Remnants of a World I Once Knew: Volume 2

Chapter 4

The eight huntsmen and huntresses broke off into pairs of two, determined to kill the Nevermore. Unbeknownst to them, the Deathstalker that was chasing Pyyrha broke through the trees, shrieking and running towards them. "Guys! Run!," Jaune replied. The team sprint from their hiding places and towards the cliff side filled with old pillars. "Jaune, can your team take care of the Deathstalker?," Ruby asked. "....I...," Jaune stuttered. "We can," Pyrrha replied. "We will," Lie Ren nodded. "We can do do this," Nora smirked. Jaune looked back at Ruby. "Go! We'll take care of the Deathstalker!," Jaune replied and turned back. His team charging towards the Deathstalker. "Okay team! Let's slay the Nevermore!," Ruby hollered. "Good!," Yang used her Ember Celica to fly towards a pillar before firing her rounds at the Nevermore. Blake used her Gambol Shroud to swing herself onto a pillar and began to fire at the beast. "Nora! Catapult!," Weiss hollered. Nora smirked and ran to the edge of the broke bridge, slamming her hammer down and sending Weiss catapulting into the air and onto the back of the Nevermore. The animal shrieked as it continued to fly in circles. Weiss used her glyph and froze the Nevermore's feet against the cliff face. Yang followed up by punching the beak. Blake followed behind with several slashes on the head. Weiss followed up by freezing the Nevermore's beak. The Nevermore was still flapping its' wings but couldn't get free and its' beak frozen. Ruby used her semblance and flew up towards the sky, where to her and Jaune's team below, they looked like ants. Ruby closed her eyes, thinking of her mother and how she did this move. Ruby then began to plummet and began to spin like a top. The blade slicing the head of the Nevermore's head clean off the body. The Nevermore began to dissipate into dust. The Death Stalker finally collapsed. Nora's hammer crushing the skull and the creature dissipate into dust. Jaune and Pyyrha looked up, having witnessed what Ruby did and how she did it. "Woah," Jaune remarked.

"I'll admit. They completed the course in record time. But they were all over the place. They could easily get picked off one by one," Glynda replied. "Well it's not all bad. Breaking off gave them some distance to maneuver. Plus it would be slightly worse if they kept themselves bunched up," Fives corrected. "Point taken, but their attacks are changing. Never organized or in formation," Glynda continued. "Well there's no taking turns like 1, 2, 3. Random but lethal attacks are acceptable. Especially since the enemy is a huge Lothbat," Fives spoke. "Lothbat?," Glynda asked. "Sorry....I mean, Nevermore," Fives corrected. "That still doesn't explain what it is," Glynda pondered. "It's a Nevermore but smaller and flies only at night," Fives answered. "Regardless, they're very rusted with fighting," Glynda continued. "Don't worry, they'll be better than this soon enough," Fives replied. "You will train them accordingly to school rules, correct?," Goodwich asked. "What fun would that be?," Fives chuckled. "Following rules aren't meant to be a source of entertainment," Goodwich replied. "Rules are meant to be broken," Fives replied as he began to leave. "That's the exact opposite of what they're meant for!," Goodwich hollered after him. "Still meant to be broken!," Fives hollers back. Ozpin chuckled.

That evening was filled with entertainment as Ozpin dubbed the teams their names. Starting from CRDL, to JNPR, and then finally, to RWBY. Coincidentally enough, RWBY sounds exactly like Ruby's name. Yang didn't care for much except that she was astounded when Ruby was dubbed leader. Blake gave Ruby a nod. Whether it was an acknowledgment or something else, Ruby smiled back. Weiss was far from happy, however. Seeing that she was student with the best grades only to her yearning to be squandered by a mere kid. As for Ruby, when it came to leadership, easier said than done. The next morning was not helping her case as her team ran late and rushed in 2 minutes after the bell rang. "So much for first impressions," Weiss murmured. Much to Ruby's dismay.

"I want you rookies to remember. Your purpose and your training is not meant to destroy Grimm. It is to defend the people of Remnant," Fives reminded. Weiss raised her hand up. "Yes?," Fives looked at her. "But....isn't defending people destroying Grimm?," Weiss asked. "Yeah? How can people be safe if the Grimm aren't destroyed?," Yang chimed in. "It sounds a bit like destroying the Grimm is how we protect people," Blake replied. "From a certain point of view, yes. You would have to destroy Grimm to protect the people. But that doesn't mean you gotta look for Grimm that don't possess danger to the people or are in your way," Fives continued. "I'm lost. Wouldn't they become a threat more if not destroyed?," Ruby asked, half-awake between drools. "Oh yeah," Fives continued. "The simple truth is that you want to end all crime in Remnant. But it's not possible because crime always runs rampant. They happen. It's a part of our life. It is your duty to protect the people. Whether Grimm or other people. As teammates," Fives continued. "So....what would cost them to abandon everything?," Yang asked. "How do you mean?," Fives asked. "Like. Say a teammate abandons her team?," Yang clarified. "There could be lots of reasons. Money. Survival," Fives replied. "It's cowardice. I can't understand how people can just run. Run from the team. When they devoted their time to protecting. Only to throw it away," Yang huffed. "It's not an easy thing to explain. Some reason ran deeper. It doesn't make those who run cowards," Fives continued. Yang hadn't realized it, but Fives knew what she really meant. Or who Yang was referring to.

