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-CHAPTER START-
Realm R38Y
Atlas – Weaponsmith Laboratory
"Apologies for the mess," Pietro said as he led RWBY & JNPR (minus Pyrrha, who hadn't been able to come up with anything to request that her weapons didn't already have) into the lab, "and for holding onto your weapons for so long. The upgrades you requested were, uh… well, they were more than I anticipated." He chuckled. "Your new weapons & armor should be as requested, but I also took the liberty of reviewing your combat footage from the Vytal Festival Tournament."
The seven young Hunters were led to a series of narrow shelves, each of which had cases on them. Nora was practically vibrating with excitement as she snatched her case, followed by everyone else.
"There's some additional enhancements I'd like to suggest" Pietro continued. "Oh, but for now, these should serve you well enough."
-Break-
Three Atlesian 'Manta' dropships soared over the snowy wilderness, carrying RWBY, JNPR, Qrow, Rattrap, Xion, & the Ace-Ops toward the mission zone.
"All right, gather 'round" Clover, leader of the Ace-Ops, called. "Our mission today is to secure the launch site for the Amity Communications Tower. The designated area is an abandoned Dust mine. Since its closure, the Grimm have moved in."
A holoscreen displayed photos of a map of the area and of a Hunter squad engaging – and bring driven back by – a massive monster made of stone with a Grimm 'face' – a 'Petra Gigas', a Geist possessing rock & stone.
"The good news is all that untouched Dust is still down there, too. Science Team says they'll need it for the first phase of their launch. Atlas military Huntsmen are already hard at work clearing out the surrounding tundra. But recon has identified a powerful Geist that's managed to evade destruction and take several lives. After we increased our numbers, the Geist was smart enough to retreat into the mine itself, meaning it's old and extremely dangerous. The mine was a labyrinth back in the day. There's all sorts of tunnels and chambers the Geist can move between, so if we're gonna kill this thing, we'll have to split up and corner it.
"General Ironwood says you've seen your fair share of combat. I trust that man with my life, so I'll be trusting you all, too. Let's make this happen, people."
The Mantas' side doors opened, and the whole task-force leapt out, using their weapons, Semblances, and the environment to get down to a safe landing; Jaune debuted his shield's new hardlight glider and 'Repulsor' functions in the process. RWBY & JNPR all had new clothes, and Jaune & Blake had gotten haircuts. As Team JNPPR (JNPR + Pirika) landed and grouped together, Elm Ederne – the tall and muscular hammer-wielding woman of the Ace Ops – grinned at them.
"Perhaps you kids won't get yourselves killed after all!" She ran into the nearby tunnel, leaving a disappointed Jaune and pouting Nora.
"She meant that as a compliment" assured Vine Zeki, the tall & lean pale man of the Ace-Ops.
As Clover and Qrow made landfall, the former triggered his comm. "This is Alpha Squad. LZ's clear. Proceeding on foot. You've all got fancy new Scrolls, so don't forget to use 'em. Keep your eyes & ears open. I want an update if you encounter the target. Alpha out."
At the base of the mountain, everyone got ready to head in, with Weiss letting her Glaceon out, Yang calling out Combusken, Pyrrha sending out Nosepass, and Nora letting Emolga out to join the group. As Blake inspected her new Scroll, she felt eyes on her, turning to see Yang looking at her. The blonde awkwardly waved, fidgeting.
"Uh, sorry. Just not used to the hair yet…"
Blake blushed, self-conscious, reaching up to fiddle with her now shoulder-length hair. "Is it… bad?"
"No! No. It's good. You look great!"
As the two girls awkwardly shifted and looked at each other, the two remaining Ace Ops watched from nearby.
"Man, I did not sign up to be a babysitter" complained Marrow Amin, the dog-tailed Faunus member of the Ace-Ops.
"Yeah, well," replied Harriet Bree, the lithe female of the AO, "the rest of us babysit you all the time."
She walked away, leaving Marrow pouting in her wake. Meanwhile, Weiss wiped some snow from a chunk of burnt metal, revealing the SDC logo; she frowned and groaned, realizing exactly what mine she was in. As the gang headed into the mine entrance, Ruby shivered and pulled her cloak tighter around herself.
