Captain's Log:
Sorry but I'm in a bit of a rush so this entry is going to be short and there is so much I want to talk about, though maybe it's for the best I save that stuff for later. To sum it all up, I went on a date today with Tock and it was great, then it wasn't, then it got worse and then somehow even worse and then suddenly turned around and became heartwarming? How did that happen? I don't know and the fact that I found a pistol found in my coat isn't helping, Tock must have slipped it in during our hug so I guess this means that things between me and her are okay now, that's good, we need people like her on our side.
I really appreciate the pistol but I'm not trained in firearms however Ren is and everything that I understand about this mission suggests that we will be there for a while so I'll get him to teach me the basics during our downtime. As for the pistol itself, well… Tock called it a backup weapon but I'm not so sure about that and it's not just because this thing looks like it packs a real punch. It's also because it reminds me of the old flintlocks that pirates are often portrayed having, I get that she has an aesthetic but this had to have been expensive and she just gave it to me without a second thought...
Looks like I'll have to wrap up here, it's time to leave.
Jaune closed his journal and placed it inside his travel bag, afterward he doubled checked his gear taking special care to triple check the pistol that was now tucked into his belt, until he could get himself a holster he would have to keep it there, When I see Ren I should ask him if he has an extra holster. He then turned his attention to the prosthetic arm still attached to his stump, Maybe I should leave it behind, it would only get in the way if I have to fight, and leaving it here would be a good way to save some extra space, that being said what would I use that extra space for? Not to mention that we'll do more than just fighting so I guess I should leave it on for now. He then took one last look at his bag while going through a mental checklist to make sure that he was properly prepared and once he was satisfied, he took everything that he didn't need and placed it in his locker for safekeeping before walking toward the exit of the locker room
As he walked his scroll vibrated letting him know that someone had sent him a text, assuming that it was his team checking to see where he was, he quickly pulled his scroll and found that he had a message from Yang which he immediately opened and read, What!? Why is she asking me this? It has nothing to do with… though this could be a good thing. At the very least it can't make things worse as long as I warn her ahead of time. He then typed out two different messages sending one to Tock and the other to Yang, once that was done he pocketed the scroll and walked out of the locker room where he soon found the rest of his team in the hallway, already donning their combat gear and carrying their luggage while making their way towards him.
"Well it's about time captain, we were about to leave port without ye!" Nora teased Jaune while clinging onto Ren who had an arm wrapped around her waist.
"Enough of that mutinous talk! I was only running late because I had to come back from a date!" Jaune answered back with just a little bit of pride.
Pyrrha was the first to respond to the news, "If I remember correctly her name was Tock, I hope she wasn't too upset about this mission getting in the way," she spoke trying not to sound too disappointed, I guess even I can't win them all, but I'm still happy for you Jaune and if things don't work out…
Unknown to her or to any of the over members of Team JNPR, they were being followed and spied on by Emerald though it wasn't something that she had planned to do. Originally she was just going to pass them by and continue on to the locker room, however that changed the moment Pyrrhas had spoken that name, Tock!? Surely she doesn't mean the one that Salem wants us to recruit, and what's this about her going on a date with Jaune!? Why out of all the people in Vale would a bounty hunter like her choose to date this wannabe pirate? It could just be a waste of time but, if even the smallest chance existed that she could learn something that Cinder would find useful, then it was time well spent.
Jaune felt a little bashful answering his partner's question but he did confess, "Well the date could have gone better… much better. Honestly, the whole thing was nearly a train wreck but somehow things worked out in the end." And we have a lot to talk about and think about as soon as possible...
"It couldn't have been that bad, considering the gift she got you," Ren said looking right at the gun tucked into Jaune's belt with some concern. "Leaving it there is dangerous even for a Huntsman. However I still have an old holster, let me check if it will fit," he suggested while holding out his hand for the gun which Jaune eagerly gave him, he then detached himself from his partner and walked into the locker room as Emerald followed them.
"Well it's about time you got something with a little range, I mean your sword is great and all but when all it would take is a single Nevermore to leave you helpless, something needs to change!" Nora exclaimed in her usual over the top fashion.
"This is wonderful and also kind of funny because I was going to talk to you about possibly getting you a backup weapon of some sort. Come to think of it… when did you get it? I know Ren thinks Tock gave it to you but I'd rather not make assumptions," Pyrrha asked with sincere curiosity.
