Crashing the Party 2.5
Matinal
Lily fidgeted in her chair. She and the other Undersiders were resting in a hallway, where they had been brought after the clash at the Dust shop. Lisa was listening at one door; they had seen the dark room on the other side briefly, when the girl in red from the store was taken in there by a Huntress. After that, the eight Undersiders were left to reflect on the evening.
After Alec threw the exploding jar, Lily wasn't sure how she could help Brian, so she just watched as the girl in red crushed Torchwick's force. After he fled, she saw the Huntress who arrived at the last minute starting to talk with the girl from the store before receiving a phone call. A couple of minutes later, she came into the store, put her hand on Brian, did...something that healed his wound. She then left the store, did the same thing to Alec, and then said something else to the girl in red. Afterwards, Lily noticed that whatever she had done seemed to fatigue her.
The four of Junior's boys which accompanied Torchwick were quickly taken away by the police, but the Huntress told the Undersiders to stay. After Brian woke up, the Undersiders and the girl in red were brought out to the edge of town, to Beacon, Vale's academy and de facto headquarters for Huntsmen. The Huntress told the Undersiders to wait before taking the girl in red into the room.
The Undersiders talked quietly among themselves for the next several minutes, aside from Lisa (who was trying to focus on what was going on inside the room) and Rachel (who silently stared down the hall). They were interrupted when a man walked down the hall. His hair was gray, his suit was green, and he carried a coffee mug and a plate of cookies.
"Curiosity is a virtue," he said to Lisa with a smile, "but it still isn't polite to listen to others' conversations."
Lisa immediately shifted away from the door before opening it for him.
"Ruby Rose," the man said before closing the door with his foot.
The Undersiders glanced at each other.
"Who was that?" Aisha asked.
"Someone important," Lisa said. "At least...I'm pretty sure he is."
"Pretty sure?" Taylor asked.
"I saw him for ten seconds, give me a break."
Alec frowned. "Why would he bring cookies?"
Lisa groaned. "Ten! Freaking! Seconds! I'm not omniscient!"
"Geez, sorry."
Rachel shrugged. "Maybe Ruby did something he wanted, and the cookies are a reward?"
"It would make more sense for him to be in the room if he was doing that," Lisa said. "But it's not impossible." Lisa furrowed her brow in thought.
"What does he want with the girl, anyways?" Lily asked.
"Who is the girl?" Taylor added. "...Lisa, is she the girl who was outside Junior's club?"
"...I think so." Lisa paused. "I'm not completely sure, but..."
"It's a good thing she didn't notice you," Alec said.
Lisa nodded.
"...We shouldn't worry about what they want with her," Brian said. "What do they want with us?"
Lisa glanced down the hall both ways, then lowered her voice. "As far as I can tell, they shouldn't know anything except what we did tonight. Our plan probably succeeded."
"Or Red's told them about seeing you at Junior's," Alec said.
"How long were they talking?" Lisa asked.
"Did Red even get a good look at Lisa?" Taylor asked.
"She saw her back. Same as if she saw Lisa running from a night—"
The door opened. The girl in red skipped out of the room and down the hallway. The Huntress stepped into the hall. "We are ready to speak with you now."
The Undersiders entered the room. It was dark, furnished with a table and twp visible chairs. On the table were the plate and mug the man brought in. The Huntress and the gray-haired man went to the back of the room and pulled more chairs to the table; the Undersiders joined them, before seating themselves. The man sat in a chair on the opposite side of the table.
"Your actions tonight were...reckless," the man said. "Several children without Aura, attacking a notorious thief and his thugs." He then looked at Alec. "One of you pursued Torchwick despite having seen his skill, and despite a more capable individual already pursuing him."
Alec shrugged. "I knew Lis was up there. She likes heights and doesn't like people." Lisa glared at Alec, who ignored her. "Should I have stood by and let Torchwick do what he wanted with her?"
The man smiled slightly. "And what of the rest of you? Why did you try to stop Torchwick in the first place?"
The Undersiders looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
Eventually, Lily spoke up. "We didn't know if someone would come quickly enough. I mean, the one girl looked...well...like a normal girl." She paused. "If we didn't step in, who would?"
The man's smile grew slightly. "You risked your lives to stop a criminal, simply because you didn't think anyone else would? Despite being so close to Beacon?"
"We didn't...realize a Huntress would intervene," Taylor said.
He shook his head. "I doubt that. Whatever you say, whatever you believe, your actions show that you all feel a drive to do what is right, whatever the cost. This is, perhaps, the purest and greatest virtue."
"What's your point?" Lisa asked.
The man ignored her. "You showed some competence when fighting. Where did you learn how to fight?"
