Dinner was a quiet and ultimately uncomfortable affair, especially in the wake of Ozpin's...less than inspiring opening speech:
"I'll...keep this brief." The headmaster had stated. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge; to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look among you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
Not exactly the 'welcome to the school of heroes' most of the students were expecting, suffice to say.
After everyone had eaten their fill, Whitley and Oscar were called to meet with Professor Ozpin in his office. Following Glynda, they soon arrived to see the Headmaster at this desk and two other individuals already there.
"Whitley Schnee, Oscar Pine, you know why you both are here right now, yes?" Ozpin questioned as the two boys looked at the other two occupants. One was Ozpin's son, Ben, the young man busy polishing his twin revolvers while the other boy caught Whitley's attention.
"Wait, are you...?"
"Prince Momotaro of Shade." The other boy said with a bow. "And you are the genius Schnee child, correct?"
"Well…" Whitely blushed at that praise. "I'll happily admit to being smarter than father…"
"Not that hard." Ben mused, lightly get whacked by Glynda. "oh! Mom!"
The woman said nothing, motioning for Oz to explain himself.
"Boys, I'd like to make a deal with you. You four are standouts even among Beacon's elite future prospects; only Miss Nikkos is undoubtably and truly on par with you, yes, I know of the Eds and their friend, but prefer to see for myself. Anyways, back to my point: I'd like for you four, pending you pass this test, to become….I suppose 'prefects' works?"
The boys listened intently.
"You'd be tasked with keeping peace between the students and teachers." Glynda followed. "Much as I hate to admit it, we Huntress and Hunters are often under public scrutiny and cannot act as much as we'd like to, especially against children from certain families. But you four have show a willingness…dare I say eagerness to defy authority and customs for the right reasons. You would have to give reports and stuill maintain your grades of course, but some leeway is available."
"Again, if you pass the initiation tomorrow. And if you feel up to it., such duties are not for everyone I admit. Regardless, I look forward to seeing Team BOWM thrive in this school."
"To remind her sister of being a student? This shall be most delightful."
"Gets boring fighting Grimm, so al; these students are sure to do well." Momotaro beamed. "Who knows? I might even get some real friends instead of retainers and servants! Oh, not that you guys…!"
"It's cool." Ben assured the prince, then spying the youngest of the boys being so quite. "Hey, Oscar? You okay?"
The boy, jolted out of his worries, looked at Ben
"Oh! Um…Y-yeah, yeah! Just…a little…nervous."
"Its good for you to admooit that." Whitely assured him. "Proves you have a good head and are taking this sewriously. But for now? How about we rest and unwind?"
-GUARDIAN-
"Does anyone wonder why we're all sharing a sleeping space?" Hyde asked as he read a book with a candle being his source of illumination.
Zack wasn't all that bothered. Many of the female students were already swooning over him, considering he was wearing only a white tank top and golden yellow boxer briefs. He especially liked the gaze of a certain blonde-haired bombshell with lavender eyes.
"Yang~! Quit staring!" Ruby whined, trying to pry her sister away from the adonis.
"Oh come on, like you don't wanna check out some cute boys too?" Yang teased as Ruby's face turned as red as the tips of her hair.
Ed, Double-D, and Eddy had set up a tent to sleep in while Rolf had his own cot with an Aztec-style blanket and a sun pillow. The Son of a Shepard was an impressively heavy sleeper as he was snoring peacefully through the antics of his three friends.
"Quit hoggin' 'em, Ed!" Eddy snapped as he and Ed were having a tug-o-war contest over a bag of potato chips.
"Say pretty please, Eddy!" the largest Ed beamed.
"In your dreams."
"Say 'pretty please with two eggs and a slice of bacon.'"
"If I didn't say it the first time, why the heck would I say it the second time? Now gimme the Oum and Tartovsky darned chips!"
Double-D sighed. "Do you mind? I'm trying to read!"
"Wait for the movie, Double-D," Eddy said dismissively before kept pulling. "C'mon, Ed, I'm starving!"
The bag soon gave out from both boys' pulling, causing potato chips to fly everywhere. The three were lucky that they were inside their tent, so it didn't disrupt anybody else.
"Oh, look at this now! Dried potatoes, that may contain dextrose salt and saturated fats all over my sleeping bag!" Double-D complained as he tried to shake the chips off.
Eddy just snickered. "Double D made a mess in his sleeping bag, Ed!"
"Hey, let's bake a pie and hit me with it!" Ed laughed before Eddy flashed a light on him, holding his hand out so its shadow loomed over Ed's own.
"Doctor, I think we need to operate."
