Chapter-14
Yang
Yang liked Professor Lancer. Professor Saber was a chill guy but he was still pretty stiff, like Weiss but a lot nicer.
Professor Lancer, however…
"I like your taste in clothing." Yang spoke with a glint in her eyes. Professor Saber was pretty jacked when you saw him in casual clothing but he usually wore his armor that covered up his muscled form. Professor Lancer wore a blue bodysuit that did not try to hide those delicious abs.
Professor Lancer gave a smirk. "I like to impress. But you're not too bad either." He replied as Yang grinned. Oh, he was one of those men.
"Oh no…" She heard Weiss groan behind her. "You cannot be serious…"
"But I am interested to…" Professor Lancer noticed Ruby staring at his spear. "…To see your skills in my class."
Damn it, Ruby! Just when it was getting interesting!
"Lancer…" She heard Professor Saber speak up in a tone of warning.
"Oh buzz off, you stiff norseman! Everyone has their tastes!"
"And yours is inappropriate for the students." Professor Saber continued calmly. "We are in a school, Lancer, so please maintain decorum."
Weiss beamed as Yang and Professor Lancer shot a glare at her and Professor Saber.
Professor Lancer leaned to her ear. "We'll talk in secret."
"You got it, Professor." Yang replied. Her initial disappointment that Lancer would be a teacher disappeared now that she knows what kind of a guy he is.
"I'll talk about my mission later." Professor Saber spoke before Ruby could speak. "I'll see you in my class." He spoke before he and Lancer walked off.
"I like him." Yang was the first to speak.
"It was obvious from the way you two behaved with each other." Weiss spoke with a huff. "Honestly, he does not seem to be cut out for the job of a teacher."
"Come on, Weiss Cream, not every teacher has to be so strict. There can be some loose ones as well." Yang protested.
Weiss glared at her. "The loose ones certainly do not…" She stopped herself remembering Ruby was there. "Do what Lancer just did."
"What? What did Professor Lancer do?" Ruby asked as Yang shook her head. "Oh, it's the thing me and dad will tell you about in a couple of years."
Ruby gave a slight pout but accepted it. Both Yang and her father agreed Ruby should not get into this stuff until she's 17.
"But enough of the new professor, I can't believe I actually consented to doing this." Weiss spoke tugging on her messy uniform. "This is so disgusting."
"Ya mean fun, Ice Queen?" Yang asked.
"…No." Weiss spoke with a slight blush.
"Oh please, you did have fun. Even Bla…" Yang stopped when she noticed Blake. Blake still wasn't smiling. Her face set in contemplation.
Yang slumped. One of the reasons she joined was to cheer up Blake, because she's been extra grumpy since the incident at the docks. She'd tried to approach Blake but she kept snuffing her attempts.
But that didn't mean she was going to stop. She will find out, sooner or later.
"Well, kitty's clearly thinking about something so let's just ignore her." Yang spoke before Professor Goodwitch came in with buckets of soap water and cleaning rags floating behind her.
"Get to work, all of you." She spoke as Yang sighed. "Alright, let's get this over with." She spoke.
As she cleaned, Yang imagined all the amazing things Professor Lancer had in store for the class the next day. He must be better than Professor Saber if he's more casual.
Yang regretted those thoughts after Professor Lancer's class. Turns out, he was casual outside class, but as a teacher, he made Professor Goodwitch look mild and casual. His first act had been to test the students' physical abilities with test that was made to melt her muscles into slobber.
I DIDN'T ASK YOU TO STOP, LAD! Yang remembered him practically barking at Cardin as he struggled on an obstacle.
KEEP THAT FAT ARSEHOLE OF YOURS MOVING OR I'LL HAVE YOU SPAR WITH ME! Another one of Lancer's threats which after he'd beaten Cardin black and blue had told the class that sparring with Professor Lancer was a terrible idea.
