Ruby suddenly wished she hadn't taken Oobleck's class.

Not because the material was inherently difficult or unenjoyable. On the contrary, history was one of her best subjects—especially when it came to the history of huntsmen or famous battles. Lack of interest or desire to learn wasn't a problem for her.

The problem came from the teacher.

Even Ruby, whose semblance let her eyes, body, and mind work many times faster than most of her classmates, could still just barely keep up as Oobleck zipped around the room. His lips were blurred enough when he spoke that she was shocked they didn't fall off. He drew complex drawings on the chalkboard in seconds—and the only saving grace for anyone was that he tended to leave them up until the end of class.

Looking to her right revealed her teammates not faring much better. Weiss's hands were blurs on her paper—writing with both of them with a third one being moved by her semblance as she scrambled to copy down what the man was saying.

Blake was using her semblance in a similar manner—clones of her hands flying from her right one as six pencils danced across the pages, writing in what he was saying in a way that made sense only to her. Even with that, it was clear that she was still struggling to keep up.

Yang, meanwhile, was simply listening, chin in her hands. Meanwhile, her scroll was set ahead of her, placed on the 'record' function. While Blake and Weiss would trail back through their notes, Yang would simply go back through the class, playing it at .25x speed to understand literally anything Oobleck said.

When Ruby turned back to Oobleck, she found he'd created another diagram—as well as a lengthy bit of text beneath it—in the few seconds she'd taken to look at her friends. Hold on a second professor!

Ruby focused, the world slowing around her.

She moved her hand carefully, not wanting to damage the paper with her semblance. An innovation she'd discovered out of desperation, allowing her to effectively vibrate in place at hyper speeds, letting her hands work faster than even Oobleck could talk.

The biggest downside was that her notebooks were suddenly much more expensive, given she had to buy special 'dust-infused' papers so they could handle the amount of friction her pencils could create. So, even knowing they could survive it, she still forced herself to slow down—ensuring the diagram was as close to accurate as possible.

She let out a slow breath, time resuming as she went back to scribbling Oobleck's notes, a slight gust of wind flying from ahead of her. Despite this her hand was still a blur, scrawling out what he said as fast as she could without activating her semblance again.

By the end of the lecture, she could feel her left hand cramping up.

When Oobleck stopped talking, standing at the center, a sigh of relief swept across the classroom. Countless students gripped their hands, massaging sore fingers. Others that used their semblances to keep up almost collapsed—Blake, in particular, resting her head on the desk next to her notebook, panting slightly.

Oobleck cleared his throat. "That concludes today's lecture. However, if anyone is interested in the Mistralean Study Abroad program, please come see me! You're dismissed!"

Ruby's brows furrowed as she looked down, seeing that she'd actually written something about that down: 'Study Abroad Opportunities for Beacon Students. Spend one month studying on the Mistralean Isle of Amora. Must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher to be eligible.'

Ruby turned to her teammates, though only saw her sister. The reason was rather obvious, given both Weiss and Blake had their heads down—exhausted from their extensive use of their respective semblances. One of the reasons Ruby didn't just keep her semblance on as Oobleck taught. Knowing my luck I'd pass out halfway through the lecture.

Yang, meanwhile, slipped her scroll back into her pocket before smiling at Ruby. "Ready to go, Rubes?"

Ruby shook her head, gesturing to their other teammates. "Let's give them a second to rest, first."

Yang nodded, leaning back against the higher-placed stand of desks, crossing her arms before giving Ruby her usual, crooked smile. "So, what's the plan for the weekend, team leader Ruby?"

Ruby wasn't sure if she was elated or embarrassed by that statement—and thus didn't know whether to smile or blush. So, naturally, her body decided to do both, along with rubbing the back of her head. "Well, uh, there's always seeing what team JNPR's up to! Where are they, anyway?"

"Right here!"

Ruby yelped as a familiar pair of arms lifted her a good foot off the ground. She looked back, seeing the familiar, orange-haired girl giving her her signature bright smile. "What up, cookie dust?"

"You're really not subtle, pancake bubbles."

Nora shifted her grip, one arm around Ruby's waist as the other laid on her hip—face set in an incredulous look.

"What? You name something that rhymes with bubbles!"

Ren stepped forward from behind Nora, leaning against the higher desks, counting off on his fingers. "Rubble, troubles, doubles, couples—should I keep going?"

Ruby crossed her arms, glaring at the black-haired ninja. "Show off."

Nora smirked as she bent her knees a bit.

Ruby's eyes widened. "Wait, Nora, no—AAH!"

Ruby flew toward the ceiling as Nora launched her, dashing forward to catch her again—only to launch her once more.