Double-D giggled, now getting into the fun. "Oh, I concur, Doctor Eddy."
"Hold still, Lumpy!" Eddy said before pinching his fingers, his hand's shadow pinching Ed's head, which actually reacted as if Eddy's hand was actually squishing it. "Boink! Boink!"
"I feel it, Eddy! Like voodoo." Ed noted, holding his head in surprise.
"Those guys are certainly having a good time." Sun chuckled from his and his friends' area, a bundle of fruit gripped in his tail. He was dressed in a pair of yellow banana republic pajama pants with no shirt.
"Didn't they actually manage to go toe-to-toe with the legendary Pyrrha Nikos?" Hyde questioned; he was wearing a black hooded night robe.
"Yes, indeed. I heard the herculean feats of one of them were so astounding, he never lost a single match!" Zack chuckled. "I look forward to testing his mettle!"
"Well, I do not look forward to fighting that guy..." Neptune nervously commented. He was wearing silk pajamas that were blue.
Back with the girls, Yang and Ruby were talking to the black-haired girl that Hyde had struck a friendship, though she was being less than social.
"Yeah, this girl is a lost cause," Yang stated.
"Hey, I'm at least trying!" Ruby retorted with a hiss before turning back to Blake. "What book are you reading?"
"It's called A Man With Two Souls. It's about a man who has two souls fighting for control of his body." Blake explained.
"I love books, I had Yang read them to me every night. It's why I want to become a Huntress, to be like the heroes in the books."
"Yeah… that's a good ambition." Blake agreed with a small smile before frowning. "But the real world is different from fairy tales, so the end isn't always good."
"Well, that's why we're here, right? To make it better."
Ruby and Blake turned to see Oscar coming in along with Whitley and a boy that Blake seemed to vaguely recognize but couldn't put her finger on it.
"To be honest, I was content just having a normal life as a farmboy...but I guess Beacon saw something in me nobody else did." Oscar admitted.
"A fact you should be proud of!" Momotaro beamed, lightly slapping the younger boy on the shoulder. "The everyday folks often make the greatest of Huntsmen; they never forget how civilians think and fear."
Oscar smiled weakly at that, while Whitley gave a polite bow.
"Hello again, Ruby."
"H-hi, Whitely." Ruby responded, inwardly dreading (yet also hoping) for his silver tongue. "Hi Oscar!"
Oscar politely bowed.
"My, my! Ruby! Why didn't you tell me you were on first name basis with two cuties!" Yang beamed, hugging her sister close. She also mentally praised the two boys for not being drawn to her…noticeable assets, instead giving another bow (Whitely) and staring at her hair while blushing (Oscar).
"And Ruby didn't inform us about knowing such an eye-catcher." Whitely smirked. "What might we call you?"
"Yang. I'm Ruby's big sister."
"So, beauty does run in the family…as does kindness." Whitley mused, then looking over his shoulder. "Oscar, I know Yang is lovely, but surely you were taught how rude it is to stare?"
Oscar tensed and cleared his throat.
"I-I am so sorry! Please, forgive me!"
Yang and Ruby both giggled.
"Don't worry, Oscar." Ruby assured him. "Yang's used to it."
"And least you're not pervs about it." The blonde smirked. "Thank you for looking agfter Ruby. The move has been…"
"Tricky?" Oscar guessed. "I can relate; grew up on a farm so all this…scroll and dust and bullhead stuff is new to me."
Meanwhile, Blake and Momotaro had been staring at each other.
"Have we met? You seem….familiar." Blake asked Momo, who gave her a quizzical look of his own. She didn't recognize him from the White Fang (THANK OUM!)….
"Well…my family did travel a bit…though, to take from Whitley, I'm sure I'd remember meeting such a beautiful girl."
Blake mentally groaned, readying for another admirer, only to see Momo reaching out a hand to shake.
"If that is the case, perhaps we can start over? I'm Momotaro."
You could hear a pin drop. All eyes turned to the regal boy. Said boy sighed and sat down.
"So much for subtlety."
"Momo, please don't take this the wrong way, but you seem about as subtle as…Well…Not." Oscar replied.
Momo chuckled.
"You're not wrong."
"Am I missing something?" Ruby asked, getting shrugs.
"Momotaro is the prince of Vacuou and the second strongest Faunus alive." Blake explained.
"Whose the first?" Yang asked.
"Sun's own father, Tzu Wukong."
"Tzu? As the Tzu of Team TAPS?!" Ruby asked
"You know them?" Blake asked.
"I would be an insult to Huntresses if I didn't! They mapped the entirety of Vacuo, defeated Grimm Dragon and built the capital city of Clarabel…TWICE!"
