The Grimm Huntress

Mountain Glenn

The full moon was shining over the ruined buildings of Mountain Glenn, and a lone Beowolf was searching through the rubble. It looked up briefly at the young girl who had it in her red crosshair scope, but Ruby just lowered Crescent Rose and sighed in tiredness as she kept lookout over the destruction. The rest of her team was lying down on their sleeping mats around the fire with weapons nearby, and Doctor Oobleck was higher up, slumped down against the wall next to the hole in the ceiling/floor. The four members of RWBEY had their eyes closed, but Yang was the first to stop pretending.

"Blake, are you awake?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah."

"Why do you think he asked us about being a Huntress? Like, what was he trying to say?"

"Maybe he was just curious."

"You think?"

"No." Blake finally sighed.

"Weiss, Eclipse, are you awake?" Yang asked.

"Of course we're awake! You two are talking," Eclipse exclaimed quietly.

"I think he... When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it," Weiss said. "But, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid. I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a... moral gray area."

"That's putting it lightly." Blake commented.

"Which is why I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it."

"All my life, I fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner named Adam. More of a mentor, actually. He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be not perfect for everyone. I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsmen and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy, what will I - how can I undo so many years of hate?"

"I'm sure you'd figure it out," Yang assured her. "You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake."

"But I am! I do it all the time! When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran! When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my Semblance! I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself; an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away!"

"At least you two have something that drives you. I've just kinda of always, gone with the flow, y'know? And that's fine, I mean, that's who I am. But how long can I really do that for? I wanna be a Huntress, not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won't know what tomorrow will bring. And that'll be a good thing. Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that. I'm not like Ruby, she's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she'd dreamt about being the heroes in the books. Helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she knew that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get where she is today."

"Well, she's still just a kid." Weiss said.

"She's only two years younger. We're all kids."

"Well, not anymore. I mean, look where we are!" Yang threw her arm to the side. "In the middle of a warzone and armed to the teeth!"

"It's the life we chose." Eclipse sighed.

"It's a job. We all had this romanticized vision of being a Huntress in our heads! But at the end of the day, it's a job to protect the people! And whatever we want, will have to come second."

The supposedly-sleeping Oobleck had a small smile when she finished.

"Eclipse?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you wanna become a Huntress?"

"Well, I lived on the streets for around half of my life now so knowing how to fight- how to defend yourself was a must." Eclipse let out a breathy laugh as she revealed a small bit of her past. "I saw people at their lowest, how terrible things can be, and I wanted to help make the world better. ...Welp, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight."

The noirette turned over and soon enough soft snores filled the room. Blake, Weiss, and Yang laid in silence as they thought over what had happened today before they each went to sleep too.

•••

"Hey Weiss, it's your... Ruby? Hey, where's Ruby?"

"What?" Oobleck asked.

Zwei came running into the room, barking.

"Zwei?" Yang asked in confusion.

"What's going on?" Blake asked. Eclipse, now awake, stabbed a dagger into the ground in annoyance.

"Grab your weapons!" Oobleck told them. "Your leader may be in trouble."

"Another day, another time it's too early for this shit."

•••

Zwei led Oobleck and the other members of team RWBEY to the hole that Ruby fell into, and Yang spotted Crescent Rose next to the hole.

"Ruby's scythe!"

"Oh no."

"Do you think she fell?"

"Fell?" Oobleck looked up.

"Down there." Weiss told him.

Oobleck looked down at the hole. "Oh my. Of course! Of course, OF COURSE, OF COURSE!"

"What is it?" Blake asked.

"How could I be so stupid?!"

"Dr. Oobleck, what's wrong?" Yang asked.

"Mountain Glenn! Yes, an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm! Previously home to thousands of people! Working people commuting to the city, the main city! Developed a subway system to the inner city! Grimm attacks increased! Population in danger, now desperately searching for shelter! City evacuates into the metro tunnels and what do they find? The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!"

"Doc, what are you saying?"

"My dear, we're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!"

"They've been working in caves?" Blake asked.

"No, no, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion." Eclipse informed. She always liked history, who knew it would actually come in handy. "It worked for a short period of time, thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense, and unique transportation; the city developed an elaborate subway system to carry citizens safely from the new territory into the main Kingdom. Unfortunately, without the many natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the start. As the end drew nearer, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival: They took up shelter beneath the city. In massive caves that they had cleared out for the subway. And they had cut themselves off from the surface."

"That is the most you've ever spoken at once." Blake said. Weiss nodded.

"An underground village?" Yang asked.

"In a matter of speaking, yes. A safe haven. Until... an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern, filled with subterranean Grimm. After that, the Kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb. If Ruby is down there-" Oobleck deployed his weapon, Antiquity's Roast. "-we must find her..."