The calm in the Emerald Forest was suddenly broken as four individuals suddenly appeared out of thin air. Just as if the very fabric of reality was broken, the individuals appeared as if a mirror had shattered and shards fell to the ground. As they fell, they slowly faded as if they were never there in the first place.
Cinder and her two disciples, along with Neo, had suddenly flashed from their dorm and into the Emerald Forest. While Neo was used to the experience, Emerald and Mercury were not, as they shook their heads and tried to regain their sense of balance after the sudden shift of locations. Even Cinder had to blink a few times and rub her temple.
"What just happened?" Mercury asked Neo as he almost tripped over himself but managed to catch himself before he fell over.
She instead feigned an innocent grin and placed a hand over her heart, and raised her right hand.
"How are we no longer in Beacon?" Emerald asked as she then turned around and her eyes widened in amazement. Vale's walls can be seen in the distance and even further, perched on a cliffside, was Beacon.
"Neo has an interesting Semblance that allows her to teleport anywhere," Cinder replied instead, the quickest to regain her composure.
Neo then placed a single finger over her lips as she winked slyly.
"Wow, anywhere, huh?" Mercury repeated but was surprised to see Neo shake her head as she twirled her parasol. "Not anywhere?"
Neo instead pulled out her Scroll and handed it to Mercury. On it was an album of pictures with Neo smiling and holding up two fingers. Some of them even had Roman Torchwick posing alongside her.
"I don't get it," Mercury said, perplexed. "Vacation photos or something?"
Neo rolled her eyes and used her finger to scroll against the screen until the image showed her standing in front of a distant cliffside. She then pointed behind Mercury and urged him to turn around.
For a moment, Mercury was confused.
"A cliff," Mercury said incredulously to which Emerald simply scoffed as she took the Scroll out of his hands.
"I think I get it," Emerald said as she handed the Scroll back to Neo. "You can only go to places that you have physically visited."
Neo then nodded, her eyes changing color to show her approval.
"With Neo, we don't need to heed the General's curfew," Cinder said with a smile. "We may come and go as we please."
"Ah, alright," Mercury smirked and looked at Neo before nodding his approval. "Glad to have you aboard, Neo."
"So, where are we going then?" Emerald asked.
"We are to meet with Ash. He has managed to convince Adam Taurus to speak with us," Cinder answered as she motioned for her two disciples to follow.
"The leader of the White Fang?" Emerald asked. "Why would we need to speak with him?"
"You shall see soon enough, Emerald," Cinder simply replied as she began to make her way up the mountainside along a path. Mercury and Emerald following closely alongside her all the while Neo casually followed behind them.
As they made it to the top of the cliff, they can see Ash already waiting for them with his arms crossed.
"I assume getting out of Beacon was no trouble?" Ash teased with a grin.
"Not at all," Cinder replied as she motioned towards Neo.
At first, Ash nodded at her but realized that she was staring daggers at him now.
"Hmmm?" Ash hummed. "Why the intense look?"
"That is something to discuss later," Cinder replied as she then turned to Neo. "Play nice, Neopolitan."
Neo's heterochromic eyes turned brown as she shot a disapproving glance at Cinder.
"I heard Roman was captured by Atlesian authorities, is that correct?" Ash asked to which Neo simply nodded.
"Hmmm," Ash hummed once more before he grinned again. "That might not be a bad situation."
"We might have to hold off on that for now," Emerald interrupted as she pointed behind Ash. Who turned to see Adam Taurus and an entourage of White Fang guards followed by his right hand, Bane, as well as a small Faunus girl following behind him.
"Nice to see you again so soon, Adam," Ash greeted with a smirk.
"Spare me," Adam replied with a dismissive wave as he then stopped in front of Ash and Cinder, his other hand on the hilt of his sword. "Mind telling me what happened? A lot of my best men were captured and those who weren't were taken by the Grimm during the breach."
Before Ash had the chance to respond, Adam then stepped closer to him and addressed him personally.
"You said you would help Bane with his attack on Vale. What happened?" Adam asked as he looked up at Ash and despite the difference in height, Adam emitted a sense of authority.
"They have shown they are not an asset to the White Fang," the small deer-Faunus interjected. "Maybe it was their way to sabotage the operation."
