Chapter 43: Collaboration

Standing on the Bullhead landing platform along with her sister and Coal, Weiss shivered slightly as the cold sea breeze hit her. Glancing down at the suitcases that she had meticulously packed, she sighed. This trip hadn't gone the way she'd envisioned at all.

If it hadn't been for the sabotage drill, she would have been able to spend a lot more time with her sister and Coal. As it stood, her father was likely furious with the failure… On the bright side of things, that anger was going to be aimed at the company that tampered with the drill.

It hadn't all been bad. Weiss had been able to spend more time with Winter and have the occasional conversation with Coal. While Yang could be annoying, Weiss had grown to enjoy her company… although, she could do without all of the puns.

It was just a pity that her time in Argus was coming to an end.

"Are you sure that you've packed everything? All of your equipment… Your clothing… Your Scroll?" Winter listed. "Your weapon… Your Dust."

"Yes? You helped me pack them."

"I am merely making sure that you didn't forget anything," Winter answered immediately. "Atlas is fairly far away, if you forget anything here, it'll likely be a while before you'll be able to retrieve it."

"I know." Smiling at the concern her sister had for her, Weiss grabbed her bags and turned towards the Bullhead. "I guess this is it then… I'll see you again soon, right?"

"We will likely be in Vale when you attend Beacon," Winter replied. "Assuming we have free time… I might be inclined to visit."

That was as good as a yes to Weiss. "And you Coal?"

…Breathe…

Having opted to stand back and let the two sisters say goodbye to each other, I was a little caught off guard by Weiss's question.

"…Yeah… Definitely," I replied. "I'm actually looking forward to when you arrive… There's a little technique I use when fighting Grimm that I want to see if you can learn."

Winter shifted lightly, realizing exactly what I was planning on teaching Weiss.

Beacon was honestly the perfect place to teach team RWBY Total Concentration Breathing. They'd have plenty of time to learn the basics and would have supervision from teachers to ensure they wouldn't overdo it while fighting Grimm.

"Really?"

"Yep," I hummed, amused by the look on Weiss's face. It was more than a little obvious that she was scheming again.

Coughing into her hand, Winter glanced at the airship behind Weiss.

"I should probably get going," Weiss said, catching on to her sister's subtle gestures "I hope to see the two of you soon." Stepping on the airship with her luggage, she turned around and gave a final wave as the loading ramp closed.

"You know, there's still time… You could still go with her if you want," I suggested after seeing the worried expression on Winter's face.

"No… It's fine," Winter sighed. "Weiss doesn't need me coddling her, she's a Huntress in training after all. She'll be fine."

Nodding, I watched as the Bullhead took off. Winter's reasoning was fairly understandable. While she was worried about Weiss, especially after everything that she learnt, there was nothing to suggest that she was in any real danger right now. Winter didn't want to be overbearing.

"You mentioned that you were planning on teaching Weiss one of your techniques," Winter added.

"I am… I think Total Concentration Breathing compliments your family's Semblance pretty well. With it, you're able to summon as many Grimm constructs as you want without worrying about exhausting yourself," I explained my thought process. "It's actually a pity that you were busy organizing the military when the Leviathan attacked."

I mean… The technique paired really well with pretty much everyone. Having team RWBY learn Total Concentration Breathing would certainly go a long way, getting them ready for what was coming.

With the Vital Festival being held in Vale, Cinder would likely make a move… She'd probably use her old plan too. I was going to have to talk to Ozpin about getting rid of the Wyvern before the festival started.

"The amount of Aura a construct of that size would require would make summoning it impractical," Winter said. Forming a small Beowolf next to her, she slowly increased its size until it towered over us, standing just under the height of a Nuckelavee. "The main reason why Leviathans are such a threat is due to their size. If it fought a Beowolf of equal size, the Beowolf would have a higher chance of winning due to its agility."

Well, there was that… I still felt it would have been cool to be able to summon what amounted to a miniature Godzilla.

Checking the time on my Scroll, I blinked when I saw just how late it was. "We should probably get going," Pausing for a moment, I hummed in contemplation. "Actually, would you mind if we made a quick stop in Argus? There's something that I want to check."

