A/N: I've decided that I'm actually going to have an update schedule for this story. So I'll post chapters on the 15th of each month going forward. I usually do monthly chapters give or take a few days anyways, but I still think having a set schedule is a good thing.

"Usopp no!" Ruby yelled.

Leaning against a 'wall,' Usopp looked at her, confused. "Whoa, why the yelling?"

"You just leaned against the elevator button panel!"

Turning around, he blinked as he saw every button lit up. "Um… is there a way to undo it?" he asked as he tried pushing the buttons again.

"No."

"Can we tell this thing that we just want to skip to the top floor?"

"No, and we're totally going to be late because of you."

The elevator door opened, and they stared awkwardly as it took it's sweet time closing again.

"Gah, who desinged this stupid thing?" Usopp asked.

"It works just fine when you don't lean against the button panel."

After what felt like an eternity later, the elevator door finally opened to the correct floor. Usopp felt that the button to close the doors faster only worked half of the time.

"Come in," Ozpin said.

They both stepped forward.

"Sorry it took so long, someone accidentally leaned against all of the buttons on the elevator. It wasn't me."

"It wasn't me either," Usopp said.

"Thank you for coming. Now, how are you feeling Ruby?"

"Okay, I guess."

Ironwood said, "Ruby, I feel it is appropriate to let you know that I think what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntress is all about. You recognized a threat. You took action. And you did the very best you could. And Usopp, you did well to notify Ozpin and I as soon as you noticed something strange."

"Thank you, sir," they both replied.

"Now, Usopp, the reason you're here as well is because your Semblance is capable of distinguishing between individuals. Did you recognize whoever Ruby was fighting?" Ozpin asked.

Usopp frowned. "I'm sorry, but I won't be much use here. I kept up my ability from the moment I was looking for Ruby to the moment you all came outside, but I only ever sensed the guards and Ruby herself."

"Was the person Ruby fought a guard?" Ironwood asked.

"No, as the guards were all knocked out from what I could tell. But, it did seem like Ruby was fighting some invisible enemy, so whoever it was had some way to hide from my Aura detection. And to clarify, my ability isn't a Semblance as far as I know since I had it before I unlocked my Aura, and it doesn't use Aura."

Ozpin looked thoughtful. It did indeed seem to explain how Usopp found everyone else by only going straight in Initiation after he defeated his pursuing Grimm. And this was indeed before his Aura was unlocked. There were few possibilities of the origin of this ability, and one had very interesting but dangerous implications.

Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood exchanged a glance before continuing.

"While interesting, I'm afraid that we should move on. Usopp, you may leave now if you want, but we'll just be asking Ruby a few questions."

"Alright, well Ruby, I'll meet you outside your dorm room."

"See you later," Ruby said.

After Ruby left, Ironwood turned to Ozpin. "About that Usopp… do you think there is any possibility that his ability is magic?"

"...It is unlikely. If it was magic, then it certainly didn't come from me. And he obviously can't be a Maiden. If it truly is magic though… that would be disastrous for all of us, as I can think of only one other source. I would prefer not to think of him as an enemy agent, and he made no real effort to hide both this ability and his other exceptional qualities like you would expect if he truly was against us."

"Other exceptional qualities?" Ironwood asked.

"Well yes, he's an exceptional fighter with a dangerous arsenal at his disposal. A potent combination, potent enough that he has to be limited on what he can use during his spars with his fellow students. Now James, have you ever heard of Pop Greens?"

"I can't say that I have."

"Nor would I expect you to, it's not something that even I ever saw before Usopp arrived here."

The General's eyes widened. "So… what are Pop Greens?"

"They're seeds that grow to their full size almost instantly under certain conditions. So, volatile and dangerous if you don't know what you're doing, but an extremely powerful weapon in the hands of Usopp. In order for Glynda to decide which seeds he was allowed to use in a spar, he gave her a detailed notebook to review. You should take a look at it."

Ozpin pulled the notebook out of a safe under his desk and handed it to Ironwood. He flipped through the pages, mostly looking at the drawings, names, and how many were actually approved by Glynda.

"And all of this comes from seeds? So, compared to mining Dust, producing this would be dirt cheap. I get that they require a lot of skill to use, but why aren't we having Usopp teach anyone else that skill instead of attending here?"

"First of all, Usopp may know how to use them, but that doesn't make him a qualified teacher. Also, even with an experienced teacher, it took him two years to learn how to use them. I believe that delaying the graduation of someone as talented as Usopp that much would be a mistake."

"Is Usopp doing well because of talent, or is it just these Pop Greens?"

"I can assure you," Glynda interjected, "that Usopp is a skilled fighter with or without his Pop Greens. Testing his limits has been… challenging. In his sparring class, I often tell him that he can only use Dust ammunition unless he wants to fight an entire team. Even with only Dust, his combat results are better than anyone else in the class. His glaring weakness would be melee combat, but he has his own tricks for keeping his distance. So, to answer your question, he is talented. While he seems to have already met his potential in some areas, such as his skill with a slingshot, he still has room to grow. And so I think he should stay here and continue learning."