"It's freezing out here!"
"Without heating or projected Aura," Weiss said, "the cold of Solitas can kill you in a matter of hours."
"I suddenly don't feel as bad about leaving Oscar behind with the Lamp" Blake remarked.
"Bit of a shame Xion and Penny couldn't come, though…" Yang added.
The teams moved inside, entering ice tunnels that led into the mine. So far, there was no sign of activity, making for eerie silence.
"Alpha here" Clover called over the comm. "Gimme an update."
"The connecting ice tunnels seem clear" Vine reported as he, Elm, and JNPPR walked through an ice tunnel supported by metal arches. "We should be approaching the actual mine any minute now."
"This is so exciting!" Nora whisper-shouted. "It feels like we're an actual Hunter team!" She fidgeted a little as she looked at her longtime partner. "I, um… like what you did with your outfit, Ren."
Ren looked awkward, averting his gaze. "We should… probably focus on the, uh, the mission…"
He kept walking, leaving Nora looking sad and disappointed. Pyrrha came up and patted her consolingly on the shoulder.
"Bravo checking in" Harriet reported. "Hit a bit of a snag."
She, Marrow, Team RWBY, and Rattrap had arrived at a wall of boulders in the mine's main tunnel.
"There's been a cave-in in the main entrance. Not sure if it's recent or was caused by the original accident. Either way, we'll have to do a little problem solving."
"Understood" Clover replied. "Let us know if you need anything."
"Rattrap, could you use your det-packs to clear the way?" Ruby asked.
Rattrap observed the blockage. "Mmm… Nah, the level of 'boom' I'd need to get all this outta our way is too risky with all the Dust in these caverns. Though, maybe if I can get a shaped charge put together…"
Meanwhile, Yang noticed that Blake seemed… affected, ever since Harriet mentioned an 'original accident', looking around with wide eyes and a solemn expression.
"You okay?" she asked.
"I just realized where we are" Blake replied. "This mine was closed after an explosion. …This is where Ilia's parents died."
"I remember this disaster" Weiss chimed in. "Or rather, I remember how furious it made my father." She grabbed her arm, looking guilt-ridden. "I wish I could… take back the years of pain my family has caused the Faunus… and all my complacency in it."
Blake put her hand on Weiss' shoulder.
"This society" Marrow spoke up as he approached "is set up for Faunus to be at the bottom, and humans are willing participants. They benefit from doing nothing to help us. But there are still those who actively abuse us. …But, now that the UNSC is here, there are humans who actively help and protect us, too. Anyway, I didn't come over here looking to solve systemic societal issues. Harriet found a gap in the rubble we think one of you could fit through – ideally, someone with a knack for seeing in the dark…"
After a second, Blake came back to the current situation. "O-Oh. Of course."
Moving forward, she squeezed her way through a crevice between the boulders, drawing her weapon once she was through.
"Blake, take a look around" Marrow called. "Is there any Dust in the immediate area?"
Blake looked around, her Faunus night-vision letting her clearly make out details. "Minecarts… debris… no Dust, though."
"Great, then it should be safe to blast our way through."
"Okay. Heading ba-"
Suddenly, a Geist swooped down, slashing at her with its claws. Reflexively she used her Semblance to evade, opening fire. On the other side, everyone went on alert.
"Shaped charge ready!" Rattrap announced, attaching the explosive to the wall of boulders. Everyone stepped back, and he set it off. The explosion went off in a focused cone, shattering several of the boulders and making a hole. Everyone piled through, weapons ready, and the Geist quickly sized up its opposition and then turned & fled. Blake and Rattrap kept shooting with their pistols, but the ghostly Grimm twisted & turned as it flew away at high speed.
"Don't let it get away!"
Team RWBY started to pursue, but were soon stopped by a large, serpentine, centipede-like Grimm – a Centinel – bursting up from the ground, rearing up like a snake and then lunging at the closest person – Yang – with bony fangs spread wide. Yang reacted faster, shooting a round from her gauntlet that hit the Grimm right in the mouth. The Centinel reared back with a pained squeal, hissing angrily at the girl with what was either green blood, venom, or both dripping from its wound. The Grimm retreated back underground, and several more Centinels emerged from the floor and walls, hissing and screeching and brandishing their fangs and bladed limbs.
