And here's the next chapter! I kinda rushed it, since I don't know if I'm gonna lose power from Irma or not and didn't want to leave ya'll hanging. I hope you enjoy it!
This had to be a mistake. They were going beyond the Walls, out into a Grimm infested abandoned city, and they were doing that with the least physically imposing, most academia focused professor at Beacon? She shook her head in disbelief as Yang closed Ruby's still open mouth.
"Professor Oobleck?" she asked.
"Doctor Oobleck, Ms. Schnee. I didn't earn a PhD for my health." He said sternly. He began to pace in front of them, his words coming out a mile a minute. "Now then! There's no need for you four to get supplies, as I have already packed everything that we shall need for a reconnaissance missions such as this. We shall be traversing through multiple hazardous terrains, and we shall be getting the minimum required sleep from various camps we will have to set up during our time in the field. We shall be traversing multiple kilometers each day so I hope you are all wearing comfortable shoes." He stopped, and turned to them. "Any questions?" Ruby began to raise her hand before Yang put her hand on Ruby's and lowered it. "None? Excellent! Time for us to depart ladies, we're already," he glanced at his watch "Three minutes behind schedule. Let's move!" He zipped up the pod bay door of the airship.
She looked at Ruby, who was still staring in disbelief at the ship. She gave a very forced smile and swung her arm up.
"Okay team, it looks like we'll be stopping the White Fang with Doctor-" she sighed, the smile falling and her arm falling limp against her side. "I can't even say that out loud. Let's get this over with."
"Get what over with?" a male voice behind them asked. She turned around and saw JNPR, SVDJ, Penny, and Sun and Neptune walking up to them.
"Where ya'll going for your mission?" Sterling asked.
"Out to Mount Glenn. We gotta figure out why the Grimm are there," Ruby said.
"Looks like we're all heading outside the Kingdom," Jaune said. He motioned over to Ren. "He wanted to visit a nearby village and shadow the Huntsmen there." Ren nodded.
"We won't be leaving until tomorrow though," he said.
"And we're heading out to help repair the outer sections of the Walls," Jet said. "We wanted to try something different." Ruby looked over at Sun and Neptune.
"Did you two sign up for a mission somehow?" she asked. Sun laughed and Neptune shook his head, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets.
"Nah, we're heading into Vale to visit Honey and Flaxen. Just thought we'd say goodbye until you all get back." Ruby turned to Penny, a smile on her lips.
"Are you going with them?" she asked. Penny shook her head and took a step forward before embracing Ruby. Ruby wrapped her arms around her, returning the hug.
"I will be waiting here until you all return. Be safe, okay, Ruby?"
"I will be. We'll be back soon, I promise." They continued to hug, causing the farewell party's expressions to soften and smiles creep up their faces. Weiss turned away from her team leader and towards Violet.
"Violet?" she asked. Violet looked at her in shock, her ears standing at attention.
"Y-yes, Weiss?" she asked. Weiss smiled at her.
"Do you have anything I could sign before we leave?" Violet's eyes widened.
"I thought you said you don't give out autographs?"
"I've reconsidered my stance on them. Do you still want it?" Violet nodded her head, a blush appearing on her cheeks as she fished through her book bag for something. She pulled out a book, and Weiss blushed; it was Ninjas of Love. Violet held the book out in front of her, struggling to look her in the eye.
"It's the only signable thing I have with me right now," she said. Weiss took the book, and pulled a pen, ice blue in color, out of her pouch. To Violet, sorry this took so long. You're my favorite fan and a good friend. Love, Weiss. She closed the book, put her pen away, and handed the book back to Violet.
"I'm trying to read that book at the moment, actually," Weiss said as Violet looked at what she wrote, Violet's lip quivering as she read it. "If I get back, would you care to hang out sometime?" she asked. Violet closed the book, holding it against her chest, and nodding, a large smile on her face.
"I would love to, Weiss!" she said.
"Ladies!" She turned around, and saw Oobleck leaning out of the airship, an annoyed look on his face. He pointed at his watch. "We're now five minutes behind schedule!"
