For those of you wondering about Team RWBY's place in the timeline and how they fit in with the world as a whole, I do have an explanation and a planned out timeline in regards to that. That's all later plot points though, so I can't really say much about that.
One thing I can say that people have wondered, without getting to spoilery, is that Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna are separate individuals from their Grimmed counterparts but are still connected to them. Again, the specifics are plot points for later.
Speaking of explanations.
It was late at night, a little after nine o'clock, when CFVY started to make their way to Team STRQ's dorm with pizza. Yatsuhashi was carrying the lion's share, though the others were carrying some as well. Velvet, who was leading the way, glanced back at Coco as they turned the last corner to STRQ's dorm.
"So we're sure that they're there?" she asked adjusting the grip on her boxes.
"They did text us so they should be done," Coco said with a shrug, "But you know how they get. Whenever they meet with Professor Ozpin they seem to be gone for hours."
"Yeah…" Velvet sighed and stopped in front of STRQ's door, stared for a second, and looked back at her team. "Um…"
"I got it," Fox said telepathically and moved to the front, smoothly shifting his boxes to one hand and knocked on the door with his free one. A couple seconds later the door opened a peek and Taiyang peeked out, already dressed in a white tank top and pajama bottoms, and opened the door fully with a grin.
"Hey guys, perfect timing! I got those Fox," Taiyang said moving to take the pizzas from Fox, who nodded his thanks and followed Taiyang inside with the rest of CFVY. "We were wondering if you got our text."
"We did, but there was a lot of pizza," Coco said glancing at a certain Faunus. "Velvet…"
"Don't pin all of this on me!" Velvet said setting her stack of boxes on a table next to the stack Tai had, "We were all hungry! And it's not like I'm the only one that can eat a lot in our group."
"I love a good meat lovers," Raven said from her bed, dressed in a black robe with red highlights and was busy running her fingers through her hair. "You have plenty of those right?"
"If they know you, undoubtedly," Qrow said, still wearing the same clothes that he had been wearing all day sans shoes, and looked away from his Scroll at Coco. "Hey, did you…?"
"We double and triple checked everything Qrow," Coco said leaning against a table, "So no worries." Qrow silently shut his Scroll and got up to get some food. Coco scanned the room and found they were missing one member. "Hey, where's Summer?"
"Present," a familiar voice called out from the top of the bunk bed along with a raised hand that just as quickly dropped. Coco moved over to the bunk bed and jumped up to get a look, holding herself up with only her arms.
And almost immediately had to hold back a laugh and was glad that she wore her sunglasses so late.
"What?" Summer asked glaring at Coco, already knowing that she was taking in her rarely seen pajamas. It was just a simple tank top and pajama bottom combo, colored black and white respectively. The fact that they were both decorated with cartoon Corgis should not have been all that notable.
Obviously not.
"Nice pajamas," Coco said not bothering to hide her wide grin and laugh, and got a pillow shoved into her face for her troubles. She fell to the floor and laughed all the harder as Summer peeked over the edge down at her.
"Shut up! If you're going to just make fun of me all night, then you can-"
"Sorry, sorry," Coco said moving the pillow off her face and pushing herself up. She took off her glasses and looked back up to Summer before adding, "It's just… I've never seen you in pajamas before. You always wore your cloak everywhere. They're actually kind of cute." Coco got another pillow thrown at her for that, which only made her laugh louder.
"Um…" Fox started turning his head toward the commotion with an open pizza box in hand.
"Summer's pajamas have cute dogs on them," Velvet explained quietly. Fox, after a second to take that in, doubled over quietly in laughter which only drew more of Summer's ire.
"Qrow, throw pillows at them! I'm out up here!" Summer commanded pointing at the offenders.
"No pillow fights so early!" Taiyang said picking up one of the pillows Summer threw and looked up at his leader. "Come get some pizza Summer. You've got to be hungry after today." Summer sighed and held up a hand, which effortlessly caught the pillow Taiyang threw up to her.
"Maybe later," Summer said putting the pillow in place and laying her head on it. The room got quiet as everyone glanced at each other before Coco stood up and jumped back up to look at Summer staring at the ceiling.
"What's up? I thought you guys said you weren't going to get in trouble?"
"Oh, we aren't," Summer said shaking her head slightly, "It's just… that meeting lasted forever and… it was still kind of heavy."
"Want to talk about it? We're all willing to listen." Coco asked glancing back at her team, who all silently nodded.
"Classified," was all Summer answered.
