Chapter 25) Career Counselling with Professor Greene
A/N: A little late I know, but Happy Pride Month to you all for last month! And If you're from the future reading this… same applies!
"Alright, everyone fall in," Ann called out, getting the attention of Team RWBY. All four girls quickly made their way over to the small table that Ann had set up beside the fire they had going, just as Ann finished setting up her Scroll to project its display in hologram mode. A map of the Glenn materialised in the air for them all to see, a number of dots and markers scattered across it indicating points of interest, their current safe zone amongst them.
Getting to the safe zone had been much less fraught with danger than their initial landing had been. Fortunately, the camp was in good condition and well-stocked with supplies, so there had been no need to risk searching in the dark for anything. Instead, Ann had simply directed the four girls to set up the perimeter sensors and get some food cooking while she took stock of the situation.
With that all done, Ann could now set out their mission parameters in proper detail.
"We are presently located in this area," she explained as she pointed to the spot on the map where their camp was set up. "There is a second safe zone three kilometres away. We'll be alternating between them each night in order to avoid drawing Grimm toward us by remaining holed up in one spot."
Ann saw all four girls nod in understanding. A good start.
"As you are aware, this is primarily a scouting operation, and we have three objectives in total. First, our primary objective is to retrieve the data from each of the MFS stations."
"MFS?" asked Yang, sounding confused. "What's that stand for?"
"It stands for Motion Field Sensor, Yang," Weiss answered before Ann could do so, sounding perhaps more exasperated than Ann herself was. "This was all in the information package that Professor Ozpin sent to us before we left. You did read that, right?"
Yang smiled sheepishly. "Uh… I was gonna read it on the flight, but…"
Ann supressed a sigh. "I'll explain anyway. Placed around the Glenn are a total of eighteen Motion Field Sensors, each with a detection range of one kilometre. As the name implies, they detect any movement in their designated areas and record data on the number of moving objects, size, frequency and so on."
Ann gestured to the red dots on the map, each indicating the location of one such station and arranged in a semi-regular pattern.
"Mountain Glenn is a lot bigger than eighteen kilometres," Blake mused aloud. "There are a lot of blind spots here."
Ann nodded in acknowledgement of her observation. "Too many sensors runs the risk of setting off the Grimm, so unfortunately the number has to be kept low. Same reason why they don't have the capability to transmit their data back to Vale automatically: draws too much attention."
Well, that and the poor signal strength out this far from the CCT.
Ann continued. "We'll set out at first light and split into two teams. Weiss, you'll be with me, and we'll go to stations one through five. The rest of you will take stations six through nine. We'll rendezvous at the second safe zone before sundown, and leave the rest for the following day."
"S-so… that's objective one… th-then two will be day th-three?" Ruby asked.
"Naturally." Ann indicated a point on the edge of the map. "Our second objective is to inspect the Barrier Wall and make sure it hasn't suffered a breach. We'll need to check the whole length, so again, two teams. We'll start at opposite ends and meet in the middle."
"And that's it?" Yang asked. "Check some stuff, head out, three days and we're done?"
"Not quite," Ann added, deactivating her Scroll and clipping it onto her arm. "We have a third objective as well, one that will be ongoing while we work."
Ann lifted her gaze and stared at each member of Team RWBY in turn. Their full attention was on her, having clearly picked up on the shift in her tone.
"We will also be searching for any signs of activity that is not related to the Grimm."
A roundabout way of stating it, but Ann had to at least attempt to make an effort for the sake of plausible deniability.
"You all have your Scrolls. If you spot anything that looks out-of-place, record it. Doesn't matter if it's something big or something small, you record it all the same. Better to have too much intel than not enough."
Ann watched as Blake nodded firmly, her expression grim. Yang nodded as well, looking more stern than Ann was used to seeing her. Weiss just hummed an affirmative, and Ruby did the same.
Seems they all realise how serious this is. Good.
Ann watched from behind as Weiss finished dispatching the last of the small pack of Beowolves they had encountered while making their way towards their second station, observing how she fought and considering what she saw.