"I see. But what of the person who taught him? Where is he?"

Ozpin said, "Dead, presumably. Usopp said that the island that Pop Greens are from was burnt to the ground. It was implied that all other Pop Greens that existed were destroyed as with that island, which would mean that his teacher must have perished. Unless he escaped without bringing any Pop Greens with him, which seems unlikely."

"If that's the case, then Usopp is our only option for teaching people how to use those seeds. Ozpin, he can be taught how to teach, and it's not like he would spend the rest of his life as a teacher. Just teaching a few people who want to be teachers would be enough. Even if that takes five or ten years, long term it would be worth it."

"James, if Pop Greens become mainstream, do you think that will give us some sort of advantage? Or will it just become another tool for our enemies to use, like Dust?"

"It doesn't have to be mainstream, even just giving it to the people we can trust could be enough to make a difference."

"The more people that know how to use them, the more people the enemy can learn it from. As it stands now, even if the enemy took the seeds from Usopp's dead body, they would have to figure out how to use it by themselves-"

"Which isn't impossible, as someone had to be the first one to learn how to use them."

"True, but it would take time. Perhaps decades, perhaps centuries, but we would have enough time to properly react to the threat."

"So you just want to just react instead of taking preventative measures?"

"I am taking preventative measures by making it far harder for them to ever get those seeds in the first place."

"I don't think you're doing enough."

Usopp waited outside of Team RWBY's room, admiring the flag that he drew. He never would have admitted it, but it would have hurt a little if Ruby rejected the Jolly Roger because of its association with pirates. For a moment, he imagined the RWBY pirates sailing the high seas and joining the Strawhats adventures, but he shook his head. Just because Ruby liked the idea of unwavering determination didn't mean that she had any desire to become a pirate. And, they all had their own attachments to this world. The only way he could see it being feasible was if they learned how to travel between worlds on a whim, which he couldn't see as a real possibility. At best, it would be a one way trip where he would have to say goodbye to everyone.

He was brought out of his thoughts as he noticed Ruby approaching, clearly done with her part of the discussion.

They waved to each other, and then they both entered the RWBY dorm to give the team an update on what happened.

XXX

After a speech from Ozpin, RWBY plus Usopp were standing in front of the mission board. They found a mission that was in the area where they believed the enemy hideout was, but it was not available for first years.

Ozpin only chose to reveal himself after Ruby proposed mailing themselves to their destination. They talked for a bit before Ozpin really got to his main point. "So how about this: instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?"

"We won't let you down. Thank you, professor," Ruby said.

"Do not thank me for this. While Usopp at the very least is more than qualified for this mission, he cannot watch your backs at all times. Be sure you pull your weight, or else the Huntsman you are shadowing can have you sent back at any time. Good luck."

"Alright team, it will be Usopp's job to find the hideout once we get there. There will be a lot of Grimm, so it will be tough. But I know we can do it. Is everyone ready?" Ruby asked.

"Yep! I got plenty of ammo!" Yang replied.

"Of course I'm ready," Weiss said.

"Don't worry, I brought plenty of Pop Greens and Dust, since I'm sure we'll be facing lot's of Grimm," Usopp said.

Blake just nodded.

"Good work, just remember that we'll all have to do our best for this mission. Now let's go meet the professional Huntsman that we'll be shadowing."

Seeing their history teacher as the Huntsman in question did little to inspire confidence.

The ride to Mountain Glenn was uneventful, although admittedly uncomfortable. Dr. Oobleck gave the team a brief history quiz on the place, but they were silent for most of the ride.

In the silence, Usopp did what he did best. He channeled the infinite power of his negative imagination.

Mountain Glenn is kind of a scary place. It was overrun by Grimm, but surely people would have sent many professional Huntsmen to secure such an expansion, right? Then were they all killed? The pros are all better than any students, so it's hard to imagine that any of the weak Grimm I faced in Initiation could have killed them. Of course, there are stronger Grimm out there like Goliaths and Leviathans, but just how much stronger are they? What if there's some Grimm that's as strong as Kaido lurking there or something? Isn't this bad? Is this some place students should be going to in the first place? Although I guess all of us minus Dr. Coffee would have tried sneaking here anyways… Maybe this was all a mistake. Surely the enemy hideout wouldn't be in some super dangerous Grimm infested ghost town. But if they are… then doesn't that mean that they're strong enough to deal with whatever Grimm comes after them? Are we really only going to find Torchwick and his second rate goons down there, or will there be someone stronger? Gah, why didn't I think of all this before I got on the Bullhead… ugh…

Soon enough, the Bullhead flew close enough that everyone could see the ruined city. Usopp gulped. By the time they got there, Usopp had already imagined that Mountain Glenn was the meeting spot for the imaginary "Four Grimm Emperors" and their packs, in which they were plotting the world's destruction and Torchwick was in on it too, somehow.