"Of course it is," Coco glowered and dropped down to the floor. She shook her head as she moved to get some pizza. "Fine, keep your secrets."
'I'm sorry,' Summer thought closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, 'but some secrets are better kept as just that: secret.' Someone cleared their throat next to her and Summer looked in time to see Velvet silently set a plate of pepperoni pizza on her bed. "Thanks Vel," she said, which got a smile from the rabbit Faunus as she dropped out of sight and left Summer to her thoughts.
(Two hours ago, in Ozpin's office)
"I'm still not sure this is the wisest move, Professor Ozpin," Glynda said pacing in front of Ozpin's desk. They had just sent the meeting message to STRQ and were now just waiting for them to show up. "Team STRQ has always been overly impulsive, especially Raven Branwen. Who knows what they'll do with this information."
"But we do know what they'll do if we withhold this information from them," Ozpin said tapping the table. "They already put themselves in danger trying to get information on their own. It wasn't as close as it was with Autumn, but it was still too close for comfort."
"Yes, I've seen every angle of what happened in the Emerald Forest too, but I still-" Glynda stopped when a message on Ozpin's desk flashed and the elevator behind them dinged.
"Come in," Ozpin called and stood up from his desk. The elevator doors opened and Summer walked out, followed by Taiyang Qrow and Raven. Raven kept her eyes on the doors they just came out of until they closed and turned her attention to Ozpin and Glynda, the former walking around his desk to meet them.
'I hate that smile,' Raven thought clenching her hands behind her back and took a breath to calm herself. 'Easy Raven, you'll get answers soon enough, one way or another.'
"Thank you for sparing the time to come here," Ozpin said reaching out a hand which was taken by Summer for a quick shake, "Although I'm sure you would have shown up by yourselves anyway, like last time."
"Right," Summer said with a small flinch at the memory. "Well, at least we don't have weapons this time right? So, onto business then?"
"Before we go to that, there's one thing I need to be clear about," Ozpin said leaning against his desk and ignored Raven's growl of frustration.
"Raven, shut up!" Qrow whispered to his sister.
"Relax Ms. Branwen, this does have to do with why you're here." Ozpin took a deep breath and looked at summer, his whole demeanor turning serious. "That Grimm you saw last night, do you remember anything else about it? We already know it was fast, dangerous, intelligent, and… looked like a woman. Is there anything else?"
"Well," Summer closed her eyes as she racked her brain for anything else. "It wore clothing, a combat dress of some kind from what I can remember. It had short hair, a bit shorter than mine, and it used a scythe as a weapon."
"A scythe?!" Glynda said looking at Ozpin, who sighed quietly.
"Yes, and its eyes were weird too. Its iris' were red and everything else was black, like a human's eyes gone wrong."
"That's not the only time we've ever seen those eyes too," Raven added crossing her arms in front of her. "That Nevermore that attacked us had the same kind of eyes, along with a Beowolf we ran into as well. I killed the Beowolf before it could do anything, but that Nevermore was a pain in the ass and way more aggressive than it should have been."
"It landed just to try and kill Summer," Qrow said scratching his chin, "and I don't know how they would usually behave, but it should have ran away once it was almost blinded. Instead the thing fought to the death."
"I see," Ozpin nodded and pushed himself away from the desk and asked, "Is that all?"
"Yes, that's all I can remember and what the other's noticed," Summer said motioning back to her team. "So what's going on, really?"
"What's 'going on' is that you are very lucky to be alive Summer. And I mean that with no hyperbole, you should be dead right now."
"O-ok…" Summer took a step back and watched as Ozpin moved around his desk and sat down in his chair. He took out his scroll and placed it on his desktop, which opened up a holographic window that Ozpin started working on.
"The Grimm that you encountered is an… unfortunate echo from The Great War," Ozpin explained and looked every member of STRQ in the eye. "I hope I don't have to remind you what that is."
"Yeah, the war that was fought between Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Mantle 80 years ago," Summer said with a sad sigh, "so much bloodshed over something we all should want. Everyone wants to be safe from the Grimm."
"Indeed, but what mattered was the method. In any case, the world was plunged into war and all of its negativity. All that sorrow, anger, hate, all felt and exerted at once. Battles alone draw the Grimm, so what would a war draw in?"
"Well, since we're here, I guess a new Grimm type?" Taiyang asked carefully.
