A Few Days Later

Beacon Academy

Jaune fell to his stomach, and began to crawl. Struggling to bring air to his lungs.

Jaune: *gasp* *wheeze*

Jaune's strength had all but left him, he struggled just to stay awake.

(Y/N): We... *wheeze* ...have to... *gasp* ... make it... Jaune...

Jaune looked behind him and watched as Y/N sluggishly caught up with him.

Jaune: I... *gasp* ...can't make... it...

Y/N limped next to Jaune before falling to his knees next to him.

(Y/N): No Jaune... *wheeze* ...we have to do.... *gasp* ...this together...

Jaune looked at Y/N with his exhausted eyes.

Jaune: I... I... can't... *gasp* *cough*

(Y/N): Jaune.... we... *cough* ...we've... almost made... *wheeze* it...

Jaune: This burden... *gasp* ...I... can't.... *cough* ...do it...

Y/N watched as the light began to leave Jaune's eyes, but before it could fully dim, he clenched his fist.

(Y/N): *wheeze* I can't carry your burden for you... *cough* *cough* But I can carry you!

Y/N summoned all the strength he had and pulled Jaune onto his shoulders.

(Y/N): Just... *cough* ...a few... *gasp* ...steps further...

Y/N tried his hardest to stay awake, the exhaustion nearly too much for him.

(Y/N): We... will *cough* make it!

Pyrrha: ...Guys...

(Y/N): Arrrrgh!!

Y/N let out a cry as he forced himself forward, just before falling face first onto the ground.

Pyrrha sighed.

Pyrrha: Guys, we've only gone maybe twenty steps from the front entrance to the academy.

Jaune: *dead*

(Y/N): *super dead*

Pyrrha: You guys...

Pyrrha looked at her two would-be students and wondered where she went wrong.

Ruby: Oh, hey guys!

Exiting out the front entrance was Ruby still carrying some of the books she used for class. Getting closer, Ruby noticed how Jaune and Y/N were flat on the floor.

Ruby: Is... everything okay?

Pyrrha: Yes, but I think these two are trying to get out of training today.

Ruby: Yeah, Y/N would do that too whenever we tried to train him too.

Pyrrha: Jaune wouldn't usually go this far to get out of practice...

Pyrrha made a small smile and lightly elbowed Ruby.

Pyrrha: Maybe Y/N is being a bad influence.

Ruby chuckled.

Ruby: Probably.

Pyrrha: Anyway, how did you get him to train after he did this?

Ruby: Oh, uh...

Ruby thought back on it.

Ruby: Yang is usually the one to motivate Y/N whenever he got like this.  I'll go get her!

(Y/N) and Jaune: We're awake!

At the sound of hearing the words 'Yang' and "motivation" in the same sentence, the two students shot back up to their feet.

Pyrrha was a little surprised at the sudden change in demeanor.

Pyrrha: Well that was fast.

Jaune: Yeah, just don't get Yang...

(Y/N): Her "motivation" is horrifying.

Pyrrha looked at Ruby.

Pyrrha: What kind of motivation did Yang use?

Ruby: I dunno, but it always involved a chainsaw...

Pyrrha: That.... That sounds...

Still catching their breaths, Y/N and Jaune didn't notice someone closing in on them from behind. A faint revving sound began to fill their ears, sending actual chills up and down their spines. The two of them slowly began to turn their heads.

Seemingly from out of no where Yang showed up wearing a hockey mask and holding a chainsaw.

Yang: MOTIVATIOOOOOOOOON!!!!!

Yang pulled the cord on her chainsaw causing the engine sound to blast louder.

(Y/N) and Jaune: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Faster than she thought humanly possible, Pyrrha watched as Y/N and Jaune bolted toward the training hall.

Ruby: Yep, that.

Pyrrha looked at Ruby wide-eyed.

Ruby: ...What?

Yang pulled her mask off.

Yang: Hehe!... Works every time!

Pyrrha: You know there are better ways to motivate people.

Ruby and Yang looked at each other and then back to Pyrrha.

Yang: No there isn't.

Pyrrha sighed.

Pyrrha: Well, thanks for getting them to head toward the training hall.

Ruby: No problem.

Yang pulled out a pastry that Y/N made earlier and began to eat it.

Pyrrha: You should probably cut down on that.

Yang: *munch* What, why? *munch*

Ruby: Yeah, Y/N's baking is delicious!

Pyrrha: Well, with the amount of those that you eat, you might gain weight.

There was a brief silence as Ruby and Yang registered what Pyrrha just told them.

Yang: Psh, nah!

Pyrrha rolled her eyes.

Pyrrha: Well, see you guys later!

Ruby: Yeah, see ya!

