Chapter 1: A Simple Mission
Many, many years ago…
Summer Rose had come to a decision.
It was late. She needed to go on her mission soon. It never felt good to lie to her husband, but it was a necessity. If he found out where she was going, who she was going with… the chances of both of them even coming back…
She… didn't like the thought of leaving her daughters without a mother. Everything she did as a Huntress, everything did as mother, everything did as… another pawn in this game that lasted more than a millennia…
She did it all for the ones she loved.
And thus, it was why she was gripping onto her last gift as tightly as she could as she opened the door into Ruby's bedroom.
In a neat bundle of red cloth, she placed the last protection she could give to her children before going to her sleeping daughter.
Three years. Only three years that she got to spend with her wonderful bundle of joy.
So innocent and so pure… she had no idea of the world that laid outside these walls. Would she grow up to be a Huntress just like her? Would she live a more peaceful life, away from all the anger and anguish that came with such a life?
It didn't matter what would happen. She would be drawn into this secret war, even if it had to be kicking and screaming. All because of her silver eyes.
But… no matter who she grew up as… she was going to be proud.
"My sweet little rose… pray that it will never come to this…" She whispered, feeling the regret in her voice before kissing her forehead before placing her fingers on the little girl's tiny hand.
With a quick flash of her silver eyes, a blood red glyph appeared on Ruby's palm. Summer held her breath as she watched her baby whimper and with slightly, only to calm back down as the glyph vanished as if it was never there.
"Whoever you become… whatever decisions you make… please never forget I will always love you…" Summer sniffled before taking a deep breath.
No more delay. She needed to leave.
Summer looked back at her daughter once again, clenched her fists, and left the room.
When Ruby would wake up that morning, all she could do was squeal in glee at her mom giving her a present.
Unaware that Summer's last gift would lead her to becoming…
"Uhhhhh…"
Confused.
"Come on, Ruby, make your move already." Yang impatiently grumbled as she watched her half-sister look over every piece on the board.
"Don't hurry me, Yang!" Ruby called out before going back to… well, as her older half-sibling would put it, use her laser eyes to destroy the enemy.
"Ruby, you should really stop playing chess…" Blake said. This happened every game night in their dorm room, ever since its conception earlier in the year. They would play some other board games, then Ruby would bring out the chess set, challenge one of her teammates or JNPR any other friend of Team RWBY when they came over… and subsequently lose.
Even Nora could beat her, despite her strategy boiling down to, and I quote, "assembling the Megachessatron."
How Ruby lost in one turn because of that still confused her to this day.
Weiss, meanwhile, was looking over the game as their leader tried to figure out her next move. "Hmmm… may I make a suggestion?"
"No! Let me do this on my own, I can do this!" Ruby got out.
Weiss raised her hands, separating from the game then. "If you say so." She said as she stepped back.
"Hm… okay…" Ruby breathed out as she picked up her pawn and moved to take Yang's rook. "I think that's the best move."
"You sure?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes." Ruby confidently replied with a proud smile on her face.
"Okay, cool." Yang got out before instantly taking her turn. "Queen takes bishop. Checkmate."
"What!?" Ruby cried in shock as she got off the floor.
"What? Is that 68 to 0? I think it is!" Yang cheered as she pumped her fists while their leader sulked.
"You should've listened to what I had to say." Weiss sighed as she shook her head.
"But… it wouldn't be a real victory if I had help." Ruby sighed.
"Help? I was going to tell you to concede." Weiss corrected, causing Ruby's eyes (and heart) to shatter. "You somehow managed to put yourself in an unwinnable situation without even going into check first."
"Urgh, but I did my best here!" Ruby groaned as she covered her face."I even studied the best moves to make before tonight." She then pouted.
"Is that why you were secretly on your Scroll the last class!?" Weiss exclaimed as she gave her leader a glare.
"M-Maybe…?"
"Ruby!"
"Weiss, I'm sooooorrry…!"
"Hey," Blake suddenly spoke up, interrupting Ruby and Weiss' little… whatever they call their spats. "Why do you keep asking to play chess? Even though you're pretty terrible at it?" She asked.
"Yeah, you two never told us why you even have this." Weiss realized as she put her hands on her hips. "You have so many other board games, why keep getting this one to play?"
"Huh?" Yang looked before looking sheepish. "Oh, I guess we never told you guys, huh?" She soon got out before looking over to Ruby, who had a sad smile on her face.
