Author = [Hello]
Actions = Sigh
Emphasizing = Why
Thoughts = 'Why'
Speaking = "Why"
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Y/n Pov
I'm snapped back to reality upon hearing something of interest to me. "Hey! Team CFVY is back!" A random student had called out. Along with Team RWBY, I had made my way out of the school to greet the team. I watch as the Bullhead descends and lands on the platform before sliding open to reveal the group. Exhausted, battered, and only slightly without the will to live.
'Brings me back to when I stepped off my first battlefield during Gwyn's rain...' I thought, smiling dreamily behind my mask.
"YOU!" Said smile dropped as Velvet yelled in my direction. Her eyes lighting up with life and an unnatural, for her, amount of fury and began walking towards me. "What did we say about keeping in touch?!" I put my hands up to try and defend myself as the girl pouted. "We thought something happened to you!"
"Yeah sorry. Kinda forgot to even look at the scroll after the ship wreck. Too busy making money hunting to repair it. Did ya know, Menagerie has like barely any grimm in the non desert part of it?" I stated, trying to change the convo while also name dropping Menagerie just to fuck with Blake who I knew was close enough to hear our talk.
"O-oh..." Velvet deflated. "Next time please talk to us. Your my only friend outside of the team..."
"We only talked for a week before I left though..." Velvet looked up to me with a pout. "Alright alright, I get it. I'll check in with you as soon as night falls on our mission."
"OH! You're going out? Right now?"
"Yep." I tilt my head towards Team RWBY. "Long story but i'm being sent out with them."
Velvet turns to RWBY and waves, "You're first years so you should be fine." A pained look crosses her eyes, "Whatever mission you're all on will be much nicer than grimm extermination..." She shakes her head turns to me with a glare while pointing at both our eyes before walking off to join her, still disheartened, team. RWBY for their part just watched on with worry at the retreating figures of CFVY disappeared into Beacon.
"Come along children we're ten minutes late for our mission." Oobleck made his presence known as he walked by the team. "Drop your bags, you won't be needing them, and get on the Bullhead." He continued as he moved to board the metal beast. I let out a snicker at the reactions of the team as they realized he was the teacher assigned to this mission. I quickly make my way on to the bullhead with RWBY finally in tow. The hatch closing when Ruby entered last.
The hatch opens, as the the group of six make their way out and watch as it leaves them in the middle of the forest. "Now children, it is imperative that all of you listen to what I say and do exactly as I tell you. Ruby! What did I tell you about your backpack?!"
"Uh... to leave it?"
"Then why is it here?"
"You didn't tell us to listen to you till now..."
"Hmmm an adequate response. Very well, now, leave your pack behind."
"But..."
"Young lady what could possibly be inside that pack that you--"
BARK
Zwei, somehow, jumped out of the backpack to the shock of the rest of the team and worry of Ruby. Said girl trying desperately to shove it back into the pack.
"Young lady... you brought a dog into a grimm infested forest? GENIUS!"
"It is? It is! I am a genius!" Ruby gloated. The rest of the team facepalmed.
"She is?" Weiss piped up.
"Of course. Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!" He explained. "Now let us be off girls and boy, we best make it to the city before sundown. And according to my calculations that can only be done if we start moving five minutes ago." He then shooed us along. Along the way the team and him began talking but I had tuned them out, pulling out a hex tome to pass the time.
KING CRIMSON
"Ah good, here we are. Ahead of schedule too." Oobleck spoke up. I put away my tome and look up to the sight of a ruined city. "Welcome to Mountain Glenn, one of humanities greatest failures."
"Woah..." Ruby quietly whispered.
"Woah indeed." Oobleck stated as he stepped onto the empty street. "Weiss, you asked why history is important. "This," His hands extend outward, "is why. One of the greatest horrors since the Faunus rebellion is standing right before us and history can tell us why this is a horror and not proof of the might of sapiant creatures."
"Human and Faunus came together to build something beyond the most fortified city or quiet village and it failed misserably. Now, this is nothing more than a home for grimm. Like the ones over there." His tone shifted to his usual as he pointed out a single beowolf. Team RWBY readied their weapons but didn't engage as Oobleck had put his hand up.
"Wait! The grimm have yet to see us. In the field every resource is precious. That includes your ammo. Don't engage unless engaged. Besides, that grimm is alone. It'd be far better to follow it to its pack... which is also there. And now they've seen us."
"What?!" Weiss screamed.
"And now they've seen us!" He repeated directly into her ear before dashing away. "Girls, show me what you've learned. Y/n, stay on the side."
I nod at this and move to the back of the party along with him. While team RWBY where occupied with the Grimm I turned to Oobleck. "So what exactly happened here? I doubt it was abandoned over night."
Oobleck watched the team fight, not sparing Y/n a glance, but spoke. "It was, in fact. Everyone has a theory or two but no one knows the cause. I firmly believe it to be a text book case of humanities stubborn nature."
A beowolf ran past Ruby and beelined it towards the two of us but was stopped as Ruby used her semblance and momentum to kick it into a wall. "Nature huh? Care to explain?"