After Pyrrha left, the sisters began to feel their stomachs if they gained weight.

Ruby and Yang: Q_Q

_____

_____

A Few Hours Later

Beacon Dorms

In the common room of the dorm, Nora and Ren were playing a video game on the tv, Weiss was sipping tea and reviewing her studies, and Blake was sitting on the couch reading a book. It was mostly quiet, save for the sounds the game was making.

Weiss grunted, and shrugged, until finally...

Weiss: Would you two please turn the volume down on that game of yours!?

Ren and Nora continued to play.

Nora: Don't be so cold "Ice Queen", we're just having fun- Ha! Got ya Ren!

Ren: It won't happen twice!

Weiss shrugged as the two members of team JNPR continued to play their game.

Weiss: Ugh... why is everyone around me so childish?

Blake: Don't worry Weiss, Y/N will be here shortly and he'll make you those croissants that you like so much.

Weiss: What!? That's not why I'm here!

Blake smiled as she kept reading her book.

Blake: Sure...

After a moment the doors to the kitchen opened.

Weiss: Y/N! It's about time! I want you to make me-

Instead of Y/N and Jaune walking through, it was Ruby and Yang, both of whom were in their athletic uniforms.

Weiss: Ruby? Yang? Where have you two been?

Yang: You know *pant* around. *pant*

Ruby: Just *pant* going for a *pant* light jog *pant*

The two of them were sweating and were clearly out of breath.

Weiss: What kind of "light jog" were you running?

Ruby: You know *pant* just a light jog.

Blake: You're both are out of breath, what's really going on?

Yang: We... were... uhhhhh.....

Ruby sighed.

Ruby: Exercising...

There was a moment of silence before Nora began to burst out in laughter.

Nora: Hahahahaha! Exercising!? That's hilarious! Hahahaha!

Yang: Hey! Exercising is a healthy way of life! What's wrong with exercising!?

Nora: I just can't imagine you two exercising! You guys are plenty thin as is!

Ruby: Don't laugh! You eat Y/N's cooking too! All of you guys do!

There was another moment of silence, before everyone except for Nora checked their stomachs.

Blake's bow slightly wilted and Weiss tried to suck in her stomach.

Nora: Hahahahaha!!!! You guys should look at yourselves! Worried about gaining a little weight!

Yang: Hey, you can gain weight too you know!

Ren: Actually, I don't think she can...

Weiss: What?

Nora proudly stood up and puffed her chest out.

Nora: I can't gain weight!

Team RWBY stared at her in silence.

Blake: ...What are you talking about?

Ren: Ever since she was young, Nora's had an incredible metabolism. Frankly, if I didn't already know what her real Semblance was I would think her metabolism was it.

Ruby: Aw, that's not fair! We does she get a free "eat whatever you want" pass!?

Nora: Hahaha!!

The kitchen door opened again, this time it was Jaune and Y/N stumbling through. Y/N held Jaune like a fallen brother in war.

(Y/N): Look Mr. Jaune, we've made it!

Jaune: Ugh.... uh....

(Y/N): Can you see it Mr. Jaune? Freedo-

Weiss: What are you two doing!?

(Y/N): Wah! Weiss!

Y/N dropped Jaune on the floor like a sack of potatoes and raised his hands.

Jaune: Ow...

(Y/N): I'll start baking your croissants!

Y/N began to head toward the kitchen.

Weiss: Wait.

Y/N froze in place.

Weiss: You don't... you don't have to make anything... today...

(Y/N): 0_o

Y/N stood in the kitchen, looking at Weiss, like a deer in headlights.

(Y/N): ...What?...

Weiss: I said, you don't have to make anything today...

Y/N looked at everyone else in the room.

(Y/N) Did I do something wrong?

Yang: We're just... not hungry right now, Y/N.

(Y/N): Q_Q is my baking bad?

Ruby could tell that Y/N was getting upset and jumped up.

Ruby: No, No! You're baking isn't bad, it's awesome!

(Y/N): Q_Q

Blake: It's alright Y/N, you can take a break today.

(Y/N): You guys hate my cooking! *cries*

Y/N began to cry on the counter.

Ruby zipped next to Y/N and tried to calm him down.

Ruby: W-we didn't say that!

Ruby looked at her friends in desperation.

Ruby: Guys!

Blake: It's fine, really!

A small puddle formed on the counter.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

Weiss: You're acting like a baby Y/N...

(Y/N): *cries like baby*

Ruby: You're not helping Weiss.

Weiss groaned.

Pyrrha: Hey guys, what's... what's going on?

The last person to enter the the common room was Pyrrha. Looking at Y/N, Pyrrha instantly turned to Weiss.

Pyrrha: What did you do, Weiss?