"Well Ren guessed right, Tock asked me if I wanted to spar but when I told her that I left my sword behind she pulled out the gun and then to my surprise she just gave it to me," After pointing it right at me, seriously alcohol or not I need to talk to her about that shit. "So, I guess I'll need some firearm training."
"Well it's a good thing Pyrrha's here because let me tell you, Captain, Ren does not have good aim! Hell, I don't even know why he bothers with weapons when he can literally palm strike a King Taijitu to Death!" Nora excitedly announced.
Jaune was flabbergasted, "Wait you mean to tell me that really happened? Ren actually blew the head of a King Taijitu with a move that only exists in fiction! Geez if he can do that, why even bother with weapons at all? Seriously, even Yang hasn't pulled anything like that off and trust me when I say that Ruby has told me some terrifying stories about her!"
"Oh, you better believe that Ren can do whatever Yang can do and more! That is if he wants to, now don't get me wrong! I love my man and his magic hands, especially now since he and I are finally together together but I swear! Sometimes that man is just so lazy!" bemoaned Nora.
"I take offense to that," Ren spoke, having returned from the locker room. "I simply prefer to use my limited aura for defense rather than inefficient attacks. Take for example the King Taijitu you mentioned that I fought back in Initiation, while it is true I destroyed his head it wasn't enough to kill the beast because it still had the other head. Nora was the one who actually killed the thing and without her, I would have been in real trouble," he then handed to Jaune a well worn brown holster with his gun already in it, "This was the holster I used before I got Storm Flower, it not a perfect fit but I hope it serves you well until a better one can be found," he then made his way back to his girlfriend's side.
Jaune took the gift and began to attach it to his belt, "Thanks Ren, alright crew let's not keep the professor waiting."
Pyrrha's eyes widened as she remembered something important she forgot to bring up earlier, "Actually, Professor Greene is already at the settlement, apparently, she was already en route when the message was sent."
"Professor Greene?" Jaune asked inquisitively, I haven't heard of this professor.
She helped to fill in the gaps, "Well, I only know what Coco told me about her which was that she's a professor for the upper years and teaches Security and Stealth which makes sense given the… situation," she answered as the importance of the mission was starting to fully dawn on her and she wasn't alone. Every member of the group thought the same thing as they continued to make their way through the hallways of Beacon passing by staff, fellow students, and even some of the visiting trainees from the other Academies on their way to the Landing Pad where the Bullhead was waiting for them.
Eventually, someone spoke the question that was on everyone's mind but no one wanted to ask, "But then why send us?" Ren wondered out loud, "We are first-year students about to take on a mission involving a dead Huntsman, logic would dictate that we are not qualified. Yet, this task was placed on us."
"But this was always supposed to be our mission," Pyrrha pointed out.
"No, Ren is right," Nora spoke, catching everyone off guard with how serious she sounded. "They would never entrust a mission like this to a bunch of first years or possibly even upper years, for something this important they should be sending actual Huntsmen, something is going on."
"But they gave RWBY the Mount Glenn mission," Pyrrha pointed out.
"Yeah and look how that turned out," she answered back shocking the whole team with the bluntness of her answer which seemed to catch Nora herself by surprise but she recovered quickly enough to explain what she meant, "Look I am not blaming them but what I'm saying is that it was a mission that should have been handled by Pros."
"Maybe they can't? Sure things aren't as bad as they were at the beginning but the clean up for the Breach is still far from completion, there are still people without power, water, or in some cases even a home, and when you consider that the Vytal Festival that's only a couple months off, Why haven't they canceled it? Well, I don't want to say it but… maybe a nameless settlement isn't exactly the biggest of priorities." The words felt foul in Jaune's mouth and the look his team gave him spoke volumes, I've let all this Silver Eyed cloak and dagger crap get to me...
