The next day started with a beautiful morning. And while the first students of Beacon Academy woke up and began their day, there was already a group of people sitting in the headmaster's office, talking. Around a big table, which was brought up thanks to a certain professor Semblance, Team RWBY, Professor Ozpin and Qrow Branwen were seated, having an early breakfast.
"If this is what happens when I go missing, maybe I'll do it again." Yang spoke while eating.
"I hope you aren't serious." Qrow answered. "The effect of your disappearance on your families and friends was hard. And you want to do it again just to get some food?" He had spoken a little bit with the girls during the last night, but until now they had avoided the big question: Where had Team RWBY been this last month?
"It was a joke." The blond brawler of the team responded to her uncle, but before she could continue, Weiss chimed in.
"But why do we get this special treatment? Shouldn't we be in suspension? Or getting ready for classes?"
Ozpin sighed. "It's true that under normal circumstances your disobedience would be punished. But I feel like your absence wasn't your plan to begin with. So, I want to hear your story first before making my decision." He looked at his scroll. "Would you help me clean the table?" he then asked while raising from his desk.
The girls nodded and soon the table was clean. It really helped that the headmaster had a little elevator installed in his office if he needed some coffee for a late-night shift or an early meal before an important event.
After finishing the cleaning, the group reassemble around the table.
"So, shall we begin?" Ruby asked.
But Ozpin shook his head. "We are still missing one person."
"Oh, so the empty chair belongs to Professor Goodwitch, right?" Blake asked. She was the third person who witnessed their return after all.
But Ozpin shook his head once again. "Glynda will take care of school duties for today. She might join us later, though." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee, when the elevator gave a soft *ping*. "Ah, it seems our final guest has arrived." The headmaster smiled, as a white-haired woman, clad in a white coat entered the room.
"Specialist Winter Schnee reports for duty."
Ozpin chuckled. "I was actually waiting for General Ironwood."
"The General excuses himself. Your call last night came in pretty late, so his schedule was already full. I'm here as his substitute. May I ask why you called for General Ironwood?" Her full concentration was on Ozpin, so her face turned to shock when she heard a familiar voice.
"Sister?"
Turning towards the other people.
"Weiss?" There she sat, her little sister. "What is the meaning of this, Ozpin? The last information we got from you was, that Weiss was MIA. Why is she sitting here, now?" her tone got as cold as ice.
"Hey lady, come down." Qrow stood up and joined the adults. "The girls returned yesterday evening. There was no way we could have predicted something like that and informed you glorious general ahead of time."
Winter whirled around. "And what does someone like you know about stuff like that? The Schnee Dust Company is in turmoil since the heiress was thought to be dead, the military…" before she could continue however, Ozpin intervened.
"Please, come down. Team RWBY has returned alive and well. So, don't ruin this by arguing like an old married couple."
"I'M NOT OLD!" "WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!" both huntsman and specialist replied at once.
And yet Ozpin smiled. The two had stopped their quarrel, so now he could press the matter forward. "I called for General Ironwood because I wanted to hear Team RWBY's story before deciding my next step. Since you are here as his substitute, this will now be your job." He showed her to the empty seat.
The Atlesian Specialist nodded, returning to her professional behaviour.
"And you too, Qrow. I'm not getting any younger." The huntsman scoffed, but followed.
The four huntresses in training looked at each other. "So, shall we begin?"
Finally, Ozpin nodded. "Let's start from the night you went missing."
*1 month earlier*
"What are you waiting for? We have an important mission tomorrow and I don't want any of you dragging us down because you didn't go to bed!" Weiss was lying in her bed, that the inn they rested in had provided.
She was, however, the only member of her team to do so. Ruby, Blake and Yang were sitting in the middle of the room playing cards. Dressed.
"Don't worry, Weiss, we will be fit and ready for action." Yang answered, as she played one of her cards.
"And we will be the first to find that evil Grim and take it down." Ruby followed up with an energetic voice.
With a sigh Weiss lay down, just to shot up a moment later. "What do you plan?" she asked. Her voice was low.
