Chapter is a bit on the short side, but I just wanted to get this out on this day specifically. I'm a few hours late but as of December 27th, (For me that was 2 hours ago from the time of upload) marks the 1 Year anniversary of this story.
When I first started writing this, I didn't really have any expectations. I thought I'd maybe get one or two people who liked it but no real traction, but here I am now with 212 followers and 196 favorites, which is loads more than I could have ever hoped.

So to all of you who have been reading and supporting me thus far, to the ones who've been there since day one and to those who recently joined and are catching up: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!
This story wouldn't have progressed this far without you ^_^


Chapter 66: Official Huntsmen and A New Comrade?


Weiss Schnee sat in her shared room with the rest of team RWBY in the Atlas Dorms. She lay on the soft sheets of her bed, toying with a certain gemstone in her left hand. The smooth cold surface of the glass-like rock was pleasant to her fingers as if it liked being held by her. She held it up to the light, admiring the way the rays cascaded through its translucent body.

It was hard to believe that this small gem was the source of Remnant's natural cold. A hardened fragment of divine power said to be the life battery of one of Remnant's necessary forces.

"Why did you choose me?" she asked the rock as if it could respond to her. Surprisingly enough the gem seemed to vibrate in her hands, very faintly humming, which caused Weiss to blink in surprise.

"I'm not a Faunus, I don't have any special powers like Nova, Blake, or Luna… so why me?" she rubbed her thumb over its glossy surface.

The rock hummed a different frequency, still faint and almost unnoticeable, but Weiss felt it responding to her. Still… she couldn't interpret what it was saying.

She was roused out her thoughts by a sudden knock on the door, she whipped her head around, quickly hiding the gem, in case it was one of Ironwood's men, but standing in the doorway was Ruby.

"Oh it's just you," she said with relief washing over her face.

Ruby looked at her puzzled, "Huh?"

"Never mind… did you need something from me?" she replied.

"Do I need an excuse to come see my bestie?" Ruby shot her a cheeky smile.

Weiss rolled her eyes, "You and I both know there's too much going on for you to be coming to 'hang' with me."

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck with embarrassment, "Yeah… Ironwood wants all of us in the training room now."

Weiss was confused, "Couldn't you have just texted me?"

"I did… don't you answer your scroll?"

Weiss fished her scroll from her pocket and checked the three unread messages from Ruby and felt the urge to facepalm, "Ugh of course… I'm on my way"


-Atlas Academy Training Room-

Team ASHNRWBYJNR were assembled in the training hall accompanied by the Ace-Ops.

"What's this about?" Nova asked Clover with a curious gaze.

Clover smirked, "You'll see."

The dragon leader glanced over to Qrow who also just shrugged in confusion.

"Students of Beacon!" Winter announced as she, Ironwood, and Penny came striding into the room.

"Winter? What's up ice queen?" Nova addressed her with a smug grin. All the members of the Ace-Ops flinched at him using the name but Winter just coughed into her fist with a loud "Ahem".

Marrow looked at Nova incredulously, no one ever got away from calling her that scot-free.

The dragon just gave a toothy grin, "Benefits of being me."

"You all have fought hard this past year, experienced far more than any other huntsmen your age, and gone beyond expectations. By your skills which were vouched for by the Ace-Ops themselves, Atlas Academy is proud to present you with these." Winter walked around handing each member of team ASHNRWBYJNR holographic cards with their faces and status on them.

"Students? No… experienced soldiers, you are now, officially Huntsmen. These are your licenses. Don't lose them." Winter said with an air of officialism, like a teacher handing out graduation certificates, but even she couldn't hide the crack of a smile when her eyes fell on her sister who was jaw-dropped, clutching the card.

Every member of the team almost fell over, "SURPRISE!" Penny squealed, blowing confetti from her arms.

Ruby and Nova shared a glance, "We… did it?" Nova asked almost unbelievably.

Ruby clutched onto the card, her breath seizing in her throat, unable to form the right words, but Nova could tell what she wanted to say.