Ruby broke her hug, holding onto Penny's shoulders and staring into her eyes before giving her a smile.
"Wish me luck," she said. Penny kissed Ruby on the cheek before saluting,
"Good luck!" She giggled. Ruby let her hands slip off Penny's shoulders and waved at JNPR and the others.
"Don't do anything too crazy while we're gone," she said. Jaune laughed.
"We won't," he said. Sterling held out a fist and Yang bumped it with her own before turning and boarding the airship. Blake gave their friends a nod before boarding the ship as well. Weiss gave them all a smile.
"Good luck on your missions," she said. She turned around and boarded the airship, stepping past Oobleck as he impatiently tapped his foot.
The wind whipped around her as the ship soared through the air, the yellow-green forests below them a blur as they sped past. She looked away from the open side of the ship and at Oobleck, who was sipping from his canteen.
"I've never really seen you as much of a fighter, Doc. Why are you on a mission like this?" Yang shouted, barely able to hear herself over the wind and the roar of the engines.
"I will admit I am much more of an intellectual but rest assured, I have seen my fair share of tussles as a Huntsmen," he shouted back.
"Why are you talking about mushrooms?" Ruby shouted, scratching her head.
"Tussles, not truffles, Ruby," Blake shouted.
"What?" Ruby shouted. Oobleck adjusted his glasses.
"Aside from my mushroom fighting capabilities, I am the history expert at Beacon academy, and with a minor in archeology, the best suited for a mission such as this." Weiss tilted her head to the side as she looked at Oobleck.
"What does history have to do with a reconnaissance mission?" Oobleck turned to her, his hands making sporadic motions as he motioned with them.
"My dear what a silly question! History is involved in everything, why I'd go so far to say it's the liver of Remnant society!" Weiss blinked.
"That doesn't answer my question." Oobleck sighed.
"The southeast part of Vale is full of lush, untamed forests and deep caves. But it is also the home to one of the Kingdom's greatest failures."
"Mountain Glenn." They all turned to look at Ruby. Oobleck smiled slightly.
"Correct." Yang rubbed her chin. Mountain Glenn…. Oh! No wonder the name sounded familiar; she'd written a paper about it in one of her classes. She held up her hand.
"It was an expansion of Vale City, right? To help with the overcrowding in the slums." She looked back out the open door, the forests having disappeared and being replaced with gray, rocky terrain. "But in the end it was overrun with Grimm, something to do with experiments done by Merlot Industries, and Vale left it." She looked away from the door and saw Oobleck's smile had grown. He held up his index finger as he said
"Also correct! It now stand desolate and abandoned, a dark reminder of what happens when we step outside the Walls."
"If the White Fang moved anywhere outside the city, this is the most likely place." Blake shouted. Oobleck adjusted his glasses before nodding in agreement.
"Precisely, Ms. Belladonna. Given the lack of White Fang activity in Vale and the previous lack of Grimm activity, they are the most likely suspects for the cause of the Grimm surge in this area."
The ship jolted, and Yang looked out the door to see them fly over a gigantic wall made of concrete and descend into a broken and cracked pavement road. The ship stopped and hovered several meters above the ground. Yang leapt out of the airship, squinting as she fell through the dust and gravel thrown up by the engines, turning her bracelets into Ember Celica. She heard her team mates leap out after her.
Ruby landed with a grunt, and quickly stood up. Mountain Glenn was a desolate place; the roads were cracked, brown weeds were growing through, and splotches of long dried blood caked the roads. The buildings were crumbling, some reduced to nothing more than a skeleton made from crossbeams and metal. Dusty, broken glass littered the ground wherever she looked. The grass was dead, a faded yellow. The air tasted stale, and smelt funny. Ruby heard the airship ascend and start to soar away, the roar from its engines growing faint. The only sound left was the wind as it blew around them.
"Ladies." They turned to look at him. He motioned towards the dead city in front of them. "Ozpin may have told you that this is a school assignment but in reality, this is an actual Hunter mission. I need you four to stay close to me at all times, and to do exactly as I say. Understood?" Ruby nodded, tightening her grip on her scythe.
