Jaune raced through the airfield, looking at each of the ships before spotting Team CFVY boarding their airship and chasing after them. "Velvet! VELVET!" he called, waving to her as she handed luggage to Yatsuhashi.
"Hm? Oh, Jaune! You caught me just in time!" Velvet said with a smile as Jaune came to a stop, hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
"Hah… hah… yeah, just wanted to see you off. Good luck on your mission." Jaune said, smiling back.
"Thank you, it shouldn't be too bad. We're going to be posted in a small village for a few weeks to deal with a pack of Beowolves." Velvet said.
"Oh, cool. So hey... when you get back, you wanna… I dunno, catch a movie? Like, there's this one movie coming out, Carnivore Cruise Line. It looks like it'd be fun, ya kn-" Jaune said, Weiss clearing her throat behind him. The young lovers turned to look at Weiss, who was giving a somewhat annoyed glare at Jaune.
"Really, Jaune? Your idea of a romantic night is a low-grade movie about sharks attacking a cruise ship? Are you going to take her to Burgershire for dinner before the movie? Maybe sneak in some fries in your jacket instead of going to the concession stand?" Weiss chided, Jaune growling a bit.
"Have you ever bought movie theater candy? That's expensive! Five Lien for a small popcorn! That's highway robbery! It's way cheaper to just buy it elsewhere!" he argued, Weiss turning up her nose.
"Exactly my point! Not willing to spend money to give your girlfriend a good time! What kind of boyfriend are you?!" Weiss asked, arms crossed and giving a judgemental glare.
"Big talk from the girl who could buy the whole theater! Besides, it's a first date! What's your idea of a first date?" Jaune shot back.
"Well, I'd take her to an establishment with a bit more class than a place with the… ugh, Prima Nocta Meal." Weiss said with disgust, Jaune facepalming.
"They canceled that promotion after a week!" he argued, Weiss rolling her eyes.
"My point is, not a fast food place. I'd take her to a nice seafood restaurant. Maybe the Ocean King. It has quality seafood and these wonderful cheddar biscuits that are just to die for!" Weiss said with a blissful sigh, Jaune and Velvet looking at her in confusion.
"O...kay… so, what kind of movie would you take your date on?" Jaune asked, Weiss shaking out of her cheddar biscuit euphoria.
"Well, the obvious choice would be an actual romantic film, maybe a dark romance like Temptation of Dusk. You know, a movie with some substance to it." she replied.
"Those vampire romance movies are just as trash as my monster movies, but at least the monster movies are honest!" Jaune said, flailing his arms angrily.
"They are not trash! They are evocative and moving films!" Weiss shouted, getting in Jaune's face. The two glared at each other intensely, Velvet awkwardly clearing her throat.
"U-um… Jaune, I-I have to be going soon…" she said, Jaune turning his attention back to the bunny girl, the fire in his eyes subsiding.
"Oh-oh! Right! So yeah, dinner and a movie when you come back?" he asked, Weiss sighing and walking off behind them.
"I'd like that. Don't worry, I'm not a big fan of seafood." she said with a giggle, Jaune smiling back.
"Cool. Oh hey, you got a new camera!" Jaune said, pointing to the camera holstered to her hip.
"Oh! I almost forgot! This is my new Photon DCSI. It's really cool." Velvet said, pulling the camera out.
"Ooh! Could you make a quick pose with your sword? I've been getting pictures from all my friends for a new album with this one." she asked, Jaune nodding and sliding his sheath onto his arm. He pulled his sword from the sheath and unfolded the sheath into his sword, taking a defensive stance with his shield in front. Velvet quickly snapped off a few photos, little flashes coming off the camera. She walked around him, taking pictures from different angles, with the occasional whirring sound after the picture was taken.
"And… done! Thanks, Jaune. I'll have them developed during the trip. So, I guess this is goodbye for now. I'll see you in a week or two." she said, holstering the camera and stepping onto the ramp.
"Yeah, I'll see you soon." Jaune, slowly moving in for a goodbye hug. Velvet reached over to return the hug, unaware of the looming presence of her team leader. Coco slowly advanced to the couple, devilish grin on her face and manic gleam in her eyes as she put a hand on Velvet's back. Velvet let out a small gasp as she felt the sudden jolt of Coco's fingers when she was shoved right onto Jaune. The two fell onto the ground, Jaune catching Velvet in his arms, their lips meeting forcefully as their foreheads slammed together. Jaune lied on the ground, eyes wide in shock and face burning. He felt the softness of her lips, his nostrils filled with the scent of caramel from her hair, hands at her sides. It would have been the best moment in Jaune's life if it weren't for the throbbing pain in his head and soreness in his back.