This was of course not the first time Ann had seen any of Team RWBY in combat, but it was her first time seeing any of them in a situation like this one. A… for lack of a better word, real scenario.
She knew of course that this was not their first taste of such danger. Their numerous misadventures over their brief time spent at Beacon thus far were a testament to that. But it was the first time Ann was able to directly observe them when they were fighting for more than just grades. And what she saw…
What she saw spoke volumes.
"Let's keep moving," Ann said, keeping her voice low. "We only have so much daylight to work with."
"Yes ma'am," Weiss replied, holstering her weapon and resuming walking beside Ann, the two of them continuing onwards. Ann allowed herself to fall behind slightly as she mused on what she had seen while watching Weiss fight.
'Careful' was perhaps the best word to describe how Weiss seemed to carry herself in combat. She fought with all the poise and precision of someone who had been taught to approach combat in a very specific way, someone who had drilled their motions and techniques day after day until every movement was second-nature. It was almost like watching someone dance rather than watching someone fight.
Yet there was some noticeable movement outside of this pattern. A step out of place here, a turn out of time there… not mistakes per se, but actions taken on impulse, in opposition to the rigid style which she seemed to favour most of the time.
Whether she was aware of it or not, Weiss' manner of combat was evolving, slowly but surely.
It remained to be seen if that would benefit her or not.
Well, time to start getting a real feel for these kids. Not just how they fight, but how they think as well.
So Ann asked the question that she had asked of hundreds of students over the years.
"Tell me Weiss, why do you want to be a Huntress?"
Weiss did not respond right away, but Ann knew she had heard her. Weiss' shoulders had tensed up and her pace had stuttered momentarily.
"I want to help people," she said at last, speaking slowly and carefully. "I want to be someone who can protect others, someone who makes a real difference in the world."
Ann frowned. Weiss' response was so basic, rote and canned. She had heard it and others like it hundreds of times before, and like always it sounded hollow. There was always another reason. The real reason anyone got into this line of work. No-one was that noble and self-sacrificing, no matter how hard they tried to be.
So Ann considered not the words Weiss had said, but how Weiss had said them.
'I want to be someone…'
That part warranted a little more digging based on how Weiss had seemed to focus on it. Although, Ann was fairly certain her student and temporary teammate would likely not appreciate her next line of questioning.
Nonetheless, she pressed on anyway.
"So why not stay in Atlas and make use of your status as a Schnee? Someone with your name and wealth could do quite a bit if they were smart about it."
Ann watched carefully as Weiss once again tensed up, more noticeably so this time. She almost stopped walking entirely, but composed herself after a moment and resumed walking normally.
"If you know anything about my father, then you know that that would be impossible."
There it is.
Ann had suspected for some time that Weiss did not part on good terms with her family. Now her suspicions were pretty much confirmed. The bitterness in Weiss' voice as she said that was all the answer she needed.
"Professor," Weiss began.
"Not 'Professor', not out here," Ann reminded her.
"Ann, then…" Weiss trailed off. Ann waited patiently for whatever she was about to be asked.
"Can you please not ask me about my family? I'd rather stay focussed on our mission."
Ann frowned again, but nodded nonetheless. As much as she wanted to encourage Weiss to open up more, she had a feeling that further pressing her on this would only cause her to shut her out more instead. So, with a simple nod of acknowledgement, Ann fell silent, and the two of them just continued walking through the ruined streets, eyes open for any potential dangers.
As they walked past the decaying remains of what used to be a wooden market stall, Ann spied what appeared to be a set of off-white spikes rising up from beneath the fallen cloth sun-shield.
Ann averted her eyes and scanned the other side of the road, pointedly avoiding looking back towards the stall.
You'd think I'd be used to this by now…
Despite the distractions of Grimm pouncing on them semi-frequently, Ann and Weiss ultimately succeeded in reaching all five MFS stations before sundown, and were able to reach the second safe zone without serious incident. Pleasingly, the other three had also successfully accomplished their task, meaning their primary objective was already halfway complete.
Somewhat disappointingly, no-one had spotted anything worthy of note regarding their third objective.
