Welcome to Part Two of Thawed Weiss.
Hope you enjoy the chapter, ownward my friends!
Disclaimer: Don't own RWBY, still hiding in sandboxes.
Chapter Fourteen: Thawed Weiss (Part 2)
"Touch her again and you'll regret it you oaf."
The entirety of the ABYNLVWR table had fallen into complete silence from this particular outburst. Jaune and Ren shared a glance, a silent nod is shared but they don't intervene. Both feeling that undermining Weiss here was the absolute wrong thing to do when she was finally showing some signs of the personality the two of them thought she'd hidden deep down. Ruby edged a little closer to Ren from where she was sitting and Nora had placed her hand comfortingly on Ruby's upper arm. Jaune could tell from the expression on her face that she would rather be smashing Cardin's face in for what he'd done, but making sure Ruby was okay was first priority.
Yang calmly stood from her seat and it was ultimately the silence that confirmed for Jaune that Cardin was screwed for what just happened. There was no sound for a moment until with a mighty crash Yang and Weiss' fists collided with either side of Cardin's face at the precise same second and the bulky red-head was thrown transversely across the dining hall and then smashed into the wall on the other side.
"Do any of you want to follow in your leaders footsteps?" Weiss stated coldly in the direction of Cardin's entoruage, the three boys rapidly shook their heads and then moved off to go and try to pull their leader out of the wall he'd literally been punched through.
"I don't think we've heard the last of that," Blake observed quietly. Her eyes not even rising up from the book clutched within her fingertips. The general sigh exchanged around the table indicated that the other students shared the same sentiment.
"Are you alright?" Weiss asked Ruby from across the table.
The crimsonette nodded, though Jaune noted she seemed to be sticking closer to Yang more closely than she'd been when they'd all first arrived in the dining hall that morning. He silently vowed then and there that he would get good enough to challenge Cardin again and when he did...he'd beat him. Without the help of Crocea Mors. Bullies like Cardin needed to be dealt with decisively or they'd never stop.
"You know," Ren said after taking a sip from his tea cup, "I wonder how people like him get into Academies for protecting the innocent. Cardin seems like the worst possible candidate for such a role."
"Can we stop talking about Cardin?" Yang vocalized, "I'd hate to become the second holder of the vomit-related nicknmae since our arrival at Beacon."
"What would we call you?" Jaune asked, and then without missing a beat he added, "The Golden Vomit Girl?" Laughter rang across the table, even from Yang despite the joke being at her expense. The only one who hadn't openly laughed was Ren, but he did have a small smile on his face instead.
"Thanks for...sticking up for me, Weiss."
Ruby's quiet voice cut through the laughter and the second strangest thing to happen that morning occurred, Weiss offered her a small smile and nodded once in the shorter girl's direction, "Don't worry about it Ruby. Cardin's a creep and shouldn't be allowed to just throw his weight around whenever he feels it to suit him."
"What class have we got first?" Yang asked Jaune.
"You guys have a free period," Jaune said, after taking a look down at their schedules, "I've got something about leadership skills."
"Leadership skills? I guess they're putting all the Leaders in those classes because I am also placed inside that class. It's relieving that I already know someone within the class. I shall look forward to it."
"Should be interesting," Jaune agreed, "Wonder who'll be teaching us."
"Maybe Ozpin?" Yang vocalized, "He did mention having that class with the fourth years when we ran into him that day."
"Could be a possibility," Weiss agreed, "Or it could be an inactive Huntsman?"
"I suppose the only way to truthfully kill the speculation will be to go and attend the lesson," Jaune put in, he lowered the now empty mug of coffee away from his face and then placed it back down on the table, "What's everyone thinking to do with the free period?"
"I think I'm going to get a workout in," Weiss said, "I need to keep on top of my training routine as best as possible."
"Mind if we join you?" Yang asked her, "I could use a good match up."
Weiss was taken aback by this, Yang had been the most adamantly against her since her arrival at Beacon and yet here she was being nice to her, that was certainly a quick question, "You're not going to continue with-"
"With the attitude towards you? Well, I'd say you proved yourself a little by defending Ruby there and I'm not so immature that I'm going to hold a grudge against you. Yeah, you were pretty shitty but if you making an effort to change then why shouldn't I give you the opportunity to do so?"
"Thank you, Yang."
"Not a problem, Weiss-Cream."
