Chapter 7

New Year, New Goals

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Change

Ozpin's Office

"Ironwood certainly loves to bring his work wherever he travels." Glynda said as she and Ozpin stared out the back window as airships and Bullheads landed at the academy's docks.

"Well, running an academy and a military tends to make one a busy man." Ozpin defended the guest. "But I agree, those are a bit of an eyesore." He turned as a beeping from his desk caught his attention. "Come in." The elevator door opened and the general walked in.

"Ozpin!" The man shouted.

"Hello, general." Beacon's headmaster said back.

"Please, let's drop the formalities." The general said as the two walked over and shook hands. "It's been to long!" He looked over as Glynda walked over. "And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last meet! Tell me, how is your son?"

"He's fine, James..." She answered unenthusiastically before turning to Ozpin. "I'll be going now. It's time for his training." She walked past the two and entered the elevator.

"Well, she hasn't changed much." Ironwood said as the doors closed behind him. "You'd think raising a child might get her to loosen up."

"She's a teacher first, and a mother second." Ozpin explained as he walked over to his desk. "So tell me, what brings you down from Atlas to Vale?" He grabbed a pot and filled a cup with tea. "It's not normal for headmasters to travel with their students for the Vytal Festival." He gave the mug to the general before he grabbed a second mug.

"What can I say?" Ironwood joked as he poured some alcohol from his flask he pulled out of his jacket. "I love Vale this time of year. Besides, with you hosting this year, I thought we could use this time to catch up."

"I can certainly appreciate some quality time between friends." Ozpin walked around his desk and sat down at his chair before pouring his own mug. "But the small fleet you brought with you on standby outside my window has me more than a bit concerned."

"Well, concern is what brought them here." Ironwood confessed.

"I get that travel between kingdoms has become more and more difficult..." Ozpin started.

"Oz, we both know why I brought those men." Ironwood interrupted as Ozpin took a sip.

"We're in a time of peace." Ozpin sighed. "Shows of power like this, they're just going to give people the wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true-" Ironwood placed his mug on the desk and leaned in.

"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully." Ozpin interrupted. "It's the Vytal Festival; a celebration of unity and peace between the kingdoms. So please, don't scare the people by transporting hundreds of troops and weapons halfway across the continent."

"I'm being cautious." Ironwood explained.

"As am I, which is why we will keep training the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can." Ozpin said back.

"Believe me, so am I." Ironwood turned and started to walk out before looking over his shoulder. "But answer me this, are your children ready to wage a war?" He turned back and headed to the elevator.

"I pray they never have to." Ozpin said under his breath.

Training Room

Team NVAR panted as their 10th exercise was finished and the holograms faded away.

"Again!" Glynda shouted from the control room as more Grimm holograms appeared, ranging from Beowolves to Creeps to Ursai.

"Dude, what's with your mom?" Ryuko asked as she blasted the holograms with Dust bullets.

"I get she's mad at us, but this is like, borderline abuse." Aerith said as she swung her staff, 'breaking' the legs of four Creeps that rushed her before slamming it into their heads.

"She must REALLY want us to keep an eye on you." Vergil added before he jumped and spun, 'slicing' his sword through the five Beowolves that surrounded him.

"This isn't the normal mad I'm talking about." Natsu explained as he 'punched' an Ursa before flip kicking it. "This is furious. The only time she's like this is when... Oh no."

"What?" Ryuko asked as Vergil bounced off her blades and fired his pistols from the air.

"Only one person in the world can make my mom this mad." Natsu said in horror. "General Ironwood."

"Isn't that the headmaster of the Atlas academy and the general of the military?" Vergil asked as he landed and Natsu nodded. "What does she have against him?"

"For starters, he's been hitting on her for as long I can remember." Natsu explained before he jumped onto Aerith's staff. She swung and launched him at the last Ursa. He spun like a drill and pierced the body before sliding along the floor. "Not to mention the fact that he's constantly trying to recruit me for the military."

"You're telling me we're going through this torture because your mom has anger issues?" Vergil asked annoyed as the holograms faded.

"Again!" Glynda shouted as a hundred new holograms appeared, including a few Deathstalkers and King Taijitus.

"Next time keep your mouth shut!" Ryuko whacked him on the back of the head before the group prepared for another round.

Library

"Alright..." Ruby mumbled as she and her team played 'Remnant: The Game'. Weiss looked at her cards in confusion, Yang smiled at her hand, and Blake seemed completely uninterested. "Yang Xiao Long, prepare your kingdom for combat!"