"Well, that's disgusting…" Yang remarked.
Everyone charged or opened fire, with Ruby body-slamming a Centinel, stunning it and allowing Blake to blow the monster's brains out. Two Centinels rushed at Yang, who rushed in and landed several rapid jabs to their heads, each hit accompanied by a soft beep noise as tiny blinking devices were attached to the bony plates. Hopping back, Yang triggered her weapon's new function, and the swarm of micro-bombs detonated all at once, blowing the two Grimm's heads apart. Weiss' Glaceon froze a Centinel in place, allowing Weiss to conjure an icicle spear and impale the beast. Yang's Combusken cut one Centinel's head off with an Aerial Ace and trapped another in a Fire Spin, and Rattrap brought the trapped Grimm down with a quick burst of The Answer fire.
Ruby beheaded a Centinel, but the head with a few attached limbs was still alive. She engaged Crescent Rose's new ability, rotating the scythe head 180 degrees and using a shot-assisted slash that killed the Grimm-head. As she flowed into her next move, Marrow leapt past her, gunning down two Centinels and then shifting his weapon into its bladed boomerang form and throwing it. Bouncing off a cavern wall, the weapon struck a Centinel in the back, fracturing its bony armor, and then flew back into Marrow's hand as she leapt forward and caught it, bringing it down to cut the centipede Grimm in two. Two Centinels ahead rushed at him while twisting around each other, and he held out a hand and snapped his fingers.
"Stay."
The Centinels came to a quick halt, frozen in place. Harriet rushed in, trailing electricity, grabbing the two frozen Grimm and slamming them to the ground with bone-crunching force.
"This is Bravo" she radioed. "We found the target, but it fled deeper into the mine. Engaging Centinels!"
"Let's pick up the pace!" Elm shouted as the ice-tunnel group ran over to a decline in the tunnel and slid down (with Nora giving Ren a little push to "help" him down). Up ahead, the ice tunnel led into a section of the mine proper, with Centinels already emerging from the rocks. Vine and Elm used their Semblances to arrest their movement and anchor themselves, while JNPPR kept on going; Jaune deployed his shield's Hard-Light barrier, stabbed his sword into the ice to slow down, and slammed his shield down to release a powerful pulse that knocked the Grimm back. Ren leapt and activated his guns' new ability, firing their blades – now tethered by reinforced wire – at one of the Centinels. Reeling himself in, he kicked it down and then opened fire to take it out. Another Centinel tried to attack him from behind, but Nora slammed her hammer down to shatter its skull, then fired a blast from the hammer that propelled it around to crack the third Centinel's head. A fourth Centinel began to emerge from the floor, only for Nora's Emolga to zap it with Thunder Wave, freezing it in place for Pyrrha to slice its head off before it could accomplish anything.
"A very… head-first approach" Vine remarked as he and Elm caught up.
"Yeah, well," Jaune replied, "that's just kind of our style."
Back with RWBY's group, only one Centinel was left. Ruby and Weiss prepared to charge, but Harriet sped past both of them and plunged her gauntleted fist through the Centinel, killing it.
"Whoa!" Ruby was amazed. "Your Semblance makes you super-fast, just like me!"
"Very cool" Harriet smirked. "Though, based on your reaction time, I'd say I'm a little faster."
Suddenly, the comm channel opened…
"This is Alpha! We've engaged the target!"
In another part of the mine, the old Geist was twisting and swerving and spiraling, dodging the multiple shots Qrow was firing at it.
"All squads, head toward our position!" Clover commanded.
Clover pulled out his odd, fishing-rod weapon, and with a flick forward he sent out the bladed hook, which just barely missed the Geist. The Geist promptly flew into and possessed a giant chunk of ice with a minecart embedded in it, and quickly began gathering additional ice, stone, & metal from its surroundings to construct a body. Clover ran in to attack, while Qrow hung back for a moment, observing the battlefield. He caught sight of a loose chunk of ice pressing against a metal support beam, steadily pushing it loose.