"I have no objections," Winter said. "Where are we heading?"

Glancing at the Atlesian military base… More specifically, the severely damaged Colossus mech that was in the process of being repaired, I turned back towards Winter.

"My old apartment," I replied. Although it had been quite a while since we were last there, the rent had been paid in advance, so it should be undisturbed. "There are a few things that I want to collect."

As Winter had said earlier, we probably weren't going to be returning to Argus anytime soon and I didn't want to leave anything behind.

…Breathe…

Walking up to Pyrrha's house with Winter in tow, I suppressed a shiver of disgust at what I'd just experienced. Going back to the old apartment had been a mistake.

I'd been right… The apartment hadn't been disturbed at all. Ordinarily, that wouldn't have been a bad thing, but when you had a sink full of dishes that had been left to sit for a long amount of time… It hadn't been pretty. It was even worse with my enhanced senses.

On the upside, I'd managed to find what I was looking for and I was pretty sure that I could just hire a cleaning service to take care of the mess… Assuming that I didn't have to hire a Huntsman to take care of any unholy abomination that spawned in the sink.

Entering the house, I was greeted to the sight of Pyrrha and Yang sitting in the lounge, waiting for what I assumed was our arrival. The room was packed with bags, most of them Yang's.

"Oh, hey… You're back," Yang called out. Pausing, she glanced at the extra bits of equipment on my person. "What's with all the swords?"

"I didn't want to leave my first sword behind in Argus," I shrugged, gesturing to the one strapped to my back. "…And besides, I should probably give this one back to Raven," I said, tapping the golden blade at my side.

Staring at Raven's sword, Pyrrha's gaze focused on my chest. "Isn't that the one that…" She began, only to sigh when her Scroll began to ring. Cancelling the call, she glanced up. "Sorry, it's just my former sponsors… They've been bothering me all morning… Offering exclusive deals and whatnot…" She trailed off when a second Scroll began vibrating.

"Ah, it's my Scroll," I said, grabbing my Scroll. It seemed that we were a little late and Ozpin was making sure that we were ready. Sending my response stating that we were, a handful of seconds passed, before a glowing red portal suddenly appeared.

"Jeez, Ozpin really doesn't waste time, does he," Yang muttered softly.

"I do have a bit of a schedule to keep," Ozpin announced, stepping out of the portal. "Unfortunately, life as the headmaster of Beacon rarely leaves me with free time." Much like how he had done back at the mine site, he walked up to the nearest window and peered at the outside world.

"So… What's happening here?" Yang asked.

"My apologies," Ozpin hummed, turning around. "Being able to travel such large distances instantly is fairly new for me. I couldn't resist the chance to experience it once again. If you would please step through to my office… I will be with you in a moment."

I eyed the headmaster with a raised eyebrow. I didn't really notice it last time, but there was an odd air about him. Something was different.

Deciding to figure it out later, I grabbing several bags and stepped through the glowing portal. Pyrrha's lounge was replaced by a much larger room with several large windows, one of which being a literal clock. At the end of the room was a single desk and chair.

"Mister Calavera, I presume," A blonde woman wearing a short black and purple cape greeted.

"That's me," I nodded, placing the bags down. "And you must be Glynda Goodwitch… Ozpin's mentioned you a few times."

"All good things, I hope," Glynda said, the passive look on her face turning into a scowl when the third member of the room made their presence known by snickering at her. "And what, pray tell, is so amusing, Branwen?"

"You wouldn't get it," Raven smirked.

Before Glynda had a chance to retort, the portal rippled. Pyrrha and Winter stepped through, followed closely by Yang.

Dropping her bags in a pile, Yang whistled as she walked up to the clock window. "Man, this sure beats a ten hour Bullhead flight… I almost feel a little bad for Weiss," She hummed. "I kinda get why Ozpin was so distracted."

"Indeed," Ozpin said as he stepped through the portal. "Now, let me be among the first to welcome you to Beacon. I hope the trip here wasn't too unpleasant." He smiled.

