(The opening ends to the view of General Janis Ironwood looking out from the landing docks of Beacon Academy to the city of Vale at night, a few airships hovering over the lit-up buildings. Walking up from behind her is Glen Goodwitch.)
Glen: Trouble sleeping?
Ironwood: Arm was acting up.
Glen: Of course, so logically, you got out of bed, dressed yourself completely and decided to gaze menacingly out into the distance. What's wrong?
Ironwood: I've trusted her for years. We both have. I just... I can't help but feel like she's keeping us in the dark.
Glen: Don't be ridiculous! You know very well that we are not the ones in the dark.
Ironwood: That makes it worse! I refuse to believe that a woman that I've trusted for so long would act so... passively.
Glen: You're a good person, Janis. You've always done what you think is best for the people, even against strong protest. It's admirable. But it's high time you stopped talking about trust and started showing it. Onika has experience that the rest of us lack. And I think that's something worth remembering.
(The full moon is shining over the ruined buildings of Mountain Glenn, and a lone Beowolf is searching through the rubble. It looks up briefly at the young boy who has it in his red crosshair scope, but Randy Rose just lowers Crescent Rose and sighs in tiredness at he keeps lookout over the destruction. The rest of his team is lying down on their sleeping mats around the fire with weapons nearby, and Doctor Barley Oobleck is higher up, slumped down against the wall next to the hole in the ceiling/floor. The three members of RWBY have their eyes closed, but Yoshi Xiao Long is the first to stop pretending.)
Yoshi: Blane, are you awake?
Blane: Yeah.
Yoshi: Why do you think she asked us about being a Huntsman? Like, what was she trying to say?
Blane: Maybe she was just curious.
Yoshi: You think?
Blane: No.
Yoshi: Wess, are you awake?
Wess: Of course I'm awake! You two are talking. And I think she...When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it. But, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid. I'm fully aware of what my mother has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since she took control, our business has operated in a...moral gray area.
Blane: That's putting it lightly.
Wess: 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 mother was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let her be the end of it.
Blane: All my life, I fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner named Ash. More of a mentor, actually. She always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, her 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?
Yoshi: I'm sure you'd figure it out. You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blane.
Blane: 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!
Yoshi: 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 Huntsman, 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 Huntsman just happens to line up with that. I'm not like Randy, he's always wanted to be a Huntsman. It's like he said, ever since he was a kid, he'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 he couldn't fight, he knew that's what he wanted to do. That's why he trained so hard to get where he is today.