"Wait, stop!" he cried.
Clover stopped and turned to look at Qrow, following his gaze to the beam just as it finally gave way. The heavy metal beam landed between Clover and the Geist, causing the icy floor to give way completely. When the dust settled, the Grimm was gone.
"Damn it…" Clover sighed, bringing up his comm. "Target escaped, last seen headed east." He turned to Qrow. "Thanks for the call-out. That could've been bad."
Qrow sighed. "I wouldn't thank me. My Semblance, 'Bad Luck Charm', is a probability-altering one – it brings misfortune. It's pretty much always active, and sometimes I can't keep it under control."
"That so?"
Surprisingly, Clover was smiling. He checked his scroll, then looked up at a bent support beam over the hole.
"Well hey, don't beat yourself up over it." He wrapped his weapon's line around the beam and tugged, and when it came down it pulled quite a bit of rock down with it, clearing a path. "My Semblance is good fortune. Lucky you, huh?"
With a wink to the nonplussed Qrow, he walked on ahead, bringing up his comm.
"Charlie, Bravo, you should be able to cut off the target at the heart of the mine. Qrow and I won't be far behind."
Elm, Vine, & JNPPR came out of their tunnel onto a raised walkway in a giant mine chamber filled with Dust veins and huge Dust crystals, with raised minecart rails, walkways, and stone arches spanning across and around the edges of the chamber. Seconds later, Harriet, Marrow, & RWBY showed up from another tunnel at the bottom of the chamber.
"Everyone, use caution" Vine said over the comm. "This room is highly active with Dust energy. Triggering it could ruin the launch site."
"And vaporize us" Marrow cut in. "How is that always second with you?"
Nora looked around. "I thought the target was supposed to be here."
Suddenly, a low rumbling noise came from above. Everyone looked up to see the Geist, now in the form of a huge Petra Gigas, clinging to a chunk of ice on the ceiling. As it turned to look down at them, numerous purple Dust crystals were revealed to be embedded in its stony body. The monster leapt down, crashing through a stone arch and landing with an earth-shaking thud in front of Team RWBY.
"It added Dust to its body?" Ruby looked shocked and lost. "How are we supposed to-"
Harriet suddenly sped past her, Marrow right behind, while Elm leapt down from the upper level.
"Elm!" Vine called out, using his Semblance to extend an Aura arm that wrapped around one of the Gigas' legs. He reached his other Aura-arm behind himself, grabbing a support beam, and pulled. Elm ran over to the captured leg, using her own Semblance to anchor her feet in place as she grabbed onto the leg.
"Vine!"
At Elm's signal, Vine released his grip and leapt off the cliff, using his Semblance-arm to swing onto a minecart bridge, and then to grab and pull one of the Gigas' arms.
"Marrow!"
Marrow threw his bladed boomerang at the monster's stretched-out limb, striking an exposed portion of the underlying Geist arm and severing it. As the Gigas arm disintegrated into rubble, a Dust crystal came flying out.
"Harriet!"
The Ace-Ops' speedster rushed in, performing several split-second acrobatics and catching the volatile crystal in midair. Marrow then cut off the Gigas' other arm, sending another Dust crystal flying through the air… away from Harriet.
"Crap!"
Thankfully, Clover & Qrow arrived, the former using his fishing-line weapon to grab the crystal out of the air and reel it in safely.
"What would you guys do without me?" he quipped.
Tossing the crystal to Qrow, Clover leapt into the fray. The Ace-Ops started dashing around the Petra Gigas, distracting it from each other and aggravating it. The Gigas had reconstituted one of its arms by now (the one that hadn't had the underlying Geist limb severed), and used it in a failed attempt to smash Harriet as she sped past it. The monster's arm ended up embedded in the ground, allowing Marrow's bladed boomerang to slice it off again.