"Close; it created a new Grimm type." Ozpin gave one last tap on his holographic keyboard, which brought up an image of four cards with a stylized back. "The exact method of how the Creatures of Grimm are made is still unknown, but we do believe it has something to do with negative emotions. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the Grimm. So it's not farfetched that a war that spanned the entire world managed to create four powerful Grimm."
"They all share similar characteristics," Glynda said adjusting her glasses, "They're all aggressive, intelligent, and have the unique ability to directly command other Creatures of Grimm to utilize advanced strategies they normally wouldn't be capable of. And, like Summer noticed, all four of them are humanoid, specifically looking like young women."
"We call them the Generals of Grimm." Ozpin pressed a button and the card on the far left from where STRQ was standing spun around, revealing a stylized drawing of a skeleton on top of a black horse with the number 'XIII' above the drawing.
"Tarot cards?" Raven asked moving closer to the desk.
"There's only so many pieces in chess," Ozpin explained with a small shake of his head, "and these four need the distinction."
"From the description you gave us," Glynda started explaining and motioned at the cards, "and from previous encounters with the Generals we've managed to document, we think that the General you encountered last night was Death."
"That's… a nice moniker," Summer said her eyes glued to the card.
"We believe that Death is their leader," Ozpin said standing up, "And most likely the strongest over all. We've seen the aftermath of encounters with it, but never any eyewitness accounts. You, Summer, may be the first person to ever survive a close encounter with it."
"Ever?"
"Yes. Every one of the Generals has led attacks against villages and towns outside of the Kingdoms, always with a horde of Grimm at their backs and usually with no survivors."
"And they work for Salem," Raven said clenching a fist. 'So… that means…'
"Yes, it would be safe to assume she would want such dangerous creatures on her side. The Generals are naturally secretive and only show up when they're certain they will be victorious and won't be discovered. A sighting in any capacity is a rarity, and they know that lack of information for us is an advantage for them."
"So… what do we know?"
"Unfortunately, very little. What Summer told us might be the best description of Death we've ever had. It attacks villages from time to time, but always with this controlled ferocity. Every village is slain to the man, sometimes less than that. We think that any that go missing during attacks have been taken for some reason, but no one really knows. It's almost like it's hunting for something, but there hasn't been any attacks attributed to it in years."
"Why would it use a weapon though? As deadly as it is with it, it doesn't make sense even for intelligent Grimm." Ozpin could only look down at his desk silently at Summer's question, which answered it far better than he could have otherwise. "Okay then, different question; what do we know about the rest?"
"In terms of the ones we know the least to most, we'll start with the Moon." Glynda tapped the desk and flipped over the next card, which showed a stylization of the Shattered Moon with two Beowolves howling at it labeled with the number 'XVIII' and 'Moon'. Glynda continued with, "Like the card its based on, we know almost nothing about Moon. What we do know is that it seems to base itself mostly in Atlas."
"…And?" Qrow asked when Glynda didn't continue for a moment.
"And… that's it."
"What, how can you know nothing?!"
"Because it doesn't show itself like the others, at least not in the open. It's very hands off in how it operates, and if it had attacked a settlement then it either worked with one of the other Generals, or did it in a way that it looked like it was one of the others. We simply don't know."
"The only reason we do know it frequents Atlas is because cults based around it spring up constantly in the Kingdom. If they get too big they end up disrupting the normal way of live, so the Atlas Military spends a good chunk of its time and budget quashing them. More always spring up though. They don't even know how many people are involved in them, or how far up the societal ladder they go."
"It's… trying to subvert the foundations of Atlas from the inside, using its own people," Summer surmised with a shiver. "All without having to lift a finger. That's… devious. And awful."
"That's putting it lightly," Qrow whispered and said louder, "Do we even know what it looks like?"
"We have a rough caricature," Ozpin explained with a shake of his head, "but it's based off of idols that the cults keep for worship. So we can't really use those as a definitive look."
"Perfect."
"And number three?" Taiyang asked pointing at the third card.
"The Hierophant," Ozpin said turning the card over, labeled 'Hierophant' with the number 'V'. Summer and the others backed up a step at the sight of the card's face, which showed a Faunus woman in a ragged black and red kimono and wooden sandals. Her skin was a ghastly white contrasted by her black hair with similarly colored cat ears coming up, her eyes were black and red, she wore a mask over her mouth decorated with sharp teeth, and her arms were replaced with long tendrils that ended in sharp points that were crossed in front of her.
"Unlike with Moon we actually do know what the Hierophant looks like, and you're seeing it right now."