YOU ALL LACK IN A LOT OF STUFF! I'LL BE MAKING SURE YOU ARE PHYSICALLY FIT FOR STAYING IN THE WILD FOR A LONG TIME! YOU'RE GOING TO REPEAT THIS TOMORROW AS WELL!
Long story short, the entire class had emerged traumatized from that class, fully convinced that Professor Lancer was out for their hides.
After that experience, Team RWBY was regaining their energy in the library. She had to carry Weiss because the poor girl was too tired to even move from Lancer's brutal training while Ruby brought her strategy board game to ease their minds.
"I…was not expecting him to be this harsh…" Weiss wheezed gasping in her seat.
"I would rather get my butt kicked by Professor Saber than do Professor Lancer's training regimes." Ruby whimpered while Yang felt like her muscles were burning in lava.
Once the game began, Yang started getting her strength back and soon was fine again. But the class had taught her a very important lesson – Do not assume what a teacher will be like before they conduct their first class.
"What's up, guys!" She heard a male voice as she noticed Sun come in with a blue-haired boy with yellow goggles on his head come up. "Playing something?"
Oh right. Haven's students had already begun arriving because of some agreement between its headmaster and Ozpin, with Atlas' and Vacuo's students arriving in a month. So, Sun was here early.
Ruby smiled at them. "Oh yeah, it's Remnant: The Battle Plains." She replied.
"Cool! I used to play this with the other kids back in Vacuo. Can I…?"
"Sorry, but we're not taking anymore until our game is finished." Yang spoke in an apologetic tone.
"Aw man, that sucks. And how are you, Blakey?" Sun asked as Blake looked away. "Stubborn, are we? Well, I'll not press. I came here to introduce one of my teammates, Neptune Vasilias."
" 'Sup girls. I'm Neptune." Neptune spoke with a confident smile that Yang could see was fake and meant to woo ladies. Otherwise, he looked like a straight-up wuss. Surely nobody would be fooled by his…
"I'm Weiss." Weiss spoke in a strangely friendly tone as Yang slowly looked at her.
Oh. My. Gods.
"Weiss has already fallen for him." Yang muttered with an evil smirk. A golden opportunity had sprung up for her to gather some good stuff against the Ice Queen.
And Jaune as well, considering he's been trying to get her to like him and failing spectacularly at it.
"Was there any problems with your trip?"
"Nah, there weren't any except for my team leader ditching me and the others to stow away on a boat."
"And getting caught." Yang added as Neptune's eyes widened.
"Dude, you got caught?!" He exclaimed.
"Now listen, one of the passengers who had eyes sharper than a hawk spotted me hiding. Fortunately, he was a pretty nice dude and allowed me to stay on the ship."
"Why did you even go there the first place?!"
"Well, I wanted to see the ocean. And with you, that would have been impossible!"
"Why so?" Ruby asked as Neptune froze. "Uh…It's nothing."
Blake rolled her eyes. "I think I know. But if you don't want everyone to know, then I won't talk." She spoke in the same bland tone that made Yang frown. With the heavy bags in Blake's eyes, she'd at first thought it was just the lack of sleep Blake had gotten because of her running away that had been bunched up with Professor Lancer's class. But now, this combined with her getting grumpier each day meant something was seriously wrong.
As Sun and Neptune walked off, Yang stood up. "Ruby, I'll play the game later. I just need to talk to Blake." She spoke as Ruby nodded. "Okay, should I go keep it in the room, then?"
"Yeah, do that."
"Roger that." Ruby spoke before packing up the game and heading out of the library.
"Well, then I'll go look for some books to read." Weiss spoke before leaving for the shelves, leaving Blake and Yang.
"What is it, Yang?" Blake asked.
"Follow me."
Blake and Yang went into an empty lecture hall, with Yang closing the door before turning to Blake.
"What's wrong?"
"What?"
"I asked, 'What's wrong?' You are pretty antisocial and moody in general, but not to the level of what you have been showing ever since Nepotain harbor."
