Here's chapter 60, everyone.
"Any ideas, Ruby?" Blake called out to her team leader, dodging another aqua blast was fired at her. They were fast moving orbs of pressurized water. One hit from that would leave a nasty mark on their aura. "Because we aren't getting anywhere by just dodging!"
Ruby realized that as well, shooting Crescent Rose to her right to propel herself to the left, moving out of the way of an attack. "There's only two of them," She yelped when dodging another attack. "Ugh, so we just need to find the right window of time to fire back!"
Weiss swung Myrtenaster horizontally against the ground with earth dust, creating a rock wall to block the aqua blasts from reaching her, so she dropped her weapon for a moment. "Get behind the wall!" Once she relayed the message, she quickly picked her weapon back up with her teeth.
The team ran over, hiding behind the giant rock wall she created. "Good idea, ice wolf." Yang said with a thumbs up, but moved back when she felt the vibration of another aqua blast hitting the wall. "Well, any plans?"
"Two distract, two attack. Easy enough… Except for the whole… You know, not getting hit by one of those attacks." Ruby said, feeling another vibration from the aqua blasts. "We need to hurry too…"
"Works for me." Yang said, punching her fists together. "I can distract, since my semblance might not be so great here."
Blake spoke up. "I can be the second distraction. It'll be best since I won't have to use my semblance, and Ruby, since you use Crescent Rose to dodge attacks, it'll save you ammo too by not being one of the distractions."
"Right… Wait, why did the attacks stop?" Ruby asked, but her question was answered when the Okeans hopped over the wall, making the team gasp as they dispersed.
They weren't fast enough though, as the shockwave of the Okeans landing on the ground sent them tumbling away from each other. "Ugh, pairs of two are annoying… I can see why they matched up partners in initiation that way." Yang commented as she got up and fired off lightning shells, distracting the left Okean.
Another aqua blast was set off from the Okean, keeping it from being hurt, so Blake jumped in and began firing at the second one, getting its attention. As both were distracting them, Glynda was taking note of it all, nodding as she Weiss and Ruby got ready to attack.
"They tend to overthink some scenarios, but at least they're capable."
It didn't take long for Weiss to slash at the Okean that Blake was distracting, causing it to croaked out in pain, purple blood flowing out of the gash. Hearing the other Okean croaking in pain, the one Yang was distracting shot its tongue out, constricting the white wolf and making her gasp and drop her weapon.
Ruby was the first to respond to that, so she ran over, trying to slice the Okean's tongue off, but it whipped its tongue at her, hitting the rose girl with Weiss' body, making her gasp. "Weiss!"
The white wolf was struggling in the Okean's grip, unable to break free, so she growled. "Let go of me!" Her eyes widened when it lifted its tongue up, bringing her up with it, only for it to slam her down against the sand, making her cry out in pain, but that wasn't the end of it, as it began thrashing her around against the sand.
Ruby cried out for her partner, getting back to her feet to try and run over, but she was hit in the back by an aqua blast from the other Okean that Weiss had sliced. "Blake! Yang!" She pleaded for them to get to Weiss.
Yang and Blake ran over, refusing to let the frog Grimm do that again, but it responded with a horizontal swing. The blonde brawler didn't care and jumped over it, not wanting her friend to be stuck in its grip any longer. "Drop our ice wolf, you stupid frog!" She punched one of the eyes of it, popping it and making it drop the white wolf on the ground, the Okean backing away a bit as it croaked louder from the pain.
Blake followed up by slicing the tongue completely off, purple blood spurting out from it. The cat Faunus wasn't done yet, as she swapped her weapon to pistol form, firing off rounds into the eye that was popped, breaking through its head and out the other side.
The Okean fell, dead on the ground, but Yang knew it wasn't over yet, so she ran over to the other Okean that had attacked her sister. "Ruby, move!" She yelled to her sister, who was about to be hit by another aqua blast, but she used her semblance in time to move out the way, the sand under her being hit instead.
Ruby quickly looked over at her partner, who wasn't moving and on her side, so she ran over to her and knelt down. "W-Weiss… Weiss, are you okay? Please be okay!"
The white wolf groaned, opening her eyes as her vision was slightly blurry. "R-Ruby?"
