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Chapter 22: Field Trip (Part 1)
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"They were here," General Ironwood said, "Ozpin they were here!"
Ironwood angrily slammed his fist on Ozpin's desk.
"We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James," Glynda shot back.
"Fantastic! You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us."
Behind him, the elevator dinged.
"Come in," Ozpin called.
Ruby and Eugene stepped out of the elevator.
"Sorry we're late. Someone hit half of the elevator buttons before I could stop her," Eugene said, looking at Ruby.
Ruby punched him in the arm.
"You said you wouldn't say anything!" she said.
"Ahem," Glynda coughed.
"Thank you both for coming," Ozpin began, "How are you feeling today."
"I'm okay," Eugene replied, "My eyes took a few hours to recover from the light-blast, but I'm ok."
"I'd feel better if my bad-guy-catching record had held up," Ruby said.
The adults just stared at her solemnly.
"Okay, so that's the tone were going for, got it," she said quietly.
Ironwood spoke up next, taking a few steps forwards to emphasize his words.
"I feel I should let you two know that I think that what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntsman or Huntress is all about," he said, "You recognized a threat, you took action, and you did the very best you could."
"Thank you, sir," Ruby said, some of her confidence returning.
"Now, the general here has already informed of the events that... transpired last night," Ozpin said, "but now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add."
"Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you at all?" Glynda asked.
"Not to me," Eugene said, holding his hands up slightly.
"Ruby?" Ozpin asked.
"I... I don't know," Ruby said, "She was wearing a mask, and she never said anything to me. But I know she fought with glass. I don't think that was her Semblance, though. Her clothing lit up whenever she attacked."
"Hmm... Apart from the glass, that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby and Delsin," Glynda said.
"Embedding Dust into clothing is an age-old technique. It could have been anyone," Ironwood said.
"I don't suppose you managed to get a good look at her face," Ozpin asked.
Eugene shook his head.
"I know where you're going, and no. I only got a profile view. I'll give you what I got, but it's not much."
"Very well," Ozpin said, nodding.
"Wait. Do you think this girl is related to Torchwick and the White Fang?" Ruby asked.
"Personally, I think it's statistically unlikely that these are two separate incidents," Eugene said.
Ozpin raised an eyebrow.
"Explain," he said.
"Well think about it. She was kinda there the night you guys fought Torchwick. At the very least they know each other. Beyond that, we know that Torchwick's target is the Kingdom itself, and there isn't much reason beyond terrorism to attack the central communication system. Even if we lack evidence, it's still a safe bet," Eugene said.
"Hmm," Ozpin said, mulling over Eugene's commentary.
He and Ironwood exchanged a quick glance and Ironwood nodded.
"I'd be willing to take that bet," Ironwood said, "But we still have no idea where any part of this criminal operation could be."
"Wait," Ruby said, looking at Eugene, "Didn't we get something like that a few days ago?"
Eugene closed his eyes and searched his memories, then smiled when he remembered what Ruby was talking about.
"Yes," he said, "Yes we did."
"What do you mean?" Glynda asked.
"When we went on that covert mission last week to gather information on Torchwick, me, Sun, and Blake went to a White Fang rally."
"I remember," Ozpin said.
"Well, when we were there I remember Torchwick said something about how most of their members had moved to their new hideout in the southeast. It's not much, but it's something, right?" he said.
Ironwood's mouth twitched into a grin.
"Indeed it is," he said.
"Thank you very much for your cooperation," Ozpin said, his face adopting a similar smile, "Why don't you go spend some time with your teams? I'm sure they have been anxiously awaiting your return and you all have a big day ahead of you."
"Thank you," Eugene said.
"Any time," Ruby added.
The two of them nodded and walked back into the elevator. Once the doors were closed, Ironwood turned back to Ozpin.
"Well, there we have it," he said, "We send as many troops as we can to the southeast, find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way."
Glynda growled.
"Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!? You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring di—!"
"Glynda!" Ozpin interrupted.
She folded her arms and abandoned her angry tone.
"Well he does," she said.
"She's right. As much as I would like to end this situation once and for all, we can't. If this truly is part of some master plan for which we know no the final move, we mustn't be so bold. Nor can we risk the spread of panic."
Ironwood shook his head.
"I have served you faithfully for years...but if you really mean to tell me that your plan is to really hold the defenses and wait-!" Ironwood shouted.
"It is not!" Ozpin said as he abruptly rose from his chair, his voice rising to match James's, "You're a general James. So tell me, when you prepare for war, which do you send in first, the flag bearers, or the scouts?"