"Ms. Valkyrie!"

Nora froze, her grip on Ruby failing as the younger girl was launched backward—sailing toward the classroom's exit.

"Pyrrha!"

"On it!"

Ruby looked down, eyes wide as she saw Jaune and Pyrrha step onto the nearby desks, linking arms across the aisle. She thudded against their makeshift net, the two pulling her into a bridal-style carry between them as they stepped back to the floor.

The two spoke in unison, faces mere inches from Ruby's and painted with worry. "You okay?"

Ruby looked between them, nodding a few times before wrapping her arms around each of their shoulders. "I'm fine. Thanks for the save, guys!"

"Ahem."

The three turned, Jaune and Pyrrha standing bolt upright at Oobleck's voice. Ruby, on the other hand, was left dangling a few inches above the ground by the two's arms (and her own around their shoulders) supporting her.

Oobleck pushed his glasses up a bit, staring at the group. "Given the eight of you are still here, am I to assume at least one of you is interested in the Isle of Amora study abroad opportunity?"

Ruby slowly nodded. "Uh, yeah? I'd like to know more about it, anyway."

Oobleck smiled, dashing back to his desk before producing eight pamphlets, handing four of them out to team RWBY before looking at Jaune. "Would your team like one each as well, Mr. Arc?"

Jaune looked to his team, seeing Ren shrug, Pyrrha nod, and Nora nod.

"Sure."

Jaune and Pyrrha sat Ruby back on the ground as they grabbed theirs, everyone looking over them. It detailed the rich, cultural history of the island as a place where countless battles between Vale and Mistral were fought, as well as many different Mistralean warlords. It also showed quite a few photos of cliffsides, beaches, and flowering trees with light-pink petals.

Ruby looked up from hers, seeing Oobleck still standing there. "This place does seem pretty cool…what are the requirements for going, again?"

Oobleck nodded, gesturing back to the blackboard. "In order to go, every member of your team must have at minimum a 2.5 GPA. Anyone not native of Mistral must also have a proper passport in order to travel there."

Jaune waited for a beat before speaking. "That's it? No upfront cost or anything?"

Oobleck smiled. "Glad you asked, Mr. Arc! No, there is no upfront cost in lien required for students to attend. However, during this trip, we will be doing multiple grimm-clearance missions at pre-scheduled dates—both as a form of payment and a means of keeping your skills sharp!"

Yang smirked slightly, setting the brochure on the desk. "We get to go for free and get to kill grimm while we're there? Sounds like a good deal to me."

Weiss tapped her chin, reading the brochure (something virtually no one but her, Ren, and Blake actually did). "It is an interesting place…count me in, professor."

Oobleck nodded, looking to Blake.

She simply shrugged. "Your call, Ruby."

Ruby smiled. "You can count my team in, professor!"

Team JNPR, meanwhile, stepped back a bit, entering a sort of huddle as they spoke in whispers. While all were from Mistral, none had actually been to the isle of Amora—as Jaune quickly found out in his questioning.

He emerged from their huddle and nodded. "We're in too, Dr. Oobleck!"

Oobleck gave a wide smile at the group, clasping his hands together. "Excellent! Meet in my classroom in two weeks time—have your passports ready and clothes packed! Understood?"

Both teams nodded in sync, all saying some variant of 'Yes, Dr. Oobleck'.

As the two groups made their way out, Ruby froze in the doorway. She spun on her heel, holding up a finger as she looked at Yang. "I just realized there might be a problem."

Yang's brows furrowed. "What?"

"It starts with 'Fa' and ends with 'Ther'."

Yang's eyes widened a bit. "Oh, yeah. Didn't think about that."

She shrugged after a second, brushing her hair back off her shoulders. "Well, guess we better give him a call once we get back to our dorm, huh?"

The group started walking toward their respective dorms (which, granted, were in the same general direction) as Ruby started walking backward—talking with Yang. "What if he says no? We've never been that far from home before—and neither of us even have passports!"

Yang swept her arm around Ruby, pulling her back against her. "Re-lax, Rubes. Think about it like this: We've been going to Beacon for almost two semesters now. It'll be an entire year after we take finals next week. During that time, how many times has dad called or visited?"

Ruby tapped her chin, staring up to her left for a second. "I think…four? Five, maybe?"

Yang nodded. "Exactly! Now, if he doesn't have a problem with us at Beacon, why would he have a problem with us going on a Beacon-sponsored study abroad program?"

"I…guess he wouldn't."

"I rest my case."

Ruby turned to team JNPR. "What do you guys know about the Isle of Amora, anyway?"

