"They were here... Ozpin, they were here!" Ironwood exclaimed, slamming his hand down on his desk in disbelief.

"We are very much aware of that. Thank you, James." Glynda said with sass. "Fantastic. You're aware. Now, are we going to do something about it, or should we stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?" Ironwood questioned, his words quick with irritation.

Ozpin received a beep from his desk, and stood up as the elevator to his office arrived.

"Come in." He said calmly.

"Sorry. I just woke up." Seth said walking beside Maia, who was here on 'business' again.

"Thank you for coming, Seth. How are you feeling?" Ozpin asked. "I'm alright. Small headache, but I'm never without that." He joked with a smile.

"Seth Evans, I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntsmen is all about." Ironwood began, smiling as he approached the teen. "You recognized a threat, you took action, informed others cautiously, and you did the very best you could with exceptional tenacity." Ironwood praised, making Seth grow a bit more confident, but nod humbly.

"Now, the General here has already informed us of the events that transpired last night. But now that you've rested, we were wondering if you've had anything to add." Ozpin requested. "Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar?" Glynda pressed.

"She wore a masquerade mask, her eyes glowed in the dark, she made glass from dust, and her clothes lit up when doing so." Seth described.

"That sounds like the woman I fought when we met Ruby." Glynda muttered.

"Embedding dust into clothing is an age old technique. It could've been anyone." Ironwood sighed.

"Well, if she's who you fought the night of that robbery, then she's related to Torchwick?" Seth asked. "It's possible. Do you happen to more on that matter?" Ozpin asked starting to smirk.

"Yes. As you may or may not know, he's working with the White Fang for whatever reason— stealing dust across Vale. They apparently have some hideout in the southeast, just outside of the kingdom..." Seth informed, making Ironwood, Ozpin, and Glynda perk up.

"Well there we have it. We send as many troops as we can to the southeast. Find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way." Ironwood said walking to the window.

"Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado? You treat every situation like it's a contest it measuring di—" "Glynda." Ozpin stopped her, pointing to Seth and Maia, the former looking really uncomfortable.

"Well he does." Glynda scoffed.

"We must remember that this may go beyond Vale... beyond Beacon. And if this is truly part of some master plan that which we know not the final move. We mustn't be so bold." Ozpin reasoned. "Nor can we risk the spread of panic." He added.

"Can't you guys, like... scout it out first? It was Roman who said it, and we don't know how truthful a criminal can be. It may be a trap since he said it with us around." Seth said nervously, hoping his input would be welcome.

"He's right, James. You don't send in the flag bearers first... you send in the scouts." Ozpin said looking at Seth thankfully.

"You are dismissed, Seth. You have a big day ahead of you." Ozpin said with a nod, foreshadowing that he was actually choosing him to be the scout.

"W-Wait!" Seth said with a frightened expression.

"Professor Ozpin, be honest with me..." Seth started with a small glare. Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood grew stern as Seth took a deep breath.

"What does a Queen piece mean to you?" Seth asked making their eyes widen in shock.

"Elaborate." Ozpin demanded with such authority, he and Maia gulped under the pressure.

"When I first entered the tower. It was on every screen. A Black Queen Piece." Seth stated. "And you're positive it was a Queen?" Ironwood asked nervously.

"I've play chess many times before. I'd never forget what's forsaken me." Seth said with confidence.

"This is beyond the White Fang, Seth..." Ozpin began, looking towards Glynda and Ironwood, noticing their disapproving stares. Both didn't think he should be let in on the secret...

"Listen, Seth. After your mission... I will inform you of how grave the situation is. If you're curious as to why, I believe you may be of assistance." Ozpin said making the two shocked and angry, but they hid it as best they could.

"Just this once, I will make an exception for Team SKIL's mission this time around. You all will be split up amongst other teams, and shadow Huntsmen in a wider area. This, will be the scouting we need. Be discreet about this matter, and be vigilant. You two are dismissed." Ozpin said sternly, making the two nod.

'What have I gotten myself into...' Seth thought in shock.

~•~

'Of all teams... TEAM RWBY?!' Seth asked seeing the Bullhead he needed to be on since his team was split up.

'No offense, but they are just trouble making galore. Blake is obsessed with the White Fang, Yang is way too optimistic about helping with that stuff, Weiss is alright... and Ruby is Ruby.' Seth thought trotting over across the courtyard.

Before he could get close, a figure grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground.

"So, what Huntsmen are you shadowing?" Sabrina asked, making Seth frightened. "How... have you not been detained?" He asked in shock. "Detained? No one knows who I am but Ozpin." She shrugged.

"You know him?" Seth asked skeptically. "Not in a good light anymore. This is my alma mater, but I quit being a Huntress." Sabrina revealed. "Why am I learning your backstory, exactly?" Seth questioned.