"Do you have any orders for us, Doctor?" Blake asked. He nodded his head.
"I do. You all know that this area has suddenly become a hotspot for Grimm activity, and we discussed one of my theories as to the cause, but I also have several other theories as to what is causing the Grimm-" he stopped, his brow furrowing. Ruby cocked her head to the side.
"Causing the Grimm to what?" she asked.
"Ladies, did Professor Port or Bob ever teach you how to remain invisible to the Grimm?" he asked, continuing to stare past them. Ruby remembered Port telling them that the Grimm had terrible vision, practically blind, and relied upon negative emotions to 'see' their prey. If you stayed happy near a Grimm, then you should be okay, right?
"Kinda?" Ruby said.
"Where did this come from?" Weiss asked. Oobleck motioned with his head to something behind them.
"There is a Grimm, a Beowolf to be exact, approximately ninety one meters from us."
"What?" Yang exclaimed. Oobleck grimaced as they spun around.
The wolf was walking past a heap of rubble, a dead deer in its jaws. The wolf's ears perked up and it dropped the deer, sniffing at the air. Ruby raised her weapon, aiming down the scope. The wolf's head snapped over to her direction, its lips raising up as it snarled. She met its eye through her scope.
"Ruby, do-" She pulled the trigger, and the wolf's head exploded into a spray of black paste. Its body slumped over, starting to smoke. She lowered the scythe, and looked back at Oobleck. His face was neutral, his eyes hidden by his thick glasses.
"Piece of cake," she said.
"Ms. Rose. While the Grimm have a hard time seeing without the aid of negative emotions, they are still apex predators with great hearing and smell. The wolf you just killed was most likely out hunting for its pack, which no doubt lives nearby." Ruby felt her blood turn cold as a howl cut through the air. "And that would be the pack." She looked back to see a dozen or so Beowolves sprinting towards the wolf she had just killed, ignoring the deer as they sniffed at their dead sibling. She saw one lifts its head, sniffing the air before looking over at them. The other wolves noticed and looked over at them, starting to snarl. Ruby swallowed, her throat dry. "And it seems they've noticed us."
One of the wolves let loose a howl and started to charge at them, the other wolves following after it.
"Any plans, Doc?" Yang asked, raising her fists, and taking a stance.
"Show me what Glynda has taught you."
Ruby raised her scythe up again, aiming down the scope. She fired, blowing a hole in the chest of the charging Beowolf, and blowing the head off the one behind it. The other wolves kept charging at them, drool running down their snouts, as they sprinted past their fallen comrades.
"Bees Schnees!" Ruby shouted. Yang, Blake, and Weiss charged forward; Yang's hair ablaze.
The wolf leading the charge leapt at Yang, its jaws extended and its claws thrown in front of it. Yang snarled and caught the wolf, wrestling it to the ground. The wolf clawed against her grip, snarling and its jaws snapping as Yang struggled to keep her grip, grabbing a hold of its head. With a yell she twisted, and the wolf went limp with a sickening snap. She dropped the smoking wolf and rose up, running after her monochromatic teammates.
Blake ran past Yang while she wrestled with the wolf, Weiss tailing her. Two wolves lunged at her, and she left a clone and leapt over the wolves as they attacked the clone. A confused growl emanated from them as the clone dissipated. Blake smirked as she fell onto them, plunging her swords into their spines. They roared in pain, and Blake jerked her arms up, splitting their backbones in two. The two wolves went limp and Blake ducked as Weiss leapt over her. She looked back and saw Weiss land in the group of wolves, stabbing one through the eye before jerking her blade out and whirling on another wolf, stabbing it through its gaping maw.
