focusing on the TV on the wall. From what she saw, it was a news channel.

CHERNOBOG REFUGEES

"…despite the best effort of the mayor and even help from the nobles, the city's infrastructure is still on the brink of collapse. There have been words of transferring some of the refugees to other cities, but the condition of most of them will make the journey…"

"Chernobog…" The red-haired girl muttered the name.

"Huh?" Her partner looked at her, confused.

"Remember back then with Doctor Ptilopsis?" Ruby reminded her. "How she said that she fell asleep because she was tired due to Chernobog?"

"Ah." She nodded her head. "I wonder what happened there."

Before they could continue, they noticed that someone had arrived on the stand. Both of them turned to look at the person, causing their eyes to become as wide as a saucer. They blinked several times, wondering if they needed to have their eyes checked…or their minds.

"Welcome." The man greeted them. "How may I help you?"

"Um…well…I…we…" The red riding hood tried to form a sentence. "You see…we need…books. Um, information, in general."

"You've never seen a Savra before, aren't you?" He replied, chuckling a bit.

"N-No," Weiss replied. "We're from…faraway place."

Usually, when someone has an animal trait, that means they were a faunus. However, they still looked mostly human, to the point that if their trait was not so obvious and visible, they could pass as human.

The person in front of them, however, didn't look human at all. He looked like a two-legged lizard that grew into the size of an adult man.

"I see." The Savra nodded. "What kind of information that you're looking for?"

"About the nations. Culture, language, things like that." The heiress answered. "Also, some books about the races that lived in the world."

"Very well." The man turned his attention towards the computer on the desk. "Hmm… For the books about nations, you can find them in corridor 10L. For the races, look at corridor 8R."

"Thank you," Ruby said and was about to leave when he remembered something. "Ah, that's right. We didn't catch your name."

"It's 12F. I am currently replacing the librarian who is on sick leave."

"I see. Thanks again for your help, Mr. 12F."

"Haha, just 12F."

The two of them split up, each going to a different corridor. Upon reuniting at an empty table, both of them were carrying several books.

"Hey, Weiss?" She called her partner. "I think Dr. Kal'tsit understates just how different this place is compared to Remnant."

"What do you mean?" The heiress asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Here." She gave her a book.

The white-haired girl accepted it. The Many Humans of Terra; that was the title of the book. Weiss was confused; Ruby should've picked a book about the races in this place – Terra – and not just about the humans.

It was when she opened the book that she found out the reason.

"Wha…?" The girl was pretty much gobsmacked by what she found. "Why are the Faunus called 'humans?'"

On the page that she opened, there was a picture of the faces of different people. There were two or three that could pass as a human, but the rest were definitely a faunus. Well, except one, which had a halo and pair of wings instead.

Opening more pages revealed the most possible reason; the Faunus of Terra was not called "Faunus." The people with animal traits had a different name, depending on the type of their traits: Feline for cats, Cautus for rabbits, Perro for dogs, and more.

The one that surprised her the most was the Liberi; people with bird traits, namely feathers. Seeing the pictures made her wonder how many of the "humans" that she saw on Rhodes Island was actually Liberi.

"Well, Ruby. It seems that we're going to be here for a long time." Weiss declared.

"Oh, bugger."

"Damn it, why did they have to take our blood and everything?"

"This is a pharmacy company, Yang. Hygiene is number one for them."

Despite the obstacles on their way here, both Blake and Yang managed to arrive at Rhodes Island safe and sound. They were escorted to the infirmary where they took several tests to determine their health. After they were cleared, they were allowed to go along with some Lungmen Dollar – LMD for short – to buy food or something.

"You know, Blakey," The blonde talked to her partner. "This might be only me, but there's a lot of faunus here, don't you think?"

"Maybe?" The cat faunus replied, sounding confused. "As I said, each faunus only has one animal trait. Lappland and Texas have both ears and tail of a wolf. The cat faunus who escorted us earlier also has both ears and tail."

Both of them froze upon seeing a cat faunus walking past them, carrying several toys for a cat. Their eyes were focused on the lower part of her body.

"Two tails," Blake commented as the woman moved further away. "That's even…I don't think 'even worse' is the correct term to use, but I am sure you get my point."