"GO! TO! SLEEP!" Weiss shouted from across the room.
-GUARDIAN-
As everyone started to wake up, one of the students, Lie Ren, soon found the first thing that greeted him as he woke up was his childhood friend, Nora Valkyrie.
"Wake up, sleepy head!" She said energetically. "It's morning, it's morning, it's morning~!"
Nora began going into an extremely fast-paced and one-sided conversation with Ren as he calmly got through brushing his teeth, getting dressed, and having breakfast. Many of the other students couldn't help but stare at the spectacle and wonder how the stoic boy was so unusually calm and patient with the hyperactive girl.
"Those two must be in love with each other. It's the only explanation." Ben chuckled.
"A shame she's already taken." Zack hummed. "I feel like there's a connection between us."
"Zack, no..." Hyde sighed.
"This is some good eats!" Momotaro noted as he feasted on a chain of sausage links, Sunny side eggs, bacon, a stack of pancakes that was a foot tall with butter and syrup, and a large glass of chocolate milk.
"I'll admit, it's nice to eat middle-class food every once in a while," Whitley said, having a ham and cheese sandwich with some cranberry juice in a flute glass.
Oscar just had scrambled eggs, waffles, and bacon with a glass of orange juice. Rolf was eating what seemed to be cooked fish on popsicle sticks, Ed was drenching a stack of buttered toast with a huge mound of gravy, Double-D was simply having bran flakes and milk, and Eddy was having a ham and cheese omelet with apple juice.
"How disgusting!" Whitley's sister, Weiss, exclaimed in distaste, appalled at Ed's obvious lack of table manners.
Momotaro and Ben just laughed.
"Hey, when ya got good eats!"
-GUARDIAN-
A short while later, everyone was getting ready for initiation in the locker room.
"Whatever happens, just be careful, alright?" Oscar asked as Ruby smiled.
"Only if you do the same."
"So, you ready to get put on a team and meet some more people?" Yang asked, making her way over.
"I mean, I've met Oscar, Jaune, Whitley, Sun, Neptune, Hyde, Zack, Blake...why would I need to meet more?"
"Well, we could end up being on different teams is all. That's what I mean." The blonde said.
"My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you don't want to be on the same team as me?!" The Silver-Eyed girl snapped indignantly.
Yang gasped incredulously. "What? No! Never!"
Double-D was humming as he put on a jetpack-like apparatus before sprouting a pair of wings with feathers made of Dust crystals. Attached to his hip was a whip with feathers.
Eddy smirked as he applied what looked like a pair of knuckledusters on his fists before clenching them and causing three claws to come out of each one, making him look like Wolverine as he crossed his arms together.
Ed triumphantly raised a shield in the air before shaking it and causing sharp Dust crystals to protrude from the sides which retracted just as quickly as they appeared.
Rolf held a pair of majestic-looking swords that he then combined together by the handles, the blades retracting as the combined handles shifted into a shotgun, which he briefly cocked before holstering on his back.
"Ridiculous! There's no way I put my gear in Locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high!" Jaune complained as he was looking through the lockers for his own. "Why does this have to happen today?"
"Bit of bad luck eh, Jauney-Boy?" Zack chuckled as he was wearing a pair of lion-themed golden gauntlets with clawed fingers while also holding a large sword that was gold and azure in color and seemed to have Dust built inside of it.
"Hey Hyde, where's your weapon?" Oscar asked as he was looking over a pair of handmade pistols that he called 'Nightshade' and 'Sunrise'. Strapped to the farmboy's back was a custom-made sword with what appeared to be a motorcycle engine built into the handle which he called 'Briar Patch'.
"Right here." Hyde revealed a pair of scythes, a pair of revolvers, a whip that can channel Dust, and a katana that can turn into a grappling hook/spear.
"My weapon is being air-mailed to where we will be having our initiation. I prefer to do things in style, you see." Whitley smirked as he was typing away on something with his Scroll.
Ben twirled his break-action revolvers, 'Bram' and 'Stroker'. He then grinned deviously, showing off his sharp fangs as he holstered his guns and cracked his neck in anticipation.
Momotaro was polishing a beautiful katana with a red ribbon tied around the handle. He let out a deep breath as a type of aura seemed to emit from him briefly before subsiding.
Meanwhile, Weiss was talking with Pyrrha Nikos, the famous Mistralian Champion herself.
"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual like yourself!" Weiss cheerfully said.
"Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
"Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together."
Pyrrha smiled. "Well, that sounds grand!"
Weiss gave a sinister smile as she was already plotting, dark thunderclouds forming over her.