There was a crack of thunder and the head of one of the wolves near Weiss exploded, spraying blood and brain fragments over her. Blake pulled her blades out of the smoldering wolves and let out a scream when she felt a set of jaws clamp down on her nape, and a set of claws grab her arms. Struggling through the pain, she turned Gambol Shroud to its gun form, struggling to raise her arm enough to shoot the wolf. The wolf clamped down on her neck harder, her aura barely keeping the fangs off of her. She heard an animalistic scream and felt the wolf's teeth get torn off her neck and its claws ripped off her arms. She spun around, her gun drawn. She was greeted with Yang holding the wolf's jaw apart, its claws on her wrists, and a snarl on her lips. With a yell she split the wolf's jaws apart, splitting its head in two.
Blake gave Yang a nod and turned towards Weiss, her weapons at the ready. Weiss' blade was on fire, smoldering wolf corpses lay around her. She ran a wolf through the throat, its blood causing the fire on the blade to sputter, before yanking her blade out. The last wolf snarled at her before there was a boom, and the top part of its head was blown off. It slumped to the floor, its brains slipping out. They looked back at Ruby who gave them a thumbs up and a smile as she lowered her scythe to her side.
"Good job team!" she said.
Ruby turned to Oobleck, holstering her weapon. He was rubbing his chin, a thoughtful expression on his faces. He started to walk towards her teammates, glancing at each of the dead Grimm as they smoldered and smoked. Yang's breathing was heavy when they got to her, the fire in her hair slowly dying.
"You know, Doc, I was hoping to see you in action. You know, maybe helping with that fight?" Oobleck smirked.
"I am in action, my dear. Studying the ruins of this once great city, and the Grimm you fought for any irregularities is what I do best." He pushed his glasses up. "And rest assured, if I thought any of you were in danger of dying I would step in. But none of you were, so I didn't." Yang snorted, and Oobleck frowned. "I take your safety very seriously Ms. Xiao Long, and there is more to being a Hunter then just killing. Being a Hunter isn't always something out of fairy tale, its bleak and sometimes you're stuck traveling across a wasteland, or scouring ruins, or just scouting out an area. This is a job after all, and one that you have all signed up for."
"Of course I know it isn't like a fairy tale." Yang said. She crossed her arms. "I know what I signed up for." Oobleck cocked an eyebrow at that before turning and walking away. He motioned forward with his hand.
"Let us head out girls, we have a lot of ground to cover, and doubtless more Grimm to try, and, hopefully evade." He stopped and looked back at them. "Do any of you need an aura booster? I saw you take a nasty bite back there, Ms. Belladonna." Ruby looked over at Blake, who shook her head. She rubbed the back of her neck.
"I'll be fine, Doctor. Let's save those for a real emergency." Oobleck nodded and resumed his forward march.
"Very well. Onward!"
The silence in the city was oppressive as they traveled. No birds chirping. The air was dead, not a single breeze. None of them were talking. Oobleck led the way, his strides long as he led them through the city. Yang struggled to keep her nerves in check; this silence was killing her. It was easier when she knew when the Grimm were gonna attack or where they would attack from. There were so many different places for a Grimm to ambush them from; that shattered window, the gaping hole in the wall that Ruby was walking past, from the rooftops, a Nevermore could swoop down from its nest on one of the skyscrapers and-
A howl cut through the air and they came to a stop. Several other howls rose up in response. Yang's head swiveled to and fro; how far away were they? She grit her teeth, clenching her hands into fists. Minutes dragged by agonizingly slow, none of them moving. She heard Oobleck exhale, and saw him turn towards them.
"I believe we should be safe from those Grimm at the moment." Oobleck began to move forward again, and Ruby glanced back at them, gave them a reassuring nod, and followed after him. Yang swallowed and unclenched her fists.
They continued onward, the buildings starting to thin out until they reached what must have once been a plaza. The grass was tall, easily up to her waist. A couple of relatively intact buildings stood near the plaza, she could see the faded mascot for a Vale burger restaurant on one of the buildings. Oobleck was crouched next to the grass, inspecting something or another. Yang crossed her arms, feeling uneasy.
"Ms. Rose?"
"Yeah, Doctor Oobleck?" Ruby asked.
