Field Trip
AN: Here is my next chapter my dear readers... I seriously hope you enjoy it.
"They were here Ozpin! They were here!" Ironwood exclaimed in Ozpin's office.
"Yes, James. I'm well aware of that." the headmaster of Beacon said in mild annoyance from his seat.
"Oh, so you're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and ignore everything?!" the general then said sarcastically.
Before Glynda had a chance to snap at Ironwood, the elevator arrived, revealing Ruby and Roze.
"Ah, welcome Miss Rose." Ozpin said, having his day brightened by Ruby's mere presence.
"Sorry it took so long." Ruby said sheepishly, "Someone accidentally pushed all the buttons at once...wasn't me."
Roze shook his head at his Driver. The poor girl was so nervous that when she accidentally pushed the wrong button, she had the bright idea of pushing them all at once to reset it.
"How are you feeling Ruby?" Glynda decided to ask. She already saw how the girl was last night, but it still felt appropriate.
"Good I guess...at least if my bad guy catching record wasn't zero to three." Ruby said with a nervous chuckle. Sadly, the two professors and the general were not impressed.
"So that's the tone then." Roze said with a sigh.
"Got it," Ruby said meekly.
As soon as Ruby had said that, general Ironwood moved towards the girl and put both hands on the girl's shoulders. "Ruby, I think it's important to note that what you did last night was exactly what being a huntress is about." Ironwood said supportively, "You recognized a threat and took action."
"Thank you, sir." Ruby said gratefully. Though Ozpin and Glynda frowned a little at the general's words.
"I still think we could've done a few things differently." Roze sighed, "Ruby could've gotten help and I could've confronted the intruder, seeing as I can't be killed."
That line of thinking didn't sound much better to Ozpin or Glynda, but they understood where he was coming from. However, Ozpin decided to cut to the chase, "The general here has already informed us about the events that transpired last night. But now that you have rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add."
"Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you?" Glynda asked, hoping that Ruby had more details
"I don't know. She was wearing a mask." Ruby replied.
"She never spoke to us, and she attacked using glass." Roze continued.
"But I don't think it was her semblance though." Ruby added in, "Her clothes lit up whenever she attacked."
That description made Glynda think," Save for the glass, that sounds like the person I fought when I met Ruby."
"Imbuing dust into clothing is an age-old technique, it could've been anyone." Ironwood said, sounding a little frustrated.
"How many of those people have black hair, pale skin and amber eyes?" Nox showed on his scroll to Ironwood...Wait? Nox!?
Everyone in the room jumped at the sight of the ninja Blade who had somehow gotten in the middle of the room without anyone's notice.
"Nox! How in the world did you get here?" Roze asked, his white eyes widened. Then he shook his head, "No! Better question: How long have you been here!?"
"Since you two got here." Nox showed everyone on his scroll, looking at Roze like he asked a very stupid question.
"How the heck did you- aurgh!" Ironwood's exclamation was interrupted when he tried to pull his gun out on Nox, but the dark ninja smacked the firearm away on instinct.
"James, stop!" Ozpin shouted before this could escalate, "He's a Blade of Ruby's teammate, and I'm sure he has a perfectly reasonable explanation on why he's intruding." That last one was directed at Nox with a look that demanded an explanation.
Understanding the demand, Nox rerolled his scroll. "My lady's team mate was suddenly called to headmaster's office. I wanted to make sure she was not in any kind of trouble."
"And you thought, that was good enough reason to break into the headmaster's office?" Glynda asked with her eye twitching.
"Yes." The disciplinarian's eye twitched harder and some blood vessels on her head looked ready to burst.
"You asked how many people that can weave dust into their clothing are black haired, pale skinned and amber eyed." Ozpin then stated, wanting to move on, "Why such an awfully specific description?" Of course, Ozpin, Glynda and Ironwood were given a description about the intruder, but Nox shouldn't know that unless Ruby or Roze told him.
"Because a female student matching that description arrived late to the dance." Nox showed on his scroll causing the three adult's eyes to widen.