"This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now!"
"You're not as subtle as you think you are, dear sister." Whitley sneered as he pushed past Weiss and smiled at Pyrrha. "Word of advice, Ms. Nikos, you're better off with him."
Whitley gestured to Jaune, who noticed and quickly tried to look cool in front of the two girls.
"Yeah, hey, I'm Jaune, nice to meet ya."
"Nice to meet you, Jaune!" Pyrrha smiled.
Weiss scoffed in disgust and stormed off. Whitley rolled his eyes and put a hand on Jaune's shoulder.
"Don't mind her. She's like that with everybody. Oscar! Are you done daydreaming of Ruby?"
Oscar, once again jolted,, nearly fell into his locker before Whitley pulled him back.
"Would you please stop jolting me?!" Oscar begged.
"Become less amusing when I do and perhaps." Whotyely smiled. "Come on, we can't be late."
-GUARDIAN-
After gathering on a cliff the students were approached by Goodwitch and Ozpin.
"Alright everyone, today you will be put into teams by going through the Emerald Forest down below," Glynda told them.
The woods around Beacon would never be completely free of Grimm. No matter how many teams were sent out, a few always managed to escape and as many as had been killed would spawn to replace what had died. No one was exactly sure how it worked, but if the few Dust-Bio weapons Merlot Industries and Atlas' top minds couldn't wipe them out, everyone had agreed to just settle for them being there, if for no reason that provide the students some constant training possibilities.
"You will first join up in pairs with the first person you make eye contact with, then the pair you join up with at the ruins near the opposite end of the Forest will make up the final set of teammates you will work with." Ozpin continued. "Additionally be wary of any Grimm in the area. Are there any questions?"
"Uh, I have one," Jaune spoke up.
"Yes?"
"How are you keeping the Grimm—YAH HO HO HOOOIII!"
Jaune was cut off as he was catapulted into the forest along with everyone else, letting out a strangely familiar-sounding holler as he did so.
"I'M A PIGEON!" Ed laughed as he flapped his arms like a bird.
"DON'T LAY AN EGG, BIRD BRAIN!" Eddy snapped.
Whitley just smirked as he pressed a button hidden in his ear, sending a silent signal to a special locker he had stashed away ahead of time. The locker then shot off like a rocket and then flew to Whitley, opening up and revealing a type of metal apparatus that attached itself to Whitley's back.
"Suit On."
The apparatus suddenly unfolded into a full set of high-tech armor, finishing with a helmet that covered Whitley's head before a bright blue visor closed in over his face. His boots then emitted bursts of flames as he jettisoned ahead.
"Ozpin told us last night to meet up...there!"
Whitley then flew down and landed in a Super-Hero Pose before getting up and dusting himself off. He then heard a yell before Momo flew in and splattered against a train, turning into a puddle of green candy syrup before slithering to the ground and then reforming himself.
"Well, guess we're partners, as was planned," Momo said as he adjusted his back.
"Yes, indeed. Let's hope Ben and Oscar are not too far behind." Whitley said before speaking to somebody else. "WATSON, run a scan on the area."
"Certainly, sir." A synthesized voice spoke up as a holographic light projected from Whitley's visor, scanning over the area before forming a digital 3D Map of the whole Emerald Forest.
"Good, we just need to go South. They're a few meters that way."
The two boys then headed off, not noticing the malevolent red eyes of the Beowolves glaring at them from the bushes.
-GUARDIAN-
"NOT ED-BOYS AGAIN!" Rolf whined once he landed and saw the trio of his childhood friends had all landed in the same spot as he had.
He didn't HATE Ed, Edd and Eddy, he really didn't! But when you grow up with the same faces and go to a new place, while familiarity is appriated, the whole p[opint was to grow and learn! Meet new faces! Perhaps even someone he could show Papa and Nana!
Oh well.
"We are together again!" Ed beamed, taking all three other boys into a hug. And with that, team REEE was born.
Just then, they heard an enraged scream and…whimpering? The four rushed forward to see a pair of Ursa being utterly manhandled (NOT IN THE GOOD WAY!) by the hot blonde for the crime of messing with her hair,
One of the Ursa even reached out for help before Yang blew its brains out, panting away her anger.
"…Remind me to stay on her good side." Eddy begged.
"Oh, sorry!" Yang chuckled. "Did you guys have one?"
"No, not yet." Double D assured her. "Miss…Yang, was it?"
"Just Yang."
"Right. While myself, Eddy, Ed and Rolf are a team, perhaps we could work together to get to the ruins Ozpin mentioned?"