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
Since infiltrating Beacon Academy Emerald had seen many bizarre sights such as, a robot that looked and kinda acted like an eccentric girl, a dog arriving by mail, that wannabe pirate showing up to the dance in a dress and then turning out to be a good dancer and of course who could forget the Food Fight which put several actual battles to shame in terms of pure intensity. However now she was greeted by yet another entry in her list of rather unusual sights: Mercury Black cowering in front of the door of their dorm room. Granted compared to some of the more exotic entries on her list this would seem to be rather unremarkable however despite how much she hated him even she would begrudgingly admit that her partner, God I hate that word, was not a coward by any definition that existed. That said she would also insist that his bravado was caused by a lack of intellect and basic self-preservation instinct rather than any positive qualities that in her unbiased opinion most certainly did not exist in him.
"What are you doing?" She finally decided to just get it over with and ask the question, consequences be damned.
"Right, now I'm hiding for my life while trying to preserve my family jewels," Mercury quickly answered as he slowly took a step away from the door.
"I can see that, do you mind helping me understand why?" I swear there is always something going on with this guy, it sometimes feels like he grew up without any friends whatsoever.
"Because Cinder is losing it! And quite frankly I already have enough scars to last a lifetime and a half!"
Emerald sighed and rubbed her temples trying to fight back against the headache that she could already feel coming on, I got some medicine but it's inside the room. "Okay, here's an idea. How about you try being helpful and explain to me what happened."
He turned to face her and began his tale of woe, "So I'm just sitting at my desk doing homework wh-"
"Stop. You were doing homework. Really? Really? I get that you don't want to tell me what you were actually doing and I respect that but, at least have the decency of coming up with a lie that could sound plausible."
"Glad to see you have such a high opinion of me but, guess what? I actually was doing homework, what's your excuse for not doing yours!" He pointed at her accusingly. "Or did you forget that we are supposed to be students here?" That and I enjoy doing homework, it feels normal, and normal is something that pissed off Dad and anything that would piss him off is something I want to try. Though the only way, she'll learn that is over my dead body!
For a brief moment, there was a look of shock and realization on Emerald's face but she soon squashed it, Oh Shit, he actually has a point. But the only way he'll ever learn that is over my dead body! "I'll have you know that I was doing my actual job which in case you forgot is spying on the brats and I've even brought information for Cinder," she shot back with a smug.
"Bullshit."
"NO! No bullshit! I really do have important information! So just get out of my way!"
"SHUT UP!" a third voice intruded.
Emerald and Mercury turned and found May Zedong the sniper of team BRNZ glaring at them from behind an open door, her signature hat gone revealing to the pair the eye that was normally kept hidden beneath it. It was… large, pale blue with what appeared to be some sort of film covering it and it was looking at them. That dead unnatural eye stared right at them, through them, it made their blood run cold by just casting its foul gaze on them, silencing them with its presence and then the owner of that eye spoke and all heard, "Now listen up you two, either get a room and hate fuck each other to death or shut up!"
"Um, okay… sorry?" Emerald spoke trying to come off as sincere as possible, Just please look at anything but me! Like Mercury! You can stare at him all you'd like!
"Fine," May slowly returned to her room, closing the door behind her, the gaze of that eye never moving away from them until the very end.
"Damn that was scary!" Mercury softly declared to no one but himself. That eye is going to haunt my dreams… unless I kill her! It'll be easy! All I need is a lantern and a pillow. First I'll sneak into her room and shine the lantern's light on that… eye. Then I'll-
"Merc! Mercury! Snap out of it!" Emerald angrily whispered at him.
"Wha, What!?"
"Move aside so I can talk to Cinder!" She whispered to him and for a moment he just stared at her in complete silence but then without warning he stepped aside and allowed her to pass by. Once she was through the door he, ran down the hallway and made his way to the bullheads, he had a lantern to buy.
Emerald did not know what to expect when she entered the room, now she had borne witness to Cinder's occasional bad moods which were caused when the people around her, Emerald excluded, failed to complete their tasks. However, these past few weeks have been offering quite an unusual situation for her mistress with the Breach being discovered and occurring earlier than scheduled and that whole clusterfuck involving Hazel and his missing bounty hunters which still hasn't been resolved and in fact, has somehow been growing worse and worse ever since that… Peter fellow and his Lost Boys were brought in, That guy's so weird and the rest of those Lost Boys? Just Creepy.
Looking around the room she soon found her boss, Cinder sitting on a couch just reading a book while drinking tea. Is this really what scared Mercury? Weird. "Ma'am I have something to report to you."
"What. Do. You. Want?" her Mistress spoke without even looking at her and only now did Emerald notice that the room was unusually hot which was never a good sign.