"Who? What time?!" Ironwood asked frantically. His soldiers reported finding an abandoned mask in the side entrance that led to the ballroom.
"I am not certain of the exact time, but it was sometime after Ruby and Roze left." Nox showed on his scroll.
"Isn't it possible that the student was simply late because of unspecified reasons." Ozpin then asked, earning a blanched look from Ironwood.
"It is a possibility, but that would not answer why two Atlas soldiers entered the ball room shortly after." Nox showed on his scroll. "Of course, the student arriving late and the intrusion could be a mere coincidence, but the possibility is still there."
"Would you be able to identify that student if you were asked to?" Ozpin then asked.
"Can an arachno jump?" Nox even gave a dead pan look in his eye to emphasize his words.
"I'll take that as a yes." Glynda sighed, being one of the four people in the room who knew the answer.
"That would still leave hundreds of students as suspects." Ironwood said with a sigh.
"Actually, I believe the girl is named Cinder." Nox then showed on his scroll.
"How would you know that?" Roze asked, narrowing his white eyes.
"That is what Emerald and Mercury call her." the dark ninja showed.
As this was happening Ozpin was pulling a list of students and started searching. Until, "Is this her?" Nox answered with a nod.
"Her dress did not look suited for infiltration, much less combat. But if we assume this to have been planned, then surely she would've found a way to change quickly." Nox showed on his scroll, causing Ironwood to narrow his eyes at the dark Blade.
"You seem awfully knowledgeable about these things?" Ironwood said in suspicion. The dark ninja didn't answer this time, just giving the general a dry look.
But then Ruby remembered something that Glynda mentioned not too long ago. "Hey, do you guys think that that girl has something to do with Torchwick?" the red reaper then asked seeing as they mentioned the mysterious woman she and Glynda faced.
"We don't have any concrete evidence to support that yet, but we do have suspicions." Ozpin replied with a hint of a mysterious smile.
"Well, I do remember her saying something about a hideout south-east of Vale." Ruby then said, earning a blanched look from Nox, while Roze kept his expression neutral.
"I thought Roze said, she didn't say anything." Glynda pointed out.
"Not to us," Roze cut in," But Ruby and I caught her saying something about returning to south-east. I thought she was talking to herself, but now that I think about it perhaps she was communicating with someone via a scroll or something." The rose reaper wasn't sure if his little explanation was believable, but it was the best he could come up with.
"Then why didn't you-" "Thank you Ruby and Roze." Ozpin interrupted Ironwood, "Now. I believe you should return to your team. After all, you have a big day ahead of you."
"Yes, sir! We'll do our best!" Ruby said happily, before taking her leave alongside Roze and Nox.
As soon as Ruby had left, Ironwood spoke up, "If those kids heard something like that, why didn't they say it sooner?"
"Perhaps they didn't think it was relevant at the time," Ozpin replied easily, "After all, returning to south-east could mean more than one thing."
"Although..." Glynda said in thought, "If we assume that they are working outside of Vale, then it would make sense for it to mean 'south-east of Vale'."
"It's a safe bet." Ozpin agreed.
Ironwood let out a frustrated sigh, but he relented on this topic. "So now we have an idea of where they are. We will send as many men as we can to the south-east and raze them out."
This idea didn't sit well with Glynda, "Why must you treat everything as a show of military bravado!? Honestly, you treat using your military might as a contest of measuring d-" "Glynda!" Ozpin interrupted, not needing to hear that. Even if it is true.
"Well he does," Glynda retorted.
"As much as I would like to get this matter dealt with quickly, sending a large force into the south-east could make people worry," Ozpin explained.
"Ozpin," Ironwood said in frustration," I have followed you faithfully, but if you're telling me that the best course of action is to do nothing-" "It is not!" Ozpin interrupted, rising from his seat.
"James, you're the general," Ozpin then said, "So tell me, which do you send first, the flag bearer or the scouts?"
As this conversation happened, Ruby and the two Blades had returned to the RWBY dorm. Where Ruby had to explain her little gamble.