"It was… a gift from our mom. Before she went out on that mission." Ruby answered, causing both Weiss and Blake's eyes to widen. "She left it in my room the night before and uh… yeah, now we play it all the time."
"And I win all the time." Yang added before getting a pillow straight to the face.
As the sisters bickered, Blake picked up one of the black pawns on the board. Narrowing her eyes, she spotted that it had some sort of red sheen to it that she never noticed before.
"What is it made out of?" The cat faunus asked.
"We don't know." Yang answered as she shoved Ruby away. "We asked dad, but he doesn't know either. Said that mom bought the set during their days at Beacon."
"For what reason?" Weiss pressed.
"I dunno, herself?" The blonde shrugged. "It looks nice as a mantle piece, but I think mom would've wanted us to play with it."
"Yeah, but it would be nice if you held back a little…" Ruby grumbled.
"Hey, don't blame me for your suckiness!"
"I don't suck that hard!"
Blake coughed.
"Hm, Blake, you okay?" Ruby asked in concern.
"Cat got your tongue?" Yang teased… before getting another pillow to the face. "Ah! Sorry, bad joke!"
Blake let out a huff as she turned her face away, hiding the growing redness on her cheeks.
Dammit, that's what Asuka told Homura on their wedding bed in "Ninjas of Loves 5: Shinovi Persona", but oh boy was she proven wrong as her sexy ninja girlfriend licked–
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
"Huh?" Weiss got out as everyone turned their attention towards the door.
"Team RWBY, please come out right this instant."
"Professor Goodwitch?" Blake realized as she headed over to the door. "What does she want at this time of night?" She wondered as she opened it.
"Ah, you are all here. Good." The teacher got out. "Please make your way to Classroom D-23. You have been randomly selected for a test."
"A test!?" Yang exclaimed in disbelief. But it was the weekend!
Wait, did Glynda figure out it was her fault that the vending machine melted and this was her roundabout way of punishing her!?
…Wow, that made a lot more sense before she added logic.
"Come now and get dressed, the test will start in exactly one hour. Your uniform is not required, but recommended." Glynda instructed before leaving the team to get themselves in order.
"What the…" Yang got out as her eyes flashed red. "Come on! I thought we were done with tests this week!"
"She didn't even tell us what this test is." Blake muttered with a suspicious look on her face.
"She did say we could come in our regular clothes. At least it's not a combat test." Weiss soon pointed out.
"There's no helping guys." Ruby sighed as she began packing away the chess set. "Let's get this test over with and enjoy the rest of our game night!"
"So you can lose again."
Once again, pillow to the face.
Team RWBY had decided to come to the classroom in their uniforms, although they dressed much less formally than usual. Open blazers, untucked shirts, their own personal footwear instead of the school-issued shoes. Only Weiss had bothered to dress up properly.
Although, they were certainly better dressed than some of the other teams that had arrived.
Some had obviously thrown on the first pieces of clothing they saw, others had some sort of fashion sense. There were even students who didn't even bother putting on actual clothes, but instead just kept their sleepwear and headed over. Some guys were even daring enough (or desperate enough for some sort of significant other) to show up shirtless.
Jaune… had shown up in his onesie.
Once again, Yang was eager to erase those memories as soon as the night was over, just like their first night at Beacon.
Meanwhile, Ruby took a look around, trying to make sense of the situation. So many different teams of different years here. Some of them she didn't recognize at all, some she did like Team JNPR and CFVY, but there were other legendary teams here that she's only heard about in passing, such as Team IBLS and Team DUSK.
And they all looked as confused as her as they took their seats.
"Please remain quiet. I will not tolerate any sort of idle talk. After all, you all wish to go back to your rooms as soon as possible, correct?" Glynda instructed.
As soon as everyone was seated, she waved her crop around, telekinetically bringing out stacks of papers before distributing them equally around the classroom, as well as several pencils and erasers.
"Ahem. Now, as you have been informed, this is a test given to random teams around the school. You are to answer to the best of your ability as many questions as you can in the allotted time of one hour. Your tests have been personalized, and while some may get similar questions, they are all unique. Cheating is not only disallowed, but rendered pointless as you shall soon see. This will not affect your grade, but talking or doing anything disruptive during the test will so I expect everyone to be on their best behavior."