Slightly intimidated by Cinder's foul temperament, Emerald unconsciously moved a little closer to the exit and took a moment to regather herself, Calm down you've seen her bad moods before, just keep it short and respectful and everything will be alright. "Ma'am, I was able to acquire some information that may prove helpful in untangling the mess caused by Hazel's incompetence." At the very mention of Hazel's name Cinder's eyes began to noticeably twitch, which was followed by a quiver in her mouth, a slight tremble of her hand, then grinding of teeth, and the tea suddenly beginning to boil, all which when brought together created an image of a, admittedly very attractive and scary, container on the verge of bursting. Shit, Emerald thought to herself as she realized that this was what scared Mercury off, Cinder was on the verge of an explosion.
"Well? What is it, Emerald? Or did you come to Waste. My. Time?"
"I've learned that the leader of Team JNPR, Jaune Arc is in a relationship with the bounty hunter that Salem wanted us to find. He is dating Tock!"
Cinder stood perfectly still as her mind went into overdrive trying to process the idea that an amputee and wannabe pirate who had no business being in Beacon, or any other Academy for that matter, somehow scored a Badass Huntress who could literally tear the idiot to pieces with her bare hands even if he had both hands and a brain! Intellectually she knew that Emerald would never lie or even joke about something like that but the image was so bizarre she just couldn't believe it, I could understand a one night stand but a serious relationship? "Are you sure?"
"I came across team JNPR on my way to the lockers and overheard them talking abo-!"
"Get. To. The. Point."
"Jaune went on a date with Tock, I confirmed it with Lie Ren who further informed me that the two are in a serious relationship that has been going on since the Breach," she then waited for her mistress to say something, anything.
"Heheheh," Cinder couldn't help but laugh just a little, the thought was just too absurd not to laugh "Heheheheh," she got up from her seat and began to walk around the room going nowhere in particular but, walking always did help her to think.
Emerald meanwhile was terrified beyond belief as she watched as her mistress began suddenly laughing to herself while pacing around the room. From her point of view, she felt like a prey cornered by a predator who was about to have its way with her, which admittedly was a situation that she had fantasized about in the past, but never like this! My fantasies were far sexier than this! This is just terrifying! The poor girl briefly considered running out of the room, But then she'll think that I'm being insubordinate and punish me and not in a way that I'll like! And using my Semblance on her would be even worse! Thus, with no other options available to her, poor Emerald cowered in the corner hoping that if she made herself small enough Cinder wouldn't notice her.
"Emerald," Cinder finally spoke, nearly giving the poor girl a heart attack.
"Y- yes!"
"Leave," as soon as the word left her lips, Emerald made a mad dash to the door and bolted down the hallway as Cinder just stared on with a surprised and rather impressed look on her face as the thief ran away. "Huh, what's her problem? Well, no matter." She then pulled out her scroll, dialed a certain number, and after a few brief rings, the call was answered.
"Hello, dear employer! Peter, is at your service!" answered the deceptively youthful voice of the leader of the Lost Boys.
Activating a voice changing app on her scroll Cinder replied, "I've just received confirmation that your earlier report was indeed true. As a result, you will be rewarded accordingly."
"Well, I suppose I've heard worse apologizes and I do enjoy extra cash, so what now? We did find the croc as you asked and that was all we were hired for. So tell me, is this where we part ways, or do you have something else for us?" he inquired.
"I want to hire you and all of your Lost Boys for an extended job and I'm willing to pay you in advance."
"Alright then, just tell us what you need us to do and consider it done boss!"
"Excellent," Cinder couldn't help but smile as a new plan formed in her wicked head, Setbacks are just opportunities waiting to be exploited.
The settlement was not very large, not by any stretch of the imagination, in fact, it was so small that it did not even have a proper name, instead, it was issued an ID number that would serve as a placeholder until the community proved that it could survive and thrive. It was a cold cynical system but it was also one firmly planted in reality. However it would be inaccurate to say that Vale didn't care for these fledgling villages or the people within, it just had to be practical with how resources were handled. For example, it would be too expensive and require too much valuable space to build a landing pad in the middle of the village, it was far more sensible to build a centralized airfield and create dirt roads to connect all the settlements and allow food, medicine, building materials and in this particular case Huntsmen-in-training to be delivered by car the rest of the way.