"Ugly bitch," Raven commented taking a step back toward the desk, "So how are you so certain about this one?"
"Because it also has a religious following like Moon. Have you ever heard of Kuroshara, the guardian deity of Menagerie?"
"Only from stories and the occasional report about the White Fang," Summer answered, "You don't mean…?"
"Yes, we believe that Kuroshara and the Hierophant are one and the same. Although most Faunus seem to regard Kuroshara as nothing more than a myth and a religious icon, the White Fang seem to think otherwise."
"It has an interest in the White Fang?" Qrow asked.
"Sometimes members manage to successfully defect from the organization, and those defectors have reported seeing a creature similar to the Hierophant in their bases and on missions, though they won't go into further detail. Some of the more violent attacks attributed to the White Fang, such as that attack on the Schnee Dust Company train a couple months ago, may have been the result of the Hierophant being involved. And recently it seems certain species of Faunus are being held in higher regard than others because of its presence; cats and black cats especially. Possibly in regards to its supposed species based on idols and sightings, but we don't know the reason behind it."
"So many damn secrets. These things piss me off," Raven growled and looked at the last card. "So… the last one is…"
"Strength," Ozpin said spinning the card around, showing a picture of a woman wrestling an Ursa to the ground labeled 'Strength' and 'VIII'. Ozpin sat down and added, "But I don't think I need to go into much detail about this one."
"WHY NOT?!" Raven shouted and clenched her fists.
"Because I would think you and Qrow know more about it than anyone else in this room." Raven faltered at that and looked away with a small grunt as Ozpin looked at her and Qrow. "Am I wrong?"
"Raven…" Summer said and Raven knew she was looking at her with those concerned eyes and she really didn't want to see it right now.
"So you knew…" Qrow stated scowling at Ozpin and Glynda. "About-"
"About the destruction of the Branwen bandit tribe and your connection to them? Yes, we did." Ozpin balled his hands in front of him and added, "It's not exactly difficult to notice when one of the largest bandit groups in Remnant just vanishes overnight, or when members of the group show up near the brink of death in surrounding villages talking about dangerous Grimm and pointing out the ruins of the camp. When we investigated we found it similar to other attacks attributed to Strength. And then a pair of twins with the name show up at our doorstep a couple years after the fact. Honestly, it wasn't hard to put together."
"If you told anyone about them!" Raven shouted and started advancing on Ozpin, only being stopped by Summer holding her back by the arm.
"Relax Raven, your secret is still just that; a secret. The only ones who actually know that are in this room." Ozpin glanced at Summer and Taiyang, who both looked a little guilty under the stare, before he looked back at Raven. "So, Ms. Branwen?"
"…Strength," Raven started and tilted her head down so her eyes were shielded by her hair, "do you know what it looks like?"
"It is the one with the most eyewitness reports from survivors, so we have a good idea."
"Tall, with long blonde hair? A massive right arm? A sawn off shotgun and an affinity for fire?"
"Yes, and some have reported distinctive facial plates and an odd dress. One person even reported it made… puns of some kind? That seems a little suspect though."
"That's her…" Raven yanked her arm away from Summer and clenched her fists in an effort to keep the tears from breaking out. "That's the bitch that destroyed my tribe! That… that…!" The tears started falling and she grasped at her head in a last ditch effort to stay in control. Then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind and Raven knew who it was even before she pressed her head against her back and spoke to her.
"That's enough Rae," Summer said hugging her tighter, "just breathe. Breathe." Raven followed the directions; inhale, count to four, exhale, count to four. After a few repetitions Raven was certainly calming down, but she couldn't stop crying.
"If it's too much to talk about, we can just skip it," Ozpin said with no small amount of concern with Glynda nodding in agreement. "I'm sure there's-"
"No." Raven lowered her hands and looked back up at the headmaster, her eyes more red than they were before, and said, "You brought that up because you wanted us to tell you about it, right?" Ozpin hesitated for a second before slowly nodding. "Well, if my tribe's story can help you find her so I can kill her, then I'll suffer every bad memory. It is the reason why I'm even here."
"Right," Qrow agreed and glanced over when Taiyang clasped a hand on his shoulder. He didn't shrug it off.
"Then, if you can, tell us about that night. Every account we can collect about a General's attack helps us figure them out. The way they fight, act, anything at all." Ozpin glanced over at Glynda, who pulled her scroll out and nodded when she was ready. It took Raven a few more breaths and another squeeze from Summer before she started.