Clover ran in, deploying his weapon and leaping off the Gigas' leg. Activating his Semblance, he swung the pole and pulled the line, making the bladed hook wrap around and pierce the Geist's mask-face. With a mighty pull, he yanked the ghostly Grimm out of its stony exoskeleton, while Harriet rushed into place directly below the Grimm and fired herself upward, dealing a killing blow with her gauntlet that tore the Geist apart. The humanoid mass of rock, ice, & Dust collapsed and came apart, volatile purple Dust crystals being smoothly caught by the Ace Ops… except for one, sent flying toward the other side of the chamber. Harriet sped toward the crystal, maneuvering around falling debris, but she was a split-second too slow, realizing the crystal was going to hit the ground…
Suddenly, a swirling red blur shot past just above the ground, grabbing the crystal. Deactivating her crystal, Ruby fell into a sitting position, hugging the crystal to her chest with a relieved sigh and laugh. Harriet came over, helping the girl to her feet.
"I thought you said your Semblance was like mine" she said.
Ruby looked confused. "It… is?"
Harriet shook her head. "I've seen other speed Semblances before, but that was different. I think… you may have misidentified your own Semblance. We can set you up with a Semblance specialist at the Academy, see if they can help you figure out what it really is."
As everyone gathered and caught their breath, Qrow came over to Clover.
"Lucky catch, huh?"
"Hm." Clover looked at Ruby. "No. I'd chalk that one up to talent." He smiled as he saw the kids celebrating, with Elm holding Ruby up on her shoulder.
"Atlas Control, this is Clover. Mission accomplished."
-Break-
The sun was beginning to set as everyone exited the mine back to the surface. Jaune rushed over to Clover's side, stars in his eyes.
"You guys were incredible!" he said excitedly. "Oh, the way you took down that old Geist without needing to plan your tactics out, you just knew exactly what to do!"
"Well," Clover replied, "the Ace-Ops are hand-picked to perfectly compliment one another. So we can focus on our assets and leave our liabilities behind."
Marrow strolled over with a confident grin. "Some of us are all asset, zero liability."
His grin dropped when he heard Elm scoff, rounding on her. "What? You think I've got some liabilities, Elm?"
"Your brains, for one" the brawny woman replied.
She, Clover, and Harriet laughed as they walked away, leaving Marrow pouting.
"You kinda walked into that one" Vine remarked.
Ruby wandered over to Harriet, while Nora goofed off in the background ("THUNDER THIGHS!"). "Perfect complimentary teamwork" she said admiringly. "Oh yeah, I wanna have my friends' backs just like that."
Harriet raised an eyebrow. "Friends?"
Elm laughed. "This isn't the schoolyard, kid."
"But," Yang spoke up, "I mean, when you go through so much with someone, it kinda changes things, doesn't it?"
"We get along well enough, sure" Harriet replied. "I count on them to keep me alive. They do the same. But that's the job. We don't confuse the two."
"…Yeah, that attitude's gonna bite you in the skidplate eventually" Rattrap remarked.
Harriet frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"No true loyalty to each other, no real understanding of each other, and I bet without Mr. Lucky's leadership, you guys' teamwork would disintegrate."
Harriet growled, with the other Ace-Ops looking rattled (Marrow), insulted (Elm), or thoughtful (Vine & Clover).
"…So!" Ruby tried to break the tension, turning to her teammates. "What do you guys wanna do when we get back to Atlas? What should we visit first?"
Blake yawned. "How 'bout our beds?"
"Oh, come on, guys! This is a great time to go exploring! We haven't done that in so long!"
"Ruby," Weiss put her hands on her hips, "we just explored a whole continent on foot before flying to this one." She walked away to join Blake.
"Well, yeah, but… it was only the boring parts."
"Ruby." Yang put her hands on her sister's skinny shoulders. "We almost died. Multiple times."
"Hey" Qrow spoke up. "Heads up."
He gestured to where Ironwood and Clover were talking, as the General turned to look at them.
"Can I get the team leaders over here?" he called. "There's something I'd like to discuss with you. You too, Qrow."
Ruby, Jaune, & Qrow head his way, as he gives Clover one last word.
"I need you on the ground, but be subtle. If people see too many Huntsmen milling around, they'll get nervous. And Clover? …Don't take Marrow."
As Clover walked away, Ironwood turned to the other three.
"New problems in Mantle?" Qrow asked.
Ironwood sighed. "More of the same, unfortunately."