"As a team leader, what would you do in a situation such as this? Multiple buildings to scour for clues, but a multitude of hidden enemies, and only the five of us to deal with all of it. Night also seems like it will be approaching in a few hours." Ruby looked back at them, and then at the various buildings. She chewed her lip, drumming her fingers on her scythe.
"I think we should set up camp, and explore whatever's nearby in pairs." Oobleck shrugged off his backpack and rested it in the dirt before standing up, dusting his hands off.
"An excellent idea." He turned towards them, motioning to his backpack and then at Ruby, Blake, and Weiss. "You three, set up camp. Do make sure it is in a building free of Grimm. Yang and I will explore the nearest building while you take care of that." Ruby picked up the backpack, and turned towards a nearby building. She went over to it, Blake and Weiss following her. Oobleck turned to her, and motioned for her to follow him as he stepped into the grass. She cocked her head to the side at the thermos he had slung over his shoulder, shrugged, and followed after him.
They stopped in front of the burger restaurant, and Yang gave Oobleck a look as he looked at the shattered windows and caved in door.
"You think the White Fang are hiding out here?" she asked. He shook his head.
"The White Fang are just one of my theories as to what would cause a surge of Grimm in this area. It is also possible that there is a Raider tribe here, or refugees from a nearby destroyed village. This place was abandoned long ago but I wouldn't blame them for looking for food here." He tried the door, causing it to groan as he struggled to move it. He let go and went to the window, hopping through it and into the restaurant. Yang went to the door and yanked it open, nearly ripping it off its rusted hinges.
The restaurant was falling apart, parts of the ceiling dangling, and the tiles cracked and grass growing through it. Dust covered the stained tables and the upholstery in the seats looked like it had been chewed on. It was a small building, and she was able to walk the entire building in a few minutes. She couldn't see any signs of recent activity, aside from her and Oobleck's prints in the dust. Wait. She narrowed her eyes at a small set of wolf tracks in the dust, leading to behind the counter. She took a step towards the counter and peeked over it. There wasn't anything there, just more tracks, and a small clear spot in the dust. She frowned and stepped back from the counter.
"Ms. Xiao Long?" she looked over at Oobleck, who was crouched next to one of the tables as he looked at something under there.
"Yeah?" He stood up, brushing dust off his hands and turned to look at her, his glasses resting on his nose.
"May I ask why you wanted to be a Huntress?"
"To fight monsters and sa-" He shook his head.
"Incorrect. That is what you do. I'm asking why you do it." She snorted, and looked away.
"Why, huh?" she shrugged. "I guess I wanted to be one because I'm a thrill seeker. I don't really have anything else planned, so why not get wrapped up in globetrotting adventures and save people?" she said. He stared at her before pushing his glasses up.
"I see. And may I ask what you mean by, nothing else planned?"
"Huh?"
"What did you mean by that? That is my question." She scowled at him.
"Hey Doc, can you no-" she stopped when she heard a high pitched growl coming from under the table Oobleck was standing in front of. She bent over and gasped when she saw a Beowolf pup cowering underneath the table; it was glaring at her, its lips pulled back into a snarl. Oobleck held up a hand.
"Do not worry, Ms. Xiao Long, that pup appears to be abandoned and has been living here on its own. I do not believe it is a threat to any of us as long as we keep a cool head." She looked at it; it was actually kinda cute. She looked back up at Oobleck.
"You're not gonna make me kill it are you?" He laughed and she saw the pup tilt its head at the noise.
"No, not today, Ms. Xiao Long. I think we're done here. I don't see any signs of life here besides our little friend." He climbed onto the table before hopping out of the window and disappearing in the grass. Yang sighed and followed after him.
She grimaced at the crackling as she walked over the broken glass in the building, Oobleck observing various things as he walked. He started to climb the stair leading to second floor when he stopped, and sat down. Weiss opened her mouth and closed it, her eyes going wide when she heard a growling to her left.
She drew her sword and spun around to face the Beowolves. There was three of them, boney spines sticking out of the back of the closest wolf. She scowled, and pulled the trigger on her sword, Blue. The lead wolf charged at her, and she slammed her blade into the ground, icicles shooting forward and impaling the wolf through the stomach, its intestines slipping out and its blood turning the ice black.