"It was just a normal night. Qrow and I were just finished with training, so we were studying. Tactics, history, everything we'd need to know to get into a Huntsman Academy for the plan."
Ozpin blinked at that, but said nothing. 'Something to ask about later.'
"We were winding down from that when there was this crash at the gate and a huge commotion outside. There were some shouts and by the time Qrow and I got our weapons there was a gunshot and the tent we were in burst into flame."
"We got out ok," Qrow said and shook his head, "but by the time we did everything was on fire and the Grimm had overrun the whole camp, with her right in the center of it all. I could have sworn she looked bored."
"We fought her as best we could, but she was tougher than she looked. Qrow stabbed her right through the stomach and I got her neck, but she didn't even flinch!" Raven clenched her hand again, "She was fast too. We could barely keep up with her and help out with the other Grimm in the process, and that's not even getting into the banter."
"Banter?" Glynda asked looking up from her Scroll, "That's new. What do you mean?"
"You know, like how we act during spar sessions," Qrow said and pitched his voice into a higher, feminine pitch. "Don't overextend your reach when you swing, watch your footing, maybe you could actually hit me if you worked together better." His voice returned to normal as he added, "You know, that kind of stuff."
"It sounds like it was just toying with you," Glynda commented looking back to note that down in her scroll.
"It was," Raven said and held up a lock of her hair between two fingers. "I found out when I cut off a few hairs during the fight and she went ballistic. No jokes, no banter, no grin. We were at her mercy in only a few seconds after that; I didn't even see her move. I can still feel her grip on my throat if I focus hard enough."
"That is also new; I would have never taken Grimm to be ones for vanity or to hold back in any capacity." Glynda made a note of that too. "So how did you get away from it?"
"That's the worst part." Raven felt the sting of tears build up again at the memory of the worst moment of her life. "She let us go."
"It let you go?!" That came from Ozpin, who couldn't keep the surprise off his face. "That's… what did you do?!"
"We weren't scared," Qrow answered and clenched a fist, "At least that's what she said. 'Why aren't you scared? After everything I did you should be, but you're not.' She seemed to be impressed by that."
"After that, she let us go. Even gave us a thirty second head start." Raven shook her head and grit her teeth. "I believe her exact words were 'maybe you'll put up a good fight in a few years.' She was right though, I wasn't scared of her. I was just angry and hateful. I hated her for what she did; I hated myself for running away and… for being so weak. I… I just hated everything."
"Rae…" Summer said and gave Raven another squeeze.
"We never saw her again after that," Qrow said and hunched over a little more than normal. "We hopped around for a bit, doing odd jobs and small hunts to keep ourselves fed, until we were old enough to come here. You know the rest."
"I see." Ozpin tapped a finger against his hand and asked, "Do you believe there's a reason for the attack?"
"No," Raven shook her head, "We didn't do anything to draw Grimm. It was a quiet season too. No battles, no strife, no reason for anybody to be sad or anything; We were just living our lives! And she showed up anyway and BURNED IT ALL TO THE GROUND!"
"Damn." Ozpin shook his head and stood up, "It seems it was just another random attack. The Grimm don't care who they attack as long as they end up dead, and it seems the Generals are the same. And they can attack a settlement that would normally escape the Grimm's notice. There just isn't a pattern to follow."
"So you can't track her?"
"Not at the moment, but just because we can't see a pattern doesn't mean one doesn't exist. We just need more information, anything we can get."
"There's Salem." Ozpin blinked at Raven as she carefully pulled away from Summer and continue, "They work for the Witch, so if we go after her we can find them!"
"And die in the process." Ozpin picked up his scroll, causing the images of the cards over his desk to disappear, and put it away as he walked around his desk. "Nobody knows where Salem is, and it's too dangerous a prospect in any case. In the past we've sent many veteran Huntsman after just the Generals, sometimes in groups as large as twenty, and none of them ever came back. If we're lucky, we find a hand, or a scroll, or a head. Most of the time, nothing ever comes up ever again. Salem is even worse."
The room was quiet for a moment as STRQ took that in. After a while, Taiyang sighed and spoke up. "This is a lot to take in. What are we supposed to do about them?"
"Nothing," Glynda answered sternly, "You four won't be doing anything in regards to the Generals."
"But-!" Raven started.
"I don't care about any personal connections you may or may not have in regards to them. You. Will. Not. Pursue them!" Raven growled and glared at Glynda.