"I did not sabotage anything," Ash countered. "I simply did what Roman and Bane asked of me: I led the Grimm to the explosives and allowed them to enter after they were detonated. The way I see it, I did my job."
"And yet you were the only one to make it out in one piece," Adam pointed out. "Luckily for me, Bane also made it out alive."
"Do you think I would willingly submit myself to Atlesian authority's?" Ash scoffed. "Tell me again why I must explain myself to you? Remember, we came and offered our assistance to the White Fang. We are not your prisoners and we do not owe you anything. We do this of our own free will."
"Ash."
Ash turned back and saw Cinder eyeing him carefully.
"Which makes me distrust you all the more," Adam countered and noticed their interaction. "So, you better explain how this failure happened."
Ash gritted his teeth and looked back at Cinder once more, who knew that the situation was tense, and simply nodded her head.
"We had multiple students from Beacon interrupt your attack, forcing your men to commence the attack sooner than planned," Ash replied as he turned back to Adam.
"How did you know that they were from Beacon?" Adam asked.
"I recognized a few of them from footage from Mistral's raid on your cell group there," Ash answered. "The pup who was your confidant, along with his friends, was in Mt. Glenn and were searching for another team that had come the night before."
"Hmmm," Adam hummed as he thought. "If I remember correctly, it's around this time that students go out on their missions. Perhaps it was just coincidence that they managed to come across our operations."
"I assure you, Adam Taurus, it was no coincidence," Cinder replied as she stepped forward, which prompted the small Faunus to quickly pull out her weapon, signaling to Adam's guards to step forward and in turn, Emerald and Mercury likewise came to Cinder's defense.
"If things go down, should we protect Ash too?" Emerald asked.
"I assure you I do not need protection," Ash said as he glared at the young Faunus.
Adam simply raised his hand which quickly diffused the situation as the young Faunus and his guards looked at him.
"Sanuye," Adam said simply, and the small Faunus girl lowered her eyes for a moment as she put away her weapon, but she kept gazing at Cinder intensely.
Ash kept his eyes on Adam, noticing that he still had his hand on his sword. It took every ounce of willpower to not take this insult and he instead grits his teeth.
"And what do you know?" Adam asked as he directed his attention back to Cinder. "I don't believe we have ever met… Cinder, was it? Roman has told me about you. So, give me a reason why I should trust you?"
"We have been keeping a close eye on a group of students who have made it a habit of halting your operations in Vale," Cinder continued. "They are called Team RWBY. One of their members has inside knowledge of the White Fang."
"How?" Adam asked, now curious.
"One of the members of RWBY seems to have been a former member of the White Fang, from Roman's estimations," Cinder continued. "My investigation within Beacon has led me to reveal her name to be: Blake Belladonna."
"Blake?" Adam asked in disbelief as he did a double-take between Ash and Cinder. "Are you sure?"
"You have my word," Cinder said with a nod and she even motioned towards Neo. "Neopolitan has even had a couple of run-ins with her."
"You see, Adam? It was no coincidence… With the help of traitors, Beacon now fights against you," Adam whispered as he stepped closer to Adam.
"Blake," Adam said with a growl, his hand fell from his sword and installed balled into a fist.
"May I ask, who this person was to you?" Ash asked, noticing his anger.
"She helped create this current incarnation of the White Fang alongside me," Adam said after he regained his composure. "She left the White Fang without a word, along with our prize in the form of a Schnee Dust shipment."
"Ah," Ash said with a nod. "Too bad there isn't a fate worse than death for traitors."
"Indeed," Adam said as he spat on the ground. "So, you think Beacon sent students after us, with the help of Blake?"
"Not just Blake," Ash answered. "After your cell in Mistral was destroyed, I noticed several files missing from their records in regards to Dust shipments being sent to Vale. I assume that the pup had taken them and has been corroborating with this… Blake, and with Beacon."
"Hmmm," Adam hummed as he took a moment to think. "I seem to have misplaced my faith in Headmaster Ozpin. He holds a lot of power and sway among the other headmasters, and if Beacon truly fights against us, it might force the other Kingdoms' Academies to fight as well."
"I am glad you see now who the true enemy is, Adam," Ash said with a bow of his head.
