RWBY: Rise of the Beasts

Chapter 17: Field Trip

"They were here . . ." Ironwood remarked disdainfully before he started to raise his voice. "Ozpin, they were here!" The general slammed his fist on Ozpin's desk in anger as he finished his statement.

"We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James," Goodwitch remarked.

Ironwood, Ozpin, and Goodwitch were all in Ozpin's office, discussing the event that happened the previous night during the dance. Currently, Ironwood and Goodwitch were arguing with each other while Ozpin was rubbing his temples with his fingers, starting to get annoyed with the constant bickering around him.

"Fantastic! You're aware!" Ironwood replied sarcastically. "Now, are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?!"

Fortunately before the arguing could continue to give Ozpin an even bigger headache, an alert sound beeped, signaling that someone requested access to Ozpin's office through the elevator.

"Come in," Ozpin told whoever it was in the elevator as he stood up. The elevator's doors slid open and Ruby stepped out into Ozpin's office.

"Sorry it took so long. Someone accidentally hit all the buttons on the way up here," Ruby explained before looking around slightly, realizing she had been alone on the elevator. "It wasn't me," she defended.

"Thank you for coming, Ruby," Ozpin greeted as Ruby slowly approached the three adults, a little nervous about being called to Ozpin's office first thing in the morning. "How is your arm?"

"It's okay, I guess. My Aura took care of most of it," Ruby replied, rubbing her arm slightly where Nightbird had slashed her. "I'd feel a lot better if my bad-guy-catching record wasn't O-for-three."

The adults just stared silently.

"Okay, so that's the tone we're going for, got it," Ruby muttered to herself, a little embarrassed as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Ruby," Ironwood began as he approached the red reaper, placing his uncovered hand on her shoulder. "I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think what you did last night is exactly what being a huntress is all about. You recognized a threat. You took action despite the danger. And you did the very best you could."

"Thank you, sir," Ruby thanked the general.

"Now, the general has already informed us of the events that . . . transpired last night," Ozpin began. "But now that you've recovered and rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add."

"Was anyone else there with the woman?" Goodwitch asked. "Did she look familiar to you at all?"

"I . . . I don't know," Ruby admitted after thinking for a few seconds, remembering the previous night. "She was wearing a mask, and she never said anything to me. But she wasn't alone. There was some kind of . . . flying robot with her that had a sword. And the person fought with glass. I don't think that was her semblance, though. Her clothing lit up when she attacked. And the robot . . . growled at me, like it was frustrated or something."

"I'm not sure about the robot," Goodwitch began, looking towards Ozpin. "But save for the glass, the woman sounds like the one I fought the night we met Ruby."

"Embedding Dust into clothing is an age-old technique. It could have been anyone," Ironwood pointed out. "But as for the robot, none of my Atlesian Knights are capable of flight or use a sword. It might have been a heavily modified machine."

"Wait," Ruby began, catching the attention of the adults. "You think girl and the robot are somehow connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?"

"It's a possibility," Ozpin admitted, bringing his hand to his chin to think about it for a moment. Meanwhile, Ruby looked to the side, curious if this would help with her team's investigation. "But we still lack the required evidence to link them together."