There were several gulps around the room.
Ruby gulped as well. She was not ready for any test tonight.
"You may begin writing… now."
Then, with a flick of her wrist, the papers flipped over.
Ruby took a deep breath as she grabbed her pencil. Well, you know what they say…
Actually, she didn't know any sort of quote that would fit right now, because currently her brain was filled with scrambled chess knowledge and fear, because this was obviously going to be something involving her entire team, and if she, the Prodigy of Signal Academy, the Crimson Crimstopper, the Sweet Release Reaper, the Personal Pick of the Professor, (and whatever nicknames she's been called over the year that excluded anything mean) failed… well, she'd drag the team down with her.
And then… she looked at the questions.
On a scale of one to ten, with 1 representing complete apathy and 10 representing complete irresistibility, how do you feel about the sexualization of cat faunus?
Blake banged her fist on the table. "S-Sorry, my pencil fell." She apologized before picking up said pencil… that she had shoved to the floor after.
Ruby blinked before choosing 6. That… That sounded right, she guessed…? That was weird but maybe it was just the outlier and next question would be–
In your own words, if you were on a tropical island with only a knife, three Atlassian MREs, and about 50 boxes of condoms, how do you plan to get rescued?
Nope. The first question wasn't an outlier.
Actually, the entire freaking test had similar questions to those first two.
You have gained the power of flight, but you can only fly east. The Grimm are approaching from the south-west and you are in a small village. How would you intercept the horde?
Your opponent has a Semblance that produces a potent mold that rots and destroys the flesh of those it infects in an instant, but its growth is triggered when the potential victims lower their current altitude. They have a Bullhead on standby. How would you beat them?
Your partner is now dead. Please explain how you can use this to your advantage.
Do you have a sexual attraction to fur? Please explain why.
Assuming you are able to lactate, would you drink your own milk in public if it gives you a significant boost to your Aura?
How would you kill Professor Ozpin?
None of these made a flipping lick of sense!
It asked about so many bizarre scenarios and questions that it almost seemed like a joke.
Several students had to hold back their laughter, others panicked, and Ruby had to lick her test paper.
She didn't want to, and everyone looked at her weirdly, but it was a question she had to answer.
Glancing over to her teammates, she studied their reactions.
Yang was simply going with it, still annoyed by the test, but allowed herself to chuckle quietly as she tackled the strange questions.
Blake was actually doing insanely well. She was actually ahead of everyone, easily answering everything the test demanded of her. Never mind the contents, she just… went.
Weiss… suffered the worst from the test. She looked utterly lost as she carefully wrote down her answers with a constant grimace. She went slower than everyone as she had to reread the test to ensure she wasn't having some sort of fever dream.
As for Ruby… well, she did her best to create measured responses and to sound smart and objective. Whatever this test was for, it was probably important given the face Miss Goodwitch was making.
One of resignation and utter contempt for what she was subjecting these students to.
"Are the other academies doing this test too?" Ruby thought. Suddenly, she heard the teacher clear her throat. Panicking, she went back to doing her test.
Somehow, Ruby had managed to complete the entire thing with some time left to spare. Yang and Blake had finished earlier, but Weiss was still in the middle of it all.
Weiss was usually the second or third to complete her tests, never the last. But eventually, she did finish every question, looking physically and mentally exhausted just as the timer went off.
"Pencils down, everyone." Goodwitch called out. "The test is now over. You may submit your papers to me. But first, if you have any questions please raise your hand."
Everyone did so.
"Your questions will be answered in due time. Have patience."
Everyone groaned.
Once everyone turned in their papers, Glynda reminded them of the curfew before allowing everyone to head back to their rooms.
After leaving the classroom though, Team RWBY all silently decided to hang around the hallway a little bit more as they processed what just happened.
They were actually completely quiet until Weiss broke the silence with one word. "...What."
"Yeah, I think that's what everyone is thinking…" Yang deadpanned. "I mean, did you hear about Fox?"
"What about– ohhh…" Ruby began to ask before wincing. Paper test. Completely smooth paper test.
"I'm sure Coco is raising a complaint to Goodwitch." Blake informed. "But Fox is taking it well. Given how weird all the questions were, I don't think it would've mattered."
"Yeah…" Ruby sighed.
"So… how did your test taste, Rubes?" Yang had to ask.