"An attack on Beacon will not come easy, however," Adam said as he began to rub his chin. "The arrival of the Atlesian Navy has seen to it that any frontal assault on Beacon is suicide. We will be torn to shreds before setting foot on Beacon's grounds."
"Leave that to us," Cinder volunteered as she smirked.
"We must deal with these traitors, Adam," Bane said angrily as he tightened his fists. "They must be made to pay for betraying you and their fellow Faunus!"
"In time," Adam said. "But not right now. We can't let our desire for vengeance get the best of us."
"But sir-" Bane interjected but was immediately silenced as Adam raised his hand.
"Trust me, when I say that we have a way around Atlas's defenses and have eyes inside Beacon," Cinder said with a smile. "We will keep you updated."
"I do not trust you," Bane replied as he then looked over at Adam, who was glaring at him. "But I do trust my leader, however, so I will keep my eye on you in the meantime."
Bane turned on his heel and walked away.
"I thank you for your information on our turncoats," Adam simply said with his head raised high. "The planning for the attack on Beacon will not come easy and we will inform you when we have come up with a battle plan. If you truly wish to help us, you will give us time, and I will call on you once more to discuss tactics."
Adam then looked over at Neo, who was now glaring at him.
"I heard Roman was taken by Atlesian authorities, if you want to see him again, you will continue to work with us," Adam said to Neo, to which Neo narrowed her eyes and glared at Adam. With that, Adam casually turned and began to walk away but not before looking back at Cinder and Ash once more.
Ash recognized the glance and knew that he was sizing him up. He did his best to hold back and not cut into Adam's back with his blades. As Adam began to disappear, there was rustling in the nearby trees and bushes as more White Fang soldiers appeared and followed behind their leader.
"Did you know that they had backup?" Cinder asked, not surprised that Adam would bring more soldiers than he let on.
"I did," Ash replied. "The moment I set foot here, I could feel their disdain."
Once Adam and his men were gone, the charade fell apart and Cinder spat where Adam once stood.
"You played too nicely with him in the past, Ash," Cinder said through her teeth. "He thinks he can control us and pretend that he can tell us what to do."
"And I intend to keep it that way," Ash said calmly and then chuckled. "That way, I can whisper in his ear and let him know of our plans while slowly making him believe they are his."
"He shall learn our power soon enough," Cinder said as she crossed her arms. "But by then it will be far too late for him."
"Indeed," Ash agreed. "I shall report to the master of our plans and our success in convincing the White Fang to attack Beacon."
"What master?" Emerald asked.
"You will meet him soon enough," Cinder replied. "However, you will learn that he doesn't think of himself as a master of anyone. Just something that Ash cooked up in his head."
"Does he not order us though?" Ash replied playfully. "Do we not obey his commands?"
"I follow his will and vision," Cinder replied as she glared at him.
"Mhm," Ash simply hummed.
"I think it's time for us to return to Beacon," Cinder said as she turned to Neo and as she approached Cinder, Ash raised his hand.
"Oh! I almost forgot…" Ash said.
"What is it, Ash?" Cinder asked as she rolled her eyes and turned to face him again. Only to see a grin splayed across his face, however, this was different than all the other times. This time, he seemed more lucid, and it almost creeped her out.
"Her blood is strong," Ash simply said.
"Don't make me get Mercury to beat it out of you," Cinder said with a sigh as Mercury cracked his neck.
"He can try," Ash chuckled. "However, I am in a giving mood… I have come to discover that Snyegh has a living child."
Cinder was now left speechless
"Who?" Mercury asked and stepped to Cinder. "Come on, just tell me when, and I'll beat it out of him."
"Shut up," Cinder snapped back at Mercury who recoiled. "You wouldn't be able to if you wanted to because I will beat it out of him first."
She then turned to Ash once more and stepped forward, her eyes set ablaze and the Dust in her dress began to light upon and dance along the threads.
"How do you know? How do you know she has a child?" Cinder asked, the flames in her eyes expanding when she finished her question as Ash only responded with a wider grin.
"Interested now, huh?" Ash replied as he raised his finger. "He had her sword…"
"After you killed her, anyone could have come across her sword," Cinder countered.
"Hmm," Ash said with a nod as he then raised a second finger. "He danced on the battlefield just like her."
"Learning poise with a blade is not difficult," Cinder countered once more and the blazes in her eyes grew.