"Consider that a standing order," Ozpin added and clasped his hands behind his back, "As strong and exceptional as you all are, you're still just students; nowhere close to being ready to confront them, let alone defeat them." Summer looked down at those words, knowing the truth of them all too well. "It's possible the four of you might be in danger anyway. The Generals are able to control other Creatures of Grimm, either through verbal commands or, as you've seen first-hand, through some form of telepathy. You managed to escape Death Summer, and undoubtedly it knows and will remember that."
"It'll send more Grimm after us then?" Summer asked.
"Yes, and they'll be more determined to end your life the longer you live and evade them. If you really wish to fight against them, then you need more training, more experience before I will even think of letting you go after them. I will not bend on that, under any circumstance. Understood?"
"Y-yeah," Taiyang said rubbing the back of his head.
"Sure," Qrow said with a shrug.
"I'm not in any hurry to see them again anytime soon," Summer said and looked over at Raven, who was just staring silently at the floor. "Rae?"
"I've waited three years to get my revenge on her for what she did," she finally said and shook her head, "what's a few more on top of it? But Strength is my kill when its time, you got that?"
"I would advise against actually doing that. They survived since the Great War for a reason after all. However if you think you're able to and see a chance, that's up to you. All I ask is that you don't get yourself killed trying to get revenge." Raven silently nodded in agreement and Ozpin gave a small sigh. "Well, that about catches you up on what we know about them. I wish there was more I could tell you, but we're working at a severe disadvantage."
"Like always," Summer agreed with a small sigh. "There's one thing I still don't understand. Why would they be so close to Beacon like last night? I can understand Salem wanting to keep an eye on the academies, but wouldn't it be less risky to use normal Grimm to spy instead of sending the Generals?"
"Yes and with less risk of being discovered, like what happened with you," Ozpin nodded, "We're looking into that. I have a couple of theories, but none of them are good."
"You will tell us if something changes on that, right?" Summer asked narrowing her eyes just the slightest, which Ozpin caught and returned as he nodded. "Then I guess that's that. Honestly, I wasn't expecting all of that."
"No one ever is. But that's a part of being a Huntsman: encountering and adapting to unexpected situations."
"No kidding," Raven whispered and followed with a louder, "Are we done here? We got dinner waiting for us."
"I'll contact you if there's anything I've forgotten. You're dismissed." Team STRQ nodded and, with equal amount of relieved sighs, they made their way to the elevators.
"What a day," Taiyang muttered once they reached the elevator and Qrow hit the call button. "Well, at least there's pizza to look forward to right?"
"Right," everyone agreed just as the elevator 'dinged' and Summer led the way in lifting her hood back over her head. She pushed a button once everyone was in and took another deep breath.
"And don't forget you have remedial lessons tomorrow!" Ozpin called out, "So be ready." The doors were closing when STRQ realized what he had said and yelled "What?!" just as the doors closed. Ozpin couldn't help the smile as he circled his desk to sit back down.
"You did catch that, right Professor?" Glynda asked once Ozpin had sat down and nodded in answer. "I'm curious about this 'plan' Raven slipped out."
"If I were to guess, it may be connected with their intentions of coming to Beacon." Ozpin clenched his hands in front of him and tapped a finger against his knuckles. "I'll ask Qrow and Raven about it at a later date. It would be nice to know what the Branwens were planning." A hologram popped up on his desk top, showing it to be a communication from the Vale Council. "But that will have to wait. Duty calls first."
"Indeed," Glynda agreed and started walking to the elevators. "Good night Professor."
"Good night," Ozpin returned and tapped the hologram.
(present, Team STRQ's dorm)
Time passed rather quickly as the members of STRQ and CFVY enjoyed a bit of R and R, which mostly consisted of eating pizza, reminiscing about everything they've been through the last year, and eventually settling into a fighting game night. It had been a good night full of ups and downs, though once the fighting game was turned on one girl in particular was experiencing nothing but downs.
"You MOTHER FUCKER!" Raven shouted and gripped her Scroll hard enough that it might of cracked as she lost again to Yatsuhashi. "I had you that time!"
"Language," Yatsuhashi chided, "And you were too predictable to not win against Raven. Try mixing your combos next time. And also-"
"Whatever. I'm passing it off and getting more pizza." Raven set the Scroll down and stood up to get more food. She did have to jump over Velvet as she made a dive across the floor to get the Scroll, just barely beating out Coco, and started a match against Yatsuhashi while Raven kept muttering about 'stupid Bloodedge bullshit.'
