Killing Grimms and Deep Life Question
We pick up to where Ruby has just been busted for bringing Zwei in Mountain Glenn after the group arrives in the ruined city for their mission, and she has no idea of what to do next.
"I don't think she was supposed to bring him here." Kibo guessed.
"Yeah, that much is clear." Yang nodded.
"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought... a dog?" Oobleck asked narrowing his eyes.
Ruby tried to come up with something that would let Oobleck keep Zwei with the group, but nothing came to mind.
"Genius!" Oobleck suddenly grabbed Zwei from the backpack in excitement.
"Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!" Oobleck stated as he twirls around and Zwei barks happily.
"I'm a genious." Ruby grinned, Yang and Weiss just facepalm themselves that she just got lucky Oobleck like dogs.
"I think having an animal companion would be nice, I had Kokuoh for a while until I met your uncle and left him at your home on Patch." Kibo mentioned.
"I can still remember how me and Ruby when we saw that giant horse, we thought it was a Grimm that invaded our home and we almost fought it." Yang explained about that time during the break.
"Well, I was still shocked while Yang went in for a punch to the head which Kokuoh took it and threw Yang back. Good thing dad came in to tell us otherwise things would have gone messy." Ruby mentioned.
"Glad I came to visit before the break ended." Kibo said.
"So, what are your orders, Doctor?" Blake asked.
"Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it!" Oobleck smiled and suddenly drop Zwei though he landed fine.
"As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being... Grimm." Oobleck said.
"Well, we already know what Grimms are and how dangerous they can be dependent on the breed and strength they have." Kibo recalled those lessons.
"Yes, and there is a creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment." Oobleck alerted the girls and Kibo.
The Hunter trainees turn their heads to see one Beowulf wandering the street alone and sniffing for something to hunt.
"I don't think it notice us." Kibo informed his group.
"Good call, we must remain calm and not negative." Oobleck nodded.
"But we can take it now, right?" Yang asked.
"There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity: sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent." Oobleck explained.
"So, what now?" Ruby asked.
"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey." Oobleck said.
"How long do we wait?" Blake asked curious.
"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months." Oobleck said being unassured about this.
"Five more Beowulves are coming." Kibo pointed at the five black wolf monsters joining the first Beowulf.
"Oh dear, it would appear that might be the whole pack for this one." Oobleck guessed.
"And now they spotted us." Kibo alerted as the six Beowulves are heading towards them.
"What?" Weiss gasped.
"HE SAID THEY'VE NOW SEEN US!" Oobleck shouted a little in Weiss's ear.
"I take it tracking them is out of the question?" Ruby asked the obvious question.
"An accurate assumption, yes." Oobleck answered.
"What's the plan then?" Yang asked.
"Show me what you're capable of." Oobleck ordered with a small grin.
"I will take the first charge." Kibo said going into the fray first.
Kibo dodges one Beowulf claws to standing between that one and the other Beowulf channeling his aura and energy to unleash one attack against the two of them, the two black wolf monsters go in to attack but their fate was already sealed.
"Hokuto Ujō Hagan Ken (Humane Face Breaking Fist)" Kibo threw his hands up on both sides and the Beowulves stop.
They are confused of what happen probably thought it was nothing and try to attack the boy though couldn't because their bodies started to bloat, then they exploded.
"Awesome!" Yang smirked and ran into the fight.
Yang threw a strong punch with a kinetic blast boost to snap one Beowulf's neck knocking it down then threw an uppercut at another.
Blake is readying herself for a wave of more Beowulves coming at her as she grabs to fight, one tries to come at her from behind but used her Semblance to dodge and get high to slice it in half, she strikes at another Beowulf knocking it into the air then blitz past slicing it in half. Blake uses her Semblance again to get into the air again to slice at one incoming Beowulf into two like the others.
Weiss is seen running from a few Beowulves until she cuts one down with her fast-fencing skills, then she charges at the other four Beowulves as they come at her, she swing and spin faster than they could react as they fell dead from her might.
Ruby is shooting down some Grimms coming at her while Zwei is running around chasing his tail, then she forms her weapon into scythe mode charging at the one Beowulf and slice it in two with a fast dash.
