Oh boy, this might be chapter to give me a challenge, but I don't know yet, only a few more days until my birthday yeah.
Chapter Cover- Team Demi on their knees cursing the heavens.
Ch.23- Reasons and Reasons
Our teams are looking on in shock, fear, and worry as the huntsmen we're supposed to be shadowing is none other than Dr. Oobleck. And none of us are excited by the fact.
"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss questions, still reeling from the sight in front of her.
Dr. Oobleck starts walking back and forth in front of them, "Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary boys and girls, seeing as you've opted 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 at any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I've packed all of our essentials myself, plotted the air course, and readied the airship, and…" he quickly speaks before getting in Weiss' face. "It's 'Dr.' Oobleck. I didn't earn the Ph.D. for fun, thank you very much!" he corrects her before zooming away from her face.
"Uh…" Weiss replies as she looks at Blake who looks back.
"I didn't even get HALF of that. What did he say again?" Deandra mutters to Medi who just shakes her head.
"Come now, children! According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind…schedule!" he says before zipping away to the bullhead airship on the platform in front of them.
"Anyone else feel discouraged about this situation?" Ersa asks to no one in particular.
"Well, alright then. Looks like we're going to save the world with Dr. Oobleck-okay, yeah, when you say it out loud, it sounds worse," Ruby admits as everyone hangs their heads in displeasure.
"Save the World?" We hear from behind and turn around to see Team JNPR walking up to us, the voice belonging to Nora. "You're going on world-saving missions without us?! I'm hurt, sad, maybe a little hungry…" Nora dramatically cries, her stomach grumbling. "That last one's not your fault though…Ren," Nora says, throwing an accusing glare at Ren who just crosses his arms and looks away.
"Sounds exciting. Where are you going?" Jaune asks.
"Oh, just outside the kingdom," Ruby replies.
"Hey, so are we," Nora says.
"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village," Pyrrha adds.
"We set out tomorrow," Ren says.
"Then you can party with us tonight," Neptune says as he and Sun join the three teams. "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges," Neptune says, looking cool, which makes Jaune look on in awe with stars in his eyes.
"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk. So, we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, you know, normal," Sun explains.
Well-," Ruby begins.
"Four minutes, ladies," Oobleck interrupts her from the airship, making Ruby cringe and everyone else looks back.
Everyone then just gives each other looks, ranging from nervous smiles to calm expressions.
"Well, uh, wish us luck," Ruby says and then everyone departs and heads to their respective areas.
…A short while later, outside the city…
Teams RWBY and Demi, along with Dr. Oobleck, are inside the airship, holding onto cables hanging above them as the ship flies over a forested region in the southeast section outside the kingdom.
"…I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter," Yang says to Oobleck.
"I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles," Oobleck says, being a little modest.
"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asks, scratching her head.
"Those are truffles," Blake leans in and corrects her.
"Like the sprout?" Ruby asks again, still confused.
"Those are Brussels," Yang leans in and corrects her.
"Appearances can be deceiving. A huntsman is a huntsman, no matter what they look like," Medi says.
"Exactly, Ms. Holdback. And besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabbling's in the archeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw it fit to assign me to this particular…assignment," Oobleck says.
"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asks.
"Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why history is the backbone of our very society. AND THE LIVER!...And probably the kidneys if I were to wager," Oobleck says, hand on his chin.
"Meaning?" Ersa asks.
"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, BUT, it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures," Oobleck speaks.
"Mountain Glenn," Ruby answers, making Oobleck and Weiss look at her.
"That's right, it was an expansion of Vale…but in the end, it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city," Yang continues.
"Correct! And now it stands abandoned, as a dark reminder," Oobleck adds.
"And a likely place for a hideout," Blake finishes.
Oobleck fixes his glasses and smiles, "Precisely," he says.
Eventually, we reach the abandoned city, with its destroyed building and streets still standing, but with a complete loss of life in the area. The area looks like everyone up and left since there isn't a thing to mark that was a struggle.
The airship hovers over the ground, low enough for everyone to jump without injury. Everyone aside from
Oobleck land and draw out their weapons in case they run into an unwelcome welcome party. Oobleck just drinks his thermos as the airship flies away to safety since it will not be needed for some time. They look around the area, seeing the emptiness of the former city, where the only sound is the wind breezing by.