"Ms. Schnee, may I ask why you wanted to become a Huntress?" she heard Oobleck ask calmly. She spun towards him, confused.
"How is this relev-" she shrieked as one of the wolves tackled her to the ground, glass cutting into her jacket. She threw her blade between her and the wolf's mouth, grunting as the wolf's jaws snapped around the metal. She pulled the trigger, Red, and her blade caught fire. The wolf screamed and got off of her, swatting at its maw to try and stop the flames. Weiss got to her feet, scowling.
"I mean a girl such as yourself certainly didn't need to do something like this. You're a Schnee, born into fame and fortune. Why throw all that away and spend your days fighting monsters and protecting the lowborn? Why not take up a cushy job in Atlas?" Oobleck asked. She ignored him and lunged at the wolf, stabbing up and through its skull. The wolf went limp on her blade, the fire still sputtering in its mouth. She spun around, where was the last wolf? She let out a yell as she felt something crash into her left side, throwing her backwards. She struggled to her feet, and glared at the wolf. It snarled at her before charging, and Weiss placed a glyph below herself. The wolf lunged, swinging with its claws, as the glyph launched Weiss into the air. A second glyph caught her, and she leapt from it, impaling the wolf through the spine. It let out a cry, and squirmed for a moment before going limp, black smoke starting to rise from its corpse.
Breathing hard, she yanked her blade out and turned towards Oobleck.
"I wanted to become a Huntress, because I am a Schnee. My grandfather created what my family is today and I intend to uphold his honor. It's my duty to fight for those who can't fight for themselves." Oobleck kicked his leg absentmindedly in the air.
"Interesting. If only the rest of your family felt that way." Her jaw dropped before she scowled.
"How dare you!"
"Will you deny that your father has done rather terrible things?" Weiss looked away, anger boiling.
"There is more to my family than just him," she said. She heard Oobleck move and looked over to see him disappear to the second floor. She sheathed her sword, and stormed off after him, glass crunching beneath her heels.
She kicked the door in with a grunt, her gun drawn and aimed at anything inside. The door fell to the floor, throwing up a cloud of dust, and the noise echoing in the room. The room was empty, sunlight was filtering in through the hole in the ceiling. She cautiously walked in, her gun steady in her grip. Her ears twitched at a noise near the ceiling and she spun towards the sound.
A swarm of black feathers and squawking beaks came at her, cawing and screeching. She fired several shots, her aim true, hitting each Nevermore and reducing them to puffs of blood and feathers. She heard Oobleck enter the building behind her and went over to the Nevermore corpses, what remained of them as they started to smoke. She looked around the building; it was deserted, not a single sign of life, a thick layer of dust on all the furniture, and walls weather worn and lacking color.
"Ms. Belladonna, you seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose. Why did you choose to become a Huntress?" She sheathed her weapon.
"There's too much pain in this world, Doctor. Bigotry, inequality, corruption. Someone has to take a stand against it." He lifted up a feather, bringing it to his eye.
"Very well. How?" She blinked.
"I…. uh…."
"How, Ms. Belladonna? How can one Faunus bring about all that change?" Her eyes shot open.
"How did you know I was-?" He stood up, dropping the feather.
"I didn't, but I had a suspicion. But rest assured Ms. Belladonna, if you want to continue presenting as a human, then you're secret is safe with me." He looked around the vacant room, and rested his hands on his hips. "I believe this building is deserted. Let us head back." He walked past her and Blake looked at the smoking feathers before following after him.
She stifled a yawn and raised her scope back up to her eye, scanning the nearby buildings for any movement. The sun was starting to set, its golden rays hidden behind many of the crumbling buildings. She saw movement from one of the buildings and looked over, sighing in relief when she saw Blake and Oobleck leaving the building they had visited. She lowered her scythe again, resting it against her while Blake and Oobleck trekked through the grassy plaza. She collapsed her weapon and holstered it when Blake and Oobleck entered the camp.
