This Ursa hunched low. It stood as tall as two bullheads stacked on top of another and it was as wide as two Ursas bunched up together. Its white spikes reached high into the canopy, the highest length he had ever seen on an Ursa, and covered its back like the spikes of a porcupine.
Large yellow dust crystals grew between the white spikes, deforming the beast's black muscle. Some of the white spikes had jagged broken ends near the crystals. Parts of its flesh drooped near the lightning dust crystals.
Rusted metal and machinery took up half of the Ursa's body, covering its arms in a horrific imitation of armor. Exposed cut wires sparked from between scratched metal plating and gears spun around on its metal arm, adding to no other function. Bits of metal clung to ripped open muscles, which hung onto the body of the beast on lone strands of tendon. Sharp rusted metal covered its massive paw and claws.
Cracks fragmented the Ursa's bone-white mask. One of its eyes glowed the Grimm red while the other glowed a bright yellow similar in color to that of the dust crystals growing on its back.
Jaune's eyes widened in surprise at the new foe, but his body already moved toward it. Pyrrha ran to the other side of the Ursa, taking a wide berth around it/
The giant Ursa bellowed and swiped its metal-plated claws against a nearby tree. A cloud of tree bark exploded from the tree and it fell onto the ground, cut from its trunk.
The Ursa bent low and gripped the makeshift weapon in its maw. The exploded bark clung to its skin and tore off loose muscle as it moved, but the beast didn't seem to notice.
It puffed out a vent of steam from the holes in its bone mask and its yellow eyes shot out small streaks of electricity into the air.
The beast turned its head between both of them. Its limbs moved independently, one side of its body moving towards Pyrrha while the other moved towards him. It finally stomped down its limbs and snapped its head towards him.
He raised his shield and pumped his aura to the forefront of his body. The Ursa ran forward, covering an absurd distance in long strides, and swung the broken tree at him.
The log sped towards him too quickly to doge. He gritted his teeth and pumped aura into his legs. He leapt forward into the broken tree, shield raised.
He crashed through the trunk. Serrated pieces of bark ripped into his shield and aura. He roared through the pain. His aura protected him from any real damage. Splitting through the tree, he ran to the giant Ursa. One end of the twice-broken tree fell onto the ground.
The Ursa's swung again, this time with a much shorter tree. He jumped over the attack and lunged at the beast's skull.
He flicked on his sword's hard-light mode and swung into its face. The beast opened its maw wide and bit into the sword. Rows of bright sharp white teeth broke against the metal and melted from the light dust heat.
The Ursa's strong jaw clamped down onto his arm, crushing him. His aura glowed brightly, sparking against the sharp teeth and strong jaw. He grunted and dug his sword deeper into the Grimms mouth, melting more sharp teeth into white sludge that burned the beasts' pitch red mouth.
The Grimm, even as its teeth turned to hot sludge and holes started to appear in its jaw, didn't relent. The jaws bit harder against his arm tied and the melting teeth dug into his aura. He couldn't hold out for much longer.
The beast eyed him with pure fury. He eyed the creature back with a look just as animalistic.
He hissed, issuing a challenge. The beast hissed back. It ground its jaw tighter and swung its normal Grimm arm at his legs.
He smiled. He pushed his thumb through the jaw muscles and flicked on the gravity mode of his sword. At the same time, he raised his shield against the swinging arm.
The Grimm made a muffled sound of shock.
His sword grew ten times heavier and ripped open the Grimm's closed maw.
The swinging arm crashed into his shield and sent him and his grav sword to the side. He moved with the motion, ripping the lower half of the Grimms jaw off with the heavy sword.
He flicked it back to its normal mode before the added weight ripped off his arm.
Neon red mouth muscles fell out of the hole that had once been the bottom jaw of the Grimm along with a pile of smoldering teeth. The Ursa swung its head back to roar. All that came out of its mouth was a gurgling static noise.
It whipped around, unaffected by the removal of its lower jaw, and bounded to him.
Pyrrha reached the end of her pincer attack and leaped onto the mountain of white spikes on the Ursa's back. Her metal greaves crushed some of the spikes, churning them into the flesh of the Ursa. She swung her javelin down and dug the blade deep into the monster's hide.
It stopped its charge and roared in fury. It trashed around in a circle wildly, pawing at its backside, utterly forgetting about him. Pyrrha dogged every blow like a smooth dancer and continued to stab into the hide of the beast.
The Ursa stopped its movement and hunched low. Its back arched like that of a cat and steam erupted from its rusted metal side. The lightning dust crystals on its back glowed brightly.
He shouted out a warning.
Pyrrha stabbed the beast one more time and leaped off its back like a red and gold bullet.
Yellow electricity shot out from the beast's crystals around the spot Pyrrha had stood on. The electricity broke its large white spikes and lanced around the air, burning the leaves off the nearby trees. More electricity shot out of the crystals doing as much harm to the Ursa as they did to the nearby nature.
He ran behind the cover of one tree as a spear of electricity ripped the ground where he had stood, turning the grass smoldering black.
A static stench filled his nose.
The electricity sparked out for a minute or two. It stopped in one last spark.
He ran out of the trees and at the Ursa. Pyrrha stood behind the beast, her spear stabbed into the ground, her hands held out.