Before she could say anything back, Ruby heard the sound of the Okean croaking in pain, so she turned around to see that Blake and Yang weren't the ones who caused it. Her eyes went wide when she saw the Okean was impaled by several ice shards, but her surprise wasn't because of that. "M-Ms. Goodwitch?"
The blonde professor had her crop extended, her eyes filled with hatred for the creature as she lowered her arm. "Whoa… Uh, Goodwitch looks pissed." Yang commented to her partner.
Blake didn't know what to say, noticing how angry the huntress looked, but she suddenly realized something. "Weiss…" She turned around and ran over to where the white rose pair was, Yang following close behind.
Weiss was groaning again when she attempted to get to her paws, feeling Ruby helping her up. "Stupid frogs… Ugh, it got its tongue on me… I'm really going to need a bath soon." When she noticed Ruby was giving her a worried look, the white wolf sighed. "Ruby-."
"I know… I'm just glad you're okay." The rose girl smiled, hugging her partner, not caring about the slime that was on her from the Okean's tongue.
"Gah! Ruby! Let me get this gross stuff off first!" The white wolf attempted to pull away, but Ruby held her tight. "Ruby Rose, let go this instant!"
Ruby shook her head, smiling and sighing in relief that her partner was okay. "I'll clean up afterwards too, Wolfy. So let me have this."
Weiss sighed in response. "You are such a hassle…"
Blake and Yang were glad that Weiss didn't suffer any serious injuries, and simply laughed a bit, finding it funny how Ruby refused to release her. In the middle of their laughter though, Glynda walked over, her voice not sounding pleasant. "Enough." The team, startled by how she spoke turned to face her. "Miss Rose, move away from Miss Schnee. Now."
The scythe user was taken aback by the order, so she slowly moved away from her partner. Glynda stepped up to Weiss, inspecting the white wolf, who looked a little confused. "W-What's wrong, Ms. Goodwitch?"
Glynda said nothing and circled around her, confusing the rest of the team at that point. When she reached down to her, Weiss backed away. "I'm seeing if you have any injuries, Miss Schnee."
"I-I'd rather you not touch my fur…" Weiss was only comfortable with a select few people touching her fur, so for Glynda to even try set her off. "I'm fine, Ms. Goodwitch. My aura took the brunt of the damage."
"Just because you rely on your aura, does not mean you aren't injured." Glynda said in a stern tone, causing Weiss' ears to flatten against her head.
Ruby wasn't liking that, so she spoke up. "Ms. Goodwitch, Weiss is okay now. You don't have to-."
"I was not speaking with you, Miss Rose." Glynda said, and Ruby took a step back, frowning a bit. Yang looked annoyed with Glynda, but since she was her teacher, she knew it wasn't a good idea to speak out against her. The blonde huntress crossed her arms. "Miss Schnee, you were thrashed about by an Okean. Just because we have aura, does not make us invincible, so I need to examine you."
Weiss looked down, whimpering a bit, surprising Glynda. "I-I don't like people touching my fur, Ms. Goodwitch."
"Miss Rose was clearly doing so moments ago." The huntress pointed out.
The white wolf lifted her head up, looking saddened. "Because I've allowed her to for awhile now. I'm not comfortable with everyone I know doing that… Only a few people…"
"Lazuria was the same way…" Glynda thought to herself, but the new concern she had for Weiss was strong, since she reminded her too much of Lazuria. "Fine, but if that's the case, then Miss Rose, inspect your partner's injuries."
Weiss blushed at that. "W-Why is this something to worry over so much? I'm fine."
Before Glynda could speak, Yang cut in. "Yeah, seriously. I was kinda nervous too, but she's fine, Ms. Goodwitch. And we still have a lot left to do on this mission."
"Maybe so, but choosing to rush into another battle when one of your members is hurt-." Weiss' growled a little, startling Glynda.
"I'm not hurt!" Weiss gasped, realizing she had yelled at a teacher of hers, so she quickly lowered her head. "I-I'm sorry."
Ruby leaned over, rubbing her fur to calm her down. Glynda watched that for a moment, picturing herself as Ruby, and Weiss as Lazuria. It made the corners of her eyes water, so she turned away, arms crossed behind her arms. "V-Very well… Continue on with your mission then." She walked a bit away from them, since she was still supposed to be a shadowing huntress for the mission.