"Ladies, you still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as huntsmen and huntresses has begun. From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" Oobleck asks, to which we all nod before Oobleck notices Ruby's backpack.
"Ruby!" he yells, making her flinch back. "I thought I told you to leave all your bags back at school," he reminds her.
"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't," Ruby makes a half-truth.
"She's not wrong," Oobleck mutters, hand on his chin, while everyone else just gives him a deadpan look. "Very well Ruby, leave your bag here. We can pick it up upon our return," he commands.
"But, I, wha-," Ruby stutters.
"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that can be so important to bring it wit-," Oobleck begins to question as suddenly Ruby's dog, Zwei, pops his head out from the bag.
"Really Ruby? Really?" I deadpan as everyone looks at her.
"Get back in the bag," Ruby whispers to Zwei, who just barks back
"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle, teeming with death and hostility, and you brought…a dog," Oobleck inquires, becoming more serious.
"I, uh…" Ruby stutters, stepping back.
"GENIUS!" Oobleck proclaims.
"Eh?" the members of our team is left in utter confusion. Everyone just looks at Ruby, who shrugs her shoulders, until Oobleck zooms by, taking Zwei, and making Ruby spin and fall to the ground.
"Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!" Oobleck quickly shouts for joy while spinning and holding Zwei high in the air, who just barks back in response.
"…I'm a genius," Ruby says, feeling proud of herself, while everyone else just hunches over or facepalms.
"So, what are your orders Dr.?" Blake asks.
"Ah, yes, straight to the chase. I like it!" Oobleck replies, dropping Zwei. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior. One of which being…Grimm," he says.
"Uh, what?" Ruby asks as everyone just got confused.
"Grimm…A Creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us, at this very moment," he answers.
"WHAT?!" Yang shouts as we all look behind us.
Far behind is a lone Beowolf, sniffing the ground as if it is searching for something. Immediately, we pull out our weapons, ready to kill it, but Oobleck stops us.
"Stop!" he tells us.
"Huh?" Blake asks as they look back at him.
"There are a number of reasons why a Grimm would congregate in this particular area. The most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred, all qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent," he explains as they look back to the Beowolf.
"So…What now?" Ruby asks.
"We wait…We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey," Oobleck answers.
"How long do we wait?" Yang asks, hands on her hips.
"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months-and there's the whole pack," Oobleck interrupts himself as the rest of the Beowolf pack join the first one.
"What?" Weiss asks.
"And now they've seen us," he says.
"WHAT?!" Weiss shrieks.
"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!" Oobleck repeats, right into Weiss' right ear.
"I take it tracking is out of the question?" Ruby asks.
"An accurate assumption, yes," he replies.
"What's the plan then?" Yang asks as the Grimm starts charging in at us.
"We fight, that's the plan," Medi says as she loads a dust vial into the handle of her new weapon while Team RWBY just look at Oobleck.
"Show me what you're capable of," Oobleck says.
"Team DEMI, arm yourselves and rise up!" Deandra orders as we ready our weapons.
"Cover your ears, Zwei!" Ruby tells Zwei as she stabs her scythe into the ground, preparing to fire while the dog covers his ears with his paws.
As the pack of Beowolves charges forth, Yang runs at one of them, and throws a right punch to its head that kills it, and then starts running away as a few other Beowolves start chasing her.
However, three Beowolves stop to face Blake, who has her back to them. As they get close, Blake narrows her eyes and begins to draw her sword. When one Beowolf attacks her from behind with its claw, Blake uses her semblance to jump up above it, avoiding the attack and simultaneously slicing the Grimm in half. When she lands, her swords now drawn, she makes two upward slashes at another Beowolf while flipping into the air before using her semblance again to propel her at the Grimm and slice it in half as well, and then cuts a third Beowolf in half with a downward slash, before flipping in the air and landing on her feet.
Blake then looks back to see Weiss running from a group of Beowolves. One attacks her, but she spins over him while landing some strikes on it with her rapier, killing it, before she then flips over another Grimm, dealing a few killing blows on that one. She lands on the ground and then skates over the ground like she is ice-skating, and makes a quick series of slash attacks that cut right through five more Beowolves.