Still, they had time, and a lot more ground to cover over the next two days, so that wasn't a huge issue for the time being. So, as the sun fell below the horizon and night descended upon the Glenn, the five of them agreed on the order of who would take watch and settled in to get some rest.
Blake had graciously volunteered to take first watch, and had taken up position beside the window looking out onto the street below. This second safe zone was located atop an apartment building that was missing large chunks of its roof and one whole wall, but it was secure enough that it would at least provide some safety while they slept.
Well, as much safety as was possible in this place at least.
Ruby, Weiss and Yang were soon out for the count, their soft snores adding to the ambience of the night. The fragmented moon provided the only real light, but that presumably wasn't an issue for someone like Blake.
Or was it 'Lily'?
Ann had been quite pleased when she realised that the application from one Blake Belladonna had been from the same girl she had met back then. She had gotten out and made a fresh start, a new life for herself away from the madness of the White Fang. It was commendable, and wonderful to see.
Still, Ann had to wonder… what was the reason for Blake to make that choice? What ultimately convinced her to move on and leave that life behind?
Well, I suppose if I want an answer to that question, there's only one thing to do.
"May I join you?" Ann asked quietly.
Blake did not startle at her voice. Evidently she had known that Ann was behind her.
"Wouldn't you rather get some rest? Your watch is next."
Ann actually smirked a little at that. Blake was clearly not one for excessive politeness when on the job.
"I just want to chat a little is all," Ann replied as she leaned on the wall next to the window. "I have a few questions I'd like to ask."
Blake just nodded once, her eyes never leaving the street below.
"What made you decide to enrol at Beacon? If I recall, you told me you'd never want to be a Huntress."
Blake sighed. "I was kinda hoping you didn't remember me."
"I never forget a face. Or a name, for that matter… Lily."
Blake let out what almost sounded like a dry laugh. "Been a while since anyone called me that."
"Is that your real name?" Ann asked. "Or is it Blake?"
"It's Blake. Lily was… someone else."
Ann hummed. "I see."
Blake took her eyes off the street and turned to face Ann. "Can I ask you a question?"
"If you answer my question first, the sure," Ann responded. "So tell me… what changed your mind?"
Blake looked away again, avoiding looking Ann in the eye. She said nothing for several seconds, and Ann began to wonder if Blake would refuse to answer at all.
"I guess… you did."
Ann blinked. "Excuse me?"
Blake gazed up at the sky. "All my life, I did what I thought was right. I fought for what I thought was right. My… my partner would tell me that what we were doing would make the world a better place."
Blake closed her eyes and sighed. "But I was wrong. What we did… it didn't make anything better for anyone. It took me far too long to realise that."
Ann listened patiently, absorbing what Blake was telling her as she formed a picture in her mind from the girl's words.
"I was already having doubts before you showed up. You knew what I was, you knew who I was, but you didn't care. You saved me and told me I could do better. I know I turned you down at the time, but I regretted it pretty soon afterwards. So… yeah. That's it."
Ann was about to comment, when Blake turned to face her again with a hard stare.
"My turn," she said. "Why didn't you turn me in?"
Ann cocked her head to one side. "Would you rather I did?"
"You know who I am," Blake pressed. "You know what I used to be. But you reached out to me anyway. You helped me with my application, sat in on my interview… why? Why are you helping me?"
Ann frowned. "You don't think you deserve a second chance."
Blake scowled. "That's not what I'm saying."
"So you think you do deserve one?"
"I… I don't know, OK? Do I deserve this? Don't I? Does what I'm doing now make up for what I did before? Can I ever make up for that?"
Blake looked up at Ann, her eyes sad and her gaze uncertain. She looked far from the self-assured girl Ann had seen up until now. At that moment, Blake looked like a lost child desperate for answers.
"Lily was someone else… that's what you said, right?"
Blake looked confused, but nodded nonetheless.
"I think so too," Ann explained. "In a manner of speaking. You aren't that person anymore, if you even were to begin with."
"I still did all those things," Blake replied. "Just because I changed, that doesn't mean those things didn't happen."
"That is true," Ann agreed. "But even so, that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to do good things now."
