Jäger Chapter Twenty-One: Mountain Glenn
MorgothII:…damn. Not much to say other than read and enjoy!
The three seventeen-year-olds and their fifteen-year-old leader teen girls stare at the Huntsman that they had been given for their assignment, utterly stunned and slack-jawed. "Why, hello girls! Who's ready to fight for their lives?
"Professor Oobleck?" A greatly-surprised Weiss Schnee finally manages to say. The Beacon Academy teacher starts to pace back and forth in a line in front of the four girls belonging to Team RWBY as he speaks in his typical rapid-fire tone.
"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, girls. Seeing as you 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 in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I've packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our course, and readied the airship. And it's Doctor Oobleck," the green-haired man finally finishes, the last part aimed directly at the Schnee Dust Company Heiress. He pauses and leans forward, his face close to the Dust-wielder of RWBY.
"I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much." Then as quick as he leaned in he moves off, once more stunning the white-haired girl.
"Uhh…" Weiss trails off, speechless. She and Blake exchange confused and slightly worried glances at one another while Doctor Oobleck resumes talking.
"Come now, children! According to my schedule we are already three minutes behind…schedule." With that, the hyperactive teacher runs off to the airship he and Team RWBY would be using as transportation. He accelerates at such a speed that might have matched even Ruby's speed semblance. The young leader of said team tries to raise their spirits at this completely unexpected turn of events.
"Well, alright then. Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oobleck-" Ruby Rose pauses as she realizes what she had just said, and hangs her head down, staring at her combat boots. The three older girls also copy her action at the same time while the silver-eyed girl continues to speak. "Okay yeah, when you say it out loud it sounds worse."
"Save the world?!" A familiar energetic voice makes all four girls turn around to see their sister team JNPR. Nora continues to speak, energetic and bouncy as always. "You're going on world saving missions without us? I'm hurt! Sad! Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault, though…Ren," She finishes, looking at the silent ninja of her team and her closest friend in the world. Ren crosses his arms firmly across his chest as he turns his back to the orange-haired hammer-wielder, thrusting his chin upwards slightly.
Then Jaune speaks up. "Sounds exciting! Where are you going?"
"Oh, just outside the kingdom," Ruby says to her friends and fellow students.
"Hey, so are we!" Nora butts in. Pyrrha, Team JNPR's equivalent to Yang in terms of being the team's powerhouse, elaborates on the smaller girl's comment.
"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village," the redheaded Spartan says before Ren speaks, a rare occasion in and of itself for anyone outside his own team or Ruby's.
"We set out tomorrow." Then yet another voice joins the rapidly-expanding conversation.
"Then you can party with us tonight," Neptune says as he and Sun walk over. "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges," the blue-haired 'cool guy' says, making the blonde leader of Team JNPR envious.
"We normally got to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk. So we thought this might be a better way of checking out the kingdom when it's…ya know…normal," Sun says in a much-less haughty manner.
"Well-" Ruby starts to say before being cut-off by a loud shout.
"FOUR MINUTES, LADIES! YOUR PARTNER, MR. JAKE, IS ALREADY HERE!"
Having been wincing at first from hearing Professor Oobleck shouting, Ruby's silvery eyes widen and brighten as the name their history teacher had just thrown out is registered. In a blink of an eye and a speed semblance activation that involves leaving behind a brief curtain of rose petals. All nine of the 17-year old teens left behind exchange glances before Sun breaks the silence.
"So, Ruby and Jake are finally together?"
"Yep," Blake says simply. Jaune nods his head.
"Well, it's about time, right guys? I mean, it was almost painful to see how Jake wasn't picking up those signals Ruby was giving him," He says. His friends don't immediately deliver any verbal responses. Instead, they (especially Pyrrha) opt to instead give the blonde swordsman deadpan stares. A now-confused Jaune looks around at his friends.
"Um, what are you guys looking at?" Pyrrha's obvious crush asks. The looks continue to drag on for a few more seconds before Neptune lets out a slight sigh.
"Nothing, Jaune. Nothing at all."
Back at the airship, Jake Torchwick, also known by most as the Jäger, is caught off-guard when a shorter body that had been moving at a rapid pace slams into him. While he isn't knocked off his feet, he does stumble back a few steps as his girlfriend continues to grip his body in a tight hug. "Ooh! Jake, I'm so glad to see you, I didn't see you with the others and so I was worried that I wouldn't get to say good-bye to you before we left but here you are and so I am super happy to see you right now!" The bouncing ball of energy known as Ruby Rose says rapidly. Jake barely manages to make out what she is saying. He releases a brief laugh.