"Lastly," Ash continued and raised a third finger. "His friends all displayed their Semblances. All, but his."
Cinder blinked and the fires in her eyes died instantly.
"You don't think…" Cinder pondered as she placed a hand on her chin.
"I do. He has inherited her Semblance," Ash said but as he said this, his large grin relaxed.
Cinder took a moment to think over this new revelation.
"Umbra always told me about the significance of the Soul," Cinder said softly.
"Cinder?" Emerald asked as she stepped forward. "You okay?"
Cinder then lowered her hand but did not face Emerald.
"It is why he loved Snyegh so much, she saw what he wished he could see and yet he believes in it so much," Cinder continued.
"Indeed," Ash continued softly as well, one of the few times Cinder has ever seen him so lucid and it was the first time Emerald or Mercury have ever seen him like this. "The very thing we have fought for and still do, even in this state…"
Cinder took in a deep breath.
"Do you have a name?" Cinder asked as she narrowed her eyes intently at Ash.
"I do not," Ash said with a shake of his head. "He has a single metal gauntlet on his left arm and grey hair, with streaks of lavender."
"I know who you are talking about," Cinder replied. "He greeted us upon our arrival. I didn't think much of him at the time..."
"I think it was Haiiden," Emerald said as she nudged Mercury and extended her hand. "Pass me the journal."
Mercury reached into his jacket and pulled out the journal that Ash had given to them back in Mistral and Emerald snatched it before quickly flipping through the pages.
"Haiiden… Shiro," Emerald said again.
"Shiro," Ash repeated. "So, Lucien is his father then."
"He has been dead for years," Cinder remarked.
"I have heard rumors," Ash said but then shrugged. "However, I don't care enough to chase rumors."
"Hmm…" Cinder simply hummed. "I think that is enough of this meeting for now. So, Ash, what do you plan to do?"
"I will return to Umbra and report our success here in recruiting the White Fang," Ash replied. "With General Ironwood now the head of security, it will be easier to manipulate things to our favor."
"Will you be revealing your finding in regards to Snyegh's child?" Cinder asked.
"I may or may not," Ash replied. "Simply depends on his mood."
Cinder crossed her arms.
"And what will you do?" Ash asked.
"With the help of Lisle, I have managed to install his bug into not only Beacon's, but Atlas's and Amity's systems," Cinder replied. "I will continue to monitor things on my end however, I may try to keep my eye on this child and RWBY. While I initially thought them insignificant, their constant meddling has become a nuisance."
Ash nodded and turned on his heel and walked away.
"So, when will we meet Umbra?" Mercury asked as he placed his hands behind his head.
"Who is he?" Emerald asked.
"Someone who taught me everything I know about the world and my Semblance," Cinder said as she extended her hand as it erupted into flames. It danced over her skin and yet, did not burn her.
"You will meet him soon enough and he will also reveal to you the truth. About us, humanity, the Faunus and even more so… the Grimm."
0-RWBY-0
It had been a couple of days after the announcement that Ironwood would be taking over as head of security for the Vytal Festival. Despite initial protests from the students, everyone went back to their usual daily routine of heading to class and studying. However, in Beacon's dining hall, some still had issues with the recent changes…
"Damn, this new curfew sucks," Yang said as she leaned on the table. "It's too early to head in and stay in your dorm… I want to do something!"
"Not much we can do right now," Blake responded. "At least this is temporary. Until the Festival is over."
"Yeah, but I would like to go to the Festival after classes!" Yang objected. "There isn't enough time after classes and before the curfew to go!"
"We can go during the weekends," Vaughn assured. "Ironwood is not entirely without reason."
"I agree, he understands that as citizens we are entitled to attend," Weiss said with a calm nod as she sipped on her coffee and looked down at her homework. "Besides, I believe it could be a good thing for you, Yang. It will give you enough time to finish your work instead of going out to party every other night."
"Ugh," Yang grunted. "The Festival isn't open for another couple weeks. This is too boring!"
At that point, Weiss rolled her eyes and went back to focusing on her work. Sitting next to her, was Ruby who was trying to keep up with Weiss in her. However, she sat silently as the others continued to converse amongst themselves.
"Zed, may I ask: where is your team leader?" Blake asked, as sitting in front of Ruby, was Zed.