Velvet pulled herself off of Jaune, blushing dark red and scrambling to her feet. "Ah! S-sorry Jaune!" she said, giving him a hand. Jaune took it, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.
"I-it's okay… good luck on your mission." Jaune said, trying to keep from maintaining eye contact for too long.
"Th-thanks, if we make it back in time, w-would you like to go to the Spring Maiden dance with me?" she asked, slowly moving backwards up the ramp.
"Y-yeah, that sounds cool…" Jaune mumbled out, Velvet letting out a soft "thanks, bye..." before getting into the airship.
"I wonder if your second kiss will give you a concussion?" Coco asked with a sly smile, Velvet angrily glaring at her team leader.
"Coco! That wasn't funny!" she exclaimed, Coco laughing as the door shut behind them. Jaune waved to goodbye to them and watched as the airship lifted off and flew off through the sky.
Weiss and Ruby sat on a nearby bench, watching Team CFVY's ship flying off and seeing Jaune walk back to the school, Ruby struggling to open a bag of chips.
"Come on, stupid chips! I want to eat you!" she pleaded, gripping tightly on the bag and pushing all the air to the bottom. The bag soon burst, chips spilling out all over the bench and street. Ruby let out a moan and tossed the bag out, crunching chips on the ground.
"So, how's Velvet?" Ruby asked, heading off to the school entrance where General Ironwood and his crew were headed.
"She looks to be alright, though her taste in boys remains questionable." Weiss replied as she got up to join her partner.
"What's wrong with Jaune? He's a nice guy. Friendly, loyal, funny…" Ruby said, Weiss shaking her head.
"Oh no, I'm not saying Jaune isn't nice, but he has no idea of what a romantic evening entails." the heiress said, Ruby shrugging her shoulders.
"Okay then… let's get going before we lose them." she said, kicking up her Semblance to run up to them.
"Ruby! Wait up!" Weiss shouted, chasing after her with a familiar annoyance in her voice.
As Ironwood walked up to the entrance he was giving instructions to his entourage. "You're not to leave sight of Lieutenant Schnee or go past Vale's Residential or Commercial Districts, Penny." he said, Penny nodding and replying with "Yes, sir." Ironwood turned his eyes to Winter. "Lieutenant, you cannot let Penny out of your sight for a second. Beacon may be a safe place, but the rest of Vale carries a lot of danger in its streets. You never know when someone could attack-" Ironwood warned when a sudden red blur flashed through his vision. The Atlesian trio followed the blur to the entrance door that Ruby had slammed into. Ruby barely broke stride as he ran right for Penny, arms outstretched. "PENNY!" she shouted excitedly, jumping into the air.
"Ruby!" Penny said with joy, catching Ruby into a spine-shattering hug. "Oh, I've missed you so much!" she said as Ruby let out a sharp squeal of pain.
"I've missed you too, Penny… though I didn't miss your super-painful hugs… owowowowOW!" Ruby said before Penny let her go.
"Sorry I haven't written to you recently, Ruby. Things have been rather busy at Mantle and I just haven't had time." Penny said as Ruby tried to gather breath.
"It's.. ow… it's okay, Penny. I've had my team to keep me company, but it's so great to see you again! We could go to the new arcade that opened up, or maybe a trip to Rolling Thunder, or we could get a Royal Banquet Meal at Burgershire, oooh! How about we-" Ruby went on before James put a hand in front of her.
"Ruby, while it is kind of you to offer Penny a trip around Vale, we are here on official business with Mantle and Penny is under strict instructions to stay under the watchful eye of either myself or Lieutenant-" Ironwood began before being cut off by Weiss shouting from behind.
"Winter!" she called, running up to the group and waving, Winter turning with a warm smile.
"Ah, Weiss. It's good to see you again, dear sister. To what do I owe the pleasure?" the older Schnee asked as Weiss came to a stop and saluted General Ironwood before speaking.
"Well, it's not often my older sister comes into town. What's the occasion?" Weiss asked.
"General Ironwood is here on a visit to present the newest model of Atlas technology, and since we have time, he wanted to visit Professor Ozpin." Winter explained. "However, I also have a bit of business with you, Weiss." the older Schnee said, turning to one of the Knights. "There is a long briefcase in my cabin, marked with an Atlas Arms brand. Retrieve it." she ordered, the robot soldier marching off. "So, Renewal has passed, but I did make the effort to give you a present and I wanted to give you something to congratulate you for a job well done on your work in Beacon's final exam. Ah, and here it is." Winter said as the night returned, placing the briefcase down at Winter's feet.