Weiss: I didn't do anything! All I said was: "He didn't have to make anything today"!

Pyrrha sighed.

Pyrrha: Why don't we start talking about that weapon we were gonna design for Y/N?

Ruby: Oh hey! That's right!

Ruby dashed out of the room catching Y/N off guard and spinning him to the floor.

Seconds later, Ruby dashed back in with a large scrapbook.

Ruby: What do you think, Y/N? What sort of gear were you thinking of using?

Ruby was jumping with excitement.

(Y/N): ...Can I go back to crying?

Yang: No.

Yang grabbed Y/N and pulled him to his feet.

Yang: So, what kind of weapon do you want?

(Y/N): Uhhhhh...

Blake put down her book.

Blake: Hey Pyrrha, what kind of weapon would you recommend Y/N use?

Pyrrha: Well, for the past couple of days Y/N has been using a sword and shield for training, just like Jaune. Then again, he only used it because it was convenient and they were training weapons.

Yang: Sword and Shield! There's a start.

(Y/N): Maybe-

Ruby: A sword and a shield!? Awesome! We can have the sword turn into a rifle! We can be rifle buddies!

(Y/N): Emmm... I don't want a-

Yang: Oh, I know! What about gauntlets?

(Y/N): That doesn't sound too ba-

Yang: Shotgun gauntlets!

(Y/N): I foresee many accidents with thos-

Weiss: He should have an elegant weapon.

(Y/N): But-

Weiss: Perhaps you can use a rapier... no wait, a saber! Sabers are very elegant weapons.

(Y/N): Elegant?-

Blake: What about dual wielding short swords? Or daggers? Or maybe even a katana?

(Y/N): I have a hard enough time keeping track of one-

Nora: You guys are being silly!

Nora jumped into group discussion.

Nora: Bigger is better! Give him a hammer!

(Y/N): God no-

Nora: We can be Hammer Bros!... No wait... I'm a girl... Hmmm... Eh, Hammer Bros!

(Y/N): Q_Q

The discussion devolved into people talking over one another as thy talked about potential weapons for Y/N.

Ren: Maybe we should ask Y/N for what weapon he wants.

Ruby: Good idea! Well, what kind of weapon appeals to you?

(Y/N): Thanks Ren.

Ren: No problem.

(Y/N): All things considered... I'll take a shield.

Ruby blinked.

Ruby: A shield? You mean, just a shield?

(Y/N): Yeah.

Ruby: But...

Yang: How are you supposed to go on offense?

(Y/N): You guys do remember that I'm just an academic student, right? I'm more than satisfied with just learning how to defend myself. Offense is...

Y/N thought for a minute.

(Y/N): Offense isn't something I'm concerned about.

The girls gave Y/N a strange look.

Blake: Well, okay.

Ruby opened her book and began to read through it.

Ruby: What kind of shield do you want?

(Y/N): What kinds are there?

Ruby flipped through the pages until she came to the one she wanted.

Ruby: Let's see...

(Y/N): Why do you have a scrapbook for weapons?

Everyone: Because it's Ruby.

(Y/N): Right...

Ruby: There's Kite Shields, Heater Shields, Buckler Shields...

Ruby began to read off—the rather impressive—list of shields in her scrapbook.

(Y/N): There are... a lot of shields...

Yang: So, which one were you thinking?

Y/N looked at the scrapbook and the pictures of the shields inside. After looking at the different pictures, Y/N pulled out his Scroll and brought up the net.

(Y/N): How about this one?

Y/N gave Ruby his Scroll with the picture of a shield on it.

Ruby: That's... a Ballistic Shield.

Weiss: Really?

(Y/N): Yeah! I mean, probably one that's larger so that it can cover my whole body and built more durable, but yes, I'd like one of those ballistic shields.

Weiss: Well, I know that Atlas has plenty of Ballistic Shields, I'm sure a quick phone call will-

Yang: No! We're not giving Y/N an Atlas Ballistic Shield.

Weiss: What's wrong with Atlas' shields!? They're top of the line!

Yang: They also have a big Atlas logo on it.

Weiss: He can cover it up!

Yang: We're not doing it. Besides, it makes me feel like we're giving Y/N a hand-me-down.

Weiss: Tch, fine.

Ruby: So, just a shield?

(Y/N): Can I also get some armguards?

Ruby: Sure! We can even have the shield attach to them!

Yang: Oh, I like it already!

(Y/N): The shield can collapse right? Like Jaune's?

A huge smile appeared on Ruby's face as she came up with an idea.

Ruby: What if we have the armguards turn into the shield!?

(Y/N): You can do that?

Ruby: It'll be a custom order, but there's plenty of weapon smiths that can do it!

Nora: That sounds awesome! You can dual wield shields!