He met her eyes and they both nodded.
The Ursa turned to face Pyrrha. He banged his sword against his shield. It snapped around to the challenge and roared back, losing all of its focus on his red-haired partner.
It bounded towards him. He picked up speed and raised his sword.
Through the small spaces between the beast's white spikes, Pyrrha's hands glowed black.
A black glow enveloped the metal side of the beast. In the middle of its charge, the beast's metal side flew into the air, turning the beast over. It whined in confusion.
Pyrrha's semblance flew the metal side of the beast higher into the air, dragging the Grimm skyward until the tension broke. The metal side ripped apart from the Ursa's black muscle in a satisfying tear. The Ursa started to fall through the air.
He jumped, aura pushing him high into the air. He used the head of the falling Ursa as a stepping stone to jump onto the floating metal.
He grabbed the nearest handhold, bracing against the pull of gravity.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the metal lifted higher into the air. He craned his neck over the edge. Pyrrha held her arms out, legs shaking and sweat pouring from her face.
Her knees crashed into one another and she fell to the ground. The black glow surrounding the metal dissipated.
Gravity pulled onto him and his metal platform, churning his stomach.
He pushed against the heavy sensation and ran over to the edge of the metal bundle. He jumped off of the impromptu platform, grabbing onto the metal's edge.
The Ursa, lying in a pile of broken grass, wearily turned its broken body to face him.
He met its red and yellow eyes and grinned wickedly.
The looming shadow of the metal platform grew larger and larger and larger as Remnant pulled it back down faster and faster.
He pulled down with aura-tipped fingers and both he and the metal bundle shot through the last of the distance.
He shoved the metal down onto the Ursa, utterly crushing it. The impact of metal on Grimm meat created a massive shockwave. He landed on the ground a moment after the metal bundle, creating a mini crater.
The shockwave traveled through the trees, shaking the forest and shook and carrying the debris from the fight out into the greater foliage.
The metal covered the entire Ursa. The stack of metal rattled. He jumped on top of the structure, sword aimed down.
The rattling stopped with one final shudder of the metal.
Black Grimm dust tore through the metal parts, shredding them with holes and floating high into the air. A gust of wind scattered the dust into nothingness.
Lighting dust crystals stuck out at odd angles beneath the metal heap and through the holes left by the dust.
He smiled and sheathed his weapon
The adrenaline passed and he deflated. His body ached to the bone. Slowly stepping onto the ground, aura washed over him in waves and rejuvenated him.
He took deep slow breaths, observing the destroyed area. The surrounding forest lay in utter ruin. Leaves lay scattered on the ground and broken tree bark sat in the ripped open petals of flowers.
He ran over to Pyrrha, eyes wide with worry and heart humping. She lay on the ground, covered in sweat. Her aura lapped over her cream-colored skin like the waves of still water.
He landed on his knees next to her and took her pulse. Her heart moved normally and her chest rose evenly. He sighed in relief, weariness moving through his system.
The trees parted and all of their friends rushed into the area. They ran to him.
They stopped in front of him and began to shoot out questions, their voices becoming an unrecognizable jumble of anxious words.
He ignored them and looked at the path of destruction the giant Ursa had taken to get to them.
The shattered trees showed a clear view of the darkening outline of Mountain Glenn.
Glynda Goodwitch narrowed her eyes as she looked over the missions chosen by the first years.
She sat in her office, an empty mug of tea at her side and the un-finished paperwork of the day pushed away to her other side.
Her holo comp displayed a map of the first-year mission locations across Vale. Tiny little red dots laid over a 3d model of the entirety of Vale represented each team.
Her eyes darted over the map. Another holo screen floated next to the map, which showed information about each team such as aura level and what mission they were on.
She absentmindedly reached her hand over and brought the empty teacup to her lips. She tilted it back, expecting to have sweet liquid travel down her throat, but only a sliver of tea trailed into her mouth. She pushed the empty mug, scowling.
She placed the mug back down and looked back at the map. Her eyes caught onto three lone red dots near the Vale border closest to Mountain Glenn.
Sliding her glasses up her nose, she looked away from the dots and focused on the areas near them. No other dots filled the map for miles around.
Frowning, she zoomed in on the three dots. The floating holo screen changed information from the general info about all the teams to specific info on Team JNPR, Team RWBY, and Team CFVY, the prodigal first and second-year teams she tutored privately.
She pulled up their mission information. It was a simple defense mission to protect a group of workers building a railroad through some forests. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Except Ozpin had a suspicion that Jaune Arc, Blake Belladonna, and Pyrrha Nikos, just so happened to be involved in the Fang convoys' desperate escape to Mountain Glenn.
Her face scrunched up and her head began to run through possible scenarios.
She turned to another floating holo screen. Using her passcodes, she retrieved the first-year search terms about missions.
Her fingers flew over her holographic keyboard.
She set the computer to find the first years who had searched up the keywords, Mountain Glenn. A second later the computer printed out a name: Jaune Arc.
The revelation shocked her slightly. She sat back in her seat and rubbed her chin in deep thought. This opened up many possibilities. She couldn't keep this info to herself.