Riding in the back of an open-air truck Team JNPR kept a steady vigil with weapons drawn and ready in case of any Grimm or maybe even opportunistic Bandits. Even normally joyous and bombastic Nora Valkyrie was now stone-faced as she gripped her grenade launcher while keeping watch for anything that might try and interfere with their righteous mission, then the tension was broken when Jaune's scroll began ringing.
"Um, Captain? Are you going to answer that?" Nora asked.
"Do you think I should? Given the situation?" he asked, not sure about the proper procedure for this sort of thing.
Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle at how perplexed he looked right now, "Don't worry, we'll let you know if we come under attack." She struck a little pose with her rifle to help drive the point.
Ren then chimed in, "The local Militia regularly patrols this area so we are unlikely to see Bandits and as for the Grimm, they aren't known for stealth."
Seeing their point Jaune answered, "Hello… Why? It was because she deserved to know… What?... You don't know that for sure… Tock… No, but I want to."
Nora turned to her boyfriend and whispered, "Um, should we be listening to this? It sounds kinda serious." Ren simply shrugged his shoulders and with a wave of his hand pointed out that even if they wanted to give their captain some privacy, it was impossible to do so unless they wanted to throw themselves off of a moving truck. Recognizing his point Nora went back to awkwardly sitting through a private conversation.
Seemingly unaware by the discomfort his conversation was making everyone he kept going, "What do you need me to do… I'll know? Don't say that… I'll see you later," The call ended and Jaune was left alone with his thoughts.
"Um, so… is Tock okay?" Pyrrha asked not sure if it was even an appropriate question to ask.
And just like that he was dragged away from his thoughts and back into the real world, "Yeah, why you'd ask?" he spoke in a rather pathetic attempt to deflect.
"Well, it just sounded like you were having a rather serious conversation, that's all., She politely responded.
"Alright Jaune spill the beans! You may have fooled everyone else but Nora Valkyrie can smell lies a mile away even if they come spilling from the mouth of our fearless Captain! What's going on!"
He tried to say something, anything but he couldn't form the words, "I… I," I can't tell them now! They'll just be distracted while we enter what could very well be a war zone! But, if I don't say anything then they'll be distracted anyway and they'll know if I'm lying… even if I could get away with a lie it would make the moment when I do have to tell the truth even worse!
Ren, seeing the stress on his friend's face spoke up, speaking not just to Jaune but to everyone at once, "Please give me your hands." He held up his hand which was soon grabbed by Nora and shortly afterward by Pyrrha as well who understood what he was going to do.
However Jaune hesitated at first, This isn't the time or place… but then when, where? If Ren is going to use his Semblance like I think he is, then this might be the moment I was looking for. He looked at his crew and read the looks on their faces and found it to be painfully easy to do. They wanted to help him, they were asking him to trust them and he would... steeling himself he took Ren's hand and then felt nothing or rather it would be more accurate to say that he felt the absence of something. It was hard to describe, it was like the world had suddenly become smaller, less mysterious, less beautiful, neither cold nor hot, just a little bit emptier. Something in the back of Jaune's mind acknowledged that he should be scared that he should be trying to hold back because of how they might react but it was getting harder and harder to hear that voice. Then it was gone there leaving nothing but logic and clarity left and so he did what he should have done hours ago.
He told them everything starting with how after the Breach he got he left with Tock to get drunk which somehow had led to marriage, how he originally planned to just train with her to find out what she knew about The Breach before realizing that he enjoyed the time he spent with her. He even told them unimportant details like how it was her who came up with the idea for the weapon that Ruby was now building for him and he talked about the date. How he was followed, what were Tock's true plans for the outing, how he nearly fought her and then nearly turned her in, why he now had a gun, and most important of all: The Silver Eyes.
At no point did his team interrupt Jaune, even to ask questions. Perhaps it was Ren's Semblance that was to blame for that, maybe in addition to erasing emotions it also suppressed other inclinations or maybe it had an extra effect of making people more passive, or was an unintentional consequence of a lack of emotions? Ren honestly didn't know nor did he care, there were simply too many other things that he felt were so much more important. Like slowly and carefully undoing the effects of his Semblance, sure he could just turn it off but then that would only result in repressed emotions coming back in full force rendering everything he just did pointless, however, if he did it slow enough then everyone would have an easier time working through the motions as they came.