"Like… paper?" The leader answered with a shrug. "Did any of you get anything similar to mine?"
"I had to kiss my paper." Blake groaned.
"Really? My most weird question was to draw dragons." Yang got out. "I called it Yogdor."
"Ugh, you all got lucky." Weiss groaned. "I had a question that wanted me to describe my childhood…"
"Ouch." Yang responded as everyone winced.
"It's not that bad, the next question was about how I would time travel back to make it better." Weiss then added.
"Weiss, you're blushing." The blonde soon noticed with a teasing grin. "What did you write down?"
That only cause Weiss to blush some before as she quickly turned to youngest student in Beacon. "Uh, let's just go back to the dorm. Ruby, do you want a match?"
"Really!? Yes! I'm gonna beat you this time!"
"You have said something like that the past 23 times. Ready for loss number 24?" Weiss reminded as the team began to head back to their room.
"More like win number 1, Weiss!" Ruby confidently claimed.
Ruby would lose once again.
And so, a week passed since that surprise late night test. While many students did talk about it, no one could figure out its true purpose. Eventually, talk of it died out, and it was back to normal in Beacon Academy, and back to normal for Team RWBY as they played Game of Remnant in the dorm on their free period together.
"Ruby and Yang are now gone! That only means you are my only target, Weiss!" Blake declared as she pointed straight at the heiress.
"Heh. You think you have what it takes to beat me, Belladonna?" Weiss smirked. "I laugh at you, HA HA! You do not know true power!"
"Well, it's my turn now. There is no running from your defeat!" Blake claimed before pushing her pawns towards Weiss' on the board. "Attack my minions!"
"I activate my trap card, Evenly Matched!" Weiss dramatically declared. "Now both our armies are equal! It's now down to the cards in our hands!"
"You fool, Weiss!" Blake countered as she held up a card of her own. "You just set off my own trap card, Solemn Judgment! I sacrifice half of my supplies to prevent the activation of Evenly Matched! And since my army has not reached the damage step, that means my attack still goes through! That's game!"
"No! Ahhhh…!" Weiss screamed, her cards thrown into the air as if she was blown back by the cat faunus' attack.
"What!? That's impossible! Evenly Matched has never been truly countered before!" Ruby exclaimed.
"But it is, Rubes, Remnant is now Blake's!" Yang declared as her partner raised her arms in victory. "Man, Blake, you're really good at this game. Are you sure this is your first time?"
"I guess I'm just a natural." Blake replied with a shrug. "New game?"
"I think I spent all my energy there overacting…" Weiss sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "I do admit, it is fun to act as if I was in one of those shows."
"It does feel good." Blake confessed. "But reality is inescapable. So, what are we doing about the tournament?"
"Well…" Ruby began as started to bring out her plans and diagrams that she had been working on since-
"This is the day we waited for… this is the day we'll open up the door~"
Suddenly, at the same time, all their Scrolls began to vibrate and ring in their pockets, causing everyone to answer it.
"Team RWBY, please come to the Headmaster's office now." Blake read out with a frown.
"Uh oh." Yang said. "That doesn't sound good."
"But what did we do?" Weiss questioned. "We've been staying out of trouble since Mt. Glenn. Why is the headmaster calling for us now?"
"I dunno, Weiss, but I guess we better hurry over then." Ruby sighed as she began putting away her things. Whatever Professor Ozpin wanted, it seemed important.
And so, Ruby and her team headed over to the Headmaster's office as fast as they could. When they came in, they saw Ozpin at his desk and Miss Goodwitch at his side.
"Welcome. Come in and sit down." Ozpin greeted, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk.
"Um, why did you call us here, Professor?" Ruby asked in a nervous manner. "Is it something serious?"
"You could say that." Ozpin answered before taking a sip of his mug.
"Do you all remember that test we gave you last week?" Glynda asked.
"Ugh, I wish I could forget it." Weiss scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "Did you look at the questions?"
"Yes. I graded them." Glynda informed.
"...Oh." Weiss could only say.
"And given the results… you all passed." Ozpin soon revealed with a smile.
Team RWBY blinked, looking more confused than anything. "...Passed what?"
"A personality test conducted with all the other academies in all the kingdoms in order to determine your viability to participate in a special expedition to a fairly unknown location." The headmaster answered.
Team RWBY had blank looks on their faces. "...What?" Ruby spoke.