She pulled out a small white card, placing it into the slot on each of the locks and waiting for a click. Once unlocked, she opened the case to reveal the contents inside. Weiss looked at in shock, Ruby looking over her shoulder in admiration and Penny standing beside them and clearing her throat. "Presenting: The Myrtenaster Mk II!" she declared, sweeping her hand over the sword. It had the same basic design as the first Myrtenaster, though with a full blade and handguard. The handguard was engraved with intricately designed snowflakes and above the handguard was the Dust chamber, waiting to be loaded with fresh Dust. The hilt of the sword was wrapped in a black leather, the blade marked with a carving of the letters "W.S" Weiss slowly lifted the sword, letting out a few grunts of struggle as she brought it to her face, holding it in her basic stance.
"It's… a bit heavier than I'm used to. It'll take some time to figure out." Weiss said, putting her other hand on the barrel and spinning it. Winter smiled, pulling out a small vial of white Dust from her pocket and loading it into the chamber. Weiss spun it, hearing the click of the ice Dust loading and pulling the trigger, the blade glowing a bright white and emitting a cold mist.
"It still functions much like the original Myrtenaster, so while you you'll need to relearn slightly, the mechanics will be second nature to you, Weiss looked at the sword in awe, smiling wider and wider.
"Thank you so much, Winter! I love it! I can't wait to show this to Blake!" Weiss said joyfully, performing a quick spin and slashing the ice out of her sword, grabbing onto it with her other hand to keep from dropping it as a slash of ice formed on the entrance door.
"Ah yes, your teammate. You mentioned her in a few letters. Perhaps we shall meet her." Winter said, Weiss' excitement at her new sword stopping and her eyes widening slightly.
"You know, we haven't seen Blake and Yang around in a while. Wonder where they've gone off to." Ruby said, looking around the group to look for their teammates.
"Maybe they're busy studying. We did just come off a long vacation from actual schoolwork." Weiss said quickly to Ruby before turning to her sister. "So, Winter. Since you're here, maybe we could do some catching up. Some sightseeing, maybe lunch if you have time." she said hopefully.
"Negative. General Ironwood has given me clear instructions to guard his apprentice over this stay, and-" Winter began before Ruby interrupted.
"We could come with! I promise I won't let her out of your sight, Lieutenant Schnee!" Ruby said with a salute, Weiss pulling her hand down and shaking her head in embarrassment. Penny moved in front of the Beacon huntresses, hands clasped together and eyes sparkling with hope.
"Oh please, Winter! Can we go? I've been doing really well in my studies and I don't get to hang out with my friends a lot and Vale is so nice this time of year and-" Penny begged before Winter put up a hand to stop her.
"At ease, Private." Winter commanded before turning to Ironwood. "General, a word in private?" Ironwood nodded and climbed up the steps, Winter following stairs, Winter following after him and stopping at the doors, the two conversing quietly.
"So, should we go grab Blake and Yang? They can probably skip a bit of studying and Yang's probably bored out of her skull right now." she said, Weiss shaking her head.
"Ruby, I don't think Blake is actually studying. It's more likely that she's avoiding Winter." Weiss said, Ruby tilting her head a bit in confusion.
"Huh? Avoiding Winter? How come?" Ruby asked.
"Remember last year how I told you and Yang about the Black Fang kidnapping me? About Blake…" Weiss began, putting her hands on near her back scars briefly before Ruby nodded.
"Yeah, I remember that." Ruby said, nodding her head and listening.
"Well, when they didn't return me quickly, Winter had gone out to get me back. She performed the rescue operation and saw Blake's face. Blake might be thinking that Winter will still remember her even with the disguise and that it would be better to lay low." Weiss explained.
"I guess so, but how would you know what Blake's thinking without her saying it? ...Can you read minds?" Ruby asked, Weiss rolling her eyes.
"No, Ruby. She's just brought these concerns up to me before when we've talked about Winter. Now then, it looks like they're wrapping things up." Weiss said as General Ironwood gave a nod, Winter saluting him before they stepped back down the stairs. Penny and Ruby ran up to the veteran Hunters in hopeful excitement.
"So, can me and Ruby go and see the rest of Vale? Can we, can we, can we?!" Penny asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet as the General chuckled a bit.