"I don't know what you mean?" the Faunus of the group replied.
"Don't 'I don't know what you mean?' me! Why do you think we will be the first to find that Grimm?"
The three girls looked each other in the eyes, a movement Weiss noticed immediately.
"You plan on sneaking out, do you?"
First drops of sweat were forming on the foreheads of her teammates.
"You plan on going against Professor Goodwitch's order and start hunting now. In the middle of the night!" her voice got louder.
"Be quiet!" Ruby retaliated.
"That means I'm right." Her team leader had made no move to deny her accusation.
"Yeah. I mean, we are huntresses." Ruby began.
"In training" Weiss responded.
"And as huntresses we have to give it our all everyday and every time." Yang continued.
"We are still in training." Weiss objection went unheard.
"And with a Grimm this close to a settlement, we have to do everything in our power to protect the citizens." Blake spoke.
"We are under Professor Goodwitch's watch. We will get into trouble." Weiss made one last attempt to convince her friends to stop their plan, but Ruby appeared in a burst of speed before her.
"Do you want to leave these poor souls to undefended? Do you want to leave this world to the creatures of darkness? Do you want everyone to die?"
Weiss looked at Ruby's face unimpressed. "No." she finally answered. "But knowing you, this wouldn't change your mind." She removed her blanket, showing that she, too, was wearing her combat clothes.
"Weiss you…?"
"I've known you long enough now to be prepared for such an event."
Sneaking out of the building was surprisingly simple. And entering the woods even simpler.
"Alright, do we have any clue where the target is hiding?" Being able to raise her voice again Ruby enjoyed this moment to it's fullest.
"The Grimm was seen somewhere around a clearing to the east. Let me go first." Blake responded. Thanks to her Faunus heritage, she was able to use night vision, giving her the capability to lead her teammates through the wood.
The walk took several minutes, but they reached their destination without much trouble.
"At least they have some light here." Weiss spoke, but then she noticed the absence of Ruby.
The silver eyed girl stood before a giant stone statue, which was illuminated by the light of a single lantern. "Wow. Who do you think this statute represents?"
"Ruby! Watch out!"
Turning her head towards her sister she noticed the moving light and used her Semblance to get out of the way of the attack. Just to jump over a giant claw that tried to crush her. Landing on her feet, the young huntress in training came face to face with a Death Stalker Grimm.
"How did it get here so fast?" Ruby yelled at her friends, all while evading the claws of the monster.
"The lantern was it's stinger!" Weiss answered. "And since you came close to it while exploring…"
"HELP ME!"
This brought movement into the three girls. Myrtenaster's chamber rotated and with a yell, Weiss thrusted her weapon into the ground, creating multiple spikes of ice racing against the nevermore. At the same time, Yang and Blake ran at the Grimm
"One, two, three!" and attacked it simultaneously, forcing it back, followed by the ice crashing into the Grim.
"And that's how it's done." the blond brawler mused.
But the enemy wasn't dead. It used its tail as a whip, sending Blake flying. And while Yang was distracted by that, a giant claw smashed into her side, throwing her back, too.
Suddenly Ruby appeared behind the Grim, her scythe ready to strike at the beast's stinger. Just for the monster to pull the appendage sideward and out of Crescent Rose range. At the same time Weiss came towards Blake.
"Are you all right?" she asked while helping the Faunus up.
The black-haired girl nodded.
On the other side of the battlefield Yang threw herself back into the fight. "Hey, a lady doesn't like to be ignored!" she called out and punched the closest claw with all her might. But it had no effect. Turning it's head towards the brawler, the monster was then distracted as multiple bullets hit it's side.
"Get away from my sister!" Ruby had changed her scythe into a rifle and fired shot after shot.
Then Blake joined in. Using Gamble Shroud she also fired a volley of bullets at the scorpion like creature. "We need to buy some time to let Weiss prepare for 'Meteor'" she yelled over the combat noises.
The two sisters nodded. Then the three girls charged. Dodging under the Grimm's attack and tried to get through it's claws, which it used as shields. And unfortunately, the creature was pretty good at it.