"Ruby!" she heard Oobleck exclaim, while he walked in with a solemn faced Blake. "Night will be upon us soon, let us secure the perimeter. You three," he pointed at Weiss, Blake, and Yang. "It will be getting rather chilly tonight so a fire is in order. You all know how to make one, yes?" They nodded. "Excellent! Come now, Ruby!"
She followed him out of the building, walking through the rubble that covered the streets. She heard a distant rumbling, and gripped her scythe as Oobleck came to a stop at the end of the road. She slowed to a stop, her jaw dropping and her eyes widening.
A giant forest stretched out in front of them, and towering above the trees were Grimm. The Grimm were humongous, their ink black skin covered with spiny plates of bone armor, their tusks long and curled. She could hear their roars, loud even from where she stood.
"What are those," she asked. "They look awesome."
"That my dear, is a Goliath." He turned to her. "Ruby, may I ask you something?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Why did you choose to be a Huntress?" She cocked an eyebrow as she thought for a moment.
"Well, I guess I wanted to be a Huntress because I want to be a hero. I want to save people from the Grimm."
"Interesting. So being a Hunter makes you a hero?" She frowned and looked away. A white cloak. The smell of whiskey.
"Well, I mean, I know not all of them are heroes. I know some are just well trained mercenaries. But there are some who are, and there are some who gave their lives helping others. I want to be like them." She looked back at Oobleck to find him smiling.
"I see," he said. Ruby's head snapped over towards the goliaths when she heard one roar. One of the goliath's were looking over at them, its red eyes gleaming in the twilight. Ruby drew her scythe, popping the scope out. Oobleck placed a hand on the scythe, lowering it back down.
"I'm afraid your rifle will do nothing more than irritate a Grimm of that size."
"But what if it attacks us?"
"Highly doubtful. The Grim are not mindless killers, Ruby. They are capable of learning, and those that you see over there have no doubt lived for hundreds of years." She holstered her weapon. The goliath looked away from them and started walking again.
"So?"
"So, in those hundreds of years those Grimm have no doubt learned what happens when you kill a human this close to a city's border. They know that they would die, that their pack would die. That what we lack in raw strength we make up for in willpower, and that the death of one human, will bring many humans down upon them. They may rule the wilds of Remnant, but humans are the kings and queens in our Cities, and they have learned not to attack without good reason."
"Good reason?" she asked. Oobleck nodded.
"All though those Grimm know what happen when they approach a city, they are still drawn to it from all the negativity that happens in them. Hatred, depression, racism, murder, rape, all unfortunate daily events in Vale City and the other major cities in Remnant. And those Grimm know, that if a disaster were to strike a city and the negativity be too much, then there would be nothing stopping them from overwhelming the city. So they wait, and hunt nearby, just outside our border of concern." He watched the goliath's walk for a while before turning and leaving. Ruby followed after him.
"Doctor Oobleck?"
"Yes?"
"I've been wondering, what made you want to be a Hunter?" He stopped, sweeping his arm in a wide arc, pointing at the various buildings.
"Tell me, Ruby, what do you see?" She looked around her; it looked more or less the same as the rest of city, nothing too different.
"I see some broken buildings, empty streets, uhhh. That's it." Oobleck shook his head and started to walk again.
"You know what I see, Ruby? I see lives that could have been saved. I see senseless death that could have been prevented. As a Hunter it is my job to protect the people of Remnant. Yes, I can do this with more traditional methods via violence and combat but I believe I can be a bigger help if I use the greatest thing humanity has; its mind. As a teacher I am able to take the most dangerous weapon of them all, knowledge, and gift it to all the students who pass through my classroom."
He stopped again, looking at the ground. Ruby followed his train of sight and saw a dark brown stain on the cracked pavement.
"When I see a wasteland like this, I see lives that could have been saved. But not just that. I see this as an opportunity to study what caused a tragedy like this and help prevent more Mountain Glenn's in the future." He looked away from the dried blood and at her. His features were hard to make out in the twilight but she could see he had finally dropped his neutral expression he had held for most of the day, and it was replaced with tired eyes and turned down lips.
