Disclaimer: Don't own RWBY or SW. Ya'll know who they belong to.


Headmaster Ozpin found his mind to be busy within the past few days. The arrival of Atlas' fleet already put concerns inside his mind, and his talk with General Ironwood, or more commonly James, did not help. Not to mention the sudden increase of White Fang activity, reports of strange robots, and much more. Now, he had sent a team of first-year students out on mission that could prove dangerous for them. Things were moving far too quickly for him, and it left the man wondering how much longer he would have to keep up.

A light and high ping rang in the confines of his office, cutting through the ticking cogs and gears from high above and the wandering thoughts. Ozpin, who had been staring at the campus of Beacon Academy, turned to elevator on the far end. Leaning on his cane, he watched the door slid open and the four riders stepped out.

The four were second-year students, amongst the many Huntsmen and Huntresses in-training who attended his academy. The four members of Team CFVY, or "Coffee"–Coco, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi–strode down the emerald floor. Ozpin noted some small hints of suspicion and worry on their faces, though they tried to mask it, and the headmaster wore his own mask upon greeting them.

Coco, the leader of Team CFVY, greeted with a nod, as did the rest of her team. "Professor Ozpin, we came as fast as we could," she said.

"Thank you for coming as such short notice," and Ozpin walked to his table. "I have been going over the report of your latest mission. It is most impressive you've managed to hold out against the Grimm for so long."

"It was a team effort, sir," she gestured her gloved hand, her uncovered fingers almost pointing to each teammates.

His bespectacled gaze meeting with Coco, Ozpin smiled a little upon seeing a slight twinge underneath her shades. "Indeed," he continued, "and I do appreciate seeing teams working together. However, I have some questions regarding your mission."

"I mean no disrespect, professor," the large and bulky Yatsuhashi stepped in, confusion in his naturally-narrowed eyes, "but should the information you seek not be in our report?"

"Much of your report was detailed, yes. However, there is a certain portion of that remains somewhat… questionable."

"Which portion?" Coco inquired.

"I hoped you would explain that to me."

There was no response from any of them. Ozpin did not press on, not at first, and instead, he studied his students. Coco was too relaxed to detect any hesitation, Fox was too silent and stoic to show any real signs, and Yatsuhashi was too sturdy to even pry an answer from. So, Ozpin turned to one other team member.

"Miss Scarlatina?"

The small and lone Faunus of group looked a little surprised. "Y-yes, Professor Ozpin?"

"Would be so kind to explain to me what happened within the last few days of your mission?""

Velvet tried to keep a neutral expression, but her long rabbit ears twitched anxiously. He was getting closer, Ozpin realized, and just as he expected, the others came to her defense. "Professor, this is hardly necessary," Coco quickly intervened.

"I think it is," Ozpin countered with an ever-present calm. "The Vytal Festival is coming up, and security has been in question lately. The last thing I want to do is to General Ironwood why my students are keeping secrets that may have dire consequences."

The seriousness in Ozpin's tone and face offset the team. They had not been on the receiving of such an attitude from their rather lax headmaster.

"It's alright," Velvet managed to speak up, looking to Ozpin. "I have nothing to hide. It's just as the report said. After we eliminated most of the Grimm, we returned to camp and went back to the rendezvous point."

"So, there's nothing else to add?"

"None," she answered with the utmost assurance.

Ozpin sat down with a stoic face. "I see…"

Under her shades, Coco's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "If you don't mind, but why are you asking about this?"

"Something I found lying on the ground recently," Ozpin said nonchalantly. He pulled out a photograph from his suit pocket. "I believe this is yours, Velvet."

The minute he placed the photo on his desk, Ozpin could see the looks on his students' faces. It was just a quick glance, a quick hear for Fox as he relied more on ears than eyes to hear his companions' quickened breaths, but that, and their silence, were enough to confirm his suspicions.

"Now," Ozpin rested his hands on his desk, "would you mind telling me what happened? And the truth, please."

After another long moment, Coco slumped her shoulders and sighed. "Velvet."

"Coco-" Velvet's widen eyes screamed objection, but Coco cut off her teammate in the same defeated tone.

"It's too late now. Might as well show him."