"Good to see you too, Rubes," He finally says as the leader of Team RWBY (somewhat reluctantly) lets go and takes a few steps back. The red-and-black haired girl looks up at her first-ever boyfriend. While still in his armor from when he had been wearing it this morning, Ruby notices his katana, Sōryū, and his sword bayonet in their sheathes and are attached to the primary ammunition belt for his bullets around his waist. Slung across the Jäger's back is his self-built, single-shot black powder rifle. Instead of around his wrists like the sole member of Team JÄGER typically does, the two smaller ammo bandoliers are strapped to his lower legs, just above his ankles. His face mask/throat guard combination gear is already in place around his mouth, covering everything below Jake's brown eyes, though as she is both close and short enough, Ruby is able to somewhat see his mouth move through the small slit/gap for his mouth. His helmet is absent, along with his now-heavily tattered and holed brown cloak, though the scythe-wielder does notice the faint outline of the dragon-bearing design head piece further inside the airship. She does notice a third object attached to Jake's belt: the signal jammer he had been working on for helping him out when he tries to rescue his twin sister, Neopolitan.
"Before you ask why I am here now and not earlier after our conversation is because I wanted to surprise you. Since Ozpin figured you would try to sneak out and make for the southeast area you mentioned last night unless you got official permission to do so with a veteran Huntsman, and of course my habit of being involved with your adventures with my father and the White Fang, he had me also placed on the mission as extra back-up," Jake explains, using the cover story he had decided to use after the discussion between the headmaster and himself. Ruby nods excitedly, eyes sparkling with joy as the rest of Team RWBY board the airship.
"Well, consider me extremely pleasantly surprise."
As the airship takes off, Jake notices the bag Ruby is carrying. Apparently the green-haired history teacher hasn't noticed it…yet. Jake leans closer, speaking in a whisper loud enough for only Ruby to hear as the group begin their trip.
"What's in the bag?"
"Oh, nothing! Just some extra supplies I brought just in case," Ruby says to her taller boyfriend, a bit too quickly in Jake's opinion to be the truth. But to humor his lover, he pretends to accept the hasty explanation.
For the first part of the trip, the group is silent. Then Yang decides to start a conversation, having grown bored at the overall inactivity experienced thus far.
"I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter," Yang says as their transport continues to fly amongst the clouds. Standing next to the Ice Queen of Beacon Academy, Doctor Oobleck replies in a causal tone.
"I admit, I fancy myself more as a…intellectual. But I can assure you, as a Huntsman I've had my fair share of tussles." A confused look appears on Ruby's face as she speaks up.
"Like the mushroom?" She asks, using her left hand to hold onto the overhead safety grips while her right hand scratches her head. To her right, Blake leans her head closer as she answers her leader's question in her typical level and sometimes even quiet tone.
"Those are truffles," The cat Faunus corrects the short-haired girl.
"Like the sprout?"
This time it is Yang, standing between the open side-door and her younger sister, who answers.
"Those are Brussels," the buxom blonde says. Jake raises an eyebrow as he gives her a playful look, a small smile showing beneath his mask. Then Oobleck jumps back in.
"Besides! Given my expertise in the field of history, as well as my dabbling in the archeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw it fit to assign me to this particular…assignment!"
"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss, now curious, asks as she looks at the green-haired man.
"Why, what a preposterous question you silly girl. Why, history is the backbone of our very society! And the liver! Probably the kidneys if I were to wager," He says. Jake gives one of the two male teachers originally responsible for capturing him a flat stare. 'What the hell does that mean?' the Jäger wonders silently.
"And that means…?"
"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves. But, it is also the location of one of the kingdom's greatest failures."
"Mountain Glenn," Ruby and Jake say at the same time in unison. Yang jumps in as her younger sister and her boyfriend exchange a brief snort of laughter.
"That's right! It was an expansion of Vale…" she begins to say. Then she pauses for a moment. When the brawler resumes speaking, her voice has a somber tone to it. "In the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city."
"Correct! And now it stands, abandoned, as a dark remainder." Blake's amber eyes narrow slightly as she speaks up at the end of Oobleck's response.
"And a likely place for a hideout," the black-haired girl says. Oobleck adjusts his glasses before replying.
"Precisely."
At that moment, the five teen students and their teacher arrive over the ruins of Mountain Glenn. The airship begins its descent upon finding a large enough clearing to drop off its passengers. Hovering above the ground, the group jumps onto the ground, weapons at the ready. Jake steadies his rifle, having already loaded one of his special and effective tungsten-cored Anti-Grimm rounds into the breech of his gun.
"Ladies, and gentleman, you may still be students, but as of this moment your first mission as Huntresses, and Huntsman, has begun. From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" Oobleck says. While he did include Jake in his instructions, it was merely as a way of further disguising Jake's true purpose in this mission, and his own overall authority. Finally he notices the bag strapped to Ruby's back.
"Ruby!" He says suddenly. Ruby jumps up slightly and drops Crescent Rose, currently in its scythe-mode, before looking at Oobleck.
"I thought I told you to leave all your bags back at school." Ruby quickly replies, trying to find a way out of this situation that wouldn't end badly for her.
"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't," the silver-eyed girl says, her reasoning being at least a bit sound, even if it was very thin.