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Once they left, Ruby and Eugene quickly arrived at the Team RWBY dorm. Both of their teams were waiting for them inside.
"So how'd it go?" Yang asked.
"Not as bad as we thought it would, that's for sure," Eugene said.
The two of them walked their teams through the meeting, short as it was.
"That was a risky move," Weiss said.
"No, I think they handled it well," Blake commented.
"Well it's not like we could do anything with the information," Alex said, "Even if we could find their hideout, which by the way, southeast is a very general description, we don't have the resources to take on a force as large as the White Fang."
"True. Even with your combined powers I doubt it would turn out in your favor," Weiss added, "Even if you added in ours, we would still come up short."
Alex and Delsin nodded in agreement.
"I'm sure everything will be alright," Yang said, "Oh! Ruby, I almost forgot!"
Yang produced a cylinder from behind her back.
"What's that?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us," Yang said, "I thought we could open it together!"
"Oooooh! Something from home!" Ruby exclaimed.
The Rose Reaper sped over to her sister's side and nearly grabbed the cylindrical package out of her hand, but Yang switched hands before she could reach it. Then, the lid popped off the package and a second cylindrical object, a black and somehow hairy one, fell onto the floor.
"What the hell is that?" Delsin asked.
No one answered his question. They were too stunned by what happened next. In some nigh-miraculous fashion, that black and hairy cylinder, turned itself into a dog. They didn't snap out of their stupor until it barked at them.
"Arf!"
Ruby jumped a few feet in the air.
"Zwei!" she yelled happily.
"Arf!"
"He sent a dog?" Blake asked.
"In the mail?" Weiss added.
"Oh he does this all the time," Yang said.
Blake, who had retreated to Ruby's bunk, looked back at Yang questioningly.
"Your father of your dog?" she asked.
Weiss looked at the Zwei in disgust.
"Are you telling me that this mangy... drooling...mutt is going to wiv wif us foweva?" she asked, devolving into baby-talk, "Oh, yes he is, yes he is! Oh, isn't he adorable!"
"Uh, what just happened?" Delsin asked.
Blake peered over the edge of her hiding spot.
"Please keep it away from my belongings," she said.
Just then, the intercom buzzed, and the voice of Glynda Goodwitch rang out.
"Would all first-year students please report to the amphitheater?"
"Well, we can't exactly leave him here while we're gone for the week," Weiss said.
Ruby set Zwei down and he walked over to Blake, the cat Faunus still hiding on the top bunk, and barked.
"Look, there's a letter!" Yang said, "'Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang.'"
Once again, Yang overturned the package. After a second, several dozen cans of dog food fell out of the tiny cylindrical container and piled up in front of her, covering Zwei.
"What is he supposed to do with that exactly?" Alex asked.
As soon as he asked the question, a can opener fell out and bonked Zwei on the head.
"Well, that settles it! Come on people, Zwei will be here when we get back."
They stared walking out of the room, Blake doing everything she could to stay as faraway from the dog as possible. Just as Yang was about to turn the corner out of the room, Delsin stopped her.
"Yang!" he shouted.
"What is it Delsin?" she asked.
Delsin sighed.
"How exactlydo you expect a dog to use a can opener?" he asked emphatically.
Yang just smiled.
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"What did I just witness?" Delsin asked as the seven of them walked into the amphitheater, a stunned expression on his face.
"I know right?" Eugene said, the same expression on his face.
"I didn't know a Corgi could be so quick," Delsin said.
"He doesn't even have opposable thumbs!" Eugene added.
"And where in the world did he get the crossbow?!"
"Oh that's nothing," Ruby said as she appeared next to him, wearing a suspiciously large backpack.
"Hm?" Delsin said.
Ruby set her backpack down with other student's luggage.
"You should've seen the time he built a catapult for our pillow fort. That was a fun day."
Delsin felt a chill run down his spine. Luckily Glynda saved him from an awkward subject change.
"Quiet! Quiet please. Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin," she said into the microphone.
Ozpin stepped forward.
"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself.
"We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day.
"We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it.
"As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."
Once he'd said his piece, Ozpin made his exit. The rest of the students soon followed. Ruby turned to her friends with a huge smile on her face.
"This is great!" she said, "We can shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast!"
Alex shrugged.
"Sounds good to me. Either we get good field experience for when we do become Huntsman, or we somehow stumble into a secret hideout and do some good," he said.