Jaune and Ren exchanged another glance, there had been no apology from either end that they'd heard, but Weiss and Yang seemed to be on amicable terms for the time being so they guessed they could probably deal with the repercussions if there was any at a later moment in time. Jaune spotted that Weiss' brow twitched slightly at the use of the nickname, but there was no outburst like the previous times so maybe that could be considered progress? He wasn't entirely sure. The one thing he had once again reaffirmed in his head is that girls made absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Once breakfast was finished, Jaune and Ren bade their friends goodbye then left the cafeteria, the two of them walked in silence for the most part, more focused on what they might find in the class ahead rather than anything else. The instructor being a major part of their curiosity. If they were getting taught to have leadership skills then they were going to need to be taught by someone who was a leader themselves, someone who'd had experience on the front lines of battle and that alone was the most exciting aspect of the upcoming class.
There was a very notable downside too. Cardin Winchester was also a team leader.
The two leaders approached the door to the classroom and pushed open, revealing the room behind it. It looked vastly different from the classrooms they'd been exposed to for the duration of their time at Beacon. It wasn't a lecture theatre but rather something that could be easily compared to a more traditional classroom. It was lined with desks and had a large one in the center of the room surrounded by chairs.
"Ah, Mr. Arc and Ren, I'm glad you could join us."
Jaune's eyes split wide open. Despite the conversation that had been held earlier at the table when they were eating breakfast, this scenario still seemed impossible. Standing there, cane and mug in hand was Professor Ozpin himself, "If you'll take your seats we'll begin our lesson."
Ren and Jaune moved to take their seats and Ozpin raised his mug to his lips, "Now, I'm going to be quite frank with you, this lesson is the most important on your curriculum for your time at Beacon. Do you know why?"
"Because we need to learn to be effective leaders and guide our teams to victory!" a voice shouted from the back.
"Heavens no, this is an excuse for me to get away from Glynda for a while so I can avoid doing paperwork," the look on the students' face brought an expression of amusement to Ozpin's face and he raised his mug to his lips yet again.
"Then what shall we be doing?"
"That is a good question isn't it? Well, first and foremost. A good leader doesn't guide their team. He walks alongside them, captalizing on the strength of the group and the individual. A weak leader offers guidance foolishly thinking themselves as above everyone around them simply because they have a shiny leader's badge."
Jaune noticed that Ozpin had pointedly directed his gaze at Cardin when saying this.
"Forget everything you have been taught about leadership. From here on out, you're going to learn the real values of leadership and working with your team-mates to achieve common goals such as protecting the people and slaying the creatures of Grimm. The first lesson you all need to learn that all team members have a voice on the battle and the arrogance of a leader who doesn't listen will ultimately end in one way. Death. Of the entire team."
While Jaune and Ren had gone off to Leadership class Weiss, Ruby, Pyrrha, Nora, Yang and, much to her chagrin, Blake, had all made their way to the training rooms and occupied the final free one for the morning slot. Once they'd changed into the combat gear, the six girls all moved to stand on the platform.
"So, how should we go about this?" Weiss asked.
"Well, we could do team vs team?" Pyrrha offered.
"That's not a bad idea, P-Money," Yang agreed, "Then we can all get an idea of where we're all at then decide what each of us needs to work on going forward."
And just like that the idea was set. Yang, Blake and Pyrrha on one side with Weiss, Ruby and Nora on the other. Once all four of the girls had taken their stances, "Go!" was yelled collectively by everyone save for Blake, Pyrrha and Weiss. They were off like a shot, Ruby advanced quickly, zooming straight at Yang at the highest speed she could without activating her semblance. Nora crossed the platform toward Pyrrha and Blake made a beeline for Weiss.
Clang!
Milo crashed against Magnihild.
Crescent Rose's incoming Strike was blocked by the metal of Ember Celica.
Gambol Shroud and Myrtenstar collided.
Yang immediately dropped back from the collision with Ruby and then sped in with a kick towards her, but the latter activated her semblance and used it to narrowly avoid the incoming blow. Yang punched her knuckles together than advanced again, aiming another punch. Meanwhile, Pyrrha and Nora had both somersaulted backward away from each other then advanced again with another clash, exchanging blows at almost blinding speeds.
Weiss had pushed herself back with the help of her Glyphs, sliding across the many she had summoned. Blake advanced in, not giving the Schnee girl a chance to escape. Weiss turned and threw herself skyward, once again with the help of her semblance. She flipped the barrel on Myrtenstar, shooting icicles at Blake thanks to the ice-dust concealed within the chamber. Blake was able to use these to scale the air and advance on her opponent, their weapons clashing once again in mid-air.
"NORA-SMASH!"
"Okay," Weiss said quietly, "No more Nora Smashes..."