She was unbelievably happy, that couldn't be denied… but in the grand scheme of things, it felt… underwhelming. Becoming a Huntress was Ruby's dream, but now that she had achieved that goal, the feeling of accomplishment just wasn't there, because in her mind she knew, this was just a title, and all the things she'd done up to now were what she had wanted to do as a Huntress.

"Aren't you guys happy?" Marrow asked us looking perplexed since none of us were foaming at the mouth in glee.

"We are… don't get us wrong… but right now? It just feels like we can't celebrate until Salem and Onyx are out of the picture you know?" Nova responded with a half-smile.

"We'll give you guys some time to adjust. Clover? Explain the formalities." Ironwood said gesturing to the board in the room. It was a large holographic screen with lists and details.

Clover took to the stage, "As official Huntsmen and Huntresses, you can formally accept job requests from the board over here," he gestured to the screen. "Ranging from difficult to easy, as newcomers you can't accept the difficult jobs, you'll have to work your way up from the bottom."

Jaune walked over and began reading from the list of available jobs for their range, "Traffic warden? Lost cat? Delivery boy needed? But these aren't…"

"What you were expecting?" Harriet asked rhetorically, "Yeah, we all had to go through them, but don't worry. You'll still get jobs from the General."

Ruby, Nova, Luna, and Qrow sat together on a nearby bench while Winter and Weiss were talking.

"Officially Huntsmen huh? About time…" Qrow said ruffling his nieces' hair. "The two youngest Huntresses to exist. What a world we live in when a fifteen-year-old and a seventeen-year-old need to be appointed Huntresses, but I can't say you don't deserve it."

Ruby shot him a sad smile, "Do you think mom would be proud of me?" she sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes. She'd finally done what she set out to do, become a Huntress just like her mom.

Qrow smiled warmly, "Kid, she'd be so proud of you that she'd be bragging for days about how her little red became one of the world's greatest."

Ruby leaned into her Uncle's shoulder and wiped her eyes on his sleeve.

Luna just ran her hands through her hair, "Honestly… being a Huntress was never my goal… but I'm here now so… I'll just keep doing what I always did… fighting for my family."

Nova beamed and pinched her cheek, "Some heavy words for a short-stack. Be proud of yourself sis, you did what people only dream about."

Qrow chuckled at that, "Same goes for you fire-breath. My only nephew… you should feel proud of yourself too. Be happy you achieved something."

Nova grimaced, "As big as this is… being a Huntsman is only one stepping stone in our path, right Ruby?"

The red leader just looked at her boyfriend quizzically, sniffling, and wiping her eyes. Nova felt the sudden urge to kiss her tears away but there was a time and place for such things.

"It's not over 'til we make that future a reality right?" he said, referencing the dream he shared with her.

Ruby blinked for a moment then realized what he meant, she turned beet red, "Y-Yeah, y-you're right. No time to be complacent!"

Nova chuckled, "Woah calm down eager mc-beaver, in time. Right now I think you should celebrate a little. I'm proud of you, Ruby Rose."

Ruby blushed deeply and smiled so brightly the sun lost a little of its glimmer, this made Qrow groan, "Ugh flirt when I'm NOT here…" he grumbled before getting up and leaving them alone.

"You too Saph, you earned it." Nova poked his sister in the cheek, to which she tried to bite his finger causing him to retract it reflexively.

Clover approached the two leaders sitting on the bench, his status of command exuding as he towered over them, in a non-threatening, friendly way… he came off like a helpful senior.

"I already explained it to them but, you guys are officially huntsmen now, so you don't have to abide by the 'school rules' so to speak. You take jobs when you want and your downtime is for whatever you want. The Ace-Ops are willing to help you out with training whenever they're available, so don't hesitate to ask them," Clover said with a smile.

Nova got up and patted the older Huntsman on the forearm, "Thanks big guy, I think after all the craziness, we could do with a few 'normal' jobs for once, right Rubes?"

The red leader perked up at the thought of going on Grim Hunts, "Ooh you bet!"

"Just between us, you guys are the exception from the difficulty rule. Ironwood said it's okay for you to be allowed to take whatever job you want under the proper guidelines," Clover said quietly so the others wouldn't hear.