"Bring it, sis." Yang taunted.

"I deploy the Atlesian Air Fleet!" The leader shouted. "That means I get to fly over your Ursai and strike your wall directly."

"You fiend!" Yang said.

"And since Atlas is part of Mantle, my repair time only lasts one turn." She bragged.

"Pretty sneaky, sis." Yang chuckled holding a card in her hands. "To bad you just triggered my trap card; Giant Nevermore!" She flipped the card over, revealing the cards picture. "If I roll a seven or higher, Fatal Feathers will slice your fleet in two!"

"But if you get a six or lower, the Nevermore will wipe out your own forces." Ruby pointed out the double edged sword.

"That's just a gamble I'm willing to take." Yang said back.

At the table behind the board game playing group was Team Juniper. As Yang cheered the out come and Ruby started sobbing, Ren flipped the page of his book onto Nora's sleeping head. Jaune read his comic, 'X-Ray and Van.', until Pyrrha pulled it out of his hands and put a real book in them.

"Your turn, Weiss." Yang said as Ruby's turn ended.

"I have literally no idea what we're doing." The heiress confessed.

"Look it's simple." The blonde leaned in to help, but also steal a glance at her opponent's cards. "You're Vacuo, meaning all Vacuo cards come with a bonus."

"That sounds really dumb." Weiss said.

"No, look." Yang started moving the white haired girl"s cards in her hand. "You've got the Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge, oh, Resourceful Raider! With this, you can take Ruby's discarded Air Fleet..." The other girl whined at the memory of the last move. "... and put it in your hand."

"Okay...?" She asked, still confused.

"And because all Vacuo warriors gain an endurance boost against natural hazards, you can use Sandstorm to take out my ground troops and infiltrate my kingdom at the same time!" Yang explained before glaring at the heiress and sat back down in her own chair. "Just remember, I won't forget this act of aggression."

"And all of that means what?" Weiss asked.

"It means you're just three moves away from conquering all of Remnant!" Ruby cried out.

Weiss' eyes went wide with realization. "That's right!" She started to rant. "Fear the power of my forces! Cower as they plunder your villages and steal your children from your hands-"

"Trap card." Yang simply said before she moved the board pieces around. "Your armies have been wiped out."

"I hate this game of emotions we play!" Weiss cried as she sat back down.

"Stay with me, Weiss." Ruby said before she jumped onto the heiress as tears streamed down both their faces. "We'll make it through this together!"

"Shut up, don't touch me!" Weiss said back, failing to hide her tears.

"Alright, Blake, your turn." Yang said, turning to the bow wearing girl.

"Huh?" Blake asked, having no interest in the game. "Sorry, what are we doing again?"

"You're Vale, and you're trying to conquer the kingdoms of Remnant." Yang reminded her teammate.

"Hey, can I play?" Jaune asked as he walked over.

"Sorry Jaune, we're at capacity right now." Ruby said.

"Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical planning that I doubt you possess." Weiss added.

"This coming from the girl who attacked her own naval fleet two turns ago." Yang reminded the heiress.

"Bring it, ice queen." Jaune responded. "I've been told that I'm a natural born leader."

"By who, your mom?" Weiss mocked.

"Pyrrha too." Jaune said. "Come on; just let me play your hand for one turn."

"No way am I handing over the citizens of Vacuo to you." Weiss said back.

"Why not?" He asked. "You have given me way more important stuff before. Don't forget, you're the one who told us all that Blake is secretly a F-"

"un-loving person." Pyrrha interrupted and covered Jaune's mouth. "One we all admire and respect." Everyone nervously chuckled as Blake just glared at Weiss.

"Right... that." Jaune agreed realizing his near slip. "Ladies, enjoy your battles."

"Sup, losers." Everyone looked as Sun stood next to Blake.

"Hey Sun." Ruby said.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ice Queen..." He started.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that!?" Weiss asked annoyed.

"I didn't get the chance to really introduce you to my old friend." The Faunus continued, pointing to the boy next to him.

"Quick, question. Aren't libraries for reading?" The boy asked, looking at the board game.

"Thank you!" Ren shouted.

"Pancakes!" Nora said waking up.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd." Sun said.

"Hey, intellectual, okay." His friend said back before turning to the group. "I'm Neptune."

"So, Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asked.

"Haven." The bluenette answered before walking over. "And I don't think I got your name, snow angel."

"Um... I'm Weiss." She answered, a little embarrassed.