"Lieutenant Schnee made a rather compelling argument in your case, and she is a talented enough Huntress to handle three junior Huntresses, so I see no harm in it. You are allowed to go sightseeing for today." Ironwood said, Penny and Ruby jumping for joy and high-fiving, Ruby making a point to quickly channel her aura into her hand to prevent her palm from being hurt. "However, you will be back in time for the presentation in the Commercial District. That will be in roughly three hours time, so please keep that in mind." he said, Penny saluting him before turning to Ruby, who had the widest grin on her face. Penny returned the smile in kind and the two ran off for the gates.
"Ruby! Wait up! We're supposed to be going with Winter!" Weiss shouted, chasing after them, Winter laughing and shaking her head.
"I envy you right now, General. At least you'll be dealing with someone around your age." Winter said, James letting out a deep chuckle.
"Perhaps, but Oz can be somewhat difficult to handle himself. See you in three hours, Lieutenant. Dismissed." he said, Winter saluting and chasing off after the junior Huntresses while Ironwood heading once more for the doors. He entered the school, heading for the elevator and stepping in, pressing the button for the top floor. The muzak droned on as the elevator quickly ascended, coming to a stop and opening the doors. Ironwood walked over to Ozpin's office door, knocking. "Come in." Ozpin said from behind the door, James opening and stepping in, looking around the office.
The office was rather simple; bookshelves filled with dust-covered books, a big grandfather clock ticking behind Beacon's headmaster who was sitting at his large oak desk, Glynda Goodwitch standing next to the desk. Spanning the circular room's acrylic floor was a giant copper gear, matching the gears of the grandfather clock. "Welcome, James. I was wondering when you would be joining us." Ozpin said, reaching out his hand as Ironwood entered the room, the two shaking hands.
"Had a bit of a hold-up with my apprentice," the General said, taking a seat and turning to Glynda with a wink. "Glynda, you're looking as lovely as ever." he said, Glynda rolling her eyes and laughing softly.
"Seems that time hasn't stopped you much, James. So, what's brings you to our Kingdom?" she asked as Ozpin poured the General a cup of coffee. Ironwood reached into his pocket and pulling out a silver flask, unscrewing the cap and pouring out a bit of amber liquid into his cup before capping and putting the flask back.
"A few things, mostly to showcase the newest models of Atlesian Military Tech. Dr. Arc is overseeing the transfer personally. Said something about wanting to see her little brother. But as for why I'm visiting Beacon… well, you've probably received the correspondence from Crowe." Ironwood said, pulling out his phone and scrolling through until stopping and setting it down on the table. A holographic, flickering image of a tall man with black, spiky hair and dark green eyes, face covered in stubble. He was clad in a gray dress shirt, black pants and tattered red cloak.
"The Red Queen's got herself some pawns. She's gonna be moving to finish what she started. No idea what she's got planned to do it, but it's gotta be big. I'm gonna be gathering intel in Vacuo, you guys focus on keeping things in Vale under control. I'm out." The man slurred out, the message shutting off and Ironwood picking his phone back up.
"If what Crowe said is true, then we will need to act. While the new Atlesian Knights are not prepared, the older model should be enough to strike down any opposition. Stop her before she has time to act" Ironwood said, Ozpin taking a sip of coffee and pushing up his glasses.
"No, I don't think that will be necessary just yet, James." he said, the General looking from Ozpin to Glynda, who nodded in agreement, then back to Ozpin. "I believe that our best option will be wait until we have a clear idea of what the Red Queen is planning before we act. While I can agree with wanting to prevent her plan, we will first need to understand the full extent of that plan." Ozpin said, James putting a hand to his chin in thought.
"It's a high-risk idea, allowing her forces to continue the plan without placing any countermeasures. We lack a proper timescale and they could go into motion by tomorrow." Ironwood argued.
"And if we act without knowledge, we could end up startling them into launching their plan ahead of time before we really knew what it was." Glynda countered, Ozpin nodding and taking another sip of coffee.
"And knowing the Red Queen as we do, we cannot rule out the possibility of her having contingencies for Atlesian Military. For now, perhaps Crowe's message has the best course of action for us. Gather intel, check for any suspicious activity. Now, I hate to cut this meeting short, James, but I believe you have a presentation to go to. We will talk again if you have time" Ozpin said, James nodding and standing up, shaking hands with him and Glynda.
"Before I go, Oz, I wanted to ask a question to you. Headmaster to Headmaster." Ironwood said politely.
"Ask away, James." Ozpin said.
"Do you believe that your students can win a war?" the General asked.
"While I hope that they never have to fight, I do believe they will answer the call to battle and win if the need should arise." Ozpin said. James smiling and walking out of the room. "Good afternoon, General Ironwood. Good luck at the presentation."
"Thank you, Oz. Good day, we'll keep in touch." Ironwood said as he closed the door behind him.