Nova smirked, "Oh really…"


-Mantle City Outskirts, near the Tundra-

Ruby, Nova, Weiss, and Yang were patrolling the streets of Mantle, reports of Grimm running loose in the town were sent to the Academy for Huntsman response, and since the leaders were allowed to pick what they pleased, they organized for a small group to head out while the others who weren't so eager to jump on a mission so soon were hanging back in Atlas.

"It feels nice to just have a normal day for once," Yang said stretching her arms above her head and cracking her fingers.

"What part of hunting monsters at 10 p.m. is normal?" Weiss asked dryly.

Nova just elbowed his cousin, "Lighten up ice-princess, you agreed to this, too didn't you?"

"Whatever…" she rolled her eyes in response.

The streets were quiet and the dim lighting of the street lamps provided just enough vision range for them to see oncoming threats from the corners of the alleys. A few more meters and they would be out of Mantle City the vague outline of a small building in the vast snowy expanse could be seen in the distance, just outside of the city boundaries.

Despite their relaxed nature, they were still on guard, each member of the team had their Aura sensory fields expanded as far as they could, and walked in a formation that covered the most area. Yang was especially high in range as her senses extended several meters around her in a dome. Nova was sure with enough training, she might be able to expand her senses to maybe even a city block if her Aura capacity allowed it.

"It's awfully quiet…" Ruby pointed out, peering at the city line trying to see any airborne threats.


In the far distance, out of their line of sight and sensory fields was Neopolitan and Cinder, lurking in the shadows of an alley, observing the team.

"It's time. Are you ready?" Cinder asked, her voice laden with intent.

Neo shuddered as a cold chill ran down her spine, she wasn't keen on the idea, but this was her best bet, her ticket out. The mute girl nodded in compliance.

Cinder's blood-red eyes began glowing as twisted magic began warping around her hands, like black tendrils of some otherworldly monstrosity. The shadows seemed to morph around them as out of the black sprouted two, very large Beowolves, they snarled and bared their fangs menacingly.

Neo stood frozen in fear as the two creatures seemed to come from absolutely nowhere. She'd known Cinder's powers were beyond her imagination, but to think that the woman could now create Grimm from nothing…

"Try not to die?" Cinder said with an amused expression.

Neo grumbled, transforming her appearance into her chosen disguise, taking her umbrella sword and slashing up her clothes so it looked like she was attacked.

'Let's just get this over with' the mute girl said in her mind after smearing some dirt on her face.


"Something's coming!" Yang said, gearing up Ember Celia. The others turned in the direction Yang was facing as from the far end of the dimly lit street they could hear the sound of vicious snarling and barking.

They saw a lone girl, around their age, running for her life as two massive Beowolves were chasing her at a break-neck pace. The first thing that struck them as odd was that the girl looked panicked but she wasn't screaming in fear, otherwise they'd have found her much earlier.

'That bitch! She could've summoned something less ravenous and angry? I swear she's actually trying to kill me!' the girl, aka Neopolitan in disguise, though in her mind as she ran with all her strength and speed away from the snarling beasts behind her. She knew they needed to make it believable but the fear she was feeling was very, very real.

Instantly the team entered combat mode. Ruby petal burst into the beasts, using her scythe to hook one of the creatures and launch it into the air. Nova quickly followed up with a sword draw, the flash of his blade a mere blink as he erupted from his spot, almost instantaneously reappearing a few meters from the large Beowolf, the creature split in half and dissipating into black mist as he sheathed his sword.

Yang on the other hand was already rapidly punching the creature, it seemed resistant to bludgeoning blows, so instead, she used her enormous strength to punch it so hard that it flew toward Weiss, who in question had already reacted by summoning an ice spike from the floor, stabbing the wolf through its chest, effectively killing it.

Once the business was done and they were sure no more Grimm were in the area, they inspected the girl.

She was about five feet tall, with light brown, soft and wavy hair that went down to her middle back, and hazel-colored eyes. Her cheeks were dotted with freckles and her skin was a porcelain-like white. She seemed almost like a doll. The girl wore ragged, torn blue Mantle miner overalls, evidence of being attacked since there were lines of blood and scratches on her skin. She was in all essence of the word, average, with no particularly striking features, but for some reason, Weiss felt slightly drawn toward the girl, she didn't know why.