The Faunus girl hesitated for a moment before she gave in and came forward. She opened the flap on her box resting behind her and reached inside. Ozpin watched Velvet, who then rested her hand on his desk. Velvet's hand moved, spreading out more pictures before the headmaster.

Ozpin glanced down at them. Each had their differences, but they all had one, familiar element: a fairly short blond man. He was dressed in black in some or a strikingly orange jumpsuit in others, and joined with a shorter, more interesting companion.

"Hmm," Ozpin remarked, looking at his students. "I see my students have quite the story to tell."

Defeated looks answered him. Velvet swallowed and hesitated to speak, "Professor Ozpin… please understand, we all agreed to keep this a secret."

"Is that so?" he humored them.

"Yes," Coco answered for everyone, "after what happened, anyone wouldn't have believed us… We barely believed it ourselves."

"There have been plenty of thing that surprised me. You can tell me." Ozpin assured. Again, they hesitated, prompting him to ask, "Is there something else?"

"Will anyone else know?" came from Velvet.

Now, Ozpin hesitated to answer. He did not want to lose his students' trust in this matter. "Only a few," Ozpin finally admitted, "but they will be chosen by me and only when the time is right. For now, this will be strictly between us."

Team CFVY glanced to one another, wondering if they should believe him. In the end, they came closer to the desk, one by one, and Ozpin sat back and began to listen to their tale…


"Hurry! Get out of here!"

Despite the furious hail of bullets, Velvet heard Coco's words and listened to them. She listened and ran as fast as she could on her quick feet, bobbing and weaving through the surrounding trees.

Out of the corner of her eye, Velvet noticed her teammate, Fox, running alongside her through the blurs of brown and green. She could see the young man's bladed gauntlets and a mop of red hair on his head, though the rest was barely noticeable, thanks to a third and unconscious figure slung over his shoulder.

As she ran, her ears twitched atop her long, brown hair. Normal humans did not possess the capacity to hear long distances. Being a Faunus, Velvet's rabbit ears picked up sounds. From meters away came the howls of Grimm being cut down by bullets and the pounding of swords.

Don't look back, Velvet told herself to suppress her curiosity. Keep going.

She could hear bullet shells hit the ground, almost deafened by wide slashes and strikes. She wanted to turn. She wanted to know the rest of the team would be fine.

Don't look back… Don't…

Giving in, Velvet looked back.

In the distant trees, dust power and bullet shells flashed in the shadows. The sparks came in rapid succession to reveal Coco, leader of team CFVY, firing her machine gun at the Grimm in her way. Not too far from Coco, the tall silhouette of Yatsuhashi bashed the monsters away with his giant sword.

Even further from two, a large haze of smoke. It was where the team found the stranger lying near it. Soon, the Grimm were drawn towards the smoke, and the rest was history. The fastest ones sped off with a would-be meal, and the heavy hitters mowed down anything with fur or scales.

A loud howl whirled Velvet's head to her front, where she now saw a giant black, furry hound twice Velvet's size and of an unmistakably familiar type. A Beowolf!

Velvet and Fox avoided a swipe of the Beowolf's long arm. Fox went under and skidded safely. Velvet went over and sent a roundhouse kick to the Grimm's muzzle, making it double-back. Her feet touched the ground, and she jumped back up for her attack.

Velvet's legs slammed into the Beowolf, cracking porcelain-like mask with one foot and kicking off with the other. When she landed beside Fox, Velvet had the pleasure of watching the Beowolf fall, never to get up.

The two were back on their path, dashing through the forest faster than they had before. Fox led the charge, but he was slower than he usually was. The reason, Velvet saw, shuffled on her teammate's shoulder.

Moving forward, the duo saw the group of trees up head ahead split apart to a large clearing. There was little to no sign of Grimm, large or small, as of yet. They would be out of danger, soon.

That would have brought some relief Velvet, if her ears had not twitched. There was something crawling in the forest; a faint rustle met with a hiss here and there in an eerily familiar pattern. She noticed Fox has slowed down, no doubt picking it up too with his own heightened hearing.

Just as her curious teammate stopped, a big and black body slithered out of the trees. It stretched for several feet and coiled around the clearing. Velvet trailed down the long form, and her widen eyes when she saw an opened mouth coming towards her blind friend.