"It's finished. The trap is laid in front of the monument." Weiss voice was the signal they had waited for.
With the instruction given, the huntresses all lined up in front of the statue while yelling at the Grimm. Seeing his victims right in front of him, the creature of darkness charged.
"When the hide is too thick…" Yang began and grabbed the left side of Blake's hairband,
"…then try the underbelly." Blake followed up while grabbing the right side.
Ruby was standing in the middle, the largest part of Blake's hairband under her feet.
"And once the enemy flies,…" she stated. A dark glyph appeared under the Death Stalker, throwing it multiple feet into the air, and turning it upside down.
"…It is time to call upon a strike from the heavens!" the three girls yelled and then Ruby was thrown into the air through Blake and Yang pulling on the bow.
Using her Semblance, the huntress wearing the red cape appeared right above the still airborne Grimm, putting Crescent Rose into Scythe mode and started spinning. Like a deadly spinning top, she closed the gap between Grimm and herself. This was their victory.
Or it should have been, but the Grimm was smarter. When Ruby came closer, it's stinger shot forward, nearly impaling the young girl, and throwing her against the statue. The sudden stop of her momentum, the strong attack and the hard hit against the tough material took their toll on the leader of Team RWBY. Still disorientated and hurt, she would be an easy kill for the Grimm.
"Not my SISTER!" around Yang erupted a fiery Aura. Ignoring any danger for herself, or that Weiss and Blake were also trying to get to the silver eyed girl, she shot forward. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, when she saw the Grimm standing up after a hard landing. She pushed her body beyond her limits when it raised it's claw to smash her little sister. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" with all her might she punched the Death Stalker and send it flying. Over Ruby's head directly into the monument behind her. But the statue didn't fall or shattered.
Instead suddenly all the girls found themselves unable to move. But not just them. The Death Stalker was trying to move it's limbs, but no matter what it did, it didn't work. Heck, it didn't even fell and was suspended in the air. And then they heard a mechanical voice:
"No contractor detected… Searching for Awakened Knight… Searched Failed… Seaching for an active test… Searched successful… Preparing transportation towards the Ashen Trial…"
Test? Ashen Trail? What did it all mean?
"Preparation complete. Connection to the Spirit Path successful. Route secured. Beginning transportation."
A flash covered the girls and the Grimm. And from one instant to the next, they were gone. And the clearing was silent once more.
Ruby felt like she was being pushed through a tube. She wanted to scream in pain, maybe even to throw up. But there were no sounds coming out of her throat. What about the others? Were they ok? And the Grimm? Would it attack them once this sensation ended? Would this sensation even end?
Suddenly multiple images appeared before her eyes. A blue haired girl wielding a giant sword, a blond-haired boy with a smug grin on his face, a tall brown-haired young man who seems contempt with himself. And then a boy with dark hair, a flaming sword in hand rushing towards her
"Flames, gather around my blade!"
He rushed at her, no, past her and attacked something behind her. But unable to move her body, she had no idea what he was fighting. Maybe the Grimm? Maybe he was another student at a huntsman academy. Suddenly she regained control over her body, followed by the touch of cold stone beneath her. A wave of tiredness washed over her. And the last thing she saw before darkness consumed her, were the boy from her vision standing over a defeated human like creature, that disintegrated while the boy sheeted his blade.
xXx
Hello and welcome back to "Trails of the Huntresses". First, I want to thank all of you who faved the stroy, followed it and left a review. It made me happy that this story seems to be so well received. A special thanks goes to the user Shashenka, who helped me with some ideas regarding this story. You are a great person and I hope that this chapter will also be to your liking.
Regarding this chapter: Team RWBY starts telling Ozpin, Qrow and Winter about their adventures in Zemuria, starting with the circumstances bringing them there. I really hope that you enjoyed the fight against the Death Stalker, given that it is my first action scene in a story like this. And next time the journey in Zemuria will begin.
As always, I will be happy if you leave a comment with ideas, questions and criticism. Until next time.