"Hey, are you okay? Why didn't you scream for help?" Yang asked, kneeling down and checking her injuries. Thankfully they were just surface scratches.

The girl just shook her head and began using sign language.

"Uh… I don't understand… does anyone speak sign?" Yang turned to her friends.

Weiss rolled her eyes and brushed past her, "Hey, can you repeat what you told my friend? Also, please forgive her insensitivity."

The girl shook her head and gave a knowing nod, and began signing again.

"What's she saying, Weiss?" Ruby asked.

Weiss hummed for a moment, "My sign language is a bit rusty but… she says that she can't speak, she's mute, and she's thanking us for the help. Did I get that right?" she turned back to the girl.

The girl just nodded her head vigorously.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" Nova asked.

The girl began signing and again, and as she did they could see Weiss' expression visibly shift from understanding to anger.

"S-She says that she works for the SDC as a miner, she was just returning home from an overtime shift. When she was attacked by Beowolves," Weiss clenched her fists in rage, "Hey kid, how old are you?"

The girl signed, 'I'm seventeen.'

Weiss bit her lip in frustration, "This goes beyond despicable… how could my father hire an underage girl to work in the fucking Dust Mines?! Does he have no shame?! First the Faunus and now he's hiring kids to…!"

"Weiss calm down… or have you forgotten that we're also still 'just kids'," Nova pointed out.

Weiss took a few deep breaths, "Still, this isn't right…"

The girl tugged at Weiss to gain her attention and began signing again, this time Weiss looked mortified, 'My parents died when I was young, and it's just me and my aunt living outside of Mantle. This job helps pay for our living expenses.'

Weiss suddenly got the urge to hug the girl, for someone to forsake themselves just to survive… she glanced back at Nova. The world was truly a cruel place.

A loud howl was heard off in the distance as the team whipped their heads around to see a pack of Beowolves running away from the streets and toward the Tundra.

The girl suddenly flew into a panic and began signing rapidly to Weiss. Instantly the Schnee was on her feet, "MOVE NOW! CHASE THOSE BEOWOLVES!"

The others wasted no time following the orders, "Weiss what's wrong?!" Yang asked.

"They're heading in the direction of this girl's house! She says her aunt is home alone!"

Yang picked up the girl and slung her over her shoulder as they broke into a sprint, the pack of Beowolves already disappearing past the city boundaries and into the snowy Tundra.

The heavy snow impeded their movements and despite their best efforts, they still took a minute longer than they needed to.

On a lone snowy hill, stood a wooden house, the lights were on inside and a warm yellow glow emanated from within. The Beowolf tracks led right up to the house, as everyone paled.

"MOVE QUICKLY!" Nova said as he heated himself up, not caring if the girl saw, as flames began to cover his body, melting the thick snow and creating a path for the others to move up.

Once they arrived at the shack, it was already too late. Three large Beowolves prowled along the outside while one other stood in the doorway, its back to them.

Ruby, Nova, and Weiss made quick work of the beasts, but as they approached the one on the inside, they could smell the strong stench of blood. With one quick bullet, the beast was dead, and all that remained was the half-eaten corpse of a woman with black hair. Her face was too disfigured to identify, but from the look on the girl's face, it was her aunt.

"FUCK!" Nova cursed as his fire roared out, a belt of flames melting the snow as he vented his anger.

Ruby crumpled to the floor on her knees, her first mission as a Huntress, and… she failed…

The girl they were carrying had walked up to the shack and slammed her fist against the wooden wall, tears pouring from her eyes. 'Damn I'm a good actor' Neo thought to herself as she continued to produce false tears.

Neo saw the dejected looks on their faces and felt bad, she could tell that this was leaving an emotional impact on them, but she couldn't understand why they would care so much about someone they don't know.

"Are… are you going to be alright?" Weiss asked, reaching out for the girl.

Neo flinched at the touch, simply choosing to turn around and put on a grim expression, and began signing, 'This woman, she may have been my aunt… but she was far from family. She hated me, abused me, but even still, I didn't want to see her die… because, without her, I have no family left.'