"Watch out!" Velvet shouted.

Fox jumped back, and fangs struck air. Still, he tumbled upon landing, the mystery weight dropping from his shoulder and rolling out of view. "Fox!" and Velvet rushed to her teammate, the stranger no longer her concern.

The snapping of a whip stopped Velvet, and she crouched under a swiping tail. Another big scaly head, this one white, snapped at her. She dodged to see the big snake of a King Taijitu, the more lethal predators of the Grimm. The white Taijitu sprung forward, and Velvet sprung upwards. She hopped over the head and onto its connected body.

Her feet slid on the slimy scales, down the loops and up the humps, until she bounced off mid-way. Velvet rolled on the ground to break her fall and continued her way to Fox.

Ahead, the literal darker counterpart of Velvet's Taijiti leveled itself at Fox and lunged. The human, already on his knees, grabbed the fangs in his hands. Struggling, Fox rose on one foot and pushed against the weight of the hissing Taijitu, giving Velvet much reason to quicken her pacing.

More hissing from behind Velvet kicked in more of her Huntress training. She leapt to the right, then left, and each time, the fanged mouth missed with the red bulge of an eye in sight. Leaping again, Velvet jumped over another swipe of the head, and kicked her two feet downward. The white Taijitu's mouth dug into the dirt with a loud crunch, and Velvet kicked off and shot towards the wresting contest.

Velvet glided, twisting in the air and extended both of her feet. They connected with the Taijitu's black head. The fangs snapped off and a pained cry rung with the Taijitu's body knocked against a tree trunk. Velvet touched ground, seeing and saw the black body convulsed and collapsed on the ground.

Velvet quickly rushed over to Fox, who had tossed away the black Tajitu's fangs away. "Are you alright?" she asked, helping a nodding Fox stand on his feet.

A loud hiss whirled the two around, and Fox and Velvet tensed. The white Taijitu slowly scaled upwards, its red orbs staring upon them, the thin tongue slithering out. With a loud screech, it lunged. Velvet and Fox prepared themselves, ready to dodge or counter the attack.

Suddenly, its entire body was flung aside.

The Taijitu crashed through the trees, and Velvet and Fox flinched from the wood and leaves flying all over. Soon, they saw the Taijitu lying limply on damaged tree trunks, branches, and grass.

Surprise and confusion flashed across the duo's faces as they both thought the same thing: What just happened?

Velvet's ears rose, picking up something new, and she turned. Lying some feet away was the man her team had rescued, now awake and raised on his left arm. His right hand, covered in a black glove, was held out in a strange gesture before it dropped to the ground.

Velvet brought herself out of her shock and towards the man. She crouched down and scooped her hands under his right arm with Fox grabbing the other arm.

The two heaved up the man on his weak legs. He wobbled and unknowingly bore his weight more on Velvet. "Woah!" Velvet yelped a little. She managed to handle the extra weight, partially thanks to Fox pulling on the other arm. "Take it easy. You're going to be alright."

"Ohhhh…" the man groaned, placing the gloved hand on his blond head. "Quid agis? U-ubi ego sum?"

Velvet's ears and eyebrow rose. She looked to an equally perplexed Fox for answers and was given a shrug. Neither of them knew what the man just said. The language was not anything they had heard. Not in Vale, anyway.

More noise turned them away to the forest. There were no more cries, bullet shots, or sword swings. Instead, trailing down the path they were running away from were Coco and Yatsuhashi. The former gave a familiar smile. "Nice to see you two are good," Coco proudly proclaimed.

Seeing her two other teammates brought relief to Velvet. She could not avoid noticing the state of her friends. "Coco, you're clothes," Velvet sadly noted.

For the fashionista, there were slits on her black pants and the corset was held together by loose strings. "I know," Coco sighed, glancing down at her damaged clothes. "Shame. And I just bought them."

Yatsuhashi, his own clothes and shoulder guard scratched, stepped in. "We did took a bit of a beating, but we will be good," he said, he sheathed his giant blade on his back. "That was the last of them so we don't need to worry about more."

"Let's hope so," Coco spoke, resting her black bag against her hip. "So, how's our friend?"