Soon the process was done and everything was back to normal, Pyrrha was the first to speak, "Wow, Jaune… that's a lot to process, but why didn't you tell us? We could've helped, we would have helped! There was no reason to keep any of us in the dark!"
"Because of me… I… um?" Jaune was drawing a blank. Why did I keep it to myself? It's not like they would have been in danger and having the extra help would have gone a long way, hell we might have been able to catch that guy who ruined my date… and get some answers… Then in a moment of complete clarity, Jaune answered: "Because I'm a fucking idiot."
"You said it, not me!" Nora declared. "But yeah, I mean what on earth were you thinking? Hell, Ren and I have been hanging out with that Cecco guy, and let me tell you right now, he cannot hold his alcohol!"
"It's true, just three cups and he'll tell you virtually anything you want," Ren confirmed.
"I've seen Cardin and Russel hang out with Mason and as for Turley… I think he and Blake have been recommending books to each other," Pyrrha added.
Jaune almost couldn't believe what he had just heard, for a moment he looked away from his team and whispered to no one in particular, "Damn… why did I have to go and make everything else so complicated?" He then felt a friendly hand on his shoulder and saw that it belonged to his partner, Pyrrha who was fondly regarding him.
"Jaune meeting you at Beacon was one of the biggest surprises of my life and while I won't say that I never had doubts about you or that I haven't ever been frustrated with you, I will say that I've always admired how you've never let anything, not even a lack of real transcripts stop you from at least trying not just for yourself but for everyone else as well. You have the heart of a Huntsman and I trust you, Captain."
"Pyrrha…" Jaune felt like he could cry.
"Um, what was that part about lacking real transcripts? Cause that sounded important!" Nora suddenly cut in.
"I guess he is a pirate," Ren added.
"OH! That is So Cool! Like wow and I thought me and Ren had the craziest backstories since we were bandits for a while and probably maybe definitely ate a guy but he was an asshole so it's okay! Though in hindsight the old woman who fed us that meal could have been lying then again it most certainly didn't taste like any meat I ever ate before and we never did see that guy again," Nora ranted ignoring the disturbed looks of Jaune and Pyrrha.
Ren clarified, "We had a stint as pickpockets."
It did not escape Jaune or Pyrrha's attention that Ren didn't deny the part about being a cannibal, That's a joke there's no way it could be true then again… I don't know much about either's past and if Blake could be a former White Fang… no! They are my friends! They would never ever…
Before they could finish that thought the wheezing hacking voice of the truck driver called out to them, "Oi we're almost there! In fact, you can see the settlement just up ahead!" and the driver laughed to himself as team JNPR moved around to get the best view possible.
The settlement itself looked like something straight out of Professor Oobleck's books on the early days of Vale, the buildings were made from a combination of stone, wood, even straw and were of various sizes and shapes. There was a stone-paved road that ran through town and a rather adorable fence made from both stone and wood surrounding the place, the citizens of the settlement were dressed in simple but undeniably modern clothes that made them all look more like tourists rather than settlers and a few clear but unmistakable examples of modern technology such as scrolls and street lights did not help with this image. However, the most interesting thing about the town was what the members of Team JNPR didn't see...
"There's nothing wrong with this place!" Nora loudly lamented. "I was ready to have to fight an endless hoard of Grimm or Bandits or Grimm riding to battle on their Bandit mounts! But this! Where's the fire? Where are the panicking villagers? Where is the handsome stranger with a mysterious past that connects somehow with the identity of my Parents!?" Settlers began gathering to listen and laugh at Nora's ever-growing rant which became more and more bizarre as she continued.
"Before you ask, yes. Nora is doing this on purpose," Ren answered before the rest of his team could ask.
For a moment, Jaune considered stopping Nora however that thought soon died, She's not hurting anyone hell, they actually seem like it. Instead, he took the opportunity to take stock of the settlement and soon noticed several irregularities with the most obvious being how the buildings in the front were made of mostly of wood like the wall but the closer he got to the center the of the settlement the more was used in the construction of the building and at the very center, the buildings were mostly stone, Is this normal? I grew up in an already established town so I wouldn't know if there was something off here.