"Oh, Haiiden?" Zed said with a wavering smile and scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, I thought you wanted all of us to get to know each other?" Yang asked. "Honestly, I would have just gone out and hung out somewhere to do that but… you know."
"This is how we got to know CFVY and JNPR," Cecilia replied instead.
"It seems to work," Vaughn also replied as he began to write down on his sheet and shared it with his sister.
"He isn't exactly feeling well from what he told me," Zed replied but at that moment, he noticed Lumina enter Beacon's dining hall. A big grin played across his face as she then sat down beside Ruby.
"Sorry I am late," she replied as she beamed at the group. "Just brought supper over to your friend, Zed."
"Thanks for that," Zed replied. "Glad that you are also looking out for him."
"He just needs a bit of time to get better," Lumina commented.
"Everything okay?" Blake asked.
"He's fine," Zed said with a dismissive wave.
"Just recent events have shaken him up a little," Lumina said softly but then turned towards the black-haired girl next to her. "Hello again, Ruby."
"Oh," Ruby said as she suddenly jumped in her seat upon mention of her name and turned towards Lumina. "Hello, Lumina."
"Everything okay?" Lumina asked. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"No, you didn't," Ruby replied but then blushed. "Well, I mean you did but it's not your fault."
Lumina giggled to herself.
"How is your work, Ruby?" Lumina asked as she peeked over Ruby's shoulder. "It seems as though you haven't even started. Isn't the rest of your study group helping you?"
"We just finished discussing history," Weiss replied instead. "Ruby was probably just daydreaming, as usual."
"No," Ruby said defensively. "I mean yeah but…"
Zed cocked his brow and leaned in towards Ruby.
"Everything alright, Ruby?" Lumina asked which drew the attention of Yang.
"Yeah," Yang asked as she began to scoot towards Zed on the bench. "You haven't been too hot since we got back from Mt. Glenn."
Ruby seemed hesitant to respond and looked up from her work to notice that not only were her teammates not looking at her, but so was the rest of HAVC.
"Umm," Ruby muttered. "I have just been thinking about what happened at Mt. Glenn, and what happened with Ozpin. I just can't help but feel as though it was somehow my fault."
"Ruby, we talked about this," Yang replied immediately as she reached across the table and touched her hand. "You- we did nothing wrong."
"But people now doubt Ozpin," Ruby replied and swallowed nervously.
"Let them doubt," Yang said assuredly.
"Ozpin's has always had a great reputation as Headmaster and head of security," Lumina assured. "They may doubt now but once the Festival is concluded, people will remember that once more."
"Besides, Ruby," Blake intervened. "Remember what Zed said: it would have been much worse if we didn't do anything."
"So why do I feel like I did something wrong?" Ruby asks as she then took a look around her and took notice of the increased amount of Atlesian security in Beacon. "Despite doing the right thing, somehow, everything turned out worse."
The other students at the table took a moment to take a look around the dining hall. Armed security and Knights were stationed at every corner and every exit.
"I will admit… staring up at a Knight every time I 'round a corner is a bit of an eyesore…" Zed grumbled to which Yang elbowed him in the ribs.
"It's probably his way of showing off," Yang countered and eyed him accordingly. "My uncle knows Ironwood personally and said he always tended to present Atlesian strength at every opportunity. Especially at the worst times, which just makes it all the more annoying."
"Showing strength is not a bad thing," Cecilia replied, all while Vaughn kept quiet. "What's the old saying? 'Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum'? If you want peace, prepare for war."
"Indeed, people are still shaken after what happened," Weiss added.
"But we are not going to war," Yang said through clenched teeth.
"No, but it's one of the ideas behind the saying," Weiss countered. "This is probably the first real disaster in Vale since Mt. Glenn. People need to feel safe right now."
"Look around and tell me that you feel safe," Yang exclaimed and slammed her firsts onto the table but then looked towards Ruby once more, ignoring the rest of the table who had just recoiled after her sudden outburst.
Even Weiss had to clean up her spot as Yang slamming her fists onto the table caused her cup of coffee to spill over her homework.
Yang noticed that Ruby was now making herself appear smaller. She took a moment to take a deep breath and to calm herself before she addressed her sister once more.
"Ruby, I promise you: we did the right thing," Yang assured her.
The table collectively nodded but that did little to relieve Ruby of her worries.