"You have been chosen for a special mission." Glynda simplified. "Congratulations are in order."
Despite that answer, the team still looked pretty lost. Soon enough, Yang raised her hand. "Is that why there was question asking about the size of my-"
"Yang!" Weiss called out.
"...Thighs?" The blonde finished with a sheepish look.
"We were looking for creativity, the ability to adapt in unfamiliar situations, and to be willing to do anything in order to achieve your objective. To deal with the unusual and do it without hesitation or worry." Ozpin explained.
"Um, Professor, I'm pretty sure I hesitated on every question…" Weiss soon confessed with a sweatdrop.
"Well, what is Team RWBY without its W?" Ozpin stated as he took a sip of his coffee.
"...Team RBY (Rubby)?" Ruby guessed.
"Yes. But also, not like that." Ozpin replied.
"So… is this… expedition?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, first let me begin where it started." Ozpin started as he brought up a hologram of a ship on the water. "Have you heard of the Backwards Onto Twilight?"
"Oh, it was a fishing boat that disappeared about two months ago on a stormy night." Weiss answered. "It was assumed the ship sank. The family raised awareness to help pay for the funeral costs. It's the only reason it made the news in the first place."
"Yes, that is what the news reported. However, it is not the news' job to report the truth." The headmaster stated. "The reality is far more shocking." He then added as he changed the hologram to a holographic screen that had a single picture on it. The team's eyes widened as they instantly recognized what it was.
"That's… the Backwards Onto Twilight." Blake got out. It looked much more rough and had some patchwork done, but it was indeed the ship that had disappeared.
"Well, the Backwards Onto Twilight II." Ozpin corrected. "This picture was taken only one month ago today."
"They found the ship and didn't tell anyone for a month?" Yang muttered with a frown.
"More like the ship found us." Ozpin stated, befuddling the girls. "The crew remaining on that ship… had many stories to tell in their time away, and thankfully returned to their families safe and sound. You see, out in the middle of the ocean between Vale and Vacuo, there is… a tear." He then informed as he brought up another picture on the holographic screen. It depicted the middle of the sea, however, the air was… distorted. Like it was shattered like glass.
"A… tear?" Ruby repeated as the girls studied the image.
"A tear, a hole, a portal, it does not matter what you may call it, what's most important is that it exists." Ozpin said in a serious manner. "We do not know the origins of this tear and if it was even the first one. Nonetheless, the Backwards Onto Twilight went through it by sheer chance."
"So where did they end up?" Ruby inquired.
Ozpin soon cleared the screen as he cleared his throat. "This next image I am about to show you should answer your question." He replied before showing them a new image.
Simply put, it was the moon in the middle of the night sky.
A fully intact moon.
"Is that…?" Weiss whispered as chills began to run down their spines.
"A different moon from ours." Ozpin finished the heiress' sentence for her as he brought up a map, one they had never seen before with seven continents on it. "They were no longer in Remnant, but a whole different new world simply known as Earth."
There were a few seconds of silence. "Who names their planet dirt?" Yang spoke after a bit, causing everyone to give her a flat look.
"Really, Yang?" Weiss deadpanned before shaking. "Please continue."
"Now, because of the conditions, they were unaware of their change of location until they docked right about… here, at the tip of this country." Ozpin continued as he pointed at the rather phallic-looking state of one of the larger land masses. "I believe it was called Florida."
"Sounds… nice?" Ruby got out.
"It does… until you actually go there and meet the locals." Ozpin sighed. "It is wrong to generalize, but the stories I've heard from this one location can shock even the most hardened of hunters." He then added.
"Oh my god…" Blake whispered with widened eyes.
"So when they discovered that they were not on Remnant, they tried to leave as soon as possible." Ozpin continued. "Unfortunately, due to the storm and the inability to properly read the Earth map at the time, they spent their time traveling across the world instead until they found their way home. But along the way, they managed to capture many pictures on their adventure." He then got out before bringing up many, many pictures from all over Earth.
"Whoa…!" Ruby gasped as various images of different places around Earth were shown.
"So many different places…" Weiss whispered. "So many different cultures… is it really all on the same planet?"
"You need to go out more, Weiss." Yang whispered.
However, despite the humming and hawing at the sights, their predominantly black teammate noticed something… worrying. "Excuse me, Professor Ozpin, but… I don't see faunus in any of these photos." Blake noticed.