"That was a risky move," Blake said with a sigh, "Especially from you, Nox."
"My apologies, my lady." Nox showed on his scroll with his head hung low.
"I did my best to cover it up." Roze said, still unsure if he did a good job with it, "But anyway, what is that?" The question was emphasized by Roze pointing a finger at the corner with a silvery large feline like being, curled and snoring softly. This thing is a common Blade, an animal type.
"We don't know." Dragunov said with a shrug, "It brought that tube over there and moved to the corner to rest without explanation." The dragon pointed at the said "tube" on the table where Yang had placed it.
"What is it?" Ruby asked in curiosity.
Yang smiled before moving in to pick it up," I don't know. It's from dad, I thought we could open it together."
That made Ruby perk up visibly, "OOOHHH! Something from home!" And just like that, Ruby dashed to her sister's back, reaching for the mysterious tube. Then, with one shake from Yang, a brown furry tube fell out of it. Then the said tube shook for a few seconds, before taking on a four-legged shape.
The team and their Blades looked down on the thing with varying levels of eagerness, curiosity and in one case, apprehension.
"Woof! Woof!" said the corgi with its stub of a tail wagging at the sight of these people.
"ZWEI!" Ruby cried out happily at the sight of the family dog.
"He sent a dog!?" Blake cried in outrage.
"In the mail!?" Weiss added in disbelief.
"How did it even fit into that?" Dahlia asked as she looked between Zwei that was being cuddled by Ruby and the tube that now looked much too small to contain a corgi.
"Also, why was that Blade the courier?" Dragunov also asked, looking at the snoozing animal in the corner.
"Oh, he does stuff like this all the time." Yang said as if this wasn't anything new.
"Your father or your dog?" Blake asked from Ruby's bunk where she had retreated to for safety.
Weiss was glaring at the dog in Ruby's arms, "Are you telling me, that this mangy...drooling...mutt is going to vive with us foreva!? Oh yes he is. Yes he is." And then fell for the corgi's cuteness. "Aww isn't he adorable." Weiss said as she moved to pet Zwei, which the small canine clearly appreciated.
"I must admit, the wittle one is so cute." Dahlia agreed with her Driver.
"True." Roze agreed with a smile.
Even Dragunov moved in to scratch Zwei under his chin, before using one finger to pet the dog's head.
"Hey! There's a note." Yang exclaimed as she took a note out of the tube, "Dear girls. I have to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei and Pochi to you. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both. Taiyang." At the mention of "Pochi", everyone turned to the animal Blade that was still snoozing in the corner, despite all the noise.
"I suppose that Blade is called Pochi." Nox pointed out the obvious.
"Well, no shit," Dragunov snarked, "But why is he here instead of with Ruby's and Yang's dad?"
"Is there something about him that he can't deal with?" Roze theorized with a thought.
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, taking a break from petting Zwei, so that Dahlia could take over for awhile.
"I mean, wouldn't a Blade be more comfortable around their Driver? I know I am." Roze said, agreeing with Dragunov's questioning.
Any reply was cut off when small pile of canned pet food fell from the tube.
"Okay, stuffing a dog into that tiny space is one thing, but all those cans." Dahlia said in disbelief.
"Would all first year students, please report to the amphitheater." An announcement from Glynda came through all the speakers in probably all of Beacon.
Yang shook the tube one more time and out came a can opener. "Whelp, that settles it girls. Zwei will be here when we get back." Yang said, already moving out.
Dragunov looked between Zwei and the impossible pile of canned food, before shrugging off and moving out.
Dahlia had to drag Weiss a little, seeing as the white-haired Driver didn't want to leave the cute puppy. "Weiss, we'll see him again when we get back, try some patience," the ice Bunny said soothingly at the increasingly depressed looking Weiss. Even though it took everything in the Blade's own power to not be reduced into a similar state.
Blake jumped off the bunk and over a desk to avoid going near the horrible beast. With Nox following his Driver.