"Indeed," Yang replied, keeping her eyes on her. "Oh, well. Let's just go to the cafeteria and grab something to bite."

When they entered the cafeteria, they found out that they came just in time as the people inside finished their meals, currently leaving the room. They turned their heads at the stands and – seeing that there was still some food left - decided to follow their plan.

After grabbing their food – fish steak for Blake and pasta for Yang, both of them were looking for a good table when they found out something; due to the people going out of the cafeteria, their views were blocked by them. With them now gone, they found out that Ruby and Weiss were among them, still on their table, with the latter focusing intensely on her scroll.

Rather than calling them out, Yang instead put her finger in front of her mouth; a sign to remain silent, a mischievous grin on her face. The black-haired girl rolled her eyes but decided to just humor her partner's request. They walked towards the table, put down the trays, and still, the heiress didn't notice them.

Wasting no time at all, the blonde immediately put her hand on her shoulder.

"Hey there, Ice Queen!"

This caused the white-haired girl to yell in surprise, almost throwing her scroll.

"Damn it, you damn brute! Why did you…?!" Weiss was about to scold her when she realized who she was talking to. "Yang, you're here! And…Blake, you too!"

"Yep. Here we are, Ice Queen." She said before turning her attention to her sister, causing her to frown. "Hey, what's wrong with Ruby?"

The rest of the people on the table turned their attention towards the red riding hood, who was staring at her food – still untouched – with lifeless eyes.

"So…many…terms…" She muttered.

"Eh, the dolt is just not that good with academic stuff." The white-haired girl shrugged before remembering something. "Oh, that's right. Blake, there's something I need to tell you."

"Me?" The faunus said.

"Yes. You. I am sure you've seen the people with animal traits in here, right?"

"I have. They're basically the majority of people here. Faunus with more than one trait."

"Well, you see, this place – Terra – has a different way when it comes to classifying stuff. Those people with animal traits? They're considered 'humans' in here."

Despite her expression not changing, confusion and bewilderment were clear on her face.

"Humans?" She stated. "They're…humans?"

"Yep. According to Terran terminology, they are." Weiss confirmed. "After that, the Humans of Terra are split into two groups: the Ancient Race and the Elder Race. The people with animal traits are part of the former, which is then split up, even more, depending on their traits. Basically, the term 'Faunus' doesn't exist in Terra."

This time, her reaction was less subtle. It was clear that Blake was trying to respond to the revelation but was unable to make a coherent word.

"Man, considering the traits that Faunus possessed – cat, dog, rabbit, reptile – and that each of them has their own term in Terra," Yang commented. "Now wonder Ruby is in that condition."

"She just needs more time. I already…"

"Hey, Ruby, Weiss!"

The white-haired girl stopped talking and turned her head – along with the rest of her team, including the leader – towards the caller.

"Oh, Grani!" The red-haired girl called back.

"Granny?" The blonde commented, giggling under her breath. "She doesn't look old."

"Is there something that you need, Grani?" Weiss asked, trying her best to not glare at her teammate.

"I am delivering news from Dr. Kal'tsit." The operator replied. "She said that since you've been reunited with the rest of your team, she believes it's time for you to meet with the head of Rhodes Island."

At that, the red and the white froze while the black and the yellow simply looked in confusion.

"I am sorry," The faunus asked. "But is there a reason for that?"

"From what I can tell, it's something to do with your stay in the Ark." Grani explained. "For further information, well, you just have to meet Amiya, the leader."

"How long until the meeting?" She asked again, gesturing to the food.

"Dr. Kal'tsit said whenever you're ready. So take your time."

"Here we are." The operator stated as they arrived in front of a door. "Just enter the office. Amiya's ready."

Ruby gulped, feeling nervous about meeting with the head of Rhodes Island. She was never good with strangers, especially those with high status. Nevertheless, they were asked to meet with the man and they must be ready.

The red-haired girl opened the door and entered the office, followed by her teammates. Looking around for a bit, she noticed that the office was quite similar to Kal'tsit's. Her eyes, however, were focused on the pair that were waiting for them.

One of them was a rabbit faunus – no, Cautus, that was the term. Anyway, a brown-haired Cautus wearing the uniform of Rhodes Island. She was…very young, somewhere around Ruby's age. Perhaps even younger.