The table went quiet as the students instead decided to communicate with silent glances and gestures. Ruby tried her best to focus on her work in the meantime, but just wasn't feeling up to it. Instead, she caught Lumina reading over her assignments, smiling all the while as she opened the textbook for Ruby.
"Wow, this table seems gloomy." A voice finally broke the silence.
"Hey girl!" Yang exclaimed as she stood up to hug the newcomer, who turned out to be Celise from team CNBR.
"Hey beautiful," Celise said with a chuckle. "Been a while since I saw you, where is my little sis: Ruby?"
Ruby immediately raised her hand to which Celise turned to her and made her to Ruby's side of the table.
"There you are," Celise beamed as she reached down and hugged Ruby tightly, who began to groan.
"You and Yang hug really tight," Ruby said through puffed cheeks as she struggled to get the words out.
With that, Lumina began to stand up and offered her seat to Celise.
"Oh, Lumina you didn't have to," Celise said as she placed a hand on Lumina's shoulder.
"It's alright, I have to go meet my team today anyways," Lumina insisted and stood up, she then turned to the table and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for allowing me to sit with you."
"Thank you for watching over Haiiden," Zed said with a soft smile.
"It's alright, Zed," Lumina replied but then really focused on Zed. "However, I do have to ask that you keep an eye on him too, Zed."
"I'll do my best, but I am sure he will be fine," Zed said with a wink and he leaned back and casually clasped his hands behind his head.
"Hmm," Lumina said with a hum before she bowed her head once more to Ruby and walked off.
"Shame," Celise said with a huff. "She was about to miss the best part…"
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"I mean she is going to miss the awesome story you are about to tell me," Celise said as she wrapped her arms around Ruby and hugged her again. "Come on, tell me what happened in Mt. Glenn. I heard it was a mission meant for senior students, how did RWBY manage to get that mission?"
"Ozpin simply waved off the requirements," Blake replied but then shook her head. "No idea why, though."
"I am sure he thought you were up for the challenge, Blake," Celise assured.
"Honestly, we barely got out," Weiss replied instead. "If anything, I believe we got lucky."
"Indeed," Celise said as she turned her attention to Zed and grinned. "I heard HAVC went down to try and help you out. They even stole a Bullhead."
"Commandeered," Zed countered.
"I am sure that can be interpreted as the same thing, Zed," Vaughn said to which Celise's grin grew wider.
"Call it whatever you want, Zed. So, start from the beginning: what happened?" Celise asked excitedly.
"The mission was to help Doctor Oobleck with some research, and to keep the Grimm population under control," Blake started.
"Oof, good luck with that," Celise said through a forced grin. "Especially with Oobleck, I heard he is a bit of a doozy to be around."
"He wasn't so bad," Ruby said in his defense but then continued the story, albeit, slowly. "So, we landed in Mt. Glenn and we began to kill some Grimm."
"Okay, but did you keep track of how many you took down?" Celise asked.
"N-not really," Ruby said as she scratched her head.
"Kind of hard to keep track while concentrating on fighting and defending your teammates," Weiss replied.
"Good point," Celise conceded but then turned to Ruby once more. "Okay, so tell me about some of the fights then."
"Well, I started by taking some out with well-placed sniper shots with Crescent Rose," Ruby continued and unbeknownst to her, there was energy emanating from her which caused Yang to smile as she listened.
"Honestly, we all were taking them out from a distance as we tried to find a place to set up," Ruby continued and pointed her hands into finger-guns. "Pew pew pew!"
"Myrtenaster does not shoot and does not go 'pew pew pew'," Weiss said defensively.
"Ummm," Ruby took a moment to think of a sound Weiss' blade made. "Schoom schoom?"
"That… is somehow worse," Weiss said, incredulously while at the same time, slightly surprised.
"Well, you can shoot out Dust from it, what kind of sound do you think it makes?" Ruby asked to which Weiss simply rolled her eyes.
"It doesn't… ugh, let's just go with 'pew pew'," Weiss gave up and simply rested her head against her palm.
"So, we killed a bunch of Grimm," Ruby continued but then paused a moment. "A lot of Grimm..."
"There were so many," Blake added and shuddered.
"We were so beat by the end of the day and we ended up just setting up camp inside an old office building," Yang likewise added.