"You know, I think we definitely needed this," Taiyang commented from his spot on Qrow's and looked over at Qrow as he was quietly eating a slice. "You know, just relaxing after everything that's been happening."
"Yeah," Qrow agreed and pointed at Taiyang with his pizza, "I don't know why you're telling me this though. I know this and I try every moment of my life to just get some peace and quiet. Come to think of it, why are you talking to me?"
"I ran out of my pizza half an hour ago, it's not my turn at the game, and you weren't doing anything. I'm just trying to entertain myself until everyone's ready for bed. Speaking of…" Taiyang stood up and carefully walked around the grouped up CFVY in the center of the room and hopped up to check Summer's bed. "Hey Summer, are you-" Taiyang stopped when he saw Summer still in the same position she had been, except there were two empty pizza boxes next to her.
"What?" she asked holding a half-eaten slice of pepperoni over her head.
"What the… when did you…?" Taiyang stammered looking between Summer and the table where the pizzas were set. 'I didn't see her move at all tonight! When did she-?'
"Don't worry, I've been eating," Summer said sitting up and grabbing the boxes. "Can you do me a solid and put these in the trash pile Tai?"
"…Sure Sum," Taiyang nodded taking the boxes from Summer and dropping back down to the floor. He turned around to see Qrow and Raven looking between him and the boxes in his hand before they all shrugged and went back to watching the game and putting trash away.
Taiyang had just put the boxes in their proper place and was about to join the Branwens on Qrow's bed when someone knocked on the door. Velvet paused the game and everyone turned to look as someone said, "Excuse me! Do you know how late it is?! Some of us are trying to sleep!" Everyone blinked at that and Velvet silently turned the Scroll around to check the time while the knocking continued.
"MIDNIGHT?!" Velvet shouted staring wide eyed at the time on the Scroll.
"What?! It didn't seem that late!" Fox said.
"Oh crap, we got class tomorrow! Grab some pizza and bail!" Coco commanded and led CFVY's charge to the pizza table, Velvet taking a moment to throw Raven her Scroll as she ran. Taiyang, being closest to the door, decided to help them by throwing the door open and making sure whoever was on the other side wasn't going to be in danger of being trampled. The girl on the other side yelped when the door opened suddenly and jumped backwards when Taiyang charged out.
"You'll thank me in a second!" he said just as Fox and Yatsuhashi ran out of the room and down the hallway back toward their dorm, each carrying a box.
"The receipt is on the table, I circled what you owe us, I expect to be paid back!" Coco shouted through the stack of boxes in her arms and rushed down the hall after Fox and Yatsuhashi.
"This was fun," Velvet said walking out and nodding at Taiyang. "We should do this again sometime. See you tomorrow Tai." Taiyang nodded at Velvet and watched as she ran after her team, not stopping her stride even as she scooped Coco in her arms. Coco could only offer a "Gah!" in protest before they were around a corner and out of sight in a dust cloud.
"…Well that just happened," Taiyang said shaking his head and turned to the girl he knocked out of CFVY's way. "Sorry about that. We- oh, hey Pyrrha." Taiyang smiled at Pyrrha and waved at her.
"Uh…" was all Pyrrha could reply with, her body stiff and straight as a board and her mouth hanging open slightly, as her eyes narrowed and flicking between Taiyang and Raven and Qrow peeking out into the hallway and at her specifically. And they were all in their pajamas, her especially. 'Oh someone please end my life now.'
"This'll be good," Qrow whispered to Raven with a smirk, his sister nodding in agreement with a similar smirk.
"Like I was saying, sorry if we were keeping you up," Taiyang said pointing back to his room with a thumb, "We're winding down now, so no need to worry now."
"O-oh, it's ok. I'm just… making sure we all get our rest." Pyrrha's arms were starting to fall asleep but she still couldn't move them.
"And where are you staying? It has to be close if you heard us."
"We're… right across the hall from you." 'I'm living right next door to… oh god, I can't feel my legs now.'
"I was wondering who would take ASRE's dorm. I'll let them know that you're paralyzed right now."
"That would be very appreciated, thank you," Pyrrha said as Taiyang walked next to her and knocked on JNPR's door. It took a second before the door opened and Jaune peeked out at Taiyang.
"Oh, hi Taiyang," Jaune said opening the door fully and stepping out. "Was that you guys making all that noise?"
"Yeah, sorry about that," Taiyang said taking Jaune's pajamas in fully, top to bunny eared bottom, and wisely decided against saying anything. "We were having fun and lost track of time. By the way, Pyrrha's kind of paralyzed right now. So…"
"Again?" Jaune asked looking at his partner before turning back to his dorm room and called out, "Nora, we need you again! It looks like another bad one."