Ann pushed herself off the wall and moved to crouch beside Blake, fixing her with a stare.
"Here's how I see it. It's not about deserving that second chance… it's about earning it. If you want to feel like you deserve it, then do the work. Make it count. Then, when the time comes, you can face your past with your head held high, knowing in your heart that you're better than you were."
Blake stared back at Ann. The two of them remained silent for a while… then Blake's expression hardened, and she gave Ann a firm nod.
"I will," she said. "I promise."
Ann smiled. "Good. Now get some rest. I believe it's my watch now, after all."
Blake was soon out cold like the rest of her team, leaving Ann to take up her spot on the window and gaze out at the dark night.
From up here, Ann could plainly see the wreck of the old garage. What few vehicles that were left there that hadn't been used by panicking civilians in their desperate attempts to flee were all rusting and falling apart.
Face your past with your head held high…
…
Well, I guess I am a hypocrite after all…
TRANSFER COMPLETE.
Ann disconnected her Scroll from the port on the MFS and returned it once more to her arm. The transfer, as usual, had taken less than five minutes… five minutes where she had been unable to effectively watch her surroundings as well as she would have liked.
With the rest of the team in the second group checking their own designated stations, Ann was placing a lot of trust in Yang to watch her back. She wasn't too sure as of yet if that was wise.
"All done," she said simply, closing the panel on the sensor before reactivating the concealment mechanism. Nothing especially sophisticated, just a basic camouflage projection. Since the station was immobile and relatively small, it didn't need much else.
"Finally," Yang huffed. "These things are so slow!"
Yang may have been a bit overly dramatic in her assertion, but Ann was at least somewhat inclined to agree with her in this case.
Even so, the Council won't see fit to improve the surveillance infrastructure out here until something really significant occurs. Let's just hope that by that point it isn't already too late.
"We have one more to check for today, and then we'll make for the safe zone."
"Is it far?" Yang asked.
"One kilometre away, same as all the rest," Ann responded dryly.
"Alright then, let's go!" Yang had apparently not picked up on Ann's tone, as she quickly jogged over to Ann's side and walked beside her as they resumed their travels.
If Weiss was overly cautious, and Blake was overly serious, then Yang was definitely overly carefree. Unlike the rest of her team, Ann got the impression that Yang wasn't taking their situation particularly seriously. She seemed bored, somewhat disinterested…
… except for when she was fighting.
The pack of Beowolves the two of them had run into earlier had given Ann ample opportunity to observe the blonde brawler in action. Her strength and skill were undeniable, that much was certain. Evidently her father had trained her well.
But Ann had noticed something else that made her feel rather concerned.
Yang had been enjoying it.
She had revelled in the fight, grinning all the while as she dispatched the Grimm one by one while Ann watched from the sidelines. In fact, Ann could have sworn that Yang had been almost toying with one of them towards the end, drawing out the conflict so as to maximise her fun.
Ann had known several people like that in the past.
She never knew them for very long.
Time to dig a little deeper.
"Tell me Yang, why do you want to be a Huntress?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Ann saw Yang place her hand on her chin, seemingly giving Ann's question some significant thought.
"Do you want the honest answer?"
Blinking, momentarily taken aback by Yang's bluntness, Ann nodded.
This could be interesting.
"I'm a thrill seeker. I like fighting and I like pushing myself. I wanna travel the world and get caught up in as many crazy adventures as I can. I figure if I can help people along the way, win-win y'know?"
After a moment, Ann responded with a simple "I see," devoid of emotion.
Yang had been honest, that much was true. And if Ann were being honest with herself, she did appreciate the fact that Yang hadn't tried to dodge the question or give her a wishy-washy nonsense answer. This was her reason, her motivation for doing what she did, and it wasn't just the same spiel as always.
That didn't make her feel any less disappointed.
That's it? An adrenaline junkie? No other motive at all? If thrills are all you want, you hardly need a Huntress License for that.
Ann was about to ask Yang something else, when she noticed the girl had stopped walking and fallen slightly behind her. She was staring at something on the wall of a building across from them with a hard expression.