Kibo closes his eyes as one Beowulf howls at the boy in rage before charging in to kill him though he simply moves his body to dodge and grab the Beowulf by the head with one arm, squeezing the neck and completely crushing it in one go killing the wolf monster.
"There doesn't appear to be any more at the moment." Kibo believed.
"Piece of cake." Ruby snickered.
"Do not celebrate yet, for I am certain this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?" Oobleck said.
And so, the group continue traveling within the ruined city while fighting off some wolf Grimms that comes in their way, though Oobleck is looking at some stone buildings and dead plants as one Beowulf tries to attack him, but Kibo stop it with a poke on the neck and kick is away as the head explode.
"Excellent work, girls! Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh, well! Moving on!" Oobleck ordered.
"Excuse, but Kibo"
"Just saved my life, yes, I'm aware and I'm grateful." Oobleck said.
"Happy to help, though I am curious of what exactly are you doing?" Kibo asked.
"I was actually looking forward to seeing a "pro Huntsman" in action. Like, fighting, or at least, helping us fight?" Yang wondered as she hadn't seen Oobleck fight at all.
"Ah, but I am in action! Scouring the ruins of this once-great city for any signs of irregularity!" Oobleck revealed of what he has been doing.
"You're studying the ruins?" Kibo asked.
"Not every mission is filled with daring and heroism, girls. Sometimes it's just a heightened form of extermination!" Oobleck explained.
"Does that mean you have been here before, and you want to see if anything has changed in this place?" Kibo guessed.
"Indeed, I come here for a couple of times and… it always brings me great pain seeing the place like this." Oobleck said feeling sad, then quickly pull himself together.
"Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that." Oobleck said.
"I understand more from my training in Hokuto Shinken." Kibo determined.
"Yeah, t-totally." Yang said nervously which Oonbleck notice.
The ground continues with the search and destroy mission, fighting off some Grimms while also trying to find a secret hideout of the villains though they haven't found anything like that yet, and Oobleck decided to take the opportunity to speak with each of the girls.
"Tell me, Yang: Why did you choose this line of work?" Oobleck asked.
"Well, to fight monsters and save"
"No, that is what you do. I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a Huntress." Oobleck asked again more clearly on the question.
Yang thought about it and decided to tell Oobleck about her true reason of being a Huntress.
"The honest reason? I'm a thrill-seeker. I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win, y'know?" Yang explained.
"I see." Oobleck said rubbing his chin.
Oobleck decided to check on Weiss fighting off two Beowulves and is about to defeat them as well.
"And you, Miss Schnee? A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn't need the extra work. So... why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?" Oobleck asked the rich girl.
Weiss impale the last Beowulf in her sight and turns to the history teacher.
"It's exactly as you said: I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty." Weiss explained.
"Interesting." Oobleck nodded.
Black kicked down a door which unleash a flock of small Nevermores as she backflip to dodge them and shoot them all down with her blade-pistol.
"And what about you, Blake? You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose." Oobleck asked the cat girl of the team.
"There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality, corruption... Someone has to stop it." Blake answered.
"Very well, how?" Oobleck asked.
However, Blake has been unable to answer that question as she is not entirely sure of how to do just that and Oobleck see that she is having trouble and decided to leave her be for the time.
"ATATATATATATATATATATATATA!" Kibo rapid kicked two Beowulves sending them flying and they exploded.
Kibo heard the quick footsteps of one Beowulves coming at him and use the lightning Dust of his gauntlets to shock the wolf monster so much, it literally burned to death.
Ruby shot down another Beowulf and lifts the blade part to tease Zwei to getting the turkey until she stops when Oobleck came in.
"Sorry! Uh... Are we ready to keep going?" Ruby asked as she sheath Crescent Rose.
"Nope! I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon." Oobleck said and threw his bag at Yang who caught it.
"ou three, set up camp in that building. Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those... creatures. Your leader, Kibo and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, you two." Oobleck said as he walks away.
"Call me if you're in any trouble." Hokuto advised to Yang.
"Thanks, I always knew I can count on you." Yang said as they kiss before going their separate ways.
The three walked into the road until they reached the edge of the ruin city to see a forest, and close to the city is a large black elephant with the white skull mask and vicious red eyes and there are more of them stacking around the city.