"Good eye, Miss Belladonna." Ozpin remarked. "This is because Earth does not have any faunus amongst its population."
Blake's eyes widened as Yang instinctively grabbed her hand.
"What?" Blake choked.
"It's more accurate to say that they do not exist in that world." Ozpin corrected. "Only through stories and the media there. Simply, they are mere works of fiction on Earth."
Blake suddenly felt light-headed, but did her best to hide it. "No faunus… at all…?" She thought, a sick feeling in her stomach beginning to fester.
"Oh wait, what about Grimm? Do they have anything like them around?" Ruby soon asked, trying to distract their headmaster from noticing her teammate's uneasiness.
"And do they have Dust as well?" Weiss added, throwing a worried look at their hidden faunus teammate for a second.
"That is why we are talking about Earth in the first place." Ozpin soon revealed before leaning forward. "It has no Dust… but also no creatures of Grimm."
"What!?" The team cried in shock.
"None at all!?" Ruby gasped.
"The entire planet is, indeed, Grimm-free." Ozpin confirmed. "And although they do not possess any Dust, that does not mean they aren't capable of much greater things." He then said as he showed the team another picture.
It was someone in a weird-looking suit, walking around in some place filled with whitish-gray dirt and rocks with a red, white and blue flag behind him.
"...What's that?" Yang asked.
"That is when they landed on their moon." Ozpin answered.
"They went out into space!?" Weiss exclaimed with widened eyes. "Their fuel isn't rendered useless when it exits the atmosphere!?"
"Dust crystals don't even work on Earth. And yet, this is the result of their ingenuity." Ozpin attested. "And this isn't the first time they have gone there. Fascinating, isn't it?"
"Wow, those guys found out so much in one month!" Ruby got out in an impressed manner.
However, it was at that moment the headmaster gave them a rather grave look.
"They weren't there for one month. They were there for five years." Ozpin revealed, causing Team RWBY's eyes to widen..
"T-That… that can't be real!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Oh, the ones who found them were too, but it explained so much." Ozpin responded.
"But… that doesn't make sense at all…" Blake muttered.
"It's a tear in space and time, Miss Belladonna." Glynda reminded. "Nothing involving it makes sense." She then groaned as she shook her head.
"Such as when the crew regained all the years they lost when they returned, as if they never left." Ozpin added.
"That…is awfully convenient…" Weiss couldn't help but note. At least they wouldn't outgrow anyone.
"There is still much we do not know about Earth, even with all this information. Especially when many do not speak the same language." Ozpin continued. "Which is why it will be your duty to make sense of it all."
"So, what are the mission details?" Blake questioned.
Ozpin nodded before bringing up more photos. "You have been tasked with this location: Kuoh Town, Japan."
"Looks boring." Yang remarked before getting jabbed in the side by Weiss.
"Well, it was chosen as the quintessential average town in that country. You are not there to fight monsters or save the world, but to study and observe the culture there." The headmaster then informed.
"But why not get researchers to do that? Why get hunting students to do this?" Weiss questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"It's all for the sake of blending in." Ozpin explained. "You are at an age where you can still change and grow, to adapt in new environments and accept different standards and norms, unlike the set ways of elders. We need the freshest possible eyes, yet with enough maturity and knowledge to make it out of many difficult situations."
"That… makes sense, I guess." Ruby said with a shrug.
"And, should things go awry, you will have the ability to defend yourself." Ozpin concluded.
"Still, we're just going to be writing down stuff and reporting what we have?" Yang got out with a grimace. "It feels like we're just going on a field trip. Shouldn't we be doing something less… like schoolwork?" She soon questioned. The teammates couldn't help but agree.
"You should feel lucky." Ozpin however spoke in a grave tone. "There's another team that was chosen here at Beacon and they have been assigned the most dangerous location on Earth."
"What? That one over there?" Yang guessed as she pointed at a random point on the map.
"...It is not Canada, Miss Xiao Long." Ozpin informed as Glynda sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose. "I am talking about this large island here: Australia." He then corrected while pointing to the correct location.
"Really?" Yang got out with a raised eyebrow as she looked at the giant… island? "I mean, it looks kinda like Vacuo with the desert in the middle but…"
"Australia possesses some of the deadly species known." Glynda interrupted. "It contains all 10 of the most venomous creatures on both planets."