Before Ann could ask her what was wrong, Yang drew her Scroll from her pocket and strode swiftly over to the wall.
Intrigued, Ann followed after her and followed her gaze to see what had caught her attention.
This particular building, like the others in this part of the city, was the remnants of a store of some kind. Large front-facing windows, long-since rendered devoid of glass or merchandise for display, were separated by thin columns of concrete that had likewise been rendered bare by the march of time, any paint or decoration they may have had having faded away. Wedged into the concrete itself was what looked like several bullets, likely the result of the panicked last attempts of a local to defend themselves when the Glenn first fell to swarms of Grimm.
Yang was snapping photo after photo of the bullets in question, from multiple angles, all the while looking rather grim herself. It was an expression that looked rather out-of-place on her.
I suppose I did say they should record anything that looked out-of-place…
But this was the first time Yang had done so the entire time they had been wandering the streets of the Glenn. Why had these bullets caught her attention?
Ann decided to ask as much, and in response Yang reached forward and dug one of the rounds out from the wall, holding it up for Ann to see.
"Mountain Glenn was abandoned before I was born. So any ammo we find out here should be a good twenty years old, right?"
"Correct," Ann said, nodding.
"Then how can these be here? These are new."
Ann looked closer. To her eye, they looked like any other small-calibre round, albeit deformed from having impacted into solid concrete. They didn't look especially fresh, either. The metal had begun to rust, so they couldn't have been fired anytime in the past few days at least.
"These are 20-calibre rounds for a small weapon, and they're the mass-produced kind, made out of lighter metal. 20-cals like this only started getting made in bulk about two months ago."
Ann stared at the bullet, then at Yang, then back at the bullet as she processed quite a bit of information.
Firstly, this was definitive, undeniable evidence that someone else was here. There had been no authorised missions into the Glenn in the timeframe Yang had mentioned, so these couldn't have been left here by another Huntress or Huntsman.
Secondly, Ann had overlooked this crucial detail entirely, and she was mentally kicking herself for it. Fresh bullet-holes should have been something she could identify with ease, and she hadn't even noticed these ones until they had been pointed out to her. How much else had she missed?
Thirdly, Yang Xiao Long had just demonstrated a level of analytical skill and solid detective-work that she had not been expecting from the girl at all.
I seem to have misjudged you quite a bit, Yang. Clearly there is a lot more to you than meets the eye.
Ann wondered if Glynda would even believe her if she told her this.
"Keep hold of that," Ann said to Yang once she managed to unfreeze herself and regain her composure. "And let's move faster. We need to make sure the MFS is intact."
It wasn't.
Ann and Yang arrived at the MFS station to find it wrecked. The concealment system was down, and the sensor itself had been smashed, its internal wiring left exposed to the elements.
Ann swore under her breath. A damaged or even destroyed sensor wasn't anything especially worrisome by itself, but paired with what they had found moments ago, the pattern did not look good.
"Can we still get anything out if it?" she heard Yang ask as she knelt to retrieve the main body of the sensor.
"Not here we can't. I can't repair something like this." Ann reached into the open casing and pulled out a sizeable chunk of circuitry that was more intact than the rest. "But hopefully someone back in Vale can pull something out of the memory if we get it to them."
"But they're here," Yang growled. "They're here all right. We can find them and-"
"No," Ann cut her off immediately. "Our mission is to scout and report back. We are not here to engage anyone unless we have no other choice. We are not going to seek out a fight we might not be able to win."
Yang's eyes flashed red. "But we have to do something!"
"We are," Ann replied calmly, not at all intimidated by her student's anger. "We're gathering intel so a plan can be made. That's the mission. We stick to the mission."
"But we're here now!" Yang cried. "We can do more! We can find them, we can stop them!"
Ann folded her arms and levelled Yang with an unimpressed glare. "Need I remind you of how well that's worked out for you thus far?"
Yang's eyes turned fully red at that, and for a moment Ann wondered if she was going to lash out at her.
But then her eyes returned to their normal purple hue, and Yang released a breath.
"Fine," she grumbled. "Let's just… let's go find the others already."