"Well, I was curious about you, so it's only fair. Also came to give you a hint." Sabrina said with a proud nod.

"There's a hideout in the southeast." She stated.

"Yeah... I know." Seth said with a shrug.

"Really? Well damnit... uh... nah, I've got nothing. Sorry." She said with a sigh. "No... problem, uh, what's your name again?" Seth asked making her unamused. "Just call me Nova since you don't remember." Nova said shaking her head.

"I go out of my way to tell you my birth name and you forget. The nerve..." She mumbled dropping him.

"That was months ago..." Seth said with a frown. "Pfft. No excuse. You remember a ladies name." She replied. "Lady? The way you threw me?" Seth asked with a scoff.

"What the hell are you implying?!" She asked with irritation.

"Bye!" Seth waved running away, Burden assisting with his getaway.

'Fucking brat...' She thought in annoyance. 'Sucks I got to wait til he's legal.' She thought seeing him stop at Team RWBY's side, his calm expression making her smirk.

•

"Why, hello, girls...! And boy." Oobleck greeted, wearing a safari hat and brown trench coat.

"Who's ready to fight for their lives?" He asked making Seth try to walk away, but Yang pulled him back.

"I've done enough of that." Seth answered honestly, glancing at Blake.

"Ah, well I'm afraid that doesn't matter. Those bags won't be necessary— seeing as you've decided to shadow a Huntsmen 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've packed all our essentials myself, plotted the air course, and readied the airship." Oobleck listed.

'Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut. Queen Piece my ass.' Seth groaned internally.

"Come now, children. According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind... schedule!" He informed, dashing for the bullhead.

"Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oobleck— Nope, sounds worse out loud." Ruby stopped dejectedly, making them all droop their heads.

"Save the world?! You're going on world-saving missions without us?!" Nora asked skipping over, the rest of Team JNPR at her side with the addition of Kaitlyn.

"Sounds exciting. Where are you going?" Jaune asked.

"Just outside the kingdom." Ruby answered. "Hey, so are we!" Nora exclaimed. "Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village." Pyrrha informed. "We set out tomorrow." Ren added.

"Then you can party with us tonight!" Neptune suggested, sliding over with Sun.

"We're shadowing a crime-specialists. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior-badges." Neptune bragged, making Jaune awe with starts in his eyes.

"We'd 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, ya know... normal." Sun explained.

"Take me with you." Seth begged, grabbing Sun's sleeve.

"Four minutes, ladies!" Oobleck shouted.

...

"And boy!" He added.

"Wish us luck." Ruby said with a thumbs up, everyone giving sympathetic looks.

•

"I guess I never saw you as much of a fighter, Doctor." Yang commented as they flew over Vale.

"I admit, I fancy myself more as an intellectual." He mused. "But I can assure, as Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles." He added.

"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked.

"Those are truffles." Blake answered.

"Like the sprout?" She continued.

"Those are brussels." Yang replied.

"Given my expertise in the field of history, as well as my dabblings in the field of archeological surveys, our dear Headmaster saw it fit to assign me to this particular... assignment!" Oobleck explained.

"History? Thought this was Search and Destroy." Seth asked, standing without holding in to a handle up above, which worried the others.

"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forest and deep caves. But, it is also the location of one of the kingdom's greatest failures." Oobleck explained.

"Oh. Mount Glen, right? You went over that." Seth replied, smiling that he remembered the information.

"Yeah, it was an expansion of Vale... but in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city." Yang stated.

"Correct! And now it stands, abandoned, as a dark reminder..." Oobleck muttered.

"And a likely place for a hideout." Blake mumbled.

"Y~ep. Unfortunately..." Seth said shaking his head.

~•~

Everyone hopped out of the Bullhead, and landed at the ready, weapons drawn, excluding Oobleck, who took a sip of his mug.

[A/N: Zwei... about him. Let's say he won't be needed...]

"So, what are your orders, Doctor?" Blake asked.

"Ah, yes. Straight to the chase. I like it!" Oobleck said with enthusiasm. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being... Grimm." Oobleck said sternly.

"...Well, yeah?" Seth said in confusion.

"Yes. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us, at this very moment." Oobleck informed, making the five spin and spot as he told: a singular Beowolf prowling the streets.

"Done." Seth said with a sigh, placing his sword into his sheath.

They glanced over and saw his wings were out, and glanced back over to see the Beowolf in half, it's upper body on its face as it disintegrated.

"Oh, wait— the whole pack." Seth said with wince. "What?!" Weiss shouted in shock. "And~ they see us." Seth hummed. "What?!" Weiss shouted again. "My ears." Seth glared.

"Well, children..." Oobleck nodded, gesturing towards their foes. "Show me what you're capable of." He smirked.