With Ozpin's appearance, Raven's mood immediately soured. "I'm going back to my room." Letting her portal fade, she turned to leave.

"Once second," I called out. Walking up to Raven, I unclipped her blade from my belt. Holding the edge, I offered her the handle. "I thought you might want this back."

With narrowed, untrusting eyes, she took the blade. Looking up at me, her hand began to twitch nervously before the sword slipped from her grasp, clattering to the floor. Taking rapid, short breaths, fire sparked in her eyes as she stared at the sword. Turning around, she hurried out of the room.

"Um… What just happened?" Yang asked.

"That was the sword she stabbed me with," I explained. "I guess she just remembered our little conversation from back then."

Grabbing the discarded blade, I fastened it to my belt again. It seemed that she might still have a little trauma left over from losing her tribe back during the Sanctum excursion… Not that I was going to lose any sleep over it. She brought that on herself when she decided that attacking an Academy camping trip was a good idea.

"An issue for a later time," Ozpin mused. Stepping around his desk, he sat down. "There are a number of things I would like to talk to you about, much of which I'm sure you'll find interesting." Placing his scroll on the table, a projection suddenly appeared, displaying a list of what appeared to be mission details.

Alright… I hadn't been expecting that. I thought Ozpin was going to suggest that I teach Ruby Total Concentration Breathing, not whatever this was.

"Um… There's not going to be any world shattering revelation today, is there?" Yang asked cautiously.

"Not today, no," Ozpin chuckled. "This is nothing more than a list of missions that have been removed from the mission board for an unfortunate reason… They've all resulted in death and were deemed too dangerous for the average Huntsman."

Swiping his hand over the desk, the image of a deserted town suddenly appeared with several small humanoid figures standing in the background, hiding in the shadows. Another image appeared, only this time it was blurry, as if taken in a snowstorm with a larger figure looming over the snow covered trees. Swiping to the next one, a swampland was displayed next.

"So you want us to complete these missions," I hummed, contemplating Ozpin's proposal. Taking on missions that were deemed too dangerous did seem interesting, but it would be risky… Specifically for Pyrrha who, while progressing with Total Concentration Breathing, still had a lot more room to grow.

Winter… I was still concerned about her safety, but she had far more experience, having been an Atlesian Specialist for a few years now.

"These aren't exactly a priority, but completing them will benefit Vale by clearing out some of the more dangerous Grimm," Ozpin continued. "You'll be free to pick and choose which ones you would like to do… Of course, I don't expect your answer immediately."

Looking over to Pyrrha who gave me a confident smile and Winter who appeared ready for anything, I had already made my decision. "I'll… We'll do it, just… give us a little time to settle in first."

Clearing her throat, Winter stepped forward. "Would it be possible to get a copy of the mission details prior to being sent out?"

"That could easily be arranged," Ozpin replied. Pressing a few buttons on his desk, my Scroll suddenly vibrated. "All the details have been sent to Coal's Scroll. I… Don't know your Scrolls number."

"That should suffice," Winter nodded, satisfied. "Being able to go over the details of the missions will allow us to prepare in advance."

Looking through my Scroll, I found that there was more information here than Ozpin displayed… A lot more. The various locations, the history behind them and the type of Grimm that we would be killing.

One of the places even mentioned a potential Chill Grimm spawning pit... The humanoid figures in the abandoned town suddenly made a lot more sense.

We were probably going to have to hold off on that one at least until Pyrrha and Winter mastered Total Concentration Constant. They were going to need to be able to keep their Aura active constantly. Chill were dangerous and capable of possessing both Humans and Faunus alike, but they did have their limits... They were incapable of possessing someone that had their Aura active.

"There wouldn't be any risk of running into an Ancient Grimm on any of these missions, would there?" I asked suddenly. These places distinctly reminded me of the abandoned dam that housed the one that I killed. If there was a chance that we could run into another one, I wanted to know.

"You should be fine… Assuming that you don't go a few hundred miles off course," Ozpin joked. "No, you shouldn't have to worry about any Ancient Grimm."