Weiss' expression fell into hurt, and also understanding, "A family member who wasn't really family to you… I know how that feels," she rubbed her upper arm, "What are you going to do now?"

Neo inwardly smirked, she'd gotten them, 'I'll… get by… I think. No one's going to bury her, no one's going to remember her. I don't know what I'm going to do from here… this place was my home but now…' she said with a sad expression.

Nova was outside consoling Ruby with Yang, trying to tell her that this wasn't her fault, that they couldn't have done anything about it.

Weiss felt hurt, she felt responsible for this girl, she didn't know why. Maybe it was because she related to this girl's situation, or because she felt she needed to make it up for failing to save this person, but she offered a suggestion, "Come with us to Atlas Academy. We can enroll you as a trainee. You'd have a place to stay, three square meals a day and never have to worry about freezing to death out here, or suffering in the mines."

The girl blinked rapidly, gasping in shock, 'But what about my job? Even with the money I've saved, I can't pay for Atlas tuition…' she signed.

Weiss shook her head, "Don't worry about the money. We'll cover the tuition, right guys?" she turned back to the others who were now standing around, with Ruby huddled in Nova's arms.

"As Huntsmen, we need to take responsibility, we're with you, Weiss," Nova said confidently.

Neo was genuinely shocked for words, she was expecting them to take sympathy on her and she'd grow closer to them through that, she didn't expect them to offer her a place to stay and a new life. She was someone they didn't know, a complete stranger, but they were willing to go this far…

For the first time in a long time, the feeling of guilt crept up in her throat as she watched the young Ruby Rose become depressed. She almost wanted to tell them that this was just an illusion created by Emerald, a fake scene over an old mining shack made to fool them, that the body wasn't real and neither was the blood, but she couldn't blow her cover… not yet.


The ship ride back to Atlas was depressing, to say the least, Ruby was latched onto Nova, her eyes bleary from the tears. Neopolitan on the other hand was inwardly ecstatic, and somewhat nervous since her plans had been more successful than she expected, having already infiltrated Atlas.

"What brings you all to my office at this hour… and who's this?" James asked looking at the girl.

"She's…" Nova started but realized they forgot to get her name.

The girl began writing letters in the air since there was no real sign for her name, 'Anastasia' it spelled.

"Anastasia?" James rubbed his chin. "Why are you here?"

Weiss took to the front, "Sir, to explain this, we'd like to give our mission report."

After telling the story about how they rescued the girl and took out the other Grimm but didn't make it in time to save her Aunt, James studied them with concern.

"You didn't fail," he said first, addressing them, "Things happen on the battlefield that you can't control. As a Huntsman, you can't expect to save everyone. Let this be a lesson to you, that sometimes people will die, no matter what you do."

Ruby gripped her forearm so hard that her nails dug into her skin. She knew what the General said was right, she knew that there would be times when she couldn't save someone, but it still didn't make her feel any better.

"Sir, we'd like to enroll this girl as a new recruit. She has nowhere else to go, and since it was our duty to eliminate the Grimm and… things happened… we'd like to take responsibility for it. We'll cover her tuition fees and living expenses, just give her a chance to…"

Ironwood held his hand, "I know what you're getting at Miss Schnee, but to take responsibility for every life that…"

"I know General, but still, I want to do this… please…" Weiss said, biting her lip in frustration.

Anastasia aka Neo was once again taken aback by the sheer kindness and generosity of these people, to go so far as to vouch for her in front of General Ironwood himself…

James let out a heavy sigh and turned to the girl, "Fine, I'll allow it, however, you will personally see to her training. She will be under your care, understood? If that is alright with her?"

Anastasia looked pensive at first, making sure she didn't look too eager, trying to sell the act of a nervous girl who had just lost her only family, 'I accept' she signed.

Weiss also nodded in compliance, "I also agree to these terms."

James folded his arms and stared out of his office window, "Don't make me regret this… both of you. Now go get some rest, you have an important mission tomorrow."


Again Apologies for the short chapter but this could also be kind of a tease into Neo's back story, author hint: Not everything she said was a lie.

I'm on vacation so I can promise the next chapter WON'T take 2 weeks to get done.