The other person in the room was…well, it was hard to say. That person was wearing a concealing outfit, revealing not even a hint about their appearance, not even their gender.

"That must be Amiya." Ruby thought. "And that girl is his...her…daughter, maybe?"

Slowly, the huntress-in-training walked towards the man. Once they were close enough, she offered her hand.

"Hello there, I am Ruby Rose." She introduced herself. "You must be Amiya, the head of Rhodes Island."

She had prepared herself for many things during the meeting, including embarrassing herself. Especially embarrassing herself. However, what she didn't expect was for the man to laugh.

"You're mistaken. I am just a doctor." That person said with a muffled voice. "Amiya is the one besides me."

"Besides them?" Ruby became confused. "But there's only…"

Slowly, she turned her attention towards the Cautus girl, who was awkwardly looking at her.

"Nice to meet you, Ruby Rose." She said, offering her hand. "I am Amiya."

Silence. Then…

""EEEHH?!"" The entire team exclaimed.

"We should've expected that." The girl awkwardly laughed. "Right, Doctor?"

"Indeed, Amiya." Doctor laughed a bit as well. "Indeed."

"But-But-But-But…" Ruby said the word repeatedly. "You're young!"

"I can say the same to you, Ruby," Amiya replied.

"But, well, I am, I am just, leading a team, not…"

"What my leader trying to say is," Weiss joined in. "How could someone as young as you become the head of a company?"

"Sorry, company secret." She stated. "Anyway, my age is not the reason for this meeting."

"R-Right." The red-haired girl recovered from the shock. "So, what is the purpose of this meeting?"

"First, regarding your condition." The Cautus girl stated. "With you being far away from home, you're also far away from your friends and family. This means that none of you have any source of income, not counting allowance from Rhodes Island."

That was true. Ruby and Yang received monthly allowance from their dad and Weiss had her own credit card, which obviously wouldn't work in Terra. Blake managed to acquire some money from selling the Dust on that train when she ran away from the White Fang and was thinking of taking a part-time job.

"I-Indeed." Ruby became depressed. "We can't thank you enough for your support."

"Actually, I think I know how. What do you think of working for Rhodes Island?"

"Working?" Weiss muttered before remembering something. "That's right. Dr. Kal'tsit once talked about how Rhodes Island has a 'noble mission.' What is the mission?"

"To help the Infected find a place that they could call home and work to find the cure for their disease."

At that, Team RWBY couldn't help but look at each other in confusion.

"I am sorry," Ruby said. "Could you explain that in more detail?"

"Oh, that's right. You're not from here." At that, for some reason, Amiya became saddened. "But before that, there's something that I must tell you, Ruby Rose."

The girl couldn't help but feel worried about the tone that she used. It sounded more serious, to the point that the Cautus seemed to become older.

"Ruby, you have been infected with Oripathy."

OK, first thing first:

For those who are wondering why I made Grani a male, I am not. Please read Chapter 3 more thoroughly, specifically at the end of the conversation between Ruby and Weiss with Kal'tsit.

For those wondering how Kal'tsit knows about Remnant, it's Kal'tsit. She knows about things that she should have not known ;)

And for those who guess that Ruby's wound is because of Originium, congratulations! You won an Internet cookie…whatever that is.

Now, to the more specific reviews:

Guest:

TheLastSterling: Indeed. In fact, I am imagining a scene where Mousse gives Blake – a fellow "Feline" – a scratching post, with the latter having no idea how to feel about being treated like cats.

KingJGamer: Weiss is the only exception. The only gun-like part of her sword is the revolver, which is not that strange since Absinthe, a Caster Operator, has a revolver rod.

As for the guns on Ruby, Blake, and Yang's weapons, black markets sell both knock-off guns and the real ones. The latter usually taken from a dead Sankta.

Windraider: Oh, I know. That would in fact something that they must deal with in a later chapter.

Guest since ch1: Don't worry. Amiya will still have her character development.

As for other characters from Remnant, I still haven't decided yet.

Well, now Ruby finds out about her infection. Next chapter would be the reaction of Team RWBY about Oripathy. Can't wait to write that ;)

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

Review, please!