"Pleasure to meet you." He said as Jaune mumbled from behind in disbelief.

"I didn't you take as the board game playing type." Sun said to Blake.

"Right..." Blake stood up from her chair. "well, I think I'm done playing, actually. I'll see you guys later." She walked away as the group stared at her.

"Women, right?" Nora asked, making everyone look at her.

Nighttime

Team NVAR's Room

"God, that was brutal." Ryuko complained, plopping onto her bed. They finally finished their training, which ended in the twenty-fifth round.

"My blisters have blisters." Aerith said as she walked into the bathroom.

"I am completely out of ammo." Vergil said holding the empty clips. "That's never happened to me before, in my life."

"How did you survive this long, Natsu?" Ryuko asked, looking at the team leader.

"Usually, someone else took me away for studies." The leader answered.

"Why couldn't that happen for us?" Aerith asked before turning the shower on.

Team RWBY's Room

Blake sat in her bed, thinking about what happened at the docks and the words Roman told her. 'The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture.' Her mind traveled to a few hours after the fight on the docks.

Night of the Dock Fight

Police Station

Blake sat in the questioning, staring at the door. Next to her, Natsu sat twiddling his thumbs. The cops brought him in because they wanted to know how a Faunus knew where the White Fang would be.

"Well, this has been an eventful day." Both looked up from the table as Ozpin walked in. "I'm sure after a long night of stopping attempted robberies, you two probably want to just head home and take a nap, but..." He pulled out the chair on the other side of the table, placing his mug on it. "I was hoping the three of us could chat for a bit."

"Of course." Blake said.

"Sure, I've got no problem with that." Natsu added.

"Excellent!" The Professor said. "Now, as you both know, in order to enroll at my academy, students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most of the applicants spend years honing their craft at one of the many combat schools around the world, but you two are among the few that didn't, and you both passed with flying colors. I know that Natsu's mother is a Huntress and trained him from the age of five, but you, Blake, I know nothing about you."

"I grew up outside the kingdoms." She explained. "If you can't fight, you can't survive."

"Well, you have certainly survived, Blake." Ozpin said. "I admire this drive you have, and I am proud to run a school that takes people from all walks of life." He picked up his mug and raised it to his lips. "Rich, poor, human..." He took a sip from his mug. "Faunus."

"Well, I'm proud to go to a place like that." Natsu said back.

"I was speaking about her." Ozpin pointed to Blake, who glared at him. "Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you really are?"

"You may be willing to accept the Faunus, Professor Ozpin, but humanity isn't." She answered.

"True, but we are continuing to take strides to lessen the divide." Ozpin said back.

"Well, you need to start taking some much larger strides." Black responded. "Until then, I'd rather avoid the unnecessary attention. I want to be seen for who I am, not what."

"And just what are you?" Ozpin asked.

"I... don't understand what you're asking." She confessed.

"How did you two know that the White Fang we're going to be at the shipyard tonight?" He clarified.

"We didn't." She answered before Natsu could. "We were just in the right place at the wrong time."

"Well you two wouldn't be the first, but what happened tonight was not an isolated incident." Ozpin said. "I may be your headmaster, but I am still a Huntsman. And it is my sovereign duty to protect this world from all forces who conspire against it. Are you two sure there's nothing else you'd like to tell me."

"We're sure." She answered for both of them.

"Very well." He stood up and picked up his mug. "I thank the both of you for your time. If either of you ever need to talk to me, don't hesitate to ask." He turned and walked towards the door. "Oh, one more thing." He looked over his shoulder to Natsu. "Mr. Dragneel, your mother wishes to talk to you."

"Ugh!" Blake was taken out of her thoughts when her teammates came in, led by an angry Yang. "I knew we shouldn't have let him play!"

"You're just mad because the new guy beat you." Ruby teased her sister as Blake got up. "See, if you had just attacked when I told you, none of this would have happened."

"Stop." Weiss said pointing to Blake as she opened the door. "Lately, you've been quite, antisocial and moody."

"Is this your first time meeting Blake?" Yang asked, seeing as Weiss just described her to a t.

"And I get that's your 'thing'." Weiss continued. "But you've been doing it a lot more than usual, and that is just unacceptable. You promised to me that if something was wrong, you would tell one of your friends. And seeing as Natsu isn't here, I'm guessing you haven't told anyone on his team either. So, Blake Belladona! What is wrong!?" The girls stared at the heiress as she got off the chair she was balancing on to make her point more dramatic and put it back.