That left Ruby and Roze. With Ruby looking at Zwei, who was still staring at his owner cutely. "Roze, you go ahead, I'll catch up soon." Ruby said as she put Zwei down for a moment, "I need to make sure Zwei has enough food for few days." As if to emphasize her words, Ruby picked up the can opener.
"Alright, don't be too long." Roze said before moving out ahead.
Ruby didn't take too long with her little scheme as she arrived at the amphitheater with a large Beacon issued back pack. Leaving it among the rest of the packs other teams had gathered for now.
After Ozpin gave a small speech about the Great War of Remnant, all the Blades shook their heads. For Dahlia, art and any kind of self-expression such as singing or dancing are a form of beauty. And without those, life would be far bleaker. For Nox, that kind of oppression demanded immediate execution. For Roze, he had a hard time understanding why such injustice was allowed in the first place. For Dragunov, to him the reason for the war was a sign of how weak the kingdoms were at the time.
"So then, how shall we do this?" Dragunov then asked, looking at the many screens with missions to different parts of Vale, or outside.
"We should check Search and Destroy." Weiss suggested, and the group moved to the appropriate screen.
"There!" Ruby exclaimed, "Quadrant 5 needs a Grimm clean-out."
"It is in the south-east." Nox showed on his scroll.
"Then it sounds perfect!" Yang said eagerly.
With that, Ruby typed in their team name into it, but the mission wasn't available for first year students.
"Great." Roze sighed.
"Now what." Dahlia wondered.
"We mail ourselves there." Ruby suggested, sounding completely serious. Earning a loud face-palm from Dragunov.
"That's one option." Ozpin said, having just arrived with his personal scroll, "Unfortunately, we have determined that the Grimm concentration in that area is too much for first year students."
"These four have us." Dragunov argued, "That automatically puts them a step above the rest." Somehow, the draconic Blade didn't even sound arrogant.
Ozpin smiled mysteriously, "It seems that region is quite popular."
"Is it now." Dahlia asked, genuinely curious.
"Seems so," Ozpin said, before giving the four first years a look, "In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that you four would make your way there somehow, no matter what mission you would choose." At that declaration, WBY of RWBY turned to their leader, who no doubt incited that suspicion.
"What makes you say that?" Ruby asked, not sounding convincing at all. Roze too was lamenting at his failure of not casting any suspicion on them.
"Well, I'm still curious about how you four found yourselves at the docks last semester," Ozpin started, earning uncomfortable looks from Weiss and Blake. While Dahlia and Nox were curious about their Drivers' reactions. "And I also wonder why there have been reports about a killer robot and rose petals being found near a dance club," Ozpin continued, before fixing a knowing look at Dragunov, "Not to mention about several eye-witnesses claiming to have seen a pillar of fire rising from the ground."
To Dragunov's credit, he only raised an eyebrow. "That's quite interesting. I would like to meet whoever might've caused it. Assuming it was someone's doing anyway." Dragunov said, doing better job at playing it off than any of the others so far. Not that it convinced Ozpin at all.
"I'm sure you would." Ozpin said with a chuckle, "But I doubt you will, any more than I would have all the answers. So instead of waiting for you to break the rules, how about we bend them." With that, Ozpin typed something on his scroll, and the rejection RWBY got turned into acceptance.
"Thank you, Professor Ozpin!" Ruby thanked happily.
"Do not thank me for this." Ozpin dismissed the gratitude, "Teamwork, persistence, and more recently, your Blades have brought you this far." Then the headmaster adopted a more serious expression, "But remember this, the things outside of the kingdom will not care. So, stay close to your huntsman, and should they find your skills lacking, they have the authority to abort the mission. Good luck." With that warning, Ozpin left.
"He's a strange one." Dahlia commented as she brought a hand to her chin in thought.
"He did have a point though. Us Blades have yet to encounter Grimm, and I am curious about how they would fare against us." Nox showed on his scroll. Despite being awakened weeks ago, the four Blades have yet to face Grimm properly.