"Let's check 'Search and Destroy'" Weiss suggested.
The seven of them walked over to one of the holo-screens that displayed the mission selection roster. After a bit of looking they found the one marked for "Search and Destroy."
"Here we go! Quadrant five needs Grimm cleared out," Ruby said.
"Wait, how are there five quadrants?" Eugene asked.
"What?" Yang said.
"Well if its really a system of quadrants, shouldn't there only be four of them?"
Everyone was silent.
"Huh," Weiss said, "I never actually noticed that."
"Well, Quadrant five is in the southeast," Blake said, "Is that the one were taking?"
"Guess so," Alex said.
Ruby selected the mission. A prompt appeared on screen asking for their team name and Ruby entered it. Much to her disappointment, another prompt followed that one with a message.
"Mission unavailable to first year students."
"Wonderful," Weiss said.
"Any other ideas?" Blake asked.
"Hang on," Delsin said, "Let me try."
Delsin selected it and the team name prompt reappeared. This time when Delsin entered the data for Team CNDT, a different prompt appeared.
"Team CNDT is not a four man team. Please enter the name of the Team that is accompanying you."
Delsin smiled and typed in the letters RWBY.
"Mission Accepted."
"Mm!" Delsin said, feeling a little triumphant.
"Wait, what?" Weiss asked, "You guys are first-years just like us! How come you guys could take that mission?"
"Well," they heard a voice say, "I figured I could bend the rules a little in this case."
The members of Teams CNDT and RWBY turned to see Ozpin standing right behind them.
"Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm in that area was too extreme for first-year students," Ozpin continued, "But, for seven of our more promising students, I do believe we can make an exception."
Ruby smiled wide.
"We won't let you down. Thank you, professor," she said.
Ozpin's face became serious.
"Do not thank me for this," he said, "Your strength and your teamwork have carried you far, but rest assured, outside the Kingdom, even you Conduits should be on your guard. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon, if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck."
Ozpin left, leaving his students with a few confused looks on their faces. But Ruby shrugged and lead them out of the amphitheater.
"C'mon Team," she said, "We've got an airship to catch."
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As the seven of them approached the airship dock, they were still dwelling on Ozpin's words.
"That wasn't exactly uplifting," Yang said.
"Well, he's not wrong," Alex said, "And hard truths are rarely uplifting."
"Cheer up guys!" Ruby said, "It's gonna be tough, but I know we can do it."
They kept walking, their airship awaiting them. Delsin looked around at all of the other students around them preparing for their first mission. He smiled as he watched them, each one smiling and buzzing with excitement. But somewhere back in the deeper parts of his mind, Delsin couldn't shake a strange sense of dread. Like somehow, some part of him knew that the next time he came here, nothing would be as it was.
He quickly shook it off, thinking it was probably just nerves.
"Wait up!" he heard to his left.
All of them turned to face the voice. Delsin smiled as Team CFVY approached.
"Hey guys!" Ruby said.
"You heading out?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"Yeah," Delsin said, "Our transport's waiting for us."
"Well we wanted to see you off," Velvet said.
"And wish you good luck," Coco added.
"Thanks," Blake said.
"So when are you guys leaving?" Delsin asked.
"Not till a couple days from now," Fox answered, "Our mission's time sensitive, but it's far enough away that we have to hitch a ride with someone headed that way."
"Really?" Weiss said.
"Yeah, we're helping guard a construction crew that's building a new support tower for the CCT system down south. The next transport out there is in a few days," Yatsuhashi explained.
"So where are you off to?" Coco asked.
"Quadrant 5," Eugene said, "To go kill some Grimm."
Velvet recoiled slightly.
"Wait, you guys are going to Mountain Glenn?" she asked.
"Where?" Delsin asked.
"Mountain Glenn was planned as an expansion of Vale," Blake explained, "But a series of poor choices and bad luck let it fall to ruin and eventually it was overrun by Grimm."
"And that's where we're headed?" Eugene asked, "Fun."
"You guys be careful," Velvet said.
"Very careful," Coco added.
The seven of them nodded. With a final goodbye, Team CFVY left the two teams standing there. They exchanged a series of unsettled looks.
"We can do this," Ruby said reassuringly, "We've never backed down before and we're not going to start now."
"Damn straight," Alex said with a nod.
"And besides, it won't only be us out there," Ruby continued, "We'll be fighting alongside a genuine Huntsman!"
"Yeah!" Yang said.
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"You have got to be kidding me," Delsin said.