"We're from outside the Kingdoms," Lisa said after taking a moment to collect her thoughts. She didn't say anything else. Technically, she isn't lying...
"I see. That all makes sense. Life outside the Kingdoms' walls is much harsher. Even if few approach the skill of a Huntsman, only villagers well within the Civilized Zone can afford to not know something about combat." He leaned forward, steepling his fingers. "Do you know who I am?"
"Not a clue," Alec said. "Sir."
The man looked at the others.
"Sorry," Lisa said. "None of us know who you are. We're new to town."
"I am Professor Ozpin, the headmaster here at Beacon. I have seen more Huntsmen graduate than any of you are likely to ever know, and watched as they turned from students into warriors. I have seen some rise to become paragons the world should look up to, and others crumble under the strain. A few have even turned to darkness. Through the decades, I have learned a few things. For instance, anyone can learn to fight, but no one can teach you to be a hero."
"Are you saying you want to teach us?" Alec asked.
Ozpin nodded. "Some of the greatest Huntsmen were those who entered Beacon with weak arms and bright hearts."
"And I'm guessing some Huntsmen and Huntresses walk out of Beacon with strong arms and dark hearts?" Lisa asked.
The headmaster stared at Lisa for a moment before nodding. "Unfortunately. But I have little doubt that you could all become great Huntsmen and Huntresses if you dedicated yourselves. Would you like to study at Beacon?"
The Undersiders paused.
"Yes," Lisa said. "Well, I would, I shouldn't speak for the others."
"I'd love to work to make the world a better place," Taylor said.
"I've been told I'd be a good Huntress," Lily muttered.
Ozpin smiled. "And you would."
"I'll..." Sabah glanced at the table. "Um, yes."
Brian nodded. "I'd be glad to use my strength to...drive back the..."
"What he said," Alec said. "Well, more what she said," he clarified, pointing at Taylor, "but he's got the same idea."
Rachel nodded.
"I am glad all of—" Ozpin started.
"Hey!" Aisha interjected. "What about me?"
"Oh, my apologies. If you have—"
"Nah, I'm in."
"...Very well. I'm glad all of you are willing to dedicate your lives to the protection of humanity. If more people showed your integrity, the world would be a better place. But there are a few things we will need to handle, and the term starts in a few days. You mentioned that you recently arrived in Vale—would I be correct if I assumed you were refugees?"
"You would be," Lisa replied.
Ozpin nodded. "Luckily, we have funds set aside to help less-fortunate students pay tuition, and purchase school supplies. I have made it a point to make sure Beacon is truly open to individuals hailing from all walks of life. That said, we will need to make preparations. Tonight, I will give you paperwork to fill out, and Glynda and I will awaken the Auras of those of you who have not already been awakened. Tomorrow, we will obtain weapons for you. Beyond that...I wish the best of luck for you in your education."
~0~
"Does anyone else wonder if he was trying to freak us out?" Aisha asked. "All that talk about being heroes and stuff."
The Undersiders had returned to the warehouse. It was now quite late, but none of them felt like sleeping. Their plan had succeeded to a degree beyond what any imagined would be possible.
Something wasn't right.
"He was fishing for something," Lisa said, "but I don't think he was specifically trying to unnerve us. That would imply a lot of things."
"Like?" Lily asked.
"Like that he would want to unnverve us, and that talking about us being heroic would unnerve us. Which would pretty much require that he knew we used to be villains."
"Which is impossible," Taylor said. "He called us children, he thinks of us as children. There's no reason to suspect we're anything but law-abiding refugees. And he sounded like he thought we were heroes."
"He didn't," Lisa replied.
"What?"
"He didn't think we were heroes, not at first. He hoped, but...I think part of the reason he was talking like that was to try and make sure we were the people he thought we were."
"He had confidence in us," Alec said. "He had what's-her-face do the Aura thing to me and Brian right away. That's not nothing. I mean, you saw how tired they looked after doing just one. And if we were bad...well, we all know what the Big Bad Blonde did."
"What are we doing?" Rachel whispered.
Alec frowned. "Beg pardon?"
"What are we doing? Cauldron sent us here. We forgot it so we could focus on surviving. We came here, to earn a living. Now we're going to learn to fight monsters? Why?"
"To avoid the White Fang," Taylor said.
Rachel stared at a wall. "I guess, but..."
"You don't like feeling forced into things," Lisa said. "Neither do I. But...well, let's not focus on why we're doing this and what else we might have done. We've made the decision. It's a golden path, really. Good Huntsmen are upper-crust on Remnant. We should be worrying about how to make the best of this. Step one of that is getting some sleep."
Lily tried to take Lisa's advice. It was some time before she, or most of the others, could.