All other classes went by in a breeze. That evening, Fives was looking at a picture of him, Ahsoka, and Team STRQ. Fives glanced from one person to another. They made a pretty unique team. Reminded him of Domino Squad. Echo constantly being a broken record. Hevy being the arrogant fool. Cutup being that joker and Droidbait being....well Droidbait. Then his team were lost. Killed. They were killed and Fives had to abandon them. Couldn't give them proper burials. Best thing he did was keep their memories alive. Then meeting the Bad Batch. How they spoke of never leaving their own behind. The shock came in when Echo turned out to be alive. It only served to make Fives even more guilty for abandoning his brother. It would get worse when Order 66 came down and he was forced to abandon his way of life. All to survive. The namesake coward could take on may meanings. And Fives was the very definition of a coward from his eyes. The doors opened and both Ruby and Yang walked in. Ruby was chatting with Yang. Fives heard them and shut the hologram off. Yang saw a glimpse of the image. She went silent as Fives turned around. "Oh....girls. What's up?," Fives asked. "Right uh. We were wondering. Would us being sisters and all complicate our purpose?," Yang asked. "Yes it would!," Ruby squealed. "No it wouldn't!," Yang replied back. "Well. Yes and no. Being siblings. The eagerness to protect each other grows and that's very good but it can also be bad," Fives replied. "How so?," Ruby asked. "Well...when you care a lot about your sibling or a friend, be it young or old, caring can form into a paranoia for that person's wellbeing. And people with that paranoia would then seek out ways to protect. In many ways, to seek out pathways to many abilities some consider to be......unnatural,"

"This lust of power, driven by a sense to protect can end up destroying the very thing you swore to protect," Fives answered, remembering a certain Jedi General. Remembering Anakin Skywalker. He knew better than anyone that Anakin would do anything to protect Padme, Obi Wan, Ahsoka and even the clones under him. Based on the recordings of the Jedi Temple and the twins, he knew that Anakin had become Vader. All to achieve power to protect the ones he loved. And Fives did nothing to help. Nothing to bring Anakin back. He felt more of a coward from his eyes. Abandoning his squad, Echo again, his whole unit, Ahsoka, and Anakin. "Anything else I can help you girls out with?," Fives asked. "Yeah. How did you learn how to pilot that ship?," Ruby asked. "Were you an Atlas soldier?," Yang chimed in. "Well....no. A friend of mine taught me how to fly," Fives answered, glancing in the night sky.

R7 came chirping in. "Hey Snippy," Fives chuckled. Snippy beeped her series at Fives. "Oh that reminds me. Here!," Fives handed out a flash drive to Ruby. "What is it?," Yang asked. "I forgot to hand your team this drive. These are some offense and defense stances. I've handed them out to the other classmates," Fives nodded. "Oh heh. Thanks," Ruby replied. "Yeah, thanks Professor!," Yang smiled, already eager to hone her fighting skills. "I expect you to be here on time and well rested," Fives replied to them. "We will!," Ruby smiled.

Morning came. As usual, Team RWBY was late, leaving a bad impression of their response time. They burst through the doors. "Ah. Morning girls," Fives announced. "Morning!," they chirped as they slid into their seats. Chuckles emerged from the other teams. "Yes yes. Very amusing," Fives waved off the snickering. "Sorry Professor. I just...," Ruby began. "Save it for after class," Fives replied. "Now, R7 here has brought in a vile beast. But only one person can kill it. This huntsman must be well matured,"

Weiss looks at Ruby trying to balance a book on her pinky.

"This huntsman must be intelligent,"

Weiss reminded herself of how careless Ruby was

Before Fives could call for volunteers, a hand shot up. "I have those traits sir! I want to slay the beast!," the girl in the white dress replied. "Well alright then. Show us what you got.....Weiss Schnee," Fives nodded. Weiss puffed her chest out and too her glyph. With a snot like look on her face and her arrogant body language, she walked down the stairs and and backed up until she had a few feet of space from the wall. The cage shook as R7 released the hatch. The door swung open to reveal a small beowulf. The Beowulf, although smaller, was still a threat. "Now, none of your semblance shall be used. Stick to melee combat. We do not need the school damaged any further," Fives ordered. Weiss nodded and shifted her body into her pose. The way she had her glyph out reminded Fives of Anakin and how he had a similar pose. One with a charismatic face rather than a very serious and cold-like face. The beowulf began to charge to Weiss. Weiss then sprinted forward, towards the beast.