Ruby is firing her sniper scythe, killing a few of them while Zwei just runs in circles next to her. At one point, Ruby pulls her scythe out of the ground, aiming it behind her, and pulls the trigger. The high recoil shoots her towards one Beowolf that jumps at her, but she slices it in half when it gets close.
Meanwhile, Ersa is standing around idly by as six Beowolves run at her from six different angles. As they are about to strike, Ersa stands her sword behind herself, letting one of the wolves cut itself in half. Then let the others jump her, before flipping on to her sword having the wolves pile up on each other and killing them off in one go. She looks over to her sisters killing a small swarm of Beowolves charging at them, rounding up most of the group.
"Issia." Where Deandra commands Issia to rain hellfire on the Beowolves, killing the last of the Grimm in the area. After that, the area is clear and the two teams regroup with Oobleck.
"Hah, piece of cake," Ruby says, feeling confident.
"Don't get overconfident Ruby. This battle is far from over," Khazhak reminds her.
"Yes, do not celebrate just yet. For I am certain that this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?" Oobleck says.
As we move on, Dr. Oobleck is studying a set of plant growth in one spot while Ruby, Blake, and cut through four more Beowolves around him. As he stands and drinks his thermos, he looks to see Team RWBY catching their breaths while our team remains unfazed thanks to our body.
"Excellent work, boys and girls! Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh well moving on," he says as they are surrounded by the disintegrating bodies of Grimm before turning around to continue forth.
Ruby holsters her scythe back on her back as we regroup and begin to follow him.
"Hey Doc, you know, I was actually looking forward to seeing pro huntsman in action. Like fighting, or at least, helping us fight," Yang says, aggravated.
Dr. Oobleck looks back to them, "Ah, but I am in action. Scouring the ruins of this once great city for any signs of irregularity. Not every mission is filled with daring and heroism, young ones. Sometimes, it's just a heightened form of extermination. Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that." Oobleck explains to them.
Deandra then steps up in front of her.
"Yang, huntsmen, and huntresses are not who they are because of WHAT they do, but because of WHY they do it. My teammates and I know why we are here. Do you?" she questions her before walking away.
"Well, yeah…" Yang retorts, not sounding convincing. "O-of course!" she replies, but Oobleck remains unconvinced.
As our teams continue to search the area and slay more Grimm, Dr. Oobleck decides to inquire as to our own reasons for being here.
"Tell me, Yang. Why did you choose this line of work?" he questions her.
"Huh?" Yang asks, turning to him as he raises an eyebrow at her. "Well, to fight monsters and save-," she begins.
"No, that is what you do. I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a huntress," he clarifies.
Yang thinks for a moment, "The honest reason…I'm a thrill-seeker. I wanna travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win, you know," she answers.
"I see," he replies, though he still looks like he's questioning her answer. Next, Oobleck is sitting on a destroyed ledge of a building, writing down notes while Weiss, a story below him, is fighting Grimm. "And you, Miss Schnee. A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn't need the extra work. So, why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?" he asks as Weiss stabs a Beowolf, killing it.
Weiss retracts her sword, "It's exactly as you said, I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold," Weiss starts as she walks up to him. "Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life…It was my duty," she answers.
"…Interesting," he replies, questioning her answer as well before jumping off the ledge. Next is Blake. Blake slices through an old wooden door in half, making it fall and releases several small Nevermore Grimm out of the building. Blake backflips out of the way, and turning her weapon into chain scythe form, fire the pistol nine times into the air, making several dead Nevermores fall to the ground. Sheathing her blade, Blake walks up to the entrance as Oobleck looks inside. "And what about you Blake? You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose," he asks.
"There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality, corruption, someone has to stop it," she answers.
"Very well. How?" he inquires.
"I, uh…" she tries to speak, but cannot find the answer and hangs her head before looking back at him.
Oobleck just hums at her answer, not quite satisfied with it, before zooming away while Blake just hangs her head. He then goes to talk with Ersa, who is just finishing off a Beowolf by ripping its body in two.
"So Ersa, why did you decide to become a huntress?" He asks, making Ersa turn to him.
"If you asked me a few months ago, I would have told you to find a husband. But now…" She replies.
