Third Person POV

The opening shows the faces of Team RWBY and _IAR and upon seeing their guide for the week.

Weiss: Professor Oobleck?

Oobleck: Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, girls, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship. And...It's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!

Weiss looks over at Blake Belladonna, who is equally disturbed.

Weiss: Uh...

Oobleck: Come now, children; according to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind!...schedule!

He zips off to the airship docked farther ahead in a second.

Ruby: Well, alright, then! Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oooobleck- okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse.

Nora: Save the world?

Ruby's team and Y/N's turns around to see Nora and team JNPR approaching.

Nora: You're going on world-saving missions without us? I'm hurt... sad! Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault, though, Ren...

Ren, for his part, simply crosses his arms and turns away.

Jaune: Sounds exciting. Where ya going?

Ruby: Oh, just outside the kingdom...

Nora: Hey! So are we!

Pyrrha: Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village.

Ren: We set out tomorrow.

Neptune: Then you can party with us tonight!

Neptune Vasilias and Sun approach the two groups.

Neptune: We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges.

Jaune is awestruck.

Sun: We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk, so we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, you know... normal.

Ruby: Well-

Oobleck appears from the airship to call to Team RWBY and _IAR who are embarrassed:

Oobleck: Four minutes, children!

He goes back inside as their friends smile awkwardly at the two teams.

Isabelle: Well, uh...Wish us luck!

With that, the friends disband, either back to Beacon Academy or towards their mission.

(TIMESKIP!)

Yang: I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter.

Oobleck: I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles.

Ruby: Like the mushroom?

Raviera: Those are truffles.

Ruby: Like the sprout?

Raviera: Those are Brussels.

Oobleck: Besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular... assignment!

Weiss: What does history have to do with this?

Oobleck: Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why, history is the backbone of our very society! And the liver! Probably the kidneys, if I were to wager.

Weiss: And that means..?

Oobleck: The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures!

Y/N: Mountain Glenn.

Yang: That's right! It was an expansion of Vale... but in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city.

Oobleck: Correct! And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder.

Amara: And a likely place for a hideout.

Oobleck: Precisely!

The airship comes in over a spot of street amidst the ruined buildings and structures of the ruined area. It hovers right above the ground as Yang, Blake, Oobleck, Weiss, Ruby, Y/N, Amara, Raviera and Isabelle all jump out of the craft with weapons drawn minus the doctor, who simply holds his coffee canister and Isabelle who doesn't have a weapon, before the ship flies away from the destruction.

Oobleck: Children! You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Hunters and Huntresses has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?

They nod, but he suddenly looks at Ruby, startling her.

Oobleck: Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all of your bags back at school.

Ruby: But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't.

Oobleck: She's not wrong... Very well, Ruby; leave your bag here, we can pick it up upon our return.

Ruby: But I, well uh-

Oobleck: Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with...

He stops as the bag's zipper opens and out pops the heads of Zwei and Eclipse, causing everyone to stare at the uninvited guests.

Ruby: Get back in the bag.

Zwei merely barks in response and Eclipse growls happily.

Oobleck: We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought... a dog? And...

He walks up to Eclipse.

Oobleck: An Ursa cub?

Y/N: Yeah it's mine. I named it Eclipse. But I could've swore I left it at the school.

Ruby: I, uh...

Oobleck: Genius!

He backs away long enough for Ruby to give a confused shrug before speeding past and snatching the pet away from Ruby, who tumbles to the ground as Oobleck spins Zwei in the air.

Oobleck: Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!

Zwei barks happily in his hands. He then picks up Eclipse.

Oobleck: And this Ursa cub can be great for research so that we can understand Grimm better! It can also communicate with them!

Y/N: As long as you don't perform any lab experiments on it, I'm happy.

Ruby: I'm a genius!

Weiss and Yang both facepalm at their grinning leader.

Blake: So, what are your orders, Doctor?

Oobleck: Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it!

He suddenly lets go of Zwei and Eclipse, suspended in the air for less than a second before dropping down, to put his hands behind his back for a serious pose.

Oobleck: As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being... Grimm.

Ruby: Uh, what?

Oobleck: Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment.

Yang: What?!

She turns to look like the other students at the lone Beowolf wandering into the street, joining them in unleashing their weapons.

Oobleck: Stop!

Blake: Huh?

Oobleck: There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity: sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent.

Ruby: So... What now?

Oobleck: We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey.

Blake: How long do we wait?