He pulled out his scroll, generating a hologram of a mugshot of a man… along with a photo of said man's bloody corpse in an alleyway.
"Someone in Mantle is taking out public leaders who speak out against Atlas. Specifically, people who speak out against me. It didn't look like a pattern at first, but this is the third murder of its kind in the last week."
"Your opposition in Mantle dropping dead isn't exactly a good look for you, huh?" Qrow quipped.
Ironwood put his scroll away. "Not really worried about my public image, but it is causing unrest. I think someone's trying to frame me and, by extension, Atlas. And it's working."
"Well," Jaune spoke up, "if it wasn't for the trade & travel restrictions making everybody mad, people probably wouldn't be so quick to blame you for everything else. …S-Sir."
Ironwood rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You're not wrong… Things in Mantle have been… hard to manage lately. I'm not blind to its issues. In fact, that's what I want to talk to you about." He turned to look up at Amity Colosseum. "With the launch of the mobile communications tower and tensions down in Mantle, I think there's a lot of good your teams can do here."
Then, his communicator chimed. Bringing it up, his expression changed to one of sour surprise as he listened to the report. "What? Already? Here? …No, it's fine. Let him land; I'll deal with him myself."
"More Mantle problems?" Qrow asked as Ironwood ended the call.
The General turned to look at the airship flying by, heading for the landing pad. "No…" he sighed. "This one's an Atlas problem."
The airship set down, the SDC logo on it now plainly visible. Ironwood stepped forward, with the DDF detachment standing behind him; Weiss winced at the logo, and Pyrrha put a hand on her shoulder. The ship's doors opened as a ramp extended, revealing a very angry Jacque Schnee who was already starting to rant at Ironwood.
"So let me get this straight, James. In addition to these nonsensical restrictions of yours crippling my business, you've also decided you have the authority to commandeer private property? When the Council hears about this, you will never-"
"Actually," Ironwood interrupted, arms crossed, "I've already informed them. As this is now the site of a classified military operation, it didn't even require a vote."
"Didn't require a vote?!"
"You might want to brush up on Council law before you lose this upcoming election, Jacques. Now, I've allowed you to land here once as a courtesy. The next time, it won't be a friendly reception."
Jacque glared hatefully. "Lately, you seem to forget who your friends really are. I'm going to get that Council seat, James, and maybe then, you'll-"
He was distracted, eyes widening, as he finally spotted Weiss amongst the group behind Ironwood. She glared, and the little ice-blue fox-mon standing at her feet growled, fur bristling.
"You… You roped my missing daughter into these schemes of yours, too?"
He walked a few steps toward Weiss, then turned back to glare & shout at Ironwood some more.
"How long has she been back in Atlas? Did Winter know about this?!"
Weiss stepped forward. "It was my decision to come here. Just as it was my decision to leave. Or have you forgotten all about that?"
"If you think I'm one to forget anything, girl, then you've misjudged the man your father is."
"Believe me," Weiss snapped back, "I know exactly what kind of man you are."
He growled. "How dare you speak to me that way?! I have half a mind to-"
"Half a mind to what, Jacques?" Ironwood stepped forward threateningly.
Glaring, Jacques somewhat composed himself, adopting a new approach with a different tone.
"You know… Your mother was devastated when you left. Didn't leave her room for days. You know how… she gets… when she's upset."
Acting sad as he gave his little speech, Jacques took glimpses at Weiss's reaction, feeling sadistic satisfaction from seeing her visible impacted, frowning with her teary eyes looking down. Ruby, Blake, & Yang closed ranks around her, Ruby hugging her while the taller girls glared hatefully at Jacques, who turned back to Ironwood.
"I knew, James, that one day you would overextend your reach. I didn't come here to beg for an abandoned mine. I came here to thank you… for personally handing me the noose to hang you." He turned back to Weiss and her teammates. "So these are the little friends you threw everything away for?"
Weiss glared defiantly. "Not 'friends'. Family."
With a final huff, Jacques returned to his airship, which promptly took off and departed. Weiss deflated, dropping her strong & confident façade. Moments later, a truck drove up to the platform, and Winter stepped out of the passenger seat.