"I hope they make for decent punching bags." Dragunov said, cracking his knuckles loudly with a savage grin.
Seeing their Blades being unaffected by Ozpin's words was more than enough to lift their slightly downed spirits.
With that the team moved outside, hoping that everything would go as fine as their Blades make it sound.
"Guys, do you think we would have come this far without our Blades?" Blake suddenly asked. The part about their Blades being a reason that brought them this far nagged her a little.
"Well, we did survive the initiation on our own," Ruby said, starting to wonder it herself now.
"Blades are only half of their Driver's strength." Dragunov said, gaining a mildly annoyed look, "Or are you telling me that we were awakened by weaklings that didn't know first thing about combat?"
This earned a series of annoyed looks from the girls. Especially Dahlia, "While I don't exactly agree with Dragunov's wording, you girls have been training for combat for a long time. All we do is enhance your existing abilities with our own."
"Dahlia's right." Weiss said, "Aside from my initial...problems, I have become quite adept at using the bitball." That last part was said in mild embarrassment.
That was true, out of all the members of team RWBY, only Blake and Weiss gained a weapon that was nothing like what they were used to. Even then Blake didn't have as much to get used to as Weiss did. Though the white girl of team RWBY still doesn't possess the throwing arm Dahlia does.
"Hey! Team CFVY is here!" A student shouted, with everyone.
Sure enough, one of, if not the, best second year team was walking through the campus. Which prompted Blake to jog towards them. "Velvet!" Blake called out to the rabbit eared member of team CFVY, earning the said girl's attention. "What happened, your mission was supposed to end a week ago?" Blake asked in concern.
"Nothing happened," Velvet replied hastily, "There were just...so many of them." But then the rabbit faunus took a more cheerful demeanor, "Oh, but you first years will only be shadowing huntsmen. And you and JNPR have your Blades. I guess Atlas is truly genius to make living weapons out of a special Dust and a mixture of multiple aura samples."
"I guess," Blake said, still remembering the cover up story Ozpin and Ironwood had agreed upon. It was more believable than them being from another world. Not even JNPR knows this, because their Blades never talked about Alrest. And the cover story included them speaking of things that don't exist as a small flaw in their designs.
Then Velvet's gaze fell on Dragunov. "Oh, hello again, Dragunov." the rabbit said happily. The draconic Blade's initial opinion and treatment of Yang never got out, surprisingly.
"Hey there, bun-bun." the draconic Blade replied cheekily, earning a light smack from Yang. Well, light to Dragunov anyway. "What? She doesn't mind."
As if to prove his point, Velvet laughed a little. "Thanks again for your words back then. You were right, not wanting trouble and being a pushover aren't the same thing." The rabbit faunus said. Honestly, she was a little ashamed that she didn't realize it sooner.
"Good for you." Dragunov said with a smile.
"I should go now; you guys stay safe." Velvet said, before moving to catch up with the rest of her team.
"We should go too." Roze commented, before glancing at Ruby," Where were we supposed to meet our huntsman again?"
"At one of the air pads." Weiss replied instead, "So let's get to it." That last one was said with a small smile. Despite being the most professional about this, she couldn't feel a little excited about this.
At one of the air pads, the girls were surprised at the huntsman they were going with.
"Well, hello girls." Oobleck said to the surprised girls. "Who's ready to fight for their lives?" the eccentric history teacher said enthusiastically, with Adenine giving the girls and their Blades a friendly wave from beside her Driver.
Meanwhile, back in RWBY dorm, the animal type Blade known as Pochi woke up from the rest he took from transporting Zwei in that tube all the way from Patch. "Huh? Where is everyone?" the beast wondered seeing the dorm he vaguely remembered entering empty. Where was team RWBY who was supposed to be here? But more importantly, "Boss! Where are you!?" Pochi called out as he glanced around the room, noticing the pile of canned food and the tube that contained it. But no sign of his "Boss".
AN: You guys have no idea how much I had writing this part... Least of all the ending.
And if any of you laughed at this, I consider this chapter a big success.