Jaune shrugged, speeding up a bit so he was walking in step with Ruby. "Only what's on the brochure. I grew up around central Mistral—so your guess is as good as mine."

Pyrrha shook her head, a somewhat apologetic smile on her face as Ruby looked at her. "I can't say I've been there, either. I grew up in Argus."

Team RWBY, Jaune, and Pyrrha turned to the silent Nora and Ren. Expected of the latter, of course, but not so much the former.

Nora was simply scratching her head, eyes trailing to the ceiling as she tried to recall anything about the island. "I feel like I should know something…" she shrugged, a bright smile on her face. "Nope! Guess I've never been there."

With that everyone looked at Ren, the taller ninja clearing his throat. "I went there once. Given I was only four years old at the time, I can't say I remember much about it."

Ruby smiled, fist-pumping the air. "Great! That means we can all see it for the first time together! This is gonna be awesome!"

The group reached their dorms a few seconds later, parting at the doors as each entered their respective rooms.

Ruby was the first in, draping her hood on the nearby coat rack the way she always would. She reached into her uniform jacket's pocket, digging around for a second before pulling out her scroll. "Should we give dad a call now, Yang?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah, ring him up."

Ruby sat at her desk, Yang leaning behind her on her chair as she called the familiar number of her father. Her heart beat a bit faster as it rang, wondering what she'd do if he just outright said 'no'.

After a few seconds, the familiar image of Taiyang came on screen. Though, the background was a bit different than what Ruby expected.

She'd expected their living room, or maybe his bedroom. Though, instead, they saw a large stretch of wilderness, Tai with a scratch above his left eye and a few twigs scattered in his hair. Despite this, he still had a bright smile on his face. "Hey, girls!"

Ruby and Yang both smiled. "Hi, dad!"

He looked around for a second, holding up a finger before setting his scroll on the ground. The two heard something growling—then bones snapping—before a large grimm flew across the screen, disappearing as Tai picked it up again. "Sorry about that—what's up?"

Ruby leaned her scroll against a stack of textbooks (most of which had never been opened) before tapping her index fingers together. "Well, Yang and I were wondering if uh…well, you know Dr. Oobleck, right?"

"Bart? Yeah—of course, I—"

Tai punched something to the right of him, not bothering to look as the sound of bones snapping came through the speaker.

"—know him. Why?"

Ruby's brows furrowed. "Uh, is this a bad time? I can call back—this isn't really that—"

"No, no, it's fine. Just a few stragglers. Is something wrong?"

Ruby shook her head. "No! No! Nothing's wrong, it's just…he uh, well—Yang, a little help?"

Yang leaned further over Ruby's shoulder. "Oobleck wants us to go on a study abroad program into Mistral."

Tai's brows furrowed for a moment. "A study abroad program? That doesn't sound like him…where in Mistral would you be studying, exactly?"

Ruby piped up this time. "Amora."

"Where now?"

Yang moved her arms around Ruby's shoulders, laying her chin on her head as she spoke. "It's an island off the southern coast. Kinda like Patch is for Vale."

Tai nodded a few times, setting his scroll down to reveal a large forest—two beowolves in front of him. "One second."

Tai turned, grabbing the arm of one beowolf as it went to swipe at him. He then planted his foot on its shoulder, giving a loud shout before tearing its arm from its socket—slamming it through its own chest. Then he ripped the skull off the now decaying beowolf, slamming it through the skull of the second beowolf.

He dusted off his hands before grabbing his scroll again. "Sorry about them—when does this abroad program start, exactly?"

It was Ruby that answered this time. "In two weeks—after finals."

Tai frowned, rubbing his chin for a second. "Well…I don't have a problem with you going, but I'm on a mission right now and I don't know if you can get your passports without me. That's not a lot of time."

Yang's eyes widened a bit. "Oh, yeah. That might be a bit of an issue…when will you be done?"

Tai shrugged. "Honestly, I've got no clue. Listen, if you need me and I get back in time, we'll get them first thing. If I don't…well, I'm sorry. There's not much I can do."

Ruby nodded, a small frown on her face. "It's okay, dad. Be back soon, okay?"

Tai smiled. "Of course, sweetheart."

The two spoke in unison once again, waving at their father. "Bye, dad! Love you!"

"Love you, too!"

Ruby ended the call, setting her scroll aside before looking up at Yang. "Well, now what? If we can't get our passports without dad, what are the odds we'll even get them in time?"

Yang frowned, staring at her sister's upside-down face as she moved her arms back. "Not high…" her eyes widened, a mischievous smirk on her face "though I might have a way of getting around that."

Ruby frowned. "Oooh, no. I don't like the sound of that."