She collapsed the map and other holo panels, putting in a call to Ozpin. The old headmaster answered the call, his face projected onto a floating holo screen. He sat at his headmaster's desk, writing on a pile of paperwork.
The windows of his office showed thick snow falling out of giant stark gray clouds. A few minutes ago it had been sunny but the change in weather reminded everyone that winter was well and truly here.
Ozpin looked up from the papers and asked, "Do you need something Glynda?"
She shook her head, "I have something you might find interesting."
She flicked her fingers over her holo-keyboard and sent Ozpin Jaune's search information. The ping of the message's delivery sounded from Ozpin's end.
He shifted in his seat and scrolled through his holo comp. He pulled back, a glint of something in his eyes she couldn't quite place.
He stroked his chin and his eyes darted over his holo screen once more.
"This is quite interesting. Send me the specifics of this mission and tell me when they return."
Glynda nodded, "I'll get right on that sir."
Ozpin nodded and ended the call, leaving Glynda's office in silence. She sent him the information and stood.
She walked over to her tea stand and began to brew another cup. Brothers knew she was going to need it.
Things were shaping up to be a very interesting school year.
"Ow!" Jaune hissed as Tsune pinched his bicep with sharp pink nails, grinding against his aura.
"Hold still. I'm trying to gauge whether your biceps are working properly," the mature faunus nurse replied, scribbling something down on a clipboard.
"But you've been testing me for almost an hour! You only took a few minutes with Pyrrha. Am I hurt or not?"
Red marks covered his exposed arms and chest, all of them not done by the mutant Grimm but instead by Beacon's head doctor.
The fox-eared faunus woman shoved away from his medical bed on her rolling chair, giving him a pointed look. A look that promised pain if he didn't show some respect. It looked very similar to one of Glynda's looks but had a different killer quality to it.
He tried to hold her gaze but her sheer authority made that impossible.
He sighed, looking onto his chest, and added in a small mutter, "...ma'am."
She smiled, the heavy air she had radiated disappeared as quickly as it came, "Now that's more like it."
She rolled over to the end of his sickbed and attached her clipboard to the stand. Meeting his gaze, she stood.
Waving a hand through the air, she lazily said, "Oh, by the way, I knew you were fine the moment you came through the door. I'm a professional combat doctor after all so it's my specialty to know your condition in an instant."
His mouth flew open in exasperation, "Then why did you keep me in here so long?"
She grinned like her faunus namesake and her fox tail swished behind her, "I remember when you and Miss Belladonna came in here in the middle of the night. I thought I put you through enough pain back then so you would make it a point to never come back here. Alas, it seems you didn't take my lesson to heart and got yourself in here anyways. I had to teach you the lesson again, would you like me to teach you some more?"
He bowed his head in fear and mumbled, "No ma'am."
She barked out a laugh, "Good, now get changed and get out of here. Your friends are clogging up my waiting room."
She turned and walked through the medical curtains.
He sighed and lay back on the soft pillow of the inclined medical bed. He took a deep breath, the sterile smell of the medical center filling his head.
Shaking his head, he turned to his pile of clothes and armor. He wore only a polka dot patient one piece that left very little to the imagination. The doctor must have chosen the ill-fitting wear on purpose. At least his lower half had been covered by a thick blanket.
Slowly, he slid out of the bed and into a pair of plastic slippers. He took off the patient one piece and put on his battle armor, still infused with the soak and dirt from the Ursa fight.
He sniffed himself and gagged. A nice hot shower and cleaning armor were in order.
He tidied up the bed and folded the patient's one piece onto a neat pile on top of the bedsheets. He did one last survey of the small medical section. Nothing looked out of place.
Strapping his weapon to his side, he went through the green curtains and exited out into the main medical foray. Tsune, conversing with another nurse, met his gaze and pointed to the door.
He nodded and briskly walked out into the waiting area.
The waiting area, unlike the time he and Blake had come to the medical center in the dead of night, brimmed full of life. A few students sat in modern wooden seats while a nurse sat behind a front desk, talking on a phone in a hushed voice.
Off to the side, his team and team RWBY sat or stood around one another. They spoke in loud conversation. Their voices filled the waiting room and attracted the pointed looks of the other students and the nurse on the phone.
He walked over to them. Those sitting jumped out of their seats while the rest turned to face him. They all had varying levels of concern on their faces, most of all Pyrrha and Blake.
Blake also gave him a look of sympathy, someone who had also experienced Tsune's painful habits.
They opened their mouths to speak but he quieted them with a finger to his lips. He pushed them out of the waiting room, silently apologizing to the nurse and other students.
He led them down to a deserted hall. Large ornate windows hung on the side of the hall, showing snow piling on the Beacon campus. It had been sunny when they had gone on the mission.
Now dark clouds filled the sky, covering the sun. The snow fell heavily, casting a deary white blanket over Beacon.
The two teams stopped and everyone faced him. They began to ask him a myriad of questions, their voices becoming an unrecognizable jumble of noise. He waved his hands, quieting them down.
He said, his voice echoing down the hall, "I can't answer all of your questions at once. Ask them one at a time."
Pyrrha frowned and asked, "Why did you take so long? Are you hurt?"
"Tsune just wanted to keep me there to teach me a lesson. I'm perfectly fine," he responded.