"What is that? It looks awesome!" Ruby asked of amazement.
"A Goliath." Kibo said glaring at the Grimm.
"Yes, a very dangerous Grimm." Oobleck nodded.
"Let's kill it!" Ruby aimed her sniper mode weapon at the elephant Grimm.
"I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size." Oobleck stopped Ruby from attacking the Grimm.
"I fought one of these before with my master a few years ago, they're strong and stomp anything in their way though they aren't fast either." Kibo explained about his experience with the Grimm.
"Plus, it's best just to leave it alone… for now." Kibo added.
"But... What if it attacks us?" Ruby asked shock.
"Fret not, Ruby; those Goliaths are not concerned with us. Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless, or rather not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years, and in that time between killing humans and attacking our borders, they have done one important thing: They've learned. They've learned that when they attack our borders, they're likely to die, and what we lack in strength, we make up for in will, and that killing one human will only bring more." Oobleck explained one of the dangerous natures in Grimms.
"Then why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?" Ruby asked.
"Waiting." Oobleck and Kibo answered at the same time as the Goliath looks at the figures before they disappeared from its sight.
"Doctor Oobleck, I was wondering…" Ruby paused for a bit.
"Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?" Oobleck guessed Ruby's question.
"I can only think that you're trying to make them feel a little more open to not just each other, but to themselves." Kibo said.
"Well, there's that." Oobleck chuckled.
"Okay, but I was actually wondering… Why did you want to become a Huntsman?" Ruby asked curiously.
"Look around and tell me what you see." Oobleck gestured at their surroundings.
"Lots of old buildings, uh, empty streets..." Ruby confused of what he is going with.
"Lives that were lost, Ruby. Lives that could have been saved if things were done differently." Kibo said with a serious look on his face.
"Yes, exactly as that." Oobleck exclaimed as he walks around a little.
"As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it in the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could have been saved, but I also see an opportunity; an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger." Oobleck explained with strength and turns to Ruby.
"I am a Huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be." Oobleck gave his final answer and walked away.
"I became Fist of the North Star to help save the lives I can save while avenging the ones who are lost, this is what I want to do as I was born under the brightness of the North Star." Kibo stated.
Ruby did some thinking about what Oobleck and Kibo said just now, finding a newfound respect for them.
(Nighttime)
The group found one abandoned building that will serve as a temporary home for the week of the mission, and they have already setup a campfire.
"I can't believe we didn't find anything..." Yang whined.
"We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side." Blake sighed.
"That's not what I meant." Weiss said confusing her teammates.
"Earlier, about... upholding the legacy. There's more to it than that." Weiss said about the question Oobleck asked earlier.
"Yeah... No, me too. I mean... I don't know." Yang just confused herself a little.
"I don't know, either. I know what I want to do, but I figured I'd always take things one step at a time." Blake stated.
"Well, it doesn't matter. We know why we're here. Right?" Yang asked.
Nobody answer the question as they are still unassured of what they want to do in the future and the reason why they're here as Huntresses.
"Ah, wonderful; a textbook campfire!" Oobleck said as he, Kibo, Ruby and Zwei enter the building.
"Fire! So… warm…" Ruby smiled.
"Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow, and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?" Oobleck asked.
"Yo." Ruby raised her hand to volunteer.
Oobleck rushes off and Ruby made her way to start her shift, but then Yang stops her.
"Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress? I mean... what did you tell him?" Yang wondered.
"Hmm... No, he didn't. Weird. Oh, well; good night, guys!" Ruby smiled and walked away.
Yang felt disappointed for the lack of answer than felt Kibo's hand on her shoulder.
"Whatever the answer you seek, I'm sure you already know in here." Kibo believed with his finger on Yang's heart that gave her a thought to think about.
Ruby and Zwei up at the night sky, the dog got a little scared from hearing a howl.
"Don't worry. Things will be better tomorrow." Ruby hoped as she comforts Zwei.
KO a new chapter is done and hope you all enjoy it!
Well, the first search for the villains' hideout didn't go as team RWBY hoped though it would seem they're gonna have a night to think about Oobleck's question on why they want to be Huntress and have some revelations on themselves too.
KO comment, favorite, and follow through of how this story will go!