"Coming!" Nora shouted and skipped out into the hallway and over to Pyrrha. She leaned into check Pyrrha's eyes, nodded slowly, and picked her up like a piece of wood. "Wow, this is a bad one. Ren, get your fingers ready! This one looks like a real doozy!" Nora then walked past Taiyang and Jaune into the room with Pyrrha, with Ren walking over to join them at a bed wiggling his fingers.
"Will she be ok?" Qrow asked stepping out and leaning against the door frame while Raven retreated back into the room, "She didn't seem like the type to freeze up like that."
"She'll be fine, Ren's really good at massages. She started doing that when she found out your team name. STRQ, was it?" Taiyang and Qrow nodded and Jaune continued, "Well, I guess she's a fan. Are you guys famous or something?"
"Kind of," Taiyang shrugged, "And we won't get mad if she wants to ask us questions, you know."
"That's what I said. Oh, hi Summer!" Jaune waved at Summer, who had peeked outside and took one look at Jaune's pajamas before retreating back in holding back laughter. "Um… is she ok?"
"She's just tired."
"I know the feeling. She does have a point though, we should be getting to sleep. Don't worry about Pyrrha, we'll make sure she'll be fine."
"That's good. Well, good night guys." Taiyang gave one last wave as Jaune closed the door, getting one last look at Ren massaging a still stiff Pyrrha before the door closed completely. Taiyang shrugged at Qrow and the two walked back into their own room.
"Of course they're right next door to us," Raven said as Taiyang shut the door. She shook her head and sat down on her bed. "We'll never be free from them will we?"
"Probably not," Qrow agreed jumping onto his own bed.
"Dammit, it's just like MRGD." Raven sighed and fell backwards onto her pillow. "So much for a good feeling for the year, huh?"
"Just a small hiccup. They're good people," Summer said glancing over the edge of her bed. "Besides, it's not the worst thing that's happened lately." Summer dropped her head onto the mattress and sighed, "I just had to investigate that Seer, huh?"
"Don't blame yourself for that. You couldn't have known what would happen," Taiyang said jumping onto Summer's bed and giving her a comforting pat on the back. "Let's try and look on the bright side of all this."
"And what bright side would that be?" Raven asked and started counting her fingers, "fighting a shadow war we have almost no business in, targeted by a group of dangerous Grimm, one of which already destroyed my old home, we have no information on how to deal with any of those, and we still got to play the part of students here."
"They haven't gotten to us yet," Taiyang countered, "so maybe 'you know who' can't get past the Defense Grid. That means Beacon is a safe place for us, to train and study and just get better. So, let's just play it by ear and… I don't know, just be students for a bit? We just got into a bunch of heavy stuff and I know I need a break from all that. Normal school stuff should do it, right?"
"Whatever." Raven rolled onto her side and dug herself deeper into her sheets with a sigh. "I'm going to bed. I'll deal with all this shit tomorrow."
"That sounds like an idea," Qrow agreed waving his hand in the air.
"Yeah, tomorrow," Taiyang agreed hopping down to the floor. He moved to turn the lights off, plunging the room into darkness, and slid under the covers of his bed. "Night guys."
"Night," Summer whispered and carefully moved under her own covers. She picked up her Scroll and made sure the alarm for the next morning was ready to go before setting it down next to her pillow and closing her eyes.
Too bad sleep didn't come to her easily. Her mind raced constantly with thoughts about all kinds of things; school, preparations that the team needed for whatever they would need for the coming days, the endless questions that would probably be coming her way from the new first years once they realized who she and her team were.
'And the Generals. It's still unreal; How could a group of Grimm so strong be hidden in plain sight for so long, and how strong could Salem be if she's able to bring them under her control. What could they be planning with the Academies. How many people have died because of them.' Summer gripped her pillow tightly and found herself thinking back to a distant time.
She thought of a town square in chaos.
She thought of the Creatures of Grimm as they overrun her village and how hard she had to fight as a little girl just to run and survive against them.
She thought of scythes and screams.
'It couldn't be… could it?' Summer pressed her face into the pillow and tried to fight back both tears and the familiar, comforting feeling of hatred in her heart. "Dad…"
I did originally want to continue the chess motif for the generals, but there aren't enough chess pieces to use it without messing up the whole thing and making Salem look lesser in comparison to them.