Ann was the one following after Yang now, her mind turning over the last few minutes and considering it all from every angle.
Truthfully, Ann had not been expecting to find any evidence of the White Fang being out here. She had been doubtful that anyone would be crazy enough to consider this place a safe haven… but then again, maybe she was biased in that regard.
Dispelling her questions on that matter for the moment, Ann turned her thoughts instead towards Yang, and the different side of the girl she had just witnessed.
More than meets the eye indeed.
Ann had taken first watch that night, but quickly turned in to allow Yang to take over, since it was clear that the blonde was not going to be able to sleep right away.
Granted, the other girls didn't seem like they had gotten much sleep either. The news she and Yang had shared with them had clearly set them all a lot more on edge than they already were.
Nonetheless, they still had a job to do, and Ann still had one more girl to observe and talk to one-on-one. So, after a brief breakfast to wake them all up a little more, the group once again split in two. This time, Ruby was the one to accompany Ann as they made their way towards the south-western end of the sprawling Barrier Wall.
The Barrier Wall was not exactly a shining example of engineering and construction. Hastily erected towards the final stages of the pre-evacuation, it was little more than a long ribbon of concrete and barbed wire that stretched from one end of the city to the other. Five metres high and a metre thick, it regularly suffered damage from all manner of sources, not just Grimm.
When there had been people still attempting to make the Glenn work, it had been little more than utterly useless. But these days, it did the job well enough.
As such, the walk along its length was fairly simple. They just needed to look for any breaches or potential signs of collapse, photograph them, and move on. So far, no breaches, and only a few areas where it looked like repair would be required in the near future.
Were it not for their surroundings, it might have been considered a pleasant walk.
They passed by a residential street as they continued onwards, and Ann did her best to avoid looking directly down the path, lest she see something she would rather ignore.
"Professor?"
"Call me Ann, remember?" Ann replied. "I'm not your teacher right now."
"Can I… ask y-you something?"
Ann nodded, keeping her gaze fixed on the wall and not looking at Ruby, since Ruby was on her right, and looking at her would mean looking down that road…
"W-w-why did you become a H-Huntress?"
Ann stopped walking and turned to face Ruby. The younger girl's question had taken her utterly by surprise.
I'm the one who asks that question…
Ruby was looking up at her patiently. The usual nervousness and shyness that was present on her face was gone, which was quite noteworthy itself. In the time Ann had known her, Ruby had come across as someone who was almost always on edge. She positively radiated anxiety all the time, was highly reluctant to speak for reasons that had nothing to do with her impediment, and generally seemed to be in a perpetual state of worry.
Well, perhaps that was unfair. Ruby had improved a fair bit in recent weeks. She spoke more often in classes, even raised her hand on rare occasions. And while they had been on this mission these past few days, she had seemed to be in her element. She was focussed, on-task, and level-headed in a way that the rest of her team were lacking.
Even so, Ruby asking such a personal question so directly… it was still remarkably out-of-character for her.
Ann saw Ruby's expression shift, and her more familiar worried look returned. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, I… I sh-shouldn't have… I… I m-mean-"
"It's fine," Ann replied. "Don't apologise. I was just a little surprised is all."
Ann's eyes flicked upwards, and she found herself looking down the length of the residential street, despite her wishes.
For a moment, she was lost, her thoughts returning to a time years gone by, phantom echoes of gunfire and shouting reverberating in her ears…
She shook her head and pulled herself back to the present.
"Look down there," Ann said, pointing down the street. "What do you see?"
Ruby turned around and followed Ann's gesture.
"Nothing," she said simply. "It's empty."
Ann was inclined to disagree. The street was most definitely not empty. Rubble and various other bits of detritus littered the ground. A single overturned van had spilled its contents across the sidewalk. Windows were broken. Doors hung from their hinges. Belongings lay abandoned here and there.
"I see blood."
Ruby's head whipped around and she stared at Ann with alarm.
"It's all gone now," she continued. "Washed away by weather and time. But I still see it. Blood, and bodies, and hundreds and hundreds of people left to die."
Ruby swallowed. "Did you… l-live here?"