"I believe we found it while looking for you," Vaughn pointed out.
"Did you see a giant hole in the ground?" Ruby asked.
"We didn't," Cecilia answered. "We instead found a pack of Grimm running somewhere but when we made chase, assuming it would lead us to you, they disappeared."
"Judging from the finding of General Ironwood's and Vale's investigators, they were probably converging on your location as you made your way to Vale via the old railway system," Vaughn concluded.
"I feel we are skipping too far ahead," Celise said with a huff and turned back to Ruby. "Okay, so you made camp, then what happened?"
"Well," Ruby hesitated. "Oobleck had an assignment for us…"
"What was that?" Celise asked.
"I don't really want to talk about it," Ruby said in a hushed voice.
"Okay," Celise nodded. "What happened next?"
"I noticed White Fang patrols, and followed them," Ruby continued but then paused a moment as she blushed. "I followed them to a hole in the ground and I kinda lost my balance… and fell in."
Celise glared at Zed upon the mentioning of the White Fang but he simply replied with a discreet shrug.
"Well, I bet you still kicked some butt, huh?" Celise commented.
"Not really," Ruby replied, turning a deeper shade of red.
"Hmm?" Celise hummed. "What do you mean?"
"I accidentally left Crescent Rose at the camp," Ruby admitted as she twiddled her fingers.
"You never leave without your weapon," Vaughn said with a cocked brow.
"You can still fight without a weapon though," Zed decided to chime in and raised his fists. "Give em the ole' one-two.
"I'm uhh… not so good at fighting with my fists," Ruby replied.
"That is the most basic form of combat," Cecilia then commented, surprised. "Plus, from what you told us before, you have speed as your Semblance. I would have expected you to be able to retreat or fight your way out."
"How come on now," Yang came in her sister's defense. "She isn't that comfortable without her weapon, she just got nervous was all."
"I am not judging," Cecilia said, raising her hands as she decided to back off.
"So, I assume then that the rest of your team noticed your absence and came to the rescue," Vaughn said as he brought attention back to the story.
"Yeah," Ruby replied, slightly calmer now. "They brought me Crescent Rose and we fought the White Fang but they decided to retreat down the old railway."
"That's when we noticed that they had rigged the tunnels," Blake said. "By the time we realized what they were doing, it was too late."
"We heard the explosions," Cecilia said. "Honestly, it's what kind of saved us back when we were down in Mt. Glenn trying to find you."
"The rest is history, I presume," Celise concluded.
"What about your mission, Celise?" Ruby asked.
"I will get to that in a moment, Ruby," Celise replied as she then turned to Zed. "I want to hear what happened when HAVC went down to Mt. Glenn after you."
"Yeah, I want to know more too," Yang commented. "You said that you saw someone down there and that he attacked you."
"Yeah, weird, he was the only person we saw in Mt. Glenn," Zed replied with a nod. "Once the bombs went off, however, he went running. Something about him completing a mission."
"A single person living in Mt. Glenn?" Celise asked incredulously and leaned forward onto the table.
"He did not live there," Vaughn replied. "He seemed to have been working with the White Fang."
"A human no less," Cecelia added.
"I still can't believe that they would let humans into their ranks," Blake said with a shake of her head. "I felt that Roman was the exception but two seems far too many. They wouldn't trust humans enough even if they were sympathizers."
The table went silent a moment as they processed this information.
"I just remembered something," Zed said softly as he looked around the table. "He mentioned that he had been stalking not only CFVY, but you as well, RWBY."
The individual expressions of each member of RWBY suddenly changed as they did a double-take between one another and Zed.
"We did not notice anyone or any signs that anyone had been around," Blake said.
"If he had been working with the White Fang, and stalking us, then why didn't he attack?" Weiss asked.
"Beats me," Zed said with a shrug.
"He also said that he thought that CFVY and RWBY was just a coincidence," Vaughn added. "It was only until our intervention did he decide that action was necessary."
"I'm sorry to have gotten your team involved," Ruby said sullenly.
"Don't worry about it," Zed said with a grin. "Besides, I have been involved in this way before you and I would have felt bad if I didn't come to help. Anyways, we got out just fine."
"I'm glad you did," Ruby replied as she smiled back.