"...Oh." And that was all the blonde could say.
"Overall, it's nothing but a simple mission. It should not take more than a month in Earth time, which is only a few hours or days here. It's all quite confusing, I admit." Ozpin assured. "However, it is still quite a dangerous endeavor. There were 15 people on that ship. Only 7 returned. Some died of natural causes, others were not so lucky."
"Even without Aura or Grimm there?" Ruby got out with a wince.
"Unfortunately, yes." The headmaster informed as he shook his head. "Despite their lack of Dust and our level of technology, without Grimm to stem their progress, the inhabitants of Earth are far more capable of both construction and destruction. And their rate of progress has only gotten faster."
"Not quite the Grimm-free utopia…" Blake muttered, narrowing her eyes and all the humans in the pictures of Earth.
"But one we must strive for, regardless. We may even cooperate with Earth one of these days." Ozpin added. "Now, I suggest you leave now and prepare for this mission as you will be leaving tomorrow at 6am sharp. Make sure to pack any necessities and essentials you may require. Anything combat-related such as ammo will be provided. Oh, and be sure to not reveal what I have shown you today. This must all be done underwraps."
"We'll do our best, Professor Ozpin." Ruby responded as she and her team stood up. "Team RWBY, to the dorm!" She declared as she raised her arms.
"Ruby, please treat this seriously." Her partner scolded.
"I am!" Ruby whined as they left Ozpin's office, leaving the headmaster and the teacher alone.
"Professor, I must ask, why go through such nonsense?" Glynda questioned with narrowed eyes. "I know you would've sent Team RWBY on that expedition regardless of how they answered."
"Miss Goodwitch, please trust me on this." Ozpin got out as he took a sip of his coffee. "There is far more to Earth than most realize." He soon added before zooming in on a particular image of Kuoh Town.
On it was a beautiful girl with crimson red hair.
"So they still exist…" Ozpin thought as he narrowed his eyes.
Well, opportunities like this don't come often, after all.
The very next morning, Team RWBY had arrived at the Beacon docking bays with their luggage in tow.
Yang had packed pretty light, bringing only some spare clothes and her haircare stuff, as she hoped to use the extra space in her bags to bring back some souvenirs from Earth to Remnant.
Blake had exactly brought a lot of things to Beacon in the first place, but she also packed decently light clothes and some books she hadn't gotten to reading yet.
Weiss, however, made sure she was prepared for anything. While she suspected being unable to use Dust on Earth, she was still bringing as much as could along with her essentials. It pays to be prepared after all.
Finally, Ruby was only bringing along what she usually brought on multi-day missions. It was nothing special… but she did also bring her chess set.
Who knows? Maybe she would need it to fight this potentially boring mission.
"Did you really need to bring Zwei?" Blake grumbled as she glared at the little monster that rode in Ruby's bag. "Can't you have left it with Jaune or Coco?"
"Come on, Blake, he'll be the first corgi in all of Remnant to visit another world. How cool is that!?" Yang said with a bright smile.
"Not that cool." The cat faunus muttered with a groan.
"Arf arf!" Zwei barked as he happily wagged his tail.
"Just mind your own business…" Blake hissed as she pointed at both her eyes with two fingers before pointing at Zwei's, who looked on with innocent confusion.
"Hey, Blake." Ruby suddenly got out, looking rather concerned for her friend. "Are you sure you'll be okay? I mean… Remnant is one thing, with all the um… racism, but they don't have any faunus on Earth."
"And the White Fang could cause some serious trouble while we're away…" Weiss soon added.
Blake smirked. "I hid my real self away for most of the year, I think I can handle a few days. And the world won't end without us here. You don't have to worry about me, team leader." She assured as she patted the leader's head.
"Hehe, right." Ruby responded, grinning at the affectionate head pat.
"Okay, but if something comes up, don't you run again, okay?" Weiss reminded in a stern manner.
"I promise to run towards you, Weiss." Blake responded with a small smile, as the heiress returned her own.
On the inside, however, Blake had to stop herself from getting sicker the more she thought about the lack of faunus on Earth. "And entire people, my people… they just don't exist where I'm going…" She thought. She had to fight through it for the sake of her team, but it wouldn't stop her from feeling so… hollow.
