Solar Flare
Chapter 2: The Festival and New Experiences

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters involved except team MRTR

A few weeks had passed since the exams in the Emerald forest. Merc had roughly adjusted to life at Beacon, and like Professor Ozpin had told him: He wasn't the most popular of kids at the school. He was currently sitting in Grimm class with teams RWBY and JNPR, he calmly watched the Teacher recount tales of his past endeavors and achievements, not bothering to take notes as nothing was being said that was useful to him. When the bell finally rang he sighed and got up from his seat and was the first out the door. He was leaning against the doorframe waiting for Ruby and the others, he had noticed a distinct lack of insults and jeers in his direction when he was with them, maybe it was because it made him seem more… normal.

"Merc, are you there?" Ruby asked him waving a hand in front of his face.

"What?" He asked, being launched back into reality, he had dozed off into a day-dream, "Yeah, I'm here," he said.

"Good, come on then or we're gonna be late for our Combat class," Ruby smiled before leading the way down the hall.

Merc slowly got off the wall and followed Ruby quietly. She and her friends talked about what they were planning to do after school or what they had learned in their classes so far. Merc wasn't interested in these things, he was wondering about the commotion going on in town.

"So what's going on in town?" he asked the group.

"Oh, the Vytal festival?" Yang asked him back.

"Is that what's going on?"

"Yeah, Vale is holding it this year,"

Merc looked to the bustling figures in the streets as they hung banners from light posts.

The group split as they entered the locker rooms for Combat class. Here their weapons and casual outfits were stored. Each of the students changed from their school uniform and readied themselves for the sparring matches that were about to take place. The group reformed in a gymnasium style room, and Glenda Goodwitch appeared with a holographic tablet in her hands.

"Our first match today will be Juane-"

She was cut off as a PA announcement sounded.

"Merc Vermillion, if you would please meet me in my office, thank you" Ozpin's voice echoed through the gym.

RWBY and JNPR looked at Merc as he shrugged and holstered his katar before leaving the gym. He made his way through the halls and eventually arrived in Ozpin's office. As the doors of the elevator opened he noticed three other students.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Merc asked as he walked into the room.

"Yes, thank you for making it here so quickly," Ozpin said as he indicated for Merc to stand in front of his desk.

Merc took position in front of the white-haired headmaster and the other three figures lined up with him at a signal from Ozpin.

The first one on Merc's left was a girl with long, light blue hair that flowed freely down her back. She wore a simple, sky-blue top with a darker blue chestplate over it, a shoulder-guard on her left shoulder and thigh high boots that started out dark-sea blue at the top and lightened to white around the soles of her feet. On her right hip was a small handle and on her left arm was a small strip of metal that dark blue in color.

The next was a young man about Merc's age with sea-foam green hair and small, clear half-lense glasses that rested on his nose. He wore a half-tucked in white shirt with long sleeves, the right one was rolled up to his elbow while the other remained down. Brown pants covered his legs with the toes of a pair of brown boots sticking out at the bottom. There didn't seem to be any sign of weapons or dust on him.

The last was a purple haired girl that had short curls around her neck. She wore a simple indigo sweater with long sleeves and she was well-endowed despite her appearance of a young age. Her legs were covered in a pair of purple leggings that started dark and lightened as they came down, the bottom of a skirt could be seen peaking out the bottom of her sweater. A small pair of shoes covered her feet, and a small satchel was tied off to her right hip.

"Merc, these are some late transfers to Beacon," Ozpin explained, "Might I introduce: Rylee Sapphire, Tyler Oakleaf, and Rachel V. Purpur,"

"Nice to meet you all," Merc said to them, "What am I here for sir?"

"Isn't it obvious? They're to be your teammates,"

Merc took a step back as he said this, "Teammates…. Sir?"

"Of course," Ozpin stood up from his desk and grabbed his ever-present mug. Walking over to the window at the back of his office he looked out over Vale and took a sip from his drink.

"Beacon is a school that prides itself on teamwork, friendship, and efficiency in our Huntsman and Huntresses. If you were to graduate by yourself, regardless of your scores on any assessment it would defeat the purpose," as he said this he gave a half-look at Merc.

"Sir, with all due respect, the teams that form at Beacon don't always stay together," Merc told him.