Suffice it to say, when the two teams found out the identity of the Huntsman they were shadowing, they were none too excited about it.
"Why hello ladies and gentlemen," Professor Oobleck said in his usual cheery manner, "Who's ready to fight for their lives?"
"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary students as you have elected to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you we will not be establishing a single base of operations, rather we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defensible locations we may stumble upon," Professor Oobleck replied in a way that sounded like it was all one word, "I packed all of the essentials myself, plotted the air-course, and readied the airship. And-"
He got right in Weiss's face.
"It's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn a PhD for fun, thank you very much!"
"Uhhhhh..."
"Come now children! According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind… schedule!"
With that, he darted off faster than either Ruby or Delsin could have hoped to, crossing the distance between where the two assembled teams stood and where the airship was docked in literally one second.
"This has to be some kind of joke," Alex said, still recovering from the shock.
"Well, alright then," Ruby started, "Looks like we're off to save the world with Dr. Oobleck- Okay yeah, when you say it out loud it sounds worse."
"No kidding," Eugene said.
"Save the world!" a familiar voice said from behind them.
When the seven of them turned, they saw Team JNPR approaching them.
"You're going on world saving missions without us?!" Nora shouted, "I'm hurt! Sad! Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault though. Ren."
Ren turned away and refused to respond.
"Sounds exciting," Jaune commented, "Where ya going?"
"Oh, just outside the Kingdom," Ruby said.
"Hey! So are we!" Nora said.
"Nora and Ren wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village," Pyrrha explained.
"We set out tomorrow," Ren said.
"Then you can party with us tonight," Neptune said as he and Sun appeared form nowhere, "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges."
Jaune looked like he was about to swoon.
"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk," Sun said, "We thought this might be a better way to check out the Kingdom when it's, you know, normal."
"Well-" Ruby started.
"Four minutes students!" Oobleck yelled in the distance.
All of the students cringed. Sympathetic looks crossed the faces of Teams JNPR and SSSN.
"Well," Ruby began again, "Wish us luck."
"We're gonna need it," Delsin said.
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Their destination wasn't as close as Delsin had thought. That combined with the rapidly changing air currents that circulated the Kingdom, meant that the ride in the airship was going to be a bit longer than first thought. Unfortunately for Delsin and the rest, that meant another twenty minutes of listening to Oobleck ramble.
"I guess I never saw you as much of a fighter," Yang said over the roar of the wind.
"I admit, I fancy myself as more of an… intellectual," Oobleck said, "but I can assure you that as a Huntsman I have had my fair share of tussles."
"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked.
"Those are truffles," Blake told her.
"Like the sprout?"
"Those are Brussels," Yang said.
Delsin didn't hear much past that. His mind had wandered off almost immediately after they had all climbed on board the airship.
To his right, he caught sight of Alex flying alongside them, enjoying the freedom of flight. To his left, Eugene was playing one of the many games he'd downloaded onto his Scroll. Delsin's eyes went to the horizon, but as he watched the cityscape fade into the distance, he felt that feeling of dread come back. Before he had a chance to ponder on it further, he felt the Airship land.
Delsin climbed out and as he surveyed the ruined remains of a city that surrounded them, Delsin knew:
They had arrived.
CHAPTER END
Yeah, so all of nothing really happened in this chapter. But, the torturous part of writing an AU fic like this one is that you need to pay attention to detail, and that means covering the boring parts and trying to make them as interesting as possible, which is exactly as hard as it sounds.
But that brings me to another point.
See, I'm no slouch at math. While I am absolutely thrilled to have over 200 followers on this story, I know that along the way, I've lost a few. And yeah, that makes me a little sad. But this next bit isn't for them. They'll probably never end up reading this anyway. This part is for all of you who are still here, and all of you who come after.
Now, I started this project for a number of reasons. One of those was because I read a similar story that was posted on this site named "The Conduit of Remnant" and I thought it could do better, though whether or not I have is actually not up to me. Another was because I have had so many stories rumbling around my head for so long it was only a matter of time before one of them stumbled onto paper (metaphorically at least.)
The third, and arguably most important reason? To learn. I need to learn to be a better writer. I'm certainly not terrible, or so I'd like to think, but I am nowhere near what I think of as good. So let me ask this of the 200 and something of you who read this story:
Hold nothing back.
If you like something, say it. If you hated something, say it. If you would have done something differently, say it. If you think I should have done something differently, please, tell me. I read every review you post, I read every PM you send, and I ask that you please keep sending them.
Sincerely,
pop82.