The group let out a collective sigh of relief and sagged in place, tension seeping out of them. Pyrrha nodded, her frown turning into a small smile.
Nora asked, both of her hands behind her head, "So Pyrrha already told us about that Grimm you fought but I gotta hear it from you. Was it really that freaky looking?"
He nodded, "It was."
"Now that we know that you're safe, does anyone wanna chill in the library? Maybe even play some World of Remnant?" Yang asked, looking over everyone.
The group made sounds of assent. Yang started to lead the group toward the library.
He turned away from his friends, "I'm actually going to go back to the dorms and take a shower. I'll see you guys in the library later."
His team and team RWBY nodded. They resumed their walk. He turned around to head to the dorms.
Right as he stepped forward, Ruby bolted to his side in a flutter of rose petals. One of the scarlet petals landed on his shoulder pauldron. He picked it up and it exploded into a puff of bright red energy. The energy dissipated into the air.
Ruby looked up at him and said, "Hey just to let you know, Coco and I already filled out the mission report."
He frowned, "You didn't have to do that for me."
She shook her head, smiling, "Oh some on Jaune you're my best friend and you were getting examined. It was nothing."
"Well thanks, Rube. I'll be going now."
He put one foot forward, ready to move, but she grabbed his arm and stopped him
She blurted out," "Oh, by the way, the headmaster wants to see you for a personal brief. He already talked to me and Coco"
He nodded, wondering what questions the headmaster might ask him.
"Thanks, Rube, I'll head there after I clean up," he responded.
Ruby smiled a bright white smile and skipped over to the retreating forms of their teams.
Looking at the retreating forms of his teammates, he met the eyes of Blake and Pyrrha. He fished out his scroll and pointed to it. They both nodded and continued to walk with the team.
He turned around and went to the dorm. He quickly showered and out gave his armor to one of the cleaning robots floating through the dorm. He dressed plainly but smart, something appropriate for a meeting with the headmaster.
Walking out of his room, he sent a message over to Blake and Pyrrha. He walked back to the main school building and snaked around the halls until he found the empty classroom Blake had dragged him into. Entering it, he took stock of the room. Nothing stood out of the ordinary.
Mind moving a thousand miles per hour, he sat at an empty desk and looked out of the classroom's large wall windows. The small amount of light bouncing off the snow outside painted the room a grayish color.
A few minutes passed and the door to the classroom creaked open. He jumped slightly and his hand darted to where his sword usually rested against his side. His hands
gripped nothing but air. Of course, he had already put his sword away for cleaning.
Sagging, he cupped his face. He couldn't let paranoia get the best of him. He thought Would I have even used the sword on school grounds anyway?
Pyrrha stepped in through the door followed by Blake. The cat faunus slowly walked into the room, her head craned behind her and looking down both ends of the hall. She walked in and slowly closed the door with only the quietest of clicks. Both of them wore casual wear befitting the cold weather.
Pyrrha's emerald eyes met his, glowing in concern. She quickly walked over to him. He stood up and she engulfed him in a tight hug, burying her head in his neck. Her bronze circlet cooled his skin.
She squeezed him tightly and he did as well. He moved his arms around her muscular frame, locking her in place. They stayed like that for a few minutes.
She slowly tangled out of his hold.
Blake came over, her amber eyes glowing in relief. She gave him a quick hug, one he couldn't reciprocate fast enough, and sat in a seat in front of him.
Pyrrha sat next to him, crossing one of her legs over the other.
Blake broke the silence, "Are you really alright Jaune?"
He nodded, stretching and cracking bone, "Well everything seems to be working so I'm pretty sure I'm fine."
Blake smiled a small smile, "That's nice to hear."
He turned to Pyrrha, "I hope Pyrrha filled you in on the attack and gave you the details I left out to the group."
Blake nodded, her cat ears flickering back and forth, "You and Pyrrha went into the forest, killed a pack of Ursa when suddenly out of the woods a giant mutant Grimm appeared with dust crystals embedded into it, and half of its body made out of metal. You and Pyrrha defeated it. It seemed to have come from mount Glenn. Is all of that right?"
He nodded, "Pretty much. So what do you think about the attack?"
Blake didn't answer immediately. She turned her gaze to the windows. The snow fell harder now. He and Pyrrha turned to the sight, looking on with Blake.
Several minutes passed and Blake turned back to him. A cool glow smoldered in her eyes.
She slowly said, "This may be a bit far-fetched but I think the Fang could have something to do with that Grimm. Now that they don't have the dust or the Paladins, they won't be able to breach Vale. So they might just be crazy enough to try to use the Grimm as a weapon."
Pyrrha asked, "But modifying Grimm? Do the Fang even have the smarts or resources to do that?"
Blake shrugged, "Honestly, with Adam at the helm the Fang would probably be crazy enough to seek out the connections and the resources to make mutant Grimm. There's probably some disgruntled Atlas scientist out there who he approached to make the modified Grimm."
He interjected, "But if the Fang used Grimm their very little standing they have would drop to zero from both humans and faunus alike. No one in the history of Remnant comes out a good guy after they use the Grimm. Everyone collectively despises them."
Blake responded, "What can I tell you? Adam is a madman. He'll do anything to further the Fang. But I have a hunch that he's not fighting for Faunus equality but instead for Faunus supremacy. Or maybe he's fighting to be the most powerful person on the planet, no matter the consequences."