"You said in our meeting with Ozpin and General Ironwood that his defining feature was that he smelled off," Yang said with a shudder. "You said he smelled like… burnt bodies?"
"What?" Celise said, as her eyes shot wide open.
"Yeah," Zed replied as he leaned back in his seat. Despite his calm posture, his furrowed brows showed that he was deep in thought. "I mean… he looked well-dressed but his clothes looked singed as well. Like a mix between fashionable and messy. His hair seemed well kept but it was also swept to the side."
"It the weirdest thing," Cecilia said with a shake of her head. "His appearance was chaotic and so was his fighting style."
"Only in appearance. Despite our coordination, he managed to take us down easily," Vaughn continued. "He was coordinated. He exploited our weaknesses and used our strengths against us. Not only that, he could use fire and electricity at will."
"Some kind of Semblance, perhaps," Weiss pondered. "Despite Dust allowing us to use the elements, there have been Semblance's that allow the use of such elements but they are rare."
"Yes," Vaughn agreed. "If our team leader had not been able to fight him off, we would have been dead."
"No…" Celise said with a shudder.
Everyone turned to Celise, expecting her to clarify but instead, everyone noticed as Celise's skin flushed and turned pale.
"No, he didn't fight him off," Celise continued, unresponsive to Ruby as she tried to shake her. "He let you run…"
"Hey girl," Yang said and leaned forward and attempted to reach her. "Celise, you alright there?"
Celise blinked as she began to look around, her breath quickened to the point of hyperventilation and then her eyes fell upon Ruby.
"I… I have to go!" Celise said as she immediately got up from her seat and ran for the dining halls double doors.
"Celise!" Ruby finally yelled after a moment's hesitation but by then, Celise was already out of sight.
"What just happened?" Zed asked but nobody knew how to respond. Ruby and Yang stood up together to go after her, but at that moment, the bells rang which signaled the start of General Ironwood's curfew.
"Dammit," Yang hissed. "Bad timing… This will have to wait."
"But we need to go check on Celise!" Ruby countered. "Why was she so scared?"
"This is Celise we are talking about," Yang replied. "Have you ever seen her get scared before?"
"No, but she seemed genuinely frightened by the story," Ruby said.
"Psh, I doubt something about a mystery guy in Mt. Glenn would have gotten to her," Yang said with a wink and a dismissive wave.
"But-" Ruby spoke up but was drowned out as the rest of the hall began to vacate and as everyone tried to conclude their previous conversations.
"Let's go, Ruby," Yang said as she placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder and began to lead her out the doors.
0-RWBY-0
As students were quickly led back to their dorm rooms, with Atlesian security ushering them along, Ruby couldn't help but wonder what had gotten into Celise. The hall's got quiet fast as students were quickly escorted back to their dorms, not wanting to break curfew and possibly be met with swift consequences from Atlesian officials.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Ruby heard behind her and she recognized the accent as belonging to Velvet Scarlatina.
She turned around to see the leader of team HAVC: Haiiden, exiting their dorm and stopped following her teammates for a moment to watch as Velvet also exited but stayed just outside of the door.
"You seriously don't think that this isn't right?" She heard Haiiden reply. "You should have heard the things she said. You don't have a problem with a young girl like her attending Beacon?"
"Didn't you want to join Beacon at her age as well?" Velvet countered.
"That's different," Haiiden likewise countered but his voice faltered.
"How so?" Velvet countered once more but was met with silence. "Look, just don't think about it too much, okay? Look at it this way: you didn't have a problem with Jaune joining and I promise you, more people think he is not ready instead of Ruby."
Upon mention of her name, Ruby couldn't help but stay and eavesdrop for a moment, despite knowing that she must get back to her dorm room soon.
"Again, that's different," Haiiden said hesitantly.
"I feel there is more to this than you are telling us," Velvet said with a sigh and her rabbit ears drooped slightly. "We can always talk later but I can't give you an honest opinion unless you are ready to tell us what is really troubling you. Sleep well, Haiiden."
"You too, thank you, Velvet," Haiiden said with a wavering smile which quickly disappeared as he made eye contact with Ruby.
Despite the few seconds of eye contact, Ruby recognized his stare as it was just like Celise's just moments ago.
Haiiden quickly turned on his heel and walked just a couple doors down before entering his dorm and slammed the door shut behind him.