"Land-ho you Buccaneers! About time you all got here!" The entirety of team JNPR turned to see an older barefooted woman in a dapper suit, wearing a simple straw hat which was covering her braided red hair and on her back was some sort of cylindrical device with a dangling chain coming off of the side. The woman walked up the team who had gathered in front of her, "As you kids probably guessed I'm Professor Greene and the Huntress in charge of this mission, now we don't have much time so follow me and I'll show you around town while you ask your questions,"
She then walked away with JNPR following after her.
Jaune was the first to ask a question, "We got a message that the huntsmen station here died, what happened and why is everyone so… nonchalant by it?"
The professor gave a little chuckle before answering, "It's because the guy who died was over 80 years old and his cause of death was a heart attack!" She paused just to soak in the look of disbelief that came over the students before continuing, "That guy hasn't been the person in charge of protecting this part of the map for the past 20 years!" She then pointed at a building, "That's the Clinic, I'll save the introductions with all the important people for tomorrow for now just remember the buildings I point out okay? Now next question!" The tour continued.
"Then why did we get an alert?" asked a somewhat confused Pyrrha who was seeking clarifications.
"Yeah, the guy never turned in his retirement forms and as a result was still listed as an active Huntsman. Your original mission was going to be helping the Huntress actually in charge of this area with some patrols which you're still going to do but you'll be patrolling with me instead."
"Why aren't we going with the Huntress in charge?" Ren asked.
"Because she's in Vale General Hospital," Professor Greene quickly recognized the looks of concern that was now present on the faces of the students before her, "Don't worry she's not there because of anything bad, in fact, it's the opposite. Her sister is giving birth and wants her to be there so she decided to finally cash in the vacation days she had saved up. By the way, that building over to your left is where you'll be staying, now let's keep going!"
Jaune asked another question, "So the mission is the same just but we'll be learning from you instead?"
"Pretty much! The Professor answered, "Though in addition to the patrols I'm also going to have you guys help out with some construction, so in a way, you guys will be getting a sneak peek into my class! So consider this extra credit for a class that you haven't taken yet!" She joked.
Nora, however, wasn't joking, "But we will get the extra credit when we do take your class, right?"
"Sure, why not? Now let's keep going!" and so the tour continued.
By the time the tour was over the sun had already set but if there was one good thing to be said about life on a settlement it would be that the view at night was truly breathtaking and for many, it was a source of inspiration. Countless poems and songs had been written about the sight of a pitch-black sky filled with so many stars shining so bright and ever beckoning but sadly forever out of reach all while the ever-present shattered moon watched from on high. It was for this reason that many of the great artists hailed from settlements like this one but eventually, the siren call of a soft bed and a sweet dream overcame the wonder of the night sky and welcome sleep did descend on the village.
In his dreams, Jaune laid defeated but not too terribly upset "Hmmm ye really made wirk hard fur that one love," spoke Dream Tock as she stood victorious over her fellow pirate, "Bit in th' end, ah will be taking th' spoils." She then sat right on his waist and placed her hands on his chest digging her fingers right into his shirt, "Let's start by taking a look at yer chest," and like that she tore his shirt right open revealing his muscled abdomen and with a predatory smile began to explore every inch of it with her hands, "Sae tells me, is that a gun in yer poking me or urr ye just happy tae see me? Ah, guess ah will just hae tae fin' out!" She shifted positions so she was now sitting on his chest facing away from him thus giving Jaune a perfect view of her muscular backside, then he felt her hand on his pants undoing his belt, "Wake up kids, Wake up, WAKE UP!"
Team JNPR awoke to the sight of Professor Greene standing at the door with a deadly serious look on her face, "Get ready for combat," before the words even finished leaving her mouth the team leaped right of their beds and began grabbing their equipment putting on only what they needed and leaving everything else behind. Within only a couple of minutes, the entry of Team JNPR stood before her dressed in an odd combination of sleepwear and protective clothing but still very much armed, alert, ready, and awaiting instructions. Damn, they're quicker than my team ever was... then again I guess it's just a result of having to work a bit harder than everyone else, Thought the Professor as she eyed Jaune's empty sleeve.
"Ma'am what's going on?" the young captain finally asked.