-GUARDIAN-
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Sun was hanging upside down from a tree trunk as he tried looking for the ruins. Though all he could see were trees.
"See anything?" Neptune called from on the ground.
"Nothing but trees, dude," Sun called back as he climbed back down. "I don't think I can see much from up high with all that foliage."
"I could simply smash or burn us a path," Zack said as he jumped down, landing effortlessly on his feet. "But I don't wish to ruin the beautiful foliage."
"Then I guess it's up to me..." Hyde sighed as he lay a finger onto the floor, feeling the forest before turning his head. "The ruins are this way."
Hyde began heading in that direction, followed by his brothers and their best friend.
The journey of Team SZHN was interrupted by the sounds of a struggle. They raced forward, only for find the quiet boy Ren had already bested a King Taijutsu.
"Nice." Sun saluted, getting Ren's attention, they boy smiled before all heard a..
"Craw! Craw!"
Hanging upside down in the tree was Nora, waving to the team and smiling and Ren, who lightly chuckled.
"I strill don't think that's what a sloth sounds like." He mused.
Nora responded by simply 'booping' his nose with a cute smile, the sight of which made all four boys go 'd'aaaw!'
"SweetMontytheyarenowmyfavoriteship!" Neptune beamed, getting his friends to roll their eyes just as an Ursa Minor appeared before them.
"Oh, how adorable...it thinks it's scary," Zack punched his gauntleted fists together with a loud CLANG.
"Dibs!" Nora called out as she pounced on the Ursa and began riding it like a bucking bronco.
"NORA!" Ren cried out as he chased after his friend.
"She's nuts!" Neptune exclaimed.
"In a good way!" Sun smiled as the four ran after the two.
-GUARDIAN-
As Oscar was sent into the air, he kept a close eye out for any way to land safely. However, before he could go for a nearby tree, he was grabbed by the back of his collar and carried across the air before being set down on his feet gently. Shaking off the adrenaline, the farm boy turned to see Ben smiling at him.
"Figured you could use a hand...and also a guide to where our other two teammates are."
"There you are!" Came the voice of Whitley as the two turned to see him and Momo coming in.
"Nice suit. Atlas Tech?"
Whitley chuckled as his visor opened up. "My own design. Got to have some ways to keep me entertained."
"True that," Ben said before putting a finger to his chin. "Say, fellas, perhaps we should make a little wager?"
"Whoever kills the most gets half of the losers' allowance for a month?" Momo suggested.
"Um...I-I don't really have a lot..." Oscar awkwardly admitted.
"Okay, Oscar doesn't have to give anything if he loses but if you win...well, you'll have a nice gift to give your family back home," Ben smirked as he ruffled the farm boy's head as an older brother would.
Suddenly, growling was heard as the four boys looked to see a horde of Beowulfs, Ursa, and Nightcrawlers surrounding them.
"Multiple hostiles from all sides, sir." WATSON pointed out.
"I can see that..." Whitley sighed before smirking as his visor closed back up. "Let the games begin, boys..."
Ben licked his lips and grinned viciously as he took out Bram and Stroker. "This is goanna be fun..."
"Well...here goes nothing..." Oscar said, readying Briar Patch.
Momo readied his sword, getting into a stance and taking a deep breath as the aura he exhumed before came off again.
What the Grimm failed to realize was that the four boys weren't trapped with all of them...They were all trapped with the four.
GUARDIANS
"You know, Glynda?" Ozpin said. "I almost feel sorry for them."
"You should. The Arc boy had to have cheated, Miss Rose and Mr. Pine are too young...!"
"I was referring to the Grimm."
Knightmare Lord A/N:
Mrotrax has a lot of stories so I did most of this chapter to lighten the load on him. I'll probably do the same for all the other chapters, just to make sure we have a paced update schedule.
Anyway, Oscar has his own weapons here. Briar Patch is basically the RWBY version of Nero's Red Queen and Nightshade and Sunrise are the RWBY versions of Dante's Ebony & Ivory.
Also, Whitley is Iron Man, though his armor is more like a male version of the Ironheart Armor from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and in the colors of the Atlas Kingdom. His AI companion, WATSON, is basically based and named after Sherlock Holme's sidekick himself.
Finally, Sun's dad is named after Sun Tzu, writer of Art of War. I wanted to go for a not-so-subtle allusion there.
Alright, Mrotrax; Take it away!
Mrotrax A/N
Sorry for the wait! Other stories and life kept coming up/getting in the way! Hope you liked this chapter!
Team TAPS will show up a little further down the story. As heroes or villains is undecided, but I will say this much; the kids will NOT be as cocky as they were in canon when the team is done with them.