He laid back in his seat, processing Blake's words. They couldn't allow the Fang to unleash modified Grimm, but they couldn't fight them yet with their non-access to higher-level missions.
They needed to be patient.
Pyrrha popped in, "I think for now we should continue to do missions as normal. The only way we're going to be able to go on a mission like Mountain Glenn is if we get recognized for our skill. We can't just sit around."
He straightened, a burning determination filling his heart.
He addressed both of his partners, "I better go to Ozpin and give him my debrief."
Both girls hummed in agreement. He stood, sparing one last look at the falling snow, and headed out the room. His two partners followed behind him. They went down the hall. He separated from them at the end of it.
He waved them goodbye as they walked to the library. He steeled himself and walked to the clock tower elevator.
He got on the elevator and pressed the button to the headmaster's office, one out of the two available buttons. The elevator doors closed with a hiss. The elevator shot up the tower.
A few moments later it came to a stop and hissed open.
He walked out into the ornate headmaster's office.
Ozpin sat behind his desk writing furiously on several pieces of paper. He looked up and smiled, waving him in.
He walked over to the desk and took a glance around the office. The place looked the same as last time.
Ozpin, his small glasses on the edge of his nose, motioned to the plush seats in front of his desk, "Please Mr. Arc have a seat."
He nodded and sat down, easing himself into the chair. He shuffled around and got comfortable.
Ozpin smiled and pushed the papers to the side. He reached under his desk and pulled out a small serving tray. He laid the tray down on the desk in front of him. A pitcher of tea, a can of soda, and a bottle of water stood on the tray.
He waved his hands over the assortment of refreshments, "Would you care for a beverage ? It usually calms students down when they come to my office."
Jaune looked between the liquids and pointed to the water, "I would like water if you don't mind. I don't think I've had a good drink since I got out of the medical facility."
Ozpin handed him the bottle of water and put the tray away. He took slow gulps of the refreshing liquid, his groggy senses sharpening with every sip. Finishing, he wiped his mouth and placed the bottle at his feet.
He met the old headmaster's eyes, "Ruby told me I had to debrief you about the mission."
Ozpin nodded, smiling amicably, "Oh that is just a formality. I do mission debriefs with all of the first-year teams after their first mission. Now, why don't we get started?"
The old headmaster coughed, "Now can you describe what occurred during the mission the moment you left Beacon?"
He straightened in his seat and told the headmaster about the entire mission. He told the story in excruciating detail and didn't leave out much to deter suspicion. If he told a different story compared to Ruby and Coco things would go bad. He made sure to describe the Grimm and the battle he and Pyrrha had with it.
He finished the story sometime later. The old master sighed and sat back in his seat, The lines on his face deepened and he looked a thousand years old, maybe older. He turned his gaze to the clock tower windows.
Jaune looked out with him, wondering what the old man could be pondering.
Ozpin turned back to him and sat forward, placing his elbows on the desk and rubbing his clean-shaven chin, "Interesting, a modified Grimm. I've heard stories about them and I've lived long enough to see and fight a few modified Grimm myself, but I have never heard of a Grimm so well modified. The ones I fought were hundred by their modifications. This Ursa you've told me about seemed to have gained a sizable advantage because of its modifications."
"I'm just as shocked as you are sir," he replied.
The old headmaster hummed, "Tell me, Mr. Arc, do you think the Fang have anything to do with this Grimm?"
His heart skipped a beat. He kept his face steady and his posture the same. He needed to tread carefully or else risk telling Ozpin too much or the wrong things. He needed to win this mental game of chess, not making a single mistake.
The scariest thing was that Ozpin held years upon years of experience on him. The old man had played this game and had no doubt won many times before.
He found his center, steeling himself and collecting the correct words to say. He met Ozpin's gaze and put all of his confidence to the forefront.
He asked, feigning as much confusion as he could, "The Fang? How could the Fang be involved with Grimm?."
The headmaster's brow rose and he spoke as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world, "Well you must have seen the news of the Fang convoys mad rush through the highway. The police didn't outright tell you but if you compared maps of Vale and the route the Fang took to get to the highway and the highway's location, the only possible place the Fang could have been headed towards was Mountain Glenn."
He shook his head, continuing the charade, "I'm sorry sir but I hadn't thought of that. Now that you mention it, that does make quite a lot of sense. But why would the Fang go to somewhere like mountain Glenn, isn't it a wasteland?"
Ozpin shook his head, "It's all right , I don't expect you to make these connections out of the blue yet. And to your question, Mountain Glenn isn't a complete wasteland, it's just a rotting abandoned city. Do you know how it came to be that way?'
This time he didn't need to fake his curiosity, the videos hadn't said much about Mountain Glenn, "No I've only heard bits and pieces from my father, but he never likes talking about his huntsman work."
Ozpin hummed, his eyes glowing with nostalgia, "Ah yes, I remember Nicolas being on the front lines of Mountain Glenn relief efforts."
He turned away and looked at the windows, his eyes going past the heavy snow to a place that seemed far in the past
The headmaster asked in a somber voice, "Tell me what is the population of Vale City?"