"Don't worry about it. It's nothing."
"No," Yang cut her off in a cold voice, "It's not. You have bags under your eyes, you're apathetic, just like uncle Qrow whenever something was troubling him."
"Yang, it's none of your business." Blake spoke making for the door.
"Yes it is!" Yang snapped grabbing Blake's arm. "I'm your partner, Blake! I think I am justified in being concerned for you."
Blake hissed as the two glared at each other before Blake looked away.
"I should have prepared better." Blake spoke. "I messed up badly at Nepotain harbor. There were so many things I could have done to avoid this. I should have realized that the White Fang would have reinforcements and not put Sun in danger, I could have shot the soldier with the rocket before he shot. I could…"
"Slow down, Blake." Yang spoke putting a hand on Blake's shoulder. "Just because you were in the Fang doesn't mean you could have taken them on by yourself and a few people helping…"
"No, Yang. I knew enough about the Fang to repel their attack with Sun and Aram by my side."
"Blake…"
"But I messed up because I was too reckless…"
"Now,…"
"Because I was…"
"Will you listen to me, damn it?!" Yang snapped as her eyes went crimson, silencing Blake.
"Is this because you were working to learn more about what the fang were upto? The reason why you stayed up all those nights looking through documents? Were you making plans to go after the White Fang again"
"…Yes."
"So, if you know a lot about the fang to stop them, then answer me – Who did you see working with the Fang?"
"Roman Torchwick."
"Yes, and who is Torchwick?"
"A thief who's seized control of Vale's underworld?"
"And a human. Do you think the White Fang would ever work with a human?"
"No. After Sienna Khan took over, they stopped working with humans."
"So, that means something's going on with the fang that not even you know about. Have you found any clue why that is happening?"
"No, I didn't."
"Then you will be heading for disaster. Because if you try to fight something you don't know a lot about, then you should first have some safety measures."
"But I can't just…!"
"What? Sit still? I'm not asking you to do that Blake. I'm asking you to take a chill pill from trying to go after the White Fang and take care of yourself."
"Yang, the longer we wait, the riskier it gets! We need to do something about them immediately! Why aren't you able to understand that?!"
"…Alright, then let me try this. Blake, what do you know about mine and Ruby's family?"
"…Huh? What does that have to do with meaning?"
"Hold on, Blake. Just answer my question."
"…From what you've told me, your parents are Taiyang Xiao-Long and Summer Rose along with Qrow Branwen as your uncle, all members of Team STRQ, the legendary team of huntsmen that are said to have stopped a second great war from breaking out."
"Yeah, but did you know that Summer isn't my real mother?"
Blake furrowed her eyebrows. "I always assumed that you took more after your father while Ruby took after her mother. So, you and Ruby are not actually siblings?"
"Step-sisters, actually. Same dad, but different moms. My real mother was the R of STRQ, Raven Branwen. She left me soon after I was born for reasons Summer, dad and Uncle Qrow did not know about. I initially thought Summer was my real mom until I overheard an argument between Summer, Uncle Qrow and dad."
"Rae is Raven Branwen, Firecracker. She's my sister and your real mother. The same mother who left you and ran away."
Yang pushed away that particular memory to continue her story.
"After the revelation, I started searching for Raven. Of course, I was still a defenseless little girl so I never went out of the house. That was until I found a picture of Team STRQ grinning in front of an old shack in the northern part of Patch. I was excited, thinking I'd found the next clue to finding my mother. I found my chance when Summer, dad and Uncle Qrow were out. I put Ruby in a wagon and went into the woods. It was dark and scary, but my excitement to find my mother kept me going. I soon found the old shack, but Raven was not there. Instead, we were attacked by a pack of beowolves."
"HELP!" Yang screamed as she stared at the beowolves with abject terror in her eyes. "SOMEBODY!" She screamed but no one came.
The beowolves started growling as their red eyes glowed.