Oobleck: It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months - and there's the whole pack.

His sudden realization is true: Five Beowolves are already following the first.

Weiss: What?

Oobleck: And now they've seen us.

Weiss: What?!

Oobleck shouts in Weiss' ear:

Oobleck: AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!

Weiss holds her ear in pain as Amara starts rubbing it and kissing Weiss to help heal her pain away.

Ruby: I take it tracking them is out of the question?

Oobleck: An accurate assumption, yes.

Yang: What's the plan, then?

The teams turn to their teacher as the creatures close in, black bars converging dramatically over the approaching animals.

Oobleck: Show me what you're capable of.

Ruby: Cover your ears, Zwei!

The dog does so, curling up into a ball.

Black lines race across the screen as a single Beowolf and smiling Yang run towards one another, ending with the blonde knocking it out in one fiery punch as they pass. Several stop chasing after the party girl to focus on Blake, who stands and waits with hand on her hilt until one of the enemy swipes at her afterimage, the real deal slicing her would-be attacker in half before slashing through another and cutting down on one more. Behind the Faunus, Weiss runs from several black-coated beasts before jumping in the air and taking one down with Myrtenaster. She dashes towards them with rapier held high and slays four of them in a straight line until she stops. Y/N expertly cuts down 15 beowulves that were charging at him with Masamune, Amara turned her microphone into an assaunt rifle and shoots the beowulves with lead bullets, killing them instantly, Raviera grabs his gauntlets which he named Volt and Joule amd cuts them down, as more come, he turns into a dragon and incinerates any beowulf that dares charge at him, Isabelle meanwhile, has summoned 5 giant spiders which devour the beowulves with their teeth, or stab them with their sharp legs, leaving for Isabeloe to lay on one of the spiders amd file her nails and quietly sing a song. A wave of Beowolves are converging on Ruby, but the scythe wielder shoots multiple bullets at the oncoming force... while Zwei is busy chasing his own tail. He stops to watch his owner fire forward and, after a dramatic mid-air stare-off, cut the single remaining Grimm in two.

Amara: Heh. Piece of cake!

Oobleck: Do not celebrate yet, for I am certain this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?

(SMALL TIMESKIP!)

Oobleck: Excellent work, children! Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh, well! Moving on!

Yang: Hey, Doc, y'know, I was actually looking forward to seeing a "pro Huntsman" in action. Like, fighting, or at least, helping us fight?

Oobleck: Ah, but I am in action! Scouring the ruins of this once-great city for any signs of irregularity! Not every mission is filled with daring and heroism, children. Sometimes it's just a heightened form of extermination. Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that.

Raviera: Understood.

Yang: Well, yeah...O-Of course!

Oobleck: Hmm...

The scene changes to the view of another victory for RWBY and _IAR and their mentor amid the noise of fired shots, but switches again to Oobleck and Yang away from the group.

Oobleck: Tell me, Yang: Why did you choose this line of work?

Yang: Huh? Well, to fight monsters and save-

Oobleck: No, that is what you do. I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a Huntress.

Yang: The honest reason? I'm a thrill-seeker. I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win, y'know?

Oobleck: I see.

He then walks over to Weiss.

Oobleck: And you, Miss Schnee? A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn't need the extra work. So... why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?

Weiss: It's exactly as you said: I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty.

Oobleck: Interesting.

Oobleck jumps to where Blake slashes a door down and releases a swarm of small Nevermores from the building, which she back-flips under before she shoots them all with her blade's pistol form.

Oobleck: And what about you, Blake? You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose.

Blake: There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality, corruption... Someone has to stop it.

Oobleck: Very well. How?

Blake: I, Uh...

Oobleck "Hmm's" to himself, then dashes away, leaving Blake to bow her head in troubled thought. He then goes to Y/N, who has his wing out and cutting down beowulves, leaving for Eclipse to feast on their corpse.

Oobleck: And you Y/N, why did you become a huntsman?

Y/N: Simple. My adoptive parents were murdered by the White Fang in cold blood. I became a hunter because I want to kill Adam Taurus.

Oobleck: And how are you planning to do that?

Y/N: I have a couple of faunus that I paid to go undercover there and they tell me where Adam is.

Oobleck nods and goes to Raviera and Amara, who are sitting near each other as Raviera massages Amara's cramping wing.

Oobleck: And how about you two? What made you two want to do this type of work?

Raviera: I don't have one singular reason. Neither does Amara. We have tons of small reasons and goals.