"Oh, now you show up" Weiss said with a grin. "You just missed father."
"I wouldn't say I missed him" Winter replied.
Suddenly, Penny came crashing down from above, landing on one knee, the force of her abrupt landing blasting Team RWBY back with startled screams. Straightening up, Penny threw her hands in the air, projecting a hologram of "CONGRATULATIONS!" and bright-green holographic confetti, complete with a party horn sound.
"Surprise!" She looked around, her big grin fading as she saw Team RWBY lying in a snow-dusted heap. "Uh, did we not start yet?"
Winter palmed her face, Ironwood stared with a wide-eyed grimace, and Ruby groaned faintly.
"Apparently, we haven't…" Winter said with a sigh.
"Start what?" Ruby asked as she got to her feet.
-Break-
Just after the sun vanished below the horizon, the whole gang (currently minus the Ace Ops) gathered in the center of Amity Colosseum's arena, with RWBY & JNPR lined up in the spotlight. Penny was bouncing with excitement, clutching a tablet-sized Scroll.
"It goes without saying" Ironwood began to speak "that this arena holds a significance to all of us. It's only fitting that we should be able to reconvene here. Now. When the world needs to be brought together more than ever. The road you traveled from our first meeting hasn't been easy. You fought for your school and your friends at Beacon. You fought for the world and the innocent at Haven Academy and beyond. You faced down terrors that most people can't even fathom. That's not the behavior of students. It's the behavior… of Hunters."
Penny stepped forward, walking along in front of the lineup. She stopped at each person, tapping her Scroll and making that person's Scroll buzz. The eight young heroes brought their Scrolls up, seeing their Student Licenses displayed, and then changing into…
"You are all being granted your Hunter licenses today" Winter explained.
"I know this is coming a little ahead of schedule," Ironwood said, "but Bro…" he remembered what he'd learned about the Brother Gods' true character "goodness knows you deserve it. I only regret that I couldn't do something a little more ceremonious for the occasion."
Ruby stared in awe at her Huntress License. "I… We… We're honored, General Ironwood. But you really don't have to-"
"Please. With the threat of Salem's alliance still out there and tensions rising in our Kingdom, I certainly could use more trustworthy fighters by my side. I should be so lucky to have all of you…" He looked at the prodigious kids with a smile. "It's a big moment. And what better way to celebrate than here? When this tower is ready and communications are back up & running, we'll tell the world about Salem and face down whatever comes at us after that, together."
"W-Wait" Nora spoke up. "What about Pirika?"
"Huh?" the off-worlder girl startled. "O-Oh, I don't really mind not…"
"She's not quite ready to earn her Huntress License yet" Ironwood replied. "But… she is quite close. We – Qrow, Winter, myself, and the Academy's other teachers – will help her fill in the gaps regarding what she still needs to know. Honestly, I don't think it'll take more than a couple of weeks before she earns her License." He cleared his throat. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to running this whole operation. Um… Well, then. Enjoy the cake!"
He strolled away, Winter following.
"After everything we've been through," Yang said, "I almost forgot this is what I wanted in the first place."
"When Beacon fell," Blake added, "I didn't think this would even be possible."
"It almost feels trivial now" Weiss remarked.
"Geez, kids," Qrow sighed, "could ya lighten up a little? Enjoy yourselves for a change. You've earned it."
"Finally!" Nora shouted. "Someone said it. Let's kill some cake, huh? Because I can eat two slices before Ren even eats one. Who says I can't? Who says it huh?!"
"Nora," Ren replied, "nobody is going to argue with you about this."
As everyone got their cake (cut by Penny's floating swords), relaxing together or goofing off, Ruby sat on the bleachers, lost in thought while she ate.
"Big day for you, huh, kiddo?" Qrow asked as he sat next to her.
"It's… definitely a lot to take in" she said.
"Which part? The 'finally getting to Atlas' part, 'getting your license' part, or the 'taking a risk and telling Ironwood everything' part?"
She gave a soft, weary laugh. "All of the above. I'm trying to do what I think is best…" She looked at her license. "This says I'm a Huntress now. But I don't feel like I know much more than I did at Beacon."