He frowned, confused by the question, but answered nonetheless, "I think it's about 8 million, maybe 9 million, I'm not exactly sure."
"Before you were born it was 10 million. Space in Vale City was running short and a campaign to convince people to move out into the towns and hamlets was working poorly. People were scared of the Grimm outside the walls after a few journalists exaggerated a small Grimm attack in a town far-flung from the wall. But no Grimm has walked anywhere near the towns and hamlets closest to the city in hundreds of years. These were the very places the campaign was trying to convince people to move to."
"The city tried a whole slew of plans to increase living space but nothing worked out. One person even proposed expanding the subway system deeper underground and creating some sort of underground city. I actually wholeheartedly supported that position as we have the light and gravity dust tools to accomplish that. Alas, the council thought that no one would want to live underground."
"So the council came up with the wondrous idea of building a new city on Mountain Glenn. They promised low prices and a slew of new jobs for whoever migrated there. A million and a bit more Vale city residents took them up on their offer. Thus Mountain Glenn was built, but it wasn't built well. The council and many other people in high offices rushed its planning and development to quickly make as much money as they could from the investment of the millions. This led to disaster when one of the city's subway tunnels blew apart, allowing a breach of Grimm from the nearby forest."
"Everything turned into chaos. The Grimm overpowered the very few huntsmen hired for the city, killing anyone. Now Glenn has only abandoned buildings and Grimm. It stands as a testament to the consequences of greed. But the place is not completely destroyed, simply overrun with Grimm. The Fang could have taken up residence in the vast subway system."
He sighed, finishing the tale. His persona of the powerful headmaster crumbled for a moment, revealing an anguished man. A beat passed and his mask returned.
The old headmaster sat tall and met his eyes, "Back to my previous question, do you think the Fang had anything to do with this modified Grimm?"
He answered, "To be frank with you sir, I don't think the Fang have the resources nor cunning to modify a Grimm in the first place, much less create a functioning one."
"And are you sure that this Grimm came from mountain Glenn?"
"I'm sure, it was so large that the path it had made was hard to mistake. The path led right towards Glenn, it didn't veer off at all."
Ozpin hummed and gazed at him for a few moments. He didn't look away and held strong, everything he had said had been the truth. Ozpin raised a brow and slowly moved his gaze to the windows. Bits of snow clung around the edges of the window panes, frosting.
In the window's reflection, Ozpin's face morphed into a frown.
The silence grew, making Jaune uncomfortable. He tried not to show it and sat obediently in his seat. The ticking of the clock tower gently thrummed in his head, stretching out each second.
Ozpin turned his gaze back to him and nodded to the elevator, "Thank you, , your briefing was invaluable. I will send some huntsmen to investigate this strange occurrence. In the meantime rest and join your team. You may pursue more missions later next weekend, do not let this incident scare you."
He laughed, "I wasn't planning on it, sir."
The old man smiled, looking decades younger, "I had a feeling you would say that . Have a good day."'
Jaune stood and went back down the elevator, leaving the headmaster with only the ticking of the clocktower.
Two weeks passed and things went back to normal.
He and his eight-man team pushed themselves back into the missions with vigor. They chose the hardest and most urgent missions, uncaring of the amount of money they received.
They completed missions quickly and with stunning results, gaining more attention from the student body of Beacon as the best first-year teams.
They gained such a reputation that mission posters specifically asked for them. This angered a lot of the other first years, but he nor his eight-man group cared about how they felt. They wouldn't be held back by the jealousy of their peers.
On one of these sought-out missions, he and his friends were hunting a few Grimm, in a forest, which had been harassing a town far from the city.
They quickly found the Grimm and made quick work of them.
They still had plenty of daylight left. He and the rest of his eight-man team agreed to head out deeper into the forest towards another town and deal with the Grimm there.
Using their auras, they ran through the woods at breakneck speeds, cutting through any obstacle in their path. They quickly found another batch of Grimm and dispatched them without breaking a sweat. They sought out and found more Grimm. Before he knew it they had fought until the sun had set.
He heaved his sword into the soft ground and used it to support himself. A pile of Grimm bodies disintegrated behind him. The moonlight filtered through the trees, highlighting a slight sheen of sweat over his skin.
He took deep breaths, muscles warm and loose. The after-battle high rolled through him, leaving a stark clarity of how long they had fought and how far they were from the mission village.
All around him, his teammates shared smiles or traded laughs, sweating and stretching.
He let them revel for a few minutes.
When the last of the Grimm ashes swept into the air, he gathered up his friends. He led them back to the village. No Grimm stood in their way.
They reached the quaint little village in record time. His muscles ached.
He ignored the pain and led his team deeper into the village. The houses they passed were made out of stone foundations and simple wood. Some of the more expensive houses boasted modern designs like those you would find in some sleek neighborhoods back in Vale City.
The tallest structure in the town, a small version of the CCT tower, stood four stories tall. It sat behind the mayor's office, the second tallest building in the village.
Striding over to the mayor's office, they passed by many villagers coming home from work.
Many of the villagers looked at them with awe or bowed their heads to them in reverence. He smiled and tried to show as much friendlessness but none of the villagers met his eye.
He sighed and focused on their path.