Ann nodded. "Not exactly here. But yes, I lived here. I was born in Mountain Glenn. My parents were some of the first to settle in the main city when it was founded."
Ruby looked back down the street, her eyes scanning over the houses once more, seemingly seeing them differently with this new knowledge in mind.
"What w-was it l-like?"
Ann clenched her fist at her side. "I'm told things were quite peaceful for a while. People lived happily, went about their lives without any fear. But I don't remember any of that."
"Remain in your homes. Remain in your homes. Remain in your homes."
Screams. Gunfire. Loud and terrible roars. All the while huddled underneath the table with a pillow pressed over her ears trying to block out the nightmare that was going on outside…
"People went missing all the time. Grimm came every day and every night, and all we could do was hide and hope they didn't find us. Then we'd go outside afterwards and see what they left behind."
Her neighbours were gone. Peter, the boy she sat next to in class, he was gone to. His shoe was on the sidewalk, stained red…
"The leaders tried to hold out as best they could, but one day they came in numbers that we'd never seen before, and this time they didn't leave. They just kept pouring into the city, overrunning every defence we had. Even the caverns underneath weren't safe anymore…"
"Help us!"
"I can't breathe!"
"Please, oh please I don't wanna die!"
Pressed together in a tiny cave, dark and hot and suffocating. No way out, Grimm trying to get in…
"Vale Council feared what would happen if the Grimm were able to make it to the access tunnels leading back to the capital, so they did what they had to do to save the Kingdom."
Ruby stared up at Ann, horrified. "They s-sealed them."
Ann nodded. "It was that, or lose everyone else as well. They really had no choice. Of course, we didn't know that at the time. All we knew was that our only escape route was gone, and we were all dead."
"S-so… how did y-you get out?"
Ann grimaced. "When it became clear that the tunnels were a death trap, everyone decided to take their chances above ground. It wasn't much better in the end, but at least some of us were able to be picked up by a few airships that were able to make it to us in time."
Ann cast her eyes over the buildings. This may not have been her street that she lived on, but it looked familiar nonetheless. Once upon a time, she probably walked down this road, visiting a friend or running an errand on a rare day when it had been safe enough to do so alone.
"People asked why no Huntsmen or Huntresses were sent to help, but they had been. There just hadn't been enough."
Ann turned to face Ruby once more. "I became a Huntress because that's what the world needs. Because this could happen again, and people like us are the ones who can stop it."
Ruby was staring at Ann again. Not in horror now, though. Now there was something else in her eyes. Something like a fire.
Ann smiled a little.
Glad I didn't scare her off. Seems she's got a lot of spirit.
"My turn now," Ann said. "Why do-"
Ann stopped.
Something was wrong.
Straining her ears, she could make out the sound of something approaching the pair of them.
Something big.
Ruby had noticed as well. She drew her weapon and deployed it in its scythe form. Ann likewise drew her knife, Marigold, and held it at the ready, turning to scan her surroundings.
The sound grew louder, closer. It was clearly the sound of something running, and it was approaching from-
Ann turned around just in time to see it charging her from behind. Leaping to one side, she avoided its swipe as it skidded to a halt and growled dangerously low.
It stood on its hind legs, and its whole body was covered in white spines and armour plating. It towered in height, easily three metres at least, with long claws and fangs and burning eyes.
A Beowolf.
An Alpha Beowolf.
Ann took aim and fired with Marigold, but the Beowolf swiftly avoided the shot and turned its attention to Ruby, charging her head-on.
Ruby spun her scythe around her torso and slashed at the Grimm, deflecting its powerful swipe and responding with a swing of her own. The blade of her weapon glanced off the thick armour of the Beowolf's shoulder, gouging some of it off but otherwise leaving the Grimm itself unharmed.
Ann prepared to run in and take advantage of the Beowolf's distraction, when she heard the sound of more approaching Grimm.
It seemed that this Alpha was not a lone hunter. He had led a whole pack towards them, and now well over a dozen Beowolves were descending upon the area, growling and roaring and out for blood.
"Take the Alpha!" Ann yelled as she prepared to meet the charging pack head-on.