(Y/N): That sounds...

Y/N thought back to the many, many, many ,many times that he'd wished he had a shield with him.

(Y/N): Great!

Ruby: Sweet!

Ruby began to scribble a bunch of notes into her book before slamming it shut.

Ruby: I'll mail out this order as soon as I can! Oh, I'm so excited!

Yang: You sure you don't want a gun in there too?

(Y/N): Yeah, I don't want to have a gun attached to me...... again...

Yang: What?

(Y/N): I don't want a gun in it please...

Weiss: Well, now that, that is taken care of, would you four mind?

The group looked at Weiss blankly.

Weiss: Oh, for the love of... You guys all smell! You just got back from training right?

The sudden realization came to a surprise to Ruby, Yang, Y/N, and Jaune, who up until this point had completely forgotten about it.

Ruby: Oh... right. We'll just go now.

The four of them left the common room to go and clean themselves.

_____

_____

Thirty Minutes Later

Ruby: Aaaah~!!

Ruby stretched her arms after she finished bathing.

Ruby: I needed that!

Yang: I know what you mean. Nothing beats a nice hot shower!

Ruby: Definitely.

Gathering their things Ruby noticed that she still had Y/N's Scroll.

Ruby: Whoops! I didn't give Y/N back his Scroll.

Yang: You should probably give it back to him, I'll see you in the common room.

Ruby: Okay.

After Yang left Ruby walked over to Y/N's room.

Ruby knocked on the door.

Ruby: Hey, Y/N, I forgot to give you your Scroll!

After not getting a response Ruby knocked again.

Ruby: Helloooo? Y/N?

Knocking on the door again, Ruby noticed that the door wasn't locked.

After taking a moment to make sure no one was looking Ruby slowly opened the door.

Ruby: Y/N?

Ruby could still hear the shower going on in the back.

Ruby: Let's make this quick.

Ruby carefully walked over to Y/N's desk—which was considerably more organized than hers—and put his Scroll on it. Just as she did so, however, the door to the bathroom began to open.

Ruby: Oh no!

Thinking fast, Ruby quietly jumped behind the bed and hid herself.

Y/N came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

(Y/N): Where did I put that loofah?

Ruby held her breath as she heard Y/N rummaging around his bag.

(Y/N): Oh hey, Ruby returned my Scroll. How nice of her...

Y/N continued to dig around in his bag.

Ruby: Don't look, don't look, don't look, don't look...

(Y/N): How do I misplace a loofah?

Y/N scratched his head for a moment.

(Y/N): Now, I remember where I put it.

Y/N turned to his dresser and opened one of the drawers.

Ruby's heart was pounding and her face was near beet red.

Ruby: M-m-m-maybe a quick l-l-l-look?

With her heart pounding even faster, Ruby slowly peeked out from her hiding spot. Ruby's eyes slowly rested on Y/N's exposed torso.

(Y/N): Here it is!

Ruby gave a quiet gasp as she got a good look at Y/N.

(Y/N): I'm just going to keep you in the bathroom from now on.

Y/N turned and went back into the bathroom, leaving the room quiet.

Taking the opportunity, Ruby quietly left and shut the door to Y/N's room behind her.

Ruby: What...

Ruby looked at the door behind her.

Ruby: Who are you... Y/N?

_____

_____

The Charred Crater

Atlas Soldier: Get that tent set up now!

Atlas Soldier #2: Yes sir!

Atlas Soldier: Get me a perimeter around this whole area at once!

Atlas Soldier #3: Right away, sir!

Dozens of Atlas soldiers filled the once quiet and empty crater in the wilderness. The soldiers had begun to set up tents, lights, turrets, and beacons throughout the crater and surrounding forest.

Standing in the center of the crater was a man with a clean cut white overcoat and grey undercoat. He had some grey in his black hair and a strip of metal above his right eyebrow.

Atlas Soldier: General Ironwood, sir!

James studied the small indent in the center of the crater.

James: Your report, sergeant.

Atlas Soldier: Yes sir! We sent the recon team to the nearby town of Trist to gain information, as you instructed.

James: And?

Atlas Soldier: It's gone, sir.

James looked at the sergeant.

James: Gone?

Atlas Soldier: The town looks to be destroyed sir. Razed to the ground.

James: Survivors?

Atlas Soldier: We found...

The soldier hesitated.

Atlas Soldier: We found bodies sir. It doesn't look good.

James clenched his fist in frustration.

James: Thank you sergeant, you're dismissed.

Atlas Soldier: Sir!

The soldier saluted before heading back to the barracks.

Now alone, James bent down to study the indent closer.

James: I don't know who or what you are...

James began to glare at the indent.

James: But you'll pay for what you've done.