Weiss felt like the professor was angry with her, so she whimpered again, but suddenly she heard Ruby whispering to her. "It's okay. I'll speak to her for you. I'm the leader, so this is something I need to take care of, kay?" She spoke gently, hoping her partner would cheer up.
"I-I didn't mean to yell like that… I just… You know I hate people worrying over me." Weiss explained in a soft tone, whispering so Glynda couldn't hear.
"Yeah, and that's what I'm gonna get her to understand. I promise." Ruby smiled, choosing to lean in and kiss the white wolf on her forehead, making her blush in response. The rose girl giggled at that and poked Weiss' snout. "Hehe. You're easy to tease."
The white wolf grumbled in response, and Ruby walked over to the huntress. Yang checked up on Weiss. "Hey, didn't knew you had it in ya, ice wolf."
"W-What are you talking about?" Weiss questioned.
"You know, raising your voice to Goodwitch like that. I honestly thought I'd be the first one on the team that woulda yelled at a teacher." The blonde brawler commented.
Weiss shook her head, her ears flattened still. "I don't really feel like what I did is something to praise, Yang. She's our teacher."
"And she was starting to upset you. Yeah, I held back, but you wanted her to hear you, which she did." Yang rubbed her head a little, smiling when she saw the white wolf's tail sway. "You stood up for yourself, ice wolf."
"I still shouldn't have yelled like that." Weiss said, looking over to see Ruby trying to speak with the huntress.
"Ms. Goodwitch." Ruby said her name, waiting on her to respond.
"You have a mission to complete, Miss Rose. Do not waste time." Glynda warned as she spun around to face the rose girl.
Ruby stood, not budging on the subject at hand. "This has to do with Weiss. She's a member of my team, so no matter what you think, it's not a waste of time." She yelped when the huntress gave her a warning glare. "U-Uh, I mean that I think… Y'know, it'll be better for my team if you hear me out on this."
"On what, Miss Rose?" Glynda questioned as she crossed her arms, looking unamused.
"It's… My partner doesn't like that you were overly worried about her. It's not something she wants people to be like, so maybe… Lighten up?" Ruby looked nervous when she said that.
Glynda scoffed at her suggestion. "Clearly you four haven't paid much attention in class if you believe the way you're handling this mission is any good." Her comment was shocking to hear.
"What? But you were saying how well we did fighting the Strom Alphas." The team leader reminded, finding Glynda's anger to be unwarranted. "Just because one fight was a little lopsided for a bit-."
"Anything can happen out in the field, Miss Rose!" Glynda yelled, startling Ruby and the rest of the team. "Keep your eyes off of your partner for one moment, and that is the difference between life and death!"
Ruby was taken aback, seeing the blonde teacher trembling a bit. "I-I… What? I don't-."
"Enough! Just get back to your team and do what you were assigned for." Glynda ordered, turning away so they couldn't see the tears that began to fall down her cheeks. All she heard was Ruby walking away from her, not seeing the hurt look on the girl's face.
"They're… Just kids… They don't know… They don't know what can be lost yet."
When Ruby made it back to her team, Yang looked a little angry. "Hey, you okay, sis?" She asked, rubbing her sister's shoulder when she saw how hurt she looked from Glynda's words.
"Y-Yeah. I didn't think she would yell like that though…" Ruby trailed off, and Weiss slowly walked over to her, partially still sore from the thrashing she took.
The white wolf said nothing and leaned in on her girlfriend, nuzzling her to comfort the rose girl. Ruby smiled, hugging her partner as they both needed each other at that point.
Blake however eyed the blonde professor, knowing those words she spoke had meaning behind them, since she too knew a split second decision could be the deciding factor between life and death.
Even people like Glynda can't let go of the past completely, so her reaction was a bit much, yet in my opinion justified for her own worries. Even though the others themselves don't know the full story here.
To JJ- Glad you like the Elementals I have in this. Willow honestly can't take Raven out in a fight, seeing as she's just a beginner, even with a surprise follow up attack, but she is definitely improving. As for Summer, she knows her morals and how to help people, so her team has faith in her.
To the guest on chapter 59- Yeah while I just can't say I enjoyed Volume 5, I try to have my own twist on the characters. It's more fun than sticking to canon. And with Raven, it's easier to work with her character than just a tribe leader that betrays everyone she comes in contact with.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 60. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 61.