Qrow chuckled. "That feeling never goes away. Your mom – Summer – would be proud of you."
She smiled, but then thought some more. "Her… last mission. Was that another Oz secret?"
"Hm… There were a lot of those back in our day. But this one was a Summer secret. When she didn't come back, Ozpin seemed just as in-the-dark as myself and your father. Still, who knows what he may have hidden from us over the years."
"What do you think she would've done if she learned the truth about Salem – that she's immortal?"
"…Pressed on, I think. Like you. She was always the best of us." He gave her a side-hug. "Bit of a brat, though. But hey, I like brats."
"Hey, Ruby!" Yang called. "Come check this out!"
Seeing what Yang had found, Ruby gasped and sped over. "Ohmygosh is that a mission board? It's an app now?! Can we ride a Megoliath? Stop an underground crime ring? Do I get to go… undercover?"
Suddenly, they heard Marrow's voice from a nearby corridor, seeing him walk in with Elm and Vine.
"Hey, do you guys smell that? Smells like… fresh meat."
"Lemme get this straight" Elm said to the kids. "You've only been official for an hour now and you're already looking for Hunter work?"
"To be fair," Weiss replied, "we've been official for a whole…" she checked the time on her Scroll, slumping with disappointment "57 minutes…"
Vine cleared his throat. "I'd like to remind you all that the real mission here is ensuring the successful launch of the communications tower."
"True," Ren replied, "but we can also keep training and improving by helping where we can."
Elm pumped her fist. "Haha! The enthusiasm of youth!"
"Well, it's hard to argue with that" Marrow said. "Okay, let me show you how it works." He came up to the board, scrolling through and selecting an Escort mission. "Ooh, here's an important one. Who wants to volunteer?"
He turned to look, seeing all eight of them raising their hands excitedly.
"We need someone to escort children to pre-primary school down in Mantle. There's not actually any danger, but the parents fret, and that attracts Grimm."
Everyone's hands went back down but Jaune's.
"Perfect! Thanks, uh… Juane? Jan? Mr. Arc!"
Jaune sighed. "Close enough, I guess. Wow, my first Huntsman mission…"
Elm slid in, drawing a quick scream from Marrow as he was unceremoniously shoved aside. "Next! She scrolled the board rapidly, slapping it to a stop on a 'Search & Destroy' mission showing an image of a Sabyr Alpha. "A massive Sabyr is loose in the Mantle sewers! We need two brave warriors to flush it out!"
Jaune gaped as his friends got excited. "Wha- But- Why didn't I get a choice for that one?!"
-Break-
Jacques 'Schnee' sat alone in his dimly-lit office, drinking from a tasteful-looking wine glass. The door to his office opened partway, a short-haired young head poking in.
"Father," Whitley Schnee spoke cautiously, "you, um… have a visitor."
Jacques slammed his glass down, frowning. "I told you I didn't want to be disturbed. Why did you let him in?"
"I didn't. He, uh… let himself in."
The door was all but thrown open as a lean, mustached villain strode in like he owned the place. "A spitting image of you, this lad, Jacques. Creepily so, I might add. He's definitely inherited your… affect."
Jacques stared in shock. "Arthur… Whitley, leave us. And shut the door."
Whitley looked confused, giving Watts a suspicious glance.
"I said shut the door!"
Another slam, and Whitley hurried complied, retreating.
"I…" Jacques still looked flabbergasted. "You're supposed to be dead…"
"That is what I wanted people to think" Watts replied. "You're right. However, I've heard things about you too, Jacques. Namely, that you have an Ironwood problem."
Jacques growled. "That bastard is costing me more money every day with these trade restrictions. I'd lay off every employee in Mantle if I wasn't trying to get their damn votes for this Council seat."
Watts sat in the nearby chair, smirking. "What if I said you could have your cake… and eat it, too?"
-CHAPTER END-
There won't be much in the way of major canon changes until things kick off later down the line, but when they do start happening, they're probably going to snowball. Just hang in 'til then. I wanted something to happen during the Petra Gigas fight, but the Ace Ops had the situation so well in hand that I couldn't reasonably shoehorn in the little development I wanted, so no Poké-Evolution today...