Oobleck nods and goes to Isabelle, who's feeding her spiders.

Oobleck: And you Ms.Arachne?

Isabelle: Well...I got bullied a lot as a kid. Y/N would always save me but I felt like I could also protect myself if I tried hard enough. So, that's why I wanna do this. And also, to make sure nobody has to go through what I went through.

Oobleck nods. Later, Ruby is using her weapon in the most practical fashion and lifting a whole turkey on the sharp end of her gun to tease a jumping and flipping Zwei with. That is, until she spots her teacher watching, quickly sheathing Crescent Rose.

Ruby: Sorry! Uh... Are we ready to keep going?

Oobleck: Nope! I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon. You six, set up camp in that building. Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those... creatures. Your leaders and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby, Y/N.

They start walking away from the rest of RWBY and _IAR who each look at their leaders, knowing what they'll be asked.

Ruby: Whaaaa...

We see a wide forest stretching below the ruin, and in the midst of it, a line of giant elephants with the black and white features of animals of darkness marching through the trees.

Ruby: What is that? It looks awesome!

Oobleck: That, my dear girl, is a Grimm.

Ruby stares at the lumbering mass of monsters in amazement and awe before pulling out her gun, saying

Ruby: Let's kill it.

Oobleck: I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size.

Ruby: But... What if it attacks us?

Oobleck: Fret not, Ruby; those Goliaths are not concerned with us. Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless, or rather not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years, and in that time between killing humans and attacking our borders, they have done one important thing: They've learned. They've learned that when they attack our borders, they're likely to die, and what we lack in strength, we make up for in will, and that killing one human will only bring more.

As he says this, one Goliath swivels its thick neck to look at the figures watching their procession, eyes glowing as fiery red as any other Grimm.

Ruby: Then why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?

Oobleck: Waiting.

As he says this, the Goliath turns its head forward again and moves on with its kin. Oobleck turns around and walks away as well, and Ruby puts away her weapon, not moving.

Ruby: Doctor Oobleck?

Oobleck: Hmm?

Ruby: I was wondering...

Oobleck: Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?

Y/N: Yes actua-

Ruby: A-Actually, I was wondering... Why did you want to become a Huntsman?

Oobleck: Look around and tell me what you see.

Ruby takes a look around.

Ruby: Lots of old buildings, uh, empty streets...

Y/N: Personally, I see lives that could have been saved.

Oobleck: I also see that Y/N. As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it in the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could have been saved, but I also see an opportunity; an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger. I am a Huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be.

Back at the building, the teams have done as instructed, building a fire in the center of the room and huddling around it or standing up.

Yang: I can't believe we didn't find anything...

Blake: We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side.

Weiss: That's not what I meant.

Blake: Huh?

Weiss: Earlier, about... upholding the legacy. There's more to it than that.

Yang: Yeah... No, me too. I mean... I don't know.

Blake: I don't know, either. I know what I want to do, but I figured I'd always take things one step at a time.

Yang: Well, it doesn't matter. We know why we're here. Right?

The students merely stare in silence.

Oobleck: Ah, wonderful; a textbook campfire!

Ruby: Fire!

She comes in behind Oobleck and immediately sits next to the blaze alongside Zwei. Y/N walks up and joins his girlfriend.

Ruby: So... warm...

Oobleck: Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?

Ruby: Yo.

Y/N: Count me in.

Oobleck rushes off, and Ruby gets up to go over to her lookout point.

Yang: Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress? I mean... what did you tell him?

Ruby: Hmm... No, he didn't. Weird. Oh, well; good night, guys!

Without a second carefree thought, she continues on her way. Yang looks disappointed in the lack of an answer. Blake is similarly troubled as she unrolls her mat, Weiss tries lying down but fails to sleep, Yang half-heatedly eats her dinner of bread rolls. Raviera and Amara are sleeping on some pillars in their dragon form, huddled close to each other and Isabelle is sleeping on a spider silk hammock lise usual. Soon, the remaining three Huntresses of Team RWBY are on their backs around the fire, weapons within easy access, wondering why they are there. Ruby and Y/N, meanwhile, are sitting in the vacant windowsill of the room as Zwei and Eclipse go over to their owners upon hearing the howling of Beowolves. Ruby pets her pooch on the back amd Y/N lets Eclipse snuggle into him as the cub falls asleep.

Ruby: Don't worry. Things will be better tomorrow.

Y/N: Indeed they will.

They kiss as they cuddle and go to sleep in each other's arms.