"The man in charge of this city was a closeted human supremacist. He was bitter about the recent "defeat", as he called it, by the hands of the faunus and chose to go off and build this city. He planned for it to be a utopia for like minded individuals. All that negativity was like a buffet for the grimm."
"If that's the case, they'd have seen some activety no?" I asked as I watched Weiss freeze a flock of small Nevermore.
"Ah, but they did. Before the people went on to exterminate all the grimm within a ten kilometer radius of this city this land was home to old and ancient grimm. Dare I say, older than the deathstalker seen at the entrance exams. As you should know, the older the grimm the smarter. A lesser known fact is their territorial nature. When they saw this buffet of humans set up shop in their territory they acted." A young deathstalker joined the fight, gaining the attention of Ruby. She then ordered Blake and Weiss to deal with it.
"The grimm would send small bouts of young to keep the humans tame. Next thing you knew, the caves split open and flooded the subway before moving topside. The man in charge had cut communication with Vale so by the time they knew what had happened not a man, woman, or child stood in this city."
The deathstalker had been felled, "A man stuck in his ways doomed a whole city." I sumarized. "I'm guessing the reason lays dormant now is due to its history. Let it be a lesson to those who think the same, no?" Oobleck said nothing and walked to meet with Team RWBY.
The camera drifts from the man to a building not too far off as a fire is lit and the sky dims. The six of us had set up camp, and as Ruby takes the first watch the rest of the girls started discussing something Oobleck had apparently asked them.
"Why did you become a huntress?" Each of them gave their own responses. Hearing each of their responses hit me with a myriad of emotions. Yang's was my favorite, Weiss' was honorable if not hopeful, and Blake's was Blake's.
"How bout you Y/n?" Yang asked as I turned to look at the trio. "What'd you say?"
"I didn't say anything. Oobleck didn't ask me."
"Well, what would you have said?"
"Why do you care to know? We're on neutral terms at most."
"Everyone else had something they wanted to get off their chest so I thought you might too." She offered, suprisingly, sheepishly.
"Mhm." I sound out as I turn away from the girls. 'Time to make the move.' I turn back to them and remove my mask to make eye contact, a frown on my face. "You guys earned at least a little knowledge about me." I state to draw them in. "Memories. I became a hunter for memories." I pull my hat off my head and look down at it.
"I..." I paused as he looked over to Weiss, faking a blush and quickly turning. "Originally it was to find them. My memories." A small glance to Blake gave me my desired reaction, pain. "I don't remember much. Just woke up one day with a missing arm and a pain in my heart. Not because I was missing my arm or anything but for something else. When I tried to think about it I remembered nothing... it wasn't pleasant. The feeling of missing something so vital to what you are... it's painful." I faked choking up. "But then my master found me, took me in, fed me, and even gave me the arm you see today." I pull a glove off to reveal the wooden hand.
"Next thing you know, i'm being trained. I had pointed out my lost memories and how I wanted to reclaim them to them. They told me I should become a huntsman. Money isn't a problem for a strong huntsman, travel is easy for any huntsman, and some places can only be reached my huntsman. It was simple really, travel the world, slay beasts, and hope to find your memories." I laughed a genuine laugh. "That's actually why I was so pissy when we first met. Ozpin had forced me to sign up for classes if I didn't want to go to jail. It was trading one prison for another. Somewhere out there I can find something to trigger my memories and the bastard had locked me up."
"Though it wasn't all bad. I got to have a pupil of my own. Meet a girl that I truly love. Even find someone smart enough to appreciate a good pun." I stood up and began walking off to switch in with Ruby, "So yeah, it wasn't all bad." I reaffirmed as left the three girls to talk amongst themselves. If I had stayed to watch Blake's dejected reaction any longer I would've burst out laughing.
"Hey Weiss, we have something we need to talk about." Yang let off as I turned the corner. Those words shouldn't have reached a human but it seems she had forgotten I was faunus. My smile grew wide as Yang unwittingly moved my plans along.
'Even if it comes from Yang, Blake's story is gonna sound like she's trying to garner sympathy. Something Weiss will most likely detest. On top of that, Weiss had been told the story from the actual victim's side, said victim who had more than enough experience in manipulating those who detested it. The divide in opinions will be the first crack in the team's union.' I thought as I turned the corner, not to find Ruby but her dog running towards me at mach five.
Here we goooo! Get your asses ready for chapter 26 coming out 2099! No but seriously I apologize for the long hiatus. A mixture of writers block, playing with friends, and working out (Dropped from 294 to 255 Go me!) Has kept me away from my writing. BUT NO MORE! Is what I would say if that was even remotely true.
No but in all seriousness I plan to force myself to sit down on my computer (cuz the app is dumb atm) and force myself to try and write. Chapter 26 should come out this month.
With that all said I thank you all for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! Especially the part where I made racism a bigger factor to the RWBY lore... Wait that sounds wrong...
Shrug Oh well.
As a reminder, voting is still going till I say so and atm the 3rd option is winning.
Tips, Tricks, Ideas and Criticisms are welcomed and encouraged! (Can't get anywhere if y'all say only positives or nothing at all haha)
Have a good day/night friends!
Buh-bye!