That was a bit of a relief. While I was planning on killing the Wyvern, that didn't mean I wanted to go picking a fight with every Ancient Grimm I stumbled across… Not until I was absolutely sure that I would be able to kill them.

If there was any real danger, that Shadow would probably make an appearance.

"There are still a few things I would like to discuss, but perhaps they would be best left for another time," Ozpin mused. "Adjusting to the change in time zones can be fairly tiresome and I know that Taiyang has been looking forward to your arrival," He said, shooting a pointed look towards Yang.

"Hehe, yeah," Yang laughed nervously. "He's probably really angry. I did sorta stay in a foreign Kingdom without his permission, but I didn't get into any trouble, so he can't be too mad, right?"

"You'd be surprised," I heard Glynda mutter under her breath.

"In the meantime, the three of you are welcome to stay in Beacon. There are plenty of empty rooms," Ozpin continued. "You'll also be allowed to use the training facilities."

It kind of felt like Ozpin was trying to bribe us to stay… And it was working. There was no way that I wouldn't say no to a free room and access to Beacon's training rooms. We could always look for an apartment later, plus Pyrrha and Winter didn't seem to mind.

"I might have to take you up on that offer," I said.

Honestly, Beacon might be the perfect place for us right now, especially with Ozpin here. After realizing that I'd learnt one of the Six Powers after mastering Total Concentration Constant, I decided to go through all of my skills and techniques to see if I'd missed anything else that could be game changing and ended up finding that there actually was something that I missed.

My skill with Aura was stuck at level 75. I'd been content to let it level up passively by keeping my Aura active at all hours of the day, much like Total Concentration Constant, but it seemed that I'd finally reached the limit. If I was going to master my Aura, I was going to need to actively train it.

That's where Ozpin came in. There was no one in this world that had more experience with Aura than him. A few pointers would go a long way to helping me master my Aura. I did have to wonder if anything special would happen once my Aura hit level 100.

"Excellent," Ozpin hummed. "Glynda, if I could bother you to…"

"I'll show them where they can stay," Glynda sighed tiredly.

"Thank you," Ozpin smiled.

Nodding, Glynda flicked her weapon at the various suitcases, lifting them all in one go. "Come along, I'll show you where you'll be staying."

Following Glynda, I shot a quick glance towards Ozpin and briefly accessed the Transparent World. Shaking my head, I let out a short chuckle. How terrifying. He'd only seen it a handful of times, but apparently that was enough for him to grasp the basics of Total Concentration Breathing.

Waiting for everyone to exit before me, I stopped by the door. "By the way, Ozpin, you're going to need to tighten your core a little more and take deeper breaths if you're going to use Total Concentration Breathing properly."

"You knew?" Ozpin asked, looking a little surprised.

"This isn't just a pretty mark," I said, tapping the Demon Slayer Mark. "It's all pretty clear to me. Maybe we could give each other a few pointers… I do need help with mastering my Aura."

"Then you've come to the right place," Ozpin hummed, leaning on his table. "This is a place of learning after all."

…Breathe…

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Pyrrha asked worriedly. "Wouldn't it be better if we stayed at Beacon?"

"Nah, it should be fine," Yang hummed. "Besides, it's not like I could get more grounded than I probably already am."

As backwards as her logic was, she did have a point.

Following the blonde down a few streets, we finally came to a stop by a small coffee shop that sat on the corner of a street, a few shops up from Tukson's Book Trade.

All but dragging us into the shop, Yang sat down in a small booth, gesturing for us to do the same.

"And why exactly is this necessary?" Winter asked, sitting opposite the blonde. "There are a number of things that I could be doing instead of sitting here."

"Eh… Why not," Yang shrugged, passing her a small menu. "Sometimes you just gotta sit back and relax a little."

Glancing at Pyrrha, I shrugged and sat down next to Winter. "So, how do you know this place?"

"I come here sometimes… Mostly when Ruby's looking for new comics," Yang explained. "Speaking of, I should probably check and see if there are any new ones that she would want."

"Maybe we could go after we're done here," Pyrrha suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Yang hummed. "Oh, hey. The waitress is here."