Yang started crying. "Dad! Uncle Qrow! Mom!" She screamed for her parents and Uncle, but still no one came.
"Then, what happened?" Blake asked.
"I lost consciousness out of shock. But the beowolves never got to me."
One of the beowolves pounced upon Yang, looking down upon the screaming girl before opening it's jaws to tear into her throat.
Yang, who was already hanging on by a thread, now lost consciousness out of the fear she felt.
Before her vision went black, she saw a red blur that looked like a sword stab into the Beowolf's neck.
"When I woke up, Summer, dad and Uncle Qrow were standing over me in Patch's hospital. They said some mysterious huntsman saved her and Ruby from the pack. We never came to know who that huntsman was. But I learnt one thing that day – If you want to go into something without a lot of knowledge and preparation, don't go in alone. You have a team, Blake, and our headmaster who's as eager to stop the white fang as you are. You shouldn't have to take on the White Fang alone. So please, Blake, if you want to take the burden of stopping the White fang, at least have us share it together. It will only do good for you." Yang spoke.
Blake stared at her silently. "…I see. Maybe you're right. Maybe taking on the White Fang alone isn't such a good idea." She spoke before sighing. "Alright, fine. I'll try not to overwork myself."
"Great, now go freshen up. After that, we'll talk to the others on our game plan."
"You want us to what?" Weiss asked staring at Yang and Blake in front of her. Blake now looked a lot better than she did in the past few days. They, or more like Blake, had a plan made.
"Have you lost your mind, Xiao-Long? While I wouldn't ignore the white fang's attacks on my family's company assets, what Blake is suggesting is too extreme. Breaking into one of the White Fang's hideouts to listen in on one of their rallies is too risky." She hissed. "I also still don't trust you, so I'm not going near the White Fang with you."
"Weiss…"
"No, I said I will tolerate her, but also that I still have doubts. With the amount of people related to my father killed by the White Fang, I cannot trust her not to make a move after leading us to her colleagues."
Blake winced at the hard accusations as Ruby frowned at Weiss. "Weiss, when I told you to give Blake a chance, I also meant for you to stop being paranoid and work towards accepting her."
"But, Ruby…!"
"You promised, Weiss."
"But still, we are first years, we can't possibly take on a terrorist organization by ourselves!"
"And we're not." Blake cut in. "It's just information gathering to learn more about what's going on in this city. In the end, the real action will be taken with the headmaster's help.
Weiss grit her teeth. "Alright, but I'll be as far as possible."
Ruby nodded. "Now that the ice queen's taken care of, explain your plan, Blake!"
"It's again information gathering. The White Fang hold its meetings in warehouses in Vale belonging to a pseudo-delivery company run by the White Fang. There is a particular warehouse near the highways leading to downtown where the White Fang holds its strategic meetings as well as rallies. If we want to get the most information, we'll have to go there. About Torchwick, Yang knows someone in the criminal underworld who can get information on him so she'll go to him."
Ruby nodded. "Then I can come with you! My semblance will get you out of there in case things go wrong while Weiss can go with Yang to help her fight off the bad guys. We'll no talk to each other unless Blake says so to prevent a scroll call at the wrong time messing things up."
"I like the sound of that." Blake spoke.
"Me too!" Sun spoke from behind Ruby as she jumped.
"AAH!"
"Sun, where did you come from?" Blake asked.
"Oh, I was just listening to your talk from outside the window." Sun spoke before taking a step back at the glares sent at him.
Blake sighed. "I guess you can join in."
"And Neptune too!" Sun spoke as Neptune appeared from outside the window.
Weiss gaped. "Neptune! Get inside!" She spoke as the boy came in.
"Well, if Neptune and Sun want to join us, then that's great! The more the berrier!"
"Ruby, it's 'merrier'…" Weiss pointed out as Ruby blushed in embarrassment. "Y-yeah, that's what I wanted to say. So, Sun can come with me and Blake while Neptune can come with Yang and Weiss."