If Ruby said anything in response, it was lost amid the noise of the pack as Ann threw herself into the fray.
She counted seventeen in total, not including the Alpha. Quite the sizable hoard.
No room for error, then.
Ann was not a cautious fighter by any means, but she wouldn't describe herself as a reckless one either. 'Economical' was her preferred word-of-choice. Her movements were fluid yet deliberate. Each motion of her body served a purpose, nothing superfluous allowed. She twisted enough to avoid a swipe, thrust enough to strike a lethal blow, dodged just far enough to remain untouched without moving too far away from her foes. Her style focussed on conserving energy and remaining close enough to her enemy to be able to engage them and take them down as quickly as possible.
Against a single Grimm, or against a whole swarm, it made no difference to her. She weaved through them all and struck them as soon as the chance presented itself.
One dead, her blade tearing out its throat.
Four dead, her bullet piercing its skull.
Ten dead. Twelve. Fifteen.
Soon only one was left, and it too was dead in short order as she drove the point of her knife into its chest.
Coils of black smoke swirled around her as her slain quarry began to decay, her vision obscured by the thick fog this generated.
Moving out of the haze, Ann scanned the area in search of-
Something slashed her back, and her Aura flared to take the hit as she was sent sprawling across the ground.
It used the smoke of its dead allies to mask its presence?
A highly intelligent move. But if the Alpha was attacking her directly, then that meant that Ruby…
Rolling to her feet, Ann stared down the Alpha Beowolf and waited for it to rush her. She needed to take it down first, then she could worry about Ruby.
The Alpha charged, dropping low and rushing her on all fours with its jaws wide open ready to bite her in two.
Ann waited until the last possible second before leaping over the charging beast, flipping around mid-air in order to take aim and fire at its back. She landed three shots before hitting the ground, rolling to absorb the fall and springing back to her feet-
A clawed hand grabbed her leg moments after she landed, and Ann was yanked violently to the side, her balance lost and her body hitting the ground.
With a roar, the Beowolf swung Ann around by her ankle, lifting her up high and slamming her down into the ground with such force that it cracked beneath her. Her Aura flashed bright as it absorbed the impact, but the pain was still immense, and Ann knew she had just broken a rib.
She felt herself being lifted up again, and she knew her Aura wouldn't be able to take many more hits like that. She had never had much to begin with, hence her style of fighting being focussed on avoiding hits as much as possible.
Acting quickly, she twisted and slashed at the clawed hand holding her ankle, taking off two digits and freeing herself from its grasp. She landed roughly on her back, scrambling to get back on her feet before the Grimm could recover.
The Beowolf was furious. It howled and slammed its front limbs into the ground, sending even more cracks spreading across the road.
Seizing the chance, Ann ran forward, Marigold at the ready, preparing to drive her knife into the belly of the beast and unload enough bullets into its gut to put it down for good-
Something slammed into Ann's side and sent her flying away.
As she landed, she caught sight of Ruby, red petals floating in the air around her where she stood.
Had she just shoulder-charged her? Why? And where was her weapon, what did she think she was-?
Ann heard a loud CRACK, and realised too late what was happening.
She should have realised that a Grimm that smart would have known what was beneath them.
All Ann could do was watch as the ground, weakened by the very deliberate actions of the Alpha Beowolf, gave way beneath it and Ruby, sending them both falling down into the caverns below.
Hello all you guys and gals and non-binary pals! Whether you're a new reader or an old one, welcome! I'm Not Scot.
This chapter was a nightmare to write. I scrapped and restarted at least six times over because I just wasn't happy with how any of it was turning out. Eventually I decided to switch gears and have the whole thing be from Professor Greene's POV, and that worked out better.
So, at last, I can present to you the latest instalment of RWBY Re:Mixed after over a month of slamming my head into a wall.
Worth the wait? Probably not, but next chapter should be on the way in a much more reasonable time frame, so you can at least look forward to that one.
For the time being though, I shall take my leave.
Until next time,
Not Scot.
P.S: I've never had to research exact specifications for ammunition before. I wonder if I'm on a list now…