"I just, I don't understand how everyone can be so calm." The bow wearing girl confessed.

"Still thinking about Torchwick?" Ruby asked.

"Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it!" Blake answered. "There's something big going on and no one is doing anything about it!"

"Ozpin told us not to worry." Yang reminded her friend. "Between the police and the Huntsman, I'm sure they have it under control."

"Well, I'm not!" Blake said back. "They don't know the White Fang like I do."

Team NVAR's Room

"I'm going out for a drink." Natsu said as he walked out the room. He turned the corner and stopped at Team RWBY's room as his eye noticed the open door before leaning against the wall, as words of argument were being spoken.

"Okay, between blowing up bars, stopping thieves and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think you're ready to go and stop these ne'er-do-wells..." Weiss spoke as Natsu's brain tried to guess what a ne'er-do-well was. "But let me once again be the voice of reason here; we are students. We're not ready to deal with something like this."

"True, but-" Ruby started.

"We're not ready!" Weiss shouted.

"And we may never be ready!" Blake shouted back. "Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and play with their thumbs until we graduate. Torchwick, the White Fang, they are out there somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but you can bet it's coming! Whether we're ready or not."

"Okay." Ruby spoke up. "All in favor of being the youngest huntress team in the history of Beacon to bring down a criminal organization conspiring against the kingdom of Vale; say 'aye'."

"Hell yeah!" Yang said. "I love when you get feisty."

"Well, I guess it could be fun." Weiss said.

"None of you said 'aye'..." Ruby mumbled depressed.

"We're in!" The girls looked over to see Natsu standing in the doorway.

"How long have you been listening?" Blake asked as they all jumped back surprised.

"Since the 'we may never be ready.' part." He answered as he walked in.

"What about your team?" Ruby asked. "Are you sure they'd be willing to help?"

"You kidding, we'd be glad to." Natsu said. "It sounds like a heck of a good time. Besides, I still have a score to settle with that cane guy." He cracked his knuckles as he spoke of Torchwick. "So I'd help even if they don't want to."

"Alright, first step, Natsu talks to his team." Ruby planned. "Depending on their answers, we go from there."

"Sounds good!" Yang said.

"Oh no, I forgot my board game in the library." The hooded girl realized.

"We're doomed." Weiss said shaking her head.

"I'll be right back!" Ruby shouted as she ran out the door, only to whack into someone. "Sorry, are you okay?"

"Fine. Just watch where you're going from now on, okay?" The green haired girl asked as she helped Ruby up.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm Ruby." She looked at her and the gray haired boy next to the red eyed girl and knew their outfits weren't Beacon. "Are you, new here or something?"

"Visiting from the Haven academy, actually." A voice said from behind. The first girl moved out of the way, letting Ruby see a golden eyed girl with her hair swept over her right eye.

"Ooooh! You're here for the festival!" Ruby realized. "But exchange students have their own dorm."

"I guess we got lost." The boy said.

"No biggie, happened to me once, or twice." Ruby explained embarrassed. "Uh, your building is just east of here."

"Thanks." The second girl said before she walked after the other two. "Maybe we'll see you around."

"Yeah, maybe." Ruby said hopeful. "Oh, and welcome to Beacon!" The second girl smiled before glancing into the open room, where she locked eyes with Natsu.

She took a few more steps when she felt something hit her heart. 'What the?' The girl asked herself as she stopped walking.

"You okay, Cinder?" The first girl asked as the two ahead turned around.

"I'm fine, Emerald." She said. "It's just, there's something about that Faunus boy that's... off."

From now on, every chapter I'll tell you the top five choices on the poll until it closes. In first place is Ruby with Yang down by one in second, and Velvet in third. Those three are to be expected, but the ones that follow are really surprising. Trailing Velvlet by one vote is the ice cream lady, Neo. And tied for fifth are Winter and Coco of all people. Coco I could see but Winter? Wow.

Now, I want your opinions on something. Since Team RWBY all got different outfits, I figured I'd do the same for NVAR, so what do you want them to wear? I know Vergil is gonna wear the look from that unneeded reboot attempt, but they're too many options for the other three.

Ryuko can wear anything but her pajamas and if you want her to wear Senketsu, it will just be clothing, no powers. For Aerith, I'm thinking something from the Kingdom Hearts series, but if you have other ideas, let me know. I'm on the Tartarus arc of Fairy Tail, so Natsu can wear anything up to that point.

Last Saturday was my birthday, but it was just a day so don't over react.

Beta read by digemsmack.