"Welcome to Havenly's, could I please take your order," One of the most deadpanned voices I'd ever heard said.

"I'll have an iced coffee please… What about you guys?" Yang asked.

"Black coffee, no sugar, thank you," Winter replied.

"I think I'll just have a regular coffee, thank you," Pyrrha hummed.

"And I'll…" I froze as I looked up at the waitress.

"You… You're Coal Calavera," She whispered, her eyes widening.

Golden eyes, black hair and a bow that hid a pair of cat ears. There was no doubt about it, this was Blake freaking Belladonna!

"Um… Yeah," I replied, forcing myself to calm down. It was official, I'd met each member of team RWBY. "Just… Please don't shout it out. I'm trying to keep a bit of a low profile." Much like she was doing… Being a former member of the White Fang.

"Sorry," She apologized, the bow on top of her head twitching. "It's just… I wasn't expecting to meet you, least of all here. I… Really like your song."

My song? I don't have a… Wait a minute, did she mean the one Weiss sang.

"…Thanks?" I hummed, not really knowing what else to say. I didn't regret giving Weiss those songs, but it did feel more than a little awkward taking credit for them.

"Right, I should place your order," Blake said, remembering that she was still technically a waitress. Glancing over her list, she looked up. "I'm sorry, you never said what you wanted."

"Um… A cappuccino, please," I replied, equally as thrown off by randomly meeting Blake.

"I'll get right on it," Blake nodded, walking off towards the kitchen.

"Sooo," Yang began, a massive grin splitting her face. "I know you're famous for killing an Ancient Grimm, but music? Is there something you want to tell us?"

Pyrrha watched on, interested to hear what I would say… Hell, even Winter was curious.

Sighing, I leaned back in my chair. "There's not much to tell. Before we left Atlas, I gave Weiss some lyrics… She made a song and posted it on the CCT, giving me some of the credit."

"Oh, I definitely need to hear it now," Yang all but purred, grabbing her Scroll. "What's it called? Never mind, I found it… It seems it's a major hit with the Faunus community," She said, turning her Scroll towards me.

Huh… I wasn't expecting that… Then again, the entire song was about accepting yourself and being proud of who you are. I could see how a lot of Faunus would relate with that.

Stepping back into view, Blake placed a tray on our table and distributed the various drinks. Stepping back, she held the tray to her chest, looking a little nervous.

"I don't normally do this, but… Do you think I could get an autograph?"

Wait, what?!

"I really didn't do much. Wouldn't you want one from Weiss instead?" I asked, immediately realizing that asking a former member of the White Fang if they wanted Weiss Schnee's autograph was laughable at best and insulting at worst.

"No… I would like your autograph… If that's alright with you."

Out of all the… This was definitely one of the stranger days I'd had.

"…Alright. I've never really done this before. What do you want it to say?"

Writing down what Blake asked me to write on her notepad, I signed it. Handing the booklet back to her, she smiled as she read the note.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," I hummed. Pausing for a moment, I continued, a little softer this time. "By the way, you might want to try loosening your bow a little. It looks a little too tight."

Twitching, Blake reached up to touch her bow, before wincing. "I'll be right back."

While I didn't like the idea of having to disguise oneself, I did understand why Blake did it. She was a former member of the White Fang after all. Having as few features that tied her to that organization worked in her favor. Although, having to tie her ears up with a ribbon everyday did seem really uncomfortable.

Just a quick note. This site has a weird tendency to make it so that chapters don't appear or randomly disappear. Oddly enough, the latest chapter wasn't appearing on my pc's browser, but when I checked my phone, it was there. Just thought I'd let you all know.

And we're officially in Vale, leaving the horror of months old dirty dishes behind. Abandon all hope ye who enter Coal and Maria's old apartment.

Ozpin's been experimenting,, Coal's interested in fully mastering his Aura and the group ends up running into the final member of team RWBY. Blake the barista.

Anyways, I'm up to chapter 48 on the P word website.

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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.

Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.

The next chapter will be posted on the 24th of February.
See you all then dudes and dudettes.