Weiss was in the center of the platform, covered from almost head-to toe in her own ice. From the looks of things it didn't appear as though she would be moving any time soon. Ruby and Pyrrha both frantically tried hacking at the ice to remove it to no avail. Laughter however cut through the sounds of slicing.
"I can't believe it," Yang managed to get through heavy laughter, "You're a Weicicle."
Said girl's eyes narrowed immediately, "Thank you for that assessment, Yang, now as the only one able to use fire dust right now, can you please get me out of this!"
Still laughing, Yang smashed through the ice and within moments Weiss was freed once more. She thanked Yang then moved away slightly to go and stand with the other girls. She observed in silence for a moment before her eyes widened slightly, "That gives me an idea."
"What kind of idea?" Blake asked.
"You're all limiting yourself by restricting your use of dust to your affinity. Imagine the increase to your versatility if you moved beyond that. Nora, for example, uses Lightning dust in response to her semblance, but we all just saw how effective one of her 'Smashes' can be if she incorporates different element types."
"We really do need a name for the Ice Version don't we?" Ruby vocalized.
"That's not the point, Ruby," Weiss said exasperatedly, "...But, I suppose a name wouldn't be remiss."
"What about a Nora Spike?" Pyrrha suggested helpfully.
"That sounds AWESOME!"
"Then it's decided, Ren's vote pending."
Nora's shout took everyone back a little, but Yang didn't think she'd ever get used to it. However, what was far more surprising to her was the small matter of Weiss acknowledging that Ren had a majority vote in the team's decisions. Was she finally beginning to accept that she didn't have to be a Leader to make an impact on the world? It did seem unlikely but in saying that, she'd defended Ruby this morning which seemed equally unlikely. What was going on in her head? Yang wasn't even sure she wanted to know the answer to that question.
"Even if Ren has a majority stake in the name," Weiss continued, "We could still work on implementing other types of dust into our fighting styles. As well as-one moment, let's do a little experiment."
Weiss quickly removed a vial of deep blue colored dust from Myrtenstar's chamber and extended to Ruby, "Place this in Crescent Rose please."
"O-okay."
Ruby did as she was instructed, then flipped the switch and activated the sniper-rifle position of her weapon's modes. She took a breath at that point, then nodded to Weiss. Who followed up by retreating from the platform slightly.
"So, what's next?" Yang asked, she, Pyrrha and Blake having followed suit of retreating away from Ruby.
"Shoot it into the air and have Nora smash it," Weiss instructed.
Ruby fired the ice-dust into the air and Nora responded immediately. The result was an ice-coated hammer being smashed into the platform below and Magnihild's hammer end being entirely coated with ice. Nora grinned giddily. She hit the hammer against the ground a couple times and the ice broke off.
"You'll likely be limited to two or three strikes with each cannister of dust," Weiss noted, "But being that Magnihild is a mecha-shift type weapon that'll likely work to our advantage. Rather than being locked to melee-only attacks until the ice-melts."
Blake's eyes lingered on the spot where Ruby had fired the ice-dust into the air. She didn't vocalize her thoughts, but it was clear that something was on her mind. Her amber eyes twitching every few seconds being a dead-giveaway to this. Though, if any of the other girls noticed this, they didn't comment on it.
"If you would like to choose two or three different styles of dust then I'll have them ordered."
"You certainly had a fast turn around," Blake said without thinking.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss said, then she sighed, "I just...realized some things...okay?"
"Like what?"
"Like...it doesn't matter, okay?"
"Weiss?"
"It's okay," Yang advised her.
"I don't buy her whole act," Blake snarled, Yang wasn't entirely sure, but she thought she could hear an underlying hiss in the young woman's voice, "You expect us to believe that your entire attitude changed overnight? What exactly are you playing at, Schnee?"
"What is your problem?" Weiss tried.
"You."
Without another word, Blake turned and left the training room.
Ruby groaned, just when it seemed like everyone was going to start getting along, they were right back at square-one. Though, with the way Blake had advanced on Weiss during their sparring match and the ferocity in her usually blank expression most of the time, it shouldn't have been difficult to see that this was coming.
Why were people so complicated?
"They're moving."
Dust kicked up off the ground as the steel base of the figure's boot collided with the dirt. The hooded figure darted across the lanscape as fast as he felt his legs would carry him. He reached up behind him and quickly freed his Katana from the scabbard, which he then used as pole-vault to launch himself skyward.
"Go!" he shouted.
A roaring battle cry came from the other side of the field and a burly looking individual outfitted entire in Golden armor joined the hooded figure's charge, making a beeline for the giant creature between them.
"Silver and Gold; Cross-Wave!"