They tried to find a landing spot, but whenever they got close to the ground, swarms of Ursai and Beowolves would come out of the woodwork, forcing the Bullhead to pull up. When the Bullhead would move to a new location, so would the Grimm.

"This is strange," Dr. Oobleck commented, "The concentration of Grimm seems to be much higher than what was thought to be here."

Grimm also started to gather from the area surrounding the city, and even though they were in the air, they seemed to almost be following them.

"Even for a town that suffered from a tragedy, this level of attraction is rare. I wonder what it is about this Bullhead that seems to draw them to us so much, as there's no way this small group could produce that much negativity."

As soon as Dr. Oobleck mentioned negativity, everyone from Team RWBY immediately turned their attention towards Usopp.

"Are you being… Usoppy, Usopp?" Ruby asked.

"What kind of question is that?! I'm not being too negative. I'm just thinking about how we're all probably going to die because of the crazy strong Grimm that are probably inhabiting-"

Ruby gave Usopp a quick chop to the head. "That is too negative! Look down there, it's just simple Grimm that we've all fought before. We can still do this if we work together."

"Actually," Dr. Oobleck said, "We'll have to call off this mission. There simply is no safe place to land. I can't endanger the pilot like that."

Members of Team RWBY tried to protest, but Dr. Oobleck had already made up his mind. Usopp was silent, as he realized that this situation was his fault for letting himself drift off into the deep end in terms of negativity. And if the hideout really was here, then running away would cause more problems down the road. At the same time, blaming himself in silence would just make things worse.

Before his common sense could take hold, he made his decision. "Dr. Coffee, tell the pilot to fly near one of the skyscrapers. I think I can solve this situation."

"It's Dr. Oobleck! But I am admittedly curious about your plan. Pilot, go ahead and try to fly close to one. We'll keep any Nevermores off your tail."

Plan, huh? No, I think it's just shame. Shame that I'm the one who's metaphorically pissing my pants when I'm one of the strongest here. Looking down, it just looks like there's maybe four or five thousand Grimm down there. Compared to Fishman Island, this is nothing! Although Grimm might stronger than Fishmen goons, though it would be hard to test out.

"Alright, we're next to a skyscraper. There are several Nevermores approaching, so what is your plan?" Dr. Oobleck asked.

Usopp jumped out of the Bullhead, a seed already loaded into his slingshot.

Everyone else gasped and widened their eyes.

Luffy, I'd usually leave stupid stuff like this to you, but I guess I'll have to pull the slack. In some sick turn of events, I made friends weaker than myself, so protecting them like this is basically a duty. But it's still scary!

Usopp fired a seed into the skyscraper wall, and a Bamboo Javelin shot out perpendicular to it. He grabbed on before he could fall for too long, and then he pulled himself up so he was straddling the bamboo spike.

Several Nevermores that were tailing the Bullhead turned their attention to the primary source of negativity, and many Grimm that were on the ground started climbing up.

"I see, so it was Usopp that was attracting all of them," Dr. Oobleck said.

"How can you be so calm?! Usopp might get killed!" Blake yelled.

"We cannot despair, not now. Have more faith in him, you should know just how capable he is."

"Then are we just going to do nothing?" Weiss asked.

Dr. Oobleck shook his head and took our his own weapon. "I never said that. Right now, we are practically invisible compared to Usopp in terms of negativity. The Nevermores are completely ignoring us, so we need to take this opportunity Usopp gave us to land at the edge of the swarm and attack the flank. Be prepared, this won't be an easy task. Anyone who is not resolved should say so now."

"There's no way we'll just leave Usopp behind like that. He's out there risking his life, so the least we can do is risk ours as well," Ruby said.

"Yeah! I'm not going to let him have all of the fun!" Yang said.

"For once, at least, Ruby is right. We can't just back down now," Weiss said.

"We can't abandon our teammate," Blake said,

"It seems that you've made up your minds," Dr. Oobleck said, "Prepare yourselves."

Three Nevermores flew straight at Usopp from three different angles.

These ones don't seem as smart as the one I fought during Initiation… Or maybe it's because they haven't seen me fight yet. Whatever it is, they got too close.

Usopp fired three shuriken seeds as they themselves started to prepare a barrage of feathers, but the Nevermores were too late. The Platanus Shuriken completely bisected the birds, and the halves fell to the ground, crushing some Grimm before dissolving.

The climbing Grimm seemed to pause at the spectacle.

"What are you waiting for?! If you want negativity, then I have it in spades! So come here, you runt of the litter Grimm!"

An Ice Dust round exploding and freezing several Beowolves got the swarm moving once again.