"But now, what?" Oobleck asks.
"Now the reason I want to become a huntress is to help reform the White Fang. Blake told me they once had a very noble goal, but as time went on, their goal became corrupt and they lost their way. I want them to be treated as equal, that's my reason for being a huntress now." Ersa looks down at her left arm.
"I see," Oobleck replies, but this time feels more content with her answer. Next, he goes to Medi, whose examining the inside of a building and taking notes. "So Medi. Any reason as to why you chose to walk down this path?" He asks her.
"Well…" She begins as she puts away her notebook, "My curiosity, ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to learn about absolutely everything there is including people, and use that knowledge to help and teach the next generation. I have a burning passion to learn, your fast way of talking, Dr. Oobleck, makes it a bit hard to learn but that doesn't stop me." Medi pulls out another notebook and shows it to Oobleck, revealing that she's been taking notes on everything she's seen since coming to Beacon.
"Amazing," Oobleck replies before walking away, a hand on his chin. Next, Oobleck walks over to Deandra as she stores her the power she gathered from her sword into her shield. "Tell me, Deandra, why did you decide to become a huntress?" He asks.
Deandra puts away her weapon, "Simple, my parents." She answers.
"Could you clarify that for me?" Oobleck inquires.
"My parents are warriors, who fight for the people who can not fight themselves. I was inspired by them and wanted to live up to their legacy, plus I am a little hot-blooded, and always enjoy a good fight. That's why I became a huntress...I want to fight and feel the thrill of battle." Deandra replies.
"I see," Oobleck states some disappointment from Deandra's answer before walking away.
Oobleck leaves me for last, I see him approaching taking a sip from his thermos as I kill three Grimm with a single arrow, "So Ms. Issia, tell me why you decided to become a huntress." Oobleck says.
I look down at the ground, "I don't know," I say.
Oobleck looks at me perplexed, "That's impossible, you must have some reason for becoming a huntress." He says.
"I've always just followed my sisters since they wanted to become huntresses, I joined along. Sorry." I explain.
"I see." Oobleck puts a hand on my shoulder, "Issia, come with me." He says.
Oobleck brings me to where Ruby is, she's playing with Zwei by holding a chicken on the tip of her scythe's jagged end as he tries to reach it.
She then notices me and Dr. Oobleck and quickly puts them away.
"Sorry! Uh, are we ready to keep going?" she asks.
"…Nope, I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon," Oobleck says while looking up before throwing his bag over to Yang. "You six, set up camp in that building. Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those…creatures," he starts, turning to them. "Your leaders and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby, Issia," he says and starts walking away with us and Zwei in tow while the others set up camp as instructed.
We turn around the corner of a building and look out to see a forested region…with large Grimm traversing through it.
"Woah. What is that? It looks awesome" Ruby asks in awe.
Before us is a herd of Goliath Grimm. Goliaths are elephant-like Grimm, with long curved tusks and armored, spiked bodies.
"That, my dear girl, is a Grimm," Oobleck replies as they watch the herd move by.
After a moment, Ruby takes out her weapon, "Let's kill it," she says, extending it into rifle form.
"Not a good idea Ruby," Khazhak stops her.
"I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size," Oobleck explains.
"But, what if it attacks us?" she asks, concerned.
"You must learn to pick your battles, Ruby. And THIS is not one of them," I reply.
"Indeed. Fret not Ruby, those Goliaths are not concerned with us…Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless, or rather, not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you've fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years. And in their time between killing humans and attacking our borders, they've done one important thing. They've learned. They've learned that when they attack our borders, they're likely to die. And what we lack in strength, we make up for it in will. And that killing one human will only bring more," Oobleck explains while one Goliath stares back.
"Then…Why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?" Ruby asks.
"…Waiting," Oobleck answers as the Goliath that was watching us turns back and continues walking with the herd.
Oobleck turns around and walks away while me and Ruby watch them for a moment before Ruby puts her weapon away and we join back with Dr. Oobleck.
"Dr. Oobleck?" Ruby gestures to him.
"Hm?" he replies, looking back at her.
"I was wondering…?" Ruby begins.
"Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?" Oobleck inquires as turn to Ruby.