"I am a Hunter, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be."
Yang groaned as she sat down next to the fire. She took her boots and gauntlets off, resting them next to her bedroll. The sun had set and city was pitch black outside their camp.
"I can't believe we didn't find anything." She said. Blake crouched next to the fire, prodding it with a stick, the light dancing over her face.
"We've always had luck with being in the right place at the right time in the past. It's only natural our luck would run out eventually." Yang sighed, resting her head on her knees. She saw Weiss standing off to the side, her arms crossed. She raised her head.
"You okay, Weiss?" She asked.
"Did Oobleck ask you two why you wanted to become a Huntress?" Blake looked up from the fire, glancing at Yang. Weiss uncrossed her arms.
"He… he asked you too?" Blake asked. Weiss nodded.
"What did you tell him?' Yang asked. Weiss sighed and sat down near the fire.
"I told him that it was for my family's honor; to uphold our legacy." She shook her head. "But there's more to it than that." Yang rested her head back on her knees.
"I said it was cause I'm a thrill seeker. But… I don't know, really."
"I don't know either," Blake said. They looked over at her. "I know what I want to do; I want to bring equality to my people. But I don't know how to do it. I figured I'd just figure it out one step at a time but…" Yang shook her head.
"We shouldn't be worrying about this. We know why we're here." She looked at them; they couldn't meet her eye as they stared into the fire. Her mouth parted a bit. "Right?" They didn't say anything, and Yang sighed.
"A textbook example of a fire! Professor Bobadilla would be proud!" Oobleck exclaimed as he came into the camp. Ruby zoomed past him, a black and red blur, before coming to a rest next to the fire, warming her hands.
"So warm," she said with a content smile. Oobleck fished through his pack before pulling out five shrink wrapped bars, and four juice boxes. He tossed one to each of them before unwrapping his own bar. He took a bite and motioned for them to do the same. Yang gave the bar an odd look as she unwrapped it; it was a dark brown color.
"A Hunter Bar ladies, standard meal supplement for all Hunters while out on a mission. It has every vitamin, mineral, calorie and nutrient needed to keep you fit and active." He wolfed down the rest of the bar and stuffed the wrapper into his pack. "We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow, so eat your dinner and get some rest. I shall be taking the first watch but all four of you will have to keep watch at some point as well tonight. Who volunteers for second watch?" Yang raised her hand, and Oobleck nodded at her. "I'll leave the rest up to you three. Good night, girls!" He zipped over to the hole in the wall, taking a seat on a pile of rubble outside.
Yang took a bite of the bar, and grimaced at the taste. She swallowed, and took a sip from the juice box. Grape?! She groaned; this was gonna be a long trip. Ruby didn't seem phased by the terrible taste, or ungodly juice flavor, and was eating her dinner no problem.
"Hey Ruby?" Ruby looked over at her, sipping from her straw. "Did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress?" Ruby frowned, but nodded her head. "What did you tell him?" She set the juice box to the side, and rubbed the back of her neck, looking from her to Weiss to Blake.
"I told him I wanted to be a hero." She finally said.
"And… there's more to it than that, isn't there?" Weiss asked. Ruby nodded. She looked at each of them.
"He asked you three, too?" They all nodded. She frowned, before she shrugged and stuffed the last of her bar into her mouth. She chewed it fast, swallowed, and drained her juice box. "Weird," she said. She flopped down on her bedroll. "Night team!" She rolled over on her side, wrapping her cloak around her like a blanket. Yang gave her an odd look, before looking back at the fire, nibbling at the Hunter bar.
Blake tossed her juice carton into the fire before laying down on her bedroll. Weiss went over and put her wrapper and juice box into the pouch before going back to her bedroll and laying down. With a grimace Yang scarfed down the rest of the bar, and drained her juice carton. She gagged and tossed the empty packages on the ground before getting on her bedroll. She closed her eyes, hoping sleep would take her. She heard a wolf howl and she turned onto her side, her back to the fire.
And that's it.