They found the mayor waiting on the steps of his office. The lights of the office illuminated his back and the entire street as one of the few buildings still with light.
The mayor scurried over to them and bowed his head. He was a stubby unremarkable man whose name he had forgotten the moment they had left the village. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to remember it.
He told the mayor, "We got rid of the Grimm and we got rid of some packs near them just to be extra safe. Your people can now go out there without getting harmed, we promise that."
The man nodded and met his eyes briefly, "You have our eternal gratitude huntsmen we wouldn't have known what to do without you. May the brothers bless you."
He murmured a prayer and made the sign of the brothers over his chest: a circle representing the sun and a crescent shape inside of that circle representing the moon. Jaune tried to mimic the mayor. He stopped midway, not wanting to be disrespectful.
The mayor finished praying and said, "I don't know how we can pay you for this service, this entire town is indebted to you."
Jaune shook his head, bemused, "We'll be happy just taking the amount you posted on the missions board. We'll be out of your hair right after we receive the payment."
The mayor shook his head and finally met his eyes, "That will not do. We can't only just give you money and see you off. Anyways isn't it too late for your bullhead to pick you up? Why don't we repay you with a large feast and comfortable arrangements for the night? Come, it'll be right at my own home!"
Jaune turned to his friends and they shrugged, deferring the decision to him.
He sighed and looked up. Stars blinked brightly on the thick oily canvas of the sky. They could call in the bullhead for extraction but late-night extractions were only used for emergencies. No bullhead pilot liked to fly the late shift.
He turned his gaze back down to the short mayor, "Alright, we'll take you up on that offer."
The mayor grinned in glee. He led them away from the mayor's office and deeper into the town. They passed through a mostly pitch black town. Some stores and a few bars stood as lighthouses in the sea of blackness that was the town.
Yang and Nora snickered loudly, cracking jests about the mayor and the town at large. A sharp bark from Weiss quieted both women. The mayor nor anyone they passed by made any comments.
They reached the mayor's house, the most expensive house in the entire town, and entered.
The mayor escorted them into a large dining room. A large fireplace roared in one corner. Rugs hugged the floor and lanterns hung from the walls. A large round table stood in the middle of the room big enough for everyone
Admiring the room, he sat down with the rest of his team. The mayor shouted into the nearby kitchen and two women came out. One of them looked as old as the mayor and just as short, no doubt his wife. She carried trays of steaming food; another woman followed her out, also carrying trays of food.
This woman stood twice as tall compared to the mayor or his wife. She looked to be around his age, older or younger he couldn't tell. She sauntered over to the table and began to serve them with the mayor's wife. Coming closer to him, the resemblance she had to both the mayor and his wife jumped out. She was their daughter.
She walked around the table with her mother, serving them richly-smelling piping hot food from well-worn pots and pans.
She circled to him and stopped. The strong smell of the rich food on her platters wafted into his nose, making his mouth water. She put a very healthy serving onto his plate, much more than any member of his party.
He met her gaze and his brow rose, curious at the serving size. She gave him a wink and spun away with a quiet laugh. He watched her go, smiling softly.
She and her mother finished serving the entire table. Both of them sat down next to the mayor.
He shifted in his seat, waiting to replenish the energy he burned fighting Grimm. The mayor began a prayer to the brothers. The mother and daughter joined him in muttered prayers, eyes closed.
He tuned out their prayers and glanced between his food and his friends. They silently mimed to one another, trying to make each other laugh. He simply watched their antics.
Nora, who sat right next to him, snickered. He turned to her and raised a brow. The pink bombardier, a thick slice of juicy meat hanging out of her lips, shrugged. He shook his head at her antics, wondering what she might have found funny. She gulped down the slice of meat right as the villagers finished their prayers.
The mayor said one more loud prayer and began to eat food. He took that as the sign to dig into his food. The rest of his team quickly followed. The food tasted delicious and he ate it greedily.
While they ate, they had polite conversations with the mayor. The mayor did most of the talking. He droned on about the town's history and its people, putting all of them to sleep.
Jaune ignored the mayor and spoke in hushed voices with his friends.
Their daughter joined in on their conversation, wondering what it was like being a huntsman. He gladly told her about his and his team's time at Beacon and their experience so far.
She listened with rapt attention and drank every single one of his words. The shine of wonder in her eyes filled him with a sense of confidence and happiness. It felt good to be valued by the people you protected.
He and his teammates wolfed down the meal. He laid back in his seat, thoroughly stuffed and satisfied. Everyone else at the table held similar reactions.
The mayor stood and brought out a small serving of sweets.
Jaune ate a few of the sweets but he couldn't stomach the rest. He discreetly handed the remaining sweets to Rub. The shorter girl wolfed down the food like a vacuum cleaner.
The mayor stood once more and announced their sleeping arrangements. They would sleep in the main guest room.
He and his team left the table as one. He and his friends offered to help clean up but the mayor and his family shooed them into the guest room.
The room was smaller than the living room but, if they maximize space, they would be able to sleep on the floor in their sleeping bags. It had the same cozy and full motif as the rest of the house.
He set his bedroll down and helped his friends with their rolls. Starting up the room's small fireplace, he sat by his bedroll, content and tired. A yawn escaped his lips as the heat from the fire filled the room.