"A-a-actually, I was wondering…Why did YOU want to become a huntsman?" Ruby asks, curious.
"Look around and tell me what you see," Oobleck says, gesturing to their surroundings.
"Lots of old buildings, uh, empty streets…" Ruby says, looking around her.
"Issia, what do you see?" Oobleck asks me for my thoughts.
I look around for a second, "A disaster that could have been avoided. Am I close Dr. Oobleck?" I reply, now seeing why Oobleck brought me along.
"I see lives that could have been saved," Oobleck answers before they begin walking again. "As a huntsman, it is my job to protect the people. And although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a MUCH larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it into the hands of every student passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could've been saved, but I also see an opportunity. An opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger. I am a huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be," Oobleck explains before walking away back to camp.
Back at camp, the other six already have a fire going, with Blake crouched next to the fire, Ersa leaning against a wall behind her, and the others standing around the fire.
"I can't believe we didn't find ANYTHING," Yang says as she walks up to the fire.
"We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side," Blake replies.
"…That's not what I meant," Weiss suddenly blurts out.
"Huh?" Blake asks.
"Earlier, about…upholding the legacy…There's more to it than that," Weiss mentions her reason for becoming a huntress.
"Yeah, no, me too. I mean, I don't know," Yang replies, feeling unsure of herself.
Blake stands up, "I don't know either. I know. I know what I WANT to do, but I figured I'd always take things one step at a time," Blake adds, unsure of her reasons as well.
"Well, it doesn't matter. We know why we're here, right?" Yang says, still a little unsure.
"Time forges who we are," Medi says as she makes sure the fire doesn't go out.
"What?" Yang asks.
Medi keeps her on the fire, "Exactly what I said, most of our team know why we became huntress. I want to teach others the mistakes we made in the past and avoid them in the future." Medi restates her reason.
Ersa steps up to the fire, "Want to help reform the White Fang."
"And I want to fight." Deandra states.
"What about Issia?" Weiss asks.
Deandra looks down, "That's why she's here, to find her purpose in life."
The group becomes silent until our group comes back.
Oobleck quickly zooms in, "Ah, wonderful! A textbook campfire," he says, bringing his hands to the fire.
Ruby gasps, "Fire!" she says before sitting down next to the flames to warm up. "So warm," she says as I walk by her.
Oobleck pops up beside her, "Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow, and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?" Oobleck asks.
"Yo," Ruby says, raising her left hand.
"Me too," I raise my hand as well.
Oobleck quickly zips away and then me, Ruby, and Zwei start walking to one section of the building that has a large hole overlooking a section of the city and the forest behind it. As we are walking, Yang stops Ruby.
"Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a huntress. I mean…what did you tell him?" Yang asks, as me and Ruby stop to look at her.
Ruby hums in thought and shakes her head, "No, he didn't. Weird. Oh well, goodnight guys," Ruby replies and walks off, but stay back for a moment.
Yang looks down, and I look at her. "Yang…" I get her attention. "Oobleck never asked Ruby why she wanted to become a huntress…because she already knows exactly WHY she wants to become a huntress. And because her reason…is the best out of all of ours," I say before leaving to join Ruby.
A few minutes later, Blake is setting up her sleeping bag by the fire, Ersa is already asleep on her sleeping bag next to a wall behind her, Weiss lays down on her bag while Reaper sits up against a nearby wall in a meditative position, Yang is eating some food they packed while Medi is checking his weapon. A moment later, the girls are laying on their bags set up around the fire like a triangle. However, while the three members of Team DEMI have no trouble sleeping, the three members of Team RWBY are having trouble falling asleep, as they still have trouble thinking about why they want to become huntresses. Meanwhile, me and Ruby looking off into the distance, with Zwei walking up to us as we hear a howl off in the distance. Zwei weeps at the noise, and Ruby pets him.
"Don't worry. Things will be better tomorrow," she says as she comforts him and they look out into the night.
"Were it so easy," I think to himself. "But I can't shake the feeling that something big is about to happen real soon."
Meanwhile, in an abandoned cave, a few miles away from the city, team RUIN is setting up phase one of their plan into action.
Writer: And that where we end things for now. Team Demi's reasons for becoming huntresses are revealed and more are to come. Hehe, stay tuned.