"Cool, don't worry, Blake, now that we've got more people, we'll kick the white fang's butt this time."
"What time does the White Fang hold its meetings."
"10:00 in the night, although it might be even more late with huntsmen patrols now looking for them.
"Alright! Team RWBY and SN. Are you ready to take on the White Fang."
They all nodded.
"Then I, Ruby Rose, as team leader and hence the leader of this operation, declare this as Operation Night Raid!"
A/N: Since I am planning to split the events of the next chapters between what Sigurd, Cu and Shirou (I'll explain what happened to him in the next chapter) are doing and what RWBY, Sun and Neptune are doing. Hence, I wanted to do two chapters to set up their respective roles in the coming fight. Also, I made the wagon story pretty similar except for one crucial difference. I think many of you can guess who was this 'mysterious huntsman' who saved Yang and Ruby instead of Qrow. Also, thank you Maglad for helping me think up of a little gag in Cu's relationship with the students. I already had thought of Cu being a harsh teacher because his own brutal training under Scathach had left an impression on his mind and I wanted to do one more. It just serves not to judge a person by their first impression.
Hope you guys enjoyed and constructive criticism is appreciated!
Response to Reviews:
Nesthor5000: Hey man! I'm happy to see you again! It was fun talking about RWBY lore to you last time.
Anyways, I've put my views of your theories in the order of what comes first:-
1. The transfer, while similar to that of magic crests, is not the case in the RWBY lore in this story, since I am aiming to have Remnant's thaumaturgical systems be different from Earth's. The first difference is that magi from Ozma's time have magical cores instead of crests which are implanted in their souls that allows them to perform their magecraft. I'm sure you can make the connection with how you've described the transfer and this piece of information. I am thinking of a little spin-off of this story that takes place in the Age of Mystery and exploring the concepts of what is Remnant's Age of Gods. I'll provide lots of explanations to what Remnant's magecraft looked like in that story when I get to it.
2. I always believed that Salem has a case of hubris that comes from her skill in manipulation. Whenever things work out for her, she gets really cocky and then makes mistakes that cost her. This is exemplified when Ozpin comes back as Oscar. Although I know RT put in the Salem outburst as a simple 'villainess mad that her enemy's back', I think that if Ozpin was competent, then he would be a pretty big obstacle to Salem's goals, because he knows her better than anyone else and would know how to counter her. This is why Salem is so eager to kill his incarnations as it will give her some breathing space before Ozpin reincarnates. When such a thing happens, it is a pretty big victory and Salem gets cocky and tries to destroy haven academy. While Ozpin's return as Oscar doesn't have much impact on the Battle of Haven, it would be a pretty big thing for Salem, because she is clearly caught off-guard that Ozpin managed to find a host so quickly and angry that she'd lost her window and accomplished nothing while it was open. Of course, all of this are merely my own theories if RT had put more focus on the flaws in Salem's character. This hubris most likely led her to do something as stupid as attacking the gods in their territory with their own power.
3. Does it? I think Weiss' summoning is more similar to Projection than the Runes, with her semblance creating Summoning circles that aid her in the process of Projecting whichever opponent she has beaten and utilizing something similar to Illya's hair trick to make them autonomous and follow her commands.
4. My guess is that aura is the result of Remnant's magi attempting to achieve the Third magic, which has a different name in Remnant. I believe Remnant's society in the Age of Mystery was dominated by magi, and these magi had different roles. While the researchers conducted further studies on aura to achieve the Third Magic, warriors like Ozma used Aura to augment their abilities to fight against grimm. While the people of the Age of Perseverance know of other uses of aura, they have not developed as many uses for it as those from the Age of Mystery did. Ozpin, as you said, wouldn't be able to because he might not have been a scholar or the most knowledgeable person of Remnant's magecraft. Salem, however, can do it because she would fit the role of a researcher among Remnant's magi. But in truth, she would be more focused towards experimenting with new types of grimm and procuring the relics than studying aura.