"True, but they do try you know, the world just has a way of showing that training, and textbook knowledge isn't enough to actually survive. This is why you need people at your side, friends you can trust, allies you can depend upon. That is why, from here on you will be team MRTR,"(pronounced Martyr) He fully turned to face the students and made his way back to his desk, setting his mug down.

"But sir," Merc took a half-step forward

Ozpin held up a hand, "Don't argue with me on this Merc. I've already pulled some strings for you, and I don't wish to have to shield you until graduation,"

Merc felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked back to see Rylee, she shook her head at him and stepped back, clenching his hand into a fist.

"Very well sir, I'll take command of team MRTR,"

"Good, I hope to see great things from you. That's all, you can return to class," Ozpin sat back down at his desk and pulled a sheet of paper over for him to read.

Merc nodded and turned to leave, the others falling in step behind him. As they got near the elevator Merc stopped as Ozpin said something to him.

"Oh, and Merc, do try to play nice,"

Merc shook his head as he and his 'team' entered the small room. Once the doors closed everyone eased a bit.

"Not gonna lie, he seems fairly intimidating, you can sense his aura when you're that close to him," Tyler said.

"So, we're on a team together, what's the deal with you 'captain'?" Rylee asked as she put a hand on her hip and looked to Merc.

"My name is Merc Vermillion, I do not believe teamwork to be a necessary part of the Huntsman's duty, despite what Ozpin says. However, if he placed this team under my command as part of a test I will fulfill his criteria,"

"Is that what you think this is? A test?" Rachel asked.

"Newsflash 'captain', this isn't a test, this is your life for the next four years," She said as she pushed him on the shoulder.

Merc thought about this for a minute before sighing loudly. "Fair. Well then, I believe introduction are in order,"

"That's better, the name is Rylee Saphire, though most of my friends called my Ry in school," Rylee started. "I guess if you want to know a bit about me I became a Huntress to avenge my parents who were killed in a Grimm attack when I was little. I use my trusty spear here," She patted the strip of metal on her hip.

"Tyler Oakleaf, at your service," he shook Merc's hand, "I'm a dust engineer, never had much of a head for fighting, but I've discovered a few unique uses for Dust that I think will benefit Huntsman and Huntresses everywhere, but I wouldn't be sure if I didn't test them myself. You see I recently discovered a way to-"

Merc held his hand up to cut him off, "I appreciate the input Tyler, but… Rachel was it?"

He looked to the purple haired girl and she nodded.

"I'm Rachel V. Purpur, but you can just call me Rachel. I was born into a wealthy family and, well, they didn't want me to become a Huntress, but I wanted to give back to the world and my family isn't very generous with their wealth,"

Merc nodded, "What do you do?"

"Well, I've never been much of a fighter, but I did learn a few things about first aid and dust usage to heal wounds so I'm hoping to be a kind of medic Huntress," She explained.

Merc cupped a hand around his chin as he processed this, the ding of the elevator told them they had reached their destination and as the doors opened they were all surprised to find teams RWBY and JNPR clustered together outside the elevator.

"Merc!" Ruby called to him.

He came out of his daze and looked up. "What are you all doing here?" he asked.

"We came to see what happened," Blake answered.

"What did Ozpin want?" Yang asked.

Merc was silent for a moment, contemplating how to answer this question.

"He wanted to introduce us to our 'captain" Rylee explained as she and the others stepped off the Elevator.

"Who are you?" Weiss asked her.

"My name is Rylee, I'm on team MRTR with the rest of them," She pointed at Tyler, Rachel, and Merc.

Blake noticed Rachel was shying away from her, and that the girl wouldn't meet her gaze.

"Anyway, we were told to return to class," Tyler interjected.

"That won't be for another hour, lunch is being served," Merc said as he stepped off the Elevator.

"Good, I'm starving, let's get going before all the good stuff is gone," Juane said.

The group of students turned and began to make their way to the cafeteria. Merc remained close to the back of the group and watched as his friends and newly assembled team entered the large, open eating area.

"This is going to be an interesting year," he said to himself.

"Captain, come on, they have pudding cups. You know, I once blew up a pudding up when I attempted to merge it with-"

"I'm coming Tyler!" Merc called, cutting him off.