"And hey, given the weird time thing, we'll be back to fight in the Vytal Festival." Yang added with a smirk. Oh, she couldn't wait to show the world what she's got.
"Whoa! Hey!" A familiar voice got out in pleasant surprise as they heard multiple footsteps heading over to them.
Team RWBY turned to see Team JNPR running over to them, packed and ready to go just like them. "Wow, you guys got chosen too?" Pyrrha breathed out.
"Yep. Looks like that dumb test was actually for something." Yang chuckled.
"I totally aced that! No wonder they picked us." Nora cheered as she pumped her fists.
"I recall you telling me that you answered most of your questions using pancakes." Ren reminded in a flat tone.
"Hey, tons of those situations on that test can be solved with the right amount of pancakes."
"If only pancakes could get Pyrrha to-" Weiss began, only for Nora to cover her mouth as the champion blushed and her knight looked on in confusion.
"Uh… why did you…?" Jaune began to ask, but…
"Erm!" Pyrrha interrupted as she quickly tried to find an excuse. "Uh, so, what area did you get assigned to, Ruby?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah! Um, we have a town in Japan. Doesn't seem as exciting of a place to go to." Ruby soon informed, giving the champion a quick wink. "Where are you going on Earth, Jaune?"
"We're going to a place called Australia! It sounds pretty exotic, don't you think?" Jaune revealed with a goofy smile.
Team RWBY blinked. "Oh." Yang got out as the others tried to hide their graces. "Did Ozpin tell you…?"
"Tell us what?" Ren asked, looking just as confused as his teammates why Team RWBY looked so worried.
"...You'll learn when you get there." Yang assured as she patted her fellow blonde on the shoulder.
It was at that moment their ship arrived, ready to take them to the edge of Vale to travel by ship to the tear.
"Okay, Team RWBY, this is it." Ruby breathed out. "We're going to be one of the first people to ever explore a whole new world! We could change so much if we work hard! So let's do our best and show Earth what Remnant has to offer!"
"Hm, Ruby, it's great that you're so enthusiastic but we're going to a whole different world. We have no idea what we might encounter there. Shouldn't you be at least a little nervous?" Weiss questioned in concern.
"I am, but you heard what Professor Ozpin said. It's just a simple mission. What could go wrong?" Ruby pointed out with a smile.
Ruby bit the inside of her cheek as the memory of that moment flashed in her mind, as if mocking her for even making that sentence in the first place all those months ago.
Her friends and family laid around her, bloody and broken amongst the fire and destruction.
Up above, all she could hear was their last hope fighting a losing battle.
And then there was herself, Ruby Rose, standing alone amongst the chaos with only Crescent Rose to keep her standing.
Fighting through the pain, and tearing off the skirt of her dress to bandage the wound in her bleeding leg, her eyes flashed red and silver as she channeled all the power she had left.
"Mom… after whatever you've done to me… I hope you're watching…" Ruby got out through gritted teeth.
"I am Ruby Rose… and I am a Devil."
Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to "A Simple Mission Reborn". This is a remake of "A Simple Mission Rebirth"… which was a remake of "A Simple Mission" (although, I just repost it with barely any changes to get rid of the mean reviews). I've been thinking of redoing this fic over the years because, I'm gonna be honest here, all previous versions were very obviously coming from the mind of a teenager who didn't know what they were doing. But now, after years of slowly refining my writing skills, I can safely say… I am an adult who has no idea what they're doing.
If you've read Rebirth, you might see a few familiar plot points here, but I'm gonna be changing a few things. But first, some quick preemptive questions and answers!
Will Issei get with anyone from RWBY?
Uh… I don't think so. Well, there are options, but it's not really planned I guess. Leave suggestions if you want.
Will Issei be a pervert?
Yes, but I am going to try and show his more positive traits. Stop reading if you hate him. My story, go read to hundreds of other Non-Perverted Issei stories that kill off his parents, make him a god, and have any female be ready to suck his dick at the drop of the hat right from the first paragraph. I just think they're played out and make Issei just another generic fanfiction protagonist… like Jaune. If you have nothing nice to say about it, don't leave anything behind.
Will you do story requests if I ask?
No, unless you pay me real money.
And… that's all I can think of. Sorry if you wanted another chapter of Rebirth but I find it too heavily flawed to really continue. But I hope this version is the one that I will be proud of and many people enjoy.
UknownHero signing off, my friends!