The smaller of the two fighters threw himself into a better anfle and tilted the blade of his katana toward the beast's skull all the while flicking switches down the handle of his weapon that slowly shifted it into a different form.
"Radiant Burst!"
The figure in Golden Armor smashed the blade of his great-sword into the ground and ihe kicked his boot against the blade, opening it up into the form of a small turret mounted with an energy cannon.
"Yvain's Cannon!"
"Get ready, B.B!"
The blond haired girl standing to the side rolled her guns in her grip and positioned them in at an angle she felt comfortable with. Once this was done she nodded, "B.B ready!"
"HAAAAAAAA!"
"FIRE!"
At the precise same moment a burst of silver energy erupted from the Katana's vents and the cannon fired a titanic burst of golden light. The two formations of energy launced through the air and within seconds had pierced through the outer armor of the Creature's armor. A pair of narrowed eyes watched on, their gaze focused intently on the point the two blasts made impact.
"B.B, OPEN FIRE!"
The command had come from the air, more specifically from the hooded male now on the descent through the air. He'd somersaulted backward to remove himself from the girl's line of fire as he safely descended to the ground. The girl dressed mostly in blue known as B.B unleashed repeated belts to her triggers, blasts of neon blue dust erupted from the barrels of her weapons. Once again the eyes from the shadows watched the creature's armor until...
"Cedric, the armor shattered, you're up!"
The fourth figure finally charged into the fray from the shadows, His coffee toned brown hair swayed violently in the wind generated from his sprint. Said hair flickered between white and brown for a moment until it settled on the former and his eyes had shifted from a deep hazel into a vibrant blue color.
"Alright, big ugly...We're done here!"
Lightning cackled around Cedric then a second later he was right before the Giant Beast, suspended in the air and eye-level with the area of shattered armor, "And I'll send you on your way!" He smashed his lightning charged fist into the beast along with a roar of rage. The resultant impact spread a shot of lightning through the arm. Cedric kicked off the arm, once again moving with a trail of lightning behind him as he backflipped three times and landed with ease on the ground below.
"Lightning," he said quietly.
Koa clutched the handle of his weapon and hoisted it back into his grip as it returned to sword form and proceeded to coat itself in flame.
"Fire," he muttered.
Koa looked up only to see that not only had Cedric powered down, but the beast they'd been fighting now lay dead before their feet. He turned his head to B.B, but he was only greeted with a shrug, a reaction given by both Cedric and Skyler a moment later.
"You kids are so fucking difficult to track."
The bitter voice sounded...familiar to him, as if he'd heard it somewhere before...though he couldn't place it, until...
"Qrow?" Skyler asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Could ask you the same thing," he said gruffly, lowering the flask in his hand so that he could better see the four young adults currently before him. A sigh leaves Qrow's lips then he advances across the ground a couple of steps, looking at each of the members of Team SKBL in turn.
"Did he send you?"
"Ozpin?" Skyler voiced, "No, we're here dealing with that Grimm you just slaughtered for us. Let me guess, you are?"
"Like usual," Qrow said, his voice much lower than it'd been when he announced his presence, "No more of this out in the open though. It's not a good idea to talk about such things. Speaking of your mission, what was that Grimm? I've never seen anything like it before."
"Was hoping you might be able to tell us," Cedric put in, "We've never seen anything like it before either."
Qrow turned his head behind him to inspect the creature that had just fallen
"Hm..."
Qrow's eyes narrowed slightly and his gaze shifted back to the Grimm currently sprawled out across the floor. He kicked his boot into the side of the Grimm's large head and his brow arched. A previously undiscovered species of Grimm wouldn't bode well for anyone. Though he knew he couldn't say anything aloud, Qrow had to wonder whether or not she was on the move again. It was a very unsettling thought for sure.
"Let's just keep moving, more could be nearby. Ozpin wants you four back in Vale. Our situation has...changed."
The door pushed open and the hulking man entered. He approached the figure standing in the center of the room and immediately they shook hands. The white-haired man then stepped back and extended a hand toward a chair, which the first man politely declined.
"I must be quick," Ray said, "I am due for an appointment in Vacuo shortly."
"Of course, Councilman," the second individual said.
"Now, what's your reason for calling me here Jacques?"
Jacques closed the door that Ray had just entered through and locked it behind him. He then moved over to the far side of the room where a long wooden casing lay. He picked it up and placed it down on the table in front of Ray. The latter's eyebrow shot up, but when he received no response, Ray instead chose to approach the case and without another word, he opened it.
His eyes widened slightly.
"Caliburn," he breathed.
End Chapter.