"Well, um…" The mere mention made Velvet hesitate, and she looked off to the side.

The other two turned to the ruined trees and dead King Taijitu. Yatsuhashi's eyes widen, and his surprise broke his calm tone. "He did that?"

Coco titled her undamaged sunglasses and whistled. "He really must be something if the Grimm wanted to–"

"Coco," Velvet cut in, "sorry, but I don't know how much longer Fox and I can hold him up."

Coco looked to the man between Velvet and Fox. "Right," she agreed. "Let's head back to camp. We'll try to patch him up."

No one argued with that. They all went down the left, carrying the strange man away. As they did, Velvet's eyes and everyone else's wandered to the dissolving corpse of the white Taijitu.


Fox winced when he felt the soft bandage wrap over his left palm. The scratches left by the King Taijitu's fangs stung against the cloth, and he twitched his hand out of place. "Hold still!" he heard Velvet scolding him.

Crossing his legs, Fox did so, and Velvet finished adding the bandages. Fox was the last one to be treated since they returned to camp. His right hand was already covered in bandages, and it stung as much as his left.

The only comfort Fox found was the camp fire in front. It felt so warm in the cool breeze of the night, and the burning woods' tiny pops and crackles were a welcomed blessing, certainly a nice distraction from his stinging hands.

"Be careful Fox," Coco teased through the calming fire, "you don't want to get those bandages dirty."

Fox turned to his left and deadpanned at his leader, not needing eyes to know she wore a slight smirk. Coco would always poke fun every now and again, and now was no exception. Thankfully, Yatsuhashi intervened with his deep baritone. "I think Fox is good, Coco," the giant said from Fox's right, calm as ever.

"Just saying he should be careful, or he might make a rip," Coco said with a playful shrug.

"You mean like you and your clothes?" Velvet interrupted.

"Ouch." Now, Coco held a hand to her chest, faking a wound to the heart.

Small bouts of laughter entered Fox's ears. He would have frowned, but found himself smiling. It was their own way of winding down after a mission, and after all that happened, they needed it.

"So," Coco said, "how's our friend doing?"

"Still resting," Velvet answered.

"And we still don't know anything about him?"

"No," said Velvet, clearly disappointed. "All we know he has a Semblance with telekinesis."

"Any ideas on where he's from?" Coco asked, and Fox knew this was directed at everyone.

"Vacuo, maybe?" Yatsuhashi suggested, and a little hiss followed, no doubt from the pain in his bandaged right shoulder. "From the looks of him, he could have grown up there."

"Maybe... any ideas, Fox?" Fox shrugged, and Coco breathed, "Shame. Too bad we can't speak the same language. Would've liked to known his tailor."

Fox rolled his eyes, but Coco did bring up something interesting. There was nothing from any books on Remnant's languages. It was one part of big riddle that was their new guest. Team CFVY had been in the forest for several days, hunting for Grimm, and for every one the Huntsmen and Huntress-in-training had eliminated, more came to take their place. Someone ought to have a death wish if they were in the middle of that.

Just then, the grass rustled under legs and arms. "Uhhhh…"

Fox turned his head, as did everyone else, to their new friend, who slowly rose from his prone position. Velvet moved first, the grass crumpling under feet while doing so. Fox rose with Coco and Yatsu and witnessed Velvet crouch in front of her new 'patient.' "Easy, you're hurt," she said.

Fox barely caught the slightest murmurs from the stranger. "Quid?"

"Can you understand me?" Velvet spoke slowly.

"I don't think he gets it. Let me try," said Coco, who stepped forward with a hand on herself, then gestured to each of her teammates. "I'm Coco. Co-co. This is Fo-ox. Vel-vet. Yat-su."

"Actually, it's…" Fox heard Yatsu spoke, but he put a hand on the giant's shoulder to stop him.

The stranger's voice filled the air, saying only one word: "Luuk."


AN: Yep, this is has been gathering dust for some years now. I initially started writing this little short story around (I wanna say) 2015 or 2016 before the animation for RWBY changed altogether and TLJ came out. Looking back, I'm glad to not have finished it due to the nonsense in both franchises, as well as their respective companies and fandoms. Still, hope you liked it. Until next time, take care and stay safe.

Raika out.