RWBY: Rise of the Beasts

Chapter 12: A Minor Hiccup

Weiss Schnee sat idly at her desk, her eyes never leaving the small holographic clock in front of her. Currently, it read 3:59, meaning there was literally a single minute left in the class. And for most of the class period, Weiss had blocked out everything else happening around her, including another one of Professor Port's stories, which she usually at least tried to listen to.

She was so focused on the clock that, when Jaune slid up next to her, she didn't even acknowledge him.

"So, Weiss, you know, uh , I-I was thinking after this, maybe we could go grab a bite to eat?" Jaune offered. However, when it didn't seem as though Weiss was listening, Jaune tried to suggest something else. "And, uh um, I-I've got two tickets to that new Spruce Willis movie, if you wanna make the trip to Vale. I hear it's awesome." Once again, his words apparently fell on deaf ears.

"Dude, Spruce Willis is overrated," Cheetor whispered over towards Jaune before Rhinox literally grabbed the younger Maximal's head and turned it back towards Port.

"Aaaand maybe after that, we could study together?" Jaune suggested, ignoring Cheetor's remark about the movie. "I mean, you're smart and I'm, uh . . . Y'know . . ."

It was after this that the clock finally turned to 4:00, with Weiss perking up as the clock gave off a shrill beeping sound before disappearing as everyone began packing up their stuff. Port, meanwhile, took a second before he realized the alarm went off, signaling the end of his class.

"And then I- Oh," Port realized, having been leaning over like a towering monster about to attack before he straightened himself up as the students began to leave. "Uh, timed that one wrong, I guess. Well, the stunning conclusion to this story will have to wait. Until next time!"

"Weiss?" Jaune asked as Weiss began to leave. "Did you hear me?"

Then, without even looking at the blond, Weiss answered all his questions in order. "No, no, no, yes."

Hearing this, Jaune groaned and face planted on his desk as the rest of team RWBY walked behind him.

"One day," Yang commented as she walked past Jaune, ruffling his hair slightly without batting an eye towards the disappointed blond.

~~~~~
Team ORCA's Dorm
~~~~~

"Any leads on where Penny went?" Rhinox asked, sitting at one of the desks as Airazor flew through their dorm room window and landed on the ground.

"Nothing," Airazor replied with a shake of her head. "It's like she just vanished into thin air after that night."

After the battle down at the docks, the Maximals had made it one of their top priorities to find Penny, wherever she went. They knew she had to be somewhere on campus, considering how she said she was competing in the tournament. And yet, for the past few days since exchange students started to arrive, there wasn't a single trace of the girl anywhere.

"I don't get what the big deal is," Cheetor remarked, laying sideways on his bed with his head dangling off the side. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's kinda strange she saw the key's beacon and all, but she hasn't come around looking for it, right?"

"It's not about that, Cheetor," Optimus informed the young Maximal. "What does matter is that, somehow, she saw the beacon, meaning she's neither a human nor a Faunus. So that means she might possibly be a robot in disguise like us."

"And for all we know, she could be a Terrorcon," Rhinox added.

"Okay, I think that's a little bit too much," Cheetor replied as he sat up. "Sure, she might act different than normal people and she saw the beacon, but that doesn't mean she's a Terrorcon. I mean, you guys all saw how she acted. Anyone that wholesome can't be one of those guys."