"She's not wrong," her teacher mutters aloud to himself, while Jake resists the urge to put a palm up to his face. "Very well, Ruby, leave your bag here. We can pick it up upon our return." Instead of simply accepting the instruction, however, Jake's girlfriend starts to stutter as she tries to come up with a reasonable counter-suggestion.
"But, I…uh…" Ruby tires to say before Doctor Oobleck takes a few steps closer.
"Young lady! What in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with-" the coffee-drinker starts to say, a thought shared by a now-curious Jake, when something appears to move inside the object in question. A dog's head. Everyone stares at her, as Ruby whispers to the dog, which apparently is her pet.
"Get back in the bag…" She whispers, as if the corgi doing so would change the fact that everyone has seen said animal. Instead of doing so, the dog lets out a simple bark.
"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban-jungle, teaming with death and hostility, and you brought…a dog?!" Oobleck finally says/asks her. Jake shakes his helmeted head in amazement at Ruby's actions. Inside his mind, Jake feels that after all the time the two had spent together by now, he wouldn't be able to be surprised by anything his girlfriend might do. Apparently, he was clearly wrong.
"I…uh…" Ruby stutters once more. Then everyone else is surprised once more by what the history teacher from Beacon does next.
"Genius!" Oobleck shouts. All four of the seventeen-year-old teens look at the youngest member of the group quizzically. Jake's girlfriend, also unsure of what is going on, simply shrugs, equally confused. Then she is suddenly knocked onto the ground as the Huntsman teacher grabs the corgi from her bag, spinning around in a circle with the dog in his hands, speaking in his usual rapid-fire manner while doing so.
"Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!" Towards the end of this spiel, the dog, which Ruby quickly mouths the word 'Zwei', the name of the dog apparently, when he shoots her another questioning look, lets out another simple bark.
"I'm a genius," Ruby says, finally breaking the stunned spell of her three older teammates. Jake simply grins at her, shaking his head affectionately at his girlfriend. Her teammates all shake their heads in very mild exasperation at Ruby's antics. Then Blake speaks up.
"So, what are your orders, doctor?" Still holding Zwei in the air slightly above his head, Oobleck stops spinning and looks at the five students.
"Ah, yes. Straight to the chase. I like it," the doctor says as he lets go of Ruby's corgi, leaving it briefly floating in mid-air before dropping to the ground. Miraculously, the grey-and-white dog doesn't take any damage. "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 addresses his group.
"Please don't let that last sentence had been a pun. Bad enough that Yang does it, last thing I need to have right now is a second pun-maker," Jake mutters to Ruby. She raises a hand to stifle a brief giggle. Then the teenagers look around, trying to figure out whether it is a pun or something else.
"Uh…what?" Ruby finally asks.
"Grimm. A creature of Grimm, approximately one hundred yards from us, at this very moment," Oobleck elaborates. All five students whirl around.
"What?!" Blake almost shouts, and true to his word, a lone Beowolf appears from around a corner by one of the nearby abandoned buildings. Jake and Team RWBY ready their weapons when their mission leader gives an unexpected command.
"Stop!" At this, everyone but the Jäger turn their heads towards the thermos-carrying teacher, incredulous looks on their faces.
"There are a number of reasons why Grimm would congregate in this particular area. The most likely of which would be their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness…hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent," Oobleck finishes his explanation. Looks of understanding begin to appear on the faces of Team RWBY as their young leader speaks up.
"So…what now?" Ruby asks simply.
"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey." Jake grunts in approval, his iron sights at the end of his gun's barrel still line up with one of the two glowing red eyes of the mentioned foe.
"In other words, we hunt."
"How long do we wait?" Yang asks.
"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 finishes. Once again, the green-haired history teacher is correct, for more of the wolf-like demons appear.
"What?" Weiss asks in surprise. Jake's finger returns to its original position of gently resting on the trigger as Doctor Oobleck continues speaking.
"And now they've seen us."
"WHAT?!" Weiss says once again, louder this time. If not for the situation they were about to be in, the green-haired Huntsman's response would be hilarious to everyone present, aside form the Schnee Dust Company heiress, of course.
"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!"
"I take it tracking is out of the question?" Ruby tentatively asks, also ready for a fight once again while their teacher states the obvious.
"An accurate assumption, yes."
"What's the plan, then?" Yang asks, just before the large Beowolf pack charges forward.
"Simple: attack and kill them all," Jake mutters as he readies his gun. Inside he is excited to be in a fight once more, and better yet, he is fully prepared. This week is going to be fun, if nothing else. Though, hopefully he will not return to Beacon empty-handed, whether it be physical or not
And done! Five chapters in five days, holy shit. I'll try to keep up this pace, but I'm not making any absolute promises other than I will have at least one chapter posted next week for sure! Anyways, thanks again for reading yet another chapter, each and every single one of you are amazing, feel free to leave a comment/like/review/OC submission down below! Have a great rest of the week and until next time! Next Chapter: Lost