"Several fires suddenly started and while they are being put out we'll be fending off any Grimm that might come by. Understood?" She answered while taking off the cylinder that she had been carrying on her back, once she yanked it free of its harness she grabbed the chain that protruded from the device and focused some aura into it causing blades to emerge from the device, "You know the deal, protect yourselves first, the civilians second, property last and kill everything that tries to fight you."
"We'll break their legs and drink from their skulls!" Nora answered for everyone and without any further words they went down the stairs.
A few moments after they left, the window to the room opened up and one of the town watchmen entered and began searching through the place not caring if he knocked something over, or giving a damn about the smell of ash or the Huntsmen fighting the Grimm to protect the once sleepy settlers who were now wide awake and busy trying to put out the fires. All he cared about was the object of his search and he soon found it, lying right on Jaune's bed and hidden just beneath the blanket was the cheap prosthetic that served as the boy's arm and hand. He then grabbed the fake arm and leaped right out of the window landing safely thanks to a little bit of aura channeled into his leg. After checking to see if the coast was clear, he then pulled out his scroll and made a call.
"Slightly, is it time? Did you find it?" spoke the receiver.
"I got the arm Curly, start the car and let Peter know," Slightly didn't even wait for Curly to answer back before ending the call and putting the scroll away. He then got into a sprinting position and allowed his aura control causing his body to shine for just a brief moment as his disguise flickered out of existence revealing a stout young man with brown feathers in his hair and arms along with bloodstains on his jacket. Using his perfect night vision he plotted his route back to a jeep hidden inside the woods where Curly was waiting for him, he then sent all the aura he could spare into his legs.
*WhrrrrrRRRRR...*
He kicked off narrowly avoiding the spinning blades of Professor Greene's prized weapon and without looking back, he just ran into the woods and the cover of the night as the Huntress watched him flee. However she wasn't done just yet, instead, she pulled her weapon back to her and aimed using her own Semblance to peer into the dark and track him. She lined up her shot, pulled her arm back, sent some aura into her weapon bringing the saw life as its blade began spinning with thirsty delight and then-
"HELP!" screamed a civilian who now found himself with his back to a wall and a massive Ursa standing before him with its paw raised high getting ready to end his life.
Without a second of hesitation, Anne Greene spun toward the source of the voice and sent her weapon screaming through the air and into the chest of an Ursa Major tearing it to pieces just before it could end the life of the man. Then with a quick tug of her wrist, the saw came back to her and she found herself at a crossroads, one option was that she could go after that suspicious man and fully entrust the defense of the village to the kids or she could stay in the settlement and continue to help. First things first I got to take care of this place before I can even consider going after that guy. She secured her weapon and went to check on the poor man who was fine and extremely grateful, afterward she restarted her search for any Grimm that might have made their way past the defenders and into the village and found to her pleasure that JNPR was swiftly dealing with the Grimm. The settlement would survive this night any damage caused by either the fire or the monsters would be repaired but she still couldn't help but experience an ever-growing feeling of concern as she tried to make sense of the events in her mind. Fires suddenly break out and a man disguised as a watchman escapes into the forest after leaping through the window of the room that those kids were staying at? There's a connection no doubt about that. But what exactly is it and how much do those kids know?
Author's Notes: Okay so there is quite a bit to get through but I'll manage. First off I'm going to start with an announcement: At a predetermined point in the story, there will be a Hiatus as I revise the story to Expand some chapters and more importantly fix any consistency issues. When I start I will publish a placeholder chapter detailing how far into the revision I'm in. When I'm done, it will be replaced by a proper chapter.
Now for something less serious: The names "Slightly," and "Curly," are taken from the original story of Peter Pan and are the names of two of the Lost Boys. For those of you who are fans of the movie Hook, please rest assured that Rufio will make an appearance. As for Anne Greene, her name and position are taken from the book: After the Fall which is a canon story of Team CFVY and what they were up to after the fall.
As for Anne's weapon, Google: Flying Guillotine
Now let's talk about that scene in Beacon's Hallway with May Zedong. To be brief it was a parody of Edgar Allan Poe's short story titled: The Tell-Tale Heart (Read it seriously it's a million times better than what you just read).
Finally, let's talk about those phone calls that Jaune where I only gave you half the conversation, don't worry you'll soon find what they were about.
Thank you for your time.