He shrugged off his armor and went to the guest bathroom. The rest of his team joined him in the cramped space. He and his team brushed their teeth and refreshed themselves, laughing and talking happily.
He and his team hurried out of the bathroom, letting team RWBY rush into it. He quickly crawled into his sleeping bag and bid his friends goodnight.
The moment he closed his eyes, sleep took him.
The next day he and his team called their bullhead for extraction and quickly came back to Beacon.
They arrived bright and early. The sun was just rising out of the horizon, slowly pushing the darkness away. Early risers gazed up at their Bullhead, the lone aircraft flying into the campus.
The bullhead touched down and they all raced out of it. He quickly led his group back to the mission assignment room. Rushing into the room, they confirmed the mission completion and received their payment.
It was the second day of the weekend so they could do another mission. He began to scroll through the missions.
Right as he went to accept a promising mission, Glynda's voice sounded from the school's intercom, "Will teams JNPR and RWBY please come to the headmaster's office. Will teams JNPR and RWBY please come to the headmaster's office."
He paused, his finger hovering over the accept mission button. He turned to his teammates. Their faces looked at one another, frowning.
Weiss piped up, "I wonder what Ozpin would want us for? Yang, did you get in trouble again?"
Yang shook her head seriously, "For once I didn't do anything. I have no clue why the headmaster would want to see us."
"I think we'll be able to find out if we see what he needs us for." Pyrrha piped in.
The rest of the group made sounds of agreement. He turned away from the mission and followed his teammates out of the room.
They walked to Beacon's clock tower and got on the elevator. They had to cram shoulder to shoulder to fit in. The elevator came to a stop and they walked out into the headmaster's office.
Ruby, who had been at the front of the eight-man team, flew through the office in a cloud of rose petals and tackled someone to the ground. Yang's eyes widened and she ran over to Ruby. She helped the man up, tangling him out of Ruby's grasp.
Jaune's eyes widened and the air rushed out of his chest. Qrow Branwen laughed in his raspy voice as Yang pulled the older man into a tight hug, burying her face into his chest. He patted her on the back, smiling.
Ruby crossed her arms and pouted cutely. Qrow barked out a laugh and pulled her into his side, putting all three of them into a giant group hug.
Jaune quickly steeled his expression and calmed his racing heart. What was Qrow doing here?
He glanced over at Pyrrha and Blake. They sent over similar small looks of confusion. They masked their faces a moment later, as they should. He turned back to the small reunion.
Qrow whispered something to the two girls making them giggle. He pushed them back to the eight-man group, smiling brightly.
The rest of his friends looked on at the sisters in utter confusion. He would have as well if not for the fact he already knew their connection to Qrow.
Ozpin, who sat behind his desk, coughed, gaining everyone's attention. Glynda stood next to his desk, riding crop in hand and a cool look in her eyes.
The headmaster spoke, "Now I hope that all of you had a successful mission and I hope you are doing well. You are no doubt wondering why I called you in here."
He and his team nodded.
The old man continued, "All of you here have shown extreme potential. You are at the top of your year in both academics and combat, your teachers have given you glowing recommendations, and, most importantly, you have completed a large number of missions successfully in a very short amount of time. You have broken recent records and I think it would be best to cultivate the talent you have even further."
He motioned over to Qrow, "This is Qrow Branwen, one of the strongest huntsmen in Vale and one of my personal close friends."
Qrow strained his back and waved, "Nice to meet you kids. Just so you know, I'm not one of the strongest huntsmen in Vale. I'm just someone who's learned to survive by using every trick in the book. "
Ruby piped in, "He's also uncle to me and Yang!"
Qrow smirked, "That too."
The mature huntsmen swept his eyes over each one of them. His red, almost pinkish eyes landed on him. He didn't shy away from the look and simply smiled. Qrow didn't react and continued to look over the rest of his teammates.
Ozpin continued, "As I was saying, I want to cultivate all of your talents. I sought out Qrow so he could be your huntsman for the second-year mission you'll be going on."
Jaune asked, "Second-year mission?"
Ozpin nodded, "Yes, your progress shows that you're ready for such an endeavor."
The old headmaster looked over at Qrow.
The gruff huntsman stepped forward and said, "The mission will be at Mount Glenn. There's a bit too much Grimm amassing there, higher than normal, so we'll go in there and thin the herd."
He whooped internally and he snatched glances over to Pyrrha and Blake. Their reactions were just as muted as his own but the minute twitch of their lips indicated similar elation. The rest of his friends broke out into loud sounds of excitement
They finally had the chance to go on the mountain Glenn mission.
Ren stepped forward and asked, "That mission seems a bit too much for first years."
Qrow nodded, "It is, that's why if you do good on this mission the old wizard will give you the privilege of being able to do higher-level missions."
He turned to Ozpin. The headmaster nodded, smiling.
Qrow asked, crossing his arms, "So are you kids up for the challenge?"
The question broke through their excitement, silencing them. His friends turned away from Qrow and faced one another. They exchanged looks and faced him, no doubt putting him up to say their answer.
He took a deep breath and stepped forward.
Now it was their chance to change everything.
He met Qrow's eyes and said, "We'll do it."
The gruff huntsman nodded, smiling.
AN:
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!